Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: Wojo
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In a class that I barely paid attention to anymore, I seriously pondered.
What could possibly be something that Sara would like?
Honestly, I don’t think I truly know Sara well.
Even though I had read her memories and knew how she felt in various situations, all of it felt somewhat superficial.
Even when I read her memories and felt her emotions, they weren’t mine.
I saw Sara’s memories from my own perspective.
It was like watching a hyper-realistic drama or movie.
More than that, Sara was the type of person who almost never talked to herself.
You might ask what self-talk has to do with anything, but as I said, I saw Sara’s memories from my own perspective.
Memories created from Sara’s thoughts and views weren’t always accurate.
A human brain doesn’t store things like a computer.
I looked at the world rebuilt through Sara’s thoughts and experiences, but from my own point of view, not hers.
Naturally, if Sara didn’t speak, there was no way for me to know what she was thinking.
Even while eating, she didn’t say much or talk to anyone.
In Sara’s past, the only person she was obsessed with was Choi Na-kyung.
So, it’s no surprise that, even after reading so many memories and feeling her emotions in real-time, I still felt it all to be ‘superficial.’
Look at this, even at this moment, Sara was feeling joy.
If I asked why she felt joy while listening to a terribly boring class, she wouldn’t bother answering.
It was as if she wanted me to guess.
‘Idiot.’
Or, she might just laugh and tease me like this.
Thus, my worries only deepened.
What does Sara even like?
And, of course, there were others who found this harder than I did.
Those sitting right next to me—So-hee and Ha-neul.
Both were deep in thought, wearing incredibly serious expressions.
…They’re probably thinking about what kind of gift to give me.
If the recipient were me instead of Sara, I wouldn’t care much about what it was.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I exchanged birthday presents with friends.
Usually, if we had time, we’d just meet up and have a meal, and if not, we’d send a birthday greeting via text.
It’s not that I’ve never received a birthday gift before, but those memories were usually from before middle school.
Even until college, my parents would still give me birthday presents…
Hmm, but it was usually just pocket money.
I’d receive money and buy whatever I needed with it.
But, no matter how casual we were, giving cash envelopes between friends seemed a bit odd.
We’re not parents receiving filial duty gifts, after all.
More importantly, in this school, that kind of gift-giving was so rampant that it felt like doing that would make me feel like one of the other kids.
So, I didn’t care what they gave me.
I trusted that whatever strange gift they chose, it wouldn’t be something meant to bother me.
“…”
But… then again…
If I were to receive a gift myself…
Wouldn’t I also need to give them birthday gifts?
Not just birthdays, but other occasions, like Christmas—days when gifts are typically exchanged—might have to be considered as well.
…Difficult.
At least it’s a relief that I’ll be the first to receive a gift.
I’ll take my time over the next few months to figure out what gifts to give the others.
‘…Tsk.’
It seemed that Sara was suddenly sulking.
Was Sara’s emotional volatility because she was still in adolescence?
I mulled over it, feeling the irritation slowly creeping up from the depths of my consciousness.
*
“Come to think of it, your birthday is coming up soon.”
While we were having lunch as usual, Son A-reum suddenly said that to me.
Naturally, I was startled.
No, not just me, but Ha-neul, Soo-ah, and So-hee were also surprised.
The three of them didn’t know Sara’s birthday until they asked yesterday.
“Uh, yeah… it is. How did you know?”
“Well…”
In response to my question, Son A-reum lowered her gaze, looking slightly dejected.
“I looked up your student information when I was going to give you a disciplinary notice.”
“Ah…”
But, can a student even access that?
Well, considering how weak the presence of the student council is at this school, it’s common for them to wield power like a small government in stories like this.
I nodded, simply thinking, ‘That’s how it is.’
“So, I want to give you a gift too…”
Son A-reum glanced up at me cautiously, gauging my reaction as she spoke.
“Would that be okay?”
Is that something she really needs to ask?
…Actually, I didn’t think that way.
Among close friends, exchanging birthday gifts is expected, but receiving a gift from someone you’re ‘not really close to’ is just creepy.
It would be the same if I were a guy.
If a girl I never spoke to at school suddenly gave me a huge teddy bear?
That would probably scare me, no matter how pretty she was.
That’s totally stalker behavior.
“I don’t mind.”
So, I answered the trembling Son A-reum like that.
“Okay!”
Son A-reum nodded enthusiastically, and her antenna-like hair wobbled up and down, which made me laugh a bit.
I shrugged my shoulders at her, about to resume eating when—
I noticed the surroundings were oddly quiet.
No one ignored me at this school anymore.
Teachers, students—most of those who used to ignore me would at least give a passing nod, and the scholarship students I had helped would wave cheerfully.
And the teachers and students with guilty consciences had all hurriedly left the school.
Of the students who filled our classroom, about half had already moved away.
Since they were from rich families, I guess they had empty homes to move into.
Because of that, the seats around us that were once empty were now packed.
It wasn’t that they wanted to curry favor; they were probably afraid of being treated like those who had been forced to leave if they behaved as they had before.
So, these days, our surroundings had become quite noisy…
“Hm?”
Noticing the strangely quiet atmosphere, I looked around, and everyone hastily resumed eating.
No, if they acted like that, it would only seem even more suspicious.
…Well, whatever.
Even though I was no longer being ostracized, I was still someone they needed to be wary of at school, and maybe they wanted to gather information on what I was saying.
If I tried to catch every little move they made, it would only cause me headaches.
So, I just ignored it and continued eating.
Lately, I’ve been feeling much healthier.
I’ve gained weight since first inhabiting this body, and my appetite had increased as well.
That’s a good thing.
“Um, by the way…”
While we were eating, Son A-reum hesitantly spoke up again.
“Hm?”
“Is there any particular gift you’d like?”
Son A-reum, speaking so shyly, made me shrug once more before replying.
“I don’t mind anything. Gifts are about the thought behind them.”
“Ugh.”
Hearing my answer, Son A-reum made a face like she was about to choke.
Did the food get stuck in her throat?
*
That was quite important information.
In this school, there were many ways to bribe someone without getting caught by the ‘law.’
There were places deliberately without CCTV, and people would exchange things that could be converted into cash while pretending to give gifts.
Sometimes, there would be a check hidden inside a book, or money placed inside a drink box.
Even if not those common methods, there were plenty of other bizarre ways people handed off money.
The issue here was that the recipient was ‘Ye Sara.’
That’s right.
The heir of the richest family in the country.
Moreover, with the chairwoman currently in hiding, the company had essentially fallen into Sara’s hands.
Of course, she didn’t care about any of that in the slightest, but there’s no way the students at this school would know that.
So, after hearing that hint about Sara’s birthday during lunch, the students who overheard immediately started to worry.
They wanted to get on Sara’s good side.
There was nothing to lose from that.
Most of the students still remaining in the school were those who couldn’t transfer or who still clung to the school’s diminished name value, hoping to maintain the relationships they’d built here.
Since they’d be seeing Sara’s face until graduation, it made sense to want to stay on her good side.
Of course, she had no intention of letting that happen, but there was no way for the other students to know that.
But, thinking about it again, the person they were dealing with was ‘Ye Sara.’
That’s right.
One of the richest people in the country.
…So, giving her a typical bribe obviously wouldn’t work.
What on earth could they give her?
The students’ gazes turned to those sitting near Sara.
They glanced at those kids’ faces and actions.
Perhaps those always by her side would be helpful.
Several students made that colossal misjudgment.