# Chapter 41
“Ah, I heard about that too. Is it true?”
Oh Seulbi looked at me with a doubtful expression, having heard what Lee Jinyoung had muttered. I paused briefly while savoring the perfect blend of somewhat rich egg salad harmoniously mixed with spicy wasabi, then nodded.
“You don’t feel confident this time, huh?”
I realized she was talking about the monthly evaluation and just smiled slightly. It wasn’t wrong. I had even carefully stored the exemption pass at home in case I got a failing grade.
Most club members had stopped studying and started to take a break while eating snacks. During this natural break time, I sat comfortably to focus solely on eating, and the teacher approached to pour juice for me.
“Ah, thank you.”
“It’s nice to see you eating well.”
The teacher smiled brightly at my greeting, said a few words, and then went to serve juice to the other students.
I was drinking the refreshing orange juice when Lee Jinyoung put the remaining sandwiches in the corner and said something, so I turned my head.
“We still have some left even after setting aside ones for the absent members. If anyone wants more, feel free to take another one.”
At those words, I stood up while finishing my egg sandwich. I wasn’t hungry, but I decided to take one more to eat later for dinner or when I got hungry. I approached discreetly and, out of courtesy, asked Lee Jinyoung if I could take one. She readily answered:
“Yes. Take it.”
“I’ll enjoy it.”
Although she didn’t make it herself, I briefly expressed my gratitude, and Lee Jinyoung smiled warmly. Her eyes looked at me as if I were endearing, which made me feel awkward as I slowly turned away.
As I was about to sit back down, the teacher, who was putting down the juice he had been serving to the club members, let out a soft sigh of exclamation as if he had just remembered something. As I looked at him wondering what was wrong, he checked the time on his wristwatch.
Is it because this world is different yet similar to reality? At a glance, the watch looked like an ordinary design made of alloy, but the interior of the dial was entirely decorated with platinum and diamonds. I was briefly surprised that a teacher would wear such an obviously expensive watch, but soon he spoke with a troubled expression:
“I couldn’t lock the rooftop because the key suddenly disappeared. I thought I might have been mistaken because it was back in place before I came here…”
It seemed he had gone to the rooftop today, perhaps to check on the garden. Since he hadn’t lost the key, it didn’t seem like there was a problem, so I looked at him curiously, wondering why he was acting troubled.
“I should have locked the rooftop, but I forgot. I need to go back to my desk.”
Ah. I finally understood the problem with leaving the rooftop unlocked and made a low sound. As the teacher said with a forced laugh that he would go to the staff room, I quickly spoke up while pausing my sandwich eating:
“I’ll go lock it and come back.”
“Huh? Taeho, you?”
I responded calmly to the teacher, who was looking at me with wide eyes, as if it were no big deal:
“Yes. I’ve been sitting still for too long and my body feels stiff. And after eating this, I kind of want to move around a bit…”
The teacher seemed to consider it as he watched me slightly raise and lower the sandwich, then soon nodded:
“Alright then. The key should be at my desk. When you enter the staff room, it’s right in the corner on the right, and it should be in the drawer. Just lock it and bring the key back to me. Can you find it?”
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
“Good. Call me if there’s any problem.”
I nodded and left the club room. My body really did feel stiff, but in truth, I also wanted to find out what subject Teacher Jaewon taught. I hadn’t encountered him during class all week, and I hadn’t had the chance to know if it was because we had different elective subjects or if he taught a different grade.
I felt uneasy about knowing so little about the teacher in charge of the club I was active in, and besides, the current atmosphere wasn’t conducive to studying right away.
Recalling the beautifully cultivated garden on the rooftop, I headed to the staff room in a good mood, thinking I should also get some fresh air.
The staff room, divided by grade levels, was all in the main building, so I arrived in an instant. And finding the teacher’s desk in the staff room was also quick.
Even though I had heard it was in the right corner, I expected to wander a bit, but it was such a noticeable desk that I could find it right away. Moreover, there were so many food items placed on the desk that my eyes were naturally drawn to them even if I tried not to look.
“Seems like he’s popular.”
Whether they were gifts, all sorts of food items had multiple notes attached saying “Teacher Jaewon♡”. He was handsome, after all. Compared to other teachers, he was still young, so it made sense that he was popular among students.
Seeing this scene straight out of a youth drama made me chuckle. I first opened the desk drawer to find the key. And among the key bundles immediately visible, I could spot the one labeled “Rooftop.”
Mentally exclaiming “Nice!” at finding the key so quickly, I looked around the desk. It was essential not to touch anything to avoid messing things up. Looking at the books on the shelf, there were several Home Economics textbooks.
“Aha, so he’s a Home Economics teacher.”
It made sense why he was in charge of the Food and Cooking Club. Since it’s a first-year subject, I naturally couldn’t have met him in class. I nodded at this revelation and took a bite of my sandwich while holding the key in my other hand.
