Chapter 313: Festival Preparations (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 313: Festival Preparations (2)
Until everyone split up to attend their classes, the situation in the Holy Fire Class was, quite frankly, a total shitshow.
This was because a faction wanting to open a maid cafe, started by one student, was clashing with another faction, led by a female student, who argued they should open a host bar and sell alcohol. Both sides were neck-and-neck in the polls.
…I wouldn’t know since I’m a middle school dropout, but is this what school festivals are usually like?
The college festivals I visited with Seo-ha didn’t feel quite like this.
— Drink up…! Pour it in…! Hey, that guy’s glass is empty! Fill it up, now…!
Wait. Was I wrong? Maybe the atmosphere was actually similar?
Judging by the constant notifications from the class group chat—which usually only posted simple announcements—it seemed they still hadn’t reached a final decision.
It looked like other opinions were surfacing as well.
“Now that I think about it, if it’s a maid cafe, what do the guys do? Do they just cook or something?”
“Well, there will be heavy lifting, and shouldn’t those who can cook handle the kitchen? Is your class doing a maid cafe, Junior?”
“Oh, would you mind not answering when I’m talking to myself, Senior Baek Seol?”
“Hmm, let’s just say it’s the junior’s fault for talking to himself loud enough for everyone to hear.”
I didn’t know when she had arrived, but Baek Seol was smiling as she naturally took a spot by my side.
…Was it just my imagination that her smile seemed a bit more human than before? Or had she truly begun to change for some reason?
“Well, as an apology for eavesdropping, I’ll tell you what our class is doing. We’re selling hamburgers. Though, as the Student Council President, I won’t be able to participate much.”
“Hamburgers? Is it okay to sell stuff like that at an Academy festival?”
“In principle, if there’s a cadet with a hygiene-related Talent, you can apply. It’s true they don’t grant permission easily, but since everyone wanted to do it, I pulled some strings this year. The negotiations were quite tough.”
“…You went through all that effort to persuade them, and yet you can barely participate yourself?”
“Hmm? Well, yes. But that’s the Student Council President’s job, isn’t it? If my classmates are happy, it’s worth me being a little tired.”
The happiness of the absolute majority, utilitarianism, rationalism.
In Baek Seol’s logic, the one who is sacrificed is always the individual, never the group—and she includes herself as a target for that sacrifice.
“Of course, if a certain cute junior were to help out with some work, I might find enough time to make pizza with my classmates.”
She made another comment that subtly tried to pull me into the Student Council, but I could tell she wasn’t entirely serious.
“Well, that was a jo—”
“Should I help you out a bit?”
“…Pardon?”
I only offered to help, but for some reason, Baek Seol asked back with a look of shock I had never seen before.
…Is it really that strange?
Well, considering my reactions up until now, it might be, but I just had a few thoughts.
“Well, you’ve been keeping my secrets, and I feel like I’ve been a bit too prickly toward you. You’ve helped me out, so I figured I’d pay you back.”
Many things had changed from the original story and the 1st Timeline.
I couldn’t say all of them were positive changes, but most could be considered as such.
So, perhaps even Baek Seol…
Perhaps I should give her a chance to change, even though I had written her off as a psychopath based on her actions in the original work and the 1st Timeline.
“…It’s true.”
“What is?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. I just remembered something someone used to say. I appreciate the offer, but I was just grumbling. Do you really think I’d let you pay back all the favors I’ve done so easily?”
“Wow, just how grand of a favor are you planning to ask for then?”
I intended to make a light joke, but Baek Seol suddenly stopped in her tracks, wearing another expression I had never seen before.
She looked embarrassed, yet bewildered, sad, and yet happy all at once.
“…I wonder. Honestly, I don’t know either.”
“What?”
“What I want to do with you, Junior, or what kind of relationship I want us to have. My values, which have never wavered before, are shaking, and I find myself having thoughts I’ve never had.”
However, that expression lasted only for a fleeting moment. When I looked at her again, the Baek Seol wearing the mask of a perfect human was back.
“So, I won’t let you pay me back as you please. This is one of the few ties connecting me to you. Until I reach a conclusion within myself, you have to stay in the position of a debtor, okay?~”
— I’ve met another person for the first time in the world, so how could I not be glad? How could I not find them lovely?
For some reason.
The Baek Seol of that day and the Baek Seol of now seemed to overlap.
There was a woman who wanted something but didn’t know how to express that desire or how to obtain it.
A woman who, after much agonizing, tried to take it by force, only to fail and die.
“Well, then let me know if you need help.”
“I’ll do that.”
I’d have to watch a bit longer to see if this change was positive or negative.
“You know.”
“Yes?”
“This might be a bit selfish of me to say, but please don’t go too far away. I was so happy to meet you, and I think I’d be sad if you changed too quickly.”
I felt like I understood a little of what she was saying.
“Even if I want to change quickly, it’s not that easy. It’ll probably be difficult for a while.”
Hearing my words, Baek Seol burst into a giggle.
It was a smile that made me think she might actually be laughing, not just acting.
“Is that so? It’s a bit odd to say this, but I’m actually quite glad.”
She said that with a face that looked slightly lonely.
* * *
In the end, our class decided to do a Cosplay Cafe.
Cosplay.
Short for costume play, it’s an activity where people dress up in outfits they don’t normally wear or mimic the appearance of specific characters.
From what I heard, after excluding people like me who didn’t care what we did and those who told the class to just pick whatever because they weren’t interested, the remaining students had a heated discussion.
The result of combining the maid cafe, host bar, and other suggestions was: “Let’s just do something where we can do everything!”
