During lunch break, Laulilla walked over to Aria with an excited smile.
“Hey, would you like to join our beauty club?”
But Aria had her AirPods in and didn’t hear a single word.
Seeing no response, Laulilla assumed she was being ignored on purpose.
“Tsh.
What an attitude,” she muttered before walking away angrily.
A little while later, Aria walked over to Usagi and leaned against her desk.
“Please tell me,” she said curiously.
“I really want to know why that guy hasn’t talked to anyone for a whole year.”
Usagi immediately looked away.
“I’m not telling you.”
Aria shrugged casually.
“Fine.
Then I’ll just ask Shin.”
She turned toward the classroom door and called out loudly,
“Shin!”
Shin looked up.
“Yeah?
What happened?”
“Come here for a second.”
He walked over to her desk.
“What is it?”
Aria pointed toward Shuyong.
“Why hasn’t he talked to anyone for an entire year?”
Shin hesitated for a moment before sighing.
“If you really want to know… then listen carefully.”
Aria rested her chin on her hand while listening quietly.
“This happened back in tenth grade.
Shuyong wasn’t like this before.
He used to smile, laugh, and talk normally with everyone.”
Shin’s expression darkened slightly.
“He had a girlfriend named Lucy.
But Lucy was the cheater type…”
Aria raised an eyebrow.
“And the worst part was that Shuyong’s own best friend secretly dated her behind his back.”
For the first time, Aria’s expression changed slightly.
“He couldn’t handle the shock,” Shin continued softly.
“He fell into depression.
After two months of therapy, he recovered physically… but mentally, he completely changed.”
Shin glanced toward the silent boy near the window.
“Since then, he stopped talking to everyone.
He hasn’t spoken to teachers, classmates… not even his own parents.”
Aria stared at Shuyong for a few seconds before speaking.
“Oh… so he’s not just a living corpse.”
A faint smirk appeared on her lips.
“He’s a heartbroken lover.”
Usagi sighed in annoyance while Shin looked helpless.
Then Aria asked curiously,
“What’s the name of that best friend?”
“Roy,” Shin answered.
Aria looked around the ground outside the classroom windows.
“Which one is Roy?”
Shin pointed toward the basketball court.
“The one playing basketball over there.”
Aria frowned slightly.
“There are like twenty people playing basketball.
Which one exactly?”
“Wait, I’ll show you.”
Shin suddenly shouted loudly,
“Roy!
Pass the ball!”
A tall,handsome, good-looking and cute boy instantly caught the ball and looked toward them.
The moment Aria saw him, she blinked.
“This street-style guy is Roy?”
Shin looked offended.
“You seriously don’t know him?
During Cultural Week in tenth grade, Roy got first place.”
“So?”
“And even previous year in eleventh grade, he won first place again.”
Aria crossed her arms.
“In what exactly?”
Shin grinned proudly.
“Most Handsome Boy in School.”
Aria stared at Roy for a second before speaking flatly,
“This average-looking guy?
I don’t believe it.”
“Then don’t,” Shin replied dramatically before walking away.
The scene slowly shifted back toward the classroom.
The classroom door opened, and Miss Rosè walked inside.
“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the students greeted together.
Miss Rosè smiled lightly before looking toward the new student.
“Oh right, you’re the new student.
What was your name?”
Aria replied calmly, “My name is Aria.”
“Alright then.
Everyone, sit down.”
As the students sat back in their seats, Miss Rosè suddenly noticed Aria sitting in a strange posture.
She frowned slightly.
“Aria, sit properly.
Sit like a girl.”
Aria immediately straightened herself.
“Sorry, miss.”
MissRosè nodded.
“Be careful next time.”
Soon, the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.
As the students walked out of the classroom, Shin glanced curiously at Aria.
“Why were you sitting so strangely earlier?”
Aria shrugged casually.
“In my previous school, girls were allowed to wear pants instead of skirts.
I got used to sitting comfortably like that.”
Shin blinked.
“Then wear pants here too.
Who’s stopping you?”
“The principal,” Aria replied with a sigh.
“So give me an idea.
How can I get permission to wear pants?”
Shin suddenly smirked.
“Well… there is one idea.”
Aria looked interested.
“What idea?”
Shin dramatically placed a hand on his chin.
“It’s difficult.”
A pause.
“No… actually, it’s impossible.”
Aria rolled her eyes.
“Just tell me already.”
Shin pointed toward Shuyong, who was quietly walking ahead of them.
“Become friends with him first.
If he supports you, the principal might agree.”
Usagi, who had been quietly listening nearby, looked shocked.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“You do remember he hasn’t talked to anyone for an entire year, right?”
Aria smirked confidently.
“That doesn’t sound difficult to me.”
She crossed her arms proudly.
“Just watch.
I’ll make him become my friend.”
Usagi raised an eyebrow.
“Hm… we’ll see about that tomorrow.”
The next morning, Usagi and Suzumi were walking to school together.
Suzumi suddenly pointed toward a familiar girl ahead of them.
“Who’s that?”
Usagi glanced forward.
“Her name’s Aria.
She’s the new student.”
Then she crossed her arms dramatically.
“And she has way too much attitude.
Do you know she barely talked to anyone yesterday?
She only talked to me.”
Suddenly, Shin jumped between them from behind.
“Liar!”
Usagi flinched in shock.
“Maybe you forgot the whole ‘please tell me the way’ conversation,” Shin teased.
Usagi glared at him.
“You were there too?!”
“Of course I was.”
Usagi immediately turned toward Suzumi.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Suzumi laughed softly.
“Yeah sure.”
Shin pointed ahead excitedly.
“Look, there’s Aria!”
“Aria!
Hey!”
But because of the AirPods in her ears, Aria didn’t hear him at all and simply kept walking forward.
Suzumi looked at Usagi with a playful smile.
“Wow.
I can clearly see how much she talks to you.”
Usagi groaned in frustration.
“I’m serious!”
The scene slowly shifted toward the school building as the students entered the campus.