Remedial Classes Begin
Once everyone had signed off confirming there were no discrepancies, the scores became final. Which meant, in turn, that the list of students assigned to remedial classes was final as well.
The classroom, completely liberated from midterms now that grade verification was over, received a visit from their homeroom teacher, Jisu, for the end-of-day announcements.
Unlike usual, she was carrying not just the attendance book but also a sheet of paper with students' names on it.
Jisu pinned the paper to the bulletin board beside the blackboard. The classmates seated right in front craned forward with sudden interest.
"Look at it after we're done. Homeroom won't take long."
Standing at the lectern, the teacher began the announcements.
"Nothing unusual today, right?"
"No, ma'am."
Hearing the students' replies, Jisu nodded.
"Almost all the midterm grades are out. I'll hand out the report cards as soon as they arrive... and the remedial class list is posted up front right now, so go check it. Also..."
The teacher paused, considering whether there was anything left to say, then continued.
"I've been hearing some talk about the summer uniforms. If it gets hot enough, the school will move up the switch, so just wait a little longer."
Having delivered every announcement, the homeroom teacher brought the assembly to a close.
Before the teacher had even finished bowing and left the room, the classmates were already swarming toward the list on the bulletin board.
The list showed each subject, the students' names, the time and place, and how the sessions would be run.
"Ah! I got math!"
"What? What about math?"
At the shriek from one student, Jisu pushed her way into the crowd.
"It's nothing, really..."
"You, when your homeroom teacher *is* the math teacher... Whew. Never mind. See me later. I'll make sure to teach it to you properly myself."
"Ah, Ms. Jisu..."
Leaving behind the student begging for mercy, the teacher pushed through the crowded front door and exited the classroom.
Most students had one subject, two at most.
By the time the students who'd checked the list had trickled out one by one, Yeoncheong finally got her look at it.
"Three..."
The one subject she'd been hovering on the edge of hadn't made it onto the remedial list, but even so — three subjects. A shame was still a shame. Nayun, who had been peering at the list beside her, spoke up.
"Three? You think you'll have time for all of them, Miss Busybody?"
As they say, another person's misfortune is one's own happiness. Yeoncheong's glare swung toward the smirking voice.
"And how many do you have, may I ask?"
Nayun raised a single index finger. One subject, it meant.
She grinned, watching Yeoncheong's reaction, expecting envy. But instead—
"You're the only one I can count on."
Yeoncheong placed a hand on Nayun's shoulder and shook her head solemnly. An expression of kindred spirit. It was a little different from what Nayun had expected — okay, a lot different.
Startled, it was Nayun who recoiled first, shoving distance between them in irritation.
"Why are you so happy about that?"
"Because out of all my friends, you're the only one checking the list with me."
Only then did Nayun remember who Yeoncheong's friends actually were.
Hasol and Suyeon, ranked near the top of the entire school. And on top of them, Seoha, who never let go of first place. People who never even bothered glancing at a remedial list.
"Ugh... now I'm suddenly in a bad mood."
"We've got one subject together. Come on, let's go do our remedial."
Yeoncheong grabbed her bag and headed for her first remedial classroom — dragging along Nayun, who was busy cursing the studious friends who'd made her look like the only slacker.
Remedial classes were run at each teacher's discretion.
Some teachers held actual lessons; others simply handed out practice quizzes and encouraged students to study on their own.
Either way, every remedial track ended the same way: scoring above the passing threshold on the final makeup exam.
Fortunately, one of Yeoncheong's three subjects was the self-study type, conducted through practice quizzes.
Nayun, coming out of the remedial classroom after finishing their quiz together, asked:
"Done with mine. You've still got two left, right Yeoncheong?"
"Yep, two."
"Hang in there. I'm heading to the gym."
"Okay."
Parting ways with Nayun, Yeoncheong headed to her next remedial class. She sat through another session, and the last one she arrived at was literature.
Wow. There are a LOT of people.
The literature teacher's exams being notoriously brutal was no exaggeration. The classroom hosting the literature remedial session was, unmistakably, packed.
With so many students, there weren't many seats left. As Yeoncheong searched for an empty one, her gaze naturally drifted sideways.
Braided purple hair. A girl who insisted she had no presence, yet carried more weight than anyone — the library club student.
"Seobin...?"
At the sound of her name, the girl's head turned. Seobin recognized Yeoncheong too.
"Oh, from the library, that time..."
"That's right. I'm Ha Yeoncheong."
Taking the seat beside Seobin, Yeoncheong thought to herself:
Wow. Unbelievable. They're actually pressed against the desk.
Her enormous chest was pressed against the desk, taking a rest.
Just as Seobin opened her mouth to say something, Yeoncheong snapped back to her senses.
"By the way... aren't you in the library club?"
Seobin cut her off, anticipating exactly where the sentence was going.
"It's a prejudice to assume that liking books means scoring high in Korean."
"Huh?"
"Besides, forcing a single canonical interpretation onto a literary work is its own problem. There have actually been cases where the author of the work couldn't solve the questions about it. And also..."
At the machine-gun barrage of words, Yeoncheong's face went blank. Sensing this wouldn't end anytime soon, she reacted with impressive speed.
"R-right. Sorry."
"As long as you know."
At the spontaneous apology, Seobin finally closed her mouth.
A short while later, the literature teacher entered with her teaching materials.
"My, my. Quite the crowd today."
Having handed out the materials, the literature teacher launched straight into the lesson.
It happens sometimes — the more passionate the teacher, the more the students suffer.
