Her long, dark hair flew across her face, and she blew it away with a gentle puff of air. Standing inside the gates of Hanuel High School the most prestigious school in Seoul, she felt a mix of awe and nervousness.
Around her, students moved in cheerful groups of three and four, chatting and laughing as they made their way across the school compound. Unlike them, however, this was her first day at the school for the rich and privileged.
As she walked through the school's enormous glass doors, she was stunned by the sheer size and beauty of the entrance hall. It was spacious and gleaming, more like the lobby of a grand hotel than a school. Just by looking around, she knew that the lawns and buildings she had seen outside were nothing compared to what awaited her inside.
The first classroom she entered was the music room. Her eyes widened in amazement—it was filled with instruments she had never seen in her entire life, the kind she never imagined she would ever get to see up close.
Her fingertips drifted from the grand piano to the guitar, then to the harp, tuba, clarinet, cello, violin, saxophone, and trumpet. When she reached the keyboard, she couldn't resist the urge to touch it. Her fingers brushed against the keys, and the soft sound that followed felt soothing. Smiling slightly, she sat down on the stool and began to play, letting her fingers dance freely across the keys.
"You're good at it," a voice said amidst the melody filling the room.
The voice startled her. She froze, her fingers halting mid-note, and quickly turned toward the direction of the sound. At the far end of the classroom, a boy sat on a long three-seater sofa. His tie was loosely knotted, his boots untied, and his uniform neat but relaxed. His hair was simple—just a clean, plain cut—but something about him drew her in.
Her heart almost leapt out of her chest as her gaze swept over him—from his perfectly shaped eyes that seemed to see right through her, to his sharp nose and well-defined cheekbones. She held her breath when her eyes finally reached his lips.
"Are you good with the piano as well?" he asked, looking directly into her face.
She snapped out of her daze and scolded herself under her breath to behave. Don't act like you've never seen a handsome boy before, she muttered quietly.
"I'm Kim Ji-Eun," She introduced herself.
"Sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't see you there," she apologized quickly.
He gave her a sharp glare, and her stomach twisted with embarrassment.
"I'll take my leave," she murmured, more to herself than to him, before hurrying toward the door. But before she could step out, he caught her by the wrist, moving swiftly from the sofa to where she stood. The sudden pull made her lose balance, and he was just in time to grab her by the waist, steadying her before she could fall.
Their faces were only inches apart now. Her heart pounded so hard she could feel it echoing in her chest.
"Let go of me. Just let me fall," she kept saying to herself as she felt his hand firmly around her waist and his warm breath against her skin.
He smiled slightly as he helped her stand upright. "I just wasn't done talking. That's why I stopped you from leaving. I didn't mean for it to turn into such an awkward situation."
He stepped further into the room, the tension between them slowly melting into silence.
Inside her head, she scolded herself again for feeling the way she did—especially when he didn't even seem to notice anything unusual.
"I prefer the piano," he said casually, running his fingers across a few keys. A sharp, high-pitched sound echoed through the room.
She didn't reply. Her eyes flicked from him to the piano, unsure if she was more nervous or annoyed.
"By the way, I'm Park Joon-Ho," he added, glancing at her with a faint grin. "I hope we get to play together sometime, new student."
She blinked, surprised. And as if her irritation had suddenly vanished, she shot at him..
"I didn't tell you I was new," she said.
"Yes, you didn't," he replied with a faint smirk. "But it's hard for a student in this school not to know me."
What's wrong with him? Is he a psychopath or what? she muttered—louder than she meant to.
He scoffed behind her and closed the door as she hurried out of the room.
"Me? A psychopath?" he repeated to himself with a crooked grin. "This one is going to be interesting."
"Kim Ji-Eun," he said her name softly, almost like he was testing how it sounded, before sitting on the stool again and placing his hands over the keyboard.
Does he think he's popular or what? she thought irritably as she strode down the hallway. Truth be told, she couldn't even tell which hallway she was in anymore—every classroom seemed grander and fancier than the last.
But I can't deny that he's handsome, she admitted with a small smile tugging at her lips.
"What are you doing walking around the clubs hallway?" a voice interrupted her thoughts.
A tall, red-haired teacher approached, holding a sack of cigarettes in one hand and a history textbook in the other.
"Good morning," she greeted politely. "I'm a new student, and I think I'm a little lost."
"Kim Ji-Eun," the teacher said calmly.
"How did you know?" she asked quickly, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Your name tag told me," the teacher replied, nodding toward the small tag pinned to the right side of her chest.
"Oh," she murmured, feeling a little embarrassed. Her gaze dropped to the teacher's torso, searching for a name tag, but instead she found an ID card hanging around the woman's neck.
"Ms. Lee Soon-Ja," she read aloud softly. "History teacher and homeroom teacher for 11th Grade, Class 4."
