CBR 25

“And you suggest potassium cyanide?”

“May I ask why no one is pointing out the fact that I’m male?”

Jaewon asked feebly as they embarked on exploring his charm, but he was cleanly ignored. He lonely picked up a fried dumpling, and Kim Seungbin, leaning backward and sweeping the inside of his cheek with his tongue, opened his mouth.

“Must’ve been blackmailed or something.”

At the biased misinterpretation, Jaewon twitched. Of course, he was the one who started it first, but no matter how he looked at it, because Kim Dojun self-destructed insisting he couldn’t die alone, both of them seemed to have been ruined, so who was there to blame? But even if he exposed this reality, it was like putting salt on a turtle’s back. Jaewon shut his mouth to conserve his physical strength.

“Or else he got hooked on some weird stuff again.”

“It’s not like that, so just eat.”

Kim Dojun, who had been eating quietly, countered his words. When Kim Seungbin still stared intently, Kim Dojun lightly kicked the leg of the chair he was sitting on. Only then did Kim Seungbin withdraw his gaze and let out a huff of air through his nose.

“By the way, doesn’t sister-in-law look like someone?”

At the abruptly tossed question, gazes gathered in one place. Studying Jaewon’s face intently, Park Gyujin looked around the table and asked again.

“Huh? Don’t you think so? Anyone come to mind?”

The hands moving busily over the lunch trays hesitated. The surroundings suddenly grew quiet, and an awkward air crossed over the table. Around the time Jaewon felt a strange hunch, Kang Yuchan broke the silence.

“The meat here… no, friend, what’s your name?”

When he spoke out of the blue, Ma Chayun lifted his head, halting in the middle of slicing his T-bone steak.

“It’s Ma Chayun. Currently serving as the vice president of Class 2-3, helping the transfer student adapt to his new school. We were in right next-door classes in our first year, so it’s a pity you don’t know me.”

“Our friend doesn’t eat the cafeteria food and eats a lunchbox instead? You must be receiving love at home.”

“That’s true so I won’t deny it, but I think the side eating cafeteria food is the one with insensitivity to safety. Of course, one could also view it as the daring spirit of Koreans who were born in a truce nation and live only for today, but…”

“The side dish lineup is no joke. Your mother must have good culinary skills.”

“It’s an ajhumma’s skill, but won’t you stop taking interest in my lunchbox? Your gaze is deeply unpleasant, you see.”

“But the portion is way too big. You look like you desperately need someone’s help, don’t you?”

“Take away those filthy chopsticks. If you come any closer, I’ll report you.”

“Overeating is bad for your health, friend. I’ll become your health guardian.”

“Aah! Aaah!”

As something long and thick pierced through the soft red flesh without hesitation, Ma Chayun shrieked and went into convulsions. He shuddered and threw a fit, but Kang Yuchan continued to show off his dazzling technique. Watching that spectacle with a familiar look, Gyujin puffed out his lower lip and grumbled.

“A bastard who’d even snatch a nephew’s crayons… Anyway, doesn’t he look like someone?”

“Not really.”

“Ah, I’m telling you there is. Doesn’t hyung-nim get told he looks like someone?”

When the surrounding reaction was lackluster, Gyujin turned the arrow of his question to Jaewon. Pondering, Jaewon recalled the figure he usually thought he resembled at least a little.

“Jung Woo-sung?”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Seeing that the majority didn’t quite agree, Jaewon figured Kang Dong-won was probably the right match after all. The moment he was about to suggest another answer, his cell phone vibrated. Squinting his eyes and looking at the outer screen of the folder, Jaewon nimbly answered the phone.

“Yes. This is Bae Jaewon.”

― Hello. I’m calling after seeing the tutoring advertisement…

“Yes, yes. Mother. Yes.”

Jaewon immediately stood up from his seat and respectfully readjusted his phone with both hands. Bending forward with elasticity, he pushed his chair under the table with his foot. Glancing at the clock, it was the time when parents who had finished their morning routine would be sipping a cup of tea and catching their breath. The fish were beginning to bite the bait. Jaewon’s pupils flashed sharply.

― Is it a good time to talk? Ah, is it still lunchtime?

