Midterm Exams (1)
A few hours later, at school.
I still hadn't found a way to get my hands on one million won.
Tsk... Where on earth am I going to find a million won?
Just then, the class president called out to me.
"Ji Hyunwoo. The homeroom teacher is looking for you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. He said to go to the staff room."
I headed down to the staff room.
"Did you call for me, sir?"
"Ah, yes. Would you mind waiting in that counseling room for a moment?"
"Sure."
It was a small room used for student counseling. I sat down and began to ponder how to raise the money.
There has to be a way...
Just then, a flyer posted on the wall caught my eye. Specifically, the title.
[Scholarship for Academic Excellence]
"Oh?"
I read through the details. It stated that scholarships would be awarded to students with outstanding academic performance. The amount was substantial.
Exactly one million won!
The condition was simple too.
I just need to place in the top ten of the entire school.
I had found the solution to my problem.
This is it!
The conditions lined up perfectly with my current situation. The timing was ideal since it would be awarded based on the upcoming midterm exam results. Although it was issued in the form of a prepaid card, it could be used freely as long as it wasn't spent at a few restricted locations.
The door slid open, and my homeroom teacher walked in.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's have a quick chat."
He sat down across from me and opened the conversation.
"Hyunwoo, I heard you've been studying incredibly hard lately. The teachers from yesterday's classes said they were quite surprised."
"Yes, sir. I'm a bit late, but I've finally come to my senses."
"Oh, that's wonderful. But... is everything alright at home?"
"No, sir. It's just for college."
The teacher smiled warmly and nodded.
"Good. That's a smart decision. What kind of goal do you have in mind?"
A goal...
Since he asked so seriously, I gave him an honest answer.
"KAIST."
"Huh?"
Taken aback, he asked cautiously, "Do you... do you know what kind of place KAIST is?"
"Of course. It's the top science and technology university in the country."
How could I not know? I got my master's and doctorate there.
Not that you would know, of course.
The teacher looked troubled.
"W-well, yes. But to get into KAIST... your grades have to be exceptionally high. Do you know that as well?"
"Yes. That's why I'm studying hard."
"No, what I mean is... KAIST recruits most of its students through early admission based on high school transcripts. Unfortunately, your GPA is already... a bit difficult to work with."
"I know. That's why I plan to get in through the CSAT."
"Ugh..."
The teacher groaned and shook his head. I could guess why. He probably thought that even if I took the CSAT, I wouldn't be able to get a score high enough to get in.
"KAIST accepts very few students through the regular CSAT admission. At most, maybe twenty nationwide. Fitting into that bracket is, realistically..."
"Possible."
"Right, possi—huh?"
"It's possible. Because I'm working hard."
The teacher stared at me, dumbfounded. He couldn't find the words and fell into deep thought for a moment. He looked incredibly serious.
He's being extremely careful.
Any other teacher would have hit me with a harsh reality check by now. But he had always been considerate, choosing his words with care.
Which I appreciate.
In the end, he tried to sugarcoat the reality as much as possible.
"Sigh, yes. You're right. It's not completely impossible. Just... nearly impossible. Grades don't just shoot up overnight, you see. So..."
"Yes. I think we'll see the results next week."
The teacher tilted his head at my sudden remark.
"Hmm?"
"We have the midterm exams."
"Yes, we do."
"Let's talk again once those grades come out."
Once again, the teacher fell silent. He stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head.
"Whew... Alright, let's do that."
He clearly didn't expect anything, but that didn't matter to me.
More importantly, what matters to me right now is...
"By the way, sir."
"Yes?"
"This scholarship notice here. Is it real?"
I pointed to the notice on the wall, double-checking the rank requirements, the amount, and the usage restrictions.
"Uh... yes. It's real."
Then that was that. The problem was as good as solved.
"But... I don't even know what to say." The teacher muttered, looking thoroughly perplexed.
"You think I can't do it, right?"
"Huh? No, it's not that..."
His reaction was only natural. A student at the bottom of the class suddenly aiming for the top ten in the entire school was, by all common sense, impossible. But...
"Let's talk about this after the exams too, then."
Time flew by.
One day, two days... a week.
Before I knew it, the day of the midterm exams had arrived.
The exam hadn't started yet. Perhaps because it was the first exam of their senior year, the atmosphere in the classroom was unusually tense.
However, not everyone was feeling the pressure. Jang Junyeob came over to my desk to chatter, just like any other day.
"Hey, hey. Looking at that for a few more minutes won't change your score. Let's just go to the snack bar. You need a full stomach to sleep well after guessing all the answers."
"I already ate breakfast."
"Still. Come on, let's go."
"No. I need to review this a bit more."
It was a notebook summarizing potential questions for the history exam. Since history was the third exam today, I had to keep reviewing it. Even for someone like me, history was a subject I had to study almost entirely from scratch.
When Junyeob continued to grumble, I spoke up.
"Look, I'm telling you, studying that won't change anything. You're still going to be at the bottom."
"I don't think so. Want to bet?"
"What? A bet? What kind of bet?"
"Whether my grades go up or not."
He claimed that studying at the last minute wouldn't change anything, but in reality, anyone could improve. If you studied the right way, you could get at least one more question right.
In my case, a lot more than just one question will change.
But he didn't seem to expect anything from me at all, even though he had seen me solve those difficult math problems before.
"Fine, let's bet! But just going up one rank doesn't count. That's just luck with guessing."
"You're the one right above me, aren't you? If I beat you, isn't that proof enough?"
"Ahem! Anyway. You have to at least get into the top ten in our class. Only then is it worth calling it studying."
