In the mid-August heat, the late summer wind agitated the cicadas chirping under the leaves of the trees. At this time of year, when the summer heat is still in full swing, students at Suppalo High School will start a new semester. Students will be divided between liberal arts and science majors.
The juniors were lucky enough to start a day early.
"School is so stingy, they can't spare a day."
"Shit! Homework isn't due today, is it?"
"You didn't finish them?"
"Nonsense! I bet you didn't finish them either?"
"Of course."
"You copied Akk's, right?"
"Hey, the top student is in our class; gotta take advantage of that."
"Son of a b*tch! You never think of me when you're in luck, you just wait.."
The front door of the classroom opened and the wind blew through the hallway, blowing the rest of the words away.
A teenage boy in a white shirt, a backpack slung over his shoulder and headphone cords dangling under his ears, walked through the classroom door.
A student squatting on a chair brightened and rushed at him as he shouted, "Brother Akk, God Akk, Master Akk! Help me! Let me copy your homework!"
Long legs took a step, and the white-shirted teenager looked up as he removed his headphones. Messy black hair revealed a pair of slightly curved eyes in the corner, "Hmm? I didn't hear you."
Akk's eyes gazed over the other party's flattering expression and looked away, revealing a soft smile, "You mean the summer homework? Someone already borrowed it and hasn't returned it yet."
Khanlong's brightly flattering smile stiffened, and with annoyance, he turned his head to shout airily to the class, "Whoever borrowed Brother Akk's homework, hurry up and return it to him! Don't you have any sense of time now that classes have started?"
The class was silent for two seconds before someone raised his arm, "Here, I have it."
Khanlong impatiently shook his head, "Hurry up and hand it over."
"I haven't ..."
"Forcing my hand, are you?"
"...."
Khanlong is a notorious bully from Suppalo High School, and except for the teachers, no one would dare to confront him. The person who opened his mouth in anger did not dare to refuse him and could only hand Akk's homework to him in disgust.
Khanlong grabbed it in front of Akk, "Brother Akk, let me copy the homework first, ehmm?"
Without waiting for Akk's reply, Khanlong bared his teeth and turned his head to leave.
Akk smiled softly and also returned to his seat.
He had just put down his backpack when the girl in the front turned around, her voice slightly suppressed, " Khanlong, is too much. Saying that others have no sense of time and yet he took away your homework. He must not have finished a single page of his homework. Who knows when he will return them to you?"
"It's fine." Akk put his backpack in the hollow of the table, "I'm not in a hurry."
"You are too kind, that's why Khanlong dares to be like this." The girl looked a little helpless, "By the way, have you seen the class distribution chart yet?"
Akk, "Not yet."
"Really? I thought the Class President would be able to see it first. Then we'll have to wait for them to post it."
"Hmm." Akk agreed. Even when he didn't say anything in particular, the way he looked at people was still calm and kind.
The girl in the front seat couldn't help but blush and mutter, "It's a little hot today", before turning around.
The class was in an uproar and only quietened when the teacher came in and stepped up to the podium before saying a few routine words, and picked up the form on the table in front of the students filled with either expectant or uneasy looks.
"The spots in arts and science classes have been set according to the form you all turned in last semester. Today's situation is a little special, ah, we are trying the 'class change' system for the first time this term."
The classroom was silent for a few seconds before gradually becoming rowdier and rowdier.
Khanlong, who was copying assignments as fast as he could during his busy schedule, didn't forget to look up and ask with a mischievous smile, "Teacher, what do you mean by the 'class change' system?"
"To put it simply, it means that there are two classes for a single student. The first is the one we have now, called the Administrative Class, which deals with administrative matters. The second is called the Teaching Class, which they have divided according to arts and sciences." The professor finished his explanation and looked around the classroom, asking, "Understand?"
"Un- der- stood-"
The long, drawn-out tones of the class could not hide the excitement of the students, and the quieter ones were already fidgeting in their seats.
"Good, I will announce the classroom divisions. Then everyone will go and introduce themselves to their new class."
Akk was assigned to Class 10 of the second year. He was sent off by most of the girls who were not in Class 10 and left quietly.
There was a girl and a boy that went with him.
The girl's name was Lily, she wore round-rimmed glasses, and was tall and thin with a small white face. She had an aura of sickness around her and wasn't very talkative.
The boy is Khanlong, who was infamous among the students of Suppalo High School, walked with his chin and eyes facing the ceiling in an arrogant and overbearing manner. The students in the hallway moved sideways when they saw him with Akk in the lead looking like a patrol group.
The trio soon arrived at the door of second-year Class 10. As they entered the lively classroom, most of them were busy looking for familiar faces within the crowd.
Quite a few students turned their heads towards the door after hearing the sudden sound, the first thing they saw being the white-shirted teenager with a bright and friendly smile walking toward them.
"It's Akk, the most handsome guy in the school from senior year Class 3, he came to our class!"
"Really?"
"We're going to be in the same class with him for the next two years? I'm so happy."
"Wait, the one behind him can't be Khan... !"
Seeing Khanlong behind Akk, the classroom that had been buzzing because the most handsome guy in school was in their class, instantly felt a bucket of cold water pouring onto them.
