Seon Woo Jin, the sleeping prince of the forest – no, the infirmary – woke up to the commotion.

I quickly closed the curtain to hide myself. Then, looking at Seon Woo Jin, I raised my index finger to my lips, signaling for him to be quiet.

Still half-asleep, Seon Woo Jin blinked and frowned, as if in a daze.

“…What is this, a dream?”

Sorry, it’s not a dream. It’s reality.

I gestured to Seon Woo Jin to be quiet again and peeked outside the curtain.

A group of guys came barging into the infirmary.

“Teacher!”

As expected, it’s a similar situation to last time.

But the difference this time is that Lee Yeon Ho isn’t going to be pushed around easily.

“Stop making a ruckus and get out, all of you!”

Perhaps because it’s the second time, Lee Yeon Ho handled it calmly without getting flustered.

At Lee Yeon Ho’s firm words, my ‘challengers’ all left the infirmary.

Thanks to that, the infirmary quickly settled down.

“Phew, that was close.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Then, suddenly feeling a gaze on me, I looked up. Seon Woo Jin was staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“What is it this time?”

The atmosphere from that night came to mind, making me a bit nervous.

I smiled awkwardly.

“Um… Hi.”

“Is that what you say at a time like this?”

How curt. Is it that hard to return a greeting?

Now that Seon Woo Jin was back to his usual self, I somehow felt deflated.

Grumbling, I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Ah, some things happened.”

“Things?”

Seon Woo Jin raised an eyebrow. I had no choice but to start explaining.

“There’s a rumor going around that I’m rank 0 in the world. So people I don’t know keep following me around.”

“Why are they following you?”

“To fight me.”

Seon Woo Jin frowned.

His fierce expression seemed to be the Seon Woo Jin I knew. I chuckled.

“Lighten up a bit. Someone might think you’re the one who has to fight.”

But Seon Woo Jin’s expression didn’t soften at all. If he keeps frowning like that, he’ll get wrinkles. I poked his cheek with my finger, pulling the corner of his mouth up.

“Smile a little. Don’t always be like that.”

At that, Seon Woo Jin looked at me in disbelief.

“Aren’t you worried?”

Of course I’m worried. But I haven’t lost my composure to the point I can’t even joke around. This kind of thing has been happening for more than just a day or two.

Without much thought, I said:

“If something happens, you’ll protect me, right?”

I said it expecting a sharp retort.

However, instead of answering, Seon Woo Jin just stared at me intently.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Just then, I heard Lee Yeon Ho’s voice.

“Ju Eun, you can come out now. The kids are all gone.”

“Ah, yes.”

I pulled the curtain back again.

As our eyes met, Lee Yeon Ho asked straight away:

“But what happened this time?”

As expected, he’s not letting it slide easily.

I awkwardly laughed and repeated the explanation I gave Seon Woo Jin earlier. I even added the kidnapping incident at Haeseong High.

“What? You’re rank 0 in the world?”

Lee Yeon Ho burst out laughing, even pounding the desk.

I know it’s absurd, but isn’t he enjoying this too much? It feels like he’s mocking me, which is a bit annoying.

After laughing his fill and even shedding tears, Lee Yeon Ho said:

“Ju Eun, you must have terrible luck. How do things get this twisted for you?”

Tell me about it…

I sighed and said:

“But teacher, when did you get back?”

I’m sure Lee Yeon Ho had gone on an overseas trip with Ban Ha Min. Enough time has passed for him to return by now though.

In response to my question, Lee Yeon Ho answered:

“I arrived back in Korea last night.”

“So you came straight to work without even a day of rest?”

Lee Yeon Ho nodded with a proud expression.

‘So that’s why this place was open.’

I wondered why Lee Yeon Ho had diligently come to work for once. Well, either way, it was fortunate for me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to shake off those guys.

“But if Ha Min finds out about this, there will be an uproar.”

At Lee Yeon Ho’s words, I flinched.

“…Please don’t tell Ban Ha Min.”

Memories of what happened when Ban Ha Min appointed himself as my guardian angel flashed through my mind. If he found out I was kidnapped, he definitely wouldn’t let it slide.

“Okay, I won’t say anything.”

Lee Yeon Ho said with a grin.

“But even if I don’t say anything, do you think Ha Min won’t find out about this?”

He hit the nail on the head.

“Ahhh!”

I buried my face in my hands and let out a wail. The thought of being tormented by Ban Ha Min again was dreadful.

“Can’t we just let it go…?”

“Ha Min is too sharp. I think it’s absolutely impossible.”

Damn it. My life really is ruined.

As I was writhing in agony, Seon Woo Jin, who had come out of bed at some point, called my name.

“Lee Ju Eun.”

I stopped sniffling and looked up.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“Your classroom.”

Why are you going there?

I looked at Seon Woo Jin quizzically, and he answered:

“You said to protect you.”

I was just saying that.

