TRGD 23

Chapter 23. Noonaaaaaa!

“Question 4 on the written section is apparently hell-level, according to the kids.”

“It won’t be easy this time. Heh heh.”

The mathematics faculty room at Cheonghwa High School.

Teachers of the major academic subjects each had their own dedicated faculty rooms.

While exams for other subjects were in progress,

the math teachers sat at their desks organizing answer sheets.

Lee Jangyong, who had written Question 4 for this math exam, spoke with obvious satisfaction.

Three teachers had collaborated to create the second-year, first-semester midterm.

Lee Jangyong had taken responsibility for the most difficult killer problem that would determine the rankings.

“No matter how much they’ve studied ahead, the world of mathematics is like the unknown universe.”

Lee Jangyong’s tone became increasingly arrogant.

A graduate of Seoguk University’s Department of Mathematics,

he treated his career as a math teacher at Cheonghwa High School like a game.

Every single day was another battle to level up.

Most of Cheonghwa’s students received private tutoring from Gangnam’s top instructors.

Some had even reached the point where they tested their school teachers instead.

If a teacher hesitated while answering a question or made even the slightest mistake, complaints from parents would flood in the very next day.

Because of that, many math teachers couldn’t even last a year before quitting.

But Lee Jangyong had survived at Cheonghwa for ten years.

Famous academies in Gangnam had even offered him lucrative contracts to become one of their instructors.

But he had boldly refused.

Money wasn’t an issue anymore.

The real problem was that he had become addicted to the game.

He continued teaching because he enjoyed defeating the brilliant students of Cheonghwa.

He twisted problems several times while staying within the official curriculum.

He collected notes from famous Gangnam academies and even drew inspiration from university lectures and Mathematical Olympiad problems.

“It’s really pouring outside.”

“I can already hear the students crying in despair.”

“Hahaha. Even the top student in the school is done for this time.”

“Really?”

“Since it’s a written question, don’t forget to calculate partial credit.”

With madness glimmering in his eyes, Lee Jangyong checked the answers.

He was the senior-most teacher among the second-year math instructors.

Slash! Slash!

Red marks quickly crossed out the written answers of most students.

Just as expected, nearly everyone had fallen to the killer question on derivatives and differential coefficients.

Only a handful had shown signs of understanding the concepts.

Not a single student had the correct answer.

“Hehehe…”

Lee Jangyong’s smile deepened.

Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleamed with obsessive satisfaction.

Just as planned, he was certain he had won this game once again.

“…??”

At that moment, his hand froze.

The written-answer section was filled with dense, perfectly organized formulas.

No way…

He hurriedly scanned the long solution and graded it.

Then…

“Th-This is right? Someone actually solved it??”

The problem had been taken from a Mathematical Olympiad question and then twisted twice.

If the student had solved all the other questions too, time should have been extremely tight.

This problem alone required at least five minutes of concentrated work.

Yet…

“Who is this? How did they…!”

“Wh-Who is it? Who solved it?”

“It’s… it’s correct!!”

The solution was flawless.

The answer was also correct.

The three teachers immediately checked the owner’s name.

“Ha Taewoong?”

“Ha Taewoong?”

“The repeat student from Class 3.”

Vroooom.

Screeech.

The car came to a perfect stop within the parking lines.

– Driving Skills Test: 100 Points. Passed.

“Yes!”

I had already earned a driver’s license once in my twenties.

Even doing it again was a piece of cake.

After finishing the morning exam, I went to the Gangnam Driver’s License Testing Center where I had already registered, completed the traffic safety course, and immediately took the written test.

Naturally, I passed with a perfect score.

Then I took a taxi to the driving academy in time for my reservation.

The academy advertised that it was possible to obtain a driver’s license through an accelerated three-day course.

After passing the written exam, I immediately registered for the driving skills course and the road driving lessons that followed.

Later that afternoon, I also passed the driving skills test.

“Wow! You’re incredible. Didn’t you say this was your first time driving?”

“Yes. It’s my first time today.”

“What is this? You’re better than I am, and I’m the instructor. Hahaha.”

Today’s assigned instructor approached me with a bewildered laugh.

The mandatory four-hour training course.

Anyone watching would think I’d been driving for years.

I had driven during my military service and while working at the company.

People had often complimented me on how steady my driving was.

Skills once mastered were remembered by both body and soul.

“Tomorrow is the city driving practice, right?”

“Yep. Finish all six hours tomorrow, then take the road test the following day.”

“Got it!”

After parking, I stepped out of the car.

Most of the academy’s training vehicles rattled and shook.

Yet simply gripping the steering wheel filled me with excitement.

Back then, I had never owned my own car.

This life would be different.

