"Hi, Gyeongwon."
"....!"
The special class at Nakseong High School, where only the top-ranking students gather.
When his first love from middle school, the one he'd had a crush on but was rejected by, spoke to him there, Gyeongwon felt as though his heart had stopped.
He hastily glanced around and then cautiously responded.
"Why are you here.....".
"I transferred here. It's been a really long time, hasn't it?"
Hyejin smiled brightly, wearing the same smile that had captivated Gyeongwon back in the days.
Unlike the flustered Gyeongwon, she casually nudged him.
"Please take good care of me. I'm counting on you."
After greeting him like that, the transfer student Hyejin sat in a corner of the multipurpose room to get ready for the special class lesson.
Gyeongwon felt as if he had momentarily returned to his pathetic middle school days, along with the sense as if he hadn't grown at all despite becoming a high school student. Unable to say a word, his face just turned red.
***
Lee Hyejin was a student who also suddenly transferred in during middle school.
To be precise, she transferred to the class where Ahn Gyeongwon was the class president during the second year of middle school.
Because she transferred at the awkward time of the second semester of the second year, Hyejin, regardless of her personality, was subtly ostracized by the girls in Gyeongwon's class, who had already formed their groups and were all close.
Hyejin was, so to speak, the typical confident rich girl; she was a very Sociable child who was kind to everyone and spoke to them without hesitation.
Nevertheless, she could not break through the solid cartel of the pubescent girls in their second year of middle school.
Unable to bear seeing her always alone despite being so pretty, good at studying, and having such a nice personality, the homeroomn teacher instructed Gyeongwon, the class president, to look after her a bit.
Coincidentally, Gyeongwon had also been watching Hyejin and feeling sorry for her, thinking, Why is someone like that always alone?", so he readily agreed.
During P.E. class, Gyeongwon began to
gradually talk to Hyejin. who always sat quietly by herself, and started looking after her. Hyejin gave a bitter smile, as if she knew exactly why Gyeongwon was doing that, but she still didn't lose her radiant smile.
"Really? Gyeongwon, you live in Clover
Prestige too?"
"'Ah, yeah... you too...?"
"Yeah, I just moved into Building 102!"
"That's the building right next door..."
Although Gyeongwon always approached her out of a sense of duty as class president to look after her, he was completely clueless when it came to talking to girls. So rather, once a conversation started, it was Hyejin who would smile first and often offer up
topics to talk about.
"Our apartment complex is really spacious, isn't it?"
"..I've never lived anywhere else."
"Really? This size is actually on the big side. Could you show me around sometime?"
"...Show you?"
"Yeah. The complex is so big that I don't even know where anything is. I heard we have an underground swimming pool too, right?"
"...Well, we do."
"That, and the breakfast buffet. I'm curious where they are. If it's in the next building over, could you show me around sometime?"
"...Uh, Sure...."
"Thanks~"
Hyejin smiled brightly at Gyeongwon, and Gyeongwon felt his cheeks turning red.
From what he had heard of, as befits the rich-girl vibe she gave off, her dad was the president of a trading Company, and her mom exhibited artworks at a gallery.
'....Why does a girl who seems to have
everything and is so full of confidence stay alone?'
That just showed there was no real reason at all behind the bullying among adolescent schoolgirls.
The situation took a turn at the end of the second semester of the second year.
It was after the final exams were over.
[Second Year, Second Semester Final Exam - Overall School Ranking]
1st Place: Lee Hyejin
2nd Place:.....
.
.
7th Place: Ahn Gyeongwon
.
.
"Wow, that's crazy. Who's that, and how did they suddenly get first place?"
"I heard she just transferred to the class next door?"
"They say she's super pretty, too."
"How come I haven't seen her?"
"The kids in that class wouldn't include her, so she was always alone in the classroom..."
"Oh, really? Why didn't the kids in that class."
All the students were extremely curious about the mysterious female student who had suddenly and proudly claimed first place that day, and rumors spread that she was pretty and had a large bust, and everyone, regardless of gender, would glance in the class from the hallway to catch a glimpse of her as they passed by.
Some of the bolder kids would openly come into the classroom and ask who the top-ranked student in the whole school was, but every time, Gyeongwon would put on a stern face and kick the students out.
"Hey, don't just barge into someone else's classroom. Get out, all of you!"
"Whoa, what a jerk."
"Who does he think he is, acting all tough?"
"They say he's the class president. Let's get going...."
"Can't believe someone who looks like a total loser is the class president."
"Get out!"
Among the students who came to gawk at Hyejin, there were plenty of popular school bullies and class leaders from other classes.
