The room transformed.
Desks pushed aside.
Chairs dragged to form a circle.
Students gathered like wolves sensing blood.
Because when Hwang Harin shouted "Let's start the game!"
-Everyone knew exactly what she meant.
The unofficial rules of S.I. Academy:
If you're challenged, you play.
If you lose... you pay.
---
"Alright," Harin said, smirking like a queen on a throne.
"Let's pick who goes first. Kim Yerim or Kang Jiwon."
Yerim crossed her arms. "I want to play both."
The class gasped. Bold.
"Then decide between yourselves," Harin smiled. "Rock, paper, scissors?"
Yerim and Jiwon faced each other.
No words. No expression.
Rock. Paper. Scissors.
Yerim won.
She smirked inside. Good. She'll play first. I can watch and learn.
But then-
"I'll play with the winner," Harin said, tilting her head. "Losers can wait."
Yerim's smirk disappeared. "Oh... okay."
---
Game One: Harin vs. Yerim
They sat across from each other.
UNO cards.
Chips in the center.
120 total - each chip worth 1,000 won.
Real money. Real risk.
"Tell me your first bet," Harin said sweetly.
Yerim leaned forward. "Two chips."
"Got it," Harin said, already shuffling.
First round - Yerim won.
Second round?
"I'll bet 20 chips," Yerim declared.
"Good," Harin said, smiling like she already knew the result.
Harin won.
Third round - Harin again.
Fourth. Fifth.
By the end, Yerim had nothing left.
Winner: Hwang Harin.
---
Game Two: Harin vs. Jiwon
"Call Jiwon," Harin ordered.
Jiwon walked back in, quiet and unreadable.
"Sit down," Harin said. "Let's begin."
She explained the rules again, same sweet voice.
"Your first bet?" she asked.
Jiwon replied, flat and cold: "Two chips."
Harin smiled. "Just like Yerim..."
They started playing.
Round 1 - Jiwon wins.
Round 2 - harin wins.
Round 3, 4, 5 - winning.
But then something shifted.
Jiwon paused.
The same cards again...?
Her eyes flicked to the deck.
When the bets are small, I win. When they're high - Harin wins. And she's not surprised.
She rewound the scene in her mind.
That girl shuffling...
She only pretended to shuffle the bottom.
That's how Harin knew what cards I'd get.
She let me win to lure me in.
Clever.
But not clever enough.
---
"Alright, Jiwon," Harin said smugly, "what's your next bet?"
Jiwon met her eyes.
"All of it."
The room gasped.
All remaining chips.
Is she crazy?!
Harin blinked. Then smiled slowly.
"Confident, aren't you?"
They began.
---
Suddenly, Jiwon tilted her head and spoke.
"Do you enjoy bullying people?"
Harin's hand froze. "What?"
"You're so boring, Harin," Jiwon said quietly. "Obsessed with other people's lives. Interfering like it's your job."
Harin's face darkened. "Are you losing your mind?"
Jiwon just stared at her, empty.
"Don't you get tired of pretending you're the queen?"
"Shut up," Harin hissed.
Jiwon didn't.
She waited.
Then calmly said-
"Uno."
---
Harin's eyes widened. One card?!
Which one?
She panicked. No power cards left.
She dropped a yellow 5.
Jiwon placed her final card.
Red 5.
"I win."
---
Silence.
Then shock.
Harin's mouth opened. "How... how did I lose to you?!"
Jiwon stood up slowly, pushed the chips forward.
"I didn't want your money," she said. "Think of it as what Yerim gave you. Since you stole her game."
Harin clenched her fists. "You're a nightmare."
Jiwon leaned down just slightly.
Whispered.
"I know. But you realized it too early."
Then turned around.
Her last words echoed like a slap-
"I didn't win. Yerim didn't lose. You did."
---
And just like that,
Harin fell.
And Jiwon rose.
.....
After her crushing loss to Jiwon, Hwang Harin didn't go quiet.
She just kept repeating the same name, over and over again, like a broken chant.
"Kim Sora... where are you?"
The class didn't say anything.
No one dared.
Because when Harin - proud, perfect Harin - looked afraid, you knew something serious was coming.
---
That evening, Yerim sat across from Jeahyun at the dinner table.
She told him everything about school - about the strange setup, the tension.
Everything...
Except the game.
That part she left out.
Jeahyun raised a brow. "Sounds like the school's more intense than I thought."
Yerim just nodded.
---
Next Day
In the hallway, Yerim was approached by a girl she hadn't spoken to before.
Soft smile.
Kind eyes.
A calm, sweet voice that made her seem harmless.
Eunae.
"You're Kim Yerim, right?" she asked cheerfully. "You're the other transfer student?"
Yerim nodded. "...Yeah."
"I saw your game yesterday," Eunae said, sitting beside her. "You were amazing."
Yerim raised a brow. "I lost."
"Still," Eunae smiled, "you had guts."
Then she leaned in a little closer, voice lowering just enough.
"You probably don't know much yet... but this school isn't just about grades."
Yerim listened quietly.
"There are four houses," Eunae explained. "Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds. Each house has two leaders - players who are... different."
"Pro players," she added. "People you don't mess with."
Yerim didn't react, but she was listening carefully now.
"In our class, there's Park Jinwoo - the principal's son. He's part of the student council. So are Harin ,Miyeon, and also kim sora from the Diamond house - our house."
Yerim tilted her head. "Who is Kim Sora?"
Eunae's eyes lit up. "You don't know Sora?"
She looked like she was about to faint.
"Oh my god. She's our queen. Not just of the Diamond house - of the entire school."
"She's... unforgettable," Eunae said dreamily. "The only one who's ever been unbeatable."
Yerim blinked. "Unbeatable how?"
"In everything," Eunae whispered. "She's never ranked second in popularity. Not once."
Yerim raised an eyebrow. "Popularity...?"
Eunae grinned. "We have popularity competitions. Every few weeks. It's huge. The next one is... tomorrow."
Yerim sat straighter. "And where is she now?"
"Japan," Eunae replied. "Some beauty event thing. But she'll be back tomorrow. Definitely."
---
Next Morning
The air was different.
Excitement. Anticipation. Whispers.
"Today's the popularity competition!"
"Where is Sora? She's never missed it."
"Will she show up this time?"
"I heard Harin called her."
"She has to come... she's the face of Diamond."
And then-
A voice from behind.
Light. Smooth. Effortless.
"Hello, everyone."
"I missed you all."
Heads turned.
Gasps filled the hallway.
And there she was-
Kim Sora.
Wearing the uniform like it was designed for her.
Perfect hair. Soft smile.
And eyes that said: I already know I'm winning.