1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Top Student Hides Her Regression
Episode 13
“I hate being told I’m handsome when I’m not.”
……
Just for that reason…?
“Hey… Seo Jae-gyeom is handsome.”
A firm rebuttal came back to my bewildered comment.
“So I hate you too.”
Huh.
Thanks for letting me know on purpose?
“Why would you call someone who isn’t handsome handsome?”
“No…”
Because you genuinely are handsome.
I muttered to myself, exasperated.
“Jung Eun-seong’s never going to like me in his whole life.”
“Yeah.”
Unbelievable.
“I don’t like you either, Jung Eun-seong.”
“I like you less.”
“No, actually~ I like you way less.”
“Think about it again~ Just say JaeJae, come on.”
“Ugh, seriously…”
This is infuriating!
“Are you really going to keep calling me JaeJae?”
“I have a mouth—why won’t you let me speak? Are you some kind of word dictator?”
By the time we’d finished trading nonsense, we’d already reached our classroom.
I tried to slip in first and shut the door behind me this time, but Jung Eun-seong caught on to my scheme and headed straight for the back entrance, foiling my plan.
Tch.
I clicked my tongue and scanned the classroom.
Among the students huddled in small groups chatting or doing homework, I spotted Do Yeon sitting alone, reading a book.
I emptied all my textbooks for the day from my lockless locker, stacked them under my desk, and approached Do Yeon.
“Hey.”
Do Yeon, who had been absorbed in her book with an expressionless face, looked up in surprise.
Her pale face flickered with a complex expression—as though she’d never imagined anyone would talk to her, yet somehow had been hoping for it—before it faded quickly away.
“What are you reading?”
“The Maze Runner.”
“Oh. Is that series finished now?”
“Not yet.”
Mm.
I’ve already seen the ending! I know everything that happens!
“By the way, they all get infected at the end, I hear.”
I threw out a fake spoiler to Do Yeon while scanning the classroom.
A classroom full of the excitement of a new semester.
Students arrived one by one, greeting each other warmly or bashfully, but nobody ventured toward the corner where Do Yeon and I were sitting.
An unspoken rule had already taken shape: “Don’t talk to Do Yeon.” The atmosphere had calcified into that simple boundary.
For students who spend entire days packed into the same classroom, conforming to group consensus and belonging to the majority is everything. Going against it was harder than death for teenagers.
I knew this because I’d been a teenager once too.
‘One friend alone won’t be enough.’
To pull Do Yeon out of her long isolation, I needed to dismantle this atmosphere first.
What could I possibly do?
‘If just one more person reached out—even just one—it could make all the difference.’
And that opportunity came sooner than I expected.
* * *
During break before geography class.
I was reviewing the day’s lesson with Do Yeon when someone called me hesitantly.
“Um, Da-hye?”
“Yeah?”
I looked up and saw a girl with light brown hair holding out a workbook, her cheeks flushed.
“Could you help me with this problem?”
“Of course. Ask me anything you want.”
But wait, your name is…….
‘Gyeong Se-in.’
She was the girl standing beside me yesterday when I broke the lock on my locker.
I remembered her as having a gentle, unassuming personality—the type who got along well with everyone.
‘Though she didn’t strike me as particularly outgoing or pushy either.’
And yet here she was, approaching someone she wasn’t even close to.
Right now. Of all times.
All she wanted was to ask about a problem, but the way she’d steeled herself to come over—her lips pressed tight—made it clear she’d gathered her courage.
She wasn’t nervous about talking to me specifically, was she?
Then could this possibly be…….
“Actually, I’m not sure about this problem either…… Is it okay if we ask Do Yeon?”
Do Yeon’s better at math than I am, I added helpfully.
Se-in, who’d been hesitating, gave a small nod.
Incredible!
“Sit here!”
I practically lit up with excitement as I offered her the seat beside me.
I tapped Do Yeon, whose mouth had fallen open in surprise.
“You heard that, right? Help us with this.”
“…Oh. Um.”
Do Yeon blinked slowly, then reached for her mechanical pencil.
Se-in, equally tense, clenched her fists hard beneath the desk.
The concentration pouring over Se-in’s workbook was almost excessive—far more than what a single problem would normally call for.
Gulp. I couldn’t tell if it was one of us or all three who swallowed.
“Once you know the Problem Type, this is actually pretty easy…….”
“Oh….”
“Ohhh….”
