Chapter 08
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing… just. The guy you mentioned is really handsome.”
It was the first time I’d ever seen Jung Sumin admit a guy was good-looking.
For some reason, I felt proud.
“Told you.”
“Whatever. Let’s just go in.”
Jung Sumin slung an arm over my shoulder. It was still annoyingly heavy.
The auditorium was packed with freshmen.
Since the class assignments weren’t out yet, it was complete chaos. Sumin and I found a random spot and stood there.
“How long you think this’ll take?”
“About an hour. The principal’s speech alone? Over thirty minutes.”
Our pointless small talk ended up becoming reality.
All thanks to the bald principal who looked like he’d stepped straight out of a stereotype.
“Ahem… And also, following in the footsteps of the distinguished seniors who brought honor to Hwahyeon High, I hope all of you new students will…”
It had already been twenty minutes.
Is he insane?
It looked like he’d run out of things to say but was desperately squeezing out more words. It was almost tearful to watch.
Sure, people always joke that principals talk too long—but this was excessive.
Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one thinking that. One of the teachers went up on stage and whispered something to him. The principal wiped his sweat and hurriedly wrapped up.
“I hope your next three years will be filled only with joy. That concludes the ceremony.”
The loudest applause of the entire entrance ceremony erupted.
As the slightly disappointed-looking principal stepped down, a younger teacher grabbed the microphone.
“From now on, we will call out your names along with the last four digits of your phone numbers. Please come forward to receive your class assignment sheet and entrance guide.”
When Jung Sumin came back down with her paper, I casually asked,
“What class?”
“What do you think?”
Her expression was strangely relaxed. She even looked pleased.
“Ah, damn.”
“Wow. We actually ended up in the same class.”
So much for my plan to break away from Jung Sumin, make new friends, and become independent.
And I’ll probably end up being Cupid… no, a stepping stone again.
My head was already starting to ache. Still, there was comfort in being in the same class as someone I knew.
Sumin grinned and lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Fix your face. You’re happy about it.”
“No. I’m seriously feeling complicated.”
“Oh, come on.”
She threw her arm around me again and dragged me toward the main building where the first-year classrooms were located.
“Since we’re first years, that’s why they gave us the fifth floor, right?”
“Seems like it. What, tired already? You’ve gotten weak.”
As I panted while climbing the stairs, Jung Sumin looked down at me mockingly. She looked as calm as if she were walking downhill.
Annoyed, I leaned on my knees and glared at her.
“I get better grades than you.”
“Out of nowhere?”
Slide.
When we finally entered the classroom, a few students were already seated.
The moment we opened the sliding door and walked in, all eyes turned toward us.
“!”
“Oh my god…?”
The gazes passed over me briefly before landing squarely on Jung Sumin.
Especially the girls. Their reactions were something else. Some were already looking at me as if I were competition.
I’m so sick of this….
Give it a month. They’d stop seeing me as a rival and start desperately trying to use me instead.
That was a scientific prediction based on years of experience.
Ignoring the stares, I headed for a seat by the back window. Sumin naturally dropped her bag on the seat next to mine.
“They said we’re having regular classes today. Wanna skip?”
“You’re crazy.”
This is why athletes are like this. I clicked my tongue, and Sumin quickly protested that she was joking.
“At least night study is optional.”
“You should actually attend.”
“I will if you do.”
“What? Night study?”
Sumin nodded.
I frowned in disgust. I didn’t want to waste what little life I might have left zoning out in school.
“Get lost. And you’ve got training anyway—”
Bang!
The back door slammed open, cutting me off.
I instinctively turned my head.
A cute-looking girl with neatly cut short hair and colorful hairpins stood there.
I stared at her blankly. As if she’d been waiting, our eyes met.
“!”
She strode toward me in big steps.
“What? You know her—”
Before Jung Sumin could finish, the girl slammed her hand down on my desk.
Bang!
Then she pointed at me with her index finger.
“Right! You’re Seo Jinhyung sunbae’s girlfriend!!”
“…What?”
I blinked stupidly at the sudden, ridiculous accusation.
The girl dramatically shut and opened her eyes.
“Wow, how did I only just find out? Seo! Jin! Hyung! sunbae has a girlfriend!”
The classroom, which had been quiet with first-day awkwardness, started buzzing.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
When I glared at her, she smiled knowingly.
“It’s okay. There’s no such thing as a secret relationship. It was going to come out anyway. And I heard you two got out of the same car this morning!”
Ah.
The thing I’d been worried about had arrived.
Earlier than expected, but that was fine. Better to clear up the misunderstanding early before rumors got out of control.
Calmly, I replied,
“We’re not dating. I just live with Seo Jinhyung.”
