The Top Student Hides Her Regression
Chapter 26
Jung Eun-sung was a famous trainee under a famous agency.
He had already appeared in multiple music videos and pictorials, and even had his own fan cafe.
Whenever kids wearing unfamiliar school uniforms gathered outside our school gates, nine times out of ten they were Jung Eun-sung’s fans.
Even so, it was rare for anyone to camp out in front of the school waiting for him to come out at this hour.
Especially not an adult.
The moment I realized who she was, I covered my upper body with my book. Jung Eun-sung’s name tag was pinned to the chest of the sweater I was wearing.
I scrutinized the woman with glistening eyes.
‘I’m sure of it. It’s her.’
She was a sasaeng fan who sent snacks to our class on special occasions—like Jung Eun-sung’s birthday, school trips, mock exams, and school festivals—and would come to the school just to get a glimpse of his face.
She took photos of him with a camera that looked like something a war correspondent would carry, and bought meals for my classmates whose faces she recognized.
She would also snap photos of Seo Jae-gyeom as he passed by and share them in sasaeng group chats.
I remembered her digging up Seo Jae-gyeom’s personal info through Chasebook and sending him messages, only to get caught by Seo Jae-gyeom’s mother, causing a huge uproar with threats of lawsuits and what-not.
…From a certain point on, I think Eun-sung started taking taxis to and from school just to avoid her.
“…….”
When the sasaeng turned her gaze back to me as I stared at her, I quickly looked down.
‘There’s madness in her eyes.’
Shifting me behind his back, Jung Eun-sung gave the woman a slight bow.
“Hello.”
“Yeah, hi~ Eun-sung, do you remember noona’s name?”
“…No.”
“Tsk.”
At Eun-sung’s blunt answer, the woman rolled her eyes playfully.
I wanted to stop Eun-sung and tell him that any adult who came all the way to a school late at night to wait for a minor wasn’t in their right mind, so he shouldn’t even engage with her, but…
‘Is this really a situation I should butt into?’
As I hesitated, Eun-sung spoke.
“Did you come to see me?”
“Of course! Noona worked so hard leaving on the dot today just to see Eun-sung……. Praise me, will you?”
“Um, but coming all the way to school like this is a bit…”
Despite Eun-sung expressing that it made him uncomfortable, the woman remained undeterred. Glancing down at the watch on her wrist, she winked and smiled.
“Ah, it really is too late, isn’t it? I’m sorry~ Noona has a business trip next week, so I didn’t have time. Noona is a capable woman, you know?”
“…….”
“Noona didn’t know Eun-sung back on Valentine’s Day. That’s why I came—to at least take care of you for White Day.”
Soon it’ll be White Day, right? Flashing a shopping bag conspicuously, the woman swept back her styled hair with one hand.
So… you haven’t even known Jung Eun-sung for a month, yet you came all the way to the school gates?
“Noona even sold stocks to buy this.”
Once Eun-sung debuts, noona will take care of tribute gifts and first-week sales (Wait, initial sales? I didn’t catch what she said). Don’t worry about a thing, Eun-sung, just debut. The woman smiled and added,
“Noona really is a capable woman. I’m not lying.”
Eun-sung’s going to be plenty capable when he grows up too, you know…….
“Here, take it quickly. It’s noona’s gift.”
The woman thrust the shopping bag toward Jung Eun-sung once more.
Looking troubled, Jung Eun-sung glanced back at me behind him. His tone grew noticeably firmer.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept things like this.”
“Why not? All your seniors accepted them too.”
“I’ll get in trouble with the agency if I take this.”
“Liar. Everyone says that, but they always take them in the end.”
“I don’t. If you keep doing this, I’m calling my agency.”
Jung Eun-sung patted his pockets and made a show of pulling out a phone to prove he really would.
At that, the sasaeng let out a scoff.
The shy, cutesy expression from just moments ago was replaced by a contemptuous smirk. Tilting her head, the sasaeng said,
“Eun-sung, you don’t have a phone.”
“!”
“Your phone got taken away. Why pretend you have one?”
“…….”
“Lying to your fans before you’ve even debuted? You’re hopeless. Hey, snap out of it. You haven’t debuted yet. You don’t even have any rookie mindset to lose, but you’ve lost it already?”
“Excuse me.”
I couldn’t just stand by.
I cut off the sasaeng, who had abruptly shifted into creating an intimidating atmosphere.
“Night self-study is about to end. The teachers will be coming out soon…… If an unknown adult keeps standing in front of the school like this, unnie, someone might report you.”
“…….”
