The Genius Grandson Of The Cash King Becomes A Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 11

#011

“Hoo… Is this even possible?”

Choi Dong-soo sighed deeply in the silent faculty room.

“Absolutely not, that’s absurd.”

He shook his head, looking at Yoon Jeong-hoon’s test scores on his desk.

Yoon Jeong-hoon’s grades were almost at the bottom during the first-year final exams, except for the athletes.

They improved quite a bit during the second-year first semester midterms.

And even more during the first-year final exams.

Anyone can quickly improve to the mid-ranks.

But when it comes to grades, it becomes increasingly difficult to climb to the top.

However, his report card defied Choi Dong-soo’s experience and common sense.

Fifth in the entire school, second in his class.

An unbelievable result.

There must be some kind of cheating involved.

He had been teaching for over 20 years.

He had met various kids over the years.

There were a few times when a kid who used to slack off came to the front.

But they never made it to the top.

The top tier is a place you can’t easily return to once you fall from it.

Even with wealthy parents hiring top-tier tutors, it’s not easy.

But for a lowly orphan to achieve this is impossible.

Choi Dong-soo believed that people should always stay in their place.

But Yoon Jeong-hoon was trying to step out of his place.

And using dishonest methods to do so.

At first, he intended to find out how he cheated.

But soon, he changed his mind.

He decided to teach him a lesson about knowing his place.

He decided to teach him a lesson for trying to step out of his place by cheating.

Choi Dong-soo slowly took off the watch on his wrist.

The luxury watch gleamed as it was placed on the desk.

He smiled as he looked at the watch he bought with the ‘encouragement money’ [bribes or gifts given by parents to teachers] he received from parents over the past three years.

A beautiful world is maintained when everyone does their best in their respective places.

Therefore, Yoon Jeong-hoon also had to stay in his place.

He had to teach him how dangerous it is to try to step out of that place.

“Mr. Choi, aren’t you going home?”

“I have night duty today.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, Jeong-hoon’s test scores, he might even get a perfect score. He never dozed off during my class. He listened attentively.”

“Ah, even if Jeong-hoon listens attentively, getting a perfect score is a bit… And I don’t understand how he’s in the top tier in all the other subjects.”

“Well, there are geniuses sometimes, right? Geniuses with a memory that never forgets once they see something. Jeong-hoon could be one of those geniuses, don’t you think?”

The ethics teacher had a plausible expression.

“Pfft, a genius…”

Choi Dong-soo scoffed at the absurd words of the ethics teacher.

Orphan and genius are words that absolutely don’t go together.

“We’ll find out later if we ask him.”

The ethics teacher, seeing Choi’s cold sneer, was taken aback by his chilling aura.

“Ah, yes. Don’t… push him too hard. It might make an already wounded child even worse.”

“Ahem. He’s my student, so I’ll take care of it. Teacher. You can go home first.”

Choi Dong-soo gave an unpleasant look to the ethics teacher who was interfering in his student’s affairs.

“Ah, yes, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The ethics teacher, having no reason to interfere with another teacher’s student, said his goodbyes and left the faculty room.

***

The homeroom teacher’s stiff expression bothered Jeong-hoon.

Jeong-hoon was anxious because he couldn’t figure out the reason.

But he hadn’t done anything to be scolded for since he was diligently attending school.

The only thing bothering him was that he had done too well on this exam.

Well, he thought he would be praised for it, even though they might be a little surprised.

A student who doesn’t study well should be praised for improving their grades.

That was the common sense Jeong-hoon knew.

The homeroom teacher, who he thought would go to the faculty room, ushered Jeong-hoon into the counseling room across from the faculty room.

He didn’t say anything.

Only silence filled the space between them.

Choi Dong-soo, with a stiff face, opened his mouth.

“Get on the ground.”

“Pardon?”

Jeong-hoon asked, not understanding the homeroom teacher’s words.

“Teacher, why are you suddenly doing this?”

“Get on the ground, you bastard!”

But instead of an explanation, he scolded Jeong-hoon with an even louder voice.

He didn’t feel like getting on the ground again at his age.

But there was no point in resisting the teacher here.

