Ch.3737. The Long-Awaited School Trip

A week had passed since the midterm exams ended.

Monday, late afternoon at the harbor.

I was blankly staring at the sea in front of Incheon.

“….”

As I stood still with my body relaxed, I could smell the refreshing scent of the sea. It had been a while since I’d visited the harbor, and as I was gazing absently, I heard what sounded like wheels being dragged nearby.

“Siwoo? What are you doing here?”

When I turned around, it was Hwa Nabi. Well, she’s the only one who would approach me so casually. I was sitting on my suitcase like a chair, and I got up as I responded.

“Just enjoying the view of the sea.”

The afternoon sea, dyed with crimson sunset, was truly magnificent. Hwa Nabi seemed to share my appreciation as she nodded and stood beside me.

“You’re right, the sunset is beautiful.”

“Yeah, isn’t it?”

We stood there for a moment in silence, watching the evening sea.

But that didn’t last long. Just as even beautiful artwork becomes mundane with repeated viewing, we soon returned to reality from our daze.

“But why would they schedule a school trip departure in the afternoon?”

Typically, departures are set for the morning by unspoken agreement. That would be the normal way to do it. But when we checked the details, that wasn’t the case.

Contrary to my expectations, Chungha Highschool’s trip schedule only began after all regular classes ended today.

Things were already quite different from what I’d anticipated, and I hadn’t checked the schedule in advance so I didn’t know… The reason for this bizarre scheduling was absurd. Apparently, the ship we were taking could only depart late in the afternoon on weekdays.

“I know, right? But the other students seemed happy about it.”

Of course they would be. Since today, the departure day, wasn’t included in the official 2-night, 3-day trip schedule, it essentially extended our trip to 3 nights and 4 days.

This meant they could skip one more day of school, so the students would be happy regardless of the circumstances. Little did they know that their summer vacation would be delayed by a day as a result…

I kept these cynical thoughts to myself. Hwa Nabi soon changed the subject.

“Oh, Siwoo. Do you know what we’re taking today?”

“Since we’re gathered at the dock, obviously we’re going by ship, right? But wasn’t it originally supposed to be a round-trip flight?”

A trip that would take less than two hours by plane would take six times longer by ship.

Since it would take over ten hours, we would inevitably have to spend a night at sea. I grumbled, not liking the idea.

“Yes, that was the original plan. But I talked to my father and had it changed to a ship.”

“What? You did what?”

“I had it changed to a ship. It’s a cruise ship, and it’s exclusively chartered for our first-year class. Amazing, right? My group agreed to cover the cruise rental cost, so the school immediately approved it.”

“……”

I was momentarily speechless from disbelief. An individual negotiated with the school and changed the mode of transportation to a cruise ship?

This would normally sound absurd, but… let’s not forget that Hwa Nabi’s backing, the Hwa Group, ranks among the top ten conglomerates in the country. If they wanted to, something like this would be effortless for them.

At this point, I wondered if this was coercion through money and power, but seeing how excited my classmates were, I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Actually, it’s not really coercion. They didn’t collect additional fees from students to charter the cruise. Didn’t she say the Hwa Group covered the entire cost?

I’ve never chartered an entire cruise ship myself, so I can’t be certain, but it must have cost a considerable amount. In this situation, most students and teachers should actually be grateful to Hwa Nabi.

“…That’s impressive.”

I muttered, half in admiration, half in disbelief. Hwa Nabi took it as a compliment and smiled at me.

“Right? Impressive, isn’t it?”

I’m realizing again what an incredibly proactive girl she is. Even if most people could do something like this, they wouldn’t even think of it. While I was secretly admiring her, I heard our homeroom teacher calling everyone together from a distance.

“Class A! Everyone gather here for roll call!”

“The teacher’s calling. Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

*

Roll call, luggage check, and room assignments were all completed.

Only first-year students were on this trip, and among them, our Class A would be the first to board.

As the students carried their luggage into the cruise ship, everyone, including myself, held their breath simultaneously.

“…Wow.”

“What is all this?”

Although I had suspected something from the impressive exterior, the interior of the ship was far more spacious than I had imagined.

The central hall was so large that it could accommodate not just the first-year students but the entire Chungha Highschool; antique furniture placed throughout, red-toned wallpaper, and the atmosphere created by the interior design was truly fantastic.

It was like a scene from a movie, and without exaggeration, I felt like I should be holding a glass of fine wine and making a toast right then and there.

And this ship was chartered exclusively for our grade for today. Could this really be true? My heart was racing…

“Teacher, are we really using this ship that we chartered?”

