“How many chairs have you brought up so far?”
“W-well... exactly a hundred, sir.”
“We have 124 new students, so we're twenty-four chairs short. Go and get more.”
At the teacher's orders, Kang Woo and the other boys went quietly down to the auditorium basement without a word of protest.
Each of them hooked three folding chairs over each arm, carrying six at a time as they trudged back up to the auditorium, sighing heavily.
“Haaah, this is killing me.”
Why did he have to go through all this on his very first day?
“Age really does give people the right to push you around. Ah! Or is it rank that does that...?”
He had thought he was finished with this sort of thing once he entered university... Ah, he could already see the hardships awaiting him.
Of course, one student was having an even harder time than he was. It was the sturdy boy walking ahead of him, carrying eight chairs at once—two more than Kang Woo.
Thanks to that broad-built, good-natured-looking boy, the rest of them had a little less work to do.
“Come on, keep it up!”
At the time, Kang Woo had no idea that this student would end up in the same class as him.
* * *
“Welcome, new students, to Goryeo Science High School for the Gifted. I believe you already know what kind of school this is, so there is no need for me to explain it at length. From now on, you are the gifted young people who will bring honor to this school and the talented individuals who will carry our nation's future on your shoulders...”
On the stage, a middle-aged teacher who was getting on in years was introducing the school. He identified himself as Kim Yun-taek, the first-year grade coordinator and head of the Physics Department.
The incoming students, seated in orderly rows below the stage, listened with bright, attentive eyes. Sitting in one of the chairs prepared for the new students, Kang Woo quietly listened to the welcoming address. The talk of becoming a talented individual who would bring glory to the nation left him somewhat uncomfortable, though another part of him felt proud.
But even after he heard the name Kim Yun-taek, no writing appeared above the teacher's head. When he learned a student's name, information about that student appeared, but apparently the same thing did not work on teachers.
'Did those grades only apply to students?'
He still had no idea how the system that displayed writing in midair worked.
“Above all, the moment you enter this school, you will find yourselves in an entirely new environment. Unfortunately, even in a school that brings together students who ranked first at their respective middle schools, some will inevitably outperform others. Some of you will continue coming first, while others will find yourselves at the very bottom. As a result, more than half of our students have difficulty adjusting to school life.”
A shadow fell over the anxious students' faces. They were suddenly afraid that they might be the ones who ended up at the bottom.
“That is why we have established a preparatory enrollment period to help you adjust. Over the next two weeks, you will get a taste of what school life will be like after you officially enroll. Unlike in middle school, you will move from classroom to classroom for your lessons, and in the evenings, you will live in the dormitories. You will experience discussion-based classes and even the kinds of exams that are distinctive to science high schools.”
At the mention of exams, the students grew restless.
“If you have trouble adjusting, please ask your assigned teacher for help right away. If you still find things unbearable, you also have the option of transferring to a regular high school. Sometimes, being first at an ordinary high school is better than being last at a science high school, so think carefully about what is best for you.”
In fact, quite a few students at specialized high schools like this one failed to adjust and ended up dropping out or transferring. For those who could not adapt, the sooner they transferred, the better. The preparatory enrollment period was therefore a great help to such students as well.
Kim Yun-taek went on at length about the rules they would have to follow before his lecture finally came to an end.
“Now, let me introduce the teachers who will be responsible for the first-year students. And from this point on, I'll speak a little less formally. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Kim Yun-taek, a graduate of Hanguk University's Department of Physics Education. I'm the first-year grade coordinator and head of the Physics Department.”
When his introduction ended, the students welcomed him with enthusiastic applause. Their eyes lit up at the mention of Hanguk University.
Kim Yun-taek continued introducing the teachers. As each name was called, the teachers assigned to the first-year homerooms stepped onto the stage one after another. Perhaps because it was a science high school, every one of them had an impressive academic background.
Kang Woo made no effort to memorize their names. He could get to know them gradually.
They might be outstanding teachers in the eyes of the other students, but Kang Woo was not particularly impressed. Having completed everything from his undergraduate studies to his doctorate at Hanguk University himself, he considered a degree from that university nothing out of the ordinary.
After finishing the introductions, Kim Yun-taek made an announcement.
