2. Exam (1)
Gang In-su's tutoring content didn’t seem to have changed much. It was the same old words, the same old tune.
Whether it was me stammering because I couldn’t answer a question, or the situation where I’d drag out solving a problem until Gang In-su explained it to me, everything was not just similar but identical.
“Let’s stop here. If you even do half of what we covered today, you’ll get some right. Make sure to review.”
Gang In-su said the same thing, greeted my mom, and left.
*Hmm.*
Just like before, sleepiness washed over me. But if I lay down on the bed again now, Gang In-su would shove his bright face in and greet me once more.
Ah, I hated that. Now, whenever Gang In-su greeted me, it would feel something like this:
Hello? It’s my first time meeting you, but isn’t this your third time? Aren’t you getting sick of this? I must really be warming up to you.
What good would it do to get attached to a man’s face?
I sat at my desk and reviewed what I’d learned.
I felt like I sort of knew, but I didn’t know anything. The bigger problem was that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.
After dabbling in a few problems, I couldn’t hold back and called out to the watch.
‘Hey.’
[Why do you ask?]
‘Let me ask you one thing. If I sleep here again, does Gang In-su come back out?’
The watch thought for a moment and answered.
[That is correct.]
‘Why?’
Tomorrow’s exam was at one o’clock. So even if I slept and woke up, I’d have plenty of time to study and take the exam. Then why did I have to listen to Gang In-su’s lecture again?
[That is because the recycle value for this wish has been set at 1%.]
What was it talking about?
[To explain in detail, if the probability of the wish’s realization falls below 1% during the wish, you are returned to the moment the wish’s effect activated.]
Right, so that’s what it meant.
‘Then is there, like, a limit to how many times it can recycle?’
[There is not.]
What, so it was like eating rice cake lying down?
* * *
‘Damn it, damn it.’
Have you ever tried eating rice cake lying down?
I dare say you haven’t.
Why? Because you’d choke to death. Getting rice cake stuck in your throat, wheezing and coughing a few times before kicking the bucket is no joke.
So no one has eaten rice cake lying down, and the saying about it is wrong too. I guarantee it. Eating rice cake lying down is by no means easy. Damn it.
“You’re really good at this? Then try this problem too.”
Gang In-su smiled brightly and shoved another problem at me. My face crumpled. What kind of problem was this now?
I scribbled the formulas I’d learned here and there with my pen, then asked the watch inwardly.
‘Hey, what percentage?’
[It is 10.7%.]
High. It was the highest value yet. There had been no higher value than this. Not once during the dozens of lectures so far had there been a higher value. I was so happy I could cry buckets.
The first five times, well, it was as expected. Since I knew myself well, I hadn’t had high hopes. I’d always dozed off, Gang In-su had greeted me, and I’d taken the tutoring without much complaint.
Then came the sixth time. Having grown too bored and tedious, I ignored Gang In-su, left the house, and stopped by a PC café. Since I had countless chances, it was a trivial deviation just to get a change of pace.
The moment I turned on the computer at the PC café, Recycle activated, and I saw Gang In-su’s familiar face again.
Around then, I gradually grew anxious. So this wasn’t a joke. A sense of anxiety passed through me—a feeling that I might really be screwed if this went wrong. So I pulled myself together and studied again.
2.1%. 2.9%. 3.4%. 4.2%.
……5.0%.
Around the tenth tutoring session.
Having hit 5%, my mind was shattered into pieces.
‘Ah, I really can’t do this.’
Gang In-su’s face was not just tiresome but nauseating, and looking at the statics textbook made me feel like throwing up.
Laments like, ‘Why did I wish for 100 points?’ repeated countless times.
‘Damn it. This is fucked up!’
And on the eleventh time, I got lazy again.
Every time, I’d make the excuse that I wasn’t feeling well, send Gang In-su back, and browse the internet on my phone or look through YouTube. Then after about an hour or two, Recycle.
Then around the thirtieth time, the stress that had accumulated every time I saw Gang In-su’s face exploded and I hurled curses.
“Hey, you son of a bitch!”
Gang In-su’s flustered face quickly disappeared as Recycle activated. Immediately, Gang In-su—who knew nothing—smiled brightly and greeted me.
“Oh, hi. You’re Hyomin, right?”
Seeing that, all my strength drained away.
And after pulling myself together again and starting to study, I finally approached a two-digit probability on the thirty-ninth try.
10.7%.
I even had a good feeling that if things went well, I might get through the exam safely for the first time.
“Come eat dinner.”
My mother, impressed that I was studying so hard, grilled meat for dinner.
After stuffing myself with greasy meat and even greasier ham at once, my irritation subsided a bit.
After finishing my meal, I sat in my chair and asked the watch.
What did I ask?
Isn’t it obvious? To check what percentage it was.
[It is 10.2%.]
Damn it, why did it drop 0.5% in that time? No, if it drops because I eat, should I just not eat and study? Huh? Not go to the bathroom either? Damn it! Do I have to study while taking a shit too!?
I felt like I finally understood why people on diets desperately cling to every few hundred grams.
Why? Because I was doing the same thing. Because I was hanging my life on every 0.1%!
Then suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was a method I hadn’t thought of until now.
‘Ah, right. That’ll work!’
I continued studying while asking the watch for the probability almost every ten minutes. As the possibility of escaping this damned Recycle with a solid goal came to mind, a miraculous willpower was born.
‘Just a little more! Just a little.’
