Yuna trudged back to the classroom, dragging her feet like a prisoner being sent to execution.
Her heart was heavy.
Her steps were slow.
Her life had no meaning.
"I have to report everyone's growth every three months," she muttered bitterly. "If not, I'll be assigned harder tasks. They might even deduct my points!"
The club class teacher has informed her of that. What wrong did she commit in her previous life to suffer this? Really?
Her classmates noticed.
And the moment they did, Yuna's personal peace shattered.
"Oi, oi. Why does our dear class rep look so gloomy?"
"Did someone bully her?"
"No way, right? The only ones who can bully her are us."
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? You usually have that dead-fish look, but now you actually look like a dead fish."
"Did someone bully you? Who dares to bully our class rep? Let's go set them on fire!"
"No, no, don't use arson as a solution again."
Before Yuna could escape, a few hands latched onto her shoulders from behind. She stiffened.
Then—
She was surrounded.
Like a pack of wolves cornering a depressed rabbit.
"Rep, rep, rep, what's wrong? Why do you look like you just lost your family fortune?"
"Yeah, tell us! We care about your mental health!"
Another classmate chimed in. "Not really, but we want to know anyway."
Yuna exhaled.
"You lot," she started dryly, "are the problem, you burden!."
One student gasped dramatically. "Rep! That hurts!"
Another nodded sagely. "It's fine. All children are a burden to their parents."
Yuna: "...What."
Yet another patted her shoulder, looking deeply moved. "We understand, Mom. Parenting is hard."
Yuna: "HUH?"
The first student nodded enthusiastically. "Raising kids is tough, especially when they're as mischievous as us."
Someone sniffled. "Mom's struggling so much for us… I feel guilty."
Yuna's eye twitched.
She inhaled deeply.
Then, slowly, she looked around.
One by one, her classmates avoided her gaze, grinning like little gremlins.
Yuna clenched her fists.
"WHO IS YOUR MOM?!"
Despite her protests, her classmates continued their tragic family roleplay.
"Poor Mom, forced to take care of us stray kids."
"She used to be so cold. Now look at her, warming up to us."
"It's her character development arc!"
Yuna felt her soul leave her body.
"I never wanted this development arc!"
One of the more observant classmates smiled mischievously. "But you have to admit… you've grown attached to us, haven't you?"
Yuna paused.
Then, with complete deadpan denial—
"Absolutely not. I only take care of you guys because you're pathetic, like stray dogs and cats."
A brief silence.
Then—
A student gasped and then they all hollered in laughter.
Didn't she know? Stray cats and dogs like to be taken care of and are grateful for it?
"Awww, she really loves us after all."
Yuna's entire body stiffened.
This.
This was why she never got involved with people. She don't understand them.
She turned on her heel. "I am not dealing with this."
But a few hands dragged her back.
"MOM, DON'T LEAVE US!"
"We love you!"
"We'll do our best to grow under your care, so please don't abandon us!"
Yuna wanted to cry but she has no tears.
Despite their teasing, their fondness was genuine.
They had all been lost when they first arrived at Evigheden Academy—uncertain, confused, struggling to find their footing.
But somehow, Yuna had become their anchor.
She wasn't charismatic. She wasn't naturally likable.
But the more they spent time with her, the more they grew attached.
The way she deadpanned at their antics.
The way she grumbled yet still helped them.
The way she never abandoned them, even when she clearly wanted to.
She reluctantly took care of them—
And they gratefully let her.
Even if she refused to admit it, she was the heart of the Heart Class.
….
The heart class started to think about when Yuna was first assigned as class rep, the reaction from the Heart Class was unanimous:
"Do we even need a class rep?"
"She doesn't even want the job."
"She's not exactly the inspiring type."
Yuna, arms crossed, responded flatly. "Good. If we all agree on that, then I don't have to do anything."
Their homeroom teacher immediately shut that idea down.
"That's not how this works."
So, with no choice, Yuna was stuck with a class that didn't want to follow, and the Heart Class was stuck with a leader who didn't want to lead.
Yuna was not the likable type nor does she has any charisma, her dead like eyes, her black hair and ghostly skin, none seems likable however you look at it.
For weeks, things were a mess.
The Heart Class had no system, no sense of coordination. They all just did their own thing. Schedules overlapped, students forgot important tasks, and they barely interacted with each other unless necessary.
They were mostly stranger to each other.
Even something as basic as getting a decent meal was a problem—Evigheden Academy provided food, but it was dry and coarse, barely edible.
And the academy itself? Completely hands-off. No guidance, no proper support.
It was up to them to figure everything out.
Which they… weren't really doing.
At first, Yuna tried to stay out of it, they thought— as she has not taken any action right away but stay quiet and distant, maybe the sheer inefficiency irritated her (yes and no, lol)
[Yuna had been quietly planning and observing, mentally preparing herself for days, motivating herself to take on the responsibility, complete the task swiftly, and leave once it was done. But her classmates had no idea. Ah... the delightful misunderstanding]
So, she started fixing things.
• She organized their schedules so students could actually balance their studies and training.
• She mapped out ways to get proper food—showing them trade, barter, and how to cook something decent.
• She pushed the alchemists and forgers back to their craft, reminding them that they couldn't afford to waste their skills just because the academy didn't provide direct guidance.
She never gave speeches or acted like some passionate leader.
She just saw problems and solved them.
And gradually, the Heart Class adjusted.
Without realizing it, they started relying on the system she built.
The realization came in small moments.
One day, during a conversation with students from another class—
"Ugh, my schedule is a mess. I barely have time to breathe."
A Heart Class student blinked. "Really? Ours is actually manageable."
They seem to have a very well functioned system among themselves.
Another time, a student from the Spade Class grumbled, "I can't believe we have to survive on this awful food."
A Heart Class look at their dry hard bread and started to think of their 'luxurious meal'.
Bit by bit, they started to understand—the reason they weren't struggling as much was because of Yuna.
At some point, without meaning to, they had stopped resisting her leadership.
She never tried to be likable.
She didn't go out of her way to act friendly or win people over.
But they had to admit—
She never neglected anyone.
She made sure no one fell behind. She had studied them all properly.
And even if she always dismissed her actions as "just fixing a mess so it doesn't bother me", they could tell she put in more effort than she let on.
One day, someone offhandedly commented, "Yuna kind of feels like the responsible older sibling of the class, huh?"
Another student smirked. "More like a strict mom."
Yuna, who had been passing by, froze mid-step.
"Absolutely not."
The Heart Class, sensing an opportunity, latched onto it immediately.
"It's fine, mom. We'll try not to disappoint you."
"Yeah, we appreciate all your hard work, mom."
Yuna gave them a cold stare. "I will personally make your schedules worse."
But by now, they all understood.
Even if she didn't want the role, even if she never tried to be their leader—they had come to trust her anyway.