Preparing to Twist My Fate, Ranked 160th
I let out a deep sigh as I stared at my report card. One hundred and sixtieth place in the whole school.
“Ijin, congratulations! Your grades have improved so much!”
What the hell is this cram-school teacher even saying?
“Out of one hundred and eighty students, one hundred and sixtieth is something to celebrate?”
“You jumped twenty places. That’s a huge improvement. Your parents will be thrilled.”
Not even slightly. I’d actually believed that the moment I started studying I’d shoot straight to first place. I reflect on my former arrogance. Still, I had learned one thing: in this world, someone like me was not special in the slightest.
“My parents don’t get happy over ranks like this. They’ve got a younger son who always plays in the top tier, so something this pathetic won’t even register.”
The teacher’s eyes softened. She looked at me with pity. She probably saw me as the tragic older brother forever eclipsed by his perfect little sibling.
That kind of gaze doesn’t suit me. After all, I had sworn to steal every last thing my brother possessed and become the protagonist myself.
“Teacher, I’m really fine, so please stop looking at me like that. It’s honestly rude.”
“Ah… I’m sorry… But I’m sure your parents will recognize how hard you’ve worked.”
“Sure, sure, let’s go with that. I’m leaving now. We agreed you’d let me skip class if my rank improved, right?”
“Yes. I’ll mark you present for your parents’ sake.”
“Thanks.”
The result of the first exam since I started cram school was 160th place. The road to seizing the protagonist role was still long, but I had definitely taken one solid step forward.
I headed to the next destination.
“Member, just one more set. You can definitely handle it.” That was already the fourth time he’d said it. This muscle-fat scamming fitness trainer bastard.
“I’m seriously going to die!”
“People don’t die that easily. You need to finish this last set to sculpt a truly impressive body. So let’s do one more.”
“Fuck… Fuuuuck! Hey, you con artist, take this damn weight off! I can’t hold it anymore!”
“Good. Curse at me all you want. For the sake of our member, this trainer will gladly take any abuse. Now, channel that anger and give me one more rep.”
“Uwoooook!”
Study. Study. And more studying. Exercise. Exercise. And more exercising.
I refused to stop putting in effort to defy fate. Because I believed it could change me. If I didn’t push this hard from the start, I’d end up in prison anyway.
Time flowed on like that.
I had become a first-year middle-school student. Kang Suho was now in sixth grade at the elementary school across the street.
The day was approaching. The moment when Kang Suho would transform into a timid, introverted kid.
According to the original setting, it seemed I was supposed to cause some incident that made him that way. But this time, I wasn’t going to do anything to him.
If he doesn’t become introverted because of that, it’s my victory. If he becomes introverted even though I did nothing, it’s my defeat.
Why? Because if Suho turns timid without any interference from me, it proves the events written in the novel cannot be changed. And that would mean my prison ending is also unavoidable.
I absolutely will not let him become timid.
With that resolve, I decided to devote this entire year solely to Kang Suho. Today was no different. The moment school ended, I would head straight to the elementary school to pick him up. Keeping him right next to me for constant observation was the only way I could relax.
“Everyone, be careful heading home. Class president, lead the farewell.”
—Attention!
—Bow!
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Good work.”
The instant class ended, I called Kang Suho.
“Hyung! Class is over?”
Kang Suho’s voice was bright and energetic. Phew. No problems today either. Please, just for this year, stay this cheerful. I’m begging you. From next year onward… honestly, whether he becomes a timid wreck or drops dead, I won’t lose a single night of sleep over it.
“Yeah, I’m waiting at school. I’ll come get you.”
“Hyung, there’s a small problem though…”
He dragged out the end of his sentence. What? Had some unavoidable event occurred after all? My heart pounded violently and cold sweat broke out across my back.
“…What is it?”
“Can Sua come with us? When I told her you were coming to pick me up, she said she’d wait and go together…”
Oh. That was it. What a relief. Kang Suho had only been worried I might say no.
“Do whatever you want. But is that little brat really okay with me being there?”
“She’s right next to me, hold on…”
Kang Suho’s voice disappeared for a moment. He must have been asking her directly.
“She says it’s fine. She says we probably won’t even talk to each other anyway?”
“But why does that rude little brat hate me so much?”
Jeong Sua lived nearby and would come over to our house whenever she had free time to play with Kang Suho. Before we knew it she was already in sixth grade. As her second sexual characteristics began to emerge, her beauty bloomed more with each passing day. Yet for some reason she frequently got angry at me and treated me coldly.
I really hadn’t done anything. I had never touched her or pestered her. On the contrary, whenever she visited I made sure to be extra nice to Kang Suho—the boy she liked. I simply acted as my friend’s older brother, occasionally greeting her when our eyes met. That was all.
Yet Jeong Sua’s favorability toward me wasn’t zero. It was solidly in the negatives.
“Sua likes polite people, so she doesn’t really like guys who swear a lot or seem like they’d do bad stuff.”
Aha. So that was the reason. Well, my personality isn’t exactly charming, so I suppose that tracks.
“Are you saying I look like a thug? Huh?”
“It’s true though. Hehe.”
But this little shit Kang Suho? So that’s how he saw me?
Lately I’d been thinking I was becoming a much nicer person. I made a mental note to smack the back of his head once when our parents weren’t looking.
Huh? That’s strange.
A question suddenly occurred to me.
