1st in Class Hides Regression - Chapter 94

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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
Chapter 94
“Don’t you care what people think?”
It was Ga-eun.
Ga-eun, who’d harbored ill feelings toward Jang Ji-won ever since she’d screenshotted the group chat and sent it to her ex-boyfriend—and how did things stand now that Ji-won was dating Park Su-hwan?
What could I even say.
“What?”
Jang Ji-won’s eyes went wide at the criticism.
“There’s only you here. Keep it down.”
“So what’s it to you? Are you the class rep?”
“I am the class rep, and I’d really appreciate it if you kept quiet!”
I raised my hand to jump in but caught the full force of Jang Ji-won’s withering stare.
Ugh.
If Seo Jae-gyeom had said something, I’d have been all “Yeah yeah, got it ㅠㅠ I was so reckless, I’m sorry”… but this!
Ga-eun suppressed a laugh before her face turned serious again.
“Look, Jang Ji-won—if you’d just stop making noise, I wouldn’t have to say anything. Everyone else is studying, and you’re the only one acting up.”
“Yu Jin-ha talks to her seatmate, Gyeong Se-in talks to hers—so why just me?”
“Because Jin-ha and Se-in actually keep their voices down!”
“Are you jealous?”
“What?”
“I said, are you jealous? If you’re so desperate, why don’t you date someone too, Ga-eun?”
Jang Ji-won seemed to genuinely believe it—that Ga-eun was picking fights with her out of pure envy that she, Ji-won, had a boyfriend.
Ga-eun let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Dating? What dating. Your boyfriend won’t even look at you because he’s too busy gaming, but there you are, clinging to him like nothing. Showing your KakaoTalk to the girls just to get attention?”
“That’s not—I can show my chat to my own boyfriend if I want. What’s it to you? If you want to, show yours too. Oh wait, you don’t have one, so you can’t.”
“If your only options are dating Park Su-hwan or lifelong chastity, I’ll take chastity.”
“So do you have a boyfriend or not, Ga-eun? You don’t.”
So our Ji-won was incredibly proud of herself for having a boyfriend.
We’d really dropped the ball. We should’ve erected a monument. Printed it in history textbooks and made it question number one on the College Entrance Exam. We failed her!
The girls’ faces had gone completely rigid by now. Even those who’d still felt some fondness for Ji-won looked utterly exhausted.
Yeon-hui spoke up.
“So you’re just going to keep showing us, then?”
“Yeah, I’m going to keep showing you?”
……
“If you don’t like it, then don’t have conversations you’re ashamed of. You’re only embarrassed to show the boys because you weren’t confident in what you said in the first place.”
What kind of logic is that? Last time she was the one who told her boyfriend about Yeon-hui’s constipation! Did Yeon-hui just want to keep that quiet because she was shy about it?
A headache was coming on.
I pressed my fingers to my temple.
“Jang Ji-won.”
I just said her name, and she glared at me.
Why does she hate me so much?
More than Ga-eun, who calls her out directly, or even Yeon-hui, who used to be close but has drifted away—Ji-won seems to despise me above all.
That’s fine. I’m not fond of her either.
“I really didn’t want to say this…”
But I’m the adult here, and I didn’t want to publicly humiliate anyone.
“Did Park Su-hwan and his friends really do that to us? Look, I’ll be generous and assume you weren’t the victim, so I won’t hold it against you.”
You’ve only been dating this guy for a little over two hundred days, and you’re already taking his side over Yeon-hui, who’s been your friend since middle school. I’m not going to waste my breath on you.
“But have you already forgotten what Park Su-hwan and your ex-boyfriend were saying about you in the group chat?”
Do Ha-jun: Still, Ji-won’s pretty devoted to you though haha
Park Su-hwan: Because she’s ugly lol
Park Su-hwan: Girls like that are never pretty
Ji-won’s ex: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
We’d shown her those messages while her ex was still here and Ji-won was falling apart. We were trying to make her see sense.
“I’m not asking you to sympathize with our problems. But at minimum, that’s your problem. You’re the victim. And you still want to date him after being treated like that?”
She saw him insult her friends and get disciplined for it, saw him call her ugly, and still wanted to be with him.
What would it take—murder?—for her to finally lose feeling for Park Su-hwan?
I was asking this out of genuine concern and exhaustion, but Jang Ji-won seemed to take it as an attack.
Her expression was one of barely restrained fury as she shot back.

