Chapter 30
Chapter 30 – Ill-Fated Relationship from a Past Life
Seo Tae-hyuk was back!
The news of the two notorious people, who were disciplined due to the cheating incident, heated up the school.
Tae-hyuk had received a one month suspension, while Park Sung-kwang dropped out of school as a result of the suspension. Tae-yuk's one month suspension was now over.
The school was noisy as the students spread the story.
"In fact, did you know that Seo Tae-hyuk was caught in Park Sung-kwang's evil plots?"
"Ack! That is scary. How can I even go to school tomorrow…?"
"No, you are both wrong. Isn't that statement more believable when applied to the gangster Seo Tae-hyuk?"
"Ah, perhaps. I heard that he had an offer to join an organization after graduating…"
"A-A gangster?"
The rumours snowballed into something bigger and inconceivable.
The main party involved, Tae-hyuk, was in the library and not in the classroom. Tae-hyuk was impressed by An Eun-young's effort.
"Eun-young, really, thank you."
Dark circles could be seen behind An Eun-young's thick glasses. She had obviously spent the night trying to make this happen.
"I-It is nothing much… It is nothing."
"No. I wouldn't have been able to do this well without you."
Tae-hyuk now had 47 intelligence points, the result of focusing solely on studying after he regained Rosario from Big Mama. No matter how hard he had tried, it could still be said that this really was a period of rapid growth.
What would have happened if he hadn't met An Eun-young?
His intelligence had climbed even faster than it had in the beginning.
The retest was in two hours. In the meantime, he had to memorize many things in preparation of the test.
'In my most recent test, I had an average of 90 points. If I memorize all of the things that Class President brought up then…’
It might really be possible to get close to the first ranked in the school.
"… T-then. This is the last study session. Try your best! Fighting!"
An Eun-young cheered with a raised fist.
At that moment, she looked so cute that Tae-hyuk felt his heart pounding.
"Hmm hmm. Yes. Isn't it somewhat unsatisfactory that this is the last time? Then, please look after me well, Class President."
An Eun-young pouted.
"C-Call me Eun-young."
Tae-hyuk looked at her with a bemused expression.
"Oh, okay… E-Eun-young. Is this it?"
"Yes. Thank you. Then, let’s get started."
The student sessions of Seo Tae-hyuk and An Eun-young were ending.
* * *
"Seo Tae-hyuk. Did you study a lot?"
The student supervisor asked with a strangely irritated tone. It seemed that he didn't like the fact that Park Sung-kwang dropped out while a problematic person remained. He got a bribe from Park Sung-kwang's parents based on his graduation results. One of his precious money sources had disappeared because of a gangster.
Therefore, there was hatred in the student advisor's eyes as he watched Tae-hyuk.
"I am a little busy. Just do it as usual."
"Cocky brat… Teacher Jung believes in you, but I am different. Frankly, it was hard to believe that you got that grade legitimately, so this retest is to make things certain. Do you have any objections?"
"If there are any doubts, then it has to become certain."
"Ah, right. You haven't received any lessons for a month. The test range is the same as the last test. I told the teachers to pay special attention, so I think this will be a very interesting test."
Inside the classroom, there was only the student advisor and Seo Tae-hyuk.
"I have decided to supervise all of your tests today. Do you know what will happen if I see your eyes looking around? Well, I don't think that someone who was first place in the school would do that. Hahahat!"
Tae-hyuk placed his pens on the desk and prepared for the test.
Then the student advisor approached with gleaming eyes.
"Let me take a look."
The student advisor confirmed that Tae-hyuk hadn't hidden any cheat sheets in his desk. In the end, he carefully looked at the pens and clicked his tongue. It was a complete criminal treatment.
"Sheesh. Then, the first one is Korean Language. The time limit is 50 minutes. If you write even one word after the time limit is up, then you will get a zero."
"Of course. Then I will start."
