episode_0163

As the hour passed by early in the morning, not only Jinsu Bridge members but also their families came to visit Jinsu Bridge one by one, making Jinsu Bridge the place with the largest number of floating people of the year.

In front of the main gate of the academy, merchants came to sell various snacks, cotton candy, and even ice cream, trying to make a little money by hunting down the trees. Convenience stores, supermarkets, and stationery stores nearby were also popping up.

After 10 a.m., I walked around Jinsu Bridge with Eunji and Suyeon and joined in the festival prepared by other classmates.

Meanwhile, Yuri’s parents also came to the academy and saw their daughter wearing a maid uniform and serving food.

Yuri’s father asked her who asked her to do something like this with a disapproving expression, saying it was masculine, but both Yuri and I avoided answering, and Yuri’s mother kept taking pictures of her daughter, saying she looked pretty.

As time passed, Yumin also came to visit and we all started hanging out together.

At 11 o’clock, Yuri’s service was finally over and it was time for Suyeon to go to serve.

Unlike Yuri, who joined her parents and older sister to talk after serving, and Eunji, who also enjoyed the remaining free time and talked to her family, Suyeon was still alone.

I walked down the hallway with Sooyeon, saying I would walk her to our class for a while.

“Suyeon’s family must be busy, so they aren’t coming.”

At those words, Suyeon had a very cynical expression, different from her usual smiling face.

“Ha, my mom and dad are here? Even if you come, they’ll tell you to leave right away, saying, ‘If you have time to waste on nonsense like this, use that time to study!’?”

“No matter what, you don’t want to do that…”

“This is what I heard directly yesterday.”

“……”

“Ahaha, why does your expression look so serious? I’m fine, so don’t worry!”

Suyeon said it with a smile, but even a fool could tell that she really didn’t care.

That’s because all the students’ families are here now and enjoying the festival, but Suyeon’s family is the only one who is missing.

I held Suyeon’s hand tightly out of pity.

“I will be there for you, Suyeon.”

“What are you talking about, a senior will become my family? Is this a proposal?”

Suyeon crossed her arms and laughed playfully.

“Should I just go to my class and help with the work again? It would be so lonely if you were alone.”

“Seriously, don’t do that. Don’t you hate it even more when you can’t enjoy the senior festival because of me? Senior Yuri has just finished work, but shouldn’t he stay with you for a while? And I’m not working alone, there are probably other people too.”

“Still…”

“Because I’m really fine! Seniors, enjoy the festival when you have time! Aren’t you supposed to come back later and help us with our class work anyway?”

“That’s right. But are you really okay with that? I’ll be working for 2 hours…”

“Hehehe. It’s my first time hanging out with normal people like this and doing something together, so I really like it. So don’t worry about me and go back quickly. I will be waiting for Yuri and Eunji.”

“Then… Okay, okay, Suyeon. I’m going to go, so cheer up, and if you’re having a hard time because there are too many customers, send me a message. I’m going to help you with the work.”

“Yes, senior. See you later at lunch!”

So I let Suyeon go and walked back down the hallway.

And Soo-yeon Choi, who was left alone for a moment, looked at her boyfriend’s back as he walked away and sighed.

“…… Maybe I should have just acted like a fool.”

Of course, since she was human, she felt lonely when she was left alone.

I wasn’t expecting my parents to come, but there was a big difference between knowing in my head and actually accepting it.

However, I once heard about Han Seong-jin’s family history, so I felt sorry for being so foolish.

Since he had already lived without knowing the warmth of his parents since he was in elementary school, if he was lonely, he would be even more lonely.

Suyeon Choi, who had been thinking about various things, shook her head and lightly slapped her cheek with both hands.

‘it’s okay! It’s not like I can’t see you forever, I just need 2 hours, so why are you like this? Come to your senses!’

And then she went into sales mode again and greeted people inside the 3rd class classroom.

“Welcome~! What would you like to order? If you pay 500 won more, this pretty and cute maid will also memorize magic spells?”

#####

An hour after Suyeon started serving, Eunji ate with her family, and Suyeon and I, who had no family on site, joined Yuri’s family for lunch.

Perhaps because Suyeon was so friendly, Yuri’s parents also quite liked her, and Yumin, who had a hard time seeing each other on weekdays, had a smile on his face when he saw me.

I couldn’t reveal much because it was in front of my parents.

After lunch, Soo-yeon served again, and after that, Eun-ji served, and I also enjoyed the festival, but then went back to the classroom and spent a hectic time making drinks and working on materials.

“The money… I must be crazy. How much is all this…?”

When he returned to work, the class leader was now more than happy, he was scared.

Yuri, Suyeon, and Eunji were rotating shifts every two hours, so people who missed the first opening time came to our class every time each person was serving and had to order another drink, and there were well over hundreds of people. When we repeated that, we ended up making much more profit than originally expected.

Even if all the students come just once, there are 500 visits, which is almost x3 per person, and when you include the families who come to visit, the profit is over several million won.

When I returned to work, I grinned when I saw the class leader shaking with fear while settling the profits.

