Chapter 2

I returned to my room after finishing breakfast.

The dining table had become chaotic with my bombshell declaration that I would study, and everyone finished their meal faster than usual, barely eating properly.

“I appreciate the compliment, but it wasn’t acting.”

Father’s face that I’m seeing after well over 20 years.

Tears naturally came to my eyes.

After I became an adult, he treated me like a child he had abandoned.

But seeing Father’s face, all the grievances from those years welled up and my eyes reddened.

“Let’s skip that, and please tell me the Memorize method first. The final exams are tomorrow.”

I looked at the calendar.

The red circle marked on November 22nd.

Though it’s been well over 20 years, I remember that day clearly.

It’s the historic day when my name first appeared in the newspaper.

[Sewoon Group’s youngest son gets into a brawl.]

‘I really did live recklessly. Drinking alcohol as a middle schooler.’

During the final exam period, classes end early.

Naturally, I had no interest in studying and only thought about playing.

I drank with friends from early in the day, and then got into a fight with the judo club guys.

‘I won though.’

But it was one of the incidents I never wanted to remember again.

Because from that day on, Father gave up on me.

“I’ll try it once.”

I pulled out a book from the desk.

It happened to be a Korean language textbook, the subject I hate most.

‘How do I activate Memorize? Do I just read the book while thinking about Memorize?’

I chanted Memorize in my mind while reading through the Korean textbook.

I read through it roughly like skimming, but since the Korean textbook had so many passages, it took over 3 hours to turn the last page.

“I’ve finished reading it. So now it’s memorized?”

I closed my eyes and thought of the Korean textbook.

Then! Like a lie, the Korean textbook appeared in my mind.

According to my will, the Korean textbook turned page by page, and everything from the first page to the last page was there without omission.

“Wow…”

“For now, I just need to memorize the exam scope.”

The first step to changing the future.

Starting with the 3rd year middle school final exams.

Daewoong Middle School, 3rd year, Class 2.

It’s really been a long time since I’ve come to this classroom.

Though I’m visiting this classroom after more than 20 years, I clearly remember my seat.

The back seat by the window.

At that time, I thought you had to sit here to be considered cool.

This was implicitly the seat where only the most delinquent in the class sat.

Since I was close to 180cm tall from 3rd year middle school, the teachers didn’t particularly bother me.

CREEEAK-!

I pulled the chair and sat down.

To think I’m sitting here again!

I saw the faces of friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, but I wasn’t particularly happy to see them.

Because not one of them contacted me after graduating from school.

Especially after I became broke, not a single one contacted me.

“We’ll start the first period exam. Everyone sit in exam formation.”

While I was looking around the school I hadn’t been to in a long time.

Morning assembly ended, and the first period began.

‘That teacher is also someone I haven’t seen in a really long time.’

The teacher called Viper came in as the exam proctor.

Teacher Viper wearing a modified hanbok and holding a fan in one hand.

CHARRR-!

Teacher Viper opened her fan and pointed at the test paper.

“I’ll distribute the test papers. Just in case, let me tell you what happens if you get caught cheating, you know, right? Not only will all subjects be marked as 0 points, but you’ll have community service until graduation.”

The test paper quickly reached my seat at the very back.

I used the Memorize ability even before receiving the test paper.

[Korean, English, Chinese Characters, Art.]

The textbooks for today’s exam subjects are memorized.

Not only textbooks but also reference books are all stored in my head.

I spent 3 hours just looking at books doing this.

‘The problem about the old man carving a bat? I think I’ve seen this in the textbook.’

I solved the first problem without difficulty by comparing the textbook and reference book.

Multiple choice questions didn’t take very long since they were often similar to the content in reference books.

“Dogyeom, what’s gotten into you that you’re not sleeping and actually solving problems? Do you even know what you’re looking at?”

“Teacher, please don’t talk to me during the exam. It disrupts my concentration.”

“Acting all high and mighty. Try getting over 50 points. I’ll buy you whatever you want to eat.”

“Please keep that promise.”

Even if it’s just to empty Teacher Viper’s wallet.

I carefully checked the test paper and wrote down answers to all questions.

Essay questions were a bit difficult, but I wrote them down referring to the commentary section of the reference book.

“Exam over! From now on, anyone who moves their hand will be considered cheating. Everyone pass your test papers and OMR cards forward.”

This is the first time I’ve heard the bell while awake.

I always used to roughly fill in the OMR card and then sleep.

‘Well, what can we do? It’s an exam made by people in high positions, so we have to follow it.’

I had a conversation with Gartin in my mind.

This was possible because Gartin lives in my heart.

DING, DING, DING, DING!

The second period bell rings.

This subject is English, I prepared by recalling books in my mind.

But an unexpected problem occurred.

