Exposed!
The day was finally drawing to a close.
Our first day of classes only went up to the fifth period.
After that, we had free time to either return to the dorms or go out to academies with our parents' permission.
Did those two actually get a bit closer?
I had felt a little uneasy leaving Yoo Chaerin and Hwa Yeonhwa alone together earlier.
But I chose to trust Chaerin.
She wasn't the type of person to mistreat someone I had personally brought along.
And my intuition proved correct.
I didn't know what kind of conversation had passed between them, but Yeonhwa had started treating me with much more ease than before.
I knew it! When our Chaerin actually tries, she can do anything!
As I was swelling with pride on Chaerin's behalf, she suddenly popped into my classroom right at dismissal.
"Yuna, let's go hang out!"
She was already itching to play the moment school let out.
Come to think of it, Chaerin hadn't been able to just hang out lately because she was constantly being summoned here and there.
"Sure, let's go."
At times like this, I had to keep her company.
"Yeonhwa, you should come too."
"Me too?"
Yeonhwa looked a bit hesitant.
Ah. Did she not want to hang out with us?
"……Um, what do you usually do when you hang out after school?" Hwa Yeonhwa asked cautiously, tilting her head.
What did we do?
"I mean, we just hang out?"
Did she really need to ask that?
"I usually have schedules at home after school. Are we going to a party or something? Is there a dress code?"
Ah.
I sometimes forgot because we sat in the same classroom, but Yeonhwa was the heiress of the Hwaseong Group.
On top of that, she was exceptionally bright for her age.
The Hwaseong Group must have put her through all kinds of rigorous training to groom her into an elite leader.
"Yeonhwa, do you have to go to an academy or something after school?"
"Not today. But starting tomorrow, my private tutors will be coming."
"Oh, do they teach you in the dorms?"
"Huh? No, there's a house nearby where the tutors stay."
I doubted she meant a Hwaseong Group mansion on the outskirts of Seoul.
Right. They probably just bought a house nearby.
A whole house just for the tutors hired to educate her.
Once again, I was reminded that Yeonhwa lived in a completely different world.
At the same time, it made me certain of one thing.
"Then you can definitely hang out with us today. Let's go."
Yeonhwa needed to spend time with kids her own age.
As I grabbed Yeonhwa's wrist and pulled her along, Chaerin narrowed her eyes.
She didn't look entirely thrilled about bringing Yeonhwa along, but she let it slide for my sake.
Despite her rough edges, Chaerin really did have a good heart.
"Excuse me."
Just then, another voice called out from behind us.
I turned around to find Seo Harin standing there.
"May I join you as well?"
Seo Harin's eyes were fixed entirely on me.
It felt like she had been staring at me the entire time during class, and she was still doing it now that school was over.
……Had she already figured out that I was the Transcendental?
Still, I couldn't exactly reject her when she was asking to tag along.
"Sure. You can come too, Harin."
With my permission, Seo Harin quietly fell in line beside us.
Her gaze remained locked onto me, making my skin prickle, but I couldn't really scold her for it.
As we cleared the school gates after getting permission from the teacher, a sudden realization hit me about the three girls surrounding me.
Three of the core members of Axion.
Pride, Envy, and Wrath.
Somehow, I had ended up walking alongside three future members of Axion.
Um, was this really okay?
I was a little worried about what would happen when we eventually went to the Academy City.
……It'll be fine, right?
None of them were part of Axion yet.
Yes, I was sure it would be fine. They were all good kids.
……For now.
"It's a bit of a walk. Should we take a taxi?"
"A taxi? That's expensive."
When Chaerin suggested a taxi, I waved my hand dismissively. We could just take the bus. Why waste money on a taxi?
At that, Chaerin puffed out her chest, looking incredibly smug.
"Yuna, you have no idea how successful I've become while we were apart, do you?"
Ah.
Come to think of it, Chaerin was now receiving sponsorships from various advertising agencies. Her wallet and bank account were probably overflowing with cash. A taxi fare wouldn't even make a dent.
"I could literally buy the taxi if I wanted to!"
"I think that might be a bit rude to the taxi driver."
"The driver would love it if I paid them enough."
I knew Chaerin was rich, but still.
"But it's your money, Chaerin. I don't want you throwing it around. I get an allowance too."
I didn't want Chaerin footing the bill for everything.
When I said that, Chaerin's eyes widened, and she immediately pulled me into a tight hug.
"Yes, yes! This is exactly why I love you, Yuna!"
"Ugh, Chaerin, I can't breathe."
"Um, our driver is waiting nearby. Would you like to take that instead?" Yeonhwa suggested while Chaerin was busy smothering me with affection.
I looked in the direction Yeonhwa was pointing.
A sleek limousine was parked right there.
"Whoa, fancy," Chaerin muttered, looking impressed.
Forget taxis—this was a whole different scale.
"If it's uncomfortable, I can call a different car," Yeonhwa added, looking worried that we might feel burdened.
But we couldn't back out now.
"No, it's fine! Thanks for the ride, Yeonhwa. Let's take this!"
Since Chaerin seemed to like it too, we climbed into the limousine without further hesitation. The interior was even more spacious than it looked from the outside.
I had no idea a car interior could look this luxurious. My eyes went wide as I took it all in.
