Ji Kanghan let out heavy sighs, his mood as gloomy as a sky thick with dark clouds.
From what I gathered, after Ji Seongbin was taken away by the Homeroom Teacher, there had apparently been some friction between him and Ji Kanghan.
But even amid all that, his intense brother complex remained as strong as ever.
“How’s our princess doing these days? Has she made any friends?”
“…Didn’t you ask me the same thing before first period?”
The moment the break bell rang, Yeon Ha-yeon shot a tired look at Ji Kanghan, who was asking the same question again.
Maybe it was because he wanted to keep it a secret that Ji Seongbin was his sister, or maybe that’s just how he referred to her, but every time he mentioned Ji Seongbin, he called her ‘our princess.’
Because of that, for a while, among the Four Heavenly Kings—especially the girls who followed Ji Kanghan—there was a fierce movement to find the ‘princess.’
Worried that if he revealed she was his sister, he’d get a resentful glare from Ji Seongbin, Ji Kanghan never explained anything.
As a result, he ended up with an imaginary girlfriend nicknamed ‘our princess.’
“Just in case something happened between first period.”
While Ji Kanghan was asking Yeon Ha-yeon if there had been any special messages from Yeon Hyunggwang, the PA announcement came from the broadcasting room.
[The closing ceremony will begin shortly. All students, please gather on the field.]
Ji Kanghan’s eyes lit up instantly, as if he was about to send a message to Yeon Hyunggwang, and he immediately headed toward the field.
We watched his quickly disappearing figure in a daze, exchanging glances and shaking our heads.
“I didn’t realize he was that serious.”
“He’ll probably start looking for Seongbin, or rather, the princess, as soon as he gets there.”
Aware of the classmates eavesdropping on our conversation, Han Jibin whispered quietly as he stuck his head out the window.
Then, without a word, he pointed with his finger to one side of the field.
We pressed ourselves close to the window frame, following his finger.
Ji Kanghan was wandering around the field, searching for Ji Seongbin, who hadn’t come out yet.
“Yeah, he’s definitely serious.”
I agreed wholeheartedly with Ban Eunhyeol’s earlier remark, amused by this new side of Ji Kanghan.
“Shall we head out too?”
Ban Eunhyeol’s voice whispered closely into my ear.
She rested her chin on my shoulder, glancing out the window before tilting her head toward me and asking.
Her face was dangerously close to causing my heart to race, so I instinctively shifted my gaze elsewhere.
“Let’s go!”
More than half the class had already headed out to the field, so we couldn’t linger in the classroom any longer.
Fanning my flushed face, I jumped up from my seat.
We headed toward the field at a leisurely pace.
***
“…Staying at home just because it’s hot will only make this vacation unproductive. So…”
The closing ceremony was supposed to be quick and done with, but the Principal’s speech had already gone on for over ten minutes.
Standing under the scorching sun, beads of sweat formed on my forehead.
Meanwhile, a large fan spun vigorously on the stage.
Among the students, frustrated sighs mixed with complaints about the heat drifted here and there.
Suddenly, from the direction where the second-year students stood, murmurs grew louder, followed by an urgent voice.
“Teacher! A transfer student just collapsed!”
Before I could even look back at Ji Kanghan standing behind me, he shot forward like a bullet, pushing past other students and sprinting toward the line where Ji Seongbin’s class was standing.
His sudden outburst disrupted the line in an instant, turning the orderly rows into chaos.
Students, now out of teachers’ control, grew curious about who Ji Kanghan was running toward and hurried after him.
The Principal, who still seemed to have more to say, wiped sweat from his brow in embarrassment.
“Uh, well…”
“What? Isn’t he going to the transfer student?”
“Hey, move aside! I can’t see!”
“Ji Kanghan is carrying the transfer student princess and running!”
It looked like the closing ceremony was completely ruined.
All eyes in the school were fixed on Ji Kanghan as he carried Ji Seongbin, sprinting up the benches on the field and disappearing like a gust of wind.
The Principal, glancing sideways at the empty spot Ji Kanghan had just passed through, looked sheepish and said into the microphone.
“Since it’s so hot, we will skip the school anthem and… uh…”
Rolling his eyes, the Principal’s gaze fixed on our direction.
Since Ji Kanghan’s sister had collapsed, our expressions weren’t exactly bright.
Ban Eunhyeol, Eun Bada, and Han Jibin’s faces had hardened noticeably.
