Club (3)
Club (3)
Walking while lost in thought, I soon arrived at my destination. A corner of the 5th floor of the Old Humanities Building.
Fortunately, it hadn't been disbanded yet—the old wooden sign in front of the door was still there.
[ Hanlim Classic Studies Society ]
The name alone is suffocating. I carefully knocked.
Tok, tok.
No response.
Is there no one here? Or has it already been disbanded, leaving only the sign behind?
Just in case, I tried turning the doorknob.
Dalkak.
It opens.
The door creaked open, and I stepped inside. The musty smell of old paper hit me.
"Excuse me...?"
No answer came back. A space filled only with antique furniture and old bookshelves, wrapped in silence.
There's no one. Is it really a ghost club?
Then, beyond the bookshelf, I spotted a space leading further inside.
Just in case, I moved further inside.
That was when.
"...Who is it."
"...What?"
From underfoot... no, from somewhere beyond the desk, a solemn voice. I looked toward the sound and swallowed a gasp.
"Ack!"
Suddenly, something white popped up before my eyes.
Hair so pale it was almost white. An anachronistic modified hanbok. And... an absurdly small height.
Seeing that bizarre silhouette glowing faintly in the backlight from the window, a chill ran down my spine.
They said it was a ghost club. So it didn't mean a club with no people, but a club where real ghosts lived.
Just as I was about to step back, that ghost blinked.
"······."
She breathes, and has a shadow. She's human.
She looked up at me, holding a large brush. Her round eyes grew wider, and her solemn expression faltered slightly.
"Uh... It's a guy?"
A very modern and ordinary tone. Only then did I relax and awkwardly bow.
"Oh, hello. I came to check out the club."
"Oh, yes. Well... welcome...?"
She answered absentmindedly, then hurriedly clasped her hands behind her back as if she'd slipped up. Her speech pattern is quite unique.
I looked around and asked.
"Um... what kind of club is this?"
"Ahem. This is a place to explore the wisdom of ancient sages... and cultivate the mind... something like that..."
Her trailing voice lacked confidence.
'...She's really committed to the concept.'
No wonder there are no people. But for me, that's a good thing.
"How many club members do you have?"
"Ah... well..."
She hemmed and hawed, staring into the distance.
"On the roster, there are about fifteen... but they're all ghost members. I'm the only one actually active. They've probably all forgotten they even joined."
"Oh..."
An exclamation slipped out unintentionally. One member. Complete isolation.
"So what do you usually do?"
"Usually... I read books by myself and write activity reports just to avoid being disbanded. ...Such is the impermanence of time."
Her shoulders drooped. Her small back looked even smaller.
It was pitiful. That she alone guarded this vast space with that small body.
Was she enduring this desolate place purely on the will to explore the words of ancient sages? I even felt sorry for her.
I was about to offer some consolation when...
"...Still."
She lifted her head slowly. Eyes I thought were downcast were strangely sparkling.
"We get an activity fund, you know."
"What?"
"The club subsidy. With that, I order delivery... buy tasty snacks... run the AC in summer and heater in winter..."
Her gaze turned to a large, plush cushion in the corner.
"And when I'm sleepy, I nap there—it's heavenly."
"······."
I could almost hear myself gulping.
'It wasn't academic zeal...'
She was just mooching off the school's funds.
A life of eating good food on the school's dime and sleeping warm.
'...That's paradise, isn't it?'
That subtly materialistic desire perfectly matched my wavelength.
I steeled my resolve and opened my mouth.
"Um, Bujang-nim."
"...Why, what is it?"
"Can I join too?"
"...Huh? Really?"
For a moment, she was flustered, and the concept shattered completely. Eyes round like a rabbit's turned toward me.
"Yes. I want to live like Bujang-nim."
Her pupils wavered. It was a strange expression mixing emotion and suspicion.
"...What you mean is, you also want to explore the words of ancient sages and write..."
"No."
I firmly shook my head.
"It's about lazing around. I want to buy good food with the subsidy and sleep, too."
"······."
Silence fell. She opened her mouth in disbelief.
"...Are you crazy?"
"I'm serious."
My eyes were more serious than ever.
Honestly, 'Utopia' has too high an entry barrier. It's a pain to push through the crowd of female students blocking the entrance, and even if I get in, there's no place to sit. It's a nice place, but too crowded for me.