Of course, it would be nice if Seon Woo Jin protected me, but I felt a bit bad asking him outright since I’ve been relying on him too much lately.

“I’m really fine though.”

“So you’re going to wake me up again while I’m sleeping?”

He keeps making me speechless.

But I still hesitated to accept readily because I was embarrassed. Then Lee Yeon Ho chimed in.

“Yeah, that works out. Woo Jin can protect you! Ju Eun, don’t worry and take him with you. He’s good at fighting at least.”

“…It’s not Woo Jin.”

“Okay okay, Woo Jin. Take good care of Ju Eun.”

Seon Woo Jin sighed, holding his forehead.

Anyway, that’s how Seon Woo Jin became my new bodyguard.

It was about time for class to start, so we decided to head straight back to the classroom.

Wherever Seon Woo Jin passed, students would whisper and make way for him. I was a bit awed at how they parted to the sides like the miracle of Moses.

‘The total opposite of Ban Ha Min.’

When Ban Ha Min appeared, his Three-Generational-Beauty fan club would scream and rush toward him. And Ban Ha Min enjoyed that. But Seon Woo Jin hated that kind of commotion, so his followers would only watch from afar and not approach.

‘It’s certainly more comfortable.’

That wasn’t all.

Far away, one of the guys who had challenged me earlier was glaring fiercely this way, but perhaps because Seon Woo Jin was here, he didn’t come closer.

‘What, so rank 0 in the world isn’t scary but Seon Woo Jin is?’

Did I look easy because I’m a girl? Sure, since I don’t actually have fighting skills, even with the title of rank 0, one might think it’s worth a try.

Anyway, under people’s stares, I went to my classroom together with Seon Woo Jin.

Before entering the classroom, Seon Woo Jin said:

“Lee Ju Eun.”

“Yeah?”

“If someone else comes to fight you, come to me right away.”

I jokingly asked back:

“Will you fight them for me?”

“I’ll make it so they can never say they want to fight again.”

That’s a bit scary.

Seeing my expression, Seon Woo Jin smirked.

“And wait for me after school later. I’ll come so we can go home together.”

I looked at Seon Woo Jin’s face for a moment, then nodded.

With that, I said goodbye to Seon Woo Jin and returned to the classroom.

But.

‘Where did Yoo Hee Na go again?’

The owner of the seat next to mine had disappeared without a trace.

‘Is she skipping class again?’

I thought she had been diligently attending classes lately, but it turned out like this in the end. I’m not even that worried anymore. She’ll figure it out.

I sat in my seat with a relieved smile.

Just then, I got a call from Yoo Hee Na.

“Hello?”

What is it?

I thought she was just skipping school, but does she have some business with me?

Yoo Hee Na doesn’t call me unless something significant happens. It wouldn’t be just to chat.

‘Did something else happen?’

If so, I need to prepare myself.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

On the other end of the line, Yoo Hee Na spoke urgently.

– It’s terrible, Ji Chan…!

As expected, something did happen. But let’s not get too excited.

I calmly replied:

“What happened to Sung Ji Chan?”

But after hearing what she said next, I couldn’t help but yell.

“What? Are you crazy?”

That’s what the doctor said, apparently.

After hearing everything from Yoo Hee Na, I was dumbfounded.

“Does that even make sense?”

So here’s what happened.

A few days ago, Sung Ji Chan, who had been hospitalized for a concussion, was discharged and attending school again.

But being the delinquent boss he was, he didn’t attend school obediently. While trying to skip class by climbing over the fence, he misstepped.

Unfortunately, Sung Ji Chan hit his head on the ground and lost his memory.

“Ji Chan thinks he’s 16 years old right now.”

Yoo Hee Na said, sobbing.

“What should we do? When will his memory come back?”

I asked in disbelief, as if arguing:

“No matter what, this is too much. Does it make sense to lose your memory?”

“He had a concussion not long ago too. The doctor said it might be because he severely injured his brain twice in a short period.”

This is unbelievable.

In web novels, I was prepared for memory loss or comas to happen at least once, but I never expected it to occur at such an absurd timing.

Laughing hollowly in dismay, I came to my senses and said:

“So where is Sung Ji Chan now?”

Sung Ji Chan was obediently in his classroom.

Since he didn’t have any symptoms other than memory loss this time, he wasn’t hospitalized.

I headed to Sung Ji Chan’s classroom to check on his condition.

During the break, I took a deep breath in front of his classroom and opened the door.

“……”

As soon as I appeared, the classroom suddenly fell silent.

‘…What’s this?’

I hesitated, then mustered my courage and entered.

Sung Ji Chan was sitting by the window in the very back row.

His classmates were crowded around him. Seeing me, they whispered among themselves and cautiously called Sung Ji Chan.

Sung Ji Chan turned his head.

Our eyes met. Sung Ji Chan stared at me intently for a moment.

“Lee Ju Eun?”

The amnesiac Sung Ji Chan said:

“So she’s my girlfriend?”

Damn it. What is this now?