“We’ll conduct the English listening test first.”

English listening test?

This is a variable.

While I was dazed, I received the English listening test paper.

Soon after, English listening test questions flowed through the speaker.

“Listen to the conversation and choose the color of the pen the man will buy.”

The English passage that flows out immediately after.

But it sounds much better than I expected.

‘Why was I worried? I lived in America for 3 years to escape study abroad.’

My English grammar is weak, but I’m confident in listening and speaking.

Having lived there for 3 years, a middle school level listening test should be easy.

The first day of exams was a great success.

Korean was the most difficult subject, but I had plenty of time left for the rest.

English was easy thanks to my study abroad experience, and the other subjects were completely memorization subjects, so the answers came out immediately when I opened the textbooks.

‘Let’s aim for 100 points in all subjects today too!’

I confidently received the test paper.

But!

‘As expected, math can’t be done with just Memorize.’

The black things are letters and the white things are paper.

I’ve always lived completely cut off from math.

They’re talking about pi this and circles that, but I can’t understand what they’re saying at all.

‘Excuse me, Lord Gartin. Could you possibly solve this problem?’

I was rejected.

I have no choice but to solve it alone.

But it’s okay. I put effort into studying math in preparation for this time.

DING, DING, DING, DING!

The bell rings before I can solve the last problem.

‘The answer to the last subjective question must be either 0 or 1. Let’s guess 0.’

I barely managed to fill in all the answers on the OMR card.

It feels like I’ve been in a sauna for 2 hours.

Fortunately, except for math, all subjects were related to memorization.

A week has passed.

The point where final exams are over and only the graduation ceremony remains.

We spent class time watching animations or movies in the classroom.

‘It feels like watching a classic movie again. From the current time point, it’s a movie that was released less than 3 months ago.’

While I was concentrating on the movie.

The student affairs teacher came to the classroom.

“Jo Dogyeom, follow me to the counseling room.”

“Me? Why?”

“Why is the Japanese blanket? Why? Just follow me when I tell you to follow.”

That’s really an old joke.

If I had made such a joke before regression, it would have been cursed as dad jokes. I went into the counseling room recalling such jokes.

“Sit here. The exam scores came out. You studied very diligently.”

“I didn’t want to just let my last middle school days pass by, so I burned with passion.”

“Burned with passion my ass! You must have rolled your eyes diligently. Who did you copy from! If you tell me honestly, I’ll forgive that guy.”

This was the situation I expected.

This is what usually happens when a delinquent student does well on exams.

It was also a standard material in movies and dramas.

Usually when this kind of development happens, the teacher demands a retest.

And the student solves the test paper triumphantly and receives an apology from the teacher.

“I really solved it myself. Why don’t you trust people?”

“You solved it? I’ve been watching you for 3 years, and you want me to believe that? A guy who only fights all day long, what studying!”

“I really solved it myself.”

The student affairs teacher grabs a baseball bat.

Then he pounds the desk and gives his final ultimatum.

“Tell me now even if it’s late.”

“I solved it myself.”

“Lying until the end. Fine. Take a retest and if you get similar grades, I’ll let it pass. But if you don’t get the grades, know that you won’t just get away with it!”

A retest as expected.

With the Memorize ability, a retest won’t be a problem.

But reality isn’t a movie, and there’s no reason to solve the retest like a movie protagonist.

What a joke, a retest. I’m the youngest son of a chaebol family.

If push comes to shove, I can just crush the situation.

“Student affairs teacher, why should I take a retest? Do you have evidence that I cheated? Or do you have witnesses?”

“Evidence? Your report card is evidence. A guy who always ranked last got an average of 92 points. The average score went up by 70 points, what more evidence do you need.”

“Does a school rule exist that says you have to take a retest if your grades rise sharply?”

“You little brat. Just be a man and say you cheated with one word, why are your words so long.”

The student affairs teacher lifted the baseball bat.

SQUEEZE-!

He pressed it to my chest.

“I have never cheated.”

“This damn brat really! I was going to let it slide since graduation is coming, but I can’t.”

The student affairs teacher’s arm muscles bulge.

He looks ready to throw a punch any moment.

The student affairs teacher is being very aggressive.

Even knowing that I’m the son of a chaebol family.

This isn’t possible because he’s an educator who treats all students equally.

It’s possible because he thinks I’m a son abandoned by the family.

I rather pushed my face forward and provoked him.

“Hit me if you can. But I won’t just stay still either.”

“What will you do if you don’t stay still?”

“I’ll expose the bribes. You received bribes in exchange for helping write applications to good high schools, right? About 10 or more students in our class alone gave bribes to the student affairs teacher. If we combine all classes, you must have received bribes from over 60 students.”

I aimed at the student affairs teacher’s Achilles’ heel in one shot.