Every person has their own reverse scale—something you must never touch.

For me, after getting a second chance at life, revenge was important—but my grandmother mattered most.

I was furious at the Bald Eagle for crossing the line.

Still, because of the inevitable power gap between teacher and student, I clenched my teeth and argued with logic.

“What? Ha! This little shit—seriously?”

“Are you afraid, sir?”

My homeroom teacher, the Snake, looked flustered, glancing back and forth between the Bald Eagle and me.

The rest of the teachers also watched the situation with unease, unsure when it might explode.

“Hey! Kim Muhyuk! You serious?”

“Yes. I’m confident.”

“Mr. Kim.”

It wasn’t the Bald Eagle or me who spoke—

It was a heavy, aged voice.

The vice principal. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

“Let him do it. Looks like Muhyuk’s confident. What about you, Mr. Kim? You not so sure? Then dragging the kid in here and humiliating his grandmother was out of line, wasn’t it?”

“Vice Principal!”

“Don’t yell. This is the staff room. Not your personal office. You brought the student in to hear his explanation, not to browbeat him. If a teacher can’t trust a student, who can they trust? So—are we doing the retest or not? The choice is yours, Mr. Kim.”

“······.”

He spoke gently, but among everyone in this room, that vice principal was the worst.

I knew the face behind his mask.

The Bald Eagle turned to me with a face full of murderous intent.

“Alright, Kim Muhyuk. Let’s do this. You’re confident, right? If the results aren’t close, you drop out.”

“Yes. But if the results are close, you’ll apologize sincerely.”

And so, in front of every teacher in the staff room, I began the retest.

The first subject handed to me was English.

I let out a small laugh.

English, in my second life...

Even though it wasn’t practical English but rote memorization, I still had decent skills.

In less than 30 minutes, I had answered every question.

When I looked up, half the teachers watching me were shocked, the other half unsettled.

“I’m done.”

The English teacher took the test sheet and started grading.

A moment later, he looked up, disbelief written all over his face.

“Every answer is correct.”

“······.”

The other teachers glanced between me and the English teacher in astonishment. It wasn’t unfamiliar to me.

“Please hand me the next subject.”

Math, Korean, Korean history—

Four subjects total, all completed in just two hours.

Even the questions I had gotten wrong last time? Perfect scores.

“······Is this real?”

That muttered comment from some unknown teacher probably echoed the thoughts of everyone present.

Dongsung Technical High’s biggest troublemaker.

The delinquent.

That’s what I was in their minds.

“Next subject, please.”

My voice was calm. The vice principal stepped in.

“That’s enough. We’ve seen enough. Right, Mr. Kim?”

“······Yes.”

“Then apologize. What are you waiting for?”

“······.”

“You made a promise. Keep it. A teacher should set the example for students. Isn’t that right?”

The Bald Eagle’s face flushed beet red. He opened his mouth hesitantly.

“Muhyuk, I’m sorry. I really misunderstood. It won’t happen again. And... I was wrong to bring up your grandmother. I apologize.”

I had demanded an apology to my grandmother, but to be honest, she didn’t even know this had happened.

I couldn’t drag her in just to witness that.

So I let out a deep sigh and said,

“Sir, I know I’ve caused a lot of trouble. I know I probably annoy you.

But I’m still a student under your care. And my grandmother is my only family.

So I’ll ask again—please don’t speak carelessly about her.”

“...Understood.”

“May I return to class now?”

“...Yes. Go ahead.”

I bowed to every teacher before walking out of the staff room.

...Shit.

I should feel good. But it felt like crap.

“Haa... so damn annoying.”

Memories of the past and my previous life overlapped in my head, throwing me into chaos.

“Yo! Muhyuk!”

I turned to the voice—Myungsoo and Hyunseong were running over.

“What happened?”

“All handled.”

“Bald Eagle threw a fit again, didn’t he? Wait here—I’ll give him a piece of my mind. Hey! Don’t stop me. Hyunseong, I said don’t stop—”

Nobody was stopping him.

“Why’re you stopping me?”

“...Let’s go.”

I left Myungsoo behind and walked off with Hyunseong.

“Hey! Wait up!”

Myungsoo scrambled to catch up.

Back in the classroom, I had just sat down when the Snake walked in.

“If I call your name, come get your report card. Don’t forget to get it stamped by your parents.”

“Yes, sir!”

As he handed them out one by one, he paused briefly when he got to my name.

“Kim Muhyuk.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry about earlier. This time, Muhyuk ranked first in the entire first-year class. Everyone, applause!”

“Sir, today’s not April Fool’s.”

Myungsoo’s comment mirrored everyone’s thoughts.

But when the Snake’s face remained serious, the class all turned to look at me with bewildered faces.

“Hard to believe, right? Even the teachers didn’t believe it. That’s why we retested him.

But even the questions he got wrong before—he got them all right this time.”

The shock was so great, no one could speak.

“Bring back the signed report card tomorrow. Those of you whose grades dropped, prepare yourselves. That’s it. Class rep!”

We stood and bowed for dismissal.

While no one else approached me, Myungsoo came right over.

“Dude, is this real?”

“Yeah.”

“...Who are you?”

The rest of the class kept sneaking glances at me too.

I flicked Myungsoo on the forehead.

“Who else would I be? Your friend, Kim Muhyuk.”

“Right? You are my friend, right? But you ranked first in the whole school? Would you believe that if you were me?”

“I would. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

I grabbed my bag and stood.

As I walked out, everyone’s eyes followed.

“Y’all better step it up. If you’re getting worse grades than a delinquent like me, what does that say? I’m off.”

“Yo! Wait up!”

Myungsoo rushed to pack and followed.

On the way home, Myungsoo turned my report card every which way before nodding.

