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Ever since Geonyeong was awarded the title of Class President, her fellow students kept pestering her about the changes she mentioned in her speech. Other than a good look on her resume for Hanguk University, Class President did so much more--and it was about time Geonyeong lived up to it.
The obvious answer? She was going to host her own, Geonyeong Gwak-style cram school (albeit, on a tight budget). Sure, she was invited to Baek-kyeong for a full year for free, and she didn’t intend to cease attending.
She tried something like this once before, with Jin. In all honesty, this initiative was mostly to motivate Jin to continue studying at Pyeonghyeon again, however cheesy that might sound. If Jin could only understand how much work her best friend was putting in to get her into Hanguk…
“Hmm? You want to tutor, Ms. Gwak?” her homeroom teacher asked her one evening. “That’s a lovely idea! It’ll look splendid on your application to Hanguk as well, won't it?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Alright then, you have my approval. I will let the other students know.”
After that, Geonyeong worked extra hard at Baek-kyeong. She brought her phone to each session to record the lectures. She wasn’t even sure she could be kicked out of cram school for doing this. Geonyeong was their star student after all, and a good portion of subscriptions were because Pyeonghyeon’s top student attended Baek-kyeong. There was no denying that.
She didn’t really need the audio to remember the lecture. All of it was quite easy to remember, especially with so much at stake. By the end of the week, Geonyeong already had nine students interested in tutoring. As far as she knew, none of them attended cram school and were relatively low scorers in math. All of them, well, except for one Kang Huiseo.
“Huiseo?” Geonyeong confronted her one evening after they finished up cram school. “You already attend Baek-kyeong, why are you interested in this?”
Huiseo seemed a bit flustered by this. “Well, if it’s our top student teaching them… And mom will like that,” she rambled. “You wouldn’t mind, would you Geonyeong? I won’t be disruptive, I promise.”
“I suppose it’s okay.”
Huiseo smiled.
“But I have one request.”
“Er, yeah?”
“Get Jin to sign up, too,” Geonyeong said. “If you can do that, then you can tag along too.”
So by the end of the week, both Huiseo and Geonyeong were relatively satisfied. Jin was unknowing, but she’d come to her senses soon enough. If they took this seriously, they all had a shot at Hanguk together. Except. Except something else troubled Geonyeong.
Huiseo wasn’t exactly her friend. Yet, over these past few months, they’d spent increasing amounts of time together. A scary amount of time together for someone you were only friendly with. At Huiseo’s house… in Huiseo’s car… and that fateful night at the beach. Huiseo was so incredibly confusing, and cram school hadn’t exactly taught Geonyeong how to solve this equation.
It would be an understatement to say Geonyeong’s home life was stellar. In fact, since her father’s release, it was anything but. Other than his gambling addiction, her father had a severe drinking problem; this created trouble, because he was rather loud during these outbursts.
Before, Geonyeong simply studied in her room. Now, she found herself holed up in their shared, cramped bathroom. The light overhead flickered every now and then and the air was rather humid, but it definitely beat her father’s senseless screaming. Books splayed out on bare tile, Geonyeong reviewed.
Geonyeong had a lot on her plate lately. Entrance exams to Hanguk weren’t far away--and neither was Peonyeong’s final exam. Wanting to maintain her academic reputation, it was essential to score first. That’s how she would continue to receive respect.
Jin…
Jin wasn’t respected. She worked part-time and didn’t study. She rarely attended school these days--hence the urgent need for Geonyeong’s personalized tutoring service. But beyond that, Geonyeong knew Jin was smart. Her background disadvantaged her, just like Geonyeong’s. But Jin was smart enough to be accepted into Pyeonghyeon, albeit under the social integration category.
And there was nothing wrong with that; Geonyeong was accepted under the social integration category, too. But the media’s perception of social integration students was extremely negative, and that’s precisely why Geonyeong needed to change that. She will help Jin achieve stellar grades and rebrand the reputation of social integration students. Then, Jin will be respected.
On the day of Geonyeong’s first tutoring lesson, she waited. She counted many familiar faces, happy at the turnout. But there was no Huiseo and certainly no Jin.
Sighing, she closed the door. “Okay, everyone. Let’s get started. We haven’t time to waste--”
“--Sorry we’re late!” The door slammed open, revealing Huiseo and a very reluctant Jin trailing behind.
“Sorry,” Jin muttered. “Store got busy.”
“That’s alright,” Geonyeong smiled. Honestly, she couldn’t even be mad--Jin hadn’t showed up to school, but managed time in her schedule for this.
