Prologue
Ding-ding-ding~♪
Good mor-ning~♪
Ba-ba-ba ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
"Ugh... mmph..."
That godawful alarm pries my eyes open. I give them a halfhearted rub, sit up in bed, and take a moment to look around, trying to get my head on straight.
I sit there zoning out, nodding off — until a thought hits me and I'm suddenly wide awake.
"...Oh. Right. School starts today."
I scramble out of bed and head for the bathroom to wash up.
Whoosh—
I splash running water over my face, brush my teeth, and look in the mirror.
Black hair hanging down just past my brow. About five foot ten — neither particularly tall nor particularly short. A decent amount of muscle, just enough to look good without trying.
I finish getting ready and step out into the living room. In this huge house, you'd be hard-pressed to find even a trace of anyone living here — aside from my own room. The other rooms and the living room sit sunk in a dim, heavy gloom.
I head for the fridge to get breakfast. Opening it, I find it almost empty: a loaf of white bread, a few eggs, some strawberry jam, and milk.
"Guess I need to go grocery shopping today."
I smack my lips, pull some bread from the fridge, slather it with jam, and wash it down with a glass of milk. Breakfast is over.
It's a pretty meager breakfast for a high schooler still in his growing years, but at this point, it doesn't even register.
I go back to my room, pull out my uniform, change, and get ready to leave. I've even got my shoes on and I'm about to walk out the door when my feet stop dead. I look back.
It's still a little chilly, being spring, but even so, I have a feeling it'd be colder inside the house than out. No — it would be. Without a doubt.
"......What's the point of dwelling on it now."
I mutter the words to myself, turning them over, and head to school.
When I arrive at school and walk into my newly assigned classroom, it's noisier than I expected. One particular direction draws the eye — a cluster of people packed especially tight.
In a spot that seems to shine with a brilliant light sits a girl who glows even brighter than the light itself.
Lee Yeonhee.
A celebrity at our school. There's not a single person who doesn't know her name. From the day she enrolled, her pretty face and outstanding grades have made her the object of affection and admiration from seniors and juniors alike — the girl everyone looks up to.
She's been confessed to by any number of guys since the start of the term, and she's turned every last one of them down. That's how she picked up that weird nickname: the Unbreakable Flower.
Giving a classmate a nickname like that in high school of all places... as far as I'm concerned, it's about as childish as it gets. But whatever. Not my problem. She's got nothing to do with me anyway.
That's how it was in the past, that's how it is now, and that's how it'll be in the future.
I hate noisy places, and I hate getting mixed up in things, so I make my way to a seat by the window in the corner.
The warning bell rings. The homeroom teacher comes in, and the students who'd been clustered together all shuffle back to their seats.
"Nobody's missing, right? Doesn't look like it, so just study on your own until first period starts."
He doesn't even bother calling roll. It might look irresponsible, but I actually prefer it this way. If he called attendance and said my name, I'd have to answer "here" — and that would draw a certain amount of attention. I hate that.
A school that holds actual classes starting on the first day back. What a joke. The first day's always just teacher introductions and self-introductions to kill time anyway, so I don't know why they bother...
Grumbling to myself like that, I finish the last class and start getting ready to go home.
I've slung my bag over my shoulder and finished getting ready to leave when I sense someone walking up beside me. I turn my head — and there she is. The most famous person in the school.
...?
Figuring she couldn't possibly have business with me, I'm about to walk right past her and head home when—
"Han Juyeong."
My name, spoken in her voice, stops me in my tracks.
If she'd just said "wait" or "hold on," I could've pretended I hadn't heard and kept walking, like it wasn't meant for me. But calling me by name like that, stopping me dead... I couldn't ignore it.
"What?"
Lee Yeonhee fidgets for a moment, opening her mouth and closing it again, before she finally speaks.
"...Could you spare me a little time?"
It sounds like a hassle, so I'm about to turn her down and leave.
"No. I'm a bit busy, so I'll be going."
"W-wait, it'll only take a second!"
I try to figure out what she could possibly have to say to me. I haven't made a single friend since starting high school — I've been on my own this whole time. I've got a decent amount of money, but... it's not even mine... What on earth is this about? I'm in the middle of thinking that when—
......Huh?