The sound of applause echoed through the cramped gymnasium, bouncing off the cracked walls like it didn't quite belong here. I clutched the thin diploma in my hands, the paper trembling with the weight of everything it meant. Graduation.
Around me, classmates laughed, cheered, tossed their worn-out caps into the air. For them, it was freedom. For me, it was survival.
I looked down at my shoes—scuffed from years of being patched and repatched—and let the noise fade into a dull hum. My father would have been here, if life had been kinder. He would've stood in the back of the crowd, his tired smile brighter than any stage light. He would've clapped the loudest, shouted my name, told me I'd made him proud.
But my father was gone. Buried six months ago in a grave we could barely afford. Since then, it had been me, the empty apartment, and the constant fear of what came next.
A hand tapped my shoulder.
"Eunwoo Lee?"
I turned to see one of the teachers holding an envelope. Thick. Official-looking. My chest tightened.
"Yes, sir?"
He pressed it into my hand, his expression unreadable. "Congratulations. You've been awarded a full scholarship to Haneul Academy."
For a moment, I just stared. The name hit me like thunder. Haneul Academy. The most prestigious private school in Seoul. The kind of place where CEOs sent their heirs, where tuition alone cost more than my father had earned in five years. A place where people like me didn't belong.
"I… there must be a mistake," I stammered.
"No mistake," he said firmly. "They choose only a handful of scholars each year. You're one of them."
The applause around me blurred, distant, like I was sinking underwater.
Haneul Academy. A chance at a future my father had dreamed of but never reached. A chance to prove I wasn't defined by my poverty.
But deep inside, under the sharp edge of disbelief, another thought stirred.
Haneul Academy was filled with the children of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas who had the luxury of their status. My secret—the one I'd spent years hiding—would be in more danger than ever.
I forced my lips into a smile, clutching the envelope tighter.
For my father, I would go. For my future, I would risk it.
Even if it meant stepping into a world that could devour me whole.