1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 67

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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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Ranked 1st in School Hides Her Regression
Episode 67
“Hey, Apple Juice Kang Da-hye.”
“?”
Morning.
As I entered the classroom, one of the boys from Do Ha-jun’s group raised his hand in greeting. At that, the whole gang clustered around him burst into snickers.
“Were you calling me?”
“No, no~ Don’t worry about it~”
The way they smiled while glancing at my face and whispering among themselves left a sour taste in my mouth.
“Hey hey, just one verse~”
Park Su-hwan, who sat among them like royalty, pretended to stop them while grinning at me.
“…….”
Something felt off, but it was awkward to call them out on it.
“Don’t you think those guys are acting weird lately?”
A friend sitting in the front row spoke to me as I suppressed my irritation and set the attendance log on the desk.
“Even during lunch, they’re huddled together in front of a PC and won’t move. When you ask what they’re doing, they say it’s nothing.”
“That’s strange….”
“They keep calling me ‘sister’ out of nowhere.”
“Really? They do that to you too, Yeon-hee?”
“Yeah. So I asked them why they were calling me that, and they wouldn’t answer.”
“…That’s not good.”
In my experience, nothing good ever came when boys acted like that.
“Bwahahaha!”
“Ahahaha!”
Just then, the group erupted in laughter again. I patted Yeon-hee’s hand as she mouthed ‘I told you so’ and raised my voice.
“You guys, keep it down. There are people studying.”
“Okay okay, we understand, Sister Da-hye~”
“…….”
I wanted to hit them.
I shook my head and made my way to the locker. As I was taking out my books, Jung Eun-seong entered through the back door.
Come to think of it, he was one of my problems too.
I approached Jung Eun-seong, who held a 1L carton of milk in one hand.
“Jung Eun-seong.”
When I called his name, Jung Eun-seong turned to me and handed me a small milk that came with his carton.
“Thanks. But that’s not it.”
“There’s no Jetty.”
“That’s fine….”
What I needed wasn’t Jetty cocoa powder — it was an espresso shot…….
“That person who took us to our hospital back then. The trainee.”
A future gambling addict.
“Yeah.”
“Are you close with him?”
“…Why?”
“…Just asking?”
“…….”
“What was his name? He’s twenty, right? What’s his personality like?”
“His name is ‘you don’t need to know,’ and his personality’s the same way.”
Jung Eun-seong answered curtly and tore open his milk. He drank it down in large gulps, his eyes looking down at me with clear displeasure. His gaze was pure dismissal.
“I want to know…….”
I was dying to understand how that person became addicted to gambling and ended up contributing to the dissolution of the Delinquent Group, which was already nothing but criminals.
Jung Eun-seong didn’t answer, only drinking his milk.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Silence and hostile stares followed.
Jung Eun-seong, having drained the large carton in one go, wiped his lips with the back of his hand and called to me.
“Kang Da-hye.”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you keep taking an interest in that guy?”
“Keep?”
This was the first time.
“That guy’s already an adult. There’s a river between adults and minors that you can’t cross even if you die — you know that, or you don’t.”
“I know….”
“And he said he had no plans to date before that debut. Far as I know, he’s never even been in a relationship. He was practicing.”
“How earnest of him….”
So why would he turn to gambling?
“Here’s another thing. I don’t approve of older men dating younger women.”
“Neither do I….”
But that’s not the point right now, is it?
“Does he have any inclination toward betting, or does he enjoy games of chance? Anything like that?”
“Not at all.”
“Or maybe he can’t exercise restraint, or he’s always chasing that next rush…?”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“…….”
The thing is.
‘That guy gets hooked on gambling a few years from now, right when your group is supposed to be making a real push. He ends up in some VIP Room run by gangsters, loses everything at the tables, and gets buried in debt.
He sells his parents down the river with lies just to beg your forgiveness, and whether his parents are actually gone or not I don’t know, but because you’re close to him your heart softens—
you lend him money and end up getting dragged through the mud yourself.’
How am I supposed to say this?
‘He’d be lucky if people just thought he was mentally ill.’
Instead, I said something else.
“Eun-seong. What if everyone you debuted with was garbage? Every single one of them — incompetent, dishonest, obviously headed for trouble. Actually, it’s a guarantee. What would you do then?”
“Out of nowhere?”
Eun-seong frowned at the abrupt question, but he didn’t protest. He just answered, honest as always.
“I guess I’d have to see when it actually happens.”
“Wait — it hasn’t happened yet?”
“Of course not. I’m just a trainee.”
“Isn’t your debut coming soon?”
