Chapter 120
Chapter 120
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Stolen Hand Cream
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Why did the teachers suddenly change their minds?"
"Who knows. Lee Seo-jun, got any guesses?"
"No...."
"Me neither."
Maybe even the teachers realized this wasn't right.
The next day during morning homeroom.
The homeroom teacher apologized, saying they'd decided to scrap the Help Papers we'd turned in yesterday and that she was sorry for hurting us with such a hasty approach.
No one mocked the teachers for admitting their mistake and apologizing.
Today's lesson.
Kids respect teachers who quickly own up to their wrongs and fix them more than those who stubbornly dig in their heels despite knowing better.
"Still, if something like this happens again, make sure to tell a trusted adult...."
While listening to the homeroom teacher, I snuck some hand cream out of my bag and applied it, only to lock eyes with Jang Ji-won.
She sneered at me and my hand cream before leaning over to her neighboring desk to whisper with Do Ha-jun.
Why is she like that? Seriously.
Doesn't Do Ha-jun remember how he publicly confessed after listening to her and crashed and burned? Those two are really hitting it off now.
'No way that Help Paper thing was a scheme between Jang Ji-won and Do Ha-jun too, right?'
Not a full scheme, but Do Ha-jun probably gave her a post-report.
Like, 'Hey, I wrote Kang Da-hye's name on that Help Paper lol' 'Lmao epic' or something.
They were probably cackling together, anticipating me getting screwed. Am I just paranoid?
'If not Jang Ji-won, then she schemed with Park Su-hwan.'
That's Park Su-hwan's style. He gets others to do the dirty work and slips away clean.
Yeah. That fits him perfectly.
There's this kid in our class named Jeong Na-jun, right? He said he went to a PC bang over break and overheard Park Su-hwan's crew trash-talking me.
Do Ha-jun was spitting on his keyboard, saying, 'Honestly, she's not even that pretty, not my type, but I was gonna date her out of pity for her efforts, and she thinks she's hot shit' blah blah blah. Jeong Na-jun butted in like, 'Hey, you guys talking about Kang Da-hye?' and they clammed up, then slunk out after like ten minutes.
Trembling with rage...
No, all I ask from those guys is one thing. Leave me alone. Stop paying attention to me. It's not hard!
"Anyway, kids, so for the class president elections this semester...."
"Whoa, a mosquito!"
"Catch it!"
"Kill it!"
"...Kids, when am I gonna get to talk?"
In the brief moment, our homeroom teacher, who had her energy completely drained by the unbeatable Class 2-2, shared some crucial info that lunch would feature snowflake sirloin glutinous rice sweet-and-sour pork and flat peach honey black tea before heading out.
I used the intermission to open my book.
Lee Seo-jun saw what I was reading and hesitated before asking.
"French?"
"Yeah. Trying to memorize some vocab for this semester ahead of time."
Then Jeong Eun-seong jumped right in.
"Study hard. We gotta go find that author in the afterlife."
"Author?"
"Died without revealing the ending."
"Oh."
Yeah, sure. No idea why he's craning his neck like he's saying it for Seo Jae-kyeom to hear.
"If we meet, I should at least say hi."
Jeong Eun-seong, practicing a blank-faced "Bonjour, je m'appelle Jeong Eun-seong," suddenly asked.
"But Kang Da-hye, does that mean we'll be in touch even after we die?"
"Whoa... how do you even come up with something that creepy?"
I glanced at Seo Jae-kyeom, who had snapped his head up from studying—clearly aiming for Korea University—and shot back.
"I only talk to people with sound minds and bodies. Let's cut contact from now on."
"My body and mind are both perfectly healthy."
I eat salad for at least one meal a day, keep up steady reading and exercise to maintain my physical and mental health. Jeong Eun-seong added as he leaned forward and whispered.
"That guy's been eating Pocky earlier. Sugar bombs. I saw him."
"I ate some too...."
Seo Jae-kyeom bought it for me...
"On second thought, it's the best drink ever."
Jeong Eun-seong flipped his words quick, while Yeon-hee stifled a laugh beside him.
"Da-hye! Memorial to the Throne! Quick!"
"Quick...."
That afternoon during PE.
PE teacher Oh Un-wan blew the whistle to the beat of the national anthem, clapped to gather the kids.
"Alright, today!"
Hands on hips, full of confidence.
"Oh. I forgot to grab the basket from the staff room."
"......"
"Da-hye...."
