April's Exam (4)
The scratching of mechanical pencils filled Lee Yu-ri's room for a while. The only sound was the four of us—me, Lee Yu-ri, Choi Su-yeon, and Jeong Eun-ji—hunched over our notebooks.
"I can't solve this one."
"Where?"
"This exponential log thing."
"That's first-year material!"
Lee Yu-ri stared at the progress in my math textbook with open disbelief. But what could I do? I'd always sucked at math. She let out a small sigh and slid closer to me. Before she could reach me, though, Choi Su-yeon pressed herself right up against my side, flashing a coy smile.
"Exponentials and logs? I know that stuff. Want me to teach you, Senior~?"
"Hold on."
Choi Su-yeon had seized the opening the moment she saw it, but this time Lee Yu-ri wasn't about to let her have her way. Su-yeon narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at her.
"Why?"
"Don't you have your own studying to do?"
"I already grinded through the second-year curriculum at home like my life depended on it. Surprisingly enough, I can pull decent scores now."
"Really? Then why don't you help Eun-ji instead?"
"Aren't you closer to Eun-ji, Senior? It seems better if each person helps the one they're friendlier with, doesn't it?"
"Han Seong-jin has the worst grades here. So wouldn't it be more efficient for the person with the best grades—me—to help him? No matter how well you studied back in middle school, that's something we don't know about. Especially in math—the gap between second and third year is huge. You said you slacked off on studying for a while, so how are you supposed to explain it in a way that's easy to understand? You're good at English, right? Why don't you teach Eun-ji that? Eun-ji, what did you get on your last English test?"
"Me? I... failed."
Jeong Eun-ji looked extremely unhappy about having to reveal her weakness right in front of me, the guy she hated so much. Lee Yu-ri sat down beside me with an even more triumphant expression, openly checking Choi Su-yeon.
"You heard her. So I'll teach Han Seong-jin the subject I'm better at—math—and you can teach Eun-ji the subject you're better at—English. We didn't gather here to play around. We gathered to study for the exams. Right?"
Maybe because the battlefield had shifted to the one area where she reigned supreme—academics—or maybe because we were in her house, but Lee Yu-ri, who had been pushed around by Choi Su-yeon and Jeong Eun-ji all week, was now firmly in control of the situation.
It was true that we'd come together not to fool around, but to prepare for the exams next week. When it came to group study rather than group sex, efficiency was obviously the priority. Unable to refute Yu-ri's logic, Choi Su-yeon ground her teeth inwardly as she moved to sit beside Jeong Eun-ji.
That arrogant little...! Neither of these bitches has ever been likable, not since the days when they both chased after Gong Yeong-bae!
The two of them had regarded each other as thorns in their sides ever since they both liked Gong Yeong-bae. Now that their target had shifted to me, they'd run into each other again, and after having the initiative of today's session stolen from her, Choi Su-yeon's hostility toward Lee Yu-ri only continued to grow.
On the other hand, Jeong Eun-ji felt the same way about Choi Su-yeon, so the moment Su-yeon sat down, Eun-ji threw out a sharp jab.
"Hey, no matter how bad I am, I'm not so pathetic that I need study help from a second-year delinquent. I can handle it myself."
"Oh really? Then you should just go home. If you're going to study alone, why did you even come to the study group?"
"This bitch has been running her mouth with zero manners since last time—"
"Are you any different, Senior?"
"Will you two knock it off? And Eun-ji, I get that it hurts your pride, but when I talked to her last time, her English conversation skills really do seem better than mine. Even if we set grammar aside for now, just studying vocabulary together should help a lot. So can we just do this for now?"
"U-uh... yeah..."
Lee Yu-ri was smiling brightly, but her eyes were clearly warning, I'm in a good mood right now, so don't interfere. Overwhelmed by that pressure, Jeong Eun-ji wilted like a scolded puppy—completely unlike her usual wild-tempered self.
I decided to poke a small hole in Eun-ji's pride and tossed out a light provocation.
"Well, given Jeong Eun-ji's personality, it might be hard for her to accept. Or maybe she's laying the groundwork so that if she loses the bet, she can say something like, 'If Yu-ri had been the one teaching me instead of Choi Su-yeon, I would've won! This doesn't count!' Are you that scared of losing?"
"Haa?"
Jeong Eun-ji, whose resistance to provocation was extremely low, took the bait instantly.
"L-laying the groundwork? Scared of losing? Me? You... you've crossed the line! Hey, I was planning to end things by gathering your little gang and making you all strip and bow down, but I can't hold back anymore. Let's add one more condition. If I win, I'll make you strip naked in the middle of the playground during lunch and lick my shoes!"
"That's pretty harsh. What are you going to do if you lose?"
"No matter what, there's no way I'd lose to a guy like you! Go ahead and add another condition yourself. Not that it'll matter."
I had to fight back the smile slowly spreading inside me. She fell for the trap so easily.
"Hmm, it's so sudden that I can't think of anything right now. I'll take my time thinking about it."
"Hah. Sure, take all the time you want. It's not like you'll win anyway."
Jeong Eun-ji was busily stacking up death flags.