“There’s no plan to debut within the next three years. I haven’t even gotten close to it. Same goes for my hyung.”
“Really…?”
“Yeah.”
Eun-seong nodded.
“I don’t know what you’re worried about, but my debut hasn’t even got a whiff yet. And the odds of him and I ending up in the same group are even slimmer.”
“…….”
“You’re overthinking things first thing in the morning. Are you tired?”
Eun-seong chided me, then fished a crumpled Jetty out of his desk. When I didn’t take it, he confiscated my milk and made chocolate milk for me instead. I asked him as he busied himself with the mixture.
“If a problem does come up, can you tell me about it?”
“So you can help me?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Though it won’t happen.”
“Got it.”
“Mm.”
“Remember this. Gambling addiction hotline — 1336.”
“I said I got it.”
Well, the future’s already changing anyway, so there’s no point obsessing over the past. I can worry once something actually happens.
Besides, he doesn’t even have a debut planned right now.
I’m not sure why… but he said he’d tell me if something came up.
I sighed and took the milk from Eun-seong.
“Drink it fast. If you miss your window for growth, it’s harder to catch up.”
“Height isn’t as big a deal for me as it is for you.”
With a lighter mood, I bickered back and forth with Eun-seong.
Creak.
Jae-gyeom appeared, drowsy-eyed and expressionless. The moment his gaze landed on Eun-seong and me together, his face crumpled.
“Why are you two stuck to each other again?”
“We were having a serious conversation about the future. Where were you? Your bag is over there.”
“The Administrative Office.”
“Why?”
“You’re always the one bringing the attendance log, so I figured I’d do it today.”
“But it’s already been brought, hasn’t it?”
“Tch. Yeah. Han Ji-su’s mother was there in the office — she asked how you were doing. Is your mother alright?”
“She must’ve heard it from Ji-su. What did she say she was doing there?”
“She came about Han Ji-su’s grades.”
“Ji-su’s grades?”
“Han Ji-su got the literature essay question wrong. His mother’s asking us to mark it as correct.”
“Ah.”
Seo Jae-gyeom scratched his eyebrow as if irritated, then added curtly.
“Han Ji-su’s mother said you must be nervous.”
“Why?”
“Because if his grades go up, your ranking could change.”
“Ah.”
That’s not possible though. I got a perfect score.
“I told her that wasn’t possible. That you got a perfect score.”
“Oh….”
He was thinking the same thing as me.
“You took my side?”
“Because that woman was spouting nonsense.”
If someone else’s child did well, you should just acknowledge it — there’s no need to keep adding remarks about rankings changing and all this drama.
Seo Jae-gyeom dismissed Han Ji-su’s mother without emotion and gestured for us to head to our seats.
“She’s coming again for parent-teacher day next week. How many times a month does that woman visit the school?”
“Heh….”
I can’t exactly say ‘Your mother visits pretty often too,’ can I…?
* * *
“Why do you watch dramas with gay characters in them? That’s why there are so many gay people in this country — because people grow up watching that stuff.”
“What? That makes no sense. By that logic, I watched <Secret Garden> growing up, so why aren’t I a conglomerate heir?”
“Same here. I watched <Sherlock> growing up, and I’m not a detective.”
I countered Park Su-hwan’s nonsense immediately. Another friend chimed in from across the room.
The teacher runs these impromptu discussions during reading time and watches with satisfaction as we debate — and today, Park Su-hwan was spouting his usual garbage.
I don’t understand why he keeps opening his mouth when every time someone disagrees with him, his face turns red and he throws a tantrum. If you hate hearing opposing views, don’t voice your opinion in the first place!
I added another comment to smooth over the tense atmosphere.
“Of course there’s something called the Scully Effect, but that applies to career choices — I don’t think sexual orientation falls into that category. Because….”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re totally right, Apple Juice noona~ Here, balloon!”
Park Su-hwan cut me off just as I was working hard to make my point despite his rudeness.
“Wa-ha-ha!”
“Ah-ha-ha!”
“…….”
Again.
That group calling me by that ridiculous name, the girls looking confused while the boys burst out laughing.
I glanced around the room.
A few boys getting the joke and laughing, a few frowning, a few avoiding eye contact. And Jung Eun-seong, asleep as usual.
My observation didn’t last long.
Seo Jae-gyeom, sitting next to me, suddenly kicked Park Su-hwan’s chair in front of us.
“Hey. What did you just say.”
Thwack!
“I said, what did you just say. Say it again, you bastard. Huh?”
Seo Jae-gyeom shot to his feet, grabbed Park Su-hwan by the back of the head, and slammed his face into the desk.

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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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