The President’s Warning and the Lunch That Followed
Kang Sujin’s gaze had drifted not to me, but to the empty desk right beside me.
The empty seat of Min Jiyeon.
She leaned in close to my ear and whispered, low enough that no one else could possibly hear.
“Jiyeon still hasn’t shown up yet, Park Yijun. I warned you.”
“Warned me about what?”
“Don’t play innocent. I told you this morning at the rules meeting too. I’ve been seeing you trailing around that girl too much. Don’t get too close to Min Jiyeon. There’s nothing good coming of it for you.”
Kang Sujin’s presence carried an invisible pressure that went beyond mere intercession.
I shifted my chair a little farther back and met her stare head-on.
“Well… I don’t know why the class president is so prickly with specific students. From my point of view she just looks like an ordinary kid. Doesn’t seem particularly dangerous.”
“Ordinary? Hah… You really know nothing.”
Kang Sujin let out a dry, sarcastic laugh.
Her eyes stayed locked on me.
“Don’t fall for appearances. That girl has done far more sinister things than you could ever imagine, and that’s why you don’t know. You don’t know what the Min Ga Group is really like, or how Min Jiyeon operates inside it. She’s crafty and dangerous. Especially the kind of covert outcast like you who gets dragged into those sorts of things.”
The paper of the report form Kang Sujin was gripping crumpled slightly in her fist.
She swallowed her rising temper, took a deep breath, and let it out again.
“…If my words sound like nagging, just do what you want. It’s your life. I don’t have the right to force you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you regret it later.”
Creak.
At that exact moment the rear door of the classroom opened.
The first person to walk through was none other than Min Jiyeon.
Her straight black hair still swept neatly back, the fit of her uniform jacket still crisp, yet there was an unmistakable fatigue lingering at the corners of her eyes that hadn’t been there before.
Min Jiyeon stopped just inside the doorway, scanning the classroom.
She spotted me and Kang Sujin sitting so close together.
Her steps faltered.
Her eyes suddenly shone.
She said nothing, but the haughty glare she sent Kang Sujin’s way was unmistakable.
Kang Sujin, for her part, didn’t look away. She raised her chin and met Min Jiyeon’s stare squarely.
The two women’s gazes collided head-on.
Kang Sujin was the first to break it.
She clicked her tongue lightly, gathered up the stack of papers on my desk, and turned to leave.
“Submissions checked. I’m going.”
She ignored Min Jiyeon entirely.
Head still lowered, she walked back toward her own seat.
Min Jiyeon watched the retreating figure with clear displeasure, then made her way over to my side and set her bag down.
Well, at least they were both playing along.
***
Ding-dong.
Lunchtime.
After days of relentless rain that had swallowed the entire academy, the sky beyond the windows was a clear, cloudless blue, and the afternoon sun poured down without mercy.
“…Let’s go. Time to eat.”
Min Jiyeon rose from her seat first and gave the signal.
Seeing the plastic container of bento she carried, I obediently followed.
Our destination today was once again the academy’s main building rooftop.
The place was deserted, the view perfectly open, and there was simply no better spot to avoid prying eyes.
We settled onto the familiar wooden bench in the corner.
Min Jiyeon unfolded a white handkerchief with practiced ease and lifted the lid of the bento.
Click.
“Eat.”
I glanced inside the container.
The aroma of sweet and spicy—glazed pork belly glistening with red sauce, thin slices of onion and green onion perfectly cooked through the meat, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
“It’s pork belly stir-fry. Did you actually have leftover meat in the fridge?”
“I had a bit of loin left after buying at the mart yesterday, so I marinated it this morning. You were looking so thin. You always used to pick the spiciest ramen or raw meat at convenience stores. I figured out your taste by now, so don’t complain and just eat.”
“Since when did you figure out my taste?”
“Just shut up and eat. Hmph.”
Min Jiyeon shoved a disposable wooden chopstick into my hand with a gruff tone.
Yet the faintest flush colored her own cheeks.
I could see she was nervously wondering how I would react to the food she had prepared herself.
I picked up a generous chunk of meat with my chopsticks and brought it to my mouth.
The seasoning was perfectly balanced—savory, with just the right amount of sweetness, and the pork retained its natural tenderness.
No one would ever guess it came from the daughter of a chaebol.
“Wow. Delicious. The seasoning is spot-on. Expert level?”
“I just kinda stir-fried it.”
Min Jiyeon turned her face away, clearly embarrassed by my praise.
She ate elegantly too, picking up a small piece of meat and chewing slowly.
