Rewinding the time to noon .

The exam results have finally been released .

The students' placements for the recent exam were posted on the announcement board, listing the top 100 students and their total scores for everybody to see .

"Seriously?"

"What the f*ck?"

"And here I thought that the papers this time were really hard . . . "

"Just how aberrant is that guy?"

Among the gathering students, whispers of dissent could be heard . They were all talking about one common topic: the student who placed first in the recent exams, Lee Gun .

Gun stared at his name, which was lined with '#1' and '498' . He had scored two points off from the full marks . The runner-up goes to Noh Ha Jun, who had obtained only a one-point difference to Gun .

There was no sign of happiness nor relief in Gun's eyes . Actually, there was no sign of any emotions at all . He simply viewed it as if it was an everyday thing . Getting the first place again did not excite him in the slightest . He only thought that he could finally get his hands on some money .

"Two points, huh," Gun muttered . That was to be expected, he thought . He hadn't spent as much time as he usually did in his studies lately, so he was unable to score a perfect mark .

After checking the list for a brief moment, he simply left .

"Wow~ first place again? As expected of the top student!" Noh Ha Jun jumped up behind him, hooking his arm on Gun's shoulders .

He acted in such an overly-friendly manner that Gun couldn't help but feel uncomfortable . Without saying a word, he shrugged off Ha Jun's arm . "Congratulations to you too, Noh Ha Jun," Gun politely says .

"'Noh Ha Jun'?" Ha Jun raised an eyebrow, "Hey, if someone were to hear us, they might think we're strangers . Just call me Ha Jun, Gun-ah . "

The corner of Gun's lips turned up . "Ha Jun," he said .

Ha Jun grinned, feeling exuberant that the ever-closed off Gun is finally open to accepting friends .

"Anyways, Gun-ah . Now that the exams are over, do you want to hang out after school?"

Gun restored his pa.s.sive expression . "No, thank you . I have things to do . Sorry . "

Ha Jun wilted in disappointment . "I see . Okay . "

"Maybe next time," Gun added .

"Next time, then . You promised, okay?!" Ha Jun immediately made him swear .

"Yeah," Gun noncommittally replied . "I have to go to the teacher's office right now . See you later, Ha Jun . " Gun turned to their back, "You too, Da Na," he smiled slightly at the quiet girl who was trailing behind them .

"H-huh? Ah, y-yeah . B-bye, Gun-ah," Da Na stuttered . She wasn't expecting Gun to pay attention to her so she was slightly shaken . Choi Da Na had been feeling glum for a while and lost her usual energy level . First, it was Gun's girlfriend, and now, even her grades came to kick her while she was down . She was in the tenth place, which was seven places lower than her usual third place . Although there was a small difference in the grades attained, getting tenth place was a ma.s.sive fall for her . It showed just how compet.i.tive the school really was .

Not noticing the girl's gloominess, Gun said his farewells to the duo and headed to the staff room to get his prize money .

Lee Dong Ho was waiting for him at his desk, one hand waving around a brown envelope lackadaisically .

"Teacher Lee," Gun greeted him politely .

"Ah, Student Lee Gun!" Lee Dong Ho sat up straight, noticing the boy he had been waiting for . "Here, your bonus reward . Congratulations on getting first place again . "

"Thank you," Gun accepted the envelop with both hands, bowing his head politely .

"I hope you will continue to do your best in the future as well . "

"Yes, teacher," Gun replied perfunctorily .

Lee Dong Ho chatted with Gun for a few more minutes, then finally dismissed him .

As he walked down the hallway to his cla.s.sroom, he pocketed the money and took out his phone . With one hand, he expertly typed out a message and sent it to Hw.a.n.g Se Jin . 'Let's meet up today,' the message read .

'Okay . Same time, same place,' the man replied .

Nodding imperceptibly, Gun stored his phone back into his pockets and continued on his way .