Wise School Life
I trudged toward the back of the classroom, and familiar footsteps trailed right behind me. When I turned around, there was Min-su, hesitating as he followed.
“...Why are you here?”
“...Pollock.”
Min-su muttered like he’d been wronged. The teacher must have spotted my doodles, scanned the room in disbelief, and found Min-su’s pollock textbook. The two of us leaned side by side against the lockers. This felt strangely familiar. Like I’d been through this exact scene many times before. But it was probably just my imagination. After all, I was the kind, upright model student Yoon Seo-ah.
We stood there for about ten minutes before returning to our seats. And then we fell asleep.
The bell rang, followed by the teacher’s shout of “Class dismissed!” Only then did I wake up.
“Seo-ah, Min-su, don’t doodle in your textbooks next time. Got it?”
“Yesss!”
Our answer was energetic, but inside I thought, Can anyone really suppress my burning artistic soul…?
Now it was break time. The word “break” was literal, yet the first-years had no idea what that meant. The second the bell rang, they grabbed ddakji, rubber-band guns, and hakjong-i cards and formed teams in the blink of an eye. A few even started imitating wrestlers after watching WWE. Ah, to be young.
Chuckling, I headed toward the hakjong-i team.
“...No way.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“You’re too good! You’ll wipe all of us out!”
“Whoa… that wording is a little dangerous.”
These kids already had dirty thoughts blooming in their heads. Hanging around them would probably corrupt my brain too, so I fled to the ddakji team.
“...No way.”
“...What’s your problem now?”
“If you win, you never give them back!”
“Obviously. Ddakji is something you seize.”
“What the…? I don’t know what you’re saying, but we’re not letting you play!”
“Hmph.”
When you really thought about it, ddakji was basically collecting loot after battle. Winner takes all, obviously. Why on earth would I return something I won with my own strength? I couldn’t understand it. The losers sure had a lot to say.
Staying with these friends would probably turn me antisocial, so I ran to the rubber-band gun team.
“...No way.”
“...Seriously?”
This time the order was reversed. The moment I shouted “No way,” the kids playing rubber-band guns looked at me like I was crazy. But… playing with them was exhausting. They dragged me out every single break to play. I just wanted to enjoy one peaceful break, yet these rubber-band tyrants demanded I play with them until dismissal. Refusal wasn’t an option. Rejection got rejected. If I tried to escape with excuses, they’d start crying. There was no solution. The only way was to never join their game in the first place.
They say a dictator breeds another dictator. It was probably because Yoon Ji-ah had taken over the class. Even though my schedule was packed and I should’ve been the one reluctantly leading these kids, it was heartbreaking to watch these fresh green sprouts gradually wither under Ji-ah’s influence.
In the end, I trudged back to my seat. The hakjong-i team, the ddakji team, and the rubber-band team—none of them were teams I could join. Wait… was I being ostracized?
No. A noble tiger simply doesn’t mix with the herd. I rested my chin on my hand, running positive thoughts through my head. I was about to gaze out the window and fall into deep contemplation when the hallway windows suddenly got noisy.
“Hey! That’s her! The one from the drama!”
“It’s Bom! Jung Bom!”
“Wow, she’s even cuter in real life.”
“Yoon Seo-ah! I’ll buy you snacks if you come to the store with me!”
Here we go again. This had been the scenery for the past few days. The first-years who saw my face every day weren’t particularly interested in me. But kids from other grades were different. Until recently, each class’s homeroom teacher had warned them, and since the drama had just started airing, some hadn’t seen it yet, so things had been quiet. Lately though, they clung to the hallway windows during every break to stare at me.
It made me feel like a monkey in a zoo, but it wasn’t bad. Attention leads to popularity, and popularity leads to money. After all, I was this kind of person…
Still, getting rejected before they even asked to play games together was enough to tank my self-esteem. At least I was the one who rejected the rubber-band team, so that was some consolation.
“You kids! Get back to your classrooms!”
When the teacher’s voice rang out in the hallway, the spectators scattered in an instant. The corridor grew quiet. Right on cue, the class bell rang.
And then it was lunchtime.
“Are you seriously that sleep-deprived? How can you sleep straight through from second period all the way through every break without waking up once?”
“Ahem, it’s because I’m beautiful. Beautiful, I tell you.”
It wasn’t that I wanted to sleep. My appearance was the one putting me to sleep. Did the Sleeping Beauty in the forest fall asleep because she wanted to? No, she was cursed by Maleficent. Same here. My looks were clearly a hundred years too early to be unleashed on the human world, so the heavens must have restricted my active hours. Anyway.
Today’s menu was pork cutlet. On the way to the cafeteria, the students began buzzing as if Kim Su-jin had appeared. I had somehow become Cheongdam Elementary’s idol. Wherever I showed up, a commotion followed. Except in the first-year hallway…
What exactly do those guys think I am?
