5
Chapter 5
As soon as break time began, the three kids who had been punished for over ten minutes because of Do Minho’s tattling surrounded his desk.
“Hey! You wanna die?”
Park Hyunsoo, the biggest among them, glared with wide eyes and gritted his teeth.
“Snitching to the teacher like that? That’s low.”
They weren’t old enough to be bullies, but as the strongest and biggest in Class 1-4, his words and actions carried enough threat, as if he intended to hit Do Minho for daring to get one over on him.
“Sorry.”
“Huh?”
Park Hyunsoo, who had been ready for a fight, was taken aback by Do Minho’s clean apology.
“I said I’m sorry.”
Do Minho repeated it calmly and politely, as if he truly meant it.
“…Tch, don’t mess around……”
With nothing left to say, Park Hyunsoo and his friends muttered an awkward threat and returned to their seats.
Hyunseung, who had been watching from the side, found both Do Minho apologizing and the group walking away pathetic.
“Idiot.”
He muttered it quietly so only Do Minho, sitting next to him, could hear.
“Disappointed?”
“What?”
“You wanted them to fight it out, win or lose?”
“…Whatever.”
Hyunseung buried his face in the desk as if he didn’t want to waste time on meaningless arguing.
“You called me an idiot because you wanted to fight me?”
“What are you even saying! I just—”
Hyunseung raised his voice in frustration.
“They’re probably the same. They know calling someone an orphan is wrong, but they don’t know how wrong it is. They think it’s just a joke. Something childish. But does that mean we should respond with fists and be even more childish?”
“Tch, you were just scared.”
“Me?”
There was no way Do Minho was scared of eight-year-olds.
He just didn’t want to fight children as an adult.
“You were the scared one.”
Do Minho looked at Lee Hyunseung with a meaningful smile.
“…Tch.”
Embarrassed, Hyunseung pretended to sleep again.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hold back anymore.”
“What?”
‘It’s not like I’ll get into fistfights with kids, but I won’t get pushed around by them either.’
“Real discipline isn’t done with fists.”
Do Minho smirked as he opened his diary.
‘Ignoring it and moving on isn’t the answer either.’
---
A middle-aged teacher with a gentle smile welcomed Han Yuri in the staff room.
“I heard an interesting kid transferred into your class.”
“You heard already?”
“With how every teacher is talking about him, it’s impossible not to.”
Even though it had only been half a day since Do Minho transferred, he was already a superstar in the staff room.
“A kid who studied in America, and an orphan too, right? And he’s good with Chinese characters?”
“Yes!”
Han Yuri puffed her shoulders with pride, as if it were about herself.
“And he’s the class president too? Something about being the first domino to move and connecting everyone?”
“Hoho! Yes!”
“That’s fascinating. An orphan becoming class president is already interesting, but for an eight-year-old to say something like that is beyond interesting—it’s impressive.”
“And he’s also really good at drawing!”
Han Yuri eagerly pulled out Minho’s drawing from the board.
“He really drew this?”
The teacher, who had been smiling, lost his smile and looked at it in pure amazement.
“You shouldn’t be surprised yet! He’s also amazing at speaking. Apparently, the kids fought over whether an orphan could draw parents, and Minho said he drew his future self as a parent instead.”
“Hoho, what a remarkable child.”
“I actually reflected a lot. If I had told them from the start to draw their future family instead of their current one, no one would have been hurt or fought. I just followed what the school told me because it was easier.”
“…I see. That was a bit lacking in consideration. But what’s done is done. You can do better from now on.”
“Yes.”
“But if he’s already this good at drawing, how much better will he become?”
At this moment, her reflection mattered less than her expectations of Minho’s talent.
“That’s why I came.”
“Pardon?”
“What if we hold the upcoming drawing contest not just by grade, but also by skill level?”
“…He’s already beyond elementary school level. Honestly, even better than some art high school students.”
“And not just that. For writing and academic contests too, instead of separating by grade, we could combine them and choose an overall top student for the entire school.”
“Hoho, so you want to find a true prodigy?”
“Shouldn’t we wait and see whether he’s gifted, talented, or a genius?”
Han Yuri spoke firmly, as if refusing to confine Minho to a single label.
“Seeing you this excited, he must really be something.”
The head teacher, Shim Bongseon, found today’s Han Yuri quite different.
“I saw something on TV recently. An elementary student solving math problems even adults struggled with. They said he couldn’t go to university because of age laws, but his skills surpassed most college students.”
“I saw that too. People even talked about changing the law for him, or giving him special treatment, even government scholarships.”
“I don’t know if Minho is at that level. But he’s definitely special. Not just his talent, but the fact that he can still smile after everything he’s been through, and confidently speak and become class president in a completely new place—that’s incredible.”
“Personality is a talent too.”
“Exactly! Doing something in front of strangers in an unfamiliar place is already amazing, but he does it well. I’ve never seen a child this confident. At first I wondered what gave him that confidence, but seeing his work, it feels like he truly believes in himself.”
As an introvert, Han Yuri admired and envied Minho’s overwhelming confidence.
“You’ve made me want to meet him as soon as possible.”
“Come tomorrow! I’ll show you!”
“Hoho, alright.”
---
The next day. The second day of Do Minho’s second life at school began.
“You all wrote your diaries, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then who wants to present today?”
Normally, diaries were private.
But in Class 1-4, they were meant to be read aloud.
It was a bit harsh, but since it was homework rather than personal reflection, it made sense.
It also pushed students to write more than just one line.
This method had worked well in the first semester.
“Me!”
Students who liked attention eagerly raised their hands.
Do Minho, who had also eagerly volunteered during the class president election, raised his hand again.
‘As expected, he’s proactive.’
“Let’s have the class president present today.”
At Han Yuri’s request, Minho stood up and began reading.
“I envy you.”
But his diary was completely different.
“I envy you, who have parents despite being ugly.”
‘What is he doing…….’
Han Yuri’s heart sank.
Yet she couldn’t intervene.
The subject was omitted.
‘So… this is satire… maybe even humor…’
The students were equally confused.
“I envy you, who have parents despite being fat.”
“Pfft!”
Some students began glancing at someone, as if they understood.
“I envy you, who have parents despite being stupid.”
‘You bastard…….’
The target understood perfectly.
I envy you.
I envy you.
You who have parents despite being ugly.
I envy you.
You who have parents despite being fat.
I envy you.
You who have parents despite being a bad person.
I envy you.
You who have parents despite being stupid.
Still, I will understand.
Because I am better looking than you.
Because I am slimmer than you.
Because I am kinder than you.
Because I am smarter than you.
Perhaps God is fair,
making you like that,
and me like this.
So don’t envy me.
Because you have parents who won’t abandon you.
“Puhahaha!”
The class burst into laughter.
‘Crazy bastard.’
Lee Hyunseung smirked and looked at Park Hyunsoo.
“Quiet!”
Sensing something was wrong, Han Yuri slammed the desk.
‘We should combine grade-based and skill-based awards for writing too.’
Shim Bongseon, who had been waiting outside to meet Minho, smiled and headed back.
‘A very interesting kid has arrived.’