Group Project
Group Project
A group assignment.
What's the first feeling that hits you when you hear those words?
I hadn't even been a college student for a month,
and I was already so terrified my teeth practically chattered.
People had done paired performance assessments even in middle and high school,
so even anyone who'd never gone to university would know the dread.
And then there were all those group assignment horror stories floating around online communities.
I'd known that someday I would have to do one,
but that it would come this soon...
The professor had walked in quietly
and it hadn't even been a minute since she wrote 'Group Assignment' in big letters with the board marker,
but my head was already spinning with all kinds of thoughts.
"Hahaha, you don't need to think of it as so daunting."
Then she lowered the electronic screen
and shone the beam projector onto it.
On it, the topic and grading criteria were written,
along with the criteria for forming groups.
"The group assignment will be conducted in teams of three. Of course, I will leave the group member selection to all of you."
"Professor! Does that mean we can form groups freely?"
The professor nodded with a satisfied expression.
At that, the people around me let out sighs of relief
and I joined in on that.
'That was almost a disaster.'
Free riding on a group assignment?
Non-cooperation?
That wasn't what scared me.
What scared me was the pressure of having to work on a group assignment
with people I'd never even had a proper conversation with.
Still, it was a relief.
If I was with Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho, whom I'd gotten quite close to over the past month,
I figured we could get through it somehow.
"Mi... Lee Min-ho... Jeong-hwan...?"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to ditch you."
"You're worried about that? Relax your face."
Both of them knew I was sensitive about that kind of thing.
After all, until just recently I'd even gone to counseling because of how people looked at me.
Ah, for the record, I didn't care about people's stares at all anymore.
If I smiled and gave a little wave to someone looking at me, they just liked it and lost their minds.
They'd just run away right after, though.
I guess that's why they say the one who enjoys it is top-tier.
"But what's with that topic?"
Lee Min-ho was pointing at the screen where the beam projector was shining.
The topic of my first-ever group assignment in college life was
'The Qualities and Roles of Social Welfare Facility Workers.'
"It's not limited to social workers, right? Doesn't it include other professions too?"
"Like, counselors? Something like that?"
If you looked at it in broad terms, the framework of 'social welfare workers'
included people like care workers and psychotherapists as well.
So what the professor wanted from this assignment
wasn't content limited solely to 'social workers.'
As expected, a few classmates raised their hands to ask the professor questions.
But the professor didn't give a clear answer
and picked up her microphone.
"What I want is your thinking. My judgment is that if I make the topic more explicit,
I won't be able to properly discern each of your individual thoughts,
so please choose your own topic for this assignment based on what you think a 'social welfare worker' is.
I'll end today's class here."
Then she took out her phone and started the electronic attendance check.
Doing it before class ended was to catch the people who bailed early.
The professor gathered her attendance book and major textbook and left,
and the classmates' group member selection began.
"Seong-hwan-ssi! Would you like to join us?"
"I'm sorry. I already have a team."
"Ah, that's a shame. We're exactly one person short..."
The noona classmate who'd run over to me first dragged out her disappointment
and went around asking each person one by one.
Seeing her shake hands with the second person she asked and get their phone number,
it looked like she'd managed to find someone, fortunately.
"So, should we go home and talk over chat?"
"Yeah, it's not like it's super urgent right now."
Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho packed their bags and stood up from their all-in-one desk-chairs.
I nodded too and got up from my seat.
***
"Group assignment?"
"Yeah, we're supposed to present in two weeks."
Sitting across from A-ra, who was eating her meal with relish,
I told her about the group assignment.
A-ra listened quietly,
then suddenly set her chopsticks down with a clack.
"Back in Queens' early days, when we were getting vocal training, we had to pair up in twos and do a group assignment. You know about that?"
"That's a famous story, right?"
It was something she'd talked about on some program before,
so it was circulating around online communities as a short clip.
I hadn't known, but apparently PDs from broadcasting stations personally seeded those clips
onto community sites themselves.
"What I said back then was actually a lie."
"Which part?"
"I said I was teamed up with Yeji, and that Yeji did a great job so I barely scraped a pass."
"That... the part where you clearly got carried?"
"Yeah, that's a lie. Yeji got every pitch wrong and just kept trolling."
That was shocking in its own way.
Yeji, of all people, getting the pitch wrong.
Looking at her now, it was a scene I couldn't even imagine if I tried.
Because I'd seen her on a program where she heard a piece of music once and then even played it on the piano.
"Yeji, the thing is, she just didn't practice at all."
"Ah... if that's the case then... yeah, she was a troll."
It wasn't that she couldn't, it was that she didn't.
Then why did she even cover for her?
If it were me, I think I'd have smiled and exposed the troll's true nature.
