episode_0035

After the Friday study group ended, it was the peaceful Monday following a relaxing weekend.

Seong Yurin, whom we met in the morning, greeted us with a calm expression, seeming to have relieved some burden from her heart.

Seeing Seong Yurin like that, Hong Yeonseo was also pleased.

I felt good too.

After finishing a brisk jog, I looked back and forth between the two catching their breath on my left and right.

To be able to meet two high school girls with almost opposite charms every morning. Truly a blessed life.

“Shall we go in?”

Seeing the two looking well-rested, I cleared my seat and stood up.

Red and blue eyes turned towards me.

“Let’s go energetically today~”

….

That guy again, making remarks that could pass for a foreman at a construction site.

But by now, I can find it cute to see him act like that. Maybe I’ve grown fond of him.

Until last week, I tried to stick to the position of just watching from afar.

Except for when I was young, I was even more determined to maintain that distance when I entered the original.

But now, I know it’s all pointless and have a new mindset.

* * *

During the morning Korean class, a strict middle-aged female teacher entered the room.

“Let’s turn in the homework I assigned last time. Pass it from the back to the front.”

I passed forward the Korean practice problems I had solved over the weekend.

But it seems Yoon Jiu didn’t do his homework.

His trembling body was clearly visible from behind. Well, that’s what you get for not studying.

“Yoon Jiu, Seo Juhyuk, Hwang Jaeho. Is it you guys again? Go stand at the back.”

In the end, Yoon Jiu and the three friends who didn’t submit their homework had to stand at the back and listen to the class.

Yoon Jiu and the others were known as the so-called ‘troublemakers’ in the class. Thanks to Yoon Jiu being with us, they were slightly better than the other two.

Although there are no bad rumors about them, it seems like I need to keep an eye on Yoon Jiu.

But back in my day, if someone didn’t do their homework, they would just come forward and get a good scolding…

Hmm. Was I too old-fashioned?

“We’ll cover new material, so get your books out. You know the midterms are only a month away, so you need to study hard, right?”

Ye-

“Ugh. Look at the energy from the beginning of the semester. Are first-year students already feeling drained?”

Even for first-year students at the beginning of the semester, studying is a draining time. Teacher.

“Let’s see, where did Class C leave off….”

Although it was a boring time, I didn’t ignore the class like I used to.

Sometimes when my head didn’t work or I got bored, I would doodle in the textbook, but I was still listening attentively in class.

Even though most of the subjects could be solved through memorization, as it wasn’t a university major course requiring understanding, it was possible to get good grades through memorization.

It’s not for nothing that they say top scorers studied mainly from the textbooks.

Tap tap.

The girl next to me, Lee Soyun, tapped her pen on the desk so I could see.

When I turned to look at Soyun’s desk, I saw neatly written words.

[Do you want to eat together tonight?]

I twirled my pen.

And pushed the textbook slightly towards Soyun, starting to write a note on the corner of the book.

[Just the two of us?]

[Yes]

[Downtown?]

[Yes]

Yes, can’t write anything else, Soyun.

But seeing Soyun’s note suggesting we eat dinner together, I paused my pen for a moment.

Even though I knew it wouldn’t mean anything special, it was the nature of a man to start expecting things for no reason.

[Is there something you want to eat?]

[Tonkatsu!]

Tonkatsu, huh. I do like that too.

[There’s a place I want to visit.]

[Call me after the club activities.]

Since there were no other plans, it was possible to have dinner with Lee So-yoon around evening.

[Sure.]

Once again, Lee So-yoon responded with a short word and smiled broadly.

Seems like she really wants to eat a lot of tonkatsu.

* * *

“Oh, come to think of it.”

As I was heading towards the club room after school, I paused for a moment as a sudden thought crossed my mind.

“Wasn’t that senior supposed to come today?”

It was about a senior named Yuseol, who the head introduced to me.

Although it was just a brief introduction before the event, meeting new people always made me nervous.

I cleared my slightly stiff neck and headed towards the club room.

Standing in front of the club room door, I knocked and as the door opened, I saw the familiar scene with an unfamiliar person’s back.

A white girl stood up from her chair and turned to me, greeting me.

“Junior! You’ve arrived!”

The head’s welcoming greeting could be heard from inside. As I turned my head, I saw the back of an unfamiliar person in a familiar setting.

As her soft hair fluttered, her face turned towards me.

