Ch.141Chapter 141. Exciting New Semester (2)

“Have you heard about the class assignments yet?”

The message appeared on his eye display.

Jake stared at the send button, then bit his lip and deleted the entire text.

‘No need to get ahead of myself.’

Everyone would find out after first period anyway when rumors spread throughout the grade.

There was no reason to send a message just to know an hour earlier.

That might make him seem too desperate.

‘Surely we won’t end up in the same class.’

There were twelve classes in seventh grade.

One in twelve.

The probability of Cuss being in the same class was less than 10%—quite slim.

Someone once said—he couldn’t remember who—that betrayal happens because of expectation.

So Jake decided to abandon all hope.

“My mom heard from an internal staff meeting that a student who skipped grades is coming to our classroom.”

“That silver-haired girl who’s moving from first grade to seventh grade?”

“Yeah! Her!”

The girls’ chatter caught his attention.

Jake, who had been pretending not to care while resting his head on his desk, turned his ear toward them.

‘What? Is it true? Can I get my hopes up?’

It wasn’t completely unreliable information.

The school’s internal staff meetings were constantly leaked through employees.

Of course, false information was often spread to cause confusion, but in this case, that seemed unlikely.

After all, there was no reason to hide which class Cuss would be assigned to.

“Isn’t she just a tiny kid?”

“I heard she’s actually around our age.”

“Really? Then why was she in first grade?”

Well, that’s because…

Jake had to suppress the urge to join the conversation as he gritted his teeth.

He wanted to show off his knowledge.

Desperately wanted to.

He wanted to tell them her name was Cuss, that she thought about her father all day long, and that she loved eating.

But thinking about it calmly made him feel embarrassed.

‘Cuss doesn’t care about me at all.’

Despite all his efforts during the month-long vacation, he hadn’t managed to win Cuss’s favor.

She probably just saw him as a nice guy who occasionally helped her.

Not even close to being a comfortable friend.

What if he acted like he knew her, but the rumor about Cuss being assigned to this class turned out to be false?

That would be awkward as hell.

Even if she did come to this class, what if she treated him coldly and wouldn’t even return his greeting?

That would be even more embarrassingly awkward.

‘Oh? Isn’t that Jake?’

‘Hey, Cuss. Same class, huh? Looking forward to working with you this semester.’

‘Me too. I’m so glad you’re here, Jake. I don’t know anyone else.’

Yes, that’s it.

After running the simulation in his head, Jake clenched his fist.

This natural, simple exchange of greetings would be ideal.

Given Cuss’s personality, she wouldn’t wave excitedly upon seeing him.

And it would be weird if he waved enthusiastically first.

After such a natural greeting, other kids would crowd around asking about their relationship.

From there, it was beyond his control how their imaginations might run wild with misunderstandings.

‘What if they misunderstand and think we’re dating? Oh no, that would be really troublesome.’

Hahaha. Guys.

I’ve told you many times, we’re not dating.

Look, Cuss is feeling uncomfortable.

Could you all please stop with these harsh jokes?

That’s exactly what he’d say.

Confidently.

‘Yesss!’

That’s it. This is perfect.

Having crafted the perfect scenario, Jake inwardly rejoiced.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Is he having a seizure?”

“Oh no…”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t suppress the shaking of his desk, which drew concerned looks from the chattering girls.

The door swung open…

“Everyone quiet!”

A familiar clapping sound was heard as the door opened.

“Ugh…”

As bright light shone through the doorway, all the students had to shield their eyes with their hands.

It was the homeroom teacher of Class 12, nicknamed “The Mighty” because no one dared look directly at her face.

But beside her stood a familiar face looking awkward.

Jake’s eyes widened when he recognized her, but he held back from speaking out.

If he acknowledged her first and she ignored him, it would be embarrassing…

To follow his scenario, he needed to wait.

“Now, would you introduce yourself?”

“I’m Cuss Kim.”

“…”

A long silence followed.

Slightly hunched over his desk, Jake could barely contain his laughter.

Who introduces themselves with just their name?

It was so typical of Cuss.

“Um… anything else?”

“I am the universe’s… Oh? Jake!”

At that moment, as Cuss scanned the classroom, her eyes locked onto him and she pointed.

It was slightly different from his scenario, but at least Cuss had acknowledged him first.

Now he just needed to follow the plan.

Hey, Cuss. Same class, huh? Looking forward to working with you this semester.

