Hellish Winter School
by Outsider Ā· 2026-04-29
I didn't just build my body.
The biggest hurdle remained. That was [studying].
No matter how well I studied in the past, it had been over 10 years since I stopped.
However, I am a rare patient who loves to study.
It was also due to the thirst of not being able to study as much as I wanted in the orphanage.
And on Monday morning. As promised, that person came.
The living room table.
A young female teacher with a sharp bob, intellectual horn-rimmed glasses, and an obvious 'career woman' aura looked down at me with dry eyes.
Teacher Yoon. A math instructor who is said to be the best in Daechi-dong.
My stepmother sat on the sofa with her arms crossed, entering surveillance mode.
And a head peeking out over the stair railing.
It was Baek Yu-ri. She clearly came out to watch her older sister be humiliated. She was in a theater audience posture, just without the popcorn.
Teacher: Seol-ah, looking at your records, your attendance in the first year was insufficient... You must lack a lot of basics. High school level is too much. We'll have to review the middle school curriculum again.
The teacher took out a middle school math workbook.
She opened to the 'Linear Equations' page and looked at me.
It was a look of disdain, as if to say, 'You know this much, right? Or do you not even know this?'
I scoffed inwardly.
'Look, teacher. I may look like this, but I was an aspiring physicist back in the day. I put on gloves because of financial difficulties, but my brain cells haven't hardened, you know?'
I twirled my mechanical pencil.
Seol-ah: Teacher.
Teacher: Yes?
Seol-ah: Time is precious, so let's just move on. Math 1 and Math 2, both of them.
The teacher let out a hollow laugh. Her eyes, behind her glasses, sharpened.
My stepmother's brow also furrowed.
Han Ji-soo: Seol-ah, listen to the teacher. Don't be stubborn. The teacher is a professional.
A 'pfft' sound came from upstairs. Baek Yu-ri, I know you're there.
Seol-ah: Would you like to try a test?
I pointed with my chin at the high-difficulty problem book the teacher brought, the one commonly called 'Black Label.'
Seol-ah: Pick anything from there. If I solve it, then we'll proceed with the lessons my way.
The teacher, as if dumbfounded, crossed her arms and opened the problem book.
She pointed her finger at the very last page, a killer question in the style of the Suneung.
Teacher: Alright. Your spirit is good. If you solve even one of these problems, I'll acknowledge it. If you can't solve it, we'll start from the middle school curriculum without any complaints. No backing out, understood?
Seol-ah: Deal.
My stepmother blinked, with a 'Deal?' expression. Ah, that old man's way of speaking again.
I quickly scanned the problem.
It was a complex problem, mixing differentiation and integration. A tricky one that required inferring the shape of a graph.
It was the kind of problem that most students would give up on after trying to set up the equations.
But I could see it. The flow of the numbers. The curve of the graph.
The physics formulas I used to solve while looking at science magazines left behind by customers during my past life as a convenience store part-timer danced in my head.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
The unhesitant sound of my mechanical pencil broke the silence of the living room.
A complex solution process? I don't use such things. I just hit the key points and developed the equations.
Three minutes later.
Here. The answer is number 4. The value of 'a' is 3.: Here you go. The answer is number 4. The value of 'a' is 3.
ā¦ā¦!!: Seol-ah
Teacher
Teacher: Th-this solutionā¦ itās not standardā¦ but itās logically perfect. No, itās even faster, isnāt it? Itās as if it was solved with physical intuitionā¦
The head on the stairs disappeared. Did you run away, Baek Yu-ri?
Teacher: I canāt believe it with just one problem.
The teacher adjusted his glasses and pulled out another book from his bag.
It was a physics problem book. This Yangban, wasn't he only teaching math?
Teacher: This is within the scope of Physics II. Projectile motion. Explain it. Don't solve it, just explain it verbally.
Oh. He changed the test method. He wants to see understanding, not just the answer.
I read the problem. The maximum height and range of an object thrown at an angle.
Seol-ah: Easy. Itās a hook.
Teacher: ā¦What?
Seol-ah: A right hook. The trajectory of a punch from the shoulder to the chin is exactly like this. It goes up at first, pauses briefly at the point where it loses power, and then falls. That brief pause is the highest point, and at that moment, the vertical component of the velocity is zero. So, for this problem, you only need to look at the vertical motion. The horizontal motion is constant velocity anyway.
I drew a punch in the air. A real hook trajectory.
The living room fell silent.
My stepmother froze with a wine glass in hand, and the teacher's mouth was half-open.
Teacher: ā¦Seol-ah. Where did you learn that?
