Chapter 12
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Weekend (1)
Lunchtime arrived without me managing to focus much on studying.
Today, too, I didn't shove away Cha Ji-hyuk—who was clinging to me, insisting we eat lunch together—like I usually would. Instead, I sat down with him.
"You were lonely too, right?"
"No, I'm not?"
He might suddenly suggest grabbing dinner together like yesterday, so this was me eating ahead of time.
He could try to guilt-trip me, saying something like how I'd taught him so diligently only to leave him all alone.
I already didn't have enough time to study as it was. Losing more to dinner with him was absolutely out of the question.
"You could just be honest."
"Shut up and eat."
I silenced his nonstop nonsense and quietly worked my chopsticks.
Even so, my mind kept replaying what had happened with Cha Ji-hyuk that morning.
Taking advantage of my daze, he'd lightly placed his hand on the top of my head.
I should've shaken him off right away, but I couldn't for the life of me understand why I hadn't.
"Perverted bastard."
"...Why all of a sudden?"
"If I say so, then just accept it."
Cha Ji-hyuk looked wronged for a moment at my words. Once he'd swallowed his food, he spoke up.
"Hey, Kang Seo-ah. How are you planning to study this weekend?"
An out-of-nowhere question.
"What do you mean? Same as always. If I get stuck, now I can just text you."
I answered, wondering why he was asking something so obvious.
At my response, Cha Ji-hyuk's lips curved into a smirk.
"Then, wanna hit the library together tomorrow and study?"
There it was—his real goal.
"What? No way."
"Won't you have questions for me?"
"That's why I'll text."
"Wouldn't it be better if I taught you directly from right beside you, instead of telling you to do this or that over a screen?"
Here we go again.
My face soured on its own at his ploy to lure me out with such plausible excuses.
"Give it up, you sleazy jerk."
"What's sleazy about it? I just wanna meet up and study."
"Not sleazy? You, who made yourself my mentor just to aim for stuff like this?"
"Stuff like this? Helping a friend who's struggling with studying—how is that sleazy?"
"You... you...!!"
Spouting bald-faced lies like that without even batting an eye. He'd even confessed to having ulterior motives last time.
What made me even madder was that I had no comeback for his blatant lie.
Because he really was helping me with my studies, diligently and without any funny business—true to his word.
Seeing I couldn't come up with a proper retort, Cha Ji-hyuk wrapped his arms around himself.
"I don't know what you're imagining, but the sleazy one here is actually you, isn't it?"
"Wh-what are you talking about...?!"
Sleazy? Me? Coming from you, the notorious playboy trash?
He even put on this slightly guarded expression, pretending to shield his own body.
Knowing all the things he'd done in the original story, that just made me boil even more.
I wanted to yell and call him out right then, but doing it here would draw stares from everyone around.
I barely swallowed my anger.
"Anyway, no. So just deal with it."
"Why?"
Ah... seriously!
"Your face pisses me off just looking at it! You think I wanna see you on the weekend too?"
Why did he keep pushing me to say crap like that?
But Cha Ji-hyuk just grinned like he was enjoying it, completely unfazed by my venom.
"Think it over. If you bomb the finals, you'll be seeing my face all break long."
Knew he'd pull that one.
How his playbook was always the exact same.
"Threats like that don't work on me."
I scoffed and shot him a glare.
Did he really think I'd get all anxious and whine something like, 'I have no choice but to meet for the exam'?
As if.
If this tactic flopped, he'd probably hit me next with, 'Deep down, you actually wanna see me too, right?'
He always had.
But against my expectations, Cha Ji-hyuk just nodded agreeably.
"Yeah? If you say you can handle it solo, that's great."
After all his scheming, now he was acting like my choice didn't matter either way.
"Yep. Texts are plenty, so don't worry about it, Mentor."
Not liking that attitude one bit, I stuck my tongue out at him quick and stood from my seat before the conversation dragged on.
Pretending to be all chill.
Absolutely,
I wasn't going to dance to his tune.
The next day.
It was weekend morning—refreshing might've been a stretch.
My eyes were open, but my brain was still half-asleep.
