……Sara doesn’t come back.
Maybe she’s still talking until now.
No, could it really be like that?
Yoo Ha-neul’s heart was filled with that ongoing dialogue. One side was trying to see the situation positively, while the other was leaning towards negativity.
Both thoughts made sense in their own way.
The positive side was Yoo Ha-neul, who had observed Sara’s changes until now.
Even if she hadn’t completely let go of her feelings for Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung, she knew that there were far more people who cared about her than before.
Though the way they valued her was different for both, they were still precious friends to Yoo Ha-neul.
Because of this, Yoo Ha-neul believed in Sara. Sara believed too.
She thought she could come back right away, even if she faced her own mother.
However, the negative thoughts continued to swirl in her head.
The problem was that Sara’s lingering feelings for Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung weren’t fully gone.
Yoo Ha-neul remembered the scene where Sara had clung to Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung.
The most intense memory of Sara’s life. The only human she could communicate with.
Because of that, it was uncertain what outcome this conversation would bring.
“……”
She looked at the smartphone on her desk. It had only been about 10 minutes since Sara left.
Right, considering the time it took to leave, talk, and return, it would obviously take longer than that.
Thinking this made her feel a little relieved.
“Yoo Ha-neul. Focus on the class.”
The teacher, who usually didn’t say anything about what other students did, said that to Yoo Ha-neul.
“……”
How much did Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung distribute this time?
Not long ago, Sara had told the teachers they should ‘pay back what they owed for not doing their job’ to pressure them. They even received a written statement there, so the teachers’ resentment towards Sara must be quite severe by now.
And naturally, that resentment was directed towards Yoo Ha-neul and Sohee, Sara’s friends.
No, perhaps it was directed at all the scholarship students in this school. After all, they were the ones who were most influenced and helped by Sara’s existence.
Around her, some couldn’t help but snicker. It seemed they were openly mocking Yoo Ha-neul.
Sohee looked around as if annoyed, but just like when she asserted herself in front of the teachers last time, she couldn’t quite take control of the atmosphere now.
…Not that it was entirely ineffective.
It was quite pitiful, as some averted their eyes and closed their mouths.
In their eyes, Sohee seemed to be really someone who could go all out.
Of course, Sohee didn’t hit the kids or anything.
…Well, maybe she could grab them by the collar.
“Focus on the class. If your grades can’t hold up, you might not be able to stay in this school.”
“……”
Yoo Ha-neul gritted her teeth.
It was disgusting.
There was a time she admired this school while looking at it from the outside. After all, she worked hard to get in.
All the facilities were top-notch, the teachers were top-notch, and the students were, well, ‘upper class.’
It would probably be more unusual not to admire it.
But in this school, all sorts of dirty things that could make one imagine about the upper class also gathered together.
But for now, she could hold on.
Sara was still here.
Soo-ah was here, and Sohee was here too.
She didn’t want to give up on the memories with these kids.
So, she picked up her pen again and jotted down the teacher’s mumblings in her notebook.
Just until Sara comes back, just until then, she thought.
*
However, the one who returned was not Sara.
Even though the class hadn’t ended, the door creaked open with a thud.
“Ha-neul! Sohee!”
And the one who shouted that loudly was not the Sara who was supposed to return.
It was Soo-ah, panting as if she had run a long way.
“What are you doing during class—”
“What’s wrong?”
The teacher tried to scold Soo-ah, but before that, Yoo Ha-neul rose from her seat.
There was a reason Soo-ah had run in so desperately.
Going outside during class was usually something only Yoo Ha-neul, Sohee, or Sara would do.
“Right now—”
Was she furious at the open conversation? Or maybe she was glad to catch a break? Perhaps thinking she could disperse this thorn in her side, the teacher made a pretentious angry face, but—
Thud!
Something flew and hit the teacher’s face hard.
“Ugh!”
While it wasn’t enough to injure, the sudden attack surprised the teacher, who covered his face.
A pen rolled across the floor.
It was a quite expensive, hefty metal pen.
