Chapter 5: Club (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Club (1)
*
By the time I got home, the stress that had been making my head throb had finally started to cool.
Only then did the day’s events begin to settle clearly in my mind.
— “...Hey, you piece of shit. I said I’m not telling you.”
The memory of me swearing like a sailor was front and center in that recap.
Drip— A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.
Maybe I went a little too far.
“Did you get into trouble?”
It was my younger sister, sprawled out on the sofa. She glanced my way and tossed the question out casually.
“No?”
It would have hurt my pride to just admit it, so I countered with a nonchalant shrug.
“‘No,’ my foot. You’ve got ‘I messed up’ written all over your face.”
While tapping away at her phone and wiggling her toes, she managed to hit the nail right on the head with a perfectly calm expression.
‘...How is she so sharp when she can’t even read minds?’
She’s my sister, but the more I see her, the more mysterious she becomes.
“I told you to keep that temper of yours in check.”
Since I couldn’t exactly deny that...
“......Fine.”
I gave a clipped reply and headed into my room. Whatever. I’ll worry about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.
*
“...What’s going on so early in the morning?”
As soon as I arrived at class, I saw my classmates moving busily. Everyone was dragging their desks around, changing positions in an orderly yet frantic fashion.
“The seats were changed according to our student numbers. The teacher posted the list on the chalkboard.”
“Really?”
I headed toward the front of the room after hearing this from a kid who looked like the textbook definition of a Class President. Sure enough, a sheet of paper showing the new seating arrangement was posted there.
“Let’s see... Since I’m toward the back by the window...”
As I turned toward my new spot, I saw some familiar silhouettes.
‘...You guys again?’
Shin A-young, Ji Nuri, and Lee Sol.
The trio from my group project team.
The seats were arranged by student number, and by some coincidence, numbers 16, 17, 18, and 19 were them and me. Was it because our surnames followed each other in alphabetical order?
“......”
Nothing I could do about it. I dragged my desk over to the spot.
“Hi, Seung-ho.”
Seeing me arrive, Shin A-young waved with her usual mask on. She was putting on a perfectly refreshing, cheerful expression.
— “The seating arrangement isn’t bad.”
Her inner thoughts... weren’t particularly bad-mouthing me. That was a relief.
“Yeah. Hey.”
I gave her a lukewarm response and sat down.
‘At least it’s better than yesterday.’
Since Shin A-young was diagonally behind me, I felt her gaze occasionally, but it didn’t feel like she was staring. It was just a brief glance whenever she turned her head.
“......”
On the other hand, Ji Nuri, who was sitting right next to me, had been acting strange since morning. Her eyes would dart around before she suddenly whipped her head away. She kept glancing out the window for no reason.
— “Ah, damn... It’s so awkward this morning.”
What was her deal?
Anyway, she was being incredibly self-conscious. She looked like someone with a tough, "girl crush" personality, so it was surprising to see this side of her.
‘...Did something happen to her too?’
While I was lost in thought, Ji Nuri covered her mouth with her hand and called out to me in a whisper.
“...Hey.”
“...What?”
Why was she calling me like that? Was there really something going on?
“No, I mean... are you okay? Should I ask the teacher to change your seat?”
I scratched the back of my neck, completely baffled.
“? About what?”
“I mean, why did you have to go and confess to A-young...?”
“?”
Who did? Me?
Since when did I become the guy who confessed right at the start of the semester?
......Ah, wait.
Was it because I called Shin A-young out separately yesterday? If she misunderstood because of that, she was dead wrong.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s not like that.”
“Ah.”
Ji Nuri let out a short exclamation. The Mini-me on her desk began to chatter.
— “...Come to think of it, A-young always kept it a secret when other guys confessed to her. I guess that’s the route they’re taking.”
So she was going to act like the confession never happened?
‘So that’s why rumors strangely never got out.’
Everyone just vaguely assumed Shin A-young must have received confessions. Rumors about who specifically got rejected rarely circulated.
“Right, right. Noona will treat you to a Chocomong later.”
This girl definitely thinks I got dumped.
“......”
Well, whatever.
‘I can’t turn down a free Chocomong.’
Letting her misunderstand and getting a chocolate milk out of it was a winning trade for me.
*
“Club activities resume starting today, so keep that in mind.”
Since Myunghwa High was an arts high school, club activities were more active compared to other schools. Plus, participating in a club was mandatory. If I had to compare it, it was probably similar to schools in Japan.
I, of course, belonged to a club as well.
[Counseling Club]
One might think it was a club that suited my aptitude, but I had joined for a completely different reason.
The sign above the club room door was hanging crookedly.
“I’m here.”
