Class Representative's Dignity
Class Representative's Dignity
Yesterday.
Shin Ga-young's steps as she left the cafe 'Old Bean' were as light as if she were walking on clouds.
And throughout the following student council meeting, she stared blankly at the chalkboard.
The agenda didn't even register in her ears.
Her head was completely filled with the scene from earlier, the moment she sat across from Seol Jin-hyuk.
'The number... I got his number!'
As soon as she got home, she tossed her bag aside and dived onto her bed.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
She screamed while kicking her blankets frantically.
For the first time in her life, she went to a cafe alone with a man and even got his number. It felt like her heart was going to explode.
But soon, she tapped her own cheeks to pull herself together.
'Calm down, Shin Ga-young. Let's stay calm.'
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If I go full throttle and ruin this, it's over.
Looking back, Jin-hyuk was a bit different from other boys. Boys like Hyun-woo tremble like aspen leaves if a girl even talks to them, but Jin-hyuk... he didn't seem particularly scared of a woman approaching.
That indifference was actually making her more anxious.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
[Choi Yu-na]
: Hey, how'd it go? Did you get his number?
It was her friend. Ga-young replied with a twitching smile.
[Me]
: Yeah, got it.
: But I'm taking it slow in case he runs away if I'm too aggressive.
Right. Let's not get too far ahead alone. This is what they call 'some'—that pre-dating stage. The opportunity has come, so I just need to reel him in slowly without letting go.
And today.
As soon as the classroom door opened, Ga-young preemptively took the prime spot in the back row.
It was a seat other female students were eyeing greedily, but she defended it like an iron fortress using her bag.
And the moment the back door opened and he walked in.
"Seol Jin-hyuk! Over here!"
Ga-young raised her hand high as if she had been waiting. The stinging glares of the surrounding female students pierced her back, but she didn't give a damn.
Jin-hyuk approached and sat down with a look of relief.
"Thanks. For saving the seat."
"It's nothing. Sit down, quick."
Ga-young replied while pretending to be cool, moving her bag aside. She suppressed her legs, which wanted to perform a celebratory tap dance under the desk.
Soon the professor entered, and the lecture began in earnest.
Shin Ga-young opened her notebook and grabbed her pen as usual. On the surface, she looked like a model student focused enough to write down even the professor's jokes.
However, her gaze kept sliding to the right instead of the chalkboard.
'His eyelashes are long...'
While bowing her head as if taking notes, Ga-young persistently stole glances at the seat next to her.
Jin-hyuk's profile as he stared blankly into space with his chin resting on his hand. That dry, defenseless expression strangely drew her eyes even more.
'He's not studying. Is he just spacing out?'
Even that looked cute, so Ga-young had to fake a cough to hide the smile spreading across her lips.
Before she knew it, it was time for class to end.
Tap, tap.
Ga-young mustered up the courage to touch his elbow. She whispered while leaning her body slightly toward the desk.
"Jin-hyuk-ah."
"...Uh?"
"The next period is a free block, what are you going to do?"
Her eyes sparkled. She was filled with the certainty that he would obviously spend it with her.
But the answer that came back was 'Club exploration.'
It was disappointing, but Ga-young coolly let him go.
A short while later, at a cafe in front of the school.
"Ga-young-ah, how is it? Is it going well?"
Her friends asked with sparkling eyes. Ga-young fell into deep thought while stirring her iced americano with a straw.
The short-answer conversation from earlier. His habit of not making eye contact. And even his action of avoiding places with many women to go to a male club.
"Hmm... I don't know."
"Why? Is he playing hard to get? Or is he one of those... 'Emperor' types?"
One of her friends asked with a voice mixed with half-worry and half-anticipation.
In this world, those are the men called 'Emperors' or 'King Bees,' arrogant bastards who lead women around using their scarcity as a weapon.
Of course, there's a truckload of girls lined up hoping to lean on their power and become even their nth girlfriend.
To be honest, the friends here hadn't never imagined such a thing at least once, but reality was cold...
Ga-young shook her head firmly.
"No, it's definitely not that."
His atmosphere was different from those guys who had been surrounded by women since Orientation.
"He seems surprisingly shy."
"Shy?"
"Yeah. He looked like he finds dealing with women a bit difficult. He doesn't talk much to me either, and he can't really make eye contact."
At her words, the friends nodded with peculiar expressions.
"Ah~ he's the common timid type."
"Well, boys these days have had their spirits crushed so much. There are plenty who are scared of even talking to women."
Jin-hyuk seemed closer to the latter. Of course, his looks and confidence were overwhelmingly in the top tier among those timid guys.
"Still, that's a relief. It means he's not a player."
"Right? It's better that he's naive. Those... Emperors have hellish competition, and even if you date them, it's just a heartache."
The friends' reactions turned positive.
Honestly, the men of the Emperor class have such high noses that there's no room for ordinary girls like them to squeeze in.
But if it's an untainted timid guy? There's a 'possibility he'll fall for me if I work hard,' and above all, there's the hope that 'I can have him all to myself.'
The corners of Ga-young's mouth crept up.
'Yeah. He's not avoiding me because he hates me.'
He just lacks immunity to women and is very shy. He's fumbling because he's flustered by my active approach. He's not ignoring women; he just finds them difficult.
