I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 100

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Let’s talk about the Cheon-hwa Group for a moment.

It was a prestigious family that held the number one spot among Korea’s top five conglomerates by an overwhelming margin.

The current head’s grandfather, Cheon Yoo-hak’s great-grandfather, wasn’t just wealthy. He was also a renowned hero who worked for the world’s betterment even before the hero system was established in the early days of the dimensional collision.

Well, simply put, they were the typical conglomerate family you’d find in a modern fantasy story.

The Cheon family bloodline had a few characteristics. Externally, they all had unbelievably vibrant blonde hair.

Perhaps due to their strong inheritance of their patriarch’s blood, those with the Cheon family bloodline all had rich blonde hair.

Next, they possessed beautiful appearances.

They were all born with aesthetically pleasing looks. Honestly, this was my friend’s doing as the one who wanted to make his sister, who was the basis for Yoo-hak’s older sister, a heroine in the story.

And lastly, this wasn’t an external factor but an internal one, their personality: most of them loved being flamboyant and attracting attention.

Just look at Cheon Yoo-hak. He liked competent people, but he enjoyed standing out even more.

Why was I suddenly talking about this?

“A birthday party?”

“…Yeah, my father told me to invite all of you.”

Even someone who enjoyed attention as much as him found it embarrassing when his parents threw a huge birthday party for their 17-year-old son that it was practically a festival.

Ah, lol, I couldn’t miss Cheon Yoo-hak’s birthday party, lol.

Cheon Yoo-hak was so embarrassed that his usual confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen. He covered his face with one hand and shook his head.

Ah, really…

This was incredible news that boosted my spirits on a Monday morning, a day when it was easy to feel drained.

Of course, I knew about Cheon Yoo-hak’s birthday, but in the original story, it passed by quietly in a gloomy atmosphere, so I never imagined such a hilarious event would take place.

It wasn’t just me. The others were also chuckling or showing interest, so my reaction wasn’t strange.

Only Lilac…

“It’s good that they’re throwing a party for your birthday. It seems like a close-knit family.”

He said that nonchalantly, but judging by the subtle change in his expression, he probably expected it.

He knew that Cheon Yoo-hak wasn’t someone who would be embarrassed by just any large-scale event.

That bastard. Sometimes, he was the worst. Just laugh openly, Lilac!

But a minor question suddenly came to my mind.

“Hey, Yoo-hak.”

“…What is it?”

Oh, it was refreshing to see him so dejected.

“If it’s that embarrassing, why don’t you just not invite us?”

Having such a large-scale birthday party would be embarrassing enough, but the fundamental reason he was so embarrassed was probably because he knew we would be there.

But if he didn’t want that, he could just not invite us.

“…He said he would visit us personally.”

“Huh?”

“He said that if I didn’t invite you, he wouldn’t just send invitations. He would sincerely visit each and every academy cadet and invite them to the party.”

…Oh my god. It was a much more horrifying situation than I had imagined.

A father throwing a huge, event-level birthday party for his 17-year-old son, and if the son refused to invite his friends, he would come to the academy and invite every single student personally…?

And that father was the chairman of Korea’s top conglomerate…?

It was beyond just “terrible.”

My father was a true gentleman in comparison.

No, wait, how big was this party going to be that he would invite the entire academy?

Even I was starting to get scared.

“Anyway, since it’s come to this, I need all of your clothing sizes.”

“…Huh?”

“…Ah, you have your own suit, so you’re fine, but the others don’t, right? I need your sizes to tailor dresses and suits.”

…Wasn’t it just a birthday party?

I imagined a large-scale party, but was he planning something even bigger and more extravagant than I thought?

Or was there some kind of Cheon Yoo-hak Birth Festival that wasn’t mentioned in the settings book?

I was a bit uneasy when Cheon Yoo-hak said, ‘My father is planning something grand,’ but he wasn’t seriously throwing a festival-like event, was he?

Seeing Cheon Yoo-hak’s gloomy expression, the others also looked a bit concerned.

“…Don’t worry. You won’t be inconvenienced. I’ll try to minimize the troublesome procedures so you can enjoy yourselves.”

His face looked like he had already given up.

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Alright, I’ll be honest.

I was naive.

Even if it was an academy story with a crazy setting, I thought there would be a limit to the absurdity.

Even if they were the top conglomerate family in the country, how serious could they be about their son’s birthday?

At most, they would rent a hotel and throw a party like my father did.

That was what I thought.

I realized how foolish I was when I saw an airship flying in the sky on our way home from school.

-Cheon Yoo-hak’s, eldest son of Cheon-hwa Group, birthday celebration. Food and drinks provided free of charge by Cheon-hwa Group.

-Buffet-style meal prepared by renowned star chefs! Numerous theater troupes and musicians invited…!

-All halls of the Cheon-hwa Hotel are open to the public!

-Numerous attractions and entertainment! A spectacular parade through the night streets awaits!

-Wow! We’ve never seen a festival like this before…!!!

“Wow…”

Ha-ni just looked up at the sky in awe.

“…Good luck.”

Even Lilac shook his head, unable to defend him any further.

Lee Yoo-na looked back and forth between the advertisement on the airship and Cheon Yoo-hak’s face, then started praying.

“Y-Yoo-hak, it’s okay. They must have a plan. They’ll probably control the number of people, and they’ll distinguish between important guests and the general public!”

