Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Price of Gratitude
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"...There were some stir-fried anchovies."
"What? Anchovy abs?"
Do anchovies have abs? I blurted out in surprise, and Seo Jae-kyeom stared at me blankly.
"...Sorry."
I've been really into abs lately...
"I don't know about anchovies, but I have them. Abs."
"Good for you."
The last tutoring session before school started.
"Jae-kyeom, you do have a great build. What kind of workouts do you do?"
"Just a bit of this and that... What about you, Teacher?"
"I swim."
"So, do you have abs too, Teacher? Like mine?"
The student teacher’s respected senior had exposed the Shakespeare shaman, leading to her arrest, and the story even made the news. The whole country was in an uproar.
Truly, the only real journalist in this country is my senior.
The student teacher wouldn’t stop bragging about his senior... my ears were bleeding.
'My senior wants to buy Da-hye a meal.'
'Tell him to buy it when I get into Korea University.'
For the record, the student teacher has no idea that Seo Jae-kyeom's mom was involved. Thanks to her quick exit, she wasn't on the list of victims.
"My abs? Jae-kyeom, want to come to the bathroom with me for a sec? I'll show you."
"No thanks!"
"Tch... School starts next week, right?"
"Yeah. We switch to 7 p.m. starting next week, correct?"
"Yep."
The student teacher, who had tempted me right up to the end with promises of showing off his abs to Seo Jae-kyeom but failed, trudged down the stairs with a dejected look. As I passed him on the way up, the housekeeper called out to me.
"Da-hye. The missus wants to see you for a moment."
"Why's Mom calling for you?"
Seo Jae-kyeom, who had been pulling at the neck of his T-shirt to check his own abs, straightened up with a serious expression.
"No idea."
I replied as I grabbed my bag.
I hadn't finished the study quota I'd set for myself before school started. To hit my goal, I'd have to turn off my phone and study nonstop from today until the day before school.
"I'll come with you."
"What? You stay here."
"No way!"
"No helping it then. If you don't want to stay, you don't have to..."
Keep looking at those abs while you're sitting. I pressed down on Seo Jae-kyeom's already risen shoulders to seat him again and followed the housekeeper down.
I was startled for a moment when I placed my hand on his shoulder—it was higher up than expected.
Has he grown taller? I see him so often, I didn't notice.
And the reason Seo Jae-kyeom's mom had called me was...
"Da-hye, since you saved me 200 million won, you have the right to ask me for that money."
"Pardon?"
Me?
"If it weren't for you, I would've handed it all over to that scammer. I would've lost the money and gotten sick with anger instead. Think of it as payment for stopping that."
"No... no...! I'm fine!"
I waved my hands frantically.
No way—that would make it seem like I'd helped her just because I was eyeing the reward!
"Forget that I did anything. Besides, I'm a minor! I can't handle that much money."
"Tsk. I told you not to act poor. How many minors in the world have 200 million won?"
"Haha..."
She's still as unreasonable as ever...
With that money, I could invest in stocks or coins.
As a regressor, I could turn it into tens or hundreds of times more.
It was tempting, but...!
Still, I can't accept it.
It was too much for what I'd done.
To Seo Jae-kyeom's mom, who insisted, "It's only right to reward someone who helped you," I said,
"You've been letting me have free tutoring. You didn't even take the peaches. Please think of it as me repaying you."
"...I felt bad about that back then."
Seo Jae-kyeom's mom, looking awkward, took a sip of the tea on the table. She fiddled hesitantly with the rim of the teacup before suddenly speaking up.
"I thought about it after you left."
"Yes."
"It's been nearly twenty years, so it doesn't matter now, but... I wondered what it would've been like. If, when I was young, there had been someone by my side like you, telling me it wasn't right. Someone who said, even if they weren't supporting the family, it was okay not to do it if I didn't want to."
That day, you were sweating so much, I thought our house was just too hot. Seo Jae-kyeom's mom laughed.
"...I still can't accept it."
"What to do? I really want to give it to you."
This is tricky.
I kept refusing politely, but she was determined to give it, so negotiations weren't working.
"How about this? I'll support you so you can study without worrying about tuition until you graduate."
"Tuition?"
"Yes. Even if you have to retake exams or take a gap year—which I doubt—but whether you want to study abroad or go to grad school after undergrad. I'll help you until you've finished studying and settled down."
"......"
Let's see.
