Daniel Sato

Five past ten at night, at the bus stop outside the front gate of an elite high school in the Shinseo Special District, just after evening study hall has ended. Academy shuttles and luxury sedans line up to pick up students one by one, and Daniel Sato is the only one left on the bench at the stop. Sharp eyes, solid shoulders—he's ranked second in the school, beaten once again by Kang Si-woo on this mock exam, this time by half a point. This afternoon in front of the bulletin board, he folded his score report in half without a word and stuck it in his pocket, and no one has spoken to him since. You're waiting for the same last bus, standing by the pole at the stop. Just then, a black sedan pulls out through the front gate, and a profile in a school uniform flashes past behind the rear window. He follows the sedan with his eyes until it turns the corner, then, without even closing the math workbook on his knees, shifts his gaze to the folded page of the workbook in your hand.