April's Exam (5)
After the long study session at Lee Yu-ri's house finally ended, we wrapped up our group before dinner time rolled around.
“Hah, at this rate I’m gonna break the all-time highest test score record, aren’t I? What are you going to do about it, Han Seong-jin? Not that I feel particularly sorry for you. What could you possibly achieve by cramming for just one Sunday anyway?”
Over nearly six straight hours we had drilled English and Math with insane focus. I studied harder than I ever had before. So did Jeong Eun-ji and Choi Su-yeon. At the end of every unit we took mock exams from our workbooks. To get a preview of how the actual pop quiz might go, Jeong Eun-ji and I used the exact same workbook, solved the problems, then compared scores.
The result was Jeong Eun-ji’s eighth straight victory.
Thanks to that, she became unbearably smug and kept hammering down death flags like, “Even if you beg to cancel the bet now, I’ll never let you off the hook, so you’d better steel yourself.”
“The real thing is still unknown.”
“Pfft. Losers always lay down their excuses first.”
Jeong Eun-ji, who hated me with every fiber of her being, tore into me without mercy and already acted like the win was hers.
“You two have been fighting nonstop all day. Knock it off already. It’s exhausting just watching you.”
Eventually Lee Yu-ri, unable to take it anymore, stepped in. Jeong Eun-ji snorted openly with a victor’s smile and started packing her bag.
“Fine. Since Yu-ri says stop, I’ll stop. Today was great, Yu-ri. It would’ve been even better if one certain person hadn’t been here, though.”
“Jeong. Eun. Ji.”
“Okay, okay, I got it. Anyway, thanks for helping me study today. It really helped a lot. Let’s all crush the exams starting Monday. Fighting!”
“Yeah, fighting. You do well on your tests too, Eun-ji.”
Lee Yu-ri and Choi Su-yeon, who were still a bit awkward with each other, exchanged only polite, minimal farewells. Then it was my turn.
“We’ll head out now, Yu-ri.”
“Okay. Get home safe. See you Monday.”
I stepped close and whispered into her ear.
“I won’t fail, so start thinking about what present you want from me.”
“J-just go already…!”
Lee Yu-ri shoved me away in a panic. After saying goodbye to her mother as well, the three of us left the house.
Of us three, Choi Su-yeon lived in the completely opposite direction, so the moment we stepped out of the apartment entrance she had to split off.
“Senior, take care~♥ Wanna go on a date with me tomorrow?”
“I want to, but I need at least one proper day of review. My head’s not good enough to remember everything I learned today for long. Plus I’m broke.”
“Tch, I could treat you… Fine, I get it. But after the exams, once your paycheck hits, we’re going on a date then, okay? Promise?”
“Yeah, promise.”
We hooked pinkies. Because Jeong Eun-ji was watching, Choi Su-yeon didn’t go for a kiss; she simply waved and left.
Now only Jeong Eun-ji and I remained. The instant it was just the two of us, she bolted forward with long strides like she couldn’t stand being near me for even a second.
Our houses happened to be in the same direction, so I followed after her receding back.
When she sensed me behind her, Jeong Eun-ji shot me a poisonous glare that looked like she was staring at garbage and spat a single sentence.
“Don’t follow me.”
“I’m also going home.”
“Tsk.”
“Hey, Jeong Eun-ji. Let me ask you one thing.”
She answered without even a second’s hesitation.
“Don’t ask.”
“It’s serious.”
“Then definitely don’t ask.”
“It’s about that middle-school friend of yours you mentioned before.”
Jeong Eun-ji stopped dead. Her face twisted into something almost demonic as she spun around to face me.
“If you say that kid’s name one more time…”
“I’m sorry for bringing up bad memories, but I feel like I need to know about it too.”
“Why the hell would you need to know? What else is there to know besides the fact that you knocked up my friend and then told her to get an abortion the moment she said she was pregnant, you piece of trash?”
“Exactly because of that.”
Arms folded, Jeong Eun-ji glared at me like she wanted to devour me alive.
“Earlier when that aunt brought over the strawberries, you said it yourself. That in middle school I cursed out a teacher, grabbed him by the collar, and beat up seniors I didn’t like.”
“So?”
“I remember those things. But I have zero memory of the incident with that friend you’re talking about.”
“You fucking—”
“No, calm down and listen first. If she really got pregnant, she would’ve come to me and talked about it, right? Then, abortion or not, the first time I heard something that heavy should’ve burned itself into my memory from the shock alone. But I genuinely have no recollection of anything like that.”
“Why the hell would I need to understand the inner workings of a bastard like you?! What do you want me to do about it!”
“What I’m saying is… maybe you’re misunderstanding something.”
