“For Mr. Eli Kang of the Department of Medicine?” the accountant asked.
Zeno nodded. “Yes,” he answered.
Her eyebrows slightly raised as she looked at his records. “Mr. Eli Kang hasn’t paid since the last semester. It seemed he was admitted to the new semester through a promissory note.”
“However, he needs to pay the entire balance in cash if he wants to take the midterms on Monday.”
“Yes, I understand,” Zeno said. “I will be paying full in cash.”
“I’ll be paying until the end of the semester,” Zeno add.
He had some spare money because Dreamy Entertainment didn’t touch the prize he won from ‘Sing or Sync.’ In the end, he decided to pay for it all so that Eli wouldn’t think about it anymore.
A small smile appeared on her lips. “This is great,” she muttered. “I actually know Eli because he had tried to bargain with another promissory note last week.”
“If it was only my decision, I would have allowed it, but the school makes the final decision. He’s a very passionate student, and it would be a loss to have him drop out just because of financial issues.”
Zeno nodded. “He is a good student,” he muttered.
She lifted her head and almost laughed when she saw his get-up. “You are his…”
“Uncle,” Zeno responded.
She tilted her head to the side. “You seem pretty young.”
“I’m the youngest in the family,” Zeno quickly bluffed.
“And you’re paying for this much money on your own?” she asked.
“As long as my nephew gets to study,” Zeno said, wanting to put an end to her questions.
Fortunately, that seemed to do the trick.
“You’re a good uncle,” she said before giving him the receipt. “Have a nice day. Tell your nephew that he can take the midterm exam.”
Zeno took the receipt and carefully placed it inside his pocket. Then, he bowed and muttered his gratitude before going on his way.
“Finally,” he muttered. He just needed to show Eli the receipt so the two of them could come to good terms.
He rounded a corner and suddenly bumped into someone. He cursed under his breath when his hat fell to the ground. The person he bumped into also dropped a box of items.
He was about to bolt, not wanting to be recognized when a familiar voice spoke.
“Zeno?” Eli exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows.
Zeno stood straight and met Eli’s gaze. Out of everyone in the school, he actually bumped into him.
Then, Zeno looked down at the ground and kneeled down to gather his items and place them back inside the box. It was his nameplate, a bunch of books and pens, and some other clutter.
“What are you doing here?” Eli exclaimed, clicking his tongue as he grabbed the box from Zeno.
“You’ve already gathered your items?” Zeno asked, not answering his question.
Eli sighed. “We talked about this already,” he muttered. “It’s my last day today. The next week is the midterms. Of course, I would gather my items.”
Zeno shook his head. “You don’t have to do it.”
“What do you mean?”
Without saying a word, Zeno grabbed the receipt from his pocket and gave it to Eli.
Eli’s frown deepened as he unraveled the receipt. Then, he read the contents, his brows furrowing even more with every second.
“What… is this?” he asked.
Zeno smiled.
His mission was finally finished, and he wouldn’t have to go through the pain trial!
“Look at the student number,” Zeno said.
“It’s my student number,” Eli deadpanned.
“Yes, that means that your tuition is paid for.”
Eli was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. “What?” he muttered. “It says here that even the finals are paid for.”
Zeno nodded. “I had some extra money on hand, so I decided to pay for it, too.”
Zeno was expecting Eli to smile or maybe say some words of gratitude. However, he crumpled the receipt and pursed his lips instead.
This time, it was Zeno who frowned. “What are you doing?”
“I should be asking you that question,” Eli exclaimed, appearing frustrated. “What are YOU doing? Why are you paying for my tuition fee?”
“Because I can,” Zeno simply said.
“I don’t need your pity.”
“I’m not doing this out of pity,” Zeno sighed. “It’s because we’re friends. Accept my help.”
However, Eli was as stubborn as a mule—probably one of the most stubborn humans Zeno had met in his entire life.
Then, Eli began walking away. “Whatever,” he muttered. “Let’s go back to the accounting office. We’ll reverse the payment.”
Zeno became even more confused. He was supposed to be happy with this deed!
He observed his penalty quest and saw that it still wasn’t accomplished, and he only had a few days to finish it.
“Wait,” Zeno said, holding onto his arm. “You can just pay it back to me when you get the money.”
“You don’t understand, do you?” Eli exclaimed. “I don’t even know if I could pay it back! Besides, just because you paid for this semester does not mean that I can pay for the other semesters.”
“It will only be a cycle. I’m breaking it now while it’s still early.”
“Besides,” he continued, his voice sounding softer, “I can’t even get past through this week with my allowance. You expect me to pay you back that amount of money? Just refund it.”
Zeno’s eyes narrowed. “So, that’s what it is? You don’t have money for the rest of the month.”
Just then, like it had fallen from the sky, a flyer flew to where they were.
Zeno caught it with his foot and read the contents while Eli continued insisting on refunding the money.
“Math Olympics?” he read quietly. Then, he looked at the date and time, noting that it was today and only a few minutes away.
However, what caught his attention the most was the prize money in big, bold letters.
500,000 won for merely answering a few math questions? This was perfect!
He kneeled down and grabbed the flyer, shoving it toward Eli’s face.
“Then, this would be good, right? This can last you for a month. Let’s join.”