Do-young's Favorite Random Game (2)
"That's too much, Dad! How could you push your own kid into the pit of night self-study?"
After school ended but before Do Ha-min showed up for his lesson, I yelled at Dad, who'd just gotten back from driving the dojo van.
"I never pushed you to do night study, Do-young. Even in high school, I told your teachers you'd sign up for the program if you kept your middle school grades."
"That's exactly the problem! How am I supposed to get better grades than before if I don't even study? It doesn't make sense!"
"Then does it make sense that you somehow scraped by with those middle school grades?"
"Guh."
"Ugh, you little punk."
Dad's finger flicked lightly right into the middle of my forehead, the perfect spot for smacking.
"Ow... If my forehead swells up and I can't get the pure-love ending as Ban Do-young, are you gonna take responsibility, Dad...? Even if you do, it'd be incest!"
"So just study, then. You're the type who falls apart if you lose even one round of rock-paper-scissors, but why no passion for studying? Did I ever tell you to get first in the whole school next exam? All I'm saying is show some effort. Listen to the teacher in class, learn what they teach, remember it. Is that so hard?"
"Well... it's no fun. Studying in high school... it's pointless anyway... Math? Just use a calculator. English? Papago does it all..."
"Shut it!"
"Eek—!"
I toppled backward onto my butt before Papago even finished leaving my mouth, overwhelmed by Dad's dojo-master aura.
"Yeah, that's what worried me most. You only care about what you're good at, what you like. Zero drive for anything you hate... That's the attitude that scares me!"
"M-my body won't move... I should be running away from your nagging."
My body huddled in tension, legs frozen in place. Just like when Mom scolds me, my hands clasped neatly together, knees somehow buckling beneath me.
It was the first time I'd ever felt this way. Even when Dad yelled at me while wielding his bamboo sword in practice, I'd always stood tall without flinching. But now, my body was treating him like some punishing authority figure.
"Do-young, come here and sit."
"I-I'm already sitting. My legs are numb already..."
"Rub some spit on your nose!"
"Eek...!"
"That's always been your problem, Ban Do-young. The second I try to say anything, you dodge with some other topic to avoid getting in trouble... You've been hearing 'kendo prodigy' from relatives since you were little, 'ice queen' at school with all the boys fawning over you. Made you think you could do whatever you wanted, huh?"
"I-ice queen... Haven't heard that in forever. Heh heh."
"Who's laughing? Focus."
"Hic."
"You only try at stuff you're good at, ignore the rest completely, right? Up through third grade, you worked hard at both studying and kendo. Then middle school hits, and you drop one after the other... I thought hearing you'd picked kendo back up thanks to Ha-min meant your attitude was improving a bit, but then studying..."
"Ugh... Sounds like what you said earlier... Can't tell you not to repeat yourself..."
"Ban Do-young, are you even listening? Don't try to brush this off with distractions."
And so, amid the scent of sheep spit from Ban Do-young's mouth, I endured Dad's lecture in the living room until Do Ha-min arrived.
It was saliva from the world's most beautiful girl, but it didn't smell as sweet as I'd imagined.
*Ding-dong.*
How much time had passed? The intercom at the second-floor entrance rang out.
"D-dojo master? Are you in? The dojo door's locked..."
"Ah, the model student."
"Whew, Ha-min's lesson time's already here. Gotta keep my promise to him, so that's it for today. I'll unlock the dojo—Do-young, change and come down."
"...Okay."
Dad let out a deep sigh, ran a hand over his flushed head, and went to let Do Ha-min in.
"H-hello, Dojo Master."
"Hey, Ha-min. Come on in. Time flies, huh? Must've been thrown off with the door locked."
"Do-young... N-no, I mean—"
"Hey, model student! I'll change quick and be right down! Go ahead!"
I yelled from behind the third-floor stairs, hiding my body. No way could I face him with this gloomy look after feeling like I'd just been punished by Dad.
"S-sorry. I was talking to Do-young and forgot to unlock the dojo."
"W-was it about the self-study thing?"
"Ah, word got around at school, huh. Do-young's been coasting on her looks and popularity, so I got worried and called her homeroom teacher..."
