The second period began.
Cha Do-do placed an envelope containing the exam papers on the desk and announced the start of the test.
“All right, it's time for the science exam. Everyone, take your seats!”
As she spoke, her gaze was fixed on Kang Woo.
With Cha Do-do staring at him so intently from the lectern, Kang Woo kept tilting his head in puzzlement. He had no idea why that woman was so interested in him.
Was it because of his answer sheet? If the questions were difficult, there was nothing wrong with leaving the answers blank. Was she really going to get angry over something so petty?
A beautiful rose always had its thorns. Despite her looks, this teacher seemed likely to have a formidable personality. Reflecting on how briefly he had been captivated by her beauty, Kang Woo put the matter out of his mind.
Besides, they were a teacher and student now.
He received the question paper and answer sheet and skimmed through them. The science exam was much like the mathematics exam. Over the next two hours, they had to answer multiple-choice and written-response questions in four subjects: physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science.
Half the questions were the sort that might appear on the national college entrance examination, while the other half were designed to measure the students' scientific reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
Physics was his specialty. At least when it came to physics, he could solve the questions without breaking a sweat.
Within a few minutes, Kang Woo had finished every physics question. Another student might agonize over whether the answers were correct and check them a second time, but he had no need to do so.
Still, the questions were unusually advanced for a pre-enrollment assessment, and far too many of them tested how much material the students had studied ahead of the curriculum. A science high school ought to set questions that revealed the students' gifted potential. Encouraging rote learning like this was a problem.
Of course, even science high schools could not escape the larger framework of South Korea's admissions system, with its college entrance examination and school records. But if they taught and tested students this way, it would be difficult to nurture their talents. He worried whether the students who represented the future of the nation's science and technology could truly be educated properly.
Kang Woo was about to write his answers on the answer sheet when he changed his mind.
'Wouldn't it look strange if I scored at the very bottom in every other subject but got full marks in physics?'
He checked which answer choice appeared most frequently among the correct answers. Number three was the most common.
So he filled in number three all the way down the answer sheet. A magnificent column appeared.
'Not bad.'
* * *
He had drawn a worm on his mathematics answer sheet and a column on his physics answer sheet. At this rate, he was well on his way to becoming an artist.
The written-response section, however, posed a problem. He was going to leave it blank, but then he took a look at the final question, which he suspected had been included to distinguish the strongest students from the rest.
The last question dealt with gravity at the Earth's surface and within its interior. It required students to calculate gravity inside the Earth using the principle of universal gravitation between two bodies. Expressing the gravitational force acting inside the Earth in mathematical form would require integration from advanced mathematics.
'At least this is a worthwhile question.'
Leaving the other written-response questions blank, Kang Woo wrote out an answer to the last one. He derived everything from the fundamental principles and organized the solution so neatly that it resembled a research paper. After all, ignoring a good question would be a sin.
Once he had finished with physics, he moved on to chemistry.
This time, too, Kang Woo did not bother thinking about how to solve the problems.
'I'll choose number two this time.'
Once again, he turned himself into an artist, drawing a column of answers and leaving every written-response question blank.
He chose number one for biology and number four for earth science, giving each subject its own answer choice in a spirit of fairness.
A glance at the clock showed that a whole hour still remained.
'Haaah, this is tedious. Surely I can sleep now?'
Suddenly, however, he sensed a chilling presence that seemed to bore into the crown of his head. Startled, Kang Woo looked up toward the front of the room.
'Eeek!'
Cha Do-do was glaring at him with eyes like sharpened axes. Kang Woo let out a long sigh. Had he somehow landed on her bad side on his very first day?
She was pretty even when glaring at him with those wide, furious eyes, but he could not stop his knees from going weak.
'That woman has quite a commanding presence, too.'
He was seriously worried about the year ahead.
“Don't sleep. Sit up and solve the questions properly.”
Though she spoke quietly, her commanding tone seemed to carry murderous intent.
'Gasp!'
Kang Woo had been about to put down his pen, but he had no choice but to pick it up again and pretend to work.
That was when the final written-response question in earth science caught his eye.
