We'll Get You In! Probably

They say that when a man has no skill, he blames his equipment. I had my reasons for being this ruthless about picking a retake academy.

"The instructors here don't look like much."

I'd been wandering the academy streets of Daechi-dong since lunch — three hours now — and I still couldn't settle on a place. They all looked the same. Every last pitch sounded like every last one of the others.

"Seongwoon University? It'll be a little tough, but there's potential."

"Your grades were fine through the summer. If you work hard, you should be alright. But have you considered Munseong University?"

Most academies offered nothing but limp talk about potential and hard work. A few even had the nerve to push some completely different school on me. That wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want conditions. I didn't want maybes.

Isn't there anywhere that can actually put some conviction in me?

That was when a banner caught my eye, as I drifted through the academy district in search of a soulmate for my second shot at the exam.

It was a claim without a shred of backing, but the confidence alone was enough to win me over. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I walked inside. The building was bigger than I'd expected.

After booking a consultation and waiting a short while, a fairly young-looking woman — the academy director — came in.

"Oh my, welcome."

"Hello."

I offered a perfunctory greeting and mechanically recited my scores and target university, the same spiel I'd already delivered a dozen times that day.

"I have to get into Seongwoon University. No matter what."

"Seongwoon University? Wonderful. Then that's where you'll go."

"Excuse me?"

Unlike every other consultation I'd sat through, the director said it like it was the easiest thing in the world. Put generously, she was overflowing with confidence. Put less generously, she sounded like she wasn't taking any of this seriously.

I'd wanted this kind of confidence, sure — but now that it was sitting right in front of me, I couldn't help but be suspicious.

Who does she think she is, the president of Seongwoon University?

My first impression was closer to con artist than educator.

"Is that actually possible?"

"You saw the banner on your way in, didn't you? We'll guarantee your admission. Unconditionally."

"Really? How?"

"No point talking about it in here. Come see for yourself. We have a system that's unique to this academy."

I followed the supremely self-assured director on a tour of the place. They'd clearly spent some money — the lecture halls, the study rooms, the facilities in general all looked excellent.

Once she'd brought me back to the consultation room, the director launched into an enthusiastic rundown of everything that set her academy apart.

"We run classes in groups of five. Five competitors with similar goals and similar ability, pushing each other the entire exam period. It's far more efficient than studying alone."

"Ah. Right."

"And the communication between instructors and students is outstanding. You won't find anyone here who just clocks in, lectures, and leaves. Accountability. That's it — our sense of responsibility is on another level!"

It sounded, at a glance, like she was making it up on the spot. And yet the longer I listened, the more strangely compelling it became. She was a teacher, after all — she had a real gift for holding someone's attention.

"There is one thing you should know, though."

At the very end, the director who'd been so full of swagger suddenly hesitated. She even avoided my eyes. It was the first time she'd looked this cautious.

I was curious.

"What is it?"

"We're quite expensive. And because we operate in teams of five, you have to enroll for a minimum of six months at a time. Ah, of course, we do have discount—"

"Hahaha. Is that all?"

Maybe the buildup had been too much. I burst out laughing before she could even finish. I had no idea what the tuition actually was, but money wasn't a problem for me. If anything, the more expensive, the better. Money, more often than not, was worth exactly as much as you spent.

"Doesn't matter. I like it. I'll enroll right now."

The steep price actually made me trust the place. Without a second thought, I swiped my card for six months — paid in full — right then and there. The director was delighted.

She even bowed to me at a full ninety degrees. To a student.

"Thank you! I'll give it everything I've got!"

"Come on. We're going to be in class together. Just talk normally."

"Oh my. Should I?"

And so I registered at a slightly suspicious retake academy and headed out. That was when an unexpected voice called from somewhere nearby.

"Huh? Hey, Dojun!"

I turned toward the familiar sound and found a girl I knew. Lee Heekyung — one of Jieun's friends.

"What, you're retaking too?"

Even among Jieun's friends, she was one of the ones who really got around.

Spent all of high school chasing guys. Figures.

Every time I saw her, she was wearing a skirt hiked up short and taking pictures of herself in front of a mirror. And the guys, of course, were more than happy to watch.

Anyway, her ending up as a retaker ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was predictable enough that it didn't surprise me. The coincidence was just the location.

