Ch.3636. The Calm Before the Storm

Early April, a time when the sky gradually clears.

Perhaps due to the rise in average annual temperature, though it was still April, the weather was perfect enough to be considered full spring.

Children who were sensitive to heat had already switched to summer uniforms for their tops, and my seatmate Hwa Nabi was no exception.

Hwa Nabi, who had been complaining about the heat for a week, had already discarded her spring uniform. Gone was the dark-colored school jacket, replaced by a short-sleeved summer shirt.

“Siwoo, where did you go this morning?”

“The homeroom teacher called me for a quick chat. By the way, Nabi, you changed your bangs?”

Hwa Nabi had swept her bangs slightly to the side, revealing a glimpse of her forehead. With that hairstyle paired with her summer uniform, she looked even more refreshingly cool than usual.

“Ah, yes. You noticed? Since it’s hot, I thought I’d try changing my style a bit. How is it?”

“Really? It suits you well.”

I’d heard somewhere that when a woman changes her hairstyle, you should compliment her first, but even setting that advice aside, my words weren’t just empty flattery.

Usually, when someone reveals their forehead after keeping it covered, it might look a bit awkward, but Hwa Nabi was pulling off the new hairstyle perfectly.

Now that I look at it, her current styling seems to match her personality better. How should I put it? It’s a look that well expresses Hwa Nabi’s lively and somewhat mischievous nature.

…As I went on thinking about it, the tone became a bit strange, but the point was that the hairstyle suited her. Hearing my compliment, Hwa Nabi smiled with satisfaction.

“But did you cut your bangs?”

“What? No, I grew them out. You need to grow them to sweep them to the side.”

“Oh, really?”

Is women’s hair different from men’s? For men, to show the forehead, you need to either cut the bangs or push them up. Seeing my confused expression, Hwa Nabi lightly touched her bangs to demonstrate.

“To have bangs, you need to cut them, and to get rid of bangs, you need to grow them out.”

“I see…”

My response might have dampened her kind explanation, but honestly, I still didn’t quite get it. Anyway, as long as it looks pretty, that’s what matters. I nodded as if I understood.

Just then, the homeroom teacher entered through the front door of the classroom. The noisy classroom immediately fell silent, as if by agreement. Despite being a bit goofy, a teacher is still a teacher.

Having silenced the crowd with just his entrance, the teacher immediately offered a lively morning greeting.

“It’s a bit hot, but good morning, isn’t it?”

“Teacher, when can we start wearing summer uniform pants? It’s too hot!”

“That’s right. The weather is too hot!”

The students immediately voiced their complaints to the teacher. As the weather had noticeably warmed up, they were demanding not just summer tops but bottoms as well.

But what power did a newly appointed homeroom teacher have? Faced with the students’ sudden demands, the teacher could only offer an awkward smile.

“Alright. I’ll talk to the administration about it.”

Despite his words, it was highly unlikely to be approved. Chungha Highschool was stubborn about unnecessary things, so they probably wouldn’t allow full summer uniforms until May.

While I was assessing the possibilities, the teacher spoke again.

“Oh, by the way, everyone. Do you know what day it is today?”

“Let’s see… April Fool’s Day?”

“Hey, April Fool’s was last week.”

As the unnamed male student pointed out, April’s big event, April Fool’s Day, had already passed. That morning when the entire class sat with their backs to the teacher’s desk, the teacher’s reaction had been quite a sight…

While the students were making various guesses, the teacher tapped the desk a couple of times to get everyone’s attention.

“Since there’s no correct answer, I’ll just tell you. Today is… ta-da!”

As soon as the spirited teacher showed something, sighs could be heard from the students. And for good reason. What the teacher showed everyone was none other than the midterm exam results.

Chungha Highschool holds midterms quite early, starting from the last day of March. About a week had passed since then, so it made sense that the results would be out now.

“Don’t be so disappointed. Our class ranked first in overall midterm averages.”

The teacher was speaking as if to say there was no need to be discouraged, but I was secretly surprised by his words.

