Chapter 97: Arts Festival (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 97: Arts Festival (1)
The Counseling Club room was draped in a silence deeper than usual.
Shin A-young, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa, looked up at the sound of rustling. Lee Sol, who had been dozing off until a moment ago, slowly pushed herself up.
"Mmm...? Where's Nuri?" Lee Sol asked groggily. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her limbs.
"Nuri?"
"Yeah. She was here just a second ago."
Shin A-young tilted her head at the sudden question. She left the moment she arrived. Sol must have missed her in her half-asleep daze.
"She said she was going to the snack shop."
"Ah, really...?" Lee Sol nodded slowly at A-young’s answer. "Hmm."
Shin A-young stood up quietly. Thinking she might want a bite of something herself, she began rummaging through the snack drawer.
"There's..."
There was plenty to eat, yet nothing appealed to her. Everything felt a bit too heavy for a post-lunch snack. She sifted through the bags, searching for something bite-sized.
"..."
Clack— Her hand froze.
Ah, here it goes again.
Squeeze.
A-young’s fingertips curled into her palms. Perhaps because the confession had happened so recently, the scene kept flashing back in her mind. She couldn't help but project herself into that situation.
What if the same thing happened to her? Her expression stiffened as anxiety crept in unbidden. She didn't want to be rejected by Lee Seung-ho. If she were to be cast aside...
"Ugh."
Just thinking about it made her heart feel like it was being squeezed in a vice. She wondered if everyone she had rejected in the past felt this way. A sharp pang of guilt pricked at her.
Shin A-young firmly pulled herself together.
‘Anyway, there’s only one way.’
She had to move her relationship with Lee Seung-ho forward. It was an intuitive, simple goal. It was as difficult as it was straightforward, but there was no other path to take.
"..."
A-young put the snacks back and returned to the sofa. And there, the biggest obstacle sat right in front of her.
"Ahem..."
The petite girl lounging on the sofa, humming softly to herself. As A-young stared, Lee Sol turned her gaze toward her. Her lips parted slowly.
"A-young, you..." Her question followed, flowing out with the same rhythm as her soft humming. "You got a confession from that senior today, didn't you?"
Flinch—
Shin A-young froze. It was sudden, and it was a difficult question to answer.
"..."
When she fell into a brief silence, Lee Sol spoke first. "I guess you turned him down."
"Yeah... I mean, yeah."
When A-young gave a small nod, Sol let out a soft hum. "Mmm."
It was a nonchalant reaction. She didn't seem disappointed, nor did she seem surprised; she simply accepted the fact naturally. It was a reaction that suggested she didn't care either way.
Then, she dropped a bombshell.
"That senior asked me to help him confess to you."
"..."
That was the second time today. Confusion washed over A-young’s face again. She shook her head slightly to clear her mind and asked, "...Really?"
"Yeah." A short, clipped answer.
Seeing that, it was obvious how she had responded.
"You refused."
"Yeah." Another short answer.
Watching Lee Sol nod slightly, Shin A-young felt a bit bewildered. "...Why?"
The question surfaced naturally. She wondered why Lee Sol had refused. Honestly, it wouldn't have been strange if she had accepted just to get A-young out of the way.
"I didn't really see the point," Lee Sol answered simply.
"The point?"
"Yeah. Why would I bother doing that?"
"..."
Shin A-young understood the meaning behind those words instantly.
I'm not in such a difficult spot that I need to go that far. I'm not cornered. I can win well enough without resorting to that.
"...Why?" The word slipped from Lee Sol’s small lips. She straightened her upper body, tilting her head to the side. "Lacking confidence?"
And then, a faint arc formed at the corners of her mouth. It was a blatant provocation.
...Because I’m not.
It felt as if those unspoken words were echoing in the air.
"Ha..." Shin A-young let out a hollow laugh.
‘This is why.’
This was why she stayed on guard. Usually, Sol had a lethargic, passive personality. But the moment she decided she had to do something, there was no more hesitation to be found. She did exactly what she set her mind to. That was Lee Sol’s greatest strength.
"...No?" Shin A-young raised her voice defensively.
She could win even with fair play. A surge of groundless confidence rose within her. She knew it was a provocation, but it was one she couldn't help but fall for.
*
"Your big sis is here~!"
Ji Nuri threw the club room door open and stepped inside. I followed behind her.
"Huh?" Nuri looked around the room. "Where's Senior Min-ji? Is she not here yet?"
"What are you talking about? She went to study for the CSAT with the President," I replied as I set a bag down on the table.
