Chapter 103: Arts Festival (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: Arts Festival (7)
"Make yourself at home!"
Ji Nuri threw open the door to the club room and marched inside with a confident stride.
"Excuse me..."
Lee Seung-ah followed closely behind, peering cautiously into the room. She wasn't sure if other club members might be inside.
"Oh, no one’s here? I guess everyone went out to have some fun."
Just as Ji Nuri said, the room was empty. It was so deserted it felt hollow. In fact, it wasn't just empty—it was pitch black.
It seemed they had drawn the blackout curtains tight. Stepping suddenly from the bright hallway into the darkness made the gloom feel even heavier.
"...Wait a sec."
Ji Nuri fumbled through the darkness as if swimming in it.
Click, click.
"Not this one..."
She was trying to find the light switch among several others.
Click, click.
She didn't seem fully accustomed to the room's layout yet, as she kept flipping the wrong switches.
"Ah, here it is."
She finally found the right one.
Flash—!
The overhead lights flickered on, bathing the room in a bright glow.
"Ta-da!"
Ji Nuri spread her arms wide, showing off the space.
"What do you think? Pretty nice, right?"
"Oh..."
The interior was spotless. The speakers, drums, and instrument stands were all lined up in perfect rows. Even the eraser and markers for the whiteboard were neatly arranged.
It’s cleaner than I thought...
Actually, it was well beyond her expectations.
The Counseling Club room is one thing, since my brother is there...
She had expected the room Ji Nuri used to be a bit more chaotic. This was quite a surprise.
"Did you clean this up, Unnie?"
"Clean? Seo-rim probably did it. Ah, Seo-rim is our bassist. She's a freshman."
"Aha."
Lee Seung-ah nodded. She figured the excessive cleanliness had to be someone else's doing.
She was looking around the club room under Ji Nuri's guidance when—
Knock, knock—
A knock sounded at the door. Turning her head, she saw a female student she didn't recognize.
"Nuri-Sunbae. They want one representative from each performing team to gather in the auditorium right now."
The girl didn't seem to be a club member; she just poked her head in from the hallway without entering.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes, they said they just need to check something quickly."
"What is it about?"
"I don't know. I just heard the announcement to gather."
"Ugh, seriously."
Ji Nuri grimaced, looking annoyed. Seeing no other choice, she stood up.
"Seung-ah, can you wait here for a bit? I'll be right back!"
"Sure, go ahead."
Lee Seung-ah nodded, telling her not to worry.
"I'll be back in a flash!"
With those words, Ji Nuri dashed out of the club room.
"..."
Silence fell over the room. Left alone, Lee Seung-ah blinked blankly at her surroundings.
"Hmm."
If she had known this would happen, maybe she should have stayed in the counseling room. At least then she could have watched Lee Seung-ho's romantic situation unfold.
"...No."
Lee Seung-ah shook her head. If she had stayed, there would have been no point in giving them space.
As she was mulling this over—
Bam!
The door swung open, and she heard someone muttering to themselves.
"Of all times for the file to get corrupted..."
Stomp, stomp—
A blonde female student rushed in with urgent steps. She busily began rummaging through a pile of boxes on the floor. She didn't seem to notice Lee Seung-ah at all.
Seung-ah happened to be standing right by the door, and the girl looked completely frantic.
Uh... what should I do...
She had missed the timing to speak up. Lee Seung-ah held her breath in an awkward posture, wondering if it would be better to just stay quiet and hope the girl didn't notice her.
"...?"
Seung-ah tilted her head as she looked at her. The girl looked familiar for some reason, though she couldn't quite place her. She wasn't the type to look at people's faces closely and memorize them.
"Tsk... where did I put it?"
The girl continued to rummage through the boxes before suddenly spinning around.
"Gah?!"
She jumped in shock upon seeing Lee Seung-ah. She scrambled backward and ended up tripping over her own feet.
Thump!
The back of her head hit a box behind her.
"Ugh... ow... hnnng..."
She clutched her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"A-Are you okay?"
Lee Seung-ah rushed over to check on her. She felt guilty, thinking she had scared the girl by staying quiet.
"...Who are you? Why are you in our club room...?"
The girl lowered her eyes, trying to regain her composure. Her ears were beet red, suggesting she was more embarrassed than hurt.
"Oh, well... I came with Nuri-Unnie. She had to step out for a moment..."
"Ah. You're an acquaintance of Nuri-Unnie?"
Ha Seo-rim calmed down once she understood the situation. She waved her hand dismissively.
"F-Feel free to look around."
"Ah, okay."
Instead of conversation, an awkward atmosphere filled the room. For several seconds, a suffocating silence persisted.
"Um..."
Lee Seung-ah couldn't stand this kind of environment. It was just her personality. Unable to bear the silence, she spoke up.
"You can speak comfortably to me. I'm... I'm a third-year in middle school."
"Oh, okay... I mean, yeah, I will."
The awkwardness still lingered. It was their first meeting, so it was natural, but still.
"...Huh?"
Ha Seo-rim's voice rose as she looked at Lee Seung-ah.
"Is that uniform from Yeongho Middle School?"
"Oh? You know Yeongho?"
"Well... I graduated from Yeongho, too."
"Wow, really?"
Having found common ground, the conversation burst forth like a dam breaking. Once the words started flowing, they led from one topic to the next. They talked about how Ji Nuri joined the band and which booths were worth visiting at the festival.
After chatting about various things, the topic shifted.
"Unnie, is there any music you've been listening to lately?" Lee Seung-ah asked Ha Seo-rim.