Actually, according to the original story, Class A should have ranked third in class averages. Had some variable I wasn’t aware of changed things?

It didn’t seem like a big deal, but as I was trying to figure it out, I felt the teacher’s gaze briefly turn toward me. …Why is he looking at me?

“And there’s more good news. For these midterms? Our class produced both the first and second place students in the entire school.”

The teacher’s announcement caused a stir throughout the class. Normally, student placement considers class averages, so it’s not easy for the top two students to be in the same class.

The teacher pulled something out from his attendance book. Since I was sitting at the very back, it was hard to see clearly from the distance, but it looked like two certificates.

“I’ll announce first place first. The student who ranked first in the midterms for the entire school and our class is… Jinhee!”

“Yes.”

Without anyone needing to prompt it, applause erupted from around the room. Despite her somewhat strong personality, Jinhee was sociable and well-connected, naturally earning everyone’s respect.

Jinhee stood up amidst everyone’s applause and walked to the front of the classroom, where she received the certificate along with a brief congratulatory message from the teacher.

After bowing her head calmly in thanks, Jinhee returned to her seat with an unchanged expression, as if this was only natural.

“……”

So far, nothing had changed much. But now comes the beginning.

“And the student who ranked second in the entire school and second in our class is…”

Though probably unintentional, the teacher really built up the suspense. This naturally created tension throughout the class.

And as the previously high-ranking students began to wonder, “Could it be me?”, the name called by the teacher was,

“Second place is… Han Siwoo!”

…none other than me. Actually, it couldn’t have been anyone else. To be honest, I had somewhat expected this.

I had expected it, but having it confirmed made me feel a bit dazed. I had deliberately gotten a few answers wrong to avoid becoming the center of attention by getting first place, but I still got second. This was unexpected in a different way.

“…Yes.”

After responding to being called, I walked to the front. As I did, a distinctly different atmosphere spread throughout the classroom compared to earlier.

If the gazes directed at Jinhee were of pure congratulations, the gazes directed at me were quite ambiguous.

Maybe it’s because they’re still innocent children, but they weren’t openly suspicious like the teachers would be. Instead, they looked at me as if I were an alien. Though no words were spoken, it was clearly evident in their expressions.

“Here, congratulations. Looks like you studied hard.”

With those words, the teacher handed me the grade report and certificate.

“Yes, thank you.”

There was no point in standing there longer as it would be awkward for both of us. Having received what I needed, I was about to turn around when the teacher suddenly brought his face close to mine. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he whispered to me in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.

“I’m sorry for doubting you.”

He didn’t need to apologize, which shows he’s not a bad person after all. Instead of answering, I nodded. I took one step with the certificate in my hand.

At that moment, I heard someone clapping.

-Clap, clap, clap.

Surprised, I looked around at the students. One person stood out. Among the silent crowd, a female student was applauding me alone.

Needless to say, that student was Hwa Nabi. She smiled slightly as she applauded me. Inspired by her, other students began to clap as well.

…And so, I returned to my seat amid unexpected welcome, and as soon as I sat down, Hwa Nabi spoke to me as if she had been waiting.

“Siwoo, congratulations.”

Though I was the one who got second place, Hwa Nabi seemed happier than me, the actual recipient. She was smiling at me so genuinely and brightly… honestly, my heart skipped a beat.

“…Yeah, thanks.”

*

It took a bit more time, but eventually everyone’s grade reports were distributed.

Five minutes before the first period.

With nothing else to do, I decided to look at my grade report and plan my future strategy.

Screech, I heard the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor. Looking to the side, I saw Hwa Nabi pulling her chair closer and leaning her body against my shoulder.

“What? Do you have something to say?”

She didn’t answer my question, and instead tried to communicate with just her eyes.

…What is she doing? Looking more closely, she wasn’t trying to start a conversation but rather seemed to be directing my gaze somewhere.

So I followed her gaze. Her eyes were fixed on the grade report on her desk.

“What, you want me to look at your grades?”

“Yes. I really want you to see them.”

