Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Patriotic Anthem Test
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What's that thing?
I cursed inwardly but handed over my pen without showing it.
"Write it quick and give it back."
"Uh... uh-huh..."
Do Ha-jun's neck turned bright red as he took the pen. I couldn't avoid our hands brushing when I passed it, and it grossed me out.
What's up with those nails. Ugh.
Trim them, dude.
"Done?"
"Uh...!"
"Then hand it over."
"Mm-hmm."
Do Ha-jun's hand trembled as he passed me the application. I could've grabbed it without touching if he'd just tossed it over, but he made sure our hands met.
Why's he like that? I turned to walk away.
"K-Kang Da-hye...!"
"What."
"I don't have a pen... Could I borrow yours?"
"...Just take it."
It was just a free ballpoint from church anyway.
"Thanks!"
I tossed the ballpoint to Do Ha-jun, whose eyes sparkled way too intensely, and checked the application. Seo Jae-kyeom, who had just returned to the classroom, snatched it from my hand.
"Why'd you even talk to him?"
"I didn't talk to him. I just told him to hand over the application."
"That's talking to him."
"Huh. So when a guard tells a prisoner, 'Inmate number 19450806, last meal time,' that's chatting too?"
"Just ignore him. Whether he turns it in or not, the homeroom teacher won't say anything to you."
"True, but..."
"You can't treat guys like him decently."
I tugged Seo Jae-kyeom's elbow as he glared at Do Ha-jun disapprovingly.
"What'd Ji-su say?"
"Oh. Nonsense."
Don't worry about it. Seo Jae-kyeom brushed it off lightly and changed the subject.
"Next period's music, right?"
"Yeah."
The music teacher, who had collapsed from stress that day and been hospitalized, was back.
There was no music class scheduled today originally, but she had to make up for the missed ones.
Performance evaluation time! Singing test!
And then they'd cram through the rest of the material before finals, grading 50% performance, 50% written!
Oh, you might remember—I picked our class's singing test song.
Seo Jae-kyeom sighed.
"You're really doing that one?"
"Obviously. Didn't memorize the lyrics?"
"Uh... I was just gonna take the zero."
"Why!"
"Don't wanna sing in front of everyone."
"You gonna act like Park Su-hwan?"
It's way cooler to give your all, even if you suck, than to bail out to hide looking bad!
I lectured him, but Seo Jae-kyeom didn't even pretend to listen.
I warned him.
"You'll cry bloody tears over those 50 points someday."
"Kids, did you miss me?"
"Teacher! You okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks to all your worrying."
She didn't look okay at all.
Her cheeks were hollowed out from the short bout of mental strain.
"I tried to come back as soon as possible..."
"Nah, rest when you're sick."
I spoke up from the front row, on behalf of the class's sympathetic faces.
"If you come teach while unwell, the board of education might honor your passion with a monument."
"Da-hye, still a riot."
The teacher laughed in front of the piano, looking more at ease.
Secret: Do-yeon's mom helped with that 100-million-won lawsuit.
She's so busy she skips parent meetings and never visits school, but swoops in at the clutch moment. Too cool.
"Alright, time for the test?"
The teacher tinkled the piano keys and said.
Oh. Right.
The song I picked was...
"Da-hye, really this one?"
"Yes."
100 Great People Who Lit Up Korea.
A song even tone-deaf, memorization whiz me could ace for full marks in music!
A song where I belt it out solo when everyone else flubs the lyrics!
I'd originally wanted Dokdo Is Ours, but the lyrics seemed too easy. Everyone knows the first line: 200 ri southeast of Ulleungdo along the sea route.
I stared hard at the teacher.
"Deduct one point every time they mess up the lyrics."
"Boo~"
"Kang Da-hye, that's harsh~"
Jeers rose here and there, but...
"Yeah, can't hear you~"
Should've studied music beforehand~
History too~
An hour passed uneventfully.
I got full marks.
Just one tiny issue.
"I didn't know you were that tone-deaf, Da-hye..."
"It's okay, Da-hye..."
"No, really not... Pfft!"
"Laugh it up."
I left the music room with friends shaking their shoulders.
I went early 'cause my last name's Kang.
I figured they'd lose points flubbing lyrics?
But they laughed so hard at my singing they couldn't sing at all. Even Do-yeon started great but cracked up mid-song and lost points.
"I'm confident... Full marks is what matters..."
Though it felt like trading human dignity for points...
"Yeah, sure. Impressive. Kang Da-hye's the best."
Seo Jae-kyeom cut in behind my wobbly self. He'd been faceplanted laughing the whole music period; guess he snapped out of it.
I held out my hand to Seo Jae-kyeom, who smiled down at me.
"Remember? You said if I aced singing, you'd give me everything you own?"
"All I've got is my heart—want that?"
"Ugh!"
"Kang Da-hye."
Jeong Eun-seong cut through Seo Jae-kyeom's nonsense.
Stoic amid the giggling class, but I'd seen him cover his eyes and duck his head the second I started singing.
(P.S. Jeong Eun-seong proved why he's future main vocal and got full marks too. Embarrassing sharing perfect scores with him.)
"What?"
I looked up, and he jerked his chin silently.
"What what? Something big?"
"Yeah. Huge."
"Guys, hold up."
I slipped from the group to Jeong Eun-seong.
"What? What's up?"
No way he's debuting?
But what Jeong Eun-seong showed me in the corner was...
"...What's this?"
"My ID photo."
"Uh..."
Damn...?
"Looks good."
I tossed a compliment, figuring he wanted one.
"Here, one for you."
The photo dropped into my palm.
"Your photo... for me?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Look at it when you're beat."
"Your photo when I'm beat...?"
"Don't you look at pretty things when you're worn out?"
"......"
That's your photo?
"Ridiculous."
I was floored but pocketed it anyway, careful not to show panic or fluster.
I asked Jeong Eun-seong, who looked unfazed like I'd take it for sure.
"You signing up for vacation intensive?"
"Think I am?"
"Nah."
I knew from the app earlier he wasn't, but asked anyway.
"You're not either."
"How'd you know?"
"Overheard you with him."
"Oh."
"...He good at studying?"
"Who, Seo Jae-kyeom? 13th place."
Didn't you see the board? He even snapped a pic. Jeong Eun-seong narrowed his eyes.
"Didn't snap that far."
"Anyway, he's good. Problem's you, Jeong Eun-seong."
"Me why?"
Why?! You got 32 in math!
"You gotta ace finals. Especially math."
"That was acing it."
"No!"
"It's 32 'cause you tutored me."
"No excuses—study. You got scolded for dozing earlier?"
"Wasn't dozing."
"Then sleeping?"
"What can I do? Sitting at a desk makes me sleepy..."
"'Cause you think 'study time.' Pretend you're at a buffet. Korean bores you? English. English drags? Math. Carousel studying. Fun as hell."
No desk phone games, Nertube, Chacebook!
"When you crave that, whip out the phone! Environment's key. Remember—Mencius's mom didn't move three times for nothing."
"Mencius's mom moved?"
"......"
This illiterate...
I sighed, and someone butted in.
"What're you two up to?"
I turned. The student teacher.
Our class's.
Handsome. 6'3".
No chairs here, so Jeong Eun-seong, standing full height, gawked up at him like a betrayed cat.