Chapter 69: Karaoke (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Karaoke (3)
Ha Seo-rim felt her heart pounding against her ribs as she hurried down the hallway.
‘Whoa, that really startled me...’
She was still shaken from the sudden encounter with Lee Seung-ho. Since she had zero resistance to jump scares, being thrust into such an unexpected situation had put a serious strain on her heart.
‘How did I run into him here of all places?’
Even if the karaoke bar was near the school, this was already the second time today.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to recognize her. It was probably because she had dyed her hair.
“Hey, Ha Seo-rim! Where are you going? The room is over here!” Ahn Bo-ram called out, waving her over.
“Ah.”
Ha Seo-rim stopped in her tracks. She had been so deep in thought that she’d walked right past their room. If her friend hadn't shouted, she probably would have kept walking until she hit a wall.
“...”
Whatever. She decided not to let it get to her. It was just a coincidence, after all. Unless she went looking for him on purpose, their paths wouldn't cross again. It was a waste of energy to fret over such a brief encounter.
“Oh, right.”
Ahn Bo-ram set her bag down on the sofa and suddenly whipped her head around. Ha Seo-rim looked at her, wondering what was up.
“Shouldn't we start asking about that? Who’s going to do it?”
“...About what?” Ha Seo-rim tilted her head. She had no idea what Bo-ram was talking about.
“You know, that thing,” Ahn Bo-ram gestured wildly, frustrated. “What we talked about last time. We said we’d try starting it ourselves.”
“Ah, the club?”
“Yeah, that.”
She should have just said so from the start, Seo-rim thought.
“The first semester is basically over once finals are done.”
Under the pretext of giving freshmen time to adjust, starting new clubs was prohibited during the first semester. However, summer vacation was just around the corner.
Ha Seo-rim was planning to leave the Band Club she was currently in to start a new one. Since the school allowed multiple music-related clubs as long as they were in the same category, it wasn't that difficult—provided you had the right connections.
There was just one problem.
“We need to find a guitarist, so you said you’d ask Senior Ji Nuri.”
Just as Ahn Bo-ram said, they were missing a guitarist. Ha Seo-rim played bass, Ahn Bo-ram was on keyboards, and their friend Jin Hyun-woo played drums.
“But is that really okay? I heard that senior is already in another club.”
“I told you about that last time, too. Weren't you listening?” Ahn Bo-ram narrowed her eyes in a playful interrogation.
“...Huh? You did?” Ha Seo-rim asked, startled. She honestly had no memory of hearing that. No matter how much she racked her brain, nothing came to mind.
“I told you there’s no issue with the regulations.”
Apparently, there was no rule against joining multiple clubs. It would be physically taxing, of course, but that was for the individual to handle.
“We’re just asking. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”
“Then since we’re on the subject, we might as well just ask her tomorrow,” Ha Seo-rim suggested.
The other two fell silent. Both Ahn Bo-ram and Jin Hyun-woo looked at each other hesitantly.
Jin Hyun-woo scratched his head. “Ah... it’s a bit awkward to ask... Don't you think she’s kind of hard to approach?”
“Hmm.” Ha Seo-rim nodded understandingly.
It was true; Ji Nuri had a somewhat intimidating aura. Whenever they saw her from a distance, she always wore a completely expressionless face.
“Ugh, what are you guys so chicken for?” Ahn Bo-ram smirked at them.
“...”
There was no reply. Jin Hyun-woo narrowed his eyes but stayed quiet. He was surprisingly timid about things like this.
“Fine. I’ll ask her tomorrow,” Ahn Bo-ram declared, raising her voice with newfound bravado. Then, she subtly clung to Ha Seo-rim’s arm. “...Seo-rim. You’ll go with me, right?”
It was a bit ridiculous, and a small huff of laughter escaped Ha Seo-rim’s lips.
“Sure.”
Ha Seo-rim nodded. It wasn't a difficult request. It probably wouldn't be a big deal.
“Phew...”
