The Person in the Spotlight

The day they actually boarded the ship, Class D's chaos started with the supplies.

The division of labor on paper was one thing.

Actually piling supply crates, backpacks, ropes, medicine, and water bags in front of everyone was another.

"Isn't this way too heavy?"

"Why do I have to carry the communal medicine?"

"Wasn't the load supposed to be light? Why is there still this?"

"Who's sorting out the girls' things?"

Before everyone had even boarded, the dockside had already descended into chaos.

Water bags were picked up, then quickly set back beside the crates.

The first-aid kit was passed back and forth between two boys.

The clipboard did not look large normally, but when it actually had to be stuffed into a backpack, everyone frowned first.

Horikita tried to suppress things with a few words.

It worked.

But not enough.

When she spoke, the front quieted down somewhat, but people in the back still clung to their shoulder straps without letting go.

Hirata was soothing people while redistributing the loads.

Kushida was also quietly explaining things to the girls, trying to keep those who were already nervous from becoming even more tense.

But when there were too many people and the lines got tangled, every issue ultimately crowded toward the same place.

Gu Heng.

"Gu Heng, who exactly is carrying this clipboard?"

"Should this bag of spare water be split up again?"

"Who's taking the route terminal later?"

"Who's turning in the responsible-person information to the teachers?"

One question after another.

Gu Heng stood beside the pile of supply crates, still holding the list he had just finished revising.

The clipboard, water bags, and medicine packs were passed toward him one after another.

Gu Heng lowered his gaze and pressed down on the list.

The clipboard, terminal, and medicine packs were all on his side.

His fingers tightened around the list, then quickly relaxed.

"Gu Heng."

Horikita called out to him from not far away.

Her voice was still cold, but she did not pull back the sheet in her hand.

"The teachers are collecting the first round of supply lists and basic route declarations." She looked at him. "Are you going, or am I?"

Horikita extended the sheet in her hand by half an inch, then stopped.

Gu Heng glanced at the sheet in her hand before turning toward the teachers.

Several students from other classes nearby also looked over from between the supply crates and Class D's group.

Gu Heng pressed the list into his palm, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those students from the other classes.

"I'll go."

When those two words fell, even the sheet in Hirata's hand remained suspended in midair.

Horikita also went quiet for a moment.

Her fingertips lightly tightened against her cuff.

"What about here?" she asked.

"Follow the chain here." Gu Heng raised his voice slightly, directly bringing everyone still causing a commotion into line. "From now on, there are only three reporting channels."

"Loads, emotions, and special situations involving the girls go through Hirata and Kushida first."

"Discipline, execution, and whether the situation on-site can hold up go through Horikita."

"Routes, overall supply coordination, and external negotiations go through me."

"No one else gets clever and changes things on their own."

The dockside grew much quieter at once.

Several people who were about to speak stopped.

Even the boy who had been clutching his shoulder strap just now set his bag back down by his feet.

Yamauchi asked instinctively, "What if I think my share could be made a little lighter?"

"Go find Hirata," Gu Heng said.

"If you're trying to slack off, he'll send you right back first."

The corner of Hirata's mouth had just started to twitch upward before he suppressed it, shifting the sheet in his hand to the other hand.

Still, he cooperatively added, "Explain your reasons first. I'll help you review it again."

Kushida also quickly drew two girls over to her side.

Horikita swept a cold gaze over the back row, and the complaints that had just begun to surface were forced back down.

At this point, even Sudo did not interrupt recklessly anymore.

He only picked up his own bag, muttered an impatient "Hurry up," and returned to the front-line chain.

As Gu Heng headed toward the teachers with the supply list and terminal, many people behind him stopped what they were doing.

Class D students.

Students from other classes.

And those who were clearly busy with their own things but still looked up.

The teacher responsible for collecting the documents took the sheet and glanced over it.

"Class D representative?"

Gu Heng nodded.

"For now."

The teacher made no comment and simply pressed the supply list down.

"The route declaration follows this?"

"Yes."

"And the supply and personnel information follows this as well?"

