“Uuugh...”
On the first day of the new semester, the moment the final class ended, Yeoncheong collapsed face-down onto her desk. Now that they were second-years, most classes had proceeded straight from day one.
Watching her classmates prepare to leave, Yeoncheong looked back on her day.
‘Good work, me.’
She had missed one break to go get her textbooks, and it still hadn’t even been past lunchtime.
Between classes, during the short ten-minute window, her classmates had come to Yeoncheong’s seat. It was to greet the transfer student they would be spending the next year with.
Most of them were simple formalities. Of course, there were also those who approached with genuine interest in Ha Yeoncheong herself.
Yeoncheong, who had buried her head in her desk, slightly raised it toward the two girls surrounded by friends even as they organized their things.
Gang Hasol. Baek Suyeon.
The two of them possessed exceptional sociability.
The first day of school could carry an awkward atmosphere depending on how the class was formed. However, Yeoncheong’s class—second-year Class 1—didn’t seem to have that worry.
After all, there were two mood makers where even one would have been enough. It was as if two suns hung in the same sky.
Yet there was no worry that those two suns in the same sky would clash. They appeared close, as if they had known each other since first year.
As Yeoncheong stared blankly at the pair overflowing with energy, she made eye contact with Baek Suyeon. Yeoncheong quickly averted her gaze, but she had already been caught by those two differently colored eyes.
“Yeoncheong, do you want to hang out with us today too?”
A bright voice filled with nothing but pure goodwill. Suyeon, having already closed the distance with her new classmates, had set her sights on Yeoncheong this time.
Considering the need to adapt quickly, it was an offer to be grateful for. But to Yeoncheong, already exhausted beyond measure, it was an unwanted proposal. She no longer had the mental energy to be surrounded by a crowd of girls.
Just as Suyeon’s offer was turning into an empty call, fortunately, Teacher Jisu appeared, giving Yeoncheong time to think.
While she pondered how to decline gracefully, Teacher Jisu entered, and homeroom passed in an instant. Naturally, there was nothing particularly important to announce from the first day of the semester.
“Good work, everyone. You’re dismissed.”
“Goodbye, Teacher!”
The greeting came as if they had been waiting for it. The students grabbed their bags and streamed out of the classroom like an ebbing tide. Suyeon came back over with her friends to hear Yeoncheong’s answer.
“Yeoncheong, you’re coming, right?”
“I...”
Yeoncheong drew out her words, thinking until the very end. Teacher Jisu, who had been accepting the students’ farewells, noticed and called out to Yeoncheong.
“Yeoncheong needs to stay behind for a bit. The chairman said she has something to tell you.”
Suyeon, standing nearby, was disappointed.
“Guess not today, then. Bye.”
Yeoncheong waved back at Suyeon and her friends. In the now-quiet classroom, Yeoncheong let out a breath of relief and looked toward Seoha, who was just getting up.
“Se, Seoha.”
At the voice calling her, Seoha’s head turned gently.
“Today... thank you. Bye.”
“Sure, see you tomorrow.”
Smiling brightly, Seoha said her goodbyes and left the classroom.
***
Following Teacher Jisu’s guidance, Yeoncheong arrived at the chairman’s office.
“You may return right after you’re done talking.”
“Yes.”
“If anything is troubling you, tell me. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, goodbye.”
Yeoncheong bowed to her homeroom teacher, who was walking away. Then she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
At the woman’s voice telling her to enter, Yeoncheong opened the door.
“Hello. Long time no... not really.”
“Is it? I think it’s been over a week.”
A woman young for a chairman smiled playfully at Yeoncheong.
Jo Yurim.
The chairman of the foundation that operated Hwaryeong High School, a school senior and junior to Yeoncheong’s parents and also their friend. And the person who had helped with Yeoncheong’s transfer.
“Is school alright? Think you can manage?”
“I’ve only attended one day, you know.”
“Still, you must have some impression, don’t you?”
Yeoncheong shot the chairman a brief glare, then answered after some thought.
“It’s awkward having only girls in the classroom... but it’s fine.”
“It is a girls’ school, after all. Ah, though for someone who went to boys’ middle and high schools, the stimulus might be a bit strong?”
“What stimulus? It’s just that the environment changed suddenly, that’s all.”
Chairman Yurim spoke to the flustered Yeoncheong.
“Do your best. I went through a lot of trouble to get you here because you said a co-ed school would be difficult too.”
“About that... I’m grateful.”
A hint of worry seeped into Yurim’s previously playful eyes.
“Is it still hard?”
“I think I’ll be fine now, as long as no one touches on it.”
That much is enough for now, Yurim muttered under her breath. Yeoncheong, who had been watching her cautiously, asked something she was curious about.
“How many people know?”
“The principal, the vice principal, and your homeroom teacher, Teacher Jisu, I believe?”
Yurim, who had been counting on her fingers as she recalled, added,
“Ah, the male teachers know too. Only very briefly.”
“Thank you.”
This time, Yeoncheong expressed her gratitude with a polite bow. Yurim shuddered and waved her hand at Yeoncheong’s attitude.
“Stop it. What’s the point of being a friend of your parents if I can’t use it at times like this?”
When Yeoncheong gave no reply, Yurim changed the subject.
“By the way, how is Seonghun these days?”
“My father? I think he’s still busy adjusting since his overseas assignment started not long ago.”
At the ambiguous answer, Yurim tilted her head. Her neatly trimmed short hair brushed her shoulders.
