4
1039 Words
CHAPTER 4
Dayo POV
“Rank two hundred thousand?”
“No way.”
“That’s what the board said.”
I stared straight ahead.
This was going to be a long day.
I decided not to react.
It was my first day.
Getting into arguments before the teacher even arrived felt like a terrible strategy.
I pulled out the documents from my bag and pretended to review my schedule instead.
Gradually, the conversations shifted back to other topics.
Thankfully.
The classroom door opened a few moments later.
A woman stepped into the room carrying a tablet and several files.
I recognized her immediately.
Ms. Choi.
The same teacher I had met during enrollment.
She walked to the front of the classroom and placed the files neatly on her desk before looking up.
Her gaze swept across the room once.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Ms. Choi.”
The response came together.
She nodded once.
Then her eyes landed on me.
The room seemed to notice at the same time.
“Mr. Adeyemi.”
Every head turned again.
I resisted the urge to sigh.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please stand.”
I got to my feet.
“This is Dayo Adeyemi,” Ms. Choi said. “He joined the academy this morning through the international scholarship program and will be attending Class 2-A moving forward.”
“Introduce yourself.”
I looked around the room briefly.
Dozens of unfamiliar faces looked back at me.
“My name is Dayo Adeyemi,” I said. “I’m from Nigeria. It’s nice to meet you all.”
The introduction lasted less than ten seconds.
I sat down again.
Ms. Choi continued as though nothing unusual had happened.
“Now that introductions are finished, we’ll begin.”
She activated the screen at the front of the room.
Schedules appeared immediately.
Today’s classes.
Assignments.
Assessment dates.
The amount of information was enough to make my head hurt already.
As Ms. Choi began explaining the academy curriculum, I found myself glancing around the classroom.
I noticed something strange.
An empty desk.
It sat near the front of the room, positioned close enough to the teacher’s desk that whoever occupied it would have an unobstructed view of everything.
Nobody was sitting there.
The surrounding desks were occupied, but there was a noticeable space around that one seat, as though an invisible line existed that nobody wanted to cross.
I frowned slightly.
Maybe someone was absent.
That explanation made sense.
Ms. Choi continued teaching without acknowledging it.
The lesson moved on to academy regulations, grading systems, and performance requirements. Most of it sounded normal until she reached the ranking structure.
The moment the ranking system appeared on the screen, the room became noticeably more attentive.
“The rankings are updated regularly based on multiple performance indicators,” Ms. Choi explained. “Students are expected to maintain their standing through consistent achievement.”
Then the classroom door opened. it immediately pulled everyone’s attention away from the screen.
Including mine.
A girl stepped inside.
She wore the same uniform as everyone else, but somehow it looked different on her, Without saying a word, she walked toward the empty desk at the front of the classroom.
Kang Seo-yun.
Rank 1.
She placed a folder on her desk and took her seat as if arriving late was completely normal.
Ms. Choi barely paused.
“You’re late.”
Seo-yun looked up.
“I know.”
That was it.
Ms. Choi simply returned to the lesson.
The rest of the class accepted it without question.
I stared for a second longer than I intended.
Not because she was beautiful.
Not because she was Rank 1.
But because she was apparently the only person in the room who could arrive late and have nobody act like it mattered.
Then, as if she felt someone looking at her, Seo-yun turned slightly.
Our eyes met briefly.
Just for a second.
Then she looked away and continued listening to the lesson as though I didn’t exist.
For some reason, that bothered me more than it should have.
The lesson continued.
Ms. Choi moved through the curriculum with the speed of someone who expected her students to keep up rather than wait for them. Notes appeared on the screen. Deadlines followed. Assessment schedules came after that.
I wrote down what seemed important and hoped I wasn’t already missing something.
Around me, pages turned and keyboards clicked.
Nobody seemed overwhelmed.
I was beginning to suspect that everyone here had been preparing for this school long before they ever stepped inside it.
Then Ms. Choi paused.
“Since we have a new student, we’ll be reviewing last semester’s placement results.”
The screen changed.
Rows of names appeared.
Statistics.
Scores.
Performance evaluations.
I stared at it for a few seconds before giving up on understanding half of what I was looking at.
The system was far more complicated than a simple ranking board.
“It is important to remember,” Ms. Choi continued, “that positions are not permanent.”
“Several ranking adjustments will occur throughout the semester.”
A hand went up near the front.
“What about the Rank 2 review?”
The classroom became noticeably quieter.
Ms. Choi looked at the student for a moment.
“It will be announced when the administration decides to announce it.”
I frowned slightly.
Rank 2 review?
The student sitting beside me leaned toward his friend.
“You think they’re actually doing it?”
“They wouldn’t schedule a review if nothing happened.”
“Min-ji won’t be happy.”
That name caught my attention.
Park Min-ji.
I remembered it from the ranking board.
Rank 2.
Or at least he had been.
Before I could think further about it, Ms. Choi’s voice cut through the room again.
“Enough.”
I glanced toward the front of the room.
Seo-yun remained focused on her notes, her expression unchanged.
She didn’t look curious.
She didn’t look concerned.
If anything, she looked like she already knew something the rest of the class didn’t.
Then the classroom speakers crackled to life.
A calm voice echoed through the room.
“Attention students. The Rank 2 review decision has been finalized.”
- Writer
