episode_0041

“It’s finally over…”

Hong Yeonseo slumped over her desk, completely drained of energy. Looking around, it seemed like not only Hong Yeonseo, but several of her classmates were lying on their desks in the same position.

It was the last day of midterms, and the final subject had just finished.

“Did you think the exams went well?”

“I don’t know… I just want to forget about it and relax now.”

Yeonseo dryly replied to my question and shook her head.

It seemed like Yeonseo had made up her mind to erase the exams from her mind.

Well, I agree. We all need a break for a while.

“The English exam was so difficult.”

Listening to Yoon Jiwu’s complaints, I thought about the exam questions.

…Hmm, were they really that hard?

Ignoring the kids who were discussing the exam questions and boasting about their answers, I turned on my phone that had been turned off.

As it buzzed and lit up, the phone vibrated a few more times vigorously once the data was turned on.

Curious about the constant buzzing, I checked the club chatroom notifications.

[Hoo]

[Rae]

[Nim]

[!!!]

[If you’re not busy today, please come to the club room!!]

[Our cosplay costumes have arrived!]

Ah.

I finally remembered. Those clothes…

After checking the club president’s message, I instinctively ran my hand through my hair.

Although I had agreed to it in the heat of the moment, now that it was right in front of me, it finally sank in.

As a headache started to bother me, a concerned voice came from beside me.

“Jina, are you feeling okay? Is something wrong?”

Seeing me rub my head, Lee Soyun asked.

Upon hearing Soyun’s words, Lee Saeah quickly turned her head and stared at me with a stern expression.

“Is Jina feeling unwell?”

As she reached out her hand to my forehead…

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some annoying things came up.”

I quickly dodged Saeah’s touch.

In response, Saeah pouted.

“Why are you avoiding me? My touch is full of affection.”

“Affection, my foot.”

I put my phone away and rested my chin on my hand as Soyun inserted Saeah’s puffed-up cheek.

“Midterms are over today, and the holiday starts tomorrow. Shall we go somewhere today?”

“What? Going out?”

Upon hearing Soyun’s words, Hong Yeonseo and Sung Yurin approached us.

It seemed like they were always eavesdropping on our conversations.

As the excited kids made various schedules without me, I spoke up.

“I have something to do today. Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

“Hmm?”

Various exclamations and gazes were directed at me.

…Why.

“There’s no way Jina has something to do.”

“Right. Are you really going to skip out on a day like this?”

Saeah and Yeonseo teamed up to attack me. Soyun and Yurin didn’t say anything, but they looked at me with the same expression.

“No… I really do have something to do. Club activities.”

“Wow~ What kind of club activities are you doing on the last day of midterms?”

Yeonseo grumbled about the intense training schedule of the handball team.

Although the other kids seemed disappointed, once I mentioned club activities as a valid excuse, the pressure on me noticeably decreased.

“Ugh… then Jina is excused.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Yeonseo’s words.

“Why? I’ll just go and come back.”

“…How can you say that.”

Yurin said calmly.

It seemed like the other kids shared the same opinion.

“Jina, aren’t you going to be upset if you go alone~ Hehe.”

“Why would I be upset… If you guys want to have fun, then go ahead.”

I denied Soyun’s words and grabbed my bag.

“Ah~ What a shame.”

“That’s true…”

As the kids realized that their persuasion had failed, they all returned to their seats.

Not long after, Teacher Jung Chaeyeon entered the classroom.

“Well then, did everyone do well on the exams?”

“Teacher! English is too difficult!”

The teacher burst into laughter at some students’ complaints.

“You only answered what we learned in class, so what will you do if it’s difficult?”

Continuing the conversation, the teacher spoke while calming the noise.

“Still, as the homeroom teacher in charge of English, our class must have the top student in English for first grade, right?”

“Yes-”

Excited to go home early, everyone in the class responded energetically to the teacher.

Hearing our responses, the teacher couldn’t help but chuckle and burst into laughter.

“Alright. Everyone’s answers are perfect like a hundred points. Anyway, the midterms are over! Enjoy the four-day weekend and have fun, but don’t go to dangerous places, okay?”

“Yes-”

The teacher continued with a speech to prepare for the long weekend.

“If I talk too much, you’ll dislike me, right? Well then, see you on Monday~”

The teacher bid farewell at the right timing.

