episode_0008

“Jina, are you feeling unwell these days?”

During the lazy afternoon break, where both body and mind feel sluggish, Lee Sae-ah turned around with a genuinely concerned expression and looked at me.

Beside her, Lee So-yoon vigorously nodded in agreement.

“It’s the same as usual.”

“But Jini, you haven’t been sleeping in class lately.”

Lee Sae-ah said, twisting her hair with her hand.

Surprised by her words, I let out a dry laugh.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“You’ve never lived like that before.”

…Is it really that bad?

Come to think of it, I can’t seem to remember the faces of my teachers from elementary and middle school.

Hmm.

“…I think I need to start paying attention in class to keep up with the curriculum.”

So far, the tests have been easy enough to pass by just skimming through the textbooks, but high school courses definitely have challenging parts.

“Instead of me, shouldn’t you pay more attention to the guy next to you?”

Pointing to Yoon Ji-woo, who had been sleeping since lunchtime and was still dozing off during class.

“Oh, Jiwoo was sleeping again.”

You really don’t care much, do you…

“I’m not sure if he’s adapting well in the advanced class.”

“Huh? Jiwoo didn’t go to the advanced class.”

What?

Didn’t he say he was going to the advanced class on the first day?

“What? Then which club did he join?”

“He went to experience the entertainment and fashion model clubs.”

Come to think of it, I think I recommended the modeling club to him.

Did he change his mind because of what I said…?

Well, without any trauma, Jiwoo’s personality seems to suit that club better than the advanced class.

I felt a large snowball of middle school episodes building up more than I expected.

“What do you think about club activities, Jini?”

“It’s just… okay.”

…Actually, it’s not just okay. The club president is a bit, no. A very tiring person.

I remembered the first day I visited the club.

* * *

“Is this it?”

After finishing classes, I headed to the club for after-school activities.

I arrived at one of the old annex buildings located in a secluded corner of the school grounds.

It seems that the less well-known clubs are ranked quite low in the school club rankings, so they are assigned club rooms in these old buildings.

I looked at the guide sign.

The lineup of clubs in the old building is quite harsh.

What is the Chinese martial arts research club? It’s not a club where you read martial arts novels and imitate them, right?

Not only me, but the faces of the freshmen who are here for the first time all seem to say, ‘Oh, this is a bit…’

I tried to walk a bit slower than before.

The inside of the old building was filled with unique decorations.

Passing by posters put up by the Fish Research Society, such as “Ranking of Fish That Taste Good When Sashimi,” I arrived at the subculture club located on the first floor inside the building.

The entrance was quite unusual.

A cute anime character sign pointed kindly to the club room’s door.

After swallowing nervously, I knocked on the door cautiously.

– Knock knock

…

…

“Huh?”

– Knock knock!

Even after knocking on the door again, there was no response.

Thinking that maybe no one was there, I gently pushed the door to the side, and it opened.

Despite it still being daytime with the sun not yet setting, I felt a sense of unease in the dimly lit club room.

As the door opened, I looked through the small gap to check inside.

“Gasp!”

“Wow!”

Oh my god.

I almost made eye contact with someone through the gap in the door and almost fell back.

As I tried to calm my startled heart, the door of the club room opened from the inside.

“W-who are you?”

Inside, a timid-looking young man revealed himself.

Checking his name tag, I saw that he was a senior in the third year named Im Sung-ho.

“Oh, um. I’m here for the club experience.”

“New student!? Here? Really? You? You didn’t come to the wrong place, did you?”

The senior’s eyes trembled violently, as if representing his disbelief.

“Yes. Isn’t this the subculture club?”

“Well, it is. The subculture club…”

“…But, what were you doing? You really surprised me.”

“I, I was surprised too.”

Clearing his throat, the senior turned on the light in the dim club room.

And then, the interior was revealed.

A small table, two sofas, and a few bookshelves were tucked in the corner.

Next to the window, there was a water cooler and a coffee table with instant coffee mix and green tea displayed on top.

But what caught the eye was definitely the interior. The walls and ceiling were filled with a huge amount of otaku goods.

“Amazing.”

“Isn’t it? This is all the history of our subculture club. Each item was carefully collected by the seniors who graduated, all the way to us.”

