‘D-Did he just say, “Do you wanna die too?” to me…?’
‘N-No way. I must’ve misheard.’
‘A true hero who sacrifices himself to save others wouldn’t say something like that to the person he just saved…’
“What’s with that betrayed look? Wanna die?”
‘…So I did hear it right…’
Fuyuno Tsubaki felt all the gratitude and happiness that had swelled up the moment Yang Woobin appeared shrink away in an instant.
‘Well… of course. My life never goes the way I want it to.’
‘Once again, I misunderstood everything on my own, got my hopes up alone, and ended up disappointed… alone.’
At the same time, she chastised herself for daring to have hope.
‘The world is gray, and it’ll stay gray.’
‘It’s a dull, colorless place where joy doesn’t exist.’
‘After living twenty years always being the one to suffer, maybe it’s finally time I accepted that…’
‘Stupid.’
The reason Fuyuno Tsubaki saw the world as gray was because she was trying her best to dull her senses to the pain the world gave her.
Her mother had died giving birth to her, and thanks to her trash-like talent, she had been rejected by her own family.
The only thing the world had ever given her was pain.
Even when her environment changed—from the Fuyuno household to Dabcheon Academy—that fact remained the same.
So she concluded the world must be colorless.
If the world really had a spectrum of colors, there’s no way it would offer only pain.
At least once, it would’ve given her something good instead of suffering.
Then, a month ago, during the entrance evaluation, Fuyuno Tsubaki felt something for the first time in her life—something that wasn’t pain.
In the image of a man who sacrificed himself to save her, she saw not dullness, but radiant, vivid light.
It was the first time she had ever experienced hope, and that made her dare to wish for more—dare to expect.
“What, hanging your head now? Wanna die?”
That is, until she heard “Wanna die?” for the third time from the very man who had once given her hope.
‘Yeah… the world really is just gray.’
‘The more you hope, the more it hurts…’
In the end, Fuyuno Tsubaki lowered her head, crushed by the hero’s disappointing words and actions, and fell back into resignation.
She promised herself she would never again hope for anything from anyone.
She rebuilt the walls around her heart even stronger than before.
And just like that, her world turned an even duller, darker shade of gray—one where no hope remained…
“…So. What’s your name?”
“Huh?”
Just before Fuyuno Tsubaki, completely worn out, could shut the door of her heart to the world for good, Yang Woobin suddenly leaned in and asked her name.
In a superhuman society that valued bloodlines and family heritage, asking someone else’s name before giving your own was considered extremely rude.
“T-Tsubaki… Fuyuno Tsubaki…”
But Fuyuno Tsubaki had no courage to point out that rudeness, so with wide eyes, she told the tanned man who had leaned in close her name without hesitation.
‘H-His eyes are red… And his hair is shiny gold. His skin is… t-tanned… Ugh, he’s way too close…!’
Being close enough to feel each other’s breath, Fuyuno Tsubaki found herself dizzy as she looked at his eyes, his hair, his face.
It was the first time in her life that a man had ever come this close to her.
The superhuman society operated on the logic of strength, and beautiful men were considered the reward for strong women.
For someone as weak as Fuyuno Tsubaki—who was considered the most helpless in Dabcheon—no one, not even the weakest of weaklings, ever dared approach her.
Of course, Fuyuno Tsubaki’s looks were outstanding—so much so that they even broke through the logic of power and drew attention from men.
But because she was the lowest of the low in Dabcheon, no man was foolish enough to be swayed by her appearance.
Except for this radiant man in front of her, who was now quietly pondering after hearing her name.
“Fuyuno Tsubaki, huh…”
“I’ll just call you Tsubaki. I saved your life, so that much is fine, right? Anyway, can I… hold your hand for a second—”
“Hey. You there.”
“Huh?”
Just before the tanned blond man could finish his sentence, a sharp voice cut in from beside him.
His gaze naturally turned to the person who had called out to him.
“Ah…”
Fuyuno Tsubaki, for some reason, felt a pang of disappointment as his eyes left her.
‘…Wait a sec. Didn’t he just say something totally crazy…?’
Then she suddenly realized he had just said something that couldn’t be overlooked, and her face turned bright red.
In this superhuman society where gender roles were strictly divided, the most important virtue for men was chastity.
If you were born into a noble family, the value of chastity increased tenfold. So for this man to say something like “Can I hold your hand?” was beyond shocking for Fuyuno Tsubaki.
‘He… he said he wanted to hold hands, right…? Hold my hand? Not someone else’s, but mine? Why? Seriously, why?’
The same question—“Why?”—that always filled her head in unfair situations came to her again, but this time, it wasn’t because the situation was unfair.
