Chapter 6

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 6

Chapter Title: Lookism (2)

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"No, no."

I quickly handed the wallet back and closed the status window.

Thank goodness—no more weird status windows popped up after that.

Whoa, shit.

I don't know what it was, but if it had kept going, I might've been totally screwed.

"...?"

Han So-mi, the vice class president, looked utterly baffled at the Hello Kitty wallet back in her hand.

"Uh, um... Do you... not need it...?"

She hesitated, politely offering the wallet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠again with formal speech.

"Why are you using formal speech?"

I asked that first.

We're in the same grade, same class—formal speech in Korea? This isn't some Japanese school drama.

Did I regress, but to a parallel world or something?

"Um... Actually, I'm not in first year... I'm in third year..."

"???"

I couldn't comprehend it.

Not first year, but third?

What the hell did that mean?

"Um... That is..."

"It's fine, just tell me."

Han So-mi hesitated before mumbling softly.

To sum it up, it went something like this.

After the Lee Ho-kwon incident, I never bothered clearing up any misunderstandings.

Lee Ho-kwon was rumored to be the top dog from elementary school back then, and I'd completely crushed him.

But it didn't end there.

"Um... You're so tall... No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like a first-year... So rumors started..."

My physique had shot up from 5 to 14 in an instant—nearly triple.

Naturally, I didn't look like a first-year anymore; I'd grown taller and bulkier.

"And you look kinda scary..."

On top of that, my face, with its Charm of just 3.

When paired with my scrawny build, it screamed nerd.

But now that I'd bulked up, it flipped to the total opposite: delinquent vibe.

No, not just playing around—straight-up thug image.

"...Ah, so right now, I'm supposedly stuck in first year because I've been in and out of juvie for years, making me effectively a third-year?"

"Yes..."

The rumors had ballooned way beyond imagination.

Everything except the ugly face and the bulk was pure bullshit.

"Ha, jeez."

I rubbed my forehead like I was banging my head against it.

Okay, I get it.

With rumors like that, people calling me a murderer or whatever wasn't surprising.

But understanding it? No way.

Of course not.

They hadn't even heard my side—just ran wild with their own bullshit.

How could I not be pissed?

"Eek...!"

Han So-mi flinched again.

Huddled up, eyes squeezed shut, she still held out the Hello Kitty wallet like a tiny chick.

"This is just ridiculous."

With that, I slowly approached Han So-mi.

Swoosh.

I grabbed what I wanted and stepped back from her.

"Ah..."

Han So-mi slowly opened her eyes, her face saying, Guess this is how it goes...

"...Huh?"

But that resigned look quickly turned to even greater confusion.

Her petite Hello Kitty wallet.

Still safe in her hand, contents intact.

Except one thing—or two—were gone.

"Man, how long's it been since I held one of these?"

The dustpan and broom she'd had for cleaning duty.

They were now in my hands.

And no, I wasn't about to hit her with them.

Nor was I reminiscing about old times by playing guitar on the broom.

Swoosh, swoosh.

I was actually using the dustpan and broom—for cleaning, as intended.

"You gonna clean or what?"

I called out to her as she stood there, still dazed.

"Ah, uh, y-yeah, sure...!"

"No juvie or anything, so relax and talk casually. We're the same grade."

"Ah... Uh, okay..."

"I'll handle sweeping, so could you grab the mop?"

Han So-mi nodded frantically several times and dashed out of the classroom.

"Mop, huh. Even saying it brings back memories."

I swear we used mops for cleaning up until middle school.

Then at some point, they stopped.

Probably after the classroom floors changed from wood to coated laminate?

No more thumb-toe socks getting holes from splinters, so that was good.

But switching to water mopping instead? Way more annoying.

"...H-Here it is."

Lost in vague nostalgia while sweeping, Han So-mi returned with the mop, totally out of breath from running.

"Alright, now you sweep."

I handed off the dustpan and broom like I was passing a favorite toy I didn't wanna share.

"Th-the mop...?"

"I'll take it."

Where do you think you're going?

Trying to steal this fun mop from me?

No chance.

Heh heh.

Ever since regressing to middle school, I'd wanted to try this again whenever I saw kids cleaning.

Swoosh!

Mop the floor once.

Whoosh~!

Then slide across the slick surface in my indoor shoes~!

"..."

Han So-mi stared at me, completely speechless, her face screaming, What the actual hell?

But I didn't care.

I'd decided not to live for others' approval anymore.

