Chapter 71: Enlistment (1)
Summer passed and autumn arrived before anyone knew it. The summer uniform had also changed back to the in-between seasons uniform. The high schoolers returned to school after the end of summer break. The third-year examinees didn’t look very bright, and the reason was obvious.
‘What else could it be but the SATs?’?Kang Ra-Eun thought.
Not even Park Se-Woon, who actively appealed his love for Ra-Eun whenever he saw her, could afford to do so because of the upcoming SATs. She had heard that he would be kicked out of his home if he bombed the SATs this year.
Se-Woon was as crazy for Ra-Eun as always, but he could not follow her around and risked being kicked out. Ra-Eun was already ignoring him as a second-generation chaebol, but he felt that she would end up somewhere that he could not reach if that title of his disappeared. Hence, Se-Woon had been focused solely on his studies these days.
Se-Woon was not the only one. Other than the examinees who had already received notifications of their university acceptance, most students did their best to attend school without causing any trouble.
Ra-Eun, who had been maintaining first place in the entire school, could not afford to be careless either. A single error in the SATs could result in an atrocity that could not be reverted. She decided to make a habit of taking care of her health and solving workbooks.
Anxiety filled the third-year classroom. Ra-Eun recalled her past as she looked at the students shrugged over their desks with earphones on.
‘I remember studying like crazy back in my third-year high school days.’
It was not a happy memory for Ra-Eun; not because of the studying, but because of the family issues that she was facing at the time. Her brow wrinkled unconsciously.
‘Stop. Don’t think about my family right now.’
Ra-Eun not only had no attachments to her old family, but she sincerely hoped that she would never have to see them again. They were memories that she wanted to forget, and they should remain forgotten.
***
Ra-Eun was very satisfied with the results of the final national mock exam before the SATs. She had gotten a perfect score.
“Holy...” Seo Yi-Seo could not hold in her surprise after seeing Ra-Eun’s results. “I think you could get a perfect score in the actual exam as well!”
Yi-Seo was not overpraising Ra-Eun. This national mock exam had been significantly harder than usual, but Ra-Eun had been the sole student to have gotten a perfect score despite that. It was obvious that expectations for a perfect score would rise. However, Ra-Eun did not rest easy.
“You never know what might happen when you actually take the exam. Being cautious is a must,” Ra-Eun remarked.
There were times when honor students with great mock exam grades failed their SATs because they were in bad condition on the day of the actual test. Ra-Eun had never experienced such a thing, but she could never be too careful.
Seo Yi-Jun left the counter and came to the table that Ra-Eun and Yi-Seo were at.
“You got a perfect score, Ra-Eun noona?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Wow... You said you were aiming for Seoul National University, right?”
“Sure am.”
That was her very first goal ever since she became a high school girl.
“Why? Are you aiming for SNU as well?” Ra-Eun asked.
“I’m nowhere near that level. I’m just not suited for studying.”
However, it was not like Yi-Jun was bad at studying. As to be expected from Yi-Seo’s brother, he was fairly smart. He could easily get into a university within Seoul, but his grades were a little lacking to aim for SNU like Ra-Eun. And not only that, he had no reason to be crazy over his studies since his dream was to be a fashion designer. The department that he would major in was more important than the school he would attend.
“I have a gift for you, Ra-Eun noona.”
Yi-Jun had prepared a gift for her in advance after hearing from his sister that Ra-Eun would be coming to Starlight Road.
“They’re rice cakes to wish you luck on your SATs. I prepared them in hopes that you’ll get into the university that you want.”
Ra-Eun did not really like rice cakes, but considering Yi-Jun’s best wishes, she gratefully accepted them. The SATs were right around the corner. Considering the bigger picture, she could not afford to bomb this exam since it was crucial to her revenge. She had already raised her GPA enough.
‘All I have to do now is to take care of my health for the big day.’
She wanted nothing more than for the day of the exam to not overlap with that magical time of the month.
***
On the day of the SATs, Kang Ra-Hyuk drove Ra-Eun to the exam site that she had checked out a day in advance. She could see countless reporters with cameras once they arrived at the entrance.
“Are they here to film students entering the exam site?” Ra-Hyuk wondered.
There were far too many reporters for that to be the case, but Ra-Eun knew exactly why.
“They’re probably here for me.”
As if proving her statement, the reporters’ camera shutters snapped rapidly to take her pictures as soon as she got out of the car. Ra-Hyuk marveled at the sight.
“Impressive.”
“Well, I’ve gotten used to it.” Ra-Eun had also somewhat expected it. “In any case, I’m off.”
“Okay. Good luck on the exam.”
“Thanks.”