Ji Nuri walked into her room, vigorously drying her wet hair with a towel. Steam rose from her pale skin. As expected, a hot bath after hanging out was the best.
She flopped down onto her bed, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. She had spent the day well.
‘It was fun.’
Maybe it was because it had been a while since she’d been to a karaoke bar. Usually, she went alone, but going with the others felt different. It was a fresh experience.
“...Yawn.”
A languid yawn escaped her, and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy.
‘Did I eat too much...?’
Ji Nuri’s eyes blinked slowly. A food coma was creeping in. Her stomach was full, her body was warm, and the blankets were cool yet cozy. It was the perfect environment for falling asleep.
‘I should at least get today’s practice in...’
She had to do her daily instrumental practice; it was a routine she never skipped. She couldn't let herself fall asleep yet.
“Uuugh...!”
With a shout of determination, she forced herself upright. The effort made her feel even more drained.
“Good grief.”
But what could she do? She had to do it even if she didn't want to. Ji Nuri accepted her fate and trudged over to her desk.
“Hmm...”
She tapped on her phone, wondering what to practice today.
‘A lot of people are doing YouTube or TaekTok these days.’
She’d seen many solo guitarists doing that—uploading short clips of themselves playing while keeping their faces hidden. Furthermore... she had even seen cosplay performances.
“Ahem. Hmm.”
The outfits were a bit embarrassing, but it was an interesting niche in its own way. Was this the trend lately?
‘...Should I try uploading something?’
She was confident in her cosplay, and the same went for her playing. If she uploaded something that wasn't too revealing...
“Yawn...”
Ji Nuri’s mouth hung open. Her eyelids began to slide down again. This wouldn't do. She needed to finish today’s practice quickly and go to bed.
‘Is there anything good to play?’
She scrolled through Instagram to check the latest trends.
‘...Oh, this.’
She found a story uploaded by Shin A-young. It was a scene from the karaoke bar. Curious, she played it.
“Whoa...”
An exclamation escaped her as soon as the video started. She was wide awake now. It was a video of her singing with Shin A-young, but Lee Seung-ho’s voice particularly caught her ear. He was singing his heart out with his eyes squeezed shut, clearly trying his absolute best to sound good.
“...”
Seeing that, a smirk broke out on her face. She started giggling to herself. He really was a terrible singer, but it was nice to see him working so hard.
‘...If I have time later, maybe I should teach him the basics.’
Ji Nuri liked the video and stretched.
“Mhm.”
She decided she’d do that the next time she went to karaoke with Seung-ah. It wouldn't be a bad idea.
“Ah.”
Time to practice. Now that she was awake, she felt like she could actually focus.
Now that Sports Day was over, final exams were truly right around the corner.
“...”
Lee Sol was staring blankly down at her test paper. Her pencil hadn't moved an inch. She groaned as she wrestled with the questions.
— “It’s so haaaaard...”
Finally, her Mini-Me whined with a dejected face. It trudged over and flopped face-down on my workbook in a silent protest.
‘Her concentration is tapped out.’
I checked the time. She had definitely lasted longer than before. For Lee Sol, she had put in a lot of effort.
“Let’s take a ten-minute break before we continue.”
“!”
— “!”
Lee Sol and her Mini-Me both arched their eyebrows at the same time. Their expressions said it was the best news they’d heard all day.
“Uuuuugh—!”
Lee Sol stretched her limbs and slumped onto the sofa.
I looked beside her. Lee Sol wasn't the only one studying with me; Shin A-young was there too. She was busy grading her work, the sound of her pen scritch-scratching against the paper.
She drew circles with her red pen. After grading the very last question...
“...”
Shin A-young looked down at the paper with a slightly surprised expression.
“...I got them all right.”
Shin A-young muttered blankly. Looking at it, she really had. There wasn't a single slash on the page—nothing but red circles.
“I got them all right,” she said again, looking at me. She held out the test paper proudly.
— “Is there... is there nothing...?”
Her Mini-Me waved its arms excitedly. I blinked slowly as I watched it. What did it want? I rummaged through my pockets, but I didn't really have anything to give her.
