Chapter 396: Hitching a Ride (1)

Chapter 396: Hitching a Ride (1)

“...Shit!”

“What's wrong?” Min Ah-Ran asked her friend while tilting her head.

The friend shot back. “I dunno. I've been feeling kinda shitty the whole morning.”

That was when Min Ah-Ran instinctively realized she needed to watch what she said for the rest of the day.

Many things in this world had clear-cut reasons for existing. However, plenty more things happened without a good reason, too. And those reason-less things tended to be more nerve-racking than the other type.

For instance... Just like Lee Mi-Yeong's mood right now!

'She might kill someone today.'

Min Ah-Ran inwardly groaned. However, she should blame herself for failing to bring an umbrella and not the sudden shower.

A sudden shower was called that because it was unexpected, after all!

Lee Mi-Yeong was an existence like that. She was the kind of person who switched between feeling displeased and gloriously happy at a snap of a finger. All without any prior warning whatsoever!

Then again, every high school-age girl was the epitome of capriciousness. So, even Min Ah-Ran couldn't deny having a little of that tendency in her...

'Still, this girl is a special case...'

Not just any ol' special, but an extra-super-duper special!

From her careful management of her appearance to her superior academic records and even her top-tier athletic abilities...

Lee Mi-Yeong's long straight hair could be used as an example of feminine purity. Her gentle smile that sometimes floated up on her lips could evoke the feeling of a refreshing Springtime breeze even in the minds of other girls.

It was as if Lee Mi-Yeong perfectly encapsulated the idea of a 'high-school girl' in most people's minds.

However, if there was one deviation from the ideal, then it'd be...

'Her personality, obviously!'

On the outside, Lee Mi-Yeong looked like the epitome of purity, but her inside was far closer to wickedness. She was basically... the Queen Bee.

Since she used her advantages to secure solid status for herself and then used that very status as the foundation to expertly manipulate other students, the nickname 'Queen Bee' perfectly suited her.

And this Queen Bee happened to be quite a tyrant, too.

“I hope it'll be only one girl today...” Min Ah-Ran sighed deeply. Of course, she made sure Lee Mi-Yeong didn't see or hear anything. Otherwise, it'd be Min Ah-Ran playing the role of that one girl!

'I guess some other poor girl will feel Mi-Yeong's fury.'

There was no point in figuring out the cause of Lee Mi-Yeong's foul mood. What was important, though, was that whenever she was pissed, one or two poor girls would suffer untold and undeserved abuse.

Obviously, the victims hadn't done anything. Getting hit by a lightning bolt wasn't the victim's fault, anyway. However, being in the wrong place at the wrong time could sometimes be seen as the victim's fault.

The victim might feel aggrieved about it, but what could they do about it?

Sometimes Min Ah-Ran felt sorry for the girls at the receiving end of Lee Mi-Yeong's bullying. However, Min Ah-Ran was smart enough to not show her sympathy on the surface. If she did that, Lee Mi-Yeong might suddenly change her target to Min Ah-Ran, instead! So, she had no choice but to smile as if she was having fun, too.

Even if she found this whole bullying thing so bloody tedious...!

“Argh. Since I feel like crap, I guess I'll just mess with Yun Hye-Mi today.”

'I knew it.'

Lightning bolts didn't pick their victims, but Lee Mi-Yeong certainly did. And her favorite punching bag was a girl named Yun Hye-Mi, a pushover who lived in an orphanage.

That girl had no parent who would charge straight into the school's faculty room in anger. Unfortunately, she also didn't have the popularity or charm to make others take pity on her either.

Those two points were why Lee Mi-Yeong picked Yun Hye-Mi as her plaything.

Yun Hye-Mi might not have done anything, but she was an easy target. Hurting her was risk-free since there wouldn't be any blowback.

Zero risk made things rather convenient. Although the notion of 'convenience' being a factor when a bully targeted her victim was laughable, that was the unfortunate reality.

In that case, the victim should at least try to bite back, or show some kind of backbone. However, Yun Hye-Mi was way too kind. So kind, in fact, that she sometimes gave off the impression that she was a total moron.

Unfortunately for Yun Hye-Min, though... Being kind meant jack to people these days. Actually, being kind would only make others treat you like a pushover. A moron.

'What a poor girl...'

The saddest thing about Lee Mi-Yeong's victims was that they hadn't done anything to deserve the abuse. They were just unlucky enough to be used as emotional trash cans for the bullies, that was all.

