When caught in the cycle of injustice, resistance is the only way to save yourself.

I sat in my seat with a book in my hand, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of curious eyes staring at me. As a transfer student at this school - St. Green's Private Girls' School - being noticed was quite understandable, at least I thought so. But there was something wrong with these somewhat prying or even wary eyes.

St. Green was one of the top schools in the city, a perfect choice for those who wish to be accepted into a good university. Because of that, I’ve worked hard to get into this school, as I jumped from a B student to one with straight A’s. And now, when I’ve finally achieved my dream, I couldn’t help but think something was off about this place. Even though I couldn’t catch them, I could swear that everyone in class was staring at me as if I were some alien. Or maybe even a threat.

Not long later, Won Haneul, the class president, walked to the front of the class with a stack of cards in her hand.

“Welcome back from summer holiday, classmates. For those who wonder, each time a new school year starts, everyone will receive a student card. You will need your card to unlock your dorm room. They’re part of your uniform, so it’s necessary to wear them every day, including the weekend. Also, you are not allowed to leave the school without permission from the student council. Now, I will give each of you the card for this school year.”

I listened carefully as Haneul disseminated the other school regulations, taking mental notes of them. Then I received my card and took a look at it.

Kim Young Il, class 10-A

It was the only sentence written on the card, with a picture of my face at the bottom. I suddenly felt nervous about my upcoming school year. Although I was quite bright, my academic performance had always been tough to maintain. I was also not a very pretty girl, with dark brown hair and a pair of common black eyes. Even so, what hope do I have for love in an all-girls school?

The good side is that, even though there won't be any conditions for love, the frequency of bullying will probably be significantly lower than in public school. I probably won't have to worry about-

Splash.

And then continued with the sound of a knife slashing through the air. A girl’s body flew across me and landed on the ground, lifeless. Blood stained my clothes and face, as I stared at her with horror. Some collective gasps could be heard from a few girls, but nothing else. As if everyone here was used to things like this. The girl who had swung the knife came towards me, pulling out a tissue pack from her pocket with a very calm expression. She handed me a tissue while she took one for herself and started cleaning her knife.

“Here, sorry for staining your shirt. My name is Park Hyun Joo, by the way.”

I nodded while cleaning my face with the tissue. The blood came off easily, but it left an unpleasant coppery smell. I calmed myself down and tried not to be scared, so that I wouldn’t be seen as an easy target.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kim Young Il… anyway, I have a question-”

“Oh, it’s okay. You’ll get used to it. I’m just following orders.” She interrupted me.

“Orders…?”

“New student, huh? Well, I guess it’s only fair if I tell you about how this school works, as an apology for staining your beautiful uniform.”

Hyun Joo took a seat next to me without caring about whose it was, before she started explaining.

“As you can see, St. Green is indeed an elite high school, recommended by many platforms. But there’s one special thing about this school- teachers aren’t the ones in charge, but instead, the student council is. They rule the school, if you put it that way. That’s why the student council’s president- Kim Jae Hwa- is called the “queen” by most students, either admiringly or mockingly.”

I nodded. So basically, this school is ruled by some high school students. How on earth? ”Wait… if that’s the case, then why hasn’t the principal done anything? How does that even work?” I asked.

Hyun Joo shook her head. “He can’t, that’s why. The people in the student council are either shareholders of the school or come from powerful families. If we go against them, I'm afraid they will destroy the school.” 

She let out a sigh. 

“As you might expect, this school is divided into ranks. At the top is the student council president, then the vice presidents, the council members, the club leaders, the class representatives, and finally the regular students. But it's not all bad. Good students get straight into prestigious universities. Of course, thanks to the connections of the parents of those in the student council.”

And that’s when I realized, belatedly: I had been duped. This school was nothing like the advertisement. Really, ha… Shocking.

I don’t want this, please… tell me it’s just a nightmare

But it’s not, so I nodded again and then looked at her with curiosity. “In that case, where do you stand?”

“Oh, mine is special. I’m the principal’s daughter.” She replied.

“The principal’s daughter? That’s so cool!”

She shook her head. “Not cool. It only means that they will at least hesitate to kill me, but nothing else.”

Suddenly, Hyun Joo's face fell, and her voice choked. “Things weren’t like this before…”

I could do nothing but look at her in silence, then she spoke again.

“This school was originally just a normal school with good grades, but everything changed when she entered. Jea Hwa, right. She was elected president, and from then on used her family background to create weird rules, and this hierarchy was one of them. It was as if we were in a feudal kingdom.”

An idea popped up in my head as I asked her. “Then why hasn’t anyone dropped out yet? Or maybe switch schools? I know it might be difficult, but at least it’s one way to protect your own life.”

Hyun Joo let out an unamused smirk as she exhaled and closed her eyes, looking tired.

