# Chapter 2
Teacher Jang’s eyes narrowed.
Suspicion filled his eyes as he tapped his palm with the massage stick.
“This kid is suspicious. I haven’t seen you at the main gate all year. Did you eat something wrong?”
“Why would you think that?”
“It’s strange that someone who was late all last year suddenly fixed that habit completely. Not without being struck by lightning.”
As he said, Yumyeong had been a chronic latecomer until his first year. Then suddenly, he disappeared from the habitual latecomers group. And after a certain point, he never came late again.
Yumyeong chuckled and replied.
“You’re right. I was struck by lightning.”
“Where do you get off lying like that?”
“Anyway, you must miss not seeing me. I also miss having my ears pulled by you every morning to wake up, like it was just yesterday. Ouch.”
“If you miss it that much, I’ll do it again.”
When Yumyeong spoke with a polite yet playful attitude, Teacher Jang yanked his ear hard. He almost burst into tears. As soon as Teacher Jang released his ear, Yumyeong sharply addressed the group of latecomers behind him.
“Friends, I really don’t understand. How can you be late when the school is just a minute away?”
From the dormitory entrance to the school gate takes less than a minute if you run. Yumyeong clicked his tongue, wondering what was wrong with those who were still late despite this. He was shameless, sleeping until right before first period and using tricks to get to school.
“Stop talking nonsense and go. You’ll be late for class.”
“Yes, teacher.”
Teacher Jang sent Yumyeong away with a disgruntled look. The boy, still carrying the cold air from outside in his hair, grinned, bowed, and walked away with his hands in his pockets.
Upon arriving at classroom 2-3, Yumyeong pushed open the back door with one hand. As he headed to his seat, his seatmate Hanju pushed up his glasses in surprise.
“You’re here? When did you arrive?”
“Me? I got here aaaages ago.”
Yumyeong pulled his chair with just the tip of his foot and plopped down. Hanju looked confused.
“You were definitely sleeping until right before you’d be marked late… How strange?”
Of course, it was puzzling. Dogs might stop pooping mid-way, but Yumyeong giving up his morning sleep was impossible.
However, Yumyeong had no intention of sharing his secret with Hanju. They might share everything else, but this cloud bridge key was his secret alone.
“Have you ever seen me late?”
When Yumyeong brazenly asked, Hanju frowned deeply. His glasses bounced on his nose.
“Do you have any conscience?”
Since their first year, Hanju had woken Yumyeong every morning and worried about him when he wouldn’t get up no matter what. Now he was annoyed. Yumyeong put his arm around Hanju’s shoulders as if to soothe him and pressed close.
“Hanju. I have a secret… Actually, I…”
“What? It’s disgusting, get away.”
“Actually… I… can teleport.”
“Nonsense!”
Just as Hanju was brushing off Yumyeong’s arm in irritation, regretting he had even listened, Yumyeong’s elbow hit his cheekbone at the same moment the classroom’s front door slid open.
“Ah, ow…”
Yumyeong held his cheek and nose, pretending to be in pain with tears welling up. Just then, their homeroom teacher entered, followed by an unfamiliar student.
“Everyone, quiet… Oh my, what a surprise! You’re all so quiet today!”
The moment the transfer student stopped walking and stood behind the teacher, looking toward them, the entire classroom fell silent at once. Yumyeong rolled his eyes with interest. It was amusing how the classroom atmosphere changed instantly. The young homeroom teacher, who always struggled to get students to focus, looked extremely encouraged that everyone’s attention was on her.
“Let me introduce him. His name is Ryu Hakyoung, and he’ll be in your class from today.”
The silence was brief. Soon, small disturbances arose here and there. The students whispered among themselves, showing interest in the transfer student. Hanju was no exception.
“Wow, he’s really handsome. He could be a model. Is he actually a celebrity?”
There was mild excitement in Hanju’s voice as he muttered, seeking agreement.
“What’s so great about a handsome transfer student? He’s just a guy anyway.”
Yumyeong snorted dismissively.
“Still…”
Hanju couldn’t take his eyes off the transfer student, excited as if he’d seen a celebrity. Yumyeong looked around again. Hanju wasn’t the only one reacting that way.
‘Tch…’
Glancing diagonally forward, he noticed that Heeun, the girl who had ignored his text message last night, was also looking at the transfer student. She blushed and whispered something to her seatmate. Yumyeong immediately felt dejected and slumped over his desk.
