Chapter 5
The whispers of the other kids reached her ears.
“No way. Look at Cheon Hae-rang smiling.”
“Did he even know how to smile like that?”
“First time I’ve seen it. Seriously.”
“What’s the deal with those two? Isn’t it you?”
“As if.”
The reactions were unusual. The children’s eyes were also filled with curiosity.
Puzzled, Ji-ho tilted her head but quickly dismissed it. She was only going to be here for a day anyway, so she wasn’t particularly interested.
Right now, the important thing for her was preparing for class.
First period in the morning was Korean. Ji-ho took her Korean textbook out of her bag and opened it.
“Alright, let’s all do our best today too.”
“Yes!” The cheerful responses of the children mingled with the sound of the bell ringing.
As soon as Jeong-hyeon left, the children flocked to Ji-ho’s seat as if they had been waiting. Questions poured down like a torrential rain.
“Ji-ho, where did you transfer from?”
“Where do you live?”
“Did you know Cheon Hae-rang?”
“&#@(@!”
Ji-ho couldn’t even understand half of them because the children’s chattering voices overlapped.
Overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, Ji-ho felt drained in an instant, but she still tried her best to answer them sincerely.
Of course, inwardly, she was wishing for break time to end as quickly as possible.
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Hae-rang intervened, perhaps noticing that Ji-ho was struggling. The kids protested, but Hae-rang was firm.
“Let’s go back to your seats now, everyone, since the teacher will be here soon.”
Hae-rang spoke with a smile.
But it was far from the smile he showed Ji-ho. Only Ji-ho failed to notice this.
The kids grumbled and returned to their seats.
Ji-ho looked at Hae-rang. He met her eyes and smiled.
The children knew that Hae-rang’s expression had changed entirely from before. But again, Ji-ho didn’t realize this.
“Creepy. It’s like he has a split personality.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re dating, right?”
“If that’s not dating, what is?”
Various remarks clearly reached Hae-rang’s ears.
The comment about the split personality annoyed him quite a bit, but the talk about him and Ji-ho dating made him very happy.
Like this, he’d become known as Ji-ho’s boyfriend at school. Then, they could just start dating for real.
After all, everything starts out fake.
Unbeknownst to Ji-ho, she had already become the class’s officially recognized couple with Hae-rang.
Looking at Hae-rang’s smile, Ji-ho hesitated for a moment.
No matter how much she disliked Hae-rang and didn’t particularly want to thank him, she was still a member of the White Tiger Clan.
She had to think about future situations. When she returned to the Heavenly Realm, Hae-rang might feel betrayed by her.
Then she would never get to express her gratitude.
Thinking of being resented by her childhood friend wasn’t exactly pleasant.
But weren’t they no longer friends?
Ji-ho hadn’t known she could be this cold-hearted.
Maybe if it were the Fairy Yeonhwa. But the boy in front of her was Prince Yeonhwa, and she was merely his servant, the divine beast White Tiger.
And the one the White Tiger must serve above all else was the Heavenly Emperor.
Ji-ho cautiously opened her mouth.
“…Thanks for helping me earlier.”
For a moment, Hae-rang’s eyes widened, then gently narrowed. It was a sweet eye-smile that seemed like it could melt her.
Somehow, Ji-ho only felt her heart grow heavier.
Hae-rang gestured to Ji-ho. Ji-ho followed his gesture and leaned down.
In an instant, Hae-rang shot a cold glare around them and softly whispered in Ji-ho’s ear.
“I’ll show you around the school at lunchtime, Ji-ho.”
…Was this really something that needed to be said like that?
Ji-ho rolled her eyes and looked at Hae-rang. He smirked and quickly leaned back.
Straightening up, Ji-ho touched her cheek. The cheek that Hae-rang’s breath had brushed against somehow felt hot.
Ji-ho quite liked studying. Her hobby was also shutting herself in her room and reading books.
So she couldn’t help but focus during class. Because she enjoyed listening to the lessons.
Thus, her attitude in class naturally caught the teachers’ attention. Even more so because she was the seatmate of Cheon Hae-rang, one of the students famous among the teachers.
Moreover, on her very first day of transferring, she even asked the teacher a question during precious break time. Rumors spread quickly through the staff room.
