An Extra, Suddenly
Knowing what someone wants doesn't mean an opportunity like this falls into your lap. Even if I can tell what people are after, whether I'm actually in a position to hand it to them is an entirely different question.
This time, the timing had simply lined up.
Maybe because the incident had barely finished happening, the gallery was in an uproar over nothing but what had just gone down. One refresh, and four or five new posts about it would pile on.
Doesn't that just leave her another hole to wriggle out of?
This is hardly the first time she's slipped past something like this.
And he even saw Jung Yuri throwing it away?
The timing is genuinely impossible.
Did any Haebung actually get a clean look at that scene?
And then a first-year transfer with zero connection to any of this just punches straight through it.
Sure, luck was part of it.
But if it was going to come undone this easily, what were we tearing our guts out for all that time..
Still feels unreal.
But acting like he pulled off some incredible feat is a bit much lol
Especially the ones chanting pond-stirrer—did they even look at what the last pond-stirrers' faces looked like?
Up until yesterday they wouldn't spare him a glance, writing him off as some generic-looking guy, and now he'd suddenly become likable. Watching them ricochet between delight and despair like this, I couldn't tell whether I was supposed to be pleased.
Not that it mattered. Let them gush all they wanted—do one thing that got him marked as disliked by the popular ones, the so-called lead-tier characters, and they'd be tearing into him all over again.
......Not that being marked seemed likely to cause anything real.
If it did, that innocent-act Yuri would've been executed ages ago, with time to spare.
I headed down toward my classroom and ran straight into a boy from my class on his way out. Lee Namgil—the one I'd played soccer with and eaten lunch with.
"Huh? Where'd you go?"
"Just looking around the school for a bit."
"Getting around fine on your own. Anyway, hurry up. We gotta get to the auditorium."
Right. Lunch was over, so it was straight to the auditorium. Namgil latched onto me and turned me right around.
The auditorium sat in the annex connected to the main building. The school front gate alone was grand enough to pass for a university entrance, so the auditorium was never going to be modest—high ceilings, lights hung in long rows, and a giant screen up front.
Your average concert hall can step aside...
I stepped farther in, freshly struck by just how much money this school had. The hall was already swarming with students.
Seats seemed to be assigned by year and class; teachers stood along the aisles, herding everyone through. With their help, Namgil and I quickly found where our class had gathered and sat down.
"How long is this supposed to take?"
"Dunno. An hour?"
"That's way too fucking long."
"We're skipping a class. Who cares."
"Ah, fair."
I listened to the murmur around us, and somewhere in the middle of it the auditorium lights dimmed. The person who walked out at the very front was Han Saehee.
Not long ago she had worn nothing but a rattled expression. There wasn't a trace of it now. Straight posture, an unhurried stride—she was back to the air I'd felt the first time I saw her.
The slides came up on the screen, and the presentation began at once. Nothing in it was particularly special.
"The school we spend every day in is the most comfortable place in the world for some people, and for others, it might not be......"
More or less that. Be considerate and respectful of one another. Keep the school clean. Whoever had prepared it had clearly put in the work...... but honestly, how many high schoolers are deeply moved by a school-life campaign? Even if the one delivering it is Senior Han Saehee.
The person giving the speech probably wasn't hoping for that much either.
A few people yawned. A few talked about Han Saehee herself. A few just chatted. Amid perfectly ordinary noise, the presentation was over before long.
"Thank you for listening."
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The roar of applause faded, and students rose from their seats.
"Whew, finally over."
Beside me, Namgil stretched and got up. I stood with him.
I straightened my stiff back and looked around. Students were filing toward the exits in a long line. We were just about to join them.
"Excuse me. Over there......!"
A voice pushed in through the crowd. I turned toward it, and our eyes met.
Senior Han Saehee.
How long had it even been since she'd finished...... She'd come straight over. And the reason, apparently, was me.
She approached with a face so bright that anyone watching would have thought we'd been close from the start.
