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Chapter 396: Hitching a Ride (1)

“...Shit!”

“What's wrong?” Min Ah-Ran asked her friend while tilting her head.

The friend shot back. “I dunno. I've been feeling kinda shitty the whole morning.”

That was when Min Ah-Ran instinctively realized she needed to watch what she said for the rest of the day.

Many things in this world had clear-cut reasons for existing. However, plenty more things happened without a good reason, too. And those reason-less things tended to be more nerve-racking than the other type.

For instance... Just like Lee Mi-Yeong's mood right now!

'She might kill someone today.'

Min Ah-Ran inwardly groaned. However, she should blame herself for failing to bring an umbrella and not the sudden shower.

A sudden shower was called that because it was unexpected, after all!

Lee Mi-Yeong was an existence like that. She was the kind of person who switched between feeling displeased and gloriously happy at a snap of a finger. All without any prior warning whatsoever!

Then again, every high school-age girl was the epitome of capriciousness. So, even Min Ah-Ran couldn't deny having a little of that tendency in her...

'Still, this girl is a special case...'

Not just any ol' special, but an extra-super-duper special!

From her careful management of her appearance to her superior academic records and even her top-tier athletic abilities...

Lee Mi-Yeong's long straight hair could be used as an example of feminine purity. Her gentle smile that sometimes floated up on her lips could evoke the feeling of a refreshing Springtime breeze even in the minds of other girls.

It was as if Lee Mi-Yeong perfectly encapsulated the idea of a 'high-school girl' in most people's minds.

However, if there was one deviation from the ideal, then it'd be...

'Her personality, obviously!'

On the outside, Lee Mi-Yeong looked like the epitome of purity, but her inside was far closer to wickedness. She was basically... the Queen Bee.

Since she used her advantages to secure solid status for herself and then used that very status as the foundation to expertly manipulate other students, the nickname 'Queen Bee' perfectly suited her.

And this Queen Bee happened to be quite a tyrant, too.

“I hope it'll be only one girl today..” Min Ah-Ran sighed deeply. Of course, she made sure Lee Mi-Yeong didn't see or hear anything. Otherwise, it'd be Min Ah-Ran playing the role of that one girl!

'I guess some other poor girl will feel Mi-Yeong's fury.'

There was no point in figuring out the cause of Lee Mi-Yeong's foul mood. What was important, though, was that whenever she was pissed, one or two poor girls would suffer untold and undeserved abuse.

Obviously, the victims hadn't done anything. Getting hit by a lightning bolt wasn't the victim's fault, anyway. However, being in the wrong place at the wrong time could sometimes be seen as the victim's fault.

The victim might feel aggrieved about it, but what could they do about it?

Sometimes Min Ah-Ran felt sorry for the girls at the receiving end of Lee Mi-Yeong's bullying. However, Min Ah-Ran was smart enough to not show her sympathy on the surface. If she did that, Lee Mi-Yeong might suddenly change her target to Min Ah-Ran, instead! So, she had no choice but to smile as if she was having fun, too.

Even if she found this whole bullying thing so bloody tedious...!

“Argh. Since I feel like crap, I guess I'll just mess with Yun Hye-Mi today.”

'I knew it.'

Lightning bolts didn't pick their victims, but Lee Mi-Yeong certainly did. And her favorite punching bag was a girl named Yun Hye-Mi, a pushover who lived in an orphanage.

That girl had no parent who would charge straight into the school's faculty room in anger. Unfortunately, she also didn't have the popularity or charm to make others take pity on her either.

Those two points were why Lee Mi-Yeong picked Yun Hye-Mi as her plaything.

Yun Hye-Mi might not have done anything, but she was an easy target. Hurting her was risk-free since there wouldn't be any blowback.

Zero risk made things rather convenient. Although the notion of 'convenience' being a factor when a bully targeted her victim was laughable, that was the unfortunate reality.

In that case, the victim should at least try to bite back, or show some kind of backbone. However, Yun Hye-Mi was way too kind. So kind, in fact, that she sometimes gave off the impression that she was a total moron.

Unfortunately for Yun Hye-Min, though... Being kind meant jack to people these days. Actually, being kind would only make others treat you like a pushover. A moron.

'What a poor girl...'

The saddest thing about Lee Mi-Yeong's victims was that they hadn't done anything to deserve the abuse. They were just unlucky enough to be used as emotional trash cans for the bullies, that was all.

“What are you thinking about?” Lee Mi-Yeong glanced at Min Ah-Ran.

