There Are No Secrets (3)
Even though I had made a complete fool of myself, Senior Seo-hee had been generous enough to let it slide, and so we were able to continue the conversation.
I finally managed to smooth out the tear-streaked mess of my face, took a slow breath, and spoke to her.
"When you say the Student Council… you mean the next one, right?"
"Yes. The current council will be dissolved once the second regular exams are over."
"But why me of all people…?"
As I had said before, the Student Council was not a place you could simply walk into just because you studied well. You needed a certain amount of background to back you up, and even then, you had to be recommended by someone already inside. Or the president herself had to handpick you.
And the senior sitting across from me was, for all practical purposes, the already-designated next president of the Student Council.
In other words, the next Student Council President was personally inviting me to join. At my question, Senior Seo-hee smiled sweetly.
"Is there any reason Ha-eun shouldn't?"
"But I'm not from a particularly good family… and as I mentioned earlier, I'm not exactly a top student either…"
Every time I listed those shortcomings, my shoulders hunched and I felt myself shrinking. Ever since coming here I had always kept my chest out so no one would look down on me, but right now I couldn't even bring myself to try.
I fidgeted, glancing at Senior Seo-hee for cues. She simply sipped her tea as if telling me to keep going.
I kept my eyes fixed on the table and opened my mouth.
"I just thought… someone like Miss Seo-a would be far more suited to a place like that…"
"Didn't Seo-a tell you? She was invited as well."
"Ah. R-right, she did. Of course."
I floundered so badly that Senior Seo-hee set her teacup down with a soft clink and spoke again.
"Do you know why every single person who enters the Student Council comes from an excellent family and has excellent grades, Ha-eun?"
"Huh? W-well… because they're the pinnacle of the student body… aren't they?"
"Because they're the pinnacle of the student body… Well, it's not entirely wrong, but it's not a perfect answer either. I'll give you sixty points."
"S-sixty points…"
At least it was better than my actual exam scores, so maybe I should be happy? While I was thinking that, Senior Seo-hee continued.
"The reason such talented people gather in the Student Council is to prove its authority."
"To prove… its authority?"
"Yes. The Student Council is called the pinnacle of every student. But here at Private Acacia Academy, there are quite a few people who can ignore even that kind of relationship."
"Ah…"
At her words, Yoon Seo-a immediately came to mind. I had seen more than once how she broke rules as she pleased and how even the Senior Officers could only click their tongues without actively stopping her. So I understood exactly what Senior Seo-hee meant.
"So it's not that they get in because they're Student Council members—it's that they need good families and excellent grades in order to operate smoothly as the Student Council. That's what gives the council's decisions their authority."
"Exactly."
"But that only makes me an even worse choice, doesn't it…?"
Once I said it out loud, it was obvious. Authority still had to come from a foundation, and I had none of it. Me, with nothing to my name, joining the Student Council? Even if membership came with advantages after graduation, I had no desire to walk straight into a path of pure hardship.
When I voiced that feeling, Senior Seo-hee gave a soft little laugh.
"Of course I understand how you feel, Ha-eun. But think about it. Once you put on the Student Council armband, you gain the authority to order around young ladies from better families than yours."
"I'm not particularly interested in that sort of thing…"
"Is that so? That's exactly why I want to be Student Council President."
Eh, that's the reason? My mouth fell open. Senior Seo-hee lifted her teacup again.
"Outside these walls, even people from families beneath mine can't be controlled with a single snap of the fingers. But here, it's possible. You can slash the evaluation of a club that houses someone you dislike, or use school rules that everyone usually lets slide to pile on penalties."
"Uh…"
"You're still a first-year, so you wouldn't know, but once a club's evaluation drops below a certain point, their budget gets cut. They can even lose their rooms to other clubs or be forced to disband entirely. That's why club presidents grab my legs and beg for mercy the moment they think their scores might fall."
A smile of pure delight spread across Senior Seo-hee's face, as if just imagining it brought her joy.
"But if you ignore those desperate pleas and write down the minus marks anyway, that desperation turns into rage. Watching that entire transformation is so much fun… the current president even told me to tone it down a little."
"Ah, haha… I-I see…"
I answered with an awkward smile. Somehow, the Senior Seo-hee I thought I knew and the one sitting in front of me now felt like completely different people. Before, I had thought of her as a beautiful, mysterious, kind person. Now she felt more like a beautiful, mysterious devil who held power in her hands.
Finding joy in watching someone's desperation turn into despair and rage… this person was definitely not ordinary either.
While I was revising my internal evaluation of her, Senior Seo-hee snapped out of her brief reminiscence and spoke again.
"Anyway, that's not all. If you join the Student Council, you can also move dormitories. Ah, have you ever been to Hydrangea Hall?"
"Ah, no. I haven't been to Hydrangea Hall yet…"
"If you haven't been to Hydrangea Hall, that means you've been to Acacia Hall. Well, of course—Seo-a seems quite fond of you."
