episode_0027

“It’s rare for four students to come for inquiries at the same time, but it’s nice to meet you.”

The guidance counselor seemed pleased, perhaps expecting an increase in enrollments. He cheerfully explained the current curriculum and scholarship benefits.

“As you are all current students, you will be initially assigned to our regular classes based on your school grades. If you wish to take additional courses, such as intensive exam preparation or summer school, you can apply for those separately. Please fill in your personal information here…”

We quietly filled in our personal details while listening to the counselor’s eloquent explanation.

As I obediently signed the registration form, Kim Noeul glanced at me.

“So, you’re going to register after all?”

“Well, there’s no harm in it. And Doa senior agreed to help me with my studies.”

“What? What do you mean, help?”

“Maru junior offered to tutor me one-on-one. I accepted his offer.”

When Kim Noeul questioned with a cold expression, Handoa responded casually as if it were of no consequence. Seeing Handoa’s calm face, Kim Noeul’s expression darkened.

“Then I’ll teach you. As a reward for helping recruit new members as the head of counseling.”

When Kim Noeul proposed this to Handoa, he looked at her silently and then spoke.

“Is Maru junior better academically than me?”

“W-well…”

“It’s not that Noeul can’t do it. Being second isn’t so bad…”

“But I heard Maru junior is the top student in the second year.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll learn from Maru junior.”

As Handoa concluded, Kim Noeul angrily scribbled her signature on the registration form.

“I, I also want to learn from Maru.”

Even timid Nayuna finished signing the form.

After completing the registration process, we followed the teacher to our regular class. It seemed like they were prioritizing us for the regular class experience due to the final exam period.

“The second-year regular class is here, and the third-year regular class is downstairs. Two third-year students, please follow me.”

Handoa and Nayuna obediently followed the teacher. Nayuna looked back and waved at me and Kim Noeul as she walked. Handoa slightly nodded his head to us with a stern expression.

“I hope Senior Yuna will be okay.”

Kim Noeul looked at Nayuna with the expression of a mother sending off her daughter, who was oblivious to the ways of the world. I felt a similar sentiment.

“Don’t worry. With Doa-senior by your side, as long as things don’t go terribly wrong, no one will dare to touch you.”

The archenemy of delinquent students, Han Doa, was the head of the disciplinary committee at Ojakgyo High School. As long as she stuck close to Nayuna, no one would dare to bother her unless some high-ranking official suddenly appeared from Ojakgyo Bridge.

“Is that the 2nd-year college prep class over there?”

Kim Noeul and I entered the classroom labeled ‘College Prep Class – 2nd Year.’ It was break time, so some students were chatting or napping.

It wasn’t just Haneul High students; there were many students in unfamiliar uniforms like those of Hankook High and Dowon High.

“Hankook High is where Jegal Yeonhwa attends, and Dowon High is where Lee Ji-hye is enrolled.”

With students from various schools mixed together, it was natural that there would be many incidents. In fact, many events occurred near the academy district in the original work.

That was one of the reasons I enrolled in this school.

“Oh, Kim Noeul? Are you attending this academy?”

A girl approached Kim Noeul with a delighted expression. She was from Haneul High. Kim Noeul’s face brightened upon meeting her friend.

“I just enrolled today. The final exams are coming up soon.”

“Why bother trying to improve your grades even more?”

The girl, looking puzzled, immediately understood when she saw me behind Kim Noeul.

“Oh… was that it? It won’t be easy.”

“What’s not easy? Things will be different during the finals.”

“Maru will take good care of you. Well, Maru, bye.”

“Uh.”

The girl awkwardly greeted us, stumbling over her words. Though she was a stranger, it was hard to ignore her attempt at greeting.

When I responded, the girl’s eyes lit up. She was thrilled and continued the conversation.

“But after your next class, you’ll take a level test, right? Your detailed curriculum will change based on that.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“You guys will probably end up in the S class anyway.”

Upon hearing the mention of the S class, I became uneasy.

“Do we have to take extra classes just because of a special class? That could be problematic.”

I prefer a flexible schedule, so this isn’t good news for me.

“Do we have to take more classes if it’s an S class?”

“No? You can actually skip most of the classes and study in the self-study room. You might even get priority to buy practice test sets.”

The female student answered my question with a very friendly face. Fortunately, it seems there’s nothing for me to worry about.

At that moment, students near us murmured.

“Ugh, it’s so noisy. Go outside if you want to be loud.”

“Do they have no manners?”

They were female students wearing Doweon High School uniforms. But the funny thing was that just a moment ago, they themselves had been making noise.

In other words, it was a clear provocation.

“Isn’t it break time right now?”

In response to Kim Noeul’s question, their expressions twisted.

“Some people study during break time. What if they disturb them by being loud?”

“Have some etiquette.”

The girls confidently retorted. I scrutinized their uniforms.

-SC.

It was a trademark name operated by Representative Im Ju-hee, who had given me her business card before. That uniform wasn’t the typical Korean high school uniform.

It was the uniform worn by students from Ojak High School. The uniform that Jeon Yeon-hwa had told her gang to wear.

The close friend of Kim Noeul seemed to have realized that they were from Ojak High School and sighed as she bowed first.

“Okay, we’re sorry.”

“Now that you know.”

They curtly replied and started chatting among themselves again. Kim Noeul stared at the back of their heads without saying anything.

…That expression was the same as when she confronted An Hyojin.

– Class is starting in 1 minute.

A voice came through the ceiling speakers.

“Alright, let’s take our seats now.”

The teacher who had come into the classroom early began preparing for the lesson while waking the students up.

“Hey, Kim Noeul. Let’s go to our seats quickly.”

As I pulled her along with my arm linked with hers, she obediently followed.

