The Incorrigible Thug Becomes Top of the School: Elementary, Middle, High
That incorrigible thug became the top student in the entire school. Elementary, middle, high. How did society's villains back then—the thugs and delinquents—even come to be?
"Eh, nothing to it."
In elementary school, all you needed was to be good at sports. Fighting? Martial arts? Nah, mastering ball sports like soccer or basketball was the fast track to becoming an instant insider.
Middle school added one more layer: looks. If you were handsome, packs of thugs passing by would pick you out like cherry-picking in a draft. Once selected, these good-looking guys usually split into two types. First: the ones who glued themselves to the top fighters, playing second-in-command. Second: the ambitious ones who stepped up to lead the pack themselves.
Baek Haon fell into the latter category. He started hanging with the popular pretty-boy thugs thanks to his face. But they must've thought he looked like easy prey, because the provocations came fast and furious. In just half a year, he cleaned house on every single one of them.
He was born for fighting, or so the backstory went. Anyway, imagine hardware like that from a guy who'd never trained a day in his life. Then slap on the killer software of a man named Kim Junsu...
"H-H Haon, the teacher's calling for you."
"Got it."
Our school's punks collapsing without even putting up a fight was a given. After that day, the school went dead quiet. I'd dragged every last one of them from third year down and wrecked them—couldn't blame 'em.
Word spread to other schools? Talk about humiliating.
Anyway, this didn't mean the thugs had reformed. They were just kneeling in overwhelming terror, hiding their true selves. In places I wasn't around, they probably kept up the delinquent act on the down-low.
I had no intention of stamping that out completely. Even I hadn't achieved perfect reformation.
"Hey, Baek Haon. What the hell is this?"
I headed to the staff room, and the teacher eyed me with clear displeasure. Under the desk sat my recent midterm exam.
"Something wrong?"
"Think about it. A guy who did nothing but brawl every damn day pulls scores like this?"
Yeah, even if I'd sacrificed this body to pacify the thugs, people's perceptions didn't shift overnight. To them, I was just the brute who'd quieted the school through violence—a trash image of irredeemable delinquent spirit that never faded.
So I had to keep changing, keep proving it endlessly.
"Teacher, I've turned my life around."
"You expect me to buy that?"
The teacher gave me a skeptical glare, but...
"Just give me one chance. I'll show you the new me."
"Hmph..."
Instead of answering, the teacher nodded. Truth be told, cheating didn't even make sense here. The guy in front of me was prepping for art school—miles from academics. My neighbors were Baek Haon's old trash buddies. Back row seat meant no help unless I'd bribed the teacher. Plus, multiple teachers had seen me burning the midnight oil in class right up to midterms.
Alright, let's keep this momentum going.
I left the staff room, returned to my seat, and prepped for the next class.
"Um... Haon, can I ask you one thing?"
Someone sidled up next to me, sliding their notebook over.
"How do you solve this part?"
Lee Seohwan. The guy who'd teamed up with Baek Haon for trash antics, tormenting a classmate to the brink. Later, he'd pop up in juvie scheming with others...
I beat the crap out of him the worst, though.
Yet ever since, he'd been mimicking my every move. His notebook showed him asking about formulas an elementary kid could handle.
"Ah, yeah. For this part..."
Pathetic? Hell no—this mindset of turning it around now, diving into studies? Beautiful.
I taught Seohwan patiently, and he started getting hooked on studying. He was a special case, though. The other thugs avoided me like the plague, tiptoeing around.
"Thanks. Can I ask again next time?"
"Anytime. I'm still learning too—let's study together?"
"Okay."
Weird guy. Even after the beatdown, he treated me the same. No clue how this change would hit him, but...
Not a bad deal.
Studying with a friend on your level? That's one of the perks of school life.
Time flew by. Before I knew it, third year middle school. My parents finally acknowledged the change, and as a reward, I could resume training.
Tough sell, but boom—top-of-school report card fixed everything.
Parents begged the gym coach never to let me fight again. Coach swore he'd fold me in half if I did—worry not.
And just like that, my routine normalized into your average middle schooler's. I'd figured a lifetime athlete like me had no brain for books, but Baek Haon's head turned out pretty damn useful. Pick it up, absorb it instantly—total prodigy vibes.
This idiot had wasted it all on brawling. Parents must've been exploding inside.
Gotta make the most of it from here.
Boring English class ended; friends buzzed around.
"Haon, soccer today, right?"
Ah, PE next?