“Park Su-hwan already explained all of it to me, didn’t he? I only said that stuff to match the vibe in the group chat.”
“You expect me to believe—! No. Never mind.”
She pressed her forehead.
God, my head hurts.
“Enough. Stop selling out your friends’ business. Is it because you don’t have the confidence to attract your boyfriend with just your own stories?”
“Park Su-hwan and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Somehow I think Park Su-hwan has plenty of secrets from you.”
At my jab, Jang Ji-won spat out a small curse, indignant.
Park Su-hwan sits there with his mouth shut, not saying a word, even though his girlfriend is throwing herself out there like that to defend him. It’s infuriating.
‘If it came down to it, even if Park Su-hwan were the last man on earth, I still wouldn’t date him.’
You don’t need to look back at the whole BJ incident—there are plenty of reasons to keep your distance from Park Su-hwan.
The way he picks on kids who can’t fight back and looks down on them.
How he never stops to think about his own shortcomings, then mocks girls who are bigger than him.
And so on.
I’ve never been in a relationship, but if I ever did and saw my boyfriend acting like that, I think every last drop of affection would drain away.
Jang Ji-won is the type to laugh right along beside him, basking in a sense of superiority that she doesn’t have a large frame herself. There’s no reasoning with that.
If she said, “Kang Da-hye, you just don’t understand because you’ve never dated,” I’d have no comeback—though I plan to stay ignorant on that front for life.
I let out a long sigh and delivered my final blow to Jang Ji-won.
“And I’m sorry, but—”
“What!”
“You’re dating Jung Eun-seong? I’m jealous. You’re dating Seo Jae-gyeom? I’m envious. But Park Su-hwan…? All I can think is that you must have looked really hard to find someone…….”
At the genuine pity on my face, Ga-eun burst out laughing.
The others couldn’t hold back their laughter either. Jung Eun-seong, visible at the edge of my vision, lifted his chin with satisfaction.
As if to say, ‘that’s good.’
“Hey, you guys studying on your own?”
In the midst of the lightened mood, Mun-hak walked in.
“How much have you all studied for the Final Exam?”
“Not much!”
“Why is that answer so loud and clear!”
“Heh heh.”
“You kids need to study Korean literature seriously. This time I made the test really, really hard.”
“Seriously?”
“Come on, teacher…”
“The Midterm was too easy, so there was no way to differentiate between students. This time I made it incredibly difficult and really obscure, so you need to look at every corner carefully, understand?”
“Oh, Kang Da-hye…”
“Why are you blaming me for this?”
I’m laughing as the playful accusations rain down on me.
Mun-hak looked straight at me.
“Did you study a lot, Da-hye?”
“I always study quite a bit.”
“Do you think you can get them all right this time?”
“I’ll give it my best shot.”
“Good. You absolutely have to get them all right. You understand?”
“…Yes.”
“Absolutely.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Absolutely.”
“Yes…?”
Something feels off.
In the way Mun-hak emphasized it over and over, I sensed some hidden context I wasn’t picking up—or maybe it was just my imagination.
* * *
“She’s crazy, I’m telling you! Does she seriously think we’re jealous of her?”
“Exactly.”
“Anyway, Ga-eun, don’t worry about it. As soon as I get home, I’m starting a separate KakaoTalk group chat with the girls. Without Jang Ji-won.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Ga-eun wasn’t letting her anger settle—she stomped her foot down hard. As if knowing exactly how to lift her spirits, Su-a made a suggestion.
“Should we go to Lotte World on the first day of break?”
“That’s perfect. The Lotte World that Jang Ji-won couldn’t go to—let’s go instead.”
“Let’s do it!”
Lotte World……
How much was the admission ticket again?
I haven’t spent a single won at the school store since Mom’s accident, so if I just walk to and from school instead of taking the bus from now on, I might actually manage it…….
“You’re going, right, Da-hye?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Right. Since I regressed, I’ve never gone anywhere for fun.
Let me give myself a gift to celebrate finishing first semester safely.

“I’m in.”
“Great!”
Se-in’s hand shot up with a bright clap. Do-yeon, always quiet, had flushed cheeks too.
I was excited too.
We haven’t even gotten near Lotte World yet, but I’m already smiling.
I didn’t realize I’d been looking forward to this so much.
After parting ways with my friends, my feet carried me toward home faster than I could control. I practically flew the whole way there.
“Mom….”
The moment I opened the front door, I could see Mom sitting in the kitchen just beyond.
The lights were off. She held a cleaning rag in her hand, staring blankly at the floor. A single sheet of paper lay before her.
It was the Rental Bill — the one Mom sighed over every time she saw it.
“…….”
I quietly closed the door again.
I climbed the semi-basement stairs slowly, careful not to make a sound.
I stood in the Villa entrance and looked around.
The cracks in the wallpaper that bloomed with mold every time it rained. The creaking windows. The man over there smoking a cigarette, staring at me. The rusted mirror hanging at the Villa entrance. Trash scattered across the alley.
The grandfather who grabbed me by the hair on College Entrance Exam day.
The car accident.
The College Reapplication failure.
Mom’s shop going under from the pandemic years later.
‘Even if your grades fall, I can’t do anything about it. Mom doesn’t have the money to put you through College Reapplication.’
“…….”
Is this really the time for that?
If I’m not careful, I might never escape this place.
“…….”
I pressed my cellphone and made a call.
-Da-hye?
“…Jae-gyeom.”
-What’s up? Is this a dream?
“About the tutoring you mentioned earlier…… Can I change my mind again?”

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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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