chapter 04
Isu checked the caller ID on her phone screen and slowly answered.
“Mom, what is it?”
—“Oh, Suya. You’re not in class, right? I thought it was lunchtime, so I called.”
“Yeah. It’s lunchtime.”
Biting her lower lip, Isu’s gaze wavered up and down.
In this harsh battlefield where she had no one on her side, just hearing her family’s voice made something inside her chest swell up uncontrollably.
At some point, Isu had stopped sharing her struggles with her mother—but today, unusually, her words slipped out on their own.
“Mom, today I—”
—“Isu.”
Their voices overlapped. Isu rubbed her eyes with one hand.
—“Oh… what were you going to say?”
“No, you go first.”
There was a brief pause—she could feel her mother’s hesitation—but it didn’t last long.
—“…I wish I could tell you this in person, but… Eunho was dropped from the clinical trial he was supposed to join.”
Tilting her head back slightly, Isu shut her eyes tightly.
“You said it was confirmed last time.”
—“I don’t know what happened either… So, Isu…”
Isu had no idea why her mother was calling. But what came next went far beyond anything she could have imagined.
—“I heard that at your school, Elmir Westlake, there’s a student whose uncle is the director of Providence Hospital. And he’s in the same upper school as you.”
Isu felt the blood drain from her face.
“…So? You’re not seriously telling me to go ask him for help, are you?”
—“You’re classmates. If he knows the situation, maybe he could help—”
Classmates?
Isu almost shouted.
What “classmates” did a full-scholarship student have in a private school like this?
These were all rich kids overflowing with money. To them, scholarship students funded by donations weren’t even treated like people.
I’m not even a person here.
Taking her silence as agreement, her mother delivered the final blow.
—“His name is Frederick Bastiat. Do you… happen to know him?”
Shit.
Isu swallowed the curse silently.
—“You’re not close…? Still, try bringing it up when you get the chance. It’s not even a difficult favor for him—he’ll probably agree.”
How would her mother even know what Frederick Bastiat was like?
The redness in Isu’s eyes dried, shifting into something colder. Her voice followed—low and sharp.
“He’s a psychopath.”
—“…What?”
Her mother, Hyeju, sounded completely taken aback.
“Sure, he might help. But afterward, he’ll probably take pictures of us crying and hold a Getty exhibition under his name. Do you want to see that?”
Hyeju was at a loss for words.
After a brief silence, she asked hesitantly:
—“Suya… is something wrong?”
Isu ran a hand through her hair irritably.
“No. Nothing. My lunch break isn’t long—I have to go.”
—“Okay… make sure you eat.”
As soon as the call ended, Isu threw her phone hard onto the sink where her binder was.
“…Ha…”
She pressed both hands over her eyes.
She knew very well that what she had said wasn’t entirely true.
This wasn’t about pride anymore—this was about her younger brother’s life.
Regardless of whether he would agree or not, she had no choice but to ask Frederick Bastiat for help.
And yet—
It felt unbearably unfair.
Why does it have to be Frederick Bastiat? Why him?
Ironically, the answer came easily.
Even among the elite, silver-spoon students of Elmir Westlake, Frederick Bastiat stood out.
His father was the CEO of a major financial firm and the owner of the Los Angeles MLB team, the LA Sharks.
Because of that, Frederick himself was half-jokingly, half-seriously referred to as “the owner” within the school.
Despite not officially belonging to any sports team, he mingled with captains and star players from football, basketball, and lacrosse. He was more than just a star athlete—he was something above that.
Someone like him? Of course his family tree would include hospital directors.
So annoying….
Understanding it logically was one thing. Accepting it emotionally was another.
From morning until now, she had endured all kinds of humiliation.
But what hurt her the most—
Was having to ask Frederick Bastiat for help.
Seven years.
From lower school to middle school to upper school—she had known him for seven years.
Her dislike for him wasn’t new.
“….”
“You worked really hard to get that research internship, didn’t you? Doesn’t it feel unfair?”
I really hate him….
At that moment, Isu found herself hating Frederick Bastiat just a little bit more.
Exactly as much as his shallow attempt at comfort.
