School Trip: Luggage Inspection
Hasol pushed the door open and peered inside.
"Oh, it's open."
Suyeon went straight to work opening every single door in the room.
"It's bigger than I expected."
Nayun hauled her carrier in through the entrance.
"Guys, where are we putting the luggage?"
Seoha, likewise, called back to Yeoncheong, who had come to a dead stop at the very rear of the group.
"Yeoncheong, you coming in?"
"...Uh, yeah. Yeah, I should."
Snapping out of it, Yeoncheong bobbed her stiff, creaking head up and down and finally stepped into the room.
Yeoncheong had lost her mother before she was even ten years old. After that came an all-boys middle school and an all-boys high school.
In other words, since roughly the time her head had grown to a decent size, she had never once shared a living space with a woman. Sharing a bathroom, sleeping in the same room—none of it had ever happened.
Yeoncheong stood at the entrance and looked at her friends.
They were cramming carriers and bags into a single small room. Friends of the same sex. Friends who were girls.
Biologically speaking, of course, there was nothing remotely wrong with that. The problem was that the person standing in the doorway had lived more than ninety percent of her life as a man.
And that her experience with situations like this was as close to zero as it could possibly get.
"Yeoncheong, why aren't you coming in?"
Suyeon walked over to the friend frozen in the entrance, studying intently the face that, just seconds ago, had been lost in deep contemplation.
"Are you... feeling sick or something?"
"No. I was just looking around the room."
Suyeon had jumped to entirely the wrong conclusion, and Yeoncheong, resolving to grit her teeth and bear it, stepped inside.
Having parked her carrier against one wall, Yeoncheong took her own belated survey of the room. A roomy common area, a small room stuffed with everyone's luggage, and one large bedroom with a bed and an attached bathroom.
Suyeon dove onto the bed where Seoha was already sitting.
"Isn't this bed huge?"
The mattress swallowed the big room whole; if they put their minds to it, three or four people could probably lie down on it without any trouble.
"Yeah, it really is."
Maybe I could just have them sleep in here, and I'll sleep out on the floor...
Yeonceong answered vaguely, all while quietly plotting a solo arrangement in her head.
Out on the small balcony, Hasol and Nayun's voices drifted in.
"Ah... can't see the ocean from here at all?"
"Probably why it was cheap, don't you think?"
"Huh. Fair point."
The two came back inside, and spotting the trio gathered in the big room, Nayun spoke up.
"Who's showering first?"
Today's schedule was officially over.
They'd disembarked from the bus and already been lectured on the ground rules of the accommodation until the warnings were practically hammered into their ears. Tomorrow's itinerary had been recited too, which meant no more group gatherings for the night.
Unless someone wanted to run down to the convenience store below, there was no reason to go out at all.
Everyone wanted to wash up early and get comfortable, and while the friends sized each other up over the order of the showers, one person's head was throbbing with an entirely different problem.
Haah... I just want to shower somewhere where nobody else is around...
The order didn't matter to her in the slightest. Yeoncheong simply wanted out of a situation where she was the only one silently agonizing over it.
With Yeoncheong abstaining from the contest, the rock-paper-scissors among the other four declared Nayun the winner, and she headed into the bathroom first.
Suyeon, up next, was digging a change of clothes out of her carrier when Hasol came and sat down beside Yeoncheong on the small sofa, sneaking a glance at her phone.
"Why haven't you sent me the pictures?"
"Oh—hold on."
Having completely forgotten, Yeoncheong fired off exactly one photo through their private chat.
"Hm? Just the one?"
"Sorry, that's the only one that came out well."
Truthfully, after taking that shot she'd tried snapping more of Hasol and the others, but nothing had quite lived up to it.
Hasol saved the picture, took one look, and shook her head.
"No way, don't apologize. This came out amazing."
"What? Let me see."
Suyeon, somehow already washed up and ready, wedged herself onto the small sofa beside them.
Hasol showed off the photo Yeoncheong had taken like a trophy, and Suyeon puffed out her cheeks and turned to face Yeoncheong.
"Wow. It's actually gorgeous. Yeoncheong, you were faking being bad at this on purpose, weren't you?"
"The subject was pretty, so the picture came out pretty."
A great photograph, in the end, is the product of at least one of two people doing well: the one holding the camera, and the one in front of it.
Yeoncheong had meant it purely in that sense, but the statement was absolutely ripe for misinterpretation.
"How can anyone be this smooth with their words?"
On one side, Hasol, stroking her own cheeks with a satisfied smirk.
"Hey, so what does that make us—ugly?"
On the other, Suyeon, eyes narrowed to slits, glaring daggers at Yeoncheong.
The two friends wore completely opposite expressions, and the contrast said it all.
Yeoncheong belatedly realized her slip of the tongue and tried to explain herself. But she had poked straight at a hornet's nest that mattered greatly to women, and Suyeon was not about to let it slide.
