# Chapter 81
Can the situation change this much just because one person is absent?
I pressed my index finger against my forehead repeatedly, sighing at the situation. On the first day of school life without Kwon Dojin as a shield, the atmosphere completely reversed just two hours after the first-period bell rang.
From arrival until the end of first period, everyone was just watching cautiously. Even though Kwon Dojin wasn’t present right then, all the students were being careful, thinking he might appear at any moment.
However, when Kwon Dojin still hadn’t shown up by the start of second period, a subtle shift in atmosphere began. Could it be that Kwon Dojin wasn’t coming to school today? Such suspicions started spreading among the students.
And after second period, during break time, the air flowing among the class students had completely changed.
Of course, just because Kwon Dojin was absent didn’t mean Baek Han was also absent. The problem was that Baek Han had been busy dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s incident since arriving at school.
Moreover, just because something major happened yesterday didn’t mean students wouldn’t cause trouble today, so Baek Han didn’t have time to come to my side.
Most unfortunately for me.
“His reputation was truly something…”
The fame of being ranked second really lived up to its value.
Newly appreciating the influence Kwon Dojin and Baek Han had on their peers, I stared down at my desk, which had been defaced with graffiti while I was briefly running an errand for the teacher.
Would it come off if I wiped it with wet wipes? Or should I just pour wax all over it? Would that make the desk color fade?
I stared intently at the desk with my arms crossed. Just as I was seriously contemplating a solution, the cheerful class bell rang. Since it wasn’t something I could resolve in 10 minutes, or even 5 minutes, I took out my textbook and prepared for class.
Since I didn’t want to open my book on the dirty desk, I subtly moved to Kwon Dojin’s seat and opened my textbook there. It was only one seat away, and since the seat’s owner was absent, the teacher probably wouldn’t mind.
Indeed, the subject teacher who entered the classroom didn’t notice anything strange and immediately started the class. Not even checking the attendance roster despite one seat being clearly empty was an added bonus.
“In preparation for the June mock exam, we’ll focus on past test questions—”
Past test questions. That word instantly diverted my consciousness elsewhere. As someone who solved college entrance exam questions every day, I wasn’t interested in freshman-level practice questions.
Letting my mind wander, I wondered what would happen if I left the desk graffiti as it was until tomorrow. Tomorrow Kwon Dojin would be here, so would the other students clean it before then? Or would they leave it as is?
Thinking about it, there was no reason for me to go through the trouble of cleaning it. I could just use Kwon Dojin’s desk for a day, and the unsightly mess wasn’t my fault anyway.
Once I decided I didn’t need to struggle with it, I felt lighter. Plus, this method could naturally let Kwon Dojin know about my current situation without having to directly tell on the others.
You know that thing in web novels where the protagonist being bullied tries to hide that fact from the other protagonist, but eventually various traces remain and they find out?
I became even more satisfied with the fact that I could create such a situation by leaving the desk graffiti as it was. Anyway, Kwon Dojin’s desk was a kind of sanctuary among students, so they wouldn’t touch it, right?
If the kids decided to clean the desk graffiti, that wouldn’t be a bad outcome for me either. At least I wouldn’t have to struggle with it. Besides, if they cleaned up their own graffiti themselves, I had no reason to feel sorry.
“Then let’s have Habin come up and solve this problem.”
“What?”
“Quickly.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. You. There’s no one else in the direction I’m pointing, Habin.”
After scanning both sides as if denying reality and turning around, the teacher added more words. I already knew there was no one around me, but it was a reaction born from not wanting to accept it.
By the way, why was he singling me out specifically?
Wasn’t it typical for math teachers to call on students by number? Using methods like checking the date, or using the page number from an opened book, or calling a number the teacher liked from the attendance book, and so on.
This was my first time experiencing a situation where someone was singled out like this. Of course, even though it was a freshman problem, it wouldn’t be difficult, but I was still taken aback. As I hesitated, the teacher wiggled his finger again, signaling me to come forward.
As I stood up awkwardly, the teacher smiled brightly. He even took out a long new piece of chalk, waiting for me. It was very unfamiliar to see him like this. Why was he treating me this way?
