Thirty seconds passed, and nobody said a word. For Kyun-rin, those thirty seconds felt like thirty minutes. The sunlight had been blinding his eyes the entire time, and he was too afraid to move an inch.
"You both understand that running in the hallways is not allowed, correct?" The principal broke the silence.
"Right, Park Min-seo? Right Cheon Kyun-rin?"
When he mentioned their names, both of them suddenly stiffened with fear.
"Are you going to say anything?" the principal asked, this time with a slightly more demanding tone. "You two are lucky no one was hurt. You, Min-seo, did you organize this?"
Min-seo finally spoke up, breaking the silence between the two students. "I am... but—"
"Can you tell me why you would gather up half of our student population and have him basically hunt another student? You know, if he ended up hurt or wounded by this, there could have been major consequences for you. You are just lucky that he was fine."
Min-seo couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt because of something she did.
She tried to hold back her tears, but the effort was in vain. She began to cry in front of both Principal Yoo Tae-joon and Kyun-rin. They were both very confused.
Her hands shook as tears brimmed in her eyes. "I... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
You made half of the school chase me throughout the entire campus...
...on ACCIDENT!?
"What am I saying!? I totally meant to—wait, no! I... I was the one who organized it all! I did it! It's all my fault! I'm so sorry!" Min-seo exclaimed frantically. "I did it because... because I wanted you to notice me! I really like you, Kyun-rin! I want to confess my love for you!"
The principal interrupted her, saying, "Park Min-seo, that's irrelevant right now. There is a time and place for that."
Kyun-rin gave her a deadpan expression. He had no idea how to comprehend all of this.
"I expect you to stay overtime to explain yourself, Min-seo, fully. Even if you did this out of affection towards another student, behavior like this is unacceptable, and you know it. I do not want anything like this ever to happen again. Do you understand?"
Min-seo sniffled once and wiped away tears from her eyes. "Yes, sir..."
"You may leave for now, Min-seo. I will expect to see you after school so we can talk in private."
She stood up slowly and walked out of the room. The door made an echoing click when it closed, leaving just Kyun-rin and the principal in the room.
The room fell silent for another minute, with the only sound audible being the soft ticks of a clock in the corner of the room.
I think I'm going to need therapy after this.
An eight-hour session of therapy.
That girl definitely needs at least twenty-five hours per day.
Kyun-rin was startled when the principal spoke up again.
"And you, Kyun-rin. What you did wasn't nearly as bad as what she did, and I understand that you were only running to protect yourself."
Those words gave Kyun-rin a small moment of relief, but then the principal spoke up again.
"However, I can not ignore the fact that you almost ran into another teacher and hauled yourself into a student-restricted area. You could have easily hurt yourself or someone else by doing that. You should have walked up to the front office and asked for help."
Is he crazy? I had no choice! If I just asked for help, they would have gone in and dragged me out while I was waiting!
"I will just say this to you: If you ever feel like you're being harassed by other students, come to the office and ask for help. Do not jump over the counter and run out the other door while screaming as a 'solution' for the problem at hand."
Still... I didn't see any other option at the time.
"You are free to go back to class," the principal said.
"Yes... sir... thanks." Kyun-rin muttered. Even in front of the principal, he felt awkward talking to him.
Kyun-rin speed-walked towards the door so that he wouldn't be caught by any other words that the principal threw at him on the way out, and finally allowed himself to breathe after he stepped out. He leaned against the wall, looked up at the ceiling, and began to digest what had just happened.
A girl named Min-seo.
She was the one who organized the entire ambush.
I think I would have been trampled and killed if I had stopped running from that monstrous horde of students.
Still, though, all of that just to confess? Doesn't that seem a bit...
...overkill?
I'm pretty sure any guy is going to reject someone who gets the entire school to chase him so she can confess.
I hope I gave Hwan the right notes back. I wasn't exactly making sure I got the right stack when I slammed the papers on his desk.
This whole ordeal is just going to make the spotlight that is already shining on me even brighter...
The principal's door opens with a creak, and Kyun-rin jolts.
"What are you still doing in the office? Get to class." Principal Tae-joon said.
Kyun-rin nodded his head slightly and clutched his bag. He then walked up to the opening in the front counter that had always been there, even when he hauled himself over. He actually would have gotten in less trouble if he had just run through the opening to get to the other side.
With class in session, his footsteps echoed through the empty halls. He cherished this very moment; no one was around to talk to him or comment on him.
Kyun-rin's expression softened… slightly, but his stoic charm remained intact.
His fifth-period class was on the opposite side of the campus. By the time he got there, the period was almost over.
Kyun-rin's hands trembled when he gripped the sliding door handle as he braced for the worst. The teacher's muffled lecture became suddenly clearer as the door slid open.
"Alright, everything we just covered on page 156 of our textbook is going to be on next week's exam, so be sure to take note—" The teacher stopped abruptly, and looked over to the person who had just entered the classroom.
They were at a standstill for ten seconds, and then the school bell rang, marking the end of fifth period.
You have got to be joking.
Of course, the teacher had to give an important lecture while I was in the principal's office for something that WASN'T EVEN MY FAULT!
He stood there frozen as everyone walked by.
"Does he think he's holding the door open for everyone?" one student laughed.
"Thank you~!" another said in a cute voice.
Not a single period went by without something going wrong.
I think I have just figured out why.
Something inside of Kyun-rin snapped at that moment.
It's because God just despises me!
And GUESS WHAT?
