The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Chapter 5 (5/840)
< Retest, and Winter Vacation. >
#5
Skill Test. And Winter Vacation.
Everyone has their own sore spot. For me, who had been given a new life, revenge was important, but my grandmother was the most precious.
I was angry at the bald eagle who had crossed the line, but I gritted my teeth and countered with logic due to the inevitable difference between teacher and student.
"What? Ha! This brat, really."
"Are you not confident?"
The homeroom teacher, the snake teacher, fidgeted and alternated his gaze between the bald eagle and me, while the other teachers watched the situation, unsure when it might explode.
"Hey! Kim Muhyuk! Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am confident."
"Mr. Kim."
It was not the bald eagle or me, but a heavy voice of an elderly man that spoke. It was the vice-principal.
"Try it. Muhyuk seems confident, but are you not? If you're not confident, then calling a student and insulting his grandmother is just bullying, isn't it?"
"Vice-principal!"
"Don't shout. This is the staff room. It's not just Mr. Kim's place. You called Muhyuk to hear his explanation, not to yell at him. If a teacher can't trust a student, who can they trust? So, is a retest necessary? Mr. Kim, you decide."
"......"
Though he spoke calmly, the person who could be considered the most trash in this staff room was the vice-principal. I know the face behind his mask.
The bald eagle then turned to look at me with a murderous expression.
"Hey, Kim Muhyuk. Let's give it a try. Are you really confident? If the results aren't similar, you'll have to drop out, right?"
"Yes, if the results are similar, you should apologize sincerely."
I ended up taking a retest in the staff room, watched by all the teachers.
The first test paper given to me was English. I chuckled.
In my second life, English... It's not practical English, but I still have some skills.
I finished all the answers in less than 30 minutes.
When I looked up, the faces of the teachers watching were half surprised and half flustered.
"I'm done."
The English teacher started grading the test paper. After a moment... the English teacher looked at the test paper and me with a disbelieving face. His mouth opened.
"All correct."
"......"
The reactions of the teachers, who alternated their gaze between me and the English teacher with a look of disbelief, were not unfamiliar.
"Give me the next subject."
It took exactly 2 hours to solve four subjects: Math, Korean, and History. And I got full marks in Math and History, even on the questions I had gotten wrong.
"......Really?"
The words from an unknown teacher's mouth must have been the thoughts of all the teachers in the staff room.
Kim Muhyuk, the worst troublemaker at Dongsung High School, was the image etched in the teachers' minds.
"Give me the next subject."
My calm tone prompted the vice-principal to step in.
"Enough. This is enough to confirm everything, isn't it? Isn't it, Mr. Kim?"
"......Yes."
"Apologize now. What are you doing?"
"......"
"If you made a promise, you should keep it, Mr. Kim! Teachers should set an example for students. Isn't that right?"
The bald eagle's face turned red like a beet. His mouth opened carefully.
"Muhyuk, I'm sorry. I really misunderstood. I won't do it again. And mentioning your grandmother was a mistake. I'm sorry."
I asked him to apologize to my grandmother, but I couldn't call her, who might not even know about this, to receive an apology.
In the end, I sighed deeply and said,
"Teacher, I know I've caused a lot of trouble. I know you don't like me. But I'm also a student you're responsible for. And my grandmother is my only family. I beg you again, don't speak rudely about my grandmother."
"I understand."
"Can I go now?"
"......Yes, go back to the classroom."
I bowed to all the teachers and left the staff room.
Damn... I should feel good, but it felt like shit.
"Phew... I'm so annoyed."
The memories before my regression and old events overlapped in my mind, making me feel uncontrollably confused.
"Hey! Muhyuk!"
Turning my head at the call, I saw Myungsoo and Hyunseong running towards me.
"What's up?"
"It's resolved."
"Did the bald eagle cause trouble again? Wait. I'll go and give him a piece of my mind. Hey! Don't stop me. Hyunseong, don't stop me."
No one was stopping Myungsoo.
"Why are you stopping me?"
"......Let's go."
I left Myungsoo behind and walked with Hyunseong.
"Hey! Come with us!"
Myungsoo ran to catch up with us.
When I returned to the classroom and sat down, the snake teacher came in a moment later.
"Those called, come out and get your report cards. Don't forget to get your parents' signatures."
"Okay!"
The snake teacher hesitated for a moment when he called my name while distributing the report cards one by one.
"Kim Muhyuk."
"Here."
"I'm sorry for earlier. This time, Muhyuk got first place in the entire school. Everyone, give him a round of applause!"
"Teacher, it's not April Fool's Day, right?"
Myungsoo's words represented the thoughts of all the students.
But as the snake teacher's expression remained unchanged, everyone started to look at me with a bewildered face.
"None of you believe it? The teachers didn't believe it either, so we even had a retest. But he got all the questions right, even the ones he had gotten wrong."
The shock was so great that no one could speak.
"Get your parents' signatures tomorrow, and those whose grades have dropped, be prepared. That's all! Class president!"
After bowing to the teacher, the dismissal was over. The other kids didn't approach me, but Myungsoo came right over.
"Hey, is it real?"
"Yeah."
"......Who are you?"
The other kids were also looking at me furtively. I flicked Myungsoo's forehead.
"Who else? Your friend Kim Muhyuk."
"Right? Is this really my friend Muhyuk? If it were you, would you believe it?"
"I believe it. It's my friend."
I picked up my backpack and stood up. As I walked, the kids' eyes followed me.
"You guys should work hard too. If you fall behind a troublemaker like me, what will you do? I'm going."
"Hey! Come with us."
Myungsoo hurriedly grabbed his bag and followed me.
On the way home.
Myungsoo finally nodded after examining the report card from all angles.