"That's right," Ms. Lee said with a small smile. "It's almost half the term." She tilted her head slightly. "Why are you just resuming now? Are you a transfer student?" Because if you are, Ms. Lee continued, I or another teacher will personally take you to your assigned classroom."
"I'm not a transfer student," she said. "It might sound odd, but I'm really a new student… just resuming now—with a late admission," she added quickly, trying to explain herself.
Ms. Lee scanned her from head to toe. Her nearly knee-length skirt, neatly buttoned shirt, and perfectly tied bow at her collar told Ms. Lee that this girl wasn't like the rowdy students she often caught sneaking cigarettes behind the school building.
"Follow me," Ms. Lee ordered firmly.
As they walked down the hallway, Ji-Eun couldn't help but wonder why a teacher would smoke in broad daylight—and why she had dyed her hair such a striking shade of red.
When they stepped into the classroom, no one even noticed her arrival. The room was filled with laughter and chatter from both the boys and the girls. She stood silently by the door, surprised by how loud and unorganized the class was.
For such a prestigious school, she had expected discipline and order. Clearly, she was wrong.
It turned out that Ms. Lee had taken her to the staff office. Upon reporting to the Head of Teachers, Ms. Lee learned that she was an emergency new student—personally approved by the Chairman himself—and had been assigned to Class 4, the very class Ms. Lee served as homeroom teacher.
It was quite hard for her to find 11th Grade, Class 4, but the way Ms. Lee had stiffened when the Head of Teachers mentioned that she came directly from the Chairman himself made her feel a quiet sense of pride.
After being assigned to her class, she went straight to the seat Ms. Lee had allocated for her before leaving the staff office. It was the last seat in the middle row.
Once seated, she unstrapped her bag from her back and hung it on a nail beside her desk. As she glanced around, she couldn't help but wonder why the classroom had only ten desks—four in the middle row and three on each side.
Her old school had more than twenty desk in a class, yet this classroom was nearly twice the size. The thought left her both puzzled and curious about what kind of students filled a place like this.
She turned to her right as the chattering grew louder. A group of about five girls had gathered around a particular seat just ahead of her. Only then did she notice that her desk was the only one without another desk beside it—neither to the right nor to the left.
She didn't think much of it at first. The girl at the center of their attention was strikingly beautiful, adorned with sparkling jewelry that caught the light each time she moved. Judging from those earrings, that necklace, and even that wristwatch she keeps flashing… she must be rich, Ji-Eun thought quietly.
I didn't hear any noise from the other classrooms when I walked down the hallway. Are the classrooms soundproof? she wondered to herself, but quickly shook the thought away.
Turning to her left, she gazed toward the window, wanting to feel the warmth of the sunlight streaming in from outside. But as her eyes drifted forward again, she noticed the girl sitting directly in front of her—and something about her seemed… different.
The girl in front of her sat quietly, gazing out the window. Her uniform was wrinkled and stained, with faint blotches that looked disturbingly like dried blood on her top. Bruises marked her arms and face, and her overall appearance was a sharp contrast to the polished students around her.
Ji-Eun quickly looked away, not wanting anyone to notice her staring—or worse, for the girl herself to catch her gaze.
Just then, Ms. Lee walked in. It took her shouting a second time before the classroom finally began to settle down, though soft murmurs still lingered in the air.
As Ms. Lee began calling the register, Ji-Eun found her thoughts drifting. She couldn't stop wondering how the teacher had managed to smoke those cigarettes earlier—she hadn't come in with them, and strangely, she didn't even smell of smoke now.
"Kim Ji-Eun, introduce yourself," Ms. Lee's voice called suddenly.
Startled, Ji-Eun jolted upright from her seat—snapping out of her thoughts so quickly it almost made her dizzy.
"Kim Je-un. That's my name," she said nervously, raising her voice louder than she intended. Realizing how awkward it sounded, she quickly sat back down.
Laughter erupted from a few of the girls nearby.
"I didn't see you there," the girl with the jewelry said mockingly.
Ji-eun smiled politely, trying to keep her composure. The girl chuckled and then, with a glare, mouthed the word bitch before turning away.
That quick glance gave Ji-eun just enough time to read the girl's name tag. Choi Soo-ah, she noted silently to herself.
Ms. Lee instructed the class to get ready for their morning lesson before stepping out of the room.
As the door closed behind her, Ji-eun leaned back in her seat, shut her eyes, and whispered quietly to herself, I'll like it here. I won't regret it here.
But the moment of calm was short-lived.
A sudden voice made her open her eyes—and there they were. A group of girls stood in front of her desk, the one that had been neatly placed now shoved aside.
Her gaze lifted slowly to their faces. In the middle stood Soo-ah, the same girl she had read her name tag earlier, one hand resting possessively on Je-un's desk, the other holding a half-empty bottle of what looked like alcohol.
Soo-ah's lips curved into an evil grin.