Ch.2929. A Bet on Test Scores Is Essential

The next day, morning.

-Slide.

When I opened the back door and entered the classroom, there was no one except me. That’s natural. I came to school way too early.

“…I did come too early.”

I woke up much earlier than usual, and with nothing to do, I came to school. I didn’t expect there wouldn’t be a single person here. If I’d known, I would have taken my time and come more leisurely.

Come to think of it, back when I used to attend school, I always arrived just in the nick of time. Seeing the classroom completely empty in the morning was a refreshingly new sight in its own way.

“Huh.”

That’s enough untimely reflection. I first sat down at my desk and unpacked my bag. Then, thinking I might as well study until others arrived, I took out a book.

-Slide!

At that moment, the back door of the classroom opened forcefully. Who could it be so early in the morning? Startled by the loud noise, I instinctively turned my head. And there was…

“…”

A rather familiar female student. In other words, Hwa Nabi was standing there. Judging by the slight shadows under her eyes, she must have had trouble sleeping last night.

“You’re early.”

When I waved at her cheerfully, she made a “hmph” sound through her nose and casually ignored me.

Then she deliberately stomped over, approached her desk, and roughly dropped her bag. It was clearly a demonstration saying “I’m angry!” for anyone to see.

And the reason she crossed her arms and only looked forward was, of course, because of me. I had read her message but deliberately didn’t reply.

“Nice weather, isn’t it?”

The weather visible through the curtains was quite gloomy from the morning, but I just threw that out there. But Hwa Nabi still wouldn’t meet my eyes and just took out her phone from her pocket to stare at the screen.

Well, I did tease her a bit too much. Judging by her reaction, she’s definitely sulking, but asking her outright if she’s upset would be an amateur move.

“I heard a dessert shop opened just up ahead.”

At my casually dropped comment, Hwa Nabi’s shoulders suddenly twitched. Well, that’s to be expected. She really likes sweet things. I could tell from her preferences when she was choosing snacks at the convenience store last time.

“According to the reviews, everything is very sweet and delicious.”

She doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her glancing at me. It’s a look that says to continue talking.

“Especially the couple menu for two is supposedly really delicious, but I don’t have anyone to go with.”

“Um, Siwoo.”

“Oh, what? When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here the whole time. Why are you pretending not to know?”

“You didn’t answer when I greeted you, so I thought you were a mannequin, not a person.”

When I said that, she seemed to feel a bit guilty and quietly uncrossed her arms. Her eyebrows, which had been raised like mountain peaks, were back in their normal position.

“Well, I’m sorry about that. But… is it true?”

While glancing at me, she pretends not to be interested but casually asks. Even so, since her lower body was facing me, her true feelings were quite obvious.

Indeed, nothing works better than sweet food to make up after someone’s upset. I only get headaches from eating sweet things, so it’s fascinating to see someone like them so much.

“Yeah, it’s true.”

I should be fine if I moderate it properly. I nodded and responded. Then Hwa Nabi, who had been playing hard to get, soon softened her attitude.

“…You’re paying, right?”

“Yeah, I will.”

If I can appease her this easily, it’s a bargain. That ends the conversation about what happened yesterday. I looked at Hwa Nabi’s profile for a moment and then asked abruptly.

“By the way, how are your other subjects besides math?”

“Why are you suddenly talking about studying again?”

As soon as the keyword “studying” came up, her relaxed face rapidly stiffened. As I noticed before, she really hates studying. Yet somehow she managed to get a transfer approval to Chungha Highschool.

How did she do it? At this point, I was genuinely curious.

“Just wondering.”

“I’m generally good at everything except math.”

“You mean above average?”

“I was at my previous school. I’m not sure about here.”

Since I don’t know the standards of her previous school, I can’t judge hastily, but being above average without putting in effort doesn’t mean she lacks academic ability.

Come to think of it, that’s probably how she got three questions right on the quiz after just one day of tutoring.

“It’ll be tougher here.”

“It seems so. Everyone looks really smart. Especially when I heard that the person who looks least capable is actually the top student, I was so shock…”

She stopped mid-sentence, pressed her lips together, and looked at me cautiously. She realized she had misspoken.

“Right. Was it that shocking that I’m the top student?”

“No, that’s not exactly what I meant… Ah, fine. Honestly, it is. You don’t look like someone who would be good at studying, right?”

When I just stared at her intently, she felt guilty and revealed her true thoughts. Someone might misunderstand what I said. But Hwa Nabi didn’t stop there.

Feeling like she should be completely honest now that she’d started, she began to pour out things I hadn’t even asked about.

“To be honest, if someone said you were the top student, nobody would believe it. I didn’t believe it at first either. But I realized it when you taught me the day before yesterday.”

Actually, being good at studying yourself and being good at teaching aren’t necessarily related. If they were, all university professors would be star lecturers. But I didn’t feel the need to point this out, so I just nodded.

“S-so. Now I believe you’re the top student. Okay?”

