Chapter 38: School Trip (1)

A clear morning with bright sunlight.

Second-year students stood in formation on the wide field.

Now that June had arrived, it was summer. Sure enough, it was quite humid even in the morning.

I hadn’t noticed in the air-conditioned classroom, but coming outside made me realize how hot it had gotten. Even students who’d been wearing winter uniforms switched to summer ones today. Well, wearing heavy clothes on a day like this would lead to heat exhaustion.

Come to think of it, everyone was in summer uniforms. The moment I realized this, my eyes naturally rolled over.

They were drawn to… So-yul, standing at the front of the next line.

In her summer uniform, So-yul’s fair neck and arms were exposed. The sunlight reflected off her amber hair. Her small ears peeked out slightly.

The thin clothes gave off a lively atmosphere. She seemed somewhat playful too. Her appearance drawing everyone’s attention went without saying.

Though I wanted to keep watching this different side of So-yul, I had to quickly look away.

It would be obvious if I just stared at So-yul while everyone else faced forward.

Plus above all, the head of student affairs was lecturing at the front of the field.

“The bright weather seems like heaven’s blessing. Though it’s a nice day, don’t get too relaxed. Even though you’ll have some free time outside school today, a student’s duty is still…”

“Yawn…”

I yawned shamelessly while listening to their lecture. Actually, I was letting it all go in one ear and out the other. No point paying attention to meaningless talk anyway.

“So second years. Make sure you don’t get hurt during these two days, and follow teachers’ orders. I’ll stay here for the other grades, but when you’re outside remember you represent the school and absolutely must…”

See? Just obvious useless talk.

But well, if there was one fortunate thing:

Even the head of student affairs had to follow the set schedule.

“Anyway, time’s up so I’ll finish here.”

With these closing words, they removed the microphone. Light feedback echoed across the field. Everyone frowned at the grating sound.

Finally the head of student affairs clasped their hands behind their back and shouted:

“All second years.”

Then declared with a sour expression:

“…Follow your teachers to the trip buses.”

Those brief words announced the start of our short school trip.

◎

The school’s planned trip schedule was predictably not fun at all.

Well, hadn’t our homeroom teacher warned us? Not to expect any fun on this school trip.

After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at a training center in a nearby area.

A recreation instructor greeted us right as we got off the bus. They said we’d have inter-class competitions with quizzes and various activities. There were even some small prizes prepared.

Academic track students who’d only ever studied couldn’t possibly be enthusiastic about this.

Everyone in our class, including me, just sat there trying not to come in last. We only gave halfhearted answers when the host called on us.

Meanwhile, the arts track students seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Makes sense they’d like these events more than us. Though late, it was like an arts festival after-party for them.

Yeah, enjoy enough for our share too.

As I watched like an outsider, a familiar high-pitched voice carried over:

“…Let’s split the next question in half and memorize it!”

It was So-yul.

Standing tall in the middle of her class, So-yul was leading and directing everyone.

Her efforts encouraging and cheering for everyone’s participation showed her qualities as a leader and mood-maker.

Perhaps thanks to these efforts, So-yul’s class looked particularly bright.

“So-yul’s so cute being all energetic…”

“I know. Look at her trying so hard to win. I want to hug her…”

Hearing such comments, their reasons seemed slightly different.

Anyway, it was nice seeing her so lively. As I quietly watched thinking this, by chance our eyes met directly.

The moment our gazes met, So-yul’s eyes opened wide. Her whole body visibly froze at the same time.

I probably wasn’t much different.

Though I tried to look away out of embarrassment, So-yul reacted faster.

She quickly turned her head this way and that. Seemingly looking for somewhere else to focus. Her cheeks gradually turned red. Her smiling face instantly stiffened.

Well… we couldn’t exactly keep staring at each other or it would be hard to explain if caught. Maybe that’s why she quickly looked away.

That must have been her intention.

After that, only incredibly boring activities followed.

Eating lunch worse than school food. Dozing through a documentary about environmental protection. Picking up trash along the roads.

At this point it felt more like a volunteer service trip than a school trip.

After dinner, as the teacher had previewed, we had time to write letters to our parents.

“We’ll really send these to your parents. Write your home address correctly~”

The teacher added this, but there was no point in me writing an address. Even if it somehow reached them, they probably wouldn’t read it. I ended up barely writing anything.

They wouldn’t let just me go back to the dorm for having a sad story either. I had to kill time somehow until everyone finished their letters.

