By Zephyria 
When I originally attended school, even first-year students took a March mock exam, but it seemed the March joint academic assessment in this era was only for third-year high school students. This meant that this June mock exam was the first one for first-year students since entering high school.
[Now, we will present you with a lecture on sports culture. Listen carefully while looking at the pictures…]
I spun my pen and focused on the questions.
Strangely, exams in this period had something called a Korean listening comprehension test. The subject area wasn’t even called Korean, but Language Area! It was a natural question to wonder if English wasn’t a language, but English fell under the Foreign Language Area.
Regardless of my questions, I smoothly completed the mock exam, proceeding through Language, Math, Foreign Language, and Electives.
“Wow, it’s incredibly difficult.”
“Your first mock exam score is your college entrance exam score.”
“Huuuuh… How will I take the college entrance exam…”
After finishing the exam, the classmates chattered noisily and packed their bags. I also calmly organized my pencil case.
It wasn’t difficult by my standards, but I struggled with many unfamiliar types of questions. This was largely due to not being adapted to the entrance exam system of this era. If I had approached it with no prior knowledge, I might have accepted it more easily, but the difference from the entrance exam I knew caused confusion.
The three years remaining until the college entrance exam felt incredibly long, yet when I thought about what I needed to do, it felt ridiculously short. Once I confirmed the different curriculum, I felt a sense of urgency.
Still, based on the self-grading done at school, I confirmed I had received a near-perfect score. It was a shame not to get a perfect score on a first-year exam, but I had never achieved a perfect score even when I was a current student…
In any case, thanks to that, just before going home, I received praise from the homeroom teacher and the head of department, who weren’t particularly interested in students, saying I studied very well and should continue to focus on my studies like this. Standing alone in the grade-level office, listening to various words of encouragement, I inwardly reaffirmed my resolve.
‘Yes, this is my life.’
I must get into Seoul National University again by studying hard!
“Did you do well on the exam?”
“Yeah. Hae-min, how about you?”
“Hmm… Honestly, it was difficult…”
Seong Hae-min smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. Despite what he said, since Seong Hae-min had also been studying along with me, it probably wasn’t a complete disaster. Since a first-year high school grade wasn’t necessarily the college entrance exam score, he seemed to have a chance.
It was a given that Jeon Jae-hyung did very well, and surprisingly, Lee Beom seemed to have achieved a good score again this time. As I had predicted a few days ago, his grandmother was safely discharged from the hospital, and he took the exam well, so it was a double celebration.
Of course, some things were not surprising at all. It was Min Si-hu’s score, who had so many questions he couldn’t answer that he just drew a straight line on his OMR card and slept.
“Si, Si-hu is the only one… Si-hu is the only fool?! That’s impossible! Si-hu isn’t a fool! Min-i and Beom-i both betrayed Si-hu…!”
Leaving Min Si-hu, who was clutching his head and wailing after we tried to talk it over, I approached Lee Beom.
It was now clear that his excellent performance on the midterm exam was not an isolated incident. Naturally, I became curious.
Even though he was the type to flip-flop about whether he was my friend or not, my curiosity persisted. Why was he suddenly studying so hard when, in the original novel, he wasn’t particularly interested in academics? Why had this change of heart occurred?
I nudged Lee Beom’s arm, his school shirt buttons all undone, revealing the plain white t-shirt underneath, his bag slung carelessly over one shoulder.
The moment I touched him, our eyes met as he looked down at me. Every time I saw him, his pupils were as black as go stones.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Did you always study well?”
“Not really.”
Lee Beom averted his gaze as if embarrassed. I already knew he didn’t study well, but he wasn’t lying.
“So, you’re studying hard these days?”
“…As much as I need to.”
Looking at Seong Hae-min, who refused to quit being a delinquent, and then at this guy studying so diligently (even though he hadn’t quit being a delinquent either), I couldn’t help but nod in approval.
“Honestly, it’s the right thing to do. It’s a student’s duty.”
“…….”
Indeed. As Lee Beom watched me nod to myself, he fell silent for a moment. It was strange how, after spending a few months together, I could read emotions from his expressionless face.
I gestured for him to speak if he had something to say, and Lee Beom slowly opened his mouth.
“You said it was important to you.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly me? Did I say that? Thinking back, I remembered mentioning something like that when I ran into him at the nurse’s office after getting a nosebleed.
“That’s why I’m doing it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s important to you.”
His nonsensical answer made my head spin. What did my studies being important have to do with him studying? And why was he telling me this? He said we weren’t friends earlier.