"Ah, I saw you from far away and came over. I'm glad I caught you."
"Yes?"
"I don't think I thanked you properly earlier. Thanks to you, the presentation went fine. Thank you."
She looked so sincerely grateful that I nodded, a little dazed.
"...I'm glad. The presentation was... impressive, Senior."
"No...... you don't have to be so formal."
She laughed, a little awkward.
But did she know? Earn her dislike, and an execution petition goes up on the gallery. Of course, that wasn't why I found her daunting. There was another reason.
"That isn't why I came. It really almost turned into a disaster. I'd put all the materials on that USB...... There wasn't time to make them again, and I'd already told the teachers I was ready. If I hadn't found it, I don't know what would have happened."
"Right. The timing worked out."
Being thanked felt nice. It was also a little burdensome—because the way I'd found that USB wasn't exactly something I could be proud of. I'd tracked it down by knowing something no one else did, and along the way I'd even lied about being on recycling duty.
And my classmates were right there. A glance to the side told me Namgil wasn't the only one; a few other kids from class were quietly watching. Letting the conversation drag on wouldn't do me any good.
"..."
"..."
Senior Han Saehee, who had no way of knowing any of that, blinked her brown eyes. The look on her face seemed to hope I'd ask something more......
Maybe this was the moment I was supposed to ask what had happened afterward. If the gallery didn't exist, I might actually have been curious about what went on after I left. Han Saehee looked ready to give me that answer, but I could already find out by checking the gallery.
More than anything, my classmates were close by, and if it was Senior Han Saehee, they'd take an interest immediately......
I just wish she'd go...
I couldn't say it out loud, so I stood there smiling awkwardly, and Senior Han Saehee seemed to pick up on it all the same.
"Was I keeping you too long? Haha..."
"Ah, no. It's not that......"
I denied it on reflex, but it must not have been convincing. She scratched her head, embarrassed.
"Say hello if we see each other again! I really was grateful!"
She raised a hand, turned, and left.
Whew....
I dipped my head and lifted it again, and a voice called from behind.
"Hey, hey...... hey! Hey! Hey!"
Whether they were calling me or just being dramatic...... Either way, Namgil and the other boys from class were staring, bewildered.
"You know that noona?"
"No, seriously, what? How do you two even know each other?"
They knew I'd transferred in yesterday, so it must have looked even stranger. But compared to the lie about being on recycling duty, this was much easier to talk my way around.
"She dropped something. I picked it up."
"...Ahh."
"And she came all the way over just to thank you for that?"
"I heard Senior Han Saehee was really nice... guess it was true."
And that, it seemed, was the conclusion.
On the way back, the homeroom teacher asked if I'd filled out a club preference form, so I went straight to the classroom, pulled it out, and handed it over. I'd already decided on the Anomalous Phenomena Research Club, so there was nothing left to think about.
The teacher skimmed the form, said nothing in particular, and left. After that the remaining classes ended without incident, and with only end-of-day homeroom left, the classroom's front door suddenly opened. The person who walked in wasn't our homeroom teacher. It was a girl from another class.
"Oh, it's Nahyeon."
"Hiii."
She came in greeting people left and right, like she was friends with everyone......
......That's Baek Nahyeon?
The name Nahyeon, plus the looks, made it an easy guess. Come to think of it, I'd meant to look her up on Haeyeon Gallery too. Things had blown up and I'd completely forgotten, but I could see right away why she was popular.
Hair just long enough to nearly brush her shoulders—a pale blue you rarely saw—swayed lightly every time she moved her head. Beneath it, skin white as paper and a small, slender face. Eyes tilted just slightly at the corners, features clean and sharp. There was something faintly exotic about her...... and yet cat-eyed beauty was the phrase that fit.
And she walked right up to me.
......So I was the one she had business with.
Before I knew it, she was speaking from directly in front of my desk.
"You're Namgyu... right? The one joining our club."
