Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Classroom Clash
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"Don't you care about the people around you?"
It was Kim Ga-eun.
Ga-eun, who had harbored bad feelings toward Jang Ji-won ever since she screenshot our girls' group chat and showed it to her ex-husband, who then beat her.
And now, with Jang Ji-won dating Park Su-hwan?
What was there to say?
"What did you say?"
Jang Ji-won, called out, glared with axe-like eyes.
"Is it just you here? Keep it down."
"So what does it matter to you? Are you the class president?"
"I am the class president, so I'd appreciate it if you'd quiet down!"
I raised my hand to butt in, only to receive Jang Ji-won's terrifying glare.
Eek.
If Seo Jae-kyeom had said it, she would've gone, "Okay, okay, sorry~! I was too careless, forgive me!" or something...
Ga-eun, holding back a laugh, turned serious again.
"Jang Ji-won, if you don't make a racket, I won't care. Everyone's studying, but you're the only one chattering away loudly."
"Jin-ha's talking to her desk mate, and Gyeong Se-in's talking too—why pick on me?"
"Jin-ha and Se-in are talking quietly!"
"Jealous?"
"What?"
"Are you jealous? If you're envious, Kim Ga-eun, go date someone yourself."
Jang Ji-won sneered, seemingly convinced that was the truth. That Ga-eun was picking a fight out of envy for her dating life.
Ga-eun let out an incredulous scoff and shot back sarcastically.
"Dating? What dating? The kind where your boyfriend's too busy gaming to even glance at you, so you cling to his side making a fuss all by yourself? The kind where you show him the girls' KakaoTalk chats just to get his attention?"
"What are you talking about? It's my KakaoTalk, and I want to show it to my boyfriend—what business is it of yours? If you don't like it, show yours to your boyfriend too. Oh wait, you can't because you don't have one."
"Hey, it'd be better to stay single forever than date Park Su-hwan."
"So does Kim Ga-eun have a boyfriend? No, she doesn't."
Our dear Ji-won was awfully proud of having landed a boyfriend.
We should've commemorated it properly. Erected a stone monument or something.
Put it in the history books as question 1 on the college entrance exam. Our bad!
The girls' faces had completely hardened by now. Even those who still had some lingering affection for Jang Ji-won looked utterly fed up.
Yeon-hee asked,
"So you're going to keep showing it?"
"Yeah, I am."
"..."
"If you don't like it, then don't have shady conversations. You're embarrassed to show your boyfriends what you said because you know you're not being upfront."
What nonsense. Last time, she told her boyfriend about Yeon-hee's constipation! As if Yeon-hee wanted that kept secret out of shame!
A headache was coming on.
I pressed my forehead.
"Jang Ji-won."
Just calling her name made her glare at me.
Why does she hate me so much?
She seemed to despise me more than Ga-eun, who confronted her outright, or Yeon-hee, who'd grown distant.
Fine by me. I don't like you either.
"I really didn't want to say this..."
Still, as the adult here, I didn't want to publicly humiliate anyone.
"Park Su-hwan and those guys talking crap about us? Fine, even if you're not the victim, whatever, I get it—you don't care."
You're the type who sides with a boyfriend you've dated just over 200 days more than Yeon-hee, whom you've known since middle school. No expectations there.
"But you, did you already forget what Park Su-hwan and your ex said about you in that KakaoTalk room?"
Do Ha-jun: Still, Ji-won is so devoted to you, right? lol Park Su-hwan: Because she's ugly lol Park Su-hwan: Pretty girls aren't into those types anyway Ji-won Husband: lololololololololol We'd shown that to Jang Ji-won too, back when her ex transferred schools and she was bawling her eyes out. To snap her out of it.
"I'm not asking you to sympathize with our issues. But at minimum, that's your problem. You're the victim here. After that kind of treatment, you still want to date him?"
She started dating him even after seeing him get disciplined for insulting friends, even after seeing him call her ugly.
What would it take to make you lose feelings for Park Su-hwan? Murder?
I asked out of genuine exhaustion and pity, but Jang Ji-won took it as an attack.
With a look like she wanted to punch me, she retorted,
"He already explained everything to me. It was just the vibe of the KakaoTalk room—he had to go along with it."
"You believe th—! No. Never mind."
I pressed my forehead.
Ah, my head hurts.
"Whatever. Just stop selling out your friends' chats. You're doing it because you can't get your boyfriend's attention otherwise, right?"
