An Adjustment Period Is Needed (2)
The oath from Her Highness the Princess had barely faded when the entrance ceremony wrapped up at a surprisingly brisk pace. Thinking back to my elementary and middle school days—standing under the blazing sun, listening to the principal’s endless, mind-numbing speech until I felt like I might actually melt—well, my opinion of the academy went up a little. At least they didn’t torture us like that.
“Alright. Eyes forward and follow me.”
Once the ceremony ended, our homeroom teacher took the lead and guided each class in a tight little herd toward our respective rooms. As we walked, I realized something anew: this place was enormously big. It felt like it took forever just to get from the auditorium to the classroom. Wait… the cafeteria wasn’t going to be this far away too, right? That would be a serious problem.
The teacher, who had been scratching the back of her head with her prosthetic hand, finally stopped beneath a sign that read 1-A.
“So… I have somewhere I need to be for a bit. Just go inside and sit quietly, okay?”
With that, she strolled off without a care in the world. The students who had been awkwardly milling about followed a few bold pioneers into the classroom through the back door.
“Whoa…”
I’d heard that because the academy focused heavily on supernatural ability training and practical exercises, most classes took place in specialized facilities rather than regular classrooms. Even so, the homeroom itself looked exactly like any other schoolroom I’d seen. A massive blackboard and teacher’s desk faced rows of student desks arranged in two columns per section, forming six neat lines total. The only real differences were that everything felt a bit more spacious and every piece of furniture looked brand new.
“Ugh.”
While I’d been busy looking around, the other students had suddenly swarmed together in groups and claimed their territories. On the far left front sat the faction led by none other than Her Highness the Princess. Beside her, a girl with a determined expression kept whipping her head around, scanning every corner of the room. The whole group carried a solemn, almost grave atmosphere centered around the completely silent princess.
On the opposite side, to the right, another group had formed around a tall girl with long black hair who gave off the air of a refined young lady. Unlike the princess’s serious crowd, this one buzzed with lively, friendly chatter. It practically radiated social energy.
I had originally planned to just follow the flow and sit anywhere, but… it looked like a lot of them already knew each other. Factions had already formed. And both groups gave off the distinct impression that breaking in would be extremely difficult.
“Hmm… ah.”
Still flustered, I turned around and spotted Yoon Jeong-a—wearing the exact same sweaty, panicked expression I probably had.
“U-um… should we sit together…?”
“Ah… y-yeah, sure…”
Our eyes met in silent understanding, and I felt a strange sense of certainty. This girl… she was one of my kind!
People who struggled with communication had a way of recognizing each other. If I had been alone, I would have stood there awkwardly, overanalyzing everything, before slinking to the very back row by myself. I would have spent the whole day staring out the window until someone finally spoke to me. Then I’d go home alone… and the next day I’d start pretending to sleep at my desk during breaks and lunch to avoid the silence. Aaaaaagh. That future was unacceptable.
“L-let’s sit over there.”
“Mm…”
Well, we still ended up in the back row, but at least I had a comrade now. That was something. The two of us quietly claimed the very last seats in the middle section—the neutral zone between the princess’s group and the long-haired girl’s faction—where a subtle, awkward tension lingered.
“Um… do you happen to know that student over there too?”
I glanced at Jeong-a, who was letting out a sigh of relief, and asked. She turned her small face toward me with the same flustered look from earlier.
“Huh…? Y-you don’t know her either…?”
“Is she… someone famous too?”
From the look on her face, it seemed like she was misunderstanding something. It’s not like I grew up in some remote mountain with no signal or anything…
“…You at least know about Daeseong, right?”
“Of course I do. They’re incredibly famous. My phone is a Daeseong model, after all.”
Even I wasn’t that clueless. I gave her a little “heh” and waited. She continued with a slightly awkward expression.
“That girl… is the second daughter of the Daeseong Group chairman. Wi Ha-yeon.”
“…!”
After the bombshell about the princess, this new revelation left me speechless. Of course, unless you were particularly interested in royalty or chaebol families, you probably wouldn’t bother memorizing their names… but if you knew one of them was going to the same school as you, that changed things. You’d at least have heard the rumors in passing. But like I said, I had no idea I would end up at Baekhwa Academy. So… wasn’t it fine if I just learned about them now?
Still, having so many big shots in one class made me feel strangely intimidated.
