Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Counseling (1)
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Quantum computers and all that revolution stuff could wait. For now, I was just a middle schooler.
I had to go to school first.
No matter that I'd regressed.
I was still a 14-year-old kid lacking financial means, physical strength, and legal independence.
So, all I could do was stick to the student's duty: studying.
Of course, I wasn't planning to slog through useless middle school lessons again just to "study."
"Uh... Kyung-jun, what're you doing?"
The guy next to me, my desk mate, asked as he was heading to other friends during break time. He glanced at the book on my desk.
"Studying."
I really was studying like a proper student, just like my inner monologue earlier.
Except the book title was a bit unusual.
Quantum Physics by Kang Joo-sang.
Quantum mechanics, the flower of physics.
Authors like Gal-Orovitz, Liboff, Shankar, Griffiths, Sakurai, and so on.
There are tons of quantum mechanics textbooks out there.
But I picked this one from 2007—published just last year—by a Korean author.
This book's really solid.
It's not undergrad level or grad school—right in the sweet middle spot, explained beautifully in Korean.
Perfect for review. Nothing beats it.
So, starting as a middle schooler wasn't all bad.
I had tons of time to study and review from the basics.
Once you're older, you're too busy with new stuff to revisit the old.
"Whoa, that's tough-looking..."
"Not as hard as you think. Just a lot of details."
"Oh... got it. Study hard..."
And off he went.
Sheesh. I was ready to preach about quantum mechanics' beauty and Schrödinger's cute cat if he'd shown a bit of interest.
But nope, lame.
Whatever, same as the view right now.
As a middle schooler, options were limited. All I could do was study, literally.
Other than earning Life Points and boosting Intelligence by acting popular.
Opportunities like that come plenty in life.
The Status Window pops up quests right when you forget about it.
No rush.
My first life sucked because I was a total loser who only studied, not popular at all.
But I didn't regress to become Mr. Popular.
As long as I'm not a total outcast, being a bit of a loner ain't bad.
"Might as well master the four major fields of physics thoroughly while I've got time. Quantum's just the start."
The four pillars of physics:
① Classical Mechanics
② Electromagnetism
③ Thermal and Statistical Physics
④ Quantum Mechanics
How important are they?
Undergrads spend four years on them.
Grad school? Back to the start, but deeper.
Like game item crafting, they form the base for everything else.
② Electromagnetism + ④ Quantum Mechanics = My main field, Quantum Optics.
③ Thermal/Statistical + ④ Quantum = Solid-State Physics, foundation of all semiconductors.
Mix in ① Classical's advanced form, Relativity, and you get nuclear/particle physics or cosmology.
Plasma physics for nuclear fusion? That's ② + ③.
And that's not all.
Time for some physics hype.
The internet we all use?
Network theory's based on stats from ③ Thermal/Statistical Physics.
If people knew KAIST prof Kim Ha-woong basically founded it...
Koreans would burst with national pride.
Physics ties into bio, chem, stocks, economics—foundation of all sciences.
That enough physics high?
What? Doctors and lawyers make more? Future's coders earning peanuts anyway?
Shut it.
Before I dazzle you with 405nm blue diode lasers.
Oh, and Assa Force is fine~
Just chatted with that desk mate~
[Popular middle schoolers don't study quantum mechanics.]
[Assa Force increases by 1.]
Damn it, Status Window.
"Anyway, one quantum chapter a day, and squeeze in math studies I've always wanted on the side..."
But I don't close the book.
Assa Force up by 1? Barely matters.
Can't ditch my quantum computer dream for one extra day of life.
Everything starts from basics.
Regressed to middle school? Time to rebuild from the ground up.
That's when I was deep into quantum during breaks and lunch.
"Um... excuse me..."
A girl's voice broke my focus.
It was Han So-mi, our class's reluctant Vice Class President.
She stood awkwardly by my side.
"Ah... sorry for interrupting..."
My expression must've looked sour; she apologized first.
She fidgeted, then spotted the quantum book on my desk.
She seemed interested, so I flashed the cover.
"Quantum... Physics...?"
She read it aloud, copying me.
Oh, someone at Sinnong Middle School can read English letters.
Vice Class President perks?
Anyway.
"You know quantum mechanics, huh."
"Uh, yeah? Wait, quantum... mechanics...?"
Han So-mi panicked for a sec.
"Interested?"
"N-not really..."
"You are."
Yup, she had to be.
This was my chance.
A shot to lower that fresh Assa Force spike!
