episode_0020

I arrived at school early in the morning, carrying the club activity report to submit to Teacher Chae Yubin and headed to the faculty room.

Since Teacher Chae Yubin tends to arrive early, she would likely be in the faculty room now.

As I opened the door to the faculty room, I saw not only Teacher Chae Yubin but also other teachers attending to their duties. Among them, there was one female student engaged in a conversation with a teacher.

I wasn’t paying much attention and was about to pass by when I heard a familiar name from the teacher who was counseling.

“Doa, have you resolved the family issues?”

“Yes.”

Doa.

It’s not a common name. And I’ve seen that name in a webtoon.

Han Doa.

The name of the leader of Haneul High School. When her name is mentioned, the delinquent students of Haneul High quickly vacate the area.

The reason why Haneul High, just five minutes away from being chaotic, can maintain some semblance of order is all thanks to Han Doa.

While engaged in counseling, Han Doa stood straight, hands neatly placed on her waist and knees, attentively listening to the teacher’s words.

Despite tying her hair into a ponytail, her long hair still cascaded down below her waist, and her well-toned body, trained in kendo, was her distinctive feature.

“Since you’ve missed a lot of classes, there must be a lot of backlog in your studies. You should talk to the class president and get the materials.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you continuing with kendo?”

“….”

It was a sensitive question, as Han Doa’s delicate eyebrows twitched. The teacher gave up on getting an answer and dismissed Han Doa.

Han Doa approached this way.

She glanced at me as she passed by. Her gaze lingered particularly long on my name tag. Then she quietly spoke.

“You can unbutton only the top button of your shirt.”

“…Me?”

“Then who else is here besides you?”

I looked at my upper body in the mirror installed on the wall of the faculty room. Two buttons of my shirt were undone. Without a word, I fastened one of them.

Only after she saw me fastening it did Han Doa turn and leave the faculty room.

Even as she left, walking confidently without a hint of disarray, I wondered if she was human or a machine.

“Oh? Maru, you’re here early.”

Having overheard the conversation between Han Doa and me, Teacher Chae Yubin raised her head and looked at me.

While submitting the report, Teacher Chae Yu-bin asked about the new member.

“Is Yuna adapting well?”

“Yes. She’s also doing well in counseling.”

“Really? I was worried because she seemed quite timid, but I guess there’s no need for that.”

Continuing to write the contents of the report in Korean, Yu-bin added:

“And since you met with Doa, let’s talk about it. You know we have a club inspection coming up, right?”

‘Of course I do.’

With the return of the club leader, a club inspection is scheduled under the leadership of the club. It’s their duty to ensure that club activities are conducted properly and that students are leading healthy lives. Places that have been loosely managing clubs will likely have a headache. Thinking this way, I found the former counseling department quite remarkable. They managed to avoid club inspections several times and engaged in such misconduct.

“You’re a new club, so club inspections are a priority for you. Be prepared in advance.”

“Yes.”

After finishing the conversation and leaving the office, I spotted Han Do-a gazing beyond the window from a considerable distance away. Bathed in sunlight as she stared at the trees outside, she exuded an atmosphere reminiscent of a young lady from a noble family.

She noticed my presence and approached me.

“Kim Maru… the head of the counseling department?”

“That’s right.”

It seemed her reason for scrutinizing my name tag earlier was related to the counseling department.

“As for counseling…”

As Han Do-a began speaking, she hesitated for a moment.

“…the counseling department was established when I wasn’t at school.”

It seemed like she was diverting the topic.

“That’s right.”

“For new clubs, there’s an obligation to notify in advance before inspections, so I’m telling you now.”

“I’ll relay that to the leader.”

Having ended our brief conversation, Han Do-a distanced herself from me. As I watched her walk away, I recalled Han Do-a’s circumstances.

‘She probably wants to discuss counseling related to kendo and academics.’

That’s why she had been absent for a long time due to conflicts at home.

‘Oh, right. I should advise on changing the patrol route for the club leader.’

But Han Do-a had already disappeared from my sight.

‘I’ll tell her later.’

Returning to the classroom, I unexpectedly saw Kim No-eul, who had arrived early. She was dusting the eraser at the window sill.

“What’s going on? You’re here early.”

As I lightly greeted her, Kim Noeul glanced at me briefly before returning her focus to erasing with an eraser. Then she replied to me.