At times like this, what to do was… obvious.

I turned my head to find where So-yul sat.

Not far away, her distinctive amber hair was visible.

So-yul was writing her letter with an extremely serious expression.

Writing something then erasing it. Holding her pen while deep in thought. Moving her lips as if reading over sentences to organize them. Every action clearly conveyed her thoughtful nature.

But well. What feelings was So-yul writing to her parents with right now?

As just her fake boyfriend, I had no way of knowing.

◎

“Everyone sleep well. Tomorrow we’ll head back to school right after breakfast. Everyone shower according to schedule. As you can see, there’s only one shower room. Decide order based on who wants to wake up early.”

“Yes~”

Eight people lying on their bedding answered the teacher’s lecture in unison.

After spending the whole day on boring activities and finally finishing the parent letters, bedtime had already arrived.

The dorm assigned eight people to each large room. No beds of course, and only one bathroom per room. Well, at least there were hallway bathrooms for emergencies, so that was something.

As I snorted at this, the teacher continued:

“Obviously if you’re caught staying up talking or wandering around, you’ll get demerits immediately. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Again we all answered together like a chorus.

Looking down at us, the teacher clicked their tongue briefly. But that was it. Soon they turned around.

Grabbing the doorknob as if there was nothing more to say, they added while turning their head one last time:

“…At least don’t get caught by the strict teachers.”

No one bothered answering their final comment.

Even our strict school seemed to turn a blind eye on school trip nights. That’s what the rumors passed down from seniors said, and what we’d experienced last year too.

This was why students even snuck between rooms using their judgment.

Of course standards varied by teacher, and with bad luck you could actually get demerits… But most had our homeroom teacher’s mindset. Either don’t get caught at all, or at least get caught by someone like them.

It was quite surprising that such a strict school allowed this freedom.

Well, maybe the teachers secretly wanted to let us loose too.

Not that there was anything special to do. The guys in my room just rolled around chatting.

Making small talk about nothing. Playing Uno or Mighty with secretly brought cards. Dragging out someone solving workbooks in the corner.

While we wasted our freedom on such pointless things, suddenly the room door opened.

Checking, there stood the arts track student from our morning classes.

Why had they come here?

Receiving everyone’s puzzled looks, they chuckled and:

“Hey, the two classes with shared morning periods decided to do a vote. Want to join?”

Threw out this proposal.

Everyone must have been skeptical for a moment. Someone had to ask. I was the first to speak:

“What kind of vote?”

“Ah, nothing major…”

At my question, they pointed at their phone and:

“We’re doing an anonymous vote on who you might like in the two classes.”

Explained.

Who you might like in the two classes. The topic seemed aimed right at me. I almost wondered if it was a trap set up by teachers.

But hearing the details, fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case.

Apparently this idea came up across our grade, to do this between classes sharing morning periods. The vote would use an anonymous group chat. Basically like a grade-wide popularity poll.

Amazing they’d do this at a school that banned dating. If someone leaked the results they might become the school’s target…

But before I could voice such opinions, everyone else wore intrigued expressions. At this point I had no choice but to accept too.

When we all agreed to participate, soon everyone’s phones buzzed. Must be invites to the voting chat.

“Think about it until 2 AM and vote. If you don’t like anyone you can pick ‘None’. Results show up after you vote. Good luck~”

The arts track student left after this explanation. They seemed to be going room to room recruiting voters. Their enthusiasm was impressive.

Anyway, a popularity poll huh.

I checked my phone to look at the group chat. There was one poll created. About 60 candidates lined up, both male and female. “None” sat proudly at the top.

With dating banned, interaction between boys and girls wasn’t active at this school. At least for the academic track. I expected most would choose “None.”

That’s why until last year I would have picked “None” too.

But now… there was exactly one person who came to mind.

As I slowly scrolled, the name I wanted appeared. A lonely “Select” button sat beside it.

Just as I was about to press that button, my finger suddenly stopped.

If I voted carelessly, might the other person realize my feelings? This belated worry arose.

As I hesitated whether to press the button or not.

Suddenly, the name I’d been thinking of popped up on my screen.

I almost dropped my phone in surprise but barely caught it. I had to brush off my friend lying next to me asking “What are you doing?”

Sighing as I looked at the screen, I saw a private KakaoTalk message had arrived.

With an “it couldn’t be” feeling, I moved my finger to read the contents:

[So-yul: …Can we meet for a moment right now?]

I almost dropped my phone again.