84 – Counseling Room

Time passed, and it became a mandatory rest day.

After being summoned and tormented by Mr. Park the previous day, Hayoon finally woke up late in the afternoon.

This would have been absolutely impossible if Hongryun were still in charge of roll call, but since Yoonserin had taken over the role after she left, it was possible.

“Hey! Hayoon, aren’t you coming out for roll call?!”

Of course, Yoonserin was furious at Hayoon’s failure to attend roll call, but Hayoon dismissed her by flipping her the middle finger.

If Kim Seonah hadn’t appeased Yoonserin, they would have had a big fight from the morning, but Hayoon prioritized catching up on her sleep.

“Are you up?”

Kim Seonah, who was eating with Jin Siwon, said as Hayoon groggily got up at the clattering sound. Hayoon yawned widely, scratched her head, and asked.

“Where’s mine?”

“Is that the first thing you say when you wake up?”

Jin Siwon muttered in disbelief, but Hayoon lightly ignored her and looked at Kim Seonah.

“I put it on a tray for you in advance. Just take it and eat.”

“Thanks.”

At Kim Seonah’s words, Hayoon yawned again and took the tray. Her stomach was rumbling like thunder, probably because she skipped breakfast. As she was gobbling down oatmeal, Jin Siwon sighed deeply and said.

“You’re really lucky. You made such a fuss at first, but now you’re almost completely adapted.”

“Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden while I’m eating?”

“No, it’s just… you seem like a completely different person compared to when you first came here.”

At Jin Siwon’s words, Hayoon swallowed what she had stuffed in her mouth, pointed at her with a spoon, and said.

“Of course, I have to adapt, or they’ll just give up on my education and send me to a worse place. How can I not adapt?”

It wasn’t that she had adapted, but that she had no choice but to adapt. She didn’t want to go to a place even shittier than the training center.

“They send you to a worse place than here?”

“Well, like I said before, they assign you to the military or a prison. Of course, a bit milder than those who are being punished.”

If she were being punished, she would be assigned to a front-line unit bordering the country or a prison where only death row inmates are kept, but being kicked out for simple maladjustment would mean going to a slightly gentler place.

‘But it’s still going to be harder than being in the training center.’

Hayoon continued to move her spoon and said.

“It might seem like I’m just acting recklessly, but I do think to some extent before I act.”

“…Is that what you call thinking before you act?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Jin Siwon muttered, trailing off, but Hayoon neatly ignored her and said.

“Besides, it’s been a month since I came here. At this point, unless you’re a moron, you’d know that it’s better to just wait for the time to pass quietly than to cause a ruckus or try to escape.”

“…You’re talking about Sohyun, aren’t you?”

“Did it sound like that to you? Well, it’s true, though.”

At Hayoon’s grinning words, Jin Siwon clenched her fist tightly.

“Don’t be sarcastic. I feel like I’m going to get angry.”

“Why would you be angry? If you were so worried, you should have just gone with her. You chickened out—”

Hayoon stopped spouting words at Jin Siwon because of a fist that landed on her head. It was quite forceful, so Hayoon swallowed her tears and looked at the person who hit her.

“Ugh…! Hey, Kim Seonah! Why did you hit me?!”

“Hayoon was wrong. Siwon is already upset about Shin Sohyun, and you said those things.”

“Who started it first? Ugh.”

“Tsk.”

When Kim Seonah raised her fist again, Hayoon, startled, said to Jin Siwon with resentful eyes.

“Hey! I got hit because of you!”

“So what.”

“What? So what?! Wait, where are you going?!”

Jin Siwon didn’t look back at Hayoon’s words as she grabbed her, cleared her tray, and left the living quarters. Hayoon stared at her with a dumbfounded expression and said to Kim Seonah.

“Look at her. That petty bitch. She messed up first and doesn’t even apologize—Ack!”

“You hit me again!” Hayoon looked at Kim Seonah with tears in her eyes.

“Please. Can’t you get along with Siwon?”

“Why would I get along with her—Ah, okay, put your fist down.”

“I thought she wasn’t the type to use her hands like this.” Hayoon looked at Kim Seonah, who sighed with a cold sweat.

“I told you before. Siwon helped you at my request. You can be friendly with someone who helped you, right?”

“I paid her back for the help last time. So, that’s the end of it. There’s no need to be friendly…”

“So, if you pay back all the help you received from me, you won’t be like this, right?”

“No, why does it sound like that?”

