It had been a week since school started, and miraculously, my cover remains unblown.

  Honestly, playing the "extroverted idiot" wasn't too difficult, mostly because my current personality seemed perfectly aligned with whatever the old Zachary was like.

  The only person I really needed to be careful around was Lee Min Joon, but so far, he hadn't suspected a thing.

  Instead, I spent my first week observing the sheer absurdity of BoMoong High School.

  The social hierarchy here was straight out of one of those trashy harem light novels.

  First, there were the "School Beauties."

  Sitting at the absolute top was Han Chae-Gi, a second-year senior everyone called the Goddess. Supposedly, she was flawlessly kind, brilliant, and trailed by a literal, organized fan club.

  Then there was Hashimori Kokomi—a fellow Aetherian mix. She was the classic "Ice Queen," freezing out any guy who breathed in her direction.

  Rumor had it both of them were somehow tangled up with another second-year named Yejun, a guy who practically radiated Main Character Energy. There were a ton of crazy rumors about the crazy stuff he did but that's a story for another day.

  Then, there were the darker rumors. The school was packed with chaebol kids who ran the place like their personal playground.

  Oddly enough, I hadn't seen much bullying yet. The craziest thing I’d heard was that one of the worst bullies recently got his ear chopped off. The official story was a "motorcycle accident," but nobody buys that kind of cover-up.

  “Hey. Earth to Zachary. We need to head to the chemistry lab. Let's go already.”

  A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “Coming,” I mumbled half-heartedly, rubbing my eyes to fight off the sleep deprivation.

  The girl glaring at me, adjusting her round glasses, was Hashimori Kurone.

  Yes, that Hashimori.

  The Ice Queen’s younger sister. She wasn't bad looking herself, but unlike her sister, Kurone was incredibly, relentlessly naggy.

  “Dude, are you still asleep?” Min Joon laughed, grabbing the back of my collar and hauling me out of my seat.

  “He's always like that,” Kurone sighed, grabbing my sleeve and dragging me toward the door alongside him.

  Somehow, the three of us had become the famous trio of the first-year cohort. Why famous? I wasn't entirely sure.

  It made sense for Min Joon—he was tall, athletic, and easy to get along with.

  It made sense for Kurone—she was dependable and had the "school beauty's sister" halo.

  And me? Thanks to my brilliant introduction on the first day, I was universally known as the class fool. But I got along with everyone, so it wasn't that bad .

  The day dragged on in its usual, mind-numbing rhythm.

  Class.

  Lunch.

  Class.

  Ringgggg.

  “Hey Zach, you wanna climb rank today?” Do-Yuh, one of my other classmates, asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

  “You guys go on. I'm broke this week.”

  “Don't sulk when you can't play with us later,” he teased.

  “Shut up.”

  Min Joon checked his phone and his expression shifted slightly. “Dude, I got something on. I'm gonna leave first.” He gave me a quick dap before bolting out the door.

  A few girls from my class invited me to Karaoke, but being the only guy there sounded like an introverts' nightmare, so I politely declined.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Wanting to avoid any more social interactions, I decided to take the back stairwell to leave the school.

  As I lazily waddled down the concrete steps, scrolling through shorts on my phone, I heard voices echoing from the landing below.

  “I like you. Please be my girlfriend.”

  I stopped. Peeking over the railing, I saw the silhouettes of a guy and a girl.

  What the hell. Why would anyone confess in the middle of a dingy staircase? You're blocking my exit.

  “I'm sorry. I just don't see you that way…” the girl replied gently. “We could still be friends?”

  “W–What is the reason for rejection?” the guy stammered, his tone immediately turning defensive.

  “I come from a prestigious family line. My grades are the top of the cohort, and I will soon inherit my father's company. Is that not good enough for you?”

  Uwahh… I cringed internally.

  Using your family's bank account and your report card to ask your crush out is an insane strategy.

  “It isn't that you are lacking…” the girl tried to diffuse the tension. “I'm just not interested in anyone right now.”

  “Not interested—not even in Soh Yejun?”

  The atmosphere instantly dropped below freezing.

  Neither party said a word.

  “I got your answer then,” the guy spat, turning on his heel and stomping aggressively down the stairs.

  “That's…” The girl tried reaching out, but he was gone.

  All that was left was the girl standing alone on the landing.

  Well, time to go, I thought, taking a step forward.

  “That arrogant bastard. Who the hell does he think he is?!”

  I froze, my foot hovering in the air.

  “Good grades? GOOD GRADES?! MY GRADES ARE BETTER THAN YOURS!” she shrieked, kicking the metal railing with a violent CLANG.