“No, I just finished eating. Please speak comfortably. Yes, yes.”

Jaewon wedged the phone between his ear and shoulder, and with both hands now free, lifted his lunch tray. The moment he tried to quickly leave his seat just like that, someone grabbed his lunch tray.

“Where are you going, slave.”

“Going to hustle a bit of side work. I’ll take a shortened shift today.”

“Look at that attendance and work ethic. Trash.”

“Indeed. Who’s the master, after all.”

Jaewon smiled and pulled on the tray, but it wouldn’t budge at all. While he wrestled with Kim Dojun’s superhuman strength, one more hand grabbed the tray.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Don’t do this. Let go.”

“Are you trying to leave me behind right now? Leaving me dropped into the clutches of this leech-like bastard?”

“Check out that rhyme. The future of Korean hip-hop was right here.”

As Ma Chayun spoke without even taking a breath, Kang Yuchan—who was stringing roasted asparagus, zucchini, potatoes, and button mushrooms in a single row right beside him—sent praise. Jaewon looked down coldly at the desperately clinging Ma Chayun and opened his mouth.

“Save yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”

“Hey you son of a bitch!”

When he spoke as solemnly as a Puritan believer, Ma Chayun lost his reason and went wild. Leaving the tray behind like a lizard shedding its tail, Jaewon bolted away in a flash.

― Yes? What was that?

“Proverbs chapter 6, verse 5, it’s my favorite passage. It’s a saying I never fail to tell my students as well. That destiny is born, but life is made.”

― Ah….

The flustered caller seemed touched by the words Jaewon tacked on. As he fled, he steadily continued the consultation.

“That’s why the student’s own will is important in learning. That’s the reason we go through a learning aptitude test prior to student enrollment registration. The test takes thirty minutes, and the results are notified as early as today, or at the latest by tomorrow. If the student’s math ability is judged suitable, we enter into salary negotiations. Since detailed consultations are more accurate in person rather than over the wire, I will visit you and speak in person. When would a visit be all right for you?”

― Oh… can you do it today right now?

“Of course.”

At the question asked as if spellbound, Jaewon smiled gently and pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket. After taking down the visit date, time, location, and the student’s name, he hung up the phone. However, even before he could close his notebook, text messages poured in consecutively, forcing him back into a frenzy of calls.

“Yes, Mother. Yes. That’s right. Please go ahead. Ah, you can’t hear because the surroundings are noisy? I will move my seat right away.”

“That’s right. Education is truly the greatest legacy a parent can give to a child. Wonderful.”

“Yes, then I’ll see you later.”

Inquiries continued long after lunchtime had passed. With his afternoon schedule completely packed with consultation reservations, Jaewon decided to leave early. They say even sightseeing at Mount Geumgang comes after eating; finding a protagonist was important, but securing a means of livelihood took priority. He went straight to the administrative office to issue his transcript and bolted out of the school. Then, buying a few popular workbook problem books at a nearby large bookstore, he headed to an Internet PC bang to create a test paper for evaluation, a curriculum guide, and a lesson plan. It was a task that took quite a bit of time, but reviving memories of making them in reality, he was able to finish it quickly. Of course, compared to the original version accumulated with years of know-how, it was an abridged version, but it would do for an emergency.

“Umm….”

Organizing the visit addresses and mapping out the optimal route, Jaewon stopped what he was doing and sank deep into his chair.

‘I feel like I’m looking at a feast table with lots prepared, but nothing actually to eat.’

For someone who shone with years of tutoring experience just by itself, he possessed the ability to guess a student’s type just by talking on the phone with a parent. Just like an experienced angler anticipating a big catch from the movement of a bobber alone, he could distinguish who would make the cut.

There were two ideal types of tutoring students: the type who is full of personal will but wanders around lacking know-how, and the wealthy, utterly spoiled brat type. The former was like an uncut gem who developed greatly in a short period if taught just problem-solving tricks, serving as an exemplary case where one could feel the reward of teaching. However, because it was a rare type, they were hard to come by, and since exams were a realm where luck stats heavily influenced outcomes, there were too many variables before producing good results. Thus, the type Jaewon had grown to prefer was the rich spoiled young master.