Copyright 2020. 안생. All Rights Reserves.
※This is a human genre with no romance or flings.※
I hope you take this into consideration.
It's okay if you don't have a dream.
It's okay if you're not good at studying.
What you have is worth it.
Hayeon's house
"Hayeon, did you hear that Kim Seokjin was suspended?"
"The leadership committee will also be meeting in a few days. You did well. Now all you have to do is become number one in the entire school."
Ha-yeon, who was sitting quietly on the sofa, was approached by her father, who sat down and picked up a newspaper from the table. Ha-yeon then looked at him and quietly opened her mouth.
"dad."
"I don't need to be number one in the whole school. I said I don't need to be, so why do you keep saying that?"
"Why don't you need to be number one?"
"The world doesn't remember second place, it only remembers first place."
"That's why everyone wants to be number one and risk their lives."
That was right. Even when talking about rankings, you start from last place. As you climb up the ranks, you forget all the lower ones and only remember the very last, first place. People only remember the first place they're most familiar with.
"Not me. I don't need people to remember me or anything like that."
"Do you know how much guilt I feel at school because of you?"
"Kim Seokjin, you go to school because of me, you get suspended because of me, you can't take your exams because of me, and the kids gossip about you behind your back."
"How can I be number one in the whole school like this?"
Ha-yeon spoke in a loud but trembling voice, as if she were exhausted and sobbing. Ha-yeon's father glanced at her, then quickly turned his gaze back to the newspaper.
"If it bothers you that much, apologize after graduation, not during the semester."
Hayeon's complaints fell on deaf ears to her father. He was talking to Hayeon, but he was merely vaguely echoing her words. His gaze was fixed on the newspaper.
"··· dad."
"An apple like that is a rotten apple."
"Who would accept a rotten apple? It's so ugly that no one even looks at it."
A moment of silence passed between them. Hayeon's father stood up, unwilling to listen to her any longer. Hayeon, who had been sitting, followed suit and called out to her father.
"Dad, stop here. From now on, I'll take care of everything."
***
"You're at the bottom of the class, so what do you know?"
Seoyoung's expression on her face seemed quite shocked upon hearing those words. Seokjin, too, was belatedly taken aback by his own words, but lacking the courage, he left Seoyoung behind and went into the house.
"ha···."
Nothing worked out. I couldn't even take the test, and I was suspended from school. Yoon Seo-young must have just wanted to help me.
Seokjin screamed, pulling the covers over his head. What on earth was Baek Hayeon thinking? Seokjin gently lifted the covers, revealing his face, then reached out to turn off the light. Then, nervously, he pulled the covers over his head again.
***
The next day
"Teacher, this is not right."
"If you want to impose a suspension, discipline comes first, and if you want to impose a discipline, guidance comes first."
"Why are you suspending me first when the disciplinary committee hasn't even met yet?"
Because of Yoon-ki, who comes to the teachers' office every break and tells the third-year president not to send Seok-jin to school and to cancel his suspension, there is no day when the teachers' office is quiet.
"Are you involved in this?"
"Yes, Seokjin Kim, who was suspended before the school even opened, is my friend."
"You must be so upset about not having a place to hide that you're venting your anger on something like this?"
"I was holding back because I didn't like the fact that I got all the questions I was told were wrong and that I didn't get a single one wrong."
Yoongi snickered at the third-year student council president. The third-year student council president, seeing Yoongi's expression, rose from his chair and looked straight into his face. Ji-eun, who had been listening to him from behind, stepped in front of him and spoke.
"Haha... Teacher, I think it would be better to let them take the test anyway..."
"Kim Seokjin... we all know he's not that kind of person..."
***
"Ah... Shit, there are people like that."
"This is so frustrating. I'm going to report this to the Board of Education."
"Hey, hey. Then you'll be the one leading the way."
Ji-eun came out of the teachers' office and slammed the door with her foot. Yoon-gi, startled, stopped her in a panic. "How can a teacher do that?" As Ji-eun fumed and fumed as if it were her own business, Yoon-gi gently soothed her and went into Class 4.
After finishing her work in the teachers' office, Hayeon, who was heading up to the third-year floor, stopped in her tracks when she saw Yoongi and Ji-eun standing in front of the office. For a moment, Hayeon thought, "I've been hearing rumors lately that Yoongi and Ji-eun are always coming to the office to prevent Seokjin from being disciplined."
Ji-eun's behavior, seen from afar, seemed to indicate anger at the lack of progress. If those two continued to visit the principal's office like that, it wouldn't look good on the third-year teachers, let alone the school.
Because of him, the innocent Seok-jin is falsely accused, unable to take the exam, and is punished. This could put the two of them, who are unaware of the truth, in an awkward situation.
***
classroom
"Yoon Seo-young."
As Yoon-ki and Ji-eun entered Class 4, Ha-yeon hurried back to Class 3 and headed toward Seo-young. Ha-yeon, who had come to Seo-young's seat, quietly asked her, observing the surrounding students.
"So... how did it go?"
In response to Ha-yeon's question, Seo-young bit her lower lip and said nothing. Ha-yeon soon realized the meaning of Seo-young's silence and let out a small sigh.
"I'm sorry for getting you involved."
"···Thank you for your help."
"Hey, wait a minute-"
Hayeon finished her apology and left the classroom. Seoyoung, at Hayeon's incomprehensible words, followed her to the back door. But for some reason, Seoyoung couldn't follow Hayeon.
***
Teacher's office
"··· teacher."
"Uh, why? What's wrong?"
Ha-yeon, who had come to see her homeroom teacher with the determination to tell everything, found it difficult to say what she wanted to say when she actually stood before her homeroom teacher.
"Kim Seok-jin... When will the steering committee meet?"
"Uh... April 6th, why?"
April 6th was about two weeks before the April midterm exams. If all went as planned, Seokjin wouldn't be able to take the exam, so Hayeon would become top student in the entire school.
But Hayeon couldn't hide the truth any longer. Seokjin, who had done nothing wrong, and Yoongi, whose constant visits to the teacher's office could potentially cause problems at school. She couldn't allow anyone else to be harmed because of her anymore.
"Teacher, Kim Seokjin did nothing wrong."
"So, please release Kim Seok-jin from suspension and don't send him to the hospital."
"What are you talking about?"
"I did."
The noisy second-floor teachers' office fell silent at Hayeon's words. From the other teacher next to her to the one at the end of the office, the teachers chattering amongst themselves and the sound of typing on their keyboards all ceased.
"I did it, I... put the test paper in Kim Seokjin's bag."
When you make a mistake, don't look back.
You can't change the past, but the future is still in your hands.
- Hugh White -