Whoosh~!

Even if I had to watch the status window because of Assa Force.

As long as it allowed it, from this second life on, I'd live doing exactly what I wanted.

That was my resolve.

"Th-Then I'll sweep over here..."

Even if it meant getting weird looks from middle school girls.

Like that, I barged in and forcibly helped Han So-mi finish cleaning the classroom.

We didn't really exchange much conversation.

I was just immersed in actual school life for the first time in nearly 20 years, diligently sliding around with the mop... er, cleaning.

I wasn't trying to fix my image or clear up rumors.

Misunderstandings breed more misunderstandings.

That rule never changes, kid or adult.

Just look at politics.

Once a frame's slapped on, it never comes off.

Conversely, struggling to shake it off just traps you deeper.

So it's a total waste of time and energy.

Especially since misunderstandings don't clear up anyway.

They're like a tangled mess of thread—the more you pull, the worse it gets.

Trying just spawns more misunderstandings.

Ding!

So I just acted.

To escape the skyrocketing Assa Force and the death line.

And to earn Life Points.

"Oh, right...! I was morning cleaning duty?!"

"I covered for you, so you do mine tomorrow. Don't forget from now on."

"Uh... Th-Thanks..."

I decided to play the model student for a while.

That way, quests would chain, netting me Life Points.

And I'd slowly escape the death threshold like this.

Not that I planned to turn nice or anything.

But it lowers Assa Force and gives points—what's not to love?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Whenever I spotted an opportunity, I turned everything into quests and cleared them.

Sweep, sweep, sweep!

"Um... If you shake the eraser out the window, the teacher will... with that machine..."

"That's how we always did it. That chalk dust is trash anyway. No problem."

I took the lead on things I'd always wanted to try—or kids hated—like cleaning the blackboard eraser.

"Turn off the local broadcast and sit down quick! Today's lesson is... What?! Who's on blackboard duty...?"

"I'll do it. Sorry."

"...Uh, yeah, sure. Heh, happens to everyone once in a while, haha."

I smoothed over a near-disaster with the old perv teacher that could've wrecked the class vibe.

"H-Haha... Kyung-jun... Earlier in history, thanks very muc—"

"Haha, h-he's a bit airheaded~ Th-that thing with Ho-kwon, er, Lee Ho-kwon, it's all settled... right?"

"Hey. You two."

"Y-Yeah?!"

"Go clean the bathroom."

For the lackeys itching to brownnose, I let them do their thing.

Besides that, finding lost items, stopping bullies, taking initiative on cleaning—whatever.

I helped diligently via quests.

Call it image management.

Like, I'm not scary~ I won't hurt you~

Of course, without forgetting You know what happens if you mess with me, right~?

It wasn't just cleaning, chores, and peacekeeping.

My main focus was elsewhere.

Once the wariness eased a bit...

"Stuck on this problem?"

"?!"

"Not that hard. It's just squared to cubed—same principle. Don't memorize formulas; understand the principle. Like this... See? Solved it easy."

"Uh... Th-Thanks..."

A bit nosy, sure, but I helped with tough problems and fostered a study vibe during breaks.

Probably the only class in this hellhole Sinnong Middle School where kids studied during break.

The impact was bigger than expected.

"Whoa, kids in Mi Teacher's class are studying during break?"

"Haha... Yeah. I was skeptical at first too..."

"Right? After that incident."

"Yeah, with Kim Teacher getting fired and all, I was worried... But it's a bit stiff, no big issues, overall good vibe."

"Totally. I thought he was a total problem child after kicking out that toad, but turns out he's got his shit together."

"R-Right?"

"That seat next to Mi Teacher used to be Kim Teacher's—how creepy he was, hand on shoulders and all. That kid really saved Mi Teacher's class and us lady teachers too."

"Haha, yeah..."

20 years ago.

At K-Middle School back then, class evals swayed a lot from kids and teachers.

Initially, booting a teacher made me seem dangerous to everyone.

But spillover benefits plus my recent efforts flipped evals overnight.

Quest clears steadily improved my rock-bottom rep.

And Life Points piled up steadily.

I used the accumulating points to gradually fix my dogshit looks.

Right after regression: nerd.

Then: still ugly, but feared instead of ignored.

Then, through good deed quests...

When Charm hit near-average...

Just like shifting from nerd to scary-ugly...

Ding!

My evaluation changed again.

"Whoa."

I couldn't help but stick out my tongue at the status window in front of me.