TRGD 12

Chapter 12: The Smart School Life of a Privilege Admission Student (6)

The female student clamped her lips shut and bit down hard, but she looked startled when a burst of laughter escaped anyway.

Her eyes widened, and she quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

But it was already too late.

Every student in the cafeteria turned to look at her.

It was not an appropriate reaction during the rebellion of the privilege admission students.

Their gazes searched for the bold person who could actually laugh as if mocking the situation.

“Kang Ari?”

“Ari??”

She was one of Cheonghwa High School’s celebrities.

A cellist who had won the Grand Performance Award at last year’s Pablo Casals Cello Competition.

Not only was she exceptionally talented, but she was also blessed with extraordinary beauty.

More students knew her as one of Cheonghwa High School’s Three Great Beauties.

Her short hair suited her perfectly, and her unusually large eyes were her most charming feature.

As everyone’s attention focused on her, her cheeks flushed red.

Despite her fame, Kang Ari was actually quite shy, looking no different from an ordinary high school girl.

What was I thinking…?

Kang Ari regretted it immediately.

Among the cafeteria menu, she always chose only the organic salad.

She had made the mistake of becoming completely absorbed in the sudden confrontation that had broken out in the cafeteria.

She had forgotten to consider the situation.

It was the first time she had ever witnessed actual violence.

She had been treasured and pampered since birth.

Even a heated argument between students was something she had never seen before.

Especially because such things were strictly forbidden at school.

It felt like watching one of those over-the-top melodramas she’d only heard about.

And now it was unfolding vividly right before her eyes.

Even the words they exchanged were unbelievably fresh to her.

“Dog,” “tear you apart,” “pushover,” “lackey,” and so on.

She knew Oh Seora was an ill-mannered troublemaker.

Yet after receiving a single slap, she burst into tears like a child.

Honestly…

That was exactly what made Kang Ari burst out laughing.

Somehow it felt incredibly satisfying.

Like watching a villain finally get what they deserved.

She had managed to suppress her laughter at first.

She intended to hold it in until the end.

But in the end…

She failed.

“What are you all looking at?!”

As Kang Ari stood there flustered, not knowing what to do, Ahn Aram shouted.

Ahn Aram always acted as Kang Ari’s self-appointed bodyguard.

She glared at the surrounding students as if ready to start a fight at any moment.

Her physique was intimidating.

She was so solidly built that few people would dare provoke her.

Ahn Aram was practically glued to Kang Ari’s side.

The two had been together since kindergarten and had continued attending the same schools all the way to Cheonghwa.

Rumor had it that Ahn Aram’s mother worked as a housekeeper for Kang Ari’s family.

She was a member of Cheonghwa’s Athletic Department and the judo team.

She had also won a silver medal in the high school division of the National Sports Festival.

“Aram, don’t… I was the one who was wrong.”

Kang Ari hurriedly stopped Ahn Aram, who looked ready to leap from her seat.

To be fair…

The sooner she admitted it, the better.

Her reaction had indeed been inappropriate.

For those involved, the situation had clearly been serious.

“What did you do wrong? That brat was talking trash and got smacked. It was funny.”

Ahn Aram coldly stared at Oh Seora, who was still sitting on the cafeteria floor crying.

Although the Athletic Department was located in a different building and they had never really crossed paths, even Ahn Aram had heard of Oh Seora’s terrible reputation.

A spoiled brat with nouveau riche parents and an even worse personality.

She had brought today’s disaster entirely upon herself.

“…”

No one argued with Ahn Aram’s words.

“Hic…! You two! I won’t let this go!!”

Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, Oh Seora spat out her threat venomously.

She trembled with rage.

It seemed the word “reflection” simply didn’t exist in her dictionary.

Rustle.

At that moment, Park Jiwoong stood up from his seat.

Step.

He walked over and stopped beside the fallen Oh Seora.

Then—

Splash.

It happened in an instant.

Park Jiwoong dumped the leftover food from his tray directly over her head.

“Gah!”

“He’s insane…”

“Everyone’s lost it…”

Oh Seora had only just wiped the tears from her face.

Now her freshly cleaned face was covered in leftover food.

“Y-you…”

She trembled violently, unable to believe what had just happened.

She simply couldn’t accept that something like this had happened to her.

It had started as an ordinary school day.

Just another lunchtime.

As usual, she had approached Park Jiwoong to relieve some stress by picking on him.

Instead…

She had found herself in the worst situation imaginable.

“If you pull this kind of crap one more time…”

Park Jiwoong warned her in a calm, emotionless voice.

“…you might disappear from this world. I’ll make it happen, no matter what it takes.”

“…”

She had never seen Park Jiwoong like this before.

The moment their eyes met, Oh Seora felt her legs go weak.

His gaze…

He wasn’t bluffing.

His eyes said he would truly kill her if she crossed the line again.

“S-Seora…”

“Let’s… let’s go back to class…”

Her lackeys hurriedly brushed the food off her head with their hands.

Then they quickly helped the trembling Oh Seora to her feet.

Unable to calm herself, she was practically dragged out of the cafeteria.

“…”

The cafeteria was eerily quiet.

“Buddy. Let’s eat. Enjoy your meal.”

Ha Taewoong behaved as though nothing had happened.

“Yeah… let’s eat. Enjoy.”

Even Park Jiwoong’s reaction was unexpected.

For the first time, he smiled.

In only ten minutes…

He had completely changed.

One person’s life had begun to change.

A turning point.

Ha Taewoong’s words seemed to have awakened something inside Park Jiwoong.

From now on, if anyone treated him unfairly without reason…

He looked ready to tear them apart, no matter who they were.

