Ch.79My Brother (6)

“I heard you were the second on the waiting list for Seongcheon Science High… Hamin. Looks like you were a much better student than we thought.”

“What’s that, you weeb?”

“I knew it. Ban Doyoung, of course you wouldn’t know.”

“If you want to criticize me, explain first.”

“Doyoung, haven’t you heard of Seongcheon Science High? It’s the high school where the best students in the country go.”

“So it’s like a gathering place for super elite high schoolers or something?”

“If that’s easier for you to understand, think of it that way. It’s not wrong.”

“Then that place must be crawling with guys who look like Do Hamin. Wow, gross. A bargain sale of Hamins.”

“Even so, I don’t think it would be quite like that.”

Seongcheon Science High School.

That was the first-choice high school that Do Hamin had applied to and been rejected from.

From what I’ve heard, it’s the most prestigious science-oriented high school in this “Half of Half” world.

Apparently, it’s a school where the elite of the elite in this world gather.

But so what?

The world’s most beautiful girl, Ban Doyoung, isn’t there.

“I heard being second on the waiting list is practically the same as being accepted. But this year, strangely, he got cut off right at the first waiting list position and was rejected. And that kind of student ended up at our school. How could I not be nervous?”

“Hmm… is that so?”

“Well, in Doyoung’s case, there’s really no need to be nervous at all.”

“Of course, Doyoung is someone who just now heard of Seongcheon Science High, so she has no interest in that stuff anyway.”

“I managed to tutor that girl and bring her up to 72 points. Can any of you do that? I couldn’t, even if my life depended on it. I’d probably end up stabbing Ban Doyoung’s head with a triangle ruler while teaching her.”

“Not with a mop?”

“This is why I want to stab you, you bitch.”

Certainly during this exam period,

No matter what anyone says, I was the one who received the most help from Hamin.

His teaching skills, which restored my brain—which had been free from insertion, I mean, infusion education for nearly ten years—back to its school-days study mode,

were superior to those of any teacher standing at the podium.

But that doesn’t mean I felt like Hamin was some super-genius honor student,

as Ahn Seongkyung was going on about.

“Hey, class president.”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t overestimate Do Hamin. He’s not that skilled.”

“W-why so suddenly?”

“Is Doyoung, who received the most help from Hamin, really saying that?”

The biggest thing I felt during this period was that no matter if he’s the protagonist of this world,

Do Hamin is ultimately just an ordinary student, just a boy typical of his age.

He certainly has talent and works hard.

But he also has clear limitations.

He’s not some superhuman who can do anything,

It would be difficult to call him a genius.

“That guy can’t solve problems he doesn’t know if he doesn’t study properly. If he doesn’t sleep well the night before, he gets drowsy while studying the next day, and if he does something he’s not used to, his body doesn’t listen to him and he even falls down while walking.”

“Doyoung…?”

“Ban Doyoung….”

“And that’s not all! He can’t even lie properly, so he’s terrible at the Zero Rhyme Game!”

“What’s the Zero Rhyme Game?”

“That last part has nothing to do with what you were saying before, does it?”

Every time I saw him struggling, getting frustrated, and feeling regretful for not being able to overcome his own limitations despite trying harder than anyone to become superhuman,

I couldn’t help but feel a corner of my heart fill with sympathy for him.

Yes, to summarize,

Perhaps he could be called a virgin who evokes sympathy.

“Anyway! Don’t go around calling Do Hamin a genius or whatever. Do Hamin is weak!”

Superhuman, genius, honor student.

Those words didn’t suit Hamin.

It felt too wasteful to dismiss the time he spent with such convenient words.

No, I hated it.

The way those words erased the value of the time Hamin poured out for Miss Ban Doyoung.

“I didn’t really mean to overpraise him in any strange way… if it sounded like that… sorry. I’ll apologize to Hamin later too.”

“Good, that’s all I needed to hear. That bastard Hamin works incredibly hard when you’re not looking, class president.”

Ahn Seongkyung hesitated for a moment before bowing her head apologetically toward me.

If it had been just a short while ago, she would have raised her voice and started a second round of argument, insisting there was nothing wrong with what she said, rather than bowing her head.

