Chapter 4: Chapter 4 (1/2)
”Number 1.”
”Huh?”
”Please read the text until I say stop.”
The girl at the frontmost seat rose from her seat. With hesitation, she stumbled through the words in English. Her voice was unstable. It was clear that she was nervous. It wasn't long before that shaky voice came to an abrupt stop. There was a word she didn't know how to read, and soon, the cla.s.sroom became completely silent.
”Um… I'm not sure how to p.r.o.nounce this,” the girl said timidly.
”Right. Which middle school did you go to?”
”Um…”
Mrs. Kang didn't actually say anything to talk down the girl's middle school English teacher. Her att.i.tude spoke louder than her words. 'Number 1' was flus.h.i.+ng from embarra.s.sment, while the other students looked at each wondering if that was OK. Juho was occupied by reading the text.
It was strange.
Juho was able to read English fluently. He rubbed his eyes forcefully. Even when things were still blurry, Juho was able to read them. It felt natural.
'What is going on?' he thought to himself.
The text was about environment-friendly consumption. It would've been impossible to understand even after sixteen years of education - six years of elementary, six years of middle and high schools, and four years of college. How was it that Juho was able to understand English as if it were his native language?
The second he started reading in English, there was a strange ”click” in Juho's head. It sounded like a b.u.t.ton being pressed.
The only explanation for all of that was the miracle of travelling to the past.
'Did somebody plant a language learning device in my brain while I was time traveling?' thought Juho.
In midst of the confusion, Juho heard Mrs. Kang's edgy words. Every sentence was a command.
'Is this the kind of tone she's going to be teaching with?' Her att.i.tude was saying that the teacher was above her students. She was basically teaching them that people weren't equal.
Juho tried reading another sentence. He was able to translate it without problems and was able to understand everything. He focused on that unfamiliar sensation. It felt like a part of his brain had been mashed in.
Some active device was telling Juho the rules and meanings of a language. It all felt as natural as smelling.
”Recently, I've researched various, convenient methods for wise consumption.”
Because of the device, Juho recognized the mistake in Mrs.Kang's translation.
'Number 1' was still in a same position. That teacher was enough of a bad influence to those children as it was, and Juho couldn't let her make a mistake. He quietly raised his hand, and his eyes met Mrs. Kang's. She stopped her translation and pointed at Juho with her chin. There was an annoyance in her gesture.
”Is there a problem?”
'This better be good,' was the unspoken pressure. Juho paid no attention to Mrs. Kang's judgement and responded calmly.
”You've mistranslated.”
Mrs. Kang kept a still face and started looking into the text. The students were silent, but not because it was the first day of school. There was a faint excitement in midst of that anxiety. If what Juho had said was true, then it would mean that Mrs. Kang had made a mistake. The very teacher who had just given them a lofty speech about meritocracy, that teacher, who wanted to wield power over her students, had left an opening. Her fangs were itching behind her closed lips. Fangs that were small, yet rigid.
”What's your name sir?”
”Juho Woo.”
”Have you been to another country?”
”No, ma'am.”
Mrs. Kang smiled. Clueless of what it meant, the students felt uneasy about her smile.
”How was your grade in English?”
”I don't remember exactly, but probably on the lower side.”
Juho did not have such good grades, especially so on core subjects.
”And you're saying that you can hear the flaw in the translation?”
”It seems like you haven't found it yet, Mrs.Kang.”
”...My translation was accurate. The English you're learning is at best, at high school level. It means I find it incredibly easy. I will have to deduct points for disrupting the cla.s.s, what's your call number?”
She wasn't even going to listen to him. Rather than giving Mrs.Kang what she wanted, Juho read through the text written in high school level English. He interpreted every single word while avoiding excessively literal translation.
”Environment-friendly consumption, therefore, means to make a wise decision. One should purchase items made of recycled materials and avoid making any unnecessary purchases. Moreover, environment-friendly consumption isn't just beneficial to this planet, but it is also beneficial to my bank account. Also, I have been researching various convenient methods for wise consumption. As a result, I have been carrying a recyclable bag. However, I have trouble remembering to take the recyclable bag with me to the grocery store.”
”...”
”You just translated 'Recently, I've researched various, convenient methods for wise consumption.' To me, these sentences are saying that all of that has been an ongoing process. So, wouldn't it make more sense to say 'I have been researching various convenient methods for wise consumption?'”
”He's right. This is the present perfect continuous tense,”
said one of the students.
Juho knew nothing about the present perfect continuous or the past perfect tenses, but judging from the students wavering, that student must have been right.
'High school level at best.' Mrs. Kang had made a mistake at a standard she considered negligible. A mistake was never the same as a fault. Students simply wanted her to accept her mistake and stand corrected. It was probably too much to ask though, considering all the things she had been saying thus far.
Mrs. Kang became conscious of her mistake and frantically searched through the textbook.
”...How strange. It came out slightly different on the educator's edition.”