Hayoon asked in an absurd voice, but Kim Seonah said in a firm voice.

“That’s what you’re saying. That once you pay back the help you received, you’re nothing to each other.”

“Siwon and you are different cases!”

“How are they different?”

“She helped me at your request, and you just helped me!”

How could helping voluntarily and helping for a reward be the same? But Kim Seonah shook her head and said.

“The result is that you both moved to help me, whether you wanted a reward or not. You should know better than anyone that helping someone here isn’t possible just because there’s a reward.”

“That’s…”

Hayoon couldn’t continue speaking, as if her words were stuck in her throat at Kim Seonah’s words. Perhaps it was because they had been close and often talked about the training center’s ecosystem, but she couldn’t refute her words.

When Hayoon couldn’t say anything, Kim Seonah sighed.

“I won’t tell you to be friendly. But I hope you don’t say things that create enemies like you did just now. It’s difficult for me if you’re at odds with other people.”

“What, are you saying… if I’m at odds with other people, you’ll be too?”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m just—”

“Hayoon.”

At the voice that came during their argument, both of them turned their heads. Hayoon involuntarily opened her mouth at the sight of Mr. Park leaning against the entrance of the living quarters.

“Mr. Park?”

“Mr. Park, you mean.”

“Ah, um. Mr. Park. What’s going on?”

Hayoon, who quickly corrected her title, asked, and Mr. Park nodded and said.

“It’s time for community service. Follow me.”

“Why am I the only one going out for community service…?”

“Just come out without complaining.”

Hayoon blinked at his unusually overbearing tone.

“Suddenly picking you out for community service, what’s that about?”

“I don’t know either. Even when I was a teacher, this never happened…”

Hayoon shook her head and answered Kim Seonah, who asked in a serious voice as if they hadn’t been arguing just moments ago.

“Then what the heck…”

“Let’s talk about it later. I don’t know what kind of punishment will fall if we make Mr. Park wait.”

At those words, Kim Seonah nodded as if she couldn’t help it. Hayoon glanced at Kim Seonah once, then turned her body and approached Mr. Park, asking in a small voice.

“What the heck is going on? Community service, and just me?”

“The VIP you and I bet on. That person wants to meet you.”

“…Isn’t that just a visit?”

It might sound absurd, but even during training center life, outsiders could request visits.

However, to do so, they had to know the trainee’s name, but since the name automatically changed upon entering the training center, visits were virtually impossible.

Unless they knew the changed name like now. At Hayoon’s words, Mr. Park shook his head and said.

“No, it’s community service. The VIP has chartered you until the morning of the day after tomorrow.”

“…Is that possible?”

“It’s possible. If you just slip some money to the director.”

“That damn money-crazed director.” As Hayoon frowned, Mr. Park continued.

“Follow me. I’ll guide you to where the VIP is.”

Hayoon turned her body and looked at Mr. Park walking away, then turned her head and looked at Kim Seonah. She nodded as if to say it was okay to her worried eyes, forgetting the argument from earlier, and followed Mr. Park.

The place they headed to was a small room across from the infirmary. It was probably a place used as a counseling room when it was used as a school. In front of the door, Mr. Park rummaged through his pockets, took out a cigarette, handed it to Hayoon, and said.

“Here, this. You’ll need it, right?”

Hayoon nodded, opened the pack, and counted the number of cigarettes.

Fortunately, there were three cigarettes intact without any missing.

“Three cigarettes, all here.”

“If you’ve confirmed, should I open it?”

Mr. Park opened the door without even hearing an answer. Inside the counseling room, there was a woman sitting on a chair and tapping her foot, and a man resting his chin on his hand on the desk in front of her.

Without needing to think about who they were, it was Han Seolah and Woo Shinhyung.

“Ah, it’s Hayoon!”

“Yo. Long time no see.”

“…Hello.”

At the sight of Han Seolah jumping up and shouting and Woo Shinhyung greeting her with a light wave, Hayoon held the cigarette pack with both hands and greeted them politely.

Mr. Park, who had a slightly surprised expression at the sight, said to the two of them.

“Please return the chartered trainee to the training center by 9 a.m. the day after tomorrow. Then I’ll be on my way…”

“Take care, teacher.”

At Woo Shinhyung’s words, Mr. Park nodded and disappeared.

Slam- Thud.

At the sound of the door closing, leaving her behind, Hayoon swallowed hard and looked at the two pairs of eyes looking at her.