Is she really hiding right now?
If she’s trying to attract attention with that pose, then I have to admit it’s incredibly effective.
It’s even more effective than all the efforts I made last week to get people’s attention.
Now that I think about it, there was this method too.
If you openly start stalking a teacher, wouldn’t they get so scared that they’d call the police?
…Let’s stop.
No matter what, I can’t turn Ye Sara into a criminal.
Well, if you consider it a crime, pouring water on the bald teacher’s head could be one, but compared to school bullying, that’s minor.
Comparing it to a major crime that would sway public opinion is a bit much.
Anyway, I stared at the blue hair peeking out from behind the tree for a moment before turning around swiftly.
Honestly, my goal was to draw the kids’ attention anyway.
If I have a stalker like that trailing me, they definitely won’t ignore me.
I welcome it.
Plus, the disciplinary committee has some official status within the school.
If she keeps giving me demerits or sending me to the disciplinary committee, it’s all good for me.
Still, I have to acknowledge her persistence.
Even after being scolded by the student council president, she’s still boldly following me around.
*
…I really have to give her some credit.
“Hey, Sara. Doesn’t it feel like someone’s been following us since earlier?”
Ha-neul, who was walking beside me after we leisurely finished lunch, asked me.
To be precise, saying “it feels like” someone is following us is inaccurate.
There’s definitely someone tailing us.
Right.
It’s the disciplinary committee member Son A-reum, who’s been following me since I arrived at school this morning.
Now that I think about it, it’s really impressive.
There’s no way she would know my arrival time, so that means she must’ve come to school much earlier to wait.
And I came to school earlier than usual today.
When I saw Ha-neul with a gloomy face right before homeroom, I thought I should’ve contacted her first… but unfortunately, I don’t carry a smartphone.
I’ve lived without it for almost two months now, so I didn’t even think to bring it, knowing Yang Hye-in wouldn’t be following me.
Thankfully, her face brightened up as soon as she saw me.
Anyway, the disciplinary committee member continued to follow me after that.
She tried hiding behind corridor corners, doors, shoe cabinets, and bushes, but her long hair gave her away.
Not only I, but others around us were giving her strange looks, yet she didn’t seem to notice.
I honestly don’t know how she got into this school through an external admission process.
If only she’d tied up that long hair, she might’ve been less noticeable.
Could it be that her spatial awareness is severely lacking?
Sometimes, people who score perfect on tests are oddly bad at things like assembling plastic models.
I seriously considered if she was one of those cases.
“She’s been like that since this morning. Just leave her be. It’s not really a problem.”
I don’t know what the student council president said to her.
Maybe she heard the truth, or maybe it was just a warning not to do it.
Whatever she heard, the fact that she didn’t give up on me means either she didn’t believe it, or she’s acting on her sense of justice despite any warnings.
Either way, she’s incredibly stubborn.
It’s curious that someone with such a strong character wasn’t the heroine.
Not like her face was shining or anything.
“…Could she be a stalker?”
Lee Soo-ah, walking on Ha-neul’s other side, asked.
Now that I think about it, they’re keeping some distance today.
While they were still linking arms with me, which made it look like we were close to others, it was less intense than last week when they were practically clinging to me.
Now, they were just lightly hooking their arms.
…Could it be that they really saw the will?
The most likely person to have taken the will was Yang Hye-in, but these two were next.
They had been to my room several times before.
Considering So-hee suddenly jumped over the wall yesterday, maybe Yang Hye-in showed them the will—
Why?
Yeah, why would she?
Yang Hye-in is merely Ye Sara’s employee.
Even if we’ve gotten closer over the last three years, she never showed that side to Ye Sara.
It was only after I took over Ye Sara’s body and started acting out that she began to talk to me and tolerate my actions.
But what reason would she have to go out of her way to show the will to these three?
…Even if I ask Ha-neul or Soo-ah now, I probably wouldn’t get a proper answer.
Maybe I should put this off for now.
Yang Hye-in will be back this evening anyway.
I can ask her directly then.
“She only follows you around on school grounds, so I guess that doesn’t count as stalking.”
I paused mid-sentence, lost in thought.
There was still some time left before lunch break ended.
“Guys.”
I called the two clinging to my sides.
“How about we go for a walk?”
