Kim Jung Hee stared at the trophy he just accepted after winning the All Korean National Math Championship held two days ago.

After being announced as the winner, Jung Hee, along with his math teacher, Mrs. Ulmi, and the regional director for the ministry of education, whom Jung didn’t learn the name of simply because the bastard was too engrossed with his phone at the time, didn’t even bother to introduce himself to the math champion and took a few pictures. He simply shook JUng's hand, gave a fake smile when they were taking the pictures, and then abruptly left when it was done.

And then the staffers promptly grabbed the trophy and used the same one for the picture of the runner-up and the second runner-up. The following day, the same trophy was used for the spelling bee contest.

Jung wasn't even sure he was going to get the trophy again until it was given to the school two days later, and the principal proudly gave it to him after some more pictures were taken for the school gazette, of course.

So that is why Jung Hee found himself standing alone on the school corridor, examining his trophy and seeing if it was an actual gold trophy.

It wasn’t.

The trophy is made of some sort of thin brass coated with the color gold. There goes my plan to melt it down for small gold nuggets, Jung thought with a sigh.

He was so engrossed with his scrutiny that he didn’t notice Kwang’s heavy arm snake up and lock his skull in a head lock. “Hahahaha! Too slow, Mr. Kim! You may have the brains, but I have all the ninja skills! ” Kwang said in triumph.

Jung Hee sighed. He could have slipped away from the hold anytime he wanted, but if he did, then the sad, stupid face of his best friend would look back at him. So he let the big guy do what he wanted, within reason.

When he had enough, Jung reached up and started tickling Kwang’s side belly. It was one of Kwang’s sensitive weak spots, and he immediately let go. He stared back at Jung balefully. “No fair! Use only wrestling moves; don’t use my weaknesses! ”

"I'm suffocating from your armpit already, and I'll do anything I have to to quickly get away from that poison," he added. When Kwang approached him again, he raised his finger. "Stop! If I break this trophy before my mother sees it, you'll be borrowing Sang-ki's wheelchair for a week."

That made the bigger dude hesitate. Jung turned away to inspect his trophy and almost bumped into the people he least wanted to see at the moment.

“Hey Jung Hee! ” Cho Garam said excitedly as he approached Jung. Behind him, a few steps away, is his girlfriend, Eun Mei. Kwang narrowed his eyes as he looked at the pair. Jung simply hid a groan.

Jung forced a smile on his face and accepted the boy’s compliments, then formally greeted Eun Mei, who bowed back stiffly at him. Despite his innate intelligence, Cho Garam has no idea about Jung and Eun Mei’s complicated relationship. For some reason, no one in his class or any other students in school explained to him about Jung’s almost legendary pursuit of Eun Mei’s love, only for the girl to accept someone else's affection to fall for.

But Jung never blamed the boy for anything. That lack of knowledge also means that he didn’t undermine or badmouth Jung to Eun Mei. If the boy considers him a friend, then he will think of him as one as well.

”Garam,” Jung greeted back and then turned to the girl behind him. “Eun mei, long time no see.”

Eun Mei hesitated and frowned. For some reason, she expected Jung Hee to be his normal boisterous self. But his formal address to her made her hesitate, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. “Hey,” she said without looking at him.

“Maan, we watched the contest, and even when my calculator is out, I still can't follow the questions,” Garam said excitedly. “But you were magnificent. I can literally see your eyes calculate the question and then calmly give your answers. It was awe-inspiring!”

“Well, that’s my best friend! ” Kwang boasted, his chest puffing.

“Yeah, he is really smart! ”

Eun Mei eyed him now. “Yes,” she reluctantly said. “How did you know the answers, any way? ” Some of the questions in the math contest that Jung answered were not even in the text book given to them, and yet Jung obviously understood the questions thrown at him, and he calmly calculated the answers accurately.

“Some of the subjects are in the advanced math sections available in the library. I just happened to read it.”

Kwang stared at him with a mixture of awe and horror. “You spend time in the library to learn... more math?! ”

“I have questions about our math textbook, so I go to the library to get better clarrifying answers. While I’m there, I just happen to notice interesting new procedures and formulas that can help me out, and I studied them as well. It came in handy.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Eun Mei, Garam, and Kwang all stared at him.

“Nerd,” Kwang said. Garam laughed, and even Eun Mei smirked at Jung’s outraged face.

Kwang and Jung started arguing again, and Garam borrowed the trophy and studied it with Eun Mei. Eventually, Sang-ki rolled towards them in his wheel chair and joined them. There is an animated discussion about the recent math contest and Jung’s performance.

“So, what are you getting as a prize for the contest?" Sang-ki suddenly mentioned. “Besides that trophy, of course.”

“I don’t know." Jung shrugged. “They said they would give me the price next week.”

“Maybe you’ll get some money,” Eun Mei said blandly. They all chuckled.

For most children of Joseon, every government institution in their country is notorious for not handing down monetary prices, whether from an official competition or government-sponsored event. Instead, they give other things with value to the people, like sacks of rice or a set of soaps.

“A sack of rice would be nice,” Sang-ki said, almost to himself. “The ancestors know my family needs some.”

“It’s not going to be a sack of rice,” Jung said. “The authorities would use my dad’s co-op for that. I would know if my father has some extra sacks lying around.”