“Hello. You’re here really early.”

“I came early to submit the club report. Were you on duty today?”

“Not really, I just didn’t have anything else to do.”

In one way or another, Kim Noeul is always the model class president. She does things that should be done by the person on duty, just because she came early.

Since it wouldn’t feel right to just leave, I decided to help too. I wiped the window frames with the mop placed at the back of the classroom.

“You don’t have to help.”

“I came early and had nothing else to do.”

Giving her the same response, Kim Noeul fell silent. After focusing on our respective tasks for a while, Kim Noeul brought up a topic.

“Maru.”

“What?”

“I have something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Tell me honestly.”

I don’t understand why she keeps hesitating. What could Kim Noeul be curious about?

Is it about an impending attack by Jegal Hwarin? Or maybe advice about becoming the student council president? Or even a question about studying?

When I urged her to speak quickly, Kim Noeul responded.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“…?”

It was a completely unexpected question. My brain didn’t comprehend, so I just stared blankly at Kim Noeul. She also looked back at me in silence.

“By girlfriend… do you mean a female friend?”

“A lover.”

“Oh…. No? I don’t have one.”

Understanding, I answered promptly. I wondered why Kim Noeul asked such a question.

“Why are you asking? Want me to introduce you to someone, even if it’s a girl?”

“…No, I was just curious.”

Despite my cool response, Kim Noeul’s expression did not improve.

She seemed to have a perplexing expression, like a dog needing to relieve itself.

“Maru.”

“Why again?”

“If you were to get a girlfriend….”

As Kim Noeul was speaking, she closed her mouth again and changed the subject.

“No, that probably won’t happen.”

“What? You think I’m incapable of dating?”

Of course, I have no intention of dating while in school, but that’s not “incapable,” it’s “not doing.”

“Are you subtly insulting me? If I set my mind to it….”

“I’m warning you about women.”

“….”

It was unbelievable. Why the sudden concern about women?

“You may not realize it, but don’t trust women too much. Their minds are filled with strange thoughts. If you’re going to be friendly with a woman, be cautious.”

“I handle my own relationships. And if we’re going to get technical, aren’t you the same?”

“I’m different.”

“Sigh… what’s so different? Do you think I wouldn’t understand your thoughts? Even if I act a little defenseless, your face quickly turns red…”

“I am different.”

Kim Noeul suddenly wore a serious expression and grabbed my shoulders with both hands. Startled, I stepped back.

“You… need to be more careful. Your actions make me anxious.”

“…”

“Even while preparing for the competition after school yesterday, I kept thinking about whether you got home safely, if you met any strange women on the way.”

Her blunt words left me speechless. It’s the first time I’ve been in such a situation, and I don’t know how to respond.

“I am different from those women.”

“…I understand. It’s not that I’m worried because you’re not acting like a man as a partner, right?”

It was a bit cringeworthy, but it expressed our relationship very well.

“Partner…”

“Yes, partner.”

Kim Noeul’s hand trembled, and that trembling transferred to my shoulder.

I deduced why she was reacting this way. It was because of a past incident she had mentioned before.

“Weren’t we supposed to talk about similar topics? We agreed to compromise. If you keep avoiding me, there’s nothing I can do.”

“If it were like before, I would have walked home with you, but now that’s not possible. I’m also worried about Jegal Hwarin.”

She looked at me with eyes full of concern.

Her gaze felt so tender that for a moment, I recalled a girl who had looked at me with similar eyes in the past.

…My chest tightened.

“Don’t worry. That’s why I won’t go alone.”

“Who are you going with? Some guys you know?”

“Yuna senior.”

“…”

Kim Noeul’s affectionate gaze changed at my response. Now, she narrowed her eyes and stared at me.

“Why are you going with Yuna senior?”

“Because we’re in the same club, so we’re going together after it ends.”

“Did you go together yesterday too?”

“…There was no club activity yesterday, so I went home alone and met her on the way.”

Yuna never mentioned anything about being involved in a fight. It could cause unnecessary worry, and if it’s known that I went to Yuna’s house yesterday, it might raise suspicions.

“Was Yuna a dormitory senior…?”

“What? I didn’t hear you well.”

“…Sigh.”

She sighed heavily, then nudged me as if scolding her son with a nagging tone.

“I just said earlier, women are like wolves. Don’t trust any of them.”

“Do you think Senior Yuna is that kind of person?”

