Student Council
Lunchtime on the day we officially joined the student council.
Cheolyong, Nayoung, and I left the classroom and headed to the student council room.
"Hoo... Hoo......"
Cheolyong, whose huge build and fierce face made him look like he feared nothing in the world, seemed completely nervous. He placed his hand on his chest, panting heavily.
Despite his intimidating appearance, Cheolyong was surprisingly talkative, and he was holding onto the hope that the current student council president, Shin Eunah, might still remember him.
And the thought of meeting someone he had admired and liked for a long time filled his expression with excitement.
We finally arrived in front of the student council room. Cheolyong, who had been walking boldly ahead of us, stood there blankly, unable to open the door.
"What's wrong?"
"......"
"I... can't open it... Could you open it for me?"
Despite his mountain-like physique that made him look like he feared nothing in the world, his heart was surprisingly fragile.
Honestly, a guy acting like that would normally be kind of cringey, but it was oddly endearing.
"Come on."
"Thanks......"
I opened the door wide instead of Cheolyong.
As if they had been waiting for us, inside the student council room, Shin Eunah, the student council president, was sitting at the head of the round table. Next to her were the cute-looking senior girl we saw during the interview, and a male senior who, while not as handsome as me, was decent-looking.
It wasn't just the three of them. The room was packed with student council members I had seen a few times and people I was seeing for the first time, all of them turning their gazes towards us who had just entered.
"Since you're here, take any seat."
Even though she said any seat, it seemed our spots were already decided. I could see four chairs at the very end.
Naturally, Nayoung and I sat next to each other. With no more seats left beside us, Cheolyong went over to a skinny guy who looked like his arm would break if you tapped it and pulled out a chair.
"Eek...?!"
As soon as Cheolyong, whose appearance and size didn't make him look like a student at all but rather a gangster, sat down, the guy let out a small shriek and subtly moved away.
"Well... is everyone here?"
Shin Eunah looked around and opened her mouth.
"Yeah. Everyone's here."
The female senior sitting next to her nodded with a bright smile.
"Okay. Since there are new people here, let's start with self-introductions first."
With that, she pulled her chair back and stood up.
"The exact schedule hasn't been set yet, so I don't know when I'll step down, but I'm Shin Eunah, still the student council president for now. Nice to meet you."
"Waaaaah~!"
Clap clap clap clap.
The existing student council members gave enthusiastic applause and cheers.
"I'm Choi Soeun. Nice to meet you~!"
The cute-looking female senior stood up next.
"Han Sangwoo."
The handsome senior who stood up after Soeun finished his introduction concisely with just his name.
His gaze seemed to be directed at Nayoung for some reason. Was I imagining it?
Anyway, after all the existing senior members finished their introductions, it was Cheolyong's turn.
"I-I'm Park Cheolyong! I'll work hard... ugh...! Yes!"
It was just a self-introduction.
All he had to do was say his name with a simple greeting, but he couldn't even do that properly, stuttering and biting his tongue. The stark contrast with Cheolyong's fierce appearance brought laughter to the room.
"I'm Lee Jihoon."
Finally, it was my turn.
I stood up calmly, met the eyes of Shin Eunah, who was scrutinizing me as if sizing me up, and bowed my head.
"Nice to meet you."
Lastly.
"I'm Han Nayoung!"
My lovely girlfriend, who uttered her name with a beautiful, bright smile.
Whether she read the unsettling look in Han Sangwoo's eyes.
Or felt the lecherous gazes of the other male student council seniors.
She put up a wall from the very beginning.
As if to say, don't even think about approaching me, I'm taken.
"Huh. I thought there was something between you two. You're lovers?"
Choi Soeun couldn't hide her amazement.
And she had a point. The difference in their appearances was too extreme.
That didn't mean there was a law against them being lovers. It wasn't an unreasonable statement, but it was still surprising.
Especially since Nayoung, who looked like she could have made countless men cry, was not only claiming to be my girlfriend but also putting up a wall.
"How did you two start dating?"
Nothing was as interesting as other people's love stories.
The female seniors, including Choi Soeun, waited with fluttering hearts for Nayoung's words.
Ready to give a fantastic reaction no matter what she said.
"Well... it's a long story."
"Oh...! Sounds like there's an interesting story there?"
