Jiho's POV
The first vibration he ignored.
ClassNet buzzing in his pocket usually meant nothing good, but Kang Jiho kept walking anyway, hands shoved deep into his pockets, shoulders hunched against the late afternoon breeze. Almost out of the school gates, almost free for the day—
The second buzz dragged his phone out of his pocket.
A notification slid across the cracked screen:
[ClassNet] New post in #RegularTrackGossip
A pit opened in his stomach before he even tapped it.
The thread loaded with ugly speed.
A blurry photo.A black sedan with tinted windows.His figure stepping out of it.
He stared at the screen, jaw tightening.
Someone had captioned it:
"Since when do Regular Track delinquents get dropped off like chaebol heirs?"
He exhaled, long and bitter.
Fantastic.
He scrolled.
"That's Kang Jiho, right?""Thought he always took the bus.""New girl was watching him this morning.""Suspicious."
His grip tightened.
The new girl.The scholarship student with the blue lanyard and steady eyes.
Yoon Hana.
She'd seen more than she should have—saw him step out of the car, saw the fear that flashed across his face when he realized it.
He wasn't supposed to let anyone get that close.
He shoved the phone back into his pocket and spun on his heel, heading straight back toward the school.
The Regular Track building was quieter now, hallways mostly empty. He moved fast, searching instinctively.
He found her in the library.
She sat alone in a corner, surrounded by maps and textbooks she definitely didn't need on day one. Her phone glowed beside her, ClassNet thread open.
Of course.
Jiho stepped closer.
Her eyes lifted—and the guilt in them hit him like a misplaced punch.
"Hey," he said.
She straightened a little. "You… came back."
"You're reading it." He nodded toward her phone.
"I was trying to figure out what's going on."
"You and everyone else."
She flinched at the bite in his tone.
He didn't soften it.
"Did you post it?" he asked.
Her expression tightened. "No."
"You sure?"
"Yes." Sharper, this time. "I didn't take that photo. I didn't spread it. I'm not interested in ruining anyone's life."
"Funny," he muttered. "Rumors say otherwise."
She shot him a glare he didn't deserve. "You think I have nothing better to do than stalk you online?"
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.Fine. That one, he might have earned.
But fear made words slide out wrong.
"You saw the car," he said. "That alone is enough to start something."
"I didn't tell anyone." Her voice lowered. "No one."
Something in his chest twisted. He ignored it.
He pulled out his phone and held it where she could see.
"Someone's dragging you into it now."
Her eyes widened as she read the new comments.
"Ask the transfer girl.""She was right next to him.""Maybe she knows something."
She pressed her lips together, anger flickering, then fading into something quieter.
"I didn't want to be part of this," she whispered.
"Welcome to Seonghwa," he said. "This school makes entertainment out of anything that smells like drama."
"I'm not going to comment," she said. "I won't add fuel to it."
"You won't comment at all." His voice came out harder than he intended. "If you deny it, they'll latch onto you. They always do."
"And if I stay silent?"
"They'll still talk," he said. "But you won't be tied to me by your own words."
She studied him for a long second. "That's what you're worried about? Me being tied to you?"
He didn't answer.
Her gaze softened slightly. "You looked scared this morning," she said. "Not guilty. Just scared."
Jiho's jaw clenched. "Don't guess at things you don't understand."
"I'm not guessing."
Her tone wasn't pitying. It was… observant. Honest. Too honest.
His phone buzzed again.
A name flashed: Mr. Jung.
Of course.
He stepped away before answering. "What."
"Jiho. Where are you?"
"School."
"There's been a photo circulating."
"I noticed," he said flatly.
"It has been removed. But the Chairman will hear of it. You must be more careful."
The familiar pressure tightened around his ribs.
"I'll handle it," Jiho said.
A pause. "Are you alone?"
His eyes flicked toward the library table. Hana pretended not to look at him. Kind of.
"Yeah," he lied.
"Good. Go home immediately. No detours."
The call disconnected.
He didn't move for a moment. Just breathed, quietly, trying to steady the burn rising in his chest.
When he walked back to her, Hana looked up quickly, as if bracing herself.
"You don't have to protect me," she said softly.
Jiho let out a humorless breath. "I'm not protecting you."
"Then what are you doing?"
He didn't have an answer that didn't sound pathetic.
"Just… keep your distance," he said. "From me, from this rumor, from all of it."
Her expression wavered. Hurt flickered, quickly hidden.
"If that's what you want."
It wasn't.But wanting things had never helped him.
He turned to leave.
Her voice stopped him.
"For what it's worth," she said, "you're not as frightening as they say."
He didn't look back.
He didn't dare.
Outside the library, the hallway felt colder than before. He checked ClassNet once more before shutting off his phone.
The deletion notice was already there.
Then, beneath it, a brand new post appeared.
No photo.Just words.
"Funny how fast rich kids make proof disappear. Don't worry. I kept the original. And I know exactly who saw him first."
The first comment loaded instantly.
"Who?"
"The new scholarship girl."
Jiho stared at the screen, breath locked somewhere in his chest.
The rumor wasn't dying.
And now someone had decided she was part of it.
He closed his phone slowly, fingers tightening.
This wasn't about him anymore.
Someone was coming after her next.