Perhaps it’s because the misunderstandings she had about Miss Ban Doyoung have been cleared up.

Certainly, Ahn Seongkyung’s attitude toward Miss Ban Doyoung has softened considerably compared to before.

“…The class president giving in so easily.”

“Something must have happened in the gym storage room after all.”

Sahyang and Hyerang, who were watching, also had expressions of surprise.

Given the long time they had spent in the same space without interaction, Sahyang and Hyerang must have also viewed Ahn Seongkyung through colored glasses to some extent.

“I’m just frustrated. I studied hard for this exam… but Hamin skipped self-study sessions to help you, Ban Doyoung. It just seemed like he was implying that our school’s midterms are so easy he could solve them without studying.”

“You always have such a negative view of the world. Why do you only see things that way? Do those red glasses make you see the world only critically?”

A sufficiently convincing hypothesis.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for all those critics, auditors,

and dormitory supervisors in various media to wear such glasses.

“What do you mean, why? What kind of crazy person would ignore their own studies two weeks before an exam to help someone else study? For what reason?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

I gave a thumbs up and pointed directly at Miss Ban Doyoung’s face.

“That bastard Hamin li…”

“Li…?”

“Li…?”

“L-li…”

W-what’s this?

Why can’t I get the words out?

“Li… li…”

It’s not like I’m saying I like him.

I’m just saying that bastard Hamin likes Miss Ban Doyoung.

Why does even that feel so shameful to say in front of others?

Suddenly my face felt hot and I couldn’t breathe.

My heart, which had been moving so quietly I barely knew if it was there or not, tightened my blood vessels and made its presence known.

“Li…”

“What’s wrong? Why did you stop talking?”

“Li… He sees me as a fellow blockhead! How much of a blockhead must he think I am to give up his own studies to teach me!”

“No, logically speaking, that doesn’t make any-“

“Ah, just thinking about it makes me mad! Where is that bastard Hamin? I need to teach him a lesson! I’m going to spank his butt 72 times!”

I hurriedly left the group where Sahyang and the others were.

“Hey, where is that bastard Hamin? I noticed he’s not in his seat!”

“Huh? Um… I’m not sure? I think I saw him leave the classroom after getting his grade report.”

“Thanks!”

“N-no problem! Call me if you need anything else, Doyoung!”

After hearing that Hamin had left the classroom,

I kicked open the classroom door to go find him.

…

“…What’s wrong with that girl now?”

“She said she wants to touch Hamin’s butt.”

“*cough* No way… surely not.”

After Doyoung left, the remaining students,

“Hey, Ahn Seongkyung!”

At that moment, opening the door to Class 1-1,

a female student from another class came looking for Class 1.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh, a girl from Class 3 who’s in the same study club as me.”

The girl, who was in the same study club as Seongkyung, smiled warmly as she spoke to Ahn Seongkyung.

“Congratulations, Ahn Seongkyung!”

“Congratulations for what? I’m already in a bad mood because I messed up the exam so badly.”

“I overheard in the faculty office that you ranked first in Class 1!”

“…What?”

…

In real schools, they’re almost non-existent,

but in schools that exist in webtoons or novels, there’s something that always exists.

It’s a space where only the protagonists of this world can chew on their loneliness.

You could call it a personal hideout located within the school.

If the protagonist is cheerful and doesn’t care about others’ gazes—the “insider” type—

that place is usually the school rooftop, an unused club room,

or the infirmary where a beautiful school nurse resides.

But if the protagonist is introverted and conscious of others’ gazes—the “outsider” type—

those places are not only rarely visited by people but are places no one would want to visit.

A corner stairwell full of cobwebs,

a toilet next to the cleaning supply closet in the bathroom, a seat in the farthest corner of the library where no one would sit.

Places where one sits not because they want to be there, but because there’s nowhere else to be alone quietly.

Naturally, Hamin was the latter type of person,

and knowing this, it didn’t take me long to find Hamin hiding alone under a corner stairwell.

“What are you doing here?”

“Huh? H-how did you know I was here?”

“You think I haven’t seen a few bullied-loner stories?”