Thanks, she mouthed to Huiseo when Jin wasn’t looking.
Huiseo simply nodded, then pulled out her own notebook with clear urgency. That seemed to signal the rest of the class to do the same.
“I’ve compiled every past exam our school has administered since 2016--yes Huiseo, even the alternative exams,” Geonyeong replied when Huiseo raised her hand. “They share these at the cram schools too. It’s a bit of an expectation…”
They worked out problems on the board and Geonyeong gave special attention to those who struggled. The best part was that Geonyeong knew what worked, having attended Baek-kyeong herself. She knew the best explanations the professors provided, the exact wording that made difficult concepts click.
Finally, she helped Jin with physics, which she seemed to struggle the most with. Geonyeong was a bit hesitant at first, since Jin had yelled at her in the past over physics. Geonyeong still felt a bit hurt, she supposed, at that argument. But this time Jin was rather quiet as she listened to Geonyeong guide her through the problem.
It was nice. When Jin began to stray, Geonyeong immediately redirected her. And she was making steady progress; that’s really what Geonyeong wanted Jin and the other students to realize--they were just as smart as everybody else.
Huiseo, well. She just silently sat at the back, writing down the same practice problems Geonyeong etched onto the board. Geonyeong didn’t pay attention to her, but Huiseo didn’t seem to mind much.
“Alright, great work today! I think next week I’ll administer a short test. Don’t groan, it’s not a grade.”
“Thanks Geonyeong!”
“Thanks! This feels like a real cram school!”
The students buzzed about as they filed out. The sun had nearly set by now and she was more than ready to go home.
Finally, the room was deserted save for the three of them. “Go on, Jin,” Geonyeong ushered while erasing the psets from the white board.
Jin looked rather confused, but obliged. “Thanks, er, for today. I’ll come to school tomorrow?”
“Why the hesitation? Well, I trust you, Jin. Really, you did good today.”
When the door clicked shut behind her, Geonyeong wasted no time. She grabbed Huiseo’s wrist from behind. “I don’t know what you’re up to, and I really don’t like that.”
Huiseo gulped. “Why do you always think I have an ulterior motive?”
Geonyeong was behind her, and she had no way of knowing what she was thinking. Really, what was she thinking? It was a bit frightening. Looking down, her notebook was filled with scrawls from the lesson. A bit too perfect for Geonyeong’s liking.
“Fine,” Geonyeong said, releasing her wrist. “You can come to my sessions, as much as I detest it. I marketed them as accessible to all, but no Pyeonghyeon student would opt for this over a fancy cram school. Why you do is beyond me. We are not friends.”
Huiseo rubbed her now red wrist. Something about Geonyeong’s venomous tone was seriously disconcerting. “Fine!” Huiseo retorted, scrambling to gather her things before storming off.
When the door slammed shut, Geonyeong couldn’t help but feel tingly. She knew right from wrong, and what Geonyeong did certainly was wrong, and by society’s standards she would have to apologize later. But God, she lost control for a moment. When it came to Huiseo, there was just something that she couldn’t at all trust.
She walked toward the window overlooking the field. The sky was a pretty bubblegum fading into deep purple. She’d have to be quick to beat the sunset if she wanted to return home before dark.
But then something, rather someone in the distance, caught her eye. A long, white-haired figure sprinted to catch up with a brunette. Ah.
Geonyeong suspected those two had gotten closer. Honestly, it stung a bit to know that Jin now confided in Huiseo about her personal life. Jin used to tell her things. Mostly it was stuff about her family, and Geonyeong would always just tell her to keep studying. That if she continued to study, she could land a respectable university and, well, be respected in society.
But… Maybe that’s what Geonyeong wanted. Not what Jin wanted. Huiseo, on the other hand, seemed to see life from both perspectives. Which was rather odd, Geonyeong supposed, considering her upbringing. And that’s exactly why Huiseo was so dangerous; she was unpredictable and that frightened Geonyeong.
Finding Huiseo alone was about as easy as being accepted into Pyeonghyeon through regular admission. She was always surrounded by her classy, stiff friends. The same friends who initially doubted Geonyeong’s academic reputation and voted against her during the election.
And that just about described Geonyeong’s reputation as a whole. She got along well with students from every other grade but her own, save for Jin. By now, she mostly accepted the lingering stares and resentment from her competitors.
So, Geonyeong found Jin instead on the field. They ate lunch together, just like the old days. Life almost felt normal again. “I’m glad you came back.”
“Me too,” Jin replied, noodles dangling out of her mouth.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full of food, hmph.”
