April's Exam (6) - The Monday Announcement
It was Monday, the start of exam week. Before the morning assembly began, Jeong Eun-ji walked up to me and jerked her chin in a clear gesture.
"Hey. Get out here."
"Why this time?"
"We need to leave evidence, don't we? So you can't lose the test and then try to worm your way out by claiming you never agreed to it. I'm calling every single kid in here to witness this. You threw out that kind of provocation because you were ready to go all the way, right?"
Jeong Eun-ji was utterly convinced she would win, which only made her that much more cocky. She kept raising the stakes higher and higher, completely unaware that the noose was tightening around her own neck.
"That's a pretty MZ way to commit suicide. You sure you're gonna be okay?"
"Stop talking bullshit and just come out. You lost every single mock test anyway. Or what? Are you the one getting cold feet?"
"Fine. I'm coming. Let's die together then."
Eun-ji and I stood at the front by the teacher's desk, and the entire class's attention snapped toward us in seconds.
"Everyone, look over here for a second!"
At Jeong Eun-ji's shout the classroom began to buzz.
"That's Han Seong-jin, right? What the hell is he up to now..."
"Jeong Eun-ji and Han Seong-jin? They don't go together at all. Why are they both up there?"
Ignoring the murmurs, Jeong Eun-ji raised her voice from the front of the room.
"I made a bet with Han Seong-jin on our total test scores! The loser has to do something pretty extreme, so I want all of you to act as witnesses so there's no way to back out later!"
"What kind of bet?"
"What does it matter if we're witnesses?"
The kids' first reactions were lukewarm. After all, if I lost and simply refused to pay up, there wasn't much they could do to stop me. But then...
The classroom door slid open. Hwang Seong-tae, the new boss of the third-years, stepped in along with the rest of the delinquent crew. I tilted my head, confused why a bunch of third-years were showing up in our classroom first thing in the morning.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"What do you mean? You said you had something to tell us, so we came. But why the hell did you have her call us instead of just texting?"
The moment I heard that, I turned and stared at Jeong Eun-ji. She looked back at me with an expression that practically screamed What are you gonna do about it? and snorted.
This girl had used my name to drag them here.
"The bet is simple!" she continued. "Whoever gets the lower combined score has to carry out a brutal penalty! If this bastard loses, during lunch in the playground—in front of everyone—he's going to strip naked, get down on the ground, bow to me, and lick my shoes! Oh, and while he's at it, how about licking the shoes of all the guys he used to hang around with?"
The shockingly harsh terms made the whole class stir with disbelief.
"Seong-jin, is she for real? You actually agreed to that?"
The delinquents standing at the back of the room looked just as stunned as they asked me the same question. Instead of answering them, I laid out what would happen if Jeong Eun-ji lost.
"And if she loses, she's going to wear a dog collar around her neck, crawl on all fours, and bark like a dog. Get your phones ready to record. It'll be worth watching."
The boys erupted in cheers immediately. Apparently the idea of a pretty, athletic beauty with a killer body and a nasty personality being forced to crawl and bark like a dog was far more appealing than anything involving me.
"Come on, Han Seong-jin. Betting on test scores? That's not like you at all."
Hwang Seong-tae looked like he was secretly hoping to see Jeong Eun-ji humiliated with a dog collar, but he also seemed faintly disappointed that the bet involved something completely outside their world—like studying or exams.
"These things happen. Anyway, the teacher will be here soon, so you guys should clear out."
"You said you had something to tell us?"
Of course I hadn't. I paused, then pointed my thumb at Jeong Eun-ji.
"Oh, that. I just wanted witnesses for when this girl ends up in a dog collar. You know how it is—so she can't claim she never agreed after she loses. That's why I called you. You've seen it, so now get lost."
"......?"
Hwang Seong-tae stared at me with an expression that clearly said, That's it?
Meanwhile, Jeong Eun-ji—clearly trying to screw me over—shouted at his crew.
"Oh, right. If you lose the bet, why don't you go lick their feet too? Like the loyal little dog you are."
I caught the corner of Hwang Seong-tae's mouth twitching upward. He'd spent his life as a perpetual second-in-command because he was weaker than me. The thought of me—the guy who'd once stood above him—kneeling and licking his feet must have felt amazing.
He could have pushed the issue, but I'd already retired from that life and had zero interest in stirring up trouble. I jerked my chin toward the door with a look that said Just go. Since there was nothing for him to lose, Hwang Seong-tae flashed a greasy smile and led his gang out of the classroom.
