Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Ladies and Ladies
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Ladies and Ladies~
You are invited to the 26th Gogogo High School Festival.
-Date: October 11th, 9:00 AM sharp—Calculus showdown begins!
-Location: Gogogo High School
-Directions: Just jump straight from home!
*If you don't show up, Do Ha-jun will be delivered to your house. (He won't leave until you've eaten some seasoned fried chicken together.)
"Why invite only ladies?"
"What about the gentlemen... whatever, they can come or not..."
I mumbled a half-hearted reply and scribbled Sample in small letters at the bottom of the poster.
"Let's show this to the girls in the art club and get some feedback."
"Oh, so feedback only from the girls too?"
"Yep."
I'm only interested in the ladies' opinions.
"Our play tickets will probably be bought by over 90% women anyway..."
Thud.
I was rolling my ballpoint pen while talking when something heavy dropped onto my shoulder. Looking down, it was Jeong Eun-seong.
He'd been dozing off with his head bobbing earlier, but now he was fully asleep, leaning his head on my shoulder.
He must've been practicing hard lately.
He sleeps all the time at school.
I sniffed the shampoo scent wafting from Jeong Eun-seong's fluffy-looking head as he slept with his fists clenched like a kid.
Ew, I feel like a perv.
I tapped his head with my hand to wake him up.
Jeong Eun-seong jolted awake in surprise and glared at me.
"I wasn't sleeping."
"Sure."
"For real."
"Today's CSAT practice proverb: The thief gets nervous even when his own feet squeak."
"......"
I glanced at the exasperated Jeong Eun-seong and whispered.
"You thinking of debuting...?"
"No."
"Hmm. Okay."
Just saying the one word "debut" made his expression weird. He frowned and scratched the end of his eyebrow.
Strange. Back in the first semester, he was all like, "Debut? I could do it now or never, doesn't matter." I side-eyed the now-anxious-looking Jeong Eun-seong and gave up.
Since school started, I'd been timing when to say, "Hey, don't debut," but the moment never felt right.
"Da-hye, when should we get the feedback by?"
"The sooner the better, right? The art club girls are probably prepping their exhibition pieces for the festival too, and we're busy."
Making posters, creating promo materials, memorizing scripts, rehearsing lines, preparing props... So much to do, so little time.
Chuseok ends, then straight to school trip. Trip ends, then midterms right away. After midterms, a bit of study time, then festival. Then finals.
"Next up are the promo slogans for the poster... We can finish the poster itself before the festival, but we need to decide on the slogans early and get teacher approval."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. Throw out any ideas—anything goes."
Something that sparks interest would be even better. I shook the dozing-off-again Jeong Eun-seong and added.
Then Ha-joon Vice Rep (special note: former secretary) piped up with a snide remark like she was talking to herself. She'd gotten way pricklier since Do Ha-jun vanished.
"How're you gonna spark interest with The Tale of Chunhyang? Everyone knows the story."
"If you thought that, why didn't you say so back in March when we picked the play?"
She got smacked by the others right away and shut up.
But Vice Rep Ha-joon had a point.
Who here doesn't know The Tale of Chunhyang?
Nobody.
It's such a well-known story—how do you make people interested?
"Hmm..."
"Hmm."
"Maybe promote it with Jeong Eun-seong's exposure..."
Going the Korean movie route...
The Tale of Chunhyang: Jeong Eun-seong's Shocking Exposure! Box Office Smash Incoming!
"Guys..."
From the moment "exposure" came up, Mr. Yi Mong-ryong had been fidgeting anxiously and called out to us pleadingly.
"I'll get yelled at by Mr. Na Mun-gwa... If you're gonna strip the kids, he'll make me do it instead..."
"Not a bad idea?"
I ignored whoever's inner voice jumped out from the side.
Hmm.
Interest.
Interest...
I jotted down some slogans that came to mind.
"Whatcha writing?"
Jeong Eun-seong leaned in, shoving his nose into my notebook with interest.
"Ah, don't look."
"Why not."
I told him not to, but he kept peeking. I reached out and covered his eyes with my hand. His eyelashes fluttered under my palm. Ack, tickles.