“Mm? Nothing much.”

“Hnng?”

When Lee Mi-Yeong swept her gaze over Min Ah-Ran, the latter did her absolute best to pretend everything was fine. “Y'know. I was just wondering why our dear Mi-Yeong was unhappy today.”

“Hah, really?” Lee Mi-Yeong smirked and turned her attention away.

Min Ah-Ran sighed under her breath in relief. It seemed she wouldn't be the target of Lee Mi-Yeong's wrath today.

“Argh, so annoying! Seriously!” Lee Mi-Yeong suddenly spat out ominously.

Min Ah-Ran had a hunch that Lee Mi-Yeong's viciousness today might go beyond her usual level. Just as she began grimacing, a weird noise slammed into her ears and broke the train of her thought.

Rumble, vrooooooom!

'What was that?'

That rumbling noise sounded like a bike with an illegally-modified exhaust. But when Min Ah-Ran paid closer attention, she realized this noise was quite different from a bike's. Unlike the shriller noise produced by a bike, this exhaust noise was noticeably meatier as it rang around the walls.

“...Heol?!”

Lee Mi-Yeong and Min Ah-Ran turned their heads simultaneously, only for their eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets after discovering a blood-red low-slung supercar.

“What is that thing?!”

“Hmph. Probably some rich a-hole showing off in front of a high school during the morning commute,” said Min Ah-Ran without much concern.

Men like that would show up here every now and then. They were losers who got a kick out of all the attention pouring on them while driving a flashy car past a girls' high school.

What irritated Min Ah-Ran was that, despite knowing this, she still couldn't stop herself from showering the loser with attention.

Vrooooom...!

The rumbling engine seemed to quieten down as the red supercar gradually slowed down.

'...Ng?'

Now that was weird. If the loser's goal was to feel good about himself, he wouldn't have stopped the car by the high school's entrance. That meant he really had business with the school.

However, why would someone show up here in a flashy supercar just as students arrived for another day of education?

When the supercar stopped near the front gate of the school, everyone's attention quickly focused on the vehicle. Soon, the driver's side door opened, and a young man stepped outside.

“Holy cow...!” Min Ah-Ran reflexively covered her mouth as she gasped out in awe.

The young driver was so handsome that he instantly captured everyone's attention.

He hadn't tried too hard with his attire and wore a simple white T-shirt and pair of jeans. However, that only seemed to enhance his appeal further. A perfectly-groomed man exiting a flashy car like that could potentially cause repulsion, after all.

Although the young driver didn't seem to care much about his appearance... His appropriate height and physique, plus all the smooth yet firm arm muscles visible under the short sleeves, seemed to work together in perfect harmony to draw everyone's gaze toward him.

The idea of the 'perfect ratio' seemed to have been invented for that young driver. However, it wasn't as if his face was lacking compared to his body.

The young driver's face really suited the notion of pleasantly proportioned. So much so that Min Ah-Ran wondered if a nice physique like his was really necessary when he already possessed such a handsome face. Although, having a good body would obviously suit that face many times over, anyway!

Even though the young driver's facial features weren't as sharp and intense like the currently-popular idols, how should Min Ah-Ran describe it...?

'...One's preference is pointless with him, isn't it?'

Min Ah-Ran preferred a... somewhat slender man herself, but the young driver rendered such preference meaningless. Just looking at him from afar was enough to make her blush, so her taste or whatever didn't even matter anymore!

Min Ah-Ran poked Lee Mi-Yeong on the arm. “Look! Look, Mi-Yeong! That's huge, right?”

“...”

“Mi-Yeong? Can you see his arms? His arms!”

“...”

“...? Mi-Yeong?”

“N-ng? Y-yeah, I see them.”

When Lee Mi-Yeong responded somewhat sluggishly, Min Ah-Ran tore her gaze away from the young driver to look at the Queen Bee.

'...She's already fallen for him?'

Lee Mi-Yeong's eyes had already lost focus as if she was wading in a hazy dream.

It seemed that young driver was more of Lee Mi-Yeong's type than Min Ah-Ran's. If Min Ah-Ran's reaction was similar to spotting a mega-celebrity, Yi Mi-Yeong's was... Well, she seemed to be swimming inside her own daydream after encountering her prince riding a white horse.

That was when the young driver lightly wiped his face, then turned his attention... toward the car's passenger side. And that naturally forced everyone else to look at the same spot, too.

'Who is in that passenger seat?'