"Ah..." Nuri let out a long sigh. "They probably won't be coming to the club room much from now on."
"...It's really just us now."
Perhaps finally feeling the reality of the approaching CSAT, Nuri’s expression turned complicated.
— "The room's going to feel so empty."
Nuri was already getting sentimental about the fact that the two of them would be graduating soon. Since graduation wasn't until February, she was being emotional about half a year too early. We had more immediate things to worry about.
"More importantly," I said, plopping down into the chair at the President's desk. "What are we going to do for the Arts Festival?"
It was time to decide. This was the first event we had to handle without the upperclassmen. Back in middle school, events weren't much of a big deal, but this was the first time I had been given such a heavy responsibility. Because of that, I didn't want to just breeze through it.
"Mmm..." Nuri flopped onto the sofa. "Were there any rules for that? It was a year ago, so I don't remember well."
"It's not like there are strict rules, but..." There were implicit ones. "Since it's a club activity, we should probably do something that fits the club's theme."
Just as the Band Club performs and the Drama Club puts on a play, it was standard to stay within that framework.
"Something that fits the Counseling Club..." Lee Sol’s voice drifted softly. Everyone fell into thought.
"...What comes to mind when you think of the Counseling Club?" I muttered to myself.
Ji Nuri, Lee Sol, and Shin A-young’s Mini-Mes all spoke their thoughts at once.
— "Snacks?"
— "...Board games."
— "I can only think of playing around..."
None of it had anything to do with actual counseling. Then again, we were that kind of club, so I couldn't really deny it.
"It's kind of hard to decide..."
"Yeah..." Nuri and Sol groaned.
"Ah!" As if she had hit upon an epiphany, Nuri’s voice grew louder. "How about 'Beat Lee Seung-ho'? Something like that?"
"...Me?" I looked at Nuri with a questioning gaze. Why was I suddenly being dragged into this? What was she planning now?
"You're really good at board games."
"..."
"One of the quick ones. Mmm... Oh, right! We could do something like Indian Poker."
"...Indian Poker?" Lee Sol tilted her head, her eyes asking what kind of game that was.
"You know, the game where you stick a card to your forehead and compete to see who has the higher number."
"Oh, that." Sol nodded.
Nuri continued her explanation enthusiastically. "We charge a thousand won entry fee, and if they win, we give them a ten-thousand won gift card."
"...But isn't that too dependent on luck?" Sol asked, worried about the club's funds being drained.
"...What are you talking about? Obviously, we have to secretly help from behind," Nuri said, shaking her head dismissively. "Are you trying to run an honest business here?"
"..." Sol’s eyes darted back and forth. She looked at Nuri with a strange, slightly concerned expression.
I moved on to the next idea. "Let's put that on hold for now."
"Huh? Isn't it a good idea?" Nuri raised her voice, acting as if she hadn't expected to be shot down.
We had to hear other opinions too. Besides, that plan would mean I'd have to work the entire time.
"Or... how about we just open a regular snack shop?" Shin A-young offered.
It was a safe choice. Safe, but...
"Isn't cooking going to be difficult?"
"We can just rent the cooking lab."
"Other kids will be trying to rent it too."
"Ah..."
Opening a snack shop was the simplest and easiest idea to come up with. But the competition for the cooking lab had been fierce last year, and this year wouldn't be any different.
"I don't think the teachers will let us use fire anywhere outside the cooking lab."
"Hmm..." Shin A-young thought for a moment before offering an alternative. "Then, we can just sell snacks. We can make them in advance and sell them. We can just put things like crackers in cups."
"And then we mark up the price way higher than the cost!" Nuri added, calling it a great idea. She gave a thumbs up with a grin.
"..."
"..."
A long, silent stare followed. Shin A-young and I looked at Nuri simultaneously, completely speechless.
"What? Everyone does business like that at festivals!"
"This is a school event..." It wasn't a university or a local festival. It sounded like she was just trying to fleece her classmates. More than anything, I felt like the teachers would shut us down immediately.
— "I mean, if you're doing business, it's to make money—" Nuri’s Mini-Me began to grumble, complaining that I was only strict with her.
"What about you, Sol?"
"...Mmm, should we do both?"
"Both?"
"Yeah." Sol nodded. "Sell snacks and do board games."
She said that felt the most like the Counseling Club.
"I guess."
Board games and snacks. Now that she mentioned it, it did seem to fit us perfectly.
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(!Signpost!)
(Scroll down for AI illustration!)
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I didn't have anything specific to draw today, so here is Lee Sol doing the hoodie prank that everyone does at school at least once.