"Pervert! Pervert!!"
Minji's voice echoed through the corridor as she pointed at Jihun, clearly furious.
"I never expected you, the top student, to do something like that to a girl!"
Jihun's expression immediately snapped.
"Why are you assuming things on your own, huh?!" he shot back, his voice sharp.
For a moment, the tension between them rose—
Then Jihun exhaled and straightened, returning to his usual calm demeanor.
"…Enough," he said coolly.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her.
"Why are you here?"
Minji froze for a split second.
The hallway suddenly felt quieter.
"School's already over," Jihun continued. "Most students have gone home."
His gaze sharpened.
"So what are you doing here… near the storage room?"
Minji opened her mouth—
"…I—"
For a second, the truth almost slipped out.
Because Yuna is—
She stopped herself instantly.
Her fingers clenched slightly.
"…In the morning," she said quickly, trying to sound normal, "I heard some girls talking."
Jihun stayed silent, watching her.
"They said slime materials suddenly went missing from the science lab," Minji continued. "So I came to check."
There was a brief pause.
Jihun studied her carefully.
Her expression… her tone… her reactions—
Nothing seemed off.
Still, he didn't respond immediately.
Minji crossed her arms, slightly annoyed.
"What? You don't believe me?"
Jihun looked away for a second, thinking.
Could she be lying?
But then—
He recalled her reaction from earlier.
The way she panicked.
The way she shouted.
The way she got angry.
He let out a quiet sigh.
"…Fine."
Minji blinked.
"Huh?"
"I believe you," he said calmly.
Minji relaxed slightly.
But Jihun added—
"You're not capable of being Scarlet Shadow anyway."
Silence.
Minji's eye twitched.
"…Excuse me?"
"Even as a joke," Jihun continued, completely serious.
Minji clenched her fists.
"Wow. Thanks. That's so nice of you."
Jihun ignored her sarcasm.
His gaze shifted slightly toward the storage room.
Then the culprit is still out there…
Minji watched him quietly.
That was close…
Her heart was still beating fast.
If I had said Yuna's name…
She shook the thought away.
"No matter what," she muttered, "we just have to find who did it."
Jihun nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
For a moment, both of them stood there in silence—
The tension still lingering in the air.
Because even though neither of them said it out loud—
They both knew.
Something about this situation…
Was getting deeper than it seemed.
At the other side of the corridor...
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Choi Kyungmin's voice echoed in the corridor as he stood up, clearly irritated.
"Haru, have you gone mad or what? Why would you suddenly jump on me and push me to the floor?!"
Harin dusted her clothes casually, completely unfazed.
"Oh~ sorry," she said with a playful smile, stepping a little closer.
"Were you scared… darling?"
For a split second—
Kyungmin froze.
A faint blush almost reached his face—
But he quickly turned away, raising his voice again.
"I'm a man! Not one of your fangirls that you can act like this with!"
Harin tilted her head innocently.
"Come on~ why are you shouting so much?"
Then her expression suddenly turned dramatic.
"Wait…"
She leaned slightly closer, eyes narrowing.
"…Are you Scarlet Shadow?"
Kyungmin blinked.
"…What?"
"Scarlet Shadow," Harin repeated, pointing at him. "Huh? Come on, are you out of your mind?"
"No," she said immediately, crossing her arms. "That's my line."
"Then why are you here?" she asked suspiciously.
Kyungmin sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I was in the music room," he said. "Practicing the electric guitar."
Harin raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah," he replied. "And when I was about to leave, I tried to put the guitar back…"
He paused, slightly annoyed.
"And it slipped and fell. That's the sound you heard."
Harin stared at him for a second.
Then—
A slow, mischievous smile spread across her face.
"Ohhh…"
She stepped closer.
"Trying to impress girls, huh?"
Kyungmin scoffed.
"Huh?"
He crossed his arms confidently.
"Well, I am the school prince after all."
Harin's eyes sparkled.
"Oh really?"
She leaned slightly forward, her smile turning competitive.
"Be careful."
Kyungmin raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Harin pointed at herself proudly.
"Because I'm going to take that position from you."
For a second—
Silence.
Then Kyungmin smirked.
"You?"
"Yeah, me."
"In your dreams."
Harin gasped dramatically.
"How rude."
"And you're overconfident."
"And you're annoying."
"And you're loud."
"And you tackled me for no reason!"
"Because you looked suspicious!"
They both stopped for a second—
Staring at each other.
The tension between them wasn't exactly serious…
But it wasn't light either.
More like—
A challenge.
Kyungmin turned slightly.
"Whatever," he muttered. "If you're done attacking people, I'm leaving."
Harin crossed her arms but smiled.
"Run away while you still can, Prince."
Kyungmin smirked without looking back.
"Try catching up first."
He walked away.
Harin watched him go, her expression slowly changing.
The playful smile faded just a little.
So it's not him either…
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Then who is it…?
The corridor fell silent again.
And somewhere in the school—
The real answer was still hiding.
At the other side...
Yuna and Chaeyoung stood facing each other in silence.
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them looked away.
Then suddenly—
"Ughhh!"
Chaeyoung groaned loudly, breaking the tension.
"Because of you, I had to run like 10 km that day!"
Yuna blinked.
"What day…?"
She paused for a second—
Then her eyes lit up.
"Ohhhh…"
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"The day you were playing thief-thief, right?"
Chaeyoung pointed at her dramatically.
"You will pay for that someday, Yunaaa!"
Yuna just smiled.
But then—
Her expression slowly turned serious.
"By the way…" she said, narrowing her eyes slightly,
"Why are you still in school at this time?"
Chaeyoung crossed her arms.
"Why should I tell you?"
Yuna tilted her head slightly.
"If you tell me…" she said calmly,
"I'll tell you a secret I haven't told anyone."
Chaeyoung's eyes narrowed with interest.
"…Fine."
She sighed.
"A teacher asked me to bring some books from the classroom," she said.
"So I took them and gave them to the teacher."
She looked slightly away.
"I was about to leave but…"
She paused, clearly awkward.
"…I fell."
Yuna stared at her for a second—
Then smirked.
"Definitely you were daydreaming."
Chaeyoung immediately reacted.
"HEY!!"
Yuna let out a small laugh.
But then her gaze shifted slightly—
Chaeyoung's uniform was a bit dirty.
So she really fell…
Yuna nodded slightly.
"Alright, I believe you."
Chaeyoung crossed her arms again.
"Now your turn."
She leaned closer.
"Tell me your top secret, Yuna."
Yuna stayed silent for a second.
Then—
"My top secret is…"
She paused dramatically.
"I only study for four hours."
Silence.
Chaeyoung blinked.
"…What?"
Yuna nodded seriously.
"Yes. I only study for four hours."
There was another pause.
Then Chaeyoung's expression turned completely blank.
"What kind of secret is that?"
Yuna shrugged.
"It is a secret. No one believes me."
She added calmly,
"They always think I study more than that… because I always come in the top 10."
Chaeyoung stared at her.
Unimpressed.
Annoyed.
Speechless.
"…Unbelievable."
She turned around abruptly.
"I'm leaving."
And just like that—
Chaeyoung walked out, clearly irritated.
Yuna watched her go.
The washroom became silent again.