Chapter 09
The one who strode forward with long legs and stood before the students… was none other than Doctor Nak!
Impossible.
Soram sank instantly into deep despair. The others rubbed their eyes, hoping they had seen wrong. Yet, the teacher before them did not change.
Silent disappointment erupted everywhere.
Doctor Nak… of all six instructors, it had to be him!
It was like catching the unlucky fish among all the fish in the sea. A truly unfortunate draw.
“From today onward, I will be in charge of Class Two. I am Doctor Nak Cheong-yeon.”
His voice, flat and unyielding, seemed to crush the excitement of the freshmen in an instant.
It was so dry that the atmosphere froze immediately.
“Introduce yourselves among yourselves during each class. Come forward when your name is called.”
Seated formally at the teacher’s desk, he called the students one by one while glancing at his list.
Soram, unfortunately, was the first.
“Geum Soram.”
She clutched her dizzy head and struggled to rise.
Cheong-yeon silently handed her an ink set (yeon-gap — a flat box for inkstone, ink, brushes, and water containers).
As she took it with both hands, the unexpectedly heavy weight made her stagger slightly.
She met Cheong-yeon’s frown, which froze her spine despite her minor mistake.
Soram hurriedly secured the ink set and returned to her seat.
One by one, the other students received their own ink sets behind her: Baek Woon-hyuk, Sim Yuran, Im Kyunghwa, Ja Nam-myeong, Seo Hogwang, Yuk Won-jin…
The seven unluckiest freshmen handled their tools as if by silent agreement.
Cheong-yeon, seemingly indifferent to the students avoiding eye contact, explained curtly.
He handed out a small bamboo booklet detailing the subjects to be studied this semester, along with the class and meal schedule.
The courses were evenly balanced between literary and martial studies, which he explained were preparation for future national service. Abruptly, he rose.
“Do not try to stand out by excelling, and do not be conspicuous by failing.”
With this cryptic advice—or warning—he left without a backward glance.
“Damn it… the year’s ruined.”
As soon as Cheong-yeon departed, someone’s pent-up frustration spilled out.
It was Hogwang, the student who had jumped into the pond immediately after Soram during the initiation ceremony.
He had the same birth year as Kyunghwa, and perhaps due to his experience, he was outgoing enough to party with senior students.
Hogwang openly complained about being assigned to Cheong-yeon’s class.
“What good is being the youngest doctor from the Grand General’s family? The most clueless in the academy, that’s who you get.”
As he muttered and examined his ink set, another young man approached.
“Are you Se hyungnim?”
“Who?”
“I am Woon-hyuk.”
Woon-hyuk smiled softly, displaying refined, flawless beauty.
As if returning to his natural place, he radiated calm confidence, like a perfect Confucian student.
Who would have thought the precious only son of the reclusive Baek family would appear like this? Several female students had already fallen for his poised demeanor at first sight.
“I first met you at Seodae’s seventieth birthday banquet,” he said.
“That Baek kid back then?”
The unexpected reunion eased the tension, and they exchanged pleasantries.
Soon, Hogwang led the others to briefly introduce themselves. Each seemed to recall connections between their noble families, exchanging greetings with delight.
As Granny Geum had said, except for Soram, all were children of powerful families.
The noble Baek family’s Woon-hyuk, the Prime Minister’s grandson Nam-myeong, the Empress’s nephew Hogwang, and the Inspector General’s grandson Won-jin.
The only daughter of a founding family, Yuran, and Kyunghwa, from a wealthy merchant family, were equally distinguished.
Raised with every advantage, they quickly bonded over their common backgrounds. Soram, however, remained isolated.
She felt as though she had become like Doctor Nak, an outcast in her own right, and sank further into despondency.
Granny Geum’s strict advice had anticipated exactly this scenario.
As conversations blossomed, the teaching assistant appeared, distributing stacks of textbooks. It was already time to prepare for the next class.
Law Studies (Yulhak) was a subject attended jointly by Classes One and Two.
Before the doctor arrived, students gathered in the classroom by their respective classes.
While arranging her stationery following Yuran and Kyunghwa, Soram sensed a subtle gaze.
“That’s her, right? The one making a scene in the pond.”
Though faint, the words were clear to her ears.
Class One students peeked at Soram, whispering:
“She’s from a remote fishing village.”
“Trying to get attention by crawling into cold water.”
“Everyone else is still recovering from the pox, but she’s fine.”
“Country kids are always tough, aren’t they?”
Gradually, their scorn became blatant, meant to be heard.
“What is your problem?” Yuran suddenly stood, raising her voice.
“What?”
“You’re desperate to pick on someone while we’ll be studying together for years.”
“Who’s the one eavesdropping and blaming the wrong person?”
“Hey!”
Soram and Kyunghwa tried to hold her back, but it was useless.
“Let go! You’re fanning the flames of trouble! Soram, you too! How can you just stay quiet hearing that?”
“Miss Sim is right.”
Woon-hyuk stood beside her, arms crossed.
The usually gentle curve of his mouth was firm now.
“Taking the same exam, studying in the same place, and yet judging someone by their origin? How foolish.”
“Foolish?”
The tense standoff dissolved instantly.
Those offended by Woon-hyuk’s words leapt up angrily.
“Just because you were the representative at the entrance ceremony, you think you’re the best? How dare you say that!”
“You must be feeling guilty if you’re reacting so much.”
“No wonder your class lacks humanity!”
“Shut up!”
This time it was Hogwang.
He reacted to Doctor Nak’s name, though he had never complained about class placement before.
“Our teacher only scolds us.”
Soram could do nothing but widen her eyes at these incomprehensible people.
“You tell me to shut up? My parents have never scolded me!”
A textbook flew at her, sparking close-quarters fighting.
Yuran swatted it away and rushed over, Woon-hyuk went to rescue Hogwang, and even Kyunghwa got pulled into the fray. Soram was struck and fell while trying to intervene.
The classroom quickly descended into chaos. Stationery flew, fists clashed, and attempts to restrain each other tangled together.
Amid the chaos, Woon-hyuk stood out.
He dispatched opponents effortlessly, as if he were a hidden expert. He was no frail noble as rumors suggested.
Had the furious shout from the doctor not arrived, nothing could have stopped them.
“Enough!”
Doctor Nak finally appeared, face red and purple. He threw down his belongings and separated the students.
“Fighting on the first day! Not only did you disturb the pond during initiation… this cannot be tolerated.”
He punished all present severely.
They were trapped in the study all afternoon.
As punishment for the brawl, they had to copy a scripture. No lunch or dinner was allowed.
Threatened with rewriting if they strayed from the study, everyone moved their brushes in silence.
Among them, Soram was particularly slow. Though she memorized the scripture, writing was another matter.
Half-human, half-beast, she was still unfamiliar with both the characters and her own body. No wonder Granny Geum’s lectures had been so piercing: Stop scribbling like a ferret, write properly!
At first, she had thought she was caught misbehaving, heart pounding.
For this reason, Soram ended up last.
As each student left the study with relief, she looked on with envy.
