School Trip — But You're Prettier Right Now
Yeoncheong had slept on a spread-out blanket in the living room with Seoha. What woke her to the fact that it was morning, as usual, was her phone alarm. But this time, the house was full of busy footsteps she never could have heard when she lived alone. A snippet of conversation drifted past — something like, "I'm washing up first" — and the alarm that had only just started ringing was silenced almost immediately. Then came a voice, rousing her from the depths of the sleep she'd been sinking back into. "Yeoncheong. Time to get up." "Mmh... yeah?" Yeoncheong stirred under the blanket and blinked. Her blue eyes, slowly regaining focus, took in the bright living room. Nayun sitting on the small sofa watching TV. Seoha, folding the blanket and settling down beside her. Her ears followed her eyes: the sound of running water from the bathroom, the whir of a hair dryer from the big room. A bustling morning where everyone was already awake — and Yeoncheong alone had been stranded on a deserted island. Startled, Yeoncheong hugged the blanket to her chest and retreated into a corner. "W-what the hell? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" "You were sleeping so soundly." Nayun, who'd only now turned up the TV volume, tilted her head. "And you'd have had to wait for the shower anyway. No point being up for that." Listening to the two of them, Yeoncheong had to admit it made sense. It made sense, and that was all it did. "Still — you could've at least moved me out of the way or something! Is it fine to just leave me in the middle of the floor and step all around me like it's nothing?" "We figured you'd wake up soon anyway, so we left you. Though apparently you can sleep through anything." The whine of the hair dryer died down, and Suyeon emerged from the big room, drying her hair, a grin spreading across her face. "You looked so cute sleeping, by the way." Seoha and Nayun smiled faintly, making it plain they'd all had a good look. Face burning first thing in the morning, Yeoncheong hurled a pillow at them. Alas, her attack was stopped dead by the door of the big room. When Hasol came out from washing up, she greeted her with a smile. "Oh, Yeoncheong's up. We've all washed already. You're the last one." Yeoncheong fled into the bathroom as if escaping, and Seoha quietly tidied up the bedding she'd left behind.
When you say Jeju Island school trip, you say Seongsan Ilchulbong. It sat at the far eastern end of the island, but it was a staple of the itinerary — the kind of place you visited at least once. Perhaps because they'd been up since before dawn, buses full of dozing students rolled along the quiet, empty roads. The lurch of the bus coming to a stop woke the students one by one. Teacher Jisu yawned as she rose and spoke. "Alright, everyone, we're here. Off the bus and line up, please." Amid yawns, the students filed out. The distinctive morning air brushed their cheeks, and the cool sea breeze brought them fully awake. By day two of a school trip, even the tedious rituals like headcounts had become familiar and smooth. The count was taken quickly, and following the homeroom teacher's signal from the ticket booth — go on in — each class began its climb up Seongsan Ilchulbong. The procession, initially strung out in two lines, soon dissolved into little clusters of friends making their way up together. The basketball club members, who worked out every day, led the way, and with the boundlessly energetic Nayun at the front, Yeoncheong and her friends kept pace in a tight group. Suyeon sidled up beside her and raised an eyebrow. "Yeoncheong-ah, aren't you going to take pictures for us?" "When the moment's right, I'll take them." Yeoncheong peeled her off and said, "And shouldn't you be pulling your own weight? You kept acting like you'd shoot everyone's photos, but yesterday at the theme park Hasol took basically all of them." "Tch. I know, I know." Grumbling, Suyeon got out her phone. "Fine, I'll shoot you first, then. Say cheese." Yeoncheong's eyes spun in circles in front of the lens. Hasol, behind her, leaned in and flashed a V-sign, while Seoha crossed her arms and tilted her head beside them. A shutter clicked in an instant. Suyeon checked the gallery and gave a thumbs-up. "Great shot. Okay, let's keep climbing. Hey, Kim Nayun! Slow down!" Suyeon called after Nayun, who had shot far ahead. Seoha and Hasol started walking again, and Yeoncheong — with the vague feeling that she'd just been had — got moving belatedly. An easy thirty minutes to the summit. The overcast weather held only until they reached the top. Suyeon and Hasol reviewed the photos they'd taken. "A little disappointing. It would've been gorgeous with clear skies." "I know. The view looking down on the way up was better." Once again it was Nayun, first down the trail, who put her finger on the silver lining. "Air was nice though. Call it morning exercise, right?" Leaving behind the disappointment of the fog-shrouded, gray summit, Yeoncheong and her friends boarded the bus. The eastern route of every school trip looks about the same: Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji, and bulgogi. Having eaten bulgogi off foil trays that felt like they'd been seen somewhere before, the second-years of Hwaryeong High School headed for Aqua Planet near Seopjikoji for the afternoon schedule.