The class was boring. It happened to be a math class, and the problems weren’t difficult, probably considering the level of the students in my grade.

I stopped solving the problems and observed the two female students who had argued with us earlier.

One of them was struggling with the problems, muttering to herself, while the other was blatantly copying.

“I should find out how many Ojakgyo students there are in this school first. If the number is too high, we may need to consider our options for a while. If the number is lower than expected, we can take the initiative from our side.

After considering this, I glanced at Kim Noeul sitting next to me. She was gazing at the blackboard with her long hair cascading down, her chin resting on her hand. I’ve noticed before, not only her front profile but her side profile is particularly striking.

Her high nose bridge and sharp jawline accentuated her sculpted features when viewed from the side. Seeing her like this, I could understand the sentiments of the female fandom who went crazy over the original Kim Noeul.

‘What are you thinking about during class?’

I stopped admiring Kim Noeul’s appearance and focused on the lesson. Because I concentrated hard, the class seemed to end quickly. The teacher bid us to have a good day as he left the classroom, and most of the students stretched and left the room.

Shortly after, the teacher who had counseled us approached.

“Maru and Noeul, could you come with me for a moment?”

“Yes.”

Kim Noeul and I followed the teacher’s guidance and went out into the corridor.

“In fact, you two don’t need to take the level test.”

“Pardon?”

When Kim Noeul expressed doubt, the teacher added an explanation.

“The personal information you entered earlier? When I checked the academic performance integration system, both of you are top students. Depending on your internal grades, half of your placement is determined immediately.”

He paused his explanation for a moment and handed us two printouts and entry cards. They contained information about the S-class curriculum and benefits.

“You can read through that and start attending from tomorrow. In fact, attendance is optional for both of you. Oh, of course, you must attend important exams.”

‘If attendance is optional, we could save a lot of time, couldn’t we?’

It was an unexpected benefit. It would be so convenient to quietly appear at the academy only when something happens. With time unexpectedly on our hands, Kim Noeul and I stood quietly in the corridor.

“Um… should we go to the third-year floor and wait for the other two?”

I nodded in agreement with Kim Noeul’s suggestion. The two of us went down to the third-year floor.”

Fortunately, just as the third-year midterm class ended, Nayuna and Hana, who were coming out of the classroom, came into view.

“Seniors.”

I called out to the two. They approached us with somewhat puzzled expressions.

“How was the class?”

I asked, and the two girls looked at each other before responding.

“It was decent.”

“It seemed fine.”

“Really?”

Thankfully, it seems they can keep up with the pace of the third-year midterm class. It means they’re not complete novices.

However, Senior Hana suddenly expressed dissatisfaction, crossing her arms.

“But aside from the class content, the atmosphere around here is terrible.”

“The atmosphere?”

When Kim Noeul inquired, Hana pointed to the classroom with her finger, expressing frustration.

“There are a lot of students slouching or dressed poorly. There were even those who threatened other students. If it were on the streets, I would have disciplined them right away.”

It seemed her leadership qualities weren’t properly utilized in the academy, leaving her frustrated.

At that moment, there was a commotion in the distance.

“If we catch you, you’re dead!”

“We’ll beat you up~.”

Two young-looking students rushed past us, one teasing the other while running away.

Their school uniforms were unlike anything we had seen at our academy.

“Look at those troublemakers causing harm around here.”

Hana clicked her tongue as if it were the end of the world.

“They’re middle schoolers.”

As I surmised their identities, Nayuna was taken aback.

“There are middle schoolers here?”

“There’s a curriculum where middle school students come to the academy for intensive classes in preparation for high school. Those kids must be from outside the academy.”

Kim Noeul answered in my place.

“I see. The scale of the academy is larger than I thought.”

“How did you know that, Noeul?”

When Hana asked, Kim Noeul remained silent, avoiding an answer. Hana smirked but didn’t press further.

“Ouch!”

One of the middle schoolers who had been running far ahead collided with a high school student. However, the high school student they bumped into was the same girl who had confronted us earlier.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, brat!”

“Why are these brats causing a ruckus indoors?”

Two female students exuded a sinister atmosphere, causing the middle schoolers to stiffen with fear, their expressions frozen. They were so terrified that they couldn’t even utter an apology.

“Aren’t you going to apologize?”

“S-Sorry….”

“Damn, not even willing to apologize once. You’re shameless. Get lost, you idiots.”

“Did your dad tell you to run around like that?”

Even the passing students seemed to realize something had happened as they turned their gaze toward the four students. As the situation seemed to escalate, Nayuna was at a loss for what to do.

“Sh-shouldn’t we stop this?”

“We should intervene before it gets worse.”

As Hana tried to step in, another female student interjected into the situation.

“It was wrong to run around, but there’s no need to overreact like that.”

The girl who spoke wore the same uniform as the frightened students; she was also a middle schooler.

“And who are you?”

“Stop messing around and go on your way.”

Despite the threats from the two high schoolers, the middle schooler resolutely protected the two younger students.

She wasn’t just an ordinary extra. It was because her face bore a striking resemblance to someone I knew.

Yes, she looked just like Kim Noeul, who was running over there.

“Yeah, she looks ready to blow up.”

I followed behind Kim Noeul as she inserted herself between the high school and middle school students. She shot a cold glance at the high school girls.

The middle schooler, who had been wearing a determined expression, murmured softly as she watched Kim Noeul’s back.

“Sis…?”

“I don’t want any trouble at the academy, so just go.”

Kim Noeul warned the high school students with a restrained tone.

“You were making a scene in the classroom earlier, weren’t you? Who do you think you are telling us to go?”

Naturally, they didn’t even bother to listen to Kim Noeul.

“I’m holding back a lot right now… I just told you to go.”

“You think you’re all that, huh~.”

The girls mocked Kim Noeul as they laughed.