The Regressed Chaebol Grandson Finds It Hard to Forgive - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9. The Wise School Life of a 4th-Class (3)

She’s arrived! Her!

The Adidas Nike Slippers.
My weapon of pride.

What they despise in their everyday lives.
Still treading on Oh Gwang-jun’s face, I turned toward the source of the commotion.

A female student who had just stopped at the classroom’s back entrance.

The moment I saw her, she filled my entire vision.

The whole classroom seemed to brighten.

She was the one who used to terrify me just by being seen.

The young lady of a noble house that commoners didn’t dare even glance at.

“Looking at her again… she’s pretty.”

My true feelings tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

She stood about 170 centimeters tall.

With short hair and a small, flawless face as pale as snow.

Her features were refined without harshness, her body blessed with the golden ratio.

Talent agency business cards poured in the moment she stepped outside school—Lee Hyo-ju.

Unlike other girls, she wore no makeup.
Her youthful, dewy skin gleamed with pure innocence.

Beneath her natural double eyelids, large eyes gazed directly at me.

Clear.

As far as I knew, she’d been accepted to Gokhak University.
And yet she was…

“…??”

Lee Hyo-ju’s eyes widened in confusion, demanding an explanation.

Her gaze was questioning, as if asking me to justify my sudden remark.

No one at this school had ever said such a thing to Lee Hyo-ju.

And the situation was absolutely ridiculous.

Oh Gwang-jun, who’d been keeping the class in line until now, was pinned beneath my slippers.

She would naturally find it very strange—me standing with my foot on his face, spouting nonsense.

“…Ha Tae-ung, you’ve definitely lost it, haven’t you?”
“He called Lee Hyo-ju pretty!!”

An uproar erupted among the students.

Their reaction made sense.
I understood completely.

Lee Hyo-ju was a true chaebol heiress.

The granddaughter of the current chairman of the Oyang Group, ranked around 60th in South Korea’s corporate hierarchy.
Like most chaebol families, her father was a representative director of a subsidiary company.

But if that were all, it might be one thing…
Yet there was more.

Her great-grandfather was the current chairman of the Doa Daily, one of the three major newspapers.

A core line in the tangled web of political-financial marriage alliances among chaebols.
She naturally belonged to the apex predator group where wealth and media converged.

Her very bloodline was different.
She descended from Lee Jang-su of Sangchon, the wealthiest man in Korea during Japanese occupation.

Look at that subtle golden aura radiating from her entire being.

Her noble bearing and that aura harmonized perfectly, making her shine all the brighter.
That Lee Hyo-ju…

Pfft.

My name, spoken for the first time since entering Cheongwha High School.

I met her gaze directly.

She understood as well.

A prosecutor?

Our class president was Lee Hyo-ju.

For someone who leveraged the role to build her specs, classroom violence was unacceptable.

Thunk.

A word from the Brahman Class was an absolute command.

I wouldn’t endure anymore.

When they bare their teeth, you bite them!

With my current skills, I could ace the GED/High School Equivalency Exam.

Her pen wasn’t moving as fluidly as her thoughts wanted.

The tragic scene she’d witnessed moments before.

A model-worthy height and appearance, yet a 4th-class status.

Power, wealth, connections—lack even one, and you grew weak.

She’d grown up embodying this truth.

But today, the 4th-class Ha Tae-ung had touched the firm foundation of Lee Hyo-ju’s beliefs.

He’d raised a flag against her.

He’d changed. Why?

He’d said to her face, “Looking at her again, she’s pretty.”
It was an unthinkable provocation.

No one around her, except family, would dare say such a thing.

Yet… it wasn’t bad.

When their eyes met, unlike other times, Ha Tae-ung hadn’t looked away.

“Huh.”

A strange, light laugh escaped her.
The punishment for today’s assault wouldn’t be lenient.

Rumor had probably already spread far.

Oh Gwang-jun, whose father was a vice-prosecutor, wouldn’t let this slide.

And there were several foul-natured boys who matched Oh Gwang-jun’s temperament.

“Don’t make this more troublesome for me…”

Lee Hyo-ju muttered quietly to herself.

Since entering Cheongwha, her position among her cousins had become ambiguous.

It carried multiple meanings—the kind of situation chaebol heirs faced in their journey to adulthood.

