If I Don’t Earn 1 Trillion Won, My Regression Ends - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 28

Song Geum-sil from Class 2 of 1st grade at Gae-jeong Elementary School is a transfer student.

She had been raised by her grandmother since she was young, and Goesan where she grew up was truly a deep mountain valley.

When she returned to the city after her grandmother passed away, everything around her looked like a different world. The city cousins she met for the first time called her a country bumpkin.

Song Geum-sil couldn’t understand any of the brands her cousins giggled about among themselves.

There was no child here as country-like as her, no child as dark and chubby as her.

On the first day she entered the classroom with her courage completely broken.

As expected, the city children wore expensive brand clothes and acted arrogantly like her cousins, but only one person caught Song Geum-sil’s eye.

That child was sitting alone by the window.

Shiny long straight hair with a trendy headband.

A pink cardigan the same color as the headband matched perfectly with her milk-white skin like a painting.

She looked delicate and pure, but because of her upturned eye corners, she would look snooty with just a slight glare. It was as if the ‘city girl’ Song Geum-sil had vaguely imagined had popped out just like that.

Her name was Seosing-a.

Vice class president.

She moved here 2 years ago and wasn’t close with the neighborhood locals.

She only hung out with Jeong Hyeon-hye, the class president, but Song Geum-sil soon sensitively noticed.

That the two weren’t actually that close.

Rather… they seemed to dislike each other.

“Hey. Why does the class president hate the vice president?”

“What are you talking about? Hyeon-hye takes such good care of Seosing-a. Seosing-a is really annoying!”

“Right, she always acts weak and copies Hyeon-hye. Hyeon-hye is too nice so she doesn’t know anything and only takes Seosing-a’s side!”

“Transfer student, were you on Seosing-a’s side too? Get lost!”

The class kids hated Seosing-a.

The reasons seemed various but were actually one.

Because the class president only looked after her. Because Jeong Hyeon-hye only took Seosing-a’s side. Because Seosing-a stole their friend Jeong Hyeon-hye away.

Song Geum-sil felt wronged on her behalf.

Unable to bear it anymore, she went to find her in the nurse’s office.

For some unknown reason, Seosing-a would collapse whenever she went to the playground, so she was always here during PE class.

“Hey, you… don’t, don’t be fooled. The class president hates you! All that caring stuff is fake. She only does that in front of the other kids.”

Seosing-a, who had been hurriedly covering herself with a blanket thinking the teacher had returned, slowly lowered the blanket.

Then she rolled the candy in her mouth audibly and said.

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Of course I know. Do you know what that’s called in technical terms? Killing with praise.”

“Wh-what?”

“It’s a method used during China’s Han Dynasty. You lift your opponent up high to make them the target of everyone else’s jealousy. Emperor Jeong Hyeon-hye favors only the wicked Seosing-a, so the rest of you concubines. You’re going crazy, right? Come on, hurry up and band together to hate her. Isn’t she really smart? How is this the mind of an eight-year-old?”

It felt like opening a door to a secret no one knew, but in truth, Song Geum-sil couldn’t understand even half of what Seosing-a was saying.

To Song Geum-sil, Seosing-a speaking like that seemed much smarter than Jeong Hyeon-hye.

“Th-then if you know everything, why…”

“Because I’m a hateful eight-year-old.”

“Huh?”

“Just, I’m only eight years old after all.”

For a moment, Song Geum-sil felt she vaguely understood why Jeong Hyeon-hye hated Seosing-a so much.

But that feeling was too vague for young Song Geum-sil to grasp.

The next day, Seosing-a hung out with Jeong Hyeon-hye as if nothing had happened, and after class ended, she would disappear with a boy named Choi Chamsol who waited for her at the door.

Song Geum-sil often witnessed the class president’s gaze following Seosing-a’s back as she left laughing with Choi Chamsol.

Jeong Hyeon-hye didn’t look happy at those times.

Sometimes a tall boy named Jeong Hyeon-gyo would come instead of Choi Chamsol, and the whispering kids said he was Jeong Hyeon-hye’s older brother.

But Song Geum-sil never saw Jeong Hyeon-gyo looking for Jeong Hyeon-hye.

Jeong Hyeon-gyo would quietly come, talk with Seosing-a, and then leave. No one would know he had a younger sister in the same class.

And one day after school.

Song Geum-sil, who was walking home, spotted a familiar figure from behind.

It was near the stationery store, in an alley between walls where neighborhood delinquents were said to frequently appear.

