Munjeong - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 

Standing in front of the school gate, Chaeon steadied her breathing with a determined look, as if she had resolved herself to face a battlefield. A few students on their way to class glanced at her suspiciously, wondering about her unusually resolute demeanor as they passed by.

 

If only the break had been just a little longer… She wished, yet again, that time would simply pass quickly. As always, she just needed to get through this. With her usual mask of indifference, Chaeon stepped over the threshold of the school gate.

 

Chaeon had transferred here near the end of her first year of high school. After deciding to quit piano, there was no longer a reason for her to remain at the arts-focused high school. She began consulting about her future academic path.

 

“Chaeon, are you really going to quit piano just like this? Someone as talented as you, giving up now—”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“….”

 

“I’ve already made my decision, teacher.”

 

Faced with Chaeon’s calm and resolute reply, her homeroom teacher couldn’t bring themselves to push further and fell silent.

 

For Chaeon, it was the most realistic choice within her situation. She couldn’t continue burdening Heejung just because of her talent. Switching to a regular high school and quickly finding a new direction was the only viable option.

 

When Im Soyeong found out that Chaeon had quit piano, she couldn’t resist meddling. She made a big fuss, bragging about how she’d help Chaeon secure a recommendation letter through the principal.

 

“Well, you know, Chaeon’s grades meet the requirements, so they said they’d take her. But you get it, right? This school doesn’t just let anyone in based on grades alone. I only managed to arrange this because we’re close. You understand, right?”

 

The ever-picky Im Soyeong was one of the few who could charm her finicky mother-in-law. At the time, Heejung had already earned a reputation for being highly competent, and several places were trying to recruit her. Worried that Heejung might leave, Im Soyeong dangled the offer of transferring Chaeon to a better school as a bargaining chip.

 

With just a few words from someone wealthy, doors to schools that others couldn’t even dream of entering opened easily. As always, Im Soyeong’s bragging made Chaeon uncomfortable, but reality left her with no other choice. Since she had to improve her grades quickly after switching directions, there was no alternative. She reluctantly accepted the transfer.

 

“Hey, you’re seriously so pretty. Which school were you at before?”

 

“Wasn’t it Seonmyeong Arts High? Didn’t she transfer from there?”

 

“Wow. So, did you do ballet or piano or something? Totally suits you. Why’d you quit?”

 

Maybe because transferring schools wasn’t that common in high school, the students swarmed around Chaeon on her first day, throwing curious questions at her. However, her dry responses and visibly irritated attitude quickly made them lose interest.

 

This school was filled with wealthy kids from the surrounding area, and their conversations and attitudes were far from what Chaeon had imagined.

 

Luxury foreign cars often lined up in front of the school gates during drop-off and pick-up times. The students’ conversations were saturated with money, and their subtle bragging quickly turned into competitions.

 

Most of the persistent attempts to engage her in conversation came from the boys, but Chaeon made no effort to form connections with anyone.

 

The designer bags, cardigans, accessories, and expensive belongings wrapped around those kids suffocated her.

 

Whenever groups of girls gathered to chat about how they spent their weekends—shopping with their rich parents or visiting places Chaeon couldn’t even dream of entering—she pretended not to hear.

 

All of it consisted of things she couldn’t have, and things she couldn’t have were better left ignored. Even if she blended in with them, she wouldn’t truly belong. There’d be no common ground, and her own stories wouldn’t resonate with them either.

 

From the beginning, their very upbringings were different, and that difference defined everything.

 

Watching her mother, Chaeon had learned that people who lived lives of luxury often treated those less fortunate as mere entertainment or pitiful subjects for their charity. She didn’t want to see herself as an object of pity or constantly be reminded of her inferiority.

 

Then, not long after her transfer—

 

“Hey. Did you hear? Chaeon’s mom works as a housekeeper in some big house in Hannam-dong. Kim Yookyung’s mom found out when she visited that house. Apparently, the lady of the house told her, ‘My housekeeper’s daughter goes to the same school as your kid, so look out for her.’ Something like that.”

 

“What? So she’s the daughter of a maid? Acting all high and mighty when she’s living off the money her mom earns cleaning up after others. What a joke.”

 

“Why do the guys even like someone like her? I’ve never heard her say more than ten words in this school.”

 

Ah, that woman again…

 

Thanks to Im Soyeong’s meddlesome tendencies, news about Chaeon’s mother working as a housekeeper spread like wildfire throughout the school. The only thought that crossed Chaeon’s mind then was this—if she could get away with just one crime, she’d sew Im Soyeong’s mouth shut.

 

Fortunately, Im Soyeong’s husband wasn’t completely useless. He regularly donated to the school and had enough influence to prevent any major trouble. People probably assumed that the two families had some kind of connection because he’d managed to get Chaeon admitted.

 

However, from that day on, Chaeon—who had already been somewhat isolated—was treated as if she were invisible by most of the students.

