Words Unspoken

Curious

It's been a month since the laboratory ambush happened. And Haerin had never crossed paths with the freshman who saved her after she visited the hospital. Lee Hyein had already left before she came.

No matter how much the president tried to stop the encounter from reaching her father's ears, it was all for naught. Enraged by what happened, Mr. Henry Kang became more strict with his only daughter after knowing about the incident.

She can feel the presence of her father's men following her every move. Normal students wouldn't sense them as they were skilled mercenaries who trained with the military, but Haerin could easily determine how many of them are currently tailing her wherever she goes.

The academic evaluation started a month ago, and Haerin's schedule was fuller than ever. There are lots of textbooks to read. They also need to go through the pressure of almost unending extracurriculars, presentations, and exams. And the student council workload was no joke. She's confident that her brain could handle every one of those, but she needs to garner enough rest or else her body might give up on her.

If only I could create clones of my body. Haerin could only think.

"Kang Haerin!" That annoying voice must be Hanni's.

"Look here!" Haerin didn't halt her steps. She doesn't have the time on her hands to get to gist with the carefree vice president.

"Hey, you cruel bastard." Hanni snarled in between heavy breaths. Possessing a lithe body, the girl had small steps, and she had to speed walk to catch up to her.

"The results for the freshmen's evaluation were released today. It was quite the talk of the students." All of that effort was to relay a gossip. Typical Pham Hanni.

Haerin only stared at her. Hanni continued her story.

"Guess who ranked first?"

"It's Lee Hyein."

"That girl was already well-known among the seniors as well. I also heard she left a strong impression on the panels during a research duel." Her vice president was talking animatedly, and the swing of her hands revealed her excitement.

Research duel. It was one of the events of this school. One would challenge another, and they would need to defend their research in front of the panels and students. The research should abide by the duel's ground rules. Any student who gets caught plagiarizing another researcher's work will be immediately expelled.

Haerin could now understand Hanni's enthusiasm; that competition was also one of her favorites.

"That's good." There came her monotone reply. Hyein had been inhabiting her thoughts since she took the hit for her. Haerin hasn't thanked her yet. She hates feeling indebted to someone, much more owing her life to them. It's just that she doesn't have the opportunity to approach the girl due to her responsibilities.

"She's really interesting! Maybe she would land a position on the council soon."

"It's your chance to know more about her, Kang Haerin." Hanni added when she didn't respond.

"I have no time for that."

"Eh? Aren't you curious about your savior? She's teasing her.

"I'm just grateful, and I already know her name. That's enough." Haerin could only hope that Hanni would just shut up and go wherever she's supposed to go. It's been 10 minutes, and she needs to review more for an upcoming quiz in biochemistry.

"Whatever you say, I gotta go. I need some work to catch up in functional genomics and bioinformatics." Hanni grinned and lightly tapped her shoulder, then ran toward the direction of the faculty room.