Interpreting it that way, the chances of victory seemed certain. No, rather, that indifference even felt fresh and cute.
"Hey, then you have to plan your strategy well."
One quick-witted friend began to offer solemn advice.
These girls were also people who had been single since birth and had never even properly held a man's hand, but as they say, people are always most knowledgeable about dating when they're the ones giving advice.
"Guys like that get scared and run away if you're too aggressive, you know? You have to permeate his life slowly, very slowly."
"Exactly. You have to make him feel comfortable by appealing that 'I'm not going to eat you.' Make him feel safe first."
The friends added with shining eyes. Among them, some were subtly revealing their true intentions.
"Hey, honestly, you know we acted as a human barricade earlier to stop other bitches from sticking to him, right?"
"Right. Our contribution is huge, isn't it?"
"So hurry up and take the lead to clear the path. Honestly, I thought Hyun-woo-nim next to him was cute. He's like a total hamster."
"Agreed. He was small and cute. If you get on good terms with Jin-hyuk-nim, we can naturally join in and say hi... right? Let us share some of the crumbs."
Behind the friends' cheers was a subtle personal desire.
The calculation was that once Ga-young broke down the barrier, they would take that opportunity to aim for a chance to get close to Jin-hyuk and Hyun-woo. But Ga-young didn't mind. After all, she was the first priority.
Ga-young nodded solemnly at her friends' advice.
'Right. I'll approach him slowly.'
He ran away today because he was shy, but if I approach him slowly with my charm and softness, he will eventually open his heart and look at me.
Let's back off for today. But during the next class, I won't miss him.
Ga-young clenched her fists.
The free block ended, and she returned to the classroom. Shin Ga-young arrived at the classroom faster than anyone else and occupied the 'prime spot' closest to the back door.
Time passed...
She tapped her leg while glancing at the empty seat next to her.
'But why isn't he coming...'
It was almost time for class to start, but there wasn't even a sign of him. Did he get lost or something?
Shin Ga-young, who had preemptively taken the back seat, bit her lip and checked her watch anxiously.
It was then.
A familiar and strong scent of perfume wafted in from the hallway. A group of female students approached Ga-young's desk.
"Oh my, Ga-young-ah. Seeing you here?"
'You fucking bitch.'
Ga-young looked up and smiled brightly. It was a flawless class representative's smile.
"Oh, hi? Are you guys here for class too?"
'What, you retard.'
The female student (A), who was the leader of the group, glanced at the empty seat next to Ga-young and spoke.
"Yeah. But Ga-young-ah, you're really amazing. You must be busy taking care of the two male freshmen by yourself. Isn't it hard?"
'Are you hogging the men all by yourself? You have no conscience.'
"No, it's something I should obviously do as the class representative. I'm fine."
'Whatever. This is my territory, so get lost.'
"Aww, but I feel bad because it seems like only you are suffering too much."
'Bullshit.'
"I told you I'm fine. I'm doing it with a sense of responsibility, so you don't have to worry."
'If you're so bothered, you should have been the class representative.'
A tense battle of nerves. But A didn't back down; she pulled up a chair and subtly pushed in.
"We'll help too. We can say hi to Jin-hyuk-nim. It'd be nice if we all got close, right?"
'Hand over some of the crumbs.'
Ga-young blocked the seat next to her with her bag and naturally turned her shoulder. While maintaining her smile, only her eyes sank coldly.
"Ah, that's a bit difficult. Jin-hyuk is very shy. For now, it'll be more comfortable if I take care of him."
'He's my fish, so don't spit on him. Unless you want to die.'
A's eyebrows twitched.
"Oh my, Ga-young-ah... you're being quite overprotective, aren't you?"
'Ha, this bitch is really pissing me off.'
"Overprotective? I'm just being considerate. I don't want to make him uncomfortable."
'Get lost. Stop bothering me.'
A moment of silence followed. A twisted the corners of her mouth and laughed.
"Really? Well, if you say so, I understand. We'll just say hi 'separately' later."
"Sure. Let's see if it's you or me who dies.'
"Yeah, I'd appreciate that."
'Yeah, let's give it a go.'
A let out a deep sigh and brushed her hair back.
"Phew... Ga-young-ah, I really have to hand it to you for your sense of responsibility. I wouldn't be able to do that."
'Haaa... this is really bringing out my old temper.'
Ga-young smiled with her eyes crinkling and waved her hand.
"Thanks for the compliment. Have a good class~"
'Yeah~ get lost~'
Once they disappeared, Ga-young's expression hardened instantly as she muttered quietly.
"...So annoying, seriously."
After the storm passed, Ga-young watched the entrance again. Her heart was thumping. It was about time for them to arrive.
'Why aren't Jin-hyuk and Hyun-woo coming?'
Just then, the front door opened and Hyun-woo rushed in. But the idiot didn't even look toward Ga-young and walked right into the middle of the classroom.
'...Huh? Hey! It's dangerous there!'
There was no time to stop him. Other girls had already surrounded Hyun-woo as if besieging him.
'Ah... I can't save that one.'
It was already too late. The risk of breaking through that crowd was too high. Hyun-woo is abandoned.
That left only one.
Just then, the back door opened and a familiar face appeared. It was Seol Jin-hyuk.
Ga-young reflexively waved her hand.
'Come here. If you go anywhere else, your energy will be sucked dry until you die.'