  “PRESTIGIOUS FAMILY?! OWNING YOUR DAD’S COMPANY?! I HAVE MILLIONAIRES BEGGING TO MARRY ME! WHO ARE YOU COMPARED TO THEM?!”

  Oh man. She was crashing out hard.

  “SERIOUSLY, WHERE DOES HE GET OFF HIS HIGH HORSE TO ASK ME OUT LIKE THAT?! IT WASN'T EVEN ROMANTIC, HE USED HIS NEPO-BABY STATUS AS A BARGAINING CHIP!”

  Alright… I'm just going to walk the long way. No sense in getting involved with a psycho.

  I turned back to quietly head up to my original floor.

  SQUEAK.

  My rubber sole betrayed me. The friction against the polished floor echoed like a gunshot in the stairwell.

  The girl’s ranting stopped immediately.

  “...Is someone up there?”

  Her voice wasn't screaming anymore.

  It was dead, flat, and terrifyingly cold.

  Sweat beaded on my forehead. I tried to take a silent step backward—

  Pop.

  My phone slipped from my sweaty palm, hitting the concrete. The wired earphones ripped out of the jack.

  “TONIGHT, THE MUSIC SEEMS SO LOUD—”

  My Spotify playlist blasted at maximum volume, echoing off the concrete walls.

  "..."

  "..."

  Run.

  Without a second of hesitation, I snatched my phone and vaulted up the stairs.

  “YOU ARE NOT ESCAPING ME, KID!” a semi-demonic voice shrieked from below.

  The sound of her shoes rapidly clattering up the stairs was entirely unnatural.

  She was moving way too fast.

  “Oh fck. Oh fck. Oh f*ck,” I cursed repeatedly, sprinting through the empty third-floor hallway. I ducked into the first empty classroom I could find, sliding under a desk.

  “WHERE ARE YOU?!” her scream echoed through the corridor.

  How did she get up here so fast?!

  I listened in absolute terror as she began systematically checking each classroom, slamming doors open.

  As she walked into the room furthest from me, I took my chance. I bolted out the door and sprinted straight for the courtyard, thinking I had made a clean getaway.

  Then, I looked down at my feet.

  Indoor slippers. My actual shoes were still in my shoe locker.

  With no other choice, I crept toward the locker room, praying to whatever gods existed that she was still on the third floor. I rounded the corner to my locker—

  “I finally caught you, little rat.”

  My soul left my body.

  Standing in front of my locker was the girl. And this time, in the evening light, I saw her face clearly.

  It was Han Chae-Gi. The Goddess.

  Except, she didn't look like an angel. Her perfectly styled hair was a frayed, static mess from sprinting.

  Her face was flushed red, and her chest heaved as she stared at me with the eyes of a predator that had finally cornered its prey.

  Gulp.

  I swallowed hard, instinctively backing away.

  “Let's have a small talk. Shall we, my dear junior?” she smiled.

  It was a terrifying, hollow smile. Chills violently racked my spine. I could do nothing but nod.

  Please. Just let me live. That was my only thought as Chae-Gi clamped her hand onto my forearm with pure, unyielding brute strength and dragged me away into the shadows.

  **

  [Point of View: Lee Min Joon]

  The school roof was entirely empty, the evening wind howling violently against the chain-link fence.

  Min Joon leaned against the railing, his usual easy-going, goofy smile completely absent.

  His eyes were cold and calculating as he pressed a finger to the discrete earpiece hidden beneath his hair.

  “Any updates?” a distorted, synthesized voice buzzed in his ear.

  “No. He seems perfectly fine,” Min Joon replied, watching the school gates below. “But for some reason, I still can't read his mind.”

  “Does he remember anything at all from the incident?”

  “Apparently not. He hasn't confronted me or asked a single question about it. Normally, I would just dive into his thoughts to verify what he knows, but given the current situation, it's a dead end.”

  “Is his mind completely wiped, then?”

  “I think Subject 4 might have cleared his memory of that specific night,” Min Joon muttered, his brow furrowing.

  “Shouldn't the memory be completely gone? He shouldn't have any concept of who you are, or who he is.”

  “More observation is needed to confirm the extent of the tampering.”

  “Then continue to monitor him, as per usual.”

  “Roger.”

  “And one more thing,” the voice on the comms shifted, growing slightly more urgent. “I'm adding another task to your roster.”

  “What is it?”

  “Investigate a second-year student named Eric Stanson. We have reason to believe Subject 4 may have made contact with him recently.”

  Min Joon’s eyes narrowed as he looked out over the sprawling city of Vespa.

  “Understood.”

  “Good luck, Lee Min Joon.”