Dormitory Backlash
Together! The three of us together! We just need to become military officers together! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"......"
The drumbeat alarm signaling reveille jolted my eyes open. A month had passed, and the ceiling I'd grown completely used to came into view.
"Yaaawn~!"
"Ugh, mm. Already morning...?"
Voices came from left and right—Jeong Hyeon-beom and So Ji-hu. They must have woken up too.
"Yaaawn."
Mimicking Jeong Hyeon-beom's yawn, I pushed myself up from my bedding. The room was about six pyeong—three low desks lined up against one wall, facing three wardrobes on the opposite side. Perfectly sized for three people, neither cramped nor spacious. This was the room where Jeong Hyeon-beom, So Ji-hu, and I would live through the semester.
We sat there in a daze right after waking, silently folding our bedding. We only fully shook off the sleep once we'd washed our faces with the water the half-manager of the academy dorm brought.
"Yaaawn~! Aigoo, so sleepy!"
Lying down until after washing and before breakfast was the unwritten rule. Jeong Hyeon-beom flopped onto the floor the moment he came back from washing.
"Hey! You brat! Have you no shame in front of your little brother?!"
So Ji-hu, entering second, scolded him for sprawling out on the floor. But Jeong Hyeon-beom had no intention of getting up despite the nagging. He just used his arm as a pillow and patted the spot next to him invitingly.
"Big brother, don't be like that. Lie down here. Still nice and warm."
"You little...?"
If So Ji-hu were any less composed, he might have kicked Jeong Hyeon-beom.
"Don't fight first thing in the morning. It's morning."
As I mediated their playful bickering, I applied some makeup to my face. It was the stuff Eori had given me, telling me to wear it around Jeonju.
"Tsk tsk! You too!"
So Ji-hu frowned at both Jeong Hyeon-beom and me equally.
"How can a man do something only women should?!"
Ha! A Joseon yangban who doesn't know what grooming is. After finishing my skincare, I put on my uniform. The academy-issued uniform wasn't much different from men's everyday cheollik robes. The main distinctions were the crossed matchlock insignia on the collar and the Hanja characters marking it as first-year. Liberal arts had an open book; for practical studies, there were so many subjects I still didn't know which was which. I'd figure it out with time.
By the time So Ji-hu and I had our uniforms on, followed by Jeong Hyeon-beom, breakfast arrived. We sat in a row before the three trays the half-manager brought, only to furrow our brows.
"Heh, really! How can it be this pathetic."
"How are we supposed to study eating this?"
"......Sorry."
The way So Ji-hu spoke casually to me made it clear: I was no longer a byeoljang. There were several reasons for that. We'd recovered all the stolen matchlocks, wrapped up the investigations into Hong Gil-dong's crimes, and wiped out every last remnant of his gang without mercy. But the biggest was that the Jeonju governor was a jeong 3-pum official, forced to defer to the jeong 2-pum Minister of Justice.
Biting the minister's son couldn't be brushed off with a few apologies. Minister of Justice—the modern equivalent of the Minister of Justice. Beating the tar out of his kid meant getting booted from byeoljang duty was inevitable.
But I didn't mind much. I hadn't wanted the position anyway. The real issue was retaliation against those around me. Our breakfast said it all: the rice was barely scorched enough to call nurungji, the salted greens were scraps from leftovers, and the main fish dish was shriveled and half-dead.
"Sorry. This is because of me."
I apologized again to my roommates on either side.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault, little brother."
So Ji-hu, his face sternly furrowed, shook his head and picked up his spoon. Scooping the already-cold gruel, he growled.
"How can we call such petty schemers scholars?"
"Heh heh. Exactly."
Jeong Hyeon-beom nodded in agreement, then grabbed the fish with his bare hands. He turned it this way and that, pondering where to bite, before chomping a mouthful and chewing.
"Seniors pulling this crap. One good punch from this fist, and I'd have no regrets."
"Heh heh. You brat. You'd end up hauling corpses."
"Just clean 'em up nice. We've got a former byeoljang sir right here."
Jeong Hyeon-beom nudged me with his elbow, grinning as he echoed So Ji-hu's laugh. As if to say, speak up.
"Just this month."
I looked back and forth at my reliable big brothers on either side.
"Hold out just this month. Once it's over, the flower path awaits for sure."
Until my secret report reached Hanyang. Until Crown Prince—no, King Munjong—handled things. About a month. And only days left now.
"Heh heh heh. Why talk like it's a thorny path?"
"Si-jin, little brother. What's a 'flower path'? You're not some girl."
They chuckled as if I were bluffing, trying to soothe me. The more they did, the guiltier I felt. They could room elsewhere. No need to stick with me.