“You said ‘think’? When was the last time you contacted Seonghun?”
“About... four days ago...?”
Recalling the answer, Yurim clicked her tongue and raised her voice.
“Even if his son who came back from the dead became a daughter, this is too much. The person who became a girl overnight must be going through so much turmoil. He should call at least every other day, don’t you think?”
Bringing her index finger to her lips in a gesture to be quiet, Yeoncheong calmed Yurim down, afraid her voice might carry outside.
Swallowing her anger, Yurim stared intently at Yeoncheong. Looking at Yeoncheong’s appearance, Yurim was reminded of a certain woman.
‘Like parent, like child... she really does take after her.’
Even Yurim, in her anger, could understand Seonghun’s attitude.
It wasn’t just the distance that came from his son suddenly becoming a daughter. Seeing a face that looked exactly like his dead wife must have been unbearably difficult.
Yeoncheong’s father, Seonghun, had decided to take the overseas posting he had been agonizing over and suddenly asked Yurim to look after Yeoncheong. There had been nowhere else to entrust Yeoncheong, who was reluctant to attend a co-ed school.
‘How could I ignore him when that stiff guy was begging on his knees?’
Yurim, who knew both Seonghun and his late wife, had not refused.
‘What are you thinking about for so long?’
Yurim stared at her, lost in thought. Wondering if there was something wrong with her uniform, Yeoncheong turned her body this way and that. In the end, finding no issue, Yeoncheong called out to Yurim.
“Chairman. Chairman.”
“Hm? What?”
Yurim’s eyes, returning to reality, turned to Yeoncheong.
“Is there something wrong with my uniform? You were staring so intently.”
“Your uniform?”
At Yeoncheong’s words, Yurim’s gaze drifted slightly downward.
Blazer, shirt, tie, and skirt. Yurim had been about to say her neat attire was beyond reproach, but she paused.
“Doesn’t the shirt... feel tight?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“It looks tight around the chest.”
Yurim rose from her seat at the sight of the slightly snug shirt.
“You are wearing properly fitting undergarments, right?”
“O-of course! Why would you ask that?”
Yeoncheong’s face turned red. She took a step back, but as Yurim took a step forward, the distance between them remained the same.
“It’s bad for you if they don’t fit. Want me to check?”
“Wh-what! D-don’t say such absurd things!”
“We’re both girls, so what’s the problem? It’s not like there’s anyone else who can properly teach you these things.”
Yeoncheong retreated again, shielding her front with both arms. Her already flushed face turned so red it looked as if it would burst.
“There are things you just can’t do.”
Faced with such a vehement refusal, Yurim had no choice but to back off. Believing they had finished all necessary conversation, Yeoncheong spoke.
“We’re done talking, right, Chairman? Then I’ll be going.”
“Wait, wait!”
Yurim caught Yeoncheong, who was trying to leave after a hasty farewell.
“If there’s anything you can’t tell Seonghun, tell me. Alright?”
“...Yes, thank you.”
Yeoncheong bowed her head low and left the chairman’s office.
Yurim sighed as she watched Yeoncheong leave.
“I wonder how she’ll manage PE class like that...”
The door, which had been closing slowly, paused for a moment.
Seeing the door close after a brief delay, Yurim muttered,
“Did she hear?”
Yeoncheong sprinted home without looking back.
***
The moment she arrived home, Yeoncheong dove onto her bed still in her uniform. Alone in the house, she muttered aloud,
“Ah... I’m dead tired...”
Nothing was familiar. It had been a day more than enough to leave her exhausted.
After a brief recharge of energy, Yeoncheong got up from bed and checked her smartphone. She needed to verify the timetable she had photographed.
“PE... PE is...”
In the dark house, with no lights on, the only illumination came from the glow of the screen. Moving her eyes over the timetable, Yeoncheong was relieved.
“None tomorrow, at least.”
Reassured, Yeoncheong collapsed back onto the bed. She lay there for quite some time, only getting up after the sun had completely set.
After dinner and a few simple chores, Yeoncheong glanced at the remaining boxes.
“I’ll unpack... over the weekend.”
For now, all Yeoncheong wanted was to wash up and rest.
***
The next day, Yeoncheong had purely overslept due to fatigue, but she managed to avoid being late by a hair’s breadth.
After an unremarkable morning assembly, a crowd of girls from the same class flocked around Yeoncheong. They were the same group that had quickly left the classroom yesterday.
“Yeoncheong! Do you know the chairman?”
“The chairman...?”
The classmate who had approached closest nodded. There had been those who overheard Chairman Yurim’s raised voice and private conversation with Yeoncheong.
Leaning back fully against her chair, Yeoncheong slowly explained.
“My parents are her friends from school, and they have a senior-junior relationship with her.”
“Really? What’s the chairman like?”
Was this how fans reacted when they saw an idol? Yeoncheong was bewildered by her classmates’ intense reactions.
“Isn’t she really amazing?”
Yeoncheong wondered if this was some kind of hidden camera. But the students’ reactions were genuine.
“A chairman at such a young age. An innovator who elevated the school to its current standing. She’s beautiful, and she greets us with a smile first; you wouldn’t believe how kind she is.”
“R-really?”
The chairman, who took bold yet student-friendly steps, was immensely popular with the students.
Of course, the public image of Chairman Jo Yurim was quite different from what Yeoncheong knew. Yeoncheong decided not to bother shattering that illusion.
And so, the rare transfer student became the transfer student with connections to the chairman.