“And Jung Eun-sung really can’t accept this. Not long ago, someone came to the school and did this, and he got scolded by the teachers. They said if there’s any more trouble at school, they’ll transfer him right back out.”
“And who are you?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, you two came out of the school together at this hour. Who are you? His girlfriend?”
“No.”
Jung Eun-sung cut in sharply.
“She’s our class president. I just transferred here not long ago, so the teacher told her to help me out, and that’s why she stayed behind with me.”
“I see…….”
Scanning me up and down, the woman gave a smirk.
Her hand twitched unnaturally inside her pocket. Only then did it hit me that even if she wasn’t filming… she might be recording our conversation.
‘I would’ve been screwed if I’d cussed her out and told her to piss off.’
In any case, mentioning the teachers seemed to dampen her momentum just a bit.
“Let’s go.”
Seizing the opening, I quickly dragged Jung Eun-sung away.
“Eun-sung!”
The woman chased after us, stumbling as her ankle twisted in her high heels. Undaunted, she kept running toward us, until—
“Hey, what are you doing!”
She flinched at the shout from passing middle-aged women.
“Why are you chasing those students? Do you know them?”
By then, I had already pulled Jung Eun-sung into an alley.
I slowly let go of Jung Eun-sung’s wrist.
Freed from my grip, Jung Eun-sung rubbed his wrist. When I asked about the leg he had bumped earlier, he said it was fine. Peeking out from the alley, I asked him:
“Is she following?”
“I don’t think so.”
“She backed off as soon as adults stepped in. Even though she completely ignored what we said.”
“Yeah.”
She says she likes me, so why doesn’t she listen to me? Jung Eun-sung grumbled.
“There are so many weird adults these days……”
Like that middle-aged man who followed Gaeun yesterday, too.
Then would that man stop coming if an adult confronted him, too……?
As I was lost in thought, Jung Eun-sung spoke up abruptly.
“I’ll walk you home.”
“Huh? No, it’s fine.”
“It’s late. And you don’t have a phone either.”
“Forget it. The way to my house is complicated. I’ll just take the bus from here.”
I pointed to the bus stop across the street.
“The bus is coming in six minutes.”
“…Fine.”
He said fine, but followed me anyway.
Even after having me sit on the bench at the stop, Jung Eun-sung didn’t leave. Standing in front of me, he looked down at me.
“…….”
“…….”
“Jung Eun-sung….”
“What.”
“You’re going to study when you get home, right? Science? You have to teach me. Why warm air is lighter.”
Geothermal heat and convection currents. The scientific knowledge I had forgotten when I regressed.
“…Seriously, you and your nagging.”
Muttering that it made his head spin, Jung Eun-sung squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. Still, he didn’t seem particularly annoyed.
“Even if I study myself to death, it’s not like I could ever do better than you anyway.”
“Have you tried?”
“No…?”
“Then how would you know?”
“Do I really have to try to know…”
“Don’t be weak. You can do anything. Except be president.”
Because you have to be at least forty to be president. At my addition, the corner of Jung Eun-sung’s mouth tilted up.
“You can only be president if you’re over forty?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I didn’t.”
“Tsk, tsk. See, that’s why you should’ve……”
“‘Studied politics.’”
Finishing my sentence for me, Jung Eun-sung said,
“The bus is coming.”
“Ah. Right.”
“Get home safe.”
“…You too.”
I waved my hand, telling him to hurry and head back.
Jung Eun-sung didn’t leave, though. Not until I found a seat on the bus and it pulled away.
“…What time is it now?”
Even though I needed to get home and sleep quickly to be in peak condition for studying tomorrow, I caught myself thinking that it wouldn’t have been so bad if the bus had arrived just a little later.
I buried my nose in Jung Eun-sung’s uniform sweater, which I had forgotten to take off and return. It still smelled nice.
“Kang Da-hye! Why are you so late! You didn’t even answer your phone!”
“Mom…….”
“What!”
“I think the night sky is really pretty today.”
“……? Are you sick?”
The next day, as soon as I arrived at school, I headed straight for the teachers’ office.
Intending to plead my case to the Homeroom Teacher that Song Yeo-reum had locked me in the club room.
‘I threw all that Theater Club equipment out the window, so if I stay quiet, I’ll take all the blame.’
When you can’t resolve something on your own and have to tell on someone to an adult……
I……
Feel that I really have returned to being a teenager.
However, someone was already in the teachers’ office.
“Jung Eun-sung?”
Sitting on a round stool in front of the Homeroom Teacher, Jung Eun-sung was shedding fat, heavy tears.
Clear droplets of tears rolled down his cheeks from between his wet eyelashes.
“?!”
Why are you crying?!
