The longer she took, the more nervous everyone became.

Eventually, the anxiety transformed into chaos.

The classroom resembled a zoo where every animal had somehow escaped its enclosure.

Students were standing on chairs.

Some were trading snacks.

Others were running between desks.

Several had stationed themselves near the classroom entrance as unofficial lookouts.

Suddenly, one of them gasped.

“Mrs. Um is coming!”

The reaction was immediate.

Pure panic.

Students sprinted toward their seats from every direction.

Books flew open.

Conversations died instantly.

Within seconds, everyone was pretending to be hardworking and innocent.

The classroom door slid open.

Mrs. Um entered carrying a stack of papers.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

The class looked far too well-behaved.

Aeryun immediately looked away.

Yeah. She definitely knows something happened.

Mrs. Um sighed and began walking toward her desk.

Then it happened.

Her foot landed directly on one of the forgotten banana peels.

The class watched in horror.

Slip.

Thud.

Mrs. Um hit the floor.

For a brief moment, silence filled the room.

Then the students responsible for the prank burst into laughter and high-fived each other.

“Did you see that?”

“That actually worked!”

“I can't believe it!”

“No surprise test today!”

“I was not prepared for a surprise test anyway!”

To them, it had only been meant as a harmless joke.

A silly prank.

Nothing more.

But then one minute passed.

Then another.

Mrs. Um still wasn't moving.

The laughter slowly disappeared.

The smiles vanished.

A heavy silence settled over the classroom.

Nobody knew what to do.

Even the students who had planted the banana peel looked terrified.

“Mrs... Mrs. Um?” one student called nervously.

No response.

The room felt colder than before.

Another student's face turned completely pale.

“We killed Mrs. Um.”

His voice cracked.

Then, to everyone's shock, he started crying.

“I can’t go to jail, I don’t want to go to jail. Coming to this was a huge mistake!”

Panic spread through the classroom immediately.

Several students jumped out of their seats.

Others stood frozen.

The atmosphere transformed from a comedy into something that felt straight out of a horror movie.

Even Aeryun had stopped making jokes.

For once, nobody knew what to say.

The students immediately pushed the class president, Lee Eunjae, forward.

"Go check on her!" someone whispered urgently.

"You're the class president, after all."

Eunjae looked horrified.

"Why me?"

"Because that's literally your job."

Despite his hesitation, Eunjae knew they had a point. Taking a deep breath, he cautiously approached Mrs. Um.

The classroom fell silent.

Carefully, he crouched beside her and placed his hand beneath her nostrils, checking for any sign of breathing.

A few seconds passed.

Then his eyes widened.

"She's alive!" Eunjae exclaimed.

The entire class erupted into cheers.

Several students looked seconds away from crying from relief.

"Thank goodness."

"I thought we accidentally killed a teacher."

"I was already planning my prison escape."

Someone from the front row quickly handed Eunjae a bottle of water.

It was Moon Dabin.

Without wasting time, Eunjae unscrewed the cap and gently splashed some water onto Mrs. Um's face.

A few moments later, she groaned softly and slowly began regaining consciousness.

Several students immediately rushed forward to help her sit up.

Meanwhile, Eunjae handed the bottle back to Dabin.

The second he walked away, Dabin grabbed the arm of the girl sitting beside her, Park Jiwon.

With wide eyes, she held up her trembling hands.

"My palms are literally sweating."

Jiwon looked down.

They really were.

Dabin groaned dramatically.

"I don't know why he makes me so nervous whenever he's around."

Jiwon immediately smirked.

"Oh, I know exactly why."

Dabin covered her face.

"Don't start."

By now, Mrs. Um had managed to stand up with the students' help.

She blinked several times.

"What happened?" she asked, looking genuinely confused.

The students exchanged nervous glances.

One of the students responsible for the prank immediately spoke up.

"You slipped on a banana peel and fell."

The answer came a little too quickly.

Almost suspiciously quickly.