"Take a photo of each of us before this trip is over. Same quality as that one. Then I'll forgive you."
"It's not like I can take good pictures just because I want to..."
Suyeon had somehow crossed her arms by now, glaring all the harder.
"Does this sound like a request to you?"
"Um... I'll do my best."
And so, out of nowhere, the school trip had acquired a mission. Beside Yeoncheong, whose face had gone utterly slack,
Hasol beamed to herself, staring at the photo with rapt attention.
After Nayun, Suyeon, and Hasol finished showering in turn, they changed into comfy clothes and moved out to the common area. While Seoha took the next slot in the bathroom, someone knocked on the door from outside.
The friends, who had been chattering away over the day's photos, looked up.
"Who is it?"
The person closest to the door was Yeoncheong, who had been waiting near the bathroom for her turn. Under the weight of everyone's stares, she opened it.
When she did, the tail end of Yeoncheong's greeting rose an octave.
"Ms. Jisu?"
"Ah, there you are, Yeoncheong."
The homeroom teacher glanced toward the bathroom, where the sound of running water was clearly audible.
"Seoha's showering right now."
"I see. I'll just come in for a moment."
As the teacher stepped inside, the lounging friends scrambled to their feet one by one.
The teacher looked over the common area and the big room, then, as if searching for something, opened every single door she could find to inspect what was behind them. Suyeon asked,
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I've been told to do a luggage inspection. Oh, so this is where you've all piled your bags."
Only after checking the balcony too did Ms. Jisu head for the small room where the carriers were gathered.
At the words luggage inspection, Suyeon hurriedly blocked her path.
"Ms. Jisu, that's our privacy."
"That's exactly why I came—another girl. I have to hit the other classes too, so step aside, quick."
Gently nudging Suyeon out of the way, the homeroom teacher picked out one carrier and lifted her head.
"Whose is this?"
"Mine, ma'am."
Hasol raised her hand slightly, and Ms. Jisu, announcing she was opening it, peered inside. Having examined even the smallest pocket with meticulous care, the teacher moved straight on to the next carrier.
Handed back her luggage, Hasol asked,
"Did somebody get caught with something?"
"Haaah... Would you believe me if I said somebody got caught smoking, bold as brass, out in the open at the theme park?"
Suyeon protested loudly at the totally unscheduled inspection.
"Then they should only search that person's class, right?"
"I didn't want to do this either. The department head ordered it."
Even a teacher couldn't ignore instructions from above.
Ms. Jisu fished a grip-strengthener out of Nayun's bag, tilted her head at it, and put it back. Yeoncheong's carrier passed without incident too.
"This one's Seoha's?"
"Yes."
"I don't think I need to check Seoha's... Suyeon, hand me yours."
Ms. Jisu called Suyeon out.
Suyeon clutched her carrier in a tight bear hug and shook her head vigorously.
"Ma'am, if you don't need to check Seoha's, isn't this discrimination?"
"...I'll check Seoha's afterward too. Hand me yours first."
Her arms tensed, and the hug tightened further.
"No..."
"Suyeon. It's in there, isn't it?"
"Aaaaah! You could have at least given us a heads-up!"
"And then the inspection would've been pointless, wouldn't it?"
After a brief tug-of-war, the teacher wrestled the carrier away and, upon discovering the alcohol inside, let out a long sigh.
Suyeon, watching her warily, brought out the aegyo.
"Ms. Jisu... there's barely any of it once we split it up. Can't you just let it slide?"
"Then you shouldn't have gotten caught."
"You didn't check anything this morning and let your guard down first!"
"Either way, no means no. This is coming with me."
"Whiiiine..."
Suyeon slunk out with her shoulders drooping. Hasol and Nayun, their inspections concluded, filed out to the common area as well—leaving a brief moment with only Yeoncheong and Ms. Jisu in the room.
Closing the door behind her, the teacher dropped her voice to a hush.
"Yeoncheong, if sharing a room gets too hard, just say the word. The Board Chairman said she'd arrange a separate room for you."
"...I'm fine. If I get a room all to myself, that'll look strange in its own way."
That was the answer Yeoncheong gave after a short hesitation, and the homeroom teacher respected her student's choice.
"All right, understood. If it truly becomes too much, come talk to me then. It doesn't have to be here at the accommodation—anything works. Got it?"
"Yes. Thank you."
And so, tucking the bottle of liquor into a black envelope, Ms. Jisu completed her successful surprise raid and took her leave.
From the room next door, the belated grumbling of why on earth now? could be faintly heard.
After swapping places with Seoha, Yeoncheong headed into the bathroom for the final slot. Outside—
Hasol, perched on Suyeon's lap, muttered through her jutting pout.
"So unfair. They didn't even say there'd be an inspection."
"Somebody got caught with cigarettes. Honestly, it makes sense they'd do it suddenly."
