Chapter 30 – Doing homework.. – 1

Chapter 30 – Doing homework.. – 1

Oh Jeonghoon ran a hand through his hair, plopped down in his seat, and emptied his glass in one gulp.

Woojin, who had been watching him, averted his gaze and slowly drank the alcohol in front of him.

Alcohol.

The more you drink, the more alcohol impairs the brain cells’ ability to transmit information, making you less and less aware of the situation.

In other words, in this state, the limbic system, which retains primitive instincts, rears its head.

Simply put, you act unconsciously.

The possibility of acting on thoughts or behaviors that are usually hidden increases infinitely.

Being completely drunk is when the unconscious comes out.

If you drink without stopping until you’re drunk, could your second self, that guy, come out as he pleases?

Woojin, who was now putting Oh Jeonghoon out of his mind, stood up from his seat.

Woojin’s gaze, as he briefly looked at Oh Jeonghoon, was utterly languid.

Judging by his state, it seemed like he didn’t need to do anything more.

Not in the future either.

Then, with his usual gentle face, he said,

“I’ll be leaving first too. Have fun and enjoy yourselves.”

About 20 minutes passed after Woojin left the street food bar.

Oh Jeonghoon, who had been continuously drinking, suddenly shouted,

“Hey, you bastard. Do I look easy to you too?”

“Hey, are you drunk? You’ve had enough, let’s go home now.”

“Do I look easy to you…?”

As Oh Jeonghoon glared sharply at him with his drunken, bloodshot eyes,

“Ha… This bastard, really. Come outside. I didn’t like this bastard’s attitude from the start.”

***

Friday, a day every university student loves.

Professor Lee (Intro to Business Administration) and Professor Choi (Intro to Economics) were walking side by side down the hallway.

“Professor Lee, Shin Woojin seems to be very bright.”

At Professor Choi’s words, Professor Lee nodded without a moment’s hesitation.

“He’s a student worth keeping an eye on and helping. But I haven’t had much time lately.”

Professor Choi’s eyes widened slightly.

Interpreting Professor Lee’s words, it meant he was withdrawing his interest from Shin Woojin.

He was someone who would pick out and watch students who could become his hands and feet before anyone else, but he was letting go of the extraordinary Shin Woojin?

It was puzzling, but Professor Choi felt a sense of satisfaction that one rival professor had been eliminated.

Professor Lee, on the other hand, had other thoughts.

He was the first to approach Shin Woojin.

Because he thought that if he nurtured him well, he would do errands or roughly written papers perfectly on his own.

But now it’s the opposite.

He felt that if he kept him in the lab, he would bother him in some way.

Shin Woojin was truly a student who would be hard to digest.

Did Professor Choi say he had two lectures?

If he saw him one more time, he would get a sense of it.

Professor Lee smiled and said,

“Since Professor Choi is so good at guiding students, it seems Woojin is lucky to have caught Professor Choi’s eye. Hahaha.”

He said this, but dealing with Shin Woojin would be quite a headache.

Professor Choi, unaware of Professor Lee’s true feelings, drew a pleasant smile.

Meanwhile, Woojin, who had moved to the lecture hall for his last class, glanced at Oh Jeonghoon.

I heard there was a fight at the drinking party that day, and he was still wearing an eye patch, probably because the bruise hadn’t faded yet.

Woojin turned his gaze and looked around as if checking his surroundings.

His classmates were laughing and chatting, and his friend was dozing off, receiving the sunlight pouring in from outside the window.

Woojin’s lips subtly curved upwards as he looked at them one by one.

The sounds tickling his ears seemed to tell him that peace had returned.

“You guys hung out the other day without me? I’m disappointed.”

Mansu, who had approached at some point, was grinning. He continued speaking.

“Tomorrow at six, at the library, right?”

He was referring to the group project meeting.

Each team member was planning to research a large corporation or a small to medium-sized enterprise, then discuss and select a company.

“Yes.”

Just then, Lee Mina approached.

“Oh no… I forgot I have an ancestral rite tomorrow. Could we change the meeting to another day?”

Seeing her apologetic expression, Mansu smiled bitterly and said,

“It can’t be helped.”

“I’m really sorry, truly.”

And so, the class on Business and Economic Mathematics, which Woojin was hearing for the first time, began, and he focused on the lecture, taking notes as if he were copying other students.

How much time had passed like that?

