I Will Not Live as a Genius

16. Fifty three

The TOEIC test was held at a local high school, and the mother’s face when she returned home from the test looked very bright.

There is an old saying, ‘Are you satisfied with your first drink?’, but considering her mother’s tremendous ability to learn language and her efforts to prepare for the exam, it is expected that the score will exceed 800 points.

“Isn’t the problem very difficult?”

My mother shook her head at my question.

“My mom was worried at first too, but it turned out to be easy. In particular, it was a little strange because the listening problem was solved quickly.”

Considering the English proficiency of her mother who watches AFKN dramas and news, the TOEIC listening problem would have been solved just as her mother said.

It feels so good to see my mother starting to study English and seeing how she achieves it one by one.

I’ll tell you to study English a little earlier… It was to the point of regretting it.

The mother must have gained confidence in her ability to learn through the TOEIC test.

I started preparing a plan for the next step.

It’s just a black test.

If it is her mother’s learning ability, she will pass all elementary, middle and high school GEDs with ease.

And if only my mother wants me, I will support her studying at the Korea National Open University.

If you get a college diploma like that, your mother will be able to get the job she wants.

Three weeks passed, and the major’s sister came home.

Because my father went night fishing, today the major did not have to be a school teacher.

My mother, I, and my sister got together at the table and had dinner together.

While eating, I asked my sister.

“Sister, how did your thesis go?”

“ah… ! I was going to tell you about it anyway, but I prepared two papers and submitted them today.”

My sister made a V shape with her own hands.

“Oh oh! Congratulations.”

“You still have to wait a little longer to receive the congratulations. According to the professor… They said it could take three months at the shortest and over six months at the longest.”

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Now it’s 1993.

If you want to submit a paper to an international journal, you must of course submit it by international mail, and you will also be notified of the submission result by mail.

So, 3-6 months is pretty quick.

I told my sister.

“It will definitely turn out good.”

My sister smiled softly at my words, and my mother, who was silently listening to our conversation, asked her.

“Major-san is really great. But if you publish two papers like that, will the manuscript fee be doubled?”

“no. There is no manuscript fee for academic papers even if they are published.”

Mother asked with a slightly surprised expression.

“really? You didn’t even get paid? Then, why do you have to send your thesis abroad?”

Publishing a thesis seemed unproductive to her mother.

At the mother’s question, the major sister started explaining step by step without showing any signs of trouble.

He explained in detail why researchers publish papers and how science develops as new knowledge contained in papers is widely shared among scholars when papers are published, and this shared knowledge is accumulated one after another.

When my sister finished explaining, my mother smiled and said:

“Okay, then, Major, you’re doing a really cool job.”

“haha–. is that so?”

Seeing my mother talking with the major older sister like this, I felt a bit bitter without realizing it.

This is because the mother’s eyes looking at the major older sister had a vague sense of envy.

After eating, the older sister left our house and told her mother.

“Mom, the TOEIC score will come out tomorrow. I’ll get the scorecard and bring it to you.”

next day.

During dinner, my mother didn’t even eat half of her usual amount.

To my question, my mother just said that she had no appetite, but unlike the taste of no… The mother seems to be feeling pretty good.

After dinner and washing dishes, my mother kept going back and forth between the living room and the master bedroom, and between the master bedroom and the kitchen.

I didn’t know it at first, but when I looked closely… .

Every time my mother came out of the bedroom, she checked the front door.

ah… !

Only then did I realize that my mother was waiting for the major sister to come.

You are curious about the results of the first test you took after you were born.

If I’d known you’d be so curious, I’d have asked my major sister over the phone to tell me her score… .

“Jeong-ho, my mom is going out because it’s a hot day. When Daddy comes, you’ll prepare a meal with the side dishes in the refrigerator, okay?”

At my mother’s words, I quickly changed my clothes and said.

“I do not like it! I want to go out with my mom too.”

A playground in an apartment complex that is getting dark.

My mother and I sat side by side on the playground bench, waiting for my major sister.

20 minutes have passed… .

When the major sister appeared at the entrance to the apartment, her mother hurried across the playground and called her.

“Major!”

“ah… ! Hello, mother.”

Contrary to her mother’s full of anticipation… .

The major older sister’s face as she greeted her mother was slightly stiff.

The moment she saw the expression on the major older sister’s face under the streetlight, her mother seemed to have noticed.

The major older sister took a small piece of paper out of her bag with an apologetic expression and handed it to her mother.

After checking the note, the mother left a brief thank you and went home.

I, too, made eye contact with my sister and quickly followed my mother.

When my mother returned home, she left me only saying that I should grow up early and went into the bedroom.

It is clear that my mother was very disappointed with the TOEIC score.

How many points did you get that made you so disappointed?

I was very curious about the score, but it was not an atmosphere where I could ask directly because of my mother’s expression.

the next morning.

While my mother went to the grocery store for a while, I made a phone call to the teaching laboratory of the Department of Mathematics at Hankuk University, and finally was able to talk to my sister through two people.

“Sister, thank you for yesterday. But my mother’s TOEIC score… How much did it come out?”

-ah… Your mother didn’t tell you… .

“that is… The atmosphere was not good, so I couldn’t ask my mother directly.”

