A Good Kind of Crazy
The class president, Kwon Dain, and Choi Saeron.
Lately, eating lunch like this as a group of four had become a daily routine.
It wasn't that they were ostracizing Yoon Seolah.
She just didn't eat school lunch in the first place, which was why the four of them gathered.
"Hey, Class President, do you want to come too?"
Over lunch, I invited the class president to join us.
"Where?"
"We're all heading to the music room after lunch."
"...Huh?"
"Yoon Seolah asked me to help her practice the piano."
"Are you guys playing together?"
"Not exactly an ensemble."
"..."
The class president pushed up his glasses and pondered for a moment.
Then, he asked.
"Would I be of any help?"
He looked at me as he spoke.
It's not like the class president can actually help.
He couldn't offer any direct assistance when it came to teaching the piano.
But right now, his mere presence was what I needed.
Without him, it would just be me and the trio of girls left in the music room.
No matter how close we had gotten recently.
You can't ignore the sense of security that comes from having another guy around.
Having the class president there would change the entire atmosphere.
Besides, with the incredibly social Choi Saeron around, there was no way he'd feel left out.
He wouldn't end up isolated.
I piled on all sorts of flowery words to emphasize how much we needed him.
After listening to my pitch, the class president gave a clean nod.
As expected of a cool guy.
"Wait, you're done already?"
Choi Saeron's eyes widened as she watched us chat.
"Yeah, all done."
"That speed makes no sense."
"Maybe your mouth is just small."
"...What?"
"I'm saying you probably eat slowly because your mouth is small."
It was a perfectly logical deduction.
However, Choi Saeron didn't seem to appreciate my logic.
"...It's not that small."
What exactly triggered her there?
I didn't think calling someone's mouth small was offensive.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Kwon Dain leaned in and whispered.
"Saeron hates the word 'small' in general."
She was probably trying to look out for Choi Saeron in her own way, but...
"I can hear you, punk."
Since Choi Saeron was sitting right next to Kwon Dain, she heard every word.
Anyway.
So the word 'small' is her trigger.
I'd have to be careful in the future.
Though, to be fair, Choi Saeron really was small in many ways.
"I'll head over first."
The girls still had half their lunch left.
It felt like a waste of time to just sit around.
I parted ways with the class president, who was heading to the school store, and walked toward the music room.
"Oh."
I had planned to fetch her from the classroom if she wasn't here.
But to my pleasant surprise, Yoon Seolah was already settled in the music room.
And she's not even sleeping.
I highly approved of my student's attitude.
It really seemed like she wanted to learn properly.
Yoon Seolah gave me a gentle wave.
She looked bright, which was nice to see.
"We don't have much time, so let's make this quick."
With about thirty-five minutes left of lunch, I needed to wrap up the lesson within thirty.
"Is there anything you're struggling with while playing?"
The song our band was practicing lately was an original track I had written.
It was the very band song that had brought me my first meaningful success as a composer in my past life.
The reason I chose it was simple.
The bass only had to play root notes.
And it was a song where she didn't have to sing and play the keyboard at the same time.
In other words, the keyboard parts were empty whenever Yoon Seolah sang.
That also meant the song relied heavily on the vocalist's ability, but...
With Yoon Seolah's talent...
I could easily trust her with it.
While I was lost in thought, Yoon Seolah finished processing her answer.
"What's hard is... my sense of touch feels a bit different now..."
Her sense of touch had changed...
That made perfect sense.
It wasn't like her physical growth had remained frozen since elementary school.
Everything from the height of her line of sight, the length of her fingers, to the pressure needed to press the keys.
Numerous factors had combined to throw off her muscle memory.
"I'm just not used to pressing the keys. And not having a pedal feels a bit awkward too."
However, that wasn't a problem I could solve for her.
How could I magically restore her physical intuition?
The only solution was to practice more.
And Yoon Seolah surely knew that as well.
...Then why did she call me here?
Did she invite me because practicing alone is boring?
But she could have just asked Kwon Dain or Choi Saeron for company.
Maybe she wanted someone who actually knows how to play the piano since it's practice.
Only Yoon Seolah knew what she was thinking, so I stopped trying to guess.
"Do you want to try playing it once?"
"Okay."
At my words, the corners of Yoon Seolah's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly as she placed her hands on the keys.
It was so subtle that you wouldn't even notice it unless you were looking closely.
Soon, a familiar melody filled the air.
Although she stumbled occasionally, she had already been practicing for the past week.
She never stopped playing entirely.
"You're good."
