The entrance ceremony was boring.
Looking back to my middle school graduation, I had no friends to be happy to see here, and it wasn’t like I was eager to make new friends either. Naturally, I had no particular interest in the school, so there was no excitement or anything.
What made my high school life enjoyable was thanks to my close friends. Ye Sara was actually a child who was bullied. I didn’t know what the cause was. But no matter what that cause was, I wasn’t keen on trying to get close to those who bullied Ye Sara.
The kids were chattering away. They were saying the new uniforms suited them or that they were happy to see each other again. After all, the world of the elite was all about connections, right? The kids were busy seeking out those they had known since childhood, looking for someone advantageous.
Of course, during all this, not a single kid approached me.
“…….”
Is this a cool disease?
As I stared blankly out the window, I suddenly felt this thought and slightly furrowed my brow.
In reality, it’s not that the world has no interest in me, but that I have no interest in the world~ which is usually just self-justification. The concepts of being ‘unable’ and ‘not wanting’ are clearly different.
“Um, um….”
In fact, if I think about it, I didn’t have that many friends. There was that one friend I’d sat next to in high school who was reading a light novel and we ended up bonding over that, or those who were friends with that friend and eventually became my friends… Anyway, at the point where I graduated university and even served in the military, not many of those friends were in contact with me anymore.
“Hey, um…”
I began to seriously contemplate.
Could it be that I have been a complete loner to the core? Just settling with the fact that I had friends I consistently kept in touch with for over ten years and perhaps excessively distanced myself from making new connections? The reason I didn’t have a girlfriend was probably just an issue with my attitude, right?
“Ah, hello?”
No, logically speaking, my appearance probably contributed to my inability to become part of the popular crowd. Of course, I thought my looks were above average, but self-confidence is heavily influenced by appearance. Beautiful and handsome people are praised by those around them from a young age—
“Hello!?”
“Ahh!?”
Suddenly, someone shouted right next to my ear, making me let out a weird sound without meaning to. I jumped in surprise and then fell back down, landing hard on my chair. With my frame being rather slender, it felt like my bones hit the chair directly, and my butt hurt like crazy.
What’s going on? What just happened?
I looked around, unable to grasp the situation. Was it because of the kid who screamed in my ear or was it me making that bizarre sound? The chatter from just a moment ago had suddenly stopped.
“Uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shout out loud…”
I was shocked that there was a kid brave enough to speak directly to me.
Turning to where the sound came from, could it be Lee Soo-ah, the one I took a photo with recently?
…But my expectations were completely off.
The kid standing where I was looking was emitting a fierce light. A brightness so intense that I couldn’t stare directly at her.
…What is this? Is she Jesus? Did she think I was so pitiful that she sent me an adult to be my friend from heaven?
Well, that’s not likely. More likely, my sixth sense was kicking in again. It was the same kind of feeling I had when I saw Lee Soo-ah at graduation.
Anyway, it was really useless. I needed to interpret that light coming from her face, otherwise it was just going to get in the way of my life.
Squinting up to take a better look, I could barely make out her face.
A neat face. Dark brown eyes. And a brown ponytail. She had a good figure, but unlike Lee Soo-ah I saw yesterday, it wasn’t overly prominent – just about nice-looking.
…Wait a second, a brown ponytail?
In this world, which generally has more colorful hair than reality, a brown ponytail is a fairly normal hairstyle. So, my guess could be off. But it could be off, but…
Damn it, just when I try to check her name tag, that fierce light came down to her chest and blocked it from view.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
In the end, unable to read her name, I asked her.
“Uh? Ah, my name is….”
The girl who hesitated momentarily while looking at me cleared her throat and then replied.
“I’m Yoo Ha-neul. We’re in the same class from today. Nice to meet you.”
Right, that was her name.
The heroine from ‘if you wish’ I watched on a streamer’s broadcast. The default name of the character that the player controls.
Brown ponytail, dark brown eyes. A lively and cute image.
That was the common description of the protagonist from that game.
