episode_0039

Bullies, bullies, school bullies, and outcasts… these are at their peak in middle school.

When you become a high school student, you become more individualistic and do not fit in well with groups.

There is a big gate called college entrance exam waiting for me here, so I try not to worry about other people’s business.

“The president said to take care of a first-year student.”

“You haven’t even entered school yet and you’re already being targeted by the president?”

“It wasn’t the chairman, it was the chairman.”

“Wow, what kind of guy is he to be promoted to CEO.”

For students at Seorim High School, where college is not a requirement, gang culture still remains.

Mostly second-year students form gangs and hang out together like middle school bullies.

Third-year students have irregular attendance because they are trying to debut or find other paths.

“I guess the chairman doesn’t like that little kid, huh?”

Seok-Tae Oh, the unofficial leader of the second-year students, is the loyal dog of Ji-Hoon Kang, the student body president.

This is because there are many things that fall under the chairman’s watchful eye, Kang Ji-hoon.

“How about freezing it a little and bringing it? You can keep it for a long time.”

“Good. Sparring with me, hehehe.”

Seok-Tae Oh, who dreams of becoming a rapper, is a problem child in practical music.

Although he is talented at rapping, he is hot-tempered and even violent, making him a target of fear for his peers and juniors.

These days, he’s learning martial arts and going around bragging that if he doesn’t become a rapper, he’ll become a professional athlete.

“Where are you from?”

“Entertainment Department. The name is… here, Byun Ha-jin.”

Upon hearing the name, a gasp comes from behind.

“Why?”

“Hayeon Middle School… Has it changed?”

“How would I know where you went? If that’s your name, then it must be you.”

“That guy… was the best in middle school?”

“What?”

“No, he’s not the best, but in some ways he’s the best… Ha, shit… How do I explain this? Anyway, no one has ever won against him.”

“What are you talking about? Tell me more.”

“He was so handsome. Everyone was looking at him, so the kids behind him started picking on him, saying he was an eyesore. But it all broke down, and he had no opponents when he went up a grade. Since there was no one above him, he was naturally the best.”

“So?”

“He let go because he said he wouldn’t do anything like being the best. Because of that, Hayeon didn’t have a best until she graduated. There’s no one to stand above that kid, so… isn’t that absurd?”

Everyone, including Oh Seok-tae, looks dumbfounded.

“You mean no one has beaten that kid in 3 years? How good is he at fighting?”

“I heard that there’s a pretty famous martial arts gym near Ha-yeon. She’s been going there since elementary school. If she kept going, she’d be in her 7th year of middle school, which would be awesome.”

If you count up to middle school, I’ve been doing martial arts for 10 years.

He is a master who cannot be compared to Seok-Tae Oh, who has been with him for a year now.

“Why is that guy here? If he’s in the entertainment department, doesn’t that mean he’ll be an actor?”

“She was an actress until kindergarten. She even starred in a movie?”

“… … .”

To sum it up, he was a celebrity until kindergarten, studied martial arts for 10 years, dominated the school in middle school, and as a bonus, some damn handsome guy was targeted by the chairman before he even entered school.

“What the hell are you doing?”

*

Suddenly, my ear started to itch and I scratched it.

“Who’s talking about me?”

*****

I searched the Internet because I thought I should know a little about the school and its principal before enrolling.

It was before the chairman’s corruption was fully exposed, but I thought I would be able to find rumors floating around if I searched the notice community or anonymous bulletin boards.

Students were forcibly mobilized to a private meeting of the chairman and his wife, the administrative director.

School facilities such as the rooftop and underground parking lot were illegally remodeled.

They forced the performance against the students’ wishes and exploited the profits.

The costs incurred for these performances were covered by the students’ own funds.

In addition to embezzling tuition and sponsorship money, the chairman and his wife committed quite a few corruption scandals.

Despite such rumors, people were amazed at the chairman’s ability to cover up corruption for years.

‘The chairman was kicked out in 2019, so I held on for three more years after graduating. In this life, I’ll destroy you within a year, so just wait.’

After searching around, I found out that the student body president was Kang Ji-hoon.

‘I’m getting involved with that annoying guy again.’

In his previous life, he debuted in a boy group called BlackTNT before graduating.

If there was no butterfly effect, I would be preparing to debut by now.

No one in their right mind would let a chairman like this run for two years and then become student body president.

If I get admitted and stick to the chairman, I plan to work together with him.

‘I guess I’ll be following you around at school too.’

A person who is incompetent likes to reign over others and order them around.

In my past life, I did that on set, and when I was young, I often saw that kind of thing at broadcasting stations.

If it’s noticeable to my passing eyes, it must be worse during normal times.

Now he’s wearing the hat of student body president, so… it’s obvious even without looking.

