“Okay then, take a break from now on!”
When Kim Yuri said that, the children stretched out or just fell on their desks. “What kind of Friday is this, I feel like I’m dying…”
“Friday is right. It’s just a Friday that coincidentally fell on an exam period….”
Studying for the exam started after dinner. In line with Kim Yuri’s study philosophy of working harder on the Friday before the weekend, it was conducted very intensely.
“How the hell did you guys study so well?”
When Maeng Hyo-don, who was checking the results of the note test with a hologram, asked, some of the children promptly answered.
“When the scope of the exam is wide, you shouldn’t pay too much attention to details. You just have to look at it broadly.”
“Look at the notes while recalling the lesson.”
“It is also uploaded as an online lecture, so you can study while watching it…”
“Do you really need to work so hard?”
Kim Yuri, Han-yi, Min Green, and Song Dae-seok, who were on the superior side, spoke in turn. Maeng Hyo-don sent his eyes as if he was looking at an incomprehensible creature.
“…What is he saying now.”
“…”
Meanwhile, Kwon Lena, who was struggling with studying for the exam this time too, avoided her gaze and tried to stay still.
‘Kwon Rena prepared earlier than the midterm exam, but she seems to be having a hard time taking violin lessons and practicing too.’
Maeng Hyo-don, Kwon Lena, and Hwang Jiho, who had the lowest grades in our class. There seemed to be a sense of comradeship between Maeng Hyo-don and Kwon Lena, but Hwang Jiho was an exception.
“That bastard keeps getting 40 points. If you make one mistake, you fail. Why are you so free?”
“Ha ha ha ha ha! I can’t make a mistake.”
“…40 points for not making a mistake? Should I be envious of that or not?”
As Hwang Ji-ho said, I didn’t make a mistake, so I got 40 points for it. Maeng Hyo-don, who moved back and forth around 40 points, seemed to have a complicated mind.
“Even if I make no mistakes… If you work a little harder, your class average will rise and that’s good!”
Sawol Saeum added useless words. “Half average… … Do you want to upload it?”
“Yes! Teacher Ham Geun Hyeong will be happy once he climbs it.”
“Don’t think much about it.”
If he told me that he would raise his half average, he would get a full score. If that happened, Hwang Jiho would be co-head with Joo Soohyuk and An Da-in. I hated seeing that.
“Just do what you do.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha!” As usual, Hwang Jiho laughed at what I was saying in order to get 40 points from the bottom.
“Oh right. The dinner isn’t ready yet… Today’s dinner is on Jiho and I.”
“Yes, it was. Shall we go?”
The eyes of the children looking at Hwang Ji-ho and Kim Yuri as they moved into the kitchen were evidently half worried and half expected. I was worried about what that little girl would do, and I thought I was looking forward to it because I proved to be too good at cooking.
‘Should I check messages?’
While waiting for a late-night snack, turned on the device and saw some new messages.
[Chansol Wang] Is it good to win an award?
[Chansol Wang] I won today. I was angry at the fact that I beat Yeon Ga-ram, so I sent a bunch of messages that soon cut off that cute little act.
[Me] Thank you for coming to watch the game. Please come to see us next time.
[Chansol Wang] Do you not like it?
[Chansol Wang] I’m not going to watch your game, but are you going to see Garam Gap’s game?
After all, didn’t that mean that when I and Yeon Ga-ram would play a game, they would then come to see me? When I said ‘Yes, I’ll see you next time’, a bomb-shaped stamp flew in as an answer, but I ended up ignoring it.
Several other messages arrived, but the one that stood out the most was a message from another class 0 senior.
[Woogi-hwan] Are you the culprit?
What was this again?
After a lot of thought, I eventually came up with the answer.
‘During the Thousand Dansu Mountain Spirit Incident, Hwang Jiho said he would rob the 3rd-grade class 0. Are you trying to catch the culprit who stabbed the school by laying a trap near the Temple of Heaven?’
If he answered no, he would then say, ‘You know what the culprit is and it’s not?’
It seemed quite obvious. He decided to pretend he didn’t know. [me: Yes?
This short message was read quite quickly, but there was no reply. I guess I was just poking everywhere.