"Shit...... I got beaten by Muhyuk?"
"......"
"Hyunseong. This can't be. This is a dream. It's definitely a dream. Why are you not saying anything?"
"......I'll start studying from tomorrow."
"Both of you, thank you. Myungsoo, study, and Hyunseong, do sports. Go to college as a special admission student through sports. I'll wait to go to a university in Seoul. From now on, let's all work hard at school."
A cool autumn breeze brushed past my face. Myungsoo and Hyunseong's faces also passed by.
* * *
At that moment, in Seoul.
"Grandpa went to Busan and came back, didn't he?"
"Yeah. Haven't you heard anything?"
"Is Grandpa saying something to us? What's going on...... The people we planted around Grandpa are not saying anything?"
"Only Mr. Ha knows, apparently?"
"Damn, does Grandpa have a reason to go to Busan himself?"
Two men were having a conversation in an office.
At that moment, a young woman entered the room.
"Sir, a guest has arrived."
"Let them in."
"Okay."
A well-built man entered the office. The two men stood up to greet him.
"Oh, Mr. Cheon. It's been a while. Young Mr. Cheon is here too?"
"Mr. Park, please come in."
"Is Chairman Cheon well?"
"Yes, he's doing well. Please take a seat."
The man called Mr. Park sat confidently in the seat of honor, despite the office belonging to Cheon Suwan.
Cheon Suwan and Cheon Suhan did not say anything and moved to their seats.
"Our old man wants you to prepare two large ones. Is it possible?"
"Yes, we'll prepare them cleanly to avoid any problems."
"Good. Is your father-in-law well, young Mr. Cheon?"
"Yes."
The two men called Mr. Cheon were the sons of Cheon Taesan, the old man.
The eldest son, Cheon Suwan, was the son-in-law of the eldest daughter of Ilseong Group, one of the top five conglomerates in Korea.
The second son, Cheon Suhan, was married to the youngest daughter of a five-term National Assembly member and was living as a son-in-law.
The man sitting in the seat of honor, Mr. Park, was the aide to Lee Haksoo, a powerful ruling party member and confidant of the president.
"If you prepare and send them without any problems, our old man will repay everything later. Do you understand?"
"Of course."
"See you next time."
After delivering his message like an announcement, Mr. Park quickly left the office.
After the door closed, the brothers started to criticize Mr. Park.
"Damn, he thinks he's the old man. He annoys me every time I see him."
"Be patient. We're doing this to get into the Cheongpung Association. Is it a waste? We'll deal with him later. Just be patient until then."
"I know, but it annoys me. Your father-in-law hasn't even touched the Cheongpung Association, despite being a five-term National Assembly member."
"He's not a founding member. If I knew, I wouldn't have married her. It was the old man who forced me."
Chun Suwan, who was cursing, narrowed his eyes and said,
"Why did the old man go to Busan? Let's find out."
"Okay, I'll check too."
* * *
Grandma cried when she saw Muhyuk's report card. After crying for a while, she came over with her small body and hugged Muhyuk.
Though she was very thin, Muhyuk thought she was the most reliable and warm person.
"My child...... You've worked hard."
"Haha, I'll study hard from now on. Grandma, just wait for 3 years."
"Hey, I have to see you go to college before I die. Yes, I do."
"Don't talk about dying."
On the TV, the president was making a special announcement.
- I declare war on crimes and violence that destroy the national community and will use all the powers granted by the constitution to eliminate them......
The president, with a stern expression, declared war on crime, known as the "10.13 Special Declaration."
The war on crime had finally begun.
The joint police-prosecution headquarters launched a large-scale arrest operation against all the leaders of organized crime in Busan and soon arrested Lee Saseong, the leader of the Saseong faction.
"Shit, what's going on? That kid was telling the truth?"
"That's right. Fortunately, we avoided the storm...... But I heard the big brother was caught."
Park Dongsoo bit his lip with a dark face.
"......For now, don't cause any trouble and stay low. Absolutely don't go out drinking."
"Yes, brother."
Though it was a high school student's words, Park Dongsoo, feeling uneasy about the story Muhyuk had told, went to a local area with five real brothers and went into hiding. They also witnessed the president's declaration on TV.
That's how Kim Muhyuk changed the future.
From a future where Park Dongsoo was arrested and Lee Saseong survived, to a future where Lee Saseong took all the responsibility and was caught.
* * *
Time passed quickly after that. I got first place in the school again in another exam. The teachers no longer raised objections.
Now it was winter vacation.
When I came out of the school, a car was waiting.
The door opened, and Mr. Ha got out and greeted me.
"Muhyuk. It's been a while."
"Yes, Mr. Ha."
"The chairman is calling you. Since it's winter vacation, he says you should keep your promise."
"......Yes, I'll tell Grandma and go with her."
"We've already informed her."
Mr. Ha opened the car door for me.
I got into the back seat.
"Since it's a long trip, you can sleep if you're tired. We'll start now."
"Yes."
During the long trip to Seoul, Mr. Ha did not speak first once. He only gave simple answers to my occasional questions, without much talk.
Steadfastness and weight.
These were Mr. Ha's strengths. I remembered the fate of Mr. Ha, who became involved with me at the request of the old man.
'This time, I'll definitely protect you, Mr. Ha.'
Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu.
Pyeongchang-dong, located on the southern slope of Bukhansan, is mostly a development-restricted area. Therefore, it is a neighborhood with many single-family homes and abundant vegetation compared to other areas.
Together with Hannam-dong, it is a neighborhood where many of Korea's rich people live. This is where the old man's mansion is located.
I opened the door and entered the house. In the living room, where I was guided by Mr. Ha, the old man was waiting for me.