Chapter 6 : Chapter 6

The entrance ceremony was boring.

Thinking back to my middle school graduation, there wouldn't be any friends here to greet me excitedly, and I wasn't planning on actively trying to make friends either.

Of course, I wasn't particularly interested in the school itself, so I wasn't feeling any excitement or anticipation.

What made my high school life enjoyable were the friends I got along with.

Ye Sara, on the other hand, was a kid who was actually ostracized.

I didn't know why she was being excluded.

But whatever the reason, I had no desire to go out of my way to befriend the kids who were collectively shunning Ye Sara.

The kids chattered on.

They talked about how good the new uniforms looked and how nice it was to see familiar faces again.

After all, isn't the world of business all about connections?

The kids bustled around, trying to find someone they'd known since childhood who might be advantageous to stay close to.

Of course, none of them came up to me.

"..."

Am I catching a "cool" syndrome?

As I was absentmindedly staring out the window, that sudden thought made me frown a little.

The truth is, it's not that the world is uninterested in me, it's that I'm uninterested in the world— that's a common form of self-justification, right?

There's a clear difference between "can't" do something and "won't" do something.

"Uh, excuse me…"

Come to think of it, I didn't have that many friends.

In high school, there was a girl I happened to sit next to who was reading a light novel, so I naturally considered her a comrade.

Or another girl, who became my friend because she was a friend of that girl…

Anyway, by the time I had graduated from university and finished my military service, I didn't have many friends left to keep in touch with.

"Uh, you see…"

I started to seriously reflect.

Maybe I was an outsider all along?

Did I get too comfortable just because I had a few friends I'd known for over ten years, and so I avoided making new connections?

Was the reason I didn't have a girlfriend simply due to my attitude?

"H-hello?"

No, if I think about it logically, my appearance also played a role in why I couldn't become an insider.

Of course, I thought I was above average in looks, but confidence often comes from appearance, too.

Attractive people are surrounded by others from an early age—

"Hi!?"

"Ahck!?"

Suddenly, someone yelled right into my ear, and I let out a strange noise without meaning to.

Startled, I jumped up halfway and then dropped back down, hitting my butt hard on the chair.

Since I didn't have much padding, my bones felt like they collided directly with the seat, and my butt hurt tremendously.

What was that?

What just happened?

I looked around, still not understanding the situation.

The chatter that had been filling the room just a moment ago suddenly stopped.

Whether it was because of the kid who yelled into my ear, or because of the weird noise I had made that no one had ever heard before, I wasn't sure.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to shout so loudly…"

No, I was more surprised that there was a kid who actually had the courage to speak to me.

I turned my gaze in the direction of the voice.

Was it Lee Soo-ah, who I had taken a photo with last time?

But my guess was completely wrong.

The kid standing in front of me was radiating an intense light from her face.

So bright that I couldn't look directly at her.

…What's this? Is she Jesus?

Did heaven send me a saint as a friend because I seemed so pitiful?

Well, that's unlikely.

It's probably just my intuition kicking in again.

It's the same as when I saw Lee Soo-ah at the graduation ceremony.

Still, this is completely useless.

Even if I could interpret the light coming from her face, how could it be of any use?

It would only be a hindrance to my everyday life.

Squinting my eyes, I could just barely make out the kid's face.

A neat face.

Deep brown eyes.

And a chestnut-colored ponytail.

Her figure was good, but not as striking as Lee Soo-ah's from yesterday, just pleasantly noticeable.

…Wait, chestnut ponytail?

A chestnut ponytail might be fairly common in this world, where hair colors are more diverse than in reality.

So I could be wrong.

I could be wrong, but…

Damn it, the light shining down to her chest made it impossible for me to see her name tag clearly.

"What's your name?"

Since I couldn't read her name, I asked her directly.

"Oh? Uh, my name is…"

The kid hesitated for a moment, then cleared her throat and answered.

"I'm Yoo Ha-neul. We're in the same class starting today. Nice to meet you."

Right, that's the name.