Kwang shrugs. “Maybe they got it outside of the province and are hiding it.”

Jung laughed. Eun Mei rolled her eyes, and Garam shook his head in mirt. “And where the fuck would they be hiding sacks of rice, you idiot?" Sang-ki said, slapping the bigger boy’s behind. “This town doesn’t have any warehouses except the one in the co-op.”

“I would know if there were extra rice in town,” Jung said simply.

“Maybe they hide it somewhere else with space; I don’t know,” Kwang said lamely.

Garam again shook his head. “Naah, my dad was looking for spaces in town before. The only one with enough space is the clinic’s basement, my father’s place, and the school’s storage facility behind the auditorium.”

“Well, they can’t be hiding it in the clinic. It is already full,” Jung said almost absently.

Eun Mei raised an eyebrow. “And how would you know that? ”

Jung nonchalantly shrugged. “I work there,” he said simply. “And I know for a fact that the basement is already filled up with boxes and boxes of medicine.”

Eun Mei stared at him for a minute longer, no longer amused. She deliberately did not look at her boyfriend. Fortunately, Garam was not listening at the moment and was giggling at some joke Sang-ki made at Kwang’s expense. "Wha- what kind of medicine? ”

“It’s called Elliquis,” Jung said automatically. “It’s for people with heart problems.” Despite his gifts, Jung didn’t notice the sudden surprise and interest that came to Eun Mei’s face.

“If it is not a sack of rice, what else can it be? ” Kwang asked irritably.

“Maybe a new bike? ” Sang-ki suggested.

Everyone turned to Garam, who sadly smiled and shook his head slowly. Jung sighed. “Well, whatever it is, I hope it is something I can use.”

“Like what? ” Kwang asked.

Jung shrugged again. “Sack of seeds, fertilizer, OH! Bird feeds! That would be really handy.”

Kwang stared at Jung with a face like someone just asked him to add 8.563 and 4.8292, then divide it by 5.12. “Maan, you are the weirdest person I know,” he said, then headlocked Jung once more and dragged him towards the canteen. Sang-ki and Garam sort of just followed them.

After a moment, Garam noticed that Eun Mei didn’t follow and had this cute frown on her face when she was thinking hard about something. “Eun Mei, are you coming? ”

She turned to him. “You go ahead; I just remembered something,” she said vaguely. “I’ll catch up with you later.” She turned in the opposite direction and walked away. Garam watched him go, shrugged, and followed Jung and the others.

*******

Eun Mei pushed Garam into the side wall of the deserted school corridor. “Ouch! What the hell?! ," he said in outrage. She disappeared for an hour or so and is now very angry with Garam. About what, the boy has no idea.

The beautiful girl just stared at him coldly. “Tell me what you know,” she said. “Now.”

“What the hell are you talking about? ”

She leaned in. “You let slip that you or your father had canvassed this town and found only 3 places you could store things besides the warehouse controlled by the farmer’s co-op,” she said, then counted 3 fingers in her hand. “And the only place available in the entire town is the school storage facility, the clinic in the middle of town, and your house’s basement.”

Garam stared at her incredulously.

“I know for a fact that there are boxes of medicines in your basement because I saw it. I work for your father, remember? The same one Jung mentioned is also stored in the clinic he works for. That drug is called Elliquis. And now I just sneaked behind the auditorium and went to the school’s storage facility. Guess what? That place is also filled with the same medicine. What the hell is going on?! ”

Understanding reached Garam’s eyes. He gulped. Eun Mei’s eyes never wavered away from him, and he was forced to say something. “What is that got to do with anything? So dad does business with other people. What’s the big deal? ”

Eun Mei smirked at him. “That is the problem with you, dear boyfriend of mine,” she said. “You didn’t do your research. I did a lot of sh*t in this town in order to survive. And I can see an illegal deal a mile away. You are hiding something from me. So spill it! ”

“It is not my secret to spill! ”

“Obviously, this is something big. So it is something your father is dealing with, and somehow, the clinic and probably the school are connected. But as his son, you know something.”

“But this has nothing to do with us. It has nothing to do with you! ”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Eun mei…”

“Shut it! I am working for your father under your recommendations.”

“Which you asked me to! ”

Eun Mei ignored his outburst. “I am working for your father because of you, and now I learned that your father is doing something illegal. I am not going down with your father with this shit! ”

“Screw you! I don’t know anyth-- Aargh!”

Eun Mei stepped forward, grabbed his balls, and squeezed. Garam went pale and stared at Eun Mei with a mixture of fear and incredulity. She leaned over to his left ear and whispered in a cold, hard voice, “Tell me what you know, before I really get angry.”

And so Garam spilled everything he knew. Whenever Eun Mei wanted clarifications, she simply needed to squeeze, and the helpless boy tell her everything else. When she was finished with him, the boy was a mess. Tears and snot came out of his eyes and nose, respectively, and he fell to the ground, shaking with fear.

Eun Mei just stared at him for a moment, then she simply turned and walked away.

“We are so done, you psycho bitch! ” Garam screamed before bawling over.

Her steps halted a bit, but otherwise she didn’t stop.

So another one betrayed me in the end, she thought sadly.

But her resolve returned moments later as she continued walking away. She had already dismissed the boy as unimportant and begun to plan her next actions.