Chapter 33: Getting Help (2)

Chapter 33: Getting Help (2)

“Are you really good at gaming?”

Park Yu-Min arrived at school the following morning and immediately fell into a state of confusion when his classmates crowded all around him. This must have been his first time ever to get surrounded by friendly people like this. The kids back in the orphanage followed him around like ducklings chasing after their mother, so they didn't really count. Indeed, Park Yu-Min never had a chance to bathe in the adulation of his peers like this in his entire life.

He naturally began stuttering, "H-huh? W-what game "

“I heard that your Galaxy rating is 2,100!”

"Yeah, t-that's right."

“Wow, 2,100 is like on the level of a pro gamer, right? There are less than a hundred people in our country with ratings higher than 2,100, too!”

Park Yu-Min waved his hands around in denial. “Nah. There are lots more players better than me.”

“But you were playing casually at home and still got a rating of 2,100, right? So, like, are you thinking of debuting as a pro gamer?”

Park Yu-Min shook his head. “Nah. That's not possible.”

His classmates continued to inundate him with questions. "Hey, are you free after school today "

“Huh? Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I gotta have a match with a 2,100 rating, of course! When will I ever get another chance to fight against someone rated above 2,000! You are free after school, right? Don't worry, I'll pay the PC Room fee.”

“W-wait, I...” Park Yu-Min made a tearful face while glancing at Jeong In-Gyu.

It seemed that the whole class had already heard the news. In that case, Jeong In-Gyu had to be the culprit since he was the specialist in this sort of thing.

Jeong In-Gyu simply grinned. He didn't even try to deny it. “Well, I was just telling like how it was.”

Park Yu-Min shot a resentful glare but didn't try to blame his classmate. Truth be told, the news itself wasn't a bad one, to begin with. Indeed, Jeong In-Gyu had simply spread the story about Park Yu-Min being good with a computer game. Park Yu-Min's fellow classmates were simply overreacting.

“Let's go to a PC Room after school, okay?” Findd new stories at novelhall.com

“Hey, man. I called dibs first. Today's my turn.”

“Don't make me laugh, will ya? I've been waiting since morning, dude.”

“Since when? Isn't it still morning now?”

Park Yu-Min sighed softly while looking at his classmates waging a bidding war. This was disorientating, making him feel a little woozy. However... He had to admit that it didn't feel so bad. It was only yesterday that no one wanted to talk to him, but the situation had flipped on its head literally overnight.

Park Yu-Min's wandering eyes eventually spotted Kang Jin-Ho. The latter was slumped over on his desk, dozing off—as if none of this was his business.

Was Park Yu-Min's gaming skill responsible for all this attention from his fellow classmates? It could be. Whatever the case might be, one thing was for certain: If Kang Jin-Ho hadn't taken him to the PC Room yesterday, no one would have tried to talk to him like this today.

The 'victim' Kang Jin-Ho being friendly to the 'perpetrator' Park Yu-Min as if nothing had happened between them helped massively with the other kids feeling at ease. This was understandable, considering that Kang Jin-Ho was now the top dog of the class. If he had been still hostile to Park Yu-Min, then everyone would have been too busy minding his mood all the time.

Finally, Jeong In-Gyu being the one spreading the news seemed to have played a part in reassuring the kids since he was Kang Jin-Ho's close friend.

“Hey, get out of the way.”

“Argh, didn't you hear us? Come out, now!”

Loud voices could be heard just then. Kids crowding around Park Yu-Min split open, revealing the figures of two boys who could be called Choi Yeong-Su's 'family'. They were Lee Min-Sik and Go Hyeon-Seung.

Lee Min-Sik stood triumphantly before Park Yu-Min and smirked insidiously. “Hey, you.”

"Y-yeah " Park Yu-Min stuttered, feeling his heart fall to the pit of his stomach. These two were nowhere to be found after Choi Yeong-Su was 'admitted' to a hospital, but now, they suddenly decided to show their faces for some reason.

Just how badly did these two torment Park Yu-Min in the past? Remembering all those moments made the boy's heart pound faster in anxiety.

“I heard you're pretty good at video games, is it true?” Lee Min-Sik asked.

Park Yu-Min replied in a feeble voice, “N-no, I'm not that good...”

“Answer properly, will ya?! Or do you want to get beaten up again?”

“I can play a little bit...”

Lee Min-Sik's grin deepened as he wrapped his arm around Park Yu-Min's shoulders. “Is that right? Wanna have a match with me after school?”

