In fact, I was a bit nervous.
No, it wasn’t because of Yoon Da-ho. It was because of Yoo Ha-neul’s sudden intrusion.
How did Yoon Da-ho and Yoo Ha-neul meet? I remember that scene very accurately.
Actually, it doesn’t even have to be accurate. It’s just that it was such a common scene I’d seen countless times in other works—primarily Korean dramas.
“What’s your deal?”
Yoon Da-ho said, glancing at Yoo Ha-neul. They had quite a height difference, but he wasn’t even considering lowering his head, so he had to look down to see her.
It was the classic bad boy angle straight out of a drama—like a rich, clueless heir meeting a heroine from a humble background.
“What are you supposed to be?”
Exactly. Yoo Ha-neul was a character inspired by the “poor but fierce and confident” heroines from Korean daily dramas. Naturally, she wouldn’t feel intimidated by a taller guy looking down on her.
Yoon Da-ho’s gaze returned to me, and it was clear he was silently asking, “What’s going on?”
“Let go of Sara’s arm. I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s talk it out.”
Yoo Ha-neul said that as if she was furious.
“Sara…?”
Yoon Da-ho was slightly taken aback. After all, with his personality, he wouldn’t have called Ye Sara so affectionately. He probably hadn’t seen kids like her being close to Ye Sara.
“What gives you the right to interrupt our conversation? How do you even know what we’re talking about?”
“I don’t know what you’re discussing, but if you want to talk, you should use words. Sara is in pain.”
“…”
Yoon Da-ho frowned.
Thinking about the game’s setup, this world, and the clichés in this school, Yoon Da-ho could be considered at the top of the social hierarchy within this school. Sure, one might think teen power isn’t all that significant, but that’s only from the perspective of those who aren’t part of this school. For students who must navigate the unspoken hierarchy and adhere to absolute rules to enjoy peaceful school days, it was a different story.
Besides, one would have to be careful when the person you report for bullying may not suffer any real consequences.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“My name?”
When Yoon Da-ho asked for her name, Yoo Ha-neul hesitated for a moment. Then she glanced at me—her head slightly turned over here, which led me to guess—and puffed her chest out as if showing off.
“I’m Yoo Ha-neul.”
“Yoo Ha-neul?”
Yoon Da-ho’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t remember that name.”
He said it like he had every student’s name memorized, but in reality, he didn’t. He only remembered the names of students who might be beneficial to him. After all, he was destined to operate the second-largest conglomerate in South Korea, so he had likely mapped out his relationships beforehand. Of course, that was more due to his family’s wishes than his own.
I knew this because I remembered the scene where Yoon Da-ho and Yoo Ha-neul were meeting.
“Why, is my name not in the list of notable heirs?”
Yoo Ha-neul shot back, sounding a little angry.
“Yeah, looks like you’re not that important.”
Yoon Da-ho replied indifferently, his face once again turning towards me.
“You—”
“I haven’t finished talking!”
As Yoon Da-ho was about to say something to me, Yoo Ha-neul interjected again. This time, she didn’t just charge in with words; she firmly grasped Yoon Da-ho’s arm.
“Why does it matter who’s child you are? Do the others think that way? Pointing out wrongdoings shouldn’t depend on wealth!”
However, having already recognized Yoo Ha-neul as an ‘unnecessary’ presence, Yoon Da-ho shot her a cold glare.
“If you were born into a nameless family and had to work hard to get here, you must have put in a ton of effort.”
Oh, here it comes. The classic “poor” line. The signature line from a rude heir protagonist.
Of course, it was also part of the script in “if you wish”.
“If you could go to school using someone else’s money, just be content with that and live a normal life. If you go to a good university and graduate with good grades, you might find a decent job later. Don’t interfere with other people’s complex situations.”
“Wha—what—You…”
Yoon Da-ho’s outrageous statement left Yoo Ha-neul speechless.
Yeah, this was exactly the scene. Of course, the details differed. Ye Sara wasn’t involved in that one. It was before when Yoo Ha-neul had bumped into him, apologizing and trying to help, only to be brushed off with that line.
…Makes it even ruder, thinking back.