I'll get into university on the first try, and Korea University is national, so tuition is cheap...
"Don't refuse. If you do, I'll call your mom and dump the 200 million on her."
"...Just tuition, okay? No living expenses."
"Fine."
"......"
"Will you accept it now? It's rude to keep refusing when an adult is insisting like this."
"...Yes."
Thank you... She must've found my mumbling amusing. Seo Jae-kyeom's mom chuckled and took another sip of tea. It was already her second cup since I arrived. She didn't show it, but she was clearly nervous because of me.
I hesitated before speaking up.
"Um, ma'am."
"Yes."
"I thought about what you said last time..."
About how people these days like princesses who were born rich and never suffered. They envy those who had it all from the start, not those who achieved it through effort.
In a world where 99% aren't princesses, if only princesses get loved, the other 99% would be too sad.
"You might be right. But... princesses do put in effort too."
Ji-su works incredibly hard. Always at academies, tutoring, studying late. I get 100, Ji-su gets 99.6... no, 100. She just had bad luck on the finals.
That's not a score you get just from a good environment. I know because I've tried hard myself.
"It's true they start from a better position than me, but I don't want to downplay their efforts just because they had a head start. And."
Ah, this might be overstepping.
Whatever. I've always been nosy anyway.
Kang Da-hye, top of the school—top in meddling too!
"If there's something you want to do, go for it. If you envy kids going to school, enroll yourself... No one says anything about going to college twice."
Seo Jae-kyeom's mom chuckled at my words.
"Kid, I'm forty. What are you talking about?"
Only forty?! No, that's not the point.
"You're going to age anyway, whether you do it or not. Better to do it while you're younger, even if just a day sooner."
If you wait until you're old and dying to regret, "I should've done that; I was so young then," it'll be too late. You'd have to die.
I clasped my hands by my face and pretended to sleep, making Seo Jae-kyeom's mom laugh in exasperation.
"Don't you find me intimidating?"
"I do."
But less than before, I think.
Wow. Forty. I was 29 before regressing. Just 11 years older than that would make me her age?
Seo Jae-kyeom's mom, staring at my inwardly shocked face, said,
"Even if that scammer had been real, spending money on a shaman would've been a worse choice than spending it on you."
"I'm better than a shaman, sure."
"Begging for a hundred talismans from a shaman would've helped Jae-kyeom less than asking you to tutor him for free and stay by his side."
She added proudly,
"That shows Jae-kyeom has a real eye for people, doesn't it?"
"Uh..."
He used to date Baek Eun-ju, Yang Da-jeong, and Kim Hae-in...
"Now that it's come to this, I need to show you that tuition support alone will exceed 200 million. Make you think, 'I should've just taken the 200 million back then.'"
"Pardon?!"
"We're done talking. Go on."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kang Daaaa-hye! It's been so long!"
"We saw each other the day before yesterday."
"But seeing you in uniform is different! It's been foreeeever!"
"It's only been a month."
"Hmph."
Su-a, who had come running with teary eyes, pouted and backed off. I smiled and hung my bag on the desk. Lee Seo-jun, who was already there, greeted me shyly.
"Hi, Kang Da-hye."
"Hi! Good break?"
"Yeah... You?"
"Same! But Seo-jun, you've gotten taller."
"Da-hye, you sound like an uncle at New Year's."
Su-a, perched on Yeon-hee's desk behind me, giggled.
"Whoa, Seo-jun! You've grown a ton! You're a full-grown man now!"
She clapped with a gravelly voice. Lee Seo-jun, red up to his ears, bowed his head and whispered,
"I'm 179.1 now."
"Why say the 0.1?"
"Because 0.1 matters..."
"Right, let's say you stretched as much as possible for the measurement. Treasure that 0.1."
"What's 'stretched measurement'?"
He really had grown a lot. At my genuine admiration, Lee Seo-jun's head drooped lower like ripe rice. Flustered, he suddenly said,
"Oh yeah, Da-hye. That workbook I mentioned..."
"Huh?!"
Su-a cut him off.
I followed her loud exclamation to the front door.
Jeong Eun-seong and Seo Jae-kyeom had arrived at the same time.
They were shoving each other with their shoulders, fighting to enter first. It was so childish, hard to believe they'd be adults in a few years. I squeezed my eyes shut.
The classroom had gone quiet before I knew it.
Su-a said in a dazed voice,
"Why'd those guys get so tall...?"