“Yeah, you live to— huh?”
“I live with Seo Jinhyung.”
“W-What?!”
Her eyes widened dramatically.
“Seo Jinhyung sunbae is cohabiting?! And I didn’t know about this huge piece of information?!”
At this point, I was certain.
I don’t remember her name… but it’s her.
The original heroine.
From her appearance to her personality to her way of speaking—there was no doubt.
<Killer Not> wasn’t strictly gender-targeted, but it leaned slightly more toward male readers. So naturally, there was a female lead to highlight the protagonist.
The series didn’t treat romance very seriously, but the heroine had been fairly popular for her bright personality. Readers even begged the author to increase her screen time.
I never expected to meet her here.
“It’s not cohabitation. Seo Jinhyung’s dad and my mom are dating, so we’re just living together for a while.”
“Huh?!”
The female lead’s eyes rolled as she panicked, probably thinking she’d touched a sensitive topic. It was actually kind of cute.
She’s a bit of a nuisance character, but she’s good at heart. That’s why she didn’t get much hate.
The classroom grew quiet.
Within a week, everyone in school would know.
I waved it off casually. I hadn’t expected to be able to hide it anyway.
“Whatever. Your name?”
She was wearing a hoodie, so I couldn’t see her name tag.
“Uh, uh… Myung Ahjin! I’m Myung Ahjin. Let’s get along.”
As if she hadn’t been nervous at all, Myung Ahjin’s eyes sparkled as she held out her hand.
“Oh, right. Myung Ahjin.”
“?”
I muttered the name as it finally came back to me and shook her hand lightly. She tilted her head but ignored it.
“Wow. First time someone greets Kim Seyun before me.”
Myung Ahjin jumped at Jung Sumin’s voice and turned her head.
Resting her chin lazily on her palm, Jung Sumin looked at Ahjin with an unwelcoming expression.
Startled, Ahjin quickly held out her hand.
“Hi to you too! You—oh! You’re Jung Sumin, right? I knew it!!”
After checking Sumin’s name tag, Ahjin’s eyes sparkled again.
I felt my energy draining. Sumin looked the same.
“Maybe sit down first?”
At my suggestion, Ahjin nodded and plopped into the seat in front of us.
“How do you know Jung Sumin? Same middle school?”
If I’d met the female lead before, I would remember. But she looked completely unfamiliar.
Ahjin grinned confidently.
“Nope! Different school. I just have really good information networks. Though Sumin’s famous enough that most people know her anyway.”
“Huh?”
When I made an unimpressed face, Sumin shot me a triumphant smile. See? her expression clearly said. I ignored her.
“And Seo Jinhyung too. He’s in a different grade—how did you know him? Information network again?”
“Huh? No, that’s totally unrelated. If you’re a middle or high schooler in our area, you know him. Hahaha!”
… I didn’t.
When Sumin and I both fell silent, Ahjin gasped in horror.
“You didn’t know Seo Jinhyung sunbae?! Okay, Sumin’s an athlete so maybe that makes sense—but Seyun, you didn’t even know your housemate is a local celebrity?”
“Well, we only recently started living together.”
“Whoa. Even so, shouldn’t everyone know someone like Seo Jinhyung? …Seyun, you have no friends, huh.”
“Pfft!”
Jung Sumin burst out laughing.
Both of them… I quietly closed my mouth after that fatal stab to the heart.
Seeing my gloomy face, Ahjin beamed.
“Don’t worry now! You’ve got me as a friend.”
“Yeah…”
“I was the top info source at Manbok Middle. I’ll tell you everything you didn’t know.”
That was… oddly comforting.
“So anyway, is there anything you two can tell me?”
There it was.
This was how Myung Ahjin got close to people—casually extracting information from strangers.
I had no idea what she used it for, but thinking of it as part of her character made it easier.
She gets close to the protagonist this way too.
When the protagonist transfers in with his face completely covered, Ahjin senses he has secrets and won’t leave him alone.
Her intuition turns out to be spot on. She ends up discovering his hidden identity as the White Killer—and starts developing a crush.
A classic trope.
Though that’s still far off.
Pushing aside my thoughts, I offered some harmless information.
“Sure. Jung Sumin quit basketball.”
“I knew it! Hwahyeon High doesn’t even have a sports team.”
Ahjin pulled out a notebook from who-knows-where and started scribbling furiously.
“Ah! I’m not using this for anything weird. Don’t worry.”
That was believable. In the original story, Ahjin never misused her information.
I casually added,
“And she’s currently a White Killer trainee.”
Thud.
The notebook fell to the floor. Ahjin’s jaw nearly dropped.
“That’s insane!!”
