Exam Results

Yeo Ryung slouched casually in his back-corner window seat, and watched the stack of year-end grade reports pass from student to student. Most of the students glanced at their grades for a bit, then either slipped them into their backpacks or inside their desks. But there were a few notable exceptions.

Go Daesung, the class president, glanced at his report, then set it down on his desk, face up. He smiled radiantly, and looked around the classroom, as if he were a king surveying his court. Ryung didn't have to see Daesung's report card to know his marks were top tier. For the past two years, Go Daesung had ranked among the top fifty Seungli High students in every subject. He was also rich, handsome, and the captain of the Taekwondo team. Although Daesung was a bit conceited, that didn't bother Ryung; they rarely interacted beyond the occasional obligatory social exchange.

Gwak Duck-Wan had a scar on his left cheek, and an extremely muscular build that would put a body builder to shame. Ryung found him somewhat amusing. Appearances could be deceiving; a man who looked like a thug might not act like one. But, in this case, the stereotype was dead on. If Duck-Wan was anything, he was a thug. It seemed like every other month, he got into a fight on school grounds. If his father weren't a bigshot, he would likely have been expelled long ago. When the report card stack reached Duck-Wan, he rifled through them, grabbed his paper, and tore it into pieces, before passing the stack to the student behind him. This surprised no one.

Ryung felt a bit sorry for Teacher In-Su. She had only been teaching for a couple years now, and was still enthusiastic about her job. He doubted that would last much longer, with students like Duck-Wan. She was standing in front of the class, behind the wooden podium. He could tell from the indecision on her face that she wanted to say something. However, in the end, she remained silent. It was probably the right decision; it had become clear over the last couple years that Duck-Wan didn't take well to any sort of authority figure, even if their intentions were good.

When the stack of papers reached Chun Hei, Ryung couldn't help but take a second glance to admire her figure. Although she wore the school uniform, her skirt was cut short, revealing a pair of slender white legs with knee-high socks and black boots. Her blouse had the top couple buttons undone; a black-lace bra was visible, along with a generous helping of firm, rounded cleavage. In short, she was very hot.

Mae Yon, a diligent scholarship student, tried to hand the stack to Hwang Iseul. However, Hwang was too busy ogling Yuk Ho-Sook to notice. "Hey, Piggy, " Mae Yon said, "Stop staring at the Princess, and take these papers." She didn't bother keeping her voice low, so most of the other students looked over, hoping for a show.

Piggy gave her a greasy smile, "Of course, my dear. My apologies. Ho-Sook is looking particularly beautiful today, and I suppose I lost my composure." As he spoke, he waved his small, chubby hands animatedly, looking toward Ho-Sook's seat in the front row, perhaps hoping for a glance or a smile. Some of the other students snickered at the exchange, but Ryung wasn't surprised to see her studiously ignore Piggy. After three years together, their antics had become commonplace.

While Piggy's tenacity and shamelessness were impressive, Ryung knew that Piggy's romantic intentions were futile. Ho-Sook, commonly referred to as "Princess", was excessively polite, studious, and gorgeous in the classical style, if not so well-endowed as Chun Hei. Piggy, on the other hand, was short, quite fat, and something of a class clown. Even if Piggy were the only guy left in the world, Ryung doubted the Princess would give him a second glance.

The pile finally made its way to Ryung. Staring down at his grades, he sighed softly. It wasn't as bad as he expected, but hardly the sort of showing that would satisfy his parents. His only 'A' was in painting, a subject his mother condescendingly referred to as, "A third-grade hobby, suitable to those without proper talent and ambition."

When the bell finally rang, Ryung stuffed the grade report in his backpack, and followed the river of students through the hallways, exiting the well-manicured school grounds, preparing himself for the scolding he knew was to come.