episode_0003

Waking up at 6 o’clock has become a habit now.

I really enjoy the tranquility of the morning in this neighborhood.

Despite the annoyance of it after all these years, I washed my face with cold water to wake up and get rid of the sleepiness before heading out for a jog.

I quickly changed into my training clothes and left the empty house behind.

My parents in this world had to move to a different region this year due to work.

The house where one family used to live is a bit spacious, making it difficult to clean, but it doesn’t bother me much since I have experience living alone in my past life.

“Hoo, hoo.”

These days, light jogging doesn’t even make me out of breath, so I sprinted all out and felt my body warming up after a long time.

After circling the walking path a couple of times, I sat on a bench and drank water from the tumbler I brought.

“Huh?”

That’s when I saw an unusual sight in my eyes.

Even from a distance, a stunning blonde beauty was jogging just like me.

The cold impression she gave off and the subtle imbalance between her cool demeanor and flushed cheeks were incredibly attractive.

Even though I’ve been following the same route for a long time, she was someone I had never seen before.

I was absentmindedly cooling down my body and watching her when our eyes met for a brief moment.

“….”

In just about 3 seconds, our eyes met briefly. I quickly looked away first, feeling like I might get caught staring for no reason, and left the spot.

The path she was taking was originally the route I run….

I decided to purposely take a detour because following her might lead to misunderstandings.

“Probably the heroine, right?”

I’ve had my fair share of this world’s rice.

With that level of appearance, it’s a convincing guess.

She probably moved here to coincide with the start of high school.

I suddenly felt the streets getting crowded and headed back home.

After washing up, I changed into the uniform of the new school and prepared breakfast.

I quickly finished cleaning up after a simple meal of leftover meat soup from last night, kimchi that my mother packed before leaving, fried eggs, and half a bowl of rice, and tidied up the house.

Since the entrance ceremony was today, I only needed to be there by 9 o’clock, so I plugged in my earphones and enjoyed the massage chair for the remaining time.

They say your body gets sore as you age…. but it’s not my body, it’s my mind that’s getting old.

After about an hour of leisurely stretching my body, it was time to go.

I grabbed my school bag that I had left by the front door and put on the uniform I had laid out the night before.

It might not be necessary since it’s the day of the entrance ceremony, but I should bring it just in case.

With my preparations done, it was 8:20. Since I had agreed to meet the guys in 30 minutes, it was time to head out.

* * *

I walked towards the school in a leisurely manner.

As I walked from the residential area towards the subway station, I saw everyone had already gathered and was waiting.

The kids who had grown so much that you couldn’t call them little anymore were there.

Yoon Jiwoo holding her bare uniform jacket instead of a bag, looking unfazed.

Lee Se-ah, clasping her hands somewhat nervously, holding her bag.

And Lee So-yoon, carrying her bag on her back.

From afar, you could see the protagonist and the heroines who had quite distinctive personalities.

“You’re early.”

Raising my hand to greet them, I joined the group, and Jiwoo, with an excited voice, started chatting away.

“I’m so excited! I couldn’t even sleep properly last night.”

If you walk up the road from the intersection with the subway station to the hill, you’ll reach the Dawn High School.

The school, with a fairly large campus that could be mistaken for a university from a distance, was already visible.

Already, some high school boys and girls in the same uniform as us were seen walking down the street.

“They’re staring at us quite a lot.”

Whether it was the boys or the girls, they couldn’t help but sneak glances at us.

We were quite a noticeable group.

I subtly stepped back halfway.

In middle school, I could feel it, but as a high school student, the secondary sexual characteristics came, and the appearance of the main characters became their prime, now the gazes are very blatant.

Whispering

“Hey, look, it’s Yoon Jiwu in the middle of the night.”

“Wow~ You did well coming in the middle of the night.”

“Who is that? He’s handsome too.”

“I think he’s Yoon Jiwu’s friend.”

Whispering

“Wow. Is that Lee Se-ah?”

“Who is next to her? She’s also really cute.”

“That’s Han Yul-jung Lee So-yoon. She was famous too.”

Hmm….

To hang out with Yoon Jiwu’s group, you have to get used to these gazes.

I tried not to pay too much attention… but still, it’s inevitable that it’s a bit burdensome, so I slowed down my steps a bit and tried to fall back half a step more.

“Jina?”

“Yeah.”

Lee So-yoon, who was walking on my right, grabbed me.

“Why are you falling behind?”

“Oh… it’s nothing.”

I had nothing to say, so I mumbled and was dragged by Lee So-yoon to join the guys again. Ugh.

Yoon Jiwu and Lee Se-ah, who were walking on my left, also sent questioning glances.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Just something got into my shoe.”

I brushed off the suspicious excuse of something actually being in my shoe, bowed my head slightly, and walked down the street playing a mobile game.

Darn it. In my past life, I was a nerd.

