Glasses Off Doesn't Guarantee a Glow-Up (2)
Meetups with folks from elementary or middle school were rare, even for drinks. But with high school buddies, we'd still get together now and then, even after becoming full-fledged adults. Maybe because we'd met as boys and grown into men side by side.
Right after I got canned from my job, the group chat where someone recommended Half Half Island was with those same high school friends.
You might sign up for insurance or guarantees if a friend asks, but their game or novel recs? Not so quick to jump on those. Tastes can change, after all.
'Man, it's been forever since we hung out like this. Let's keep meeting up with the successful ones. Good news or bad.'
'Yeah, right. You'll be the first to bail when we plan the next one.'
'What can I do if the wife calls me home early? If you wanna grab me when you're dreading heading back, just holler.'
'Faces all turned full-on uncle mode, but getting together like this brings back school days.'
Hanging with high school friends for a casual drink always stirred up those hazy memories of our student life. The older you get, the more you miss the past.
'Heard our senior year homeroom teacher, Mr. Jeon, just retired at the end of his term.'
'What? That guy already hit retirement age? No way... He was full of energy when he had us.'
'Means we're getting old too.'
Pairing those fresh, bold, carefree—and oh-so-nostalgic—youth memories with cheap booze at some hole-in-the-wall made even the swill go down smooth. The disconnect between those shared pasts and the middle-aged dudes we'd become added a bittersweet tang that gave the cheap stuff some depth.
'Ah, those were the days... Running wild, messing around, doing whatever.'
'Ban Do-young, you still live life on your terms.'
'My life's pretty thrilling.'
'This guy's unchanged.'
But my friends didn't seem to feel that same bitter aftertaste—at least not from me. Guess I was still kinda baby-faced. Even more so now.
'Yo, kids these days say no more mandatory self-study. Forcing it violates human rights.'
'What? Then who's compensating my violated rights?'
'What're you on about? You were always skipping out, Ban Do-young.'
'Who you calling a delinquent? I just left ten minutes early. Never ran away.'
Booze has its perks, but it can warp the intersection of your memories with friends'. As glasses emptied, voices rose with "Yours is right," "No, mine is," but it never escalated to real fights. Our high school tales always boiled down to one thing in the end.
'Those days were the best.'
'Mr. Jeon was strict but a good guy. Wonder if kids today get that. Meeting a tough teacher like him is a blessing.'
'You don't know till later.'
'Drinking like this brings back stuff with Mr. Jeon.'
The past overflows with happiness—even the stuff you didn't see as happy back then. Looking back, it often was. Whenever I missed those bits in reminiscing, I'd lean on the alcohol to fish them out of old memories.
'Ban Do-young, self-study's got ten minutes left. Why're you packing your bag already?'
'Mr. Jeon, classes are fifty minutes with a ten-minute break. By logic, self-study should end at 9:50, not 10:00.'
'Ho ho.'
'Plus, it's self-directed learning. Despite the name, you're locking all these kids in by force. Least you could do is cut 'em loose ten minutes early.'
'Hahaha.'
'Can't refute my logic, so you laugh it off. Then this humble one takes his leave.'
'No logic here, but I got the rod. Front and center—plank position.'
'Fuck.'
Hmm. Thinking back, not all memories were golden...
Pure-love youth genre or not, it was still a homegrown webtoon. Not some Japanese-style romcom school story. So nighttime self-study— for short—was inevitable.
These days, no school forces it. Back then, "self-directed" meant "mandatory." Now it's truly optional, finally living up to its name.
Bulsago High, the backdrop for Half Half Island's world, was a general high school without insane college prep zeal. When I first possessed this body, I worried about that.
With corporal punishment still around, self-study was probably mandatory too, right? But luckily, the author wasn't that old-school.
They announced from the start it was strictly voluntary when handing out forms, so I relaxed a bit.
Even up to that moment distributing the forms, I never dreamed Do Ha-min would sign up.
I mean, come on—which pure-love youth genre male lead sticks around till 10 p.m. for self-study?
"You signed up for self-study?"
"Uh, y-yeah."
"Why the hell?"
"W-well, if you don't sign up, you can't do it."
"That's why I'm asking why do it!"
"Do-youngie! Don't shake the head of someone who just had a nosebleed!"
But of course, our model student Do Ha-min. Never failed to meet expectations.
"Sorry, everyone. Some morning business came up, so we had to swap classes. Won't happen again—please forgive me this once."
Homeroom after seventh period. Our advisor, Ms. Yeo Mi-so, apologized for the sudden schedule switch and ran the end-of-day meeting.
She mentioned some unavoidable absence, but I barely registered why. My seat was farthest from her, sure—but mostly, I just wasn't paying attention.
"Oh, and you know self-study starts today, right? Looks like six from our class signed up. Other teachers said we're the highest. Hehe. Teacher was so thrilled..."
Even up close, I wouldn't have caught a word. No bandwidth for it.
"Jeez... Which school story lead throws away his life for the old man just to sign up for self-study himself? Not even an ace rushing to his death on a taunt."
"W-what're you mumbling about?"
"Nothing. Just that you look like shit."
"..."
Unexpected curveballs forcing plan changes always stress me out. If it's something you could've dodged with a heads-up? Double the bullshit.
"...Saying I look like shit, but why're you propping your legs on my lap?"
"Legs hurt carrying your nosebleed ass here. Why?"
Couldn't exactly punch the face of Do Ha-min, fresh off a nosebleed. So I took it out on his knee instead.
"Th-then sit on my chair. Class is over—I'll stand. Self-study's in another room anyway."
"You just said self-study."
-Squeeze.
I pressed down hard on Do Ha-min's thigh as he tried to stand, pinning him to the chair. Even with a girl's strength, he couldn't budge.
"...Where you think you're going, punk."
"Ow! W-what... Why're you... What'd I do wrong?"
"Guess."
Who made me revise my plans? Because of who?
"...Empty chairs are too hard. Your thigh's perfect."
"B-but what if Ms. Mi-so sees?"
"She won't. Class prez is blocking fine."
I shot a silent signal to An Seong-gyeong behind me. From short Ms. Mi-so's view at the lectern, the prez shifting a bit covered us perfectly.
"Self-study kids and not—do your best on the next exam. Teacher's already hyped for our class ranking."
"Ms. Mi-so, don't expect too much. Even with all the self-studiers, a few drags drag the average."
"What? Why you looking at me?"
Students who knew Ban Do-young's rep from canon all eyed me. Heard she sucked at studies, but this level of trust? Gotta check her report cards at home.
"Alright, class dismissed. See you tomorrow!"
"Thanks for your hard work!"
After homeroom, students trickled out one by one. Ha-min had to move to the self-study room after dinner, so he grabbed his bag and stood.
"What're you doing, Do-youngie? Head home. We'll go first. Good luck, Ha-minie."
"See ya tomorrow, Do Ha-min."
"..."
"Bye, then..."
Do-young grabbed her bag wordlessly and followed Sa-hyung and Hye-rang out. No response to Ha-min's goodbye.
"What'd I do wrong...?"
Ha-min still didn't get why Do-young was taking it out on him. Only the throbbing on his thigh—pinned by her grip moments ago—hinted her anger wasn't cooling anytime soon.