Heekyung looked from the academy to me and back.

"Don't tell me you go here?"

"Yeah. I just registered. I was on my way out."

"Is that so?"

She swept her eyes over me with a peculiar little smile.

It put me in a foul mood, for some reason.

"If you've got nothing to say, I'm leaving."

"Hey, wait."

"What?"

Strictly speaking, Heekyung was Jieun's friend, not mine. The two of us had almost never stood face-to-face and held an actual conversation.

Today was a first.

"Want to grab a drink tonight?"

"Why would I drink with you?"

"I just figured we should get to know each other a little? We might be seeing a lot of each other."

"I'm good. I need to go home and study."

I silently unloaded a torrent of curses on the devil trying to drag me into her antlion pit, and started to turn toward home. I would have kept walking, if I hadn't heard what she said next.

"Too bad. I was going to drink with Jieun."

"What?"

An unexpected name stopped me dead. I tried not to let the panic show.

"You were meeting Jieun?"

"Yeah. Why? You wanna come? A second ago you said you were going to study."

"Well. Thinking about it, maybe going full throttle this early isn't the best idea. It's still January. Gotta save my stamina."

Fortunately, Heekyung let my complete one-eighty slide without comment. She was a better person than I'd given her credit for.

"Heh. That so? I'll text you, then."

"Yeah. Thanks, Heekyung. Get home safe."

After seeing her off, I called Jieun on the spot. She picked up.

"Yeah, I did. More importantly — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were you planning to drink with Heekyung tonight?"

She answered my abrupt interrogation with the most innocent, matter-of-fact tone, as if it were nothing at all. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠An unnameable sting of disappointment sent my thoughts spinning.

Well. It's not like we're actually dating.

We'd exchanged money, yes — but only a few days ago we'd shared a bed and each other's body heat. Without quite realizing it, I'd started to feel possessive of Jieun. I hadn't expected something like this to actually hurt.

I hurried to straighten out a mind that was threatening to tangle itself into knots. Instead, I did what needed doing.

"Hey. You should've told me that kind of thing ahead of time."

"I wanted to see you tonight too, you know."

The moment she understood what I meant, Jieun went quiet. Then, a beat later, she spoke in a thoroughly flustered rush.

"Ahem. It's not like I was saying we have to do anything. The point is we need to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠start sharing our schedules. Especially plans after evening."

Fortunately, Jieun folded easily this time too.

"Yeah. Thanks."

I let out a quiet breath of relief. The thought that I'd made it over one hurdle, at least, settled something in my chest.

"And I ran into Heekyung in front of the academy. She asked me to come drinking, so I said I would."

"...Near my place."

"Yeah. Let's do that."

Given the distance and the time, the smart move would've been to kill an hour at a nearby cafe and go from there — but the thought of going with Jieun had me in a taxi that instant.

Heekyung's message came in around six.

I'd been home for all of an hour before I was heading back out the door.

"Do you drink with your friends a lot?"

"No. This is my first time. I'm so excited. You brought your ID, right?"

Jieun, for her part, was as wound up as a kid on a field trip. Fair enough. We'd been legal adults for less than a month. Walking into a bar like we owned the place and ordering drinks was still the height of our romantic fantasies.

Even I, who didn't particularly like drinking, felt a little lift at the novelty of it.

Maybe I should figure out Jieun's tolerance while we're at it.

The image of her drinking beer at the hotel the other night drifted back. Come to think of it, Jieun actually liked to drink. She and her mom would regularly share a beer or two at home.

"Got it. So what's your tolerance like? Have you ever gotten wasted?"

"I don't really drink that much beer, so I'm not sure. And I've never had soju, so I don't know."

About what I'd expected. Her mom wasn't about to let her daughter drink until she was flat on the floor. I sorted that out in my head and decided I'd be Jieun's designated driver for the night.

"Okay. Drink as much as you want tonight. I'll get you home — that's on me."

"Really? Nice!"

She clenched both fists like I'd just handed her a trophy. Sometimes I looked at her and thought her body had filled out in all the most appetizing ways — and then she went and did something like that, and she was still just a kid.

We talked about our drinking limits the rest of the way, and before I knew it we'd arrived at the meeting spot. Heekyung was already there, waiting.