The Student Council President's Warning
I looked at her quietly after those words full of praise.
"Kind? Hardly… I just brought you along because it would be a hassle if you collapsed in some alley."
"Don't make excuses. You did me a favor. And seeing my landlord get mocked by those kinds of people at school? My pride won't allow it. This is the least I can do for the person who let me stay. I just spoke up because it pissed me off, so… don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do it for you."
The legitimate daughter of a major conglomerate, wounded by her family's one-sided pressure for a political marriage, with nowhere left to go after she ran away.
The fact that she was sincerely grateful for the small comfort she'd found in my semi-basement room.
She's not a bad person.
Something in the corner of my chest prickled strangely.
Every time I saw this human side of Min Jiyeon—whom I'd only ever known as the queen of the Academy—I felt a sense of kinship and relief.
Because her hidden inner self was peeking through.
"Thanks. I feel a little better because of you."
I busied my chopsticks to shake off the awkwardness.
I scooped up a bite of rice with the fried egg whose golden yolk had just burst open.
Then I put one of the meticulously patterned Vienna sausages into my mouth and chewed.
A salty yet savory flavor spread through my entire mouth.
It was so good it almost drew a sigh of admiration.
The seasoning was perfect and the cooking just right—hard to believe it came from the hands of a chaebol heiress.
Ingredients bought from the supermarket took on a surprisingly refined taste once they passed through her hands.
"Hey. This is really good. You sure you made this yourself? Did you go to cooking school or something? I guess chaebol daughters learn this kind of thing in bridal classes."
When I offered that sincere praise while still chewing, Min Jiyeon's head snapped toward me.
"…Of course I made it. It's not like it takes some incredible skill, so quit making a fuss. It has nothing to do with my family. I just picked up a little as a hobby when I was home alone."
I let out a short chuckle.
The corners of her lips curved into a small smile.
A pretty smile that carried the pure sense of accomplishment of a child.
But as if my gaze embarrassed her, she turned her head the other way and stared out at the distant athletic field.
The tips of her reddened ears peeking out between her black hair stood out especially clearly.
"Eat a lot. If you leave any, you'll have to clean it all up."
"Don't worry. It's so good there's no chance I'll leave any."
Watching her like that, I wordlessly emptied the lunchbox.
This strange cohabitation with a runaway heiress that had begun in my semi-basement room.
I found myself thinking it might not be so bad after all.
After every class had ended, on the way home from school.
I looked around, but Min Jiyeon was nowhere to be seen.
That was only natural.
Even if she had run away from home and decided to freeload in my semi-basement room, if anyone at the Academy saw the two of us openly walking home together, we would become the target of every suspicion and rumor imaginable.
Keeping a discreet distance and pretending not to know each other was the wisest choice for both our sakes.
I should hurry home and wash the pot from this morning.
Air the place out a bit too.
Thinking that I also needed to check whether the school uniform clothes that had gotten soaked in yesterday's rain had dried properly in front of the heater, I left the main road and quickened my pace toward a quiet alley that served as a shortcut—when suddenly:
"Park Yijun."
A familiar voice called my name.
I turned my head and saw a single female student standing there alone.
Long straight hair in a ponytail.
A height of 175 centimeters—similar to mine—but with a model-like figure.
The student council president armband worn precisely and neatly over a perfectly unwrinkled school shirt.
Kang Sujin, our class president and the student council president who commanded the entire Academy.
She approached me with a cold gaze.
The girl known throughout the Academy as the living symbol of every rule and principle.
For someone like her to seek out a covert outcast like me personally and strike up a conversation was both unusual and strange.
"Oh. Class president. What's up? Calling me out at this hour."
When I asked with open curiosity, Kang Sujin walked right up to me and stopped.
She calmly parted her lips.
"Park Yijun. I came to give you one warning. I thought you should know before it's too late."
"A warning? For me? Did I break some rule?"
"Min Jiyeon."
When that unexpected name slipped from Kang Sujin's mouth, the worst kind of anxiety hit me—that someone might have noticed last night's events or this morning's situation.
I did my best to keep my composure and asked as if nothing were wrong.
"What are you talking about? What does Min Jiyeon have to do with me that you'd give me a warning?"
"What happened in the classroom during lunch today. The fact that the two of you were together on the rooftop. Don't think you can hide anything from my eyes. As class president, I have to grasp every trend in the class. I don't know what you're thinking, hanging around her, but abandon any misconceptions."