“Ah, you’ve got me.”
They filled out their workbooks in peaceful silence. It was nice to see Jin motivated again, and Geonyeong knew this feeling well.
During the summers in primary school, her family often didn’t appreciate her studying. Neither did the neighborhood kids, who she hung out with on off days. With little motivation to succeed, Geonyeong quickly felt unfulfilled and rather unchallenged. Nowadays, even though exam season was stressful, Geonyeong was often happiest because the road ahead was clearest.
“Hey, Geonyeong?” Jin randomly said with a wavering voice. “Um, I think you ought to apologize to Huiseo.”
“She told you about that?”
“Yeah, after tutoring.”
Geonyeong sighed. “I will. I… Yeah,” she exhaled. “I need to do that.”
“Huiseo?” Geonyeong found the girl after classes. She memorized Huiseo’s schedule and route, so finding her wasn’t too difficult. Luckily, she was alone.
Huiseo looked up from her phone tensely. “Geonyeong.”
Suddenly there was a lump in her throat. Geonyeong nervously said, “Can I talk to you about yesterday?”
“Sure. Um, I’ve got to go though. My mom’s here--do you want to come home with me? We can talk there.”
As much as Geonyeong detested the idea, she felt she owed it to Huiseo to set things straight. Plus, she’d been to Huiseo’s before, although the aspect of returning made her queasy. “Alright.”
They didn’t discuss anything beyond simple small talk in the car. Geonyeong knew well about Huiseo’s pestering helicopter mother. It rather disgusted her as much as her own father’s gambling addiction did, but Geonyeong dare not voice that aloud. Huiseo told her mother she was a friend who was coming over to study.
A friend…
“Well?” Huiseo said, collapsing on her bed. “Throw it at me. I’m ready to hear your apology.”
They only narrowly escaped her mom downstairs hurtling questions to Geonyeong about exam results. She was a bit flustered and on guard and also… unknowing of where to start.
“I shouldn’t have said that yesterday.”
“You really shouldn’t have.”
“You did me a favor…”
“I did.”
Geonyeong sighed. Why was apologizing so hard?
“I’m really sorry, Huiseo. I misjudged you. Jin seems to like you, and a friend of Jin’s is a friend of mine. I just found you hard to trust--I still do, really. Can you come back to tutoring? It was… nice having you.”
“Geonyeong Gwak, Geonyeong Gwak. Alright then, I accept your apology. I suppose I’ll have to try harder in getting you to believe I’m in it for the right reasons, then.”
“Huh?”
That was unexpected. Huiseo seemed to be a naturally forgiving person. Quite kind at that, even toward Geonyeong’s lame apology.
Huiseo smiled. “Ah, you’ll see. Would you like to eat dinner with us?”
The notion made her a bit jittery, the aspect of dining with the esteemed Kangs. But Geonyeong had just made a friend, hadn’t she? She could suck it up and make it through one night. As proof to Huiseo.
Dinner with the Kangs hadn’t turned out to be so bad, after all. Sure, it was a bit awkward. But after Geonyeong made it through Huiseo’s parents initial friendship screening, her parents seemed to exhibit a favorable impression of her. They continuously praised her academics and made off-handed remarks to Huiseo about ‘being more like Geonyeong,’ which, admittedly, was rather uncomfortable.
Of course, the Kangs knew all about Geonyeong’s background, having heard the rumors. They knew her father had been incarcerated--but Huiseo actually reminded them that despite her background, Geonyeong was a stellar student.
The next session went smoothly. The group was making steady progress and Jin was on track to pass her finals. Spirits were high and Geonyeong, for the first time in a long time, was relieved.
Also, Huiseo finally started to warm up with the other students. They were a little curious at first, but included her in their discussions. She helped them with various psets, and they provided help in return.
Tonight, Geonyeong had cram school. Today was crucial as finals neared; Baek-kyeong would almost certainly be handing out critical information regarding the exams. Information that could decide between first and second ranked. It was pivotal for Geonyeong to relay this information to the group as soon as possible.
“Ms. Gwak!” The friendly receptionist greeted her. “I believe the Headmaster wants a word with you.”
“Hm? Okay, thanks!”
The first indication that this conversation would not be a positive one was the mountainous papers stacked on the Headmaster’s desk. “You wanted a word, sir?”
“Oh yes, Ms. Gwak,” he replied. “Sit down, please.”
“Alright.”
“As you know, Baek-kyeong has run for several years serving intellectually curious students such as yourself. We produce results, very good ones at that. And to continue offering our highly regarded services, our clients understand the value and scarcity that Baek-kyeong has.