"Yes. I'll go get it."
"I'll just go myself."
Seo Jae-kyeom shot his hand up, but.
"Jae-kyeom! You gotta help me check the kids' form!"
"Nooo... Kang Da-hye will go...."
"Right! The orange plastic basket! Bring that! Ask any teacher if you're not sure!"
"Yes."
Hot out, but lucky me. I'll grab a drink from the staff room while I'm at it.
I was turning around, inwardly thrilled, when.
In this sweltering heat, Jang Ji-won was plastered to Park Su-hwan like glue, whispering something while glaring at me again. Despite barely any height difference, she was on tiptoes.
Jang Ji-won chattered away, Park Su-hwan nodded. He patted her head saying 'Smart girl?' and she giggled ehehe.
"......"
Sigh.
I shook my head and pulled out my phone from my pocket.
Why does Jang Ji-won hate me so much? Seems like she hates me more than Park Su-hwan or Do Ha-jun.
"Gyeong Se-in!"
"Yeah!"
I shoved the camera at Gyeong Se-in, who turned and struck a V-sign pose with both hands without missing a beat.
"Video~"
"Ah, what!"
"Heh."
Better hurry back.
Dash.
"Ugh, so freaking hot."
"Why doesn't Oh Un-wan have the sense to use the gym in this weather?"
"He still let us out five minutes early."
"Jeong Na-jun, stay away from me. You stink of sweat."
"Heh."
"Hot?"
Seo Jae-kyeom asked as I grabbed my uniform off the desk. I nodded, and he fanned me with his hand. Big hands made it pretty cooling.
Jeong Eun-seong gonna glare again seeing this? He already grabbed lotion and went to wash up.
"Kids, the next class is still going on. Keep it down."
While reining in the rowdy kids changing clothes and enjoying the AC, I checked my phone.
"My hand cream's gone!"
Jang Ji-won screamed from over there.
"My hand cream! I put it right here and now it's gone! Someone stole it!"
Her desk mate responded flatly to her hysterics.
"Look properly. You probably put it somewhere else."
"No! I definitely put it in my bag!"
"Then you dropped it somewhere."
"Yeah, search again. Why jump straight to theft?"
"No, I tell you!"
Ignoring the kids' reactions, she kept yelling up a storm.
A bad feeling hit me.
'No way.'
Nah. No way.
No way she's that childish.
No way.
Frustrated by the lukewarm responses, Jang Ji-won yelled.
"No! It was definitely here! I applied it before PE and put it back in here!"
And sure enough, the one she whipped around to glare at was me.
"Kang Da-hye, it was you, right?"
"Huh?"
"I checked it was here right before PE! The only one who came to the classroom in between was you!"
"Oh...."
I went to the staff room, not the classroom...
"You took forever! Just for one basket!"
"That was because..."
The basket was in the cabinet, so I had to ask another teacher to open it...
"You have the classroom key too!"
"What?"
"What's her deal?"
Kids who'd come back changed looked at me facing off with Jang Ji-won, confused.
Jang Ji-won raised her voice for all to hear.
"It was here before PE! I come back, it's gone! You have the key! You left your seat during PE! So it was you!"
"No...."
"Hand it over!"
"Ah!"
She shoved past Yeon-hee, stormed to my desk, and dumped my bag on it.
Rifled the front pocket and pulled out the hand cream right away.
"Here it is! This is mine!"
"Whoa."
"It's really there."
The kids who'd been thinking 'Jang Ji-won talking nonsense again' froze up.
"But it could be Kang Da-hye's."
"You guys ever see Kang Da-hye use stuff this fancy?! She doesn't even wear tint!"
Jang Ji-won cranked up the volume, shoving my hand cream in faces with a 'See!'
......Hah.
She's really going this far? This childish?
I let out a hollow laugh.
Then locked eyes with Park Su-hwan smirking from the back.
'...Yeah. She's in cahoots with Park Su-hwan.'
Probably told Do Ha-jun to do it too. When that flopped, she looped in Jang Ji-won for the next play?
Ugh.
Anyone got a dumbfounded emoji? Lend me one.
"You're all talk usually, but cat got your tongue now? Say something, you thief!"
Thinking she had momentum, huh. Now Jang Ji-won was straight-up calling me a thief.
"Ha...."
Ji-won, I told you. You're no socialite lady. You can't scheme people into traps. You're not smart enough.
Hey, you idiots...
I saw this coming and prepared countermeasures.