Along with the God of Law - Chapter 3
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Chapter 3
[Translation By Divinity]
“Can I eat this?”
“Yeah. I always pack extra to share with my friends.”
Kang Hyun, who always arrived at the classroom just before or after the bell, had no way of knowing about her habit.
Anyway, as Kang Hyun nodded, Yoon Ha-neul promptly cleared a spot and sat facing him. Sharing breakfast like this seemed to ease the awkwardness between them a bit.
“Thanks for the food.”
“Sure.”
As soon as she replied, Yoon Ha-neul took a big bite of the sandwich. She was always diligent in everything she did, and it seemed she was determined not to be outdone when it came to eating, stuffing the sandwich into her mouth.
‘She eats well.’
Kang Hyun, who had been watching her cheeks puff out adorably and then deflate again, came to his senses and turned his attention to the sandwich, taking a bite.
“Delicious…!”
Kang Hyun exclaimed in surprise at the unexpected taste.
In response, she nodded repeatedly as if it were a matter of course, her cheeks still full of sandwich.
Munch munch.
Kang Hyun, too, devoured a sandwich like Yoon Ha-neul.
‘I didn’t even realize I was hungry.’
This would have been unimaginable before. Forgetting hunger because he was focused on studying!
But once he had a bite, his appetite, which had been suppressed by his concentration on studies, surged.
He glanced at the desk, wondering if he should have another one.
‘Did she… eat them all?’
But to his surprise, the sandwiches, which had been plentiful, were gone in the blink of an eye.
Kang Hyun felt a bit sorry, wondering if he had made her run out of sandwiches by asking to share.
Then, he suddenly felt her gaze.
“…?”
Yoon Ha-neul, who had polished off several sandwiches in an instant, was staring at Kang Hyun with a clean face, as if she hadn’t eaten anything.
“What…?”
“Are you going to study?”
It seemed her eyes had landed on the book Kang Hyun had opened.
Kang Hyun nodded and replied.
“Yeah. I’m a bit late, but I thought I’d give it a try.”
Then, Yoon Ha-neul spoke with curious eyes.
“That’s interesting. I don’t have anyone like that around me.”
It seemed that to her, it was unexpected for him to suddenly start studying after always fooling around.
Well, he had never seen anyone like that around him either, so her surprise was understandable.
“People who are desperate sometimes do that.”
“Desperate…?”
“Ah… never mind.”
Kang Hyun was flustered, having almost revealed his inner thoughts while trying to explain indirectly that studying was suddenly too easy for him.
He debated whether to explain further, but seeing Yoon Ha-neul nod, he decided against it.
“Yeah, I think I understand.”
She suddenly stood up and started tidying up.
“Make sure to eat breakfast. You need it for studying.”
“Okay, thanks. I enjoyed the breakfast. Oh, where did you buy this? I should get some later.”
“This? I made it at home. I like cooking.”
With that, she left to wash her hands, and Kang Hyun, watching her go, muttered.
“Amazing…”
It was surprising enough that she woke up early to come to school and study, but to even prepare her own breakfast… People in this world were diverse, and seeing Yoon Ha-neul’s early morning diligence made him realize how lazy he had been.
Anyway, their brief, slightly sweet moment passed quickly, and as students gradually filled the classroom, the boring class time arrived.
Of course, it wasn’t boring for Kang Hyun. That was because he perfectly understood everything taught in class, and even if he didn’t understand something at first, the answer would come to him with a little thought.
He briefly considered that studying alone with books might be more efficient in terms of speed, but he also realized that listening to lectures to fill in his knowledge gaps was quite effective as well.
“We have a mock exam tomorrow, so be well prepared.”
Just like that, the bell rang, and the day was coming to an end.
“Ugh! Another mock exam. When will this boredom end?”
Min-soo, sitting next to him, groaned in frustration, but Kang Hyun felt the opposite.
‘Great!’
Kang Hyun’s eyes sparkled with the desire to test his improved abilities in a real exam as soon as possible.