But this place? It's tucked away in a corner, not even an ant shows up. The only person in this wide space is that... tiny Bujang-nim.
Just like my seniors, I've found my own perfect hideout through legwork.
"...Ha."
She let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded. She touched her forehead with her hand and muttered.
"It doesn't matter... but isn't that too honest? You could at least pretend to burn with academic zeal for courtesy's sake..."
"I can't lie."
"...Well, well."
She looked up at me with an odd expression. She seemed incredulous, but not displeased.
"Well, fine. I permit your admission."
"Thank you."
"But there's a condition. If you intend to stay here as a resident, not just a ghost member hanging your name..."
She put on a stern face and pointed at me with the tip of her brush.
"You must at least pretend to be active sometimes. It would be troublesome if the auditor comes."
"Got it. That's easy enough."
I nodded readily. It just means occasionally pretending to read books and writing reports. For a sweet deal like this, that little effort is worth it.
I wrote my name on the application form and handed it over. She put down her brush and picked up the paper.
"Seol... Jin... Hyeok...?"
As she recited my name, her eyes narrowed. Her gaze, scanning me up and down, was strange.
"But you're a man, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am."
"No, usually men... either hide away from places with women, or seek flashy spots to be treated well, right?"
She tilted her head.
"To choose such a dusty, musty old classics society that smells of old people... your taste is truly unique."
"I like quiet places. This is perfect."
"...Hoho. A real odd one."
She chuckled and looked at the document again.
"Come to think of it... Ah. Are you that guy known as 'Rabbit Man'?"
"...What?"
Rabbit Man? No way...
"Has the rumor even reached here?"
"What are you talking about? The whole school was buzzing. They said there was a guy who, during the freshmen welcome party, stopped drinking to give nonsense quizzes and then bolted home."
"······."
My school life is really screwed. I've definitely been branded as a gag character, let alone mysterious.
I wiped my face in frustration and let out a deep sigh. She giggled and stamped the document with a thump.
"Anyway, welcome to the club. I'm Han Seo-yul, class of '19, Department of Korean Language and Literature."
"Yes... please take care of me."
The joining procedure was laughably simple. I stood awkwardly and looked around.
"But Bujang-nim, what do we do now?"
"Huh?"
She picked up her brush again and replied casually.
"We're not doing anything. Rest as you like. I was just passing the time doodling."
I looked down and saw that on the hanji paper she had spread out, instead of elegant ink wash paintings, there were doodles like stick figures everywhere.
So she really was just bored.
Laissez-faire. I like it.
As I dropped my bag on the old sofa in the corner, I asked something I was curious about.
"Ah, but Bujang-nim."
"What is it?"
"That hanbok... why are you wearing it? Is it because of the concept?"
She stopped her brush. A moment of silence passed, and then she spoke with a serious expression.
"...Because it's comfortable."
"What?"
"The wide sleeves let the breeze in, and the elastic waistband doesn't constrict my stomach. Once you wear this, you can't go back to tight jeans."
"······."
Then there was one remaining question.
"Then why is your hair white? Did you bleach it? Or is it a wig?"
"Ah... this..."
She fiddled with the ends of her hair and avoided my gaze.
"A while back, I had a weak constitution, so I took some herbal medicine... The effect was too strong, I guess—when I woke up, it was bleached like this."
"······."
"It's true. The uiwon... I mean, the doctor couldn't figure out the cause either."
Unbelievable. It's not like some martial arts novel syndrome; she turned white from bad herbal medicine? But her hair looks too natural to be a lie. Even the roots are white.
'...The world is vast and full of eccentrics.'
We each spent time doing our own thing. I lay on the sofa spacing out, and Bujang-nim was sprawled on her cushion fiddling with her phone.
Watching her, I suddenly noticed her appearance again. Not to mention her petite height. Snow-white hair, modified hanbok, and that historical drama speech.
A combination that would steal attention anywhere.
'If you're gonna commit to a concept, you have to go that far.'
Amateur attention-seekers can't even hold a candle to her. That unwavering self-willed spirit. In a way, it's admirable.
Before I knew it, my free period was over. I gathered my bag and stood up.
"I have a class, so I'll head out."
"Go on. Take care."
She didn't even look up from her phone, just waved a hand. Nice and cool.
I left the clubroom with a light heart.