# Chapter 25
I had been lying in bed like a dead person for almost two days.
It was so bad that by Sunday afternoon, Yoon Taean finally opened my bedroom door and came in.
“Hyung, how long are you going to just sleep?”
I hadn’t exactly been just sleeping, but I had been lying in bed all day, so I smiled awkwardly and said:
“It’s the weekend, let me rest a bit.”
I had been lounging around ever since I got home on Friday, but I still didn’t feel rested enough. Although my body had changed, it seemed the fatigue accumulated from my previous working life had followed me here. No matter how long I rolled around, I didn’t get tired of it. At my words, Yoon Taean made an irritated expression.
“What are you saying when you’ve been resting this whole time? Aren’t you studying?”
At Yoon Taean’s words, my expression darkened for a moment. Studying… right, students need to study. I swallowed my disgruntled feelings and raised my upper body.
“I’ll just rest until today.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say I would study, so I just said that, and Yoon Taean sighed softly and backed off.
“You didn’t forget about the monthly assessment next week, right? Don’t make a fuss after messing up your scores again. Be prepared.”
At those words, I quickly raised my upper body that was about to lie down again. Ah, I had forgotten. The monthly assessment, also called the Class ranking exam. Was that next week? I involuntarily grimaced as I felt my head start to hurt.
“…Right.”
“I have to go out now.”
Yoon Taean showed me an expression that I couldn’t tell whether it was concern or displeasure, and left as I nodded my head.
Left alone, I suddenly felt a sense of dissonance about the reality I had been avoiding. An exam… I’ve almost completely forgotten everything, what should I do? Wondering if I should start studying now, I headed to the desk. Then I recalled the day I had rummaged around before and sighed.
“If he’s going to make a fuss about failing the exam, I guess he’s serious about it.”
But how can there not be a single workbook in the house? Or do I study somewhere else? As a student, studying at a place like a library might be more effective than studying at home.
I looked around my spacious room. It was a decent environment for studying, but concentration naturally drops at home. Since there was nothing I could do about it today anyway, I lay back down on the bed, then slowly got up again.
It seems that the word Yoon Taean threw at me before leaving had quite an impact. Trying to lie down made me uncomfortable, and I just kept swallowing sighs. Then I remembered the worksheet homework I had forgotten. There was a notice in the Food and Cooking Club group chat to download it from the homepage. I remembered the site being linked, so I immediately went to the group chat.
Thinking this might be a chance to learn more about Imperial High that I hadn’t thought about before, I clicked the link and went to the homepage.
As expected of a prestigious high school, the homepage was impressively well-made. I admired the interface that was appropriately fancy yet practical. There was so much to see that I didn’t know where to start.
First, I looked at the school introduction that appeared at the top. I skimmed through the text that was just a list of enthusiastic good words, and then searched around to find information about regulations.
I wondered if there might be something about dropping out, but there wasn’t anything like that.
“What, am I not finding it?”
There should be more menu options. I couldn’t find the class regulations and information about dropping out or expulsion that I most wanted to know. All I got was the upcoming schedule and the menu table.
Just as I was feeling disappointed, I discovered a small linked detailed page at the very bottom. As if entranced, I firmly pressed the screen, and a new window appeared below.
“Oh!”
With an involuntary exclamation, I took in only what I needed from the regulations that were listed.
The system was similar to that of any other school. What was surprising was that there was no obligation regarding dress code. That’s why the main characters all had those kinds of hairstyles. Thinking about the colorful hairstyles that reminded me of spandex-wearing superheroes standing in a row, I shook my head as if to erase those thoughts.
Other things worth noting were that you need the principal’s approval if you miss various events, and if you fail to meet more than two-thirds of the year’s attendance days, you’ll be held back or expelled. And as expected, dropping out required parental permission.
There are contact details for my parents saved, but I’ve never met them, so I don’t know if they would readily agree. Honestly, what parent would be positive about their child dropping out? Deciding to think about this later, I read the most important part in detail.
It was about the Class system.
An image of a pyramid structure that I had seen in the anime was attached in the center. I suppose it was made to be easy to see, but looking at the hierarchical structure that was divided as if to brand people, I felt a bit bitter. Even I found it bothersome, how much stress would the students feel seeing this?
I compared the differences to see what characteristics each rank had.
First, the higher the class, the more comprehensive the subjects one could choose. Excluding the minimum required subjects, those with one star, the lowest in Low Class, had to take almost exactly the assigned classes.
The funny thing was that impressive-sounding classes like classical literature, public speaking, and math seminars could only be taken by those with five stars or higher. The same was true for classes that seemed relatively easy or like easy credits. For example, there was a subject called classical music appreciation.
The second thing made me laugh out loud. Well, well, the dress code regulations that I thought were free applied here. The higher the class, the more autonomy was possible with accessories and makeup, as long as they didn’t compromise the student’s primary duty too much.
But aren’t the Four’s hair colors natural? Despite some differences, they all had black eyes. Looking at Moon Seoheon’s light eye pigmentation, I could tell his brown hair was natural… Well, it doesn’t matter to me how they choose to look.