Indeed, the quality and quantity of goods showed true sincerity and passion.

While looking at those goods, something caught my eye – a blackout curtain on one wall.

The senior, noticing my reaction, approached the blackout curtain.

Then, he peeked his head through the curtain as if having a conversation with someone inside.

After a moment, the curtain was pulled back, revealing what was inside.

Inside, a screen and a projector that adorned one side of the club room wall caught the eye.

On the screen, a famous anime was paused, and there were several soft-looking chairs placed for viewing.

Among them, a special chair that looked like a throne, where a female student was sitting, accompanied by a male student.

As the light poured in, the pair stood up from their seats.

“Oh my. You’re a new member?”

The girl, with her dark hair flowing like spilled ink, turned around to look at me.

She was a beautiful girl, like something out of a painting.

She exuded the aura of a high-class lady.

“Oh, yes. It’s not confirmed yet, though.”

“You came for the trial membership. I am the head of the subculture club, Yura. Nice to meet you, junior.”

“I’m Seo Jin.”

Both in appearance and speech, she was definitely someone with a strong ladylike nature.

Was this really a romantic comedy world?

Following the guidance of senior Lim Sung-ho, who opened the door of the club room, I sat on the sofa, and three seniors sat across from me.

“This is the vice head, Lim Sung-ho. And this is the treasurer, Kim Joo-yong.”

Senior Lim Sung-ho, who was the vice head, was the first person I met, and senior Kim Joo-yong, the treasurer, was sitting next to the head.

All three were seniors in their third year.

The vice head exuded a timid appearance that resonated with the inner nerd in me.

The treasurer was a man with a cold impression, wearing black horn-rimmed glasses.

…But there are only three of them, and they’re all officers?

Following the head’s elegant gesture of extending his hand to introduce us, we exchanged greetings.

After the greetings, the treasurer, Joo-yong, quickly made a cup of instant coffee.

As I tried to get up, the head stopped me.

“You’re still a guest, so you can sit.”

I awkwardly sat back down.

Nodding my head in thanks, I took a sip, and the head’s voice broke the silence.

“So, Seo Jin, why do you want to join the subculture club?”

“Oh. I like drawing illustrations in this style. I’m also considering a career in that field, and I’ve done a few commissions before.”

“Oh my? Are you already working in the field? You’re an impressive junior!”

The sudden excited appearance of the department head made me feel awkward, so I absentmindedly stroked the back of my head.

“It’s not really something to make a big deal about.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could I see what kind of drawings you do?”

“Oh, sure.”

I took out my phone and showed the department head the commission site.

“Huh? Oh!”

The department head suddenly stood up and snatched my phone away.

“T-This is!”

“Yura, senior…?”

“I’m the department head now! But more importantly, is it really Seojin!? Wait, your name is Seijin, right! Oh my god!”

The department head, who had just been modest and elegant moments ago, was now extremely excited and flushed with enthusiasm.

“Seojin! I’m your fan!”

“Uh, okay?”

“Look at this.”

Unable to contain his excitement, the department head handed me his trembling phone after frantically operating it.

On the screen were several illustrations that I had drawn for commissions.

“This… then, could it be you, department head?”

“Yes! That’s me. I’m Arara, Seojin’s number one fan!”

Could such a coincidence happen, meeting Arara here.

Not only was he the first person to commission me, but he had also spent a significant amount of money on me, contributing to my current financial stability.

“What a huge coincidence. Uh, please calm down for a moment.”

As the department head took a deep breath, the vice department head and the logistics manager approached and took my phone from the department head’s hand to admire it.

“Wow. This is really professional artwork.”

“Amazing. So, Seijin junior?”

I expressed my gratitude briefly in response to the logistics manager and vice department head’s admiration.

“You can call me casually. Vice department head.”

“Uh, okay. Jina….”

Thud!

At that moment, the quiet department head suddenly stood up with a start.

“Ah, you scared me! Yura!”

“Call me department head! But, more importantly, the paper for the autograph…”

As I watched the department head absentmindedly searching around the club room, I couldn’t help but wonder if that person was really the girl I had just met.

After the fan signing event with only three people ended, I was unconditionally accepted into the club by the department head.

I wonder if this club is going to be okay.