06:30 Wake-Up Call and the Senior's Kindness
The sound of a knock echoed through the room. "06:30. All unit members, please wake up."
At the same moment the alarm went off, my eyes snapped open.
Normally I would stir with a groan, but not today. My eyes shot wide open as if shouting, "I'm at my absolute peak condition!"
Trying to rest is when your guard is down. And right now was exactly that moment.
I started to lift my upper body and wake the seniors, but a rustling noise came from the side.
I turned my head toward the sound—
"Hi—k."
I let out a strangled gasp. No wonder. Seong-a was staring straight at me through the dim light.
If her hair had been as black and long as mine, I might have collapsed right then. I didn't believe in ghosts or spirits, but standing here, my fear had mysteriously grown.
"Harang-ah."
"Superhuman Seo Harang...?"
"What are you doing?"
"I was about to wake the seniors and turn on the lights."
"Don't."
"What do you mean, senior?"
"Don't. Stay down. Keep lying there."
"Even so, that's a little too much. I'm the youngest here..."
"I'm your senior too, right? You weren't supposed to listen to seniors?"
The mention of "senior" from Jeong Seung-ah for the very first time hit me like a truck.
"S-Sorry..."
"No, I'm not saying sorry. I'm just telling you to lie there. I'll handle it."
Jeong Seung-ah sat up.
"I get that you're hesitant, but if you move and your condition worsens, it'll be a problem for all of us. You don't want that, Harang-ah, right?"
"That's true, but..."
Jeong Seung-ah answered my words with a smile. Still, I had something to say.
"The doctor said walking is fine."
"No."
"Even so, we still have to do morning inspections, right? So—"
"Hey, Seo Harang."
"Superhuman Seo Harang."
The voice came from the opposite bed.
It had been a while since I heard that tone. A brutally sharp voice that would make you regret any mistake.
"Rest."
I didn't know when she had gotten up, but Kim Heejin spoke like that.
With Kim Heejin saying the same thing, I had no choice. The seniority difference was one thing, but the vote was already two-to-one anyway.
"Yeon Byeori Superhuman, wake-up time."
"Hey, get up."
"Han Jihye Hero, you need to wake up."
"Knngh..."
The two of them began waking the other seniors.
It was unbearable, with my attention split in too many directions and my shoulders prickling with discomfort.
First, after finishing the popular chart routine for the morning routine, I quickly scanned the room for something to do.
I should tidy the sleeping bag and mattress, right? No, I had to. Not maybe, but had to.
"Yaaaawn... Eh? Hey, Seo Harang."
"Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"You weren't supposed to lie there resting? Why isn't there a sleeping bag?"
"Aigoo, even the youngest can't lie on the bed."
"Where did you hear that? Who made up such nonsense?"
"You."
That was the rule I had personally told myself.
But trying to protest here by saying, "But Jihye-unnie said that!" would be amateur hour. The real pro would look much further ahead.
"Then even I, the youngest, could lie on the bed?"
Yes! This was my plan! Named 'Stealthily Claim the Right to Lie on the Bed While Pretending I Didn't Know'!
"No way. Even Harang, the youngest, can't lie on the bed."
"Why!"
"Why? Because it's casual speech."
"...Yes."
My behavior style was already known, so Han Jihye's instant rebuttal came right away. My carefully thought-out plan had its wings clipped, and I cried inside.
"Still, I'll let you lie down for three days. There aren't many chances like this, so thank you and stay there. I'll handle the morning inspection myself."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
I quickly thanked her three times, but it seemed Jihye wasn't entirely satisfied.
Jihye, who had been pushing the mattress under the bunk bed, suddenly stopped, lay down on her back, and stared at me upside down.
She had that look—the one she got when she wanted something from Ji Yuna.
"Harang."
"Superhuman Harang?"
"Who are you thanking? If you just say 'thank you' like that, you don't know who it is."
"I-I'm thanking Jihye-unnie."
"Oh? Good. If it had been Han Jihye Hero, I wouldn't have let it slide."
Hehe, was she really repeating the same mistake? Now the word 'unnie' had stuck in her mouth.
...Separate from how familiar the word had become, my wild heart was howling.
Still, what else could I do? My body and mind were more important, right? Maintaining my male vibe was the priority. It would sort itself out somehow. I didn't have to keep being energetic.
As I squeezed the sleeping bag while trying to calm my pounding heart, the room brightened.
"Turning on the light?"
