Start of Semester (5)
Start of Semester (5)
My name is Shin Ga-young. I am twenty years old, and I am the freshman Class Representative of the Computer Engineering Department at Hoyeon University.
My life has always been a war.
Elementary school, middle school, high school.
While others were obsessing over idols, buying tteokbokki, and giggling away, I was pouring out nosebleeds while solving calculus problems and memorizing English vocabulary. I can't even count the number of days I studied with my nose stuffed with tissues because of double nosebleeds.
The reason was simple. I wanted to succeed.
In this world, a woman succeeding carries two meanings. One is becoming a career woman with a respectable job. And the other is...
Building a family with a decent man.
In this country, men are a luxury good. A woman without money or ability must live her whole life without ever holding a man's hand before growing old and dying, or she must reluctantly merge households with another woman.
I hated that more than death itself.
My alma mater was nominally co-ed. However, for all three years, it was hard to even see a shadow of a man.
The one or two male students seen during the entrance ceremony couldn't withstand the burdensome attention and power struggles from the girls, so they either transferred or dropped out within a month.
A desolate classroom with nothing but girls remaining. I grit my teeth and managed my grades there. To one day seize a proper opportunity in a bigger pond.
And finally.
[ Hoyeon University Computer Engineering Department Acceptance ]
I did it. Entry into a prestigious Korean university. Now, a solid path had opened up before me.
As soon as I entered the university, I raised my hand without hesitation.
"I will be the Class Rep."
I am someone who never missed being the class president throughout all twelve years of elementary, middle, and high school. Leadership? Responsibility? Those are basic requirements. But the real reason I volunteered for the bothersome position of Class Rep was different.
Justification and Information.
It's the position where I can naturally contact people within the department and grasp information first.
And that choice wasn't wrong. The day I received the freshman list from the Jo-gyo-nim, I doubted my eyes.
"......Wow."
My fingertips trembled slightly. The total number of male freshmen was 30. Even that was a miraculous number, but what was more surprising was the fact that two of them were assigned to our department, Computer Engineering.
[ Park Hyun-woo ]
[ Seol Jin-hyuk ]
Other departments had no men at all or maybe just one, but our department had two. This was a truly rare opportunity.
I closed the list and caught my breath. I mustn't get excited. I mustn't make a mistake.
Men in this world are very wary. If you approach even slightly aggressively, they feel burdened and are prone to backing away. Just like those kids who transferred during high school.
But I have the perfect title of 'Class Rep.'
Using the excuse of delivering announcements to naturally get their contact information. Buying them meals under the pretext of helping with school life. A reliable supporter position, being the first to run and solve things when a problem arises.
'Slowly, and surely.'
While other girls fall away after charging in blindly, I just need to build trust from the closest position.
I adjusted my clothes while looking in the mirror. The skin, style, and specs I've managed for today. All preparations were complete.
Now, it was time to approach carefully.
It was the day of the long-awaited Freshman Orientation (OT).
In a corner of the auditorium. There were grim rumors that 23 out of the 30 total male freshmen were absent, but fortunately, the male students from our department attended.
I held my breath and observed them.
First, Park Hyun-woo. An impression that looked gentle with round glasses. Looking terrified with his shoulders hunched, he was the typical male student commonly seen in Korea. He was the cute type that stimulated protective instincts.
And, Seol Jin-hyuk. To be honest, I was a bit surprised when I first saw him.
'...He's big.'
He was tall. Even at a glance, he looked well over 180cm. Usually, men in this world are petite or quite chubby, but that guy had broad shoulders and his overall frame was appropriately thick.
But what bothered me more was his gaze. There was no sign of being scared or intimidated by the surrounding eyes.
Yet, he wasn't enjoying it or acting conceited either. He just... looked like he had no thoughts. He looked dazed, or perhaps everything seemed like a bother to him.
'He's unique.'
It was just when my curiosity was piqued. When the atmosphere of the drinking party ripened and the seniors were driving the mood by throwing mischievous questions.
That mild-looking Seol Jin-hyuk suddenly jumped up.
"The answer is Huda-dak and Tokkigi!!! I'm sorry, I left the gas valve open at home!!!"
Then, without even looking back, he kicked open the pub door and ran out.
"......"
Wow. What was that? Is he a crazy bastard?
Instantly, silence fell around the table. For a man to tell a nonsense quiz at a drinking party and run away using a gas fire as an excuse. He was a type that didn't exist in my data.
