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“This assignment is to create a model of a monster. The materials don’t matter; just make sure to capture the monster’s characteristics as closely as possible.”

“Ugh…”

The first assignment at the Academy was given by Instructor Kim Gae-soo from the Introduction to Monster Studies.

Other students seemed to have a natural aversion to the idea of creating a monster model.

But.

‘Maybe…’

I felt like this was an opportunity.

A chance to take down Lee Min-jeong, who always acted all pretty and superior.

The plan Min-ji and I came up with was perfect.

Even though Min-ji backed out after getting beaten up by Jeong Gyeoul in Villain Capture Techniques, it didn’t matter.

The plan was already in its final stages.

‘By the way, it’s annoying. Does she really think she’s on my level just because I’ve been nice to her?’

I’ll have to drag Kim Min-ji down into the abyss later too.

There’s a rumor going around the Academy that there’s treasure buried in the mountains behind the shelter.

The plan, which even utilized that, was so clever that it’s hard to believe it came from Kim Min-ji’s wild boar-like brain.

Students who go looking for the treasure usually avoid the front of the shelter.

There’s no reason to climb the steep areas when there are easier trails to enter the mountains.

Using that, I set up the assignment in a less-traveled area near the front of the shelter.

I casually showed my friends how hard I was working on the assignment as I passed by.

And I left the completed assignment there.

I’ve been leaving it there for days, using the excuse that it’s drying.

I was worried the timing might not work out, but it seems even the gods are on my side.

The timing was perfect.

Lee Min-jeong was planning to stay alone in the classroom today to finish her assignment.

Today is the day of reckoning.

The day my grand plan to drag Lee Min-jeong’s reputation into the mud will be executed.

“Have you heard the rumor about treasure in the mountains behind the Academy?”

“Yeah, it’s been all the buzz lately. Everyone’s heard about it.”

“Let’s go look for it too!”

“…But the dorm curfew is at 12. What if we’re late?”

“Come on, we’ll just look around for an hour and come back if we don’t find anything.”

They weren’t exactly thrilled about a night hike, but I kept pestering them.

Reluctantly, they agreed to meet.

Of course, I’m one of those people who absolutely hate hiking.

‘If you want to see mountain scenery, just look at pictures. Why bother climbing up?’

It’s not like we’re actually going up a mountain anyway.

It shouldn’t be a big deal.

“Then let’s meet between 10:20 and 10:30.”

“Sure, where should we meet?”

“You know where I left my assignment near the shelter? Let’s meet there.”

“Ah… Dain, I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know where it is…”

Lee Min-jeong looks at me with an apologetic face, hesitating.

Of course, you don’t know, you idiot. I didn’t show it to you on purpose.

I barely managed to hold back the words that were about to burst out.

I’ve disliked her since the entrance ceremony.

Pretty face, slender figure.

Not in the Physical Category, so she doesn’t even exercise—lazy by nature.

She must be showing off because she’s in the rare Super Ability Category.

But it still bothers me that she flaunts a more perfect image than me.

They say first impressions last.

For me, Lee Min-jeong was that.

“From the shelter’s main gate, just follow the wall this way.”

You’re the star of today’s show, so you should know where the stage is.

I even drew a map and explained it kindly.

“Thanks, Dain.”

Even her smiling and saying thank you feels fake.

She’s probably cursing me in her head for bothering her.

She’s always like that.

Every word she says is fake.

Every action is mixed with pretense.

Others might not notice, but I do.

It happened not long after we started school.

“Min-jeong, isn’t Shin really cool?”

“…Kim Shin? Do you like Kim Shin?”

“Ah, no! I-I don’t like him… It’s just…”

It was obvious she was staking her claim, telling others not to touch him.

Ever since then, Lee Min-jeong has been hovering around Kim Shin.

“Ouch… S-sorry. I didn’t see where I was going.”

“It’s okay, are you hurt?”

“No…”

Pretending to be the heroine of a romance manga, trying to create clichés.

“Min-jeong, let’s go to the snack shop!”

“Sorry, my stomach’s feeling a bit off…”

After talking non-stop with Kim Shin for thirty minutes, blushing all the while.

When I asked her to go to the snack shop, she suddenly said her stomach hurt.

And I saw the look in her eyes then.

That look of annoyance, irritation.

A few days later, she apologized, saying she had cramps and was feeling sensitive.

What a perfect queen bee, a perfect fox.

Thinking about it makes me angry again.

It’s almost time for the others to arrive.

I destroyed the monster model I had set up near the shelter and hid in a secluded spot.