Soon, it would be decided how much of the family’s assets she would receive.

As a child, she’d dreamed of living freely like ordinary people.

She no longer felt that way.

Wasn’t there a saying in the Talmud that an empty wallet was worse than nothing?
Lee Hyo-ju, with chaebol blood running through her veins, had long ago grasped the rules of the world.

* * *

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-a-ling~♬

Fourth period had ended.

“The midterm exam range for next week covers what we learned today. You all know the writing part is important, right?”

Han Yu-ra, our teacher, flashed a bright eye-smile.

“You’ll make the problems easy, right, teacher?”
“Teacher! Give us a hint!”

No matter how different students might be outside these walls, inside a high school classroom, they were all the same breed.

Before an objective test, the chaebol and the 4th-class stood on equal ground.

“I’d love to. But you know the standards of the other teachers, right?”

Second-year Korean.
Three teachers jointly composed the exam.

“This is way too hard…”
“Teachers’ problems are the worst difficulty!!”

True to a prestigious private high school, the problem difficulty was stratospheric.

Even among the famous Gangnam top-tier hagwon instructors, Cheongwha High School’s problems ranked at the summit.

“Enjoy your lunch.”

The cute teacher hurried out of the classroom with quick steps.

Whoosh.

I stood up from my desk.
This was the moment I’d been subtly anticipating since returning to school.

Lunch period!

Cheongwha’s cafeteria operated on a different plane than other schools.
My mouth watered just thinking about it.

Just as I was about to leave the classroom.

“You little shit…”

A curse-filled mutter from behind me.
I raised my right hand and straightened my middle finger.

“Go eat dirt, asshole.”

I flicked it at him with a snap.

My steps toward the cafeteria were light.

Right now, no matter what anyone said, lunch was the absolute priority.
My walk was confident and spirited.

This was the new cafeteria completed a few years ago beside the main building.
Unlike other schools, it wasn’t divided by grade with separate sections sharing one space.

Zealous parents and committee members wouldn’t tolerate wasting even a spare moment.

This cafeteria could accommodate the entire student body.
However, third-year students had a separate cafeteria in the new wing.

Everyone could finish lunch during the same time slot.

It was equipped with state-of-the-art air purification and climate control systems.

As a self-governing private high school, it freely accepted large donations from outside donors.

It didn’t accept donations from just anyone, though.

First, donors had to have substantial wealth, and backing from powerful connections to qualify as operating committee members or parent association officers.
They were the ones making donations.

You could think of Cheongwha High School as the prototypical model of luxury school power-tripping dramas.

Whoosh.

Even the cafeteria’s tempered-glass door was automatic.

The cafeteria vista spread before my eyes!

“Oh!”

I let out an exclamation first, then grabbed a tray.

It wasn’t a standard stainless steel cafeteria plate.

Cheongwha High School’s cafeteria was…

“A buffet. Huh.”

A former hotel executive chef and a Ph.D.-holding nutritionist oversaw the cafeteria.

Starting with organic vegetable salads, premium Jeju black pork and beef from female Korean cattle, deep-fried fish like Korean rockfish and king hairtail, side dishes that whetted the appetite, pizza and spaghetti, seasonal fruits from various countries, and even slice cakes.

Food that someone like me, a 4th-class student, would never afford in a lifetime if I had to pay for it.

There were even double sets prepared on both sides.

“How can something this good exist, and people not eat it?”

Only half the student body ate lunch at the cafeteria daily.
The space was spacious and the numbers small, creating a peaceful dining atmosphere.

After graduating Cheongwha High, this was the one thing I missed.
The high-quality meals provided daily.

Even as a working adult, I felt this quality rivaled famous hotel buffets.

Cheongwha High School—truly devoted to its cafeteria.

I love you passionately!!

“Korean beef bulgogi! Japchae! Fresh pickled radish!”

I loaded my tray generously with dishes that lifted my spirits.

Free unlimited food provided to a 4th-class student.

I scooped a heaping portion of Koshihikari rice onto my tray and surveyed the surroundings.

Students gathered in scattered clusters at their tables.

One student caught my eye—sitting alone at a four-person table eating.

My lips couldn’t help but twitch in recognition.

“It’s been a while… scary little bear.”

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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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