Tae-hyuk accepted the test paper with a very relaxed expression.
Rather, it was the student advisor who cared.
He had received a bribe from Park Sung-kwang's parents. It was a moderate sum. However, this fact was already noticed by Seo Tae-hyuk. He wanted to kick Seo Tae-hyuk out of school somehow.
In order to do that, everything hinged on this retest. The student advisor didn't know what method Seo Tae-hyuk would use to raise his grades. However, he wouldn't be able to do anything as long as he was monitored closely.
The student advisor laughed. In fact, this test was much more difficult than the last one. There were many traps, and the problems were completely different from the last test's. If he only got 80 points this time, then the student advisor would be able to transfer him to another school.
Tae-hyuk waited for the test with a bored face, like he didn't know what the student advisor was thinking.
"Then, let's start the test!"
The student advisor announced the start of the test.
Tae-hyuk once again admired An Eun-young's ability after seeing the test paper.
'Wah. Wasn't Class President right?'
An Eun-young predicted that this test would be a lot harder than the test a month ago.
It was the right answer.
The problems were at least a level greater in difficulty.
‘Ah, don't I know this problem?'
However, almost all of them were already given out by An Eun-young. It seemed like he knew all of the problems.
'… As expected from the owner of the Studying skill.'
Tae-hyuk started to solve the problems.
It seemed as if he would be able to get a higher score than he thought.
* * *
The tests were all finished.
The student advisor sat at his desk with a blank face.
"H-How did you do all of this?"
Skimming through the questions, he could see that most of the answers were correct.
The student advisor screamed.
"T-This test is invalid! Tell me! How the hell did you cheat?"
Tae-hyuk stretched his neck that had grown stiff from sitting around all day. Then he looked at the student advisor and sighed.
"You were looking at me the whole time while I was testing. I didn't cheat."
"T-This bastard!"
The agitated student advisor tried to hit Tae-hyuk with the baton that he was holding.
At that time, the firmly closed door opened and Teacher Jung Nam-ho entered.
"Seo Tae-hyuk! You better hope that you did well on the test! I came to score it."
Teacher Jung Nam-ho greeted Tae-hyuk and then looked at the student advisor.
"Student advisor-nim. You did a really good job. From now on, I will take care of the scoring."
The student advisor flopped down with a dumbfounded expression.
He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth.
"Wait a minute. Isn't it unfair with Seo Tae-hyuk in here?"
Tae-hyuk smiled at Jung Nam-ho.
"Then I will go out and wait."
"Yes!"
He left the classroom and saw An Eun-young waiting with an anxious expression.
She had done everything she could. The only thing left was to wait like this.
"T-Tae-hyuk… The test?"
Tae-hyuk made a 'V' sign with his fingers.
"Waaaaahhhhh!"
An Eun-young was as delighted, as if it were the fruits of her own labor.
Jjak!
The two people laughed and high-fived.
* * *
The results of Seo Tae-hyuk's test were released to the whole school the very next day.
This meant that he attracted everyone's attention.
"T-That is ridiculous…!"
The people who saw Seo Tae-hyuk's results attached to the bulletin board were confused.
He had an average of 92 points, and had moved up to second ranked in the class. He was also seventh ranked in the school.
However, other students didn't realize that Tae-hyuk's test was more difficult than usual due to the student advisor.
Nevertheless, it really was an excellent grade.
The students at the front of the bulletin board left, and Seo Tae-hyuk and An Eun-young approached to check the score.
Tae-hyuk made a surprised expression.
An Eun-young spontaneous asked a question, as if she suddenly had a thought.
"If this test was at the same difficulty as the other one… what rank would you be?"
Tae-hyuk answered confidently.
"First."
* * *
There was an uproar once it was announced that Seo Tae-hyuk was really a model student.
"Seo Tae-hyuk really was a good student…"
"Besides, to achieve a rank of seventh in the school…"
"Then Tae-hyuk is good at studying, and his face is also pretty good… Does he not have a girlfriend?"