“I definitely don’t swear in front of that little brat and I stay in my room the whole time she’s over. So how does she know I swear a lot…? It’s almost like someone’s been spreading rumors about me…”
“H-hyung, I’ll hang up now. Come quick, we’re waiting.”
So you were the culprit. The main offender who had driven my reputation with Jeong Sua straight into the ground was right here. Of course. Since those two were always glued together, he had probably told her every single thing about me.
Thanks to him, Jeong Sua had already hit negative favorability long before I could even make a move.
Just wait. Every last woman you were supposed to have, I’ll steal them all and fuck them right in front of your eyes.
I hung up and was about to head out to pick up Kang Suho when—
Slam!
“Jin! Jin!”
Someone threw open the classroom door and called my name in a friendly voice. I frowned. It was just my friends. The reason I frowned was simple: they always clung to me when I was trying to leave, and it was annoying as hell.
These guys acted like delinquents inside school, smoked without shame, and didn’t hesitate to extort money from other students. At first I had planned to keep my distance. But then I realized I’d have zero friends. Besides, no matter how hard I tried to change, my wild nature refused to disappear. There were no easier or more comfortable friends than these delinquent kids, so I decided to keep the connection.
Instead, whenever they picked fights with other schools or bullied the weak, I simply left the scene. Is standing by and watching also violence? Tough shit. Be grateful I’m not the one doing the bullying.
“Why are you running over like a caveman who just discovered fire?”
“Caveman?! Ahem. More importantly, Kang Ijin! Let’s ditch school today, grab some girls, and drink at a motel. Seongjin found a place that’ll let us get both booze and a room. Isn’t that insane?”
Ha Seongjin. He currently held the top delinquent spot in our grade. I wasn’t his underling—I was just his friend. Thanks to my once-terrible personality, we had beaten the crap out of each other the moment we entered middle school.
How did we become friends? After I won that fight, he came looking for me the next day and asked if we should start a crew together. My answer was simple.
I’m not interested. Do it yourself.
For some reason he took that as a compliment and decided we were friends. I don’t remember saying anything particularly nice, but apparently his brain worked on a different level.
“You’re coming, right?”
At my friend’s repeated question I sighed, grabbed my bag, and answered.
“I’m not going.”
“Why do you always bail? We only called the girls because you said you’d come.”
What did my presence have to do with the girls? And he was using my name without permission?
I smacked the back of his head hard.
“Ow! That hurts… You bastard. Your hand is seriously spicy.”
Since this guy had been hit by me more than once or twice, the delinquent standing in front of me didn’t dare make a sound even after taking the blow.
“Don’t use my name unless you want to die.”
“But it works so well, kekeke.”
“Isn’t my reputation getting completely trashed because of you?”
To seduce every heroine, I couldn’t afford to let my reputation sink any lower.
“What are you talking about? You’re already a piece of garbage whose reputation is as bad as it can get.”
“Want another hit?”
Crack. I popped my knuckles loudly and stepped forward with clear intimidation. The friend who didn’t want to get hit laughed awkwardly, waved his hands, and quickly dragged the rest of the group away.
Finally gone. As expected, they only listen when you use force.
…It is a little tempting, though.
Alcohol, a motel, girls. Every single one of them was a stimulating temptation that tugged at my heart.
Sigh… I have to hold back at least until I confirm I can twist the story.
Swallowing my regret, I headed straight for the elementary school where Kang Suho was waiting.
Kang Suho spotted me at the gate and waved with the refreshing smile of a handsome male lead. Beside him stood Jeong Sua, her face openly displeased at the sight of me.
What the hell did this bastard tell her to make her look like that?
“Hyung! You’re here!”
“Did you wait long?”
“Nope. I was playing with Sua in the classroom until just now.”
“I see.”
But why was this kid pouting like a duck? The way she looked at me with clear distaste was definitely because of me. Kang Suho must have said something bad about me again.
“Hey, brat. You planning to play at my house again today?”
“It’s not oppa’s house, it’s Suho’s parents’ house! And stop calling me brat. The age gap is only one year!”
“If you’re that upset, you should’ve asked your parents to give birth to you a year earlier, brat.”
If she had, she could have been childhood friends with the much cooler me instead. What a shame. I was confident I could make her life far more interesting than this.
I waved my hand roughly and started walking home. Kang Suho immediately stuck to my side. Naturally, Jeong Sua claimed the spot right next to him.
The two brats walked along chattering noisily. Of course, it was mostly Kang Suho talking while Jeong Sua gave appropriate reactions or added to the topic.
The atmosphere between them was genuinely warm. It made me want to destroy it.
I suppressed that urge and continued walking in silence when I noticed Jeong Sua’s expression suddenly stiffen.
“So today Cheolsu confessed to Younghee and got rejected. But I kinda knew it would happen. Cheolsu always teases her so much. From Younghee’s perspective, there’s no way she’d see him in a good light.”
“Ah… yeah, I guess…”
This bastard was casually badmouthing someone behind their back. Since he had no real malice, the words had probably just slipped out while he was talking.
Jeong Sua seemed to realize it too. She looked like she was debating whether she should correct him. The moment I saw her decide to speak up and open her mouth, I acted.
“Hey, you bastard.”
Thwack.
I drove my fist squarely into the crown of Kang Suho’s head.
Ah, this feeling. As expected, nothing beats the thrill of hitting my little brother.