Seol-ah: YouTube. I was bored at the hospital, so I alternated between watching combat sports videos and physics channels, and I guess they got mixed up.
(Of course, that's a lie. My body just knows it. Kim Cheol-su's only legacy, you could say.)
The teacher looked at me for a long time, then suddenly asked in English.
Teacher: Then tell me, in English, why you think you don't need the middle school course.
My stepmother's eyebrows shot up. This was clearly a pressure interview.
I shrugged.
Seol-ah: Because it's a waste of time, ma'am. You saw the fight. I didn't tap out.
Teacher: ...tap out?
Seol-ah: It means surrender. Hitting the mat twice in the ring.
The teacher finally burst out laughing. It was a look I'd never seen before.
Teacher: Your pronunciation... it's not like someone from the East Coast of America, but more like a boxing ring referee in Las Vegas.
Seol-ah: I'll take that as a compliment.
Thanks, Michael hyung. Your English worked in Daechi-dong.
The teacher took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
Then he turned towards my stepmother.
Teacher: Madam... your daughter... seems to be a genius. Her intuition is amazing. It's not that she lacks fundamentals; it's just that her way of solving problems is different from others.
My stepmother's eyes widened, and she approached.
Han Ji-soo: Teacher? Is it true that Seol-ah solved it?
Teacher: I checked. Three times, in fact.
My stepmother looked down at me for a moment.
Her gaze was subtly different from what I'd seen at the hospital.
It wasn't the look of someone seeing a 'sick child,' but rather someone calculating something.
Han Ji-soo: Alright. Do it Seol-ah's way.
Then my stepmother raised her voice towards the stairs.
Han Ji-soo: Baek Yu-ri. I know you're there. Come down.
Thump, thump, thump. Yu-ri reluctantly came down. Her face was flushed.
Yu-ri: Mom, why am I...
Han Ji-soo: You'll also learn from this teacher. At the same time as Seol-ah.
Yu-ri: What?! No! Why would I with her...
Han Ji-soo: If Seol-ah's grades are this good, then you're falling behind now. Understand?
Yu-ri glared at me. It was as if lasers would shoot from her eyes.
'ā¦Hey, I didn't do anything. All I did was solve problems.'
I spun my mechanical pencil with an innocent expression.
The teacher put his glasses back on, looking at me with interest.
Teacher: That's interesting, Seol-ah. Alright. Let's start with the high school curriculum right away, starting today. However, if you can't keep up, there will be no leniency, understood?
Seol-ah.: Yes, I look forward to it, sir.
Teacher: And Yu-ri, too. Starting tomorrow, I'll see both of you together.
Yu-ri groaned, "Ugh."
[System: Tutor 'Mr. Yoon's' favorability has increased.]
[System: Younger sister 'Baek Yu-ri's' hostility hasā¦ increased.]
Plus minus zero. Well, that's life.
That evening. I heard my stepmother reporting to my father after he returned from work.
Han Ji-soo: Honey, Seol-ahā¦ she's incredibly bright. Even that strict teacher was so surprised he couldn't close his mouth.
Baek Do-hoon: ā¦Really?
Han Ji-soo: I just thought she was a sick child. We should really give her proper support.
My father answered briefly, but [butter-grilled lobster] was added to the dinner menu that night.
I tore off a lobster claw and thought,
'I passed. Now I'm recognized as a family member who earns her keep.'
Yu-ri was picking at her lobster, glaring at it from across the table.
What did that lobster ever do?
* * *
11 PM.
I closed my workbook and was stretching when the door burst open without a knock.
It was Baek Yu-ri. She was in her pajamas, arms crossed.
Yu-ri: Hey.
Seol-ah: Yeah.
Yu-ri: You did that on purpose, didn't you?
Seol-ah: Did what?
Yu-ri: Showing off in front of the teacher. To make Mom see. So I'd get dragged into it too.
I stopped stretching and looked at her.
The 'good younger sister' smile she usually wore in front of our parents was nowhere to be found. It was exactly as written in her diary. When it was just the two of us, it was 'hey' and 'you.'
But strangely, this side of her seemed more human.
Seol-ah: It wasn't on purpose. You asked a question, so I answered it. You saw it too, on the stairs.
Yu-ri: ......
Yu-ri didn't answer. Instead, she scanned the room.
The rug on the floor, the dumbbells on it (3kg ones bought online secretly from Aunt), the workout log taped to the wall.
Yu-ri: You weren't like this before.
Her voice dropped slightly.
Yu-ri: You were always just lying around, not talking, not even eating half your meals. But then you came out of the hospital and... what is this? Running at dawn, drinking strange things, talking back to the teacher.
