Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: 5th Period: The Greek Kang Da-hye
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Vacation trait: Planning to do this and that but ending up doing absolutely nothing.
Past me was the same.
Slept in as much as I wanted, got up around 11, and probably didn't study even eight hours a day.
But this vacation will be different.
Seo Jae-kyeom
> On my way?
>
Should I come pick you up? 12:29
No...
> You'll melt if you come out now.
>
It's hot. 12:30
Even with a classmate you see every day at school, meeting up during vacation feels totally different.
Maybe because they're in casual clothes.
Running into them on the street feels awkwardly nice.
A bit embarrassing, too.
What even is vacation?
Pondering that as I hustled along with a box of fruit...
"Da-hye!"
In this sweltering heat, the landlady was sitting on the bench in front of the hair salon, tearing into some dried squid, and she called out to me.
"Where you headed?"
"Oh, meeting a friend to study."
"A friend? Boyfriend? That handsome guy you brought home last time?"
"No, a girl..."
Suddenly, Seo Jae-kyeom (18) had become a girl.
I tried to make it sound as truthful as possible, but the landlady didn't buy it. She glanced wildly at our villa where my mom lived, then winked and raised her voice.
"Right, our Da-hye wouldn't have a boyfriend like that! She's not the type to drag one home late at night or anything scandalous like that, no way!"
"Hahaha... yeah. Did you get a new car?"
There was a car parked in front of the house that I hadn't seen before. I smoothly changed the subject.
The landlady slapped her knee at my question.
"Oh, you saw it too, Da-hye? My daughter insists I don't need it, but she keeps pushing..."
"Hahaha..."
I laughed awkwardly and started backing away.
"What a dutiful daughter... Well, I'll be
> off
>
now..."
I bolted.
"Ugh. So hot."
There was no bus stop near Seo Jae-kyeom's house.
Well, there was one, but you had to go way down this insane hill.
While everyone else in this fancy neighborhood with their foreign luxury cars zipped around, I was the only one sweating buckets, trudging up the uphill on foot.
Seo Jae-kyeom
> Where are you? 13:15
Almost there.
> Stop obsessing. 13:17
I'd been to Seo Jae-kyeom's house a few times as a kid on errands, so the entrance felt familiar. I wiped the sweat from my forehead when I arrived.
I looked up at the two-story house visible beyond the white wall that looked like something out of an art museum. It was only two stories, but the building loomed incredibly tall. Must be the high ceilings.
'Back then, I didn't know the right way to describe this house.'
Now I did.
It was like the house from director Juno Bong's Parasite.
'Did they find the tutor through connections too? With that belt of trust?'
Shaking off random thoughts, I straightened the fruit box tucked under my arm.
What fruit? Thanks to the missus paying for my tutoring, Mom insisted I couldn't show up empty-handed, so she sent me with these summer peaches.
I'd told her a hundred times that a house like that buys their fruit from department stores and doesn't need stuff like this, but she wouldn't hear it. So here I was, dragging this thing up the hill in the heat.
'I can already picture Seo Jae-kyeom's mom's face when I hand this over.'
I wanted to just dump it on the roadside and pretend I came empty-handed.
But standing there lost in thought wasn't magically melting the fruit away, so with no choice, I tucked the peaches under my arm and rang the doorbell.
-Yes?
"Hello, I..."
-Just come on in!
Before I could say more, I heard Seo Jae-kyeom's voice, and the gate creaked open.
I passed through the garden where the sprinklers were whirring and headed inside.
Before I could even take off my shoes, there was a thudding from upstairs, and someone huge came tumbling down like they were rolling.
"Kang Da-hye!"
The rushing Seo Jae-kyeom took the peach box from my hands.
"You got here early. How'd you come? It's brutal out there—want me to turn the AC lower? What do you want to drink? I bought a whole box of banana milk."
"Walked. Super hot outside. AC's fine. Hello, ma'am, could I have a glass of ice water? But..."
I scanned Seo Jae-kyeom's outfit.
