4. First Grade

Days passed. Despite his worries, Cha Kwan never saw that two-timing high-school boy again. A month later he learned from Ma Yong that the boy stopped coming to the gym altogether, even though he had already paid that year's membership upfront. Which was a wise decision according to Ma Yong, because apparently, his father was ready to give that boy the beating of a lifetime!

Naturally, Ma Yong, the Destroyer of all Hope, also mentioned their encounter with the boy. But no one thought anything of it, much to Cha Kwan's relief.

Of course a child would cry when someone started shouting! To Cha Kwan's parents, that boy was just a potential random hooligan that scared their son. Maybe they would've given him a piece of their mind if they ever saw and recognized him, but that was all. The Cha family didn't share the violent tendencies of the Ma family. Probably.

In any case, the thought of Cha Kwan making a teenager run for his life never occurred to anyone.

Months passed with Cha Kwan attending kindergarten, playing with his friends, and helping his family at the family restaurant. The more he lived an ordinary life, the more he came to appreciate how lucky he was.

After reaching the age of five, he learned how to read Korean. More or less. With the less part being more dominant if one were to be honest!

But learning to read had opened a new world to Cha Kwan. Because now he could use his (birthday present) phone to browse all kinds of (English) articles without arousing suspicion!

Though he lived a simple life, Cha Kwan frequently thought about the nature of the world. Was it a normal magical world? Or was it some sort of novel that he reincarnated into?

Perhaps he didn't have any talent for mana, but the fact that he had reincarnated remained! The correlation was there!

Unfortunately, his research didn't yield any results, mostly because he didn't know what to search for! He barely remembered the names of the main characters of novels, let alone minute details about the world they lived in! It didn't help that he wasn't a lore dump guy to begin with!

Still, Cha Kwan realized that the novels he did remember, didn't fit anything he could find. To be fair, his memory was far from perfect, and he had a sneaky suspicion that he was slowly forgetting more and more details of his previous life as time went by.

And on top of that, there was a bigger barrier. Whenever he searched for the dungeons, mana, and hunters, the walls of text he found were so thick, his eyes would start losing focus in a few seconds!

Fantastical or not, this was real history for this world. Every article was written in the driest manner possible. And nearly every sentence had at least one citation.

However, all was not lost. And he discovered a few crucial points.

'F*ck, there's a tower in this world?!'

The wiki page of the tower was mind-numbingly dense. Cha Kwan's pitiful Korean dictionary couldn't even parse the first paragraph without a good bit of effort. Once he switched to English, he was able to get the gist of it.

'All hunters enter the tower for advancement? That's so… cliché… Well, never mind.'

He wasn't a hunter, and (thankfully) he (probably) would never be able to awaken. Therefore, he threw the information at the back of his mind!

"Tsk. I should've known. They did talk about climbing floors in the Legend of the Saint series once…"

The Tower was quite similar to one's in web novels, according to the wiki at least. It had floors, it had administrators, it had rulers. Whatever those meant, Cha Kwan had no idea, because their wall of text was just too dense. He clicked on random links just to find something interesting.

'Constellations…? Really? Dungeon breaks, returners, a tower, and constellations? Isn't this just a mishmash of content from different novels?'

Like other novels, constellations sponsored people at their whim. Their purpose or origins were unknown.

After a while Cha Kwan switched to "real" history. He knew this was the year 2076, naturally he was curious!

This world, as far as he could tell, was an alternate version of Earth. Up until the first dungeon disaster in 1986, the broad strokes were all the same (probably), even though minute details differed.

America wasn't discovered by Christopher Columbus, but by an accomplished Italian Admiral named Giovanni Caboto. Napoleon was actually 7 feet tall. Cha Kwan's previous life's favorite childhood movie Back to the Future came out in 1984 instead of 1985, and was critically panned!

In a matter of days, Cha Kwan's fruitless desire to identify the nature of this world faded away. Whether it was something to do with his age, or because he enjoyed an ordinary life, he did not know.

From his perspective, he had nothing to gain from being special, but everything to lose!

Over the course of a slow and gentle summer, he was thoroughly enamored by his ordinary life.

In the year of 2077, 91 years after the first dungeon disaster, Cha Kwan reached the age of 6. Finally, kindergarten was over. The age of Elementary school had arrived!