With his eyes covered, Jeong Eun-seong quieted down fast. I kept him tucked beside me and showed the finished slogans to the group.
"What do you think?"
Promo Slogans Shock Legend! The Historic Twist the Whole World is Watching The Secret to Passing the Joseon Elite Exam That 99.9% of Koreans Already Know The Key is Motivation Corrupt Officials Get Schooled Behold, One Gisaeng -The Tale of Chunhyang- "......"
"......"
One club member asked with their mouth agape.
"Is The Tale of Chunhyang based on a true story?"
"Look closely. It's a legend, not real."
"What's with 'the whole world is watching'?"
"The most Korean thing is the most universal."
"And 'Behold, one gisaeng'?"
"Saw movie intro YouTubers all starting like that."
"Who's passing the elite exam?"
Bang Eun-ji, who'd slathered her eyelids with eye cream, chimed in.
"...You don't know the plot of The Tale of Chunhyang, do you?"
And eye cream goes there, not on the eyelids. I scraped some off her overflowing eyelids and applied it under her eyes to the thin skin.
"Oh, that's what it was? No wonder! Been using it for three years with no effect."
"...If you don't even know where to put eye cream, maybe you don't need it?"
"They say you gotta prep for crow's feet early. Regret comes too late once they appear."
"Instead of prepping for crow's feet that're over ten years away, how about prepping for midterms that're just weeks out?"
Wrinkles might come no matter how much cream you use—and it's unclear if cream even helps—but exams? Study, and scores go up for sure. Clear cause and effect.
Study → Scores up.
Jeong Eun-seong nodded at my words.
"I'm prepping for both."
"The Supreme Prepper."
Prep of preps.
Bang Eun-ji shook her head at me with a sullen look.
"Studying's a talent too... I'm dumb, so no."
"Overcome it with effort."
"Effort's a talent too..."
"Eun-ji, have you tried hard enough to be sure you lack effort talent?"
"...No..."
"See?"
Ah, nagged again today. Feels good.
"And like I've said a million times, the only one who thinks you're dumb is you. That costume you made this time? Total sense of style."
No, seriously. She layered two skirts and just by pulling, it looked like a whole new outfit without changing.
She said it was because quick changes between scenes might be tight. Isn't she amazing? I never would've thought of that.
That's talent.
"Making the skirt ties like necklaces you can just swap out... Genius. Right, Ji-su?"
I asked Han Ji-su, the biggest beneficiary of genius designer Bang Eun-ji's work. Suddenly, Bang Eun-ji shoved her chair back and retreated.
"...?"
"Ah, gotta wipe off this eye cream. Eyes feel so heavy."
I alternated glances between the flustered Bang Eun-ji heading to her bag in the back and Han Ji-su.
Our eyes met, and Han Ji-su tilted her head with a smile, like she had no idea why Bang Eun-ji was acting up either.
......Hmm.
"Okay, everyone prep your assigned stuff by next time! I'll summarize and post it in the group chat!"
"Got it!"
"Good work!"
"Jeong Eun-seong. About our first meeting scene..."
Club time ended, and Han Ji-su approached Jeong Eun-seong with her script.
"In this part, maybe you could..."
I watched the two huddle together warmly, then made eye contact with Jeong Eun-seong.
We exchanged looks.
I'm heading out first. Finish talking.
We were gonna go together!
No. Gotta hurry and sort my locker.
"Jeong Eun-seong, look here. Over here."
I smiled at Han Ji-su tugging Jeong Eun-seong's wrist and left the clubroom first with Bang Eun-ji. As we climbed the stairs together, Bang Eun-ji chattered.
"Jeong Eun-seong's pants need redoing, I think."
"Why?"
"Legs look short. Ankles showing."
"Oh."
"I took in Han Ji-su's costume at the waist a bit... Ask her to try it on again when there's time and let me know."
"Why not tell her yourself?"
"Huh?"
I stared at the obviously flustered Bang Eun-ji.
"Eun-ji."
"...Yeah."
"What happened between you and Ji-su?"
"......"