The Top Student Hides Her Regression
Chapter 42
What could it be?
Was she sick?
No. That wasn’t how a sick person acted.
Was she in a bad mood?
No. Jisu wasn’t the type to take a bad mood out on others.
Then was she mad at me?
Was… she?
But I hadn’t done anything wrong to Jisu. We barely even crossed paths lately.
We didn’t eat together, we didn’t hang out after school, we barely kept in touch…
“……”
Could the lack of contact be why she was mad?
‘I won’t know for sure until I ask.’
Lost in thought, I stepped into the teachers’ office.
“Dahye!”
“Hello! When our homeroom teacher gets in, could you please let them know I left the collected survey forms right here?”
“Sure, sure. How’ve you been lately, Dahye? Doing well?”
“Of course. Couldn’t be more satisfied.”
“Bang Eunji!”
The Hanmun teacher’s thoroughly irritated voice interrupted our conversation.
I turned around to see Bang Eunji standing in front of the Hanmun teacher. Today, as usual, she was wearing a flashy hoodie and an obnoxious headband.
Spotting me, Bang Eunji scowled.
“Hey, what’re you looking at?”
“What makes you think you can pick a fight with an innocent kid after what you did?! When you’re the one who got caught fooling around during class!”
Grabbing the book lying on the desk, the Hanmun teacher waved it frantically right in front of Bang Eunji’s nose.
“Instead of wasting time copying down trash like this, go study! Do you even know how to write one through ten in Chinese characters?”
Honestly, I was just amazed that Bang Eunji knew how to read in the first place.
Wondering what kind of book it was, I took a closer look.
—Why Do Men Like F.O.X.-y Women? 3 Traits of a Woman Men Can Never Let Go!♡♥♡ Supplement: Frequency MP3 File to Attract Your Soulmate Included :D
“……”
“I thought you’d quiet down a bit with Song Yeo-reum skipping school, but… If you’re going to transcribe something, copy a classic like <Mujin Yanghaeng>, not this piece of garbage!”
Why isn’t that Song Yeo-reum girl coming to school anyway? Grumbling under his breath, the Hanmun teacher flipped the book open and read aloud.
“‘The fox’s confidence that stamps your impression onto him in just three seconds’… Eunji, are you a human or a fox?”
I could see a teacher sitting across from him ducking beneath the partition, desperately stifling their laughter.
Her face flushed crimson with humiliation, Bang Eunji stomped her foot with an angry “Ugh, seriously!”, but the Hanmun teacher couldn’t care less.
“Embarrassing, isn’t it? Yeah, it should be. I’ll ask Lee Mongryong over there to lend you a copy of <Mujin Yanghaeng> later, so pick it up and read it. Do you know how great of a book that is? Right, Dahye?”
Ah, why are you dragging me into this again?
Glancing at Bang Eunji, who looked ready to burst into tears at any second, I replied.
“Did you transcribe <Mujin Yanghaeng> yourself, Teacher?”
“Of course! Back when I was in college, transcribing <Mujin Yanghaeng> was an actual assignment. I got drunk and forgot all about it, so I ended up lying flat on the floor of the subway copying it down on my way to school.”
“So you staked your life on that transcription.”
“What?”
“And did you independently choose that purple sweater you’re wearing?”
At the barrage of ridiculous wordplay, the Hanmun teacher let out a dry laugh.
“Where on earth did you learn such dad jokes?”
“Come on. You act like that now, but I know you’ll be chuckling to yourself on your way home.”
“Ha. Haha.”
“I have more. Want to hear them?”
“Forget it, kid.”
Waving his hand dismissively, the Hanmun teacher seemed to have completely forgotten what we had been talking about in the first place. Chuckling in disbelief a few times, he turned to Bang Eunji, who was still standing there.
“You, get out of here. Take this book with you, too.”
Snatching the book without a word, Bang Eunji bolted out of the teachers’ office. Seeing that our shoulders might bump as she rushed past, I took a step back to let her through.
“Kang Da-hye, if you crack another rotten pun like that one more time—!”
“Hehe.”
Leaving the Hanmun teacher shaking his fist behind me, I stepped out into the hallway.
So, what was I thinking about again?
Ah. Jisu.
Why was Jisu mad?
‘No point making wild guesses. I should just ask.’
So during the very next break, I went straight to find Jisu. She was chatting with a boy from her class, but when I called her name, she stepped out into the hallway.
“……”
“……”
“Why’d you call me?”
“Well.”
It had been so long since I’d had a conversation like this that it felt awkward. Watching her expression carefully, I asked.
“Did I do something to upset you by any chance?”
I did my best to sound like a kicked puppy, but I didn’t think it worked very well. Avoiding my eyes, Jisu fired back in a sulky tone.