A few seconds later, a reply arrived.
[Woogi-hwan] The culprit has been revealed. He was a strong teacher in our class!
[Me] Yes? What is this again?
[Woogi-hwan] The reply came to the message I just sent, ‘Yes, I am the culprit!’ …. I will take revenge!
Teacher Lim Yeon-hwa probably just thought that the cute kids in her own eyes were simply joking around, and she seemed to have gotten along. She replied that she was simply just cheering, and she promptly left the message room.
After that, when I checked a few messages, the name ‘Yeom Jun-yeoul’ stood out.
‘It was sent to the junior Jo Eushin, not the teacher.’
The message then began with a polite apology.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Won’t you play again after the final exam?
If my disciple asked, of course I would have to listen. I gladly wrote an answer.
[me] Okay, let’s go together next time.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] I’ll see you after the final exam is over.
With that, Yeom Jun-yeoul immediately responded to see if he was checking the device.
‘But why don’t I get a message on the master’s line?’
According to Yong Je-geon, Yeom Jun-yeoul seemed to be contemplating whether or not to send me a greeting.
[Me]] Hello.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Master.
There seemed to be a collision with messages coming and going almost at the same time. I blew the message a little bit earlier, but it must have been less than a hundredth of a second.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Master, speak first!
My good disciple ended up conversing first.
[Me] I sent it as a test. Say hello to water. Isn’t studying for the exam difficult?
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Yes, it’s been okay. Thanks for your concern! I will get good grades and become a proud disciple of Master
When I saw his message full of motivation, I thought of Yeom Jun-yeoul, who smiled as he changed his straight eyebrows to Hoseon.
[Me] What were you trying to contact me about?
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] I wanted to say hello to Master! Did it take so long to send you a greeting?
Yeom Jun-yeol’s words continued.
[Yum Jun-yeoul] Actually, I wanted to contact you as soon as I got home the day I gave the device code. But it reminds me of the promise I made not to bother Master.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] … … Even if it’s not important, can I say hello?
His message then came up very slowly. I felt my disciple’s troubles, so I decided to allow it right away.
[Me] I’m fine. I don’t mind your contact.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Then can I contact you often?
[Me] Yeah.
[Yeom Jun-yeoul] Thank you!
The word ‘frequently’ caught my mind, but as Yeom Jun-yeoul was happy, it just got better.
“Guys, let’s have a late-night snack!”
Several bamboo steamers were placed on the table to ensure that the late-night meal was finished. Today’s menu was gyoza, especially Untangyoja with thin and transparent blood that can be seen through.
“It’s like swallowing a cloud!”
“Squid flavor, shrimp flavor… … Everything is delicious.”
“This body made it myself, of course.”
“…Through means of decomposition.”
While they were having a peaceful conversation, Min Green, who was answering the phone in one corner, approached the table while talking.
“… … Yes, sir. Yes? Now we have all the kids in our class. It’s a study meeting. Wait.”
“Did you get a call from the painter?”
“Yeah, put it on speakerphone mode and listen with the kids. If possible, Dae-seok told me to sit next to him and listen.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dae-seok Song pointed to his side and set the chopsticks and the front plate.
“Green, sit here!”
Song Dae-seok, who has been sitting next to Min-green for a long time, smiled as he looked at her head covered with a hooded hat with eyes that did not hide his joy.
“Honey drips from his eyes.”
“Oh my God…! I can’t sit nearby! I think you should stay away.”
While the children were making repairs, Min Green changed the device call to speaker phone mode with the help of Song Dae-seok. The voice of artist Hong Kyung-bok could be heard from the hologram with the words ‘Master’ written on it.
[Green, calm down and listen.]
“Yes….”
When the call started, the children shoved Untangyoja into their mouths one by one and silenced their voices.
[‘Imoogi’s Ghost’ was stolen. I can’t even figure out when or how it disappeared.]
Slowly. When Hong Kyung-bok finished speaking, Min Green promptly collapsed…
“Green!” Song Dae-seok, who was sitting next to me, quickly reached out and made me lean on my shoulder. It was as if he had asked him to sit next to Song Dae-seok in preparation for this situation. Min Green grabbed Song Dae-seok’s arm and continued to listen.
