Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Principal's Fight
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Okcheon County Office, second floor, Education and Culture Division.
"Huh? Principal! What brings you here in person?"
Go Gil-young, the county office education clerk, greeted Principal Kim Jae-hyung with a startled look.
"Listen here, it's been ages since we submitted that budget request, and there's still no word!"
Jae-hyung slammed the desk as he stormed into the office.
"Oh, that one? It's still under review..."
"Under review? Didn't you tell me to wait just three days a week ago?"
His voice was so robust it echoed down the hallway like a train whistle. Staff from the neighboring offices poked their heads out one by one upon hearing the commotion.
"Principal, could you keep it down a bit?"
"No, does this make any sense? Treating Okcheon County's treasure like this? Take a look at this!"
Thud.
As if he'd come prepared, newspaper clippings spilled from Jae-hyung's bag. Most were local papers, with national ones circled in red marker. Even the printed internet articles, likely prepared by a subordinate, were highlighted with fluorescent pens.
[Okcheon Today]
- Dodam Elementary 5th Grader Wins Grand Prize at National Math Competition. A rural school student outshines prestigious academy seniors in a stunning achievement!
[Gojoseon Ilbo]
- Elementary Student Tops National Exams from Elementary to High School Level Without Private Tutoring. A Math Prodigy Blooms in the Countryside.
"See this! Inquiries about transfers have been pouring in since last month."
The principal's face was deadly serious.
"Pardon?"
The clerk couldn't fathom why this man had come to him instead of the education office.
"Ever since Yoo Seo-ha from our Dodam Elementary Class 5-1, our pride and joy, snagged the grand prize at the National Math Competition! Nearby schools are begging to transfer in. We've even gotten calls from Yeongdong and Geumsan!"
"Really?"
The clerk's eyes widened; this was news to him.
"We're a nation obsessed with education. Tell parents there's a good learning environment, and they'll uproot their families in a heartbeat for their kids. What's Okcheon's population now? Around 40,000? With all the talk of rural extinction, how much budget gets funneled here? And has pouring money in actually yielded results?"
Frustrated, Jae-hyung thumped his chest.
"And yet!"
"A student who brings such honor to Okcheon can't attend competitions because of a lack of funds? Does that sound right to you?"
This was, of course, an exaggeration.
After the articles hit, the principal had belatedly caught wind of Seo-ha's existence and rushed to his classroom. He'd expected the kid—whose face had made central newspapers despite his young age—to be basking in glory. But what he found was an ordinary boy wearing an utterly bored expression. In this rural backwater, where the biggest news was wild boar sightings, local reporters had already hounded the national prodigy to exhaustion.
Seo-ha blinked at the principal, who showed up demanding he attend more competitions.
"Pardon? A competition?"
"Yes! I looked into it—Chungbuk alone has contests every month. Gyeongbuk and Chungnam have plenty too. Why not enter them all and sweep the prizes? It'd shine a light on our school too."
The principal clearly had an agenda.
Seo-ha caught on and played his part: schooling his face into a sullen pout before replying politely.
"Well, I've decided not to do the provincial ones. There is a national next month, but even that's a bit..."
'Provincial contests don't even have prize money.'
As Seo-ha hesitated, the principal grew anxious.
"What's the reason? Is there a problem?"
Seo-ha recalled his recent chat with Woo-hyun.
-I'm offering a scholarship—why turn it down? It's me, Shin Woo-hyun. Sponsoring one or two kids won't even dent my account!
Woo-hyun had no ulterior motives; he just wanted to help. But this stubborn couple had rejected his offers multiple times.
"My parents won't accept it. They're grateful just for the books and papers you send."
It was both parents' firm stance.
-Studying costs money, though. Only well-off families can afford all those competition trips—bus fares, lodging... You can't ignore that. What about international ones later?
"We'll figure it out then. Mom and Dad must have their reasons."
Truth be told, Seo-ha knew.
His father had recently listed the family ancestral land with a realtor.
No matter how grateful, Woo-hyun was an outsider. Child-rearing was a parent's duty with their own money. Supporting four on a civil servant's salary was tough enough, but with his little sister showing talent too, Dad had made a big decision.
-Fine, let's look into national scholarships later. They can't object to that.
"Anything besides prize money?"
-Practically impossible right now. Corporate scholarships are for aspiring scholars only, and even those skip elementary kids. Governments don't fund individuals without proven results.
"Eh, so it's a no-go anyway."
-But next year's Olympiad gold opens doors. Hang in there till then.
