Linda ran a small-sized supermarket in the town. During the summer vacation, I would read books and work as a cashier. I could always hear some gossip from the customers.

"The police came to the neighboring village last night. What happened?"

"It is said a man went crazy and beat his wife."

"How come I heard that it was his son who had stolen the money. His wife was beaten because of protecting her son."

"Oh my god. I hope everyone is safe."

Several people in line gathered and started chatting. In such a small village, news went out quickly.

These days, I had been immersed in studying. I forgot that it was August 16th yesterday, which was the day when that man came back."

"But...They called the police..."

"Why did they advise me to keep my family's dirty laundry a secret when I was beaten in my previous life?"

"This time, it doesn't matter anymore even though everyone knows they were beaten."

I expressionlessly settled the bill for the customers. Such differential treatment made I let go of the last trace of gratitude towards them.

"Well, I have repaid the debt of their raising me in my previous life, so I don't owe them anything in this life."

Later, that man was quickly released. He knelt and apologized to his wife, telling her that he would change. His family seemed to go back to the past.

"However, I won't tell you that the man later got addicted to gambling and lost all the assets in the family."

"How long can such a peaceful life on the surface last?"

Time went by quickly.

On the day of the registration, I recognized a familiar figure in the crowd at a glance. It was Javion.

Javion, who had been educated, looked down on me everywhere. He never showed up when my life was at stake.

In my last life, the most common words he said to me was such. "You don't even have a junior high school diploma. It's your blessing to marry me." His arrogant look was still vivid in my mind.

We were assigned to the same class, which surprised me.

But I found out that he didn't focus on study soon.

He slept and dozed off in class. after school, he went out with a group of friends to fool around. He would copy other's homework the next day, and if there was no time, he wouldn't hand in his homework.

At that time, studying was not as valued as it is now. Teachers didn't bother to care about the students. Students like Javion were ignored.

But I studied diligently every day. My grades were much higher than his.

"It turns out that you tend to over-complicate things when you are still an outsider. Only after being familiar with the field did I realize that it was just so-so."

"It will never be difficult to achieve things that can be changed through hard work and diligence."

"Obtaining an opportunity to study in my original village is much more difficult than studying itself."

"This is the reason why people like Javion tend to use education as an excuse to belittle others."

"But in such an environment, there are far-sighted families willing to invest in their children's education."

My desk mate, Larissa Berg, was one of them. Lunch wasn't provided ready at the school, so everyone brought their own lunch boxes. She was the only one that went back to a training institution to eat. After finishing the extra classes, she would come back for the classes in the afternoon.

When studying, she always looked peaceful. Her grades were also among the top. She was introverted and gentle as if she were from another age group.

I owed a lot of my good grades to her. She always patiently taught me how to solve the problems and enlightened me the key points that I didn't understand. Moreover, she shared her notes with me.

"The auxiliary line should be drawn here."

"Did you forget to bring the compass we will use in class yesterday? I brought two."

"My training teacher told me there was another solution to this problem."

"Jessa, let's take the entrance exam for No.1 High School together."

...

She was like a little angel.

I always felt like I had heard of her name in my previous life, but I couldn't recall where.

"Never mind, never mind."

"She may get into a sort of prestigious university and is being praised by the people in the town. People like Larissa will soar high and far in the future."

Every time I brought home good grades, Linda would be so happy that she would cook a table full of dishes.

On the table, there were my favorite dishes. In the past, these were all made for my younger brother. If I took an extra piece, my mother would hit my hand and say I was greedy.

But Linda in front of me kept putting more food in my bowl as if I hadn't eaten enough.

The lunch I brought to the school at noon was no exception. Besides the sumptuous dishes, there were many fruits and snacks. I would share them with my classmates in the class. We got along with each other.

Lying on the bed and looking at the warm surroundings at night, I always wondered why Linda was so good.

As I focused on study, time passed by quickly. Suddenly, it was the third year of my junior high school.

On this day after school, I was stopped by a dark figure before I could walk out of the school.

It was Asher. I forgot that he should be in the first year of junior high school.

"You are living a good life now. You have forgotten what you used to be like." He kept pushing me back with his hand, adding, "If you don't give me the money today, don't even think about leaving the school."

His bullying look was so real and vivid.

He, who was a little brat in the first year of junior high school, looked so funny as he acted arrogantly. He thought I was the same Jessa, who was at the mercy of others in my previous life. I raised my hand and slapped him.

"Let me tell you, I won't give you any money. Come on, beat me to death. If you beat me to death, you will drop out of school and go to jail. After you finish your sentence, you will go to work. In the future, you won't have any money or property assets. And no one will marry you. Do you think you were born in a wealthy family where everything can be taken care of for you?"

He seemed to be surprised that I, who had always been obedient, would rebel suddenly. He covered his face with his right hand and stared at me, forgetting to fight back for a moment.

Asher did lack discipline. Under the indulgence of my parents, he thought it was only natural for me to earn money to support him. He, who was in the lower class, was stuck in the mud instead of striving for a better life.

I didn't waste any more time with him. I left without looking back. After all, I didn't have the confidence to believe that I could change a delinquent teenager. My hand was hurting from the slap.

I didn't expect that he would behave much better afterwards. In my previous life, he caused a lot of trouble in the first year of junior high school. This time, I didn't hear much about his news at school.

However, Javion caught my attention. He had a girlfriend.

In my previous life, we got married for the sake of getting married. I didn't inquire about his past emotional history. Now I was quite curious, thinking, "How come he had such a difficult time separating from his girlfriend in junior high school? But they haven't had any contact after a few years."

The girl was waiting for Javion at the entrance of the classroom.

She had a slim figure and fair complexion.

At the sight of her eyes, I knew her.

It was the doctor who had told me in my previous life that I was pregnant with a girl!