"Hmm, he is only being friendly with An Eun-young. They aren't in a relationship."
"T-Then I can confess? Next year is our third year, so this winter is my last chance at love!"
The girls who stayed in the classroom talked and exclaimed joyfully.
In fact, there were quite a few people attracted to Tae-hyuk's poor appearance. However, their eyes didn't dare to actively gaze at him.
It turned out that while his appearance that looked villainous,he was actually good at studying? He was like the protagonist of a romance novel!
As soon as class ended, Seo Tae-hyuk headed home.
An Eun-young remained in the classroom due to her position of class president, and could hear the girls talking.
Seo Tae-hyuk's evaluation had changed. It was obviously a situation worthy of congratulations.
Then why was she in a bad mood?
An Eun-young remembered the treatment that Tae-hyuk had received up until yesterday. She was the only one who knew that he wasn't bad at all, unlike the rumours.
However, his test results were good, and this seemed to change his status.
She felt strangely lonely.
In the classroom, the girls were arguing about who was going to first make contact with Seo Tae-hyuk.
It was at that moment that An Eun-young rose from her seat. She walked over to the female students and said loudly.
"Don’t be mistaken. Seo Tae-hyuk doesn't have time for a relationship with any of you, as he has decided to go to university with me.
"…?"
"……!"
Everyone in the room fell silent at An Eun-young's declaration.
It sounded like a declaration of war saying that they shouldn't touch her property.
* * *
The day that Tae-hyuk received the remaining balance from Big Mama.
Seo Tae-hyuk was dressed in a slightly different style than usual.
Today was the day that he had to go to school, something he hadn't done in a long time. Therefore, Tae-hyuk was still wearing his uniform.
"I have to go into the back alleys so…"
In the end, he decided to buy clothes from a store that mainly sold vintage styles.
He asked the clerk to give him a recommendation and changed in the store. Viewed separately, they weren’t strange clothes.
However, Tae-hyuk's eyes shook as he saw his reflection in the mirror. He wore skinny jeans with a black leather jacket. Adding the shoes to the outfit really made him look like a biker.
"W-What the hell is this?"
However, he bought it at such a low price that he couldn't get a refund. In addition, it was style that fit in naturally with the back alleys.
"Uh, Hyung! Are you new?"
A bearded man in his thirties raised a hand in greeting as he passed.
"Ah, yes. I have some business with Mama."
"Haha, yes. You should work hard when young. Then, do your best."
The man seemed to mistake Tae-hyuk as a business partner.
Tae-hyuk sighed again.
Currently, he had four crime skills.
In addition, he became a model student with An Eun-young's help.
Would a new future unfold before him? One that was different from the past?
"There was a time I would think so…"
It was still too early to be relieved, as there were still too many problems that had to be addressed.
'First of all, Park Jung-hwan.'
He was a politician of the opposing party. The current president was pursuing a chaebol-oriented policy. Park Jung-hwan often showed strong criticism towards this, and received wide support from the younger generation.
Currently, he didn't have the right forces, but three years later, he reappeared like a comet, this time as part of the opposition. He was popular enough to be considered as one of the next presidential election candidates.
However, five years later. He was attacked by someone and found dead.
All of the media paid attention to the person who killed him. The one who killed Park Jung-hwan was a young man in his 20s.
Seo Tae-hyuk.
'My fingerprints were found at the crime scene. I was seen killing Park Jung-hwan on CCTV. There were also five more witnesses. Additionally, once Park Jung-hwan's murder weapon was found… Of course, there were only my fingerprints on it.'
Park Jung-hwan was a representative of the anti-chaebol union, and a hero for the people in their 20s and 30s. There were many people without numerous interests invested in the country who hated him.
However, it was a regular youth who killed him…
It was a really ironic situation. The entire country erupted.
Tae-hyuk recalled his memories of that time.