There’s no light way to put this, Ms. Gwak. We’ve received information from one of your peers that you’ve solicited highly valuable material--in particular, past Pyeongyeon exams, and distributed them amongst non Baek-kyeong clients.”
“Ah, sir? I’m sure that’s not--”
“There’s no need,” he cut Geonyeong off. “You are hereby dismissed from Baek-kyeong. We thank you profusely for your contributions to the company, and for that we will not pursue legal action. We don’t normally do that, Ms. Gwak.”
What the hell? Why was he making it look like he was doing her a favor? Fuck, who had even reported her? Everyone in Geonyeong’s group had something to lose by doing this--everyone except. Except.
Geonyeong was so angry. She normally controlled her emotions well and regular students mistreating her was commonplace. But this? Huiseo was her friend now, despite the rocky steps it took to get there.
She couldn’t believe it. Huiseo played her like a fiddle--she let Geonyeong submerge herself deep into this commitment. She allowed morale to rise, then Huiseo struck, mercilessly. Geonyeong always knew Huiseo’s parents were envious of her achievements. Perhaps this was part of their plan? To destroy the image of the social integration students? Just when Geonyeong started to believe Huiseo was different from her parents…
Was that even possible? Of course it was. Geonyeong was nothing like her parents. Nothing like her disgusting, gambling, joke-for-a-human alcoholic father. Geonyeong was respectable, and she’d grown up consistently told so by teachers. Huiseo simply had no excuse--she was rotten.
Just like all the other wealthy students, they were all the same.
Geonyeong didn’t bother discussing the situation with Jin. The next morning, she cornered Huiseo before classes. “Baek-kyeong dropped me. Got word of the exam sharing.”
“What?!”
She sighed. She wasn’t going to lose her composure again. “Don’t play dumb, Huiseo. I know it was you.”
“Geonyeong, I swear I didn’t. If you want, I can get the materials for you--”
“Yeah, right. Please don’t come to today’s session. We’ll have to start from scratch now. And… I feel really stupid for beginning to trust you. Go on, your friends are waiting for you. They’re whispering right now, don’t let gossip start--”
“Geonyeong! Don’t be like this.”
Huiseo’s voice was beginning to tremble. Was she about to cry? In all Geonyeong’s time knowing Huiseo, Huiseo wasn’t a crier--she was headstrong and confident, annoyingly so. Her shoulders slumped, making her appear even weaker.
“Let’s not contact each other again.”
Something about breaking contact with Huiseo greatly troubled Geonyeong, and they weren’t even all that close. When she shared the news to Jin, Jin simply nodded mundanely, hardly listening.
“Okay. Yeah, she asked me about it, too. I told her it’s best not to come to lessons.”
Undefeated, Geonyeong continued to teach. She often caught eyes with Huiseo in the halls, and sometimes she even dared to speak to Geonyeong. It was mostly mumbling about providing cram-school material, but Geonyeong refused the help.
Huiseo attempted the same thing, before she enrolled in Baek-kyeong. But Geonyeong was able to get along fine without her help before; she could do it again. Geonyeong’s students were a bit disturbed by Huiseo’s betrayal, after Geonyeong explained what happened. But after a few days, they mostly accepted Huiseo’s leave.
But, God. Teaching was so difficult when even Geonyeong was beginning to fall behind. Cram school wasn’t just extra help, but an expectation. So she started resorting to her old ways.
At first, she would buy a textbook from the bookstore then return it days later. She’d copy down the questions and have her group solve them. This process worked for a while until it became obvious the shopkeeper was growing suspicious. And this behavior wouldn’t pass now that Geonyeong was older--it was no longer ‘cute,’ but borderline scheming.
So she grew more desperate. She noticed her classmates often discarded used workbooks straight into the bin, so Geonyeong used those. There were also ample resources online, albeit with varying levels of accuracy pertaining to Pyeongyeon. Her students continued to thank her, which made Geonyeong’s efforts feel all the more worthy.
She brushed off all of Huiseo’s attempts to contact her; why couldn’t she just leave her alone? It was starting to feel stalkerish with how often she caught Husieo staring. Even stranger, she found herself looking, too. The more she stared, the guiltier Geonyeong began to become. Hell, add nauseous to that mix as well.
After the third tutoring session following Geonyeong’s release from Baek-kyeong, Geonyeong noticed it. It was subtle at first, but… No, it was definitely there.
The classrooms aren’t supposed to be equipped with cameras, are they?