“What are you thinking about?” Lee Mi-Yeong glanced at Min Ah-Ran.

“Mm? Nothing much.”

“Hnng?”

When Lee Mi-Yeong swept her gaze over Min Ah-Ran, the latter did her absolute best to pretend everything was fine. “Y'know. I was just wondering why our dear Mi-Yeong was unhappy today.”

'Huh? That voice...'

I think I recognize that voice? Is she from my class?

The driver reached into the passenger compartment, then helped the girl sitting in there exit the car. The girl in the school uniform emerged outside, then began twisting and writhing in embarrassment.

And no, she wasn't doing that in the so-called 'happy' embarrassment. She seemed genuinely on the brink of death from the sheer embarrassment of this situation!

“Uh? Eh? ...Eeeeeeh?” Min Ah-Ran's jaw slowly fell to the floor.

'Yun... Hye-Mi?!'

Why was that girl getting out of that red car?! Why! How come?!

As far as Min Ah-Ran knew, Yun Hye-Mi was a poor-as-dirt orphan. In that case, why was she suddenly stepping out of a red supercar!

'Isn't this like a scene from a novel?'

They weren't in some third-rate romantic fairy tale, so... Could it be that the girl everyone thought was a pauper turned out to be an heiress to an empire? Something like that?

Min Ah-Ran could only chuckle in dismay at her own imagination. A fairy tale like that didn't happen in reality, after all.

Min Ah-Ran glanced at Lee Mi-Yeong next.

'...Yup, here comes the crisis.'

Proverbial sparks were shooting out of Lee Mi-Yeong's eyes. Min Ah-Ran had seen Lee Mi-Yeong's pissed-off expression way too many times to count, but this new expression was... How should she describe this? It was in another realm? Something like that?

If her previous expressions came from a place of anger, this one was like she had finally found her mortal enemy. However, her response was unsurprising.

Yun Hye-Mi, who looked like the easiest pushover in the class, suddenly made an entrance like some kind of a princess, after all! And everyone here had witnessed this scene, too.

This news should spread to all corners of the school before the morning self-study period ends!

“Have a good day, okay?” The young driver lightly waved his hand at Yun Hye-Mi.

“...Please stop doing that, oppa. I'm this close to dying from embarrassment, you know.”

“We promised to have supper with everyone, so come home directly after school, okay? Don't you dare stray somewhere.”

“Where would I even stray to, oppa...”

“Good.” The young man chuckled and petted Yun Hye-Mi on the head.

“Ah?! Please stop doing that!” Yun Hye-Mi's face deeply blushed as she hurriedly yelled.

The man smiled gently and pointed at the school's gate. “Come on. It's time to go to school.”

“Y-yes, I'm going!” Yun Hye-Mi grabbed her school bag and literally ran at full tilt past the school gates.

.

The young man stood still in front of the red supercar and watched Yun Hye-Mi's figure disappear into the school building. Once she was gone from his view, he nodded slightly before scanning his surroundings.

All the girls locking eyes with him blushed slightly while hurriedly turning their faces away. The young man chuckled faintly while climbing into his flashy supercar.

Rumble! Vroooom!

The red supercar's engine roared loudly into life, then the sleek vehicle leisurely drove away from the school gates.

Min Ah-Ran stared at the car's departure with a somewhat empty look on her face.

'...Kinda feels like I was in a dream, doesn't it?'

Indeed, something about this experience felt surreal. Witnessing a megabuck supercar in the morning, then its absurdly good-looking driver, and the fact that Yun Hye-Mi was the passenger... Everything seemed so surreal.

“...What just happened?” Min Ah-Ran muttered quietly, then turned her head toward Lee Mi-Yeong to get clarification. However, she flinched nastily at what she saw.

Lee Mi-Yeong's face was icy cold as if she was made out of a block of a glacier.

“...Ah-Ran, listen.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Once you go inside the classroom... Tell Yun Hye-Mi to come find me.”

“...Which Hye-Mi?”

“Yun Hye-Mi, obviously. Do you know any other Hye-Mi besides her?”

“N-no, I got it. I'll definitely bring her to you.”

Lee Mi-Yeong didn't say anything and strode past the school gates without even bothering to look back once.

Min Ah-Ran sighed under her breath and hurriedly followed after the Queen Bee.

'Just what is she planning...?'

Min Ah-Ran's heart beat faster as anxiety crept in.