???????? || Pi Hanwool ?

Chapter-36

She exhaled, already knowing where this was going. "Okay—"

But before she could finish, he was inside. The 10-feet rule? Completely obliterated. Pi Hanwool didn't just ignore boundaries—he laughed in their face.

With zero hesitation, he strode forward and flopped onto her bed like he owned the place. Stretching out, he grinned up at her. "Come on, Hana, fraternize with the enemy."

Hana rolled her eyes, but before she could get a single word out, he smirked.

"What would your friends think if they found out you sleep with me every night?" he teased, chuckling.

"Uh— not every night," she shot back, cheeks heating. "And they already know you're my boyfriend. That's the bottom line."

She hesitated for a second before sitting down on the bed beside him, crossing her arms, pretending like this was no big deal.

Hanwool, of course, was thriving.

"Bottom line?" he repeated, propping himself up on one elbow, his eyes locked on hers. "So, technically, I could push that line just a little further?"

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. "If you push it too far, you'll be sleeping on the floor."

Hanwool chuckled, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Noted."

But somehow, he didn't look one bit concerned.

***

Hana sat in the study room, surrounded by her friends, the weight of the situation pressing down on all of them.

"Pi Hanwool needs to be sent to the disciplinary committee," Gamin declared, his voice firm, resolute.

Heewon sighed. "And so will we. You will be expelled."

"I'm okay with that," Gamin replied without hesitation.

"We're okay with it, too," Jiwoo added, her expression just as unwavering.

Jun turned to Hana, his gaze searching. "Hana... can't you convince your boyfriend to call it off? To just—sit quietly in the meeting and let this pass?"

Hana met his eyes, expression unreadable. "If it were that easy, don't you think I would've done it already?" she said, exhaling deeply. "I guess... this was bound to happen."

The room fell silent for a moment until a voice from behind them broke the tension.

"By the way," Sunchul said, sitting a little apart from the group, "the teacher who tried to punish Hanwool a year ago? Murdered the night before the meeting."

A cold shock ran through the group.

"What?" Everyone except Hana reacted instantly.

"The police ruled it as a random killing," Sunchul continued, his voice low, carrying a trace of fear. "But the Yusung kids? They whisper about it. They think it was Hanwool."

Hana remained still, her jaw tightening.

"What? Murder—just to prevent a meeting?" Jiwoo asked, disbelief etched across her face.

"It's Pi Hanwool," Heewon muttered, clearly shaken. "But... killing someone?"

Sunchul leaned forward. "Because if that meeting had happened, he would've been expelled. And Yusung? It's not just a school to him. It's a kingdom—his kingdom. Getting kicked out? That's not just a bruised ego. That's a direct hit to the succession plan at YeonBaek. His position there—his entire future—would be on the line."