The final bell for the history period rang out.
I dragged my massive frame out of Class 2-B, my shoulders slouched and my black pen practically glued to my numb fingers. My brain was completely fried from thirty-five consecutive minutes of scribbling essays on ancient Goryeo dynastic treaties, but as I stepped into the chilly hallway, a strange realization settled in.
"Honestly..." I sighed, running a hand through my messy comma hair, "this time the questions weren't even that difficult."
Beside me, Kang Min-ah didn't even look up from her pink Samsung phone, her thumb flying across the screen at light-speed as she monitored the latest posts on Kirin's Secret.
"Maybe," she teased, a wicked smirk catching the corner of her lips, "that's because you actually studied this time, Mountain. Shocker, I know."
I shot her a deadpan, thoroughly exhausted glare.
"Your support as my best friend is truly overwhelming, Min-ah." I cleared my throat, adjusting my blazer as we turned the corner away from the Applied Music wing, heading toward the main entrance. "Oh, by the way... do you remember our deal?"
Min-ah paused mid-step, her eyes finally snapping away from her screen. "Deal? Which deal?"
Before she could process the question, a wave of loud, frantic shouting echoed from the double doors leading to the sports wing.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY! HE'S GOING TO THE CAFETERIA!"
A pack of five broad-shouldered guys from the Taekwondo and swimming tracks came sprinting down the hallway like a runaway freight train, closely pursued by an aggressive, screaming swarm of first-year fan-girls waving decorative banners. The corridor instantly transformed into a high-speed stampede.
My calisthenics reflexes reacted.
I reached out, wrapped a hand around Min-ah's wrist, and pulled her forcefully toward my chest, tucking her behind my frame. The sudden momentum pressed her tightly against my wool blazer, completely shielding her from the rushing crowd. The sports guys thundered past, their sneakers squeaking on the linoleum, taking the chaotic wave of shouting girls right along with them.
Min-ah went completely rigid against my chest. Her breath hitched, her large eyes staring wide-eyed up at my jaw, her cheeks painted in an instant, brilliant flush of red.
"Ahem," I cleared my throat, stepping back just enough to give her space while keeping my body blocking the remaining hallway traffic. "As I was saying... the JBC tour deal. In exchange for you telling me about W-Naut's—"
SLAP.
Min-ah's warm, dry palm instantly slapped directly over my mouth, shutting down my vocal cords mid-sentence.
"Okay, okay! Shut up!" she hissed frantically, her eyes darting left and right to check if any lingering students had caught the forbidden word. "I remember! You don't have to shout it in the middle of the main lobby, you absolute gorilla!"
I gently took her wrist and pulled her hand away from my face.
"I talked to Mrs. Lee over breakfast. It can be organized for this weekend. A full observational VIP pass alongside the new corporate practitioners. How's that?"
Min-ah's eyes sparkled with pure, unadulterated triumph, but then she hesitated. She scratched the side of her head with the edge of her pink phone, biting her lip in rare, visible hesitation.
"Look..." she muttered, her voice dropping into a guarded, ultra-serious whisper. "I have one more condition then."
My jaw dropped. My soul nearly left my body for the third time this week.
I opened my mouth to launch an explosive, high-volume protest about bilateral contract abuse, but Min-ah aggressively jabbed her index finger against my chest, cutting me off before I could even make a sound.
"Listen to me first!" she commanded sharply. "Do not tell anyone—and I mean absolutely no one, not even Ha-neul or Jin-hyun—that I was the one who gave you this info. Knowing the truth has to be enough for you. If word gets out that the Database Queen leaked something... my entire informant network across Kirin and Hanyeong is burned forever."
She paused, narrowing her eyes as she scrutinized my serious expression.
"Besides," she asked, her tone shifting to genuine, bewildered confusion, "why do you even need this cursed archive so desperately anyway? What on earth are you asking for, San-ah?"
I looked her straight in the eye, my deep voice completely devoid of banter.
"To make peace between Jun-seo and Myung-dae."
Min-ah froze.
Her thumb stopped on her phone screen. Her jaw slowly unhinged, her eyes widening to the size of tea saucers as she stared at me as if I had just announced my intention to single-handedly terraform Mars.
"MWO?!" she blurted out at the top of her lungs, completely shattering her own broadcast room volume rules.