The Top Student Hides Her Regression
Chapter 32
“I sent Seo Jae-gyeom a private Kotalk yesterday saying that ajusshi isn’t coming anymore so it’s fine, and thanking him for everything, but…”
“And?”
“He left me on read.”
“Ah…”
“Ah.”
“Classic.”
Leaving someone on read on Kotalk? That was the ultimate proof of zero interest.
“No, but would a guy really go that far to help a girl he doesn’t have even the slightest interest in?”
“Couldn’t he, if he’s just a nice guy?”
“Is Seo Jae-gyeom nice?”
“Nope.”
“Then what gives?”
“I have no idea!”
Sein clutched her head with both hands. That was when Doyeon, who had been quiet, spoke up.
“Maybe he likes Dahye?”
“Dahye?”
“Yeah. Dahye was the one who asked him for the favor in the first place.”
“Ooh…”
Su-a and Gaeun’s eyes sparkled, thinking that sounded plausible.
Right, these girls don’t know I got rejected by Seo Jae-gyeom.
Definitely not, my friends.
I immediately denied it.
“No way, absolutely not.”
“Why! It could happen.”
“No, not a chance. Seo Jae-gyeom and I haven’t privately messaged each other in… what, two months?”
My chatroom with Seo Jae-gyeom—already pushed so far down it was hard to find—was filled only with Kotalks I had initiated under all sorts of excuses, met with his one-word replies or being left on read.
My pathetic struggles, constantly tossing out questions just to keep the conversation going somehow, were immortalized right there…
Let’s stop thinking about that.
“Anyway, it’s not true. Seo Jae-gyeom doesn’t like me.”
He likes Jisu.
“Aww.”
Tilting her head, Sein turned back to Gaeun.
“Then what about you? Do you like Seo Jae-gyeom?”
“Well, it’s not like I actually like him, but… if Seo Jae-gyeom were interested in me, I’d be more than willing to make things happen.”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Who would turn that down… Holy crap, I just saw Seo Jae-gyeom’s abs.”
“Where?!”
In an instant, all our eyes snapped to Seo Jae-gyeom. In the middle of the schoolyard, he was lifting up his gym shirt to wipe the sweat from his face.
“Whoo!”
Su-a clapped like a seal.
He really was unmatched. Both in face and physique.
“Come to think of it, Seo Jae-gyeom really doesn’t have a girlfriend, right?”
“For sure. He doesn’t hide things like that.”
“Then what about Jung Eun-sung?”
“Jung Eun-sung would pretend he didn’t even if he had one. He’s a trainee.”
“I wish I were his girlfriend… I’m so good at keeping secrets.”
“Wait, why is Jung Eun-sung sitting by himself?”
At those words, our attention shifted to Jung Eun-sung.
He wasn’t playing soccer, nor basketball, nor even hanging out with the group secretly eating hot dogs in the corner; he was just lying alone in the shade.
“Are the guys bullying our Eun-sung, by any chance?”
“No way.”
He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d let himself get bullied.
“Go check on him, Dahye. Ask why he’s sitting alone.”
“Me…?”
“You’re the class president.”
“……”
“And tell us every single thing Eun-sung says from start to finish.”
“Fine…”
I’m definitely not going because I’m curious about Jung Eun-sung.
It’s purely because the girls pushed me into it.
I dragged my feet over to Jung Eun-sung.
“Hey.”
When I called out softly, Jung Eun-sung opened his eyes just a slit and looked at me.
“Why are you just lying here doing nothing by yourself?”
“I’m in the middle of pretending I hurt my ankle.”
“Ah.”
Right. To screw over Song Yeo-reum…
“You really stay committed to the role, huh?”
I remarked with a hint of admiration. At that, Jung Eun-sung opened his eyes fully, looked up at me, and suddenly sprang to his feet, shoving me aside.
A soccer ball flew straight into the spot where I had just been standing, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
“Whoa, hey, crap, sorry!”
“……”
Jung Eun-sung glared so murderously that the boys on the receiving end panicked, apologizing profusely.
The brief theory sprouting in my head about Jung Eun-sung being bullied vanished without a trace.
“Kang Da-hye, you okay?!”
“Man, we’re really sorry…”
Jung Eun-sung stared silently until all the boys playing soccer stopped in their tracks, fidgeting awkwardly, and then he scratched his eyebrow.
Then, he booted the ball away.
In the exact opposite direction of the athletic field.
“…Didn’t you say you were acting like you hurt your ankle?”
“Just healed.”
“I see.”
Somehow, this felt awkward…
Ah.
“Want some chocolate?”
I offered him the mint chocolate candy from my pocket.
Someone had left it on my desk on White Day, but since I wasn’t particularly curious about who gave it, I hadn’t bothered to find out.
Reason: All the guys at our school are ugly! Except for two!
It was my way of expressing gratitude, but Jung Eun-sung’s expression turned sour.