Seol-ah: People change a bit after coming back from the brink of death.
Yu-ri: Who changes like that?
Seol-ah: Here.
I pointed to my face.
Yu-ri closed her mouth. She had a look like she had more to say, but swallowed it.
Then she grabbed the doorknob, turned, and tossed out,
Yu-ri: Tomorrow at 8. Come out to the living room to study before the teacher arrives. If you're late, I'll start without you.
Seol-ah: ...You want to do it together?
Yu-ri: Who said together? We'll just be in the same place at the same time. Mom made us anyway.
Slam.
The door closed.
I chuckled, looking at the closed door.
See that? She says that, but in the end, it's 'let's do it together.'
'You've got a competitive streak, Baek Yu-ri.'
And that's not a bad thing. People grow fastest when they have someone they want to beat.
Just like Ji-hoon did in the gym in my past life.
'Alright. Then I'll be your punching bag. But, no holding back.'
* * *
Christmas Eve.
Christmas at Baeksan Group Chairman's house was very different from Kim Cheol-su's imagination.
There was a tree. A two-story tall one stood in the entrance. But that was all.
Father was away on a business trip for year-end events, and stepmother was at an affiliate's year-end party. My aunt and the helper sisters left in the afternoon, and Chief Choi went to accompany Father.
Only Yu-ri and I were left in the large house.
Christmas in my previous life was the day I'd tear into chicken on newspaper spread over the ring with the gym members. It was noisy, greasy, and warm.
This house is quiet, marble, and spacious.
Seol-ah: ...I'm hungry.
10 PM. I finally went down to the kitchen.
There was nothing missing from this house's refrigerator. Hanwoo beef, salmon, cheese, sauces with unknown names.
But my hand went straight to the bottom shelf of the cupboard.
Ramen. A five-pack of instant ramen, clearly hidden by the kitchen lady for a late-night snack.
'I'm sorry, ma'am. Just one.'
550ml of water. Soup base first. Noodles broken in half. Egg added last without stirring.
This was the recipe that had been with Kim Cheol-su for 30 of his 36 years of life.
Boiling, bubbling.
The smell filled the kitchen. Ah, this smell. This is Christmas.
Yu-ri: ...What are you doing?
I turned around and saw Yu-ri standing there. Hoodie and slippers. Smartphone in hand.
Seol-ah: Ramen.
Yu-ri: Mom doesn't like us eating ramen at home. Something about sodium.
Seol-ah: Mom's not here.
Yu-ri stood for a moment, then sat down in a dining chair. She sniffed the smell.
Yu-ri: ...Cook one more.
Seol-ah: Huh?
Yu-ri: That's not enough for two people. Cook one more.
I suppressed a laugh and poured more water into the pot.
10 minutes later. I placed the pot on the table as is. Two sets of chopsticks.
Yu-ri picked up the chopsticks, then looked at me.
Yu-ri: When did you learn to cook ramen? You couldn't even cook ramen before. Last year, Auntie made it for you, and you said it was 'too salty' and didn't eat it.
Seol-ah: ...At the hospital, from YouTube.
Yu-ri: Is there anything you haven't learned from YouTube?
Yu-ri grumbled, picked up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks, and slurped them down.
Then she paused for a moment.
Yu-ri: ...It's delicious.
Seol-ah: Right?
Yu-ri: If you tell Mom, you're dead.
Seol-ah: We're accomplices.
We ate ramen in silence. Slurp, slurp. Only that sound echoed in the large kitchen.
After finishing all the broth, Yu-ri put down her chopsticks and looked out the window.
Snow was falling in the garden.
Yu-ri: ...Last Christmas, you were in the hospital.
Seol-ah: Was I?
Yu-ri: Mom and Dad went to a party. I was home alone. With just the tree lit.
Yu-ri said only that and stood up.
Yu-ri: You wash the pot. Leave no trace.
Seol-ah: Yes, yes.
After she went upstairs, I washed the pot and thought.
There wasn't just one Cinderella in this house.
The adopted daughter. The seventeen-year-old who sat alone in this big house with just the tree lit.
In Seol-ah's diary, Yu-ri was only written as the perpetrator. But if there were Yu-ri's diary, what would be written in it?
'...Tsk. It's true they're a dysfunctional family, but if the dysfunctional ones stick together, something might come of it.'
* * *
Time passed, and it was Seollal, the great national holiday.
The relatives didn't come. I wondered if that was how chaebol families usually spent it, or if it was because of me being sick that they were spending it quietly.
The four of us had a simple breakfast together.