To Hasol's show of understanding, Nayun added her two cents.
"If you're going to sneak stuff in, actually sneak it. Getting caught means we all suffer for it."
"You should've hidden it in Seoha's carrier. She skipped right past it without even looking, right?"
Suyeon raised her voice to ask, and Seoha, drying her hair in the big room, nodded.
Burrowing into Hasol's arms, Suyeon grumbled.
"No talent show either. If we can't even drink, what are we supposed to do all night..."
Just then, the bathroom door swung open. Steam rolled out along the ceiling, and Yeoncheong emerged, her hair still damp.
Her eyes met Suyeon's mid-change.
A moment of silence. Yeoncheong bolted into the small room, and Suyeon tore after her. By a hair's breadth, Yeoncheong made it inside alone—but she couldn't manage to lock the door.
A standoff separated by a single door. A test of strength.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Yeoncheong, who had fled on pure instinct, belatedly tried to figure out what was happening behind her.
"Yeoncheong... why didn't you help me?"
Through the gap in the door, one red right eye gleamed. The sight was straight out of a horror film, and Yeoncheong flinched.
"I didn't even know you'd brought any. How was I supposed to help you with something I didn't know about?"
"You're so oblivious. Of course you bring some on a school trip. It's practically mandatory."
"And why is it only me? You didn't help the other girls either."
"...Tch."
Suyeon backed off without further fuss, and only then could Yeoncheong finish tidying up and come outside.
Passing the four gathered in the common area on her way to dry her hair, Yeoncheong caught a fragment of their conversation.
"Is that the thing? That tracksuit that got all stretched out?"
"Yeah, that's it."
Yeoncheong, blow-dryer in hand, cut in.
"It's just a long one. It's not stretched."
Hasol, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"...By the way, Yeoncheong. Aren't you wearing pants?"
"No, I am."
Yeoncheong hiked up the hem of her sweatshirt for a moment, showing what was underneath. The friends, caught off guard by the sudden move, swallowed hard.
Beneath the black sweatshirt were dolphin shorts in the very same color. The moment they laid eyes on the previously hidden shorts, their eyes lit up.
"Bold move, Yeoncheong."
"Pants... missing..."
"Is that why people wear oversized sweatshirts?"
Fairly ordinary reactions, all told. And then—
"That's lewd."
It was Seoha—the last person anyone would expect to say it—and Yeoncheong froze solid.
"U-uh?"
"You're dressed indecently."
She repeated it, syllable by deliberate syllable, just in case it had been misheard.
Face burning red, Yeoncheong shot back,
"N-no. Isn't that just what everyone wears at home?"
While the group traded uneasy glances, Hasol finally spoke.
"You can dress like that at home if it's hot, sure... but this isn't home."
"Well, Yeoncheong, I appreciate that you trust us enough to let us see bare skin."
At some point Suyeon had her smartphone raised, the camera lens pointed this way.
"Hey! No pictures!"
Startled, Yeoncheong yanked her sweatshirt down over the exposed legs—hiding the pale, soft inner skin that her skirts usually concealed.
Having watched that, Nayun spoke.
"Wow. Yeoncheong."
"What?"
"That makes it even more lewd."
With those parting words, Yeoncheong slammed the door of the big room shut.
The other girls were all in shorts and short sleeves, which made Yeoncheong's outfit stand out far too much—in more ways than one.
The friends passed the time teasing the mortified Yeoncheong, until Seoha glanced at the clock on the wall.
"We should probably get to sleep soon."
"Ugh... isn't it way too early? It's not like we're watching the sunrise."
To the grumbling Nayun, Suyeon explained,
"They said if we go after the sun's already up, it'll be way too crowded."
It was still early for bed, but with tomorrow's schedule kicking off first thing in the morning, one by one they began exchanging meaningful looks.
It was Hasol who broke the ice.
"So how are we doing the bed?"
"I'm fine sleeping in a pile."
At Suyeon's declaration, Nayun lay down on the bed and rolled around to test it.
"Three... maybe? Four seems doable, but five looks pretty tight."
"Then let's rotate who gets it. Anyone dying to sleep on it tonight?"
While Suyeon's hand shot straight up, Seoha said,
"I'll sleep on the floor."
"Oh, me too."
Sensing her moment, Yeoncheong threw in her opinion as well. Suyeon stared at her, unblinking.
Yeoncheong, her sweatshirt hauled down as far as it would go, said,
"Do I look insane enough to sleep in the middle of you three? Who knows what you'd do to me?"
Hasol and Nayun turned to Suyeon.
"Suyeon, let's just the three of us sleep tonight."
"Yeah, let's do that."
The three of them filed into the big room with the bed, while Yeoncheong and Seoha each spread out bedding in their own small rooms.
Contrary to all of Yeoncheong's worrying, the first night passed without incident (more or less). It was, after all, the first night's sleep of the trip.