Perfect Timing
The air that hit me the moment I opened the classroom door the next morning was different from usual.
Baek Haeun hadn't arrived yet.
The kids in the class were huddled together, sneaking glances at their smartphone screens and whispering secretly.
I set my bag down in the corner of the classroom and draped myself over my desk, quietly perking up my ears.
"Hey, is that rumor from yesterday for real? That the third-year soccer club captain likes Baek Haeun?"
"No way, really? That's huge. What about Jia? She likes the soccer captain, right?"
"The even bigger part? She got confessed to but shot him down hard. But apparently, before rejecting him, Haeun was totally flirting and stringing him along? Word's spreading everywhere in the third-years' group chat that she's fishy."
"Crazy... I never saw her like that. Total vixen, huh?"
The buzzing backtalk had reached its peak.
Drag—
The front door slid open, and Baek Haeun entered, her glossy hair cascading down.
In an instant, a chilling silence blanketed the entire classroom, as if no one had been talking.
A suffocating second of quiet.
Then, the girls leading the gossip put on their brightest, most welcoming faces and waved at Haeun.
"Oh, Haeun! Hi~!"
"Haeun! You're extra pretty today—what, new lipstick?"
Disgusting switch-up.
Clueless, Haeun just smiled brightly as always and greeted them back.
That's when the back door flew open violently, and Choi Jia stormed in with a furious scowl.
Normally, she'd rush straight to Haeun and link arms, but Jia ignored her completely and slammed her bag down at her spot irritably.
In the awkwardly frozen atmosphere, one oblivious girl cautiously approached Haeun's desk.
"Um, Haeun... are you dating the soccer captain or something...?"
Haeun's eyes widened like a rabbit's, her face flushing with confusion.
"Huh...? No? I don't even have his number..."
"Oh, really? There were rumors you got confessed to..."
"Yeah. Totally not true."
As Haeun shook her head firmly denying it, the girl who asked started to turn away awkwardly, mumbling, 'Hmm... just a rumor then.'
Bang!!
A ear-splitting screech of friction exploded.
Choi Jia had kicked a desk and was glaring at the girl with bloodshot eyes.
"Hey. What was that?"
"Huh? Oh... nothing, Jia."
The terrified girl backed away, but Jia shot up from her seat and barked at her.
"The fuck are you talking about? Spit it out right!"
"Uh... well, rumors that the soccer captain likes Haeun... so I just..."
Her shrinking voice echoed through the classroom.
Haeun's face drained white with bewilderment, while the other kids held their breath, watching Jia warily.
Jia looked ready to grab Haeun by the hair any second, but she just glared sharply at her once, then thud—dropped into her chair huffing.
"......"
Jia bit her lip and said nothing more.
Soon, the homeroom teacher entered, starting the tense morning roll call.
Back row of the classroom.
My eyes narrowed as I watched the whole scene with keen interest.
...What's her deal? Why's Choi Jia reacting so intensely?
Something had been off with her since yesterday, cornering me behind the school.
The rumor I'd planted with Kang Minjae: 'poor Baek Haeun without a dad.'
And this 'soccer captain scandal' that popped up out of nowhere.
I needed to confirm exactly how things were unfolding.
After school ended.
I tailed Choi Jia and Baek Haeun's group from a distance.
They headed into a coin karaoke spot in the bustling street right by school.
I pulled my cap low and hid by the vending machine in the hallway corner, closest to their room.
Through the poorly soundproofed door crack, girls' singing and forced laughter leaked out.
"Haeun! Your turn. This is that idol song you like—wanna sing?"
Someone offered the mic from inside.
But Haeun's voice, which would've grabbed it eagerly before, sounded oddly subdued.
"No... it's fine. I'm thirsty anyway—I'll grab some water from the counter!"
Click.
The karaoke door opened, and Haeun slipped out with a weary face, heading to the water cooler at the hall's end.
The second her back vanished around the corner, I crept up to the door she'd just left.
Through the barely ajar crack, with the mic volume low, the girls' hushed voices spilled out.
"Ugh... hey. Honestly, Baek Haeun's been so annoying lately, right?"
Choi Jia drew first blood.
Hostility bursting the moment Haeun stepped out.
