Ch.77My Brother (4)

Once a train starts running, it cannot stop until it runs out of fuel.

For me, there were two major sources of fuel.

One was motivation that made me deeply commit to doing something.

It’s close to that common mentality-focused logic that says you can do anything if you put your mind to it,

but for me at least, it was the most important intangible fuel that ignited my soul.

Without proper motivation or reward, efficiency drops even for things I’m good at,

but with sufficient reward or motivation, I could show extraordinary focus even on things I wasn’t normally good at.

I don’t know about Ban Do-young from “Half of Half Island,”

but at least Ban Do-young from the original world was like that.

Of course, even with fuel poured in, not all results end well.

After 27 years of social life, you naturally come to know your own limitations.

However, even if I couldn’t achieve the desired outcome,

the time leading up to the result could feel faster.

“Do-young, it’s morning. Starting today is midterms, so try not to be late this week…”

“I’m already up, Dad.”

“Oh, oh… I see. I was worried you might oversleep since you were studying quite late last night. Come down for breakfast. I’ve prepared everything.”

“Okay, thanks. Dad, I’ll do my best on the exam today!”

“Y-yes! Dad’s cheering for you, go crush it like Hamin taught you!”

“Fighting! Hamin High Rules!”

“Oh, ohh! Hamin High Rules!”

It’s already been two weeks since I started studying for exams under Do Hamin’s guidance.

Today is finally midterm day.

The day of reckoning.

With clear motivation, time flew by.

Ah, rather than saying it flew by, it might be more accurate to say it passed enjoyably.

I momentarily lost my will when I realized I had to go through this damn rote education system again after being reincarnated into this Korean webtoon world,

but thanks to proper motivation, I found studying in this world to be a little enjoyable, even if just slightly.

I don’t know where the final destination will be,

but at least the Ban Do-young train with a full tank of fuel isn’t stopping now.

Huh? You’re asking what the second fuel is if the first one is motivation?

“Do-young, take this! Eating chocolate and cola together is good for brain function!”

“Ooh, how thoughtful!”

What else could it be?

Zero Lime, of course.

.

.

.

Naturally, during exam periods, just like during mock exams,

the seats where we sat in pairs were rearranged with students sitting individually in numerical order.

Hamin and I, who had been sitting at the window-side seats,

naturally had to sit far apart in the classroom according to our student numbers.

Since the desks had already been rearranged the day before the exam,

on the actual exam morning, Hamin and I sat down in our separated seats without even properly greeting each other.

“Yo, Do-young, today’s finally the day when forced night study becomes regular night study, huh?”

“Hmph, we’ll see about that.”

“Ooh, look at that confident face. I heard Hamin’s been helping you study these past few days, and now you’re all puffed up!”

“I’m curious too. How far can Do Hamin raise Ban Do-young’s scores?”

“What, don’t you need to ask Hamin about anything you don’t know before the exam starts?”

“Hmm… no, it’s fine. I’ve done all I could. Besides, if I go now and mess up his pace, he’ll just blame me for it.”

“Ah, true, model students like Do Hamin are sensitive about that kind of thing. There’s one right behind us too.”

“…What? Why are you looking at me so pitifully?”

“It’s nothing. Just keep memorizing your English vocabulary, Class President.”

“Shit… other schools have their midterms in May… why does our school have exams so early?… There’s no time to master the memorization subjects… And why English on the first day? Usually, you start with the less important subjects.”

“Seeing her grumbling like that, I can tell that whatever else happens, An Sung-kyung won’t be getting first place in these midterms.”

During exams, seats were rearranged by student number.

This naturally divided the classroom into girls’ and boys’ sections.

As a result, I didn’t have a chance to approach Hamin to greet him or ask how he was doing.

Even Hamin would have found it difficult to step into the girls’ section,

especially if I was alone there.

Besides, part of our deal was that I wouldn’t play any pranks on Hamin until the midterms were over.

I also tried to restrain myself from approaching him during this period.

If I had spoken to him according to our usual morning routine, old habits might have surfaced.

.

.

.