The Principal’s eyes, usually so enamored with the Four Heavenly Kings, shifted away.
“…We will skip the anthem and conclude the closing ceremony here.”
The moment he said that, the gathered students scattered quickly from their disorganized formation.
“Let’s go to the infirmary!”
“We have to get there before the others. Those girls will flood the infirmary looking for Ji Kanghan.”
Thanks to Yeon Ha-yeon’s accurate prediction, we arrived at the infirmary first.
As expected, female students were rushing over like a stampede, their eyes wild at the possibility that the transfer student might be Ji Kanghan’s ‘princess.’
“We’ll hold them off. You guys go in and check on Ji Kanghan.”
Yeon Ha-yeon and I blocked the entrance, pushing the Four Heavenly Kings forward.
I wasn’t sure why we had to be so serious about this, but Yeon Ha-yeon and I stood guard with determination.
As soon as the infirmary door shut, Yeon Ha-yeon’s demeanor turned fierce, and a chilling aura radiated from her.
‘Chilling aura too?’
I wondered if it was okay to treat unawakened students like this, but the effect was undeniable.
The female students started hesitating and retreating as Yeon Ha-yeon’s aura made them visibly uncomfortable.
“Y-you know, right?! Kanghan… Ah!”
Just then, a girl who had mustered the courage to confront Yeon Ha-yeon suddenly screamed and sat down when Yeon Ha-yeon raised her hand, making her think she was about to strike.
“Why’d you stop talking?”
Yeon Ha-yeon leaned against the doorframe, one hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow.
The girl who sat down seemed to fear Yeon Ha-yeon more than she was embarrassed by her mistake.
Watching her flee hastily made me feel a little sorry for her.
“Anyone else want to say something?”
“N-no!”
The girls answered promptly and quickly turned away, retreating.
Though I hadn’t done anything, thanks to Yeon Ha-yeon, the girls were driven off.
I gave her a thumbs-up, checked the hallway on both sides, and quietly opened the infirmary door.
Ban Eunhyeol was standing right there.
“Is Seongbin okay?”
“She’s awake. We’re letting them have some time alone.”
Ban Eunhyeol stepped out first, followed by Han Jibin and Eun Bada.
Ji Kanghan was looking at Ji Seongbin with a face as if he’d just escaped death, dripping with brotherly affection.
“Think she’ll be okay?”
“Maybe it’s for the best. Since she’s a transfer student, no one will bother her. That’s good.”
“Hmm, I wonder about that.”
Since word would spread soon that they were siblings, I had a feeling Ji Seongbin’s school life was about to get pretty annoying.
Yeon Ha-yeon was fine since no one dared approach her even if Yeon Hyunggwang was popular, but things would be different for unawakened Ji Seongbin.
‘But she’s got a strong personality. Ji Kanghan will look after his sister well. It should be fine.’
We left Ji Seongbin and Ji Kanghan in the infirmary and headed back up to the classroom first.
As soon as we entered, the empty rooftop of Jangnam High School, which had its closing ceremony a day earlier than us, came into view.
Today was the day we planned to visit the Jangnam High rooftop again.
‘Without Ji Kanghan, it’s going to be tough today.’
Originally, Ji Kanghan was going to lead all of us there, but with things turning out like this, it seemed better to just go home.
“We’re heading out first.”
At that moment, Ban Eunhyeol put her arm around me and announced to our friends.
“Aren’t you coming with us? Since it’s the closing ceremony, we planned to hang out all together.”
“Use your head.”
Yeon Ha-yeon playfully nudged Han Jibin’s arm, who had just pouted.
Ban Eunhyeol smiled and pressed both of my cheeks with one hand, resting her chin on my shoulder.
“I’ve got a date with the little one.”
“Who are you calling little one!”
“I’m going.”
Ban Eunhyeol easily dismissed my protest and took my hand, leading me out of the classroom.
I wondered why she insisted on going out just the two of us when it seemed like a good idea to hang out with everyone.
Suddenly, with a sly smirk tugging at one corner of her lips, Ban Eunhyeol’s expression turned serious as she spoke.
“Let’s go to Jangnam High.”
“What about the others?”
Curious why she wanted to leave the others behind, I asked again.
Ban Eunhyeol explained something she hadn’t thought about before.
“If the dimensional gate really opens, everyone else might get sucked in too. It’s better to have fewer people.”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
I was immediately convinced and followed Ban Eunhyeol toward Jangnam High.