After leaving the Principal's office, instead of going home, we briefly gathered in the clubroom on the 5th floor.
Then I wrote in large letters on the whiteboard.
[D-7 until the school preliminaries of the science exhibition]
"Exactly one week from today, next Monday. The school preliminary round will be held."
"Then shouldn't it say D-6?"
At Jinhee's comment, who was sitting on the other end of the desk, I looked back at the whiteboard for a moment.
"D-6?"
"The number 0 isn't counted."
"…What?"
I folded my fingers one by one and counted the numbers.
"…Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. There are 7 days left, so D-7 is correct."
"Monday is the D-DAY, so you have to subtract one."
"..."
Jinhee replied, swinging her crossed leg nonchalantly.
I stared into space for a moment and then suddenly shouted.
"…No, wait! It's 7 days, so 7 is… Ah, crap, hold on. Lee Jinhee, you're making this confusing. Everyone, stay quiet. Don't say anything."
I started writing the numbers on the whiteboard in reverse order.
"Today is Monday, May 20th, and the school preliminaries are next Monday, May 27th. If we count backwards from there…"
Monday, May 27th – D-DAY
Sunday, May 26th – D-1
Saturday, May 25th – D-2
Friday, May 24th – D-3
Thursday, May 23rd – D-4
Wednesday, May 22nd – D-5
Tuesday, May 21st – D-6
Monday, May 20th – D-7
"Today is D-7, you idiot!"
"Oh, really? My bad~"
Jinhee just swung her legs lazily and brushed it off with a smirk.
'Seriously…..'
I'm supposed to take these people to the national competition?
I looked over at Sunah, sitting there and blankly staring at the space with a 'wah~' expression, and Dukhun, sitting silently in his seat without moving.
"Dukhun, you're not dozing off, are you? I'm about to explain, so everyone should pay attention."
"Masaka~ Just get on with the explanation already~"
Dukhun waved his hand as if to say why I was wasting my time.
The sunlight was reflecting off his glasses, hiding his eyes, so I wondered if maybe he was dozing off, but it seems it was just my imagination.
In any case, if it weren't for my regression ability, these people would have been crushed in the shredder starting from the paperwork, let alone making it to the preliminaries.
"Alright, let's begin. Today is D-7. They seem to have been preparing for quite a while, but we only have one week to pull this off, so we need to be quick. See this?"
Pointing to the days of the week written on the whiteboard like a chart, I explained it to them.
"If we look at the situation itself, we're a bit behind. We started late, and the other side has the most experienced third-year teacher assigned as their instructor."
On the other hand, our side only has teacher Jang Hwaeun who can eat two chickens.
Over there, they have Teacher Choi Jungim, and although I don't like her personality, she was the one with the most experience in science.
Within this school, she was probably the one with the most know-hows and preparation experience when it comes to science competitions.
With someone like her in the team, the Chemistry Club has been preparing smoothly from the start, while the Ghost Story Club was just dilly-dallying.
On top of that, it was still uncertain who would be on the judging panel.
"Well, since it's a science competition, of course science teachers will be present, but as far as I remember, the second-year male science teacher is also from the Void cult. In other words, except for first-year teacher Han Ari, all the science teachers belong to the Void cult faculty."
"I wish Teacher Han Ari would be the judge..."
"But just because it's Teacher Han Ari doesn't guarantee fairness. Of course, she's not from the Void cult, but she's still a rookie in the industry. If the second and third-year science teachers put silent pressure on her, she'll probably end up suffering."
"That makes sense."
The club members nodded in agreement.
However, what the school overlooked was that there was a regressor here.
No matter how many teachers swarmed over there trying to boost their team, we have an ace up our sleeve that they absolutely couldn't beat.
The regressor who brought knowledge from the future was on our team.
"We won't lose. Absolutely not."
"That's right. We just have to submit the award-winning projects from the future that the Club Prez has seen."
Gyeongwon smiled with a satisfied expression, but I shook my head as if to deny his words.
"Sorry, but I don't know the award-winning projects from the future either. Back then, I wasn't very interested in this competition.
"…What? You don't know?"
"Yeah. I don't know."
The club members all looked at me with a "Huh?" expression.
I felt a bit embarrassed.
But it was only natural.
Anyway, in my previous life, I was just an ordinary student in the upper-middle ranks, and I didn't care about or look into competitions where the top students in the country dominated the stage.
So, I just thought that kind of thing exists, and left it at that.
The only connection I had with this kind of competition was seeing upperclassmen at my all-boys school in my previous life receiving consolation prizes and certificates during morning assembly.
"Sure, it'd be great if I knew the winning entries from 2020 or 2021… but honestly, who goes around memorizing stuff like that? Do any of you even remember last week's lottery numbers?"
"…No."
The club members shook their heads.
Forget remembering, it's more likely they've never even seen them. Minors can't buy lottery tickets, after all.
The distance between this science exhibition and me was pretty much that much.
Regardless of its fame, it was a competition that had nothing to do with me anyway, so I didn't bother to look into it.
"But if you don't know that stuff, how are we supposed to win, Joon...?"
"We're not just trying to win for now, we need to get the Presidential Award."
"Just listen. I'll explain now."
I started writing in big letters on the whiteboard.
"Sure, I don't know the winning projects from that competition of other years. But the thing I'm going for isn't directly related to the exhibition. Around that time, there was one item that suddenly gained national attention."
[Magnetic Hinge]
"I'm going for this."
"..."
"…Magnetic, hinge…?"
The club members squinted their eyes and read the word.
"What is this supposed to be?"
"It's a concept product that a high school student submitted in the future and swept the awards at an invention competition."
In a science fair, even if you win an award, that's usually the end of it, and no one in the general public knows who won or for what.
