A High School Girl's Day One, Starting with Sleeping In
Morning—the hour when people wake and set out to begin a new day.
In Yeoncheong's studio apartment, unpacked boxes still sat scattered here and there as if the moving had never quite been finished. The chaotic state of the room was a perfect reflection of the state of her mind.
The bed still smelled new. Only a shock of blue hair and a face poked out from beneath the covers, Yeoncheong still deep in the grip of sleep. As sunlight began filtering through the gap in the curtains, she burrowed her head deeper into the blanket.
"Mmmgh..."
Worry over a new situation or environment usually ends in one of two ways. Either you're too anxious to sleep and stay up the entire night, or the accumulated exhaustion wins out and you sink into a very, very late sleep.
"Why is it so bright alr...eh?"
Grumbling at the sunlight pouring down on her, Yeoncheong kicked off the covers and sat up. She checked the smartphone resting by her pillow and muttered:
"Ah... I'm doomed."
Oversleeping. And being late.
Of the two outcomes, Yeoncheong's answer was the latter.
Yeoncheong threw herself off the bed with a bounce, sending the rumpled bedding into wild disarray. She made a beeline for the closet and reached out, pulling out a neatly hung school uniform and tossing it onto the bed.
Good thing I took it out yesterday.
She'd set it aside in advance, telling herself she'd try it on once. Imagining what it would have been like to ransack the boxes hunting for a uniform with lateness all but certain made her shake her head.
Uniform in hand, Yeoncheong headed straight for the bathroom. After washing her hair, which had gone every which way overnight, and finishing her face, she picked up the hair dryer.
"Seriously, how long does it take to dry hair that's only this much longer?"
It was shoulder-length hair, but to Yeoncheong even that felt far too long. The length she'd thought she'd gotten used to became a fresh irritation the moment lateness entered the equation.
Should've just cut it short...
Her parents' friend had opposed that so fiercely that the current length was a compromise. Yeoncheong shook off the stray thought and worked her hands busily.
Though in the end, it was Yeoncheong herself who'd made the final call, swayed by all the compliments about how well it suited her.
With her hair dried, Yeoncheong grew even busier. The time to be at school had already passed.
They say a busy mind leaves no room for other thoughts. Stripping off her pajamas and tossing them on the bed, she put on the skirt and white blouse. It was a world apart from just yesterday, when every single item had required a moment of mental preparation.
Cursing the smartphone alarm that had so faithfully done its duty, Yeoncheong pulled on her socks and stood up from the bed, a blazer draped over her arm.
Her destination: the full-length mirror. That, too, had been a gift from her parents' friend, on the grounds that every girl needed at least one mirror.
Yeoncheong had resisted at first, but by now she was fairly satisfied with it. Nothing was more convenient for checking whether you'd put something on wrong.
Blazer on, she fussed with her outfit, then studied herself in the mirror.
"It's been over a month now... and I still can't believe it."
Rising up on her toes, squirming this way and that, Yeoncheong finally sighed and looked away from the glass. The smartphone was ringing again, as unwelcome as ever.
Teacher Han Jisu.
It was her homeroom teacher calling. Yeoncheong slid across the room and picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi there. This is Yeoncheong, right?"
"Yes, speaking."
"This is Ms. Han Jisu, your homeroom teacher. You haven't shown up yet, so I thought I'd call and check."
She'd expected as much. Yeoncheong brought out the excuse she'd prepared while washing up.
"I guess I was nervous, and I overslept. I'm all ready to go—I just have to head out. I live close by, so if I run I'll be there in no time."
"Can you make it before the opening ceremony?"
Yeoncheong gauged the current time against the distance to school and nodded—remembering, just in time, that the person on the other end couldn't see her.
"Then that's fine. I'd like to have you introduce yourself briefly to your classmates before the ceremony."
The teacher's reminders not to rush and hurt herself wove together with repeated apologies. The moment the call ended, Yeoncheong was in motion. Grabbing a light bag, she paused at the door for one last look at herself in the mirror.
After a moment's hesitation, she said her new name out loud.
"Ha Yeoncheong... It's a school full of people my own age anyway. Let's not be nervous."
She gave her cheeks two light pats with both hands and stepped out the door.
The studio apartment she'd hunted down to the very last was proving its worth. Being so close to school meant she'd narrowly escaped the disaster of missing the opening ceremony on her very first day.
For Yeoncheong, whose goal was a perfectly ordinary school life, that was a mercy.
She jogged lightly toward school. The teacher had told her to take it slow, but that was no reason to stroll along at her leisure.
She'd tried the uniform on in advance, but wearing it and moving in it were entirely different matters. The breeze below was refreshingly airy, if a little unsettling—but then a far more pressing problem reared its head.
Self-introduction... ugh. What do I even say?
Mid-run, the worry over her self-introduction shoved lateness out of the top spot in her mind. She'd never transferred schools even once before, so she had no idea how it was supposed to go.
Yeoncheong racked her brain, agonizing over some appropriate greeting.
Since the morning commute was already over, she was the only person in uniform running through the streets. Having made the trip a few times for assorted errands, she knew the way well, and she reached the school in no time.
