Seoyeon had now become quite accustomed to airplanes.
That was because she had been to Japan more than once or twice due to
'But this is my first time on such a long flight.'
A whopping 13 hours.
It made sense that the school trip was scheduled for 4 nights and 5 days.
They originally planned for 7 days, but felt it would be too long, so they settled for 4 nights and 5 days, or so she heard.
'And I even had in-flight meals twice.'
As Seoyeon munched on her in-flight meal with relish and looked around, she saw that most of the students weren't eating properly and sat with indifferent expressions.
It certainly didn't seem to suit the students' tastes.
"Um, by any chance, are you Actor Ju Seoyeon?"
"Yes."
"Wow, it's really you. I'm a huge fan. I really enjoyed watching
The flight attendant collecting the leftover trash from the in-flight meals smiled broadly as she looked at Seoyeon.
She had flown frequently during
'My public awareness has definitely gone up a lot.'
The percentage of people who recognized her had certainly increased compared to before.
Should she say it felt like she had become a real celebrity?
'The reactions when I went to the convenience store also became more dramatic than before.'
Lee Jiyeon had told her to stop because it was embarrassing, but it couldn't be helped.
Going to the convenience store was like a duty.
'However.'
After Seoyeon gave an autograph to the flight attendant, she looked around.
'Somehow, it feels like everyone is watching.'
When she turned her head, the gazes that were looking this way subtly averted their eyes.
Of all things, her seat was far from Dahyeon, the class president!
'Umm.'
Of course, that was ultimately just an excuse.
She just needed to casually talk to the student sitting right next to her.
However, whenever Seoyeon turned her gaze to initiate a conversation—
"!!"
She could see their pupils shaking in surprise.
Seoyeon wasn't smooth-talking enough to casually strike up a conversation when the other person was clearly uncomfortable.
'Will I be able to get closer to anyone on this school trip?'
Honestly, it was getting to the point of doubt.
She only wondered whether it was because she was an actress, or because of this sharp atmosphere.
As Seoyeon let out a sigh inwardly—
Kang Suhye, the classmate sitting next to Seoyeon, felt her blood drying up from nervousness.
'D-Did I offend her?'
Of course, although she was hurt, she wasn't disappointed.
However, seeing Seoyeon quietly close her mouth, Suhye wiped the cold sweat flowing down her forehead.
Of course, that wasn't because Seoyeon was particularly scary.
Quite the opposite.
'Hey, Kang Suhye. You said you're a fan! You should at least try to talk to her once!'
Her friends had said that before boarding the plane, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
Truly, her appearance was graceful.
Suhye thought so to herself.
Glancing at her side profile, she was so beautiful that it was hard to believe they were both human.
Flawless white skin without a single blemish.
Smooth black hair that didn't even seem capable of generating static electricity.
It was a visual as if she had just popped out of a comic.
Inwardly, she was so happy when she got the seat next to her on the plane that she could scream, but she couldn't just be purely happy.
Because she couldn't even properly start a conversation.
'Goodness.'
Of course, watching that situation from afar, Gil Dahyeon smiled faintly and shook her head.
She understood the general situation well enough.
Seoyeon, on her part, was worried about making the other person uncomfortable.
And in Suhye's case, it was the reverse—she was worried about making Seoyeon uncomfortable.
'It can't be helped.'
In the class, Seoyeon was a special student.
Probably not just Dahyeon, but everyone in this class.
No, all the students attending Yeonhwa High would think so.
'It would be fine if they didn't overthink it.'
Of course, since Dahyeon had been similar in the past, she had no intention of blaming them.
The reason the other students strangely found Seoyeon intimidating.
Wasn't that obvious?
'They must feel like she lives in a different world.'
So-called celebrities.
The insider of insiders.
Of course, there were many extroverted students in this class too, but there was a limit to that.
Counted on one hand in South Korea.
How many people would easily strike up a conversation with a celebrity who was among the top few in their peer group?
'And there's Insta too.'
Students were especially sensitive to Insta.
Generally, they got to know each other through Insta, and exchanging Insta handles was more common than exchanging contact numbers.
But what about Seoyeon's Insta?
Honestly, if they added her as a friend or messaged her, would she even accept?
Likewise, Actor Jo Seohee, who recently played a major role in
And the photos taken of her hanging out with Lee Jiyeon.
Her agency, and photos taken with other actors when she had spare time on set.
No matter how you looked at it, it was from another world to the other students.
'Want to exchange Instas?'
She was someone too far away to ask that so lightly.
On the other hand, asking for KakaoTalk felt like acting too close.
'Seoyeon's mother must be managing it diligently.'
Of course, Dahyeon knew the reality to some extent.
Seoyeon's Insta was naturally not managed by Seoyeon herself.
It was mainly managed by Seoyeon's mother, Sua, or her manager, Park Eunha.
Of course, the photos were sponsored by Lee Jiyeon.
