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bold words in speech / dialogue - in english

italic words in speech / dialogues - in japanese

normal words in speech / dialogues - in korean

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The temperature of the room fell fast, and Park Eunbyul wasn't sure if it was because of the supernatural presence in the room or the harsh rain outside. She wasn't superstitious — but the fact that it was storming during summer made her suspect if her classmates had awoken some spirit.

Eunbyul sat on a desk next to her best friend, Park Jihoon, who held up his phone light to help the others see better. As soon as her classmates started the 'bunshinsaba' nonsense, she couldn't help but notice the sudden rain that came crashing down heavily, wondering if it was just a coincidence.

A round of startled screams went around the room when the pencil Yedam and Hyunsuk held darted towards the 'O', the exact reaction repeating when a bolt of lightning crashed right outside their school. Eunbyul felt her heart jump out of her chest at her best friend's reactions rather than the jump-scares.

As the class door closed with a bang, everyone bolted from their seats, escaping the classroom as quickly as they could. Jihoon grabbed his best friend's arm out of reflex, trying to drag her out of the class with him.

"Hyunsuk!" Eunbyul called, pulling away from her friend's grip to help her classmate, who fell to the floor. "Quickly get up. We have to go," she explained.

"It shouldn't have ended like this!" Hyunsuk whined, running his fingers through his hair as he knelt on the ground.

Eunbyul pursed her lips together, grabbing onto her classmate's shirt as she pulled him up. "You might be disappointed because some demon didn't show up from your childish game, but if you don't get yourself together, you'll be seeing another one real soon." Her words caused the male's eyes to widen, nodding quickly as he ran out of the room.

Choi Hyunsuk understood a threat when he heard one. And knowing — as well as witnessing — how angry Eunbyul could get, he didn't want to risk anything.

The tall female followed him out, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Her brows furrowed upon seeing her classmates huddled near the staircase, shaking her head as she readied herself to yell at them for taking up space.

But walking closer, she saw their homeroom teacher sprawled across the floor at the end of the stairs, unconscious. Of course, he must be unconscious, you idiot. It's not like he's gonna take a nap there. The sarcastic part of her brain snapped her out of her thought, making her look at her classmates.

"So ... are we just gonna stand here and watch or are we gonna call someone?"

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"This is So Junghwan from Super King Cow Baby TV!" Junghwan's greeting was heard as Eunbyul entered the class, sighing in disbelief as she saw the lack of female students once again. "I'm doing a vlog of the 12th grade Class 4 of Treasure High School!"

Jihoon shook his head upon seeing his best friend. "You have the excuse of staying home because nobody is at the dorms, yet you choose to come to class like an idiot." He scoffed. "Absolutely disgusting."

"I don't even know why the girls aren't coming. It was just one cockroach at the dorms! Just one!" Eunbyul threw her hands up in frustration, nudging her best friend when he laughed. "These girls can't be skipping school just because of one cockroach. Heck, they already took care of the problem!" She groaned, checking her locker for her books as Jihoon checked his hair in the mirror.

Just as she closed her locker, Junghwan came up to her with his phone, recording something for his channel. "And this is Park Eunbyul of Class 4. She's the only girl you'll be seeing around here because the other girls like skipping school," he commented, making her chuckle. "She's also a national champion in figure skating. Can you show us a twirl, Byul?"

"Does this floor look like ice to you, Junghwan?" Eunbyul pointed out, rolling her eyes as she sat in her seat. "Gosh, I should've gone back home when they informed the girls were moving out of the dorms."

"She's our school's ice princess. Like the name suggests, Eunbyul has a cold front, but she's a nice person!" She heard Junghwan explain, muting him out as she looked at her books, trying to cram in before their lesson started.

"It's not the cockroach issue. The parents are refusing to send their daughters because ... of another 2019 case," Jaehyuk spoke from beside the female, gaining her attention. "I saw a few petitions in the office while dropping off our work."