Kang Sujin took another step closer.
The pressure radiating from her body was palpable.
Sujin spoke in a voice low enough that only I could hear.
"Min Jiyeon is not the type of person you can handle. Don't be fooled by that usual haughty exterior. That girl is… dangerous."
Kang Sujin's warning refused to leave me the entire walk home.
She's dangerous.
For something spat out while putting on airs as the student council president…
It wasn't just anyone—it was that Min Jiyeon.
Standing at the absolute peak of the Academy, what could that girl possibly be lacking that would make her end up in a place like this?
Family pressure.
An arranged marriage.
She'll figure it out on her own.
I was just a covert outcast living for nothing but my diploma.
As long as I kept my eyes on that, I could just keep walking.
I stood in front of the iron door of the semi-basement room and rummaged through my pockets.
The door lock had conveniently broken down.
I inserted the key and turned it.
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside—
The scent of soap spreading through the air.
The clatter of dishes coming from beyond the sink.
The bathroom door was open, and Min Jiyeon—who had roughly shaken off the water and stepped out—turned her head toward me.
The Academy uniform from this morning was nowhere to be seen.
She was back in that loose white T-shirt and gray training shorts I had lent her.
Toweling her wet black hair dry, she casually tossed out a single remark.
"You're back?"
Her attitude was so natural it was as if she had been the owner of this house for ages.
I set down my bag and swallowed a hollow laugh.
"I did have to use my head a bit to quietly slip away without attracting attention from the family or anyone else."
Min Jiyeon hung the towel on the rack as if it were nothing and pointed toward the sink.
"Go wash up. I set the table."
"You set the table?"
"Can't you tell just by looking? I have to earn my keep somehow. Hurry up, wash your hands, and sit down. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
I went into the bathroom, washed my hands, and looked in the mirror.
Why do I feel like a guest in my own house?
I dried my hands and came back out, and the food on the small wooden table caught my eye.
Tonight's dinner menu was omelette rice.
A yellow egg blanket wrapped neatly around the rice in a round shape, and on top of it were lines drawn with ketchup in what looked like an attempt at a design.
At a glance, it actually looked pretty decent.
"Omelette rice, huh."
"Yeah. I dug through the fridge, but there wasn't much I could use. Half an onion, leftover rice, and a few eggs—that was it. So I had no choice but to make this. I wanted to serve you something better, but given the situation…"
Min Jiyeon showed a slightly apologetic expression as she held out a spoon.
At her words, I sat down across the table and replied.
"That's because I'm poor. Your fridge back home was probably stacked with caviar and truffles. Sorry my fridge is so barren."
At my mischievous, self-deprecating joke, Min Jiyeon's pupils wavered.
She hurriedly waved her hands and raised her voice.
"Ah! No! That's not what I meant at all! I absolutely wasn't looking down on you for being poor or anything like that. I was just blaming the ingredients because my cooking skills aren't good enough. Don't misunderstand…!"
The flustered, at-a-loss look on the young lady's face was quite refreshing.
It was hard to believe this was the same Min Jiyeon I saw in the Academy lecture halls.
"I know. I was joking."
"…You're pretty good… at teasing people."
Min Jiyeon smoothed a hand over her chest and glared at me.
Paying her no mind, I scooped up a corner of the omelette rice with my spoon and pushed it into my mouth.
The harmony of well-seasoned fried rice and soft egg.
Even without any special ingredients, the balance of flavors was excellent.
"It's good… I mean it."
"You're not lying?"
"I'm not the type to say something tastes good when it doesn't. It's good."
Only then did the corners of Min Jiyeon's lips curl upward in quiet satisfaction.
She picked up her own spoon and began eating her portion as well.
That peaceful mealtime continued—until:
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
From the wall came the exact same noise from the next door that I had heard yesterday and this morning.
The water glass trembled slightly.
Min Jiyeon's spoon stopped cold.
Her forehead furrowed in an instant, and the look in her eyes changed.
"There it goes again. Why does that guy do this morning and night?"
"Beats me. The building's old, so the soundproofing is probably terrible."
"…That's just rude in a shared residence. I can't take it. I'm going out there to say something. If we keep putting up with it, he must think we're pushovers."
Min Jiyeon planted her hand on the table as if she were about to stand up that very second.
The same force that had crushed the thugs at the Academy with a single word was pouring out of her without restraint.