Do-young's Favorite Random Game (7)
"Ah.... Ugh... My back."
"Oh, looks like he's waking up."
The blanket I'd draped over Do Ha-min rustled, sending a signal. His curled-up back straightened, a sure sign he was about to wake. I quickly pulled the blanket off his shoulders and tossed it back onto the bed.
"Yawn...."
A soft, dainty yawn escaped from Do Ha-min, his body going a bit limp. His small frame meant even his sounds and movements were all so understated.
"Ah... Sorry. I must've dozed off without realizing."
"It's fine. You were up all night making problems—bound to be tired. Makes sense. Honestly, I'm more curious how you never nodded off during class."
"Guess waking up early in the morning's just a habit now. Lucky me... hehe."
Do Ha-min cracked open his half-closed eyes and flashed a sleepy grin. Without that anxious, meerkat-like wariness he always had at school, his face looked a little different—kinder, maybe.
Most people look their worst right after waking up, though....
Maybe because his base face wasn't much to look at, but Do Ha-min actually seemed better like this—relaxed, tension gone. Or maybe it was because I knew the fatigue and drowsiness weighing on his shoulders were all thanks to none other than Ban Do-young.
"Oh, right. Do Ha-min, check this out—I solved all the problems you made."
"R-really...? Can I take a look?"
"Of course. Take good care of my babies, Sensei."
The problems, born from Do Ha-min's hard work, returned to him now infused with Ban Do-young's knowledge, handwriting, and a dash of eraser shavings.
"Let's see... Wow, you really did. Doesn't matter if they're right or wrong—you clearly thought through every single one from start to finish."
"Heh, even while you were sleeping, I didn't peek at any answers. Worked my butt off."
"Th-then I'll grade them."
Do Ha-min clicked the red ink on his three-color ballpoint and checked the answer sheet he'd just been using as a pillow.
A satisfying swish as he drew a circle, standing on tiptoe a bit. The first problem was a light, correct hit to start things off.
"So, feel how hard I worked?"
"Yeah... The solutions are right, but a few calculation slips docked some points... You definitely solved them yourself, though. Impressive."
"Eh? Number 19's wrong? I thought I nailed it... Damn! Math, I hate you!"
Of course, the voyage wasn't smooth sailing all the way. But compared to the slashes starting from problem one, this was a stable launch.
"St-still, the intermediate steps are nearly perfect. You'd get half points on subjective ones."
When the solution was right but the final answer wrong, Do Ha-min marked a star instead of a circle or slash. Not the sun-like glow of a full correct, but a sign the path to the star wasn't off-track.
The back half of the problem set filled naturally with those stars.
"Factoring in partial credit, about 55 points. Barely scraping average."
"Ooh, your problems pack a punch, Do Ha-min."
"Y-you think...?"
The math score peeked just over the average line. He'd helped with the early ones, sure, but considering his mock exam math was single digits not long ago, this was shocking.
"You're picking it up way faster than I thought. At this rate, we'll hit the target score no problem before the deadline."
"Heh, see that? Ban Do-young's sincerity on full display."
"B-but don't get cocky just 'cause today's score's passing. I helped with the front half, so it's kinda cheating..."
"I know. Real exams twist things up to trip you. This score's all thanks to you making them straightforward. Got it."
Do Ha-min had hand-picked and tuned these to my current level all night. No wonder they clicked so easily—no friction at all.
"I-I didn't make many from scratch. Mostly adapted from other sources."
"Other books wouldn't be any different. They're all similar. Yours felt better, honestly."
"R-really...?"
"Just reading them made the approach clear. Tough if you don't know it, but says 'you can solve this if you've studied.' Makes facing problems way easier."
Clear, familiar past questions like these are gold. Even if they don't boost learning much, they train you not to fear the page. Like a vaccine for studying.
"Haha... Kinda embarrassing. Real exams like this would get called a water test."
Do Ha-min flipped the graded test back to the first page, gazing at my solution traces with a satisfied smile.
"...Thought you'd slack off or goof around while I was out. But you grinded this hard."
He pushed up from where he'd face-planted on the table and slipped my test into his bag.
"Hey, Do Ha-min, what're you doing?"
"Time to get up. Gotta make more problems for next time."
"Already? It's Friday. Weekend tomorrow."
"Seeing you solve these fired me up. Now I gauge your level better. Next batch'll be tougher—midterm-style stuff."
The guy who'd just been exhaustion-zonked on the table, problem print still imprinted on his face, was already plotting next session's problems. He handled his own studies solo, but prepping mine wore him out enough to crash.
"Hey, don't wreck yourself. Sleep enough first. Up at dawn for school, classes, kendo, tutoring, and capping the night with a wank."
"Th-the last one's not relevant!"
"Kek. Too bad. All those side dishes I gave you went to waste."
Too fresh for his taste? If he had an age pref, he could've picked one from the photos in this room. Ban Do-young's walls had plenty from various eras.
"A-anyway... What time is it? Trying to catch the train."
"Uh... 11:20."
"What? Wh-what time...?"
I turned on my phone to confirm, and the screen ticked from 20 to 21 minutes.
"Whoops, last train home just left."
Only then did Do Ha-min realize he'd been out for nearly four hours at the table.
⋯
"Wh-why didn't you wake me sooner?!"
"You were out cold."
"N-no...! You usually wake me at home time! I didn't sleep just one or two hours—I took your whole evening...! You knew that was the last train!"
"You were that beat... Sleeping soundly in such an awkward spot."
"A-ah... What now. T-taxi? But it's month-end—no cash... Walk? Don't even know the way... Mom doesn't know, if I'm not home by now..."
"Relax. I texted your mom. Said you're crashing at a friend's for exam prep."
"...Huh?"
Tok. Plop.
Do Ha-min frantically opened his phone and checked messages. The chat history reflected in his glasses—me playing son, sweetly chatting with his mom hours ago.
"Your mom's so nice. Wanna meet her someday."
"Th-that's true, but... How'd you even unlock this? I set a password!"
"Change it already. Birthday? January 1st, no less."
"Haa... Never thought I'd get schooled on numbers by you..."
"What? Math whiz getting cocky?"
Do Ha-min clutched his nonexistent chest and sighed deeply. Why so prim? Even Ban Do-young wasn't that proper.
"Anyway, sleeping over? No way. W-we're guy and girl. Plus, your dad's dojo master on the second floor."
"What're you on? Who said same room? Gonna get that all-ages block?"
"...Huh?"
I knocked the wall connecting to the next room.
"Next door's empty. Bro's in the army. Crash there."
"...Ah."
"Dude, were you picturing same room, same bed? With my dad's right downstairs?"
"N-no... I didn't think... If you'd woken me on time, I wouldn't even ask!"
"Can't do that. See, I really wanted to do something with you tonight."
"...D-do what?"
"Ehehe...."
Tok.
"Just hit midnight."
"Already...?"
Do Ha-min glanced at the closet clock. The hands overlapped right at 12:00, like announcing it.
Even when they pointed opposite, we were in the same room. Now, as they met at one spot, we shared this overlapping time.
"Happy April Fool's, Do Ha-min."
"A-April Fool's...."
March ended, April arrived. Today was the 1st—a day made for light pranks. Ban Do-young's day.
"Play a game with me."
Thud.
I plunked a chilled Zero Lime PET bottle from the fridge onto our table.
"C-Cola...?"
"Heard of the Zero Lime game?"