I Hate Studying
“Uggghhh. I don't wanna.”
“How are you even first in the whole school?”
“Not for long…”
Second-semester midterms had rolled around again.
To me, studying was basically a loan. You borrow a little knowledge, cram it into your head for a bit, and the second the test is over you spit it right back out.
Back in elementary school, two days—no, what am I saying, one day of locking in and staring at a book was enough to catch up on everything. But middle school piled on so much material that a day or two barely scratched the surface.
Honestly, I wanted to throw in the towel. The only reason I was burning through what little focus I had left was the terror of Mom confiscating my computer if I bombed the exams.
“I don't wanna do thiiis.”
“Whiner.”
“Waaahhh…”
My eyes might have looked half-glazed, but I was reading carefully. So!
“Okay! I'm gonna go refresh my brain real quick!”
“……You just got back twenty minutes ago.”
This was about efficiency. Efficiency. Unlike Siyeon, who could plant her butt in a chair forever, I was the type who needed to move around.
Or maybe the air in the library just sucks.
I tromped down from the fourth-floor reading room to the third-floor library, and my feet naturally steered me toward the comic book corner.
Ahh. This was heaven.
Today we'd come to the library near home on Siyeon's suggestion. With the test only two days away, I needed a last-minute cram session—and since Siyeon actually studied hard, I figured sticking next to her might rub something off on me.
“Ugh, studying is so boring.”
After checking that no one was watching, I flopped halfway onto the shared sofa and cracked open a comic. Nothing as intense as a pirate-king adventure or a football manga—just the kind packed with history and culture. Something with a title like Find the Treasure in Egypt!, roughly.
Stuff I normally wouldn't give a second glance. So why was it suddenly so fun?
“Heh heh.”
With nobody around, I laughed out loud as I read.
Just ten more minutes, then I'll head back up~
I was savoring every page, reluctant to stop, when—
“Hey!”
“…?”
Someone stepped right in front of me.
Ah, awkward.
I hastily sat up properly.
“You're Lee Chaewon, right?”
“Who…?”
I looked toward the voice. A girl stood there with her arms crossed, eyes narrowed as she stared me down.
“You don't know me? I'm Seo Dayeong from Class 7, first year!”
“Oh… okay. Hi.”
She held her head high with all the pride she could muster, but she wasn't tall enough to look particularly threatening.
“So now you know who I am?”
“Huh? You just said you're Seo Dayeong from Class 7…”
You introduced yourself.
I said it calmly, and Seo Dayeong's cheeks puffed out like she didn't like that answer one bit.
“You don't know me? I'm second in the whole school! Midterms and finals last semester!”
“…….”
How was I supposed to know that? Weird kid.
“Hmph. Looking all polished and pretty—how does someone like you rank first?”
That was the second time I'd heard that today. Still, the part about my face looking polished was a nice compliment. She had good taste.
I just stared blankly at her, and her expression shifted second by second.
“Urgh! You! Why didn't you sign up for the intensive study program over summer break?!”
“What's that even…”
“Whaaaat? The school ran a special intensive class for specialized high school prep!”
“Oh, I heard about that. I said I wasn't doing it…”
“What, did you go to a cram school instead?”
“No……”
Summer break… that was right when I'd been grinding Dead Zone achievements.
“Then what? Private tutoring?”
“Nope.”
“Hah!”
Seo Dayeong's eyes narrowed even further.
“So you refuse to share your secrets, is that it? Of course. Sneaky little types like you are always the ones who ace their studies.”
“No, it's not that… I don't think I can stay first anymore…”
I'd tried some practice problems roughly. I was leaking points across every subject. Siyeon was probably going to overtake me. She'd been studying steadily the whole time and had already taken third place on the first-semester finals. So yeah—next after this girl, basically.
I meant every word, but Seo Dayeong didn't even pretend to listen.
“Liar! You act exactly how you look! You fox-faced little brat. Trying to charm your way past people? Not a chance!”
“…….”
Was that a compliment or an insult?
Thank god nobody else was around. Causing a scene in a library like this was pure public nuisance. Adult-me would just endure it.
“Think whatever you want~ I'm leaving.”
I shelved the book and headed out.
“Where do you think you're going! Off to your secret tutor, huh! Of course—so that's the secret to ranking first…!”
Ugh, she was so loud that studying was a lost cause for today. All her fault. Couldn't study, couldn't study. And that wasn't just an excuse—Siyeon would probably agree.
I left the library and started walking, but the girl stuck to me like glue.
“You're keeping it secret to the end, is that it? Fine! I'm asking Mom for more tutoring too!”
Isn't tutoring expensive? Is her family rich?
The thought made me look Seo Dayeong over carefully. Hair set neatly with a glossy sheen. Clothes that looked designer. An expensive smartphone clutched in her trembling hands.
