## Chapter 1: New Beginnings
Min-ji clutched her worn backpack straps tighter as she stared up at the imposing glass facade of Hanseong Elite Academy. The morning sun reflected off the building's pristine windows, making it gleam like a jewel against Seoul's skyline. Students streamed past her, stepping out of luxury cars and chatting in groups, their designer uniforms crisp and perfectly tailored.
She looked down at her own uniform—clean and pressed, but clearly from the school's discount supplier. Her mother had worked extra hours selling tteokbokki at her street cart to afford even this version.
"You deserve this, Min-ji-ya," she whispered to herself, repeating her mother's words from that morning. "Your intelligence earned you this chance."
Taking a deep breath, she walked through the massive entrance doors. The lobby was all marble floors and crystal chandeliers, more luxurious than any building she'd ever entered. Students moved through the space with casual confidence, their voices mixing Korean with English phrases, discussing weekend trips to Jeju Island and new luxury purchases.
Min-ji checked her schedule again—Room 3-A. She made her way up the pristine staircase, trying to ignore the curious glances from other students. Some whispered as she passed, and she caught fragments: "새 학생?" "New student?" "이쁘다..." "She's pretty..."
Room 3-A was already half full when she arrived. The teacher, Mrs. Park, looked up with a warm smile. "Ah, you must be Lee Min-ji. Class, we have a new student joining us. She's here on our academic excellence scholarship."
Min-ji bowed politely. "안녕하세요. 이민지입니다. 잘 부탁드립니다." Hello, I'm Lee Min-ji. Please take care of me.
A few students nodded back, but Min-ji noticed how the word "scholarship" seemed to ripple through the room like a warning. Near the back, a girl with perfectly styled hair and expensive accessories looked up from her phone, her eyes narrowing as she took in Min-ji's appearance.
Some students exchanged knowing glances and whispered among themselves. Min-ji caught fragments of their conversations:
"Another scholarship student..."
"Ye-jin unnie's going to have a new target."
"Poor girl, she's actually pretty too."
"Remember what happened to the last one?"
A few students even snickered quietly, as if they were anticipating some kind of entertainment.
By the window, a tall boy with sharp features sat alone, earbuds in, completely absorbed in whatever he was reading. He didn't look up at the introduction, seemingly uninterested in the new arrival or anything else happening in the classroom.
"You can sit next to Da-young," Mrs. Park gestured to an empty desk beside a friendly-looking girl with a bright smile.
As Min-ji walked to her seat, she heard more whispers, some sympathetic, others anticipatory:
"She's really pretty though..."
"That won't save her from Ye-jin."
"Remember Kim Min-ho? He transferred schools after two months."
"Ye-jin unnie doesn't like... their kind mixing with us."
Da-young turned to her with genuine warmth as Min-ji sat down. "Hi! I'm Park Da-young. Welcome to Hanseong." Her voice was kind, without the calculating tone Min-ji had heard from others.
"Thank you," Min-ji replied softly, grateful for the first friendly face she'd encountered.
Her eyes drifted toward the solitary boy by the window. Even sitting alone, there was something magnetic about him—an aura of quiet intensity. A few girls in the class kept glancing in his direction, but he remained completely focused on his book, as if the rest of the world didn't exist.
"That's Kim Joon-ho," Da-young whispered, following her gaze. "Senator Kang's daughter's fiancé. He's... not very social."
Min-ji nodded, noting how he seemed to exist in his own bubble, separate from everyone else despite being in the same room.
From the back of the room, she felt cold eyes watching her. Kang Ye-jin, daughter of Senator Kang, was studying the new scholarship student with the calculating gaze of someone assessing a potential threat. This girl was beautiful—too beautiful—and that made her dangerous. Especially with her fiancé in the same classroom.
The morning classes passed in a blur of advanced calculus and literature discussions. Min-ji impressed her teachers with her quick answers and thoughtful insights, earning approving nods and surprised murmurs from classmates. But she could feel the weight of being watched, evaluated, judged.
Joon-ho never once looked her way, even when she answered difficult questions that impressed the entire class. He remained in his own world, taking notes with mechanical precision but showing no interest in his surroundings.
During the break between classes, several students approached Min-ji with curiosity, asking about her previous school and how she'd earned the scholarship. But none of them seemed genuinely friendly except Da-young, who stayed by her side protectively.
"Don't mind the staring," Da-young said gently, but her voice carried a hint of worry. "They're just... well, Ye-jin unnie has a reputation for being particularly harsh with scholarship students. She thinks they don't belong here."
"What do you mean?" Min-ji asked, though something in her stomach was already sinking.
Da-young glanced around nervously before leaning closer. "She's made life difficult for other scholarship students before. Really difficult. Some have even transferred to other schools." She paused, then added quietly, "She sees it as protecting the school's... elite status."
Min-ji nodded, glancing around the classroom. Her eyes fell on Joon-ho again, who was now staring out the window with a distant expression. There was something lonely about the way he sat apart from everyone, as if he'd built invisible walls around himself.
She had no idea that from across the room, Ye-jin was already planning her next move. The senator's daughter had made it her personal mission to rid Hanseong Academy of what she called "charity cases." In her mind, scholarship students contaminated the pure, elite atmosphere that families like hers paid premium prices to maintain.
This new girl was particularly problematic—beautiful, confident, and already impressing teachers. She would need to be dealt with swiftly and thoroughly, just like the others before her.
Some students watched with a mixture of pity and anticipation. They'd seen this play before. Ye-jin never lost.
And she especially needed to make sure that no scholarship student ever got ideas about their place in the social hierarchy—or caught the attention of anyone important.
The real test was about to begin, and everyone in the classroom knew how it would end.