“So this world has voice phishing scams too.”
A call had been coming in from a number starting with 010 since early in the morning. The first few times, he’d missed it because he was in the shower, and the next few because he was packing his bag. You’d think anyone would give up after being ignored that many times — but the scammer kept calling every ten minutes, and once it crossed five calls, it started to feel genuinely unsettling.
They’d already have all his personal info, so what could they possibly want from a high schooler? Normally he might have answered just to admire the effort, but Yeon Juwoo had left a note on that unsaved number: [Do not answer if at all possible] — so he deliberately let it ring.
Finished changing into his uniform, he looked at his reflection in the mirror — a face he was slowly getting used to.
“I’m heading out.”
He said it to the empty living room and left.
He’d spent spring break learning the area well enough that he could now get to school without needing the map app. The school gate was packed with students pouring in from every direction, and while they were only a year younger, the energy radiating off the freshmen who had just graduated from middle school struck him as refreshing — and made him think, I’m getting old.
“Urk!”
“You……. You, Yeon Juwoo!”
He was strolling through the school gate when someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. His body lurched upward, his legs kicking helplessly in the air. A deep, rough, and slightly furious adult male voice — he turned around to find Hakju glaring at him.
Whether it was the wear of life’s trials or just the way he was born, up close his face was frighteningly severe. Seen outside of school, you’d mistake him for a thug. That aura was enough to make him shrink back — but at the same time, he had no idea why Hakju had grabbed him, and that left him bewildered.
“Sir, why am I——”
“Why? Why?! How can you even say ‘why’ right now?!”
“Eek!”
Hakju shoved that terrifying face right into his and bellowed, and he slapped his hands over his ears. He curled in on himself like he’d seen a monster, and even though he had no idea what was happening, he apologized first. It felt like the only option.
“I’m s-sorry! I’m sorry!”
“Why are you only showing up now?! What’s your excuse?!”
“M-my excuse?”
Did showing up to school at this hour require an excuse? There were still 15 minutes until the 8 o’clock time Hakju himself had set, and a full 45 minutes until the official school arrival time — by any measure, he wasn’t late. And yet Hakju was interrogating him like he’d rolled in an hour after the bell.
“……I came in time for school hours……”
“Ha. Ha-a, honestly! Ha-a!”
Hakju let out a hollow laugh like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and in his fury, he actually tilted his head back toward the sky and let out a “Ha-a!” Then he turned his head and their eyes met, making him flinch. His throat tightened with nerves and he swallowed hard.
“Sir — ow! Ow ow! Sir, it hurts! It really hurts!”
Hakju yanked his ear hard enough to bring tears to his eyes, then leaned in close to that poor ringing ear and shouted with everything he had.
“You! Discipline committee! Did you forget, you little——!!”
His ear was still ringing. If anything, his eardrum hurt more from the scolding than from the actual yanking. And that voice — so loud he felt like he was still hearing it echoing.
Laughably, the person he’d mistaken for a voice phishing scammer had been Hakju himself. If he’d picked up even one of those morning calls, he never would have gotten this dressing-down. It was all because of Yeon Juwoo’s note.
You’re no help at all, damn Juwoo.
“Juwoo, what’s up with you? I heard you were late?”
“I wasn’t late.”
The moment he walked into the classroom, Yang Inho was already talking to him — and not to say hello, but to bring up the tardiness, which put him in a bad mood. But he hadn’t sent Yang Inho a message about getting chewed out by Hakju, and yet Yang Inho already knew he’d been late.
“To the rest of us, sure, you weren’t late. But to the discipline committee, you absolutely were.”
“……Fair enough.”
[ System ]
[Tip. Yeon Juwoo is a member of the discipline committee. Total accumulated tardiness: 1 instance.]
Absurdly, the System had only decided to flash this tip on the screen after he’d already been thoroughly torn apart by Hakju.
One single instance of tardiness — and it had to be today, of all days. That made it sting even more. Not telling him something this important for over two weeks — he genuinely could not figure out whether the thing was trying to help him or not.
“I heard Hakju really let you have it? Word’s already spread everywhere.”
“Yeah, news travels fast.”
“I heard he did it in the staff room? Hakju’s something else. Couldn’t he have taken the person somewhere quieter for their sake? Would that have been so hard?”
There had already been a scene at the school gate, followed by round two in the staff room, so between teachers and students, there had been no shortage of witnesses — and the rumor had spread accordingly.
He already felt like everyone was staring at him and was about to die from the pressure, but thanks to Yang Inho’s volume, even the students who hadn’t heard yet caught wind of it from his mouth and started glancing over — his face burned.
“Yeah, I got publicly roasted first thing in the morning and I’m mortified, so could you maybe drop it, friend?”
“Pfft! Juwoo actually getting embarrassed — now I’ve seen everything. That’s genuinely hilarious. Still, I like seeing you be late. For once you feel like the same species as me.”
“If someone heard you, they’d think I was a robot or something.”
“Pretty sure everyone thinks that. Want me to ask around?”
“No, I don’t. Bell’s about to ring. Go do something productive.”
“I don’t want to, I don’t want to?! I’m going to keep talking about Juwoo being late!”
So you’re the contrarian of this world. Telling him not to had only made him louder — the hallway was practically vibrating. It was basically an announcement. Knowing Yang Inho wasn’t the type to listen even if scolded, he gave up and shook his head.
Tap, tap — the homeroom teacher, who was also Hakju, knocked on the front door with the attendance book and walked in, and the students scattered around the room shot to their seats like lightning. They moved like they were being chased by a tiger.
“Anyone late besides Yeon Juwoo?”
Hakju had to specifically call him out, which made his face do something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“I will not tolerate anyone in this class being late. If you get caught coming in late, you know what happens.”
“Yes, sir!”
The response was thunderous — because they all knew exactly what the punishment for tardiness was. As the head of the discipline committee, Hakju was strict about things like dress code and hair length, but he was especially sensitive about attendance. He went as far as designating students who fell short of the required attendance days as special supervision cases — and one of them would be the last character to appear: Go Jin.
“Before morning announcements, let’s settle on a temporary class president. Until the official election, whoever I call out will serve as class president and vice president.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Alright. Let’s see. Anyone who’s held a class officer position before?”
Students began raising their hands one by one, though there were fewer past officers than expected. It seemed Hakju intended to pick from among them — but aside from Choi Woosu and Lee Yura, everyone else was an Extra, so he was certain none of them would be chosen.
“Yeon Juwoo, why isn’t your hand up?”
“Me? Why me?”
“You were junior vice president. What do you think you’re doing, trying to slip away.”
“……I was?”
[ System ]
[Tip. Yeon Juwoo served as class junior vice president in his first year.]
Why are you telling me this now — he shot the System a mental glare and raised his hand belatedly, which only ended up drawing unnecessary attention his way. And the fact that Hakju had specifically mentioned him by name made him suspect something was up, and a wave of unease began to wash over him.
“Yeon Juwoo.”
“……Yes.”
“You’re the temporary class president.”