We continued studying, mostly with Lee Yu-ri's help and occasionally Choi Su-yeon's assistance in English. Every time we finished a subject, we would open identical workbooks and give ourselves a mock test.
Lee Yu-ri and Choi Su-yeon didn't particularly care about the scores on those workbook tests, but for me and Jeong Eun-ji...
"Sixty-five! Yu-ri, I got sixty-five!"
After we finished Korean and took the mock test using the same workbook, Jeong Eun-ji had scored 65. For her, that was actually a high score. She was the type who couldn't devote much time to studying because of track, so her grades were pretty bad too.
"Hey, what did you get?"
Jeong Eun-ji looked down at me with a smug little smirk. Her attitude made it clear she was certain there was no way I'd scored over 65. And my score was...
"Forty-eight."
"Pfft! Forty-eight? And you were talking all that shit about the bet? Someone who's never studied properly in his life isn't going to suddenly improve just because he feels like it. How are you going to face the actual exam? Or are you just going to blow it off like you did in middle school and skip everything?"
"Hey, isn't it a bit early to be gloating so hard after winning one mock test? We've only done one subject so far."
"Hmph, you think you'll win if we keep going? Fine, let's see—"
Just as the tension between me and Jeong Eun-ji was reaching its peak, there was a knock on Yu-ri's door. It opened shortly after.
"Kids, are you still studying? I washed some strawberries. Take a break and eat some."
Lee Yu-ri's mother had come in carrying a plate piled high with strawberries. I stood up, accepted the plate, and bowed politely.
"Thank you. We'll enjoy them."
"Oh my, our Yu-ri brought home such a nice friend. Polite, well-mannered, and such a big, reliable-looking boy."
"M-Mom!"
"Keep up the good work, everyone. I'll come get the plate when you're done, so just call for me."
"We can't trouble you like that. When we're finished, I'll bring the plate to the sink myself. Thank you for your consideration."
"Goodness, what a sweet boy. All right, I'll leave it to you then. Eat up, and if you need anything else, just let me know, okay?"
"Yes, thank you!"
After lightly teasing her daughter, the woman smiled and closed the door behind her. The fight that had paused at her appearance resumed immediately—though it had softened a little.
"...What the hell? You actually know how to be polite to adults?"
"If someone only heard that, they'd think I was some lawless, immoral delinquent with no respect for anyone."
"Weren't you the one who grabbed a teacher by the collar and cursed them out for nagging you? The one who beat up seniors just because you didn't like them? So you're saying that wasn't you?"
Hmm. I did remember that. Strangely, I could remember things like this, but I had zero recollection of supposedly impregnating a girl in middle school and forcing her to get an abortion.
"That was then. I don't live like that anymore. I've been living quietly without causing any trouble, haven't I?"
"Hah, as if."
"Speaking of which, why did you stay quiet when she said I was polite and well-mannered? I thought you'd jump in and insist it wasn't true."
"What?! What kind of person do you take me for? I have manners too, you know! Do you think I'm like you—someone whose basic etiquette ran away from their brain?"
"From the way you're acting right now, it seems like it."
"Ugh..."
While Jeong Eun-ji trembled with rage, Choi Su-yeon shoved her aside and jumped forward.
"Senior, Auntie brought strawberries. Aren't you going to eat any? Here, let me feed you one. Say ah~."
"Mom gave those to us and I haven't even had one yet. Why are you shoving a fork in first?"
And of course, Lee Yu-ri immediately began checking her. Choi Su-yeon looked at her and openly curled her lips into a smirk.
"Oh my? Isn't this my house? How dare you try to eat before the owner? Or is that how it is? I see you have some authoritarian tendencies, Yu-ri Senior. Then by all means, you go first."
Lee Yu-ri immediately stabbed a strawberry with a fork and brought it to my lips.
"Here, Seong-jin. Eat."
At the same time, the fork Choi Su-yeon was holding—with its own strawberry—also reached my mouth.
"Since you picked one, Senior, it should be fine for me to pick one too, right? Here, Senior. Ah~"
Sparks flew fiercely between the two girls. Jeong Eun-ji, who still didn't have even the slightest good feelings toward me, turned her eyes away as if she couldn't bear to watch.
No matter whose strawberry I ate first, it was obvious a fight would break out later. So I simply opened my mouth wide and took both strawberries at the same time.
With both cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, I chewed on the strawberries. The fiery sparks that had been flying between the two girls died down a little.
"Munch munch... Hey, you guys eat too. These are seriously delicious."
"Okay."
"Hehe, all right."
In the end, the two seemed to reach a compromise and began eating their own strawberries. We took a short break.
......
As they ate the strawberries, Lee Yu-ri and Choi Su-yeon kept stealing glances at their 'enemy' when the other wasn't looking.
She thinks this is her world just because it's her house and we're here to study? Hmph. Just wait and see.
Typical delinquent behavior—always trying to butt in whenever there's an opening. Still, I'm the one who confessed directly that I like Seong-jin.
And at the same time, both of them burned with fierce determination inside.
I am never losing to that bitch!!!