From basement level one up to the second floor — an aquarium spanning a full three stories. They were given free time until the show began. Gathering around a single guidebook, Yeoncheong and her friends put their heads together. With time to spare, there was no need to worry about not seeing everything. They were debating where to start when— "Shouldn't we head to the show a little early if we want seats up front?" At Nayun's suggestion, the friends nodded. "Yeah. Then let's save the basement floor for last." With the plan set, Yeoncheong and her friends began their tour. The tunnel gave the illusion of walking along the ocean floor. When a stingray glided overhead, Nayun and Hasol descended on Suyeon. "Hey — hey, Baek Suyeon! Hurry up and shoot! Hurry!" "Hold on!" As they'd seen back at the Instant Photo Studio after midterms, most girls took their photos dead seriously. Suyeon alone proved it, half-lying on the floor as she pressed the shutter. Having swiftly snapped both of them, Suyeon held out her phone. "Me too! Me too!" She pulled Seoha and Yeoncheong in on either side and struck a pose. But— "Ah. It swam past." "Already?" Suyeon's shoulders slumped. Hmm, what else could work. Scanning the surroundings, Nayun murmured, "A sea turtle's coming this way." "Shoot that one! That one!" Suyeon relocated, dragging the two friends tucked under her arms along with her. Only after she'd gotten the photos she wanted did Suyeon finally pass through the tunnel. "Kyaa! Oh my god, it's so cute!" "Over here — let's take a picture!" Watching the penguins in the middle of feeding time, Hasol and Suyeon's eyes sparkled. "Ohh... a shark." "Is it really okay to keep one in with all those other fish?" "They live together here, so it's probably fine, right?" The sight of the shark cruising through the enormous tank — the first thing that came to mind at the word 'ocean' — left Yeoncheong and Nayun gaping. "..." Seoha, meanwhile, stared fixedly at a seal sprawled lazily on a rock, resting at its ease. "What's going on? Is Seoha having a staring contest with it?" "Ah, it just dove into the water..." The moment the seal, which had been meeting her gaze, plunged into the water as if fleeing, Hasol delivered the verdict. "Seoha wins." At her friends' nonsense, Seoha let out a quiet laugh.