I thought it was finally settled, but hilariously, they immediately started arguing over who should wear what costume.
I thought people could just wear what they wanted, but according to Lilac, even though they called it a cosplay cafe, everyone was subtly trying to pick safe, mundane outfits, making it feel more like a standard butler and maid cafe.
“I mean, it’s supposed to be a cosplay cafe, so having everyone look too similar is a bit much.”
“Then we should have just done a butler and maid cafe from the start.”
“The thing is, on the flip side, there are kids who want to wear things like dinosaur onesies…”
“Ah, well, you can’t go wrong with a dinosaur.”
The point was this:
Since most people were choosing safe options for their “cosplay,” it lacked character. But if they tried to pivot to a butler and maid cafe, the attention-seekers who had already set their hearts on something unique would protest.
Basically, they were fighting over nothing.
“Don’t look so exasperated. They’re only arguing because they’re all serious about the festival.”
“…If you only say nice things like that, we’ll never make any progress.”
While Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak were having a rare disagreement, I honestly couldn’t understand why this was even worth fighting over.
“Then just have a few more people do something unique.”
“Hmm? Well, that’s true.”
“Then we can just do it. What’s there to worry about?”
“…Huh? So-hyun, weren’t you not that kind of character?”
“I do like standing out, but when I already have to perform on stage…?”
You guys clearly don’t know me. I hate bothersome things, but once I decide to do something, I tend to work pretty hard at it.
After our situation improved, we often had Christmas or Halloween parties at the orphanage, and who do you think dressed up as Santa or a Jack-o’-lantern every single time?
“Scared?”
“…I’m sorry, but that kind of low-level provocation—”
“Cheon Yu-hak is scared. He’s talking too much.”
“Who’s scared? Fine, let’s see you try.”
“…Well, it sounds fun to me too, so I’m down. But just how ‘unique’ are we talking?”
“Wouldn’t Idol-form Cheon Yu-hak and Dark Lilac be enough?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Uh, So-hyun. You realize that if you make us do that, you have to do something equally embarrassing, right?”
“Sure, why not.”
“…Did he eat something wrong?”
“Did he drink a Hero Drink behind our backs?”
“Oh, I hear how you guys view me, but no. I usually hate being embarrassed, but an event is a different story.”
There’s nothing more foolish than being the only one scowling when everyone else is laughing.
— Do you hate birthday parties that much?
On those childhood days when the monthly joint birthday parties felt absolutely nauseating.
— If you don’t eat the chicken and cake now, you might not get any. Are you really not going to eat?
— I’m not eating. You eat it, you pig.
— Is your body itching because you haven’t been hit lately? You should have just said so.
When I was sulking alone, Seo-ha would force cheap cake into my mouth and play around by smearing cream on my face.
As I fought back in anger, my gloomy mood would vanish. I’d end up eating the cold chicken because I was hungry, and it would taste better than expected, making me realize it wasn’t such a big deal.
Yeah, it really wasn’t a big deal.
At first, I couldn’t understand the kids who, despite being orphans, enjoyed the events and laughed and chatted. I thought they were all idiots. But eventually, I realized that maybe I was the idiot for not being able to enjoy an event properly.
“It’s a loss if you don’t enjoy an event to the fullest.”
An event is just an event. It’s best to just laugh, chat, and enjoy it with a head so empty it’s almost stupid.
“…I see.”
“Right.”
“Hmm? What’s with the sudden…?”
I had only reminisced about the past for a moment, but for some reason, both of them put on serious faces and stepped forward.
It was obvious those two were having some weird misunderstanding again.
And so, Lilac stepped up to cosplay as Dark Lilac—his greatest shame—while Cheon Yu-hak claimed a simple idol was too weak and decided to go with some kind of prince outfit.
Well, normally I might have hesitated on whether to stop them.
“It’s a festival, so this much should be fine, right?”
I decided it was definitely better not to stop them.
I’m telling you, festivals are best enjoyed with an empty head, looking a little bit stupid.
* * *
And so, during the festival preparation period, even while classes were ongoing, each class continued their preparations in the afternoons.
I thought it might be difficult since we had to prepare everything within a given budget, but as expected of an academy swarming with superhumans, preparations proceeded more smoothly than expected.
— You moron! Why would you paint that part that color!
— Huh? I thought we were using instant coffee. A roasting machine?! Do you know how much that costs? How are we supposed to buy that!
— Is it really okay to bring stuff from home?! Someone go check with the Student Council, fast!
— What about the alcohol? You bought household pack soju because it was the cheapest?! Stop fucking around and go buy the right stuff!
— This is boring, isn’t it? Should we head out together?
Well, of course, there were some very minor issues, but isn’t that also part of the charm of a festival?
Ah, for the record, that last one was said by Ha-ni, who had come to visit. I was tempted to leave, but I got caught and couldn’t go.
“Ah, man, this is already fun.”
— Are you planning to find your lost youth or something? You’re quite relaxed, aren’t you?
The voice that always tried to rain on my parade whenever I felt even a little bit of joy still echoed in my head, but it wasn’t a big deal.
“Youth, huh. I’ve been thinking that might not be so bad lately.”
— You’ll regret it.
“Maybe I will.”
— You won’t be able to protect it.
“I’m going to try.”
— In the end, all the warmth you try to embrace will become the coldest awl and hack you to pieces.
“I don’t think that would be so bad either.”
— Your present will eventually be devoured and destroyed by your past…!
“You’re being awfully persistent today. I’ll handle it myself.”
As I forcibly suppressed the voice, my head felt a little clearer.
“Just stay shriveled up in there, okay?”
Let’s rest for a bit. It’s a festival, after all.