Seo-ha loved his parents.
Dad worked diligently every day like an ox. Not content, the couple grew all their kids' food in a sizable vegetable garden for peace of mind. Every bite he and his sister took came from that labor.
He respected their wishes and kept quiet, but he hated burdening the family. He'd thought winning first and claiming prizes was the only way... until now.
What if there was another path?
"Why not next month's contest?"
For the first time in his career, Dodam Elementary made headlines. He didn't want it to be a one-off.
"I have a little sister. I could go alone, but my parents won't let me without the family moving the day before. Seoul's expensive, so..."
Seo-ha trailed off artfully.
"What? You should have said something sooner! Give me a few days. I'll find a way."
Back at school, the principal summoned the administrative director.
"Director Kim, how much petty cash do we have left?"
"Petty cash? One sec."
The director rummaged through files, then grimaced.
"Principal, we had extra heating/cooling costs this month, plus toilet repairs. Petty cash is zilch. Even if there's any, it's already earmarked."
"Can't we shift from another budget line?"
"Education office budgets are locked to specific uses. Can't reallocate freely. What's going on?"
The principal explained. But the director balked.
"No way. Using school funds for one student? That's a disaster waiting to happen. Audit bait, and if other parents complain about fairness to the education office, we're all out of jobs."
Listening, it made sense.
Ugh.
Nothing was easy.
Jae-hyung sighed deeply. No solutions came to mind.
Then the principal's phone rang.
Ring ring ring.
"Yes, Dodam Elementary School."
-Hello. I'm calling about transferring my child to your school.
Total enrollment: 120 students.
Dodam was better off than most. Forty percent of Chungbuk elementary schools had under 60 kids.
Rural schools were in a deathmatch with closures. A transfer now?
The principal's eyes lit up.
"Y-yes! Where from?"
-Yeongdong. Not far from Okcheon. Saw in the paper about Yoo Seo-ha? My kid loves math too... Do you know which teacher he's under? We can move there; Dad'll commute farther.
It wasn't just one call.
Three transfer inquiries in total.
The principal resolved: Seo-ha must go to that competition, come hell or high water.
Okcheon's population was plummeting.
It clung to life as Daejeon's bedroom community, but not for long.
The last decade saw massive outflows.
No amount of budget solved it.
Population inflow?
"Listen, do I look like I'm doing this for myself? Think what it means when parents transfer their kids. They're moving here."
The clerk's eyes snapped wide at the principal's point.
In rural areas, big chunks of local budgets went to attracting residents. Recent government each new resident cost 20-40 million won.
A whole family, with zero extra spend?
He reported to his superior immediately.
Thirty minutes later, Principal Kim Jae-hyung met the county executive for the first time.
The following week,
Seo-ha was stunned upon arriving at school.
[Dodam Elementary Takes Off as a Math Powerhouse]
[Class 5-1 Yoo Seo-ha Wins Grand Prize at National Math Competition]
Gaudy banners draped the school gate.
Embarrassing. In a small village, the whole county must know by now.
And since when was Dodam a math powerhouse?
Seo-ha bolted to the teachers' lounge for answers. But he found his homeroom teacher, Yoon-mi, looking enlightened... and yanking her hair out.
"T-teacher?"
He asked what happened, but her flushed face turned away evasively.
"Haa... I'm losing my mind."
"What went down?"
"Not sure on details. Rumor's out that a science high school alum here teaches killer math. Got a bunch of transfer inquiries. All thanks to your win, probably. I didn't blab, did I?"
Seeing her grind her teeth innocently, Seo-ha dropped his suspicions.
"What about the support funds?"
Last night, Cheol-ho came home beaming and shared the news.
A new county ordinance passed—and Seo-ha was its beneficiary.
"Okcheon County Outstanding Talent Cultivation and Support Ordinance. County assembly approved it yesterday."
Cheol-ho continued.
"It says top students from nationally recognized academic contests get 2 to 10 million won annually."
Mi-young's face lit up.
She'd worried endlessly over her kids' education.
"Grand prize means 10 million for Seo-ha, right?"
"Yep! Retroactive—grand prize winners this year get paid ASAP. But you gotta keep competing to keep the funds."
Mi-young tilted her head at the explanation.
"That's odd. Not like prize money..."
"Whatever it is, it's a blessing."
Seeing them smile made Seo-ha happy too.
Sensing the cheer, Seo-eun squealed and dashed around the yard.
'No way this is the principal's butterfly effect...'
Seo-ha couldn't grasp the adults' machinations.