“Hello… Seo Yijin, right? I’m Yuseol, a sophomore.”

Seeing her shy demeanor in the photo, I thought she might be timid, but she didn’t give off that vibe. Instead, she seemed quite confident.

Facing Yuseol, I offered a polite greeting as a junior.

“Oh. Yes, I’m Seo Yijin. Yuseol senior.”

“Ugh. It feels awkward… You can, you can be more casual.”

She seemed a bit shy, lowering her head and fidgeting with her hands.

“Hehe. I hope the two juniors get along well.”

“Do you want to cosplay together with the three of us?”

“……..”

The head, who pierced me with his silence, continued to sip his tea.

Not wanting to stand there for no reason, I moved to get something to drink.

Glancing around the club room, I noticed that the curtain in the darkroom was drawn, indicating that the assistant head and the treasurer were watching anime.

After getting my tea and sitting across from Yuseol, she gently raised her head and looked at me.

“I heard from Ara unnie that you’re a professional illustrator… Is that true?”

“Ah… Yes. Well, if you’ve been paid for your work, you can call yourself a professional, right?”

It felt a bit awkward saying it out loud…

“Really? That’s impressive. Actually, I’m also very interested in that field.”

“You mean illustration?”

“Yeah. I’m currently studying art for college entrance exams.”

Yuseol turned her gaze from me to the head, continuing to speak.

“However, last summer, I happened to become friends with that unnie…”

Hmm. I could roughly guess what happened next even without hearing the explanation.

Although her introduction to subculture was more like being dragged in by Yura’s coercion, Yuseol also seemed to have developed a strong interest in subculture.

She mentioned that she had been studying art for a long time. Considering that she was seriously considering her career path, her interest in subculture seemed to be genuine.

“So, I was actually contemplating. Whether to transfer from the art club to a subculture club or a manga club.”

“Ah.”

At Seojeong High School, students had the opportunity to change clubs once a year.

Naturally, it was not common for high school students to stick to one club they had chosen, so club transfers were quite active.

Moreover, even if you didn’t officially transfer clubs, there was a system that allowed you to participate in activities of another club if you followed the appropriate procedures.

Since it was a bit late in the year, you could understand why there was a lot of club transfer activity.

“However, a few days ago, Ara unnie told me about you.”

“Ah, I see.”

Yuseol, who was contemplating her career path, expressed her desire to meet me, a self-proclaimed professional, to receive some help with drawing.

“Well, if you’re okay with it, could I get some help with drawing? I’m not asking you to teach me everything from A to Z. I just want some occasional advice.”

“If it’s during club activity hours, it’s fine.”

After all, it was close to the time she spent on drawing practice or similar activities. I could offer some small help.

More importantly, I needed to think about whether I could actually help someone who had formally studied art.

Upon hearing my words, Yuseol smiled broadly.

“Really? Then, I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

Although there was a hint of awkwardness, Yuseol reached out her hand. I also extended my hand to shake hers.

From her small hand, I could feel the calluses that had come from holding a brush for a long time.

“Ah!?”

Hmm. Perhaps my touch felt a bit strange, as Yuseol withdrew her hand in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no. I was just a bit startled…”

As our greeting ended, the director, who had been quietly observing us, finally spoke up.

“My, it seems like you two are getting along well. I’m pleased.”

Covering his mouth with exaggerated gestures, the director smiled.

“Would you like to have dinner together today, as a celebration of becoming friends?”

Yuseol turned to me and spoke.

“I’m sorry, I have a prior engagement tonight.”

“Ah, I see… Well, it can’t be helped.”

“Junior! What if Yuseol gets upset?”

“…Yes?”

“Ah!”

Yuseol let out a loud exclamation and rushed towards the director.

“I didn’t mean it that way!”

“Oh no! The tea, it’s spilling!”

Fortunately, the director, with incredible balance, managed to avoid spilling the tea and let out a sigh of relief.

“By the way, Junior! If you have a prior engagement, is it with a woman? It must be a woman, right?”

“…….”

What does ‘It must be a woman, right?’ even mean? What kind of person am I in the eyes of the director?

…But, since it was indeed a woman, I had nothing to say.

“Is it that cute junior from last time? Are you two dating?”

“Please calm down. Please.”

I did my best to stop the director from prying further. It was impressive how he managed to guess the person I had plans with for dinner.

Meanwhile, Yuseol watched us from a distance with a look of fascination.