Entrance Ceremony (2)
At that moment, the classroom’s back door slid open once more with a sharp rattle.
Every pair of eyes in the room snapped toward it in perfect unison, as if they’d all made a silent pact. I was no exception.
“Whew~! Almost got demerits on the very first day of school!”
That was the first thing out of the uninvited guest’s mouth as she flung the door wide.
...Who the hell is this girl?
Her hair was a flashy ash-blonde two-tone—golden base with sky-blue accents. Our academy’s blazer was nowhere to be seen; instead she wore a light-blue hoodie zip-up over a shirt so tightly cinched it put her ample cleavage on full, shameless display.
Her skirt barely covered half her thighs, and flashy piercings dangled from her ears. Everything about her screamed, I’m a total gyaru influencer at the top of her lungs.
“Hold up... isn’t that the famous TikToker Cha Si-a? I heard she’s got like a million followers...!”
“Whoa... she’s insane... and she’s even prettier in real life...!”
The boys’ excited murmurs hit my ears.
Cha Si-a? Ah, right—I’d scrolled past her a few times on YouTube Shorts. Dance videos, I think. Watching a gyaru character straight out of a Japanese light novel materialize in reality was making my head spin.
“Whew~ It’s hot as hell!”
Cha Si-a wiped the sweat from her face and sauntered into the classroom with lazy steps. That signature sweet-yet-stimulating vanilla scent of hers pricked my nose.
As she scanned the room for a seat, her eyes locked with mine from where I sat in the very back.
“...”
“...”
She flicked her gaze away first.
Tch. I lost.
Our five-second staring contest ended in my defeat when I looked away. I’d spent all six years of middle school unable to hold a proper conversation while looking a normal girl in the eye. Against a delinquent-looking gyaru like her? Game over.
“Heh.”
Cha Si-a let out a small snort of victory, squared her shoulders even wider, and plopped down in the far right corner seat—the complete opposite of mine.
Haah... This class is already giving me a headache...
I let out a deep sigh without meaning to and was about to flop face-down on my desk when—
Wiggle, wiggle.
“...Huh?”
Something suddenly started squirming right between my thighs.
What the...? Did a stray cat sneak in? Pfft, yeah right~
I leaned down under the desk with that ridiculous thought—and immediately doubted my own eyes.
“Mnyaa...”
Right under my desk. In the narrow space between my legs, a girl was curled up in a tight little ball.
Hiiik?!
I barely managed to clap a hand over my mouth and stifle the girlish scream that tried to escape.
How long had she been there?! There’d been nothing when I sat down! Did she use a skill or something? Is this actually another world?!
“Uuum... So sleepy...”
Whether I was freaking out or not, the tiny girl in the oversized dark-blue cat-ear hoodie slowly stirred and sat up. A big cat plushie was hugged tight to her chest, and a handheld game console poked out of her hoodie pocket.
“Kyaa! Wh-What the hell?!”
Han Seo-ah beside me was just as shocked. Her eyes looked ready to pop out of her skull as she clamped both hands over her mouth.
“Hwaaam... Why’s it so noisyyy...”
The girl dragged out her words with a yawn, then turned her head with an “Uum...?” and looked up at me.
Her eyes were still half-lidded and hazy with sleep. Even so, the beauty mark under one eye and her delicate features were so ridiculously cute they practically defined the word “pretty girl.”
The name tag on her right chest read Lee Eun-ha.
Eun-ha rubbed her eyes and stared at me, then suddenly started sniffing the air.
“Sniff sniff... Huh...? You smell... really good...”
“H-Huh? Hey, wait a sec!”
As if my words didn’t even register, Eun-ha half-rose and buried her face straight into the open gap of my shirt—right against my bare chest.
Fwoomp!
“Mnyaam... Warm and spacious... Like a drug...”
She nuzzled her soft cheek against my pecs while mumbling.
Crazy! Crazy!! Crazy!!!
Alarm bells went berserk inside my skull.
Contact. Direct, full contact with a girl’s soft, nice-smelling hair and cheek against my bare skin!
My heart hammered like it was about to explode, and heat started boiling up from below.
But that soft sensation only lasted a moment.
“Han. Si. Woo.”
CRUNCH!!!
“Gyaaah!!!”
Agony exploded through my right thigh like the flesh was being torn clean off.
I whipped my head around to find Seo-ah already right beside me, wearing a cold little smile as she twisted and pinched my thigh with her fingers.
