episode_0100

Graduation ceremony of the middle school of dreams and hopes.

It seems like it’s been a hundred years since I last made that sound.

It’s finally middle school graduation time.

The three years of middle school felt longer than the six years of elementary school, and it was a really boring middle school that I never wanted to go back to.

Looking at the diploma, graduation album, and two bouquets of flowers in my hands, it began to feel real that I had graduated from middle school.

I hurried out of school with my family and my new sister who came to the graduation ceremony.

***

After my middle school graduation ceremony in January, I literally lived the life of a freeloader.

It was a daily routine that unfolded every vacation.

Spend a leisurely morning lying in bed.

Wake up before lunch and have breakfast and lunch.

When my new sister comes, we lie down together and spend quality time together.

Then, when it’s time to study with my older sister, I start studying with my new older sister, eat dinner, exercise, and have a comfortable daily life without any worries, both mentally and physically.

After some time had passed.

In March, my older sister started going to school as a third-year high school student, and I applied for the high school equivalency exam held in April.

This was my first time taking the civil service exam, so after I finished submitting my application, I stopped by a bookstore to look through the books just in case, and as expected, there was absolutely no need to study.

The life of a freeloader unfolds like that again.

To put it nicely, I am a high school graduate and a high school equivalency exam taker, but I decided to call myself an unemployed person.

Because I wasn’t studying for the civil service exam at all.

As I was playing around, April came and I took the civil service exam, and I knew the results without even having to check them myself.

When the results announcement day arrived, my mom, who was curious about the test results, checked my scores as if she had been waiting for them, and they were all perfect.

The score was as I expected.

So, I upgraded myself from a high school equivalency exam taker to a college entrance exam taker, but my life still didn’t change.

The life of a freeloader, playing around like a log.

Teaching my younger sister, Sae-ah, who needed to study differently from me, was also a kind of review.

After living a lazy life for too long, I started to feel a sense of alarm, so I started to make a schedule and live a regular life.

A regular life where I wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast, run 10km along the Han River near my house, take a break from working out, eat lunch, take a nap, and go to a kickboxing gym.

As the 100 days until the college entrance exam approached, my older sister began to study hard as if she was looking at herself in her past life.

I did my best to help my older sister, who was pushing herself to get into the same college as me, even sleeping as little as possible.

I made study questions for my older sister by using my memories of studying as much as possible, and I helped her study all day long, except when she was at school.

D-50

D-40

D-30

D-20

D-10

With only 10 days left until the college entrance exam.

My sister began to deteriorate rapidly.

I couldn’t stop my older sister from studying like crazy to go to the same college as me.

But I couldn’t just leave her alone and watch, so after much thought, I lifted my older sister, who was studying, and laid her down on the bed.

“Why? I have to study?”

“You look so tired, just sleep for an hour.”

“No. There are only ten days left.”

“You’re doing well enough. Let’s just sleep for an hour. Okay?”

“Okay.”

My sister reluctantly complied, pulled my arm, laid down comfortably, and covered me with the blanket. She fell asleep within a few minutes.

Honestly, I don’t know why you like me so much, but every time I see you being so devoted, my heart aches.

I hope that my older sister won’t change in the future, and I promised myself once again to continue to be good to her.

I was watching my sister sleeping with her arms crossed for a long time, and after about an hour, I was thinking about waking her up.

My sister’s eyes lit up.

“How many hours did you sleep?”

“Just one hour.”

My sister got up from bed, went back to her desk, and started studying.

I thought that my sister, who was like a machine, was attractive, so I sat next to her and helped her study.

***

The college entrance exam date is approaching.

I started preparing to leave early in the morning, thinking that I should leave early just in case something happened.

After checking the bag containing the necessities once more, washing up and getting dressed, I left the room and found my parents waiting in the living room.

“Son. Chew your lunch box thoroughly and eat it well!”

“Thank you. You must have had a hard time since dawn. I’ll eat well.”

“Huh? Sorry, son. It wasn’t me who did it.”

“It’s okay. It’s hard to receive it from the early morning.”

“Anyway, son. There are many opportunities and you won’t have to take the test, so don’t be nervous and just relax.”

“Is that guy nervous? Why is he worrying so much?”

“You just drive well and come back. Don’t bother your son who’s taking a test for no reason!”

“Honey! My son is touching me. I’m innocent.”

“Dad. Let’s go.”

I set off for the school to take the exam in my innocent father’s car.

“Son.”

“Why.”

“You’ve taken the CSAT and are all grown up.”

“What. I’m already the same height as my dad.”

“It seems like only yesterday that I was crying whenever I was held in daddy’s arms. You’ve really grown up.”

“…..”