The girls in Gyeongwon's class had —previously excluded Hyejin not because they thought they were better than her, they were simply already close with one another. So now that she had suddenly become—famous, they couldn't bring themselves to treat her warmly and just kept quietly avoiding her.
And then, after they moved up to third grade and the classes were reshuffled.
Hyejin happened to be in the same class as Gyeongwon once more.
Hyejin smiled brightly and patted Gyeongwon on the back.
With a flushed face, Gyeongwon lowered his head and fiddled with his glasses before slowly opening his mouth.
"....You know."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Are you.. dating the class president from the next class?"
"What~?"
Hyejin smiled with her eyes and opened her mouth wide.
"No, we're not dating~! We don't even talk!"
"Oh, okay.. I see..."
"Why? Why are you asking, hmm?"
Hyejin smiled brightly and leaned her head toward Gyeongwon.
Gyeongwon, his face flushed, deliberately pretended to be nonchalant and distanced himself from Hyejin.
"...Just wondering. Because I heard he got your number."
"Wow, wasn't that back in the first semester? At the leadership retreat?"
"...Yeah."
"That was half a year ago. I don't even
remember."
"...Why don't you keep in touch with him? He's tall, good-looking, and great at sports..."
"Why are you acting like that~! Asking such stuff! Just because he's handsome, do I have to stay in touch?"
Hyejin patted him on the back, laughed, and looked at Gyeongwon.
"I don't really care about that kind of thing. On the contrary, I want to be closer to you, since you were there to look after me when I was having a hard time."
"....."
"So make sure to talk to me more. We don't have much time left until graduation, it'd be a shame if you didn't..."
"Uh, yeah..."
It really wasn't easy to strike up a conversation with her, who was always surrounded by friends.
Gyeongwon thought this and swallowed hard.
The next day, Lee Hyejin and the class president from the next class got matching rings to celebrate their 100th-day anniversary. The girls giggled, asking when the two had started dating, and made a huge fuss about it all day long.
Gyeongwon spent the day feeling dazed.
**
A few months passed, and the middle school graduation ceremony drew closer.
A rumor spread that Lee Hyejin and the class president from the next class had fought during that time and both even changed their phone numbers, having broken up.
Gyeongwon, who had never even had a girlfriend, couldn't even begin to guess what on earth could possibly cause a fight between the pretty, good-natured Hyejin and the handsome, cool class president from the next class.
Since things had turned out this way,
Gyeongwon wanted to at least ask for her contact information one last time.
He was still thinking that maybe there had been some misunderstanding between him and Hyejin.
'I was the one who looked out for her first. I was the first to take care of her when she was having a hard time, and I was the first to become friends with her at school.'
And he was the first to like her.
Gyeongwon watched her up ahead, holding a bouquet and taking pictures with her friends.
She still wore that same bright smile, and was still surrounded by friends as always.
Now she would leave for a prestigious international high school and live a more glamorous and intense life.
Gyeongwon, on the other hand, would go to Nakseong High School, a mediocre local school, and spend his time competing with mediocre people.
"...."
Gyeongwon clenched his fists tightly and walked up to Hyejin.
Her friends, who had been laughing heartily and chatting with her, glanced at him.
Their eyes seemed to ask why he was coming that way.
Gyeongwon trembled for a moment, thinking to himself that this was exactly the kind of reaction he'd been afraid of and the reason he'd never been able to approach her before, but then clenched his fists again and spoke to her.
"Um, excuse me..."
"Hey, Hyejin."
"Hmm?"
Hyejin, who had been laughing and chatting away, finally turned her gaze toward Gyeongwon when her friends nudged her.
Maybe because it was the graduation day and she had put on light makeup, she looked dazzlingly beautiful that day, more than ever.
Hyejin.
Gyeongwon stood still for a moment,his face flushed red, as if his breath had stopped.
Hyejin, still wearing a smile, looked at him with a question mark above her head.
Gyeongwon wished that she would ask her friends for permission and step out with him for a moment so that she could listen to what he had to say.
But she, the center of the group, waited for Gyeongwon, watching him with absolutely no intention of doing so. A moment passed like that; Gyeongwon standing there frozen, the girls staring at him as if asking what he was up to, and Hyejin watching him with a faint smile as if to ask why he was being so
strange.
Trembling, Gyeongwon opened his mouth.
"C-could.... Could i have your number?"
"..."
"..."
"....."
An awkward, embarrassing, and uncomfortable silence passed between them.
A look of gasp flashed through the crowd among Hyejin's friends.
The reaction was completely different from when the tall, handsome, and cool class president from the next class had asked for her number.
Hyejin, too, froze for a moment, her smiling expression still fixed on her face.
Silence hung in the air, just as Gyeongwon thought he should turn away.