– Your mother must have been very disappointed. I only got 330 points… .

I was startled by my sister’s words.

330 points?

Something is obviously wrong with this.

After the exam, my mother said that the problem was not difficult.

In the reading and solving RC part, there were three or four vague problems, but he said that the answer to the listening LC problem was obvious, so there would be no wrong problems.

The TOEIC score is 990 points, and since it is a choice, if you take all the questions at random, you get about 250 points.

In other words, 330 points came out… This means that most of the problems were filmed except for a few easy ones.

This doesn’t make sense.

ah… !

For a moment, my mind was blown.

OMR card!

Of course, my mother had never used an OMR card before.

Perhaps… Could it be that you pushed and marked the answers one space at a time while writing the answer?

While preparing for the exam, I should have told you how to fill out the OMR card, not the mock exam questions.

After finishing the phone call, I asked my major sister to register for the next TOEIC test.

And I asked if I could get an OMR card for the TOEIC test.

Mother’s hand, who had been to the local supermarket, was in the hand, and the cleaning of the house, which started in the bathroom, did not end even after father left work.

When I finished cleaning the refrigerator that day, the clock showed 11:50 p.m.

About a week or so later, when I brought up the TOEIC test, my mother smiled and opened her mouth.

“Thanks to Jung-ho, we had a great experience, and it is enough for my mother to take the test once.”

“No, never enough! You said your mother. Failure is the mother of success. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I think you made a mistake on the last test, but next time you will do better.”

At my words, my mother slowly shook her head.

“I’m not doing this because I’m afraid my mom will make another mistake.”

“Then why?”

My mother was just stroking my hair without a word.

I asked again.

“Mom, can’t you just watch it one more time?”

The mother opened her mouth with a bitter smile.

“Well… The day after my mother got her report card, while cleaning the house, I realized something.”

“that is… What is it?”

“Our Jeong-ho, do you know what a lottery ticket is?”

I nodded.

“My mother once bought a lottery ticket at the recommendation of a friend. At that time, the friend said that the lottery ticket should be bought on Monday.”

“Monday?”

Mother nodded and said.

“Yeah, the lottery announcement is on Sunday. Then, from Monday to the day of the announcement, you can have happy dreams all week long.”

“… .”

“My mom had a lot of dreams while preparing for the TOEIC test. Maybe I was dreaming too far away.”

My mother covered my cheeks with both hands and stroked it.

“Jeong-ho is still young, so I don’t know what his mother is saying… I don’t quite understand. But our Jeong-ho is smart, so can you remember what Mom just said for a long time?”

I nodded.

“When Jeong-ho grows up and becomes an adult, then he will understand what his mother means.”

Two months later, my mother took the TOEIC test again.

When I said that I would get only half of the application fee back if I refunded it, my mother opened the TOEIC practice test book again.

According to the major’s older sister, a half-price refund of the application fee is a shallow tactic for ETS, the organizer of the TOEIC test.

For TOEIC, the application for the next round of exams closes before the results of the last round are released.

If you got a good enough score on the last test, you don’t have to take the test after you sign up.

Therefore, ETS says that if you cancel an exam you have taken, you will only get half of the application fee back.

Whatever the reason, thanks to the details of ETS, my mother took the TOEIC test again.

Of course, this time, my mother went to the exam room after thoroughly familiarizing herself with how to write the OMR answer sheet.

3 weeks later.

A playground bench in the apartment complex.

I asked my mother sitting next to me.

“Mom, aren’t you a little nervous?”

Mother said with a smile.

“no. Not at all.”

“Still, you are a little curious about how many points you got.”

The mother shook her head with a determined expression.

“No, I’m not curious at all.”

“Really? How could that be? I’m curious about this too… .”

Mother said with a smile.

“Actually, the major told me on the phone this morning.”

“ah! Really?”

I looked into my mother’s eyes and spoke carefully.

“Score, how much… came out… huh?”

My mother smirked at my question.

“Major-san said, Jeong-ho, that you shouldn’t say what I say to you?”

What? What are you doing?!

Momentarily, my mother got up from the bench and said:

“By the way, it was difficult for a major to become a nobleman.”

I saw a major older sister running from the apartment entrance.

After a while, she took a deep breath and said:

“Mother, I’m sorry. Have you been waiting a long time?”

“No, we just got out. Come on in. I have a lot of beef bulgogi.”

“Wow! really?”

The mother nodded and said, pointing to the box in the major’s sister’s hand.

“But what is that?”

“ah! This is a cake! Ha ha!”

The smell of roasting bulgogi filled the house, and my sister took out a cake from the center of the table.

I asked my sister, but… This is also a secret.

I have an eye for it too!

It is clear that my mother’s TOEIC score came out very well… .

What the hell are cakes and candles?

After eating the bulgogi and cake, my sister took out the TOEIC score sheet from her bag and gave it to her mother.

My mother handed me the checked scorecard.

975 points.

“Wow! Mom is amazing!”

My mother said while stroking my hair.

“Thank you, it’s all thanks to my son.”

The mother turned her head and said to the major sister.

“Major-san said you have something to show Jeong-ho?”

My sister took a piece of paper out of her bag and handed it to me.