Who wouldn't be curious about the identity of a passenger riding in a supercar driven by a handsome man like him? It was as if countless spotlights were focusing on the red supercar's passenger side. However, no matter how long people waited, the passenger side door didn't want to open.

The young driver stared wordlessly before scratching the back of his head. He then walked around the car to the passenger side and opened the door himself. “What are you doing?”

“It's too embarrassing, that's why!”

“It’s fine,” The young driver chuckled affably.

Min Ah-Ran's eyes narrowed as she listened.

'Huh? That voice...'

I think I recognize that voice? Is she from my class?

The driver reached into the passenger compartment, then helped the girl sitting in there exit the car. The girl in the school uniform emerged outside, then began twisting and writhing in embarrassment.

And no, she wasn't doing that in the so-called 'happy' embarrassment. She seemed genuinely on the brink of death from the sheer embarrassment of this situation!

“Uh? Eh? ...Eeeeeeh?” Min Ah-Ran's jaw slowly fell to the floor.

'Yun... Hye-Mi?!'

Why was that girl getting out of that red car?! Why! How come?!

As far as Min Ah-Ran knew, Yun Hye-Mi was a poor-as-dirt orphan. In that case, why was she suddenly stepping out of a red supercar!

'Isn't this like a scene from a novel?'

They weren't in some third-rate romantic fairy tale, so... Could it be that the girl everyone thought was a pauper turned out to be an heiress to an empire? Something like that?

Min Ah-Ran could only chuckle in dismay at her own imagination. A fairy tale like that didn't happen in reality, after all.

Min Ah-Ran glanced at Lee Mi-Yeong next.

'...Yup, here comes the crisis.'

Proverbial sparks were shooting out of Lee Mi-Yeong's eyes. Min Ah-Ran had seen Lee Mi-Yeong's pissed-off expression way too many times to count, but this new expression was... How should she describe this? It was in another realm? Something like that?

If her previous expressions came from a place of anger, this one was like she had finally found her mortal enemy. However, her response was unsurprising.

Yun Hye-Mi, who looked like the easiest pushover in the class, suddenly made an entrance like some kind of a princess, after all! And everyone here had witnessed this scene, too.

This news should spread to all corners of the school before the morning self-study period ends!

“Have a good day, okay?” The young driver lightly waved his hand at Yun Hye-Mi.

“...Please stop doing that, oppa. I'm this close to dying from embarrassment, you know.”

“We promised to have supper with everyone, so come home directly after school, okay? Don't you dare stray somewhere.”

“Where would I even stray to, oppa..”

“Good.” The young man chuckled and petted Yun Hye-Mi on the head.

“Ah?! Please stop doing that!” Yun Hye-Mi's face deeply blushed as she hurriedly yelled.

The man smiled gently and pointed at the school's gate. “Come on. It's time to go to school.”

“Y-yes, I'm going!” Yun Hye-Mi grabbed her school bag and literally ran at full tilt past the school gates.

.

The young man stood still in front of the red supercar and watched Yun Hye-Mi's figure disappear into the school building. Once she was gone from his view, he nodded slightly before scanning his surroundings.

All the girls locking eyes with him blushed slightly while hurriedly turning their faces away. The young man chuckled faintly while climbing into his flashy supercar.

Rumble! Vroooom!

The red supercar's engine roared loudly into life, then the sleek vehicle leisurely drove away from the school gates.

Min Ah-Ran stared at the car's departure with a somewhat empty look on her face.

'...Kinda feels like I was in a dream, doesn't it?'

Indeed, something about this experience felt surreal. Witnessing a megabuck supercar in the morning, then its absurdly good-looking driver, and the fact that Yun Hye-Mi was the passenger... Everything seemed so surreal.

“...What just happened?” Min Ah-Ran muttered quietly, then turned her head toward Lee Mi-Yeong to get clarification. However, she flinched nastily at what she saw.

Lee Mi-Yeong's face was icy cold as if she was made out of a block of a glacier.

“...Ah-Ran, listen.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Once you go inside the classroom... Tell Yun Hye-Mi to come find me.”

“...Which Hye-Mi?”

“Yun Hye-Mi, obviously. Do you know any other Hye-Mi besides her?”

“N-no, I got it. I'll definitely bring her to you.”

Lee Mi-Yeong didn't say anything and strode past the school gates without even bothering to look back once.

Min Ah-Ran sighed under her breath and hurriedly followed after the Queen Bee.

'Just what is she planning...?'

Min Ah-Ran's heart beat faster as anxiety crept in.