“Now, you're all going to take a diagnostic assessment. Everyone, move to your assigned classrooms! Teachers, please lead the students you're responsible for...”
As the students crowded around the notices on the wall to find their assigned classrooms, Kang Woo rose leisurely from his chair.
An exam on the very first day. He could not help worrying that his new life was going to be filled with one exam after another.
* * *
Kang Woo arrived at a physics classroom. He had been assigned to Temporary Class 3, which had sixteen students, including him.
Finding the classroom had not been difficult. He had simply followed some of the other students assigned to Class 3 and arrived before he knew it. He had assumed there would be no familiar faces in his class, but... he was wrong.
The two girls he had met at the café that morning were sitting near the front. Apparently, fate had brought them together again. With eight classes in total, it was hardly a likely coincidence.
Since Kang Woo attached little importance to the diagnostic assessment, he took a seat at the very back.
A short while later, a female teacher entered carrying a stack of papers. She was the teacher who had stood out to him even during the introductions in the auditorium.
The moment he saw her, Kang Woo's eyes widened.
“I'm Cha Do-do, and I'll be your temporary homeroom teacher for Class 3. I look forward to working with you. I'll also be teaching physics to the first-year students. It's a pleasure to meet you all.”
She was quite young, looking as though she had only recently graduated from university.
Cha Do-do brought to mind a cool, aloof city woman, just as her name suggested. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were beautifully shaped. With her large eyes, straight nose, and soft jawline, she had the features of a classic beauty. She was fairly tall, too, and her slender figure looked striking in a business suit. As Kang Woo stared at her in a daze, he heard the students beside him whispering.
“They say she graduated from Hanguk University's Department of Physics Education.”
“Wow, she could give a television actress a run for her money.”
“They call her the goddess of Go-gwak.”
Kang Woo was astonished, too. A beauty of the sort he might expect to encounter at a television studio was going to be his homeroom teacher.
Although he was a high school student now, he had met plenty of women during his years as Son Kang-woo. Yet even when he thought back over all those years, he could not remember seeing anyone quite so beautiful.
And a woman like that was going to be his homeroom teacher! Suddenly, the whole school seemed different, and his enthusiasm soared. Apparently, there was no denying his instincts.
Once again, however, no writing appeared above Cha Do-do's head. The system really did seem to apply only to students.
Cha Do-do stepped away from the lectern and walked around the classroom with a smile. She had the air of a model walking down a runway, and the students' gazes naturally followed her.
She checked that everything was in order, smiling brightly. But the moment she took out the exam papers, she transformed into an icy witch.
“You'll have three hours for the exam: one hour for mathematics and two hours for science. There are both multiple-choice and written-response questions, and you'll have a ten-minute break after the mathematics test. All right, we'll start with mathematics. Good luck, everyone!”
After explaining the instructions, Cha Do-do distributed the question papers and answer sheets.
The exam began, and the sounds of students turning pages and moving their pens filled the room.
Kang Woo opened his question paper and glanced toward Cha Do-do to see what she was doing. She was sitting at the front of the classroom, reading a book. She did not seem particularly concerned with watching the students during the exam.
'I can just take it easy.'
A quick glance through the questions showed that about half were ordinary high school mathematics problems, while the other half were problems that required reasoning and had little to do with the standard curriculum. There was a fairly even mixture of multiple-choice and written-response questions.
'Why are these so difficult...?'
Given enough time, he could probably solve them, but they were not at all easy for him to tackle on the spot.
He had no trouble with the calculus questions, but there were certain areas of mathematics he had not touched since graduating from high school. Besides, he was unfamiliar with these particular kinds of reasoning problems, and solving them in such a short time was beyond him.
His surprise lasted only a moment. Kang Woo decided to take the exam casually, just as he had originally intended.
If this diagnostic assessment were going to have a major impact on his future, he would do everything he could to score well. But at most, it was a test to assess the students' levels for class placement.
“Ah, what a bother...”
Of course, it was not as though he had anything else to do if he chose not to solve the questions.
'Maybe I'll become an artist today.'
On the OMR answer sheet, Kang Woo drew a worm in the shape of the letter S. It turned out rather impressively.
'Oh, yeah!'
With his artwork complete, Kang Woo laid his head on the desk and fell asleep.