The teachers in the second-year staff room envied Kim Jeong-hyeon, the homeroom teacher of class 2-4, who now had not only Cheon Hae-rang but also a model student transfer student.
However, completely unaware of this, Ji-ho ended up learning from Hae-rang during the noisy break times. It wasn’t at all her intention.
“Here, ‘meeting the x-axis’ is the same as finding the x value when y=0, so using the properties of logarithms…”
With a calm explanation, neat handwriting filled the white notebook.
Class time passed so quickly it felt like a waste, and it was already break time after the third period.
Thinking that these classes would be the first and last, she felt incredibly regretful.
Only 5 minutes remained until the start of fourth period, but without taking a break, Ji-ho reviewed the logarithmic functions she learned during third-period math.
While struggling with a problem that wouldn’t solve easily, Hae-rang asked her.
“Is it very difficult? Want some help?”
Actually, she could have gone to the math teacher and homeroom teacher, Kim Jeong-hyeon, but for some reason, Ji-ho didn’t want to go to him.
So, although she didn’t particularly like it, she chose to learn from Hae-rang. Maybe it was because she recalled Hae-rang’s appearance during math class.
Hae-rang had perfectly solved the problems the homeroom teacher wrote on the board, so it was good to learn what she could.
Besides, Hae-rang had a nicer voice than the homeroom teacher and prettier handwriting.
“…So the answer turns out like this. Do you understand, Ji-ho?”
The problem-solving finished, and a soft voice called her name. She quickly pulled her wandering mind back.
“…Y-Yeah. I think I get it.”
“I’m glad. Was there any part difficult to follow?”
There wasn’t. He seemed to explain better than the homeroom teacher. Ji-ho nodded.
At her positive response, Hae-rang smiled brightly like a flower.
Would she be able to see that smile even after returning to the Heavenly Realm? Ji-ho felt a little sad at the sudden thought.
Hae-rang was happy. He wanted to be more helpful to Ji-ho. It would be even better if Ji-ho was drawn to his intellectual side.
“If you don’t know something, just ask again.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Ji-ho greeted him lightly, then took the worksheet she had been using towards Hae-rang’s desk and organized her things. Next was Korean Geography.
♩ ♪ ♬ ♪
Hae-rang looked at the clock with regretful eyes. Break time with Ji-ho was too short.
‘But we’ll be together at lunchtime too.’
His dampened spirits quickly lifted. Hae-rang prepared for fourth period, unable to hide the smile escaping his lips.
What is fourth period?
It’s not only the last class of the morning but also a time to prepare for the war-like lunch break.
The kids of class 2-4 were no different.
Ten minutes before the end of fourth period. The lesson was no longer important to the kids. They were ready to bolt to the cafeteria at any moment.
It was Wednesday. ‘No leftovers day,’ when the most delicious meal of the week was served.
Mr. Oh, the Korean History teacher, had already noticed these kids. Glancing at the clock, he closed his book and spoke.
“Alright. You all listened well today, so I’ll let you out early.”
Wow! Teacher, you’re the best! We love you! Cheers erupted from the kids here and there.
“Oh dear. You’re truly eloquent.”
With a chuckle and a playful scolding, Mr. Oh was about to call on the class president, Hae-rang, when he noticed Ji-ho sitting next to him.
She was the rumored transfer student. The transfer student listened to the lesson with wide, sparkling eyes, just like the rumor said.
Unless he was mistaken, the transfer student seemed a bit regretful about something now.
Mr. Oh liked this transfer student. Hoping she would stay like this, he called on Hae-rang.
“Alright then, class president. Greetings.”
Hae-rang stood up from his seat. Whenever Mr. Oh saw Hae-rang’s tall stature, he felt strangely proud.
“Attention, salute.”
“Thank you, teacher.”
“Okay, everyone eat well. And don’t fall asleep during fifth period!”
“Yes~.”
“Anyway, you’re good at answering, that’s for sure. Alright, the teacher is leaving.”
After Mr. Oh left the classroom, the atmosphere became a bit restless, but not enough to get scolded by another teacher for being too noisy.
This was because the class tended to watch Hae-rang’s lead, but Ji-ho didn’t know this.
To begin with, whether the class was noisy or not wasn’t important to her.
It was the few minutes remaining until the bell rang. Enough time for her to review.
Just as she was about to recall the lesson and start reviewing, a playful voice pierced her ear.
