Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Outsider Mocked as "Dog Fur"
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***
I'd heard that the gifted education program I was currently attending was a gathering spot for this country's upper class to build camaraderie among their kids...
These kids were all future politicians, future corporate chairmen, future ministers, future university professors.
So, yeah, that made sense enough.
The young professor I knew before my regression had actually been a member of this very gifted education program.
Song Chang-won was a lab mate of mine in grad school.
This was before I regressed to the winter of 2010, so right now, our relationship was nothing more than strangers.
Still, I'd rotted away in the same lab with Song Chang-won for five years, so I knew exactly what kind of person that bastard was—like, to the point of nausea.
"Jeong Yi-an, was it? You wouldn't know me, but on my way here today, I heard all about you. Jeong Yi-an. They say you're just some dog fur, huh?"
Song Chang-won was looking at me with eyes like he was staring at filthy trash.
Han Si-a, who was sitting next to me, seemed a bit offended by his words too. She paused her meal and started glaring at him fiercely.
"Parents are just ordinary salarymen with no savings to their name, grades worse than even Han Si-a's. And you're not even prepping for anything in arts or athletics."
This time, he stared intently at my face.
"Your looks... not even enough to make a living off of."
Then he leaned back against his chair's backrest, crossed his arms, and spoke in that annoyingly sleazy tone.
"I just can't wrap my head around it. Jeong Yi-an, why the hell are you even here?"
He was openly tearing me down and mocking me.
This wasn't the kind of thing you said to someone you were meeting for the first time, but the Song Chang-won I remembered was exactly that kind of person.
When dealing with others, he evaluated their wealth, background, status, and such.
If he judged they weren't worth associating with, he stopped treating them like people from then on.
As far as I remembered, Song Chang-won hadn't grown out of this even after entering grad school as an adult, so I figured this wasn't just youthful ignorance—it was in his nature.
At his insulting words, Han Si-a stood up like she was about to defend me and snapped at him.
"...Song Chang-won. Watch your mouth, okay? Yi-an got an invitation from my parents, so to me, he's a guest here. If you keep talking like that... remember you might end up crying your way home again this year."
Aside from the fact that Han Si-a was glaring daggers at Song Chang-won right now, her voice and expression didn't show much change.
Even so, the clear hostility in her eyes made it obvious to everyone present that she was extremely pissed off.
But Song Chang-won didn't back down easily.
"Make me cry all the way home... that was two years ago already, huh? I was young and immature back then, so I took it, but you seriously think you can pull that off now?"
"...You felt it last year too, Han Si-a. You're just a bit more diligent than others—nothing special in the brains department. Which means the gap will widen even more this year."
He stood up confidently from his seat, locking eyes with Han Si-a.
Song Chang-won towered over Han Si-a in height, forcing her to look up at him.
And with a nasty smirk on his face, he mocked her.
"Why do you think a worthless dog-fur mutt like this got an invite? It's obvious—they sent him here from school to get a reality check since he clings to you saying he likes you. So Han Si-a, maybe stop hanging around trash like this and keep your distance? You're just making him delusional by indulging him."
.
.
.
...Nah, that didn't seem right at all.
Hearing that from the side, I wasn't angry so much as baffled.
Song Chang-won had been a personality wreck before my regression too, but at least as a grad student, he didn't spout nonsense like this.
Probably because he was still just a high schooler? He came off pretty immature.
Even Han Si-a, hearing it right to her face, seemed to think that line was off, tilting her head slightly.
But oblivious or not, Song Chang-won turned to me next.
"I have no idea what makes a broke nobody with no talent or backing think he can play leader here, but this isn't a place to make friends with mutts like you. Read the room and hole up quietly in your room corner for the week."
"...I'm not saying you have to leave since the adults decided it, but if you act up again, I can make you want to walk out on your own. So don't push it."
He said his piece and left the dining hall.
The meal atmosphere was utterly ruined, of course. No way we could talk about the program or cooperation now.
On top of that, I could feel the other gifted program participants weren't looking at me kindly.
Song Chang-won—who'd just been tearing into me—seemed to be the most influential kid in this group.
...
Of course, I'd gotten pissed hearing that bastard's words too, and part of me wanted to ditch the program and cooperation talk to throw down with him, but I couldn't.
For one, like Han Si-a said, I was here as her guest, so my actions affected not just me but her and her family's reputation.
If I punched him and knocked his teeth out or something, the fallout wouldn't stop at me—it'd hit Han Si-a too.
And this was something I knew from pre-regression experience: Song Chang-won's parents were worth hundreds of billions, and his grandfather was the chairman of one of Korea's top-five conglomerate groups.
This kid could probably beat someone half to death, and Daddy and Grandpa would bail him out.
Even if he got caught with drugs, no jail time? Though he'd probably never set foot in Korea again.
Point is, if that dog of a bastard acted like that and I went off impulsively, the one who'd end up screwed would be me and my life.
And the bastard was smart enough not to do anything he couldn't handle... So for now, with no money or backing, I had to endure.
***
After the meal, Han Si-a and I returned to my room.
She seemed worried about me because of what happened at dinner and tried to comfort me, saying, "You don't need to take a jerk like that seriously."
"When I said I was attending the gifted program, is this why you were against it?"
"Yeah. Surprised?"
"...Yeah. The reaction's worse than I thought."
When Han Si-a learned I'd gotten an invite from her stepmother, she'd told me not to come to this program.
She'd worried that compared to the other kids, I had no money or connections and would get ignored.
But honestly, I hadn't expected it to be this bad.
I figured at worst it'd be subtle ignoring or not talking to me...
Not someone openly showing hostility like this. Cold assessment: cooperation among the students was a lost cause.
As I was thinking that, Han Si-a smiled at me and said,
"So, what do you want to do now? Like that guy said, hole up in the room? I won't stop you if that's what you want. I'll be visiting often anyway."
Spending the week quietly in this luxury pension... honestly, not a bad option.
But Han Si-a looked at me expectantly, lowered her voice, and asked,
"Or... want to team up with me and crush those bastards? No violence, of course."
That... sounded like a better choice.
I was pretty pissed off too, and more importantly, dragging my parents' abilities into it meant they had to pay somehow.
When I turned to meet her gaze in agreement, Han Si-a beamed brightly and said,
"Yi-an. I believe in this: whatever they do to me, I have to pay it back at least double. Even if it means taking some damage in the process. Because with stuff like this, even if you report it to the cops, you can't expect real punishment, right? So for personal grudges like this, isn't it better to settle them directly without dragging the law into it? Yeah? You think so too, right?"
...Han Si-a was clearly smiling brightly at me, but her words didn't make her seem happy at all.
No, she seemed enraged right now. Not just angry—almost broken, somehow.
"Whether those bastards come from good families or have money—doesn't matter. No matter how much it's for 'future success,' isn't it weird that a program exists to buddy up with people who insult us? With people like that, you don't smile and get chummy—you gather every bit of power you have and crush them so they can never rise again. So..."
A bit overwhelmed by her words and vibe, I hadn't noticed, but Han Si-a had placed her hands on both my shoulders, facing me directly.
"Team up with me and crush those bastards."