“Shin Sohee!”
This time, the teacher shouted not with fake anger but true indignation.
Sohee remained seated with a bored expression, taking in the teacher’s ire as if it were a natural punishment for her actions.
“Shut it! My friends are in the middle of a conversation right now.”
“What do you mean by—”
But this time, those words didn’t get to finish.
This time, a pencil case flew through the air entirely.
Ducking down quickly, the teacher rolled on the floor.
“Why don’t you exercise a little?”
Sohee said with a sigh.
Some students nearby couldn’t hold back their laughter and let out a snicker, but when Sohee shot them a fierce glare, they quickly covered their mouths.
The teacher’s face was flushed all over with a mix of anger and embarrassment as he shouted.
“You guys will not get away with this!”
“That’s only possible when we’re still students.”
“What?”
“Since I keep seeing you, it’s only fair to tell you it’s pathetic. I don’t even want to attend this trashy school.”
Sohee slowly rose. She glanced at Yoo Ha-neul, who was standing up first, and with her mouth slightly open staring at Sohee, Sohee merely shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway, it wasn’t a school that suited me.”
Then Sohee walked toward the teacher at the front of the classroom.
“Y-You, you’re talking back to a teacher—”
“Excuse me, I don’t feel like addressing you as ‘sir’.”
Sohee approached right in front of the teacher, stuffing her hand into her school uniform pocket and looking up at the teacher sideways.
Despite being shorter than the teacher, there wasn’t an overwhelming height difference. Standing face to face, they were almost at eye level.
“……You keep mentioning me as a student. If you want to be treated like a teacher, then act like one. You’ve treated other kids like garbage this whole time, so why would they treat you like a teacher?”
“…….”
The teacher’s face was flushed, but he couldn’t say a word.
He probably instinctively knew. That Sohee was on the verge of exploding.
And the biggest reason was because of the never-returning Sara.
Right now, money wasn’t the issue.
If one wrong word was said, they would truly be finished.
Physically.
Or perhaps, Sohee standing in front of the teacher now just wanted the teacher to be the ‘cause’ of the explosion.
“Sohee.”
But this dreadful confrontation came to an end quickly.
Yoo Ha-neul patted Sohee on the shoulder.
“……Huh?”
When Sohee turned around, Yoo Ha-neul shook her head.
“Don’t do that. It’s not worth it.”
No matter how angry she was, if she hurt someone physically, things would escalate. If the police came, they wouldn’t be able to help Sara.
“……”
Sohee turned back and quietly looked up at the teacher before abruptly lowering her head.
Hmph!
Sohee spat on the teacher’s feet, saying,
“Try living well while being a teacher in this dump of a school. I can’t stand it anymore.”
“Sohee!”
Yoo Ha-neul called out to her, but—
“I’m serious. I’m going to tell Sara. Even if it’s not this place, there are plenty of other schools, right?”
“……”
Yoo Ha-neul stared at Sohee in a daze.
Sohee’s expression was endlessly serious.
“……Yeah, let’s do that.”
And agreeing with Sohee, she nodded.
“There’s no need for us to be here.”
Yoo Ha-neul turned around without a shred of regret.
Right, other things didn’t matter.
The precious beings to her were already surrounding her.
This pathetic school didn’t concern her anymore.
“So, Soo-ah,”
Yoo Ha-neul looked at the pale-faced Soo-ah and asked,
“What happened?”
Taking a deep breath, Soo-ah replied,
“Sara went out with her, um, mother!”
She spoke as if she exhaled all at once.
In that moment, time froze for Yoo Ha-neul and Sohee.
“……Let’s go.”
But it didn’t take long for them to shake off their daze.
How Soo-ah knew that fact, and why Sara went out with Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung.
Those things could be figured out later.
Before they knew it, the three were running together.
“Do you know where she went?”
“First direction is……!”
“Senior!”
Sohee had already dialed Yang Hye-in.
“……”
Yoo Ha-neul ran hard, praying only for Sara’s safety.
