Ryu Ji-ho's Determination (3)

What Does a Good Learner Look Like?

Is a good learner someone who can read a book and instantly grasp its contents with extraordinary intelligence? Or are they the type who can sit still for hours on end, reading without stopping, staying energized until the very last page? Perhaps they're the kind who can focus so intensely that every word they read sticks in their memory like glue.

Maybe, they are individuals blessed with an extraordinary memory, outshining others when it comes to memorization and study.

Ryu Ji-ho, as time passed, began to notice subtle changes in himself. As he grew older, his understanding of things became faster, yet his memory started to fade little by little.

_"It seems like the older I get, the easier it is to understand things, but my memory is slipping,"_ he thought, frowning slightly.

It was only when he reflected on his past that Ryu Ji-ho realized there was more to learning than just having a sharp memory. He had always believed that his ability to memorize was his strongest suit. But as he read textbooks with a clear purpose in mind, time seemed to pass quickly, and before he knew it, he had absorbed a vast amount of information. It was then that he became confident: with good concentration, he could memorize English vocabulary, phrases, and even prepare for memory-heavy subjects much better than before.

Determined, Ryu Ji-ho stuck to his stubborn resolve. He studied relentlessly, repeating the material over and over again.

"Luckily, this time the exam covers a narrow range. I can still memorize it all,"he muttered to himself as he stared at the pages of notes spread out before him.

The midterms were fast approaching. Ryu Ji-ho decided to cut down on his sleep, determined to prepare himself to the fullest. This routine carried on for an entire week. His friends began to notice the change in him. Usually, Ryu Ji-ho spent his free time in the broadcasting room, joking around with his friends from the club. After school, he would often hang out with classmates from other classes, chatting and laughing without a care.

But this time was different. Ryu Ji-ho started working through practice problems seriously, even reading reference books during break times. At first, his friends were a bit taken aback by his drastic change, but soon they understood—exam season was drawing near, and everyone was feeling the pressure to buckle down.

The day of the exam arrived. As he expected, Ryu Ji-ho had to guess a lot of the answers on the math test. But when it came to English and Korean, his hard work paid off. For the subjects that required rote memorization, he had prepared thoroughly, even managing to memorize sections that were likely to appear on the test. He felt a quiet satisfaction with the outcome.

Yet, despite this, a small feeling of unease lingered within him.

"What a pity. But I can't expect perfection on my first try. After all, I'm no genius," he murmured with a small smile.

Ryu Ji-ho sat quietly, feeling a small satisfaction as he realized he could concentrate for longer at his study desk. His mind remained sharp, despite the increasing weight of exams that seemed to have no end in sight.

"Is it because it's the first exam? Honestly, students these days are given too much leniency... It's too easy, no clear distinction between them," grumbled Kim Seok-min, his voice laced with obvious discontent.

As usual, Seok-min's complaints drew the unwelcome attention of their friends in the broadcasting club. He had an almost uncanny ability to make his words sound irritating, as if it were a talent of its own. No matter what he said, there was always a tone in his voice that made others frown.

"Haaah…"

Ryu Ji-ho let out a long yawn, feeling the weariness settling in after countless late nights studying for the exams. The first midterms after his strange return to the past were finally over. Yet, instead of feeling relief, there was a creeping emptiness taking root in his mind. A dull boredom he couldn't shake, a hollow feeling that defied explanation.

He slowed his pace as he wandered across the now-quiet school grounds. Most of the students had already gone home. Under the fading twilight sky, his thoughts drifted. *Did I come to school just to take exams, or am I taking exams because I'm at school?*

The idea was absurd, but at the same time, strangely profound. Ahead of him lay more exams, endless tests looming in the future. Every year, there would be four major exams that determined his report card grades, not to mention the mock tests sprinkled in between. Some teachers didn't even hesitate to throw in surprise quizzes whenever they had the chance. For three whole years, the students would face more than twenty rounds of exams, all to decide whether they were worthy of entering university or not.

In Ji-ho's eyes, the system didn't really measure someone's intelligence. These exams were just tools—ways to reach a score high enough to get into a decent college. In a rapidly evolving world where critical thinking mattered more than rote memorization, the education system seemed stuck in the past, unchanged since the 1960s.

And yet, despite all its flaws, there was an undeniable truth: so many talented people were still produced by this system. Sometimes, it left Ji-ho amazed. As the world advanced, education was supposed to progress with it. Everyone agreed with that idea. But in reality, the system persisted without any significant changes.

There was an old saying he'd often heard: If you can't avoid something, you might as well enjoy it.

"But I'd rather avoid it," he muttered under his breath, being brutally honest with himself.

Within the next decade, the world would enter an era of overflowing information—an age where having too much knowledge would become irrelevant. It wouldn't be about how much you knew anymore. It would be about how well you understood the changing world, how quickly you could find the information you needed, and how effectively you could use it.

And in that moment, Ryu Ji-ho felt a strange sense of readiness. Amid all the confusion and boredom he felt, one thing was clear: he was already starting to see the change that was coming.