Chapter: 41
Chapter 41 – Room 104, The Cursed Room – ‘Entrance Exam Elite Hotel High School’ (1)
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)]
Date: Day 16
Current Location: Floor 1, Room 104 (Cursed Room – Entrance Exam Elite Hotel High School)
Sage’s Advice: 3
There have been many attempts to define what music is in terms of the specific context of this sentence, and if we examine it—
The horror!
(a) The equation f(x) – x = 0 has two different real roots.
(b) The equation f(x) = 0 also has two different real roots.
If f(0) is—
Please stop!
(a) received a monopoly on specific products in exchange for supplying the royal family and government with goods. According to the regulations published in the mid-19th century—
I’ve already taken the college entrance exam, you bastards!!
*
Ah. What the hell is going on here?
Why am I stuck in this ridiculously named ‘Hotel High School’ studying for yet another entrance exam when I’ve already sat for the one?!
Room 104 was truly a nightmarish hell from the get-go.
It seemed we were divided into student and teacher teams based on our ages. The teachers prepared for the entrance exams while the students were tasked with studying.
Me, Elena, Yu Songee, Kim Ahri, Park Seungyub -> Students
Kim Mooksung, Cha Jinchul, Lee Eunsol -> Teachers
That was our situation. But the craziest part was the circumstance we found ourselves in as the Student Team.
This damn hotel completely ignored our actual ages and adjusted our bodies to be that of high school seniors. In other words… they forcibly made even Seungyub, who’s still in 2nd grade of middle school, into a high school senior!
Thanks to that, Seungyub, who looked even further away from a life of studying, was sitting across from me, a grown body but with vacant eyes.
What exactly is the ‘danger element’ in this room? Right off the bat, this cursed entrance exam studying is already repulsive, but even if studying is hard, it won’t physically kill us. So, the danger must be something else.
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Have you discovered anything?
Han Kain (Student): The lessons are hard.
Park Seungyub (Student): Yup.
Yu Songee (Student): T.T
Elena (Student): Q.Q
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): We have tests every day. I’m preparing language tests.
Cha Jinchul (Teacher): Seems like there’s a sports festival in the sandpit or something.
Han Kain (Student): Damn, animals.
Kim Mooksung (Teacher): A strange point. If you lack academic ability, you’ll be punished at Old Main Building.
Han Kain (Student): Old Main Building?
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): It’s the abandoned building behind this one.
Yu Songee (Student): Why?
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): No idea. No one explains. Everyone just accepts it.
Old Main Building.
It’s definitely strange. It’s common to be reprimanded for low test scores, but to send someone to a different building for punishment? I’ve never heard of such a tedious school rule.
And to top it off, daily quizzes? What an impressive school! Truly an entrance exam elite!
*
As we completely ignored the lesson and focused our minds on our inner conversations, a sudden roar erupted.
BAM!
A piece of chalk sliced through the air.
“Ugh! S-sir, what the—”
“Park Seungyub! Are you not paying attention in class!? What are you thinking? Do you think I haven’t seen students like you before? Instead of studying during class, you waste your life imagining nonsense in your head. Get out here right now!”
The one most unable to control his expression, Seungyub, was summoned before the class. What should we do now?
More importantly, what on earth was the teacher going to do? Were they going to send him straight to that Old Main Building?
“N-no, I was paying attention! You must have seen it wrong!”
“What? You dare to say that to me! Then how about you answer this question? We’ve been discussing King Yeongjo for a while, so if you were focused, you should know when his reign began!”
Huh? What? This isn’t some historic event; why are you asking when a king ruled? That’s stupid!
“1724!” Seungyub blurted out.
…
The teacher suddenly quieted down in the middle of his tirade.
… Did he get it right?
With a voice less filled with fire, the teacher asked another question.
“When was Crown Prince Sado executed?”
“1762.”
…
The teacher fell silent again.
Did he get that one right too? How could this be? When did he memorize the entire national history?
“Hmm. So you were listening after all. I must have mistaken you. But, you should really hold your book up and have your eyes wide open! One glance around with that dazed expression is bound to make me misunderstand! Now! Everyone, focus on the lesson!”
Yu Songee (Student): What just happened?
Han Kain (Student): Are you a genius or something?
Elena (Student): Is it common for Korean students to memorize all these dates?
Han Kain (Student): No ordinary person would, unless they’re trying to top the nation!
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): Less chit-chat. What’s going on?
Yu Songee (Student): Seungyub just got a history question right.
In the midst of the excited chatter, Seungyub, suddenly viewed as a genius, said nothing.
Kim Ahri (Student): Looks like he used a blessing.
Park Seungyub (Student): Yup…
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): What do you mean by that?
Park Seungyub (Student): When the teacher asked the question, a prompt popped up saying [100%] and asked if I wanted to use the Blessing of Fortune. I thought, “Sure!” Then, I shouted out any number, and it turned out to be correct.
