1st in class hides regression

Seo Jae-gyeom was a person who only liked what he was attracted to.

 

No matter how good something was, if it didn’t appeal to him, he wouldn’t even look at it, and he was very discriminating about what he was attracted to and what he wasn’t.

 

In Jae-gyeom’s eyes, Kang Dahye was a no-brainer.

 “No jam.” 

She’s pretty, but that’s all. He couldn’t even see her pretty because she was so boring.

 

It was too obvious that she liked him more than anything.

 

She kept looking at him, nervous.

 

Once or twice, Jae-gyeom even ignored her when she was trying to get his attention.

 

No, they all left.

 

He just wasn’t interested.

 

To Jae-gyeom, Kang Dahye was just

“Han Jisoo’s friend”

.

 

Even though he’s known her longer than Jisoo.

 “Hey, isn’t Kang Da-hye pretty?” “Uh-huh.” “Ah, Seo Jae-gyeom. Why are you so uninterested in answering?” “I’m not interested.” “She’s a good student. Should I ask her where she goes to school?” “I don’t go to Kang Dahye’s school.” “Then do you get tutoring?” “No.” “What do you do then?” “I study alone at the teen reading room in front of Heightsville.” “If you’re not interested, why do you know so much about her?” 

The girls Jae-gyeom was close to transforming into different people with idol cheek makeup and clothes as soon as they stepped out of the school gates, but Kang Dahye was almost always in her school uniform, even when she was seen outside.

 “Where is Kang Dahye going?” “Uh, the library.” 

The answer to this polite question is almost always the library or reading room.

 

‘Is it because she doesn’t have money to read books?’

 

Books are free at the library.

 

‘It’s a good fit. A library with a timid, boring girl like Kang Dahye.’

 

That’s what Jae-gyeom thought, as he often read books himself.

 

But there’s something he didn’t know.

 

The minds of kids who are always reading something are the loudest and most noisy.

 

* * *

 

The lunchroom.

 

Today, the seats around Woo Do-yeon in the same class were empty, as were the entire tables in front, behind, and to the sides.

 

A few girls stole glances at Woo Do-yeon, who was eating nonchalantly on an island that had been deliberately left empty, and gossiped about how pretty she was.

 

‘If you stop in front of her, she won’t even say a word. They’re saying things because the atmosphere is on their side.’

 

Seo Jae-gyeom realized that the kids’ bullying of Woo Do-yeon was motivated by inferiority complexes.

 

He also knew that all the rumors surrounding Woo Do-yeon were nonsense.

 

But that didn’t stop him from stepping in and defending her.

 

‘You have no intelligence if you believe those rumors.’

 

He remembered that his light-hearted remarks at the beginning of the situation had gotten her even more criticized.

 

Jae-gyeom  also remembered that he was the one who made the comment about her lack of intelligence, but she was the one who was criticized.

 

So, he sighed and sat down at a seat farther away.

 “Oh, why is today’s lunch so lousy!” 

The pathetic mood only worsened when Song Yeo-reum’s group, who had skipped all morning classes and only came to school at lunchtime, entered the cafeteria without a line.

 “They eat like they’re so pretty.” 

After casually taking the seat that someone else had given up, Song Yeo-reum began to insult Woo Do-yeon openly.

 “Oh, they’re like that again.” “Ugh. Shame on you.” “Jae-gyeom, do you want to play basketball?” “Sure.” 

He grabbed a bite to eat and headed out.

 

‘If I’m hungry, I’ll go to the cafeteria later.’

 

With that thought in mind, Jae-gyeom scooped up some rice.

 

Kang Dahye walked quietly over and sat down across from Woo Do-yeon.

 

Woo Do-yeon sat alone at an empty table for eight.

 

That alone changed the atmosphere.

 

Song Yeo-reum, who had been bullying Woo Do-yeon by sitting at the table next to her, turned around and laughed hysterically.

 “Kang Dahye, what are you doing?” 

She didn’t find Kang Dahye’s behavior funny.

 

That’s right.

 

‘Kang Dahye, what are you doing?’

 

As far as Jae-gyeom knew, Kang Dahye was also scared of Song Yeo-reum.

 

In middle school, Jae-gyeom had often seen Kang Dahye, who had no money, get ripped off by Song Yeo-reum for a thousand or two thousand won.

 

Sometimes he helped her when he felt like it, but many times he pretended not to notice because it was annoying.

 

He thought to himself,

‘Is she crazy? Or is she doing it on purpose to get my attention?’

 

She’s been arguing with the new student all day in class, and now she’s turning against Song Yeo-reum.

 

Isn’t she getting beaten up because she’s being dragged along?

