Chapter 54 - Free At Last

Jade and KJ watched on as the latter's younger version ran through the giant field. It had been a month since Jiwon started school and he was still running around the field every morning. Everyday he entered his class, sweating and panting. 

The woman, Sung Sohee, was a strict teacher. She did not let him rest at all. The poor ten year old was forced to repeat laps if he missed even a single one. 

"You had it rough, kiddo," Jade whistled. He sympathised with KJ more now. "Mirae's mother sure kept you on a leash." 

"She kept me in particular on a leash," KJ said. "That's how she made me learn." 

Suddenly, KJ stiffened. 

"Hey, Jade," he said in a slightly frantic tone. "What month is it?" 

"It's the end of January of the year 2000," Jade replied. "Why?" 

KJ frowned. So that incident will happen, huh? He thought. 

"What's gonna happen, KJ?" Jade asked. 

"Something important," KJ winced. He did not want to relive that nightmare but it was a vital incident in his life. 

"Let's keep watching then," Jade said.

The whistle blew. Jiwon was out of breath. He had been running through the damn field every morning and yet, the teacher was not showing him any mercy.

"You're still too slow!" she barked. "At this pace, you won't even finish one fourth of the training!"

"I'm trying!" Jiwon exclaimed. "If you'd just let me rest…"

"Resting is for the weak!" Sohee scolded him. "I'm not here to raise a weakling. Run ten more laps around the field within one hour."

"But I have a class!" Jiwon protested.

"No arguments!"

Grumbling, Jiwon started to run more laps. By the end of one hour, he only managed to run five laps.

"Tsk," Sohee tsked. "You're not fast at all. Go and get ready for your class. I'll write a note to your teacher that you were with me."

Jiwon dragged his aching legs as he headed towards his room. The first month was torturous for him. Sohee made him run around the field everyday and even though he was faster now, she was still not satisfied with his progress. 

She even set him up a strict diet chart devoid of any carbohydrates. This meant no rice and sweets for him. Following the diet was hell for him because he loved rice and sweets and now he could not even have them. Jiwon, however, was cheating on the diet as he secretly snuck sweets into his room.

As soon as he entered, he took out the bag of chocolates which was hidden under his bed. 

"You're not supposed to eat that," Hyun Jung sneered from the top bunk.

"Shut it," Jiwon snapped. The two roommates disliked each other to the core. Hyun Jung was envious of Jiwon receiving personal training from the school's headmaster. On top of that, Jiwon was a naturally gifted student. He barely studied and yet got the highest marks in all his exams while Hyun Jung studied very hard only to land in second place.

On the other hand, Jiwon hated Hyun Jung's nagging nature. The kid was a teacher's pet and would do anything to be on their good graces. He even snitched out a few students for miniscule offences. No one liked his nosiness and Hyun Jung had no friends.

Hyun Jung was also quite unorganized whereas Jiwon liked everything to be in its proper place. Jiwon's table was spotlessly clean and he put everything in a fixed pattern while Hyun Jung messes up his side by leaving books lying everywhere. It irked Jiwon to see such a messy person.

No doubt he'll snitch on me later on, Jiwon thought wearily. He just had to end up with a teacher from hell and a roommate of nightmares.

Jiwon popped a candy into his mouth and went into the bathroom for a bath. After freshening up, he headed towards his English class. Even though Jiwon was signed up for Contemporary Music classes, all students have to study some common subjects like English, Korean and Mathematics. 

As Jiwon entered the class, he could feel the eyes of other students following him. People still gossiped about how he got in through his grandfather's connections. Even after acing all the tests, most people refused to believe that Jiwon was talented.

Hyun Jung followed him into the class. As soon as he entered, three burly boys came up to him.

"Jung, buddy!" one of the boys came up and hugged him. The boy's name was Jun. He was tall and a little bulky but always had a friendly smile on his face. The other two boys, Hyungsoo and Minseok were his best friends. Hyun Jung was seen hanging out with them quite a lot.

"H-hi," Hyun Jung stuttered. For some reason, his face looked worried.

"Let's go to the cafe after this class!" Jun suggested, putting his arm around Hyun's shoulder. "I heard there are sweet buns being served today!"

Jiwon looked away. He was aware of his outcast status, but he was used to it. His sisters treated him like trash so why should these people be any different?

He made his way to his table at the back of the class. The other students were whispering loudly.

"How did he managed to get such good grades?"

"Must have cheated."

"I've heard that the old man Kwon has bought the school!"

"My parents told me that the Kwon family is grooming him to be the next heir!"

"No wonder he is getting personal training from the headmaster."

Jiwon buried his head on the table. Thankfully, the teacher came in at that time and everyone fell silent. The rest of the class passed by in a blur.

…..

That night, Jiwon was in his room, doing his homework while nibbling on a chocolate bar when the room burst open. Startled, he turned around to see his demonic trainer with her arms crossed on her chest. 

Immediately, Jiwon tried to hide his bag full of chocolates under his desk but she was too fast.

"I thought I said, no carbohydrates for you," she gritted her teeth.

"It's just for one day!" Jiwon whined. "I really want my chocolates! It's just for one day, please!"

"No means no!" Sohee reprimanded him. "Your grandfather made it clear that you are to be trained here-"

"I HATE IT HERE!" Jiwon bellowed. "I HATE IT! I HATE IT!"

He grabbed the bag of chocolates and threw it on the floor.

"I don't want to be trained!" he exclaimed. Tears were now streaming from his eyes. "I-I miss my grandfather. I-I w-want to go h-h-home."

He started to cry out loud. The frustration he held in for days was flowing out uncontrollably. He was much better off at home.

Sohee watched him cry. Training under her was difficult for even grown ups and he was a mere ten year old kid. 

When Kwon Jinhyung requested her to train his grandson, she was taken aback. But after he explained the potential danger the child was in, she took up the job to ensure that he can protect himself. However, it seemed the boy is not eager to learn at all.

"Fine," she said in a calm tone. Jiwon looked up in surprise, his face still tearstained. 

"You will be sent back tomorrow," Sohee said. "Call your grandfather to come and pick you up."

With that she left the room, leaving the boy dumbfounded. It was that easy to escape this place?

Inwardly, Jiwon was doing the conga. He was finally free!

Just then Hyun Jung entered the room, looking dejected. Jiwon's happiness was replaced with an irritation. He stomped up to the nerdy boy and held him by the collar.

Hyun Jung yelped as his glasses fell off.

"You must be so happy to have snitched on me!" Jiwon mocked him. "You wanted to get me punished by informing the headmaster about the chocolates under my bed? Well, guess what? I'm leaving this place tomorrow and I won't be returning!"

"It wasn't me!" Hyun Jung vehemently denied. "I didn't tell anyone anything!" 

But Jiwon was not listening. He roughly let go of the nerd and began to pack his bags.

Finally, he was free.