Cho Sa-rang spent the next several minutes trying to make sense of what she had just heard.

The world's most hated person?

That had to be a joke.

A prank.

A hallucination.

Something.

Anything but the truth.

She stared at the red flip phone lying on her bed.

The fairy on the screen had already disappeared after delivering its explanation, leaving her alone with far more questions than answers.

Before she could gather her thoughts, her bedroom door suddenly swung open.

"Sa-rang!"

Her mother rushed inside.

Behind her came her father, looking equally alarmed.

The moment their eyes landed on the bandage on her forehead, both of them froze.

"What happened to your head?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Does it still hurt?"

"Did you see a doctor?"

The questions came so quickly that Sa-rang barely had time to answer.

For the next ten minutes, she explained the accident over and over.

Yes, she had gone to the infirmary.

No, it wasn't serious.

Yes, the nurse had treated it.

No, she wasn't dizzy anymore.

Gradually, the panic on her parents' faces eased.

Looking at them, Sa-rang felt some of the tension in her chest loosen.

Whatever those hate values meant, her parents clearly cared about her.

Maybe she really was overthinking everything.

Her mother crossed her arms.

"You should have told us immediately."

"I know."

"And why are you still sitting up? You should be resting."

"Mom, I'm fine."

"You don't get to decide that."

Despite the scolding, Sa-rang could hear the worry hidden beneath every word.

Her mother fussed over her for another few minutes before finally pulling the curtains partially closed.

"Sleep."

"Mom—"

"Sleep."

There was no arguing with that tone.

Her father gave her an apologetic smile before following her mother out of the room.

The door clicked shut.

For the first time all morning, the room became quiet.

Sa-rang stared at the ceiling.

The strange phone.

The fairy.

The hate values.

Everything felt distant.

Exhaustion slowly dragged her under.

Within minutes, she was asleep.

When she opened her eyes again, sunlight was pouring through the window.

She blinked several times before reaching for her phone.

2:03 PM.

"What?!"

She shot upright.

Half the day was gone.

After washing up and changing clothes, she wandered downstairs for a late lunch.

Today marked the beginning of the school's foundation week holiday.

An entire week with no classes.

Normally she would have been thrilled.

Now she just felt restless.

The afternoon drifted by slowly.

She spent hours scrolling through videos, reading comments, and hopping from one website to another.

Nothing held her attention for long.

Eventually, she shut her laptop with a sigh.

The room suddenly felt too quiet.

And without distractions, her thoughts returned to the same question.

Why?

Why would anyone hate her enough to give her the highest hate value in the world?

She wasn't famous.

She wasn't rich.

She barely stood out at school.

So where was all that hatred coming from?

As she sat there thinking, her phone vibrated.

A notification appeared.

Instagram Update

Without much interest, she unlocked her screen.

Then froze.

The account belonged to Choi Joo-kyung.

Her best friend.

The post contained several photos.

At first, Sa-rang didn't understand what she was looking at.

Then her stomach dropped.

Standing beside Joo-kyung in every picture was Song Seung-Il.

Her boyfriend.

Well...

Boyfriend might have been too generous a word.

They had only started dating a week ago.

A week.

Just seven days.

Sa-rang stared at the first photo.

Then the second.

Then the third.

In one picture they were sharing drinks.

In another they were laughing together.

The final photo showed them standing shoulder-to-shoulder beneath a café sign.

The comments were even worse.

You two look so cute together!

Finally dating publicly?

Such a good-looking couple.

I've been shipping you guys forever.

Sa-rang's thumb hovered over the screen.

Neither of them had corrected anyone.

Neither of them had denied it.

Not a single reply.

Not a single explanation.

Her heartbeat became louder.

Surely there was a misunderstanding.

There had to be.

Joo-kyung knew she was dating Seung-Il.

Joo-kyung had been the first person she told.

And yet...

The comments kept coming.

The likes kept increasing.

The post remained untouched.

A strange coldness spread through her body.

Suddenly, she remembered the enormous red arrow connecting her and Joo-kyung.

The impossibly high number floating above her friend's head.

The hatred.

The fairy's words.

The world's most hated person.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

"No..."

The word came out barely above a whisper.

The possibility was absurd.

Ridiculous.

But for the first time, she couldn't ignore it.

What if the system had been telling the truth?

What if the person who hated her most...

Wasn't a stranger?

What if it was someone she trusted?

Someone she called her best friend.

And what if her boyfriend wasn't innocent either?

The screen blurred.

Sa-rang realized she had been staring at the same photo for several minutes.

Neither Joo-kyung nor Min-jae looked guilty.

If anything, they looked happy.

That hurt the most.

Slowly, she lowered the phone.

The room felt colder than before.

And for the first time since discovering the hate values, she found herself afraid of what the numbers might reveal next.