"She's the eldest daughter of our members, you know? She's also an unnie... and it wouldn't be good if her reputation got bad for no reason."
A-ra chuckled and picked up her chopsticks.
The fact that A-ra called the older Yeji by name
meant they were that close.
Even if it had given her a bit of a headache in the past,
she'd lied because she was worried her close unnie and fellow member's reputation might get worse.
"Well, after that day, she practiced properly."
"Sigh... Yeji Noona is still human, at least."
"Right? She's the type who, once she messes up, puts in double the effort."
Aside from this time, for all the future group assignments I'd have to go through,
it was unlikely there'd be someone like that, so I let out a sigh.
It wasn't just major classes that had group assignments;
elective courses would obviously have group assignments too.
At those times, I'd really have to do group assignments with people I was meeting for the first time.
Ugh... my stomach was already starting to ache.
"Seong-hwan-a, give me more rice."
"Yes, yes. Got it."
I took the rice bowl that A-ra handed over with a bright smile
and picked up the rice scoop in front of the rice cooker.
***
I turned on the laptop A-ra had bought me as an admission gift
and sat down in my chair, and my phone started crying out with KaTalk notifications.
A-ra was beside me and there was no one who'd message me at this hour.
Who was it?
[Lee Min-ho]: Guys.
[Lee Min-ho]: I think we've got a big problem with the assignment?
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: No cringe ㄴㄴ
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: There's still a full two weeks left.
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: /Sticker of a dog slapping its owner with a stick because of an illness/
I snorted a laugh at the sticker.
Since Lee Min-ho made a fuss in the group chat every time there was an assignment,
it was a somewhat familiar sight.
Thinking it was just the usual thing,
I set my phone aside and was about to unlock my laptop
when Lee Min-ho posted a photo.
[Lee Min-ho]: Uploaded a photo.
[Lee Min-ho]: I took this earlier — can you see it well?
I enlarged the screen to check,
and it was the screen the professor had displayed with the beam projector earlier.
The presentation and submission said it was in two weeks,
and the topic required a bit of thought, but it wasn't a difficult topic.
[Lee Min-ho]: The syllabus said the group assignment was one week
[Lee Min-ho]: So I texted the professor to ask?
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: And the syllabus side was a typo?
[Lee Min-ho]: No, she says the screen she showed us was a typo?
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: /Sticker of a dog looking bewildered/
[Lee Min-ho]: So, she says the assignment submission is by next week.
The next Introduction to Social Welfare class was on Monday.
Today was Friday, so...
That meant only three days?
Then wouldn't it be tight even if we met up right now and did the assignment?
What kind of professor only gave three days for an assignment submission period?
[Lee Min-ho]: The professor told me to pass it on to the class rep so I'm messaging after doing that.
[Kang Jeong-hwan]: This is insane. Shouldn't we meet up tomorrow?
If we met at school, we could just bring our laptops and meet up,
but if we met outside, it was a bit of a headache.
Wherever we met, carrying our laptops to meet... well, there were cafes at least.
But that came with its own problems...
[Yoo Seong-hwan]: Want to come to my place tomorrow?
[Lee Min-ho]: ? That okay?
[Yoo Seong-hwan]: I'll ask and get back to you.
I tapped A-ra on the shoulder; she was sitting beside me typing her own name into the SNS search bar
and reading through posts and comments.
"Noona, is it okay if my friends come over tomorrow?"
"Huh? I don't mind, but what for?"
"I thought we had two weeks for the group assignment. They said it's due next Monday."
"...That's a disaster, huh?"
"Yeah. It's a disaster."
Fortunately, my convenience store shifts were biweekly, so that was a relief.
If I'd been working at the convenience store too, I'd have completely tanked the assignment score.
A-ra said she understood and nodded.
"Okay, take your time doing it at home. If you need, should I go out?"
"Why would you go out, noona?"
"Won't your friends be uncomfortable?"
"Noona... do you think they'd be uncomfortable? If anything, they'd love it."
A-ra thought about it for a moment,
then shook her head from side to side.
She was probably picturing Lee Min-ho.
Worship, rather than discomfort?
"If Seong-hwan says I should stay, I'll stay."
"It's the weekend, so you relax too, noona. We'll just be in the living room."
"Yeah. Okay."
A-ra said that and then rested her head on my shoulder.
I swept her hair up with my hand so it wouldn't be uncomfortable for her.
A-ra, who'd been accepting my touch with pleasure like a stray cat,
made eye contact with me and then suddenly kissed my cheek.
"If you tell me not to go, I'll absolutely never go."
"Really?"
"Yeah... I won't go anywhere."
"No, that's a bit of a problem."
Seeing my troubled face,
A-ra smiled brightly.
It was probably half serious and half a joke.
A-ra and I stayed stuck together for a long while,
enjoying each other's skinship.