The only effort Seoyeon put into Insta was occasionally giving permission before photos were uploaded or thinking of captions.
Even then, she heard most of those captions came from Lee Jiyeon's head.
'Still, spending the school trip together should improve things a bit.'
For example, sleeping together in the dorm.
Or participating in a special event organized by the school.
'They said it was the Viol show, right?'
As the class president, Dahyeon had already been informed.
Viol Ready-to-Wear, which Seoyeon was participating in as an ambassador.
Hearing that definitely made Dahyeon think that Seoyeon was different from ordinary students.
Of course.
'Seeing her send those eyes asking for help, she's still a normal student after all.'
Dahyeon smiled at Seoyeon, who was sending her a look asking for help.
Honestly, from a spectator's point of view, it was a little amusing.
***
Paris!
An essential tourist city if you were traveling to Europe.
Honestly, Seoyeon didn't have any particular romantic notions about traveling to Europe, but the other girls seemed to, as their tension noticeably changed the moment they arrived in Paris.
'We'll be moving by class, so I won't be able to meet Jiyeon until later.'
Then, Seoyeon had no other choice.
Other than sticking right next to Dahyeon.
However.
"Did you know, Seoyeon? The Palace of Versailles was originally a villa."
"Yeah."
"It was like that even during the reign of Louis XIII, you know? But during Louis XIV's reign, it was expanded to become the current Palace of Versailles. And into a massive palace with thousands of rooms! If you were to pick the most famous room among them, it's undoubtedly the Hall of Mirrors. Do you happen to know about it, Seoyeon?"
Dahyeon spoke in an excited tone.
The first day of the Paris school trip.
Today's schedule, due to the flight arrival time, was practically just visiting the Palace of Versailles.
However, the sheer presence of the Palace of Versailles was so great that it felt like that alone was enough.
Even Seoyeon, who had no particular interest in a Paris trip, inwardly admired it.
However, it wasn't to the extent of Dahyeon, who was fully excited right now.
'My ears hurt.'
Seoyeon had good hearing to begin with.
Having no other friends, Seoyeon quietly stuck by her side, but honestly, it was a bit painful.
Of course, she wasn't the only one feeling that pain, as Dahyeon's two other friends also had similar expressions.
"Dahyeon was really looking forward to visiting the Palace of Versailles."
"Yeah, it seems like it."
The short-haired girl said.
Seoyeon, who replied casually, flinched for a moment.
But she thought this conversation was also an opportunity.
"Um, by any chance, your name..."
"Seoyeon, that's Youngmi. Remember we watched that Japanese variety show together last time?"
"...."
Ah, she looked familiar for a reason.
Cold sweat ran down Seoyeon's back.
To be clear, it wasn't that Seoyeon was being indifferent or forgot!
Because—
'Compared to back then, hasn't she gained... a lot of weight?'
The Youngmi that Seoyeon remembered was practically skin and bones at the time.
But the current Youngmi had honestly grown quite a bit... horizontally.
"Ah~, sorry. I gained a little weight, right?"
"What are you talking about? You're cuter than before."
"...Dahyeon. You're probably the only one who would say that. My mom kicks me with her feet every morning."
Of course, Seoyeon could only quietly nod.
Seoyeon also had some tact and knew that bringing up unnecessary words here wouldn't be good.
'But it's awkward to talk to her more.'
She was close with Dahyeon, but she wasn't particularly close with her friends.
Just think about how awkward it was when they watched the Japanese variety show last time.
'Umm, still, it might be a bit easier to build a friendship from this side first.'
Dahyeon and Youngmi.
And the 2nd-year classmates who seemed to have become friends with them.
Weren't they the perfect opponents for a tutorial?
'Alright. Let's give it a t—Hmm?'
It was when Seoyeon was thinking that.
Currently, the Palace of Versailles was in a state where groups were moving around and viewing freely.
In other words, about five girls, including Seoyeon and Dahyeon, were flocking together and looking around the outdoors of the Palace of Versailles.
Since it happened to be the tourist season, a large crowd had gathered at the palace.
Naturally, it was common for people to bump into each other.
Especially when lining up to enter like right now.
So, failing to notice those approaching with a "special purpose" was, in a way, only natural.
Tap.
『Hmm?』
The professional pickpocket, who mainly targeted travelers coming to France, was flustered by his fingers that wouldn't move for some reason.
He rolled his eyes downward, looking at his fingertips.
He saw a hand grabbing the small blade extended to slash the bag.
'Huh.'
Grabbed the blade?
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The panic at that moment probably lasted less than a few seconds.
Snap.
The time it took for the small knife to be caught by white fingers and snap.
"What are you doing?"
Suddenly, the face of a beautiful girl appeared beside him.
The girl, who had definitely been a short distance away just a moment ago, had approached his side before he knew it.
What was she saying?
Chinese? Or Japanese?