As I was thinking this, my phone rang.

It was Pyo Min-ji who exchanged numbers at the examination hall.

“Congratulations on passing.”

“Oh, that… Thank you.”

How did you know?

Wasn’t it something only I could check?

“What happened to you?”

“Me? I fell.”

You say it so casually that I’m embarrassed.

“Oh, yeah… You fell. Are you okay? I don’t think I’m in the mood to celebrate right now.”

If you fail, you will have no choice but to look into additional recruitment or go to a regular high school.

“I got into the video production department. I told him because I was worried, but he’s still worried, hehe.”

Multiple applications are possible for the Seorim Notice.

So you were relaxed even though you fell.

“In that sense, we’re going to have a prospective alumni meeting, so come out too.”

“Prospective alumni reunion?”

“Okay. I’ll send you the time and place via text, so come out.”

And then it hangs up.

Shouldn’t my doctor check and stop taking it?

I felt like I was being dragged around too much, so I tried to send a message saying I was busy and couldn’t text that day.

I think you’ll know he’s not an easy man if you bounce him off once.

But the last comment in the message that told me the time and place… left me speechless.

[… If you don’t come out, I’ll tell Eugene that I asked her out and got her number.]

Before I knew it, I even knew Eugene’s seizure button.

I feel like I’ve been made an offer I can’t refuse.

Two days later —

The place Minji told me about was a cafe with a nice atmosphere.

When I go up to the second floor, Minji waves from her corner seat.

Next to him, Eugene is sitting with her arms crossed, her face swollen shut.

Across from me, a boy I’ve never seen before is tapping away at his tablet screen.

“Eugene is here too.”

“Huh.”

The Siberian wind blows.

“I told you that if you don’t come I’ll confess to you.”

This kid keeps picking out things that will cause trouble.

“From now on, explain what kind of meeting it is, who is coming, when, where, and finally ‘politely’ confirm their attendance. Then they will come without you having to threaten them.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Why?”

“It’s more fun to make it impossible for someone not to come. I like those stories better.”

“Reality is not a story. If you try to make even meeting people into a story, it won’t come out next time. I’m not a sidekick to your storytelling.”

“Wow, that was a cool thing you just said. Wait a minute, I’ll write it down.”

Eugene and I had dumbfounded expressions on our faces, while the boy across from us was still absorbed in his tablet.

But what has he been looking at like that since a while ago?

Minji goes to the boy and takes the earphones out of her ears.

“If someone comes, at least look at them. You music ghost!”

“Huh? Oh… Uh, sorry.”

Only then does he look at me.

I’ve seen that face somewhere.

“This is Kim Beom-jun, who passed the practical music department. He is my childhood friend.”

“Oh, hello.”

It was a face I had seen somewhere before.

Because before his return, he was always a top-tier singer-songwriter who would top the music charts.

This singer is much loved for his singing ability that crosses multiple registers, his catchy falsetto, his unique vibrato, and his low- to mid-range voice.

There is a joke that says you can listen to only Kim Beom-jun songs all year round because there are songs that go up the charts every season.

That means it is a song production machine with long lifespan.

We had no contact before the regression, but we became connected like this.

Could this also be a fate prepared by the future prophet?

“When a song comes to mind, I have to play the instrument in front of me to feel better. That guy, that music ghost.”

“As others say. If you turn a song into a story, it’s you.”

“How did you know?”

“Are you going to keep talking nonsense? You should tell me why you asked me to meet you!”

In the end, Eugene exploded.

*

“First of all, it’s a gathering of geniuses. So I only gathered the geniuses I selected.”

“Genius?”

“Yeah. Hajin is a genius in acting, Yujin is a genius in dancing, I am a genius in storytelling, and Beomjun is a genius in music.”

“I know you’re good at it, but genius is a bit… Isn’t that too much of an exaggeration? There must be a lot of people who say that Seorim’s preview is a good one.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll only call each other geniuses in our group. It’s embarrassing to say it out loud, but if we treat each other like geniuses, it will help raise our self-esteem. Who cares if we share positive energy among ourselves?”

Oh, that three-inch tongue… But the more I listen to it, the more plausible it sounds.

Minji seems like she would be successful even if she were a cult leader, not a writer.

“Next, and this is really important… We have to save the school that is rotting away inside as soon as we enter.”

“What are you talking about? Why are you looking for a school?”

Eugene knows nothing about the chairman’s corruption.

“Chairman’s corruption… Are you talking about that?”

“Hajin, you know.”

“I looked it up because I saw such rumors going around in communities and anonymous bulletin boards. I don’t know if it’s true because there’s no source.”

“Most of it is true. No, it could be worse.”

Minji’s expression became serious for the first time.