The default name of the female protagonist from the streamer game If You Wish.

Chestnut ponytail, brown eyes.

An image that was lively and cute.

That was the common description of the main character in that game.

And now, that protagonist was extending her hand to me.

Without a second thought, I took her hand and replied.

"…I'm Ye Sara."

"Ye Sara? That's a pretty name."

There was a murmur around us, but I didn't pay attention to it.

The girl shaking hands with me right now was the only one who could reverse the doom set to befall me in the future.

…Maybe that's why her face was glowing?

I'd have to think about that later.

*

The entrance ceremony was exciting.

And the word "exciting" was no different from "nerve-wracking."

Especially for someone who didn't have any friends to talk to.

Yoo Ha-neul had enjoyed her middle school days because she had close friends.

Every day wasn't lonely because there were friends to laugh and chat with, and to walk home together after school.

But in high school, things weren't the same.

That's because Yoo Ha-neul had finally entered Hwayoung High School, a school she had always longed to attend.

Hwayoung High School, known as the best in South Korea, was the dream of all teenagers.

From the uniforms designed by top-tier designers, to the school buildings created by famous architects, and the best faculty members.

Moreover, attending this school meant you were either extremely talented or capable of handling its massive tuition fees.

There's even a joke that says you could live off just the free meals you get from the friends you make at Hwayoung High School because so many of the children of business and political leaders attend.

Of course, there were quite a few rumors floating around because of that, but to most kids, it was a place of admiration.

There were several ways to get into Hwayoung High School.

The easiest was to graduate from Hwayoung Middle School.

Since it was run by the same foundation, they didn't require additional entrance exams.

It was the same for the elementary school—if you graduated from Hwayoung Elementary, you could attend the middle and high schools, provided you could keep paying the enormous tuition.

Getting in from outside wasn't as difficult as one might think.

Hwayoung High School didn't cut students based on their grades.

They didn't want to risk losing their long-term "customers" who might have trouble transitioning from middle school to high school.

So, they didn't hold entrance exams.

Even so, most students had been attending since elementary school, and those coming in from outside were usually still able to afford the high tuition.

But the school was still a school, and schools need to produce results.

So, every year, they offered a full scholarship to a handful of students.

The test to become a scholarship student was notoriously difficult, so from the outside, it made Hwayoung High School seem like a place only for the best and wealthiest students.

Yoo Ha-neul was one of those "external" scholarship students.

Of course, she had tearful goodbyes with her old friends at the graduation ceremony—though they met up again the very next day to hang out—but she knew none of the students who had been attending since middle school.

That didn't mean no one tried to talk to her.

There were definitely a few students who approached Yoo Ha-neul despite not recognizing her face.

"Hi! You're new here, right? What's your name?"

"Uh, yeah? I'm Yoo Ha-neul."

A bit nervous, Yoo Ha-neul replied.

"Yoo Ha-neul? Are you from the Yoo Family, the noodle company?"

"The noodle company?"

As Yoo Ha-neul tilted her head, the other student, with a puzzled expression, thought hard for a moment.

"Oh, then are you from Yoo Pharmaceutical?"

"Yoo… Pharmaceutical?"

Why are they suddenly mentioning a pharmaceutical company?

As Yoo Ha-neul became flustered, the student who had asked also seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Uh, sorry. I don't know much else. Could I ask what your parents do?"

Why are they asking about my parents all of a sudden…?

"Uh, they just work at a company…"

"Oh…"

The student's face quickly turned to one of awkward discomfort.

"Are you an external student? A scholarship recipient?"

"Yeah, I am…"

"Oh, I see. That makes sense."

The student nodded as if they understood and said, "I have another friend to greet, so I'll see you later," before walking off.

That conversation had been relatively long compared to others.

Usually, after a brief exchange, the other person would lose interest and walk away.

After that happened two or three times, the number of people around her started to dwindle.

What's going on? Did I do something wrong…?

Yoo Ha-neul sniffed herself, just to check.

There was no strange smell.