Second years are on the second floor of the main building, right?
Without stopping, she made it up to the second floor in one go and scanned the hallway. Her eyes met those of a female teacher standing half in, half out of a classroom doorway.
The instant they saw each other, both understood: teacher and transfer student.
The teacher gestured, and Yeoncheong walked quietly toward the classroom. The students, catching their homeroom teacher's signal, craned their necks and began to murmur.
Having changed into her indoor shoes, Yeoncheong followed the teacher inside.
After shooing the students who'd been peeking through the hallway window back into their seats, Ms. Jisu spoke.
"Well. I don't know where you all heard the rumors, but you all know already, don't you? This is the student transferring to our school today. I think it's best you hear her introduction directly from her."
Ms. Jisu took a step back, leaving Yeoncheong standing front and center. Naturally, the students' gazes shifted from teacher to transfer student.
For Yeoncheong, who had spent the last four years in classrooms populated exclusively by boys, a room full of nothing but girls was a strange sight indeed. To a boy who'd once gone to all-boys middle and high school—where merely passing a girl on the street was enough to make him yell—this whole situation was stimulating in itself.
Her resolve from before leaving the house, and the greeting she'd rehearsed all the way to school, both evaporated without a trace. Feeling awkward and embarrassed all at once, Yeoncheong bowed her head and opened her mouth.
"I-I'm Ha Yeoncheong. Looking forward to... being with you all."
The script she'd agonized over had been blank for a long time now, and what came out was nothing but a brief greeting consisting of her name.
When she fell silent, Ms. Jisu tilted her head forward, checked on her student's state, and patched up the clumsy introduction herself.
"She's come from a completely different region, so she's bound to feel a bit out of place. Please be good friends with her, everyone."
Having said that much, Ms. Jisu ran out of things to say too. It wasn't as if she could substitute a self-introduction based on the handful of times they'd met before the transfer.
Just as she was wondering what else to add, the school broadcast rang out.
"Ah, ah. The Hwaryeong High School first-semester opening ceremony will now begin. All students, please gather in the gymnasium."
By the time the announcement started repeating, Ms. Jisu clapped her hands and addressed the class.
"Look at the time already. Come on, everyone, let's head to the gym."
The students rose from their seats, grumbling at the bother of it all. As they filed out through the front and back doors, a teacher from the neighboring class called out to her homeroom teacher.
"Ms. Jisu, aren't you coming?"
"Ah, yes, I am. One moment."
Her homeroom teacher, having first pointed out where Yeoncheong would be sitting, stopped one of the students on her way out.
"Seoha."
At the teacher's call, a girl turned and came over. The teacher exchanged a few words with her, then left with the other teacher.
"Shall we go, then?"
A voice like silk slipping into the ear. It wasn't particularly loud, yet it carried an atmosphere that drew a person in.
"Wh-where to?"
"Where else? The gym."
The girl called Seoha gave a light smile, as if something about it amused her.
Perhaps the teachers had cracked the whip—the corridor, emptied of students, was quiet.
Into that silence rang a set of steady, regular footsteps. They were followed by a second set of footsteps, irregular and hesitant, belonging to someone who couldn't decide whether to walk side by side or trail behind.
"You can walk beside me, you know. It's fine."
"Ah, no, that's... I don't really know my way around yet..."
Yeoncheong waved her hands and walked behind. The gymnasium loomed plainly beside the main building, but Seoha said nothing about it.
Her black hair falling to her waist brought silk woven from the night sky to mind, and her jade-white skin and crimson eyes added the mystique of a red moon rising over that same night sky.
Swallowed up by Seoha's presence, Yeoncheong simply followed in silence.
Yeon Seoha glanced back over her shoulder and spoke.
"Don't be so stiff. You heard where the teacher said you're sitting, right? The seat next to yours is mine."
Yeoncheong reacted to the mention of the neighboring seat. Seoha gave a small nod, as if to confirm it was true.
"I'm Yeon Seoha. Looking forward to having you here."
"Looking forward to... you too."
When Seoha only turned her head slightly and smiled, Yeoncheong hastily looked away. Seoha gazed at her for a quiet moment, then faced forward again and kept walking—and Yeoncheong looked ahead too.
"You haven't gotten your textbooks yet, have you?"
"No. Right, I haven't."
"Come get them with me later, then."
"...Why you, though?"
"The teacher asked me to. And to show you around the school while I'm at it. You don't want me to?"
Yeoncheong shook her head.
"No, not at all. If you'd do that, I'd be grateful."
Relieved that Seoha had been the one to reach out first, Yeoncheong let out a long breath.
"Hey! You two over there! The opening ceremony's about to start. Get inside, quick."
Before they knew it, the two of them had reached the gymnasium. At the teacher posted by the door, their steps quickened slightly. Following Seoha, who picked out their class with unerring precision from the sea of identical uniforms, Yeoncheong went inside.
Watching Seoha walk ahead of her, Yeoncheong thought: all things considered—a late arrival and a self-introduction with no content whatsoever—it wasn't a bad start at all.