* * *

"Kwan, look here and smile!"

"Hold right there, yes, just like that!"

"Let's take a picture at the school gates too!"

Today was the first day of school. The real school, not that kindergarten nonsense that Cha Kwan had to endure!

"Come on, let mommy take one last picture!"

Of course, on this joyous day, his mother had to take dozens of pictures!

"I can't believe it." Shin Soo-Yun muttered seriously as she reviewed her latest selfie with Cha Kwan. "My son is so cute in his school uniform." A moment later she closed her eyes and clenched her fist. "I can't believe he grew up this fast."

Cha Kang-Dae hugged his wife from behind. "Yes dear, life is unfair. Now let little Kwan go, or do you want him to be late the first day?" He winked at his son. "Go to the class, and listen yo your teacher. We'll pick you up after school. Run!"

Cha Kwan hugged his parents one last time. Though the sight of his father and mother tearing up gave him complex feelings. But he knew this was a positive thing, not something to be anxious about. As he ran inside the school made of grey concrete, he pushed away the childhood fear of the unknown as best he could.

There were still some students entering Class 1-A, so Cha Kwan breathed a sigh of relief!

The last thing he wanted, was to arrive late as if he was some sort of main character!

Inside the class was just as he imagined. Nearly two dozen kids, some running around without a care in the world, some tentatively watching others with a reluctance born out of unfamiliarity.

Cha Kwan spotted some of the other kids from kindergarten, along with The Defiler, Ma Yong.

'… Why does he look a bit sulky? Wasn't he looking forward to the first day?'

A few days ago, the Harbinger of Truth was ecstatic over the idea of elementary school. Cha Kwan chose an empty seat right beside him and poked his arm.

"Hey…"

The Destroyer's eyes took a moment to recognize Cha Kwan. "I… She rejected me…"

"… What?" Cha Kwan waited for him to elaborate, but the sulking boy glanced towards one particular window seat, then buried his head on the desk.

When Cha Kwan followed the Destroyer's gaze, he was even more confused. 'What does that girl have to with anythi-… Wait, she rejected you? What did she reject?'

"Everyone, sit down."

Unbeknownst to Cha Kwan, their teacher had already arrived. Once the man in his late forties successfully subdued the first-grade class and taught everyone how to do a simple introduction, the school finally started proper.

Throughout the period, Ma Yong's spirit did not improve. Once the main content of the "We Are First Graders" class was over and the teacher started taking questions, Ma Yong was the first to raise his hand.

"Teacher, will I have E D for the rest of my life?"

The teacher did a double take. "What…?" It looked like he replayed the question in his head before answering. Just to make sure he heard it right. "You… Don't have ED."

"Really?" Asked Ma Yong, with a face full of disbelief.

Cha Kwan had never heard of "E D" before, but judging from the teacher's slightly reluctant answer, he realized it was an embarrassing topic. He tentatively gazed at the Destroyer, not knowing whether this was going to be his latest work.

The teacher nodded in a hurry "Yes, yes." Then he selected another student named Pyo Kyung. A male student with a two-block haircut that didn't go well with his immature face.

"Teacher, what if we get Ee.D from Ma Yong?"

Cha Kwan narrowed his eyes as he stared at the boy. 'What a little sh*t…' One thing Cha Kwan learned from kindergarten, was that little children could be more ruthless than a Xianxia protagonist.

The teacher didn't immediately answer. The silence was filled with curious questions from the class.

"Teacher what's Ee.D?"

"I heard dogs have EeD."

"Teacher shouldn't Ma Yong get a shot for ED?"

Before the teacher could say anything, Ma Yong stood up with righteous fury. "My dad said you should always listen to the teacher! Teacher said I don't have E D! If anyone has E D its Pyo Kyung! Everyone knows his father has it!" He sat down with a harumph, then made a knowing gesture. "E D means Efektile Dysfunction. It means bird that can't fly!"

The teacher's eyes went to Pyo Kyung out of instinct. "Everyone, be silent. ED is not a disease. It is an adult matter, not something first-grade students like you should worry about…"

Meanwhile, Cha Kwan knowingly nodded. The information network of the Ma gym could not be underestimated.

But now that he understood the context, he glanced at the still-silent Ma Yong.

'Isn't it too early to ask a girl out? Aren't you just frickin' 6.99 years old?!'