“Oh, you’re pretty good,” I offered a small compliment.
“Hehe. I have my moments.” She smiled faintly and straightened her back, accepting the praise as if it were only natural.
— “...Hmph.”
On the other hand, her Mini-Me was covering its face with its hands, clearly acting shy. After being embarrassed for a moment, it suddenly looked at me with sparkling eyes.
— “But he really is a good teacher. He knows exactly where I’m making mistakes, so it’s easy to fix them.”
The Mini-Me’s help played a big part in that. I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“Argh...!”
Just then, a loud voice erupted from the inner part of the counseling office. Senior Min-ji came stomping out, clutching a workbook in one hand. But that only lasted a moment.
“Sigh...”
Her face turned gloomy. She went from angry to depressed in seconds; her mood was a total roller coaster.
— “Why am I so stupid?” her Mini-Me muttered pessimistically.
“It’s okay, Min-ji. Don't be like that. Let’s go get some fresh air.” The Club President comforted the distraught Min-ji. “We’re going to the snack shop.”
“Okay, have a good trip.”
I nodded nonchalantly. I figured it was better to act natural rather than show a worried face.
“W-what was that...?” Lee Sol, who had been slumped on the sofa, sat bolt upright in surprise. Her Mini-Me also acted like a meerkat, frantically looking in the direction the seniors had left.
“They’re seniors. They probably feel like time is running out.”
“Ah...”
Lee Sol nodded understandingly. Finals were coming up, and since it was June, there were only about 150 days left until the CSAT. They didn't have enough time to study, yet their grades weren't where they wanted them to be. They had to be stressed.
“They’ll probably be like that for a while. We’ll have to keep doing the counseling ourselves.”
At the beginning of the semester, they had frequented the club room saying they needed to help Lee Sol and Ji Nuri adjust, but those visits would decrease now. Eventually, it would just be us.
Knock, knock!
Then, a soft knock echoed.
“? Did we have a counseling session today?”
“Hmm...” Lee Sol thought for a moment before shaking her head. “...Not that I recall.”
As far as I knew, we didn't either.
“Yes, come in—” I raised my voice toward the door. I told them to come in for now; we could just ask why they were here.
The door slid open.
“Excuse us.”
“Hello...”
Two girls stepped hesitantly into the club room. White name tags. They were freshmen.
— “---?!”
Suddenly, one of their Mini-Mes emitted a faint noise. It was startled.
“?”
The strange thing was that it reacted that way after seeing me. What was it? Feeling a strange sense of curiosity, I looked at her closely.
“U-uh...” The girl with platinum blonde hair shifted her gaze, her eyes darting around. She had a peculiar expression.
“What’s the matter?”
“Is Senior Nuri here by any chance?” the other girl asked.
“Hold on a sec.” I called out to Ji Nuri, who was dozing off in the back. “Hey, Ji Nuri. Someone’s looking for you.”
“U-uh, yeah?” She slowly opened her eyes and let out a long stretch. “Yawn... What is it?”
“I don't know,” I said, even though I’d already heard everything through the Mini-Me. Besides, there was something else bothering me right now.
— “Ah, seriously, why is it doing this...? I don't think he knows yet. He won't find out, right?” the platinum blonde girl’s Mini-Me muttered.
I narrowed my eyes at her. A strange sense of familiarity washed over me.
‘I’ve seen her somewhere...’
...Ah.
My body stiffened. I remembered.
There was a junior who used to be close with the girl I had a thing with back in middle school. I hadn't recognized her immediately because her hair color had changed. Compared to back then, she was taller and her overall impression had changed quite a bit.
‘...Ha Seo-rim.’
I recalled the name as I looked at the girl in front of me. It was a name I hadn't thought of in a very long time. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong, but now that I’d remembered, I couldn't help but feel a bit complicated.
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(!Signpost!)
(Scroll down for AI illustration!)
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(Reference illustration for Ji Nuri's usual expressionless face)