“Are we on the wrong ship?”

The doubts my classmates harbored were entirely reasonable. The cruise ship we were on was too extravagant to be considered appropriate for a high school field trip.

But our homeroom teacher, who should have addressed these doubts, was as dazed as most of the students. He just stared blankly at the central hall.

“Um, teacher? The students are asking.”

I gently prompted him, thinking we couldn’t proceed like this. But the teacher remained silent with unfocused eyes.

Right, now that I think about it, this person is supposedly weak for romantic settings.

Perhaps because the scene before us was like something out of a movie, the teacher seemed to have been captivated.

As I was feeling awkward about the unexpected situation, someone suddenly cleared their throat and stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Ahem, um, everyone? Don’t worry. We’re not on the wrong ship.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“How do you know?”

The two female students who asked seemed skeptical.

Their doubt was understandable. I knew because I had heard it directly, but the other students, including these two, didn’t know the background.

But how was she planning to explain this? If she said, “I know because I changed it,” it would sound like she was showing off, but if she said, “I don’t know either,” the obvious response would be, “How can you be so sure if you don’t know?”

“…Well, you see. Um, well…”

Hwa Nabi’s face clearly showed her confusion at the sudden questions. Her mouth moved, but no coherent words came out.

She knew that mentioning it herself would make her look bad.

Her gaze wandered for a moment before briefly meeting mine.

…There were no words, but her eyes seemed to be asking for help.

“…”

Well, I guess I have no choice. It might be better if I step in and casually mention it. With that thought, I was about to speak.

That’s when it happened.

From a distance, the sound of footsteps in dress shoes approached. Turning around, I saw a middle-aged man with a stylish mustache and beard.

Is he a crew member? As I was carefully observing his attire, the middle-aged man who met my eyes suddenly brightened and approached.

“Well, look who it is! Siwoo, it’s you, right?”

Han Siwoo is the only male student with that name in Class A. So he must be calling me. But who is he?

Judging by his uniform, he’s a crew member of this ship, and considering his age, possibly an officer or the captain. But I couldn’t recognize him at all from his appearance.

“Excuse me? Me?”

“Yes, you. Han Siwoo.”

The middle-aged man spoke as if he knew me well. Since he even knew my surname, he wasn’t mistaking me for someone else.

“I’m sorry, but who are you? I don’t quite remember.”

“Oh, come on. Didn’t your father ever mention me?”

…Could he be an acquaintance or friend of Han Siwoo’s father? Judging by how he speaks, they seem quite close, so he’s likely a friend, and if so, it’s not strange that he knows Han Siwoo.

“Ah, you’re the captain of the Spectrum, right? No, I’ve heard a lot about you from my father.”

“Yes, now you’re remembering.”

I took a wild guess and luckily got it right. I shook hands with the middle-aged man, or rather, the captain of this cruise ship, who wore a satisfied smile. His hand was as big as a pot lid, with calluses all over, making it quite distinctive.

“Have you had dinner?”

“No, not yet. We haven’t finished our schedule.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll tell the gallery, so bring your friends and have dinner before you go. There’s a restaurant on the second floor.”

At the sweet words “luxury cruise restaurant,” all my classmates reacted at once.

Yes, since we’re here, they’d prefer to dine at a restaurant rather than a regular cafeteria. I understand that feeling too.

But ordinary students couldn’t easily afford meals that cost hundreds of thousands of won each. So what should we do…? As I was pondering, a brilliant idea crossed my mind.

Wait, is this an opportunity to gain both reputation and practical benefits? It might seem trivial to treat classmates to a meal, but if the location is a high-end restaurant, especially one attached to a luxury cruise, that’s a different story.

It feels a bit uncomfortable, like I’m buying people’s hearts with money… But I can’t remain an outsider forever. This is a chance to level up from “thug” to “thug, but maybe a good guy?”

Thinking this was a good opportunity, I stopped the captain who was about to end the conversation.

“Ah, Captain. Would it be possible to bring all of my classmates?”

“What? All of your classmates?”

The captain frowned and stroked his beard at my request.

Well, even I thought this was pushing it. The captain might be able to accommodate me and a few others at his discretion, but when the number reaches around thirty, it would be difficult even for a captain.

With that in mind, I was about to withdraw my request.

But the captain spoke before I could.

“Really? Well, I suppose it would feel bad if some ate at the restaurant while others ate at the regular cafeteria. Alright, it’s about the mood. I’ll tell them to expect all of you, so go have dinner at the restaurant.”

“……”

Wow… this actually worked?