Most relationships among peers were the natural, trivial kind where you get close to someone you like, create the right mood, confess, and if you get rejected, that's it, and if you succeed, you become a couple.
But since Nayoung's and my case wasn't like that, Choi Soeun's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"That's enough. Soeun. You can hear that later. We need to do what we have to do now."
"Aww~ I'm curious. You're curious too, aren't you, Eunah?"
"Well......"
Shin Eunah's eyes alternated between my face and Nayoung's face.
No matter how fantastic the story was, the incomprehensible difference in appearance was enough to raise questions.
She wanted to hear the story, but Shin Eunah shook her head reluctantly.
As if she hadn't become the student council president after being treated like an outcast and then become a young woman representing Korea in the future, she cast her curiosity far away.
"Later."
"Tch."
Soeun surrendered to the firm words.
She clicked her tongue, full of regret, and rested her chin on her hand.
Shin Eunah smiled wryly at her reaction and opened her mouth.
"First... Cheolyong, Jihoon, and Nayoung. Is there any department among you that you want to join?"
She continued asking.
"A few people have left, so the departments you can join right now are Broadcasting, Environment, and... Public Relations. You can choose one of these."
A total of three choices.
Honestly, none of them appealed to me.
If possible, I wanted a department where I could quickly get close to Shin Eunah, but that department didn't seem to need to fill any positions, so it was missing from the list.
"Hmm......"
I fell into deep thought.
I didn't know which department I should join to make a good impression.
Nayoung seemed to be thinking only about joining whatever department I chose.
"Well, it's not urgent. You can tell me by the end of this week, so take your time thinking."
Saying we didn't have to decide right now, she stood up.
"Lunch break will be over soon, so let's call it a day here."
I looked at the clock, and as she said, there wasn't much time left until lunch break ended.
"Then study hard."
As she left the student council room first with Soeun, the other student council members followed them out like mushrooms after rain.
But just one person.
"Nayoung. Are you interested in coming to the Accounting department?"
Han Sangwoo alone didn't leave and was talking to Nayoung.
"The Accounting department...?"
"Yeah. The Accounting department. It's much more comfortable than other places."
"But it wasn't in the places Eunah unnie mentioned?"
"Ah. That? I haven't said it yet, but one person from our side is leaving, so we need to recruit too."
Han Sangwoo answered without being flustered.
"Are there no two spots?"
"Two... spots?"
Han Sangwoo's gaze briefly turned to me.
"Unfortunately."
"Then I'm fine."
Nayoung, who was devotedly attached to me and had no intention of leaving my side, refused without a moment's hesitation.
"I want to go to the same department as Jihoon."
"......"
Nayoung gently linked her arm with mine.
I hoped he would back off after this much, but he must have thought I was an easy pushover, as he smiled with an expression that seemed to say he would back off for now.
"Is that so? Okay. That's too bad."
A sneer that said he could take her from me anytime.
He was uglier than me, but his pride was certainly strong.
"Study hard in class."
Once Han Sangwoo left, only a handful of people remained in the student council room.
"Let's go too."
I wrapped my arm around Nayoung's waist, who was still holding my arm, and spoke to Cheolyong.
"Yeah...! Let's go......!"
Cheolyong answered with a strangely bright face. He looked happy.
"What happened?"
"Haha!"
When I asked why he was suddenly like that.
"The student council president remembered me. She said 'Long time no see' as we were leaving."
The corners of his mouth were practically glued to his ears.
"Is that so...? I'm jealous."
It might have just been a casual word thrown out of simple happiness to see him, but for Cheolyong, it was like a trigger button that made him happier than anything else.
"By the way, which department are you going to join?"
"Department...? I haven't really thought about it... I'll just go wherever there's a spot."
I thought it was all the same, so I didn't think much of it.
I mean, it's a high school student council, not a university one. How hard could the work be?
I decided to just join a department where I could be with Nayoung.
Anyway, the department where I could get close to Shin Eunah seemed so popular that there were no vacancies, and even if a spot somehow opened up, it would be inevitable to be separated from Nayoung.
Well, even if I wasn't there to keep an eye on her, she would handle gnats like Han Sangwoo on her own, but it still pissed me off that they were messing with my girl.
Because they might taint the body of Nayoung, which I had treasured without a single blemish.