The girl with black hair vanished in the blink of an eye.
“Why is that brat here…?” murmured Yeon Minha with a puzzled expression.
Black hair, golden particle-sparkling pupils, and the faint particle scent lingering in the hallway…
It was easy for Yeon Minha to guess the girl’s identity.
However, setting aside her resentment toward Baek Seoyeon, she couldn’t fathom why she was looking for the classroom at this hour.
The hasty exit, almost like someone who had committed a crime, only deepened her suspicions.
It was behavior rarely seen from the usual Baek Seoyeon.
“…”
But soon, Yeon Minha brushed off her worries.
She had no time to think about Baek Seoyeon now. She needed to clean out her locker, which was undoubtedly messed up by those little brats. And only a few minutes were left until the lecture ended.
With determined strides, she made her way to the locker at the back of the classroom hallway.
“…What the…?”
As soon as she checked the place, a displeased frown crossed Yeon Minha’s face.
The hallway behind the classroom had long been a complete mess.
Locks lay unlocked or doors wide open everywhere.
Maybe they weren’t locked in the first place.
They all had one thing in common: lockers bearing the names of male students.
Though many of them were empty and felt dreary and pitiful without any traces of candy, she could easily spot several lockers filled with plenty of sweets.
Flying past that chaotic space, Yeon Minha stopped in front of a familiar nameplate.
A lock that should have been firmly shut lay shattered on the floor, and the door itself hung limply, missing its hinges.
“Ha.”
Seeing this, Yeon Minha let out a short sigh of dissatisfaction.
She intended to burn all the dirty things before he arrived.
No traces left behind.
“Uh…?”
However, confusion soon appeared on Yeon Minha’s face.
What unfolded before her was something entirely different and bizarre, far from what she expected.
His locker looked as if a storm had just swept through.
Broken and shattered sweet treats lay scattered about, nearly turned to powder.
Notes torn to shreds so badly they were barely readable.
It was a strange scene, almost as if someone had beaten her to the punch, filling the air with a sense of rage and sorrow.
And as she stood there dumbfounded, Yeon Minha soon discovered something.
‘What is this…?’
In the center of the locker sat a small box, clearly made from luxurious materials.
The only item left untouched in the storm.
Without realizing it, Yeon Minha reached for it.
Unlike the others, there weren’t any clues to indicate its owner.
Yet, for some reason, that pristine quality stirred something within her.
Before she knew it, she had carefully opened the lid of the paper box.
Click
“…”
Soon, the box revealed a bounty of candy and cookies.
Neatly arranged and charming snacks that made her own creations look pitiful in comparison.
Clearly made with love, painstakingly organized, each one separated.
And before she could fully process her confusion, something familiar yet unpleasant seeped into her nostrils.
Although they shared a hint of sweetness, there was an unmistakably alien scent distinct from sugar and cookies.
Yeon Minha had reached the scene too quickly, capturing it before it could disperse.
“This… what is this…?”
She found herself trembling, fists clenched tight.
Yeon Minha knew all too well who owned that scent.
So recalling its significance was not particularly difficult.
“Why, why…? Why on earth…?”
Yeon Minha bit down on her lip ferociously.
Her pale face refused to process the situation, making even her anger hard to muster.
“What on earth, what on earth…!!”
Ding dong~
And just before Yeon Minha could take any action, the cruel bell signaling the end of the class rang throughout the lecture hall.
*
Lee Hyun’s expectation of smoothly getting through the Nak Seong Il Festival was thrown off right from the first class.
As he opened the locker he used for his mobile classes, something crinkly poured out in a cascade.
“Wow… I don’t think I’ve ever received this much before…”
Next to him, an all-too-familiar voice echoed, and it was Ryu Seunghun, the friendly-looking male student who was a few acquaintances from the cradle.
He had a genuinely astonished expression.
“Seems like you’re not doing too shabby yourself…”
Though not as much as Lee Hyun, Seunghun’s locker also held a respectable amount of candies and snacks.
But he shook his head with a slightly disappointed smile.
“Ugh, all useless…”
He began collecting the candies and dumped them into the nearby trash can.
“If Yeo-uri finds out, I might be done for. Gotta get rid of it all first…”
As he cleaned out his locker and packed his stuff, he offered a piece of advice to Lee Hyun.
“It’s best for you to be careful too. Especially those candies with unknown origins—better not eat them.”
“Why?”
“Could be something weird inside.”
At this, Lee Hyun immediately started rummaging through the pile of candies, grabbing a few and crushing them in his hand.
One was fine.
One exuded an alcohol scent with an unknown liquid that made his body feel warm.
One contained… tied-up hair.
“…”
He felt a chill race down his spine.
A distinct kind of fear he hadn’t felt even while facing demons.
Lee Hyun quickly gathered the candies and stuffed them all into the trash can.
The empty can filled to the brim in an instant.
“Wow… what a waste…”
Seunghun muttered as he glanced at the trash can.
*
“Hyun! Catch this!”
“Toss this too.”
“And this!”