“Wait, is your family rich?”
“Huh? Ha! As for my family—Mom and Dad are both doctors, and my older brother got into a specialized high school. He's about to graduate early and enroll at Seoul National University. A total genius.”
The moment I showed interest, she puffed up with pride and launched into a full family brag.
You don't have any friends, do you.
I almost asked, then stopped myself. I didn't exactly have a ton either……
Hmm. I just ignored her and kept walking.
The destination wasn't far, but she talked nonstop the entire way.
I wanna stick her with Siyeon. She might actually get smacked.
I dragged the whining brat along and arrived at the comic book cafe.
“Wh-what is this place?”
“You don't know what a comic book cafe is?”
“I know! Of course I know. Who do you take me for, hmph.”
Her reaction screamed first-timer.
“…What is this little airhead.”
“Whaaat? How can you say something so mean…”
She didn't even know what a comic book cafe was? I hit her with my most contemptuous stare, and she at least had the decency to blush.
I hadn't come here for the comics. I'd come for the arcade machines. I slipped past the bookshelves, and—
“Uh, Mom said only idiots read this kind of stuff…”
Seo Dayeong had been glancing around, but the moment her eyes landed on the comics, she couldn't look away.
“Over here. We didn't come to read comics.”
“W-who would read trash like this!”
For someone saying that, her eyes were full of longing……
Usually when girls approached me I felt awkward and uncomfortable, but this one was so dumb it was almost fine. The fact that she'd picked the fight first probably helped too.
In return, I'd teach her about life.
“Here. Sit.”
“Wh-what is this?”
“Brain training. Instant judgment, concentration, pattern memorization—all of it.”
“…Easy to Music? …Isn't this just a game?”
“Ahem! Calling it a mere game—this is a senior teaching you about life. Now put in a hundred won.”
“O-okay.”
Seo Dayeong obediently pulled out a hundred-won coin. She even had a separate coin purse, and it was stuffed with cash. Of course. Rich kid.
“Okay, this is a click. Press the button.”
“…I have eyes too.”
Easy to Music, for the record, is a rhythm game where notes cascade down with the music and you hit the matching buttons on beat. I played it all the time, so I was used to it. For a beginner it could be tough, so I set the difficulty to one star.
And for the record, the high score under the initials CC? That was me. Neighborhood champion, thank you very much.
“Uhhh. This is hard……”
Seo Dayeong flailed like she'd never touched a game in her life. Why was her whole body moving just to press one button? What a fascinating creature.
“Ahem. That's not how you do it. Allow me to demonstrate.”
A hundred won got you three rounds total, so I casually took over the seat. Games, just like studying, improved way faster with a good teacher nearby—and once you got better, they were twice as fun. So this was an unavoidable choice, really.
I was absolutely not freeloading a free round. Nope.
“Alright, focus on the falling notes. Imagine you're the one pressing them. Immerse yourself.”
“Okay, okay.”
I selected an eight-star chart at 4x speed.
Easy to Music — 8★ · 4× Speed
The second the signal ended, notes flooded the screen without a single gap. No time to think—just mash the buttons. Clack-clack-clack-clack. Combos chaining together in the most satisfying way.
“Hwaaahhh, my eyes—my eyes are spinning.”
“Focus! Focus! This is studying too!”
I was fine while playing—what was she whining about? I pulled every last drop of concentration and finished clean.
“See? After watching something that fast, the earlier one looks super slow, right? Think you can do it?”
“I-I don't know. But I'll try.”
I stepped aside, and Seo Dayeong picked the same song she'd just attempted and went for round two. One try and her skill had already jumped.
“Not bad.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Let's do another round. Got a hundred won?”
“Yeah, tons. Phew, I was having trouble getting rid of all these hundred-won coins anyway. Perfect.”
“…….”
That was a problem…? Stationery stores were drowning in hundred-won coins.
So it went: one round for Seo Dayeong. One round for Teacher Me, for demonstration purposes. Another for Seo Dayeong. Three rounds traded back and forth like that.
We were deep in the heat of it when—
“Figured you'd be here.”
“Hwieeoh—!”
A soft voice right next to my ear made me jump out of my skin.
“I was wondering where you went after ditching your books.”
“Ahaha, Siyeon. Heheh, I was just about to head back.”
“Who's this? Have I seen her before?”
Siyeon stared blankly at Seo Dayeong, who was still mashing buttons without a care for the conversation happening next to her.
“…Isn't that Seo Dayeong?”
“What? How do you know her?”
“We were in the intensive study program together.”
Ah, that. Right. Okay.
I leaned in and whispered to Siyeon.
“I think she doesn't have any friends either, like us.”