“Aren’t you the one mad at me, Kang Da?”
“Me?”
Not at all! Why would she think that?
“Lately, I’m always the one who Kotalks first. I’m always the one who calls first. I’m always the one who comes over to your classroom. And even when I go, you’re always hanging out only with kids from your class. Like Woo Do-yeon and Gyeong Sein.”
“Ah.”
“You don’t even talk to me during math and English class either.”
“Oh.”
“So I thought you were mad at me for something.”
“No way!”
I waved my hands frantically in denial.
This was 100% my mistake.
‘An eighteen-year-old’s friendship isn’t like when you’re twenty-nine, where seeing each other once every few months counts as seeing each other often.’
Seeing each other every day, texting all day, and contacting each other again the second you got home even after spending the entire day together at school—that was normal at this age.
A time when class assignments for the new school year felt like a life-or-death matter.
‘Even the pre-regression me was terrified of being split from Jisu in sophomore year. Worried I wouldn’t have any friends in my class.’
And now, having changed overnight, it was only natural that Jisu had misunderstood.
Pouting, Jisu continued.
“Is it because of Seo Jae-gyeom…?”
“No!”
Why was his name coming up now?!
“I swear, I really don’t like him anymore!”
“…Then. Is it because I told you not to get close to Woo Do-yeon?”
“That’s not it either.”
I had completely forgotten that Jisu even said that.
How was I supposed to explain this? What a mess.
“I’ve just… felt a bit anxious lately, so……”
“Anxious?”
“Yeah, um… You know I didn’t have any friends besides you, Jisu. And I didn’t know anyone in our class. So I was worried I’d be left all alone with no friends in my room.”
“…Ah, was that why?”
“Yeah. I was so impatient and scared of becoming a loner that I didn’t pay enough attention to you. I’m sorry.”
“Right. It makes sense that Kang Da would worry about something like that.”
“Yeah, exactly. I used to hang out only with you, Jisu. You have tons of friends even without me, but I only have you.”
In truth, I really had worried about that during my sophomore year of high school. Ninth grade, tenth grade—after sticking together for four straight years, it was our first time being separated, and I hadn’t known what to do.
Back then, I’d even gotten jealous seeing Jisu get close with her classmates.
Somehow, the tables had turned now.
“I’m not mad at you at all. Please don’t abandon me.”
I lowered the corners of my eyes, pleading as pathetically as I could. Looking at Jisu’s face, it seemed she had already softened.
“…I really thought you were mad at me, Kang Da.”
“No, not at all. Never. I’m sorry.”
“…Okay.”
“Shall we go get tteokbokki? Just the two of us?”
“Sounds good.”
“Today?”
“I have cram school today.”
“Then tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
I promised to add chewy noodles and flying fish roe fried rice, sharing a grin with Jisu, who was now beaming brightly.
However.
“Dahye, I’m so, so sorry, but…”
Life, as always, never went according to plan…
“A sudden meeting just came up.”
“Ah… but does this have to be done by today?”
“Yes…… Could you help me out just this once, Dahye?”
I really couldn’t.
I glanced at Jisu standing beside me.
“I actually have plans today, too…”
“It’s fine. Let’s help out and then go. Won’t it finish quickly if we do it together?”
Jisu offered coolly, but…
“Ah.”
The homeroom teacher wore an awkward expression.
“This involves personal information of the students in our class, so…”
“Ah…”
Then did I have to stay… all alone… and do it?
“I’ll stay.”
It was Seo Jae-gyeom who stepped in.
Gesturing for his waiting friends to go on ahead, Seo Jae-gyeom walked over and stood next to me. When I looked up, our eyes met.
“Don’t you have cram school?”
“Han Ji-soo isn’t going today, which means I don’t have it either.”
“Right.”
“I’ll do it, so you can go ahead.”
“I’d be super grateful, but……”
“You two can just do it together. I’ll be in the library, so finish up quickly and come over.”
Looking back and forth between me and Seo Jae-gyeom, Jisu reached a conclusion.
“Oh, right—Seo Jae-gyeom, congrats on becoming vice president!”
Flashing a smile at Seo Jae-gyeom, Jisu pulled a workbook out of her bag, saying she might as well do her homework while waiting. I handed her my school uniform cardigan.
“Wear this. You get cold easily.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“It’s fine. Take your time.”
Like the absolute angel she was, Jisu trotted off toward the library.
“I’m really sorry……”
I had no idea there’d be a meeting today… Receiving the stack of paperwork from our dazed homeroom teacher, I walked back into the classroom.
I turned to Seo Jae-gyeom with a resolute expression.
“Let’s crush this in thirty minutes.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Looking back, I should never have sent Jisu to the library that day.