Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Oriza Phenomenon
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At 5:20 a.m., Tae-jin woke to the sound of rain pattering against the window.
"Ah, rain on top of everything... Just great."
Forcing his bleary eyes open, he grabbed his towel and wash bag and headed into the hallway. Students who had pulled all-nighters stumbled along unsteadily, having splashed cold water on their faces.
"Oh! Seo-ha's out here too."
Even Seo-ha, who stuck to a rigid wake-up schedule, wore a fatigued expression.
Seo-ha thrust out his fist encouragingly toward the staggering zombies, and everyone passed by with a light fist bump. Tae-jin gave Seo-ha a quick bump too before shuffling off to the showers.
The warning sign was still posted, but someone had crossed out the '5' with a marker and scribbled '3' in its place. Maybe that was why the line at the showers felt shorter than yesterday.
"Hey, if you use my shampoo, I'm seriously not gonna let it slide."
"Why would I use that?"
"Then why does it look like there's less?"
"Must've evaporated."
It was a joke, but no one laughed. Laughing took too much energy.
The whole time he showered, Tae-jin stared at his reflection in the mirror, repeating the same mantra over and over.
'Hang in there. You have to hang in there.'
Down in the cafeteria, the menu had switched to exam mode. High-protein, easy-to-digest chicken porridge, seaweed soup, bananas, boiled eggs, and salad. Tae-jin loaded up his tray and found an empty seat.
"Sleep well?"
"You think?"
They exchanged warm greetings with his friends and dug in.
Tae-jin glanced around. Everyone looked the same. Spooning food with one hand while clutching printouts with the other. They were all reading the same material.
「Oriza Solutions Collection (Latest Edition V.2.4)」
Seo-ha, eating chicken porridge beside him, peered at the neighboring students' printouts with a puzzled look. He ventured cautiously,
"Is that printout really that helpful? I'm worried it might just be a waste of time for me."
At that moment, every student reading their printouts turned to stare at Seo-ha in unison.
Clack.
A kid from the next class slammed his spoon down roughly.
"What did you just say? You don't trust Oriza?"
"Yeah, yeah! Even you, Seo-ha, can't diss Oriza-nim. He's already transcended humanity."
"Without Oriza, it'd be way tougher than this. The scope is too broad."
Seo-ha's eyes widened at their fierce reactions. Tae-jin spoke up calmly, watching him.
"There are versions sorted by subject too. But once you read it, you get it. That's basically a collection of the toughest past exam questions—the ones we'd all struggle with. Of course it's helpful."
"Exactly. Nothing beats this for final review. You can quickly spot what you don't know."
"I couldn't prep without it. Last year's cheat sheets don't match this year's scope."
Seo-ha nodded awkwardly at their explanations, wolfed down his food, grabbed his tray, and stood.
As he left, someone called out.
"V.2.5 update drops today—grab it, Seo-ha!"
For some reason, the tray in Seo-ha's hands suddenly felt heavier.
'Update?'
He'd just answered a question, and now it was printed out, version-controlled, and spreading like wildfire.
Back in the dorm, he booted up his laptop. Logging into the intranet, he saw the situation had spiraled completely out of control.
Gifted High School's science textbooks were mostly college-level texts. There were no commercial problem books available. So students clung desperately to past exam compilations and cheat sheets. The 'Oriza Solutions Collection' was a lifeline in the drought for them.
Seo-ha resolved to provide more responsible solutions in his answers from now on.
Drip.
Drip.
A nosebleed splattered onto her book. Soo-jung wasn't startled. She just irritably grabbed a tissue and plugged her nose.
Her unkempt hair, not properly dried, was roughly tied back with a rubber band. Her desk was a crumbling castle of printouts, notebooks, calculators, pens, empty coffee cans, and energy drink husks.
"Not much longer of this."
Her inability to graduate early stemmed from IMO prep.
She went to the bathroom, pulled out toilet paper, and washed her hands. The mirror showed a stranger's face. Dark circles under her eyes, lips cracked and dry.
"What beggar is this?"
She'd always heard how pretty she was, but the reflection felt like someone else. Soo-jung chuckled dryly, removed the rubber band, wet her hands, and smoothed down the stray hairs. Maintaining top rank here was never easy for her either.