[We plan to conduct a large-scale public investigation in order to receive the report and prevent back transactions. There will be national coverage tomorrow morning. Don’t worry, I’ll stop all interviews coming to you.]
“Yes…”
[I will definitely find you.]
Even after that, Hong Kyung-bok said comforting words to Min Green and ended the call. The noisy surroundings seemed to be busy cooperating with the investigation.
“The first picture I drew with my master….”
As Min Green mumbled helplessly, her classmates also spoke to her.
“Tell me if you need it. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll do it!”
“Yes, call me.”
“Yes! Please feel free to contact us.”
“Thank you…”
Min Green’s expression visibly loosened the more she talked with the classmates. Dae-seok Song, who listened to the story while holding Min Green’s shoulder next to her, watched the scene with a slightly confused face.
She seemed to be embarrassed because she overcame the shocking news that her first work had been stolen earlier than expected. She was able to afford to organize her thoughts once she had stabilized.
‘When and how did it disappear?’
The first thing that came to mind was a black screen, but she immediately shook her head. It didn’t look like the black man’s hand was crazy. Considering the steps of the black screen, one would realize that those were the clues left by the former Korean branch manager, and the painting would not stop from being stolen.
‘If I were a black screen, I would have found out that it was a fake, and would have killed Kyung-bok Hong and Min Green who could reproduce that painting again.’
In conclusion, it was thought that someone stole the painting because the painting itself was of considerable value. In a subtle atmosphere, before the study group was dissolved, I grabbed Hwang Jiho and spoke.
“You have to find the picture.”
“You say ‘I need to find it’ instead of ‘find me’? just for classmates. It doesn’t seem like a word.”
“Okay.”
“I wondered why I went to Hongcheon all of a sudden….”
Hwang Jiho looked at Min Green, who was returning home with Song Dae-seok after a long time and then looked at me.
“I get it. I will look for it too.”
Hwang Jiho nodded without asking anything.
* * *
Monday.
The whole weekend was buzzing with the news of the theft case of ‘Imoogi’s Ghost,’, but today, the Eungwang High students were surprised by the unexpected news.
There was the blue violinist Kwon Jae-in.
“Only a few can fight one-on-one with the Jin people. Why do they keep gathering like this in Eungwang?!”
“Honestly, I didn’t realize that the painter and Great Tak are not of our generation, but Kwon Jae-in is really….”
On the way to school, the conversation was all about Kwon Jae-in. Although her class time was quite small, the words that she taught her students surprised many. And with that surprising fact, a number of derivative events occurred.
One of them was the scene where a teacher in a gym uniform was crying in the distance.
“Teacher! cheer up! Only 5 kilometers to go!”
“How could I possibly write something like that….”
“Bring more artificial tears!”
The person who posted, “I will move between the main gate and the general club center in three steps, crying when senior Kwon Jae-in comes as a teacher,” seems to have kept his promise.
‘It must have been a string club advisor who wrote that article.’
There was only the word ‘belonging to the string club’, but there was no mention that he was a student. While pouring crocodile tears into his eyes, the string band advisor continued his three-and-a-half trip.
Kwon Jae-in, who heard that a certain idiot was doing such a thing because of her, played a cheering song in front of the clubhouse and waited.
“Last Saturday, I went to the Eternal Lake team building, I mean, it was awesome…”
Meanwhile, Kwon Lena, who was about to take a lesson last Saturday, muttered with her bewildered expression.
“When I came to my senses, should I say that I became Hae-Joo?”
“What do you mean?”
“I must have been very moved by Kwon Jae-in sunbaenim as a teacher.”
“…I don’t think I’m just doing that because I’m feeling thrilled.”
From what I heard, it seemed that Kwon Lena’s work on the curse of the oath of silence had been successfully completed. I was very concerned about the huge process, but the results proved to be quite good.
‘Kwon Lena’s case was completed safely, so I hope the other issues will be resolved.’
July came quickly as I attended study meetings with classmates, played chess occasionally, and fought back against Baekho, who could still me with one hand.
And with that, the final exams began with the whereabouts of ‘Imoogi’s Ghost’ still unknown.
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