“During the midterms, I included about three trap questions so students couldn’t finish in time, but only you got a perfect score.”
“Ah—”
Hearing the teacher’s clearly delighted words, I recalled the strange feeling I had while taking the midterms. I thought it was a level of difficulty that couldn’t possibly be completed within 50 minutes without exceptional skills, and it seems my assessment was correct.
“How was it when you were solving? Did you have time left?”
“Just enough time to mark the answers.”
In truth, I think I had about 10 minutes left, but I mixed in a moderate lie. The other students’ gazes were already hostile enough without me adding fuel to the fire.
I was also curious why he was bringing this up now when the midterms had already ended two weeks ago. The only difference from usual was that Kwon Dojin hadn’t come to school—
Could it really be that he was saying this taking advantage of Kwon Dojin’s absence?
“Then this problem—, yes. Do you think you can solve it within 5 minutes?”
Just as I was connecting thoughts to find the answer to my question, the teacher’s expectant voice tapped my ear. I stopped my idle thoughts and quickly scanned the problem displayed on the TV screen.
It was the 20th problem, considered difficult in the college entrance exam math section, but if I did the mental calculation properly, there was no reason I couldn’t solve it within 5 minutes. So I calmly nodded, and the teacher’s smile grew even brighter.
“Good. Then solve it quickly.”
He placed the chalk directly in my hand, so I couldn’t refuse and stood in front of the blackboard. I wrote down only the important parts of the problem and stared at it, contemplating how to solve it.
After a moment, as I started moving the chalk to begin solving, the teacher, who had been watching me intently, turned to face the class.
“Don’t just sit there blankly, everyone. Try to solve it whether you can or not. You need to get familiar with the problems.”
As soon as the teacher finished speaking, grumbling sounds were heard, but soon the rustling of paper filled the classroom. And when combined with the tapping sound of my chalk moving across the blackboard, it became easier to concentrate.
Thanks to this, I put down the chalk before 5 minutes had passed, and the teacher, who quickly scanned my work, was visibly pleased, declaring it correct.
“How was it? Any difficult parts?”
“Other than the calculation taking more time than expected, no. There weren’t any.”
“Let’s see—. You solved it neatly. Good job. If you need anything or have questions while studying, make sure to come find me, understand?”
“Ye-es.”
I dragged out the end of my word because the way he was patting my shoulder while his eyes sparkled was somewhat burdensome. Even so, he seemed pleased and didn’t stop smiling as he whispered for me to go back to my seat.
“Okay, everyone, put down your pencils and look at the board.”
Sensing that he was about to proceed with the solution, I gave a slight bow before turning to head back to my seat. Maintaining a good relationship with the teacher was certainly beneficial for me. It was clearly advantageous both for college admissions and school life.
Still, it was also true that it was burdensome when he showed his favor so openly. Plus, the look in the other students’ eyes was really—
“Ah!”
I momentarily lost my balance as something hard caught my shin. My body tilted as if about to fall forward. I quickly spread my arms to either side, grabbing onto anything to support myself.
Fortunately, I didn’t fall, but the process of flailing around to avoid falling seemed funny to some, as laughter could be heard from here and there.
It wasn’t that something caught my foot. Clearly, something hard had caught my shin. It was wider than a table leg and longer than a shoe bag.
Then there was only one answer. Someone had stretched out their leg deliberately to make me trip and fall. And since that someone caused me to move forward about one step as my foot caught, they would be to my right if I went back exactly one step from my current position.
“You should watch where you’re going.”
“Haha. I’m sorry.”
Just as I was about to turn my head and glare at the person, having fully grasped the situation, the teacher reprimanded me with a worried look.
Because of this, I missed the timing and showed an awkward smile as I straightened my tilted body. They must have tripped me when the teacher was looking at the blackboard to avoid getting caught.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath at this utterly cunning behavior. I reminded myself it was still class time and regained my inner calm. With my eyes wide open, I walked carefully to avoid tripping again.
Fortunately, there were no more dirty tricks, and after safely reaching my seat, I gripped my mechanical pencil until my hand turned white. Realizing the pit of my ordeal was getting deeper, I gritted my teeth.
I’m seriously pissed off.