That hero was extending her hand toward me.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I took her hand and replied.
“…I’m Ye Sara.”
“Ye Sara? What a pretty name.”
I heard the buzzing noise around me, but I didn’t mind.
This girl, shaking hands with me in front of me, was the only savior who could turn my planned destruction into a blessing in the future.
…So, is that glow coming from her face?
I’ll have to think about this carefully later.
*
The entrance ceremony was exciting.
And saying it was exciting meant it was just as nerve-wracking.
Especially if a student had no friends to talk to.
Yoo Ha-neul had enjoyed her middle school days precisely because she had so many close friends. Laughing and chatting together, going home together after school, she had companions who made each day not feel lonely.
But in high school, that wouldn’t be the case.
Naturally, Yoo Ha-neul had finally entered the long-awaited Hwayoung High School.
Hwayoung High School, called the best high school in South Korea, was a dream for every teenager. From the top-notch uniforms designed by elite designers to the school buildings constructed by stellar architects, and the finest faculty. Moreover, only those with top talent, or those who could afford the hefty tuition, could attend that school.
There’s a joke that if you make friends at Hwayoung High School, you could live off the lunch they provide for life… so it was famously frequented by the children of the financial and political elite.
Thus, there were quite a few bad rumors circulating, but in the students’ eyes, it was simply an object of longing.
There were several ways to enroll in Hwayoung High School.
The easiest way was to graduate from Hwayoung Middle School. Since it was run by the same foundation, no grades were required for entry. The same went for middle school, so if you graduated from Hwayoung Elementary School, you could attend middle school and high school as well – assuming you could regularly pay those hefty tuition fees.
Enrolling from outside wasn’t particularly difficult either. Hwayoung High School didn’t cut students based on grades. If they did, some students might not rise from middle school. The school had no intention of cutting out their long-term “customers.”
However, the school still had performance metrics to meet as “a school.”
So every year, they chose scholarship students who were completely exempt from those hefty tuition fees. The tests to become those scholarship students were incredibly difficult, so from the outside looking in, it looked like only kids with great talent and wealth could attend Hwayoung High School.
Yoo Ha-neul was one such “external student.”
Naturally, she had painful goodbyes with the friends she had known well during graduation – although they immediately met up and played again the next day – and she had no acquaintance among the kids who had been attending this school since middle school.
That said, it wasn’t as if no one spoke to her. There were indeed kids who approached her upon laying eyes on her for the first time.
“Hey! You have a new face! What’s your name?”
“Um, uh? Ah, I’m Yoo Ha-neul.”
The slightly nervous Yoo Ha-neul replied like that.
“Yoo Ha-neul? Oh, are you from Yoo Gajaemyeon?”
“Yoo Gajaemyeon?”
When Yoo Ha-neul tilted her head, the kid appeared deep in thought as a question mark floated above his head.
“Oh, then is it that ‘Yoo’ from Yoo Jeoyak?”
“Yoo, Yoo Jeoyak?”
Why suddenly a pharmaceutical company name?
As flustered as Yoo Ha-neul was, the kid seemed equally bewildered.
“Ah, sorry. That’s the limit of my knowledge. Is it okay to ask what your parents do?”
Why suddenly about my parents…?
“Uh, they just work at a company…”
“Ah….”
The kid’s face instantaneously transformed into one of discomfort.
“Are you an external student? A scholarship student?”
“Yeah, I’m a scholarship student…”
“Oh~ I see. That explains it.”
Only then did the kid nod as if it all made sense and said, “Ah, I have other friends, so I’m going to go greet them.” and swiftly left.
At least this was a lengthy interaction, as normally kids would ask one or two questions and lose interest before moving on. That happened two or three times until there was no one left around her.
What’s going on? Did I do something wrong…?
Yoo Ha-neul absentmindedly sniffed at her body. There was no smell at all.
Could it be my attitude? Was there a certain etiquette that rich kids had to adhere to?
Even after sitting there for a while thinking, no answers came.