The moment I received my license, I planned to buy an amazing car.

Carpe Diem.

My top priority was enjoying my life.

If anyone tried to put the brakes on me, I wouldn’t tolerate it.

People like Director Go Dongyeol from the company or my ex-girlfriend Gu Hyejin would never become involved in my life again.

Even if people like them tried to throw obstacles in my path—

I’d push forward no matter what.

“If they get in my way, I’ll smash them all.”

“Sm-Smash?”

The instructor, who had been moving the car, overheard my muttering and looked startled.

“Drive safely.”

I gave him a quick bow and hurried into the lounge.

Tomorrow was the Korean language and Ethics exam.

Naturally, my preparations were perfect.

I had repeatedly reviewed every question I remembered getting wrong in my previous life.

Today’s morning exam confirmed that the questions hadn’t changed.

That was why I could comfortably spend time earning my driver’s license.

“Are you brushing me off right now?”

Suddenly, the rough voice of a middle-aged man erupted from inside the lounge.

“Is it really that hard to look at my swing for a second?”

His swing?

I stopped in front of the door.

My school bag was inside the lounge.

“I’m sorry… I came here to practice driving today…”

Huh?

That voice!

It was a woman’s voice I recognized.

She sounded frightened and flustered.

“So look before you practice. I told you, I used to be your fan. Heh heh.”

The man had already switched to speaking casually.

“Thank you for that… but I have a driving lesson right now…”

“I know, I know. You got caught seeing a married man, didn’t you? That’s why you can’t even play professionally anymore.”

“N-No, that’s not true!”

“Oh, come on. Everyone saw it on YouTube. With that cute little body of yours, you seduced a married man, didn’t you? Heh heh.”

His words became even more disgusting.

Then—

Smack!

Only seconds later, the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the room.

“Wh-What the hell? You actually hit me? You don’t want a career anymore?”

“Apologize. Right now!”

“Apologize? Bullshit. You’re finished. You commit something immoral, then assault a fan?”

Sigh.

Another incident.

Ever since returning, something happened practically every other day.

This definitely hadn’t happened in my previous life.

It was troublesome.

But that was fine.

Creak.

I opened the lounge door and strode inside.

The scene before me unfolded immediately.

A man in his mid-forties stood there facing a woman with a mocking grin.

He was short, pot-bellied, and balding—the very image of a typical middle-aged man.

“Who’s that?”

“That face… I’ve definitely seen her somewhere.”

“Oh! That’s Pro Ahn Hyunju!”

“Ahn Hyunju?”

“Yeah, the golfer!”

“That’s right. The beautiful golf pro? She’s really pretty.”

“So the affair with the married man was actually true?”

The people waiting in the lounge whispered as they watched the argument unfold.

This was a driving academy located in Gangnam.

Many people here played golf as a hobby.

It wasn’t surprising that they recognized her.

In front of me stood Pro Ahn Hyunju noona, trapped in an impossible situation.

Even with her hair tied back beneath a cap, she couldn’t hide who she was.

And now she’d been caught by a man whose anger had exploded after being slapped.

She had indeed struck him first.

But the man had clearly provoked everything.

Yet no one watching made any effort to intervene.

They were all merely enjoying the spectacle of a scandal.

One of the ugliest sides of human nature.

The middle-aged women were especially enthusiastic.

Jealousy toward the beautiful, kind-hearted Pro Ahn burned brightly in their eyes.

“You’d better apologize. If you don’t compensate me properly, I’m calling the police!”

The gleam in the middle-aged man’s eyes revealed another motive.

A tattoo peeked out beneath his sleeve.

He looked like a lowlife thug.

Pro Ahn Hyunju bit her lip and clenched her fists.

She knew the situation was against her.

These days, professional golfers were practically celebrities.

Especially beautiful female golfers with both looks and talent.

If a public scandal broke out involving an ordinary person, Pro Ahn Hyunju would suffer far greater damage.

Even now, the women nearby had already begun gossiping about her.

Those women eagerly latched onto every provocative rumor.

“Wow! Look at this. She fooled around with a married man, yet she’s still acting so confident? Or is she just shameless?”

“Wh-What did you say?”

“You’re looking down on ordinary people like us! Just because you’re pretty? You’re nothing but a sly little fox wagging your tail!”

Believing the tide had turned in his favor, the man hurled even harsher insults.

The corners of Pro Ahn Hyunju’s eyes turned red.

Tears welled up.

She was only moments away from completely losing control.

If she struck him one more time, she’d only give that thug exactly what he wanted.

She had absolutely no allies around her.

Step.

Step.

I closed the door behind me and walked straight toward them.

Then—

“Noonaaaaaa!”