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The President Game 
Limited Series 

The Disorder: Ep. 13
Seulgi loses control and the academy bears the consequences. Friendships and relationships are tested. A dead body is found at school the next day.
 

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“oh my god!” 

“i can’t believe this.” 

“why me?!” 

“who did this?!” 

cries of horror and embarrassment could be heard all throughout the academy as students returned to campus after the weekend only to find the hallways of the school plastered with evidence of their darkest secrets. 

“look, it says the school’s top athlete has a steroid addiction.” 

“did you see the photo of her buying a pregnancy test? i always knew she was a .” 

“this is proof he buys his social media followers, he’s such a fake!” 

“apparently the school wanted to kick her out so her parents paid for the new gymnasium. how embarrassing.” 

everywhere irene walked, she would hear talks of the new mass exposing circulating amongst students and she grit her teeth, marching ahead and ignoring anyone’s attempts to talk to her. 

“eunbi, call for a council meeting now.” irene said and her trusted number two nodded, taking her phone out quickly. the two council members turned the corner, brushing past yeri who slammed her locker shut and let out a frustrated sigh. 

“hey.” a voice called behind her and yeri froze, turning slowly to see joy standing behind her. she had a smile on her face but her body language gave away that she felt nervous. 

yeri forced a small smile, “hey.” she greeted and the two stood silently. 

“is it true?” joy asked, eyes glimmering with curiosity and she didn’t have to elaborate any further for yeri to know what she was asking and yeri briefly closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. 

“yes.” she confessed. it wasn’t a secret anymore anyway. the whole school knew now. 

joy’s gaze shifted to something akin to pity but not disgust which was what yeri had feared the most. “how long have you liked me?” she asked softly. 

yeri swallowed, looking away and fidgeting with the lock on her locker instead. “some time. it’s nothing really. and i know- i know you like wendy. you’re together and everything, so. i’m happy for you guys, seriously.” she said as nonchalantly as possible. “can we just pretend this never happened?” she asked, looking back at her and she felt the nervousness bubbling up inside her because the thought of losing joy as a friend over this was too painful to imagine.

“oh.” joy’s expression shifted but yeri couldn't interpret what she was feeling or thinking. “if that’s what you want…” joy said and yeri forced a confident nod, because of course a stupid part of her secretly wished joy would return her feelings. 

“but i’m going to kill seulgi.” she said with a wry grin, hoping to shift the awkward and serious atmosphere to something more jokey like they were used to. 

joy returned the smile but she looked concerned, “i am worried, something must be wrong for her to do… this.” she glanced around at the papers still stuck on walls even though a lot had been torn down already. 

“you shouldn’t worry for someone like her.” yeri said, not caring if it came out harsh. “she betrayed me just like that. like we were never friends. i guess at the end of the day, she will still do things for her own amusement and she doesn't care for the feelings of others.”

joy looked upset upon hearing that and yeri sighed, knowing that joy was a lot closer to seulgi and a lot more trusting. this would be a hard truth for her to accept. 

“maybe it wasn’t her? what if she’s getting framed?” joy asked. 

“then why isn’t she here today?” yeri retorted. “she can’t even face the friends she betrayed.” she said bitterly. 

joy fell silent, disappointment marring her features. yeri felt bad for upsetting joy but to be fair, she was upset after getting her well-kept secret exposed, so she was justifiably snappier than usual. 

“we should go to class.” yeri said and joy just nodded. yeri awkwardly lingered for a bit before realizing there was nothing else to say so she started to leave. 

“and yeri.” joy called, making yeri pause and look back slightly. “i…i wish you would’ve told me earlier.” 

yeri blanked and joy gave her a small, nervous smile before she turned to quickly head back towards her class. yeri stood frozen in her spot, still trying to process what she had just heard and what those words meant. 

>>

“what on earth is going on?” suho was the first to break the silence in the council meeting room. “this has never happened before. multiple exposings, most of which aren’t even crimes. this doesn’t seem like themis’ usual style.” 

“maybe it is a different person trying to copy themis. it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.” eunbi spoke up, making a few others nod. 

the president was silent the entire time, her gaze distant, and the rest of the council members exchanged uncertain looks. 

“what do you think, irene?” suho asked bravely. 

“yeah… you seem like you would know her well- i mean, better…” taeyong stuttered, fumbling with his words and karina shot him a glare. 

irene knew it was her doing and she knew exactly why she did it, despite it not being her usual manner. 

she wants to prove she doesn’t have a heart. 

“i think it does not matter who did it.” irene responded. “what matters is how we regain order in the academy and defuse the situation. right now, there is a lot of panic and upset amongst students. this will interfere with the upcoming exams which can affect our national ranking.” 

“so what is our plan of action?” karina asked. 

irene had already thought everything through in the time it took the council members to assemble. “the focus needs to be on ensuring the welfare of students. suho, you will communicate with the school counselors and brief them on the situation. make sure they know how to best support the students who go to them.” she instructed and she turned to the others after suho nodded to confirm. 

“karina, continue monitoring what goes up online and remove anything that can worsen the situation. we need to discourage further spreading of gossip and any bullying whether online or in person.” irene said and karina nodded in understanding.

“wait,” taeyong spoke up, looking around the table. “so we’re not going to do anything about the person behind all this? they shouldn’t just get away with exposing people’s personal secrets that weren’t even crimes or deserving of being exposed.”

the council members fell quiet, eyes lowered and subtly flicking over to the head of the table. 

irene took a breath, “no. that matter will not be pursued.” she said decisively. 

“what?” taeyong exclaimed, clearly unhappy about the response. “that’s unfair, she should be punished for this. as the president shouldn’t you be seeking justice for your students? i think we should make-”

“stop.” irene cut him off sharply, stunning the group by how firm she sounded. she never interrupted other people who spoke, so this was a first and everyone was speechless. “i know what i am doing and as your president, my word is final.” 

even eunbi’s jaw dropped a little at the assertion of authority that she had never seen irene display before. the president usually preferred to take a gentler approach to leadership, which was one of the reasons she was so well-liked by everyone. 

taeyong was too stunned and didn’t dare to retort to that, shrinking back in his seat and keeping his mouth shut. the rest of the council also understood quickly that the president was not in the mood to be challenged today, so they quietly and obediently carried on with the meeting. 

when irene dismissed them from the meeting, the only person brave enough to stay back was eunbi. 

“sunbae, would you like me to stay so we can keep brainstorming for the next assembly speech?” she asked kindly, guessing it might be the stress and workload that contributed to irene’s unusual behaviour. 

irene shook her head, giving her a smile. “thank you, but i have to go and see mr jung now.” she said, zipping up her bag. 

“oh, for the essay com