The more sorry I felt toward So Ji-hu and Jeong Hyeon-beom, the more rage boiled up toward that bastard Park Seon-ryung. Me. I'll definitely crush that fucker. Definitely.
To get revenge, I needed to eat well first. Burnt rice or whatever.
"Slurp! Salty salty! Hoo! Slurp!"
"Hey! Si-jin! Mind your dignity!"
"Brother! You might end up bitten like Seon-ryung, that punk!"
We somehow finished the meal and headed out for class. The dorm surroundings teemed with students heading to lectures. They walked in groups of twos and threes, glancing our way and keeping their distance.
Kim Si-jin, guaranteed success, and Park Seon-ryung, third son of the Minister of Justice. Drunk on my fame, I'd thought we were equals. I'd assumed seniors flinched at the sight of me. But no.
No matter my nationwide fame, the favor of the late and current kings, or my stellar record, it meant nothing against the real backing of a Minister of Justice.
Amid regrets over my arrogance and the stares, we headed to the academy building. On the way to common subjects, we saw not just military track students but liberal arts and practical studies ones too. Liberal arts studies delved into the principles of Hunminjeongeum and basic historiography. Foundational mathematics started with equations. Historiography explored ethics in records and the historian's mindset. Basic science observed natural phenomena and grasped principles. First-years mostly took common subjects; from second-year, major track classes.
The lecture hall we crowded into resembled modern ones. Dozens of desks faced a blackboard up front. We three claimed the front row, preparing for the lesson. Being morning, everyone was groggy—no one messed with us directly. But the instructor teaching wasn't so kind.
"Now! Is there a number smaller than zero in this world? There is no number smaller than zero. Yet! It clearly exists in numbers! What is it? Anyone know?!"
"Student So Ji-hu!"
"It's the negative number! That's what it's called! How do we express it? Look! Put a minus sign in front! And it becomes negative one!"
Even when So Ji-hu raised his hand with proper protocol like that, the instructor pretended not to see. It wasn't just once. Same when I or Jeong Hyeon-beom occasionally raised ours.
"Instructor!"
"Oh! Yes! I love students who participate like this!"
Obviously ignoring only us. Fuck. Asshole pricks. Even after nearly a month, the anger was unavoidable.
"Alright! Morning lecture ends here! Enjoy your meal!"
Time passed amid this crap. We headed back to the dorm for lunch.
"......"
"......"
What greeted us was our room swarmed by gawkers. Pushing through, we found chaos. Clothes, books, everything flipped and scattered. Soaked in pitch-black ink.
"Sorry."
Only my wardrobe untouched and pristine. As if deliberately framing me.
Crunch! The teeth-grinding came from Jeong Hyeon-beom. His bushy-bearded face flushed beet red at the scene through the wide-open door. He forced a smile at me and shook his head.
"Si-jin, little brother. I can't take this."
"Whoa, hey! Brother! Hold it! Just days left!"
"Let go, Si-jin little brother. I'm calmer than usual."
"That's what someone not calm says!"
I clung to Jeong Hyeon-beom, who looked ready to deck someone. Naturally, I couldn't hold him alone.
"Brother! Ji-hu brother! Help!"
"Hey, Hyeon-beom. Don't go."
"Ji-hu brother says don't too!"
"I'll handle it."
"Brother?!"
Too busy restraining Jeong Hyeon-beom, I hadn't checked So Ji-hu. His fist trembled with fury.
"Hyeon-beom. You're nothing without military track. I can do the library. Leave it to me."
"How can I! I'll farm! You become officers with Si-jin little brother and rise!"
"Together! The three of us together! We just need to become military officers! Hold on!"
They'd both get expelled at this rate. Because of me.
"Si-jin little brother. You stay put."
"Right! Staying out of it helps!"
What to do? If I say I snitched, will they hold back? But it's secret orders—wrong word, and my head rolls. Ah, fuck it!
"Brothers! Quick, back in the room! Gotta tell you something! Just a sec!"
"Student Kim Si-jin! Student Kim Si-jin! Where are you?!"
The moment I decided, a voice called me. The half-manager pushed through the crowd, panting.
"Huff! Huff! Y-you're Student Kim Si-jin?"
"Y-yes. That's me."
"Then hurry to the dean's office. A decision on you just came down. From Hanyang."
"......Really?"
I couldn't stop my lips from curling up. No, Kim Si-jin. What are you? A dog? A zombie? Why bite people? But of all people, Park Seon-ryung. The minister's third son. ......Good job. Bit him well. Perfect bite. Gave us an excuse to send Father's people. Still, it was wrong, so make Kim Si-jin write a reflection. As for Park Seon-ryung......expulsion might rile the minister's faction too much? Then maybe let him feel what it's like as a junior again?