Treasure High had the most chaotic batches from their year of establishment. It was as if the school accepted those students with the highest tendencies to wreak havoc and get into trouble. Every batch had their memorable cases, each historical moment passing through word of mouth to all the juniors.

And 2019 was a year full of historical moments at Treasure High.

Eunbyul tilted her head at their class genius' words, mentally going through the list of cases. "Another 2019 case? The bathrooms overflowing?" She wondered, eyes widening in realisation as she realized. "Oh ... that 2019 case."

No wonder Sera went back home last week. And Minjun got expelled a few days after that. Followed by all the girls leaving the dorms — the parents must've gotten to know what happened.

"Wait, one of the girls got preg–" Jihoon exclaimed, pausing midway as Eunbyul glared, wordlessly telling him to quiet down. "Is that why the girls haven't been coming for the past week?"

"Probably." Eunbyul shrugged, seeing that Jaehyuk went back to doing his work as soon as Jihoon came. "My grandparents barely get the notices and I don't know the last time my parents came to Korea, so I doubt if I'll be informed to leave the school," she explained, seeing the worried gaze her best friend had.

Jihoon gave his infamous eye-smile, throwing his arm around the female. "Don't worry. I will protect you. No guy in our school is going to even look your way without my permission." He stood in front of Eunbyul protectively, acting like her bodyguard. "Heck, I won't even give them my permission." The female simply rolled her eyes, looking down at her books.

"How assuring."

Park Eunbyul minded her own business, wearing her earphones once she heard Yedam raise his voice, blaming something on their classmates. Don't get involved. That way, you keep calm and don't get in trouble. She underlined phrases in her textbook, making notes of it to help her study for the upcoming exams.

The female was too occupied with her work to notice their class president walk in with an announcement, and if it weren't for Jaehyuk tapping her desk to gain her attention, she wouldn't have heard an update on their homeroom teacher. Jaehyuk was always giving her a helping hand, despite being cold to everyone else in their class. She gave a grateful nod before looking at Doyoung, listening to what he had to say.

"Did he get a concussion? How does he not remember?" Eunbyul inquired, sighing when Doyoung stated he didn't ask their homeroom teacher who was admitted to the hospital. "That's just weird."

Jeongwoo chuckled, finding her questions amusing. "Why don't you just send a survey to our teacher? I'm pretty sure he'll be glad to fill it in his concussed state." He laughed with his friends, his smile faltering when he saw the serious look in her eyes.

"We haven't had a fight in so long, Jeongwoo. I think you forgot what it feels like to get your butt kicked."

"Get my butt kicked? I wasn't the one who ended up with a busted lip and broken nose last time."

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Park Eunbyul sat next to Yedam during lunch, refusing to sit at the other table since Jeongwoo was there. The idol trainee didn't mind her presence, slowly taking bites of his lunch as he worked on his song.

"So, you aren't skipping school like the others, huh?" Doyoung started a conversation, wanting to get to know more about the national figure skating champion. "Any specific reason?" He was genuinely curious, wanting to know why she'd come to school when she had the choice was going back home.

"Coming to class is better than going home," Eunbyul replied, knowing well what the class president was trying to come across. "It's easier staying here, anyway."

Yedam flitted his gaze from his device to the female student's face, shrugging. "Why, though? Is it because of your brother?" He went back to listening to the track individually, trying to multitask. "Is he home for–" Jaehyuk kicked the male under the table, shoving more rice into his mouth to avoid any eye-contact.

"Yeah, that's it. He's home these days." Eunbyul butted in, cutting Yedam off before he continued. "And I'll take that as my cue to leave." She stood from her seat, walking away from the boys.

Doyoung shook his head at the idol trainee, looking disappointing. "Way to go, Yedam," he stated. "You just pissed off Eunbyul and didn't get punched in the face."

"I don't mind punching him, though," Jaehyuk mumbled under his breath, going to dispose his empty tray as he was done with lunch.