Blinking blankly, I stared at his handsome face. Lee Beom, his lips pressed into a firm line, was the first to break eye contact.
“It’s important to me, so why are you studying hard?”
Like a butterfly fluttering its wings, Lee Beom’s lips moved.
“…Studying, grades. Things like that… I want to know why they are important to you.”
“…….”
“I want to understand what you understand.”
After finishing his words, Lee Beom immediately shut his mouth. Seeing him like that, I stopped myself from asking more, but my mind was filled with questions.
Why you? What for? What do you want to achieve by understanding? What is it you want to understand? But for some reason, the air became awkward, and I couldn’t ask. Noticing the tips of Lee Beom’s ears turning bright red as he looked into the distance, I felt even more awkward.
Was what he said about not being friends last time just a lie because Do Yun-hyeok was there?
In the end, I couldn’t come to any clear conclusion and just scratched the back of my head. After all, I wasn’t Lee Beom, so how could I understand his feelings?
Regardless, his decision to study wasn’t a bad change, so it was a good thing. Whatever the motive, it’s good that a student decides to study. Seeing someone willing to study hard, no matter the reason, made me feel a little proud.
“Why are your ears so red, Beom-ah? What’s up? Did something happen?”
“Shut up.”
“Hee-hee—Beom-ah is embarrassed! Lee Beom, the shy one, following cute Si-hu! Kyaa!”
A moment later, Min Si-hu came running over and made a big fuss. Thanks to Lee Beom giving the annoying kid a solid whack on the back of the head, we were able to continue our quiet walk home.
However, studying hard didn’t necessarily mean having a proper attitude towards school life.
During a regular class period, the subject teacher announced that the class would have a self-study time and left for the faculty room. It seemed they had a lot of administrative work piled up.
Before leaving for the faculty room again, the teacher entrusted me with an errand. Such errands were usually assigned to the class president, but the class president had the duty to keep the students quiet during self-study in the teacher’s absence, so I, a student who caught the teacher’s eye, was chosen instead. As expected, academic achievers monopolized the teachers’ favor and trust.
Taking documents to the counseling teacher and receiving other documents to bring back to the teacher was a long and tedious errand. However, it was familiar to me, who had maintained a close relationship with teachers, having been admitted to the nation’s top university through the comprehensive student record application, filling my student record thoroughly.
Clutching the documents, I left the classroom. I intended to go quickly, partly to move my stiff body.
To get to the counseling room the fastest, I had to go through the ‘L’ shaped corridor and then go down the stairs. As soon as I turned down the long, old corridor, I saw strange students standing outside the classroom during class time and took a step back.
‘What are they doing there?’
Lee Beom and Jeon Jae-hyung were leaning against the corridor wall, sleeping.
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I had seen wrong, but they were too handsome to mistake. I glared resentfully at the two who were blocking the middle of the path I was taking.
‘Should I just take a different route?’
This path was the straightest and fastest, but my feet wouldn’t move easily thinking I had to pass them. As they sensed my presence and noticed me, I expected them to greet me. My legs, approaching the corner, froze in indecision.
Just then, I saw the principal, his hands behind his back, walking leisurely down the corridor, inspecting the school. The balding principal was recognizable even from afar. I instinctively hid behind the corner.
‘I don’t want to be seen with them!’
Just being out in the corridor during class time would obviously link me with guys like them, and I wanted to avoid that situation.
“Why are you two… out here?”
From beyond the corner, I heard the principal ask Lee Beom and Do Yun-hyeok. I had intended to take a different route, but I found myself eavesdropping. I was curious, thinking, ‘Should I just watch for a bit?’
However, I was startled by Lee Beom’s subsequent voice and covered my mouth.
“We came out after flipping over a desk while sleeping.”
‘……?’
Did I hear that wrong?
Was that something one should say so confidently to the principal?
No, with those guys, it might be considered fortunate that they didn’t speak informally to the principal.
Curious about what kind of state they were in to say such a thing so shamelessly, I peeked out, knowing it was risky.
Even from a considerable distance, I could see clearly. Lee Beom stood with his weight on one leg, arms crossed, yawning as if bored, while Jeon Jae-hyung, as always, hugged a doll tightly and leaned against the wall, sleeping. He showed no sign of opening his eyes even when the principal asked him directly.
‘At that point, aren’t they pretending to sleep on purpose?’
I watched them, my expression disbelieving. The principal seemed to feel the same way.