Muttering that inwardly, I studied almost through the night, and finally raised the probability to hit 12%.
I hadn’t slept, but my mind was crystal clear.
And finally, I was able to arrive at the exam hall at 12:30.
Oh, the lecture hall I’d missed!
I never imagined I’d miss the classroom and school this much.
To think the gloomy lecture hall smell and the even gloomier faces of my friends would feel so welcoming!
“Did you study?”
My closest friend, Jo Seon-hyo, asked with an anxious expression.
To think this brat’s sly face and greasy sheen would feel so appreciated! I felt like giving him a kiss!
While having such silly thoughts, I saw oil flowing down from one of the many pimples on Jo Seon-hyo’s face. ……No, I take back what I just said!
*Well, I definitely studied more than you. I actually have a 12% chance of getting 100 points!*
This guy was just like me, extremely lazy. He had been in middle school and in high school too.
We’d always stick together, skip class, drink in secret, cut school and go to PC cafés. That’s why we’d ended up at the same university in the same department.
Because of this history, there was too much at stake to tell the truth.
“No, not really.”
Ugh, to think I’d end up copying such an annoying tone. Pretending I hadn’t studied much when I’d studied a ton. I thought only nerds said things like that.
“Well, I guess that’s to be expected.”
Jo Seon-hyo nodded as if it was only natural, then shared the old exam papers he had.
“At least look at this. It’s from three years ago, so the professor has changed, but it’ll probably be similar.”
Past exam papers from three years ago. I should memorize them and ask Gang In-su about them later.
As I was solving the problems roughly to memorize them, I was startled.
“Huh?”
“Why? Is there a problem you think might come out?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I spoke as if it was nothing, but something was definitely up.
It was too easy.
The problems were all too easy.
Was statics such an easy subject?
No, come to think of it, aside from a few problems, nothing had really felt difficult lately.
But the probability of me getting 100 on the exam was only 12%. No, is 12% high?
Even working through them roughly, the problems were solved without hesitation. They weren’t very different from the problems I’d solved so far.
Well, come to think of it carefully, I’d studied this damned statics for at least 100 hours.
Of the total eight problems, I solved six just by looking at them, and the remaining two seemed easily solvable if I used a pen.
*What? I’m better than I thought.*
At this rate, can’t I just solve them and get a perfect score?
‘Hey, what’s my percentage?’
The watch answered immediately.
[It is 12.2%.]
*It’s the same.*
As I tilted my head, Jo Seon-hyo saw that and said something, clicking his tongue.
“Hey, at least solve one problem.”
Just what did I look like to that guy?
Soon, a professor in his early forties came in and distributed the exam papers. A professor teaching statics for the first time this year. The exam type and difficulty were unknown.
The moment I received the exam paper, I scanned the problems.
Seven of the total eight problems were ordinary, nothing special. However, the last problem was of a difficulty that made a sigh burst out on its own.
*What is this!*
Usually, exam problems have a set scope and roughly set types. So if you keep solving many kinds of problems, even if you get them wrong, you naturally get a sense of how to solve them.
But for this last problem, that sense didn’t come. Moreover, it was a problem where you had to get the entire solution process right to receive proper points.
*So it was because of this last problem that it’s 12%.*
Grumbling inwardly, I solved the problems.
As expected, there were no hitches. Unless I made a mistake, I felt certain the answers were correct.
And then the last problem.
The diagram in the problem was strange from the start.
Bizarre.
That was my first impression.
Usually, the diagrams for these kinds of problems were squares, triangles, or at best circles.
But…….
*Is this a pentagon with a circle attached?*
The total exam time was 90 minutes. I finished the rest of the problems in just 30 minutes, leaving only the last problem.
‘What percentage?’
The watch answered without delay.
[It is 12.2%.]
As expected. It probably meant the probability of me getting this problem right was 12.2%.
Well, that much.
I worked on the last problem for about 30 minutes and barely wrote down the solution and answer. Then I asked again.
‘What percentage?’
[It is 4.3%.]
As expected, I didn’t know whether the answer was right or wrong, but the solution didn’t seem accurate.
But there was no time to be obsessed with the last problem.
I desperately memorized the problems. Especially the diagram of the last problem—I drew it out by hand and crammed it into my head.
*I’ll memorize it and ask Gang In-su!*
That was my thought.
Whatever the problem, if I memorized it and asked Gang In-su, it would be fine. With a reliable ally on my side, if I just knew the problems in advance, it would truly be an unstoppable force.
Unstoppable force…… that has a nice ring to it!
“10 minutes remaining!”
The teaching assistant proctoring the exam shouted.
Paying no mind, I memorized the problems.
People turned in their exam papers one by one and left the lecture hall.
“3 minutes remaining.”
Now there were few people left in the lecture hall. Among them, most were getting up from their seats or writing their names on the exam papers—I was the only one still solving problems.
Then.
[Recycle will now be initiated.]
The watch kindly announced the Recycle.
This was the first time this had happened. Recycle had always proceeded suddenly without any mention or announcement.
The thought that things were flowing according to plan made even this trivial change pleasing. I waited for Recycle with a happy heart.
It seemed like everything was going dark before my eyes, but soon it brightened.
“Oh, hi. You’re Hyomin, right?”
Gang In-su was smiling brightly.
Seeing him, I smiled too.
I smiled sincerely. To think Gang In-su’s appearance could feel so welcome!
I greeted him loudly and brightly.
“Hello!!”