“Hey, you…”

“What.”

Bang Eun-ji’s friend, Soo-ah, didn’t flinch at the curse.

Instead, she seemed to get even angrier, holding her head up high.

“Bang Eun-ji, don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

Se-in chimed in from the side.

“How long do we have to put up with you guys acting up?”

Her voice trembled, but that made it sound all the more sincere. That was the start, and complaints erupted from all over.

“Ugh, seriously, how long are you going to play at being bullies? Aren’t we high school students?”

“Did you think we avoided you because we were scared? We avoided you because you’re disgusting, but you don’t know your limits.”

“Doesn’t it say ‘No Entry’ on our classroom door? Why are you coming into someone else’s classroom whenever you want? Especially when no one’s here.”

“Is she going to take responsibility if something goes missing?”

At the dozens of disapproving glares that fell on her at once, Bang Eun-ji flinched.

These stares were different from the ones she usually got when she was bullying and being loud.

Her ears turning red, Bang Eun-ji turned to Soo-ah, who had spoken up first.

“Hey, are you confident you can handle this? Can you fix this mess?”

“That’s enough. Bang Eun-ji, what are you doing?”

The homeroom teacher, her expression hardening, intervened.

“Are you threatening a classmate in front of a teacher?”

After sternly scolding her, the teacher turned to the friend.

“Soo-ah, was what you just said true?”

“Yes. Hee-min and I saw it too.”

“Hee-min?”

“From class 7.”

“You mean it happened during club time?”

“Yes.”

“Bang Eun-ji said she was sick during club time and left, and she didn’t come back.”

A boy from another class chimed in from outside the classroom. Bang Eun-ji glared at him, but he just said “what” and pretended not to notice.

Once one person had broken the silence, the boys who had been silently watching also started to add their own comments.

“Damn…”

“Crossing the line.”

“Ugh, Kang Da-hye’s notes can’t disappear. I need to copy them.”

“Is Kang Da-hye going to let you?”

“Crap, I had a game console I bought online in my bag. Don’t tell me that’s gone too.”

“Who would take that, you idiot.”

“Oh, whoa. I think it’s really gone.”

“What?”

“Hey, Bang Eun-ji! Did you go through my bag?!”

“No!”

Sensing that the situation was turning against her, Bang Eun-ji shrieked.

“There’s no proof! Isn’t it too much to gang up on one person just because a few kids said something?!”

You’ve been doing that very “too much” thing to Do-yeon all this time…

“It really wasn’t me!”

Just a moment ago, she was saying “what are you going to do if it was,” and now she’s denying it. It was surprisingly Jeong Eun-seong who put the final nail in the coffin for the shamelessly lying Bang Eun-ji.

“Teacher.”

In the same tone he used when he said, ‘Teacher, Kang Da-hye is doing so-and-so,’ Jeong Eun-seong called the teacher and gestured with his eyes toward Bang Eun-ji. He was holding a wet mop under his arm.

“I saw her buy two cartons of strawberry milk at the snack bar earlier.”

“You did?”

“Yes. The lady at the snack bar said she forgot to order strawberry milk, so there were only two left today, and that girl bought them all, so I couldn’t get one.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. And they only sell that milk at our snack bar. You can’t get it at the convenience store.”

“Case closed.”

“Sir! Ah, hurry! Search Bang Eun-ji’s bag! My game console is worth 400,000 won!”

“Teacher, can’t you really check Bang Eun-ji’s bag? I think some money is missing from my wallet.”

It was complete chaos…

I scratched my cheek as I looked at the pale-faced Bang Eun-ji.

What do we do now.

Even if it wasn’t her, she’s going to have to pay up.

“Ugh, I’m telling you, it wasn’t me!”

“Let’s go downstairs for now.”

“Bang Eun-ji! You’re not getting away with this! You’re in big trouble!”

Bang Eun-ji, who was suddenly being accused of theft.

The homeroom teacher and Bang Eun-ji’s homeroom teacher took the rowdy Bang Eun-ji downstairs together.

The male student who claimed he had lost his game console and Soo-ah (whose full name was Ye Soo-ah) also went down with them.

“Ugh, seriously… damn… why don’t you believe me…”

“We don’t believe you because you’re lying. You didn’t know there was a CCTV in the hallway, did you? You can see the back door of class 2 from there.”

“You’re not getting away with this. You’ll have to bring your parents. And if the kids’ missing things are real, you’ll have to pay for those too, of course.”

So there was even CCTV. Justice is alive.

Homeroom was a mess, and the students, finally coming to their senses, started packing up to go home.

“Kang Da-aaaah…”

Ji-soo, who had been fidgeting, was also taken back to her classroom by her homeroom teacher.

“Everyone, you know we have literature homework… You have to write your book reports by next Monday…”

I finished mine a long time ago, but now I’ll have to rewrite it since it got soaked in milk…

After weakly shouting at the students leaving the classroom, I picked up the toilet paper again and crouched down in front of the locker.