“Hey. You…”
“Huh?”
“Do you hate mint chocolate?”
“Yeah… I don’t eat it at all.”
“You really have no taste…”
Muttering, Jung Eun-sung snatched the chocolate from my hand. He popped it into his mouth in one bite and lay right back down. After blinking at him for a moment, I walked back to my friends.
“What did he say? What’s going on?”
“Jung Eun-sung isn’t getting bullied. Definitely not. If anything, he’s the one bullying them.”
“I just saw! Jung Eun-sung kicking that ball!”
“Didn’t he say his ankle was hurt?”
“He said it’s all healed.”
“Guess his recovery rate is fast because he’s handsome.”
Giggling, Sein clapped her hands together.
“Oh, right, did you guys hear about that?”
Blah blah blah. A story about so-and-so from the rival group of the boyband Sein liked, who got swept up in dating rumors right before their comeback.
“So they had to post a handwritten apology…”
“Right! Did you see that?!”
Eighteen-year-olds had so many things to care about.
Fluttering over handsome classmates, studying, keeping up with every little move of favorite celebrities…
With dozens of new events erupting every single day, the perverted ajusshi we hadn’t seen in days soon became old news.
“Kim Gaeun, leaving now?”
“Yeah. Gotta hurry home to take a dump.”
“Wait a bit and let’s leave together. I’ll walk you home.”
“It’s dangerous for you too, why walk me? Just wrap up quickly and go home. Kang Da, today’s your last day of part-time work, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Should we throw a party at school tomorrow? I’ll buy a slice of cake.”
“Forget it. Just hurry home and take your dump.”
I pushed Gaeun out of the academy as she sprayed TMI about how she eats Water Spicy Chicken Noodles whenever she needs to use the bathroom.
Finally, my last day of the part-time job!
I yawned and walked into the teachers’ office, only to find…
“He got so worked up by himself that he was stammering while complaining…”
“My goodness, then what?”
The teachers who hadn’t gone home yet were huddled together, talking heatedly.
“I told him that, as far as I knew, his daughter didn’t have a boyfriend, and even if she did, he wasn’t an academy student so we wouldn’t know. That they didn’t meet here at the academy.”
“Is his daughter not allowed to have a boyfriend? And even if she does, is that something to complain to us about?”
“No wonder the kid dates behind her dad’s back.”
“How is the kid supposed to attend classes with that level of embarrassment?”
“Tell me about it. Truly all sorts of things happen.”
“Did something happen?”
I asked as I handed the lost-and-found items from the classroom to the vice principal.
“Well, a parent just called the academy… saying his daughter goes here, but instead of studying, she’s running around meeting some college guy. He was furious, yelling at us teachers asking how we could let a grown young woman roam around with a man late at night.”
“Pardon…?”
“He told us to keep a proper leash on her. Is this a cram school or a monastery?”
“He’d faint if he found out she’ll be drinking with guys once she goes to college.”
As I stood there bewildered, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was Jung Eun-sung.
Him calling me?
I quickly stepped out of the office and answered.
“Hello?”
At my bewildered tone, a blunt, nonchalant reply came from the other end of the line.
—You told me to call if I ran into something I didn’t know while studying.
“Ah… I did.”
Though I never expected him to actually do it.
Wait, did I have a ringback tone set during this period? It couldn’t be some sorrowful unrequited love ballad, right…☆ I thought to myself as I stepped into an empty classroom in sight.
“What don’t you understand?”
—The…
(I’m sure none of you paid 100 won to study, right? Jung Eun-sung’s question will be omitted.)
“That word is the hint. Since it’s referring to the Imo Incident, it can’t be number 4. No Deok-sul is a figure from the Japanese colonial era.”
—Who’s No Deok-sul?
“A pro-Japanese torture cop from the colonial period. A collaborator.”
—Ah.
“But why are you suddenly curious about this at ten at night? You don’t even like studying.”
—I’m trying to study Korean history.
“Why?”
—A senior at the agency… went to Japan on March 1st Independence Movement Day, posted a photo wearing a kimono, and is getting trashed by the fans.
“Why on earth did they do that?”
I nodded, perching myself on the desk.
“Is that senior reflecting on it at least?”
—Nope. He threw a water bottle at his manager asking why he didn’t stop him.
“Unbelievable. A grown adult should take responsibility for their own actions…”
‘A grown young woman, late at night every time like this…’
‘Furious, yelling at us asking how we could let a grown young woman roam around with a man late at night…’
“Jung Eun-sung, hold on.”
I sprang to my feet.
The door swung open.
“Teacher!”
“Yes?”
“That call earlier from a student’s father about the boyfriend!”
“Yeah?”
“Was that by any chance Gaeun’s father?!”
“How did you know?”
“……”
—Kang Da-hye?
It’s that ajusshi.
With the phone clutched in my hand, I bolted out.