As soon as our eyes met, Hamin seemed flustered and hid the grade report he was holding.

“…”

I wasn’t trying to look at it on purpose.

It just caught my eye.

The overall average score on the grade report he hid behind his back.

It started with an ‘8’.

That was certainly a good score.

But it probably wasn’t the score Hamin had been aiming for.

“S-sorry. I should have told you earlier… Congratulations on reaching your target score. I’m glad at least you succeeded, Doyoung…”

Hamin tried to smile while wiping his glasses,

and offered me congratulations.

“What do you mean by ‘at least’?”

“Hehe… I guess I didn’t have enough time to study on my own… Seems like I lost quite a few points in the memorization subjects.”

“…”

“Stupid, right…? After telling you to work so hard, the one who said it ended up with a lower score than the last mock exam…”

For me, a slight drop in grades wouldn’t cause much emotional turmoil.

Probably the same for Miss Ban Doyoung of this world.

But it would be different for a model student like Hamin.

I already knew this from what I had seen through Ahn Seongkyung.

“In my heart, I was still complacent, thinking I was something special. I thought I could handle the midterms even while helping you study, Doyoung. I still haven’t learned my lesson. Even after failing so badly in the entrance exam. I’m such an idiot, aren’t I? Hehe.”

Though he was trying to laugh it off and maintain his composure,

“After promising myself I wouldn’t do this again… after telling Mom not to worry and acting so confident…”

His eyes, full of self-loathing and frustration, couldn’t help but turn red no matter how hard he tried.

“*sniff*… S-sorry. Even I think I’m being too stupid…”

“…”

“Oh, right. The wish… I promised to grant you a wish, didn’t I? That’s why you came looking for me, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Okay, tell me. I’ll grant whatever I can.”

Even though he hadn’t properly wiped the tears flowing down his cheeks,

Hamin spoke to me as if my business came first, as if he was determined to keep our deal.

“…You know. Studying with you, Hamin, was really hard for me. Dad and Ms. Miso were both just pushing me to study, and no one was on my side. You only taught me how to study, but you never acknowledged how hard it was for me.”

“W-was it like that? I’m sorry. I was too preoccupied.”

“Ah, I thought if I had a boyfriend who would unconditionally take my side and comfort me, I could have endured that hellish exam period… I was desperately thinking, ‘Isn’t there anyone who wants to be Miss Ban Doyoung’s boyfriend?'”

“D-don’t tell me your wish is… No, it can’t be?”

Hamin cautiously raised his head,

“Of course not, you loser. Who would want a guy who cries about his mom when he fails an exam as a boyfriend?”

“Ugh… O-okay, I get it.”

I raised my right hand threateningly toward Hamin.

“Ah, I want to be comforted for how hard the exam period was, I want to be pampered! But I don’t have a boyfriend, damn it!”

“W-with that face, you could ask anyone to date you…”

“How could I date just anyone with this face! What a waste! Are you crazy?!”

“Eek…! W-well, that’s true…!”

“Sigh….”

…

“So since I don’t have a boyfriend right now, I’ll just be pampered by someone who knows how hard it’s been for me.”

“…Huh?”

I stretched out both arms toward the cowering Hamin.

“…Hug me.”

“R-really…? Here…?”

“Just hurry up and hug me. This is my wish.”

“O-okay….”

After hesitating for a moment, Hamin stood up from the stairs and embraced Ban Doyoung.

His face, still wet with tears, pressed against her chest, dampening her sweater and shirt.

‘Well, I guess this will do.’

If you ask if I have no regrets, of course I do.

But looking into the eyes of this virgin who evokes sympathy, I thought, well, whatever.

Right now, I wanted to use my wish for Hamin, who had rushed to help me.

As for the dick,

I’ll have another chance later.

“…Um, Doyoung.”

“What? Too soft that it’s making you sleepy?”

“…Did you pin a love berry badge or something inside your sweater?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I feel something small and hard near my ear.”

“…Oh. Sorry. I forgot to wear a bra today. That’s not a badge, it’s a nipple.”

“Huh…?”

-Thump

At that moment, something rose up between Ban Doyoung and Hamin’s stomachs…

Wait, why is it getting bigger?