She was no different from a beast

Chapter 27

—–CROW—– 

Was I being too naive?

“So, can you show me eight fingers?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.  Eight plus eight, so if we add eight more here, what will it be?”

“Are you dumb? I only have ten fingers. I can’t show eight more.”

‘Damn it.’

Just fold them back down and count again, you little… I couldn’t say that.

And I couldn’t say, “Should I make you grow eight more fingers, my friend?”  How frustrating!

If this were Jeongwoo, I could have said, “Really? Then I’ll spank you eight times and eight more times, so count them~” and given him a good paddling.

And Yuri would focus, scared of getting hit too.

It’s truly lamentable that I can’t use teabagging or physical force.

I underestimated these fragile little things.

I swallowed my curses, my blood pressure spiking, my lips trembling…  Hoo, calm down.

I’m the adult here; I have to be patient.

“Do you like pizza?”

“Pizza? Yes! I love it! But my mom doesn’t buy it often…”

“So, how many slices are in a pizza?”

“Eight slices!”

“Right? But your mom bought another pizza! How many slices now?”

“Sixteen slices!”

“Right? So, what’s eight plus eight?”

“Um… I don’t know!”

“Oh, come on.  Sh… No.  Hoo.”

I spoon-fed you the answer! You just said sixteen!!

My instincts and reason are holding hands and tap-dancing in rage!

Ah!  I should have asked the Master, “Is it okay to hit the kids?” before I started tutoring them!!

“Okay. How old are you?”

“Eight years old!”

“So, if you eat tteokguk eight more times, how old will you be?”

“Sixteen years old!”

“Right? So, what’s eight plus eight?”

“?? Eight plus eight is sixteen?”

“Yes! That’s right.  Correct! You’re so smart! You finally got it right~”

“Aha.  What? That was so easy.  Why did you make it so complicated?”

“…”

You little shit. I’m making it complicated because you can’t understand it when I explain it simply.

Is he messing with me on purpose?  Looking at the grinning buzz-cut kid, I couldn’t help but think so.

And surprisingly…Yuna’s suspicion was correct!

This kid, inheriting Suyeon’s looks, despite being only 8 years old, stood out!  Like a precious, carefully cultivated hothouse flower amidst wildflowers weathered by the elements.

Though, in reality, it was Yuna, disguised as a hothouse flower, who had weathered the storms of life.  But the buzz-cut kid wouldn’t know that.

With his fair, baby-like skin, delicate features, deep double eyelids, long eyelashes, and down-turned eyes, he had a gentle and cute appearance.

This little kid, barely past potty training, was flirting with the super wildflower next to him!

Huh? Why flirt with the person you have a crush on? Is he a masochist?

Of course not! When you’re young, you tease the person you like to get their attention, talk to them more, and have more physical contact, don’t you?

If this childish behavior persists into adulthood, you become what people call clueless…or someone who thinks a slight bump means marriage. But let’s move on.

He knew the answer from the pizza example, but he was doing this because he wanted to talk to the pretty girl he’d just met.

Humans, those foolish and pitiful creatures, lose all common sense when they feel romantic attraction.

So, what about an 8-year-old who barely has any common sense to begin with?

If a same-sex friend was trembling silently, he might think, “Are they angry? What’s wrong with them?” But since Yuna was pretending to smile to manage her expression, he just thought, “Hehe. This is nice. Hehe.  She’s with me.”

Only Yuna, who knew she was pretty but didn’t think 8-year-olds could have romantic feelings, was going crazy.

Inwardly, she was pulling out the buzz-cut kid’s hair until he was bald and slamming him onto the desk with a muscle-destroying technique dozens of times, not just a simple body slam.

The trembling and teeth-grinding were expressions of deep frustration, her instincts screaming, “Should I kill him, Master?”

Jeongwoo, quietly solving problems in his workbook, glanced at Yuna.

‘Wow.  She’s holding back.’

The pencil he held in his right hand behind his back snapped with a *crack*.

He shuddered, took Yuri’s hand, who was pale and looking around nervously, moved away from Yuna, and focused on his workbook again.

Today, Jeongwoo learned another life lesson: “Avoid getting caught in the crossfire,” and took another step towards adulthood.

Ugh.  Did I make a mistake agreeing to this?