Was it my attitude?

Maybe there were certain manners rich kids were expected to follow?

She sat there, thinking for a long time, but no answers came to mind.

"…Alright."

If they won't come to me, I'll just go to them.

With that thought, Yoo Ha-neul stood up.

Determined to make friends, she confidently walked towards a group of students.

But as soon as they saw her approaching, they giggled among themselves and subtly moved away.

Yoo Ha-neul's steps faltered.

Even the most clueless person would be able to tell what was happening when others reacted like that.

"..."

Yoo Ha-neul stood there, dumbfounded.

So… is this exclusion?

She wasn't entirely sure, but for someone who had always made a friend or two easily on the first day of school, their reactions were quite shocking.

"..."

In the end, Yoo Ha-neul turned away.

She tried walking towards different groups of students a few more times before realizing that everyone was subtly avoiding her.

…No, not everyone.

There was one person who didn't avoid her.

Of course, she didn't seem particularly interested in Yoo Ha-neul either.

In fact, she didn't seem interested in anyone in the classroom.

There wasn't a single person around her, but with her lofty posture and expressionless face gazing out the window, it didn't look like she was being excluded.

It seemed more like she wanted to be alone.

"Alright."

Let's try talking to her.

You never know.

Judging by the fact that no one else was speaking to her, maybe she was also an external student?

Though her hair was impeccably groomed.

And the way she rested her chin on her hand looked extremely elegant.

Her skin was as white as snow, suggesting she didn't go outside much.

Honestly, the whole "she's alone" thing was just an excuse.

I simply wanted to talk to her because she was so beautiful.

Sure, she stood out because she was alone, but her appearance was just as eye-catching.

"Uh, excuse me—"

As Yoo Ha-neul cautiously approached and spoke to her, the classroom chatter quieted down a bit.

She could feel the glances from around the room.

"Uh, you see…"

Momentarily intimidated by the attention, Yoo Ha-neul gathered her courage and tried again.

But the girl continued staring out the window without showing any sign of responding.

What is she thinking about so deeply?

"H-hi?"

Still no response.

But at least she wasn't running away.

Maybe she didn't hear me because she was lost in thought?

That's what Yoo Ha-neul thought as she took a deep breath.

Then,

"Hi!?"

She shouted as loud as she could.

"Ahk!?"

The girl, who had been sitting with such a beautifully expressionless face, let out a weird noise and jumped in her seat.

The sound of her butt hitting the chair was loud.

Silence.

It was a heavy silence, different from the giggles she had heard when approaching the other students.

It was as if they had witnessed something impossible.

"Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to shout so suddenly…"

Yoo Ha-neul apologized as she watched the girl glance around, seemingly still confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.

The girl then looked up at Yoo Ha-neul.

Her eyes narrowed.

Was there something about me she didn't like?

Her eyes looked much scarier than expected.

Especially with those red eyes glaring slightly, they were intimidating.

But the girl still didn't run away.

She stayed seated and listened to what Yoo Ha-neul had to say.

It was a little scary, but Yoo Ha-neul felt relieved that she didn't walk away.

After a while, the girl examined Yoo Ha-neul with narrowed eyes before finally speaking.

"What's your name?"

"Oh? Uh, my name is…"

Would she judge me by my last name like the others did?

Would she walk away if she decided I wasn't worth her time?

There was no way to know without asking.

Yoo Ha-neul swallowed hard and said,

"I'm Yoo Ha-neul. We're in the same class starting today. Nice to meet you."

She spoke slowly, as calmly as she could manage after thinking about it for a while.

The girl's eyes narrowed even more.

But they no longer seemed to be evaluating her.

If anything, it looked like she was smiling with her eyes.

A smile so beautiful it could take someone's breath away.

And without hesitation, the girl gently took Yoo Ha-neul's outstretched hand.

"I'm Ye Sara."

There was no judgment, no further questions, just a simple introduction.

"Ye Sara? That's a pretty name."

Yoo Ha-neul genuinely thought so.