That's why I don't know the winning projects.
But the item I was explaining now is completely different.
In 2021, this product, which started as an invention by a high school student, became popular worldwide when Clover acquired the intellectual property rights and mass-produced it, especially in Japan, where I heard a large number were exported.
Later on, it became such a big deal that for certain buildings, installing this item was made mandatory by building codes.
Thanks to that, even I, who wasn't particularly interested in stories of other people's success, still remembered what this product is.
'Because of this, the news was always talking about the need to increase the number of invention prodigies, and suddenly there was an invention boom.'
"In particular, the science exhibition we're participating in is different from the regular quiz competitions. It's a contest where you actually present a physical product. That's why I think this is perfect."
"…So what's the big deal with it?"
Gyeongwon asked with a puzzled expression.
"There's already something called a magnetic hinge."
"What? There is?"
My heart sank for a moment.
'…Why does that exist?'
"A hinge that prevents doors from slamming shut when the wind blows. Isn't that it?"
"What? Wind? No, ah~ f*ck. I thought my heart just dropped to my stomach. No, that's not it, it's something different."
"Joon, don't swear like that…"
After making an apologetic gesture toward Sunah, who looked sad, I continued with the explanation.
"A magnetic hinge looks something like this…"
I roughly drew a diagram on the whiteboard.
Then, I explained the basic principle of how it works.
"It's basically something like this. Understand? Strictly speaking, it's not really a magnetic hinge, despite the name."
The club members quietly stared at the diagram.
While looking at the diagram with a focused expression, the first reaction came from, as usual, Gyeongwon.
"…This doesn't exist yet?"
"Yup."
Gyeongwon immediately took out his phone.
"…Why doesn't this exist? I don't believe it. I'll look it up."
"Of course. Feel free to search all you want."
Soon, from Wikipedia to Google and Naver.
Gyeongwon finished searching the term 'magnetic hinge' and looked up with a stunned expression.
"…It really doesn't exist."
"That's because it's an invention that hasn't come out in the world yet."
I shrugged my shoulders.
Soon after, Dukhun, who was also searching on his phone, raises his head.
"…There are hinges called door stoppers or similar-named items, but it seems that the magnetic hinge that President mentioned doesn't exist in this world yet..."
"But is that really such a big deal? I don't think so."
Jinhee, sitting with her legs crossed and resting her chin on her hand, said.
Then Gyeongwon answered for her.
"Of course, the principle itself is simple, so it might seem like nothing special, but it's a completely practical product with definite uses in certain situations. The important thing is that no one has come up with this idea yet."
"…Really?"
Jinhee rubbed her cheek with a thoughtful expression, as if she hadn't thought of it before either.
Soon, Gyeongwon pushed his glasses and slowly nodded.
"…After hearing the explanation, I definitely understand why it became popular. After all, something like that actually happened in Korea just a couple of years ago."
"Exactly."
I pointed at Gyeongwon with my finger, as if to indicate that was an accurate observation.
It was the incident from two years ago that had caused quite a stir among our students.
"Its purpose and necessity are clear for wherever and whenever it's used, and its operating principle is also simple. I can see why it became popular in the future."
"That's right..."
"It's amazing."
"Right? Isn't it amazing?"
Although I only stole someone else's invention, seeing the club members nod along like this still made my shoulders lift up with pride.
"It's so simple, kind of surprising."
"That's how idea products usually are."
"Hey, but isn't it kind of a waste to use this just for the competition? Seriously, can't we sell it for money later?"
Jinhee suddenly got greedy, but I waved my hand.
"We already have a billion won in club funds, so why bother? And I'll get the rest of the money before graduation and make sure you all get your share, so don't get greedy over stuff like this. What really matters is Chun Seungjae. Meeting him in person, that's the goal."
"This sounds fun."
"Right, Hayoon? It's gonna be fun, isn't it?"
Gyeongwon, who seemed to have just finished running through everything in his head, now had a slightly troubled expression on his face.
"…Prez. It's definitely a really good idea, but."
"Mm-hmm. But?"
I listened closely to what he had to say.
Among us, the one with the most experience in this kind of field is Ahn Gyeongwon, the former aspiring science high school student who once prepared for admission to a science-specialized school.
That's why I paid close attention to Gyeongwon's opinion.
"Go ahead. Tell me what you think."
"It's unique, and yeah, definitely something essential in daily life. But… how should I put this…"
"Mm-hmm. What is it?"
"Umm… it's just that…"
Gyeongwon made an awkward face, as if struggling to find the right words.
"The competition we're entering… it's kind of different in nature, I guess…?"
"…Different? How so?"
Isn't a science fair supposed to showcase something great in a presentable form?
'I thought it was perfect. What's the issue?'
"…To be honest, I think the basic principle might be a little too simple."
After a moment, Gyeongwon, having made up his mind, replied with a serious expression.
The reason his expression looked uneasy was probably because he didn't want to completely deny the groundbreaking item I brought from the future.
"The science fairs tend to attract top-tier specialized high school students focused on science, so they basically assume knowledge up to college-level courses….. The item the Club Prez brought, of course, since it was a huge hit in the future, it's hard for me to criticize. But honestly, this seems more suited for an invention contest rather than a science exhibition…?"
"Hmm..."
I nodded while listening to Gyeongwon's evaluation.
What he said made sense.
* * *
Invention of 2021 Brought from the future by Lee Joon
① Although it's called a magnetic hinge, the hinge itself is not made of magnets.
② It's a product closely connected to everyday life, so much so that building regulations were even changed because of it.
③ It's closely related to an incident involving a student that happened in 2017.
④ The operating principle is simple enough that even a middle school student without a knowledge of science can understand it.