Kim Mooksung (Teacher): You wasted a long-cooldown blessing on that? What were you thinking?
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): No, this is important.
Noona was right. This wasn’t just Seungyub squandering his blessing.
Before that, he must have seen a message that said, “Would you like to use the Blessing of Fortune?” There’s no way a prompt like that would just appear out of nowhere.
It only popped up because we were in a crisis!
What if he’d gotten the questions wrong? He probably would have faced punishment at the Old Main Building.
One thing was confirmed: heading to the Old Main Building was indeed a risk factor.
*
After that, we all pretended to read our books, and the torturous lesson period eventually passed.
During lunchtime, the whole student team gathered together.
“Hyung! Noona! What do we do? I looked at the book, but I didn’t understand a single word!”
“Seungyub, hearing you call me noona with that bulky frame feels odd… But what should we actually do? Do you have any ideas, Kain-oppa?” Songee asked.
“Well, based on the fact that a prompt popped up immediately after the question, it seems that going to the Old Main Building itself is a danger factor,” I replied, while Ahri continued.
“So, for now, we all need to study hard!”
“Hmm, sounds like you’re fairly confident, Ahri.”
“Oh no! I’m not confident; I’m just stating the situation.”
Hmm? Just then, it felt like a spark ignited between Songee and Ahri. Is that just my imagination?
Elena finally spoke up.
“The issue is mainly with the ‘tests’ that are supposed to happen after class. To be honest, I don’t think I can get through them. I barely understand any of the subjects. Korean language and history—sure, that’s understandable since I’m not Korean, but math and English? They seem utterly impossible! Is this how it normally is in Korean schools?”
“No. Um, I think I’m the only one here who has actually had entrance exam experience. Here, the lesson levels are above specialized high schools; I’d bet even the top-tier students in the nation would find it challenging to keep up. The difficulty of upcoming tests might be impossible to handle.”
Everyone fell silent.
Even though no one had bothered to ask about scores after entering the Hotel, just based on feelings, I doubt Songee or Seungyub excelled at studying, and Elena is a foreigner.
What on earth are we supposed to do?
At this point, it looks like as soon as the tests start, the student team will be wiped out, leaving only me standing.
Seungyub spoke first.
“How about we all escape together? Just like how I ran away from that weird family.”
“Well, the ‘weird family’ had houses connected to the outside, but this is a closed boarding school. The security is tight at the gates, so escaping might be difficult,” I argued.
“Then, since I’m bigger now, how about we beat up the teachers and—”
“Wait, wait. Can you just keep quiet for a moment? Didn’t you learn anything from the farm? The teachers here aren’t some ‘abnormal phenomenon.’ They’re just teachers at a prestigious prep school.”
Ahri’s comment made Seungyub lower his head in defeat, shrinking away. Even being bigger, he still couldn’t muster the courage in front of Ahri.
Of course, now is not the time to worry about that.
And I understood Seungyub’s point.
At this rate, we’ll take these unbelievably difficult exams and face mass failures, getting sent to punishments in that dangerous Old Main Building!
In the silent ambiance, Ahri broke the tension.
“I think we don’t need to go through the front door.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s cheat.”
Everyone went silent again.
“What? Are you seriously saying that we planned on studying for entrance exams in a hotel?”
“No, that’s not it. But how are we going to cheat?”
“What do you mean, how? We have a conversation tab in our heads, so what’s the big deal? The teacher team is in charge of making up the test questions, right? They can just upload the answers.”
Ah! It seemed I thought I had actually become a real high school senior just because I was wearing a uniform and in a classroom.
Ahri was right.
Why on earth do we have to study in a place like this?
Let’s just cheat!
As the realization washed over us, Ahri quickly put forth her proposal.
Kim Ahri (Student): Teachers, attention.
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): ?
Kim Ahri (Student): Old Main Building has been deemed dangerous. We need to pass the tests. Please upload the answers to your questions.
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): OK, but I can’t upload everything.
Han Kain (Student): What do you mean?
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): I’m handling language, Cha has PE, and Kim has Korean history. So, we only know the answers for language and Korean history.
Kim Ahri (Student): Just please upload those at least.
Lee Eunsol (Teacher): OK.
With these not-so-good teachers actively cooperating in cheating, we managed to relieve the situation somewhat.
There probably won’t be a written exam for Physical Education, and we’ll have the answers for Language and Korean History at hand.
However, serious problems still loomed over us.
What are we going to do about Math, English, and the other subjects?
As I pondered this deeply, I realized Ahri was staring intently at me.
“What’s up? Do you want to say something?”
“I think it’s all up to you now, oppa.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re the only one with entrance exam experience among us. You’re the prospective college student who’s been accepted to K University. We’re counting on you!”
Everyone looked at me with wide eyes full of hope and dreams.
I ended up pulling my hair in despair.
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