“I'm not that bad. I have plenty of friends.”
“What? Liar. You only ever hang out with me.”
“Well, hanging out with Chaewon is the most fun. I still have lots of friends.”
“H-how?”
“I'm class president.”
Yeah, right. No way.
I'd been class president for six years too?!
While Siyeon and I were whispering, Seo Dayeong's game ended and she bristled.
“Hey! Whispering right in front of someone—what's wrong with you! Hmph! So rude.”
There she went again, snipping away.
“That game next to it is fun too. It's a shooting game.”
“…How do you play?”
Whisper whisper.
“Guess she was bored.”
“She's got some things in common with you. Just… more extreme.”
“What kind of insult is that. Comparing me to that flower-brained airhead.”
“Hmm… never mind. Go explain it to her. She's lost.”
I stuck next to Seo Dayeong, who couldn't even pick a character, and walked her through everything one step at a time. This one supported two players, so of course—she casually slid in another hundred-won coin.
I shot Siyeon a look that said What is this kid?, but she just shook her head and wandered off to the comic corner.
Heh. Jackpot. Free gold farming all day today.
I was deep in the game, not a care in the world, when—
Bzzzt— bzzzt—
My phone buzzed. I answered halfheartedly.
"Uh, hey. Chaewon, you busy?"
Mom.
“Yeah. Busy.”
"Oh, really? Studying?"
“Yep yep.”
"Hmm… okay…? There's some noise, but you sound fine, so whatever. Busy studying, huh. Tell me when exams are over. I've got something to talk about."
“Yep yep yep.”
I hung up fast and dove back into the game.
“Seo Dayeong, throw a grenade. Grenade.”
“Huh? Oh, okay. Here.”
“No—not at me. At the enemy tank.”
“Ahh.”
“…….”
I'm only putting up with this because the game is free.
“Hmm.”
Siyeon had quietly drifted back over and muttered under her breath.
“You made friends with the wrong person.”
“Right? Siyeon. She's worse at games than you.”
“What? What'd you say? I was concentrating, didn't catch that.”
“…….”
With two days left until second-semester midterms, we burned the whole day in glorious fashion.
The very next day.
Oh nooooo.
I hadn't even finished the material.
“Princess, aren't you eating dinner?”
“I'm busy.”
“Aren't you studying a little too hard? You still need to eat.”
“You can eat anytime, Dad, but time that passes never comes back.”
“It's fried chicken.”
“…Maybe if I cut back on sleep a little?”
Nom nom nom.
After polishing off a solid meal, I got sleepy all over again.
“Hweh?”
I came to with drool pooling on my desk.
Ugh, this useless body.
How could it be this weak!
Time, given equally to everyone, flowed on without mercy. And then the self-scored results of the three-day finals came in.
“…What's going on.”
“What.”
“The kid who always ranked first even while goofing off.”
“This is still pretty good, though… hmm.”
“True. Only nine wrong across every subject.”
“What about you? You?”
“Me? Two wrong.”
“Huuuuh. Are you first?”
“Maybe?”
Kim Siyeon, you absolute monster.
She lives with her nose in manga too—how does she do it.
I was clapping for Siyeon, who was rarely this smug, when—
Bang—!
The back door of the classroom flew open, and a familiar-faced girl marched straight toward me.
“Hey!”
“Huh?”
“Wanna go to the comic book cafe?”
“Huh?”
“We finished early 'cause of the test today.”
“W-well. Sure, let's go.”
I shot Siyeon a look that said What is this kid?, and she said quietly:
“I told you. You made friends with the wrong person.”
“…….”
That was aimed at me?
Nah, no way.
Just to check, I called out to Seo Dayeong.
“Hey hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Did you self-score?”
“Yeah.”
“How many did you get wrong?”
“Me? Uh…… I dunno?”
“Huh?”
“The test is over, so who cares. Let's go already.”
What?
Even as she dragged me along, I looked back at Siyeon.
Is this my fault?
Yep.
We exchanged that look, and then—
“Hah, whatever.”
I decided not to dig any deeper. When I actually asked, it wasn't like she'd completely bombed or anything.
Pew-pew-pew—!
“I never knew something this fun existed.”
“…….”
They say late bloomers are terrifying, and Seo Dayeong was picking up games at a frightening pace. Was it because she was good at studying? Why was she good at this? She wasn't half bad, honestly.
I quietly asked Siyeon, who was reading comics in the corner of the cafe.
“Her mom's not gonna come yell at me, right?”
“It's her life. Who cares.”
Cold……
Siyeon wasn't like this when we were little……
But she wasn't wrong, either.
After that, we just played our hearts out.
On Seo Dayeong's money.
Yes.
In return, I bought her a cup of spicy rice cakes when we were done.