L.I.A :Two Worlds Apart

3

Chapter Three

Dayo POV

By the end of lunch, I had already figured out one thing about L.I.A.

Nobody here needed to say things directly, In the way people looked at you. In who they sat beside. In which names got spoken carefully and which ones got ignored completely.

And somehow, without trying, I had already become noticeable.

Which was probably the worst thing that could happen to a scholarship student on his first day.

The hallway outside the cafeteria was crowded again by the time I left. Students moved around me in clusters, conversations overlapping as everyone headed toward their next class.

I checked my schedule for the third time that day.

Advanced Political Studies.

Room 3-A.

I followed the signs upstairs, trying not to look as lost as I felt, by the time I found Room 3-A, people were already inside.

I stepped in quietly.

Nobody looked at me till someone did and suddenly everyone else followed.

The room fell into one of those awkward silences that only lasted a few seconds but still managed to feel personal.

A guy near the windows leaned back in his chair slightly.

“That him?”

“The scholarship student?”

“Looks normal enough.”

A few quiet laughs followed.

I ignored them and looked toward the front of the room instead.

That was when I saw her again.

Seo-yun sat near the windows, one leg crossed over the other as she flipped through a book resting against her desk. She didn’t look up when I entered, didn’t react like everyone else had.

Which somehow felt worse,Because at least the others acknowledged I existed.

The only empty seat left in the classroom was near the back, right beside Park Min-ji.

Of course it was.

The moment I started walking toward it, I heard someone whisper, “Oh, this should be interesting.”

Min-ji looked up slowly as I stopped beside the desk, for a second, neither of us said anything, then he smiled…Not friendly.

“Looks like we’re seatmates.”

His voice was calm now, almost amused compared to earlier.

I glanced at the empty seat beside him.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

His smile faded slightly.

Before either of us could say anything else, the classroom door opened again.

A teacher walked in, instantly pulling everyone’s attention forward.

Professor Han.

Even the room straightened slightly when he entered.

He placed a stack of papers onto the desk before looking around the class slowly.

Then his eyes landed on me.

“So,” he said calmly, “the scholarship student finally arrived.”

Every head turned toward me again.

I already hated this school.

The silence that followed Professor Han’s words lasted barely two seconds, but it was enough to make the entire room feel heavier.Professor Han didn’t seem to care.

He adjusted the papers on his desk before speaking like this was completely normal.

“L.I.A doesn’t lower its standards for anyone,” he said. “I hope you understand this clearly from the beginning.” I stayed quiet.

“There are rankings for a reason,” he continued, walking slowly across the front of the room. “This school rewards students who prove themselves useful. The rankings are not random, and they are not based on effort alone.”

His eyes briefly moved toward Seo-yun.

“She continues to hold Rank 1 because no one has managed to surpass her. Simple.”

Seo-yun didn’t react at all, like hearing her own name praised had become background noise a long time ago

Professor Han finally looked back at the class.

“You will all be receiving your first assessment this week.”

That got everyone’s attention immediately, Every students who had been half-asleep earlier straightened in their seats.

“The results,” he continued, “will affect next month’s rankings.”

Now the room was completely silent.

I glanced around slowly and realized something uncomfortable.

People here didn’t just care about rankings.

They feared losing them.

Professor Han began passing sheets across each row while students exchanged quiet comments under their breath.

“Next week already?”

“That’s too early.”

“Didn’t Rank 5 drop after the last assessment?”

I took the paper handed to me and looked down at it.

Debate evaluation.

Partner assignment included.

Before I could read further, another sheet landed on my desk.

I frowned slightly.

There were two names written at the top.

Dayo Adeyemi.

Kang Seo-yun.

For a second, I thought I read it wrong.

Then someone nearby laughed under their breath.

“No way.”

“You’re joking.”

Even Park Min-ji leaned slightly closer to look at the paper in front of me, and whatever expression crossed his face immediately darkened.

The room had started whispering now, Seo-yun finally lifted her eyes from her desk and looked toward me.

Then toward the paper.

Her expression didn’t change.

But the room’s reaction already told me enough.

Something about this assignment wasn’t supposed to happen.

Professor Han looked completely unbothered.

“Any issues?” he asked calmly.

Nobody answered, Not even Seo-yun.

But I could feel the tension spreading through the classroom anyway.

And somehow without understanding the rules of this place properly yet

I already knew one thing.

Being paired with Kang Seo-yun was either the best thing that could happen to me at L.I.A.

Or the worst.