The student's goal was obvious: divert attention away from herself and everyone else involved.

Unfortunately, the plan worked.

Because the moment the words banana peel left her mouth, the entire class slowly turned toward one person.

Aeryun.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

Each second stretched into an eternity.

Aeryun looked around the room in disbelief.

Then she pointed at herself.

"Hey!"

Her voice echoed through the classroom.

"Why is everyone looking at me?"

Nobody answered.

Aeryun sighed.

"I didn't do it."

One of the students folded his arms.

"But we all saw you come to class carrying bananas."

Before Aeryun could respond, Chaerin immediately jumped to her defense.

"That doesn't prove anything."

She gestured toward the class.

"Half of you asked her for bananas while she was walking to her seat. By the time she sat down, she didn't have any left."

Several students awkwardly looked away.

Chaerin continued.

"One of you was careless enough not to throw the peel away properly."

Aeryun nodded enthusiastically.

"Thank you. Finally, someone with common sense."

Then she looked around the room.

"Seriously. Do you honestly think I'd do something like that?"

Dabin raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, but you're known for doing a lot of mischievous and questionable things."

Several students nodded immediately.

"Exactly."

"It's kind of natural for people to suspect you."

The students who had abandoned their seats earlier because of Aeryun's wet socks pointed dramatically toward the classroom window.

"And the socks aren't helping your case."

Everyone looked at the pair of damp socks hanging outside.

Aeryun followed their gaze.

Then she sighed.

Deeply.

Very deeply.

At this point, she was too tired to keep defending herself.

There was nothing left to say.

"You know what?" she muttered.

"Believe whatever you want."

The classroom fell quiet.

"I didn't throw the banana peel."

Her voice wasn't angry anymore.

Just exhausted.

Then she turned toward Mrs. Um.

Aeryun bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of the banana peel."

The class looked surprised.

"If I hadn't shown up with bananas today, none of this would've happened."

She paused.

"So even though I didn't throw it, I still feel responsible."

Mrs. Um studied her carefully and thought to herself why did she even show up to the class with the bananas?

For a brief moment, she found herself impressed by Aeryun's willingness to accept accountability.

Most students would have spent the next twenty minutes arguing.

Aeryun simply apologized.

Of course, Mrs. Um didn't say any of that out loud.

Instead, she adjusted her glasses and replied,

"Stand outside the classroom."

Aeryun sighed.

"Of course."

She picked up her shoes from beneath her desk.

Several students immediately scooted farther away.

"Wow."

Aeryun looked offended.

"That hurt my feelings."

Then she grabbed her still-damp socks and shuffled toward the door.

Mrs. Um watched her leave.

She had only joined Daehan Academy a few weeks ago.

Less than a month, in fact.

She knew everyone's names.

She knew their grades.

She knew their records.

But she didn't truly know any of them yet.

And for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was much more to Aeryun than the troublemaker reputation everyone seemed eager to give her.

"I'll accompany Aeryun too," Chaerin said immediately.

Mrs. Um adjusted her glasses.

"Sure. Go ahead."

Before Chaerin could even stand up, Aeryun shook her head.

"No."

Chaerin frowned.

"What do you mean, no?"

"Attend class."

"Aeryun—"

"No."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Chaerin groaned in frustration.

"You're impossible."

"And you're stubborn," Aeryun shot back.

"I learned from the best."

Several students snorted.

Chaerin crossed her arms.

"I'm still coming."

"No, you're not."

Mrs. Um watched the exchange silently, almost amused.

Chaerin looked ready to argue again.

"Aeryun, wait!"

Aeryun had already reached the door.

She turned around with a smile.

"What?"

This time, Chaerin was holding Aeryun's socks.

"At least wear your socks and shoes."

The entire class looked toward the pair of socks.

Aeryun sighed dramatically.

"Right. Those exist."

She walked back, grabbed them, slipped on her shoes, and took the socks from Chaerin.

"Thank you."

Then she finally left the classroom.