That was the promise Park Jiwoong made to himself.

His heart pounded wildly, as though it had finally come back to life.

The suffocating heaviness that had burdened him for so long suddenly vanished.

Ever since before today’s classes had begun…

School had always felt suffocating.

Every single day, a massive boulder had weighed upon his chest.

But today…

That enormous boulder had shattered into countless pieces.

The result was—

“You two!”

A male and a female student stood up from a table in one corner of the cafeteria and called out to them.

“They’re Student Council officers!”

“That’s Han Yubin, the head of the Discipline Committee!”

“Those two are finished…”

The previously silent students immediately began whispering among themselves.

Unlike ordinary high schools, the Student Council at Cheonghwa High possessed enormous authority.

The two who had just stood up were among its executive members.

The Student Council consisted of the Student Council President, two Vice Presidents, and departments such as the Discipline Committee, Budget and Planning, Culture and Arts, Athletics and Health, Information and Communications, Social Service, Career and Academic Affairs, Welfare, and many more.

Its organization and responsibilities far exceeded those of an ordinary student council.

To outsiders, it appeared that all students elected the president.

But in reality…

The process of becoming a Student Council officer began long before the election through behind-the-scenes arrangements made by parents.

As nearly every student already knew, the winners had essentially been decided in advance.

Graduating officers simply handed their positions over to carefully selected successors.

Holding the title of Cheonghwa High Student Council officer carried tremendous value.

That single credential alone could secure someone’s future in society for life.

Knowing this, parents started making moves long before their children even enrolled.

They desperately lobbied to get their children accepted into the Student Council.

Although elections were held in form, final approval required the consent of the Parents’ Association.

If your family wasn’t already well-known in Korea’s political or business world, becoming a member was impossible from the very beginning.

Only children from chaebol-level families could realistically become Student Council President.

Vice Presidents usually came from semi-chaebol families or were children of prime ministers, long-serving lawmakers, or Supreme Court justices.

Naturally, even department heads came from extraordinary backgrounds.

Their parents were typically Prosecutors General, Chief Judges of High Courts, cabinet ministers, or directors of major hospitals.

Simply becoming a Student Council officer practically guaranteed one’s future social status.

It was essentially a training program for the nation’s future elite.

A system designed to teach leadership and personnel management before they even entered society.

Among all the Student Council departments…

The Discipline Committee wielded the greatest authority.

Even considering that Cheonghwa High students already came from prestigious families, most still lowered their heads before the Discipline Committee.

In practice, they exercised even stricter authority than many teachers.

Once the committee targeted someone…

Graduating peacefully became almost impossible.

Especially if campus violence was involved.

Then it was truly over.

The current head of that fearsome Discipline Committee was second-year student Han Yubin.

Her grandfather had once served as the Prosecutor General.

Her father was currently the Chief Judge of the Seoul High Court.

In other words…

She belonged to one of the most powerful legal families in the country.

Han Yubin’s expression turned icy.

Known throughout the school as the Cold-Hearted Witch, she glared at the two boys.

Her glossy, wavy hair flowed down to her chest.

She had inherited her large eyes and refined features from her mother, a former television announcer.

Even standing still, she radiated elegance.

Her stubborn lips resembled her father’s.

Her piercing gaze was colder—and sharper—than ice itself.

She had witnessed the privilege admission students committing violence with her own eyes.

During her tenure as Discipline Committee Chair…

Nothing this serious had ever happened before.

“Come to the Student Council room after class.”

Just as expected…

Han Yubin summoned them.

There was no way she could simply overlook an incident like this.

If they had been ordinary students, perhaps it could have been quietly smoothed over.

But these two had entered through the privilege admission program.

Without influential families backing them, the situation could become even more troublesome.

Han Yubin also knew Oh Seora quite well.

Oh Seora’s mother had been enthusiastically participating in the Parents’ Association in an effort to shake off the label of being nouveau riche.

Whenever there was a Parents’ Association meeting, Han Yubin’s mother always came home talking about her.

“She covers herself in luxury brands from head to toe, yet still looks incredibly cheap!”

Even if no one said it aloud, the other parents all looked down on her.

If today’s incident became known outside the school…

Nothing good would come of it.

The school would inevitably be thrown into chaos.

Before the situation spread, she had a duty to determine exactly what had happened.

She needed to create an acceptable version of events for what would come next.

After all…

Too many students had witnessed everything in the cafeteria.

Before the students even went home, most parents would already know about today’s incident.

More than anything…

As a Student Council officer, Han Yubin refused to let a stain remain on her record.

“No thanks.”

At that moment, Han Yubin wondered if she had heard correctly.

A shameless answer shattered her rational composure.

It came from one of the two boys—

Second-year privilege admission student Ha Taewoong.

Even Han Yubin knew him.

Among all the male students, his height and appearance stood out dramatically.

And yet…

Ha Taewoong had just…

“What? You said no?”

Han Yubin asked again to make sure.

Any ordinary student would have immediately backed down.

Even teachers gave considerable leeway to the Discipline Committee’s authority.

“Yeah. I said no.”

Ha Taewoong calmly repeated his refusal.

Twitch.

Han Yubin felt a blazing fire rise from her heart to her throat.

A fury unlike anything she had ever experienced consumed her entire body.

What angered her even more…

Was Ha Taewoong’s insolent attitude.

He had openly defied the Discipline Committee Chair’s summons.

In front of the entire cafeteria.

A direct challenge to her authority.

And from a mere privilege admission student…

“Hey! Ha Taewoong!!”

Han Yubin’s lion-like roar thundered throughout the cafeteria.