“……What?”
“I’m not claiming it absolutely couldn’t have been me. I remember grabbing the teacher’s collar and beating those seniors, yet I don’t remember something that should’ve been way more impactful. That’s why it feels off. I don’t even know who the girl is. If you could at least set up a meeting so I can talk to her—”
“You want to meet her? If her PTSD flares up and she turns back into that wreck again, are you going to take responsibility? You inhuman piece of shit, shut your fucking mouth! I have no idea what Yu-ri sees in a bastard like you to end up like this, but I will never watch my friend go through that hell again. Just because I’m standing here talking to you right now, don’t you dare think I feel any closeness or anything! You’re delusional! Stop spouting whatever the hell you want!”
After spewing those vicious curses, Jeong Eun-ji whipped around and stormed off.
Personally, it was something I desperately wanted to know. The original novel never once revealed Han Seong-jin’s past in detail, yet suddenly Jeong Eun-ji had dropped that bombshell on me… Right now Lee Yu-ri was wearing rose-colored glasses and still liked me even after hearing it, but a person’s heart could change at any moment.
I have to find out somehow…
Grabbing a teacher by the collar or beating up seniors—none of those were normal, yet I remembered them clearly. The fact that I had no memory of something far heavier like getting a girl pregnant and forcing an abortion left a nasty, lingering discomfort.
Clicking my tongue in both regret and complicated feelings, I headed home.
Fuming the whole way home, Jeong Eun-ji couldn’t stop thinking about what Han Seong-jin had said.
Maybe you’re misunderstanding something.
Bullshit.
She immediately rejected it as nonsense in her head, yet one fact kept nagging at the corner of her mind.
Han Seong-jin had definitely changed from before. Compared to middle school—or even just last year—he seemed like a completely different person.
Back in middle school, when her friend had told her about the pregnancy and she’d heard the words “because of Han Seong-jin,” she had lost her mind and charged at him, only to have her hair grabbed so hard she still remembered the pain. She had personally witnessed him kick his desk during class after being called out for sleeping, grab the teacher by the collar while cursing, then storm out of the classroom.
When rumors spread that a third-year from the middle-school delinquent crew had been beaten by Han Seong-jin, she saw the guy’s swollen face at the academy a few days later and was genuinely shocked.
Even after transferring to Jinsu High his behavior hadn’t changed at all, but unbelievably, ever since entering third year, aside from kicking his own underlings on entrance ceremony day and skipping class once, he hadn’t caused a single incident.
Knowing what Han Seong-jin used to be like, that level of restraint was almost cute enough to not even count as a deviation for him.
Jeong Eun-ji decided to confirm the facts properly. She called a friend from a different academy she hadn’t seen in a long time—both to catch up and to ask a few questions.
“Mi-ae, hi!”
“Oh, Eunjeong! Eunjeong!” The middle-school friend called Mi-ae answered cheerfully.
There had been a time when her depression was so severe it was hard to even talk to her, but she had recovered completely and was living a normal life now.
“Ah, don’t call me Eunjeong. It sounds weird.”
“Puhup. Well, our Eun-ji didn’t get chubby like that Eun-jeong, right? So what’s up?”
“Nothing special. We ended up at different high schools so we barely see each other anymore. I was just wondering how you’ve been. We have exams next week too—after they’re over, want to do track practice together? When are your exams?”
“Oh, ours are next week too! Then let’s meet up the weekend after exams!”
“Sounds good. Oh, right, Mi-ae… there’s one thing I wanted to ask…”
The moment she tried to bring up what she was curious about, Jeong Eun-ji suddenly froze.
It was her friend’s deepest trauma. Was it really okay to dig it up and ask about it? Especially over the phone?
She had thought about confirming it once, but she didn’t want to upset her friend right before exams, so Jeong Eun-ji swallowed the question.
“Umm… what was it again? I forgot what I was going to ask.”
“What the heck, you got me all curious and then—”
“I’ll ask later when I remember! Anyway, it’s really nice hearing your voice after so long.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait for exams to be over and the weekend to come. I want to do track practice with you again after all this time.”
“I’ll call you again after the tests. See you then, Mi-ae. Do well on your exams.”
“You too, good luck!”
After hanging up, Jeong Eun-ji let out a sigh, feeling strangely unsettled.
Then she suddenly remembered something else and frowned again.
“But why should I be the one looking into what that bastard wants to know? After the test I’m going to completely humiliate him in front of everyone and make him drop out from the shame anyway.”
Jeong Eun-ji renewed her determination, picturing herself utterly destroying Han Seong-jin on the upcoming exam and forcing him to quit school in disgrace.