Entrance Ceremony (6)
A clear snicker of mockery reached my ears. Pretending not to notice, I packed the distributed teaching materials into my bag and rose to my feet.
The orientation had ended once every young lady finished her self-introduction, and Senior Officer Maria had departed after nothing more than a reminder not to break curfew and to enjoy our free time.
There was no longer any reason to linger in the classroom.
No—there was another reason entirely, but I forced myself to ignore it and hurried toward the door.
Someone was already standing in my way.
With leisurely steps, the young lady who blocked the doorway together with the flock that trailed her—Yoon Seo-a—snapped her fan open with a sharp chak and covered her mouth. The crescent curve of her eyes, however, remained perfectly visible.
“Your mother is an office worker, you say?”
She still used polite speech, yet the tone was nothing like our first exchange.
It was the voice of someone looking down on me—no, she truly was looking down on me. She had just learned from my introduction that my family’s backing was pitiful.
“And no father either… Well, when worthless things join together, it is hardly strange that they fall apart.”
The cluster of girls nearby let out soft, snickering laughs. I bit down on my lip and clenched the hand that held my bag until my knuckles whitened.
They were Yu Ha-eun’s parents, not truly mine—yet after I possessed this body, they were the ones who taught me what family love felt like. Hearing them insulted, I could not help but burn with anger.
Still, I could not pour that rage out onto Yoon Seo-a. Doing so would place my parents in genuine danger. While I stood there unable to speak, Seo-a slowly stepped closer.
“I truly, truly despise things that do not know their place.”
Eyes tinged with red filled my vision. Like a flame flickering in darkness, they looked ready to leap out and devour me at any moment.
As that thought crossed my mind, Seo-a folded her fan with a crisp tak and used the closed fan to poke my forehead, once, twice.
“Miss Yu Ha-eun. No—from now on I shall call you Miss Ha-eun. Do consider it an honor.”
Honor, my ass. I forced the glare out of my eyes and exhaled a long breath through my nose. As the heat in my chest settled, I remembered exactly what I had to do.
Smooth the faintly furrowed brow. Lift the corners of the mouth that had been pressed into a hard line. Shape a smile. Losing my temper here would only shrink my footing further.
Had the student council president not said it? A young lady was a being who must remain noble.
At any time, in any moment, she must preserve her dignity—even when her parents were insulted, even when her very existence was insulted.
I pushed the fan away from my forehead with a hand that was deliberately unhurried, then spoke to Yoon Seo-a.
“For Miss Yoon Seo-a to address me by name is an honor beyond compare. Thank you.”
I even lifted the hem of my skirt in a slight curtsy. Seo-a was silent for a beat, then let out a short, incredulous breath and tapped the crown of my head with her fan.
“Let us get along well this coming year, Miss Ha-eun.”
It will be a year you never forget. With those words she swept out of the classroom together with the flock that had gathered around her.
I kept my head bowed long after the footsteps faded, then finally raised it with a deep sigh.
I’m screwed.
No matter how I turned it over, that was the only conclusion.
Yoon Seo-a’s father was the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport? The strongest backing among all the young ladies in Class 1-D?
No—young ladies who could match a sitting minister were rare enough that you could count them on one hand even if you searched the entire student body of Acacia Academy. And I had been marked by someone with that kind of power?
All I could think was that my academy life was about to become a living hell. What was I supposed to do? Drop out now? No—I could not believe Seo-a would simply let me go if I left. If anything, free of watching eyes she would torment me even more freely.
In the end, was suicide the only answer?
“Um… um…”
“Ah—yes?”
The timid voice behind me made me flinch and turn.
I had thought every young lady remaining in the classroom had already left. I never imagined someone was still here. She must have seen every pathetic thing I did while clutching my head.
That worry vanished the moment I recognized the owner of the voice.
“Ah, it was you. Shin So-hye, was it?”
“Y-yes! That’s right. Y-you remembered me…”
I nearly died trying to help her—of course I remembered.
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but the sight of Shin So-hye shrinking into herself made me let them out as a sigh instead.
She was taller and broader than I was; I could not understand why she walked around so timidly.
I stepped closer and held out my hand.
“The situation earlier made a proper greeting impossible. I’m Yu Ha-eun.”
“N-nice to meet you, Miss Yu Ha-eun…”
Shin So-hye’s hand trembled as she took mine, so I deliberately shook it with firm strength. The way she startled was so much like a small animal that it was almost cute.
I finished the handshake with a warm smile. She opened and closed the hand that had held mine as if reluctant to let go, then spoke in an apologetic voice.
“Th-that… I’m sorry. Because of me you got dragged into—”
“What is there for Miss Shin So-hye to apologize for? I did it because I wanted to.”