During the break right after the first lecture, three female students approached him sitting in a corner of the lecture hall.
A girl with bleached hair and a dangerously short skirt, a blunt-looking girl with a scar on her right arm, and a shy-looking girl with brown eyes.
Three bundles landed on Lee Hyun’s desk with a thud.
“What is this?”
“What do you mean? Can’t you tell it’s candy?”
In response to Lee Hyun’s question, Sera asked back as if it were obvious.
“Is this your first time?”
Lee Hyun recalled the poisons from the unknown senders that had been stuffed in his locker earlier.
He didn’t particularly want to count those.
Nodding his head, Sera widened her eyes slightly, mumbling.
“Oh really? Didn’t think you’d say that… already thought tons of it had gone around.”
“We all made it together. It might look a bit odd, but it should be decent enough to eat.”
Yena spoke in her pitchy voice.
Just slightly out of the bundle peeked a somewhat crumpled and crooked animal-shaped candy.
“But don’t get the wrong idea. This is given strictly as we are good friends. Let’s keep this friendship going. Hehe.”
Sera continued in a playful tone.
Then, she shot a mischievous glance at the girl with brown eyes standing beside her.
“One of them might be a bit different, though.”
“What, what do you mean…? I said not to pull such pranks…”
With that incomprehensible remark, Yena glared fiercely at Sera.
However, the girl with bleached hair paid her no mind and turned back to Lee Hyun.
“Yena’s might taste a bit different. Some saliva might’ve splashed while we were gabbing—perhaps made it sweeter…”
“I-I didn’t splash…! And it was you who tickled me, remember…!”
Yena retorted with a face full of grievance toward Sera.
She swung her weak little fists, but Sera laughed heartily and dodged effortlessly.
Finally giving up, Yena glanced at Lee Hyun with those puppy eyes.
Her face was red, and there were slight tears in her eyes.
“What… what should I do? Did I upset you?”
But Lee Hyun shook his head back and forth.
At that, Yena’s face brightened instantly.
Beside them, Sera clicked her tongue again.
“Seems pretty serious.”
“Stop it already…!”
“Ouch! Hyun, enjoy~”
As the girls playfully chattered, they naturally drifted out of the classroom.
Only their chuckles echoed like an aftertaste.
Lee Hyun unwrapped the package from Yena.
A small candy shaped like a bluebird filled the bundle.
*
What seemed like a brief commotion turned into an ordeal as he had to keep throwing away the candies filling his lockers whenever the classrooms changed.
Meanwhile, some students even handed him candies directly.
Most of those were the ones who had gone south with him, who he owed his life to.
There was no reason not to accept items from identifiable givers.
“Here. Take this. You know me, right?”
A female student directly tossed a candy his way.
Her action seemed more to get familiar than to curry favor.
Her face felt oddly familiar, yet he couldn’t recall her name at all.
“It’s Gi Haewon. The one who went south with you.”
Seeing Lee Hyun hesitate, the girl shrugged it off.
“I heard you’re having a duel with Yeso? I’ll cheer for you. Yeso’s my friend too, but I still owe you my life…”
“Uh… thanks.”
“No worries. If you ever need help later, just come find me. I’ll help if I can.”
The girl named Haewon waved her hand casually and left quickly.
After several classes passed, the sound signaling the end of the monster studies lecture rang out in the hallway.
Lee Hyun trudged toward his locker.
Imagining the candies brimming inside again sent shivers down his spine.
However, this time, an unexpected sight awaited him.
“Senior?”
“…Eek.”
Called by him, Yeon Minha spun around in a hurry.
“What brings you here?”
“Um… well…”
Lee Hyun instantly sensed that something was off with Yeon Minha.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze, and her pupils were dilating in a frenzy.
Her arms were clasped behind her back, completely hidden from view.
Next to her, a locker door hung wide open, creating a scene worse than anything he’d seen today.
The otherwise secure lock lay in shattered pieces, and the hinges were entirely gone.
A few candies lay scattered on the floor in front of her locker.
He crouched to take a look inside the locker.
“…”
It was in utter disarray, filled with shredded wrappers, notes, and candy powder.
The gruesome scene resembled a battlefield.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked Yeon Minha.
“Did you…?”
“I-I didn’t do anything! I swear!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Yeon Minha shook her head vigorously.
She had to ignore the pricks of conscience stabbing at her.
After all, it was her own intention to commit such a deed.
“Is that so.”
Lee Hyun nodded, still puzzled but accepting her words.
“But why are your hands behind your back like that…?”
“What do you mean, what am I hiding? I wish you’d stop saying weird things…”
As her legs grew jittery, Yeon Minha bit her lip and bantered back before moving further away from him, keeping her arms in place.
“Something important just came to mind… Let’s meet at dinner…?”
“Senior? Wait…”
Before Lee Hyun could barely finish, Yeon Minha vanished like the wind.
“…”
He stood there, flabbergasted for a moment.
Then he turned his gaze back to her ruined locker.
There wasn’t a single clean item left amid the chaos.
All he could sense was the lingering sweetness of sugar.
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