"Well... I listen to everything these days... it's hard to pick just one..."
Ah, it was that. Lee Seung-ah quickly caught on to Ha Seo-rim's reaction. It was like when a casual fan asks an otaku for anime recommendations, and the otaku hesitates to mention anything too niche, sticking to the mainstream hits instead. She probably thought Seung-ah wouldn't know the songs anyway.
"What about you? Is there any music you like?" Ha Seo-rim asked back.
"I like 'Lilac'."
"Ah, 'Lilac' by Red Apple?"
"!"
Lee Seung-ah's eyes widened. She leaned forward eagerly.
"Unnie, you know 'Lilac'?"
"Ah, yeah... I do?"
Ha Seo-rim leaned back, startled by Lee Seung-ah's sudden proximity.
"No! Usually, when I say that, people ask if I mean 'Lilac' by Lee Yu!"
"Ah, that song is good too... but personally, I prefer the band sound. Japan has a lot of great band music, right?"
"Right, right?!"
Lee Seung-ah continued excitedly. They had been talking for quite a while when Ji Nuri finally returned.
"Oh? What's this? Seo-rim, when did you get here?"
"You're back?" Lee Seung-ah greeted her warmly.
"Did you two introduce yourselves?"
"Of course we did."
"I even asked for her name."
"Oh, wait."
She actually hadn't done that yet. Ji Nuri let out a small chuckle at Lee Seung-ah's reaction. She placed a hand on Ha Seo-rim's shoulder.
"This is Ha Seo-rim, the bassist for the Band Club."
Then Ji Nuri looked at Lee Seung-ah.
"And this is Seung-ho's younger sister, Lee Seung-ah."
At those words, for a split second, Ha Seo-rim's expression flickered before returning to normal. It was a subtle shift that a less observant person might have missed, but Lee Seung-ah caught it instantly.
"..."
Lee Seung-ah tilted her head, her gaze turning somewhat curious.
...What was that reaction?
After Ji Nuri and Lee Seung-ah left, only the three of us remained in the club room. I asked as I put the mop back into the cleaning closet.
"When did Ji Nuri say her performance starts?"
"It's scheduled for around 5:00 PM. It might get pushed back if things run late," Lee Sol replied, opening the program schedule. "It's quite late in the day, so we still have plenty of time."
I nodded and stood up.
"Then should we look around a bit until then?"
We had closed our booth early, but there should still be plenty of other booths open. It was enough time to explore.
"Shall we?"
Shin A-young's voice brightened, clearly pleased by the suggestion.
"Yeah."
Lee Sol also stood up, dusting off her skirt.
"Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?"
I walked down the hallway with the two of them. There were booths in every classroom.
"Hmm... nothing comes to mind immediately."
Lee Sol seemed fine with going anywhere.
"The snack booths are crowded, so it might be a bad idea to go there now..." Shin A-young muttered while looking at the festival brochure.
She was right. The snack booths were still very popular. The lines would probably stay long until they ran out of ingredients.
"Oh, do you want to go there?"
Shin A-young pointed toward one spot. I turned my gaze in the direction she was pointing and slowly read the sign on the booth.
"...The Fortune Telling House?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Shin A-young nodded with an excited face.
— There's no line, and it looks fun!
Her Mini-Me hopped up and down on Shin A-young's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm down."
Lee Sol agreed.
— I don't believe in it... but it's fine for a bit of fun.
Lee Sol's Mini-Me gave a haughty sniff. I agreed with her. Honestly, I didn't believe in that stuff either.
"Sure, let's go."
Since they both wanted to go, there was no harm in doing it for fun. The line wasn't long, so we were able to enter right away. That was a plus.
As we pulled back the curtain and stepped inside—
"Welcome! This is the Fortune Telling House!"
A male student greeted us in a tone that was unnecessarily cheerful for a fortune teller.
"Here."
I paid the fee listed on the price chart.
"Thank you!"
He tucked the money away.
Whoosh—
With a short exhale, he completely changed the atmosphere.
"So... I assume you've come because you're curious about what kind of romantic future awaits you?"
He leaned forward, his gaze sharpening.
— !
— Huuuh...!
Shin A-young and Lee Sol's Mini-Mes widened their eyes. Startled, they covered their mouths with their tiny hands.
— Hmm... there are two girls. Looking at the vibe, it's obviously about romance even without looking.
His Mini-Me muttered while crossing its legs.
"..."
My shoulders flinched. Because I had a guilty conscience, I found myself looking down like a criminal.
...Anyway.
I expected as much, but this really isn't it. I don't actually believe in prophecies, but these things are supposed to have a bit of a mysterious charm to be enjoyable...
That charm was nowhere to be found. Knowing the secret behind it in real-time made me lose interest instantly.
"Who wants to go first?"
Instead, I gave the choice to the other two.
"...Can I go first?"
"Sure."
When Shin A-young nodded at the question, Lee Sol quickly pulled a chair forward and sat down.
"Could you pick three cards from here?"
He spread a deck of cards across the table. Lee Sol carefully selected her cards.
"..."
And soon, silence fell.
A gaunt man. A fox with countless red eyes. Women fighting over jewels. Anyone could see that the cards she drew were terrible.
— Oh, crap... what do I do? I mean, what kind of cards are these...
His Mini-Me's expression stiffened. Cold sweat poured down like a waterfall.
I cheered for him in my head.
Do something. Anything.
=========
(!Signboard!)
(Scroll down for illustration!)
=========
Surprised Lee Sol Mini-Me
Mini-Mes are hard to draw~