“I said this would definitely succeed, right? Hey, isn’t this like our class’s omakase dinner?”

While spending the morning and afternoon busier than any other class, our class closed the cafe with an overwhelming amount of profit.

After the maid cafe closed, Eunji, who was the last of us on duty as a server, blushed with shame and clenched her fists.

“Damn… you damn bastards… Do you know how many people came as soon as they heard I was serving them? Those bastards must have come here on purpose to screw me! Just wait and see, tomorrow I’ll visit each and every one…”

“That means you were popular. Have a drink.”

“No!”

When I played with her by handing her iced tea, Eunji got upset and went to the bathroom to change.

From 3 p.m. until we went to the academy’s large playground for the group talent show prepared by each class, Eunji was upset and turned her head towards me. In the end, it was only after I took her to a place where there were no people for a moment and gave her a deep kiss of apology that she felt relieved.

And then it was time for a group talent show.

Each class played the song they had prepared and danced to it.

It was literally a festival in itself, with families of current students filling the area around the playground and everyone holding their cell phones and leaving videos.

When it was our class’ turn to perform the talent show, we all pulled out chairs one by one and sat down while we were getting ready.

After arranging the seat where Gong Young-bae should have been, as if he had never been there from the beginning, the song we had prepared started playing from a large speaker.

Bam! Bye!

We moved our bodies in unison as the intense beat played, as if we had been practicing for hours every weekend for a month.

Great trials brought me – only the scars made me – ♬

Sitting on a chair, put your legs together and spread them out, and turn your head from left to right.

It was a choreography that Yuri and other body dancers could easily follow, and it was not obvious that more than 20 people could not dance at the same time, and it created a picture that looked quite realistic when viewed from a distance.

Because the song was quite old, it felt like the parents who came to the scene applauded more…

After completing the choreography to the 3-minute song, we greeted everyone and put away our chairs, receiving enthusiastic applause.

Even though I failed to win the talent show, I really liked that moment as it was my first time participating in such a festival.

#####

“Ah, I lost because the teacher recommended a typical song. I could have taken first place.”

“There’s nothing they can’t say, like a typical song! When I was a teacher, it was a song that was always included in talent shows, huh!?”

“Isn’t that because it was when you were a teacher?”

It’s past 6 o’clock.

All of the students’ families had now returned home, and all of Jin Su-gyo was now moving to the outdoor performance hall in a nearby citizen’s park.

This place, where celebrities come and hold cultural concerts between summer and fall, is always rented out during annual festivals, regardless of whether it is an academy in the area.

We each sat comfortably on the stone steps in front of the concert hall and the lawn behind them, and chatted while eating the packed lunch provided by the academy for dinner.

After the sun was slowly setting and the student council had collected all the empty lunch boxes, it was time for the real highlight of the festival, the individual/team talent show.

As it was customary for the president of the church to preside over the session, Yuri, the president of the church, stood on a podium in the corner of the stage, held the microphone, and read the script he had received in advance.

The vice president of the school, who stood next to him, assisted Yuri and ran the event together, and a talent show was held for individuals and teams that passed the student council screening.

There were teams showing off martial arts such as Taekwondo and Karate, dance performances by dance clubs, there were guys singing ballads as individuals, and there were also kids doing gags as a team, just like a comedy program.

The night got deeper and deeper as numerous teams took turns performing what they had prepared on stage.

It was already past 9 o’clock at night.

Coincidentally, the stage that Yuri and I applied for was placed last in the order.

The last performance between me and Yuri was introduced by the vice president alone because Yuri was busy preparing for the stage.

“Now then, the next stage is the final stage of our Jinsu Festival. The participants are Han Seong-jin, a third grade student, and… This is a duet song with our former church president, Lee Yu-ri, who has been emceeing the show until now.”

“Wow!!”

What I do may not be known to most of the other kids, but many kids cheered that Yuri was coming out with me.

That’s because Yuri is everyone’s favorite person.

As I tuned up my guitar in the waiting room behind the stage and waited for my turn, I saw Yuri nervously gulping down water and held her hand.

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course I’m nervous. I’ve never done anything in front of so many people… Come on, you can do it well, right?”

“If you feel too nervous, look at me instead of over there. I sing it thinking it’s a song just for me to hear. But it’s okay.”

“Uh, yes…”

To be honest, it wasn’t that I wasn’t nervous, but I was more nervous about having to finish this performance and say something in front of everyone than the fact that I was singing while playing the guitar.

Because I had to face my past life in front of everyone, and there was a much greater chance that they wouldn’t accept it.

Nevertheless, I made a decision.

As the past of my life was such an opening scene, I decided to break through now, even if I was criticized and criticized, rather than being held back by the past while doing something in the future.

“The stage is ready! Now, let’s bring Han Seong-jin and Lee Yu-ri to the stage! Please welcome us with applause!”

I stood up holding Yuri’s hand as I heard the vice president’s progress coming from across the waiting room.

“Then let’s go, Yuri.”

“… Yes.”