This girl had lived and died for sports since we were kids—her grip strength was no joke. It felt like she was going to leave a bruise and then punch a hole straight through.
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?! Huh?! You’re loving it to death!!!”
Seo-ah glared daggers at me, eyes wide, and I could practically hear her sharp snaggletooth grinding.
“It hurts, it really hurts!! What was I supposed to do when she just appeared and latched on?! You didn’t even know she was right under me either!!”
“Don’t make excuses! Button your shirt right now! Who the hell walks around flashing skin like some dog in heat?!”
Seo-ah grabbed me by the collar and tried to force my shirt buttons closed while I desperately thrashed to escape her grip.
Meanwhile Eun-ha, still nestled against me, just went “Uuum... Don’t shake meee...” and clung even tighter around my waist, refusing to let go.
I was losing my mind.
The whole chaotic scene drew every eye in the class straight to us.
From the front row, Ice Princess Cha Ga-eun—who’d been wearing earphones—had already looked up from her workbook and was staring our way with a completely blank expression.
And way over in her corner, gyaru Cha Si-a rested her chin on her hand, grinning with a look that clearly said, Oh-ho... Interesting guy.
Rattle!
“Alright, alright, it’s the first day of the entrance ceremony—why’s it so loud in here? Sit down, all of you!”
I-I’m saved!!
A middle-aged man who looked like our homeroom teacher strode in, tapping an attendance book against his palm.
Thanks to him, Eun-ha went “Uuum... Too bad...” and shuffled back to the empty seat right in front of me. Seo-ah, still not fully satisfied, flicked me hard on the forehead with a solid thwack before plopping down in the seat beside mine.
Ow... That stings...
I was rubbing my thigh and forehead at the same time when—
“Hgyaaak!!”
Crash-bang!!
“Ow ow ow...”
“Oh my! Ji-hye-sensei!! Are you okay?!”
What now...?
I looked up to see a young woman with long pink hair who had apparently tripped over the threshold on her way in. She was sprawled on the floor, rubbing her knee. Her bangs were long enough to almost cover her eyes, and the irises peeking through were a deep pink that bordered on red.
“Auuu... My stockings ripped again...”
“Oh dear... You’re not hurt, are you, Ji-hye-sensei?”
The young teacher called Ji-hye sniffled as she stared at the reddened skin showing through her torn black stockings.
“Yeees... I’m fineee... I’m used to this kind of thing...”
Used to it? Just how often does this happen...?
She sniffled, brushed off her H-line black suit skirt, and stood up. She wore a name tag on her chest too; looking closer, it read Im Ji-hye.
“Whew... At least it doesn’t look like you’re injured. Well then, as we discussed earlier, would you mind introducing yourself first?”
“Yes, yep!!”
Im Ji-hye cute-ly clenched both fists and stepped up to the podium.
“Ah, hello everyone...! I’m Im Ji-hye, and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for the next year! P-Please take care of me!!”
W-Wait, she’s our homeroom teacher?!
This girl who looked so young and scatterbrained was going to be in charge of our class for a whole year. Completely unexpected.
“Ahem. I’m Kim Geon-ho, homeroom teacher of Class C next door. I teach Korean, so I’ll be seeing a lot of you. Well then, Ji-hye-sensei—see you later.”
“Yes, yeees!”
The middle-aged man who introduced himself as Kim Geon-ho gave Im Ji-hye an encouraging pat on the shoulder before heading out the front door.
Once he was gone—
“Um... A-Actually... today is my very first day as a teacher... I just passed the teaching exam and got assigned right away, so there’s still a lot I don’t know and I’m sure I’ll be clumsy at plenty of things, but... p-please take care of me!!”
Im Ji-hye finished her awkward little speech, clasped her hands in front of her, and bowed a full ninety degrees to us.
“...”
A three-second silence fell over the class at her sudden action—then:
“Waaaaah!!!”
“Please take care of us too, Sensei!!”
“Sensei you’re so pretty, let’s be friends!!”
Welcoming cheers erupted from all around the room. Thankfully the class atmosphere seemed good.
“Heh, hehe... Thank you, everyone...”
She froze for a second, clearly not expecting this level of response, then her expression melted into a soft smile as she thanked us.
Nice class vibe~ Looks like we won’t have any major incidents.
The warm, friendly atmosphere made the corners of my mouth curl up without me noticing.
Yeah... with a class like this, building my own personal harem might not be just a dream...!
But back then, I still had no idea.
That this empty fantasy would actually come true.
And that it would happen in the complete opposite way from everything I’d planned.