Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: CA Time
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What?
Was that meant for me to hear?
Lee A-ram couldn't help but freeze for a moment at Kyung-jun's sudden mutter from beside her.
'...There are kids like that sometimes.'
Lee A-ram thought of a boy named Oh Deok-woo who sat behind her in class.
He often muttered to himself during lessons or breaks.
And while doing so, he'd draw pictures of girls with huge eyes—pretty, yet somehow off-putting—in his notebook.
Sometimes it got so bad she'd had to say something.
'...'
For now, Lee A-ram decided to pretend she hadn't heard and ignore it.
There's that saying about putting up with it three times.
She'd stuck to that rule even with Oh Deok-woo.
Of course, what she really wanted to say right then was:
'...The protagonist really is a jerk, idiot, but that's what makes him popular.'
The protagonist of Iron Man, Tony Stark.
He was a rare—hell, pretty much the first—badass character in a hero movie.
On top of that, the movie mixed in genius physicist and engineer traits for his backstory.
Hero + genius engineer + delinquent.
A hero who chases women, lives a wild life, and does whatever the hell he wants.
Elements that seemed like they wouldn't mix at all on the surface.
But Iron Man nailed the chemistry, and the genius physicist-engineer setup exploded in popularity.
Now he's the most popular hero worldwide.
Whatever.
"An arc reactor in his heart? Some mini nuclear thing? Way too X about the radiation. Wait till Fukushima blows and maybe he'll wise up."
From Kyung-jun's perspective, someone who'd actually done real 'physics,' it was ridiculous.
Every time science bits came up in the movie.
And every time Tony's popular-guy moments got highlighted.
He kept muttering crap like:
"Ha, a mortar explodes right there and he just walks it off? That shrapnel should've shredded his eardrums first, not his thigh."
Or complaining:
"A popular guy like that doing physics? Doesn't make sense. Swap the protagonist's face for glasses, acne, and a skinny anchovy look. Buzz that hair into a monk cut. Where'd the horn-rimmed glasses go?"
Eventually, he was straight-up cursing.
"...Hey."
?
And just like that, Kyung-jun crossed the three-strikes line Lee A-ram had set for herself.
"Can't you just watch? It's a movie—cut it some slack?"
Lee A-ram's first warning.
Surprisingly, Kyung-jun didn't fight back much and just nodded calmly.
'...Thought he'd make some excuse, but he took it easy.'
She figured now she could finally enjoy her favorite movie and actor in peace.
She was wrong.
"Ah."
Kyung-jun let out a sigh.
"Whew."
He shook his head slowly.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
He clicked his tongue.
Not as loud as before.
The other groups didn't seem to notice at all.
They were either dozing off carefree or glued to the screen.
'...Ignore it, ignore it.'
They were sitting close, but Lee A-ram could tune it out too.
If she tried, she could.
Even with all the boom boom! explosions and Iron Suits flying, she could ignore it.
She could ignore it just fine.
And yet...
"...What's the problem this time?"
In the end, Lee A-ram was the one who cracked open Pandora's box.
?
Kyung-jun, who hadn't even realized, tilted his head instead.
Then he got it with an "Ah."
"That bit where Tony catches his assistant falling from the sky with both hands."
He whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
"Doesn't make sense. Sorry if I ruined it for you."
Kyung-jun apologized super easily.
Maybe because he'd spent 37 years as a total loser in his first life.
He knew he muttered a lot.
And that it was a bad habit.
Sure, in this second life, he wasn't ditching his old loser self to chase popularity.
But if it hurt innocent people for no gain, that was different.
"...Why's that?"
But for her, who'd already failed to tune him out in every sense.
She couldn't just accept a casual apology like that.
Especially since it was her favorite movie and actor.
"The suit itself doesn't make sense?"
Even as she said it, Lee A-ram was already spinning 50 counterarguments in her head for if he said "Yeah."
But.
"Nah, that's fine."
That wasn't his issue.
"Power source? Just handwave it with the arc reactor as movie magic. Totally workable."
He knew it was a movie and wasn't nitpicking the setup.
"...Then what?"
Lee A-ram wondered what the hell was the problem.
Kyung-jun looked annoyed as he explained.
"The assistant's falling from the sky, right?"
He asked her like he was confirming.
"...Yeah."
"Accelerating almost to terminal velocity? Oh, terminal velocity means—"
"...Max speed due to air resistance, right?"
"Oh."
For the first time, Kyung-jun looked genuinely surprised at Lee A-ram.
No, at anyone his age, probably.
"You know your stuff."
His eyes went wide like full moons—he was shocked she knew what terminal velocity was.
"Did some preview studying?"
"...Preview what? Just picked it up from a book by chance."
"Ah ha. Impressive."
If anything, he looked even more impressed.
"Barely anyone in middle school first year knows this stuff. And reading books too."
A weird, awkward praise vibe settled in.
"...Uh, anyway, go on."
Unable to handle the cringe, Lee A-ram steered back to the topic.
"So, terminal velocity... what's wrong with catching the assistant falling from the sky?"
Kyung-jun picked up with, "Ah, right, we got there."
"She's hit terminal velocity, yeah? Around 200 kph."
He mimed catching a fake assistant with both hands.
"Then Tony catches her right like this."
"...And?"
"That's the problem."
"... "
Lee A-ram was stunned.
Not because she never expected that to be the issue.
But because she was shocked at how much rage and hostility she felt toward one person.
"Hoo..."
Still, it was class time.
Half the kids were asleep, but nominally they were watching the movie.
Lee A-ram reined in her excitement with a shaky sigh.
And in a calm voice, pretending composure:
"...So what's the problem with that?"