"Ahh... I see."
"Kendo uniform... Right, hung it on the drying rack yesterday!"
While pulling on my uniform from the rack, I glanced up at the clock on the wall.
It was 6 p.m., the hour and minute hands in direct opposition, like they were quarreling and heading opposite ways.
Time had flown toward 6 before I knew it.
"Whoa, already 6... Wait, that clock's 20 minutes fast. So 5:40."
Dad's lecture had felt like an eternity, but it was really under 20 minutes. Though while I was listening, it definitely felt over an hour.
I'm not denying Dad's lecture outright. Everyone has talents and weaknesses—that's natural. But you can't spend your whole life only investing in what you're good at, ignoring everything else forever.
If you could just do what you want and skip the rest, why would I have gone to the army back in my guy days, or jumped straight into some dead-end job after college instead of slacking off?
Fine, maybe no talent for studying. But don't turn your back on it completely—don't give up the attitude of trying to learn.
If something sparks your interest despite no talent, you need to know how to challenge it.
Forget math formulas or element symbols you'll never use. But do build up the habit of planting your butt at the desk, the experience of studying to learn what you don't know.
That's probably the one thing Teacher Mi-so and Dad both want to drill into Ban Do-young.
"I get it, I know!"
Bam! I slammed both palms down hard on the training dummy's head.
"See that, model student? That's a proper head strike! Imagine the face of someone you wanna crack open and swing with everything you've got!"
"Y-yeah."
"I'll show you once more—watch close and copy!"
"O-okay!"
"Die, you bastard! Francis Bacon!"
"Huh?"
Knowledge is power. Feels true right now. Just hearing those familiar truths as a lecture has power surging through my hands.
....
"Ah... So that's why the dojo master's face was so red when I got here."
"Tch... You think I don't know how to blush?"
Do Ha-min and I took a break midway through kendo practice.
Seeing Dad in the office, sighing deeply to cool his flushed face, Do Ha-min pieced it together and nodded quietly, glancing between us.
"Guh...! It's so unfair! My mock exam scores didn't even drop that much! Some even went up!"
"B-but Sa-hyung and Hye-rang said your math tanked hard..."
"That's 'cause math needs a calculator... Ugh, forget it. Model student, you got 96 on mock math, right? A STEM guy like you wouldn't get how a liberal arts type like me feels."
"I-I just got lucky this time."
"Gah, you should've used that luck to be born hot...!"
"..."
Glug! I chugged the Zero Lime Cola he'd brought as lesson payment, soothing the mess Teacher Mi-so and Dad had stirred up inside me.
Getting chewed out for nothing you didn't do is unfair enough. But framed for crimes you didn't commit? No idea how that feels. Not with my petty guts.
"Ugh... Past Ban Do-young messed up, so why am I the one getting punished?"
"Past you is still you..."
"...Guh. True, but... Sigh."
Couldn't deny it. Every meaningless retort just made my chest ache more.
I'm hurting like this—what's the real Ban Do-young up to right now?
"D-don't overthink it. Hye-rang and Sa-hyung said the same. Put some effort into math and science, and you'll blow past midterm averages easy. I'll help."
"For real...? Then help me right now?"
"H-how...?"
"Lemme have yours."
"H-huh...?"
Do Ha-min flushed red and backed away from me. Looked just like when I'd toppled from Dad's aura earlier.
"W-what are you saying all of a sudden...?"
"Your Zero Lime. Can I have it?"
One can wasn't enough to wash away this injustice. I needed the extra one from his 2-for-1 bag.
"A-ah..."
"What? What'd you think I meant? I was starting to feel a bit better, too."
"J-just startled! Anyway, the cola shuts me up, right?"
He yelled in a panic, shoving the already-opened can from beside him my way.
Accidentally hit today's Do Ha-min teasing quota in one go.
"B-but... I got thirsty and took a sip earlier. You okay with that?"
"Don't care. No—spit marks are fine. Gimme."
I snatched his can without hesitation. After Dad's lecture, I could barely even smell spit anymore anyway.