That’s what he needed to say.

Naturally, confidently, casually.

But there was something he hadn’t anticipated.

The entire class turning to stare at him.

Jake suddenly felt his heart racing, his face burning, and his vocal cords refusing to cooperate.

The scenario had long been forgotten.

“Damn it…”

In the end, Jake turned away and buried his face in his desk.

He had made the worst possible choice.

***

“Cuss? Is your name really Cuss? How did that happen?”

“Jinsoo gave it to me.”

“Jinsoo? Who’s that?”

“Jinsoo is… my, my dad.”

“Then why don’t you just call him dad? Why use his name?”

“Just… I find his name more comfortable.”

“You’re really strange!”

Surrounded by large humans, Cuss trembled while sitting in her seat.

The barrage of questions left her no time to catch her breath as she had to keep answering.

Though the questions weren’t much different from those of the first-grade kids, something about them made her more nervous.

There seemed to be some hidden aggression in the girls’ words.

It was a pressure difficult to explain.

“Hmm…”

Feeling dizzy, Cuss tilted her head to look at Jake’s seat.

Jake, who had been peeking at her while hunched over, suddenly turned his head away.

‘Why is that guy acting like that?’

How dare he ignore the greeting of the future ruler of this class.

Thinking about Jake’s attitude again made her irritated.

“Hey, hey! What’s your relationship with Jake?”

“Yeah! You recognized him right away. What’s going on between you two?”

“He seemed really happy to see you! How do you know each other?”

“Uh…”

As the attention focused on her again, Cuss’s lips trembled.

She was beginning to understand the atmosphere.

Jake’s pretending not to know her was probably intentional.

With that realization, this strange atmosphere made sense.

Her answer might determine both her and Jake’s reputation.

But what was the right answer?

‘This is driving me crazy! These human creatures!’

The mere fact that she had to think so hard about this was causing Cuss extreme stress.

Now she understood the difference between the first-grade kids and these larger humans.

The little ones’ questions had no ulterior motives.

They simply asked out of pure curiosity.

But these people were different.

They used speech patterns that demanded specific answers in specific ways.

With inexplicably chilling gazes.

Whether their intentions were good or bad, Cuss felt terrified.

It felt like human society had become too complicated, even though she’d only skipped six years.

That jerk Jake follows me around because he likes me.

He’s someone I get expensive meals from.

She was about to blurt out these truths without thinking of the consequences.

“Jake’s younger brother was in the same class as her. That’s probably why he knows her name.”

“Oh, really?”

“What? That’s it? How boring…”

“But how do you know that?”

“…”

An unfamiliar deep voice.

Cuss turned around and tilted her head curiously.

A boy with thick glasses was casually looking at a book in his hand.

‘Who is this guy?’

She wondered why he was answering on her behalf.

Especially when he didn’t seem to know much.

“Alright. Class is starting.”

Just then, the door opened again and the homeroom teacher entered.

The students quickly returned to their seats, and class began in a quiet atmosphere.

*

As soon as class ended, Cuss bolted out of the classroom.

She hated this stifling atmosphere.

She was about to head down the stairs to find the first-grade classroom when—

“Hey!”

“…?”

Cuss turned her head at the voice from behind.

It was a familiar face.

The boy with glasses from earlier.

“You…”

“Cuss, was it? You should be more careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“You need to be more cautious when answering questions from those girls. You probably don’t know since you skipped sixth grade.”

“Why should I?”

“Hah… Because their joy in life is creating gossip and maliciously tearing people apart. Whether it’s your name, your father, or your relationship with Jake—they’ll latch onto anything controversial. If you don’t want to become the subject of rumors, silence is your best option. Unless you have the wit to navigate around their questions.”

“Hmm…”

So that’s what it was.

She thought those girls’ way of speaking seemed off somehow.

Nodding her head, Cuss approached the boy with glasses.

“Thanks for telling me! I’m Cuss. What’s your name?”

“You don’t need to know. Being friends with me won’t do you any good.”

“I still want to know.”

“I’m telling you, nothing good will come from knowing me.”

“Hmm… I still want to know!”

“…”

The boy with glasses stared at Cuss’s outstretched hand.

Then he sighed deeply and extended his own hand.

“My name is…”

“Cuss!”

“…?”

Just then, an urgent voice came from behind.

Cuss turned her head in surprise.

There stood Jake, breathing heavily and leaning against the wall.