If there was something I learned about Yoon Chan-young from the show, it was that he is a great confidante like his father, and very much a friend everyone needed. I wondered how he survived the bullying, he said he was alone but I'm sure Bo-na had a hand in it, and his grades, and maybe something/someone else?
Sa-ra was indefinitely struggling.
Unused to the amount of non-liberal arts subjects she was supposed to take, the stress of adapting into a normal academic school was mounting. It used to be 60% participation, 20% performance, 10% classwork, and 10% tests, but now it felt like 70% classwork and 30% tests. Her head felt as if it had been fried crisp that she asked for a giant calendar by the end of the first week. She had then transferred all the syllabus in different colors and decided to request for an academic counselor to watch over her studies. It was her counselor that paired her with a classmate he deemed 'stellar'.
One problem, though. Sa-ra's lunch-mates disapproved the student.
The fact that her future was secure even if she sat alone at lunch for the rest of her high school career didn't mean that she would ever take up the option, if she could help it. Once Sa-ra told them of the counselor's decision, they had been a dear and asked their benefactor parents to get a look into the school database and look him up. Yoon Chan-young. Status: Social Welfare Student. Her friends' verdict: Social Disaster.
But her counselor was right, his school career had been brilliant; competitions and awards flooded his résumé, but it wasn't until his father was promoted into the position of Jeguk President's Secretary did he get a place in Jeguk High. Such was the system of their school, or even their world, for that matter.
The first class ranking was going to be posted in two weeks 'time after the first test week of the year had been graded, and she intended to shock her head now to prepare if she wanted to start at the top half – where her mother expected her to be. Having a mother who ran a school has its perks, like giving out achievable academic goals, though that doesn't apply on other aspects of her life. Her lovely stepbrother didn't want to have anything to do with it even when he was constantly in the top ten of his year, which was most likely Hyo-shin-sunbae's wonderful influence. Yet another reason to strive higher.
Now, Yoon Chan-young. "What do I think of you?" she muttered to herself, watching said boy helping himself to the food in the cafeteria. She frowned. The dots failed to connect themselves.
For one, the boy was sufficiently polished: His shoes were clean, his uniform was nicely ironed and precisely pressed on all the right places. Maybe it should've been expected. With the way Jeguk's young president Kim Won was dressed, there was no way he would let his secretary settle for anything less. In Sa-ra's eyes, a secretary was a high-paying job, because her father's was living comfortably in a condo in the pricy part of Gangnam. And let's be honest, having only one teenage boy to feed meant that they could trade the designer handbags for organic food and high-quality linen. Mr. Yoon must be one smart man. And loving, too, if the smile on Yoon Chan-young's face was any indication. The boy was almost too disgustingly smiley to exist in their world.
"What's your diet today?"
Sa-ra's observation were interrupted by a chirped question. Lee Bo-na, heiress of Mega Entertainment. It only made sense that Bo-na would be the one to recognize her past accomplishments, because it was her father's agency that offered her a guaranteed huge career in the entertainment industry a few months prior. Sa-ra's mom had to send him a set of Bulgari cufflinks as a polite 'no, thank you' and sadly now Sa-ra would never know what could have been. But Bo-na came up to her after the first-day introduction and outright said that she 'chose' to have her back, that a newcomer should feel lucky that an old player of Jeguk social scene would herd them. Sa-ra admired her naivety and no-bullshit attitude; it was a gem in the circle of society where nannies, bodyguards, and chauffeurs were the true parents and the true parents have only half an hour to see their kids every day. And although she didn't need to be guided through her high school career, having a group of girls to fall back to was really nice. They've created a girl group in SNS where shopping catalogues painted their discussion more than an actual conversation.
"Why don't you tell me, hmm? You sabotaged it, after all."
Bo-na masterfully pouted and waved a hand. "You've been eating a lot of carbo last week. I know it's energy for studying but this is better for you." She pointed at her plate. "Dragon fruit, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, bananas, granola and a sprinkle of chia seeds. Very good for your digestive system."
Sa-ra hadn't felt this looked-after since Jung Soo was her acting personal butler. Bo-na had been overseeing her lunch menu since Monday much like Jung Soo did when they were in Saerang, and it made her wonder if she does this to other people around her too, because so far and to her knowledge only her and Kang Ye-sol had fallen victim to this behavior. "I don't want to spend the next period in the restroom."
"Ya, Sa-ra-ya, I'm doing this for you. See, Ye-sol isn't protesting." She pointed at said girl, who sent a weak shrug. She wasn't enjoying this, either.
"What are we having tomorrow then, Princess?"
Bo-na didn't seem at all bothered by the nickname. "Sushi." She smiled cutely.
Huh, she had no objections to that. "I want Salmon Mentai, please."
"Okay," she chirped in agreement.