"Normally, I would have hesitated to show you something like this," Yeonhwa said with a self-deprecating smile as she watched us look around.
What she wanted was a genuine friendship, free of calculations. That was why she hadn't wanted to flaunt her status as a conglomerate heiress.
"But I realized that hiding things or pretending to be someone else isn't what real friends do."
Even so, she was still the daughter of the Hwaseong Group. Trying to hide that was like trying to cover the sun with her bare hands. It would only serve to obscure who she really was.
Slowly but surely, Yeonhwa was beginning to accept herself.
"Don't worry. Just like you can show us a world we don't know, we can do the same for you."
I believed the main reason people built relationships was to experience things they couldn't on their own. If Yeonhwa knew the life of a conglomerate heiress, we knew a different kind of life.
"……I'll do my best to keep up," Yeonhwa said with a small smile.
Chaerin clicked her tongue. It seemed those two still had a long way to go before they became close, regardless of how much time they spent together.
Well, I'm still in the process of getting close to them myself.
Our relationships would change over time.
Except for one person.
Seo Harin, who didn't fit in with the rest of the group, was still staring only at me.
Harin, you're going to burn a hole in my face. Can you please stop staring?
"I've had about enough of this," Chaerin spoke up.
She glared sharply at Seo Harin, who had been staring at me the entire time.
"I know you came along for some other reason, but could you stop glaring at Yuna?"
Seo Harin finally shifted her gaze to meet Yoo Chaerin's.
"I suppose so."
Perhaps because she was just as stubborn as Yoo Chaerin, Harin didn't even blink under Chaerin's fierce glare.
"Miss Ha Yuna."
Seo Harin's cold eyes locked onto me. Her gaze was filled with absolute certainty.
"You are the Transcendental, aren't you?"
Eek!
I immediately lunged forward and clamped my hand over Seo Harin's mouth.
With her mouth blocked, Harin looked up at me with eyes that seemed ready to burst into flames.
Feeling a cold sweat break out down my spine, I quickly glanced behind me.
Chaerin and Yeonhwa were looking at each other, tilting their heads in confusion.
"……Transcendental?"
"What does that mean?"
Neither of them seemed to know what the term meant. As natural Awakeners, they were out of the loop when it came to news about the Tower. Besides, 'Transcendental' might have just been a slang term that Seo Harin used on her own. I had searched for it online before and hadn't found anything.
Lick.
"Hieek!"
Startled by the sudden wet sensation on my palm, I yanked my hand back. Seo Harin stood there with her tongue slightly sticking out.
"Salty."
How dare she lick someone's hand and then call it salty!
"……What do you think you're doing?"
The atmosphere instantly turned icy again.
Ignoring Chaerin's glare, Seo Harin clenched and unclenched her hand before offering a smug smile.
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
"Excuse me?"
Wow, both of them had such strong personalities.
"This is a private matter between Miss Ha Yuna and myself."
Before I knew it, Harin had started addressing me with formal honorifics.
"I'd appreciate it if outsiders stayed out of it."
"You're the one who needs to butt out. Don't you see you're making everyone uncomfortable? Read the room, will you?"
Every time I tried to defuse the tension, they just went right back at it. Caught in the middle, I felt like crying.
"Stop, both of you, stop!"
I couldn't just stand by and watch.
"It's fine, Chaerin. I'm totally fine!"
I quickly waved my arms and stepped between them. Chaerin swept her hair back off her forehead—a habit she had whenever she was seriously pissed off.
"Yuna, do we really have to keep her here? I want to respect your choices, but this is a bit much, don't you think?"
I understood how Chaerin felt. But now that my identity had been exposed, I couldn't afford to provoke Seo Harin.
"Why don't you stop demanding things from Miss Ha Yuna like a child? You have no idea who she really is, yet you act so insolently."
"And what do you know about Yuna?"
"Do you think you know any better?"
Right. It was impossible to stop them.
While I could at least reason with Yeonhwa and Chaerin, Seo Harin and Chaerin were like oil and water. No, actually, they were too similar. They both possessed an absolute, self-centered pride, believing the world revolved around them. There couldn't be two queen bees in one hive.
On our very first outing after the entrance ceremony, I realized we had reached a point of no return and quietly looked up.
A spatial distortion field was flickering around Chaerin, while a freezing aura was beginning to drift around Harin.
We were out in public. If they started using their abilities to fight, it would be a disaster.
"Harin."
I spoke to Harin first.
"If you're going to act like this, get out."
Regardless of whether my identity was exposed, she shouldn't be acting this way toward Chaerin when I was the one who had allowed her to tag along.
As Harin flinched and took a step back, I turned to Chaerin.
Chaerin looked smug, clearly pleased that I had taken her side.
"Chaerin, I was the one who invited Harin to join us. It's not right for you to keep snapping at her before we've even done anything."
If Harin was the problem, I would handle it myself. But if Chaerin kept interfering, she would end up dictating all my relationships. When I made this clear, Chaerin hesitated, her eyes darting around.
"……I'm only letting it go for your sake, Yuna."
Somehow, we managed to get past it.
As I let out a sigh of relief, Yeonhwa, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke up.
"……The real boss."
I wasn't sure who she was talking about.