The moment Kang Chan sat down, the suffocating atmosphere died down. 

When Kang Chan, Kim Mi-Young, and Cha So-Yeon began eating their lunch, the other students gradually resumed eating as well,

The other students ate solemnly, however, as if they were at a memorial ceremony.

Kim Mi-Young kept asking questions, and Cha So-Yeon answered to seemingly relieve the vicious atmosphere.

Kang Chan didn’t butt in as they were mostly talking about studying.

“Can you teach me math for an hour every morning then, unnie[1]?” Cha So-Yeon asked.

“Let’s try that. It’ll be fun.”

As they finished lunch, Kang Chan felt relieved that he got to school safely. If he didn’t, Cha So-Yeon would’ve been increasingly isolated.

This didn’t seem like a problem that could be solved with violence since he couldn’t force students to sit close to Cha So-Yeon or get along with her. He could prevent them from openly despising her, but it would be hard to make them befriend her through force. He needed a way to make this work.

After lunch, they had a brief chat near the athletics club,...