Ra-Hyuk was not very worried about Ra-Eun. It wasn’t because he knew that she had good grades, but because he believed that she would find her own path to walk even if she bombed the SATs.
Ra-Eun walked toward the exam site after seeing Ra-Hyuk off. She wanted to just head straight inside, but...
‘That would be too cold-hearted.’
Since she would be resuming her TV career after finishing the SATs, she felt the need to reveal herself to the public from time to time like this so that she wouldn’t be forgotten.
The reporters passionately took pictures of her as she slightly raised her right hand. The rarity of seeing Ra-Eun in her school uniform filled the reporters with even more passion.
“Please look over here, Miss Kang!”
“Over here too, please!”
They barraged Ra-Eun with requests, but she couldn’t have a photo shoot at the entrance of the exam site in consideration of the other examinees trying to get in. The reporters would disappear once Ra-Eun went in, so she headed into the exam site once she thought that it was enough. She could hear the disappointed groans of the reporters behind her, but paid no heed to them.
‘It’s not like they’re gonna take responsibility for my life.’
She had to make calm and cool judgments for such things.
***
The other examinees’ eyes almost popped out of their sockets once Ra-Eun entered the exam hall. They more or less had an idea that she would be here, but seeing her in person was a completely different story. If anything else, they came to realize that cameras couldn’t fully capture her beauty.
Ra-Eun sat in the very back row and tied her hair back because there were times when her long locks of hair got in the way of her filling in the answer sheet. However, she couldn’t cut it.
‘Come to think of it, I heard that Kang Ra-Eun’s mother wanted her to be successful in her studies.’
She had no idea whether or not her mother actually said that since she had only heard from her father that it was so, which was why her father was overjoyed whenever she got good grades.
Ra-Eun twirled her pen and smiled unbeknownst to the other examinees.
‘I guess I could grant a trivial wish like that.’
It was not that hard to do since she was in perfect condition today.
***
The reporters once again frantically took Ra-Eun’s pictures as she exited the exam site after completing the exam. Ra-Hyuk, who was waiting for her to come out, told her what had happened while she was taking the exam.
“The news showed you going into the exam site to take your SATs.”
“Well... I thought it would.”
Ra-Eun had also seen celebrities entering exam sites to take their SATs through media platforms before, although she had never thought that she herself would experience it. Han Ga-Ae had also taken her SATs today, but it did not seem to have bothered her much since she had already given up on doing well on the exam.
However, Ra-Eun was different. She went into the exam site with the sole thought that anything other than a perfect score was meaningless.
“So? Do you think you did well?” Ra-Hyuk asked.
Ra-Eun answered, “Yeah. I have a good feeling about it.”
She could only get an approximate idea of her grades after she provisionally marked the exam.
“Do you want to go eat before or after your provisional marking?” Ra-Hyuk asked.
“Let’s go after.”
It could completely ruin Ra-Eun’s meal if she realized that she did not get the grade that she wanted, but she was confident. She had filled in the answer sheet without guessing a single answer. Ra-Hyuk was amazed by his little sister’s overflowing confidence.
“You’re my little sister, but you seriously amaze me sometimes.”
His little sister had become a model student overnight, but he liked her current self more.
***
Ra-Eun had gotten a perfect score on the provisional marking as expected. As long as she hadn’t misfilled the optical mark recognition (OMR) card, Ra-Eun would become someone who had gotten a perfect score on their SATs.
A month had passed after the SATs, and the third-year high schoolers had finally been freed from the oppression.
“Ra-Eun,” Kim Yeong-Gyo called out. “The boys are gonna go to the PC Room. You wanna come?”
“Sure. What about Sang-Woon?” Ra-Eun asked.
“He didn’t say, but he’ll definitely go. He has to play the most out of all of us, after all.”
“Why?”
“Because...”
Choi Sang-Woon approached them as Yeong-Gyo was about to answer. Yeong-Gyo said in Ra-Eun’s place, “Ra-Eun’s coming too.”
“Really?” Sang-Woon remarked.
“Yeah. You know how much effort we’re putting in to hang out as much as we can with you, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks, buddy.”
As they were talking among each other, Ra-Eun wanted to hear what Yeong-Gyo couldn’t finish saying earlier.
“You said Sang-Woon had to play the most out of all of us. Is he going somewhere now that the exam is over?”
“I guess so,” Yeong-Gyo stated.
Sang-Woon smiled awkwardly. He thought that it was best to tell Ra-Eun himself.
“I’m going to complete my military service before I go to university.”
1. In-between seasons uniforms are worn in spring and autumn.
2. It is Korean tradition to present rice cakes or taffy to examinees during the exam season.
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