The day after, Miyeon was a little late. She woke up so late she couldn't forgive herself. That was why she didn't get to eat anything, and she only ran to catch her bus. Her backpack was quite heavy, the acid bottle was still resting between her beloved books, and she felt like that little change of weight compromised her life as a whole. She was out of breath when she finally got to sit on her bus. It was almost 8. She was going to be late, for sure. It was unknown to her what should tardy students do in Mirae High School. When she was attending her previous high school, the student who came in late had to buy some snacks for everyone. But she didn't know if the same rule applied to her new school. Miyeon needed a friend. Someone who could explain to her how life in Mirae High School worked, and which students she needed to avoid. Because she couldn't figure that out since she made Jongin angry on her first day, and meddled with a trio of probably dangerous girls. She needed a guide, someone who was an expert with knowledge about their school.
When she finally got to step into her classroom, it was 8.12 AM, and everyone was looking at her like she murdered someone.
The homeroom teacher got up from his seat and Miyeon immediately bowed.
She tried opening to talk, but the teacher was faster and immediately started talking.
"A smooth criminal just entered into our classroom."
What? A criminal?
Miyeon rose her head and looked at him with a slightly confused expression. Was being late really that much of a crime?
"Probably we shouldn't allow someone that comes from a different part of the society, to come and join us into our beautiful and successful highschool."
Miyeon bowed again, even if she couldn't believe that he was that angry over a 10 minutes delay. It was unbelievable.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cho," Miyeon said, with a small voice. She felt humiliated.
The teacher looked at her with a straight face — no expression whatsoever.
"You say that you're sorry? After you have been causing so much trouble? You're a thief." 
When he finally said that, something in Miyeon clicked.
Arriving late wasn't what made him act like that. It was the cleaning acid Baekhyun gave to her. Did someone see her? She was sure nobody could have witnessed what she had done the day before. It was unbelievable for her. And anyway, who would that be?
She scanned the whole classroom, a little disappointed. She expected to be backed up by them, but they were so happy to see her fall.
Could it have been Chaeyeon? Because of the refusal of her invite? But how did she know about the acid? Baekhyun gave it to her into the broom storage room. It was impossible to see for everyone else.
"Our beautiful, outstanding student witnessed it, and he couldn't resist the call of justice, he came directly to me to tell what he just had seen." The teacher said, pointing at one side of the classroom.
And Miyeon swore she could have died in that same moment because her heart jumped right out of her chest and slapped her in the face.
He pointed at Jongin.
Her legs were weak, and her body shook when he smirked, with a victorious expression on his face.
Jongin? Why did he do something like that? Was he that wicked?
Probably, the class could see the mixture of emotions on her face, because Jisoo was staring at her with a sad look. Perhaps she got what Miyeon tried to do, and she was sorry that she didn't get away with it.
"As a punishment for this little thief, we should put you at the end of the students ranking. So that you will learn to climb your way up to the top again."
Miyeon's blood froze. She was there because of a scholarship that was granted only based on school ranking. If her name got at the end of the list, she would probably lose it the following year. 
Not knowing what to do, she bowed again. Her legs were shaking, and this time, it was pretty evident that she was feeling heartbroken.
"Today, when the lessons end, you will stay here and clean the classroom and the bathrooms. You can use the janitor's tools since you know where they are located." Professor Cho kept saying, and Miyeon felt even more scared. All by herself? It was suicide. She would break her whole body while trying to clean the bathrooms.
She suddenly heard a loud noise, coming from the back of the class.
Byun Baekhyun had got up from his seat, with his hand raised.
What was she doing? Was he crazy? Did he finally lose his mind once and for all?
"You shouldn't punish Kwon Miyeon since I did it."
Everyone stared at him in shock. 
"Byun, is that true?" Mr. Cho asked, while his eyes got larger because of the surprise.
Baekhyun nodded.
"I stole it from the janitor office. It was me. I should be put at the end of the ranking, and I should be the one cleaning."
Miyeon looked at him, shocked.
Baekhyun was the third in the school ranking, which granted him great honor. Jongin was the last one on the list of his class. Miyeon was the first, because of the high score she had in her old high school. If Baekhyun got to the end of the list, it would cost him a lot. People preferred dying instead of going back of one spot, while he was accepting the punishment with a light-hearted attitude. Miyeon couldn't believe it.
Mr. Cho immediately grabbed Miyeon's backpack and opened it, finding the bottle still there. Miyeon bit her lower lip. She should have left it at home, even if she planned to return it to Baekhyun that same day.
"Then why is it still in Kwon's backpack?" He asked, visibly annoyed.
"I asked her to hide it for me. Didn't want my parents to see it."
Professor Cho shook his head with a pensive expression.
"You both will clean the school. Byun, you will be the only one going down on the list. I hope you will learn from your mistakes." He spoke, after a few seconds of silence.
"And Kwon. Your late fee is 10.000 won."
Yeah. Sure. The Professor didn't forget about her late arrival.
Miyeon nodded and went in her already opened backpack to reach for her wallet. While she was leaning in, someone stepped up and got closer to the teacher.
When her eyes rose to analyze who it was, she had to open and close her lids ten times before believing what she was seeing.
Jongin got up and paid the late fee for her, handing a pair of bills to the teacher, who looked at the tan-skinned student with a puzzled face.
Mr. Cho walked again to his spot, towards the teacher desk, and Miyeon almost ran to her place. She wanted to hide.
The girls' gossiping voices reached Miyeon's ears, making her feel uneasy. People were wondering what was special about her and why Byun Baekhyun would do something like that for a nobody. He threw his whole school career in the trash can, and he didn't even flinch. In the school ranking, he was also standing behind Jongin. It was a shame. 
The New Girl opened her book fast, almost like her life depended on it, and Jisoo started staring at her.
When Miyeon realized it, she rose her eyes from the pages, and she saw Jisoo's smiling face.
She mouthed a "thank you" in her direction, which made her stomach burn a little. She was happy. And Miyeon felt delighted because she was able to help somebody. Even if that meant staying late for cleaning up the bathrooms and the class, she smiled back at her friends and focused on the pages.
After all, her beloved first place was still hers. She had nothing to worry about at all.

When the bell rang, announcing the students it was time to climb down to the cafeteria to eat all together, Jongin approached Miyeon.
His tall figure scared her a little. He could probably crush her with one hand if he wanted to. Jongin's stare and his demeanor made her legs feel weak. Jongin looked like he knew he could quickly turn her over. He loved to play and especially loved to play when he knew he was going to win.
"Our little Miyeon today will do the janitor's job. How sad." He said while staring at her in the eyes.
"Why did you spy on me?" Miyeon immediately asked.
Jongin chuckled.
"Can't I be a good student for a second? Am I always supposed to side with the bad guys?"
Miyeon wanted to answer, but no sound came out of .
"You and Baekhyun will have a lot of work to do. This class looks nasty, and you'll have to make it shine."
Miyeon was a little confused at that point. Their class looked just fine. What did he mean with looking nasty?
Jongin soon answered her questions, when he took out his chewing gum from his mouth