“Ugh… I’m so sleepy… I’m a walking potato…”

The sleepy friend who’s been talking nonsense since leaving the dorm room.

“Ugh, I couldn’t help with squats… What if they say they won’t be my partner next time?”

The gym-obsessed friend.

And finally…

“Huff… huff… I’m not too late, am I? I ran as fast as I could…”

Lee Min-jeong, running alone, still dripping with pretense, as if someone might see her.

All the main actors for the stage have arrived.

“You’re here? But… what’s that?”

“Isn’t that Dain’s assignment? Oh no…”

“Who would do something like this…”

“Should we try to fix it before Dain gets here?”

“Min-jeong, you don’t know what the assignment is, right? You were in the bathroom when we talked about it at the cafe.”

“Yeah… but Dain will be sad if she sees this. I want to help somehow.”

She’s putting on her usual act in front of her friends.

It’s almost time for me to make my entrance.

“…What is this?”

“D-Dain…”

“Who! Who ruined my assignment!”

The friends know how much effort I put into this assignment over the past week.

And tomorrow is the presentation day.

They’re looking at me with pity, but this is all part of the plan.

‘I thought about using someone else’s assignment, but…’

If I did that, I might be suspected.

But if it’s my own assignment that’s ruined?

No one would think I’d destroy my own hard work.

And according to the information I gathered, the shelter area is part of the Student Council President’s patrol route.

If there’s a commotion, they’ll definitely come.

“Who ruined my assignment!”

“It wasn’t me! Why would I mess with your assignment?”

“I did better on the assignment than you, so why would I do that…”

“…I don’t even know what the assignment is.”

Lee Min-jeong offers to help, suggesting we start over.

I wanted to push the blame onto her right then and there, but…

If I did that, not only would Lee Min-jeong’s reputation suffer, but mine might too.

After a while of arguing, the Student Council members would come…

…Why are they here?

“Jeong Gyeoul? Lee Ha-yoon?”

“Hello.”

“Why are you two here?”

They’re Student Council members.

I don’t know since when, but…

Even though they’re strong, they’re only 14.

They might even be better than the other Student Council members.

There were rumors about them being hot-tempered and having anger issues, so they might just blame Lee Min-jeong and be done with it.

“The culprit is among us!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find them in honor of my grandfather.”

“Anyway! I’ll catch them, don’t worry.”

Somehow, Jeong Gyeoul became the biggest variable in my plan.

If they don’t ask for alibis, I’m in trouble…

I made sure only Lee Min-jeong wouldn’t have an alibi.

The Student Council President was there, but he just stood by, not intervening.

‘Just ask for alibis already!’

After playing along with Jeong Gyeoul’s antics for a while…

“The culprit is Mr. A!”

Is she crazy?

Even though I set it up so Lee Min-jeong would be the obvious suspect.

She’s pointing the finger at someone completely unrelated.

Luckily, the Student Council President stopped Jeong Gyeoul from going off the rails.

The investigation returned to square one.

Finally, they started asking for alibis as I wanted.

Everyone except Lee Min-jeong had an alibi.

I even tampered with the CCTV angles near the lecture hall.

I didn’t expect her to come late by climbing through a window.

Normally, this would be the end, but…

When they suggested bringing in an instructor with psychometry, I started to panic.

It’s probably impossible to pin the blame on her here.

I’ll just have to spread rumors quietly from behind the scenes.

But then… it turned out Lee Min-jeong is a psychometrist.

Of course, that fake girl!

She lied to her friends about her abilities.

She’s been hiding it all this time.

But… what do I do?

If she touches my broken assignment, she’ll know I destroyed it myself…

My perfect plan didn’t account for Lee Min-jeong being a psychometrist.

“…No! That’s enough. It’s late, everyone should go to bed. I need to redo my assignment.”

In the end, I sent everyone away and stayed behind alone.

The plan failed.

I thought about pretending to work on the assignment and then going back, but…

Lee Ha-yoon and Jeong Gyeoul showed up again.

‘What’s this? Did they catch on?’

Far from catching on, they finished the assignment in no time using their abilities.

With their help, I finished the assignment and returned to the dorm.

‘…What kind of plan should I come up with next? It’s frustrating. Can’t they see she’s just a bundle of fakeness?’

Feeling frustrated, I went up to the dorm rooftop to get some night air.

A note flew in with the night breeze.

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Need help?

Contact me if you need anything.

-Jealousy

[010-666-666]

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Jealousy?

What kind of ridiculous name is that?

I was about to crumple the note and throw it away, but… I put it in my pocket.

You shouldn’t litter.

But… do phone numbers even have only six digits?

 

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