“I don’t necessarily think so, but you need to be cautious too.”

“Alright… I won’t hang out with girls, including you, from now on.”

“Are you kidding?”

She came closer to me, and I leaned against the window frame, unable to move back any further. Her chest lightly touched mine. Kim Noeul seemed completely unfazed, only staring at my face.

“Go ahead, include Kim Noeul. All girls, except for Kim Noeul, are wolves.”

“…Want to see what a wolf really does? Grr!”

Kim Noeul pretended to bite my neck, making me shiver as her breath touched my skin.

“No, seriously! Back off!”

“Why? I’m a wolf too. Wolves don’t let go of men.”

I tried to push Kim Noeul away, but it was futile. It felt like being pinned down by a real strong wolf.

“Hey… If the others see…”

“I told you to say that Kim Noeul isn’t a wolf.”

“They’ll misunderstand if they see this!”

“Let them. It’s better to block any girls who approach you.”

“You’re not a wolf. Okay? Get off me.”

After hearing what she wanted, Kim Noeul slowly backed away. Breathing heavily from our intense exercise, we looked at each other.

After a while, we returned to our places as if nothing had happened, just in time to hear students’ voices echoing in the hallway.

“Hello, Noeul~”

“Hi.”

As a group of male students entered the classroom, Kim Noeul greeted them gently. No one would suspect that she was a wolf just moments ago.

‘The subject of wolves…’

She shivered at her clumsy acting and took out a math workbook from her bag to start solving problems.

“Seriously, unbelievable.”

Behind the Korean high school lies a large mountain. At the entrance of the mountain, there is a hiking trail where delinquent students often gather, so regular students do not go there. Surprisingly, the students who seemed like the top dogs were bowing their heads on that hiking trail. The girl who had expressed her disbelief sighed as she looked at the girls who were bowing their heads.

“Did I not give you enough backup?”

“…”

“Or did I tell you to catch the head of the sky high and the head of the Seondo faction?”

“…”

“You couldn’t catch one guy and one girl even with An Hyojin and Jin Huiyoung helping you? And on top of that, you got caught and came back empty-handed?”

The girl who was scolding the girls who bowed their heads was Jegal Hwarin. She nervously sharpened her pencil while browsing the school community site.

“No, seriously. The school community site is going crazy right now. The Ojakgyo students caused a ruckus, but they couldn’t catch a single boy or girl. They should at least prevent the rumors from spreading.”

“…Sorry.”

One of the two girls who had attacked Kim Noeul and Kim Maru apologized.

“You shouldn’t do things you have to apologize for. If this rumor reaches Jegal Yeonhwa’s ears….”

If this rumor reached Jegal Yeonhwa, it would be a headache. Jegal Hwarin, who already felt inferior to Jegal Yeonhwa, was determined to achieve greater success than her, but that goal seemed even further away now. No, beyond that, she might even face disciplinary action.

The senior who would go and educate the student who broke Ojakgyo’s rules would probably be a freshman.

Seo Yoon.

A girl who, despite being a freshman, quickly rose to second place in the rankings and gained Alice’s trust. There were too many ominous rumors about her, even though she had only recently arrived at the school.

“All because of those nobodies from Haneul High or Maneul High. Without that girl, they’re nothing.”

She needed to make amends. The best way was to suppress a girl named Kim Noeul. Then, her current defeat would be justified.

“Yeah, there’s an academy near the Haneul High rotary, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s the patrol area for the Haneul High student council, isn’t it?”

“Right…”

“Then I’ll work on it there. I’ll go with the kids myself.”

At the mention of Jegal Hwalin going personally, several students swallowed hard.

She wasn’t a leader at Ojakgyo, but she was Jegal Yeonhwa’s twin sister, practically a leader herself. Her decision to go in person was not to be taken lightly.

“Discipline is nonsense. It will never come to that.”

Eun Yoori, the ultimate decision-maker when it came to disciplining Ojakgyo’s students.

Whether she was the top scorer in the national mock exams or the best student since the founding of the school, those titles meant nothing to Jegal Hwalin.

It was absurd for someone who had never thrown a punch to play second-in-command next to Alice. There had been more than one occasion during meetings when she wanted to lunge at that woman with a smile on her face.

‘Rather than facing discipline from her, I’d rather go in with the mindset of biting my tongue until it bleeds and dropping dead.’