 

With that thought in mind, Jae-gyeom looked at Dahye, Do-yeon, and Yeo-reum. He thought he would leave if he had to.

 

But Jae-gyeom was wrong.

 

Dahye threw a walnut snack and it landed in Song Yeo-reum’s soup bowl. With soup splattering on her hood and the back of her hand, Song Yeo-reum screamed.

 “Hey!” 

She immediately stood up and threw the plate in Kang’s direction.

 Changgang! 

There was a sharp sound and the side dishes on the plate scattered in all directions. The ladies who were finishing up their meals looked over in surprise.

 “What the hell!” 

The teachers, who were eating separately in the teachers’ area inside, heard the commotion and ran out.

 “Song Yeo-reum, what are you doing!” 

A male teacher in his 50’s with a bulging belly yelled.

 “Why are you standing there? Did you throw that on the floor, huh?!” “Oh, I dropped it!” 

Song Yeo-reum replied bluntly, cursing to herself. Not loud enough to be heard by the distant teacher.

 “Be careful, eh? Pick it back up and apologize to the people who put it away!” 

The teacher didn’t have anything else to say, so he just coughed and went inside.

 

As soon as the teacher entered the room, Song Yeo-reum was ready to kill Kang Dahye.

 

Seeing Song Yeo-reum in front of her, Kang Dahye also stood up.

 

Her posture was very correct, Seo Jae-gyeom thought.

 “Hey, Kang Dahye, you should come out.” “I don’t want to. Why should I?” “Why? Come out for a second. I won’t hit you.” “No.” “Why, crazy. Are you crazy?” “Yeah. I’m scared and I’m not coming out. What are you going to do? Wait for me at the school gate after school and take me to the playground, like you did to my friend in middle school?” 

Kang Dahye didn’t give Song Yeo-reum any space to speak.

 

It was as if she had prepared her lines in advance.

 “I remember when you shoved and kicked my friend’s cleaning box in the classroom in the second grade. The other kids in the class were too scared to tell the teacher, and I said, “If you know about it and you want to report it, go ahead, but you just laughed because I’m a touchy-feely girl.” “What…” “Don’t you understand? If you hit me, you can’t get away with it. You get expelled, you go to juvie. I don’t know what happens, I’ve never been in that kind of shit.” “But Song Yeo-reum, you’re not the kind of girl who can handle that, are you?”

Kang Dahye laughed.

“I can’t even swear out loud for fear of you hearing me.” “Hey…” “The only reason you can be like this now is because the kids don’t want to get involved with you, not because they’re scared, but because they’re dirty. When you get really deep, you’re gonna pull out because you’re scared to fuck up your life, too.” “You crazy….” “Speaking of which, let me add to that. You hate Do-yeon because your ex-boyfriend thinks she’s pretty, and we’re supposed to call that jealousy?” 

As Kang Dahye poured out her words, it was as if she had simulated this situation dozens of times.

 

It was as if she had replayed this situation dozens of times in her life, thinking, “

I should have done this, I should have done that.”

 

Song Yeo-reum couldn’t fight back against the words of Kang Dahye, who she thought was a dumbass, but she could only curse.

 

The cafeteria was the quietest it had been since Jae-gyeom had enrolled.

 

Even the kids who had been trying to ignore Song Yeo-reum’s bullying of Woo Do-yeon were now paying attention. Even the kids who had returned their plates and were about to leave heard Kang Dahye’s words at the entrance to the cafeteria.

 

It was understandable.

 

Hating Woo Do-yeon was a group of people, but hating Song Yeo-reum was the sum total of each individual.

 “Get away from me,”

Kang Dahye said, lightly pushing Song Yeo-reum away from her.

 “You said you want to be an entertainer, right? Be careful, the world will change in the future, and those who bullied others in school won’t be able to become entertainers.” “What the hell…” “Now is the time to apologize to the people you bullied. Hopefully they won’t expose you after your debut.” “…….” 

‘Is this the last day of Kang Dahye’s life?’

 

‘Has she been drinking?’

 

‘Or is she transferring schools today?’

 

‘How is she going to go to school?’

 

Everyone had such thoughts.

 

Kang Dahye squeezed her hand once, which was hidden by the chair, and her gaze fell on Song Yeo-reum’s back.

 

To the girl in the colorful hoodie that accompanied her every day, Kang Dahye threw the final hook.

 “And you. It’s not normal for a twenty-two-year-old man to be dating a high school student, so break it off. Don’t get pregnant before graduation and star in ‘Teen Mom’.” “Ha!” 

Jae-gyeom ended up laughing.

 “Wow. That’s funny.”