Even after a rough cleanup, the smell of milk was overwhelming.

I flipped through the soaked books. The traces of my past self, who had written down every word the teacher said, were all smudged by a single carton of milk.

“Ah, there’s nothing worth saving.”

It’s okay.

It was written 11 years ago anyway, so I wouldn’t have remembered it even if I looked at it.

“Let’s do it together.”

Do-yeon, who had somehow gotten disinfectant from the cafeteria, crouched down next to me. She practically pushed me with her shoulder and started scrubbing my locker.

“You’re going to end up inside the locker if you keep that up.”

I made a joke, but she didn’t answer. Do-yeon’s hands, wiping away the remaining moisture, were trembling.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“It’s because of me.”

“Why is it because of you? It’s because of Bang Eun-ji’s rotten personality.”

Poverty, parents, casual clothes. How does she manage to pick on every single sore spot for a teenager?

I let out a scoff as I thought back on the things Bang Eun-ji had thrown at me.

That stupid bag!

“Thinking about it makes me mad. What’s wrong with using the same bag I used in elementary school? Is she dissing elementary schoolers?”

To think she disses elementary schoolers when we get a day off every year on Children’s Day thanks to them.

Bang Eun-ji, you don’t get a day off on Children’s Day. Ever. Not even when you’re a working adult!

“Just you wait. I’m going to use this bag until it’s begging for death.”

Using one thing for a long time is also a form of environmental protection. I’m on the front lines of environmental protection right now. I winked at Do-yeon as I wiped the inside of my bag.

Do-yeon, who had been on the verge of tears, finally cracked a smile.

Just then, a voice came from behind me.

“Um, Da-hye.”

“Yeah?”

I turned around.

Se-in and Soo-ah were standing behind us. They came closer and looked into my locker.

“Are you okay? Ugh, it smells like strawberries.”

“What do we do…”

“It’s okay. I wiped it all. What about you, Soo-ah? What did the teachers say?”

“The evidence was all on the CCTV, so I just came back. Bang Eun-ji’s mom is coming to the school. Bang Eun-ji was crying.”

“Crying?”

“Yeah. The sound of her mom swearing at her on the phone was echoing through the teachers’ office…”

“Whoa.”

She reaped what she sowed.

I greeted Se-in and Soo-ah, whose cheeks were still flushed from the earlier excitement.

“Thanks for stepping up earlier. I would have been in trouble if it weren’t for you guys.”

“It’s nothing. It would have all come out because of the CCTV even if it wasn’t me.”

“Still.”

Should I do a full bow here? Soo-ah laughed at my joke.

A few days ago, when she refused to let me ask Do-yeon for help, she seemed a bit prickly, but now she was completely different.

“You know.”

Soo-ah hesitated before speaking.

“…Bang Eun-ji wasn’t that big of a deal. When I confronted her directly, she was so flustered she couldn’t say anything…”

“I know, right? I don’t know why we were so scared of her all this time!”

Se-in, her eyes wide, chimed in from the side. Se-in and Soo-ah started bad-mouthing Bang Eun-ji as if a dam had burst.

“Honestly, she crossed the line…”

“So satisfying…”

“I wore an ‘Adious’ t-shirt when I was younger too…”

“You can wear it if you don’t know…”

‘How cute.’

I watched the chattering high school girls with a motherly heart and then asked.

“Want to go get tteokbokki? My treat.”

To be precise, it’s my mom’s treat, not mine.

-Things high school girls need to become friends-

1. MyChew

2. Handsome guys

3. Tteokbokki

“Sounds good!”

“Sounds good!”

Soo-ah, who had answered readily, turned to Do-yeon, who was standing awkwardly.

Ahem. Soo-ah cleared her throat and said hesitantly.

“Do-yeon, you should come too. …If you’re okay with eating with us.”

“…Of course, I’m okay with it.”

“…I think I was a bit harsh back then. I’m sorry.”

“No…”

“Gasp! Why are you crying!”

For the record, it wasn’t Do-yeon who was crying.

It was me.

“Waaaah…”

These kids are so nice… The future of our country is bright…

“Waaah…”

“Gyeong Se-in, why are you crying now…”

“I don’t know… Seeing Da-hye cry makes me cry too…”

“Don’t cry, seriously… You’re going to make me cry too…”

“I’m sorry…”

“Thank you…”

“Waaah…”

“But what about Kang Da-hye’s books…”

“Ah, right. That’s right… Let’s just say I’m crying because my books got wet…”

The four of us were hugging each other and crying like penguins.

Just as I was wiping my nose and lifting my head, a shadow suddenly fell over me.

It was Jeong Eun-seong.

“You didn’t leave?”

I asked, bewildered.

Ignoring me, Jeong Eun-seong stared at my tear-stained face and then pushed the mop he was holding forward.

After meticulously wiping up the strawberry milk on the floor that hadn’t been cleaned up yet, Jeong Eun-seong called out to me.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t feel like studying. Do you want my books?”