bethebee_

Yeli found herself in a world she never expected. Surrounded by the brightest minds, she felt like a flickering candle in a room full of blazing suns.  The Academy of Brilliance, a place she'd only ever seen in glossy brochures, was now her reality.  But she wasn't here for her academic prowess.  Yeli was a bit of a... well, let's just say she wasn't known for her brainpower.  In fact, she was pretty sure "dumb" was written on her forehead in permanent marker.

How on earth was she going to survive this?

Dumbest Star (English)

I thought my chaos for the day was over.

I mean, drama club? Kairo as the lead actor? River suddenly crashing the scene? That was enough stress for an entire semester.

So I told myself, "Let's go get lunch, Yeli. You deserve it."

But of course, the universe had other plans.

The moment I entered the cafeteria, everyone was staring. Like a celebrity just walked in. Then I started hearing whispers…

"She's the robotics genius, right?"

"Really good at acting too—they say she was in a scene with Kairo!"

"River has a crush on her, confirmed."

And who the heck started the rumor that I have a crush on River?! Nooo, he's not my crush. For real. Real.

I hurried to line up. But just as I was holding my tray, a girl stood blocking my path. Crop top, perfect hair, and clearly not hungry—just nosy.

"Hi!" she said, smiling way too much. "You're Yeli, right? I heard you're, like, really special."

"As in every club wants you! You're amazing!"

Then suddenly, she grabbed my arm. "Join the dance club too, okay?"

"Wait, Miss Ma'am—I don't know how to dance."

But she wasn't listening. She was already pulling me toward their table, where someone was doing a split while eating fries.

And of course—I spotted Kairo sitting at a far table, staring. Again. Expressionless. As usual. But why did his gaze feel so intense?

Then River appeared beside me out of nowhere.

"Yeli, come with me. I've got free Coke."

And suddenly, a mini tug-of-war broke out with my arm. Dance club girl on my right, River on my left. Me? I was just a helpless stuffed toy being dragged at SM.

Boom. Kairo. Standing. Speaking. In English.

Did he just... defend me? In public? With words? And in English?!

My brain short-circuited. I didn't know where to sit. So I ended up doing the least expected thing: sitting with Kairo.

And for five seconds, we were both silent.

Then he looked at me and said, "You really attract chaos, don't you?"

I stabbed my rice with a spoon. "I swear I didn't ask for this life."

I thought things had finally chilled.

I mean, I'm sitting with Kairo, eating lunch in silence. No drama. No River. No dance club girls doing splits. Just… food. And air-conditioning. And Kairo's aura that felt like I was defending a thesis.

Even though we weren't talking, I could still hear the gossipers around us.

I wanted to scream, "I'm not lucky, I'm just hungry!"

But of course, I kept it cool. Pretended I was used to this. Even though I wasn't.

Kairo, being Kairo, ate like a calm machine. One bite, one sip, one judging glance at the noisy people.

"Do they always talk that much?" he asked, deadpan.

He nodded. "It's impressive, really. How you manage."

There was an awkward pause. Then… Kairo gave a slight smile?!

Did I just see Kairo-the-human-calculator smile at my joke?

River came sliding to our table, tray in hand, big smile on his face. "I have an extra burger. Want half?"

"River, don't slide here! There's food!"

Kairo raised an eyebrow. "He always enters like that?"

"Unfortunately," I said, facepalming.

And just when I thought it was over…

A teacher appeared out of nowhere. "Ah, Yeli? Good you're here. The Art Club also sent a request. They want you to join. Apparently, they saw 'artistic potential' in your robot?"

"I– Wha– A– ART CLUB TOO?!" I asked in disbelief.

Kairo just sipped his water calmly.

River? Grinning like a proud stage mom.

"Welcome to stardom," River whispered.

Cafeteria Chaos