"You got plans after?"
"Huh? No?"
"Really...?"
"Yeah. Not going anywhere. Staying home."
"Got it."
He was wearing a crisp white luxury short-sleeve tee that looked brand-new out of the package, with light blue jeans.
The tee was whatever, but jeans...? At home? As loungewear?
His hair looked styled too.
"Where's your mom?"
"In the living room."
"Da-hye's here?"
Seo Jae-kyeom's mom called out from the living room, having heard the commotion at the entrance.
Following him there, I saw her sitting on the sofa reading a book.
"Hello."
"Mom, Da-hye brought this."
Seo Jae-kyeom, who seemed extra cheerful today, showed his mom the peach box. She glanced at it with a blank expression and asked,
"Where'd you buy it?"
"Oh, from the mart..."
"Mart fruit tastes awful."
"..."
"Jae-kyeom and I don't eat it. That's the kind of thing you eat at your place. We'll appreciate the gesture, so take it back and share with your mom."
"..."
"Anyway, thanks. Da-hye's such a sweetheart."
With that, she went back to her book as if the conversation was over.
Stunned by the bluntness, I stood there speechless for a moment. Beside me, Seo Jae-kyeom's face hardened.
"Why say it like that?"
"Like what? You shove your plate away if fruit's even a little bruised. We buy twelve and toss half—that's normal for you. You gonna eat it?"
"Yeah. I will."
"Sure you will. Fine, leave it there."
Seo Jae-kyeom's mom snorted and jerked her chin. The housekeeper, who'd been watching nervously, took the box.
"Mom, seriously...!"
"Drop it. Let's go upstairs."
I placed a hand on the fuming Seo Jae-kyeom's back.
If I left him, he'd pick a fight with his mom over me.
Thankfully, he knew that'd just put me in an awkward spot, so he didn't add more and turned around.
I gave a quick bow to his mom, who hadn't even glanced my way, and headed up to the second floor.
Behind us, I heard her tell the housekeeper, "Ma'am, you take it and eat it."
"Why's she like that?!"
"Guess she's in a bad mood today."
I shook my head at the grumbling, apologetic Seo Jae-kyeom.
"It's fine. My bad for not considering the recipient's tastes."
I tried to play it cool, but my cheeks burned. No one had ever laid a hand on me, but it felt like I'd been slapped.
What was this feeling? Embarrassment? Humiliation? Awkwardness? Shame?
'At least I figured she'd say something like that after I left. Even if she showed her dislike, she'd accept it first. Later.'
By then, I'd be gone, so it'd be fine.
But she said it right to my face.
Good thing I'm a regressor— a pure 18-year-old would've been truly hurt. I'd have cried inside a hundred times!
Did our house sell the country or commit a crime? Is it okay to treat people like this just because we're poor?
Do you think because I'm poor and lowly and worthless, I have no feelings?
Hard to believe, but I have a soul just as delicate and bruiseable as yours, ma'am.
Turning today's humiliation into fuel, I'll definitely succeed...
"Seo Jae-kyeom."
"I'm really embarrassed for you... Huh?"
"What's 'belittle' in English?"
"Uh... what was it?"
"Belittle."
To bee... little. Like ignoring. It's a common SAT word, so memorize it.
I flashed a grin at his dumbfounded face.
"I'm really fine. Let's hurry and get ready. In your room?"
"No... the second-floor living room."
"You haven't met the tutor yet either, right?"
I followed behind him, careful not to show surprise at the fact they had a separate living room upstairs.
It was when I'd settled by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the garden and taken a sip of ice water.
"Jae-kyeom, your tutor's here."
The housekeeper called from the stairs.
Hearing an adult had arrived, I instinctively stood up. Soon, a familiar face appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
...Why familiar?
"Oh."
The "teacher," spotting me and Seo Jae-kyeom, widened her eyes.
"......"
"......"
"...Student teacher?"
Ladies and ladies~
Height 191cm, an apple-like face with a sculpted physique—allow me to introduce... my tutor? Do I have to?