The process of reaching her conclusion was quite meandering, but I could tell she was sincere. Appreciating her enthusiasm, I decided to forgive Hwa Nabi.

“Then, want to make a bet?”

“A bet? Why suddenly a bet?”

“Let’s set the conditions in advance. The subject is my midterm exam results. We each bet on whether I’ll be the top student overall or not, and the loser grants one wish for the winner.”

“Okay. I can bet on whatever I want, right?”

“No. You have to bet that I’ll be the top student.”

“…Wait. Why should I?”

She was in such a hurry that her unfiltered thoughts just spilled out. Despite what she said earlier, she actually didn’t trust me. I had expected this, which is why I deliberately tested her, but I didn’t expect her to take the bait so readily.

Hwa Nabi seemed to realize what she’d said and cautiously rolled her eyes to gauge my reaction. But the water was already spilled. I smiled victoriously at her.

“You said you believe in me. Then shouldn’t you bet that I’ll be the top student?”

“That’s… true. But still.”

“But what?”

The very act of arguing against my words was proof that she didn’t believe what I said.

And she probably knew that better than anyone. The evidence was that she was just mumbling without continuing her sentence.

“Ah, fine. Let’s do it that way then.”

After contemplating for a while, Hwa Nabi finally muttered with her head down. It was essentially a declaration of surrender. Having established a satisfactory bet, I smiled subtly.

“Okay, don’t forget this.”

“…Using such an underhanded tactic.”

Hwa Nabi bit her lower lip with a resentful expression, as if she had fallen into a trap. Anyone watching would think she had already lost.

Seeing this reaction, one thing was clear: Hwa Nabi didn’t trust me at all.

“Well, you never know what might happen. Who knows? I might actually end up being the top student. Then you’ll owe me one wish.”

“That’s not easy… Ah, right. Wait a minute, Siwoo. Let’s make one more bet.”

“Huh? What kind of bet?”

“Since we bet on your grades, betting on my grades too would be fair, right?”

That’s not wrong. But what’s she planning? Traditionally, when people bet on grades, they compare their scores and the person with the higher score wins.

But if we bet like that, I would win a hundred times out of a hundred. In other words, there would be no point in comparing.

“You want to compare our grades? Can you handle that?”

“No, not like that. If my grades exceed the first-year average, you win, and if they don’t, I win. The prize is still granting a wish. How about it?”

“…Isn’t it usually the opposite?”

Who in the world would make such a hopeless bet? After hearing the conditions, I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Hwa Nabi was proposing a bet based on the premise that she wouldn’t exceed the average. What an audacious student.

“Why not do it the other way around? If you exceed the average, I’ll grant your wish, and if you don’t, you’ll grant mine.”

“I’m saying this because that would be difficult. It’s easier to fail an exam than to do well, right?”

“……”

It’s good to be honest, but that’s a bit much. I believe people should aim upward, not dig themselves deeper into the ground.

“I’ll teach you how to study comprehensively, so let’s just do it the way I suggested. Apart from our personal wish bet, won’t you be the only one who loses if your grades are low?”

“…That’s true.”

Hwa Nabi looked oddly dejected. She couldn’t argue against the logic, but she also didn’t seem confident that she could exceed the grade average—a dilemma reflected on her face.

“What, worried you won’t be able to exceed the average?”

Hwa Nabi mumbled at my question and couldn’t answer promptly, but that was an answer in itself. Not everything needs to be expressed in words.

“Hmm.”

She still couldn’t answer, suggesting she lacked confidence in herself, but from my perspective, there was no need for that.

Having taught many students in my day, I can tell that Hwa Nabi has quite a good head for studying.

How can I be so sure? As I just mentioned, if she had no aptitude for studying, she wouldn’t have gotten three quiz questions right after learning for just one day.

So she could afford to have some confidence. Excessive confidence can easily turn into arrogance, but having no confidence at all is also problematic.

However, that’s easier said than done. If everything went as smoothly as we wished, the word “stress” wouldn’t exist in this world.

“Alright. Then I’ll remove the penalty. Even if you don’t exceed the average score, you don’t have to grant my wish.”

“…Really?”

As soon as I modified the bet conditions, Hwa Nabi’s expression noticeably brightened.

Was she that averse to granting my wish? But I couldn’t ask that directly. With nothing to say, I just smacked my lips before finally speaking.

“Yeah, really.”

“Okay. Then I’ll accept that bet.”

…And so began a “bet” that couldn’t really be called a bet—one where only scenarios where I lose existed.

But can this even be considered a fair bet? That question briefly crossed my mind, but seeing Hwa Nabi smiling happily, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

“By the way, what wish will you make if you get a wish token?”

“Do you want to know?”

“Well, I’m a little curious.”

“It would spoil the fun if I told you in advance, so I’ll let you know when I get the wish token.”

“If you say so.”

I nodded without hesitation.

I thought, surely it couldn’t be anything serious.

…But it really was.