"Anyway, that's what I came out here to say. It might not seem like much, but I'm sure plenty of you have been screwed over by this bastard before. I'm going to make him eat shit once, so look forward to it! Even if he tries to refuse, those guys who just left will probably hold him down and force him to do it anyway."
The rest of the class couldn't exactly cheer or clap—they were still wary of me—but their faces made it clear they were secretly anticipating the outcome.
Jeong Eun-ji waved to the room like a celebrity basking in the spotlight before stepping down from the podium. I followed and returned to my seat.
She had expanded the bet as far as it could possibly go because she never once considered the possibility of losing.
The rumor would spread like wildfire even though it was exam week. Just like the gossip about me dating Lee Yu-ri had.
There was no backing out now. The loser would have no choice but to carry out that hellish penalty.
But there was one thing Jeong Eun-ji didn't know.
The source of all her confidence was those eight straight victories in the mock exams at Lee Yu-ri's house.
Hey, Jeong Eun-ji. Did you ever realize that during every single one of those mock tests, I was deliberately missing several questions on purpose?
After morning assembly ended and right before the test began, during that short waiting period, Gong Yeong-bae pulled Jeong Eun-ji aside.
"Eun-ji, you know there's nothing good that comes from getting involved with a guy like that. Why did you do it?"
"Oh my, are you actually worried about me? That's sweet. But you really don't need to worry."
Jeong Eun-ji laughed and proudly thumped her own chest, looking utterly triumphant.
"No matter how little time I have to study because of track, I'm confident I can still beat a meathead like him. I just don't like the guy as a person, so isn't betting on test scores a pretty legal way to make him eat shit once? After he does the penalty, he'll probably be so embarrassed he'll want to drop out."
"No, even so, if you keep getting tangled up with a bastard like that..."
The words you'll end up like the others never left Gong Yeong-bae's mouth.
Lee Yu-ri had already grown impossibly distant from him. Choi Su-yeon still greeted him with a smile, but there was something deeply unsettling hidden behind it. And now, seeing signs that even Jeong Eun-ji might get pulled into Han Seong-jin's orbit, a justified anxiety began to bloom inside him.
But Jeong Eun-ji, completely unaware of his inner turmoil, was actually worried about him.
"Shouldn't you be the one worrying?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You and Yu-ri. It looks like you've been in a cold war for a while now. From where I'm standing, that bastard Han Seong-jin seems to be the cause."
"...!!!"
When she saw Gong Yeong-bae's face visibly darken, Jeong Eun-ji knew her guess had been right.
She and Lee Yu-ri had been rivals for Gong Yeong-bae's affection, but they had been friends first. It was satisfying to see her rival step back on her own, but that didn't mean she wanted Yu-ri getting involved with garbage like Han Seong-jin. An ambiguous love triangle where no one knew who would be chosen was far better than watching Yu-ri tie herself to that trash.
"Still, don't worry too much."
Jeong Eun-ji patted his shoulder reassuringly.
She still didn't know that Lee Yu-ri had already cut ties with him completely.
"I'll bring Yu-ri back to you."
From the very day Jeong Eun-ji first brought up the test-score bet, I spent every spare minute after my part-time jobs studying like my life depended on it. I was still so exhausted that I dozed off in class from time to time, but the moment I was awake I poured every ounce of energy I had into hitting the books.
I studied English while working shifts with Choi Su-yeon. When I got home I tackled Korean and social studies. In math—my weakest subject—Lee Yu-ri helped me constantly, and I could now get about half the problems right.
I had never been an honor student, but I was confident I could still outperform Jeong Eun-ji, who had to spend far more time training for track.
And so the exams began.
On the first day we only had Korean. From the listening section to the written test, I wrung out every last drop of focus my mediocre brain could produce and solved the questions with the greatest concentration of my life.
This feels doable.
The study period hadn't been long, but because I'd gone at it like a madman, I was able to handle everything except the truly brutal problems.
Jeong Eun-ji, thanks for setting the stage so nicely. I'll make sure you realize soon that you dug your own grave.
I smiled to myself as I rolled my pen across the test paper.
And after I break that arrogant personality of yours, I'll tame you and make you mine.
I kept working, already imagining how the track-and-field ace and disciplinary committee member—with her pretty face, overflowing healthy charm, and terrible attitude—would change under my hands.