I pondered what kind of image I had among my same-grade peers as I walked. My body was already naturally grabbing a tray and utensils. I moved without even thinking about it. I had grown completely used to cafeteria life.
The lunch lady’s eyes widened when she saw me.
“Oh my, it’s Bom!”
“Yes! That’s right! Hello!”
I flashed the most beautiful smile in the world and gave a deep bow with my hands at my waist. It was even brighter and more radiant than the smile I showed on Kkureogi Tamheomdae. Lunch ladies usually love children. And they love dramas. So what about a child actor from a drama?
They like them twice as much.
The lunch lady’s face lit up as she scooped pork cutlet onto my tray. Normally it was one piece per person. One piece landed on my tray. What was this? Was she an anti-fan?
“...Can’t I have more?”
I looked up at her with the eyes of Puss in Boots. I set my tray down, clasped my hands together desperately, like a match girl who hadn’t eaten in days.
“Aigoo… how can I say no to that face?”
The lunch lady quickly picked out the largest, thickest cutlet from the container and added it.
“Here! Our Bom, eat a lot and grow big and strong! I’m watching your drama so much.”
“Thank you, Mom!”
I gave the pork cutlet a wink. Calling her “Mom” was fan service. As expected, cuteness rules the world. And I was extremely cute.
“Hello, ma’am. Did you like the joint medicine I gave you last time?”
“Aigoo, Ji-ah. It worked wonders!”
...?
Yoon Ji-ah had only greeted her, yet two pieces of pork cutlet landed on her tray. She was having a natural conversation with the lunch lady. When exactly had she greased those wheels? Cuteness was supposed to rule the world, but money seemed faster and easier.
Min-su, standing behind us, gulped loudly as he watched the scene.
“Mom! I want two pieces of pork cutlet too! How’s the arthritis treating you?”
Thanks to Useless Min-su’s terrible reference usage, the lunch lady’s expression turned icy.
“Student, one per person is the rule. You need to eat a balanced meal. There are friends waiting behind you, so move along quickly.”
“...Tch.”
We claimed seats by the window. The two pieces of pork cutlet on my tray sparkled golden in the sunlight. The two pieces on Yoon Ji-ah’s tray shone just as brightly.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“Give me one. Hehe.”
And just like that, my pork cutlet count became three.
I took a huge bite out of the cutlet. Cutting it would be disrespectful to the pork cutlet. With a loud crunch, fragrant meat juices burst out. In my previous life, they’d just thrown frozen cutlets on a grill and served them half-cold and dried out. But our school apparently had no lunch scandals yet—the quality here was surprisingly high.
Just then, a commotion rose from outside the cafeteria. There was a high chance it was Kim Su-jin’s entrance. She scanned the cafeteria, locked eyes with me, and walked straight over. The kids around us held their breath.
...Is she challenging me to a duel?
I casually chewed my pork cutlet and looked at her with perfect composure. Establishing dominance was important.
When Kim Su-jin reached me, she stared down at me intently.
“Hey, Yoon Seo-ah.”
“Yesss?”
I answered while still chewing. Kim Su-jin paused for a moment. I waited to see just how grandiose a duel declaration she was about to make.
“...?”
“Your acting was really good.”
“Ah, yes… thank you?”
“Keep it up. I’ll be watching.”
A faint smile brushed across her lips. It wasn’t sarcasm. It was pure acknowledgment.
Another pass.
Last time she had allowed me to become her colleague in the entertainment industry. But this cheeky little brat apparently thought that wasn’t enough and came to test my character again. This had to be an implicit request to be added not just as an entertainment colleague, but as a life colleague.
After she finished speaking, she plopped something down on the table.
“Eat a lot and grow tall.”
...Drinking chocolate milk doesn’t actually make you taller.
Kim Su-jin coolly turned around and returned to her group. The kids in the cafeteria began whispering.
“Wow… Su-jin unnie is so cool.”
“I thought they didn’t get along, you liar!”
“...Guess they’re close.”
Next to me, Min-su stared at the chocolate milk with envious eyes.
“Looks delicious.”
“This one’s off-limits.”
“Then at least give me some pork cutlet.”
“That’s even more off-limits.”
“Hey! Are you seriously eating all of that yourself?!”
“Then you should become a celebrity too.”
In my heart, I wanted to share with Min-su. But if you start getting things too easily, your drive disappears. If that pattern repeats, you eventually try to coast through life. This was absolutely not because I didn’t want to give him any pork cutlet.
“Instead of asking me for it, you should think of a way to butter up the lunch lady and get extras, you idiot.”
You shouldn’t give someone a fish. You should teach them how to catch one. That was true education.
“So what’s the method?”
“How would I know? I was just born cute.”
“...”