Not to mention, I remembered that moment because I’d seen a similar line in other dramas, and the streamer had said, “Wow, this guy is done for,” and decided to switch routes.
But the issue was that this line was the pivotal event leading to entering Yoon Da-ho’s route.
In the end, the streamer tried to restart the game but had to reluctantly clear that route while getting bombarded with donations.
At that time, it was gut-bustingly funny.
Of course, this was my chance now.
A chance to be hated by Yoon Da-ho and get closer to the heroine, Yoo Ha-neul.
Since it was such an impressive scene, I already knew the lines that would come next.
“Poor—”
“Do you really think I know nothing just because I’m poor?”
I managed to deliver Yoo Ha-neul’s lines smoothly.
Of course, it was true that she had bumped into him without watching where she was going. So, she did apologize and tried to compensate for her torn clothes and slight scratches.
Yet, Yoon Da-ho coldly rejected that compensation and said that to Yoo Ha-neul.
Sure, uniforms at Hwayoung High School are expensive. Given that Yoon Da-ho only received top-notch treatment at a university hospital, he’d likely think hospital bills are hefty.
But that didn’t mean they were amounts someone from a ‘poor family’ couldn’t cover.
Even if uniforms were costly, they weren’t luxury items worth hundreds of thousands of won, and the treatment costs for minor injuries wouldn’t add up to much.
It’s actually Yoon Da-ho who knows nothing about poor families. It’s not all that different from a foreigner who barely knows about Korea asking, “Can you eat beef in Korea?”—a type of discrimination born from ignorance.
Yoon Da-ho’s mouth hung open. It seemed like Yoo Ha-neul, who had opened her mouth to say something, was momentarily at a loss for words too.
“Logically thinking, whether hitting someone is okay or not is just within the realm of morality, right? If you forget that just because you have money, that just means all the wealthy ones are idiots.”
I stared directly into Yoon Da-ho’s trembling eyes, which were bewildered. To be honest, I was just rambling out whatever came to mind, but that was enough to make Yoon Da-ho wonder why I was acting this way.
“And by the way, you’ve been going on about the poor thing, but I really don’t get what your criteria for that is. By my standards, you are no different from the poor. I don’t understand why someone ranked second in business is acting all high and mighty in front of the first place. To me, you and her are just measuring acorns.”
What? Jealous? You wanna fight? If you’re upset, then take the top spot. The rich fiancés boasting about their wealth do try to act all high and mighty.
Well, strictly speaking, this wasn’t a logical argument either. How big could the gap be between the first and second? At least it wouldn’t be a gap so monumental as to treat the poor and the second place like mere “acorns.”
At that point, I thought he might fire back with a counter, but Yoon Da-ho merely glared at me, seething but failing to retort.
“Hmm.”
For a moment, the surroundings fell silent. All the kids in the classroom, aside from Yoon Da-ho and Yoo Ha-neul, froze and stared at me.
Was my comment really that explosive?
Well, to think about it, all the other kids aside from Yoon Da-ho were below second place. If considered again, my comment would’ve been something that could land me on the news for disrespecting the entire nation if I’d said it outside the school.
“Ah, but she doesn’t know something.”
As I said that, I narrowed my eyes and looked at Yoo Ha-neul.
“I’m her fiancé.”
“…Huh? Wait, fiancé?!”
At my words, Yoo Ha-neul’s expression went blank for a moment before she shouted in shock. Yeah, I guess she’s still quite young to be talking about engagement.
“Well, it’s true that being engaged means I shouldn’t resort to violence. But would you mind letting go? My arm is starting to go numb.”
In fact, it wasn’t just numb; my fingertips had turned completely white. Now that I had shaken off his grip, it was evident that I had bruises where he had been holding me.
“…”
Having been hit by my nonsensical words, Yoon Da-ho finally let go of my wrist, though his eyes continued to glare at me.
What could that glare possibly mean?
“Shall we go?”
Since it was the entrance ceremony, I hadn’t even brought a bag, so there was no need to go inside and fetch anything. I didn’t really need something like an entrance guide, not unless it was the day of the ceremony.
