A Letter to the Principal
One day earlier.
Knock knock—
I stood in front of the door and rapped my knuckles against it.
The plaque on the door read Principal’s Office.
“Yes. Come in.”
A young woman’s voice soon drifted out from inside the room.
Creak—
I opened the door and stepped inside.
Tap. Tap.
The young woman inside didn’t even glance my way. Her eyes stayed glued to the monitor as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
“The principal isn’t here right now. What brings you by?”
“Ah. It’s nothing major. I just have something the principal absolutely needs to read.”
“Oh? Really?”
She flicked a quick glance at the letter in my hand before turning her attention back to the screen.
“Well, just leave it on my desk, then. I’ll make sure it gets to her.”
She went right back to typing, paying me no mind at all.
She didn’t look like she had any intention of actually delivering it.
In fact, I was pretty sure this letter was headed straight for the trash the moment I left.
“You’ll really pass it along, right?”
“Yes. I’ll deliver it, so please just set it on my desk.”
“If you’re really going to deliver it, could you forward it to the principal’s private email right now?”
“......”
Her fingers froze over the keyboard. She frowned deeply and finally looked at me.
“Haa— How did you even know she has a private email?”
“...”
“Student. Do you have any idea how many kids come here with letters like this, trying to butter up the principal and get on her good side?”
“...”
“Dozens every single day. If I passed all of them along, it would interfere with her actual work, wouldn’t it?”
“...”
“The principal isn’t the type of person who has time to read letters that aren’t important.”
“...”
“I’ve said enough for you to understand, right? That’s why I can’t send it to her private address.”
She seemed to be under a serious misunderstanding.
This wasn’t some sycophantic letter.
It contained incredibly important information.
“It’s not a flattering letter. It contains extremely critical information.”
“Extremely critical information, you say?”
“Yes.”
“...No matter what kind of information a mere student could possibly know, how important could it really be? Honestly…”
She clicked her tongue in clear disbelief.
“Wouldn’t it be better to check the contents of the letter first before deciding that?”
“....”
She stared at me in silence.
Then she let out a long sigh and continued.
“Fine. I don’t know what kind of amazing information a student could possibly have, but I’ll take a look.”
“Yes. If you determine it’s truly important, please make sure it reaches the principal.”
“Well. Only if it really is that important.”
She spoke with a lukewarm expression.
I handed her the letter.
Rustle—
She tore open the envelope and began reading its contents.
“Well. It looks pretty ordinary. Why exactly is this supposed to be important?”
She frowned as she spoke.
“Please keep reading a little further.”
I said.
“Huu—”
She exhaled heavily and continued reading.
Gradually, her expression hardened.
“What the… this is…”
She finally seemed to realize it wasn’t ordinary at all. Her face turned deadly serious in an instant.
She looked up at me.
“Student. Is everything written here true?”
“Yes. It’s all true.”
“If the contents of this letter turn out to be false, you will be brought before the disciplinary committee for deceiving faculty. You’re certain everything here is factual?”
“Yes. It is.”
She stared into my eyes for a long time.
As if trying to determine whether I was lying.
Eventually, she looked away.
“Alright. It doesn’t seem like you’re lying. If this is real, it’s an incredibly serious matter. I’ll deliver it to the principal immediately.”
“Thank you.”
I gave a small bow and left the principal’s office.
“Ah. The traffic is worse than I expected.”
The driver in the front seat let out a heavy sigh.
Twenty minutes had passed, yet the car hadn’t moved even a single kilometer.
Rush hour traffic in Seoul was nothing short of hell.
“...How much longer do you think it’ll take?”
Cha Jiyun asked.
“To reach the Samhwa Bio building… it looks like it’ll take at least another thirty minutes.”
“...Hmm.”
Cha Jiyun glanced at the watch on her wrist.
It was currently 6 PM.
The new drug announcement for Samhwa Bio was scheduled for 9 PM, but she had a lot of preparations to handle beforehand.
“...Should we walk instead? That seems much faster.”
She looked at me as she spoke.
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
The distance that would take thirty minutes by car could probably be covered on foot in under ten.
“...Then please drive safely.”
“Understood. I’ll see you both at the party venue.”
Cha Jiyun and I got out of the car.
The sky outside was already growing dark.
I stole a quick glance at her.
Bathed in moonlight, she looked breathtakingly beautiful.
She turned to me and said,
“...By the way, there’s something I’ve been wondering about.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“...Ah. It’s less of a question and more of a word of caution.”
“What is it?”
“...You stood out too much during the midterms. Getting first place on the test Son In-hyeok prepared was too hasty, in my opinion.”
“Pardon?”
I looked at her with a genuinely confused expression.
