The moment she disappeared into the corridor, several students turned toward Mrs. Um.

"Should we call the nurse from the medical room?" one of them asked.

Mrs. Um immediately shook her head.

"No. I'll be fine."

Despite saying that, she carefully lowered herself into her chair.

The fall had clearly hurt.

Still, she tried her best not to show it.

Opening her notebook, she looked at the class.

"Revise yesterday's notes."

The students immediately groaned.

"I'll be asking random questions."

The groaning somehow became louder.

Meanwhile, outside the classroom, Aeryun leaned against the corridor wall.

Students passing by noticed her immediately.

Whispers followed.

"So that's the girl."

"She got punished again?"

"Didn't she go viral yesterday?"

Aeryun ignored most of it.

Until she noticed two girls giggling while looking directly at her.

Aeryun sighed.

"What's so funny?"

The girls froze.

"Never seen a girl standing in the corridor before?"

Neither of them answered.

Instead, they quickly ran away.

"Interesting."

Aeryun folded her arms.

Then she leaned her back against the wall, one knee bent against it, head tilted upward toward the ceiling.

The corridor finally became quiet.

For approximately thirty seconds.

"Aeryun?"

The voice was familiar.

Very familiar.

Aeryun looked down.

Immediately, she smiled.

Standing there was Hannah.

She was wearing a light blue dress with an oversized bow tied at the back and a tiny cartoon-character sling bag hanging from her shoulder.

The bag looked almost as big as she was.

"Oh, hi, Hannah."

Aeryun knelt down to her level.

"What are you doing here? New transfer student?"

Hannah pointed toward a woman standing a short distance away.

"My aunt brought me."

Aeryun waved politely.

The woman smiled and waved back.

"I'm not officially attending classes until next week," Hannah explained. "We're submitting documents for my brother and looking around the school."

She paused.

"I already liked the school."

Then she smiled brightly.

"But I like it even more now because you're here too."

Aeryun immediately melted.

"Aww."

Without hesitation, she hugged Hannah.

"How are you this tiny?"

Hannah giggled.

"You literally look like a doll."

Then Hannah suddenly frowned.

"Aeryun."

"What?"

"You're bleeding."

Before Aeryun could react, Hannah had already pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.

Gently, she moved Aeryun's hair aside and dabbed at the small cut hidden beneath it.

Aeryun blinked.

"Oh."

Hannah continued carefully wiping away the blood.

"Where else are you hurt?"

Aeryun pointed toward her knee.

"This one."

Without hesitation, Hannah crouched down and tied the handkerchief around Aeryun's injured knee.

Aeryun stared at her.

Then at the handkerchief.

It was beautiful.

White fabric with two red hearts stitched into one corner and delicate scalloped edges sewn with red thread.

"Thank you so much."

Aeryun looked genuinely touched.

"I'll return this in mint condition."

She carefully touched the embroidered hearts.

"I feel bad for ruining such a pretty handkerchief."

Hannah shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

Aeryun smiled.

Then an idea suddenly crossed her mind.

"Hannah, can you do something for me?"

"Sure."

"I'd really appreciate it."

Hannah nodded seriously.

Aeryun pointed toward the classroom.

"Can you go to the medical room and ask the nurse to come check on Mrs. Um? She's our literature teacher."

"What happened?"

"She slipped on a banana peel."

Hannah blinked.

"...And that's why you're standing here?"

Aeryun laughed awkwardly.

"Well..."

She scratched her cheek.

"I'm partially responsible."

Hannah immediately shook her head.

"I know you wouldn't do that on purpose."

Aeryun froze.

"You don't?"

"No."

Hannah's answer came without hesitation.

"I'm sure you didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."

For a brief moment, Aeryun simply looked at her.

Then she reached forward and gently held Hannah's hand.

"Thank you."

Her smile softened.

"Thank you for believing me."

Hannah smiled back.

Aeryun pointed down the corridor.

"Okay, so to get to the medical room, you'll need to take a right, then—"

"I know."

Aeryun blinked.

"You do?"

"It's near the teachers' office on the first floor."

Hannah looked proud of herself.

"It won't even be my wing, but I learned the layout anyway."

Aeryun placed a hand over her heart dramatically.

"Such a smart kid."

Then she pointed down the corridor.

"Go! Hurry!"