A cube of ice floated in a glass filled with water. The problem involved buoyancy and asked for the ratio between the submerged part of the ice and the portion protruding above the surface.
Then it asked how the amount of water would change when the ice melted and, using that result, required students to discuss changes in global sea levels and the environment if Arctic icebergs and Antarctic glaciers melted.
'Huh? Isn't this a physics problem?'
It was an interdisciplinary reasoning problem combining physics and earth science.
After looking over the answer sheet several times and considering the problem carefully, Kang Woo began writing out a full solution, just as he had for the final physics question.
* * *
Something tapped him on the head. Kang Woo waved his hand irritably to brush it away. But whatever it was touched his head again.
“Haaah, I said that's enough...”
“Kang Woo!”
A woman's sharp voice rang in his ears. At the same instant, someone pulled one of his ears upward.
Only then did Kang Woo's eyes fly open.
“Aaagh!”
Cha Do-do had grabbed his left ear and was pulling it up.
To relieve the pain, Kang Woo had no choice but to rise from his seat.
“Pwahaha!”
The students burst into laughter.
Cha Do-do glared at him fiercely. Feeling that he was thoroughly doomed, Kang Woo cautiously watched her expression.
“Didn't you hear me tell everyone to put their hands up?”
“W-well, you see...”
“You're the first student I've ever seen fall asleep during an exam.”
“Th-that's because... I was tired...”
“You must have studied very hard last night. Of course, I suppose someone could fall asleep during an exam.”
“R-right?”
“What do you mean, 'right'?”
Cha Do-do scowled and heaved a series of exasperated sighs.
As she collected the answer sheets, she asked him a question.
“Did you happen to attend an arts middle school?”
“Pardon?”
“Because you're so good at drawing.”
Giggles broke out here and there.
After quieting the students, Cha Do-do gave them their instructions.
“All right! Those of you who have handed in your answer sheets can go to the cafeteria. This afternoon, we'll have introductions, form groups, and go over the schedule for moving into the dormitories.”
Food was always the best news. The students streamed noisily out of the classroom. Kang Woo was about to follow them as inconspicuously as possible when someone stopped him.
“Kang Woo?”
“Yes?”
“Could you come and see me for a moment?”
Kang Woo had no choice but to go over to Cha Do-do.
As she gathered the answer sheets at the lectern, he no longer found her beautiful. She looked like a wicked witch.
'Am I already on her bad side on the very first day?'
Having a beautiful woman take notice of him ought to have been a good thing, yet he felt cold all over, as though he were coming down with a fever. He shrank beneath her piercing gaze.
“How did you do on the exam?”
“I looked at it with my eyes.”
The joke had slipped out before he could stop himself. When he met her dark, glaring eyes, however, Kang Woo promptly shut his mouth.
“How many questions did you solve?”
“All of them.”
“I mean the ones you actually solved, not the ones you drew pictures on.”
What could he say to get himself out of this situation? Perhaps he should just insist that he had done the work.
“I solved everything I could.”
“Liar! You only solved one physics question and one earth science question!”
“But I filled in all the multiple-choice answers. As for the columns on the answer sheet, I assumed that was what the teacher who wrote the questions intended...”
“Oh, honestly.”
Cha Do-do shook her head. Yet there was a hint of curiosity in her eyes as she looked at him.
After thinking for a moment, she asked another question.
“Kang Woo, have you ever attended a private academy?”
Kang Woo realized this was not an easy question to answer.
Cha Do-do had probably studied his admission application thoroughly. Unfortunately, Kang Woo himself had no idea what had been written in the personal statement on that application.
He thought about the area around his home and chose an answer that seemed reasonable.
“No, I haven't.”
Surely his middle school teacher had not written in the recommendation letter that he had diligently attended a private academy?
“Most of the students who come here have already studied well ahead of the curriculum at private academies. Some have worked through the standard mathematics textbooks three or four times, and others have even completed university-level general physics and general chemistry.”
“I studied by myself at home...”
Cha Do-do gave him a bewildered look.
Kang Woo quickly added something else.
