What? A fight?

The children’s murmuring grew as loud as when Ban Ha Min arrived. Some children even stood up and left the classroom to see for themselves.

“Ooh. Who’s fighting?”

Ban Ha Min tilted his head.

Most had a reaction similar to Ban Ha Min’s. They looked at each other, not knowing what was going on.

But I instinctively felt that something was wrong.

I abruptly stood up from my seat.

“Huh? Ju Eun? Where are you going?”

Ignoring Ban Ha Min’s call, I headed straight for the girls’ restroom.

‘Could it be…?’

Indeed, there were already spectators gathered in front of the girls’ restroom.

I tiptoed to look inside the restroom. And the moment I saw what was inside, I felt dizzy.

As I thought. My intuition wasn’t wrong.

‘Dammit. It’s Seol Yu Hwa.’

The ones fighting inside the restroom were Seol Yu Hwa and the girls from her class.

Judging by the ponytail, they seemed to be the same gang as last time. The girls were panting with disheveled appearances, as if a fight had already taken place.

“Kuk…”

Seol Yu Hwa, her hair a mess, laughed ominously.

“Kuk, is that all…? It’s nothing special…”

I’ve been feeling it since last time, but why does she laugh like that?

The female lead’s laughter was truly extraordinary.

“What did you say?”

“Hey, say that again!”

The girls were also playing the role of third-rate villain extras splendidly.

Looking at the relatively intact appearance of the ponytail gang, it seemed that Seol Yu Hwa mainly provoked them with words.

Well, if the world’s rank 0 directly engages in a physical fight, that would be a balance breaker.

‘But what are they fighting about this time?’

I looked around to grasp the situation.

I could roughly deduce this by listening to what the other children were saying.

So, to summarize the situation, it was like this:

The ponytail gang splashed water into the restroom stall where Seol Yu Hwa was to prank her. But of course, Seol Yu Hwa didn’t just take it, and instead retaliated against the girls. It gradually intensified and turned into a big fight.

‘…Well, they fought because it was worth fighting over.’

It wasn’t surprising at all. After all, there’s no way Seol Yu Hwa would have thrown the first punch.

‘Should I wait and see how it turns out for now?’

I judged that rather than rashly intervening, it would be better to wait, knowing that Seol Yu Hwa wasn’t someone who would easily be bullied.

The ponytail girl swept her loose hair back and spoke while panting.

“Seol Yu Bin, are you really crazy? Did you eat something wrong? Why are you like this these days?”

If you feel it’s that strange, why don’t you realize that the person has changed…? I barely refrained from making a snide remark.

“You should have just stayed crushed like before. Why are you acting up?”

“…Before?”

“Yeah, before!”

The ponytail girl put her hands on her hips and said,

“Not long ago, you were a loser who couldn’t even talk to me!”

I reflexively checked Seol Yu Hwa’s reaction.

Seol Yu Hwa just kept her head down without saying a word. Seeing that reaction, the ponytail girl seemed to become even more cocky and ran her mouth.

“You used to be at a loss just by making eye contact with me… Do you really have something to rely on now? Huh? You loser!”

From the gang’s perspective, the current ‘Seol Yu Bin’ and the past ‘Seol Yu Bin’ are the same person, so they don’t know what the problem is, but I, who knew the truth, became worried.

Because to Seol Yu Hwa, those words just now were a reckless remark that touched on her ‘younger sister’.

‘Isn’t she getting more pissed off?’

I looked at Seol Yu Hwa with worried eyes.

“What did you say…?”

As expected, Seol Yu Hwa’s gaze changed.

“What did you just say?”

If she looked relaxed until now, now she had a completely angry face.

A situation on the brink. The atmosphere tensed up again.

‘Wait. What happens if Seol Yu Hwa explodes here?’

In the original work, Seol Yu Hwa does fight back against the kids, but she just responds in a minor way, never completely turning things upside down.

She does put ‘Lee Ju Eun’ in the hospital for 8 weeks, but she didn’t do it publicly in front of the children, but secretly took care of it outside the school.

The first time she showed her ‘true’ self in front of everyone was in the very late part of the original work.

‘If Seol Yu Hwa reveals her identity here, will it all end like in the original work?’

Then what happens to my happy ending?

Seol Yu Hwa hasn’t even met Sung Ji Chan yet.

If it ends now, it’s over before it even begins.

Will I not be able to return to my original world like this?

Suddenly, I felt a sense of crisis.

‘No more variables!’

Before Seol Yu Hwa crossed the line, I cried out urgently.

“Wait!”

Instantly, the surroundings became quiet.

The gazes of the spectators all focused on me at once.

‘Huh?’

This isn’t it.

I just shouted without thinking, but I didn’t expect to draw this much attention.

I was flustered, but I tried to appear calm and waited for the next situation.

“Who is she?”

“Why is she intervening?”

“I don’t know. Let’s move aside for now.”

The children whispered something among themselves and then slightly moved to make way for me in front. The crowd parted in two like the miracle of Moses.

…Something’s strange.