Sa-ra had wondered how someone like Lee Bo-na could be in friendly terms with the biggest bully in school until she heard the princess talking about the lowest-tier students like it left a bitter taste in her mouth. Social conditioning and peer pressure to ignore their existence Sa-ra understood, but to refuse a smart boy's help because of his social standing was going overboard. It was equivalent to asking specifically for a tutor who had a wealthy background, which wasn't an impossible scenario, but highly unlikely.
Then it occurred to her. Of course it was Yoon Chan-young. No higher-tier students would be willing to let a counselor tell them what to do, even if it was to tutor a first-tier kid. The competition in these schools was always silent, but quite deadly since their parents would be the ones to have the liberty over bragging their children's rankings, and nothing beats children's achievements in their society. Her collection of trophies was quite a feat and merely thinking about it sent a jolt of discomfort. It wasn't growing anytime soon, or ever, and talks of Juilliard and Harvard would be classified as a forbidden topic now.
"I have to do it." Sa-ra announced to her table. She had to give her two sets of parents something new to brag about; she couldn't let Jeremy take all the burden no matter how much she would enjoy the look on his face because of it. It wouldn't be fair on the both of them.
"Do what?" Ye-sol asked, twirling a strand of her hair, a nervous habit Sa-ra noticed. Ye-sol was still wary around her, which was understandable. They were both new to Jeguk, both under the wings of Bo-na, and yet Sa-ra acclimated and seemed to find her place and voice much faster, thanks to Jeremy and Hyo-shin-sunbae. She could see how it might intimidate the others.
"Take the tutoring offer."
"No," Bo-na shot up, sitting straighter. "You can't," she hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Give me a solid rebuff," Sa-ra challenged back.
It came in under three seconds. "Choi Young-do is going on a bender around the social welfare kids, he's picking on the obvious ones at the moment," which translated to the ones that looked the part, "but he can and will access the database once he ran out. Once he reached Yoon Chan-young, I don't want you to be in the way because making a deal with Choi Young-do is like making a deal with the devil."
If Sa-ra ever had doubts about Bo-na's logical intelligence, they were slowly erasing themselves right this moment. She had never heard the princess talking in such long sentences before because she never needed to; her shrill threatening tone and pretty face always made people do whatever at her beck and call. But this time Lee Bo-na actually controlled her voice, and sounded as serious as her counselor.
"Not even you can make him back off." Bo-na's confidence was silently hurting Sa-ra's pride. "Or me, not without a very good reason anyway. And I'm not fighting this for you," she warned.
"What makes you so sure I can't?"
Bo-na gave a deadpan stare. "I have known him since we were children." She cut her off before she could argue. "And even if Yoon Chan-young can stand up for himself and hit back, Young-do will sue him. What do you think will happen next?"
"I can give him two extra lawyers…?" By this point Sa-ra knew she herself was bluffing. Bo-na gave solid points, she had to admit. She could very well have an outside tutor called in, but taking Yoon Chan-young was a 'kill 'em with kindness' method of messing with the bully, which was totally her style. If there was one quality about herself that she liked, it was her silently rebelling ways, ones where she didn't have to bother the people around her. So no, she would never ask Bo-na to persuade the bully anyway. They didn't know each other well enough for that. Yet. And it had to be a yet because this was a girl she could benefit befriending, one whose loyalty wasn't swayed by her naivety, because Sa-ra figured two sentences ago that Bo-na was on Choi Young-do's side even when he was clearly in the wrong.
Bo-na glared daggers at her, but didn't bother to reply.
"Is it my turn now?" Sa-ra asked. At her opponent's nod, she tried. "You forgot to consider one factor."
"What?"
"My intelligence." She took a bite of the kiwi, her face scrunching up at the overbearing sourness. "I'll only need his help for the first test week, so if it turns out I can do well on my own, by the time Choi Young-do finds him I'm out of his life anyway."
Bo-na had an incredibly expressive face, the muscles seemingly failing to let her have a guile, because Sa-ra could literally see the cogs turning in her head. "Okay," she finally said. "You can take the offer."
Sa-ra smiled, turning to look at the other girl sitting on their table.
"Just be careful, you don't know what kind of person Yoon Chan-young is," Ye-sol gave her two cents.
"That's what I'm going to find out. Thank you girls." Sa-ra beamed and stood up from her seat to approach the topic of their argument. All the boys on the table turned their heads to look at her. A variety of tiers, since there would always be people who didn't mind who they talked to. Sympathizers would be a fitting term. She turned to one particular boy who smiled, albeit a little reluctantly. "Yoon Chan-young, counselor Nam must've told you about me." She minded the confidence she exuded, she had to always be on top, extending a hand for him to shake. "Kwon Sa-ra."
Recognition filled his eyes then, and he took her offer with a friendly smile. "Hello."
"You're in tennis elective, right?" At his nod, she continued with a smile, "Great, me too. Don't worry, I'm sure I can come up with a good deal for you."