In the icy vibe, the other girls piled on, tearing into their prey.
"Right? I thought the same!"
"Jia, real talk—the soccer captain's been chasing her, and now she's acting like she owns the place? Obvious she's flirting, but plays innocent."
"Exactly. If we're ranking looks in our group, you're way prettier, Jia~ Right?"
As the sycophantic echoes rang out, Jia snorted from her slouch on the sofa.
"Hah, whatever. Probably wants to play princess riding the captain's coattails. Pathetic bitch without a dad... without us, she'd have been an outcast ages ago."
Suddenly, a faint pop from the hallway.
I turned to see Haeun, back already with paper cups in both hands, frozen like a statue at the door.
Lukewarm water spilled from the dropped cup, soaking the front of her shoe.
The mockery aimed at her leaking from the crack.
And her most buried family secret.
Her shoulders trembled like aspen leaves as the sharp barbs hit home.
Her big eyes swirled with shock, betrayal, and horrific shame.
Too harsh...? No... this is necessary...
Hiding in the shadows, savoring her face, I clenched my fist to stifle the pity rising in me.
"Plan's working... Lee Woojin, why're you like this... Hoo..."
Haeun bit her pale lips hard.
She wanted to run, but forced her shaking hand to the doorknob.
Click.
As Haeun entered, the room went morgue-cold.
The gossiping girls paled, avoiding each other's eyes.
In the choking silence, Haeun forced up the corners of her mouth.
"Um... I think I gotta head home first. Mom texted—sudden work thing. Sorry, catch you later."
Without waiting for replies, Haeun grabbed her bag and fled the karaoke spot.
I leaned against the wall, melting perfectly into the shadows, watching her precarious silhouette cross the hall with empty eyes.
The room erupted in panicked screams the second she was gone.
But the water was spilled.
The queen bee ruling school's peak was now a total isolate, without a single ally.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and strolled out of the building slowly.
Under the cloudy sky, a tune escaped my lips unbidden.
Time to be the last lifeline for the crumbling her.
The next morning, the classroom buzzed as usual.
The only change: Haeun's spot in the center sat oddly empty.
Jia and her crew clustered around it, giggling and chattering among themselves.
"Ugh, that drama yesterday was so good! You guys see the new one on Wexflix, Accidental Couple?"
"Yeah! Dude, the male lead is insanely hot. Total banger."
Drag—
The front door opened, and Baek Haeun entered.
Had she not slept since the karaoke? Her face was pale, faint shadows under her eyes.
Haeun approached her group's spot cautiously.
"H-hi...?"
No trace of her usual confidence—just a shrinking voice.
In a flash, the rowdy group's eyes snapped to her.
One second, two.
Their cold gazes raked her from head to toe.
"That jawline when he confessed to the heroine? Insane."
"Right? Gonna binge it again tonight."
Jia ignored the greeting flat-out and turned away.
The others followed suit in sync, treating Haeun like air and ramping up their chatter.
The hello hung in the void before crashing to the floor.
Haeun stared blankly at the backs of her former besties, then staggered to her seat and collapsed.
Back row.
Chin in hand, watching the pathetic scene, I stifled a laugh inside.
Know when it's most suffocating and horrific in this giant school fish tank?
When someone outright hits or curses you?
Nah. You can at least fight back.
The real terror is that ambiguous no-man's-land—not full bullying, where no one spares you the tiniest glance.
Total vacuum of indifference.
Thrown in there, people crumble from within.
First, denial: 'Was my greeting too quiet? Did they not hear?'
But a single day reveals it.
You're discarded.
Then you scour yourself for why, self-flagellating, hacking your own mental state to pieces.
'This is the scariest part.'
As I savored my childhood friend's plunge into the abyss, the front door opened—the homeroom teacher with the attendance book.
"Alright, roll call. Oh, right—Haeun! You know you start prepping student council president posters today, yeah?"
Haeun flinched at the call, nodding stiffly.
"Woojin. You stay after too to help Haeun. Got it?"
"Yes."
Haeun's shoulders twitched at my curt reply.
The second homeroom ended and the teacher left, Haeun bolted up and fled out the back door.
Obvious where she's running to.