He glanced at the girl in question. She was yet another elementary school student. A child. Like Ma Yong.

Cha Kwan shook his head. Ma Yong probably heard some gym-rat-uncle talk, and decided that he should ask a girl out on the first day of school. It could be the entire reason why he was so excited before, and why he looked so devastated just a moment ago.

* * *

As first grade progressed, Cha Kwan's fear of getting identified as a child prodigy didn't come to pass.

Many children had (more or less) learned to read Korean, but everyone lacked the finesse to write anything. Including Cha Kwan.

Let alone Korean, he didn't even have the finesse to write anything in English!

In hindsight, he should've realized this earlier. He had memories, not muscle memories! Just like how he had a hard time cracking an egg, he had trouble using a pencil!

Naturally, he was good at arithmetic thanks to being a salesman in his previous life, but that one was easy to hide. He just needed to stare at nothingness for a few seconds before giving an answer!

* * *

In but a flash, the first grade was over. The start of the second grade was just a few days away.

Naturally, the Defiler had already obtained the news about their class. Unexpectedly, almost half of the class had changed! Supposedly there were lots of new faces, not just in their class, but in the entire school. The majority of Korean cities still had massive construction projects underway, and the population shifted around quite a bit.

Among the students that left, the only notable one was Pyo Kyung. According to Ma Gym News Network, the boy's family had a divorce due to his father's infidelity!

*slurp*

"Uncle said Pyo Kyung is now living with his mother and going to attend a school in New Seoul. What's so bad about Old Seoul? Why not stay?" Ma Yong wondered in between slurping his noodles.

*slurp*

"My dad says New Seoul is full of awakened people and kids get awakened more because of that." Ma Yong paused for a moment. "Big auntie said she saw a boy awaken after a girl accepted his confession. Maybe I'll awaken in a few days at school…"

Unfortunately, Cha Kwan was too shocked to keep listening to Ma Yong. The gears in his mind had come to a complete halt after hearing of the divorce of Pyo Kyung's parents.

Though they weren't friends, hearing the news still came as a shock to Cha Kwan.

Life without any one of his parents… was unthinkable! Even the thought of it was devastating to an 7-year-old Cha Kwan! So much so that he choked on his noodles!

"I told you! I told you so! That was too much hot sauce! Even my uncle says Ogre's Fire brand is made of real fire! Auntie! Kwan put too much hot sauce!!" Shouted Ma Yong, then immediately concentrated back on his bowl.

*slurp*

Cha Kwan ignored the Destroyer and drank water.

Once again, he became thankful for his utterly ordinary life!

*slurp*

But something didn't feel right…

He had an ordinary life, right?

*slurp*

Right in front of him, Ma Yong was fiercely slurping a huge bowl of noodles as if there was no tomorrow. Which was an understandable reaction! Of course! Of course the noodles made by his parents would make someone lose control! Of course!...

Cha Kwan spooned the clear broth that was enriched with his mother's special hot sauce. An impossibly enchanting aroma exploded in his mouth in an instant. The sensation was so powerful, Cha Kwan often compared it to food anime from his previous life!

'Wait… Hold up…'

He looked down at the bowl of warm noodle soup made by his mother.

Wasn't it… A bit too delicious?

Cha Kwan felt his mother touch his shoulder. "If you put too much sauce it'll down the broth." She said with a smile, then made an attempt to take the bowl. But Cha Kwan stopped her. "No, I'm eating! It's perfect!" He shielded his bowl and dubiously watched his mother.

"Mom…" He couldn't help but look around before continuing. "Why is everything you and dad makes is so… perfect?"

Shin Soo-Yun didn't answer for a moment, then a beautiful smile bloomed on her face. "It's because we have a secret ingredient…" She said mysteriously.

Cha Kwan's eyes widened. A secret ingredient? He inwardly scolded himself! Of course! This was a fantasy world! Now everything seemed to make sense! Somehow…

*slurp*

Since Ma Yong was still completely absorbed by his noodles… "Then, what's the secret ingredient, mom?" Cha Kwan asked with a low voice.

A smiling Shin Soo-Yun kissed Cha Kwan on his forehead, then whispered to his ear. "The secret ingredient is love."

Cha Kwan, with a wide-open mouth, watched his mother turn back and leave.