Click.
Bang!
The rooftop door slammed open.
Both our heads turned toward the entrance.
The person who stepped out was someone no one on campus didn’t know…
In a completely different kind of celebrity.
Her bleached-blonde hair was hastily tied up, and the school uniform skirt was unbuttoned two or three buttons from the top.
A flashy, gyaru-style idol who only came to the academy to stamp her attendance card.
Kim Hyeona.
“Whoa? Who are you?”
Kim Hyeona spotted us with sparkling eyes and strolled over with a bright smile.
“The queen of the academy, Miss Min Jiyeon, why are you hiding up here… wow! And beside her is our class’s Yijun.”
Kim Hyeona chewed her gum as she reached the bench and planted her hands on her hips.
The loudmouth star type who always spread gossip inside the class.
To someone like me—an outcast—she was endlessly irritating and something to avoid.
Min Jiyeon’s expression darkened as she looked up at Kim Hyeona.
“Kim Hyeona. What gives you the right to barge into someone else’s lunch break without manners? If you have nothing to say, get out. You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“Aww, Miss is so sharp. I came out to get some fresh air because the weather was nice and just happened to see you.”
Kim Hyeona paid no attention to Min Jiyeon’s sharp tone and turned her gaze to the bento on the bench.
“But wow… is that pork belly stir-fry? Insanely good. Wait… did Jiyeon really make this lunch herself? No way… right?”
“It’s just something I learned as a hobby. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. But, wait a second.”
Kim Hyeona’s eyes widened and the corners of her mouth curled in a mischievous smile.
Her gaze moved back and forth between my face and Min Jiyeon’s, probing relentlessly.
“So, what’s the relationship between you two? The rumors say Jiyeon is sensitive because of family conflicts. Why suddenly is she hanging around a nobody like Yijun in class? Lunchbox date on the rooftop… wait, are you two actually dating?”
Her direct question.
To protect Min Jiyeon I answered immediately.
“No. Absolutely not. It’s nothing like that. Don’t spread useless rumors. We just happened to run into each other and are sharing lunch because of some mutual interest.”
Firm and negative.
But the moment my answer ended—
I turned my head slightly and glanced at Min Jiyeon.
She was gripping her chopsticks so tightly her knuckles were white.
A wave of loneliness and disappointment that words could not describe passed across her face.
Min Jiyeon steadied her emotions and added, “Park Yijun is right. Kim Hyeona. It’s not some cheap relationship you’re imagining. Stop spouting nonsense.”
“Huh? Really? My intuition was wrong, huh? But even after you color me, it’s still weird. Yeah. It’s weird. It’s so weird…”
Kim Hyeona backed off.
She glanced up at the sky beyond the rooftop railing, then let out a light laugh.
“If it’s not a secret date, that’s fine. But seriously, don’t eat on the rooftop right after the rain ends. You don’t know the fine-dust levels are at their worst? Your lungs are going to be ruined. Especially yours, Yijun. Your parents up in heaven must be worried sick. You need to take care of your health.”
At that moment Kim Hyeona’s smartphone rang inside her pocket.
She glanced at the screen, waved, and said, “Oh… the club members are calling. I’m heading back. You two finish eating. Later. Don’t fall in love! Focus on your studies!”
With clear footsteps Kim Hyeona opened the rooftop door and walked downstairs.
Only after the door closed did the rooftop fall silent again, just the two of us.
Min Jiyeon poked at the pork belly in her container with her chopsticks and muttered, “…Pointless interference. Who does she think she is, ordering me around? That’s rude.”
Her irritation at Kim Hyeona wasn’t the only thing she was feeling. There was an unmistakable undercurrent of dissatisfaction aimed at me as well.
I took another bite of rice and watched her.
When I answered that we weren’t dating, I cut her off like a blade.
If anyone knew my circumstances, they would have done the same.
A chaebol heiress and a basement outcast… the rumors would have been unbearable.
I stopped talking and silently emptied my bento.
***
After school.
The sun was already dipping low.
Min Jiyeon and I stood in the food corner of a large mart near the quiet residential area a short distance from the academy.
We had originally planned to meet back in the semi-basement room after school with a time gap between us, but because the refrigerator had been completely emptied out after yesterday’s omelet, we had no choice but to come together.
We had at least packed today’s bento with the remaining ingredients.
“It’s serious. Your fridge only has water? What do you even eat on a regular basis?”
“I told you. I’m poor. But I do have my part-time job salary. I need to do a proper grocery run today.”