“Shit... I lost to Muhyuk in grades?”

“······.”

“Hyunseong. This has to be a dream. This is a dream for sure. Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“...Starting tomorrow, I’m gonna study too.”

“Cut it out, both of you. Myungsoo, you study. Hyunseong, you focus on sports. Get into college as a special admit.

I’m going to a university in Seoul. Let’s all just work hard from now on.”

The autumn wind brushed gently past my face.

It brushed across Myungsoo and Hyunseong’s faces, too.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Seoul.

“I heard the old man went down to Busan.”

“Yeah. Did you hear anything from your side?”

“When has he ever told us anything? Do the people planted around him know anything?”

“Apparently not—even Manager Ha doesn’t know.”

“Hmph. What business does the old man have personally going all the way to Busan?”

Two men chatted inside an office.

Then the door opened and a young woman entered.

“Sir, you have a visitor.”

“Let them in.”

“Yes, sir.”

A large-built man stepped into the office.

The two men stood to greet him.

“Well, well—Chairman Cheon! It’s been a while. And the younger Cheon Chairman too?”

“Welcome, Aide Park.”

“How’s Chairman Cheon doing?”

“He’s well, thank you. Please, have a seat.”

Despite the office belonging to Cheon Sooman, the man called Aide Park casually took the head seat.

Neither Sooman nor Suhan objected—they simply shifted to other seats.

“Our boss wants two large units prepared. Cleanly. You can manage that, right?”

“Yes. We’ll have everything properly laundered. No problems.”

“Good. And how’s your father-in-law doing, younger Chairman Cheon?”

“He’s well.”

These “Chairman Cheons” were Cheon Taesan’s sons.

The elder, Cheon Sooman, was married to the eldest daughter of a top-five Korean conglomerate’s heiress.

The younger, Cheon Suhan, was a son-in-law to a five-term National Assembly member from the People’s Party.

And the man in the head seat—Aide Park—was the right-hand man of ruling-party powerhouse Representative Lee Haksoo, known as the president’s shadow confidant.

“Prepare things cleanly and the old man will pay you back in full. You know what I mean.”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s meet again.”

Without waiting for a reply, Aide Park left the office.

As soon as the door closed, the two brothers started grumbling.

“That bastard. Thinks he’s the boss now. Pisses me off every time I see him.”

“Bear with it. It’s all part of getting into Cheongpunghoe. We’ll screw him later. Just wait.”

“I know, I know—but he’s so damn annoying. Has your father-in-law gotten any closer to them yet? For a five-term Assemblyman, he’s useless.”

“He’s not elite enough. If I knew, I wouldn’t have married her. But the old man forced it.”

Sooman narrowed his eyes.

“What the hell did the old man go to Busan for? Let’s find out.”

“Yeah. I’ll look into it too.”

* * *

Grandma cried when she saw Muhyuk’s report card.

She wept for a long while, then wrapped her thin arms around him.

Her body was frail, but to Muhyuk, she felt stronger and warmer than anyone.

“My baby... you worked so hard.”

“Haha, I’ll study hard now. Just wait three years, Grandma.”

“I have to see my baby enter college before I die. Of course. That’s right.”

“Don’t say things like dying.”

On TV, the president was making a special announcement.

“We hereby declare war on crime and violence that threaten the nation’s community, and will use all constitutional powers granted to the president to eradicate—”

A solemn-faced president announced what would be called the “October 13 Special Declaration”—

The war on crime had begun.

The joint police-prosecutor task force launched a sweeping arrest operation targeting the bosses of every criminal gang in Busan.

And soon, they arrested the leader of the Saseongpa gang—Lee Saseong.

“Shit. That kid was telling the truth?”

“I know, right? At least we dodged the bullet... But the big boss got taken.”

Park Dongsu bit his lip ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) darkly.

“Lay low for now. No drinking. No messing around. Got it?”

“Yes, boss.”

He’d only heard it from a high schooler, but Park Dongsu had felt something ominous in Muhyuk’s words.

So he took five of his most trusted men and disappeared into the countryside.

They, too, saw the president’s declaration broadcast live on TV.

And just like that, Kim Muhyuk changed the future.

No longer would Park Dongsu be arrested while Lee Saseong survived.

Now, Lee Saseong took all the fall and was imprisoned.

* * *

Time passed quickly after that.

I placed first in the next round of exams as well. The teachers no longer objected.

It was finally winter break.

As I stepped out of the school building, a car was waiting.

The door opened, and Manager Ha stepped out and greeted me.

“Muhyuk. It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Manager Ha.”

“The Chairman is calling for you. He says it’s time to fulfill your promise now that winter break has begun.”

“...Alright. Let me tell Grandma, then I’ll come with—”

“We’ve already informed her.”

Manager Ha held the car door open.

I got in the back seat.

“It’ll be a long ride. If you’re tired, feel free to sleep. We’ll depart now.”

“Okay.”

The long drive up to Seoul passed in silence.

Manager Ha never once spoke first.

He simply answered my occasional questions briefly.

Steadfast and solid.

That was Manager Ha’s strength.

I thought of the end he met in my past life—drawn into this because of Cheon Taesan’s orders and me.

‘I’ll protect you this time, Manager Ha.’

Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu.

Located at the southern foot of Mt. Bukhan, most of Pyeongchang-dong is in a development-restricted zone.

The area had many houses with greenery—unlike other, denser Seoul neighborhoods.

Alongside Hannam-dong, it’s where Korea’s wealthiest live.

This is where Cheon Taesan’s home was.

When we arrived, I entered through the door.

Manager Ha led me to the living room.

Cheon Taesan was waiting.

“You’re here.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

I swallowed dryly.

Now it begins...

< Retest, and Winter Break. > End