"Can't miss a class match~"
They were warming up to the new me, bit by bit. Not fully open yet—no more avoiding me, though. Boys only, of course.
"Pass!"
"ZD~"
"Whoa, that curve kick's insane! Haon, you pro or what?"
"SIU~~~~"
A sports college grad who can't outplay middle schoolers? Please. No one got too touchy during celebrations—they still watched my eyes a lot. But this was progress. Social circle growing, trash image fading.
Handsome, athletic, top grades. Perfect trifecta. Naturally, romcom-style confessions rolled in from girls.
But...
"Hey, you okay?"
"Huh?"
"That Baek Haon guy..."
Thanks to guys kindly reciting my villainous history to clueless girls, romance was off the table.
Dating a middle schooler with my late-20s mindset would be weird anyway...
"Hang in there, Haon. This too shall pass."
"Haha, what? I'm dating studies and sports!"
"Don't cry... spit it out straight."
"Sob..."
Seohwan patting my shoulder like I was pitiful—why were tears welling up?
Time marched on. Grades stayed top-tier, so teachers saw Baek Haon as the model student. A few real friends now too.
Oh, still zero dating experience.
"Not even once—totally safe to say!"
Life was hectic. Catching up on studies was brutal, then hardcore training followed. Eat well, sleep well—perfect routine.
"Yo, Haon. How long you gonna keep growing?"
"Huh? You're just short."
"You bastard."
Seohwan, once my height, now looked up at me.
"Whoa, shoulders wider than the desk."
"Good thing Haon's turned it around. One punch from that fist? You'd be high-fiving King Yama."
Growth spurt, nutrient-packed diet, constant training—my physique crushed most athletes.
Talent really is a thing...
I'd trained my whole life, but this body? God-sculpted. Bodybuilding comp? I'd devour it.
But one goal only.
Gotta snag that UFC champ belt someday.
Too young for official bouts yet. Train, train, train till then...
"Conquer the world."
Romcom or not, girls feared my past—no approach. Body turned intimidating too...
Bottom line: sports was all I had left.
"Alright, photo time!"
-Click
No dates, not even girl convos—tearful middle school graduation done.
High school went canon: same elite school as Chae Serin. I'd applied to sports high schools, figuring this life was romance-free anyway.
Kept failing weirdly.
Grades way over cutoff. Practical perfect. What's the issue?
World enforcing canon? Even sixth-choice elite school assigned—mind-blowing magic.
"At least not same class."
Canon had Baek Haon, top-scorer Chae Serin, mid-tier male lead in one class due to score gaps.
But that ironclad rule? Shattered now.
"Sigh, kinda disappointing."
Wanted to witness male lead and heroine's romance up close. Uneasy vibes inevitable.
No trash thug Baek Haon—just a sports-obsessed lone wolf bursting in.
My changes twisting their fates? Hard pass. Altering canon as a fan? Unthinkable.
Time passed; entrance ceremony day arrived.
"Yo, who's that?"
"Damn... total stud."
"Height's one thing, but how do you even build shoulders like the Pacific Ocean?"
Entrance ceremony hall. Girls clustered, gawking at one guy, unable to hide their awe.
Over 185cm tall, muscles bulging like an enraged bull. Sharp face in that compact head striking their hearts.
Class assignments after this, right?
Haon yawned lazily, annoyed, glancing at the whispering girls.
High school too, I'll be the thug trash...
Rumors clung like a tail no matter the reform. He still took their murmurs as insults.
Ceremony zipped by; final step: oath.
Top entrance exam scorer recites it.
"Calling the student for the oath."
Obviously Chae Serin.
Haon buzzed with anticipation—finally see her again, even from afar.
"Baek Haon. Please come to the stage."
Screw expectations—day one, already veering off canon.
"You see the oath guy?"
"Whoa, a guy like that in our school..."
"What class? Same as mine? Dream come true."
"Over there—he is."
Girls whispering about me seemed way more than in middle school. Makes sense—prestigious school famous for academics wouldn't love a thug leading the oath.
Anyway, top entrance score meant near-zero chance with Chae Serin same class.
Tried checking assignments for their names amid the crowd—too packed, bolted instead.
"Not in class? Whatever."
Casually opened the classroom door; everyone stared, then gossiped about me.
Kinda unfair... Lived decently two years.
Ignored them, scanned for empty seat. No Chae Serin or male lead—inner cheer.
-Scraaaape
Protagonists always last entrance, huh?
Lord, what did I do wrong...
Shattering all predictions—male lead and heroine entering together. Classic semester-start cliché unfolding before my eyes.