Awkward responses hung in the air—the kind that come from people desperately trying to be social.
“If you’re not sure, just plug in each option. For multiple choice, that might actually be faster.”
Do Yeon, who’d drawn a star next to the answer, finished her explanation.
“Does that make sense?”
“Yeah! Thanks, …Do Yeon.”
“…No problem.”
Se-in’s quiet addition was met with an even quieter response from Do Yeon, who shook her head slightly.
And then silence.
Like the awkward lull that descends after a blind date introduction…….
As for me, I was so charmed by Se-in’s boldness in speaking to me first that I could’ve kissed her—but…….
I genuinely had no idea what to say next.
My wandering gaze landed on Se-in’s Smartphone sitting on the desk, and the Celebrity Photocard wedged behind it.
A member of a boy group—one who’d essentially wound down their activities and gone their separate ways in the future I’d come from, but who was a fresh rookie in this present time—smiled back at me.
“Oh, Se-in—you like him?”
“Yeah! Do you too?!”
Apparently I’d hit the jackpot. Se-in’s voice suddenly brightened.
She asked me if I was part of the fan club (which I assumed was what the phrase she used meant), then immediately started scrolling through dozens of photos on her Smartphone gallery—all of the same guy with pretty much identical eye makeup.
“I genuinely want to marry him. But the thing is.”
“The thing is?”
“The age gap is huge.”
“You’re worried because you’re too young?”
“Yeah. I don’t think he’d ever see me as dating material.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
He’ll end up marrying someone seven years younger than you anyway.
Age is definitely a factor.
Your problem is you’re too old!
“And there’s something else I’m worried about…….”
Se-in’s eyes gleamed as she pulled up photos of her future husband being affectionate with another member, passionately insisting that the two of them must actually be dating.
“So you’re saying the guy you want to marry is dating a member from the same group right now?”
I knew exactly who both of them would marry in the future, so I could only laugh—but surprisingly, Do Yeon was listening intently.
“If they’re being this obvious about it, the people involved must already know.”
“Exactly! So…….”
Se-in trailed off, glancing sideways at Jung Eun-seong sitting in the corner.
She lowered her voice, then asked something conspiratorial.
“Da-hye, are you close with Jung Eun-seong or something?”
“What? Not at all.”
I lowered my voice and glanced back at Jung Eun-seong as well.
He’d set a 1L Milk carton on his desk at some point and was applying hand cream. From this distance, I could see clearly how the girls in our class kept stealing glances at him.
“Really? You two were messing around during class time.”
“Messing around? I was the one getting attacked.”
“Still. You’re the only one in our class who’s actually talked to Jung Eun-seong. I’d love to get close and ask you guys some things, but……. He seems like the quiet type.”
He talks plenty, though.
“So? Is Jung Eun-seong a good person?”
“That guy’s completely insane.”
“He’s so cute….”
“Mmm….”
“Speaking of which, there’s this handsome guy on Bus 12 in the morning too…….”
“Oh? I know him!”
“Right. Want a Maytchu?”
“Sure!”
Somewhere along the way, any awkwardness between Do Yeon and me and Gyeong Se-in had vanished.
—What high school girls need to become friends—
1. Maytchu 2. Handsome guys
“So, Da-hye, you don’t go to a hagwon?”
“Nope. I just do it on my own.”
“That’s enviable. You must be naturally smart.”
“No, I want to ask Do Yeon about math too. It’s hard.”
“Right. Do Yeon’s really good at explaining. …Hey you guys, if you don’t understand something, ask Do Yeon.”
Gyeong Se-in suddenly lifted her head and addressed the other girls.
One sat in front of me, and another sat in Section 4. They seemed to be Gyeong Se-in’s friends.
It looked like she and her friends had already discussed Do Yeon and me before—her expression was resolute.
At Gyeong Se-in’s words, the girl in front of me (Gyeong Se-in’s Friend 1) stayed quietly with a lukewarm expression, while her friend from Section 4 cut it short.
“I’m good.”
If the bell for the next class hadn’t rung at that very moment, the mood we’d just opened up would have become quite awkward.
Gyeong Se-in laughed awkwardly and whispered.
“Sorry. She’s been sensitive lately. Says she can’t sleep.”
“No, it’s fine! These things happen.”
And then silence again…….
“But why isn’t the teacher coming?”
“Yeah, really.”
Why isn’t he showing up?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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