“When you say it like that, I suddenly feel anxious…”

“Hehe, don’t worry. You’ll be surprised when you see my grades.”

“…Really?”

How well did she do to be acting like this? Could she have gotten third in the class? Hwa Nabi proudly spread her grade report on her desk. Curious to see how well she had done, I picked up her report to examine it.

And the results were quite surprising. All of Hwa Nabi’s grades were above the grade average. The only flaw, if any, was in mathematics, where she had just reached the average score.

“Wow…”

Pure admiration flowed from my mouth. Considering she had no foundation just a month ago, this was quite, no, very good. As expected, my judgment of people was not wrong.

“That’s great. Keep up the good work.”

“Wait, Siwoo. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“Huh? Forgotten what?”

“You did forget. Remember, we made a bet about the test scores? If I scored above average, you’d grant me a wish. Don’t you remember?”

Ah, that’s right. I had forgotten about it, but Hwa Nabi’s reminder brought it back to mind.

Clearly, it was a bet where if Hwa Nabi scored above the grade average, I would grant her a wish, and if she scored below average, nothing would happen.

…Thinking about it again, it was truly an unfair contract. This wasn’t the Treaty of Ganghwa; there was nothing advantageous for me. Even loan sharks wouldn’t write such a one-sided contract.

As I was thinking this, I remembered another bet we had made.

That’s right, we had made two bets in total. One was based on Hwa Nabi’s grades, and the other was whether I would get first place or not.

“Right, speaking of bets, I think we had two of them?”

“…Did we? I don’t remember well.”

Now she’s trying to back out. Is that it? But I remembered clearly.

It was definitely a bet about whether I would get first place or not. If I got first place, I would have to grant her a wish, and if I didn’t get first place, she would grant my wish.

“Well, if you don’t remember, let’s call it even. Let’s forget about it.”

“Ah, wait. That won’t do.”

“Huh? Why?”

“…Anyway, it won’t do. I remember now. Let’s just grant each other’s wishes.”

She seemed quite excited over something so trivial. I wasn’t sure why she wanted us to grant each other’s wishes, but since that’s what she wanted, I nodded.

“Alright, let’s do that. But what’s your wish?”

“Why, are you curious?”

“Of course I’m curious.”

Since we didn’t set any limitations, I thought I could grant most wishes, but even I have my limits. For instance, if she asked for shares in my father’s company, or for me to become her slave… things like that.

“Okay. I’ll tell you. Siwoo, next week is the school trip, right?”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

It was indeed about that time. It doesn’t feel like much has happened, but the date is already heading toward mid-April.

“And on the second day of the trip, we have free time from morning to afternoon, right? Spend that time with me.”

There’s nothing impossible about that. But isn’t it too modest for a wish? I could grant anything as long as it’s not as extreme as asking for the stars from the sky.

And if Hwa Nabi made a more extravagant wish, I could make my request without feeling guilty.

…Of course, I’m not saying I would make a strange request using the wish as an excuse. It’s just that it would be more comfortable for both of us if we didn’t have to be considerate of each other.

“Wait, that’s your wish? Are you serious?”

“Huh, is it not okay? Do you already have plans?”

“No, it’s not that I have plans. But you don’t need to use a wish for something like that. We can just hang out together.”

Spending a day together isn’t a big effort, especially when it’s my fiancée who’s asking. I thought I should grant it.

“Really? No taking it back?”

“Yes, so think of a proper wish.”

As soon as I said that, Hwa Nabi’s eyebrows curved like the moon.

…That’s the expression of someone thinking of something dangerous. Feeling uneasy, I gave a hint.

“Just to be clear, nothing weird is allowed.”

“What? There’s no such thing. Then it wouldn’t be a wish.”

Normally, when you set such boundaries, people would nod and say they understand, right?

But instead of doing that, she questioned me back, which showed that Hwa Nabi was definitely not an ordinary girl.

“I’ll grant most things… but what I’m saying is, don’t ask for wishes that would seem really strange to others.”

“Strange? What’s strange? Please give me specific examples.”

“……”

“…Siwoo, why are you avoiding my gaze?”