The next day...

"What are you looking at?" Kang Jin-Ho stepped inside his classroom and asked Jeong In-Gyu, who was staring intently at his phone.

Jeong In-Gyu replied proudly, "Information on cram schools for students repeating a year."

"..."

"After I was done with the exams yesterday, something felt just a bit, you know, not satisfying? It's like... If I had studied a little more, the exams might have worked out fine. So, like... I walked away with this feeling of something being not quite right, know what I mean? If I study for one more year, I think I will get a desirable result for myself. Wasting a year in my prime seems, well, like a waste, but if my future can be improved by that sacrifice... It's a totally reasonable challenge!" Jeong In-Gyu said some inspirational words.

Too bad, Kang Jin-Ho's evaluation was as cold-hearted as usual. "If only you felt this way two months ago."

"...It's better late than never, right?"

"I wonder if that 'studying a little' will help you later down the line, though."

"..."

Kang Jin-Ho spoke in an assured tone, "Even if you do repeat a year, time will fly away in a blink while you frequent PC Rooms and pool halls."

Jeong In-Gyu suspiciously stared at his friend. "Jin-Ho, you... you sound like you have experience in this sort of thing?"

"I just heard it in passing from someone."

"Who?"

"Some other dude. He was always rushing to meet deadlines."

"Eh?"

Kang Jin-Ho stared into the distance as he replied, "He repeated his senior year while having the same sentiment as you. But the result of all his troubles was his entrance exam scores actually getting worse."

"...Wow, what a loser."

'But, that's you in the future, In-Gyu.'

Kang Jin-Ho thought while abstaining from saying it out loud.

He still remembered in detail what happened to Jeong In-Gyu after he chose to repeat his senior year. During his first life, Kang Jin-Ho resented his so-called...