“Wow~”

As soon as the closing ceremony ended, some impatient students quickly left the classroom.

The lively atmosphere felt on the last day of exams… something you wouldn’t experience unless it’s during school days.

I also picked up my bag and stood up from my seat.

Seeing me, Lee So-yoon grabbed my sleeve and made a final suggestion.

“Hey, Jina… are you really busy today? Can’t you hang out even in the evening?”

“Uh… well, I might have some time. But it’s a hassle to gather everyone again.”

Seeing Lee So-yoon understanding my words, she looked disappointed.

Watching her, I couldn’t help but think of other kids.

Postponing promises unilaterally under the pretext of inconvenience makes me seem like a bad person, and I reflected a bit on what had happened so far.

Now that it’s a long weekend, I need to break the rules in my mind and make plans for outings this week.

Today, I’ll handle the dinner appointment with senior Yoo-seol at the club.

Starting from tomorrow, Thursday to Sunday, if I handle one appointment each day, it will fit perfectly.

One day during the four-day period is So-yoon’s birthday, so I need to decide who to meet first… I’ll think about the order from now on.

“Well then, see you on your birthday the day after tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

After saying goodbye to everyone, I headed to the club room in the Gugwan building.

I realized that I need to finish the drawing I prepared as a birthday present for So-yoon, but time seems a bit tight.

Originally, I was going to give her a feminine outfit that suits So-yoon, but now I’m also drawing a picture.

If I only give it to Isea, it might seem like I’m discriminating against others and look strange to others.

Because of that, my body is suffering. Still, considering Isea’s reaction, So-yoon will probably be happy too.

Now that I’ve given a gift to So-yoon, I’m in a position where I have to draw a picture for the other kids without any hesitation.

Thinking about So-yoon’s birthday present, I arrived at the Gugwan building in no time.

Inside the building, it felt almost empty.

Who would come to the club room on the day after exams?

Everyone must be going home or busy having fun.

…Oh, I came.

* * *

As I opened the door to the club room and entered, familiar faces greeted me.

As the door opened, the gazes of two pairs of male and female seniors, four seniors in total, gathered on me.

Meanwhile, my gaze was fixed on the large boxes on the table.

“Underclassman! Look at this. It finally arrived~”

The excited voice of the club president resonated in my ears.

“Oh… s-so, Ise and Unni… President, are you cosplaying these two characters?”

Turning my gaze away from me, Yoo-seol was admiring the game character images shown by the vice president.

“This is really coming.”

The manager replied after hearing my muttered self-talk.

“Of course! How much I’ve been looking forward to this.”

With those words, the manager began to unpack the box.

With delicate hands, he cut the tape and revealed the first cosplay outfit, the costume of a female magician character named Irina, that the manager would wear.

Leaving the decorations like the hat aside for now, the manager put on the main witch outfit.

The overall figure of the blue-tinted female magician outfit was revealed.

“Wow….”

The vice-manager and the logistics officer gasped in amazement.

Honestly, I might have done the same. The quality of the outfit was beyond imagination.

There were no visible imperfections in the low-cost cosplay outfit, and it boasted a sturdy structure that felt like it could be worn outside without any issues.

Of course, if you actually wore such clothes outside, you might be dragged to a mental hospital.

“Mmm~ I’m very satisfied!”

“Wow, it’s pretty.”

The manager also seemed satisfied with the craftsmanship of the outfit, and Yuseol looked at the manager holding the outfit with an envious look.

After neatly folding and putting away the outfit, the manager opened the box that undoubtedly contained my share.

The box containing the manager’s outfit looked at least twice as big as mine.

It was because the character I had to cosplay as, Kraudra, was a knight character wearing armor.

“Tada!”

As we opened the box, everyone’s faces turned towards the contents.

Once again, a blue-tinted outfit was revealed, but this time it was a slightly darker shade compared to Irina’s outfit we had seen earlier.

“I guess I have to wear this under the armor.”

“Instead of just looking at it, how about trying it on?”

The manager vehemently shook his head at Yuseol’s suggestion.

“That’s right. Seeing is believing, right, junior!”

As they were discussing, the box containing my cosplay outfit was handed to me.

“You should try it on first, junior. If there are any parts that are difficult to wear, let me know.”

With the manager’s hand guiding me, I had no choice but to head to the dressing room.