TOIGC 55

Chapter 55 …

Trendsetter (1)

“Didn’t you say you used to go to a completely ordinary middle school?”

At Deokbae’s remark, Yoongi shrugged his shoulders.

“Plans changing is just a normal part of life.”

In truth, Yoongi had instructed Ryu Geuntae to select a middle school in Seoul with the highest proportion of upper-class students. Of course, a school where hundreds of chaebol heirs gathered en masse didn’t exist, but he had picked one with a relatively high concentration of them. Naturally, it was a private middle school, not a public one.

On top of that, Wonhee and Jinsu ended up tagging along to attend the same school as Yoongi. All that remained was for Yoongi to act considerably more outgoing during his middle school years, a stark contrast to his quiet demeanor back in elementary school.

“You think you can pull that off? You were popular enough in elementary school, but you kept mostly to yourself.” “There’s nothing difficult about it.”

Yoongi was brimming with confidence.

“Back when I was living that grueling construction laborer life, I used to buy into what good-looking guys said. You know what the number one thing they love telling unattractive guys is?” “No idea.” “It sounds hilarious looking back now. They always say, ‘Hey, man, your social skills are just lacking.'” “Social skills are lacking?” “Yeah. But the truth is, if you’re good-looking, you don’t actually need social skills. People around you just accommodate everything you do. Same goes for being pretty. If you’re attractive, people attach all kinds of flowery praise to your every move, whereas if you’re unattractive, no matter how socially adept your behavior is, it’s bound to be downplayed and undervalued.” “For some reason, I can’t even find a way to argue with that.” “Because it’s the truth. We’re wired at a genetic level to prefer what’s attractive, and isn’t outward appearance basically the ultimate social skill anyway?” “So what you’re saying is, you’re going to have zero problem being outgoing once you step into middle school?” “Exactly.”

Watching Yoongi’s supreme confidence, Deokbae scratched his sideburn with an index finger.

“This kid’s ego is getting a little out of hand…”

The moment Yoongi began rolling two walnuts inside his fist, Deokbae hastily waved his hands.

“Nah, nah, scratch that. Whose descendant are he and I? Of course he can pull it off.”

Satisfied with Deokbae’s reaction, Yoongi stretched out flat on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

“Anyway, life isn’t going to change all that much whether it’s elementary or middle school. The only real difference is that the clothes I wear will change a little.” “Are you still going to skip school whenever you feel like it, just like before?” “Probably?”

Yoongi had occasionally skipped school ever since the fifth grade. Not only did he have business trips to America pop up from time to time, but he also had various ventures that required his direct, front-line supervision. Moreover, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how pointless the concept of a ‘perfect attendance award’ truly was.

“When you stand to gain infinitely more by skipping a perfect attendance award than by winning one, there’s no reason to chase it. Attendance scores can easily be covered by exam grades anyway.” “Don’t you need to go to Seoul National University Law School?” “A chaebol has zero need to go to Seoul National University Law School.”

There was absolute, unshakeable conviction in Yoongi’s words.

“I used to think Seoul National University Law School was the ultimate pinnacle of universities, too. But looking back now, I realize SNU Law is only the pinnacle for people who have zero foundation to stand on.” “I suppose you could look at it that way.” “It’s not just a matter of looking at it that way—it’s the absolute reality. Think back to when I committed suicide. How many kids from actual chaebol families back then were graduates of SNU Law?” “How am I supposed to know what universities a bunch of chaebol brats went to?”

Deokbae’s deadpan reply coaxed an involuntary snort of laughter out of Yoongi.

“Exactly. People don’t really give a damn about where chaebols went to college. Besides, look at third-generation chaebols—most of them go to foreign universities, not Korean ones. Out of all those kids, how many actually attended places like Harvard or Yale? They’re all tucked away in a bunch of obscure universities nobody’s ever heard of.” “True. If they graduate from a university with an English name, ordinary folks just assume they went to some elite prestigious school and fall for it.” “Spot on. I remember back in the day, some third-generation chaebol randomly showed up to give a lecture on success, and the guy was an absolute moron…”

The bitter, shaking motion of Yoongi’s head laid bare his complete disdain for incompetent third-generation chaebols.

“Anyway, I’ll decide on high school and university based on whatever circumstances look best at the time. I’ll almost certainly end up at a prestigious high school, but only because those are the ones where all the other chaebol heirs congregate.” “Well, if you just base it on grades, Seoul National University itself is pretty much locked in for you.” “Probably?” “Well, look at that. Finally, a Seoul National University grad in my lineage.” “Quite a step up from Sungkyunkwan, huh?”

At Yoongi’s deliberate tease, Deokbae put on an exaggeratedly stern expression and paced angrily around Yoongi.

“I’m not scared of you, you little brat!”

There were times when he wanted to be alone, but Deokbae’s presence remained a crucial element in keeping Yoongi mentally sharp and grounded in his current life.

“Who would’ve thought we’d end up going to the same middle school together!”

Hearing Jinsu’s naive, cheerful remark even after entering middle school, Wonhee opened her mouth to snap back, but seemed to decide it wasn’t worth the energy and shut her mouth. Seeing this, Yoongi gave Wonhee’s shoulder a light, reassuring pat, and Wonhee—cheered up by the gesture—walked alongside him toward the school gates.