Hannah nodded.

Then suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

She began digging through her sling bag.

The bag was slightly too large for her, making the entire process look like a small adventure.

Eventually, she pulled out a chocolate bar.

Carefully, she placed it in Aeryun's hands.

"I almost forgot."

Aeryun looked down.

The wrapper read:

Neon nae saram-iya.

"You are my person."

For a moment, Aeryun simply stared at it.

Then she looked back at Hannah.

And smiled.

Hannah glanced at her aunt and tugged on her sleeve.

“Auntie, come with me!”

Without waiting for an answer, she sprinted toward the medical room, her aunt quickly following behind.

Aeryun watched them disappear down the corridor before smiling to herself.

“Like brother, like sister,” she muttered. “They’re basically real-life Santa Clauses. Always handing out chocolates.”

She glanced at her watch.

There were still fifteen minutes left before Mrs. Um Soojin's class ended.

Meanwhile, Kang Kyuri spotted Aeryun standing alone in the corridor.

After slipping into the washroom, she secretly sent a text to Myeora.

Aeryun is standing in the corridor. Looks like she's being punished for something.

A few moments later, Myeora’s phone buzzed inside the pocket of her skirt.

Carefully hiding it beneath her desk, she read the message before raising her hand.

“May I go to the washroom?” she asked.

The teacher nodded.

Myeora immediately left the classroom and headed toward the corridor.

The moment she spotted Aeryun, a smug smile appeared on her face.

“Oh, look,” Myeora said. “How tragic. Getting punished.”

She crossed her arms.

“Did you create chaos in the classroom? Or wait... did you behave like the actual monkey you are? We all saw the video.”

Aeryun sighed.

“Oh, I can recognize a mean person when I see one.”

Then she shrugged.

“Don't worry. I won't post the video on my social media if you beg me, Myeora smirked”

“And keep dreaming about me begging you for something, Aeryun said.”

Myeora rolled her eyes.

“I don't mind,” Aeryun shot back. “Go ahead and share it.”

She smiled sweetly.

“It might help someone cry tears of joy instead of tears of pain, which you're apparently an expert at causing.”

Myeora's expression darkened.

“You watch out.”

Aeryun pointed at her.

“No, you watch out too.”

Then she narrowed her eyes.

“And can you stop pretending you're not obsessed with me?”

Myeora blinked.

“What?”

“I can tell you edited the video,” Aeryun replied casually. “You used your favorite filter. Snowdrop. The same one you use all over your social media.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Honestly, you couldn't even become a criminal if you tried. You leave your fingerprints everywhere.”

Aeryun gestured toward Myeora's hand.

“Please study hard. You don't exactly have a bright future as a criminal, you are an obsessed fan, please admit that.”

“You shut up!” Myeora screamed.

Myeora smirked.

“Talk about obsessed.”

She tilted her head.

“You don't even follow me, yet you know which filter I use.”

Aeryun groaned.

“It popped up on my feed. Blame the stupid algorithm.”

“The algorithm only shows you things you're interested in,” Myeora replied with a satisfied smile.

Aeryun suddenly looked far less confident than before, as though she had just been hit with an existential crisis she wasn't prepared for.

Before she could come up with a comeback, another voice interrupted them.

“Excuse me.”

Both girls immediately turned.

“What?” they asked at the exact same time.

The school nurse looked slightly startled.

“You can continue fighting later,” she replied. “Let me go inside the classroom first.”

She walked past them before suddenly stopping.

Turning around, she frowned.

“Actually, what are you both doing out here?”

Aeryun pointed at herself.

“Well, I'm the one being punished.”

Then she pointed at Myeora.

“And she's a walking punishment.”

A brief silence followed.

“I mean,” Aeryun corrected herself, “she's just walking by while I'm on punishment.”

The nurse pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

“Myeora, go back to your class.”

Myeora clicked her tongue but obeyed.

Aeryun immediately folded her arms.

“Didn't you hear her? Go back to your class.”

Myeora stopped walking.

When she spoke again, her voice was eerily calm.

“I got it.”

She looked directly at Aeryun.

“We'll meet again, Aeryun.”

Aeryun sighed dramatically.

“I hope not.”

Then she shrugged.

“But it's probably inevitable, so... yes.”

She gave a small wave.

“See you soon.”