Jeong-hoon bit his lip tightly and lowered his hands to the cold floor.

-Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack.

Without any explanation, the homeroom teacher hit his butt five times with a pointer.

Jeong-hoon’s butt stung, but he didn’t make a single groan.

He didn’t show any signs of pain at all.

He just couldn’t accept this treatment anymore.

The beating without explanation was clearly unfair treatment.

And he thought that five hits were enough respect for the teacher.

Yoon Jeong-hoon got up and slowly dusted off the dirt on his hands.

He glared fiercely at the homeroom teacher in front of him.

Choi Dong-soo, startled by Jeong-hoon’s cold gaze, shouted loudly again.

“What are you doing? Don’t you get on the ground? Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t tell you to get up.”

Jeong-hoon also glared back at Choi Dong-soo without backing down.

“You need to… give me an explanation. Teacher.”

Jeong-hoon said in a dry voice.

He could be hit if he did something wrong.

But he needed at least a minimal explanation.

It was clear that he was being treated like this because he was an orphan.

No one would kick a dog passing by unless they were a psychopath.

He couldn’t understand the homeroom teacher who was suddenly angry, and a fire blazed in his chest.

But he had to control his anger.

There was no point in arguing back.

Not yet!

“This punk.”

Choi Dong-soo raised his hand holding the pointer.

Jeong-hoon looked at the homeroom teacher’s eyes without any sign of surprise.

“Please explain. What is the reason for this?”

“What? This impudent punk.”

Choi Dong-soo’s pointer hit Jeong-hoon’s arm hard.

Even though he clearly hit him with all his might, Jeong-hoon didn’t show any signs of pain.

Choi Dong-soo, seeing his fierce gaze, was startled and took a few steps back without realizing it.

Wishing to hide that appearance, Choi Dong-soo raised the pointer high once again.

This time, Jeong-hoon didn’t stay still.

There was no point in just taking the hits; nothing would change anymore.

He had shown his respect by taking one hit.

The unfair treatments he had suffered in his past life flashed before his eyes.

At that time, he thought that if he just endured and persevered, everything would change.

He was a foolish slave.

Unnecessary patience is just a slave mentality.

Jeong-hoon, having changed his mind, strongly grabbed the wrist of the homeroom teacher who was trying to hit him.

“Stop it.”

“Argh!”

Overwhelmed by Jeong-hoon’s cold gaze and strong grip, Choi Dong-soo had no choice but to drop the pointer on the floor.

“You’re going to hit your teacher now because of your cheating?”

Disappointment briefly flashed across Jeong-hoon’s face upon hearing his words.

‘So that was it? An orphan’s effort, no, an orphan can never be a genius?’

The prejudices he had experienced countless times in his previous life.

In his previous life, he had backed down here.

And he thoroughly hid his abilities.

But not anymore.

What they want is for him to live like a slave, like a rat, cowering in a corner.

He decided to fully reveal himself and receive attention.

He had only lived the life of a slave like a fool in his past life.

Fortunately, he was given another chance.

Jeong-hoon, determined not to regret it anymore.

“This is the ability I have achieved. It’s not cheating. Absolutely not.”

“Pfft, you lowly orphan is also good at lying.”

Choi Dong-soo gave a bitter smile.

Jeong-hoon felt all the strength drain from his body.

At that moment, he realized that he was not someone who could be persuaded with words.

His inner thoughts, which pretended to be fair in everything, were filled with thorough prejudice and arrogance.

“So, is that why you hit me so easily because I’m an orphan?”

“A student should be punished if they do something wrong.”

“What did I do wrong? Or do you even have any evidence?”

“……”

“You should have at least shown me the evidence.”

Choi Dong-soo couldn’t answer.

Jeong-hoon smiled in vain as he looked at him not answering.

“Maybe the mistake was that I, an orphan, tried hard. Or maybe the mistake is that I, an orphan, am a genius.”

Jeong-hoon smiled bitterly.

“What? An orphan like you is a genius? Hah. Prove it with your skills. In a place where you can’t steal like a rat. Then I’ll believe you.”

“I’ve already proven my skills with the exam. What more do I need to prove?”

“It’s clear that you cheated.”

