Chapter 7 of 100

Chapter 7: Rock, Paper, Scissors

14 min read3,532 words

Lee Yunjae's first class at the new school had passed, leaving the teacher with the impression that he was "weird."

The second class was math, and it just so happened that the teacher was the same Kim Teacher whom he had met before. Kim Teacher was the homeroom teacher for Class 1-3 and also taught math for Class 2-3.

After the bell rang, Kim Teacher stood at the podium and scanned the students sitting in their seats. When she saw Lee Yunjae, she smiled slightly.

"Alright, today we will go over the test papers from the last exam. Overall, those who did well continue to do well, but there are still ten students who are below the passing line. I hope you can strive to pass next time!"

After a brief commentary, Kim Teacher started to go over the test papers. The students listened and corrected their mistakes. Lee Yunjae and Na Soyeon shared a test paper. The questions on the test were not difficult for Lee Yunjae; if he had taken it, he would have scored 100 points without any problem. However, for Na Soyeon, these questions seemed like one mountain after another...

"Unnie Soyeon... Can't you even recite the multiplication table? How can you not know such a simple question?!" Lee Yunjae pointed to the mistake and chuckled softly.

Na Soyeon was annoyed and glared at him, then reached under the desk and pinched Lee Yunjae's thigh.

"Ouch..." Lee Yunjae's eyes widened instantly, and he drew in a sharp breath. Unfortunately, at that moment, a piece of chalk hit Na Soyeon's head.

"Na Soyeon, what are you doing now... It's almost the end-of-term exam, and you're still fidgeting. Do you not want to pass the end-of-term exam? Go outside and kneel as punishment!" Kim Teacher slammed the podium in anger.

Na Soyeon's eyes immediately welled up with tears. It seemed that this Kim Teacher was well-known in the class, and not in a good way. She roared at the podium, and the other students shrank back.

"Teacher... Actually, we were just discussing... You marked one of the questions wrong!" Lee Yunjae raised his hand and said.

Na Soyeon immediately pulled on his clothes, afraid that he would also get into trouble. Kim Teacher, however, was amused. She had been a math teacher for over twenty years and had never made a mistake. She waved at Lee Yunjae, signaling him to stand up, and said, "Go ahead, tell me which question I marked wrong!"

Lee Yunjae stood up, took Na Soyeon's test paper, and said, "If the teacher really marked it wrong, then you should correct the score and revoke Na Soyeon's punishment!"

"Alright... What if I didn't make a mistake?"

"Then... I'll go kneel with Na Soyeon..." Lee Yunjae shrugged.

All the students turned their attention to Lee Yunjae, thinking: This transfer student is really something. He argued with Teacher An in the last class, and now he's taking on this strict teacher... He's the coolest in the class!

"Alright... I want to hear what you have to say!" Kim Teacher pushed her glasses up and looked at Lee Yunjae.

Lee Yunjae met her gaze and said, "The last question on the test, the process and the answer are both correct. Why did you mark it wrong?"

Kim Teacher chuckled and said, "Na Soyeon's solution process is different from the correct answer, so I marked it wrong. What's the problem with that?"

Lee Yunjae shook his head and said, "My previous math teacher said that math is a very rigorous subject, and there is only one correct answer. But the process to reach the answer can vary widely. How can there be only one way to solve a problem?"

Kim Teacher's expression darkened, and she said, "Solving the problem according to my method is the simplest and most direct way. Only the simplest method is correct!"

Lee Yunjae sighed inwardly, thinking that this Kim Teacher was too rigid. How could she only think in her own way and follow the standard answers?

"Teacher... Regardless of the process, if the answer is correct, then it's correct, isn't it?" Lee Yunjae countered.

"Even if the answer is correct, not understanding the process is useless!" Kim Teacher said sternly.

Faced with Kim Teacher's stubbornness, Lee Yunjae was speechless. She was a math teacher, yet her mind was so rigid! He said, "Teacher... If you insist, then let me give you a problem. How about it?"

Kim Teacher laughed. A ten-year-old kid like Lee Yunjae actually wanted to challenge a teacher with over twenty years of experience. She had never encountered such a situation in her twenty years of teaching. She said, "Alright... I want to see what kind of problem you can come up with!"

Lee Yunjae got up from his seat and walked to the podium. All eyes were on him as he picked up the chalk and wrote on the blackboard:

5 > 0, 0 > 2, 2 > 5

When Lee Yunjae put down the chalk, everyone was stunned. The students had just learned about greater than and less than signs. They understood 5 > 0, but how could 0 > 2 and 2 > 5 be possible?