“How are your studies coming along, you two?”

At Yoongi’s question, Wonhee nodded.

“She’s fine, aside from this blockhead lacking any basic comprehension skills.” “Who are you calling a blockhead?! My PE score is higher than yours, for crying out loud!” “Are you an absolute moron?! PE doesn’t do a single damn thing for getting you into university!” “Still!”

Bickering back and forth, the fact that they had smoothly navigated six years of elementary school together proved that Wonhee and Jinsu shared a bond forged in equal parts of mutual annoyance and genuine affection.

“Middle school was assigned by a randomized lottery, so that couldn’t be helped, but high school requires entrance exams, so you two better study hard. We’ve got to make it all the way to university together.”

Even the usually confident Wonhee faltered a bit at that, her response turning somewhat hesitant.

“To be honest, I’m not feeling super confident about Seoul National University…” “Me neither…”

As Jinsu’s voice trailed off into a murmur as well, Yoongi slung an arm around both of their shoulders.

“If you don’t get in, you die.”

It was delivered with a bright, smiling tone as if it were a joke, but both Wonhee and Jinsu felt an odd, bone-chilling shiver run down their spines and nodded frantically.

“W-We’ll make it! Right! Jinsu, let’s study really hard after school today, too!” “You bet! Yeah!”

To be fair, Yoongi wasn’t telling them to go off and get into trouble; he was just telling them to study hard. Neither Wonhee nor Jinsu held any real resentment toward him for it. They both knew, in their own way, that Yoongi was secretly looking out for them behind the scenes.

Just think about how nice it was not to have to stress over who to hang out with every single semester. In Wonhee’s case, if it hadn’t been for Yoongi or Jinsu, she might have had her entire life utterly ruined by blindly trusting her grandfather’s wealth. After all, once Cheil Spinning was absorbed into the Samwoo Group, the factory manager who had been siphoning off massive amounts of slush funds was promptly uncovered and fired. If that situation had been left unchecked, she likely would have grown up into a selfish, isolated kid cut off from everyone around her.

Once these guys graduate, we’ll probably have a lot more time to go our separate ways.

Truth be told, Yoongi didn’t care much for forming deep friendships with children. He might look like a middle schooler on the outside, but with a mental age approaching sixty, how much genuine conversational common ground could he possibly share with kids?

Even so, he wanted to stick it out with Jinsu and Wonhee until the end. For Jinsu, it had started because of his mother; for Wonhee, what had initially begun as a ‘slight’ feeling of pity had somehow evolved into something that felt entirely natural now. Even Yoongi couldn’t explain the exact reason.

“By the way, Yoongi, now that we’re middle schoolers, you really look like a walking rich kid.”

Wonhee stared at Yoongi with genuine awe. Every single item he carried—from his watch down to his writing utensils—was a top-tier luxury brand. While Yoongi had simply worn whatever clothes his mother handed him up until elementary school, he had personally styled himself this time around with an eye toward the future of his department store. As a result, the items he carried around were things ordinary working-class folks couldn’t even dare dream of affording. If even Wonhee was pointing it out and saying he looked rich, one could only imagine how Jinsu and the other regular kids saw him.

Right now, the expressions worn by the other students sitting in the classroom were tinged with absolute awe.

“Hope there aren’t any punks like that guy this time around.”

Wonhee’s comment brought a sudden chuckle from both Yoongi and Jinsu, reminding them of the cream bun incident back in the first grade of elementary school. Of course, the other students had no clue about any of that background context, so the entrance ceremony proceeded without anyone else understanding why the trio was quietly giggling among themselves.

“A prestigious school really lives up to its name, forcing us into regular classes right from day one. Days like this are when I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t a prestigious school at all.”

Jinsu’s pouty remark struck a deep chord of sympathy with most of the classroom, helping ease the atmosphere for the first-period class.

After a few passing breaks and the lunch hour had come and gone, the little neighborhood bullies finally made their move.

Back in the day, getting into middle school used to require passing a strict entrance examination. Eventually, however, the system shifted to a randomized lottery assignment system, and even schools boasting a reputation as elite institutions couldn’t escape it.

Even a delinquent like Kim Myung-hwan had managed to squeeze into a formerly prestigious middle school thanks to that exact lottery system. This institutional shift had created some rather comical scenes; there was even a case where a family threw a massive celebration because their son, who had stubbornly ranked dead last in his grade, miraculously won the lottery to enter Gyeonggi Middle School.

Kim Myung-hwan’s household had reacted similarly. But no matter how prestigious a middle school supposedly was, it meant absolutely nothing if the individual student was a total moron.

“Damn, nothing beats smoking a cigarette right on school grounds.”

Kim Myung-hwan was puffing away behind the school storage shed alongside Yoon Shin-gyu, an elementary school cohort who had ended up in the same class, and Lee Sang-woo, who had narrowly missed being placed in their class. Every school had its own designated smoking spot where teachers rarely bothered to patrol, and these guys had managed to sniff it out on the very first day of school.

“By the way, did you see him?”

At Myung-hwan’s prompt, Shin-gyu tilted his head.

“See who?”

Snap!

Accompanied by the sharp smack of a head-shot, Shin-gyu scrambled to pick up the cigarette that had dropped from his lips, whining with a disgruntled expression.