The literature teacher was exactly that. She had passion to rival the youngest teachers, and it was genuinely felt — a sincere desire to teach her students even one more thing.
Purely in terms of value, the remedial class could have charged admission.
It brought to mind a grandmother piling rice high into a bowl for her grandchild, then adding snacks, then fruit on top of that.
Yes.
It was nice, but it was not something anyone had asked for.
Behind the literature teacher, who strode out of the classroom with a face full of pride, the students emerged utterly spent. They were walking on two legs, but it looked like at any moment all four limbs might give way and hit the floor.
Aaagh... I'm dying.
Yeoncheong herself left the room half-leaning against the doorframe.
And I have to keep doing this until I pass the final makeup exam?
Her mind was already going faintly numb.
Yeoncheong watched as Seobin passed by her.
Liking books didn't guarantee high Korean scores — that much was prejudice — but she figured the quiet personality part was at least somewhat true.
More than Yeoncheong being awkward around girls now that she was one herself, it was clear that Seobin was simply clumsy with people. The only time she'd talked that much was in the moment she'd been defending herself.
It was that ambiguous hour when club activities were winding down. As Yeoncheong debated whether to stop by the annex, her pocket buzzed.
A message from Suyeon.
Suyeon sent back a sticker of an animal character flashing an OK sign.
"Ah."
Right, there had been that conversation. Though with how busy she supposedly was, Yeoncheong hadn't expected her to start helping today.
Yeoncheong replied to Suyeon's message and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
Her halted footsteps turned toward the annex club room.
The annex, where the clubs were gathered, was quiet. Natural enough, given that club activities were drawing to a close.
Only Yeoncheong's footsteps echoed down the corridor, shabbier than the ones in the main building.
From the Free Inquiry Club room, Suyeon poked just her head out the door.
"Yeoncheong, you made it?"
Startled, Yeoncheong flattened herself against the wall. Realizing it was Suyeon, she raised her voice for no good reason.
"Why do you keep popping out like that? And how did you know it was me?"
"It's time for everyone to head home, and I heard footsteps getting closer. Plus, I'm the one who texted you, so I figured it was you."
Behind her, Seoha likewise poked her head out.
"Hi, Yeoncheong. Rough day?"
"Ah, Seoha. You really didn't need to start helping today, though."
"I had some time free today, that's all."
Similar gestures, completely different atmospheres.
Suyeon jutted her lips out in a pout.
"How come you didn't say anything like that to Seoha?"
"Because you popped out with your whole face full of plans to mess with me."
Suyeon flashed a toothy grin.
"Did it look that way?"
Yeoncheong nodded with an expression that said obviously.
"You're the one to blame for having such delicious reactions."
"How is that MY fault?"
As the two launched into yet another round of bickering, Seoha stepped between them.
"If you're going to fight, how about fighting inside?"
"We're not fighting. We settled things last time — that was plenty."
"Hey, it was YOUR fault, and I ended up apologizing too. Are you really gonna dig that up again?"
Rather than answering, Suyeon grabbed her bag from inside and came out.
"Leaving already?"
"I was waiting just to see your face before I went, obviously?"
Suyeon flung something at her. Caught off guard, Yeoncheong barely managed to snatch it out of the air.
"A key?"
"The club room key. Give it back tomorrow."
After a parting wave to Seoha as well, Suyeon brushed past them.
"Study hard."
Waving her hand, Suyeon grew distant.
In the quiet annex, where most students had already left, only Yeoncheong and Seoha remained.
Maybe it was because of that particular air the person beside her carried.
The club room where she'd been alone with Suyeon any number of times now felt impossibly unfamiliar.
Was it always this quiet in here...?
The sound of a skirt hem brushing past a carelessly placed chair. The creak of the aged wooden floorboards. Everything felt unnaturally, distinctly loud.
Seoha had taken her seat first and was waiting for Yeoncheong — in the spot right beside where Yeoncheong always sat.
When Yeoncheong set down her bag and sat, Seoha dragged her chair closer, narrowing the distance.
"What should we start with?"
Seoha's face was right there beside hers. It reminded Yeoncheong of one of those instant photo booths, and wordlessly, she pointed at the practice quiz.
"Hmm..."
Seoha didn't pick up the quiz sheet on the desk. Instead she deliberately leaned down and burrowed into Yeoncheong's side.
It was a side of Seoha Yeoncheong never saw in daily life. Sliding her chair and hips backward, Yeoncheong broke into a cold sweat.
"S-Seoha? That's... a little close, don't you think...?"
Seoha only tilted her head slightly, meeting Yeoncheong's eyes.
"Does it bother you? I'm fine with it."
"N-no, it's not that it bothers me, it's just..."
Those captivating crimson eyes swallowed the denial whole.
As her head turned back toward the quiz sheet, soft strands of hair spread out like a curtain, trailing across the hand Yeoncheong had left resting carelessly on the desk.
Startled, Yeoncheong pulled her hands in toward her body, shrinking her surface area to the absolute minimum.
"Mm-hm. I can see what you need to work on."
Having finished her assessment, Seoha finally withdrew from Yeoncheong's space. At the same moment, as if she'd been holding her breath the entire time, Yeoncheong sucked in a huge gulp of air.
"Yeoncheong?"
"Y-yeah?"
Summer was still a long way off, yet Yeoncheong's face was burning hot. Seoha, wearing a smile just slightly different from her usual one, pointed at the quiz sheet as if nothing had happened.
"Let's start with this problem."
Thump, thump.
If the world's time flowed according to the beat of my heart, then I could say it with certainty.
From this moment on, the world would be moving several times faster.