"Yes."

As those questions were asked, students from other classes happened to be standing nearby.

When Gu Heng drew back the terminal, the teacher's pen had already made a mark beneath the "Representative" field.

The questioning voices that had been in disarray behind him also paused when that stroke landed.

Over by Class C, Ishizaki was carrying a bag on his shoulder, waiting for someone with an impatient look on his face.

When he saw Gu Heng standing before the teacher, his steps halted, and even the bag on his shoulder slipped down a little.

The next second, his mouth turned downward, and he hitched the bag back up on his shoulder.

"What's this?" Hashimoto tilted his head with a smile as he passed by. "Is Gu Heng personally leading the team this time?"

Gu Heng turned his head and answered briefly without stopping.

"Someone has to make the handover clear."

Hashimoto's smile deepened slightly.

"That's true."

The exchange was not particularly harsh.

But the people nearby who heard it had already turned to look.

When Gu Heng finished handing everything over and turned around, Horikita was standing where she was, watching him.

She said nothing.

Her fingertips tightened at her cuff again before she turned her chin away.

Her jaw was tighter than usual.

"Do you regret it?" Gu Heng asked quietly when he returned.

"What?"

"Letting things become like this."

Horikita was silent for two seconds.

"No," she said. "It's just annoying."

Gu Heng nodded lightly.

"Then keep being annoyed."

"You're still terrible at comforting people."

"I wasn't comforting you."

After saying that, he handed the terminal directly to Hirata.

"Once we board, count everyone again in the first round."

Hirata took the terminal, pressing his thumb against the edge of the roster as he marked the people who had switched bags at the last minute.

"I'll add in those who changed bags temporarily too."

"For the girls' nighttime discomfort, have Kushida collect it first."

Kushida had already led two girls toward the other side. Hearing him, she looked back, her smile restrained.

"Got it. I won't ask openly."

"Don't let Sudo's group go all out right from the start."

Sudo clicked his tongue from a distance but did not argue back in the end.

"Horikita, watch the discipline."

Horikita only loosened her cuff.

"Just make sure nothing happens with the route."

"I'll check the route and staggered load distribution."

She turned and went to suppress the few people in the back who were still whispering arguments.

As that chain began to run, Gu Heng stopped speaking instead.

After the ferry started moving, the wind on deck was a little stronger than it had been by the dock.

Gu Heng stood by the railing, lowering his head as he scrolled through the personnel assignments on the terminal.

His thumb moved from Sudo's group to Hirata's, then paused for half a second beside Horikita's name.

"You stepped up faster than I expected."

A flat voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Ayanokoji.

Gu Heng did not turn around.

"Didn't you say it was already too late?"

"I was only reminding you." Ayanokoji came to stand beside him. "I didn't expect you to barely hesitate at all."

Gu Heng looked out at the sea, his voice calm.

"Because compared to whether I feel comfortable or not, I'd rather not wait until we get to the island to watch Class D fall apart on the spot again."

Ayanokoji did not respond.

He only rested his coffee can against the railing, its bottom lightly touching the metal bar, while his fingers stopped turning it.

The island drew closer and closer.

The wind swept across the deck and through the groups, making several uncollected declaration papers rustle loudly.

As they approached the other side of the deck, someone from Class C chuckled quietly.

The sound was not loud.

After laughing, that person deliberately tilted his head in this direction.

"There's no point teasing Sudo now."

"If you want to tease someone, tease the one standing at the front."

Not far away, Ryuuen leaned against the railing without speaking, only pressing the water bottle in his hand into his palm.

Gu Heng did not turn around.

The laughter behind him stopped after those two remarks, but its lingering echo trailed behind him for a long while before fading.

Someone in the distance laughed, then quickly stopped.

The fingers gripping the railing slowly tightened.

Several turned shadows reflected on the railing, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

The ferry cut through the water and moved forward.

The island's silhouette grew larger and larger.

Sudo was still a thorn.

But what would be watched next was no longer just one thorn.

It was the entire framework.