The pickpocket panicked.
He panicked, but he was a pro.
As soon as the girl spoke, he dropped the knife he was holding, turned his back, and ran.
"Huh?!"
"W-What's suddenly going on?"
"Seoyeon?"
Dahyeon and her friends, who belatedly realized what had happened, called out to Seoyeon.
"A pickpocket."
"What?"
"Wait, I'll catch him."
"Huh? Catch? Catch what?"
Hearing the voices coming from behind, the pickpocket smiled a smile of triumph.
'I don't know what they're saying, but they probably aren't thinking of catching me.'
It wasn't for nothing that he targeted weak women.
Because they couldn't even chase after him in the first place.
They wouldn't do such a foolish thing since it could unnecessarily cause additional danger.
'Tsk, if only there were no tourists around, I wouldn't have needed to run like this.'
They were just Asian teenage girls anyway.
Pickpocket or whatever, they wouldn't be able to approach if he just threatened them.
However, because there were other tourists around, he ran just in case.
And also because he was momentarily flustered by the knife breaking.
'Why did the knife break?'
He thought as he ran.
Even if it was a knife used to slash bags, it was still clearly a weapon.
It wasn't a weak object that would break on a woman's fingers.
Was it because he had used it for too long?
Or...
'Oh.'
While running, he saw a woman holding a designer bag defenselessly, showing her back.
If he grabbed it while running like this, she would definitely let go.
Since it wasn't a crowded spot, it wouldn't be difficult to slip away.
It was as if she was saying, "Please steal this before I go."
"Kyah!!"
Sure enough, when he grabbed the bag with the momentum of his run, the woman fell over and dropped the bag.
Although there was a slightly flustering incident, a designer bag was more profitable than the Asian girls' wallets.
Just as the pickpocket was smiling a triumphant smile—
Crash!!
『Keuk?!』
He fell to the floor and rolled.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that his body suddenly floated into the air and was thrown to the ground.
『H-How on earth...』
"Even if I say something, you won't understand me."
Seoyeon roughly subdued the tripped pickpocket and snatched the designer bag held in his hand.
She hadn't expected him to steal another bag and run away in the meantime.
'Even so, he's slower than the Korean subway.'
The reason Seoyeon explained the situation to the other kids and acted relaxed was because she was confident she could catch him.
No matter how fast the pickpocket was, could he be faster than the subway?
"Um, this..."
The woman who seemed to be the owner of the bag.
No, was she a girl?
Blonde hair with a reddish tint and amber eyes.
She wore a mask over her mouth, making it difficult to know her exact age.
She had also been wearing sunglasses, and she hurriedly picked up the sunglasses that had fallen as she rolled on the ground and put them back on.
'Is she a celebrity?'
It was a strangely familiar sight.
Since Seoyeon also dressed similarly when she was in Korea.
If she had to name a good thing about being in a foreign country, it was that she didn't have to dress so uncomfortably.
'But what do I say? Um, hello?'
Holding out the designer bag she had taken from the pickpocket, Seoyeon was momentarily flustered about what to say.
She didn't even know if the other person was French or from another country to begin with.
The Palace of Versailles was a place with so many foreign tourists.
"T-Thank, you."
"Hmm?"
"Do you, speak Korean?"
Should she call it a million-dollar blessing? The other person spoke Korean, albeit a bit clumsily, and smiled awkwardly as she received the bag from Seoyeon.
"Pickpocket... bad."
"Yes, that's right. Police...?"
"That too, it's okay."
Saying that, the girl looked at the pickpocket who had just knocked her down.
In other words, the pickpocket subdued by Seoyeon, and kicked him repeatedly with her foot.
'...Her personality isn't ordinary.'
Her face looked so gentle, though.
But as if her anger hadn't subsided, the girl slapped the pickpocket's cheeks repeatedly with her palm.
The pickpocket subdued by Seoyeon tried to struggle, but naturally, even a fraction of resistance wasn't allowed.
Like that, about 10 minutes later.
The police came and dragged the pickpocket away in an instant.
The surrounding tourists buzzed at the sudden incident, but since it was resolved so quickly, it didn't escalate into a major commotion.
"Pickpockets, dangerous. Please don't, do it carelessly."
"It's fine."
"Police, might not help you. Really."
It was quite a serious piece of advice.
Of course, Seoyeon knew that to some extent as well.
However, this was Seoyeon's status as a student.
Furthermore, since she was a figure invited to the Viol event, she could act trusting her backing(?) in France to some extent.
Honestly, there were also too many witnesses.
"Yes, thank you for the advice. Then I'll..."
Seoyeon stopped speaking after saying that much.
She looked around rapidly, but somehow, blocked by the surrounding crowd, it was difficult to find the person.
"...."
"Why, what's wrong?"
Seoyeon couldn't dare to answer that.
Ju Seoyeon's first day of the school trip.
Because she had immediately become lost.