It was a place school kids wouldn’t even go near because of rumors that 100 out of 100 people would get their money stolen, but Seosing-a was pacing in front of it.

She seemed to be conflicted about something.

Song Geum-sil was also debating whether to call out to her, but while she hesitated, Seosing-a ran inside.

Startled, she reflexively followed and saw a completely unexpected scene.

“Are you going to keep playing dumb? You’re the one who picked a fight with my little sister at Seohyeon Station arcade on Sunday.”

“She cut in line first. Aren’t you older sisters embarrassed to do this to an elementary school student?”

“Hey, enough. Let’s see if you keep acting tough after getting beaten up. What’s your name? Jeong Hyeon-hye?”

“Is that really your name? You’re not lying? Look at how this bitch talks.”

It was Jeong Hyeon-hye!

She was surrounded by middle school delinquents, and the atmosphere was very menacing.

And when one of them raised their hand, Seosing-a, who had run into the alley, shouted.

“Huh? Lee Ok-hwa! What are you doing there?”

With an innocent expression under their fierce gazes, she walked over, grabbed Jeong Hyeon-hye’s wrist and scolded her.

“What are you doing here? Your father is making a fuss because you didn’t go to academy, so the teacher called the police officers to look for you!”

“Police?”

“You believe that? What police? What parent calls the police because their kid didn’t go to academy?”

“No… Ok-hwa is a liar who lied about going to academy and spent all the academy fees on other things. Ok-hwa’s dad called the police officers saying he’d send her to prison. It’s true…!”

“…”

How can she act so well?

Song Geum-sil was amazed. Even she almost fell for it!

The middle school bullies were scary enough to make Song Geum-sil’s legs shake from far away, but Seosing-a was deceiving them without batting an eye.

At perfect timing, a police car siren wailed in the distance.

“Ah shit~ Let’s go. Is today the only day?”

“Wait. Kid. But what’s your friend’s name? What did you call her?”

“Her name? Ok-hwa. Lee Ok-hwa. Why, sister?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

The bullies looked at Jeong Hyeon-hye with triumphant faces and giggled. Their expression said ‘We found out your real name, so you’re totally scared, right?’

Song Geum-sil was worried.

‘The class president shouldn’t say her real name there!’

But contrary to her worries, Jeong Hyeon-hye pretended to be scared and hung her head. Her trembling acting skills were no less than Seosing-a’s from just before…

“Then see you again~ Ok-hwa? The sisters will come to see you again. Make sure to come out when we call~”

“Her name is really country-like!”

Song Geum-sil thought it was natural.

Lee Ok-hwa was the name of Gae-jeong Elementary School’s principal…

It would be quite a sight if the triumphant bullies shouted for Lee Ok-hwa in front of the school gate.

The alley after the bullies disappeared.

Seosing-a and Jeong Hyeon-hye didn’t say anything to each other.

Song Geum-sil watched nervously.

What if the class president gets angry? Shouldn’t she say thank you since Seosing-a saved her?

Jeong Hyeon-hye spoke.

“Hand it over.”

Then Seosing-a pulled out a colored paper card from her school bag with a really reluctant expression. When Jeong Hyeon-hye received it, the two turned around and parted without lingering.

Song Geum-sil only found out later when she received the same card from Seosing-a.

It was an invitation to Seosing-a’s birthday party.

“You don’t need to bring a gift or anything. But you have to come. It’ll be really empty without you, Geum-sil. I’m not lying, I really didn’t invite many people…”

Seosing-a emphasized several times that she must come.

She seemed troubled that she had invited so few friends. Her parents were being childish, making such a big fuss over this party.

But what Seosing-a was worried about wasn’t going to happen.

May 24th, 1998.

The evening before Seosing-a’s birthday.

“…Wo, wow~.”

“What? What was that commercial just now?”

“Was that really a commercial? Wasn’t that a movie? Was it a movie trailer?”

“Who’s that girl? I watched without even breathing. I’m sure it’s a face I’ve never seen before-“

“I know her.”

Letting out the breath she’d been holding, Song Geum-sil muttered.

Her cousins and relatives all turned to look at once.

Even though “Conscience Refrigerator” was starting on the television screen, everyone was only talking about the commercial from before. With excited and surprised faces.

“It’s Seosing-a. Sing-a. From our class… She’s, she’s my friend!”

On this Sunday evening when family gathered in small groups, everyone was talking about Seosing-a like that.

Really, everyone.

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