Naturally, the atmosphere became a total shitshow. The seniors next to him were stunned and lost their wits, and the remaining Park Hyun-woo turned pale. I, as the Class Rep, had to step in and sweat bullets to fix the situation, saying, "Haha, he must be very drunk."
Two weeks passed like that, and the semester began after the course registration war ended.
Monday, the first major class ended. I planned to go and talk to the male students as soon as class was over. Under the justification of helping with school life.
However.
Urrr.
Before I could even move, the girls from other departments sitting in the front row rushed in like predators and surrounded them.
"Hi! Jin-hyuk-ah, Hyun-woo-ya!"
"Let's exchange numbers."
A desperate positioning battle to claim the male students, pushing each other's shoulders and shoving with their hips. It was a spectacle, truly.
I bit my lip. I couldn't let them be taken like this. I am the Class Rep. I have the justification. Just as I was about to adjust my bag strap and enter that gap.
"Move!!!"
Suddenly, Seol Jin-hyuk shouted.
"Our Hyun-woo-nim has an emergency dump!!! Clear the way!!!"
"......?"
Everyone in the classroom froze. Emergency dump? What he shouted with that solemn voice was an emergency dump?
Seol Jin-hyuk carried Park Hyun-woo like a sack of rice and plowed through the girls, who cleared the way in horror, like a bulldozer.
"......"
Only a stunned silence remained in the classroom. I also lost my words and stared at his back.
'...He's really no ordinary fellow.'
But, that made me even more interested. Because he was the first unpredictable man like that. Even if others saw him as absurd, in my eyes, it looked like the decisiveness to break through a crisis. Of course, the method was a bit dirty...
And today, Tuesday.
[Sex and Love: Exploration of Male and Female Culture] liberal arts hour. I opened the classroom door and stepped in.
I signed up for this class purely because it was easy to get grades. Since rumors were rampant that it was a 'honey' elective.
But the moment I entered the classroom, a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
Far away in the corner, in a seat where the light didn't reach well, a man was lying face down with a black hat pressed down low. Judging by his physique and aura, it was undoubtedly Seol Jin-hyuk.
'Oh? He's taking this too.'
It was unexpected. Usually, male students avoid this subject because it's burdensome. Looking around, among the hundred or so students filling the classroom, he was the only man.
And a more important fact. The only students from our department taking this class were me and Seol Jin-hyuk.
'This is a chance.'
Girls from other departments might be swarming, but I am the only one who can naturally sit in the next seat under the justification of being a 'department classmate.'
I killed my footsteps and quietly approached him.
Other female students around were glancing and looking at him, but they were all just gauging the situation, unable to approach easily.
Whether it was because of the President's announcement yesterday, or because of the cold 'I'll bite if you touch me' aura he radiated.
I did not hesitate.
Tok, tok.
A strange tension dwelled in my fingertips as I tapped the corner of the desk.
Twitch.
His shoulders reacted.
Slowly raising his head, he looked up at me. His eyes revealed under the brim of the hat were sharp. It was hard to read his expression because a black mask covered half of his face.
"Hi, Jin-hyuk-ah. Are you taking this class too?"
I greeted him with the smile I had practiced, as naturally as possible. But the reaction that came back was silence.
"......"
Eyes full of wariness. It seemed he didn't recognize who I was. Without getting flustered, I calmly continued.
"It's me, me. Computer Engineering Class Rep Shin Ga-young. We saw each other in the classroom yesterday too."
"......Ah."
His pupils enlarged slightly. It seemed he remembered.
He turned his gaze away as if feigning indifference for a moment, then replied in a low, sunken voice.
"...Yeah. Hi."
A greeting that couldn't be any drier. But it was enough that he answered. I gestured with my eyes toward the backpack placed on the empty chair next to him.
"Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
"......"
"We're in the same department. It's better to sit with someone you know."
Jin-hyuk seemed to contemplate for a moment. The eyebrows revealed above the black mask twitched. To put up a wall or not. To move the bag or not. I didn't rush him and just stared at him quietly.
After a moment. He let out a short sigh and thudded the bag from the chair to the floor.
"...You can sit."
It was permission. I didn't show it and sat in the next seat with a bright smile.
"Thanks."
I sat down with a grin. However, Jin-hyuk didn't give any particular response to my thanks. His gaze was fixed on the wood grain pattern on the corner of the desk. Like a person counting the number of those patterns.
'...He's really unique.'