"Ah, ah. Yes…"
She had reached that conclusion from a single careless remark. I looked at Senior Seo-hee with a touch of fear, then suddenly voiced a question that had occurred to me.
"Th-that reminds me… Senior Seo-hee, you also call her Miss Seo-a…?"
"Yes. Seo-a is my adorable junior as well. And she'll be my successor, too."
"I see…"
So even Yoon Seo-a was just an adorable junior to Senior Seo-hee. I had hoped I was the only one in that kind of relationship with her. Well, she was Senior Seo-hee—of course she would have plenty of other excellent juniors… Wait. Hadn't she just said something else?
I hesitated for a moment, then jerked my head up and asked.
"Successor? Miss Seo-a is going to be your successor?"
"Yes, well. Having a first-year as vice president will cause quite a bit of pushback, but I believe Seo-a can handle it. Besides, the current Student Council—including Senior Ha-rin—will support her, and so will I…"
"W-wait a second. When you say Senior Ha-rin… d-do you mean the current Student Council President, Miss Kang Ha-rin…?"
"That's right. There's only one Ha-rin in the fourth year, after all."
Senior Seo-hee spoke as if it were nothing and tilted her teacup. I, on the other hand, sat there with a dazed expression, turning the information over in my head.
So in the next Student Council, Yoon Seo-a would take the vice president seat—essentially Senior Seo-hee's successor—and both the current council and the next president were fully on board with it?
Then the Student Council President after next would naturally be Yoon Seo-a, wouldn't she? The moment that thought formed, I asked Senior Seo-hee in a trembling voice.
"Senior Seo-hee… may I ask you something…?"
"Of course."
"Is it possible for a Student Council President to serve consecutive terms…?"
At my question, Senior Seo-hee seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
"By custom and by timing, the presidency is a position you hold once and then step down from. Even a single term is enough to keep the post-graduation advantages. And because the authority is so strong, the responsibility is equally heavy—it's a harder job than people think, so few want to do it twice. However…"
"However…?"
"If someone has good timing and a strong hunger for power, challenging for a consecutive term wouldn't be strange at all. As I said, the president's authority is immense."
"Ugh…"
I clutched my head. Senior Seo-hee tilted hers and looked at me curiously, but I had no room to care.
Good timing and a strong hunger for power. Was there anyone who fit those conditions better than Yoon Seo-a right now?
And considering her family, she was the type who would enjoy molding the academy to her liking through consecutive terms far more than any post-graduation advantages. The work being hard? She would handle it perfectly without so much as a change in expression. Her abilities were not something that could be underestimated.
But what I was worried about was something else entirely.
Yoon Seo-a already acted as if rules didn't exist. What would happen if she also gained the overwhelming power of Student Council President?
I knew she had been less extreme lately. At least she no longer tormented me at every single opportunity. But that could flip at any moment. Even during the study camp, she had latched onto me and sexually harassed me without hesitation.
Once she became president and had nothing left to hold her back, she might very well go right back to the way she used to be. The moment that thought settled, only one idea circled through my mind.
Okay. Maybe I should just drop out.
"Drop out? What on earth are you talking about, Ha-eun?"
"…Did I just say that out loud?"
"Probably."
At her words, I immediately buried my face in the table. I had already made a complete spectacle of myself in front of Senior Seo-hee just moments ago, and now I was blurting out things like that again.
I want to die… or at least turn into a mouse hole. While I sat there half-enlightened, Senior Seo-hee set her teacup down and spoke.
"Is the reason you thought of dropping out because of Miss Seo-a?"
"Huh? Ah, n-no, it's not that…"
"Then what is it?"
"W-well…"
At her follow-up, I ran out of things to say and stalled, mumbling. Her amber eyes reflected my flustered state for a long moment before her eyelids lowered over them.
"Well, I suppose someone like you might think that way."
"Huh? What do you mean, I might think that way…?"
"You're being bullied by Miss Seo-a, aren't you?"
"…What?"
My heart plummeted. I stared at her in blank shock, but Senior Seo-hee continued in a perfectly calm voice.
"Why are you so surprised? Do you know how many surveillance cameras there are inside the academy? For reference, there was one on the fifth floor too."
"Th-then why…"
"Why didn't I help you… is what you want to ask, right?"
I nodded at her words. If she had seen it, if the Student Council had stepped in, then maybe my relationship with Yoon Seo-a would never have reached this point.
But at the same time, I could already predict what Senior Seo-hee was going to say. As her lips slowly parted, I opened my mouth as well.
"Because this is…"
"…Private Acacia Academy."
"That's right. Bullying like that is something you have to overcome on your own."
Only then can you become someone worthy of being called a young lady. Senior Seo-hee said it with a radiant smile.
Yes. No matter how much I liked and respected Senior Seo-hee, in the end she was still a young lady of Private Acacia Academy.
Unlike me, who was only pretending to be one.