Steaming tteokguk.
In his previous life, Kim Cheol-su would either eat convenience store lunch boxes with soju alone on holidays, or hit a punching bag at the gym.
To eat such warm tteokguk with family.
My nose felt a little tingly for no reason.
Seol-ah: Happy New Year, Father. Mother.
Overwhelmed with emotion, I suddenly stood up and bowed 90 degrees.
Seol-ah: May you live long and prosper this year, and may your business be a great success!
Her voice was so booming it made the dining table vibrate.
It was not at all the kind of greeting an eighteen-year-old delicate girl would make.
Her father paused with his spoon. Her stepmother blinked.
A typical chaebol daughter would have said, "Happy New Year~" in a cute way, but this was more like a New Year's greeting for a gang boss.
Han Ji-soo: ...Yes. You stay healthy too.
Baek Do-hoon: Alright. Sit down.
My stepmother handed me an envelope.
It was New Year's money. But the thickness... it was like an encyclopedia.
Han Ji-soo: Buy what you need. Don't just buy tracksuits all the time, buy some pretty clothes too. You're in your second year now. Dress up.
My stepmother's tone softened subtly.
After the tutoring incident, the way she looked at me definitely changed from 'a pathetic child' to 'a potential investment.'
Indeed, in a capitalist society, showing ability changes how you're treated.
Seol-ah: Thank you! I'll trust Mother's taste and go raid a department store.
When I retorted with good humor, my stepmother let out a little laugh.
Oh? She laughed. When the cold beauty laughs, the atmosphere really brightens up.
Han Ji-soo: How did your way of speaking change so much, like an old man? Your personality has become like an old man's too.
That's what I hear most often these days. From my aunt, from Mr. Yoon, from Yu-ri.
It's natural since there's an old man inside me. Even if I don't want to, it happens without me realizing it.
But I can't say that. So I always answer like this:
Seol-ah: It's the fruit of my efforts, Mother!
Then, most people seem to understand it as just a whim of a teenage girl.
Next to me, Yu-ri was sulking and picking at her tteokguk.
I nudged Yu-ri's foot under the table.
Yu-ri flinched and glared at me.
I wiggled my eyebrows and mouthed.
('You, eat, a lot, too, little one.')
Yu-ri turned her head with a "Hmph," but a moment later, she subtly moved the meat garnishes from her tteokguk to my bowl.
Yu-ri: ...I don't like meat. Unnie, you eat a lot and gain some weight. You look bad.
That's a lie. You drank all the ramen broth on Christmas. Last week, I even saw you tearing into ribs for a late-night snack.
Look at her, giving up her meat pretending to take care of me. This cute tsundere.
I chewed the meat Yu-ri gave me and thought.
'They said it was a tiger's den, but it's more livable than I thought?'
The people in this house, though outwardly cold, are surprisingly soft-hearted.
Perhaps I had been unnecessarily scared, trusting only Baek Seol-ah's diary.
One day in February, after the hustle and bustle of Lunar New Year had subsided.
I hovered around the living room to solve an awkward homework assignment from my stepmotherāto go to a department store with the thick New Year's money and buy some things for myself.
Just then, Yu-ri, who was sitting on the sofa looking at her smartphone, caught my eye.
I stealthily approached and casually spoke to her.
Seol-ah: Hey, little sister.
Yu-ri turned her head and glared at me coldly.
Seol-ah: Go shopping with me at the department store tomorrow.
Yu-ri: ...What did you say?
Seol-ah: Mom gave me homework. To buy some clothes. But I've been sickly every day, so I need to know the current trends. You pick some out for me.
Yu-ri made an incredulous expression.
Yu-ri: Why me? Go with your friends.
Seol-ah: You don't have any friends. You know you're an outcast.
Yu-ri: ......
At my confident reply, Yu-ri seemed speechless and her mouth dropped open.
I drove the nail in.
Seol-ah: I'll buy you something delicious. And you can be my porter for a bit.
Yu-ri: Seriously......
Yu-ri let out a hollow laugh, then turned her gaze back to her smartphone and replied curtly.
Yu-ri: Tomorrow at 2 PM. Just try to be late. I'll just leave.
Okay. She took the bait.
I knew she wouldn't refuse, even if she acted prickly, because she loves choosing clothes.
Three months of winter break. I've built up my body, my studies are recognized, and my younger sibling is half-convinced.
[Main Quest: Secure Physical & Political Power for Survival] - Almost cleared.
I lay down on my bed with a satisfied feeling.
Tomorrow is the department store. It's going to be a good day.
......or so I thought.
The next morning, I thought I was going to die.