“...If your ranking rises too sharply in the midterms, you’ll draw attention. And if that happens, Requiem will notice you as well. Aren’t you supposed to be hiding your strength?”
“.....”
I didn’t know how to respond.
I simply looked forward.
She studied me carefully for a moment before speaking again.
“...I suppose I overstepped. You must have your reasons. In that case, shall I tell you something a bit more interesting?”
“Something interesting?”
We were walking across the Han River bridge.
“...Yes. I just spoke with Hayeon. She said she’ll arrive in about twenty minutes. If you go out to meet her, I think she’d be quite happy about it?”
“......”
Not long after, we arrived at the Samhwa Bio new drug announcement venue.
The event was being held at the seven-star ‘Shinna’ Hotel in Seoul.
“Don’t tell me… you rented out the entire hotel?”
I asked.
“...Of course. It’s that important of an announcement.”
She smiled softly as she answered.
Her smile, illuminated by the moon, was stunningly beautiful.
****
Once we entered the hotel, Cha Jiyun headed off somewhere with the staff to prepare for the presentation.
I was left standing alone in the hotel lobby.
No familiar faces were in sight no matter where I looked.
“This is awkward as hell.”
Everyone around me was gathered in their own groups, chatting animatedly.
There was no place for me to slip in.
“What time is it now…”
I turned on my phone to check.
PM 6:30
Two and a half hours remained until the presentation.
“Might as well grab something to eat.”
I left the lobby and started walking toward the convenience store.
That was when—
Screech—
A sleek black luxury sedan pulled up in front of the hotel entrance.
All the staff rushed out in a flurry to greet it.
Who could it be?
Curious, I stopped heading to the convenience store and walked over.
The moment I reached the car—
Click—
The door opened, and a woman and a man stepped out.
Maybe I had gotten too close?
My eyes met the woman who was getting out.
It was Jeong Hayeon.
“..Y-You… What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you came out to meet me?”
The moment our eyes met, her cheeks flushed bright red.
“No, I was just on my way to the convenience store and happened to run into you.”
Jeong Hayeon pulled out her phone.
She tapped a few buttons and then held up the screen for me to see.
Cha Jiyun: I told Nam Doyun. You’ll arrive at the main entrance in 20 minutes.
“....”
I stared at the phone in silence.
It really was a coincidence, but somehow the timing lined up perfectly.
“..No, I swear it’s really a coincidence.”
“..Yeah… a coincidence… Sure. Totally coincidental that you came out at exactly the right time. Let’s go with that. Anyway, what’s with you today?”
Jeong Hayeon looked me up and down.
I actually felt pretty confident about my appearance today.
When I checked myself in the mirror earlier, I thought I looked pretty decent.
“It’s a formal event. I couldn’t exactly show up looking sloppy.”
“...Hmm… I see.”
She continued to scrutinize me from head to toe.
Right then—
Thump.
Someone lightly bonked her on the head.
“Ow! What the heck?”
Jeong Hayeon frowned and glared at him.
“Hehe— That expression is seriously cute.”
It was her older brother, Jeong Haesu.
“Ugh, seriously, are you trying to die, oppa?”
“Nah, not really. By the way—”
Jeong Haesu looked at me.
“Oh. So this is the friend you were talking about?”
“The friend I was talking about? What are you even saying?”
“Ah. Should I tell him about that conversation we had back then?”
Jeong Haesu took a step closer to me.
“You’re Nam Doyun, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Want to hear something interesting?”
“Something interesting?”
“Yeah. The truth is, my little sister Hayeon came to me for advice because of you and Radeon.”
“...Advice?”
“Yep. And the advice she wanted was about…”
At that exact moment—
Thud—
Jeong Hayeon’s fist slammed hard into his solar plexus.
“Ugh—!”
He groaned and collapsed on the spot.
“W-What nonsense are you spouting… Me asking you for advice because of him…”
Jeong Hayeon panted heavily as she glared at him.
“Don’t… don’t make up weird stories, oppa.”
But her brother remained silent, still sprawled on the ground.
Jeong Hayeon poked him.
“O…ppa? Does it actually hurt?”
She asked in a worried voice.
“Yeah. It hurts so bad I might die.”
“You’re talking normally, so you must be fine. Get up already.”
Jeong Haesu slowly stood back up, clutching his stomach.
“Ow. It really hurts like hell.”
“Stop exaggerating. Want me to hit you for real next time?”
“...Are you actually trying to kill me?”
He looked at her and grumbled.
“Anyway, that’s enough of that story.”
He walked right up to me.
“Let’s see each other often from now on.”
“Hurry up. Stop embarrassing yourself, oppa.”
Jeong Hayeon grabbed his arm and started dragging him into the hotel.