At the seats behind her, voices suddenly bubbled up.
"Really?"
"A celebrity's at school right now?"
Hong Aera lifted her head. "?"
"Yeah, I swear I saw them."
"I didn't hear tell me again!"
One of the girls leaned forward, excitement spilling out of her words.
"I came back from the restroom a little late, so I was already missing class. On the way, I looked out the window and seriously there were people who looked like celebrities going into the auditorium. I'm telling you, a whole bunch of them."
"What?"
"And they didn't come during break time. They showed up after class already started, like they were trying to avoid people's eyes."
"T-This isn't… you know-"
"HIGH SCHOOL OF ROCK!!"
Aera stood up so suddenly her chair scraped the floor. She walked over, Hai-an trailing behind her.
"Those people you saw," Aera asked casually, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, "are you sure they were celebrities? How do you know?"
The girls glanced at her.
"…Huh?"
One of them thought.
Is she listening to everything?
The girl who'd seen them nodded eagerly.
"Their appearance. Dyed hair, shaggy cuts, clothes that looked like stage outfits. People like that don't normally come to our school."
"…That's true," Hong Aera murmured. "So who was it?"
"I don't know for sure, but…" the girl thought carefully, lowering her voice. "There were about ten of them."
Hong Aera froze.
…About ten people?
No way.
SUSI?
Her mind instantly jumped to the
High School of Rock.
Famous celebrities secretly infiltrating an ordinary school, disguising it as a normal ceremony or event, then suddenly calling all the students to the auditorium for a surprise concert.
An entertainment program so ridiculous it felt unreal, yet students across the country had actually met A-list celebrities because of it.
"There's no way something like that would happen at our school…"
And yet
Every time the whole school was gathered in the auditorium, everyone secretly hoped for it.
Hong Aera scoffed under her breath in disbelief.
"B-but… does that even make sense?" she muttered. "Why would SUSI come all the way to Yongin? It's not even Seoul. And more importantly, there wasn't even an announcement to gather in the auditorium or anyt..."
As if on cue
[Che-check. Attention, students.]
The classroom froze.
Every head snapped upward toward the ceiling speaker the school's broadcast system crackling to life.
[As it is the last day of summer vacation, there will be an announcement for everyone. Without a single exception, please gather in the auditorium immediately.]
For a split second, there was silence.
Then
"…Hey."
"…This is it."
"It really is."
Eyes widened across the room.
"No way…"
"Are you serious?"
"That means.."
Hong Aera's breath caught.
R-really…!?
At a shitty school like this… something like that?
"Awesome, this is crazy!"
"What do we do?!"
"Are we actually going to see celebrities?!"
She barely heard them.
Her thoughts drowned everything out.
B-but if Kim Heechul really appears… right in front of my eyes…?
A chair suddenly screeched back.
Someone bolted for the door.
"Hey only we know for now!!"
"Run!!"
"We have to get in the front!!"
Once one person ran, the rest followed desks scraping, footsteps thundering as the classroom exploded into chaos.
Hong Aera didn't hesitate.
She took off, her long legs eating up the distance easily as she overtook the others, eyes blazing with fierce determination.
One thought burned in her mind, louder than anything else.
Kim Heechul is mine!!!!
Inside the auditorium, it was completely packed with students, the space buzzing with chatters.
"Ugh, what's this assembly even for?"
"It's not like they ever have anything important to say…"
"I was sleeping so well…"
"What a pain…"
On Yeon Seojin's side, their homeroom teacher clapped sharply.
"Alright, Class 1! Line up properly!"
We shuffled into place, lining up by height.
Shoes scuffed the floor, shoulders bumping as everyone adjusted.
Park Dong leaned toward the teacher, whispering, "What is this, teacher? Are we doing the opening ceremony early or something?"
The teacher ignored him completely.
"Class president," he said flatly, "do a headcount!"
Groans rippled through the line.
Across the auditorium, Seol Hyorim's class was doing the same, students straightening up under their teacher's watchful eye.
Irina glance at Inseop notice his uniform. "Button it all the way up or they'll nitpick."
"Oh right," Inseop muttered, hurriedly fixing his uniform.
-
Right at the very front, just below the stage, Hong Aera stood with a smug little smirk.
Front row. Perfect.
I'll get to see them closer than anyone else.
What if one of them reaches out and holds my hand? Hehe… I'm seriously dying from excitement.
Nearby, voices drifted over.
"What if it's High School of Rock?"
"Lol, if it is, I'm sprinting straight up there~~"
Hong Aera's eyes sharpened.
…Sharp ones, huh.
Better stay alert if I don't want to lose this spot.
She planted her feet firmly, shoulders squared, daring anyone to try and squeeze past her.
Then
A tall, broad figure strode onto the center of the stage, microphone in hand.
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
"Hey… isn't that the disciplinary teacher?"
"Wait.. did he get bigger?"
"Isn't he, like, some kind of martial artist or something?"
The man stopped looking at the students but to their long hair boys and girls.
And just like that, the restless noise in the auditorium began to fade.
"Alright, quiet everyone. Thanks for gathering here, everyone." His voice boomed, commanding silence. "Today marks the last day of summer break. How was your vacation?"
The moment he said it, protests erupted almost instantly.
"What kind of break is this?!"
"Yeah! At least let us rest at home during vacation!"
The noise swelled, complaints overlapping until the disciplinary teacher cut straight through it.
"No can do."
His voice was flat, unbothered.
"You came to school. That's how academic-track schools work. Do you ever listen?"
He paused, eyes sweeping across the auditorium. "Just because it's break doesn't mean you can ignore the hair rules. Look around hardly any of you are following them."
He gestured vaguely toward the crowd.
"And what's this? Altered uniforms now?"
The words hung heavy in the air.
One by one, students dropped their gazes, suddenly very interested in the floor.
Everyone knew exactly who and what he was talking about.
A few voices still dared to complain.
"Compared to kids from other schools, my beauty expenses cost way more!"
"We don't even get enough allowance for this!"
From the back, Im Yongjin's bald head gleamed under the lights as he raised a hand.
"Didn't I follow the rules pretty well?"
he said loudly. "Not even a single compliment?"
Behind him, Kang Hyuk laughed and rubbed his head.
"HAHAHA, you did good. You did good."
The disciplinary teacher didn't notice this commotion.
"You probably felt jealous seeing how vocational school kids didn't have to come in during break,"
he continued calmly. "But you all had an excellent attendance records. Showing up isn't just about rules. It's about discipline. About priorities."
He tapped the microphone once for emphasis.
"Even if you slack off sometimes, at least you understand what matters."
From our row, I couldn't help and said to our teacher.
"Teacher, tell him we don't have a choice. Miss even once and you'll beat us."
Park Dong immediately piled on.
"That's right. If we don't show up, our butts will be sore."
Suwon laugh. "Yeah, that's right. Lol."
Our homeroom teacher shot us a sharp look and scoffed.
"Shut it, smartasses."
A few students stifled laughs, but no one dared push it further.
Hong Aera sneered at the disciplinary teacher.
Damn, this intro is long… just bring out Susi already!!
I already know everything you're about to say.
Then, suddenly, the teacher's tone shifted.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"So, all of you… we've prepared a special gift."
Hong Aera's eyes lit up.
It's happening!!
"A gift??"
"What kind of gift?"
"Food? Please let it be food!"
"Bruh, if it's extra homework, I'm walking out."
"Is this really High School of Rock? They barely said anything, yet they gathered us all in the auditorium…"
"eyy, no way…"
"I bet other schools probably thought the same thing before celebs showed up. There's no rule saying they can't come to our school, right?"