A Sabaeja's Clever School Life (8)

"Hohoho. I hope it suits the treasurer's palate. I put real care into preparing this."

"It's delicious. This omakase is the genuine article."

"Isn't it?"

"The botan shrimp is incredibly fresh."

"There's a rumor that when the American president visits soon, they'll be serving botan shrimp."

"Is that so?"

"Yes~. A hotel chef who was invited to the Blue House told me."

Ran, a sushi omakase specialty restaurant nestled in Cheongdam, Gangnam.

Its dark, black-toned interior lent the place a subdued air of refinement. Among certain circles of the upper class, it had earned a solid reputation as an excellent spot for entertaining guests. Mere months after opening, its reservations for the entire coming month were already booked solid.

A Japanese chef with a five-star hotel pedigree personally visited the Noryangjin fish market every dawn to select wild-caught ingredients. The prices, naturally, were savage. The chef's recommended lunch course hovered around the one-million-won mark.

"Mrs. Jo, I really like your personality. You're thoughtful, and your love for the school just overflows."

"Oh, I could never compare to you, Treasurer. Hohoho."

"I think it would be good if we worked together next year. I feel like we'd make an excellent team."

"Just entrust it to me, and I'll pour everything I have into serving the school and the children."

Jo Huijeong flashed a brilliant smile, revealing her perfectly even teeth.

The treasurer is fully onboard.

Two years of careful effort had not been wasted.

Even though her husband owned several buildings in both Gangnam and Gangbuk, there were still things that refused to go her way. Becoming an officer in the Cheonghwa High School parent association had been one of them. She had barely managed to plant a foot in the door as a member of the cafeteria subcommittee. Now she needed a real title—something that would finally peel off the "new money" label once and for all.

The title of Cheonghwa High School parent association officer would let her hold her head high. Once you became an officer, you naturally blended in among the Gangnam mothers. No business card carried more weight. You could slip seamlessly into gatherings of past and present officers. Simply belonging to that circle would change her daughter's future. It was a group where all-weather power and every kind of exclusive information were shared—and it was accessible in everyday life. The future of a family built on real estate would change as well.

That was why she had poured money and time into this without restraint. Fortunately, her daughter had maintained strong grades; the expensive private tutors had paid off. The presidency or vice-presidency of the parent association was still far beyond her reach. The treasurer position, which prioritized funds and social skill, suited her temperament far better.

The current treasurer's term was ending due to the two-term limit; she would soon shift over to the operating committee. For two years Jo Huijeong had courted her with gifts and meals at every opportunity. The woman was so particular that she barely glanced at anything that wasn't genuine luxury. More than a hundred million won had melted away in the process.

Now the harvest season had arrived. As long as no unexpected variables appeared, the next treasurer seat was as good as hers—

Tra-la-la-ling~♫

The ringtone of a Mozart symphony chimed pleasantly. She had carefully chosen the background tone to elevate her own air of refinement to match the setting.

My beloved daughter?

Jo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Huijeong checked her phone and frowned. Why would her daughter call during school hours? It was lunchtime, and this was not their usual calling window.

"Treasurer, it's my daughter. May I take this briefly?"

"Go ahead. It must be about school."

"Yes~ Hoho."

With a demure smile, Jo Huijeong tapped the answer button.

"My precious daughter, it's Mom~ What's—"

Even without speakerphone, her daughter's wailing voice spilled out loudly.

"Hit? Wh-who did it??"

The sound of her daughter crying made her shout without thinking. Jo Huijeong completely forgot where she was and let her usual temper flare. At the same time her mind tangled into a knot. Her daughter, who had inherited her own extremely sensitive nature—if she caused trouble at this critical moment, the treasurer position she was about to grasp could slip right through her fingers. The fact that her daughter had been struck worried her, of course, but a more important calculation was racing through her head.

"A s-sabaeja? What kind of little shit is it!!"

The moment she heard the word "sabaeja," the worry she had briefly crushed underfoot vanished in an instant. If it had been some other family's child, there would have been complications—but a sabaeja was fine.

Ha Taewoong?

It was a name she had never heard before. Flames roared to life ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Jo Huijeong's eyes the instant confirmation was complete. With a sabaeja as the opponent, there was absolutely nothing left to fear.

"Wait right there! Mom's coming to the school this second!!"

Kang Ari?

Back when I lived as a Cheonghwa student, I had picked up all sorts of information here and there. But Kang Ari at this particular point in time—I still hadn't fully mapped her out. I only knew she was majoring in cello and that she was one of Cheonghwa High's three great beauties. Of course, what I could see with my own eyes was clear enough.

Height around 167 centimeters. Proportions and body lines good enough to model school uniforms. Always neat, clean bobbed hair. An East Asian beauty so refined that a quiet ink-wash painting came to mind at a glance. Looking at her now, my heart grew calm and a pleased smile spread across my lips all on its own.

"You called me?"

I asked again, confirming the unexpected favor.

She had suddenly walked up and called me "Oppa," of all things.

"Yes..."

"Why?"

"They say you're a returning student."

"..."