He even thought about staying up all night to cram and then taking the exam right after.
In the past, exam days were days for sleeping, but now even sleep felt like a luxury. What an incredible change.
And most of all, it was enjoyable.
He didn’t know how long his 180-degree transformed life would last after that incident, but for now, it seemed like it would continue.
‘Studying is fun… I must be really crazy.’
He hurriedly left school, his steps quickened by the thought of studying.
As he walked home under the gradually darkening sky, someone suddenly trotted out and stood beside him, keeping a slight distance. It was Yoon Ha-neul.
“What? Do you need something?” He spoke a bit sharply, surprised by the unexpected company.
“Ah… I have a question.” She took a sharp breath at his unexpected defensiveness, her red lips parting slightly.
“Talk to me. What’s going on?” Kang Hyun asked, softening his tone.
Seemingly relieved, she smiled, and her expression alone was so breathtakingly beautiful that passing students couldn’t help but steal glances at Kang Hyun and Ha-neul.
“Want to make a bet with me?”
“What?”
Surprised by the truly unexpected question, Kang Hyun waited for her to elaborate.
“Since you said you want to study, I want to help… and from my experience, betting on exams has been helpful before…”
“A bet?”
“Yeah, let’s bet on tomorrow’s mock exam! What do you think? I’ll even give you a hundred-point advantage.”
She shrugged, as if offering a grand favor, and flashed a playful smile that was so captivating, it left Kang Hyun speechless. He asked again, “Really?”
“Yes, really!”
Her confident declaration left Kang Hyun puzzled, and he pondered for a moment.
*Was this out of pity, simple curiosity about him as a test subject, or a genuine desire to help him as a friend?*
But…
“Okay, I’m in.”
‘What could go wrong?’
“Don’t give up and try your best! I want everyone to do well, but especially you.”
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and the word “especially” sounded strange coming from her, but Kang Hyun brushed it off with a smile. It seemed she was fixated on his declaration to study.
“Alright. Well, thanks for looking out for me.”
It was strange that she was going out of her way to help him when they had no prior friendship or connection, but he wasn’t going to back down either.
“See you tomorrow then!”
Hearing his reply, she seemed slightly satisfied and turned around, leaving his side with quick steps.
* * *
The mock exam passed in a blur.
Surprisingly, even on the day of the exam, Yoon Ha-neul arrived at school on time, so they didn’t have a chance to talk and focused on their own studies.
The kids around him looked at Kang Hyun a bit strangely, seeing someone who used to sleep through exams now tackling the questions with sparkling eyes, but other than that, nothing special happened, and time passed.
Finally, all the exams were over, and it was time for grading.
“Kang Hyun, let me see! I’ll grade it for you. You were really working hard this time, so I’m super curious to see what kind of record you’ll set. Your score is the talk of the town!”
Min-soo, sitting next to him, snatched Kang Hyun’s exam papers and gathered them together.
“Min-soo.”
“What?”
Kang Hyun looked at Min-soo, who was about to grade his papers, with a serious expression.
“Don’t be surprised.”
“What’s with this attitude?”
Min-soo teased Kang Hyun’s serious demeanor and started grading.
“Whoa… This is truly surprising.”
He had been marking Kang Hyun’s Korean language exam with a red pen and, having finished grading, put the pen down with a thud.
“Guys! This dude got a zero in Korean! He didn’t even attempt the exam!”
“What? Really?”
“Hahaha! Awesome!”
The classroom erupted in laughter. Yoon Ha-neul was seen leaving quickly with an expressionless face.
“…”
Kang Hyun knew it shouldn’t matter if she was disappointed, but he felt a pang of discomfort in his heart.
“Our good-for-nothing Kang Hyun. You worked hard sleeping through the exam. Now that you’ve had plenty of rest, shall we head to the PC room?”
“No thanks. I’m not playing games anymore.”
“What? Really? Are you shocked by the zero?”
Kang Hyun pushed Min-soo’s arm off his shoulder and started packing his bag. He was eager to go home and study more.