Technically, we were already walking, but it wouldn’t hurt to head somewhere without CCTV.
*
Unfortunately, we weren’t alone in the park.
The reason there’s no CCTV here is that rich kids use this place to discreetly exchange goods or money.
It seems that’s true.
Groups of two or three were quietly talking and passing around notes or books.
I briefly imagined what might be hidden between those pages.
Anyway, because of that, the park wasn’t as quiet as I’d hoped.
It wasn’t loud either, but there was a constant hum of conversations.
Well, that was until the three of us arrived.
When we showed up, more specifically, when I showed up, the kids sitting nearby began glancing at us.
Some of them even stopped talking entirely.
Am I that scary?
I guess I am.
After all, I’m someone who can casually crush a company if needed.
A mid-sized corporation could be toppled with just my personal assets.
If I overhear anything here, I could easily use it as blackmail.
Why are they so terrified of me?
Is it because of the shadow of Choi Na-kyung behind me, or because I’ve been acting like a crazy woman lately?
Or maybe it’s because they’re aware of what they’ve done to Ye Sara?
Either way, they’re feeling guilty on their own.
When I deliberately passed close to the benches where some kids were sitting, their faces turned pale, and they quickly stood up.
After we made half a loop around the park, even the kids sitting on the other side got up and left.
Such scaredy-cats.
I didn’t overhear anything at all.
Still, thinking about them trembling with fear in bed tonight was slightly satisfying.
Team Leader Han Garam wasn’t around.
Does she not work during lunch?
Considering her image, she probably follows the rules exactly.
The kind of person who works exactly as much as they’re paid.
People like that are reliable and easy to work with.
I sat down on the bench in the center of the now-empty park.
Ha-neul and Soo-ah stood there blankly, so I smiled and patted the empty spaces beside me.
“Come on, sit here.”
They seemed puzzled that I’d come to the school park for once, but they sat on either side of me as I asked.
Alright, now which pose would look the most ‘villainess-like’?
Crossing my legs and sitting arrogantly would probably be the best.
When I crossed my legs, the two finally seemed to realize what I was thinking.
With a smile on my face, I spoke.
“You’ve got something to say, right? There’s no one around, so why don’t you come out?”
When I raised my voice slightly, the disciplinary committee member emerged from behind the tree.
It was the thickest tree around, but still too thin to hide a person completely.
In fact, she was so visible that even the kids who were avoiding me had glanced at her in passing.
She seemed unaware of that, though.
“You noticed I was hiding? You’ve got sharp eyes.”
Realizing that there was no one else around and that she was facing not just me but all three of us, her voice trembled slightly.
…Though her courage was admirable, even if misdirected.
She probably knew Ye Sara was the richest teenager in the world.
So she assumed I was using that wealth to commit evil deeds in school and decided to step in for the sake of the other students.
The problem is, the nature of the bullying is hidden in such a way that it’s impossible to understand from the outside.
That’s why, even in the game’s ending, Yoo Ha-neul never realized Ye Sara’s situation, even when she met her downfall.
Well, considering Ye Sara had been targeting Ha-neul, it made sense she didn’t have the luxury to notice.
Honestly, she wasn’t hiding well at all, but pointing that out would only hurt her feelings, so I let it go.
“Can I ask why you’ve been following me around?”
When I asked, the disciplinary committee member glared at me and answered.
“…You already know, don’t you?”
“Is it because I hang out with classmates?”
When I asked with a relaxed expression, the wrinkles on her forehead deepened.
“Is that all you think it is?”
“I can’t think of anything else. I’ve been pretty well-behaved today.”
“Well-behaved students don’t draw galaxies on the chalkboard in other classes.”
I did draw a lot of stars on the board while the teacher was teaching.
And I specifically went to her class to do it, so it’s understandable that I drew her attention.
I could feel the gazes from both sides of me, but I ignored them and spoke.
“Why don’t you ask your classmates if I really did that?”
“…”
Yes.
The reason I came here today was to provoke the disciplinary committee member.
Everything she tried last time failed.
She couldn’t give me demerits or get me punished.
The student council president shut it down.
At first, I thought she would just give up.
But no, she hadn’t.
Admirably so.
Since the opportunity presented itself, I might as well make use of it.