“…Alright.”
If they don’t come to me, I’ll just go to them.
With that thought, Yoo Ha-neul sprang up from her seat. With determination, she walked over to where the kids were huddled, hoping to get closer to her classmates.
However, once the kids noticed Yoo Ha-neul approaching, they chuckled among themselves and began to distance themselves.
Yoo Ha-neul’s steps halted as well. Even someone as oblivious as her couldn’t help but understand the situation when faced with such an attitude.
“…”
Yoo Ha-neul’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
So this… is it bullying or something?
Although she couldn’t be entirely sure… she would usually make at least one or two friends on the first day of the semester, so the kids’ reaction was even more shocking.
“…”
In the end, Yoo Ha-neul turned on her heels. She shifted her feet towards other kids a few times but soon realized that everyone in the classroom subtly avoided her.
…No, it wasn’t ‘everyone.’
There was exactly one person who didn’t avoid Yoo Ha-neul.
Of course, not avoiding her didn’t mean that girl showed any interest in her. No, looking closely, she appeared to have no interest in anyone in the classroom.
There were no kids around her. However, perhaps due to her aloof attitude as she stared blankly out the window, it seemed less like she was being bullied and more like she simply wanted to be alone.
“Alright.”
Let’s try talking to that girl.
Who knows? With nobody approaching her, she might be an external student as well.
Though her hair was incredibly well groomed, but still.
And the way she propped her chin seemed so elegant.
Looking at her snow-white skin, it seemed she didn’t go out much.
In fact, saying she was alone was merely an excuse; I just wanted to try talking because I was drawn to such an attractive-looking girl. Being alone caught my eye, but her looks made her even more noticeable.
“Um, um—”
As Yoo Ha-neul cautiously approached her and spoke, the surrounding chatter lowered a bit.
I could feel curious gazes glancing our way.
“You know….”
Though a bit intimidated by the focused attention, Yoo Ha-neul steadied herself to speak once more.
But the girl, still staring blankly out the window, showed no signs of responding. What was she thinking so deeply about?
“Ah, hi!”
With all my might, I shouted my greeting.
“Ahh!?”
And just like that, the girl, who had been sitting gracefully with an incredibly pretty expression, surprisedly let out a bizarre sound and leaped up. The thump of her bottom hitting the chair rang out loudly.
Silence.
Unlike the giggling that had accompanied every time Yoo Ha-neul approached the other kids, a heavy silence followed, as if witnessing an unimaginable occurrence.
“Uh, um, sorry. I didn’t mean to shout…”
Amidst the sudden change in circumstances, she appeared confused and looked around. Yoo Ha-neul apologized.
The girl gazed up at Yoo Ha-neul upon hearing her voice. Her eyes narrowed as if she wasn’t pleased for some reason. The way she squinted her red eyes was somewhat frightening.
However, she still didn’t run away. She remained seated, listening to Yoo Ha-neul.
Though a bit intimidating, Yoo Ha-neul felt relieved by that fact.
The girl silently assessed Yoo Ha-neul with narrowed eyes for a moment before finally parting her lips.
“What’s your name?”
“Uh? Ah, my name is….”
If this girl hears my name, will she also have all sorts of speculations based on my last name? And what if she just coldly ignores me if she finds it unnecessary?
I wouldn’t know until I asked.
Yoo Ha-neul gulped nervously and replied.
“I’m Yoo Ha-neul. Starting today, we’re in the same class. Nice to meet you.”
Speaking as composedly as possible, she slowly articulated the words she had been thinking about.
The eyes that were previously evaluating her became even narrower. However, now those eyes looked less evaluative and more like someone smiling.
A beautiful smile that could mesmerize anyone who looked.
And that girl nonchalantly took the hand Yoo Ha-neul extended.
“I’m Ye Sara.”
A simple self-introduction, devoid of any evaluation or questions.
“Ye Sara? What a pretty name.”
Yoo Ha-neul genuinely thought so.