Joo-ri desperately tried to defend him, but to me, it just looked like she was struggling to come up with excuses.

Kim Ga-eul was deep in thought, but it probably wasn’t anything important.

“Ha.”

And Cheon Yoo-hak? He had regained his usual cool composure before, but after staring blankly at the airship for a while, he let out a chuckle.

“This is crazy.”

We desperately held back our laughter, saddened by the fact that we couldn’t do anything but watch him as his face cooled but his ears turned bright red.

Seriously, though.

Was this the thought process of a character in a novel?

Sending an airship into the sky and preparing a parade to celebrate his 17-year-old son’s birthday? I wanted to ask him if this decision was really sound, both as the chairman of Korea’s top corporation and as a parent of a teenage son.

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Back home, Cheon Yoo-hak, for the first time in his life, contemplated death.

Well, his birthdays were always extravagant.

He had seen many gifts, political figures, and parties, and when he was very young, large celebrations were a given.

…Come to think of it, this was the first time his birthday was celebrated on such a grand scale since that incident.

The day he first met Kang So-hyun.

After the day he had caused that unbelievable incident and So-hyun alone stood up to him, his father and family became quiet, as if in self-reflection.

-Aren’t you scared of me…?

He knew it wasn’t true now, but back then, he thought his family was afraid of him.

He was too young to realize back then that everyone was keeping their distance for his own sake.

Perhaps it was childish of him to ask that question to the only person who still talked to him after that.

Yes, perhaps after hearing that answer… he started to truly consider him a friend.

-What are you talking about? You got your ass kicked by me~ Yeah, I’m not scared at all! Hehehe!

Ah, no. Back then, he thought he would punch that smiling face.

“Ah, Yoo-hak, you’re back?”

“Hmm? Sister? It’s unusual to see you home on a weekday.”

“It’s been a while since your birthday was celebrated this grandly. Father specifically asked me to make sure you attended.”

“My birthday is on Friday. We still have some time.”

“Yes, but do you think Father will listen?”

“…I apologize.”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault. Seeing that airship today, I bet you’re having the hardest time.”

…If his father did this as his mental strength training because he was worried about his son’s weak mentality, he wanted to beg him to stop, but he could still endure it for now.

“Ah, is So-hyun coming too? I heard Na-hyun is healthy now.”

“Yes, I think he’ll come. Some other friends are also coming.”

“…Oh my, you have friends other than So-hyun?”

“I’m well aware that my personality is a hindrance to smooth social interactions. But I do have some close friends, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh, our Yoo-hak is all grown up. Ah, I want to see So-hyun again after a long time. He’s still quite handsome, judging by the pictures Na-hyun sent me.”

…Considering what had happened in their childhood, the words “I definitely don’t want to see him there” rose to his throat, but he held back.

If he said that, his sister would definitely bother him.

“Huu, anyway, I hope Father doesn’t plan on doing anything else.”

“Hmm, that’s unlikely.”

“…Yes?”

“Actually, I was going to tell you…”

Just as his sister was about to speak, he heard his father yelling from afar.

“It’s not enough…!!!!”

…Not enough? What? How much more embarrassing could it get?

“A common birthday party like this can’t be called the best…!”

Well? He didn’t think there were many people who experienced a birthday party like this.

His father burst out of his room, spread his symbolic pure white wings, and flew towards them.

“I thought about it, and I don’t think a party that’s just big and flashy can be called the best.”

“I’m sure this isn’t the case, but if you’re thinking of scaling it down, I’m all for it.”

“It’s already not enough, what are you talking about scaling down?”

Did I do something to upset him recently?

No.

He must be doing this for me.

This is crazy.

“As expected.”

“…Yes.”

“It lacks love.”

“…Yes?”

“Youth is all about love! Isn’t that the topic your age group is most interested in?”

Well, he couldn’t say that was entirely wrong, but it varied from person to person, didn’t it…?

At least he was more interested in martial arts than love.

“But if we make it a casual event like a matchmaking party, it would be difficult for the older guests to enjoy themselves, and we’ve also invited state guests.”

That’s a relief. No, is it?

“So, the theme of your birthday party this time is a ball.”

It wasn’t a relief at all…!

“F-Father, by any chance, is the ‘ball’ you’re referring to the martial way, the ‘Mu-Do’ that a martial artist should uphold?”

“That sounds interesting, but a ball is about dancing and socializing, isn’t it?”

“Father.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Can you please reconsider…?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to force it on ordinary citizens. It’s a ball held in the main building, only for invited guests like state guests and your friends.”

It seemed his father was fixated on the ball theme.

At this point, there was no way to stop him unless he forcibly took over as the head of the family.

Once he made up his mind, he would do it.

That was his father’s motto.

“I have to rewrite the invitations! Tell them to bring partners!”

His father said that, flapped his wings, and flew back to his room.

…How was he going to face them tomorrow?

Actually, he thought he knew why his father was acting like this.

The talk about youth and their interests was probably a bluff.

He was probably planning to introduce the daughter-in-law candidates he had in mind, the women he had chosen as his son’s potential wives.

…And he probably also wanted to see the kids’ romantic relationships.

A father concerned about his son’s friends’ love lives…

He always respected his father, but today…

“…This is terrible.”

This was truly, utterly terrible.

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T/N – Holy shit! This is already a complete and utter social death. RIP Cheon Yoo-hak. You died too young.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.