Before she knew it, Yeoncheong and her friends had finished the first and second floors and were making their way through basement level one, where the show hall was. Perhaps because of the rare deep-sea creatures on display, everyone without exception had their phones out, snapping away. Yeoncheong, too, quietly turned her camera on again and again in pursuit of her own secret mission... These are not great at all... Those who take photos know how to take photos. Yeoncheong, whose relationship with photography was distant at best, was far from satisfied with her results. She hadn't been keen at first, but when she actually saw what she'd captured of Hasol, she'd felt a certain pride in it. Taking photos of her friends at Hasol-level quality. The mission Suyeon had assigned her had, somewhere along the way, become the goal of her school trip. Three days left, counting today... three people... Yeoncheong wanted to shoot at least one more of them before it was over. In the dim space, her friends admired the jellyfish, which lent everything a dreamlike glow. Yeoncheong hung back a step and watched them through her camera. Without the light spilling from the tank, their faces were hard to make out. Tch. Can't get a good shot here... Yeoncheong drifted over to Seoha, half a step ahead of the others. A translucent jellyfish, its insides visible through its body. Tracing the red and blue lights, it seemed to change color before her eyes. A jellyfish flushing red as the lighting turned red. As one with an unknowable pattern drifted past, Yeoncheong's gaze rose to Seoha's eyes, watching right beside her. "Seoha-ya. That jellyfish is exactly the color of your eyes. It's pretty." "..." The moment Yeoncheong drew out her phone and turned on the camera— The lights shifted again. This time the jellyfish turned blue. Just like Yeoncheong's blue eyes. She let out a small sigh of disappointment — and at that moment, Seoha opened her firmly closed mouth. "Right now." Her hand rose slowly toward the glass wall of the tank. As gently as a caress, she drew it down the glass on the far side of the jellyfish. Two words were nowhere near enough to understand, so a blunt counter-question burst from Yeoncheong's lips. "Huh?" "You're prettier right now." Seoha said it again. This time a little longer, a little clearer in meaning — and still, somehow, ambiguous. Her head turned without her willing it, following the direction of the voice. And then— "Because your eyes are the same color as Yeoncheong's." The corners of her mouth lifting faintly. Two thin crescent moons rising along the lines of her eyes. Her expression had melted, as though she could no longer contain how endearing it all was — and from it, an unguarded, honest feeling spilled out. What was she looking at when she said that? The jellyfish, newly changed color? Or Yeoncheong herself, eyes locked with hers? Yeoncheong's brain raced taut, desperate to pin down Seoha's true meaning — and in its thrall, she forgot even to breathe. The lighting bled red once more, and Yeoncheong's face, bathed in it, flushed the same shade. And Seoha watched — just as she had with the seal — studying Yeoncheong's expression without blinking once. Determined not to miss a single instant. Determined to find out exactly what it was that had turned her cheeks red. Slither. The phone Yeoncheong had raised to shoot the jellyfish slowly slid from her fingers. Only then did she snap back to her senses, seizing the phone with both hands— Click.
A shutter sound rang out from the phone whose capture button had been pressed. "Seoha-ya, Yeoncheong-ah. Why are you two still back there?" Hasol came over to her two friends, frozen in place. Nayun was towed along after her, and Suyeon followed too. "Whoa. This photo came out amazing." Hasol and the others snuck a peek at Yeoncheong's phone and marveled. The lens that had been trembling had caught a crystal-clear image. Auto image correction — enough to make you think the world had truly become a wonderful place. It was the beginner's luck striking for the second time.
Yeoncheong and her friends arrived early and claimed front-row seats. Nayun read the warning sticker stuck to her chair. "It says to be careful, water might splash?" From the row directly behind them, there were no warning stickers at all. "So it doesn't splash back there?" "Oh, come on, they probably just slapped those on wherever. Relax, relax. We're not even in the very front row." Declaring she couldn't pass up the chance to sit up front, Suyeon planted her friends in their seats. Right on schedule, the show began. Yeoncheong and her friends watched, mouths hanging open in astonishment. Watching from so close, the satisfaction was sky-high. But. An aquarium run by a major corporation. If the warning stickers stopped at exactly that row, there was a reason for it. The man performing alongside the dolphins shouted out. "Everyone up front, watch out!" A mischievous dolphin plunged into the water with a tremendous splash, sending water flying in every direction. Yeoncheong saw the wall of water arcing toward them and tried to dodge — but— "Hey — hey!" Nayun and Suyeon dove in behind her, and Yeoncheong took the splash head-on, soaked to the bone. Nayun peered out from behind and checked on her. "Yeoncheong-ah... you okay?" "Do I look okay?" Nayun took in Yeoncheong's thoroughly drenched upper body, flinched hard, and glanced around frantically. "Hasol, Seoha — anything I can use to cover her up?" Only once safety was secured did Suyeon emerge from behind and look at Yeoncheong. "It's black..." Through the soaked shirt, her black bra showed plainly. It was more than enough to make Yeoncheong's hands close around Suyeon's throat.