1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 61

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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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The Ranked 1st Student Conceals Her Regression
Chapter 61
“Of course! We have to eat!”
“…?”
So it works.
Yi Mongyong (his subject: Korean History) turned crimson all the way to his neck the moment I mentioned Modern and Contemporary History, and pulled a card from his wallet.
“I’ll pay for it. Let’s each grab one and eat together.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The club members erupted in cheers at this unexpected windfall.
Do Ha-jun, who hadn’t spoken a word and barely lifted a finger during club hours since the Embezzlement Incident, suddenly found his voice and hollered.
“Triple Bianco for me!”
“Shut up. We’re going uniform with Melony.”
Look at the character development—the moment the teacher offers to pay, he’s already picking the most expensive item from the convenience store.
When he gets to university and a senior offers to treat, he’s the type who’ll order a Venti Caramel Frappuccino with nine extra shots.
Bang Eun-ji whispered.
“Isn’t he supposed to avoid eating that? Didn’t someone say he was a descendant of Yi Wan-yong?”
“He’s not actually a descendant…”
“If he’s not a descendant, then why’s he acting like that?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
“Let’s go, Kang Da-hye.”
Jung Eun-seong, who’d taken the card from the teacher, gestured at me with his eyes. I grabbed a shopping bag lying around in the Club Room and headed into the hallway.
“Hand it over.”
Jung Eun-seong, holding the flimsy paper bag that weighed barely two grams, led the way. I hurried to his side and looked up at his handsome face. His long, narrow eyes still looked slightly swollen.
“What are you looking at?”
“Your puffy eyes are funny.”
“Don’t stare randomly. My face shines so bright you’ll go blind.”
“Pardon me, but are you feeling all right?”
“That’s why I’m telling you to stop looking. Do you have something to say?”
“Well…”
There’s plenty I want to say.
‘Do you really have no parents? Did they pass away? When? How did it happen?’
Then who do you live with now? Do you have other family?
Why didn’t I know about this? I watched over you until you were twenty-nine.
But this is none of my business—it’s his private life.
Knowing how to tactfully pretend not to know things you’re curious about is a mark of good upbringing.
I bit down hard.
Let’s talk about something else. Anything else.
“You haven’t heard from those sasaengs since then?”
“No. I changed my number.”
“That’s a relief.”
“It won’t last long, though.”
Jung Eun-seong laughed bitterly.
“Celebrity phone numbers with full management teams attached are basically public property—a trainee’s number is nothing.”
“Shouldn’t trainees be protected even more then? They’re still civilians.”
“Not at all. That’s exactly why they chase me—because trainees are more accessible than celebrities.”
“That’s insane… what, am I a convenience store? Talking about accessibility like that.”
Hmm. But.
I don’t know much about the idol industry, but if he’s debuting next year, shouldn’t he be skipping school soon and throwing himself into intense training?
Yet Jung Eun-seong attends school as faithfully and normally as ever.
Even before the regression, I don’t think he ever missed school around this time. But since regressing, there have been so many small changes to the future that I can’t help but feel uneasy.
‘Please tell me his debut future didn’t change too.’
I asked Jung Eun-seong, who held up the shopping bag to shield his face from the sunlight pouring down.
“Did you always like singing?”
“I was good at it.”
“But did you like it?”
“Being good at something and liking it are different things.”
“So what did you like then?”
“Watching dramas.”
“Dramas?”
“Oh.”
Jung Eun-seong lowered his shopping bag just enough to bring my face into the shadow’s reach, then hesitated before asking back.
“Is it weird for a guy to like dramas?”
“Not at all?”
There’s no gender to watching dramas. But.
“You don’t even like singing, so why do you want to become a singer?”
“It’s not that I dislike it. I just like other things more.”
“You like other things more, so why….”
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“Doesn’t studying every day get boring?”
Hmm.
I scratched my chin.
Actually, I hear that question from kids all the time.
Hey, you all—fail at everything you do and live until you’re twenty-nine, then get sent back to eighteen and see what happens.
You’ll find studying actually enjoyable.
You’ll be grateful just to have the chance to study.
Pro tip for when you don’t feel like studying: close your eyes. Imagine the life I ruined by not doing this. Then feel deeply regretful, and open your eyes thinking I’ve regressed back to now.
Officially known as the Self-Regression Study Method.
‘He doesn’t want to answer my question. Look at him dodging the subject.’
Fine, I won’t press further.
I answered without pressing the issue.
“Lucky for me, what I’m good at and what I like happen to be the same thing.”
“Do you have a separate goal for studying?”
“I already told you. I don’t really have a dream.”
“But there’s still something you want to achieve, isn’t there?”
“Well… not leaving any regrets.”
“You can’t live without regrets.”
“But I can still do my best.”
