It took Suho about an hour to finally reach SNU, and the change in atmosphere felt immense. He was a small-town boy who had barely left the outskirts of Guri his entire life, but now he was standing in the middle of a huge metropolis filled with people around his age.
Looking down at himself, Suho realized that if he wasn’t wearing his new coat, he would’ve looked completely out of place. His cheap T-shirt, worn jeans, and old shoes were still there—the expensive coat was basically the only thing saving his appearance.
People are this rich? Yet they let orphans starve?
Only after coming to Seoul did Suho begin to realize just how different life could be. To him, it almost felt like being born poor was a crime, and even children had to suffer because of it. His perspective was constantly changing as he learned more and more about how the world worked. Back in the rural outskirts where he grew up, he had rarely seen people with this kind of money, but here, wealth seemed to be everywhere he looked.
This boy and that girl are wearing the same jacket as me, just in different colors. That boy is even wearing the leather jacket Yoona pulled out in that expensive store, and that thing looked more expensive than mine... Sigh! Let’s find the admissions office. This campus is huge.
Suho walked through the main gate and immediately understood just how huge SNU really was. A wide road stretched deeper into the campus, with buses constantly passing by and students walking in every direction.
Large university buildings stood on both sides, some hidden farther behind trees, while signs pointed toward different colleges and facilities. Coming from a small rural area, Suho had never seen a school this massive before. He followed the signs while looking around for Building 150, where the Office of Admissions was located.
"Oh! My bad."
"Hey... what is a bum like you doing here?"
As he walked around searching for the building, Suho accidentally bumped shoulders with a boy. He raised one hand slightly, admitting that it was his fault for not looking where he was going, but instead of accepting the apology, the boy immediately belittled him.
Hearing that, Suho’s expression slowly became serious. He looked at the boy from head to toe, let out a small sigh, and then suddenly started chuckling. The whole situation felt strangely funny to him. This guy had absolutely no idea who he was talking to. If he knew even half of what Suho had done in school, he probably would’ve thought twice before speaking to him so disrespectfully.
"What’s so funny, beggar?"
"Nothing... nothing is funny, rich boy!!"
Suho smiled almost like a maniac and took one slow step toward him. The turtleneck-wearing boy in front of him was only around five-foot-five, so the moment Suho moved closer, the height difference became impossible to ignore.
They stood face-to-face like two fighters staring each other down before a match, except Suho had to look down while the boy was forced to raise his head. There was no Mina here, so Suho couldn’t care less about how he looked. If that saleswoman from earlier had been a man, he probably would’ve punched her already.
"You sure you want to mess with me?"
"Sure... why not?"
Suho replied instantly, a wide smile spreading across his face. The turtleneck-wearing boy in front of him pushed his glasses back and took a small step away. It wasn’t Suho’s height or confidence that made him nervous. It was the look in his eyes—the kind of look that seemed to say, ’I have nothing to lose, while you have everything.’
"What happened? You don’t want to come at me anymore? Oi, where are you going?"
The boy slowly started backing away in the direction he had come from, while Suho followed after him, still calling out. At first, the boy tried to keep his pace normal, pretending like he was simply leaving, but Suho kept following him. His steps gradually became faster, then faster again, until he finally gave up and broke into a run.
"Oi! Why are you running?!"
Suho’s voice carried through the quiet campus, immediately drawing the attention of nearby students. Heads turned toward him from every direction, making Suho stop in place. The peaceful atmosphere of the campus made him stand out even more, and now everyone was looking at him like he was the jerk. Suho awkwardly looked around, realizing there was no easy way to explain that the guy running away had been the one who started everything.
Damn it... Sigh! It’s my life.
Suho continued walking, and soon the attention he had gathered disappeared. After getting lost again, he finally decided to ask a janitor for directions. From what Suho had read before coming here, SNU had plenty of students from wealthy families.
Getting into a university like this usually required extremely high grades, and many rich families spent huge amounts of money on private academies and tutors from a young age, giving their children a big advantage. Of course, not everyone here was rich, but after everything Suho had seen today, it certainly felt like everyone here was rich or at least richer than him.
Wait!! I have money too!!
As he walked in the direction the janitor had pointed, Suho pulled out his phone once again and checked his balance. [Balance: ₩257,785,600] ($180,450). Seeing all those digits, a wide grin appeared on his face before he happily pocketed the phone again.
Oh! I should collect those rewards and buy some clothes with them. People here dress slightly fancier, so I should probably do the same if I don’t want to stand out.