Everyone was confused... thinking: Could what we learned be wrong?

Kim Teacher frowned. No matter what method was used, the last two inequalities were not valid. She thought, "Children are children. They learned a little and think they can challenge the teacher. How arrogant."

"This is simply not valid. No matter what method you use, it's not valid and can't be calculated!" Kim Teacher said firmly.

Na Soyeon sighed inwardly and secretly took out two sponges from her drawer, stuffed them into her pants, and placed them under her knees, ready to kneel.

"Teacher... If I can prove that these inequalities are valid and make you agree, what will you do?" Lee Yunjae smiled.

"That's impossible... It's impossible..." Kim Teacher had taught math for over twenty years. If 0 > 2 and 2 > 5 were possible, then pigs could climb trees and old cows could play the piano.

"If I can convince you and the whole class, even more people, then you have to retract your words, correct the score, and change Na Soyeon's grade to 63 points!" Lee Yunjae spoke with confidence. Kim Teacher, curious to see how he would convince her, nodded.

Lee Yunjae chuckled and asked, "Teacher, have you played rock, paper, scissors?"

Kim Teacher, Na Soyeon, and all the students were stunned. They heard Lee Yunjae continue, "Rock, paper, scissors! Do you understand, Teacher?"

Kim Teacher was speechless, but the students in the class burst into excitement, playing rock, paper, scissors with their desk partners. Those who understood slapped their heads, thinking, "How could we not think of this? We're so stupid."

Indeed, 5 represents paper, 0 represents rock, and 2 represents scissors. In rock, paper, scissors, these inequalities are valid.

Kim Teacher sighed, realizing she had been outsmarted by this young boy, but she couldn't argue with his logic.

"Alright, you're right! Na Soyeon, bring your test paper up, and I'll change it to 63 points!"

Kim Teacher sighed inwardly. Lee Yunjae said, "Teacher, this is something my previous math teacher taught me, not something I came up with. He said that to learn math, you need a flexible mind, not a rigid one... A rigid mind can't learn math well!"

"Who is your teacher? What's his name?"

"Song Hyeji, Teacher Song!"

"It's her..." Kim Teacher was surprised and then realized, "I see, my teaching is indeed too rigid." She said, "I know her; she's a national outstanding teacher!"

Na Soyeon was excited to hold her passing test paper. Seeing her smile, Lee Yunjae felt very satisfied.

"Thanks! Now I can ask my dad for a poster!" Na Soyeon thanked Lee Yunjae, patted his head, and said, "You're my little brother, after all!"

Lee Yunjae chuckled.

The 40-minute class passed quickly. Lee Yunjae shone in both English and math classes, becoming a "hero" in the eyes of his classmates. They were usually the type who wouldn't dare breathe loudly in front of a teacher, but this new transfer student had the courage to challenge the teacher, earning their admiration. After class, they all gathered around him, chatting and quickly becoming friends.

In the office,

"Teacher Kim... I just passed by your class, and it was so chaotic. I've never seen students play rock, paper, scissors in your class before!" Teacher An asked curiously.

Teacher Kim took a sip of tea and sighed, "It's all because of that Lee Yunjae..."

"What... It's him again?!" Teacher An and Teacher Han exclaimed in unison, "He caused trouble again?"

Teacher Kim paused for a few seconds and said, "Not exactly trouble, but he made me understand what 0 > 2 and 2 > 5 means..."

0 > 2, 2 > 5! Teacher An and Teacher Han looked at each other, puzzled, "Teacher Kim... Are you joking? How can 0 > 2 and 2 > 5 be valid?"

Teacher Kim suddenly realized that many people, like herself, had a conventional way of thinking. Sometimes, looking at things from a different angle could reveal their true nature. She said, "Teacher Han, Teacher An... Why don't you play rock, paper, scissors?"

Rock, paper, scissors?!

Teacher Han played paper, and Teacher An played scissors. Two fingers versus five fingers. Both were smart and immediately understood, looking at each other in surprise. How could a third-grader see such a simple thing and come up with a different mathematical inequality? They had never noticed it even when playing rock, paper, scissors.

"Teacher Han... Your student, Lee Yunjae, is not simple!" Teacher Kim sighed, regretting her earlier decision to not take him.