 

As if to say, “You don’t belong here,” they completely ignored her.

 

Still, Chaeon found comfort in that. At least it wasn’t like the school violence in dramas or movies—no physical harm or explicit insults.

 

Of course, there were occasional inconveniences, like when she missed announcements about changes in classroom locations or schedules because no one thought to inform her.

 

But such petty attempts to irritate her were easy to brush off.

 

After enduring endless drunken rants and outbursts from Euicheol back home, Chaeon had grown used to ignoring hostility and provocations.

 

Her plan was to float through the remainder of high school like oil on water—never mixing, just passing through.

 

—

 

Even after the new semester began, Chaeon maintained her dry, detached routine without incident—until one day, when something completely unexpected disrupted her life.

 

“Hey. Yoon Chaeon. Kang Kyuhwan’s looking for you.”

 

“….”

 

A girl in her class, someone she’d never exchanged more than a few words with, approached her reluctantly and tapped her shoulder.

 

Removing her earphones, Chaeon frowned slightly.

 

“Who?”

 

“Kang Kyuhwan. He said he’s waiting for you behind the gym.”

 

At those words, silence fell over the classroom.

 

Even the so-called queen bee, who had been busy curling her lashes in a hand mirror, turned her attention to Chaeon.

 

“Wait. Did she just say Kang Kyuhwan?”

 

“Why would Kang Kyuhwan be looking for Yoon Chaeon?”

 

“Oh my god. Didn’t he recently say he liked someone?”

 

Whispers and murmurs spread throughout the room.

 

“Who is that?”

 

“Ah, damn it. Hey. If you don’t know, just go and find out.”

 

The girl, showing her displeasure as much as she could, glared sharply at Chaeon before returning to her seat. What a pain. Watching her with an indifferent expression, Chaeon simply ignored her words. There was no way she was going to obediently respond to the summons of someone she didn’t even know.

 

However, regardless of Chaeon’s determination to express with her entire being that she didn’t know who he was and had no intention of getting involved, Kang Kyuhwan eventually showed up in the classroom.

 

“Yoon Chaeon.”

 

Tall with gentle eyes, his face made it clear who he was right away. She had seen him several times in the hallways, with girls glancing at him with flushed faces or awkwardly trying to strike up a conversation over trivial topics.

 

He was famous in school not only for his affluent family background but also for his good looks, so it was understandable why the girls admired him. Yet, perhaps because Chaeon had already encountered two extraordinarily handsome faces at Songbaek High, she didn’t feel particularly impressed by him.

 

What bothered her more was how every eye in the classroom was fixed on her. For a moment, the presence that had always been ignored was now clearer than ever.

 

Overlapping with Kang Kyuhwan’s face was another face—the one that recently began greeting her warmly every time they met, acting overly familiar.

 

Him or this guy—they’re both the same. Why is everyone so eager to get involved with me? Letting out a sigh, she turned to leave the classroom, but Kang Kyuhwan grabbed her wrist.

 

“Ah.”

 

Frowning slightly, Chaeon looked up at him. He smiled, unaffected by her displeasure.

 

“Why didn’t you come? I was waiting.”

 

“Let go.”

 

It was simply because she hadn’t even known who he was. She had no intention of explaining that to him, but the stares piercing her from all directions made her feel unbearably uncomfortable.

 

“I called you out because I had something to say.”

 

Feeling that something was off, Chaeon struggled to twist her wrist free.

 

“If you have something to say, does that mean I have to come just because you called me? I don’t even know you—let go…”

 

“I like you.”

 

Ah…

 

“I called you out to confess.”

 

Of course.

 

The classroom fell silent, as if someone had poured cold water over it. Just as Chaeon was beginning to process what had happened, the boys erupted into shouts—half jeers, half cheers—and she furrowed her brows.

 

Seriously, how could someone be so thoughtless and inconsiderate? Chaeon had just been forced into a confession in front of the entire class. That too, from the most popular boy in school. It was an overwhelming confession, to say the least.

 

Seeing Chaeon’s pale face, which looked nothing like someone who had just received a confession, Kang Kyuhwan finally seemed to realize something was wrong and let go of her wrist.

 

“Yoon Chaeon?”

 

After the initial shock, anger quickly took over. While some might find this confession romantic or dramatic, all Chaeon felt was irritation toward Kang Kyuhwan for dragging her into this without her consent.

 

Who do you think you are, throwing a rock into my quiet life? That was the only thought running through her head. Letting out a dry laugh, Chaeon pushed back her hair, trying to suppress her anger.

 

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m rejecting your confession.”

 

Since she had been confessed to publicly without her consent, she rejected him just as publicly—coldly and firmly.

 

She thought that if she just pushed his confession away and made it clear it wasn’t hers to accept, everything would go back to the way it was. She believed she could continue living quietly, as always.

 

She was so naïve.