For the rest of the day, Jung powered through all the lectures, but he barely noticed any of them. Kwang and Sang-ki both looked at him with worried eyes. They have watched that boy pursue that girl since they were little, after all. But Jung Hee would occasionally smile at them just to reassure them. Both friends were not fooled.

Jung was grateful that the last class was with teacher Park Inhop. Mr. Park is known throughout high school as one of the most boring and laziest teachers ever in Guanzu. His normal class sessions consist of him asking one of the students, usually Jung Hee, to write the entire subject chapter of his curriculum’s lesson plan, which is already in the textbook.

Jung Hee will copy the textbook and write it on the board, then the other kids will copy what is on the board and write it down in their notebooks. The subject matter normally consists of over 12 pages of very tiny letters in the text book, and Jung had to write them all on the board.

Fortunately for him, Jung had mastered this skill long ago. He has a high level of writing, which allows him to write at breakneck speed. His literacy abilities are at their peak as well, and he retains a lot of what he reads so he can write about it. So Jung will read 1-2 pages rapidly and then write them on the board.

Have you ever seen someone use both hands to write on a chalkboard? Most individuals have probably never seen anything like that. However, in a certain class at the Guanzu people's school, this had become the norm since they were in middle school. It is one of the reasons why the kids in school either admire or are annoyed with Jung Hee because he appears to be able to do almost everything.

He’d been writing on the board for so long that he knew exactly the range of his writing space, and with that, he used both hands to simultaneously write to complete a single sentence. He discovered his ambidextrous skill when he was 13 while helping his father in the field plant rice seedlings in the soft earth with both hands. The general skill gradually improved while he was at the gym. When the sentence is long, he will first write with his left hand, and when the sentence he is writing reaches right in front of his face, he will then switch with his right hand to continue the rest of the sentence. By age 15, he started writing with both hands simultaneously. One hand starts the sentence while the other starts in the middle of the sentence, and they continue writing until it is completed. By now, his “writing” skill has already reached level 8.

Once Jung Hee finished writing the entire subject on the board, way before the next kid was close to finishing, he then sat down in his own chair and copied what he had just written on the board again. Most kids are used to Jung writing a long BS on the board, then sitting down and writing all of it again in his notebook, only to overtake their own writing and finish the task way before them. It was mind-boggling when they first learned about it, but now it is a standard staple of school that the weird boy is a freaking monster.

Today, he finished his job a little bit earlier than usual since his entire focus was on his current task. Now that he has finished, his mind eventually return to the girl. He hated but he just couldn't help it. The class is still relatively quiet as they finish their boring task. Then one or two of them realized Jung was finished with his own writing. Hell, he remembered the last 2 pages in the book by heart so well that he didnt even bother to look them up anymore in the chalkboard. He was the first one to finish again, despite being the last one to start writing. Many just shook their heads, while others stared at him in annoyed disbelief. These have been happening for years in school, and yet many of the kids still couldn’t believe that Jung could write so fast.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Then a certain big boy would sheepishly push his own notebook at Jung Hee, and Sang-ki, the wheelchair boy, would give the baby kaiju a dirty look. Jung quietly accepts the notebook and starts writing from where Kwang last wrote, and to everyone’s astonishment who saw it for the first time, Jung can actually change his basic neat penmanship to Kwang’s chicken scratches, and no one can see the difference. Normally, Jung will give his best friend a hard time and make a fuss about it but eventually they both know he will write it any way. Now, he welcomes the distraction and appreciates the extra work.

This time, Jung will finish in the middle of the pact after writing a massive amount of lecture notes for the third time that day.

Finally, the class is over, and Jung walked out of the school without talking to anyone. Sang-ki tried to call out to him, but Kwang placed his meaty hand on his friend's shoulder and shook his head. “Give him some space,” the boy said to his friend.

“But…”

“Don’t worry, he’ll come back to us when he is ready.”

They both watched as Jung Hee left the school grounds and went directly to Hyun Ki's junkshop in town. Here he cleans up the shop from the accumulated dirt since the old man barely bothered to clean up anymore and then starts what project he is doing at the time. He will occasionally stand up and deal with the kids who deliver junk to him and haggle with them for a fair price. If the old man is absent, Jung is tempted to just give them their asking price, but Jung has learned that kids will value their money even more if they fight for every coin they can pry away from his grasp. When they are gone, Jung will continue fixing electrical items in the back of the office and store them in the next room for possible reselling next week. Soon, his time was up, and then he cleaned up again before leaving the junk shop.

*****

Jung Hee came down the hill and out of the forest fast, heading for home. The crooning frogs and songs of the crickets sound mellow and familiar to his ears. He barely even noticed when he slowed down and stopped on his way. On a sudden impulse, he changed direction, pulled into a nearby cliff edge, and sat down alone.

To an outsider, the forest beyond is dark and haunting, but Jung is not looking at the forest but at the start above. Over the highest mountains, a plane silently passed the night sky. A few stars came through the high clouds, and the breeze was cold and energized his lungs.

Eun Mei has chosen someone to love, and it is someone else.

It is done. You are simply not good enough.

Now find your happiness elsewhere.

He tried to get up, but he fell back to his backside. He just couldn’t. Not yet. Instead, he lowered his head and silently wept.

Sure, let me just get right to it, he said to himself. I’ll do what’s right, but till then, let me just rest a little bit.

A flock of wings landed on a nearby tree, and Bongcha watched his human with big, intelligent eyes.

Jung felt her land, but he ignored her. For the next 30 minutes, Jung Hee didn’t do anything but stare at the horizon. He heard wings flop, then suddenly, the weight of a giant bird drooped on top of his head. She didn’t land with her mighty claws holding on to his head. She simply flopped with her bottom belly on Jung’s hair.

Jung Hee sighed. Despite how he feels, a small smile edges the side of his mouth. “What do you want, Bongcha?" he said in a tired and yet amused voice.

Home, she projected towards him. The human matriarch is getting worried.

What she didn’t say is that she too is getting worried. Her human servant was never this sluggish before. Is he sick?

Jung sighed. With an effort, Jung stood up and slowly walked back home.

Enough, Kim Jung Hee, he told himself.

Enough.

And Jung started walking back home, one step at a time.