Despite trying to leave early, Jihoon had caught up to Eunbyul, dragging her outside with their classmates. He claimed it was a part of the protection he was providing her with, but she knew he was just trying to make up for the fact he couldn't have lunch with her.

A ball got thrown towards the little congregation, with Jeongwoo easily catching it. He passed it back to the male, who threw it, stopping in his tracks as they conversed. "I got another nightmare again!" The student confessed accusingly, making the others wonder why Jeongwoo was to blame for the nightmare the other boy had. "I always get nightmares whenever I sleep in your class."

"Again?" Jeongwoo looked confused, turning to his classmates as if to ask them if they had similar experiences.

Jihoon let out a laugh, placing his arms over Eunbyul and Jeongwoo — even though he was shorter than both of them. "I'll tell you how not to get nightmares," he spoke, pausing halfway when the student gave the exact answer he was going to give as a joke.

Eunbyul chuckled, rolling her eyes as she was never used to the jokes her best friend made, no matter how long they've known each other. "Oh, Eunbyul?" Wonjin quipped, seeing the only female amongst the boys. "I saw your brother on TV the other day. He said he was going home for–"

"If you don't want to get nightmares, just don't sleep," the female blurted to the other student, failing at her attempt to smoothly changing the topic. "I'm off to class. I got work to do." She pushed off Jihoon's arm, avoiding the gazes of her classmates as she walked away from them.

"She'll be fine," Jihoon announced, subtly glaring at Wonjin who looked worried. "I'd be pissed if I had to spend my whole day with guys like you too." He held back the urge to run after her, knowing Eunbyul needed some time away.

As the boys agreed to play soccer, Yoon Jaehyuk walked away from the group after seeing they had enough members to play. No one thought of it much, seeing as the class genius barely had time to have fun since he always had his nose buried in a book.

"Let's go!"

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Park Eunbyul entered the empty class, letting out a deep breath as she realised no one else was around. Though she didn't show it, Eunbyul was concerned about being the only girl in the entire school. And now that she knew what exactly was the situation, she was scared that she might have to change schools.

Eunbyul didn't want to leave Treasure High. This school was the only one within the area that would accept her, given her previous records. The students here always brushed off her behaviour and tried to understand — not complaining to the teachers and getting her expelled or suspended like they did in her former schools.

Seeing the space behind the desks, Eunbyul smiled to herself, checking if her shoes slid across the floor easily. She didn't remember the last time she skated for fun. It was always either for this championship or that championship. Gliding across the floor for fun, a genuine giggle escaped her lips as her actions seemed to mimic the feeling of being on ice.

"One ... two ... jump and twirl." She laughed, feeling childish as she realised she enjoyed skating on a tiled floor.

Eunbyul was having a little too much of fun to realise Jaehyuk was standing outside the class, watching her from the window with a small smile on his face. She's always frowning or glaring — it's a nice change to see a smile on her. He contemplated on leaving her to her antics, but figured it would be better to make himself known before someone else came by.

Jaehyuk opened the class door as loudly as he could, taking his time to do so. "Oh? Were you doing something?" He pretended to not have seen anything, taking a few steps back. "I can go to another class and–"

"No, no! It's alright. I was just, uh, doing nothing." Eunbyul gestured the male into their class. "You can come in. I was gonna go through some notes." She hurried towards her locker, pretending to be occupied.

Opening her locker, the female frowned, seeing a piece of paper lying on top of her books. I don't remember keeping that there. Eunbyul checked the number of the locker, seeing if she had opened someone else's by mistake. Nope, it's mine, alright. Not thinking much, she took the note, checking if it was anything of importance.

roses are red, the sky is blue. hope i don't come across as creepy, but i kinda have a crush on you.
– your secret admirer

Eunbyul's eyes widened upon reading the contents of the paper, scoffing in disbelief as she looked around the class, wondering who pulled a prank on her. But no one came near my locker all day. And no one knows my code either. She noticed the slits on the door of the locker, realising whoever placed the note had slipped it through one of them.