‘I’m sure I got almost all of them right. The questions were too easy.’
In reality, Kang Hyun’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst, despite his outward calmness.
He had been so relaxed during the exam that he even had time to check his answers three times after filling in the answer sheet.
He hadn’t marked the answers on the exam paper Min-soo was looking at, but he was confident that his three checks confirmed the correct answers.
In other words, it was clear that his skills had skyrocketed in just a few weeks.
‘We’ll see when the report cards come out next week. Until then, let’s review the areas I felt a bit lacking in while solving the problems.’
This wasn’t a dream.
With this newfound ability, his goal was Korea University.
‘To get a scholarship, I need to do even better than this and not miss a single question.’
His plan was to achieve high enough grades to earn a scholarship, enter the law school, and then take the bar exam as soon as he fulfilled the minimum credit requirements. Law school would be a blessing, but it would take more time and money, and the bar exam was still the mainstream path.
He wanted to take the exam quickly and become a prosecutor sooner than others, so he could at least breathe a sigh of relief. Then, he could start paying off the debts.
As the plan unfolded in his mind, Kang Hyun’s face brightened, and he stood up with his bag.
Soon, the door swung open, and the hallway filled with students leaving school. He ignored his friends who looked at him strangely, the changed Kang Hyun.
‘No time to play. Even if I catch up, I’m still behind.’
As he was leaving the classroom, he caught a glimpse of Yoon Ha-neul’s back and tried to follow her. He wanted to tell her that the bet had definitely helped him and, for some reason, clarify that he hadn’t actually gotten a zero on the exam…
‘Where did she go?’
He couldn’t find Yoon Ha-neul among the crowd of students pouring out.
‘There will be other chances later.’
Kang Hyun eventually gave up on finding Yoon Ha-neul and headed home, arriving at the subway station.
The train rattled and screeched to a halt. It was an awkward afternoon hour, so the train was empty and quiet.
He found a corner seat, put his backpack on his lap, and sat down. The sleep he had missed while studying all night finally caught up with him.
* * *
“Yes, you don’t have to come today. I’ll take the subway.”
Yoon Ha-neul finished the call and looked up at the sky, her expression slightly crumpled as if her mind was troubled.
Kang Hyun was a friend who always seemed relaxed and cheerful. Perhaps that’s why she was moved when he said he wanted to study, even though he never had before.
‘A zero score…’
But to find out he was just saying that… She felt a bit deceived and also foolish for suggesting the bet yesterday.
Slide.
The subway doors opened, and she entered, finding a seat. She took a bite of the bread she had bought, chewed, and started listening to music.
Taking the subway home like this wasn’t bad when her mind was cluttered.
But…
“…?”
Today felt a bit strange.
She had a feeling that the older man sitting across from her was pointing his phone at her.
She shifted her body slightly, feeling uneasy, and her suspicions were confirmed. The man was indeed filming her.
“Mister!”
She shouted sharply, having caught him in the act.
* * *
‘I have been tired these past few weeks. So excited about studying that I couldn’t even sleep.’
Kang Hyun woke up from his nap and was lost in thought. These days, his study schedule kept popping into his head, preventing him from falling into a deep sleep.
A few minutes had passed since he closed his eyes, trying to suppress his fatigue and let the train’s rhythm lull him, when…
Crash! Commotion.
‘What’s that?’
There was a loud noise from the next car, as if there was some kind of disturbance.
Curious, he opened his eyes and peeked his head out into the aisle to see what was going on…
“Yoon Ha-neul?”
He saw a familiar face.
Remembering what he hadn’t been able to say earlier, he jumped up from his seat and started walking towards her, but something felt off.
Wasn’t she in a confrontation with some older man?
Bang.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Yoon Ha-neul shouting and reaching out her hand.
“Quickly! Hand it over!”
“This student is crazy!”
“You took pictures of me! You filmed me!”
Kang Hyun immediately grasped the situation.
That man must have done something to Yoon Ha-neul using his phone camera.