As he listened to familiar content, Woojin suddenly felt like skipping class.

His brain wanted to feel the dopamine he experienced when he skipped class and ate ramen again.

Woojin coolly (?) controlled such unconscious thoughts and pondered.

‘Skipping class once or twice a week is enough.’

Before he knew it, the lecture ended without taking any questions.

“Well then, have a good weekend.”

The professor quickly left, and Woojin had to head home, trying to shake off his disappointment.

Had three hours passed since Woojin arrived home and lounged around?

Lee Mina sent a message in the group chat room for the assignment.

[Can you let me know what I need to do once the company is decided? Then I’ll research it separately. I’m really sorry I can’t attend]

Choi Gaeul replied first.

[Mina, you can’t make it tomorrow?]

[Yeah. I forgot I have an Ancestral Rite…….]

[Then should we reschedule? Actually, my Grandmother is sick, so I need to go down to Gangwon Province. It would be too difficult if I attended tomorrow and then left.]

This time, Mansu replied.

[Then can you at least send what you’ve researched? I think we need to have a general idea.]

[Ah, I was going to finish it by dawn today…….]

[My Grandmother suddenly got sick too, so I’ve been preoccupied…….]

Mansu cut off their excuses.

[Isn’t this too much? It’s as if some of us have time to spare to keep our promises. Ha. If we’re already stumbling like this from the start…….]

Woojin jumped up and turned on his PC.

He quickly searched ‘ordinary college life’ in the search bar and entered a blog.

Woojin’s pupils gradually widened as he read the text.

[When a mission like a group assignment comes up, the family members of the group members will definitely get sick or suddenly have an accident. There are also times when a line of candle-like events occurs. It’s an ordinary daily occurrence, whether it’s an elite university or a mediocre one. In times like these…….]

The blog author’s words were coming true.

He had seen it before, but this time it felt different, like reading a prophecy.

[Just deal with it as if nothing happened. Otherwise, you’ll end up being a pushover…….]

Woojin quickly left a comment.

-Could we perhaps have an in-depth discussion about the main text?

He waited, but no reply comment was posted.

Woojin immediately called Mansu.

-Hey, Woojin, these guys…….

“Mansu, let’s just meet at the Library tomorrow at six, just us.”

-Huh? Just us?

“Do you have any plans? If you do, I’ll go alone…”

-I don’t. Besides just lounging around in the dorm. Yeah, damn it, it’s annoying, but let’s just do it ourselves.

At the mention of lounging around, Woojin nodded as if to say, “I knew it.”

“Alright, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

***

The next day.

Mansu opened the notebook where he’d written down the Professor’s words in the Break Room.

[Understand Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, the workings of a Perfectly Competitive Market, the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, and what role a manager should play in terms of Ethical Management within these processes, to be presented as a PPT. Companies and businesses can be selected arbitrarily.]

Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, known as the Father of Economics, was made understandable by Woojin’s clear explanation, but the rest still felt like alien language, half-understood.

Mansu desperately wished he could take back his words from yesterday, ‘Let’s just do it ourselves.’

Scratching his buzz-cut hair, Mansu said to Woojin, who had returned from the Bathroom,

“Woojin, can the two of us really do this?”

“Yes.”

Mansu blinked, looking at Woojin’s calm expression.

It was always that expression, no matter what they were talking about.

But that unchanging face made him feel more reliable.

“Alright, damn it, let’s just do it.”

“Mansu, what company did you research?”

At Woojin’s words, Mansu, who had been rummaging through his bag, pulled out about 20 pages of A4 paper.

It was the content he had painstakingly researched.

Woojin took it and quickly flipped through the A4 papers.

He was incredibly fast, and to Mansu’s disappointment, he seemed to be just skimming through it.

At least, to Mansu.

But the words that flowed from Woojin’s mouth shattered Mansu’s thoughts.

“You focused on the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility and Managerial Ethics. Especially the way you described Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Room on page 12, I think it’s really good.”

Mansu reflexively nodded blankly, as if thinking, ‘What kind of guy is this?’

Woojin suddenly held out an A4 paper, corresponding to page 5, to Mansu.

“What I researched.”

“Uh…”

Mansu blinked as he looked at Woojin’s research.

It was full of jargon.

There were parts he could understand, but it was mostly alien language he’d only hear in a professor’s lecture.

“Mansu, should we use mine, or yours?”