Feeling an indescribable unpleasantness, I walked forward.

The girls inside the restroom also seemed to notice my presence and stopped fighting to look at me.

Our eyes met, and tension flowed.

In the silence, someone opened their mouth.

“You are…!”

A serious voice echoed inside the restroom.

“The Four Heavenly Kings, Lee Ju Eun?”

Damn it… To think that such a thing is really attached to my name.

I just wanted to run away, regardless of the female lead.

But the children were serious, regardless of whether the person in question was feeling humiliated or not.

“Oh my gosh, the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“Why is she here?”

“What do we do! We made eye contact!”

Please… stop…!

Just say it directly. Whispering while having me stand in front doubles the humiliation.

‘I just want to die.’

Suppressing the urge to run away, I opened my mouth.

“Sorry for interrupting, but I have something to say to her.”

I pointed at Seol Yu Hwa with my hand.

“Can I take her away for a bit?”

The girls were silent, checking each other’s reactions. They were clearly flustered by the unexpected intruder’s interruption.

“…You have something to say to her?”

The ponytail girl stepped forward and said,

“Do you two know each other?”

Then, Seol Yu Hwa stared at me intently. She didn’t say anything, but just with her gaze, she could apply this much pressure. I tried to ignore the piercing gaze on my face.

“We know each other. Right, Yu… Bin?”

I barely managed to stop myself from calling her ‘Yu Hwa’.

Seol Yu Hwa didn’t play along and kept her mouth shut. Well, at least she didn’t refute. I continued, pretending to be casual.

“Let’s go, Yu… Bin. You have something to say to me, right?”

The ponytail girl let out a scornful laugh as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Are you ignoring us just because you’re one of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“…”

I gritted my teeth and said,

“…It has nothing to do with me being one of the Four… Heavenly Kings…”

“Ha!”

The ponytail girl glared at me. I ignored her gaze and pulled Seol Yu Hwa. Surprisingly, Seol Yu Hwa followed me obediently.

As I grabbed Seol Yu Hwa’s wrist and tried to leave the restroom, I heard the ponytail girl shouting from behind.

“Lee Ju Eun of the Four Heavenly Kings! Just you wait! You’ll also suffer greatly later!”

It was already frustrating to be falsely accused of being one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but to be humiliated on top of that. It was truly a vicious remark.

‘I didn’t expect her to say such harsh things.’

I didn’t see it that way, but the ponytail girl was really a bad kid.

I took Seol Yu Hwa’s hand and went outside the building.

I didn’t have a particular destination in mind, I just wanted to get far away from where the incident occurred.

‘But what do I do now?’

I brought her out on impulse, but now I had no plan.

Feeling the hot gaze on the back of my head, I glanced behind me.

‘I’m doomed.’

Seol Yu Hwa was looking at me with eyes full of suspicion.

I slyly let go of Seol Yu Hwa’s hand that I was holding.

“Uh… Ahem. Ahem.”

An awkward silence flowed between the two of us.

‘Wh… What should I say?’

It was clear that to Seol Yu Bin, I would look suspicious right now. In fact, Seol Yu Hwa’s gaze was not very friendly.

‘What should I answer if she asks why I brought her out?’

Should I just treat her as if she’s ‘Seol Yu Bin’? Or should I act like I met her for the first time today?

As my inner conflict deepened, Seol Yu Hwa opened her mouth.

“You… Why are you doing this to me? I clearly…”

“Yu Bin!”

Oh, whatever.

I interrupted Seol Yu Hwa’s words and cried out urgently.

“Yu, Yu, Yu Bin! Sorry, I’m too late!”

Seol Yu Hwa looked visibly flustered at my feigned familiarity.

“You… know me?”

“O, of course!”

With the mindset of a treacherous vassal trying to please the king, I babbled on.

“We’re friends, don’t you remember? The day we first met, we ate together. Not long ago, we even went to an amusement park together. Yeah, with Seung Hyun, Ji Seung Hyun!”

Seol Yu Hwa’s expression changed strangely. She seemed to half-believe my words. I spoke desperately.

“In, infirmary! We often met in the infirmary! We got to know each other because of Yeon Ho. It’s thanks to Yeon Ho that we became friends. Right?”

My attempt to persuade her was blatantly suspicious at this point. But I thought it would be better to remain as Seol Yu Bin’s weird friend rather than being marked as someone Seol Yu Hwa should be wary of by showing kindness without any reason.

‘If she asks why I brought her out, I’ll have nothing to say.’

I tried to raise the corners of my mouth and put on a smiling face. Seol Yu Hwa slightly frowned and opened her mouth.

“…You’re saying you’re ‘my’ friend?”

I nodded. Seol Yu Hwa was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Did it work?’

I tried to calm my pounding heart and waited for Seol Yu Hwa’s words.

“You said you first met me in the infirmary, right?”

Why is she asking about this? I obediently answered.

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

“I see…”

Seol Yu Hwa said expressionlessly.

“Then, let’s go to the infirmary together.”

…Huh?