“Uh, okay….”
Yoo Ha-neul replied a bit stiffly.
We left Yoon Da-ho, who still seemed to be simmering with anger, and headed towards the school exit.
Only then did I realize that the kids from the other class were crowded at the window, all staring our way.
What a flashy debut.
*
“Hey, does your arm hurt?”
After walking silently for a while, Yoo Ha-neul hurriedly caught up with me.
“Oh, this? Not really.”
In fact, it hurt a lot. Earlier, it hadn’t hurt much because Yoon Da-ho was gripping tightly, but now that I had been released, it started to throb, as if the fabric was chafing against it. Feeling a dull ache, it was definitely going to bruise.
But I didn’t want to let that show, so I decided to act tough. After all, since I was still in winter uniform, there was no chance of being found out.
“Uh, yeah, right…”
Seeing me so assertive and confrontational with Yoon Da-ho earlier, Yoo Ha-neul seemed a bit intimidated. Did I go overboard?
“Ah, alright!”
But that wasn’t the case at all.
“That place I mentioned earlier, the good restaurant! Want to go together? We finished early today—”
“Well…”
It was good to see Yoo Ha-neul’s mood lifting again, but that didn’t mean I could just go along with her.
Nearby the school gate, a black car was parked. And beside it stood Yang Hye-in, waiting.
And—
“Ha-neul!”
Outside the school gate, about six kids in different uniforms were gathered, waiting for us. They must be friends from middle school who enrolled in other high schools.
“Looks like your friends are waiting?”
“Um, but can’t we still hang out together… or not?”
Yoo Ha-neul glanced at me, her face momentarily showing some hesitation. Honestly, I couldn’t see her expression properly.
This instinct of mine is utterly useless. Yet, I could see that it was becoming more familiar over time; I figured that after a few months of seeing her every day, I’d be able to recognize her without squinting.
“Sorry, but I have plans, so I think I need to go first.”
Once I said that, Yoo Ha-neul finally nodded.
“Yeah… if you already have plans, then that can’t be helped. Well then…”
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”
I smiled and said that, and Yoo Ha-neul nodded, responding with a lackluster “Okay.”
At the school gate, we parted ways. I headed toward the black car going to the mansion while Yoo Ha-neul joined her friends who’d been waiting outside.
“Thank you for your hard work, young lady.”
As I reached the front of the car, Yang Hye-in bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet me. I nodded and accepted the greeting, glancing back at Yoo Ha-neul just before getting into the car.
Yoo Ha-neul was looking over at me, slightly hesitant in front of her friends.
When I waved my hand lightly, she finally smiled, waved back at me, and rejoined her friends.
“Seems like you made a friend.”
Yang Hye-in quietly asked.
Friend.
Friend…
It felt disingenuous to call her that since the reason I had started talking to her was so calculating. After all, my goal was merely to survive.
“…I guess?”
Not wanting to outright label her as a friend felt kind of painful for my conscience, so I answered somewhat ambiguously.
*
One of the kids, who had been marveling at how pretty the uniforms were and how amazing the school looked, asked Ha-neul.
“Oh, by the way, that girl who came out with you earlier. The one with the black hair who looked really composed. She was so pretty! Is she your friend? Already?”
“Uh…”
Although she had talked about school, Yoo Ha-neul stumbled, unable to continue with the whole story of her encounter earlier.
…She’s probably a friend?
But even while thinking that, Yoo Ha-neul couldn’t be certain.
Initially, she’d thought she could see people without any class consciousness, but when she talked to that guy who claimed to be her fiancé, she felt a distinct condescension.
Could it be that he’s from a wealthy family and considers those beneath him as irrelevant?
“Ha.”
What was I even thinking? Yoo Ha-neul couldn’t help but laugh out of sheer disbelief.
She was the first one to listen to Yoo Ha-neul’s words at school. Those words must have been aimed at defending herself.
Of course, since they lived in different environments, they couldn’t have exactly the same way of thinking. But she figured that gap could be bridged in time.
“Yeah, that’s right. She’s my first friend from this school.”
Yoo Ha-neul decided to think that way.