"In case you don't know, quantum mechanics is the final boss of physics' four pillars—super tough. It's linear algebra, already abstract and hard, plus concepts totally opposite common sense. Its fatal flaw led to Schrödinger's cat paradox..."
I cleverly explained the first chapter's overview to her.
Explaining out loud actually helped me study more.
They say if you can't explain it simply like to an elementary kid, you don't really get it.
Middle schooler's even tougher.
"That's the gist. Cool, right?"
"Uwaaa..."
Han So-mi rolled her eyes after listening, then snapped back: "Uh, yeah... seems... cool...?"
But separate from enjoying it.
"Did you get it?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"No worries if not. Just share your impressions."
I needed to check if I explained well.
That'd confirm if I truly understood.
"W-well... Schrödinger guy... seems to like cats... but locking it in a box... isn't that animal abuse...? Radioactivity... I dunno much, but... bad for the body, right?"
Okay.
I got nothing through.
Her response confirmed it.
"It's fine. It's a thought experiment."
"Thought... experiment...?"
How to simplify more?
Analogy time.
"Think of it like this: If you think in your head that some Kyung-jun guy's a total loser for talking to himself, but don't say it out loud, no crime. Schrödinger didn't actually experiment; he imagined the cat. So, fine."
"I-I never thought that...! If I did, I'm really sorry...!"
No, it was just an analogy, an example.
No need to freak that much...
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement: 『Quantum-Torturing a Middle School Girl』]
[Achievement Reward: Gain 1 Life Point.]
Bit off from what I expected. No Assa drop.
But better points? Sweet deal.
Dig deeper.
"So, quantum mechanics starts with blackbody radiation—oh wait, didn't explain that. Actually, light's duality first. Imagine a double slit..."
"W-wait!!"
That timid Han So-mi yelled at me.
Surprisingly good lung capacity—loud enough for everyone to stare.
"No, I don't hate it or anything..."
Back to timid, fidgeting, then:
"Um... Homeroom Teacher said to come to the staff room..."
"What?"
Homeroom Teacher?
Didn't I get the old one transferred out? No homeroom now?
Mi Su-jin.
With the rare surname Mi (米, meaning rice), she replaced the transferred perverted old-timer as homeroom for Class 1-10.
"Hmm..."
She was calling students one by one to the staff room to learn names and faces via counseling.
Now, finishing the last one's notes from their student record.
Just a month into freshman year, middle school records were thin.
So she checked elementary ones too—new teacher enthusiasm on full display.
"Sigh..."
But this student? Useless for reference.
"Photo's totally different from now..."
Sunsung Elementary School Student Record
-Han Kyung-jun-
The elementary photo didn't match the face she'd seen.
"Same person, sure..."
But the vibe was night and day.
Elementary pic: wild curly hair.
No teacher should say this, but...
Looked like a kid who'd snort a lot.
Now?
"...No way a brother enrolled instead?"
Taller now.
Similar face, but like a three-year-older bro showed up.
Not even that explained it.
Features straightened like pre-enrollment plastic surgery.
"Kids grow so fast it's scary..."
Height, face—way too quick.
Appearance is just that, fine.
"Grades... not bad."
Upper tier in elementary.
Elementary level, but still.
"Focused in class, studied during breaks..."
For play-obsessed elementary kids, studying was huge plus.
His 6th-grade homeroom teacher's summary:
Timid and weak-willed, but considerate and kind.
"Weird... doesn't match at all..."
Record vs. reality: zero fit.
"Heard he broke a teacher's arm, problem child... just for sending one away..."
New to middle school, assigned 1-10: that rumor.
Prior homeroom wasn't great.
Even his mentor joked it was thanks to this kid that the perv got transferred.
"Ugh, heard Sinnong's that kind of school..."
As homeroom teacher, not thrilled her student caused trouble.
"Even for a newbie, assigning me homeroom's too much..."
First year on the job too.
Passed cert, waited months—thought maybe half or full year more.
Sudden posting a month later: thrilled.
Turns out: bully central.
And homeroom for the class that blew up a week in...
"B-but he's just a middle schooler! I'm the adult!"
Newbie passion kicked in.
Mi Teacher psyched herself up positively.
"But when'd I call him? Why's he not here?"
Told Han So-mi to fetch him minutes ago.
Still nothing.
Ignoring counseling?
"Totally possible..."
Drag.
Suddenly, staff room door flew open.
Bang! Crack!
Not just open—nearly off its hinges.