Cafe and Broadcasting Station
Cafe and Broadcasting Station
"I'm heading out."
"See you later."
After exchanging a bird kiss with A-ra as a farewell, I stepped outside and stretched.
So graduation is tomorrow.
It had been three years — short in some ways, long in others — but I couldn't help feeling a little wistful about it.
*
When I arrived at school, the guidance teacher and the Vice Principal were standing at the entrance.
For a moment, the glare from the Vice Principal almost stopped my heart, but her sharp eyes had always been easy to misunderstand — she was genuinely a good person.
Even though she did make us waddle around the field doing duck walks until we collapsed.
"Seong-hwan, are you alright?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine, Vice Principal, you don't need to worry about me."
"Haah... originally I only meant to discipline the female students... but somehow the completely innocent male students ended up suffering the consequences too."
Originally, the noisy ones were the male students and the quiet ones were the female students — but it seemed that had flipped as well.
After receiving the Vice Principal's sincere apology, I headed to my classroom.
The composition of the class was the same as in the other world, so there wasn't much difference.
If there was one thing that had changed, it was that my seat was now the one at the very back by the window.
Considering that my original seat had been front and center, it couldn't have been more opposite.
Anyway, when I walked into the classroom, the atmosphere was incredibly sharp.
Normally it should have been the innocent girls upset at the boys for getting everyone punished, but now the boys were the ones radiating anger.
The girls were crushed under that atmosphere, wearing expressions that were hard to describe.
Then the class president stepped forward, and the girls gathered around her one by one, lining up in a row.
"Guys, we're sorry!"
"""We're sorry!!"""
Led by the class president, the girls bowed their heads in apology, united in heart and mind.
The boys, perhaps soft-hearted themselves, were telling them they didn't have to go that far and asking them to raise their heads.
It was a long while before the girls raised their heads, their faces filled with guilt.
And then, after taking a deep breath, they dropped an incredible line.
"B-but still, since we were the ones who messed up! After school today, we'll treat everyone to cake!!"
Murmur murmur.
The boys gathered together and started chattering.
Normally, wouldn't it be hamburgers or something along those lines?
Cake was a bit unusual.
But the other boys didn't seem to find it strange at all.
'If you're treating the boys to something, it should at least be cake.'
That kind of feeling, I supposed?
Dumbfounded, I decided to look it up online.
-I'm thinking of buying hamburgers for the boys, is that okay?-
Idk what they'd like, but girls like stuff like hamburgers, right.
ㄴBribe?
ㄴ No no, we did something we feel bad about.
ㄴ If you give them stuff like hamburgers in that situation, you'll get roasted in the boys' group chat lol
ㄴ What does that even mean?
ㄴ Imagine you're going on a date with a guy. Hamburger joint or cafe?
ㄴ Obviously cafe, dumbass lol
Tsk.
What on earth did that even mean.
In the other world, free hamburgers were the ultimate gift for people of all ages and genders.
But it seemed that wasn't the case in this world.
"So with that said, everyone's free after school today, right?"
Since graduation was tomorrow, we got out before lunch, so it didn't really matter.
A-ra had said her schedule was packed today and she'd be home late, so even if I stopped by a cafe to get treated to something, how long could it possibly take?
Might as well tag along and grab some free cake.
Once all the boys declared they were in,
the girls — the ones doing the treating — actually looked even more grateful.
***
"Holy shit... his looks are insane."
"He looks like he's still in high school... that's actually crazy."
It had been two years since I started my part-time cafe job to earn my college tuition.
Since I was on order duty at a large coffee shop in a busy downtown area, I'd seen plenty of faces belonging to good-looking celebrities and models.
I thought I'd gotten completely used to it, but I hadn't.
Yeah.
Those were squid.
Compared to that high school boy sitting by the window with the other guys, not joining the conversation, just drifting alone — they were nothing but squid.
"Hey, go get his number!"
"Are you insane? Look at his clothes, he's a high schooler."
"Think about it, you idiot. He came to a cafe at this hour. Obviously they're about to graduate!"
"Ugh... I guess so."
Right.
If he's a third-year in high school, he's already an adult, isn't he?
Getting someone's number — that much was perfectly fine.
I walked over confidently to the ridiculously handsome guy sitting alone in the corner.
When I, an employee, approached, he looked bewildered as if wondering what this was about, but even that came off as cute on that good-looking face of his.
"Um, excuse me... if it's alright, could I get your number...?"
"Huh? My number... why?"
"Because I'm interested in you."
"Ah... um... I'm sorry."
"May I ask why?"