As I stepped inside, I saw the faces of the members. Two seniors who were now in their third year. The two of them had been stuck close together until I arrived, jumping apart in surprise at the sound of the door opening.
Seeing them flirting so early in the morning left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
“A-hem! Oh, you’re here? Good timing, I had something to tell you.”
“What kind of juice do you want?”
“...Orange, please.”
This was the reason I joined this club. I liked the fact that there was always plenty to eat in the club room.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.”
I took the cup the Vice Club President handed me and sat on the sofa. Soon after, the Club President brought up the main topic.
“I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want first?”
What was going on the moment I walked in?
“...Usually, when people say that, the bad news makes up most of it.”
“Anyway, which one?”
“The bad news, if I have to choose.”
I figured it was better to get the bad news over with and find comfort in the good news, rather than hearing good news only to have my mood ruined by the bad.
“The bad news is...”
— “Our club might be closed down.”
“What? Really?”
“...I haven’t said it yet. Don’t react already.”
“Ah.”
I was so surprised that my reaction slipped out first.
“Yes, please continue.”
“Ahem.”
The Club President cleared his throat and adopted a serious tone again.
“Our club might be closed down.”
“...Wow, really?”
I tried my best to squeeze out a reaction. But that was it. Since I had already been surprised, I couldn’t act more shocked than that. As I stood there with my mouth awkwardly open, the two of them glared at me with pouting expressions.
“I told you, it’s no fun doing this with him.”
“I guess so.”
“......”
I felt unintentionally sorry, but it wasn’t like I wanted this either. But what could I do? I heard the thought beforehand.
“Anyway, we’re in a crisis right from the start of the year. Since the seniors graduated, there are only the three of us.”
“Now that I think about it, you’re right.”
The minimum number of members to maintain a club was four. We were exactly one person short. In that case, it wasn’t a huge problem.
“Then the good news must be that there’s still a chance to recruit the incoming freshmen.”
“Exactly. You’re quick on the uptake as always.”
“Yeah, well.”
I just read the President’s mind, though.
“So, what’s the plan?”
The President handed me a stack of papers.
Flip— As I flipped through the pages, I saw posters that had been drawn with quite a bit of effort. They had made these already?
“Min-ji made them.”
He was referring to the girl standing next to him. The two of them were dating, after all.
“People in the arts really are different.”
As expected, having talented teammates made things easy.
“We’ll be promoting at the main gate, so you just need to post these flyers on the bulletin boards on each floor.”
“Got it.”
“Make sure you put them somewhere visible!”
“Okay~”
......
A week passed after that.
“We’re doomed.”
“......”
The atmosphere in the club room was filled with gloom. To put it simply, not a single freshman had joined the Counseling Club.
I knew it wasn't a popular club, but I didn't realize it was this bad. The only charms this place had were snacks and board games. And those two things were essentially contraband, bought with money pooled from the advisor and the members. We couldn't exactly promote things like that in a public setting.
‘I only joined because I knew about that stuff beforehand.’
The other freshmen had no way of knowing.
“If the club gets closed, what happens to us?”
“We’ll have to join other clubs.”
That was a bit problematic. There was no other club as good for slacking off as this one. Was there no other way? Like stealing a member from another club...
“There is one student left. Do you want to meet them?”
Min Ha-ram, the Counseling Club’s advisor who had been listening to our conversation, spoke up.
There was someone left? But...
“Haven’t all the freshmen already submitted their applications?”
The recruitment period for clubs was one week from the first day of the new semester. Exactly one week had passed as of today. There shouldn't be any freshmen left.
To that doubt...
“That’s because they’re not a freshman,” the teacher replied. “There’s a second-year who was exempt because of modeling work, but she has to join a club starting this year. I called her here because I need to counsel her about that anyway. Want to meet her?”
“......Hmm?”
My brow furrowed slightly. There weren't many people in our school who did modeling. I felt like I had heard of this somewhere...
Knock, knock—
A small knock echoed from the inner part of the counseling office.
“Speak of the devil, she’s here. Come in~”
The teacher let the person outside in.
Slide.
As the door opened, a head of hair that was somewhere between white and ash-gray peeked through the gap.
“Oh.”
An exclamation escaped my lips involuntarily. It was a familiar face. I had a feeling it might be her.
“...Hello.”
As she bowed her head slightly in greeting, I carefully uttered her name.
“Lee Sol.”
“Hm?”
At the sound of her name, she lifted her head. Lee Sol’s gaze met mine.
“......”
Her eyes slowly narrowed. She tilted her head. After about three... four seconds had passed.
“......Uh?”
Her eyes turned round. Her lips parted slightly in surprise. She looked like she never expected to see me here.
“......”
......This girl. She’s really slow to recognize people.