“A princess and a chaebol heiress… You’re not secretly some noble family’s daughter too, are you, Jeong-a?”
“Eh…? N-no, nothing like that… Actually, Seol, you’re the one who—”
When I leaned in close to whisper in her ear, her face suddenly flushed bright red. Then she started frantically tapping my arm.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“S-she’s coming this way…?”
“Huh…?”
I turned to look and, sure enough, the very person we had just been whispering about was slowly walking straight toward us.
“Wait, do you think she heard us talking?”
“Ugh… we didn’t say anything bad, right…?”
“Maybe she’s angry that commoners dared to talk about her…”
“Huk!”
Even as Jeong-a and I frantically whispered to each other, she kept walking steadily closer without stopping. The sharp click, click of her heels against the classroom floor somehow sounded louder than usual. I briefly wondered if she might be heading to someone else, but… no. She was one hundred percent looking at me. Why? Had she actually overheard us?
Before I could finish panicking, she had already reached my desk. She stopped right in front of me, looked down, and smiled sweetly.
“Hello.”
For a moment, I was completely captivated by her beauty. Long black hair that reached her waist, with neatly layered bangs and side-locks cut in elegant steps. Beneath them, her eyes curved gently like crescent moons, the corners lifting elegantly with her smile in a way that felt both refined and strangely seductive. A hairstyle that could have easily ruined someone’s proportions instead amplified her mature allure to the fullest. Maybe it was because I was sitting, but her impressive height didn’t feel overwhelming at all. Instead, it blended perfectly with her features, creating an enchanting beauty that could captivate anyone, man or woman. Her long limbs and model-like proportions gave her stride an aura that drew people in. She truly looked like a young lady from a distinguished noble house.
“S-Seol-ah…”
“Eep.”
I had been staring at her face in a daze without answering. Jeong-a, looking flustered, poked me in the side with her finger. Oh no. I had completely lost myself in her beauty… I quickly pulled myself together.
“Ah, hello…?”
…Only after speaking did I realize we had both used formal speech. Did she also have a formal-speech-only concept like me? Or had she simply been raised to always speak politely? Either way, I was relieved I wouldn’t look like the only weird one.
She kept her smile in place, then slightly bent at the waist and brought her face a little closer to mine.
“You’re Baek Seol, correct?”
Whoa, she’s a bit close… Up close, her pale skin looked even more dangerously beautiful… No, what am I even thinking?
“D-do you know me…?”
I swallowed hard and barely managed to speak. She could have read my name from my name tag, but something about her tone made it sound like she had known about me long before today. As if to confirm my suspicion, she gave a small nod.
“Of course. Before the entrance ceremony… I made sure to look into the students I should keep an eye on. I reviewed everyone’s abilities at least once.”
“Ehh?”
What was that supposed to mean? Was it normal to just casually investigate the supernatural abilities of all the new students if you felt like it?
“They were all excellent, but a few in particular caught my attention. And… you were one of them, Baek Seol.”
“R-really?”
“Yes. If the opportunity arises, I would love to talk with you a little more…”
I held my breath as I looked up at her face. Her voice had grown softer than before, as if sharing a secret meant only for the two of us. Her red lips looked almost luminous. It was truly fascinating. When she wasn’t smiling, her face looked so cold and haughty that it would be hard to even approach her. Yet the simple softening of her lips and the gentle curve of her eyes transformed her into something so seductive I almost wanted to be held by her.
Caught in a somewhat dreamy haze, I opened my mouth to answer her.
“Well…”
At that exact moment—slam—the front door burst open violently.
“Alright—were you all behaving nicely?”
Our homeroom teacher walked in without bothering to hide her annoyed expression. She frowned the moment she saw the students who had been chatting noisily among themselves.
“Everyone quiet down and take your seats. We have a lot to do today.”
“Ah.”
With a quick motion, she straightened her back, and her face moved away from mine. My wandering mind snapped back to reality. She took one step back, looked at me once more, and smiled.
“Oh dear, how unfortunate. But… we’ll have plenty of days to talk in the future. Won’t we?”
“Uh… yes…”
It felt like a child who had been handed candy only to have it snatched away before they could even taste it. The sweet scent had approached, but disappeared before I could truly savor it. While I was still mumbling, unable to form a proper response, she turned around and returned to her seat.
I stared blankly at her retreating figure and finally muttered,
“Huk… I think I’ve been marked…!”
“…”