Of course I had not truly wanted to. Stupid Yu Ha-eun. Righteous indignation is something you exercise according to time and place—not just anywhere.
While I grumbled silently to an audience of none, Shin So-hye bowed her head deeply.
“E-even so, I’m truly grateful. I was so scared back then… If Miss Yu Ha-eun hadn’t stepped in, I really… I don’t know what would have… hng…”
By the end her voice was thick with tears; she could no longer hold them back and began to cry. Truly a high-maintenance young lady. I took a handkerchief from the pocket of my bag and held it out to her.
“Don’t cry, Miss Shin So-hye. A lady’s tears are heavier and more precious than gold. They must never be shed over something as trivial as petty bullying.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“There’s no need to apologize. Here—if you rub hard you’ll irritate the skin, so press gently like this. Yes, you’re doing well.”
How someone this timid ever made it this far was beyond me. I patted Shin So-hye’s shoulder and comforted her until the tears stopped.
In truth I was the one who would have a far harder time from now on; I was in no position to be consoling anyone.
“Th-thank you. I’ve received help again…”
“Please don’t feel burdened. We’re in the same class, after all.”
“I-is that so…”
The way she nodded, completely accepting my words, looked pure to the point of naïveté. Had she not studied anything about Acacia Academy at all?
I considered offering one more piece of unsolicited advice, then immediately shook my head and discarded the idea.
I had already stuck my nose in once and was on the verge of complete ruin; doing it a second time was something only the original Yu Ha-eun would do.
Of course, I was Yu Ha-eun now. I carefully folded the tear-soaked handkerchief and spoke to Shin So-hye.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Shin So-hye. I have an appointment with a friend.”
“A-a friend…”
At the word she somehow looked dejected. Still, I could not spare her any more attention.
I had rescued her from bullying, but that had been pure impulse; it was not because I felt any particular fondness for her.
“Then, farewell.”
I gave a short bow and left her behind as I exited the classroom.
I had promised to meet Su-ryeon at the main gate the moment orientation ended, yet the business with Yoon Seo-a and Shin So-hye had delayed me a little.
Of course Su-ryeon was not the sort to grow angry over a short wait, but making someone wait was still wrong.
Even so, I could not run. As I had said earlier, a young lady must remain noble at all times and in all places.
The vulgar act of running simply because one was late was forbidden. Instead I could only hasten my steps as though power-walking.
“Ah!”
Perhaps I had hurried too much; I failed to dodge the person who appeared around the corner and collided with her.
I fell spectacularly, my backside throbbing, yet I scrambled up at once and held out a hand to the one I had struck.
“Are you all right?!”
“Ugh… Really, what do you think you’re doing, not watching where you’re going?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
The young lady snapped at me sharply, but the fault was clearly mine, so I bowed my head low and apologized.
After a few more grumbles she tapped my shoulder, told me to be careful next time, and walked away.
Ah, truly nothing was going right on the very first day. I straightened my clothes belatedly, sighed, and continued downstairs.
In the end the steps I had taken to arrive sooner only delayed me further.
With a half-soulless expression I made my way toward the main gate. For some reason every person I passed glanced at me and then whispered among themselves.
I had no idea what they were talking about, yet the thought of Su-ryeon waiting left me no room to care.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs and the main gate came into view, I saw Su-ryeon leaning against the wall with her bag held in front of her.
“Miss Su-ryeon!”
“Ah, Miss Ha-eun!”
“I’m so sorry for being late…!”
I had lost count of how many times I had bowed my head today alone. When I apologized with my head lowered, she smiled as if it were nothing.
“It’s fine. I didn’t wait long at all. More importantly, did something happen? Most orientations seemed to finish around the same time.”
“Haha… There was a small incident, yes. I’ll tell you over the meal.”
The matter with Yoon Seo-a was too awkward to discuss in a place with so many people coming and going, so I tried to lead Su-ryeon toward the dining hall first.
“Oh? There’s a piece of paper stuck to your shoulder.”
“Paper?”
“Look at this.”
She was right. When Su-ryeon touched my shoulder, a single Post-it note came away in her hand. I took it from her and immediately felt my face harden.
So that was why everyone had been whispering about me.
[Fatherless Bitch]
I crumpled the Post-it hard in my fist, then turned a smile toward the worried Su-ryeon.
“Someone must have played a mean little prank.”
“This goes far beyond a prank…”
“Miss Su-ryeon.”
I spoke her name with the clear meaning that she need say nothing more. The intent must have reached her; she pressed her lips shut, then finally sighed.
“…All right. Let’s go to the dining hall first. You did say you would tell me over the meal, after all.”
“Yes. Let’s hurry.”
I needed something delicious in my mouth if I was ever going to wash away this filthy feeling.