"Top ten in the class?"
That would be easy.
"Sure. Let's bet on that. The stakes will be one million won."
Junyeob flinched at that. "One million won?"
"Yeah."
"No, that's a bit... Why are we even betting anyway? We're students, we shouldn't be doing this."
I chuckled as I watched him roll his eyes, trying to back out.
I should stop teasing him.
I had no intention of actually betting with him anyway. I knew his family's financial situation wasn't great either—it was about the same as mine.
"Forget it. Go back to your seat and study."
But it seemed he still hadn't learned his lesson.
"No way. I'm going to the snack bar, even if I have to go alone."
"Suit yourself."
Fifteen minutes before the exam.
The classroom door slid open, and the teacher walked into the quiet room. It was Kim Suhan, the math teacher.
Tap, tap.
He stopped in front of the podium and scanned the students. His gaze locked onto one particular student.
Ji Hyunwoo.
He still hadn't forgotten what happened last week.
The way he effortlessly solved every single problem I threw at him!
Because of that, a strange sense of pride had flared up inside him. He was determined to create a problem that Ji Hyunwoo would struggle with.
And that's exactly what I prepared.
He gently patted the envelope containing the exam papers with a touch of affection.
Then, shaking himself out of it, he cleared his throat.
Right, now is not the time for this.
He addressed the class.
"Ahem! This is the first exam of the midterms. The subject is mathematics, and you will have fifty minutes."
He went through the standard instructions and precautions.
"Make sure to start marking your OMR cards at least five minutes before the end of the exam. No exceptions will be made if you run out of time. You're seniors now, so treat this like the actual CSAT."
Ten minutes before the exam.
"Now, put away all your books. Leave only your writing utensils and watches on your desks."
While the students busily cleared their desks, Kim Suhan stole another glance at Ji Hyunwoo.
Today is the day.
He opened the envelope and pulled out the exam papers. The word "Mathematics" and various instructions were printed on the front page. He had spent the last few days meticulously crafting this exam, including some of the problems inside.
Especially questions 18, 19, and 20.
He had cranked up the difficulty of those three questions to a monstrous level. They were arguably harder than math olympiad problems, slightly pushing past the boundaries of the curriculum.
Heh... I'll see the results soon enough!
With a smirk, he sorted the papers to distribute them easily.
Five minutes before the exam.
"I'll pass out the papers. Pass them back. Do not open them yet. Keep them face down on your desks."
Once the papers were distributed, Kim Suhan looked at Ji Hyunwoo's face again. The boy looked perfectly calm.
But soon...!
Anticipating the change in that expression, Kim Suhan smiled deviously to himself.
Hehehe!
Time ticked away.
"It's time. Everyone, pick up your pens."
"Begin!"
The students immediately set to work, flipping their papers over in unison.
Finding their eagerness somewhat endearing, Kim Suhan nodded gently.
But his gaze quickly drifted back to Ji Hyunwoo.
Hehehe!
Wearing that devious smile once more, he began to pace quietly down the aisles, pretending to monitor the students.
Eventually, his footsteps halted right next to Ji Hyunwoo's desk.
Let's see... which question is he on? He should be on question two by now, right?
After all, a few minutes had already passed since the start.
With that thought, he glanced down at Ji Hyunwoo's exam paper.
Wait, what?
Ji Hyunwoo wasn't even looking at the page he expected. Instead of the first page containing questions 1 through 6, he was already looking at the second page.
And he was already working on the last question of that page.
No way! He's already on question 12?
Ji Hyunwoo scribbled a few numbers on the paper and checked an answer.
It's correct!
Ji Hyunwoo flipped to the next page.
He wrote down a few more numbers and immediately selected an answer.
That's correct too! Just like that?
And then he got the next one right.
Another correct answer?! Is it even possible to solve them this fast?!
The next question, and the one after that.
Correct! Correct! How is this possible?!
In the blink of an eye, Ji Hyunwoo solved question 17 and marked his answer.
Correct again... Ha.
A sudden wave of futility washed over Kim Suhan.
The problems I worked so hard to create... solved so easily...
But he quickly shook his head and focused again.
The real test starts now!
The remaining questions—18, 19, and 20—were the ones he had agonized over to make as difficult as possible. He was certain Ji Hyunwoo wouldn't be able to solve these so easily.
Yes, surely not.
And indeed, Ji Hyunwoo's behavior changed.
He began writing down far more numbers on the paper than before.
Yes! This one is truly difficult! In fact, you probably won't be able to solve it at all.
But then...
Tap.
Before long, Ji Hyunwoo checked another answer.
No way! He must have gotten it wrong... Damn it, it's correct.
Kim Suhan felt his energy drain once more.
...No. There are still two questions left.
Steeling himself, he watched Ji Hyunwoo move on to question 19.
This time, for sure...!
Once again, Ji Hyunwoo wrote down a complex sequence of numbers. Kim Suhan couldn't even fully comprehend the logic behind them.
More time passed than when he solved question 18.
Yes, this is how it should be!
But then...
Tap.
Ji Hyunwoo checked the answer.
Correct again. What in the...?
Kim Suhan felt completely defeated.
He actually got question 19 right too.
Meanwhile, Ji Hyunwoo moved on to question 20.
As Ji Hyunwoo scribbled down numbers, Kim Suhan watched blankly, his mind completely empty. He already knew the boy would get it right.
Sigh, fine. Go ahead and solve them all.
And indeed...
Tap.
Correct.
Kim Suhan could only nod in resignation.
Tsk. Fine, you win.