Choi Dong-soo wanted to prove that he was right.

“I’ll believe you if you pass the retest.”

“I don’t need your belief.”

Jeong-hoon retorted coldly.

The homeroom teacher, who wanted to prove Jeong-hoon’s cheating no matter what, threw out bait.

“If you pass the retest, I’ll make sure you receive a scholarship from the foundation. My influence as the chairman’s son is enough to make that happen.”

In an instant, the face of his tiger-like father flashed through Choi Dong-soo’s mind.

His expression slightly hardened at the thought of his father’s nagging and beatings if he didn’t behave himself at school.

But he soon brushed away his worries.

There was no way Jeong-hoon would pass the retest, in his mind.

‘What? That bastard is the chairman’s son?’

Jeong-hoon finally understood the homeroom teacher’s arrogant and rude attitude.

“A scholarship, you say?”

Jeong-hoon muttered to himself.

It was a sweet temptation.

But it was obvious that he would prepare all sorts of underhanded tactics under the guise of the retest.

Nevertheless, the situation was desperate enough to make him hesitate.

He was short on money to buy even workbooks right now.

And if he worked part-time, he would have even less time.

Sometimes Hyung Cheol-joong gave him workbooks, but it was a little lacking.

“You get 500,000 won a month, and you seem to be short on money to buy workbooks…”

Dong-soo scratched Jeong-hoon’s pride with a bitter smile.

“Well, if you take the retest, your skills will be exposed, so will you be okay?”

“Okay. I’ll take the retest.”

The homeroom teacher smiled slyly as he saw Jeong-hoon taking the bait.

“You must keep your promise. You must provide the academic scholarship until graduation. And I have a condition too.”

“What?”

“You must formally apologize in front of all the teachers.”

It was a condition that the prideful teacher Choi Dong-soo could never accept.

Apologizing in front of others was an absurd request.

An apology from himself, the chairman’s son, in front of his subordinates.

The thought alone brought a wave of shame.

But Jeong-hoon would never be able to pass the retest.

He was confident that he would do whatever it took to prevent him from passing.

“O-okay. But if you get more than two questions wrong like this time, you fail. And if you fail, all your midterm scores will be treated as 0 due to cheating, right?”

“Understood.”

Jeong-hoon said only those words and left the counseling room.

Jeong-hoon clenched his fist tightly and slowly walked down the dark hallway.

‘Yes!’

He had seized the opportunity to bring down teacher Choi Dong-soo with the retest.

At first, he had no intention of accepting the retest that was suggested.

He didn’t necessarily need to receive the scholarship either.

He just needed to try a little harder.

But he thought of the foul play that Choi Dong-soo would commit in the future, and the dirty crimes that were too disgusting to even mention.

He was definitely not someone who belonged in the school.

Jeong-hoon didn’t have the power to drive him out yet.

But he had to undermine his authority as a teacher among the teachers.

Jeong-hoon vowed as he walked down the hallway returning to the classroom.

‘It will never go your way.’

***

He opened the back door and entered the classroom.

The students glanced at Jeong-hoon with curious eyes and then focused again on the workbooks on their desks.

There was only a desolate silence and the sound of flipping pages in the classroom.

“Hey, are you okay? Why did the teacher call you?”

Eun-soo asked with an anxious face.

The homeroom teacher’s uneasy voice was quite bothersome.

“Because of the exam, he praised me for getting such good grades.”

“What? Don’t lie. There’s no way that bastard would do that.”

Eun-soo had an expression of disbelief.

She seemed to know something about the homeroom teacher.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how much does that bastard despise us, calling us lowly orphans all the time? But he praised you?”

Jeong-hoon, unable to lie to Eun-soo any longer, confessed that he had to take a retest.

Eun-soo’s face turned pale.

“Jeong-hoon, did you ask to take it?”

“No, the homeroom teacher… told me to take it.”

Eun-soo, who had closed her book and looked at Jeong-hoon, said with a stiff expression.

“No, this is a big problem.”

“Why? I can do well, and if I pass the retest, they’ll give me a scholarship.”

“That’s not the problem. Our homeroom teacher…”

Eun-soo bit her lip and couldn’t continue speaking.