Hyejin silently reached out her hand.
Her expression was smiling, but time seemed to have stopped.
"....."
"....."
Gyeongwon hurriedly pulled out his phone and placed it on Hyejin's pretty hand.
Even her hands were pretty.
"....."
The moment Hyejin took the phone with an unreadable expression and slowly began typing her number.
RRRRRRR♪
Suddenly, the phone rang loudly
without any warning, and Hyejin's
fingers, which had been tapping the
keypad, ended up accidentally pressing the answer button.
☎️Dad
[Ahn Gyeongwon! Where are you! Graduation ceremony is over, why haven't you called me! I'm looking for you right now! Hurry up and call back!]
Hyejin looked at the phone with a sour expression.
Gyeongwon hurriedly reached out and pressed the end call button.
Click~♪
Then, with a humble and awkward smile, he opened his mouth.
"C-could you please do it again....."
"....."
The female students looked speechless.
Hyejin, with only her eyes smiling, slightly parts her lips and typed her number in again.
And at that moment, the phone rang
again.
RRRRRRR♪
☎️Dad
Hyejin looked at Gyeongwon with a look that seemed to ask what she should do.
Gyeongwon quickly nodded.
"Uh, just decline it. Hang up and then again.....
RRRRRRR♪
RRRRRRR♪
Hyejin stared at the ringing phone for a moment.
Suddenly, she let out a chuckle and returned the phone.
"'Sorry. Don't feel like giving my number to you."
"Huh? What, what...? Why.?"
"Because my boyfriend might dislike İt."
Hyejin flashed a bright smile.
Gyeongwon felt his heart drop. Then he urgently asked her.
"W-who's your boyfriend..."
"Who, you ask? The class president from the next class."
"B-but I heard you broke up....."
"Break up? Why would I?"
Hyejin gave an apologetic smile, as if telling him to stop already.
She held the phone in her pretty hand, silently urging him to take it back quickly.
Gyeongwon hastily blurted out whatever came to mind.
"Oh, I'll give you a tour of the apartment complex. I said I'd show you around, remember? So, your number..."
For a moment, Hyejin looked at him with a stunned expression.
Suddenly, she bursts into thunderous
laughter, Hahahahahaha!, clapping her hands and roaring with amusement.
"Hahahahahaha... Ah~ that's hilarious,
seriously!"
The girls around her followed suit, laughing along with her.
"Apartment complex.. Hahahaha...Seriously, what is this? It's been a year, and do you really think I still don't know the layout of the apartment complex?"
Hyejin reached out and forcefully shoved the phone into Gyeongwon's coat pocket, and with one last remark, she turned around.
"Gyeongwon, seriously..... I'm giving you advice as a friend, but please stop acting so pathetic."
"....."
"I really had a hunch that you might like me. How is it that bad premonitions always come true?Ahahaha..."
Hyejin said those words and left with her friends.
Gyeongwon's phone rings again.
RRRRRRR♪
☎️Dad
Gyeongwon didn't answer the phone and stood there silently for a long, long time.
T/N: he get his s ass whooped by his father btw
**
Then, that same girl suddenly transferred back to his school.
On the day he met her again,Gyeongwon spent the whole day in a daze, wondering if this was all a dream.
And Gyeongwon continued his club activities without bothering to tell the other members about it.
It was also something he couldn't bring himself to say, and besides, aside from occasionally greeting him, Hyejin hadn't made any notable moves.
And then, one day after winning the preliminary round of the science exhibition, just a few days before the end-of-semester closing ceremony.
Gyeongwon, who had arrived at school early with many things on his mind and went to the 5th floor, made a shocking discovery.
Hyejin, his crush, was rummaging through the ghost story mailbox hanging at the entrance of the clubroom.
"Ah."
"..."
"Hi, Gyeongwon."
Hyejin smiled slightly as she opened the lid of the small mailbox.
He didn't know how she'd managed to open it, but the lock was undone.
"I've been curious about this, so I've been keeping an eye on it a few times lately. Do you mind if I read it?"
Hyejin pulled out a blue envelope from inside.
"What is this? This is your club, right? Why is there a mailbox like this in front of the clubroom? I'm curious."
Blue envelope, B-rank ghost story.
Gyeongwon shouted inwardly toward Hyejin, who was peeking inside with a curious expression.
'Open it.'
Gyeongwon clenched both hands tightly and cried out inwardly once more.
'Tear it open. Please.'
"Can I open it?"
Hyejin fluttered the envelope with an innocent smile.
Gyeongwon wore a stiff expression, then slowly shook his head.
"...No. Don't open it."
"No way. I'm curious. I'm opening it."
Riiip-