Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: 4th Period. Unless You're Crazy
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"Kang Da-hye. About our costumes... what do you think of going with something like this? Dress them up in pure scholar style, then... rip it all off."
What the heck is a pure scholar?
"We're not wearing them again anyway, right? Let's just tear them up boldly."
"Sounds good. Let's do it."
"For real?"
"Yeah. It's not like I'm the one wearing it."
Jeong Eun-seong is.
Bang Eun-ji held out her sketch, and I circled it with a red pen. It looked like she'd drawn it quick with a three-color ballpoint in her notebook, but her skill was impressive.
This girl could make it big in this field.
"Why not show it to the others?"
"I'm gonna redraw it neatly to show them. This one's embarrassing."
"Why? It's great."
"Don't give me that fake compliment crap."
Bang Eun-ji stretched her philtrum, holding back a laugh, and flipped the page in her notebook. She seemed serious now, pulling out colored pencils from her pencil case, sorted by type.
I peeked over her shoulder at the drawings and asked,
"But can you really make all this by yourself? Don't you need help?"
"Nah. I work better alone."
"It seems like too much for you..."
"No way. My hands are super fast. Last time, I hemmed Song Yeo-reum's pants in one day. She'd gained weight and couldn't fit into shorts, so I turned them into a skirt."
"Oh."
"Kang Da-hye, if you wanna shorten your uniform, just say the word."
She patted her skirt, shortened so much I wondered if she could climb stairs in it. I grinned and turned her down.
"I don't wanna shorten my uniform."
I already think our uniform fits too perfectly.
Especially the summer version. It's basically a crop top. We have to sit all day—how are we supposed to study in this?
And what's with the lip tint pouch only on the girls' uniforms?
No lip tint pouch on the boys' uniforms, but only on the girls'. What kind of message is that sending to growing teens?!
I swear, when I grow up, I'm never gonna be the kind of adult who adds dumb stuff like lip tint pouches to uniforms under the guise of 'style'.
That's right.
I'm a boomer.
Boomer Kang Da-hye eyed Bang Eun-ji drawing with disdain.
Last club period before midterms. Thanks to Yi Mong-ryong Teacher's consideration, we were having self-study.
"But Bang Eun-ji, aren't you studying?"
"I suck at studying. Thick skull."
"You're not thick-skulled."
"Nah. I got a 2 in math."
"That's just you sucking at math. I told you, you don't seem dumb to me."
I tapped her notebook with the patterns.
"If you were really dumb, you couldn't have this kind of flair."
"Still can't study though~?"
"If everyone was good at studying, how would I make a living? I'm only good at that."
I flipped through the notebook she pushed my way.
A few pages were too flashy for my taste, a couple a bit tacky, but that's 'cause my eyes are from the future. She definitely had her own style.
"You could open a shopping mall and it'd blow up."
You're free from that [High Teen Mom Dad] ending now, so you can do anything.
But first.
I picked up a pen casually.
"What we learn in high school is common sense. Even if you become a successful shopping mall owner, you need this to function properly in society."
So later at a bar with friends, watching the news, don't be the one who can't follow and asks, 'What's no-confidence vote? Britain doesn't have a president?'
I still haven't forgotten you thinking Gyeongsang is north of Seoul!
"Study, study. You don't have to be great. Just put in the effort."
"Ugh, nag nag."
"Listen up. It's all gonna turn into blood and flesh."
"Ughhh..."
Whining about the pain, Bang Eun-ji slammed her forehead on the desk. I timed it and shoved a textbook under her head when she lifted it.
"Done venting? Now study."
"Kang Da-hye, you're brutal."
Han Ji-su, memorizing vocab across from us, laughed and chimed in. She glanced at my open English textbook and asked,
"How's it going? Think you can take first place again?"
"Probably not... but I have to try."
"You've been so busy lately, I bet you haven't studied much."
"Not really."
If anything, my pure study time had increased since regressing.
'No wasting time chasing Seo Jae-kyeom around, spying on his Instagram, rereading pointless KakaoTalks dozens of times, freaking out when he replies and the '1' vanishes, or replaying a 10-second school chat for 100 minutes...'
Anyway, I had plenty of time to study.
"I could ace every other subject right now. Math's the issue."
"Math? You're good at math."
"I'm good at everything... Anyway, math's the key this time."
It's not easy cramming 10 years of forgotten knowledge in a few months. Especially with other subjects too.
Midterms next week.
Sports day after midterms.
Then finals before you know it.
'Something happened in class around this time, I think.'
I can't remember.
"Math's the key, huh..."
Han Ji-su nodded and grinned.
"How do you juggle all that and still study? Amazing."
Pretending to cry about her mountain of memorization, she went, "Ah!" and clapped.
"Our academy's doing a full-day midterm crash course this weekend. But Seo Jae-kyeom's not coming."
"He doesn't have to?"
"Right? Wonder what he's up to."
Perfect, I knew.
"He's studying at the library."
"Library?"
"Yeah. He came once before and liked it."
"Kang Da-hye, have you run into Seo Jae-kyeom at the library?"
"Not run into, just crossed paths. Once."
"Oh, really."
"Ahem."
I knew who that awkward cough came from without looking. Jeong Eun-seong.
His eyes still a bit puffy from crying earlier, he caught Ji-su and me talking about Seo Jae-kyeom and made his discomfort obvious.
For the record, Jeong Eun-seong cried during modern history class.
We were covering the 1900s when someone sniffled. Turned out to be him.
He had a highlighter out—maybe to take notes?—but tears were streaming.
I'm in the first row, he's fourth, and I could hear him slurping snot. That's not sniffling; that's sobbing.
'Lots of kids get red-eyed glaring at the book in modern history.'
But Jeong Eun-seong cried so pitifully... Anyone would think he'd written "Song of a Faithful Wife Weeping at Night."
Even Park Su-hwan's crew, who'd tease any other guy, stayed quiet seeing big Jeong Eun-seong cry.
The girls looked a bit surprised at his unexpected side.
But the real shock came next.
The teacher chuckled awkwardly,
'W-well, Jeong Eun-seong! Men only cry three times in their lives!'
And what did Jeong Eun-seong say?
'My parents are gone, so no reason to cry for them. Guess it's fine to cry now.'
"......"
Yeah. That's what he said.
No clue if it was a joke or serious.
'Come to think of it, when Jeong Eun-seong and I got locked in the office.'
He jumped from the second floor, limped, I worried, and he said...
'Maybe it would've been better to just wait for my parents!!!'
'Gotta be there to wait.'
'I didn't listen closely 'cause it was urgent.'
Back to the drama club now.
I glanced at Jeong Eun-seong seriously peering into his modern history textbook.
As I watched, his eyes reddened again, tears welling up. Oh no.
"Dude... we got independence..."
Happy ending, don't cry...
"Want this?"
I dug in my pocket and offered a square of tissue I'd grabbed from the bathroom earlier.
"I blew my nose with it, though."
He took it sniffling, then flung it back at me.
Harsh.
Jeong Eun-seong sighed at the ceiling and called me.
"Kang Da-hye."
"Yeah?"
"Let's hit the canteen."
"...Now?"
Self-study or not, it's still class time.
I nodded toward Yi Mong-ryong Teacher reading at the podium. Jeong Eun-seong shot his hand up.
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Studying modern history got me so pissed... Can I grab an ice cream?"
"......"
Are you nuts?