I quietly closed my open mouth as I saw my father speaking with a serious look on his face, as if he was reminiscing about the past.

Our car drove quietly down the road, and my dad stopped the car in front of the school where the test was being held.

“You don’t have to watch it like Mom said. Just watch it comfortably.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be back when the time comes. See you later, son.”

“Okay. Take care on your way back.”

I walked towards the testing center, leaving my father behind, who was watching me without leaving.

I went into the classroom where I was taking the test, sat in my assigned seat, checked to see if my desk drawer was empty just in case, and waited. After 30 minutes, the proctor closed the door.

After explaining the precautions and verifying my identity, I took out my student ID that I had prepared.

The supervisor tilted his head as if it was unusual, checked the student ID, and then returned it.

Let’s wait quietly. The college entrance exam started at 8: 40.

The first test ended at 10 o’clock and a 30-minute break was given.

After I went to the bathroom to do my business and sat down, the next test started and with that, it was time for lunch.

I thought it would definitely be an easy year during the college entrance exam period, so I ate lunch in a quiet place and headed back to class. After a while, at 5: 45 PM, the last exam was over.

I thought I would get full marks, but I must have gotten one wrong, so I went out to the school gate and saw my parents waiting for me.

“Son!!”

I approached my mother, who waved happily at me.

“How was it? Did you enjoy it?”

“I saw it pretty well.”

“How well did you see it?”

“You said I can’t see you in the morning?”

“Son. I thought you might be nervous. It would be nice to see you well~ So how well did you see me? Huh?”

“Thank you for watching~”

We all got into the car together, answering Mom’s questions, and as soon as Dad started the car, Mom called me.

“Son. Here’s your phone~”

“As expected! Thank you, Mom.”

My mom brought me my cell phone that I left at home.

As soon as the car started, my cell phone, which had been turned off, turned on and a call came in as if it had been waiting for it.

[Sae-ah♥]

-Yeah, sis. Did you enjoy it?

-I did really well! There were so many questions similar to the ones Jaehoon gave!

-I took the test too, so of course I know.

-Jaehoon, did you see it well too?

-of course.

-Then see you later!

-huh.

My mom looks at me as I hang up the phone.

“Why?”

“Did Sae-ah do well on her test?”

“Yeah. I heard it was really good”

“That’s fortunate.”

“But aren’t you going home? It doesn’t seem like you’re going home?”

“I decided to eat dinner with Sae-ah at a restaurant.”

“Aha.”

I looked out the window, thinking of my new sister whom I would soon meet, and in a few minutes we arrived at a meat restaurant.

“Jaehoon!!”

When Sae-ah saw me, she ran and hugged me.

“Sister? Are your parents here?”

“I’m glad you did well on the test. I’m sure your parents will understand, right?”

Just as my older sister said, our parents smiled at us and went into the restaurant first.

After hugging my sister for a few minutes, I held her hand and headed to the meat restaurant.

***

After the college entrance exam was over, I had some sweet time with my older sister.

Days passed by watching movies, going shopping, and going on street dates.

As usual, after eating lunch and lying down on the bed to rest comfortably, my mom yells outside.

“Gyaaaah! Son!!!”

Startled, I jumped out of bed and ran into the living room.

“You said you did a good job!! Why did you get full marks?”

“You saw it right.”

Mom’s expression was one that couldn’t be determined whether she was surprised or happy. Soon, a smile began to bloom on her face.

“So. Write down the answer. What are you going to do now that you know this?”

“I hope you enjoyed it. Why bother writing down the answers?”

“I never imagined I’d get full marks! Hehe.”

After confirming that nothing was wrong, I headed back to my room, and my mother also went into the living room, laughing as she did when she was in a good mood.

I wonder if Mom’s cell phone will catch fire today.

Soon after, Sae-ah’s older sister, who had been unable to write down the answers because she had to review them several times, came to the house.

The day ended with me lazing around in bed with my delighted older sister, who had gotten top grades in all her subjects.

***

The next day.

There was chaos on the Internet and TV.

[There were 30 students who got perfect scores on the 2012 CSAT.]

[Seo Jae-Hoon, the youngest person to score a perfect score on the CSAT.]

[Seo Jae-Hoon. Achieved a perfect score on the CSAT at the age of 17.]

[Youngest student to score perfect scores on the CSAT, Jaehoon Seo. Turns out he’s a third-generation chaebol?]

[Why is SL Company’s stock price rising slightly?]

Even though there were 30 students who got perfect scores on the CSAT, all the attention was directed to me.

Where the hell did my portrait rights go, my graduation photos that are spreading all over the internet and news.

I started to regret that I should have made at least one mistake.

A future where I would become tired began to appear.