The Storage Room Confrontation

Kang Hari had always believed that the best way to survive in a world like Daehan Elite Academy was to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. But trouble had a name, and it was Jang Seohyun.

Ever since their clash in the cafeteria, Seohyun had made it his personal mission to remind her that she didn’t belong. But what frustrated her more than his antics was the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure why he cared so much. There were plenty of other scholarship students, yet he zeroed in on her, as if she was the only thorn in his perfect, chaebol-groomed existence.

That question lingered in her mind the morning she walked into class and found her desk missing.

A ripple of laughter spread through the room as she scanned the space where it used to be. The chair remained, but the desk—along with her books—had vanished.

“You look lost,” Seohyun’s voice drawled behind her.

Hari clenched her fists before turning around. He was leaning back in his chair, twirling a pen between his fingers, looking bored. But she caught the slight upturn of his lips—the same smirk he always wore when he was enjoying himself.

“Where is it?” she asked flatly.

“Where’s what?”

“My desk, Jang Seohyun.”

He sighed, tapping the pen against his chin as if deep in thought. “Ah, that. I heard someone say the janitor found a broken desk near the back of the school. Shame, really.”

More chuckles followed, but Hari refused to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. She had learned early on that people like Seohyun thrived on seeing others break.

Instead, she turned to the teacher, who had just walked in. “My desk is missing.”

The teacher barely spared her a glance before looking at the empty space where it should have been. “There’s a spare in the storage room. You can bring it in after class.”

More laughter. Hari’s nails dug into her palms. Of course. This was Daehan Elite Academy. The teachers weren’t about to challenge the heir of Jang Group over something as petty as a missing desk.

She pulled out her chair and sat without a desk, taking notes on her lap, pretending like she didn’t hear the whispers around her. Seohyun was watching her again. She could feel it. But she wouldn’t look at him. Not today.

That afternoon, she found herself in the storage room, maneuvering around forgotten furniture and old bookshelves in search of a replacement desk.

As she moved toward the back, she heard the door click shut.

Her body tensed. “Really?” she muttered.

“Really,” Seohyun answered, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. “You should’ve seen your face when you walked in this morning. Almost felt bad for you.”

She turned, glaring at him. “Let me guess. This is the part where you gloat?”

He didn’t smirk this time. Instead, he watched her in silence, something unreadable in his eyes. “You think you’re better than us, don’t you?”

Hari let out a sharp laugh. “Better? Jang Seohyun, I eat rice and side dishes from home while you sit at a table that probably costs more than my entire tuition. What part of that makes you think I see myself as better?”

“Because you don’t bow.” His voice was quieter now, almost accusatory. “Other people like you—people who don’t belong—they know their place. But you… You keep looking me in the eye like you’re my equal.”

Hari’s breath hitched. For a second, she saw something raw in his gaze. Not just arrogance. Not just cruelty. Something deeper, something bordering on resentment.

She narrowed her eyes. “That’s what this is about?”

Seohyun scoffed, the moment breaking. “Don’t flatter yourself, scholarship girl.”

She stepped closer, tilting her head. “You don’t hate me because I don’t belong. You hate me because I refuse to act like I don’t belong.”

His jaw tensed. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Then tell me.”

For a moment, she thought he might. But then, just as quickly, his mask was back on. He chuckled, shaking his head. “You talk too much.”

He turned to leave, but she called after him. “Why me, Seohyun?”

He paused.

“There are dozens of scholarship students at this school, but you only target me. Why?”

His fingers tightened around the doorknob. Then, without another word, he left, leaving her alone in the storage room.

Hari let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

Whatever Jang Seohyun’s reasons were, one thing was certain—there was something about her that unsettled him.

And that meant she had power too.

For the first time since entering Daehan Elite Academy, she didn’t just feel like she was surviving.

She felt like she was fighting back.

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