It was because she truly had no idea why.
She was genuinely curious.
But until the man himself explained, it was a question without an answer.
Fuyuno Tsubaki placed a hand over her loudly pounding chest, feeling the heat rising in her face as she watched his back.
There was nothing else she could do.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, barging in like that? And what? ‘Wanna die?’ A guy like you, daring to say that to a woman? Have men these days grown up without ever getting smacked, so they’ve forgotten how scary women are? Huh?”
As always, it was Jinsook who stepped in first.
With her brows furrowed and hostility clear in her expression, Jinsook marched straight toward Yang Woobin with such intensity that even Fuyuno Tsubaki, standing behind her, instinctively shrank back.
“…Whoa, he’s hot. I mean—Ahem! Judging by how good-looking he is, I guess he grew up getting pampered by his family, huh?”
Jinsook, who had approached to effectively intimidate Yang Woobin, was momentarily distracted by his appearance, but quickly came to her senses thanks to the stares focused on her from the crowd and the gaze of Sunhee behind her.
“But seriously. I don’t know what you’ve been doing until now to only show your face in this class for the first time, but this is Dabcheon Academy. The pampering from your family is over. Got it? Want me to show you what happens when you act out without knowing that?”
With her eyebrows furrowed and eyes widened to make her expression as threatening as possible, her growl made her look like a full-on thug.
That look, the kind that convinced anyone they’d be in trouble if they got involved, was the second biggest weapon Jinsook had in the special class.
“Haha, calm down, Jinsook. Hey. You’re that one, right? The guy who got the worst injuries during the entrance evaluation?”
The first biggest weapon was Sunhee—who, after roughly grasping the situation, would move the scene in the direction she wanted.
Once Jinsook broke the spirit with her aggression and looks, Sunhee would speak up and steer the situation.
That was the foolproof pattern of the two delinquents, and they were certain it would work this time too.
Because standing in front of them was a man—much weaker than any woman—and a superhuman so frail he’d almost died during the entrance exam.
“Well, Jinsook might’ve been a bit much, but she wasn’t exactly wrong either. I mean, seriously—‘Wanna die’? That’s what you say to a fellow classmate? An unknown classmate? If you spout off without knowing your place, saying things you can’t take responsibility for, you’ll get hurt bad.”
Before anyone noticed, Sunhee had gotten even closer than Jinsook, speaking to Yang Woobin in a low, calm voice.
Unlike Jinsook, who openly threatened, Fuyuno Tsubaki found Sunhee much scarier.
Because Sunhee was far more persistent and vicious than Jinsook could ever be.
She was a true villain who took delight in tormenting those weaker than herself.
“But I get it. It’s your first day, right? You wouldn’t know what the atmosphere here is like. How you’re supposed to act. Who’s in charge. Not knowing isn’t a sin. Refusing to learn—that’s the sin.”
Just like she had done with Fuyuno Tsubaki moments earlier, Sunhee began speaking about “sin.”
The only difference this time was that Yang Woobin had actually done something wrong.
Kicking the classroom door open and threatening a classmate he’d just met with “Wanna die?”—anyone with common sense would say that was clearly out of line.
“So I’ll do you a favor this time. I’ll teach you what the order and justice of this class really are.”
Believing she now had the moral high ground, Sunhee spoke to Yang Woobin with a calm gaze and tone, more confident than ever.
“I am the order of this class. And the person you just spoke to and asked a name from—she’s garbage. Completely useless trash. So, you get the idea now, right? Whose word you should be listening to.”
Sunhee glanced back at Fuyuno Tsubaki and curled her lips into a grotesque smile.
That twisted grin aimed at her made Tsubaki freeze in place, and soon after, she began to tremble.
It was because of the fear that had been etched into her over the past month.
From a month of experience, Fuyuno Tsubaki already knew what was about to happen.
“So, new guy we just met today. How about you give that piece of trash over there a nice kick? It’s pretty fun.”
And when the very thing she feared came from Sunhee’s lips, all Fuyuno Tsubaki could do was shut her eyes, try her best to ignore reality, and once again be consumed by the question—“Why?”
‘Why. Why? Why is this happening again? Why… what did I do wrong…?’
Crash! Thud-thud-thud-thud!!!
“Kyaaah?!”
The sound of bones breaking, a body hitting the floor, and a horrible scream like something being torn apart.
‘…Huh? What was that?’
To the chaos ringing in her ears, Fuyuno Tsubaki slowly opened her eyes.
And she saw it clearly with her own two eyes.
“S-Sunhee!”
“Kicking trash really is fun. You’ve got a wild side, huh?”
A thug with blond hair and even a tan grinned down at the ordinary bullies who had collapsed on the floor.