The third class of the morning was PE. For the children, PE was the most enjoyable and favorite class of the day. They played basketball, soccer, and badminton, all having a great time. After a few rounds of badminton, Lee Yunjae found the opponents' skills too poor and lost interest, so he sat down with a basketball. He wanted to lie down on the grass and take a nap, but the grass was still covered with snow, and the winter playground was a field of yellow grass.

Na Soyeon was sweating profusely and ran over to Lee Yunjae, saying, "Yunjae, why aren't you playing with us?"

"I need to take a nap... You kept me up half the night, and I'm so tired!" Lee Yunjae yawned and said lazily, "Finally, I have my own room... It's great!"

"Hey... You're not happy to sleep in my bed? Humph..." Na Soyeon pouted and ran off, leaving Lee Yunjae to doze off in the sun.

The three morning classes passed quickly. For third-graders, there was no such thing as academic pressure; every day was filled with joy.

After eating the lunch box prepared by Choi Jiya, Lee Yunjae finally tasted the flavor of a lunch box. The plastic box was divided into three small sections, with the largest one for rice and the other two for side dishes. After heating, the taste was quite good.

After lunch, almost everyone in the classroom had left. Na Soyeon went out to play with her friends, leaving Lee Yunjae alone, dozing off in his seat.

At 1 PM, the first class of the afternoon began. It was music class, and everyone moved to the music room.

The empty music room had only one piano-style organ. In 1996, most schools used such organs, and only prestigious or key schools had pianos.

The music teacher was a middle-aged man with a few strands of white hair and a pair of black-rimmed reading glasses.

Lee Yunjae, like everyone else, sat on the floor, flipping through the music textbook. He could play the simple sheet music and sing it without any problem.

Soon, Teacher Song started playing the song they were learning on the organ. Na Soyeon used to admire this music teacher for his ability to distinguish so many keys, but after hearing Lee Yunjae play the piano, which sounded much clearer and more beautiful, she found the organ's sound less appealing.

"This organ sounds so bad... You play much better!" Na Soyeon whispered in Lee Yunjae's ear.

Lee Yunjae smiled silently, listening to the music and frowning at times, as if something was off. He looked at the sheet music and carefully listened to Teacher Song's playing, finally realizing what was wrong.

It turned out that Teacher Song had played a quarter note as a half note and a quarter rest as an eighth rest. Lee Yunjae thought, "It feels a bit off, and now I know why... Poor old teacher, teaching music for so long."

"Classmate... What are you nodding and shaking your head for?!" Teacher Song, noticing Lee Yunjae's movements, called out.

Lee Yunjae was taken aback, and the other students turned to look at him. It was his first day as a transfer student, yet he had been called on by teachers multiple times in class. Usually, students were rarely called on more than once a week, but Lee Yunjae had already been called on three times in one day. Na Soyeon was stunned and then covered her mouth, giggling.

"Teacher... Is... Is there something wrong?" Lee Yunjae stammered.

"I'm asking you... Why are you nodding and shaking your head? What are you doing?!" Teacher Song said firmly.

Lee Yunjae replied honestly, "Actually... I think the teacher played some parts incorrectly!"

The classroom erupted in shock. The students looked at him in surprise, and Teacher Song was stunned. In his twenty years of teaching, it was the first time a student had pointed out a mistake in class. He said, "So, can you play? Why don't you come up and perform for us?!" Teacher Song had the urge to teach this overconfident student a lesson.

Lee Yunjae shrugged and stood up under everyone's gaze. Teacher Song stood up and let him take the seat. Lee Yunjae sat down and touched the keys. He had only played real pianos before and had never touched a wooden organ. He adjusted the keys, looked at the music textbook on the cover, and then placed his feet on the pedals, gently pressing the keys. A series of smooth melodies filled the room.

In the stunned silence of Teacher Song and the students, Lee Yunjae played the entire song in three minutes. Teacher Song reflected on it and realized that Lee Yunjae's playing was indeed different from his own, making the entire song more coherent and smooth. He couldn't help but wonder, "Could I really have been wrong?"

The music class passed in a joyful atmosphere. Back in the office, Teacher Song sat down in a daze. Teacher Han, sitting in front of him, asked, "Teacher Song, what's wrong? You look a bit off."

Teacher Song said, "Teacher Han... Your student, Lee Yunjae, is truly remarkable..."

With a long sigh, Teacher Song left Teacher Han puzzled.

Thus, the story of Lee Yunjae "taking on three teachers" in one day spread among the teachers in the school. The fact that three teachers were convinced by a third-grader left all the teachers amazed and astonished.

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End of Chapter 7

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