1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 87

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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
Hiding the Regression
Chapter 87
(Part B)
The Student Teacher stretched his arm out.
He’d only done a few stretches, but the girls around us erupted in cheers. I swear half the female students at our school must’ve lost their voices by now.
Jung Eun-seong and Seo Jae-gyeom stood beside him, puffing their shoulders out to look taller, quivering slightly—but there was no other way around it.
Grow up, you young people.
“Well then, Teacher, I have a favor to ask! Da-hye, I’m sorry!”
“Yes, sir. You can count on me…….”
I sent the Homeroom Teacher—whose face had gone pale—to the restroom, then stepped forward with the Student Teacher. I slipped the sponge band for the three-legged race onto my ankle, stealing a glance up at him.
I’m nervous.
My Homeroom Teacher and I are roughly the same height, but this guy and I have almost a thirty-centimeter difference.
The Student Teacher, catching my gaze, grinned.
“Nervous?”
“A little…?”
If I fall again, that’s it. My knees are already scraped raw.
“It’s fine. We don’t need to go fast. We’ll win as long as we don’t fall.”
“I think I might fall though… our strides don’t match.”
“It’s fine. You won’t fall.”
“…….”
Is this composure just the confidence of a Korean University student?
“What’s with your pants?”
“Oh. I fell during the relay earlier.”
He must have missed it while preparing for the talent show. I shrugged, looking down at my gym clothes stained with blood.
“But you’re still running?”
“Seo Jae-gyeom already exceeded the number of events one person can participate in. If I don’t run, we’ll have to forfeit.”
“Just forfeit.”
Easy for you to say! Instead of snapping back, I pointed to the stack of prize boxes piled in front of the tent where the teachers were gathered.
“I want to win that.”
“A Culture Gift Certificate?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To buy problem books.”
“Ah, that’s the spirit. Goal-oriented thinking like that—you’re going to make a fine junior at my university.”
“Thanks.”
“There’s still time before the first-year events wrap up. Want to practice?”
“Yes.”
I locked step with the Student Teacher and we circled the track together. Despite the awkwardness and discomfort, our rhythm fell into sync. We were making decent speed.
This might actually work.
Since just walking felt strange, I started a conversation.
“Teacher, how did you feel when you got into Korean University?”
“I cried. My homeroom teacher in third year was Na Moon-gwa, you see? I was blubbering at home and called her, but she already knew. She said she logged in with my account the second the results went live.”
“Oh no… then shouldn’t you have said something…!”
“That’s what I said!”
Silence.
“Aren’t you going to ask me the usual stuff? Early admission or regular? What grade did you get on the College Entrance Exam?”
“No, I mean.”
What’s the point in asking a Korean University student about grades?
And if he’s here doing student teaching, he must be an upper-class student—by that age, people have already forgotten when the College Entrance Exam even was.
“Korean University tuition is cheap, though.”
“That’s right. It’s a national university.”
“Getting into Korean University really is the ultimate act of filial piety.”
“True. And it’s easy to find tutoring gigs.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Sometimes calls come into the department office asking them to set up a tutor.”
“Wow.”
Before we knew it, the first-year events had ended.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
“Kang Da-hye.”
After Seo Jae-gyeom snapped his bamboo stick in half, the homeroom teacher of Class 1—now visibly deflated—and Ji-su, their legs bound together, waved at me.
“Where’s your class representative?”
“Says his stomach hurts.”
“Did he happen to drink that condensed milk coffee from the Main Gate Truck?”
“How’d you know?”
“Kang Da-hye! I’m going to have my revenge for that bamboo stick, got it?”
The homeroom teacher from the adjacent class, pointing back and forth between Seo Jae-gyeom and me from a distance, threw down a threat.
“Well, that’s certainly nerve-wracking.”
I nodded and took my place at the starting line.
Here we go.
The final stretch for that culture gift certificate.
“Three, two, one….”
Bang!
What happened after that—me groaning and wheeling forward—was so ungainly that I’ll spare you the details…….
Ji-su’s homeroom teacher’s stomach was acting up, so why was he so fast?!
I could see him flailing around beside us, and my heart raced so much my feet tangled on their own. I’ll just say the Student Teacher practically lifted me off the ground and carried me forward.
“Ow!”
“You’re okay. We crossed the finish line.”
“Really?!”
“We won.”
“Yes!”
I lifted my head to look at the scoreboard.
[Score Board]
연 : 360
고 : 340
[Score Board]
고 : 390
연 : 365
“Wow!”
“This actually worked!”
I threw my hands up in celebration, nearly toppling over because my legs were still bound together.
The Student Teacher caught me as I stumbled, smiling as he asked.
“It was all thanks to me, right?”
“Yes! Thank you so much!”
If anyone ever asks who saved our class, lift your head and show them this Student Teacher!
Seeing how pleased I was, the Student Teacher tilted his head to the side and spoke playfully.
“Good thing we ended on a high note.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t make a good impression on you, did I?”
“…….”
Was it that obvious?
“Did I make up for it a little?”
The Student Teacher, who’d just removed the sponge band from my legs, winked.
He was handsome, certainly.