“Alright, don’t start solving as soon as you get the test paper. Wait until everyone has received theirs, understand? You need to get into the habit of following proper exam procedures like in the mock exams and college entrance exams to avoid mistakes later.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“Oh, wow… Ban Do-young. Why is your response so energetic? I’ve noticed you’ve been sleeping less during class lately. Feeling confident about this exam?”

“Hehehe, our country’s insertion-style education never really suited me, but a determined Ban Do-young is different!”

“If you’re going to say that, it’s ‘injection-style,’ not ‘insertion-style.'”

“…Damn, Hamin High Rules strikes again.”

As a side effect, I suppose.

The more I restrained myself from teasing Hamin, the more strange side effects appeared elsewhere.

Perhaps because half my brain was filled with memorized exam material,

and the other half was focused solely on my deal with Hamin,

I occasionally had unintended linguistic slip-ups.

“Well, anyway, it’s all about stuffing things in, right, Class President?”

“Why the hell are you talking to me, you little shit? You want to go at it?”

I’m sorry.

As they say, if you can’t have pheasant, chicken will do.

While Hamin was away,

I increased the frequency of teasing An Sung-kyung, who sat behind me.

But unlike Hamin, who despite his awkward personality never uttered a curse word no matter how much he was teased,

our mop instructor An Sung-kyung lived up to her name with a mouth as dirty as a rag, so teasing her didn’t give me the same refreshing feeling as teasing Hamin.

“Alright, focus everyone! Once all the test papers have been distributed, flip them over and begin at the same time!”

With the teacher’s announcement, Ban Do-young’s first high school midterm began.

There were still some rough edges, but it would be fine.

My goal wasn’t to get a perfect score like An Sung-kyung anyway.

‘Besides, I still have this lucky item.’

I took out the computer sign pen that Hamin had given me during the mock exam from my pencil case.

‘I’m counting on you, Virgin Thief.’

-Tap

I lightly kissed Hamin’s computer sign pen.

However, unlike before, I didn’t show this to Hamin.

That would violate our agreement.

‘I wonder if Hamin is nervous.’

Still, I wanted to at least see his face before the exam started,

so before the test papers were distributed, I slightly turned my head to look at Hamin, who was sitting near the corridor.

Perhaps sensing my gaze,

he briefly met my eyes while receiving his test paper.

“…”

“…”

Of course, just making eye contact didn’t allow us to convey any special messages of encouragement.

Now that the test papers were being distributed, the classroom had transformed into a strict space where even textbooks and workbooks that normally belonged on desks were hidden away, and only test papers and writing instruments were permitted.

Small sounds, slight hand gestures, tiny movements that could cause misunderstandings—

this space no longer took such things lightly.

For Hamin, with his ingrained behavior as a diligent model student,

this space was one where nothing could or should be done except solving problems.

So I was content with just seeing his face

and was about to turn back to focus on the exam.

‘Good luck.’

Until he started silently moving his small lips.

‘Fi… ghting.’

Hamin mouthed those words to me, slightly scrunching up his ugly face

with a faint smile and quietly moving his lips.

“Pfft…”

“Hm…? Ban Do-young, what’s wrong? Stomachache?”

“No, nothing… hehe.”

For a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh, almost committing an exam violation.

‘Whew…’

I took a deep breath from the depths of my heart

and managed to calm my fluttering heart.

‘Seriously, what a total dork…’

That must have been his way of encouraging me

in this muted world, as best as he could.

It was probably the maximum resistance

that Hamin, who had lived only as a model student, could muster.

‘Future Ban Do-young… so you’ll have to live your whole life bickering with someone like him… That’s going to be hilarious… hehe.’

I forced down the corners of my mouth with my right hand to suppress my smile.

If I received encouragement, I should return it, not just keep grinning.

-Clatter

I dropped the sign pen I had received from Hamin onto the floor.

It was a pretext to turn my head toward Hamin while pretending to pick up the fallen pen.

Hamin looked in my direction upon hearing the sound of the rolling pen.

‘You too.’

Like Hamin had done, I also moved only my lips while looking at him to convey my message.

Whether he understood the meaning or interpreted it as something strange, I wasn’t sure.

Well, I could ask him about it later after the exam was over.