To say he was dignified because he was full of confidence, he looked somewhat lethargic. And if I were to say he was intimidated because he was timid... that was absolutely not it.
If he were a truly timid guy, he wouldn't have been able to commit the eccentricity of telling a nonsense quiz and running away in front of all those seniors during OT. That's something impossible unless one has a very strong heart.
'Besides...'
Shoulders so broad they filled a whole desk. Veins stood out on his forearms which were crossed.
Men in this country are mostly delicate or chubby because they grew up being protected, but is he doing some kind of exercise? Seeing him up close, he's definitely different. To a surprising degree.
Just then, the front door opened and the Professor-nim entered.
"Nice to meet you. I am Shim Sa-rang, in charge of the Sex and Love lecture."
The commotion in the classroom subsided. The Professor-nim pushed up her horn-rimmed glasses and opened the attendance book.
"I will take attendance first."
It was in alphabetical order, but my name was called soon.
"Shin Ga-young." "Yes."
I answered in a clear and bright voice. The Professor-nim nodded and called the next name.
High-pitched voices passed by, and finally, the Professor-nim's gaze stayed near the very end of the attendance book.
"Seol Jin-hyuk."
In an instant, the air in the classroom changed minutely. A low and thick voice echoed from beside me.
"Yes."
With that one short answer.
Sss-sssk.
The heads of the female students sitting in the front rows turned back all at once as if they had made a promise. Dozens of pupils were fixed toward the seat next to me.
Gazes mixed with curiosity, interest, and a strange battle of scouting.
'Wow... look at the attention being focused.'
Even I felt burdened, but the person in question, Jin-hyuk, only pressed his hat down deeper and lowered his head. Like a person who wanted to wear an invisibility cloak.
The Professor-nim, as if the students' reaction was familiar, smiled lightly, turned on the beam projector, and displayed the syllabus on the screen.
"Now, everyone look at the front. Since today is the first session, I will briefly explain the course outline."
On the screen, stiff texts like [Historical Evolution of Male and Female Culture] and [Understanding Social Structure and Gender Roles] were listed.
Contrary to the course name, it wasn't a soft class teaching dating techniques. Rather, it was a theoretical class closer to sociology or history.
I rested my chin on my hand and listened with one ear while letting it out the other. Since what was important wasn't the content, but the grade.
"...And the most important evaluation method."
The Professor-nim flipped the screen.
"There is no midterm exam."
Waaaaa—
Small cheers erupted from all over the classroom. I also cheered inwardly. As expected of a 'honey' elective.
"Instead, we will proceed with an alternative assignment. The topic will be announced later. The final exam is a theoretical test."
The Professor-nim coolly closed her laptop.
"Since today is the first day, I will end the orientation here and finish early. However, there is one simple assignment for attendance recognition."
The Professor-nim wrote briefly on the chalkboard.
[ Assignment: Motivation for taking this course and expectations (Submit online via school portal) ]
"No need to write long. It's just for confirmation purposes. Upload it by this week. That is all."
[ Class Dismissed ]
A clean finish without any fluff. Students packed their bags and stood up from their seats.
I also put my books in my bag and naturally glanced at Jin-hyuk in the next seat. I couldn't let him go like this. Whether it was food or coffee, I had to create a justification.
"Hey, Jin-hyuk-ah. Since class ended early..."
It was just as I was about to talk to him.
Dureureuk.
Jin-hyuk stood up from his seat faster than anyone, like a spring popping up. His hand movements as he packed his bag without even looking at me were extraordinary.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, it was a movement without a hint of hesitation.
And then, he muttered something lowly inside his mask.
"Adun Toridas....."
"......?"
Adun... what? Is it a foreign language? Or a spell? He left behind words I couldn't understand at all and whipped his body around.
"Huh? Wait a minute!"
I called out urgently, but it was already too late. He opened the back door and vanished like the wind. Before other students could even pack their things, he was the first to escape the classroom.
Left alone, I blankly stared at the open back door.
"...What is it, really."
I knew he was a crazy bastard, but he exceeds my imagination. Adun Toridas? Should I try searching for it?
But the absurdity was brief, and a smirk hung on my lips.
'Interesting.'
Since he doesn't easily let his guard down, it makes me even more stubborn. I slung my bag and stood up leisurely. No matter how much that guy struggles, he is ultimately a department classmate.
"Anyway, the next class is a major."
It means no matter how much he runs, he's in the palm of my hand.
I slowly left the classroom. I won't miss him next time.