Soo-jung rolled up fresh toilet paper and jammed it back in her nose, then washed her hands. Exhaustion, self-loathing, pride, and sheer stubbornness—these were the emotions sustaining her even now.
'I wonder how that kid's doing.'
Suddenly, Seo-ha crossed her mind. The boy who, at a young age, had entered the gifted school, treading the same path she had. He must be lonely and struggling too. This place didn't offer an easy school life even to the top student.
Soo-jung recalled her own first days here. No friends to trust, no adults to lean on. Just enduring, day after day. She was numb to it now, but back then, it felt like dying.
"He's probably just like me."
That thought wouldn't let her stay put. She swapped the toilet paper in her nose for fresh, patted down her hair with her palms in the mirror, and straightened her clothes. She looked presentable enough.
"Yeah, I'll just go invite him to grab some food."
Soo-jung opened the door and hurried down the reading room hallway. Descending the stairs, the rain had stopped. The scent of rain and wet earth made for a pleasant afternoon.
As she walked, laughter echoed from the direction of the sports field. A group of boys strolled over, giggling uproariously about something.
"Huh?"
Soo-jung rubbed her eyes.
There was Seo-ha, surrounded by students. Kids from his class playfully shoved him. Seo-ha laughed heartily, shoulders shaking.
'What...?'
It wasn't the image she'd imagined. She'd pictured him worn down by isolation and loneliness, just like her.
Soo-jung's heart sank.
Seo-ha turned, spotted her, and waved with a beaming smile.
"Soo-jung noona!"
Unlike the delighted Seo-ha, his entourage flinched.
"Guys, Demon King senior."
"Why Demon King?"
"She's always been top of the school. They say the senior guys formed a hero party to take her down but kept failing."
Soo-jung sighed softly at their whispers, but anger bubbled up inside.
'Noona? I'm the same age as you brats!'
She wasn't some queen or witch. Jokes from same-year guys had spread like this somehow.
"You guys go ahead."
Sensing Soo-jung's mood, Seo-ha sent his group off first.
"Noona, what's wrong? You sick?"
Seo-ha approached, checking her face.
"No, just passing by."
She felt pathetic. Soo-jung wanted to escape this place fast.
"Wait! Wanna grab a snack?"
"Huh?"
That was what she'd meant to say...
As Soo-jung stood dazed, Seo-ha took her hand and led her to the cafeteria. She followed along helplessly.
Clack.
Seo-ha brought warm cocoa and cookies.
"Here. Seo-eun loves these—says they make her happy."
But Soo-jung had a question first.
"H-how... how do you have friends?"
Shock garbled her words. Her face twisted like she'd been utterly betrayed.
"Huh? Doesn't noona have tons of friends?"
He said it so casually, like it was nothing. Soo-jung's clenched fists trembled.
"Unbelievable... I thought you were a comrade on the same path."
Soo-jung snatched a cookie and crunched it aggressively.
Slurp.
The cocoa warmed her up a bit.
"I don't have any. Don't need 'em. I figured you were the same."
Friends just led to backstabbing jealousy. Soo-jung had learned that long ago. Seo-ha's face fell at her blunt words.
"I thought noona was a precious friend."
His downcast look, like a rain-soaked puppy, filled her with guilt.
'Exams have me losing it? Dragging a kid into this.'
"N-no, I meant you can survive alone without friends. Not that I don't need you."
Seo-ha's face lit up instantly.
"Really? So I'm your friend too?"
"Yeah."
'The world's so unfair.'
If she was the Demon King, this boy was the Great Demon King or Demon God. How could he get along so well with others?
Used to being the target of envy and scorn, Soo-jung felt a rare comfort around Seo-ha. He was worlds away from those emotions.
"Where you headed for college, Seo-ha? America maybe?"
"Nah, I think KAIST."
"Hmm. I see."
The corners of Soo-jung's mouth twitched up.
She finished her cocoa. The cookies restored her study energy.
"But why'd you think I had friends?"
It wasn't malice. He genuinely believed it. She'd never been so misunderstood—in a good way.
"Because noona's the kindest, bravest person I know."
Soo-jung had always worried about him. And she boldly blazed her own trail into the unknown.
"...You're the only one who thinks that."
Her voice caught as she replied. Even a Demon King was just a cute creature before a Demon God.