So this was how Huiseo got solid evidence of Gyeonyeong. Of course, Baek-kyeong would be hesitant to dismiss their star student so easily. But they wouldn’t be able to ignore video evidence.
Not wanting to disturb the other students currently working on psets, Gyeonyeong waited until after the session concluded to dismantle the cameras. The camera, upon further inspection, was disguised to look like a smoke detector. No wonder nobody questioned anything.
She shoved the camera in her backpack. Tonight, she will dissect the footage. If she’s lucky, she’ll be able to trace it back to its rightful owner. Honestly, Geonyeong was a bit uncertain whether Huiseo really was the traitor, but hopefully this will confirm it. Huiseo was lying low these days, and her behavior generally seemed to confirm what Geonyeong already suspected.
…
As Geonyeong turned the key in the door, labored breathing echoed behind her. Fuck. She’d been followed home a few times before. This wasn’t exactly the nicest place in town, but she became relatively good at walking quietly and staying out of vision.
When did she let her guard down? She reached for her pocket knife, ready to wield-
“Geonyeong!”
Huiseo?
“Geonyeong! I found it,” a very breathless Huiseo said, catching up to meet Geonyeong. “The proof. Who set you up back at Baek-kyeong.”
She wasn’t entirely certain how to feel right now, but freezing was probably top three. “Come inside.”
It was a bit nerve-wracking, inviting Huiseo inside her house. She generally opted out of inviting friends over because the house was cramped and loud. Geonyeong didn’t think she should be judged for anything other than her achievements. Inviting people into her home gave too much space for prying, and prying led to judgement. Judgment was not respected.
She’d have to get over that fear now, however, because Huiseo was making herself right at home. She slipped off her shoes at the door and immediately started talking. “Wow, I can’t believe we’ve been friends all this time, and you’ve never invited me over!” she giggled.
Then she stopped, and an awkward silence filled the air. Right, it seemed to dawn on Huiseo: they weren’t really friends anymore.
“Oh,” a very small voice said.
“Huiseo,” said Geonyeong softly, and everything stopped. Huiseo prepared for the worst: would Geonyeong kick and scream, or would she call the police silently? “I know it wasn’t you. I know now.”
“Oh…”
Was she really about to do this?
“I’m sorry,” Geonyeong said, and Huiseo kissed her.
She supposed she had.
That’s when Huiseo realized she fucked up twice. The first ‘fuck up’ was following Geonyeong home in the first place. First she adopted the role of crazy stalker, and now this. “I--”
And Geonyeong kissed her back. They kissed and kissed, and eventually Geonyeong was directing Huiseo forward until the back of her knees touched the sofa. “Fuck,” Huiseo said under her breath. This was really happening.
“God, but really don’t follow me home like that. It scared me. Next time just tell me,” Geonyeong said in between kisses.
Next time?
“I’m,” kiss, “sorry.” kiss. “Not really, though.” But then Geonyeong bit down on her lip this time, prompting the other to say, “Okay, okay! I get it.”
Huiseo was much prettier in this light, much prettier on her sofa in her house. Geonyeong denied Huiseo’s loyalty for so long, but mostly because she couldn’t understand her. Couldn’t understand the ulterior motive. In the end, she concluded, there wasn’t one.
Huiseo was safe. Huiseo was unjudging. And if Geonyeong hadn’t put a stop to this tonight, Huiseo might have followed Geonyeong forever.
And then Geonyeong was crying; it might have been because Huiseo was there, and they were just staring at each other, admiring the other’s eyes. Or maybe it was because Geonyeong finally felt understood--understood beyond her socioeconomic status, understood as a person. As Geonyeong Gwak. And hell, how Huiseo’s hair perfectly wrapped her concerned face.
“Geonyeong? Are you okay?” And then they were both crying. It was only then that Geonyeong realized she failed to relinquish her grip on the pocketknife. She felt silly, and wavering, and every emotion at once.
“Yeah, it’s a bit of a happy cry,” she replied.
Huiseo smiled. “Well, I’m not exactly going anywhere, am I?”
“Not anytime soon, no. Definitely not at this time. Come on, stay the night. Let’s revise.”
“That’s Geonyeong-Gwak for you,” Huiseo monologued on the way to Geonyeong’s room. “Always thinking about the next exam. Hey, you know you can use my prep books if you want.”
“Nope. Never.”
It was a sure attempt, but not a pointless one. “Alright, then we have to talk about our feelings for each other and stuff.”
“Talk?” laughed Geonyeong.
“You had other plans in mind?!”