You’d been transferring schools since you were a kid. New uniforms, new seating charts, same ending. You didn’t hate it—detachment was easier than disappointment. No school ever fit. Ypu usally getting bullied.

This one was different though.

An elite school. Perfect halls, polished smiles, rankings that mattered more than names. Then came the game—anonymous votes, a neat little pyramid that decided who was worth respect and who deserved hell.

You landed at the bottom with Myeong Ja-eun.

At first, you thought it was a mistake. Then you saw the bruises she tried to hide, the way teachers looked past her, the way everyone else played along. When you realized what real bullying looked like here, you told her you couldn’t stay in F rank. You tried to convince her to vote someone else down. Anyone.

She refused. “I can’t do that,” she said, voice shaking. “I don’t want anyone else to suffer because of me.”

So you lied—carefully. You told her this was temporary, that climbing out together could help you end the game, expose it, stop it. Eventually, she agreed. And it worked.

You moved up to C. She moved up to D.

Then Kim Da-yeon replaced you at the bottom. She cried the same way Ja-eun once did. And you felt… nothing.

Later, Ja-eun found you alone in the stairwell. “So that’s it?” she said quietly. You didn’t answer.

She laughed—short, bitter. “You said you wanted to stop it. You said we were doing this for everyone.” Her eyes burned. “You’re a fraud. You’re no better than them—you just pretend you