"Eunbyul?" Jaehyuk called out, wondering what the female was doing standing in front of her locker for long. "You okay?" He observed her, turning back to his books when she shook her head, walking back to her seat after getting a book out.

Who the heck is my secret admirer?

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Park Eunbyul was lost in thought even after all her classmates had come back after playing soccer, staring at the same page over and over as her mind was occupied with the 'secret admirer' note she had gotten.

She had on her seat in front of Yedam, doodling on the side of her notebook. Eunbyul took out her pencil box, wanting to find a highlighter to actually get started on her notes. "What in the world?" She mumbled under her breath, seeing another piece of paper inside.

there is this girl who isn't aware that her stare gives me butterflies in my stomach.
p.s – you look really pretty when you smile
– your secret admirer

The female couldn't help but feel suspicious, checking through her desk and books to see if there was another note. Eunbyul held her breath as she went through her bag, eyes widening as she felt a piece of paper in the front pocket of her bag.

i know you think that this is a prank, but i can assure you that my feelings are true. besides, who would even dare to mess with you?
– your secret admirer

Eunbyul furrowed her brows, wondering who left her the notes. Whoever he is, he is right. No one would mess with me like this. But who exactly is he? She looked around her class, watching the boys stand in front of the fans in an attempt to cool off.

"Hyunsuk," she called softly after a lot of hesitation. The male looked surprised, not used to the female asking for him. "Can you check who the student is by seeing their handwriting?" Eunbyul wanted to know who this person was — and see for herself if it wasn't really a prank.

"I help with the assignments sometimes, so I think I can recognise anyone's handwriting," he confidently spoke, nodding. "Why, though?" Hyunsuk looked confused, wanting to know more.

The female took a deep breath, placing the first note she had gotten on the table. "Can you figure out who this is?" Her voice fell just above a whisper, looking around to make sure no one else saw the note.

Hyunsuk's brows raised in question as he read it before he inspected it, trying to figure out who the author of the note was. "It ... doesn't really look familiar." He pouted, tilting his head as he could not help his classmate. "When did you get this?"

"Today. It was in my locker." Eunbyul ran her fingers through her hair, biting her lip in frustration. "I just want to know who it is and tell them to stop joking around. They are leaving notes everywhere and I don't want the entire class finding out."

"Well, thanks for trusting me to share it." Hyunsuk nodded, smiling slightly. "It could also be someone from the other classes too, you know? Kids from Class 2 drop by often." Eunbyul thought about his words, wondering if she knew anyone from the other classes.

Her train of thought was cut off when Mashiho looked around his desk before whining about his milk being taken. Eunbyul never really listened to her classmates' bickering and muted them out, but her ears perked up when Junkyu said he bought exactly twenty milk cartons.

But don't we currently have 21 students?

As if the headache from trying to find out who was leaving notes for her wasn't enough, Doyoung came into the classroom after a while, stating their official class attendance was twenty students.

"Maybe the school just forgot to update the register?" Eunbyul suggested, trying to see the logical side of things. "We've been in the same class for the last three years. There's no one we don't know."

Doyoung shook his head, taking a chalk before writing on the board. "We used to have 30 students. But after most of the girls left, the register was updated to 20," he explained. "I thought maybe they forgot to add Eunbyul, but they have written her name and mentioned that she's included."

"So what you are trying to say is that our class has a ghost student?" Eunbyul placed her elbows on her desk before resting her chin on her hands. "Like someone only our classmates and our homeroom teacher can see ... but not others in the school?"

The class president hesitantly nodded, sceptic about the situation as well. "There's 21 of us, and 11 played the soccer game. But the other team only saw 10," Doyoung announced, making eye-contact with each of his classmates. "I'm not saying we should suspect each other, but someone who doesn't belong here played the game with us. Someone who we can see, but not the other team."

Eunbyul exhaled, letting out