Even though I thought I had gotten used to it by hanging out together, it’s still a bit difficult.

* * *

Saebek High School is a unique school in the world of romantic comedy.

Everyone finishes their basic classes by 3 o’clock, but depending on their activities after that, they can decide their own career path.

Like the class system in college, they do after-school activities.

There are academic specialized classes, arts and physical education specialized classes as the basics, and various kinds of after-school activities. Club activities are also possible.

With so many students, it’s possible to have such a system.

Every year, over 1,000 new students enter, and there are about 3,000 to 4,000 students attending the school.

Because of this, the size of the school is almost like that of a university. The reason it’s located in the middle of the mountains is also for that reason.

The rate of students going to universities in the capital region is also high, and in terms of arts and physical education, Saebek High School’s various sports teams are considered prestigious for winning many high school competitions.

For this reason, there are dormitory complexes for students from other regions.

“There are so many people. Where did they all come from?”

The residential area where we live is relatively quiet.

Students like us who enter Saebek High School from Saebek Middle School or live in the old town, and most students who live in apartments in the new town or are already in the dorms.

As we followed the crowd heading to where the new students were gathering, we saw a large crowd of people gathered on the huge playground.

“Alright, new students, please line up and move. We will guide the parents separately to the stage.”

Senior students wearing leadership badges were waving flags around, directing traffic.

As we entered the playground, it felt quite intimidating. Because.

‘They’re all just watching.’

The very large main building overlooking the playground was filled with the faces of all the current students.

The gazes were so intense that even the officials on the stage and the parents might feel uncomfortable.

“Oh. Are you Seo Ee-jin, the new student?”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

I was standing in line when suddenly a teacher holding a file clip approached me.

“Thank goodness. Seo Ee-jin is the top scorer in the entrance test, and we couldn’t contact him in advance, so there’s a new student representative oath ceremony today.”

What?

“Am I the new student representative?”

“Yeah. Seo Ee-jin was the top scorer in the entrance test.”

Oh, darn it. If I had known, I would have purposely gotten a few more wrong.

“Come this way. I’ll guide you.”

“Good luck and come back, Jina!”

In front of me, Se-ah spoke. Soo-yoon also waved her hand and greeted me.

“Let’s see each other during the class assignment.”

* * *

“Student Seo I-jin. When the emcee announces that there will be a freshman representative oath-taking ceremony, you just need to go up to the platform, hold the booklet on the platform, and read the oath.”

“Oh, okay. Um… but what about this side?”

Coincidence or destiny?

In the front row where the teacher led me, there was already someone who had arrived before me.

Yeah.

The blonde girl I saw while exercising in the morning was looking at me in the uniform of Saebok High School in the early morning.

She seemed to remember me too, as her eyes widened even though her expression seemed reserved.

The male freshmen behind her were staring at her with dazed eyes, showing that she was quite a beauty.

“There are two students who scored perfect marks on the entrance test. Student Seo I-jin and Student Sung Yoo-rin are the co-representatives.”

We exchanged glances and then turned our heads to the teacher.

“… So, doesn’t she have to take the oath?”

“Sung Yoo-rin came first and said she didn’t want to do it.”

Oh my. Am I late?

Looking at Sung Yoo-rin again, she had a faint smile on her lips. It quickly disappeared.

Sung Yoo-rin, huh. Although I didn’t see her in the original work I know, I am now convinced that she is most likely the heroine.

In a cool-girl genre, a blonde beauty as the freshman representative… it would be more strange if she wasn’t the heroine.

Are those natural blonde hair? In this world, where colorful hair seems natural like in a romantic comedy world.

It’s a bit late to mention this now, but the last heroine I knew also had lively red hair.

– In a moment, we will begin the 49th Saebok High School entrance ceremony…

“Oh. Then I’ll go up to see the teacher. Do I have to come up with you? Since there’s nothing separate to do other than the oath, I’ll just participate in the ceremony like the other students.”

“Yep.”

I nodded to the teacher and stood in my place.

I glanced to the side, but Sung Yoo-rin’s gaze was fixed on the platform. Since there was no reason to continue the conversation, I decided to focus on the entrance ceremony.

* * *

– Next, we will have the freshman representative oath-taking ceremony… Freshman representative, please come up to the platform…

I thought the entrance ceremony would be terribly boring, but it surprisingly proceeded smoothly.

Looking beside me, Sung Yoo-rin showed no intention of going up first, so I decided to take the lead. Ugh.

As I stood on the platform and looked down at the field, I realized how many freshmen there were.

Standing facing forward with the booklet containing the oath, Sung Yoo-rin stood next to me.

And then, the noise that had been buzzing just a moment ago quieted down.

After scanning the silent surroundings, I brought the microphone to my mouth.

“Oath!”

– Oath!

All the freshmen were looking at me.

…It seems like my plan to quietly watch the romantic comedy unfold from the first day of school has already halfway failed.