“Please introduce yourself.”
At the teacher’s request, the transfer student stood in front of the podium.
“…I’m Ryu Hakyoung. I was in the United States until recently, and I just returned to Korea.”
The transfer student recited his words at a slightly slow pace while looking around the classroom. Yumyeong felt an indescribable sense of discomfort in his demeanor.
Usually, people become very self-conscious when entering an unfamiliar group. However, this transfer student, far from being intimidated by others’ gazes, was instead clearly observing each person. Yumyeong felt an inexplicable aversion to this attitude.
“That introduction is too simple. Everyone, aren’t you curious about Hakyoung? You all seem interested, so tell us a bit more.”
“What should I talk about?”
“Well? Hobbies would be good, or stories about school in America.”
“Um, yes…”
At the teacher’s words, the transfer student lowered his eyes and fell into thought for a moment. Even the way he chose his words seemed confident.
Objectively, the transfer student was extremely handsome. Overall, his movements and speech were slow, giving off an actor-like impression, and even small gestures like spreading his fingers on the podium seemed stylish.
Standards of attraction differ for everyone—someone attractive to one person might be completely unattractive to another—but to call that face unattractive would only make you seem jealous or attention-seeking with a contrarian opinion. That’s how undeniably good-looking he was.
Tall with broad shoulders, his firm neck looked like that of a fully grown adult male, while his seemingly soft hair and ivory cheeks that shone without a blemish gave off a boyish feel. The difference between handsome and beautiful is subtle—if he had been born a girl, he would have constantly been called beautiful.
“Um, I… like looking at stars.”
Wow… The students genuinely exclaimed like an audience. Stargazing—it was a hobby reminiscent of The Little Prince. Even such a simple statement sounded like a line from a fairy tale prince, all because of his appearance.
“I’ve liked it since I was little, and I often went stargazing in America too. I take pictures myself.”
His face, which might have lacked masculine charm for being too pretty, displayed distinct masculine appeal through his defined eyebrows and high nose bridge. His white, smooth forehead and under-eye area gleamed like peeled eggs under the sunlight streaming through the window.
Yumyeong thought that such a beautiful face attached to a male body was God’s mischief.
While he was scrutinizing the transfer student, their eyes suddenly met.
“At this school…”
“…?”
The transfer student suddenly stopped speaking.
What began as an accidental eye contact lasted longer than expected. As those deep black eyes stared at him, Yumyeong inwardly flinched, though he maintained his crossed-arms posture.
However, having no reason to look away, Yumyeong stared back. The transfer student’s eyes widened slightly. His calm expression seemed to crack as his gaze narrowed.
Yumyeong’s eyes narrowed in response.
The transfer student’s face as he looked this way was unsettling. When a stranger stares for more than three seconds, it means…
Is he looking for a fight?
Perceiving this as a challenge, Yumyeong tensed his gaze.
“By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen a transfer student at our school.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Hanju nudged Yumyeong’s arm. Yumyeong snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Hanju.
“Since we have a fixed student quota.”
Yumyeong understood Hanju’s confusion. This school, classified as a private high school, had its own entrance exam, making its admission competition quite high, though not as intense as Seoul metropolitan area schools. Without vacancies, they don’t admit replacements. Though there was a transfer admission system, they had never seen anyone enter through it. This was the first time they had seen an actual transfer student.
When Yumyeong looked forward again, the transfer student had finished his introduction and stepped away from the podium. Yumyeong glanced at how parts of his hair shone golden brown in the sunlight, then turned his attention back to Hanju.
“He’ll be in the dormitory too, right?”
“Probably.”
The students had all been living in the dormitory. Even if they disliked someone, they had become somewhat accustomed to each other through living together. They wondered if the suddenly transferred student would be able to adapt to this environment.
“But he looks familiar somehow…”
Hanju suddenly muttered.
“Who? The transfer student?”
“Yeah. Let me think. His surname was Ryu, right?”
Hanju scrutinized the transfer student with sharp eyes behind his glasses. His still baby-fat face mimicked a detective’s. Yumyeong didn’t pay much attention, thinking ‘He must be confusing him with some celebrity he saw on TV.’ After all, good-looking and pretty people tend to look similar.
‘Unless he has a sister or something.’
With that thought, Yumyeong quickly lost interest, yawned, and laid his head down. The transfer student looked in his direction once more, but no one noticed where his gaze was directed.
