If Hana thought school life was chaotic, nothing could have prepared her for the madness that erupted the moment the school announced its latest "brilliant" idea:
Seoul High's first-ever reality show app — "Seoul High: Sweet and Savage!"
Yes. You read that right.
The principal, desperate to raise money for "educational advancements" (translation: his private beach house), had partnered with a major app company to livestream student life. Students would become accidental celebrities, earning points based on popularity, drama, fashion... and fighting skills.
And guess who immediately shot to the top of the app's trending list?
Hana Choi.
"Why me?" Hana groaned, slamming her forehead on her desk as her classmates buzzed around her, phones in hand, watching clips of her flipping a senior over her shoulder during P.E. yesterday.
"Because you're a walking action movie, duh!" Yuri said, tossing her a lollipop. "The public loves a queen who can throw hands!"
Minjae, ever calm, sat across from them, casually scrolling through the app. "You're ranking #1... right above me," he said with a smirk.
"Of course you're second," Hana muttered. "You probably smiled at the camera once and everyone fainted."
He shrugged modestly, which only irritated her more.
"And get this," Yuri chirped. "They're hosting a Sweet Realm Combat Showdown in two days! A live, on-campus, battle-tournament! Winners get 'bonus fame points' and… um, special prizes."
Hana froze mid-suck on her candy stick.
"Did you say combat tournament?"
"Oh yeah," Yuri said. "And guess who's automatically entered because of your trending status?"
Scene: "Let the (Very Real) Hunger Games Begin"
Two days later, Hana stood on the school's athletic field, which now looked more like a medieval arena, complete with fake castles, obstacle courses, and oversized candy weapons.
The app viewers were going wild.
[Live Comments]
"GO QUEEN HANA!""MINJAE OPPA FIGHT FOR US!""SOMEONE GIVE YURI HER OWN SHOW!""WHY IS KAI SO HOT WHEN HE'S MAD??"
Contestants stood in the center, blinking under the blinding camera drones floating above them. Hana adjusted her black combat jacket (complete with neon lollipop patches), feeling every inch the reluctant gladiator.
"Alright, candy killers," the host (an annoyingly perky senior) said through a megaphone. "First rule: no real deaths. Second rule: make it dramatic!"
Yuri giggled next to Hana. "They're asking the wrong people if they want drama."
From across the field, Kai Jung winked at them, twirling a giant candy cane staff like a weapon. Minjae just sighed and cracked his knuckles, looking like he was about to file a lawsuit against whoever dragged him into this.
The buzzer sounded.
Chaos erupted instantly.
The Great Sweet Realm Battle
Hana barely dodged a neon-blue gummy bear that exploded like a grenade. Students launched cotton-candy smoke bombs. Minjae, in a way-too-perfect slow-motion moment, spun and knocked three guys over with a single blow using a licorice whip.
"Show-off!" Hana shouted.
He smirked, dodging a caramel net that came flying their way.
"Team up?" he offered.
"You had me at 'take them down'," Hana said, popping her lollipop back in her mouth and charging forward like a sugar-fueled maniac.
Together, they were unstoppable.
Hana launched flying kicks while swinging a peppermint mace; Minjae covered her with tactical throws and devastating ice-cream blasts from hidden gadgets he pulled from his jacket. (Trust Minjae to have hidden tech in a "fun" school battle.)
Kai, meanwhile, decided to crank the drama up to eleven by standing on top of a candy throne and summoning a storm of chocolate hail over everyone.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS CHOCOLATE?!" Yuri screamed, diving under a giant marshmallow shield.
The crowd was eating it up.
Phones everywhere.
The app's live comments exploded:
[Live Comments]
"Marry me, Hana!""Minjae is the definition of husband material!""This is better than any drama!""Is Kai trying to become a K-drama villain or what??"Enter: The "Plot Twist"
Just as Hana and Minjae thought they were wrapping up (Minjae with a slightly torn shirt, Hana with cotton-candy stuck in her hair), the principal announced:
"And now, the FINAL CHALLENGE: survive… THE WILD CARD!"
The ground rumbled.
Students screamed.
Out of nowhere, a giant mechanized gummy bear — piloted by the Confectioner Clan's sneakiest junior member — charged onto the field, firing jellybean missiles.
Hana blinked.
"...You have got to be kidding me."
Minjae wiped caramel off his face, sighed deeply, and said, "Of course. Why wouldn't there be a giant candy robot?"
"Well," Hana said, cracking her knuckles, "guess it's showtime, CEO boy."
"And mafia princess," he said dryly, "try not to blow up the school."
She winked. "No promises."
Boss Fight: Sugar Mode Activated
With the entire student body watching (and recording), Hana and Minjae teamed up in a tag-team boss fight straight out of an action movie.
Hana used insane acrobatics, flipping onto the gummy bear's back and slamming lollipop grenades into its joints. Minjae hacked the robot's candy-core circuits using a hidden app on his smartwatch (because of course he had a hacking app).
The gummy bear roared, spun wildly, and slammed into the cotton-candy barricades. Students screamed and cheered.
Kai tried to grandstand again, jumping into the fray with his candy cane staff—only to get sucker-punched by a rogue taffy rope and tangled up midair.
"This is not how I imagined my heroic moment!" he cried.
Yuri sat on the sidelines, streaming the chaos with live commentary:
"And there goes Kai, wrapped like a human burrito! Classic!"
After a ridiculous combo move involving Hana's double-kick and Minjae's hacker skills, the gummy bear robot finally exploded in a shower of rainbow glitter and marshmallow goo.
Victory.
Cue dramatic K-pop victory music blasting over the speakers.
The crowd went wild.
The app's server nearly crashed.
[Live Comments]
"HANA AND MINJAE FOR PRESIDENT!""BEST EPISODE EVER!!""SOMEONE GIVE THEM A MOVIE DEAL!"Aftermath: Sweet and Slightly Sticky
Later, drenched in marshmallow and fame, Hana sat on the school steps, eating a stick sweet, feeling... weirdly peaceful.
"Not a bad team, huh?" Minjae said, sitting beside her, brushing glitter off his jacket.
"Not bad," Hana said, smiling lazily. "For a CEO."
He smirked. "For a mafia princess, you're alright too."
They bumped shoulders lightly. It was nothing.
And yet... it felt like everything.
Somewhere in the sky, drones still circled, filming.
But for once, Hana didn't care who was watching.