Still, picturing Cha Ji-hyuk's annoying face forced me to snap to and plop down at my desk.
"Unit 3 wrapped up yesterday... so Unit 4 today."
Unit 3, which we'd even gone over in depth with him yesterday.
Now it was time to tackle a brand-new unit.
Excitement and anxiety over learning something fresh mingled as I turned the page.
And just a few minutes later.
"...What the hell is this?"
I could only frown and clutch my head.
The new concepts weren't clicking smoothly at all.
It was a type that didn't build on anything from the previous units.
I reread the explanations over and over, but the words just bounced off my eyes. No mental image formed in my head.
"This level already...?"
Throat-choking difficulty right out of the gate.
I tried grasping the concepts through the examples, but I couldn't even intuit how the equations were set up.
"Ha..."
In the end, I grabbed my phone and texted Cha Ji-hyuk.
-This part's tough to get. Can you explain it in detail?
I'd snapped a pic of the page with the concept I didn't understand and sent it. Stuck from the jump, all I could do was wait for his reply.
Like that,
1 minute,
5 minutes,
10 minutes.
"Why isn't he reading...?"
With no word from him, I couldn't help stamping my feet.
While waiting impatiently, I kept staring at the workbook, but that didn't magically make the concept sink in.
"Ah, seriously..."
The frustration was slowly morphing into annoyance.
Was he ignoring me on purpose since I said no to meeting on the weekend?
No way—he'd never done that before. Why now?
...Maybe he was still asleep?
All sorts of thoughts crowded in.
Resentment toward him bubbled up, along with irritation at myself for floundering so hard over basic academics everyone else handled.
A little more time passed like that.
Ding!
The second the notification chimed, I reflexively checked my phone.
It was from Cha Ji-hyuk.
A simple breakdown of the concept I'd struggled with, using easy examples.
Short, but nailing the key points spot-on.
"Ah, so that's how..."
Finally, the pieces started falling into place. I reread his text alongside the workbook a dozen times, then revisited the examples I hadn't been able to solve earlier.
The path forward was clear now. It didn't take long before I worked out the answer.
A deep swell of accomplishment rose in my chest.
I dove back into studying with renewed confidence.
But that didn't last.
Before long, another roadblock.
I texted Cha Ji-hyuk again, but once more... no immediate reply.
Twenty minutes ticked by before I knew it.
"Wouldn't it be better if I taught you directly from right beside you, instead of telling you to do this or that over a screen?"
As I sat waiting solely for his message, his words from yesterday flashed through my mind.
"No way..."
I said it out loud, but I couldn't fool myself.
If Cha Ji-hyuk had been right there beside me, it wouldn't have taken this long to get even this one thing.
I wanted help in person, not via text.
"I'm losing it..."
I pressed my forehead.
Me, who'd snarked at him that texts were enough and to quit his tricks—how would he see me if I called him up now?
But my thoughts turned selfish fast.
Why should I worry about his judgment?
He was the one who'd stepped up first, offering to teach me diligently.
What if he was delaying on purpose?
To frustrate me into coming around like this...?
The thought trailed off there, and I let out a wry chuckle, shaking my head.
"Ha... I'm the absolute worst."
To sink this low—I pitied myself.
Ding!
That instant, another chime snapped me out of it.
Cha Ji-hyuk's text.
Explaining the new snag with examples, just like before.
But I didn't even look. Instead, I fired off a message right away.
-Can we meet up now?
"Ah..."
A twinge of regret hit after hitting send.
I'd sent it in a panic, scared he'd ghost me again.
Now I agonized over whether to delete it before he saw.
But.
Ding!
Whether fortune or curse,
His reply came almost instantly.
-Sounds good to me. Sending my address—come over.
No hint of awkwardness over what I'd pulled, like it was water under the bridge.
If that was just him being him, then yeah, it tracked.
I checked the address he'd sent and started getting ready to head out.
Yeah.
Even if he'd orchestrated this whole situation, so what?
Me shamelessly using Cha Ji-hyuk was no different.
"Just think about the exam. Only the exam..."
Once finals were done, I'd cut ties cleanly.
With that self-pep-talk, I stepped out the front door.