There was nothing else special, so I left the staff room jingling and swinging the key. Climbing the stairs all the way to the top, I felt a bit excited.
“I’ve always wanted to spend time on a school rooftop.”
Thinking I could fulfill one of my dreams, though I shouldn’t stay long, I grabbed the door handle and opened it. Figuring I just needed to lock it properly on my way down, the smile that had been escaping stopped the moment the door opened.
I sensed something was off the moment the door swung wide open. As the door opened and the visible space of the rooftop expanded, an unusual smell wafted strongly. I immediately crossed the threshold and went outside.
My face wrinkled as I was greeted not by the fresh breeze of the rooftop but by an acrid smell that stung my nose.
Wondering what it was, I approached where the smell was stronger. And I think I stood there for a long time, dumbfounded by the sight before my eyes.
In front of me, the Middle Class students, who had disappeared who knows when, were huddled together playing with fire. At first, I thought they might be smoking cigarettes, but upon closer inspection, they were simply lighting something on the ground.
The blazing object looked like paper or maybe just trash. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but as the white object burned and emitted black smoke, words involuntarily escaped from my mouth:
“What the hell are you guys doing?”
At my voice, neither loud nor soft, the guys who had been absentmindedly staring at the fire turned around in shock. Some even fell on their butts or screamed “Kyaaaak!” as if a ghost had appeared. I gave them a contemptuous look.
“Ah, shit. What’s this?”
“It’s Yoon Taeho. Augh, you really scared me.”
The guys, recognizing that the sudden intruder was me, exhaled deeply and rubbed their chests as if their startled hearts had calmed down. Despite that, I looked around with an incredulous expression at their abnormal behavior.
They had at least enough common sense to be sitting and setting fire not on the garden but on a barren patch of ground. Of course, it was still a dangerous act. Even if the fire didn’t spread to the building, the fact that they were committing arson on the rooftop alone warranted punishment.
What should I do with these bastards?
Should I go straight to the teacher and report them, or should I put out the fire first? After a brief deliberation, I approached them, thinking it would be best to extinguish the fire first.
“Are you crazy? The vegetable garden is right next to here; what if the fire spreads?”
“Huh? Hey!”
Recalling that the teacher had been filling a watering can with water before, I ran to the faucet. I carefully placed my half-eaten sandwich on a ledge.
I couldn’t wait for water to come out of the hose, so I detached the connected hose and picked up a watering can lying around. It already had some water in it, so I immediately took it and sprinkled it on the burning area.
The fire didn’t completely go out, but it weakened compared to before. Watching the steam rise thickly, I turned to fill it with water again to sprinkle once more, when someone from behind pulled my top.
I stumbled backward from the momentum, and as I turned my head, Kim Junwoo’s face scrunched up as he shouted:
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you bastard!”
“What am I doing?! That’s my line. Don’t you know this is a crime?”
Kim Junwoo hesitated momentarily at my words but instead became angry in a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
“Mind your own business and get the hell out of here!”
Then he even threw out the cliché line that if I told anyone about this, he would kill me. Having stood my ground even in front of an extremely angry Byeon Seungha, I wasn’t scared but rather dumbfounded by this extra character’s anger. He seemed infuriated by my sneer and shoved me hard.
Thud!
“Ah! …Hey, do you really think I’m going to say ‘Yes, sir’ and leave just because you told me to?”
“So what! Do you think I’m joking when I tell you to get lost?”
I swallowed a sigh and spoke calmly to the agitated guys:
“Originally, the teacher was supposed to come up here, but I came instead. He mentioned that the rooftop key had suddenly disappeared; was it you guys who stole it?”
Whether my words were correct or not, a flash of annoyance and difficulty crossed the faces of the guys who had clamped their mouths shut. Thinking it had already happened and couldn’t be ignored, I was about to suggest that they tell the teacher themselves, when one of the Middle Class students grabbed my collar.
“Yoon Taeho! You know you’ve been really arrogant lately, right?”
“……”
“If you’re Low Class, live like Low Class. Why do you keep climbing up and making a fuss?”
What, am I supposed to just leave when people are setting fires right in front of me? If the fire accidentally spreads, the garden could be ruined!
But those words didn’t come out properly with my collar being grabbed. As I raised my arms to remove his hands, someone took out a lighter and was relighting the fire.
Where did that come from? Did they get it from the club room? That thought briefly crossed my mind. Since it seemed like words wouldn’t resolve this with these guys, I decided I should go down and call the teacher, but as I was shaking off the grip on my collar, I heard a rustling sound from above.
I wasn’t the only one who detected that sound; everyone turned their heads in that direction. There was Jung Hyoin, lying prone with a bag of snacks in his hand.
