TENACITY

Chapter 6 — The Evidence

The screen above the plaza flickered.

A file slowly began to open.

The crowd leaned closer, their whispers rising like waves.

Alicia felt her heart pounding in her chest.

Please don’t be something they can twist, she thought.

Han So-yeon stood confidently at the top of the stairs, holding the microphone as if she owned the entire campus.

“Some of you may know,” she said smoothly, “that the international scholarship requires exceptional academic honesty.”

A few students nodded.

Others glanced toward Alicia.

“So imagine my surprise,” So-yeon continued, “when I discovered something… very concerning.”

The screen behind her finally loaded.

A document appeared.

Alicia’s name was written across the top.

Her stomach dropped.

“That’s my application file,” she whispered.

Min-ji grabbed her arm.

“How did she get that?”

So-yeon turned slightly toward the screen.

“This,” she said, “is a copy of Alicia Nalubowa’s entrance examination results.”

Students began murmuring again.

Alicia’s chest tightened.

The numbers on the screen looked wrong.

Completely wrong.

“Wait,” Alicia said under her breath. “Those aren’t my scores.”

So-yeon continued speaking.

“As you can see,” she said sweetly, “the scores here are… surprisingly low.”

The crowd reacted immediately.

“What?”

“No way.”

“How did she get the scholarship then?”

Alicia felt heat rush to her face.

“That’s fake,” she said.

But the noise of the crowd drowned her voice.

Min-ji looked furious.

“This is ridiculous.”

Jae-hyun tilted his head, watching the screen carefully.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

So-yeon raised the microphone again.

“And yet,” she continued, “despite these results, Alicia somehow received the most prestigious scholarship our university offers.”

She paused dramatically.

“So I must ask… how is that possible?”

The crowd erupted into whispers again.

Some students looked suspicious.

Others looked uncomfortable.

Alicia’s hands were shaking.

“I didn’t cheat,” she said quietly.

Min-ji squeezed her shoulder.

“I know.”

Suddenly Jae-hyun spoke.

“Those numbers are edited.”

Both girls looked at him.

“How do you know?” Alicia asked.

Jae-hyun pointed toward the screen.

“Look closely.”

Alicia squinted.

The formatting looked strange.

The font sizes didn’t match.

And the university seal in the corner looked slightly blurred.

“Someone altered that file,” Jae-hyun said calmly.

But the rest of the crowd couldn’t see the details from far away.

To them, it looked official.

Above them, So-yeon smiled slightly.

“Of course,” she said, “I’m not accusing anyone directly.”

A few students laughed at that.

“But I believe the university deserves transparency.”

Alicia’s frustration exploded.

“That’s not my real score!” she shouted.

The crowd turned toward her.

Whispers spread quickly.

“That’s her.”

“That’s the scholarship girl.”

So-yeon looked down at Alicia as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Oh,” she said softly into the microphone. “You’re here.”

Alicia stepped forward despite the shaking in her legs.

“Yes, I’m here.”

The entire plaza fell quiet.

“If you’re going to accuse me,” Alicia said, her voice trembling but firm, “at least use real information.”

So-yeon tilted her head slightly.

“Are you saying the document is fake?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re calling me a liar?”

Alicia hesitated.

The crowd watched intensely.

Then she answered.

“If that document came from you… then yes.”

Gasps spread through the plaza.

Min-ji whispered, “That took courage.”

Jae-hyun grinned slightly.

Above them, So-yeon’s smile finally faded.

For a moment her eyes turned cold.

“You’re very confident for someone in your position,” she said.

“I’m confident because I didn’t cheat,” Alicia replied.

The tension in the plaza was thick enough to feel.

Then suddenly—

Another voice spoke.

“This document is fake.”

Everyone turned.

Park Min-ho stepped forward.

His voice was calm but firm.

The crowd immediately quieted.

“Those scores aren’t from the university database,” he continued.

So-yeon frowned slightly.

“And how would you know that?”

Min-ho looked directly at the screen.

“Because I checked the real records an hour ago.”

The plaza exploded with murmurs again.

Min-ji blinked.

“You checked already?”

Jae-hyun chuckled.

“I knew he looked angry earlier.”

So-yeon tightened her grip on the microphone.

“That’s a serious accusation, Min-ho.”

Min-ho didn’t look at her.

Instead, he looked straight at Alicia.

Then he spoke clearly so everyone could hear.

“The real scores show that Alicia Nalubowa ranked first among all international applicants.”

Silence fell over the plaza.

Then shock spread across the crowd.

“First?”

“Seriously?”

“That means she earned it.”

Alicia felt her breath catch.

“First?” she whispered.

Min-ho nodded slightly.

“Yes.”

For the first time that night, Han So-yeon looked uncertain.

Only for a second.

Then she laughed lightly.

“Well,” she said, “it seems there has been a misunderstanding.”

But the crowd wasn’t convinced anymore.

Students were already whispering again—this time about her.

Jae-hyun leaned toward Alicia.

“Looks like the attack just backfired.”

Alicia stared at Min-ho.

“Why did you check the records?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead he said something that made her heart skip.

“Because I didn’t believe the accusations.”

Then he turned back toward the screen.

“And whoever edited that file,” he added coldly, “should be careful.”

His eyes briefly met So-yeon’s.

“The university takes document forgery very seriously.”

For a moment the air between them felt dangerous.

So-yeon slowly lowered the microphone.

The crowd began to disperse, buzzing with conversation.

But Alicia knew something important had just happened.

This wasn’t the end of the conflict.

It was only the beginning.

Because as So-yeon walked past her on the stairs, she stopped just long enough to whisper:

“This isn’t over.”

Alicia felt a chill run down her spine.

And deep down, she knew she had just stepped into a war she couldn’t escape.