No. Get your head on straight. Looks don’t matter.
“It wasn’t so much a bad impression…”
More like—we’d just met, and he came on awfully strong toward a minor. That made him seem like one of those suspicious adults…….
There are so many weird people these days, you know?
As I hesitated, he laughed as if he understood everything.
“I like people who work hard. I just want to help them out, that kind of thing.”
“Sir…?”
You seemed like the type who wouldn’t care about other people’s business.
“You don’t know me, Da-hye. I’m actually pretty nosy.”
“Oh….”
“I guess meeting a future junior with the same personality as me got me a little too excited. But I’m glad we cleared up the misunderstanding before I leave.”
“Right… today’s your last day, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Glad it ended well. …When you get to Korean University, reach out. I’ll buy you dinner.”
“Hmm….”
But you won’t be at school anymore…….
“No, Da-hye—there’s probably a whole line of older students and guys wanting to buy her a meal. I might not even get a turn. Still, if we run into each other at school, you’ll say hello, right?”
“Yes.”
It was nothing to worry about. I nodded.
If he’d pushed any harder, I really would’ve gotten suspicious. But he knows when to exit cleanly.
How beautiful is the back of a student teacher who understands exactly when it’s time to leave.
“Sir!”
“Do you have to go?!”
“We’ll miss you so much!”
“If you go on vacation, will you give us a school tour?!”
A swarm of students crowded around the student teacher, but I slipped away toward the stands.
“Kang Da-hye!”
“Da-hye!”
“We knew you could do it! Our class representative!”
Apparently a comeback victory hits different. The class had gone wild.
Even the students who’d been apathetic earlier were flushed and cheering. I turned my gaze to the scoreboard instead.
[Gogogo High School 26th Annual One-Heart Sports Festival Results]
Winning Team: Red Team
Today’s MVP: Ye Su-a (Class 2-2)
Popularity Award: Seo Jae-gyeom (Class 2-2), Jung Eun-seong (Class 2-2)
Cheering Award: Blue Team in Full
Hmm.
It felt a bit like when the headmaster in Harry Potter keeps adding points to Gryffindor out of nowhere to force them into first place…
But we won!
“The winning team receives Culture Gift Certificates worth five thousand won, and a Math Problem Set Book specially sponsored for this event….”
“Woohoo!”
How exciting!
* * *
“The closing ceremony will follow….”
Do Ha-jun
You okay?ㅠㅠ
You shouldn’t bruise a girl’s leg like thatㅠㅠ
15:32
“Sigh….”
Should I block him?
“Jang Ji-won and Park Su-hwan—where did they go? The festival isn’t even over.”
“Da-hye.”
I asked Seo Jae-gyeom as he returned from turning in the flag.
“Have you seen Jang Ji-won and Park Su-hwan?”
“They left a while ago holding hands.”
“…They didn’t go home, did they?”
“No. They have their bags. But anyway.”
“What?”
“Is your leg okay?”
“Oh.”
Sure enough, from running so hard, the bandage I’d put on had come loose and was flapping around.
“I need to fix it before I go.”
I’d promised to hang out at Se-in’s place today. I couldn’t show up like this.
“Go ahead. If the homeroom teacher asks for you, I’ll tell her it was because of your leg.”
“Thanks.”
While I was at it, I needed to grab the books I’d left in my locker. I headed to the classroom.
Creak.
I was closing the door without looking back when something caught the frame from behind—a hand.
“Oh!”
“Why are you startled.”
It was Jung Eun-seong.
“What are you doing up here?”
“To put your bandage back on.”
“Oh.”
I’m starting to owe him favors too much…
“I’ll do it.”
“I climbed all the way up here, wasting my precious knee joints just to do this for you.”
Jung Eun-seong, gesturing for me to sit down already, dropped to one knee in front of my desk again.
That parting line in his hair vanished from sight once more as the crown of his head came into view.
“Really, it’s fine….”
“You applied medicine to my burn before, remember? Think of this as repayment. A handsome guy settling his debts.”
“Sigh.”
Eun-seong, emphasizing the “handsome,” snipped the gauze with quick strokes and peeled open the Sponge Band. His touch was steadier now, more assured than before—practice made perfect.
“So, are you happy you got the gift certificate?”
“Yeah. Really happy.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“Problem books.”
“There are more problem books left to buy?”
“Yeah. I’m trying to solve every single problem book that’s come out in bookstores without missing one.”
“That’s so like you. I’m rooting for you.”
“Got it.”
“All done. Does it hurt if I press it?”
Eun-seong, his hand resting gently over my knee, lifted his gaze to meet mine.
Our eyes locked, and before I could help myself, I swallowed hard.
“Kang Da-hye—you didn’t bring the ointment….”
Seo Jae-gyeom, who’d come in holding a Sponge Band and ointment in one hand, froze mid-step.
A pop quiz, right when I’d let my guard down.
2.
(C) and (D): How many poems in total did the narrator quote? [3 points]
① 3 poems
② 4 poems
③ 5 poems
④ 6 poems
⑤ 7 poems
Answer: ④
Explanation: “Was putting coffee there our way of wishing for our ruin?” was quoted from the novel.

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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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