That was my only assessment.
There was nothing to criticize.
The minor stumbles would disappear naturally with more practice.
Yoon Seolah looked up at me, her blue hair swaying.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I think you just need to keep practicing consistently."
"You're not just saying that because you're lazy and want to get this over with, right?"
"Why would I do that?"
When I replied with a look of disbelief, a pretty smile bloomed on her face.
"Should I play another song?"
"Something other than the one we're practicing?"
"Yeah."
"If you can, go for it."
She continued chatting with me, a soft smile lingering on her lips.
But just as she placed her hands on the keys again—
"Oh, look at the class president's sense!"
"Thanks for the iced tea."
The music room door swung open, and the remaining three filed in one after another.
"What's this?"
The moment Yoon Seolah saw them, she mouthed the words to me.
...Her smile completely gone.
"Isn't it better if we all hang out together?"
"...I guess so."
If it's good, why did your smile vanish?
I felt like I had made a mistake, but since only she knew her own mind, I dropped it.
I stopped overthinking.
Guessing wouldn't do me any good right now anyway.
"Have you been practicing a lot?"
Choi Saeron naturally nudged me aside and took my spot next to Yoon Seolah.
Pushed back, I—
"Oh, frozen lemon green tea."
I immediately opened the lemon green tea the class president handed me and took a sip.
"I'll buy next time."
"...No."
The class president adjusted his glasses and continued.
"I'll keep buying them from now on."
"...Huh?"
What is he talking about?
Anyone watching would think I was extorting him.
My mind went blank for a second, but I needed to hear him out.
The class president wasn't a weirdo, after all.
"I've been watching you guys for a while now."
"...Yeah."
"And you guys give off major anime vibes. Specifically, like a rom-com light novel."
"..."
I take it back. He is a weirdo.
This guy was absolutely out of his mind.
"Compared to that, I'm the perfect extra. The guy who brings you drinks and lightens the mood."
Wait, maybe calling him crazy was a bit harsh.
Come to think of it, he wasn't causing anyone any harm.
"It's highly ideal."
The class president grinned with deep satisfaction.
"I've always wanted a school life like this. Being the extra who watches the main characters from up close."
...Actually, yeah. He's definitely crazy.
My assessment of the class president shifted by the second.
In the end, the conclusion I reached was:
A good kind of crazy.
I ended up pairing two completely contradictory words together.
"..."
Yoon Seolah returned home around 8:00 PM.
"I barely slept today..."
How was she going to hold out until her dad got home?
That single thought consumed her mind.
It was a small house, even at a glance.
A two-room apartment of barely three hundred square feet was her cozy sanctuary.
The reason Yoon Seolah constantly slept at school wasn't just because she was naturally sleepy.
"I hope he comes home early today."
She wanted to see her father's face before going to bed, but he always came home late from his designated driver job.
To stay awake at home, she slept in advance at school.
Today, however, was different.
Because of the band activities she had recently grown fond of, she had skipped her crucial lunch-hour nap to practice.
One might ask why she didn't just sleep during class.
But Yoon Seolah never slept during class.
Since her family couldn't afford private academies, she had to pay absolute attention to school lessons.
"Sleeping now..."
...didn't seem like a good idea.
Her body rhythm knew all too well that it wasn't bedtime yet.
And since she was the type to fall into a deep, heavy sleep once she went under.
She was afraid she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night.
Specifically, she feared missing her dad.
How could she fight off the sleepiness?
"Saeron said she was having dinner with her sister."
And Dain... was probably in the middle of tutoring.
Her two closest friends were unavailable to help her pass the time.
Staring blankly at her chat list, Yoon Seolah's eyes drifted to the third chatroom.
"...Jeong Jisul."
Excluding those two, Jeong Jisul was practically the only other person she was close to.
Well, I do have a reason to text him...
Having made up her mind, Yoon Seolah tapped her phone screen.
"If he's working..."
Am I bothering him?
Thank goodness.
Mumbling to herself, Yoon Seolah immediately got to the point.
Practice, my foot.
How was she going to practice without a piano anyway?
It was just an excuse to meet someone and kill time.
"..."
Yoon Seolah hesitated for a moment before moving her fingers.
"...We can just meet at the convenience store."
"..."
Why was he worrying about her so much?
I already knew he was kind, but...
Yoon Seolah tapped her lips with her finger, a small smile tugging at her mouth.
His thoughtful consideration made her feel far better than she had expected.
After changing into comfortable casual clothes, she waited.
It didn't take long before her phone vibrated.