“...!”

“Why aren't you answering me? You don't wanna?”

“N-no, it's not that I don't, but...” Park Yu-Min was sweating buckets now, unable to answer. Anyone could tell that he obviously wanted to refuse this invitation.

"Hey, would you look at that? Our little Park Yu-Min's all grown up now. Since Yeong-Su isn't around, I guess your head became a bit too big for your own good, eh "

“N-no...”

“Not getting beaten up for a few days must've re-energized you, huh? Hey. Come outside with us for a bit.”

“H-huh?”

“I said, come outside, you b*tch!”

Park Yu-Min dejectedly got up. It had been over a year since they started bullying him. Being subjected to their abuse for that long meant he now found it hard to stand up against their threats. His head remained lowered as he headed toward the exit along with Lee Min-Sik and Go Hyeon-Seung, but then...

"What is it "

“Yu-Min's almost on a pro gamer level, right?”

“Mm?”

"So, if you win against Yu-Min, doesn't that mean you’ll be on the level of a pro gamer "

“...?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head, wondering.

‘Is that how it is ’

Jeong In-Gyu continued. “Just give up.”

"No, wait. I told you, I will win. I have thought of a way."

“Oh? How?”

Kang Jin-Ho pointed at Park Yu-Min. "He will teach me."

“Eh?”

“For my goal, I will stop at nothing and do whatever I can. Including learning from Park Yu-Min to defeat him.”

Jeong In-Gyu replied dismissively, “What if Yu-Min teaches you some weird-ass stuff? What then?”

"...!" Kang Jin-Ho's glare stabbed into Park Yu-Min next.

The latter could only smile awkwardly and mumble, "No, I wouldn't..."

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled before pressing his face on the desk again.

The door slid open just then, and Han Se-Yeon entered the class. She immediately cocked her brow. "What? You're sleeping in class again "

Kang Jin-Ho held his head at her high-pitched voice digging into his skull.

'Why do women of this era all seem to know sonic wave techniques?!'

Not just Han Se-Yeon, but his little sister Kang Eun-Yeong, too... They were all too freaking loud! You couldn't find women with such shrill and loud voices back in Zhongyuan even if you tried to. The belief back then was that speaking in a gentle, calm tone would enhance your feminine charms. Having lived in that era for so long, Kang Jin-Ho found the modern women too 'violent' and headstrong for him to get used to.

Han Se-Yeon narrowed her eyes. “The mock exams are next week, you know? Can you afford to doze away like that?”

“...It'll be fine.”

"No, it won't be fine! Keep this up, and you will end up becoming a moron sooner or later."

Jeong In-Gyu jumped in to stop Han Se-Yeon. “Let him be. He apparently stayed up the whole night, you see.”

“Was he studying?”

“Nope, he was playing a computer game.”

Han Se-Yeon's rebuking gaze landed on Kang Jin-Ho. “I see that you're wasting your youth on such nonsense. How pathetic..."

Kang Jin-Ho shielded his head. "Please. Please... All I ask for is a minute of peace, so I can get some rest...!"

"We, high schoolers, are supposed to rest at home. I mean, which high school student thinks about getting some rest in their classroom "

Kang Jin-Ho slightly raised his hand. "I’m right here..."

"That's precisely why you shouldn't be like this." Han Se-Yeon harrumphed matter-of-factly.

Kang Jin-Ho began chuckling hollowly at her comebacks.

'It seems that trying to live an ordinary life won't be that easy.'

It had only been a month since he returned to the 'past.’ He managed to make a friend and was also gradually getting used to school life. Sometimes, everything did feel strange and awkward. But he was still able to chuckle at the simple fact that he didn't need to be so tense all the time in this life.

Unfortunately, problems always reared their ugly heads when you least expected them.

“Kang Jin-Ho?” The classroom door slid open again, and the class president stepped in before calling for Kang Jin-Ho.

The latter looked up. “Yeah?”

"You've been called to the staffroom."

"Staffroom? Why "

“Not sure. But a teacher wants to see you.”

“And which teacher would that be?”

“It's Bloody Mop.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. Why was Gong Ik-Hyeon, the dean of students, asking for him? He got up to leave while thinking about the potential reasons for this summon.

"I guess I'll go and find out, then."

He wasn't sure what was going on, but since a teacher wanted to see him, he should be a good student and answer the call.