"Su-hwan and I have no secrets from each other."
"I bet Su-hwan has plenty of secrets from you."
My jab made her bristle, and she muttered a curse under her breath.
Even in this mess, Park Su-hwan kept his mouth shut, not saying a word. His girlfriend was going all out to defend him.
'Even if he were the last guy on earth, I wouldn't date Park Su-hwan.'
Even without the recent BJ incident, there were plenty of reasons to steer clear.
Bullying easy targets and ignoring them.
Mocking girls bigger than him when he himself was scrawny.
And so on.
I'd never dated, but if I had, seeing my boyfriend act like that would kill all my feelings.
Jang Ji-won, though? She'd be the type to giggle right alongside him, feeling superior that she wasn't as big as them.
If she said, 'Kang Da-hye, you don't get it because you've never dated,' I'd have nothing to say... but I'd rather stay clueless forever.
With a sigh, I landed the final blow on Jang Ji-won.
"And sorry, but..."
"What!"
"If you were dating Jeong Eun-seong? Enviable. Seo Jae-kyeom? Jealous. But Park Su-hwan...? I just think you must've been really desperate..."
At my genuinely pitying expression, Ga-eun burst out laughing, "Pfft!"
The other girls couldn't hold back their laughs either. In the corner of my vision, Jeong Eun-seong smugly lifted his chin.
Good for him...
"Kids, were you studying during self-study~?"
The Literature Teacher walked in amid the awkward laughter.
"So, have you studied a lot for finals?"
"No!"
"Why so loud!"
"Heh."
"You all need to study literature hard. Teacher's making this exam super, super tough."
"No way."
"Ah, Teacher~"
"Midterms were too easy—no differentiation. This time, it's insanely hard, super niche stuff, so study every corner?"
"Ah, Kang Da-hye~"
"Why blame me...?"
I laughed off the playful blame directed my way.
Then the Literature Teacher looked straight at me.
"Da-hye, have you studied a lot?"
"I always study a lot."
"Think you can ace this one too?"
"I'll try."
"Good. You have to get them all right. Got it?"
"???Yes."
"Have to."
"Yes."
"Have to."
"Yes...?"
Something felt off.
Her repeated emphasis carried some context I wasn't privy to. Was it just my imagination?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That girl's insane! She seriously thinks we're jealous of her?!"
"Tell me about it."
"Anyway, Kim Ga-eun, don't let it get to you. I'll make a new girls' KakaoTalk group as soon as I get home. Minus Jang Ji-won."
"Yeah, let's do that."
Still fuming, Ga-eun stomped her foot. As if knowing how to cheer her up, Su-a suggested,
"Wanna go to Lotte World after the end-of-term ceremony?"
"Great idea. Lotte World that Jang Ji-won can't go to—let's go ourselves."
"Yes!"
Lotte World...
How much were tickets again?
I hadn't spent a penny at the school store since Mom's accident, so if I walked to and from school instead of taking the bus...
"Kang Da, you're coming, right?"
"Ah, yeah."
Yeah. I've never gone out for fun since regressing.
A reward to myself for safely finishing the first semester.
"I'm in."
"Yay!"
Gyeong Se-in shot her hand up triumphantly. Even the usually quiet Do-yeon had flushed cheeks.
I was excited too.
I hadn't even been near Lotte World, but I was already smiling.
Turns out I've been looking forward to this.
Parting from my friends, my steps quickened toward home without me realizing. I practically flew there.
"M... Mom."
Mom was sitting in the kitchen, visible right as I opened the front door.
No lights on, rag in hand, staring blankly at the floor. A single sheet of paper lay before her.
The rent bill she always sighed over.
"..."
I quietly closed the door again.
Slowly climbed the semi-basement stairs, careful not to make a sound.
Standing at the villa entrance, I looked around.
Cracks in the walls that bred mold every rain. Creaky windows. The uncle staring at me while smoking over there. Rusty mirror at the entrance. Trash strewn in the alley.
Grandpa grabbing my hair on exam day.
The car accident.
Failed retake.
Mom's shop going under from COVID a few years later.
'Even if your grades drop, I can't help you, Mom. No money to pay for your retake.'
"..."
Is this the time to hesitate?
I might never escape this if I don't act.
"..."
I dialed the phone in my hand.
-Kang Da-hye?
"...Seo Jae-kyeom."
-What's this? A dream?
"About the tutoring you mentioned earlier... Can I change my mind again?"