Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: 8th Period. Life Is Hard to Live
High school literature teacher Yoon Dong-ju had his own educational philosophy.
Why do social problems arise?
Because people stop empathizing.
In movies or novels, the protagonist exposes something refreshingly, the angry public rises up, and the villain gets punished.
But what if people don't care after the exposé? Justice doesn't get served.
'That's why I have to do better.'
During the year of teaching literature, he needed to cultivate in the kids the literacy to discern lies and the sensitivity to feel outrage.
Students who could cry and laugh at the protagonist's life in a story, and grow into people who could empathize with others in reality.
But.
Would he, of all people,
have to yield to this injustice?
"Man, you're really making this tiring...!"
"......"
"Ha... Teacher Yoon, just give her the point, okay? It's not like changing one question to correct will change the top rank. Do what she wants."
"But Principal, how can I mark it correct when it's not? If I count Ji-su's answer as right, I have to do the same for the other kids who wrote something similar. Then the rankings will change."
"Are those other kids' answers and Han Ji-su's student answer identical down to the last word?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what's the problem?"
The principal hinted that he could just mark Han Ji-su's alone as correct and gloss over it. What was cowardly was that he never said the crucial words outright.
It was a few months ago, the day Han Ji-su's mother from Class 1 came to school over midterm score issues.
After she left, the principal called him in and gave this directive out of the blue.
As Yoon Dong-ju stayed silent, the principal snapped.
"Why are you so dense?!"
Yoon Dong-ju flinched at the loud voice.
"Ha... I really didn't peg you for this, Teacher Yoon."
The principal, who had been pressuring him for a while, softened his tone like he was soothing him.
"Don't you know Han Ji-su's mom golfs with the superintendent?"
"......"
"She even recommended me for membership at that golf club. That family's loaded."
So what?
"Why do you think that mom is strutting into politics? She's got more money than she knows what to do with, now she wants power."
Does having money mean you can turn wrong answers right?
"You're going to bump it up anyway, so let's not make this exhausting."
"......"
"If there was any risk, I wouldn't tell you to do it. You know that, right?"
Stretch your legs only as far as your bed allows.
The current top student from Class 2 of 2nd year, Kang Da-hye, wasn't from a wealthy family, and her parents were too busy scraping by to care about her education.
Even if they blatantly stole the top spot, it was obvious they couldn't properly protest for their kid.
If the current top student had been someone like Han Ji-su, they wouldn't have dared suggest a tie for first. Objections would pour in.
"Then I'll assume it's settled......"
He knew the world was full of unreasonable things.
But at least in school, he had to show the kids that justice existed.
If nothing else, grades had to be fair, right?
Kids from rich families and poor ones already started at a disadvantage in test prep conditions, and now money could even fix answers?
Did they have the right to teach kids right from wrong?
Unaware of Yoon Dong-ju's boiling frustration, the principal leaned back and waved him off.
"What are you doing? Get out."
Suppressing the urge to yell, he returned to the teachers' room.
He didn't even pretend to turn on the computer, just clutched his head with both hands.
He was ashamed.
Ashamed of himself for not protesting to the end that it was unfair.
"Teacher Yoon, did you get an earful?"
Already itching to explode, and now the geography teacher spoke up beside him.
He'd clearly snuck a smoke somewhere in school again; a foul smell wafted from him. Grinning slyly, the geography teacher said something.
"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"
It was longer in reality, but that's all Yoon Dong-ju heard.
"That's why young teachers are all woof woof! Woof woof woof!"
After needling Yoon Dong-ju for a while, the geography teacher left first for the day, flashy car keys in hand. The music teacher whispered.
"Geography teacher's car was a gift from Han Ji-su's mom."
"What? Is that allowed?"
Bribe?
"Well, it was before Ji-su enrolled."
College classmates, apparently? Nice excuse. The music teacher sneered.
Yeah, real nice excuse.
"Haa..."
Unable to contain his self-loathing, Yoon Dong-ju clutched his head again. Looking at him pitifully, Math Teacher Na Mun-gwa stood up.
"That's why I love math. Right is right, wrong is wrong. No dealing with this crap."
"You're living opposite your name, Teacher."
Scores... he'll bump them up anyway?
Ha.
Life is supposed to be hard.
Shameful.
Can I confess honestly?
After that day, every time Yoon Dong-ju entered Class 1 of 2nd year for class, he kept getting choked up looking at Han Ji-su.
On the tough final exam he'd deliberately made hard, hearing she'd dropped to 21st, he secretly pumped his fist, thinking 'Yeah!'
When he heard it was all because of an eraser, he scoffed in disbelief.
So what if the parents are pushy.
The kid's mentally fragile.
Then he reflected on those thoughts and felt ashamed again.
'What's the kid's fault? It's the parents. ...But the kid's benefiting here—does she have zero blame? ...But didn't the parents raise her like that?'
Am I a teacher harboring such nasty thoughts toward a student?
No, but the student started it...!
"Ughhh...!"
Reflect, get mad, reflect, get mad. Endless self-examination.
Teacher.
This kind of self-reflection you're doing? People who already do it just keep doing it.
People who should do it don't.
Self-reflection is rich get richer, poor get poorer too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Han Ji-su got first?"
Our class buzzed at the unexpected news.
All eyes turned to me.
Big, dewy eyes curious but too shy to ask outright.
Our homeroom teacher, who had just handed out the score tags and already knew my results, silently slammed the podium.
I spoke up quickly for our homeroom teacher, who looked like he couldn't stand the itch in his mouth.
"I'm first too. Looks like Ji-su and I are tied for first."
"Knew it!"
"Ah, what~"
"Phew."
Classmates sighed in relief, slumping back in their chairs.
Friends, why the relief? Me being first doesn't boost your scores.
"This semester's top student overall is Han Ji-su!"
Ji-su's friends were still shouting it in the hallway loud enough to hear. Our class squinted out the door at the near-bulletin level racket.
Jeong Na-jun, catching my eye, grinned.
"If you go out there yourself and say 'I'm first too,' it'd be embarrassing, right? Want me to do it?"
"Yeah, please!"
"Please!" Ga-eun cried.
"Okay."
"Na-jun...!"
"Hey! Kang Da-hye's first too!"
Before the homeroom teacher could stop him, Jeong Na-jun burst out the door yelling. His low voice had such volume it instantly overpowered Ji-su's friends.
Everyone knows now, right?
Bass carries farther.
"Tied for first with Kang Da-hye! Why distort the truth like only Han Ji-su's first?!"
"Whoa~ Class 1's freaking out hard~"
Jeong Eun-seong, hand to mouth, yelled in a fake voice like it wasn't him.
"They must be crazy~"
The former main vocalist hopeful from the back of the first row projecting to the hallway. Seo Jae-kyeom joined in.
"They saw Han Ji-su first and jumped out? To brag? When they're not even first? Must be her maids~"
"Our class says you're Han Ji-su's maids~"
Jeong Na-jun relaying it all.
"Na-jun, enough, let's finish roll call!"
Homeroom teacher pretending to stop him, but not really trying. After needling them plenty, Jeong Na-jun shut the front door and came back.
Weaving S-shaped through the desks, high-fiving classmates.
"Na-jun!"
Homeroom teacher telling him to sit, but already leaning forward ready for high-fives.
In the meantime, I unfolded my score tag.
Just as graded.
All 100s.
'Weird.'
I tilted my head.