Lastly, the third was benefits. Points that could be used at the school store were accumulated on student IDs according to rank. And there was an opportunity to receive special meals in the cafeteria on desired dates.
Wow, what is this? This is the best part. I read the last item again with a gloomy expression. It’s good to know that the student ID can be used at the school store as well as the cafeteria, but special meals? I didn’t even know such a thing existed… The regular school meals are already satisfying, so I became curious about how luxurious the special meals would be.
“If I had known, I would have definitely eaten the special meal during the carrot party!”
It’s too late to regret it now since it’s already past. Thinking it’s fortunate that I at least know now, I exited the homepage.
Maybe because I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, I felt empty inside. Since Yoon Taean had gone out, I would have to eat by myself, but after eating home-cooked meals continuously, I was craving something spicy. I didn’t want to eat something too heavy for lunch, so I changed clothes, thinking of buying some convenient instant food that I could eat alone.
After stretching my stiff body from lying down too much, I headed outside. In the end, what moved me wasn’t learning but hunger.
* * *
Sunday afternoon. With a moderate breeze and warm sunshine, it was perfect weather for photosynthesis. Looking up at the blue sky, I entered the convenience store in a good mood.
The store, located across the crosswalk outside the building, was spacious inside unlike its appearance, with everything one might need. While looking around to decide what to eat, the beer neatly displayed in a refrigerator on one side caught my eye.
It was regrettable. If I were in my original body, I could drink it, but now I couldn’t. Something I didn’t even think about as a teenager, but after becoming an adult and enjoying it regularly, it was disappointing to think I couldn’t drink it now.
Turning my head away, deciding not to even look at it, I picked up a cup ramen and was trying to choose a snack to go with it when the store door opened with a jingling sound.
Someone seemed to have come in, but I didn’t pay attention and just looked around the snack corner when I reflexively turned my head upon hearing an exclamation of “Oh?” There stood Jo Youngmin with a slightly surprised expression.
“…Hi?”
“Oh? Oh, yeah. Hi.”
As I greeted him first while he was just standing there, he awkwardly returned the greeting, which made me raise one eyebrow. While it might be understandable for me, who wasn’t familiar with this place, that guy shouldn’t have any reason to be surprised, so it was very suspicious.
“What’s wrong?”
When I asked, he quickly composed himself and said it was nothing. I pretended not to care and continued choosing snacks. Seeing me do that, Jo Youngmin shifted his gaze and went to a different section. Wondering if he came because he was hungry, I turned my head to look, but Jo Youngmin was just loitering in front of the refrigerator.
I picked a snack and went to the counter. After paying, I called out to Jo Youngmin, who was still standing in front of the refrigerator, saying I was leaving, then exited the convenience store. As soon as I left, ignoring Jo Youngmin’s response of “See you,” I immediately turned around the corner of the building and hid in an alley.
After waiting for a moment, I tilted my head to look inside the store and saw Jo Youngmin at the counter, which was diagonally visible, paying for his items.
“……”
Suspicious of his behavior, I thought he might be stealing or buying prohibited items, but what he had chosen wasn’t anything problematic. My body, which had tensed slightly due to the unexpected situation, relaxed.
“He’s just acting weird for no reason……”
Thinking it was nothing serious, I was about to leave with a small sigh when I saw Jo Youngmin coming out and straightened my body. I thought I might need to go deeper into the alley, but fortunately, he went in the opposite direction.
As I clicked my tongue, watching Jo Youngmin walking away from the alley, I quickly hid back inside at the sudden appearance of another figure.
“Isn’t that Son Gyucheon?”
From what I glimpsed, Son Gyucheon was calling Jo Youngmin by name as if he knew him. As I carefully stuck my head out, I saw Son Gyucheon with his arm around Jo Youngmin’s shoulder.
The two walking side by side on the road looked like close friends, but I could sense it. The awkward atmosphere, that is. Wondering why, I observed quietly and saw Jo Youngmin fidgeting with a gloomy face and a stiff expression. From the looks of it, he seemed to be caught by Son Gyucheon and being dragged somewhere. Since both of them were the same to me, rather than feeling sorry for Jo Youngmin, I just sarcastically thought, “They’re having fun together.”
But how did those two end up together? It was making me very uneasy, but it was probably just my feeling. I briefly considered following them to see where they were going, but decided against it, thinking it was a needless concern.
Just as I was about to head back home, I received a call from Yoon Taean.
“Hello?”
―Hyung, are you home?
“I stepped out for a bit, but I’m heading straight back.”
―Ah… Then could you go to my room and check if my tablet is there?
Tablet? Did he need it but leave it behind? When I asked what he wanted me to do if it was there, Yoon Taean was silent for a moment, then said in a pleading tone:
―…Sorry, but could you bring it to Ace?
Ace? Not knowing where that was, I remained quiet, and Yoon Taean pleaded, saying he would get me an evening ticket. Not knowing what that was either, I agreed and added:
“Send me the address.”
―What?
For a moment, I heard what seemed like an astonished sound, but ignoring it, I told him again to send the address and hung up. Fortunately, a few minutes later, a message arrived with the address.