Kang Ari answered while faintly flushing. The look in her eyes was completely different from the stares of the other kids watching us. Pure—utterly free of any speck of calculation.

"Thank you..."

"Hm?"

"A-Ari! What are you saying!"

An Aram panicked and grabbed Kang Ari's arm. The message was clear: stay away from the sabaeja who had been dropping bombs around campus since this morning.

"That day... do you remember? The rainy day..."

Was it the look in her eyes? Kang Ari's words made that day from before my regression surface as if by magic. It had only been a little while ago for her. The beginning of the semester. Or, if I counted the years I had already lived through, more than a decade earlier, in spring. For me, a great deal of time had passed since that day.

It had rained. March, yet a torrential downpour had fallen—completely unforecast. The deluge began in the afternoon. Every day had been a time of wandering. I was exhausted. I had fallen into deep contemplation about dropping out.

I stood blankly facing the sudden rain when a girl student stopped beside me. A first-year. She looked flustered by the pouring rain, a large cello case slung over her shoulder. I saw the conflicted look in her eyes. In my hand I held a fairly large umbrella.

I briefly considered offering it to her. But it was pointless. With the torrential rain and that huge cello case, she didn't look like she had the capacity to hold an umbrella as well.

"...Your car?"

I asked offhandedly. Because of school regulations, private vehicles couldn't enter past the main gate.

"It's waiting... at the front gate."

She answered with round, sparkling eyes. That was when I saw the name Kang Ari printed on her name tag.

"Want to... go together?"

I asked even though I expected rejection. In this school's atmosphere, most kids looked at a sabaeja as if he were a bug.

"...Thank you."

But Kang Ari's reaction was different. She even dipped her head slightly in gratitude, completely overturning my expectations.

Whoosh.

As if I had been waiting, I opened the umbrella. At the same time Kang Ari carefully stepped closer to my side.

"That... give me the case."

I held out my hand. Kang Ari stared at me for a moment, then handed over a cello case that had to be worth at least several hundred million won. I slung it over my left shoulder. My backpack was already on my back. She and I matched our strides and began walking.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, thrash-thrash.

Rumble... CRASH!

Under the violently pouring rain and the peals of thunder, she carefully took hold of my arm.

That first and last day. The girl student from back then was the Kang Ari standing right in front of me. The girl with whom I had shared only that single, fleeting moment...

"Well then, buy me a meal."

Knowing the truth made me feel glad. Half-joking, half-serious, I tossed out whatever words came to mind. Plenty of students in the cafeteria were still watching us. Of course the normal response would be refusal. Getting involved with a sabaeja ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had just committed violence...

"010-9XX9-1009."

Kang Ari recited the number in a near-whisper.

"...??"

"Contact me when you have time."

She gave a small bow, remaining composed even while looking at my flustered face.

"L-let's go."

An Aram urgently dragged Kang Ari away from the spot.

"..."

Silence immediately swallowed the surrounding space.

"Woooaaah... Ha Taewoong. You..."

Park Jiwoong let out a gasp of pure admiration. Apparently the fact that I had just received a number left him dumbfounded.

Lunch period ended in a direction I hadn't wanted. Spectacular incidents, all within a few short hours after arriving at school. I already knew. From this moment on, the real beginning was about to start...

"When the function z = f(x, y) has continuous partial derivatives f_x, f_y, and x = Φ(u, v), y = Ψ(u, v) are functions of u and v that are partially differentiable..."

Fifth period right after lunch was math class.

The life I had already lived was no different from a battlefield. Sometimes you had to step back; when you held the advantage and attacked, you had to sink your teeth properly into the opponent's throat to finish it. When you decided to end a war, you charged in with the resolve to face even death.

I lit the fuse of my fighting spirit.

Of course, I also enjoyed the math class I was hearing again after so long. Math had been one of the subjects I wanted to avoid in the past. The math problems at Cheonghwa High had been tougher than even the most brutal CSAT questions. No matter how hard I racked my brains, I could never keep up. After entering university I took math courses as electives; they had some connection to my major as well. At a certain point during college I discovered the pure pleasure the discipline of mathematics could offer. The wall of math I had never been able to break through—that was the moment it shattered.

Now I could solve even complex problems like these reasonably well in my head. I still couldn't solve every single one, of course. Not being a math genius meant I still needed to work through the steps by hand to a certain extent...

Huh? Wait, I can solve it?

"Crazy."

The word slipped out of me unbidden.

"..."

The math classroom was dead silent. The kids must have heard my curse, yet not one of them raised their head or turned to look. At the same point in my previous life they would have scowled and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glared at me as if they wanted me dead. They knew about the sabaeja rebellion rumors from today and were deliberately ignoring me.

However.

Knock knock.

Rattle.

At that moment a knock sounded and the front door of the classroom was yanked open roughly. A middle-aged man with a florid, flushed face and a proudly displayed bald head stormed in.

"Teacher Oh, sorry about this."

"Y-yes..."

Even the math teacher who had been conducting the lesson stammered in confusion. The middle-aged man swept his gaze rapidly around the classroom, searching for someone. And then—

"Hey! Ha Taewoong! Get the hell out here right now, you little bastard!!"