After an hour of the top student’s personal tutoring, I felt mentally shattered.

My body was fine, but my mind was exhausted. This awful feeling.

I was so frustrated that I almost wondered if Jeongwoo and Yuri were geniuses, and I had to smile through it all.

At the end, while grading their tests, I almost stabbed the buzz-cut kid in the head with the broken pencil.

“Good job, Yuna! The abacus teacher said it was so much easier thanks to you!”

“She said she hopes you’ll come next week too. Will you?”

Yuri smiled brightly as she massaged my shoulders, and Jeongwoo, sitting next to me, asked while we drank juice together.

Ugh.  Are you telling me to endure that frustrating, mind-numbing experience with that slowpoke again next week?!

“Of course, I’ll come!  Wow, look at this!”

Look at this!  Hehe!

30,000 won for just an hour of tutoring?! 30,000 won is enough for ten bowls of jjajangmyeon at the Chinese restaurant in front of the school!

That’s 60 hours at the PC bang where Dad and the ajeossis play games! Jackpot!

“…Wow. You’re acting just like my dad.”

“…My mom does the same when Dad gets his paycheck.”

I rubbed the three crisp 10,000 won bills against my face and grinned.  Jeongwoo grimaced and looked at me with disgust, while Yuri gave a wry smile.

You guys are too young to understand the value of money!

Once a week for a month is 120,000 won! And with 120,000 won, we can do anything!

If you want something, study hard, get good grades, and Mom and Dad will buy you anything!  See?! You think studying is more important than money?!

In this capitalist country, money is more important than studying!

I carefully folded the money I received from the abacus academy teacher and tucked it safely into my panties, then stretched.

Time to go home!

If I’m too late, Mom will be worried and lonely at home by herself.

“It’s okay if I tutor you two on the weekend, right?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Yeah, me neither! Jeongwoo said he’ll tutor me on weekdays.”

“Huh? Jeongwoo?  That kid?”

“…What about me?”

I pointed at Jeongwoo, as if questioning his sincerity.  He replied in a slightly offended, low voice, which I ignored.

Wait, how can Jeongwoo tutor?

Isn’t Yuri a year older than him?

Yuri is in second grade, and Jeongwoo is in first.

And the second-best student, who’s worse than me at studying…is going to tutor Yuri?

“Everything you taught me was harder than what Yuri Noona is learning.”

“Ah.”

That’s true.

I remember teasing Jeongwoo and giving him speed quizzes on four-digit arithmetic, geometry problems, and even a brief introduction to fractions and fraction calculations.

Instead of textbook dictations, I brought a novel from the school library and had him read a chapter, then asked him about the story, his impressions, and to write a summary…

‘…I created a monster.’

I recalled myself, getting annoyed every week when he mastered what I taught him the previous week, so I’d give him even harder material.

I was crazy to do that to an 8-year-old, but Jeongwoo must be crazy too to actually do it.

Why didn’t he just say he couldn’t do it? Why did he force himself to learn it all?

From Jeongwoo’s perspective, there was the perfectly reasonable excuse that it wouldn’t hurt to learn, even if it was annoying…and the biggest reason was the memory of his red, spanked bottom, so he just did it without complaint.

And he also got addicted to the sense of accomplishment he felt with each correct answer, even though it was difficult at first.

“Wait, then you don’t need me anymore?”

“That’s…true, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Honestly…studying with Jeongwoo is sometimes easier.”

“…”

Hey, you two!

Isn’t it too much to ditch the friend who helped you improve your grades like, “We don’t need you anymore.  Thanks for your service. Bye~”?

“No! B-but!! Yuna is smarter, so I think it’s better to learn from her…”

Yuri waved her hands and quickly changed her words when I puffed out my cheeks and glared at her, looking offended.

“Whatever.”

“Jerk.”

Jeongwoo, seemingly no longer afraid, sat comfortably and looked at me with indifference.

What a jerk… I taught him, made him a better person, and now he’s NTR-ing my first friend, Yuri!

This won’t do. I have to put my plan for one-on-one character education with Jeongwoo into action.

“You’re studying with me one-on-one at my house during summer vacation.”

“Wh-what?”

This Noona will turn this dirty NTR kid into a decent human being!

—–CROW—– 

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