At Suppalo High School, even the students dedicated to their studies knew that Khanlong is a "bully", his presence equated with trouble. When they saw those two enter together, the students in the class did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Khanlong not only didn't mind the awkward stares but was also a little smug. After glancing around the class like a king surveying his territory, he chose a remote spot and prepared to go over there.
Just as he was about to move, he remembered Akk and stopped, turning his head to ask, "Brother Akk, I still remember that you lent this brother your homework, so I'll let you choose a seat first, don't be polite!"
Akk looked up and smiled softly, "I'm fine with anything, you can sit first."
"Fine! I'll go to the last row then, ah, tell me if you need anything."
Akk looked towards the classroom. As his gaze passed, several girls deliberately avoided it, while other bold ones met his gaze with a wide smile.
He paused for two seconds before turning towards the back row.
Akk's height was about 184 cm, which was the average height of boys from the northern side. His slim build made him look thinner than he was, to the point where it wasn't uncommon for him to be stopped on the streets and asked if he was interested in being a model.
With his height, sitting in the front row would inevitably block the view of the people behind him, so he conscientiously made his way to the empty seat at the back, to the second-to-last row against the northern wall of the classroom.
Suppalo High School still had the old-fashioned double tables this year, and the table Akk had chosen was empty. There was also another table behind him with only one person seated.
It should be... a person.
Right?
Akk thought doubtfully as he glanced over twice.
That person should be sleeping on his desk. He didn't know if it was because the light was too harsh or that he was cold, but he put the hood up over his head. Except for the middle of his waist and his abdomen line which were exposed under the desk, his entire upper body was buried under his uniform.
By the first day of the new term, everyone's uniforms had been washed and taken out throughout the summer, coming out clean and smooth.
But this person was different, with a uniform as wrinkled and messy as a piece of crushed pickle... Akk felt the desire to change seats this instant.
But faced with the countless eyes staring at him in the classroom, he restrained himself. He put his backpack on the desk and leaned over to pull the chair out when he suddenly stopped his actions.
Under the desk, the pair of long legs - which probably didn't have enough room to fit them in one place - jutted out front from the back seat and appeared in his peripheral vision.
Long, they were really long legs. Straight and slim, the ordinary pants model disappeared and became those of a male runway model.... but they were also really annoying.
Akk's eyelashes dropped.
He was a bit expressionless for that brief moment, with a cold indifference fizzing up, but it was quickly suppressed.
It was so fast that the students who noticed this looked at him again, and thought that they had been mistaken; he was still the same bright and kind handsome guy with the same bright and kind smile.
Infected by this smile, the girl who had long hesitated boldly peeked out from across the aisleway, "You're Akk from Class 3, right?"
"Yes, hello."
"H- hello.... I've heard about you for a long time. You are very, very smart, always at the top of your course, really amazing... Our teachers often praise you in class." The more the girl said, the more her face heated.
Akk dropped down in his seat, his warm smile unchanging, "Thank you."
"Y-you're welcome..."
"But I'm not always the first."
"Huh?" The girl looked up blankly.
Akk's voice lowered, and his well-arched eyes seemed to narrow unconsciously, "The original Class 10 also had Ayan, he's more amazing than me."
The girl froze, wanting to rebut his statement yet, she couldn't say anything.
Because what Akk had said was the truth.
While Akk's excellence was known within the grade, Ayan from Class 10, was known throughout the entire school. He was absent in almost every exam, but as long as he participated, then first place in the course belonged to no one else, including Akk.
And because of this, most called Akk the number one genius of the grade, but no one had called him the number one of the grade.
Remembering this, the girl paused awkwardly, before she could find the opportunity to speak again, the class teacher entered through the front door.
The one who entered was a male teacher, not very tall, slightly overweight, with glasses on the bridge of his nose and a serious expression on his face. Standing on the podium, he wrote his name on the blackboard and then underlined them with chalk, "My name is Tian, I am your teacher for the Teaching Class."
"Good morning, Teacher Tian!" The students reacted, answering disorderly.
"Hmm." Tian picked up the booklet in his hand, "I just received the class list, so let's get started. The list is sorted according to your science grades in the final exam, so you'll be able to tell where you rank in the class as I read it."
The relaxed atmosphere of the class turned tense.
Tian, however, didn't seem to notice and began calling out, "Akk."
"Present." Akk raised his hand.
Despite knowing he was there, complicated glances were thrown over from all directions of the classroom.
"Yes." Tian nodded, "The top student from last year's final exam is assigned to our class, so everyone should learn more from Akk."
"...."
Akk was very popular among the students in the same class, and as soon as Tian's words fell, the classroom resounded with loud applause in response.
The Teaching Class had about 61 students in total, and with 30 people on one page, Tian quickly moved to the last page.
Even Akk, who was sitting in the last row, could also see the large blank space of the translucent paper, with only a dark line printed at the top.
Akk glanced at it nonchalantly before looking down again.
"Last place, Ayan."
The class was silent.
Two or three seconds later, this silence was abruptly interrupted by discussions.
Akk raised his head in shock that Ayan was also in this Teaching Class?
Amidst the noise, Tian tapped impatiently on the blackboard, " Where's Ayan, is he not here?"
The classroom fell silent and no one answered.
He didn't come.
Akk dropped his gaze.
It was at this moment, from the table behind him, the person with the messy school uniform moved. A few seconds later, a lazy, sleepy voice broke the silence.
"Here."
To be continued......