Kim Heejin clicked on the fluorescent lamp without waiting for an answer.
I always turned it on myself and didn't know how much this one brightened things up.
Kim Heejin scanned the now-lit living quarters and her eyes met mine.
Eh? Did I do something wrong? Why that look again?
Kim Heejin strode over and sat right on top of my bed. I couldn't tuck the sleeping bag or roll up the mattress now.
"Uh... Kim Heejin Superhuman?"
"What?"
"You being here makes it impossible to clean the bed."
"I know."
A new absurdity?
The effect was huge. If I couldn't clean the bed, the one who would get scolded would be me.
Damn it! Kim Heejin is worse than a demon! I thought we were getting close, but she hits like a truck!
"Is there a complaint?"
"No complaints!"
Bing. I shouted inside my head but smiled on the outside.
I had heard a lot lately that my expression was showing, so I kept it hidden out of caution. Luckily, Kim Heejin didn't seem to care much about my face.
"Then it will be quick. Lie down."
"Lie down? Then I can't fold the sleeping bag—"
"You're not telling me twice, are you? Right now? You know my personality, Harang?"
I knew it perfectly. Violent kindness. Should I be grateful or be flustered?
"Kim Heejin Superhuman gets angry, Harang. It's not fun. Just follow the mood."
Byeon Byeori wrapped the sleeping bag loosely and rolled up the mattress while saying that. The dark circles under her eyes were still there.
"What do you have in mind...?"
"What do you mean what? Lie back down on the sleeping bag."
"That's too much!"
"The one who keeps moving is the excessive one here. Just lie down."
Violent kindness crashed over me!
It was the same flow as yesterday. Even if the doctor said walking is fine, nothing would change. We'd only get tired from repeating the same thing.
Once I agreed, Kim Heejin moved out of the way.
I slowly climbed on and lay down.
"We need to cover you with a blanket. I know Harang can see, but a girl like that would get cold."
Jeong Seung-ah covered me with the sleeping bag.
She was incredibly devoted, like tending to a rare animal that would die if I sneezed wrong.
I decided to stay still for now. If I needed to move, I figured Jihye would stop me.
And Jihye, even seeing this, didn't say a word. She just watched with a half-lidded eye and a popcorn-chewing expression, as if savoring the scene.
Nothing was wrong. The one who was wrong was me. Everyone seemed to be saying that.
Under the bright lights, me alone spreading out the bedding and lying there while the other seniors were awake really felt...
"Superhuman Seo Harang. It feels heavy and stuffy inside."
"Get some sleep. It'll be fine anyway."
How could I refuse such unconditional kindness!
In the end, with the other seniors' permission, I lay there for three days.
"I'll be back."
"Ah! I understand! Me!"
"Stay down and don't move."
"But the inspection—"
"I'll report you as a patient, so don't worry. If you move, I'll get angry? Really?"
"...Understood. I'll rest gratefully and get better soon."
As I hesitated and returned to my position, Han Jihye let out a soft chuckle.
"Whoa, the seniors are leaving but you're not getting up? Come on, back to the bunk, back to—"
"Knghh! Sorry!"
"Just ignore what that person says."
"Now even the seniors aren't treating you as a person? Really, Heejin is heartless—really—"
"Live like a real person so you get heartless. Harang is sick, you know."
"Well, then there's nothing I can do."
I wanted to shout that I wasn't sick, but honestly, I couldn't be sure.
Even though the doctor said walking was fine, no one really knew my body that well, right? It was clearly the right choice to rest properly instead of poking around and only angering them.
So I had to do my best and recover! Let's recover hard!
I made that resolution in my heart. It wasn't like I would recover quickly, though.
The chatter rose with voices as the seniors entered the living quarter.
"Hey, Harang."
Han Jihye called me.
"Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"Eh? The seniors are calling but you're not getting up?"
"Act decently."
"Heejin! Who is more important to me, the one I've lived with for years, or Harang?"
"If you want to be treated kindly, do something kind."
"Tehe~... Anyway, I caught her in a secluded spot after three days."
"In a secluded spot?"
Han Jihye nodded. In three days, that would be the rest period the doctor mentioned.
"I couldn't trust the doctor at all. For now, report for three days and get a thorough check-up at a big place."
"Understood."
It was really decided that I would rest for three days. With just wake-ups and inspections, I felt like I'd be stuffed inside even more. Could I even endure three days?
I lightly untied the blanket covering me. Even for the youngest like me, being told to rest made me feel on edge.
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