"You know terminal velocity but not this? Fair enough."
No mockery intended.
'...That X bastard.'
But his casual jab twisted something inside Lee A-ram.
She barely held back a curse.
And instead, in a much sharper tone, basically dared him to explain since he was so smart.
So Kyung-jun kindly did.
"Takes Tony less than a second to catch the assistant."
"...I got that far."
"Right. He could decelerate her on catch, but the scene shows him snatching her just before she hits the ground. So, rephrasing that with Newton's gravity laws, free fall, and action-reaction."
Kyung-jun crunched numbers in his head.
Eyes darting, tracing invisible figures in the air,
Lips mumbling to cache intermediate calcs.
About five seconds later.
"Yeah. Still doesn't add up."
Kyung-jun reached the same conclusion quick.
"The assistant would've been sliced into three pieces no doubt."
"...What?"
"Don't get it?"
He'd explain simply with an analogy.
"Like chopping a hairtail fish into three chunks."
"... "
Lee A-ram was even more confused.
The analogy was weird, the explanation grotesque.
"What I'm saying is."
But Kyung-jun continued, satisfied—it was a solid explanation in his book.
She still doesn't get it even with the simple analogy?
Fine, since we're here, I'll explain fully.
Yeah, she's just a first-year middle schooler now, so skip the heavy science.
Keep it super simple with analogies.
"What I'm saying is, the assistant Tony catches ends up not as the sassy one snarking uselessly after rescue, but sliced into three—lower body, torso, upper body—by Tony's arms, like chunks of hairtail for braising."
"... "
"Sure, fine, people flying? Whatever. But ignoring basic science laws middle schoolers learn—even Newton's basics? Nah. Hell, slicing a bullet in half with a sword is more realistic."
(FYI, that's real.)
When you've got two escaping enemies but one bullet.
Shoot the sword, and yeah, the bullet splits.
Whether it hits? Separate issue.
The split does happen.
Source? Not handy now.
Don't believe? Search YouTube in 10 years.
Channel's 'Gunppang Channel' or something?
Korean guy testing guns on stuff in America.
They did the experiment.
"... "
Lee A-ram, hearing my killer explanation, was so moved she said nothing.
"Kyung-jun."
Then she calls me by name, minus the honorific.
Some special meaning?
Yeah.
A very special one.
"Unless you wanna end up in three chunks like a hairtail, how about we shut up and watch the movie?"
Maybe tied to life or death.
"Sure."
I got her heavy implication loud and clear.
Nodded quietly, no more words.
Yeah, watching a movie with a girl—sorta like a date?
Huge upgrade from first-life me.
That total loser Han Kyung-jun for real?
Anyway, eyes back to the screen, silent.
Enjoying the movie quietly.
....
....
....
Oh crap, screwed up.
My bad.
"Sorry, recalculated—maybe not three chunks, just in half..."
"...In half and die!!"
Math error.
Ever heard of the 'fainting game' that was all the rage back then?
Back when the only legal high was music.
So for bigger thrills, we didn't hesitate on illegal stuff—we huffed glue.
Then leveled up to the fainting game.
Simple method.
Every school window had these green curtains—who knows how old.
We'd choke each other with them for that dangerous rush right before passing out.
How popular? Made the news.
Kids actually died from it.
Dangerous as hell.
I know—I tried it once.
Not by choice.
Anyway, I'm not that bullied first-life me anymore.
No plans for that crap now.
"What? Fainting game? You kids nuts?"
Right now, me and Lee A-ram were getting chewed out in the hall next to the science lab.
I was the one who claimed it was the fainting game.
Explaining I logically debunked Iron Man's Newton violations with calcs, and Tony fangirl Lee A-ram snapped and choked me...
...sounds retarded.
Fainting game excuse is dumb too.
But way shorter explanation—good enough.
"Gotta do that dangerous crap during CA time? Look at your necks. How you explaining to your moms? Huh?"
My neck had her red handprint.
Hers had mine too.
That's why the fainting game excuse.
I didn't just take it lying down.
Eye for an eye.
Hammurabi Code.
First life, I just took it.
Second life—no popularity chase, but at least ditch doormat status.
Still, this nagging's annoying.
"Teacher."
I flipped it—chased the science club teacher back to class.
"It's almost 3:30."
"What? That's not the point ri— Oh!"
My loaded words jogged his memory.
He hastily wrapped up the scolding.
"Both of you reflect out here. Still gotta watch the movie—printouts. When you're sorry enough, sneak in quiet as mice and just watch. Got it?"
Scrape.
Science club teacher bolted to class with that useless self-reflection line.
Lee A-ram, baffled, asked me:
"...What? What's 3:30 got to do with it?"
"Market close."
She still looked lost, so I added:
"Teacher trades stocks."
Middle school memories suck—try to forget.
But science club days, no bullying, chill? Crystal clear.
"Probably panic-selling his day trades right now?"
Especially the science club teacher always playing science docs during CA time while trading.
That laptop screen—blue down arrows, red minus signs—I saw by chance.
Stuck with me weirdly over time.
"Aha, so that's... Ow, neck hurts. Shit, it's red."
"Mine's got your nail marks too. Bleeding."
"...Whatever, don't talk to me."
"Talk."
"You really gonna di—"
"Horse."
Horse [mǎ].
10 strokes total;
Horse, tree branch, thing for scoring in arrow-tossing, big, metaphor for big thing.
"... "
Lee A-ram looked done, backed off a few steps.
Whatever.
Anyway.
—I've been waiting.
Mission success.
Sure, the process was pathetic.
Total loser cringe.
But results-wise, anyway.
Finally alone with Lee A-ram.
"Lee A-ram."
Now for the real talk.