What was the reason I got hired for this cafe job ten seconds into my interview?
This face, right here.
It might fall short compared to idols and models, but among ordinary people, I considered myself unmatched.
And yet even I had failed to get someone's number.
Even I had trouble understanding it.
"I'm sorry. My noona told me never to give my phone number to strangers."
"......That's it?"
"Yeah? Yeah... I'm sorry."
Unbelievable.
He won't give it out because his noona told him not to?
Was that something a high schooler should be saying?
If he didn't want to give it out, he could just say so.
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even get angry.
"Excuse me. That's enough, don't you think? I've been watching for a while now, and all you've been doing is hitting on a high schooler."
"Excuse me?"
"I said, stop creeping on our friend and leave."
For a second I almost snapped, but the high school girls shielding the boy weren't just one or two.
And there was this one girl who looked like she could throw a punch...
Normally, with my temper, I wouldn't have let it slide, but this was the cafe where I worked...
Hoo...
"I'm sorry."
I bowed my head deeply and fled.
***
"Seong-hwan-a, you okay?"
"Yeah... thanks."
"It's not like we did anything... we're the ones who feel bad... you collapsed yesterday, you know."
Since I collapsed so often, it wasn't exactly something they could have missed.
After eating cake, the boys and girls split up and went their separate ways.
It seemed the girls had decided to go to a PC bang as a group.
"Seong-hwan-a. We guys are gonna stick together too, you in?"
"Huh? Yeah... I'm fine with it, but where are we going?"
"The Queens members are showing up in front of the broadcasting station today. We're going to go watch."
Queens was the group A-ra was in.
She'd gotten incredibly famous through her solo activities, but since she'd started as a group idol, I'd seen news that she'd keep doing both for a while.
"Oh? Let's go together."
"Y-yeah..."
I did feel a little bad about going to watch my wife while she was working,
but I didn't have anything to do at home anyway.
I'd be watching from far away, so there was no chance of making eye contact, and with graduation tomorrow, when else was I going to hang out with school friends?
We took the subway and passed one bus stop, arriving at the largest broadcasting station in the country: KGB.
I'd heard she had a program filming today, so this was the place.
By the time we arrived, fans had already swarmed the area, creating the illusion that we were looking at Gwanghwamun Plaza.
It was hard to imagine that this many people had gathered not for a protest but to catch a glimpse of an idol.
"Whoa... there are so many people again today."
"Because it's Queens."
Because it's Queens.
The fact that those four words explained everything
was just funny to me.
As I was smiling wryly, the fans suddenly grew more restless.
It seemed the Queens' vehicle had arrived.
"Unni!!!!!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!!!!"
"Noona!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Song A-ra Noona!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The noise, reminiscent of a concert hall, was hurting my ears.
Enough to make my head spin.
It wasn't just people shouting at the top of their lungs — there were even people screaming through megaphones.
Well, there had been — but they'd been dragged off by the broadcasting station staff by now.
That was when a station staff member looked this way and made a startled expression.
Ah, that person was...
The manager who had driven A-ra Noona in the car.
She wasn't even a broadcasting station employee though...
"Seong-hwan-ssi? What are you doing here?"
"Hello... I came to watch because my friends from class were going..."
"Ah, would you like to see from a closer spot? Your friends too?"
"Well... my friends don't know yet... that I'm married to A-ra Noona."
"Ah, come on, that'll be blown by tomorrow anyway."
What did she mean by that?
That it would be blown by tomorrow.
"Didn't you know? A-ra's been spreading the word that she's going to your graduation tomorrow."
'No, I do know that, but I figured she'd at least come in disguise.'
"What kind of wife goes to her own husband's graduation in disguise? I see you've got a bit of a sense of humor after all."
Seeing the manager noona laugh so cheerfully like that only made me smile bitterly, thinking of the gap between her and the manager noona I'd known in the other world.
"Anyway, bring your friends and come this way. I'll guide you to a closer spot."
"I came without A-ra Noona knowing, so..."
"Ah, I said it's fine!! Come on!! No, you know what, I'll go get them myself, so wait here. You boys over there!"
In the end, the manager noona led the male students inside the broadcasting station.
"Whoa... I've never been inside a broadcasting station before."
"But who is that person, that she'd let us into the broadcasting station?"
"How would I know? Just think of it as free food and enjoy it."
"Is it okay if I take pictures?"
They seemed to have more of a my-way personality than I'd thought.
I supposed the important thing was knowing how to enjoy what was right in front of you.
I let out a sigh and took in the sight of A-ra Noona with both eyes as she walked slowly from outside.