“It’s not just difficult, girl, it’s impossible. Why else do you think they forbid us from leaving the school like that? It's easy to get in, but hard to get out. Even if we succeed in dropping out, they’ll make our life miserable.”

“So it’s hopeless, huh…” I trailed off before an idea hit me again. I looked at her desperately. “Then why don’t we overthrow the student council?”

Hyun Joo raised an eyebrow. “Are you high? Of course not, we can’t be killed doing that. At least being obedient will get you good treatment.”

“I don't need good treatment! Damn it…. You think I like it here?! If there's no way out, I'll go crazy!” I lashed out, shaking my head. Huyn Joo seemed taken aback, but she remained silent.

“I don't want to die yet. I'm telling the truth. Whoever kills me, I swear, I'll come back and make mincemeat of them. Each of them.”

I felt my body heating up, and my head felt like it was about to explode. Seeing this, Hyun Joo quickly stopped me.

"Okay, calm down. I understand." 

I let out a helpless sigh and nodded, trying to calm myself down. 

”Jesus…”

I turned away, trying to look tough. Even though I was still naive and didn't know anything about this school's punishment system. 

"If you're scared, then fine, I'll do it myself. If that’s the only way to get out of this hellhole.”

"Yes, I'm scared. But be careful, don't tell anyone about your plans. You just told me, aren't you afraid I'll do something to you?”

I rolled my eyes, realizing my fatal mistake. 

Hyun Joo just looked at me and smirked. "You’re lucky it was me.”

Remaining silent, I stood up from my seat and approached the dead friend’s body. Hyun Joo noticed my behavior as she asked with curiosity.

“What are you doing?”

But I didn’t reply. Instead, I kneeled next to the friend and picked up her student card.

Oh Minji, class 10-A

“You calm down very fast, huh?” Hyun Joo smirked

I took note of the name and put the card back in its place. Poor girl, having to die on her first day.

“What did she do?”

Hyun Joo scratched her chin, maybe contemplating whether she should tell me, but finally answered.

“She disobeyed. She refused to wear the card for some reason.”

“Just it?” My eyes widened in shock, hearing that someone died from such a simple reason. But again, this school was never normal. This incident just taught me to never even think about breaking the rules.

She sighed. “Yes, that rule. The 'card rule'. One of the council girls came up with it because she thought lanyards were ugly. The next week, someone died. Simple.”

I closed my eyes tightly, unable to hold back a long groan. There was only discomfort knowing I had been deceived. And helplessness.

“I have a question, though,” I said, feeling a bit skeptical. What was her purpose for sharing all this information with me? Was there any hidden motive?

As if she could read my mind, Hyun Joo replied.

“No need to ask the question. I have helped many students, including you, to be ready for their school year. You can call it a job that I've assigned to myself. To be honest, I feel bad for my father. He spent a lot of effort on this school, just for it to turn out this way. I’m not trying to end it, I just hope for as many students to avoid death as possible.”

She gave me a smirk before continuing with a mocking tone. “And if you’re thinking about telling anyone, feel free. Because they’ve already known.”

“I’m not trying to tell anyone. Thanks for the information, though.” I replied and stood up. Hyun Joo raised an eyebrow.

“Bored of spending time with me already?”

I shook my head and made my way to the hallway.

“No, but I still have many things to do. See you.”

“How disappointing, but alright.” She huffed. “See you later.”

I nodded and started finding the way to my dorm room. There are about 10 rooms in a dormitory, with the rooms being relatively equal in size.

I found my room and swiped my card. The door beeped and opened. But the scene inside shocked me: there wasn’t much inside, just a simple bed and a small desk for studying. Perhaps we’ll eat at the school's canteen. But even so, it’s different as chalk and cheese compared to the online advertisement. If I'm right, rooms are different based on where you stand at school, too.

I quickly settled down and pulled out a piece of paper, then started writing down my ideas.

In order to overthrow the student council, I first need to start with the position closest to me, which is the class president. Then the club presidents, or if I want to go faster, I can jump straight to the student council. I just don't know how to do that.

Should I start by getting to know and making friends with everyone in class?

Speaking of my classmates, I can now guess why they looked at me like that. In this place, even the closest person can stab you in the back. It’s best to only get to know people to take advantage of them, and not to trust anyone completely. After all, I’m not wrong—everyone is like that.

And next are people whom I’ve already known. First is Jae Hwa, the student council president. Although I don’t have much information about her, I could see that she’s scary and powerful.

Next is Minji, who had died right in front of me. I don’t have any knowledge about her, except for how she refused to wear the student card. Is she some kind of troublemaker?

And finally, Hyun Joo. The principal’s daughter, who saw helping newbies as her job. Even though I’m a bit wary of her, being friends with the principal’s daughter doesn’t sound bad. The only problem was that she refused to join me.

…

But is this the only way to escape?

I finished my sketch, took a final look at it before tossing it into the trash can. It was late, and I had to prepare for my first day of school.