* * *
The allotted hour passed quickly.
Cha Do-do closed the book she had been reading and surveyed the students. The classroom was spacious, and there were so few students that the desks were widely separated. Naturally, there was almost no opportunity to cheat. That was why she had been able to supervise the exam so comfortably.
The students had been told that the results of this test would be used to assign them to classes, but in reality, its only purpose was to determine their academic levels.
There were limitations to assessing students' abilities based on their entrance exam results. The entrance exam questions were made public, and if the school made them even slightly difficult, the media would launch a barrage of criticism, accusing it of encouraging private tutoring. This assessment, on the other hand, came with no such restrictions. There was no prescribed scope or format, allowing the school to gauge the students' abilities much more accurately.
Cha Do-do's gaze settled on one of the girls. It was Son Cha-hee.
Many people believed that this year's incoming class was stronger than those of previous years. At its center were Lee Min-chan, who had achieved the highest entrance score, and Son Cha-hee, who had come second.
Both had demonstrated outstanding ability across mathematics and every branch of science. That was why Cha Do-do had fought so hard to bring Son Cha-hee into her class. It was a shame she had not secured the highest-ranked student, but Son Cha-hee might grow even more capable with time.
Watching Son Cha-hee today, Cha Do-do felt an even greater fondness for her. There was something about the girl's manner that reminded her of herself.
'I'll make sure Son Cha-hee becomes number one.'
Remembering how the grade coordinator had boasted about getting Lee Min-chan, the top-ranked student, for his own class, Cha Do-do shook her head.
“All right, time's up! Put your answer sheets in front of you and your hands on your heads!”
Cha Do-do walked among the students, collecting their answer sheets.
Even without knowing the correct answers to all the multiple-choice questions, she could make a rough guess at how students had performed from the amount and substance of their written responses.
As expected, Son Cha-hee's answer sheet was densely filled in. She had left no blanks. It looked as though she would achieve a satisfactory score. In a better mood, Cha Do-do continued examining the papers as she collected them.
Some students had answered most of the questions, while others had completed only half. Some looked pleased with themselves, apparently satisfied with their work, while others wore miserable expressions because they had found the exam difficult.
Finally, Cha Do-do collected the answer sheet from the student sitting at the very back. Her expression immediately twisted.
The spaces for written answers were almost entirely blank, and in the multiple-choice section... the student had drawn a work of art.
'What on earth is with this brat? Kang Woo?'
She checked the name on the answer sheet and glanced at the student's face.
He was quite presentable. No, he was handsome. He was not the sharp-featured, striking sort of handsome young man, but he had a pleasant face that would earn him quite a few points for his looks.
But if he looked perfectly respectable, why was his answer sheet such a mess? Was he playing a joke?
Frowning, Cha Do-do searched her memory for the name Kang Woo. When her class assignment had been finalized, she had carefully reviewed the admission applications to familiarize herself with the names and backgrounds of the students she would be teaching.
Kang Woo, Kang Woo...
'Ah!'
She remembered. He was a student who had entered through the special admissions track for socially disadvantaged students, something rather unusual at a school for the gifted. He had attended a middle school somewhere in the countryside...
His letter of recommendation had not been especially impressive, and his entrance exam scores had been near the bottom. There had been no indication that he had studied ahead through private education.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with that. Even students who had not studied ahead could catch up perfectly well if they worked hard after enrolling. In fact, blindly pushing ahead through the curriculum could actually undermine a student's creativity.
But an exam was no place for fooling around...
After collecting the answer sheets, Cha Do-do fixed Kang Woo with a piercing glare.
A teacher who labeled a student untalented simply because of poor entrance exam results was hardly qualified to teach. At the very least, Cha Do-do made a point of trying to support students like him.
But she was worried about how someone who showed so little motivation would ever adjust to life at this school. She firmly believed that people who did not make an effort could never succeed.
No matter how much help she offered, what good would it do if the student himself had no desire to try? Mentally, she marked Kang Woo as a student to watch closely and one who would need counseling.
Kang Woo, meanwhile, had no inkling of what Cha Do-do was thinking. He merely tilted his head as he looked at her.
'Is there something on my face?'
At any rate, having such a beautiful teacher pay attention to him was not a bad thing.