“I don't think studying ahead before admission is particularly important. If I work hard after enrolling, I can catch up in no time.”
“Yes, that's true. I don't blindly put my faith in private education either. Effort is what matters. But is sleeping during an exam really the attitude of someone who's working hard?”
“I haven't even officially enrolled yet, have I?”
“Oh, you cheeky boy! Fine. Just make sure you work hard from now on!”
Relieved to have escaped, Kang Woo headed out of the classroom, only to stop right in front of the door.
“What's wrong?”
“W-well... where's the cafeteria?”
He could have followed the other students, but there was no one left in the corridor now.
Cha Do-do shook her head, gathered her answer sheets, and replied.
“All right. Come with me.”
* * *
Since he had traveled to Seoul at dawn, Kang Woo had eaten nothing all day except for a cup of coffee. Naturally, he was ravenous.
Unlike the classroom where he had taken the exam, the cafeteria felt as comforting as home. Standing in line behind Cha Do-do, Kang Woo picked up a tray and collected his school lunch. For the first time, he truly felt like a student.
The food at Goryeo Science High School was remarkably good. Perhaps the school took special care because the students were still growing and would be working their brains so hard, or perhaps it had prepared a special meal for the first day. Either way, the quality was far better than the meals served at university cafeterias.
Groups of students sat around the cafeteria, eating together.
Unable to find an empty seat, Kang Woo stood awkwardly with his tray until Cha Do-do, apparently unable to watch any longer, called him over.
“Follow me. You can eat with me at the teachers' table.”
The prospect of eating beside a teacher was awkward and rather intimidating, but his hunger outweighed every other feeling.
Kang Woo sat down beside Cha Do-do at a table occupied by several teachers. Their gazes immediately settled on him, as though they had discovered some strange animal.
He ignored their stares and began eating. Sharing the teachers' table while still a student made him uncomfortable in both body and mind, but the pork cutlet served for lunch soon swept those feelings away.
'They say you shouldn't even bother a dog while it's eating... Surely she won't bother me now?'
Kang Woo trusted that Cha Do-do possessed at least that much common sense and busied himself with his hands and mouth.
Meanwhile, Kim Yun-taek, the head of the Physics Department and first-year grade coordinator, had already finished his meal and brought up a topic.
“Ms. Cha, how were the students?”
“It's still too early to tell, but they seem better than last year's group.”
“Our class wasn't bad either.”
“At the very least, they're stronger than the current second- and third-year students.”
Several teachers offered their opinions alongside Cha Do-do.
Kim Yun-taek responded with a satisfied expression.
“The entrance exam results were much better than expected, and the recommendations from their middle school teachers were more favorable than in previous years. In particular, Lee Min-chan, who ranked first, and Son Cha-hee, who ranked second, are exceptionally talented students. How did Son Cha-hee do today?”
Cha Do-do searched her memory before answering.
“She answered most of the questions. In mathematics, she couldn't solve the final written-response problem, and in physics and earth science, too... She wrote answers to all the chemistry questions, though...”
“That sounds about right. The final questions are designed to separate the very best students, so they're not easy. I was also watching Lee Min-chan closely today... He solved the notoriously difficult final questions in both mathematics and physics. Although he got the answers right... I was a little disappointed that he merely substituted values into the formulas and worked them out.”
Kim Yun-taek continued praising Lee Min-chan.
Kang Woo's ears perked up. He had met Lee Min-chan and Son Cha-hee at the café that morning.
'So Son Cha-hee missed the last question.'
He had not even read the mathematics questions, so he had no idea what the last one was about. But he had solved the final physics question himself. If Lee Min-chan could not properly explain the principles behind his solution, then his ability was not much different from Son Cha-hee's.
Cha Do-do was growing a little annoyed. Kim Yun-taek was enthusiastically praising his own student, Lee Min-chan, as though he were superior to Son Cha-hee.
“I wonder if any student actually solved the last physics question properly. Lee Min-chan probably gave the best answer.”
The moment Kim Yun-taek praised Lee Min-chan again, Cha Do-do snapped irritably.
“There was a student who solved it properly.”