In this cycle of life, I’m doing everything I possibly can. Even if I could turn back time again, I couldn’t give more effort than I’m giving now.
That much conviction is enough.
“So I’m living hard right now. To avoid regrets.”
I pulled out the Memorization Notebook I’d stuffed in my skirt pocket and showed it to him. Want to see?
Jung Eun-seong’s mouth fell open at the sight of the Memorization Notebook, so tattered it was barely recognizable.
“At that point, maybe you should just throw it away…….”
“I can’t…… I still haven’t memorized everything…….”
“But you said you could get everything right on a test right now…….”
“This one’s for the final exam…….”
“Why is the end all water-damaged anyway……?”
“I read it even while washing…….”
“Ugh….”
I pushed Jung Eun-seong, who was pressing his forehead, into the School Convenience Store.
“There’s only five Melony left.”
“Then let’s mix them with Pipi Ko and buy them.”
“The shopping bag’s going to rip.”
“I’ll carry them then.”
He’d asked me to come along, but in the end Jung Eun-seong was the one taking out the ice cream, putting the surprisingly heavy stack into the shopping bag himself.
“Why did I even come with you?”
“Just hold the receipt for me.”
On the way back, he muttered like a sigh.
“Can you believe the test is next week already.”
And we’re taking English and math starting Monday. Who schedules the major subjects on the same day anyway.
“Actually, it’s better to just finish math early.”
Knock out math first, get the results, then make a game plan. Jung Eun-seong tilted his head as he watched me clench my fist with resolve.
“Do we have math on Monday?”
“Math and English, remember?”
“…I thought it was Modern and Contemporary History.”
“…That’s Tuesday.”
“What!”
“…I must’ve written it down wrong.”
Jung Eun-seong scrunched up his face.
“Funny thing — math and English weren’t on the test.”
“…….”
But I noticed him poring over the Modern and Contemporary History textbook like his life depended on it!
* * *
Year 2, Class 2 — Girls Only Group Chat
Ye Su-a
Seriously what is Do Ha-jun doing sending that kind of meme to the class chat?ㅡㅡ
I’m so mad I could die
22:17
22:29
Then we can bury Do Ha-jun with you in your grave
Ye Su-a
Excuse me, Kang Da-hye
I’m dying because of Do Ha-jun and you want to put him in my grave?
22:30
haha sorry
but you’re already dead anyway Su-a ㅠ the living gotta stay alive
22:31
thanks to your sacrifice we’ll live in a world without Do Ha-jun
Gyeong Se-in
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
22:31
Yu Jin-ha
ㅋㅋㅋㅋ from now on whoever dies first gets buried with Do Ha-jun
22:37
Yang Yeon-hui
ㅋㅋㅋ
22:41
yep~ Do Ha-jun’s gonna be your grave companion~
I giggled and put my Cellphone away.
I’d rested for ten minutes. Time to get back to studying.
Sunday night. Ten hours and nineteen minutes until the math exam.
Current status: spent all day studying at Do Yeon’s House, came home, and have been grinding through math problems right up until now.
“Ugh… I keep getting this one wrong.”
I think if I just work through it a few more times I’ll get it.
I still have some time anyway…….
.
.
.
Jung Eun-seong
give me just one minute
00:42
I called him right away.
Before the dial tone could even finish ringing, Eun-seong picked up.
“Eun-seong, what’s wrong?”
-which verb takes both the infinitive and the gerund as objects?
“Out of nowhere?”
-I wrote down ‘verbs that take both the infinitive and gerund as objects’ but I never filled in the actual answer.
“You must have fallen asleep.”
I didn’t think it’d show up on the midterm, but I went ahead and gave him the answer anyway.
“Love, Start, Begin, Like, Hate, Continue, Intend.”
-Love, Start, Begin…….
His voice at night sounds dangerous. Drowsy and kind of addictive.
-Da-hye, how late are you staying up?
“Until I finish everything I’m working on right now. What about you?”
-I’m gonna pull an all-nighter…… but I’m so tired.
“……want to check in on each other every hour?”
We could send a survival report through Cellphone, and if there’s no reply, wake the other person up. If one of us falls asleep, we just say so.
-sounds good.
“All right.”
I hung up the phone and checked the time—it was nearly 1 a.m.
‘Mom’s running late tonight.’
Must be the business picking up.
The Rose Tteokbokki I’d pushed her to add to the menu as an experiment was flying off the shelves.
I tilted my head and turned back to my studying.
Jung Eun-seong
right?
02:00
“Huh.”
What? It’s already 2 a.m.?
ㄴㄴ
02:00
“Mom still isn’t back.”
That’s odd. I tried calling her.
Ring… ring…
—Sorry, I can’t take your call right now. Please leave a message after the tone…
“…?”

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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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