Before history class began, the classroom was noisy without the teacher present. Isu sat at her desk, resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly at her book.
“Try-elle.”
Someone called her name without warning.
Drawn by the voice, Isu slowly lifted her head.
The boy sitting in front of her—Cove—had turned around to look at her. His reddish-blond hair caught her eye first, followed by his brown eyes.
The corners of his lips were curled upward.
Naturally, to Isu, it just looked like mockery.
“Let me see your glasses for a second. Just a moment.”
Isu frowned slightly. Not just the tone—but the request itself was strange.
“Did you mean a glasses cloth?”
Even in the noisy classroom, Cove’s voice easily drew attention. Joshua, sitting by the window, was covering his mouth, trying to suppress laughter.
You don’t even wear glasses.
Isu was about to say that—but Cove spoke first.
“No. Your glasses.”
What is he even saying?
Twisting the mechanical pencil in her hand, Isu stared at him sharply.
Cove Blanton. Lacrosse team captain. One of the powerful figures who sat at the central table in the cafeteria alongside Frederick.
But to Isu, what mattered most was something else.
A racist—so why is he talking to me?
And what was this sudden obsession with her glasses?
None of it made sense.
Still, she prepared to give him a clear answer—
Wrapping her actual message (get lost) in polite words.
“No.”
But—
“Looks like I’m a bit late. Let’s start class.”
The teacher walked in, and the timing was gone.
Joshua and Cove, who had been smiling in some unreadable way, turned back to face the front.
What remained was an uneasy feeling.
Isu’s daily life wasn’t usually this chaotic.
She lived quietly, separated from the regular students who paid full tuition and donations, simply focusing on her own responsibilities.
So why—
“Hey, Try-elle. Have some coffee.”
Walking down the hallway, Isu was suddenly forced to stop as a takeaway coffee cup was thrust toward her face.
The one holding it—Joshua, the swim team captain.
She instinctively leaned her upper body back. Steam rose from the cup.
“No, thanks—”
“Come on. At least appreciate the gesture.”
Did they all eat some kind of crazy mushroom stew together or something? What is wrong with them today?
“Would you drink it if you were me? This is way too random.”
“Wow, we’ve known each other for years. What’s the big deal about one cup of coffee?”
Joshua shrugged casually.
Of course, that didn’t convince Isu at all.
The black coffee in the cup wasn’t as dark as his intentions.
Though he had calmed down in upper school, back in lower and middle school, his pranks had been so excessive that his parents were called in almost monthly.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but if we’re going by how long we’ve known each other, why not just tell me what you actually want?”
“What plan? There’s nothing like that, haha.”
He brushed back his platinum-blond hair, tinged slightly green from the pool, and laughed smugly.
To others, it might’ve looked like a charming smile—but to Isu, it was just unpleasant.
That was Joshua Lauder—someone who enjoyed making others look foolish while he alone laughed it off.
“I said no to the coffee.”
At that moment, two more boys from Frederick’s table suddenly joined in.
“What’s this, Josh? Already making a move on Try-elle?”
Isu glanced uneasily between Cove—the lacrosse captain—and Mateo, the football team captain and quarterback, who had approached silently.
The attention of three boys she had never expected to be involved with was now entirely on her.
Seven years at this school—and this was a first.
What is going on?
More specifically, the phrase “making a move” was the problem.
What kind of new nonsense was this?
“A move? Well… you could say that.”
“You’re just saying whatever again, right? There’s no way you’d be interested in Try-elle.”
While Cove and Joshua exchanged words—
Isu slipped away quietly to the side.
Years of living as a “nerd” had honed her ability to disappear.
Even the sports team captains lost track of her instantly.
“Huh? She was right here. Where’d she go?”
The athletic captains—normally unmatched in reflexes—were left standing there, bewildered.
I’m exhausted….
There was so much she needed to deal with immediately.
But instead of hurrying, Isu pressed her fingers against her temples, overwhelmed by fatigue.
What is even happening today?
She could tell there was some kind of hidden motive—but she had no idea what the Center Table Boys were trying to do by provoking her like this.
Letting out a long sigh—
Her gaze was suddenly drawn toward the noise coming from the first-floor lounge.