I HATE YOU TOO!
Just then, someone accidentally runs into him, making Kyun-rin's textbook fall to the ground open on page 156.
Kyun-rin tried to reach for it to pick it up, and one of the passing students accidentally stepped on it. The gum on the bottom of the shoe had attached itself to the paper, and when he stepped off, it tore the entire page with a clean rip, taking the page with him.
He could only sit there in disbelief.
"Hey, are you okay? Sorry, I can't help you. I need to run to my next class! Sorry for bumping into you!" a student said. He ran away like he was fleeing the scene of a crime, in which he did.
I'm so sorry, God. I should never have said anything bad about you. I didn't mean it...
He genuinely believed in that moment that there was a God, and that he had just pissed it off.
Kyun-rin bent down to retrieve his brand-new textbook, now marred by scratches, scuffs, and crumpled edges from the dirty floor. With a sigh of frustration, he shoved it into his bag; the crisp sound of a loose sheet of paper being crumpled by the textbook caught his attention. Instantly, his expression shifted into deadpan, as if the world around him had turned monochrome.
He stood up, feeling the weight of the horrible day pressing down on him, and began his mile-long hike toward the door of his sixth-period classroom that was actually just ten feet away from him. Three seconds before he reached the door, the school bell chimed loudly once more, signaling that he was late to class.
Yet another misfortune to add to the pile.
As he walked in at a slow, depressing pace, his classmates cast curious glances in his direction, but he was too exhausted to notice their stares. The weariness of the school day weighed heavily on his shoulders; all he wanted was to escape the confines of the walls around him.
Finally, he sank into his seat. The smooth surface of the chair allowed him to slide cleanly along, and an unexpected surge of motivation washed over him like a tidal wave.
There is still time for something to go my way today! All I have to do is just pay attention, and if everything goes well, I will at least end today with something going right!
Even if something goes wrong this period, I will still have the entire NEXT period too!
I got this!
With his newfound motivation, he took an empty sheet of lined paper from his backpack and was determined to be the number-one model student.
Everyone in the class slowly turned to him as the teacher's lecture went on, not even stopping to address the circle that had been formed around Kyun-rin.
Even Kyun-rin was too focused on his note-taking to notice that a spectator arena had just formed around him.
By the end of the class, the arena had dissolved, and his page gleamed with beautiful notes. They were all clean, organized, and even key details and concepts were highlighted.
He held it up in praise of himself, and it gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the classroom.
As he held the paper up to the light, the sunlight streamed through, illuminating faint, intricate markings on the back. His curiosity broke an all-time high for that minute, and he flipped the sheet over.
However, as Kyun-rin's gaze settled on the writing before him, his expression turned from exhilaration to one of sheer horror. He suddenly realized that he had unwittingly been jotting down his notes on the reverse side of an already filled document.
Initially dismissing it as a mere oversight, his heart sank when he discerned the name scrawled across the other side, a name that made the situation a one hundred thousand times worse.
Jung, Hwan.
Not only did I not give every paper back to Hwan, I just HAPPENED to use the one I missed as MY NOTES!?
Kyun-rin was once again filled with despair.
Wait, I can just take a picture of the notes, and then give it back to Hwan! I'm a genius!
Kyun-rin clicked a quick, slightly blurry photo of his notes. Satisfied, he tucked his phone away and organized his backpack for the next class.
"Attention: there is no homework for today, so take the time to get things organized for this class. Starting tomorrow, and every day after that, we will have a worksheet due when you walk in. Your Korean Language textbooks will be given out tomorrow. Have a great rest of your day!" the teacher said enthusiastically.
The school bell rang once more, and Kyun-rin hurried out of the room to avoid being late for class again.
That girl who was with me in the principal's office—what was her deal? I know all she wanted was to confess to me, but still... why would anyone organize something that big? I don't understand why someone would go to such lengths. If you want to confess, just say it.
Though it might not have just been her who wanted to speak up. Maybe the others wanted to say something too. Perhaps her confession was the only one I actually heard.
Whatever the case, I hope this whole situation never happens again. I honestly thought I was going to die.
Kyun-rin's footsteps blended with the chaotic taps of other students' shoes and the hum of fluorescent lights above.
As he navigated the crowded hall, he couldn't help but catch snippets of conversations between other students. Vibrant posters were scattered sparsely along the walls, promoting upcoming school events, adding color to the otherwise empty gray walls.
"Wasn't it that new kid who was getting chased around the halls? He seemed like he was genuinely scared for his life!" a student laughed.
"That sounded like so much fun to watch! It's such a shame my teacher pulled me in during lunch. Do you have any photos from it?" another student asked.
"Yes! You can check my latest post. I have a video of it that has over a hundred views now!" a student replied.
There are already videos of the chase on social media!?
"Only a hundred likes?" another student said in an unimpressed tone.
"Shut up!" a student retaliated.
Kyun-rin finally made it to his 7th-period class, and he was on time. He crossed the item 'ON TIME' off his mental checklist.
Kyun-rin was one step closer to having a period where nothing goes horribly wrong.
All he has to do is make it survive 7th period, and if he does that without anything going wrong, then he will be able to forget about all of his pent-up frustration on previous misfortunes.
So far, life had beaten him 6-0, and not a single period had gone by without something unfortunate happening to him. But this time, it was all or nothing! The seventh class period was worth 100 points. If Kyun-rin managed to come out on top, it would be a tremendous victory for him!
The bell rang again, signaling the start of his 7th period.