Cultural Festival (3)
Seong Juyeon had been feeling all tangled up in her head lately.
……Why does he keep popping into my thoughts? Did the shock mess me up that bad?
Recently, Juyeon had lost her friend of ten years. At the same time, she'd lost the guy she'd crushed on for so long. Turns out he was a total scumbag, tainting every single memory she'd cherished. But surprisingly, it wasn't him cluttering her mind.
On the day she broke things off with Seonwoo, her heart had shifted completely—like fire leaping from an oil slick in an instant. She knew it didn't make sense. And since she'd always seen herself as a one-track romantic, accepting this sudden change was even harder.
But…
"Noona, you're so pretty, she'll fall for you if you just go for it."
"Noona, you're so pretty…"
"Noona, you're pretty."
Words she'd never heard from Seonwoo. Juyeon caught her lips curving up involuntarily and startled herself. She shook her head, turning to the side to snap out of it.
Lately, Juyeon's been going through a lot.
She looked pityingly at her deskmate and asked, "Hey, am I pretty?"
"Huh?"
"I'm pretty even at a glance, right?"
Yeah, she's gotta be hurting bad since Seonwoo ghosted her. Let's cheer her up.
"You wanna die? If you're not pretty, who is?"
"Even you think so?"
"Everyone thinks you're pretty. Get a grip."
"Phew~"
Juyeon let out a relieved sigh. Right, everyone sees it—I'm pretty, so of course Taeyang would say that. Logically, he was just encouraging me because I seemed down. No matter the context, it's not like he likes me. I'm the only one crushing on Taeyang, right?
"No, what am I even thinking!"
Juyeon denied it aloud, startling herself. Her deskmate watched with genuine sympathy.
A little time passed, and once she'd calmed down, Juyeon thought more rationally. Yeah, I've been clueless about guys my whole life.
She'd only ever had eyes for Seonwoo since childhood, hanging out exclusively with him, so she rarely got close to other boys. The most she'd done was tag along with his elementary school crowd. Sure, other guys had approached her sometimes, but she'd turned them down flat. No wonder she was like this—zero immunity to befriending guys.
She needed broader social circles from now on. A few guy friends would sharpen her eye for men.
Yeah. It's not that Taeyang's a bad guy or anything, but right now, I can't tell friendship from falling in love.
Juyeon nodded to herself. Just then, the class president stood at the front podium and spoke up.
"Hey, anyone interested in the festival committee?"
Right—no more moping alone. Time to get moving, meet new people through activities.
……And put some distance between me and Taeyang for now. I need time to think about him objectively.
"They'll give volunteer hours too. Three hours on festival day, two hours per prep meeting."
"I'll do it!"
"Juyeon? You're in?"
"Ah, one of our maid cafe stars…"
The president sounded bummed, and Juyeon felt a twinge of guilt. He'd been dead set on putting someone small and cute like her in a maid outfit.
But he added her name to the committee list anyway.
"I… I'll do it too!"
A few others raised their hands, and finally, Choi Gahee did.
"Gahee, you too?"
"Yeah, I really want to!"
"Uh… okay."
Juyeon blinked at Gahee, who seemed even more fired up than her. …Was the committee spot that appealing?
Seeing Gahee's passion, the others who'd raised hands backed out one by one. It wasn't a must-have gig, even with the volunteer hours.
In the end, Gahee joined Juyeon on the list, and the president deflated.
"Aaaah… My maids… my perfect collection…"
"President, heads up—we're short-staffed, so you'll have to maid too."
"Eeeeek?! Why me?! I'm not cute at all!"
"You pushed for the cafe. Gotta pitch in."
Surrounded by girls, the president groaned until his eyes lit up and he lunged at Kim Hayan.
"Huh?"
He grabbed her chin pleadingly. "Hayan! You're all I've got left! The whole class is counting on you!"
"Why me…?"
"As a fellow girl in high school! No, as fate-bound classmates! Hayan, you have to be a maid!"
"……Well, it's my first time, and I'm not confident I'll do well."
"Ugh~ Hayan, that's your problem. You don't know you're a nationally certified SSS-class beauty who shines just by existing!!"
"Haha, that's way too exaggerated."
Somehow, praise like that didn't even make her blush. In situations like this, all available girls except maybe two or three would end up as maids anyway. The guys who couldn't would handle promo, decor, and kitchen.
"…Fine."
Truth be told, she'd braced for this when sending Gahee to the committee. As expected, the maid role fell to Kim Hayan.
The classroom buzzed with energy during festival prep.
Makes sense—our class's main draw was games, and we'd compete against visitors. Practicing games was basically our core prep work, so everyone was having a blast.
"Taeyang, no games?"
Lee Yuyeong approached as I studied alone. No point mastering games since I'd be on committee, but it was too soon to tell her that.
"I'm bad at them."
"Still fun with friends."
She held cards in one hand. "Come play over there."
"Sure."
A few kids waited for her card game. Perfect timing—one spot open.
Gotta blend in sometimes. And I didn't want Yuyeong getting suspicious.
I set studying aside and joined. After a quick rundown from her, we started under her lead. Light chit-chat flowed amid the game.
This group was more for fun than serious rival practice for visitors.
High school entrance exams were coming up—didn't anyone study? Right on cue, talk shifted there.
"You've been studying hard lately?"
"Grades shot up too."
"Exams soon. High school means more work."
"Chill~ Not like special purpose schools with killer tests."
"Aiming for one?"
"Nah."
Spotlight on me, annoyingly. I tried deflecting, but Yuyeong jumped in.
"Taeyang and I'll go to Pulkkot High."
"Yeah?"
"…Probably."
She had zero doubt we'd attend together. Fair—she'd overheard me reject Ha Eunju's confession and Elmae High baseball invite because I wanted to watch over my sister.
Meaningless now, but whatever.
"Taeyang, any clubs you wanna join at Pulkkot?"
"Dunno."
I clammed up, hoping it'd move on, but someone chimed in on Yuyeong's words.
"Wait, Taeyang, didn't you buy Elmae prep books at the bookstore last time?"
"Huh? Elmae prep?"
Yuyeong tilted her head. Why bring that up…
I glared at the guy but gave up. No one swore secrecy on middle school prep book shopping.
"Taeyang, for real?"
"……"
"For real?"
Crap, I hesitated in shock. Before her face darkened more, I blurted,
"Entrance exams cover similar stuff anyway, right?"
"Right?"
A sly dodge. She beamed, relieved.
Wait… can I keep hiding this? Her reaction just now screamed bigger backlash the longer I wait.
Hide till exam day. Post-exam, even Yuyeong couldn't do much. Distance myself gradually beforehand, end at mild disappointment—no yandere explosion.
Decision made.
"Hey, no fair! Pulling that card's cheating!"
"Hehe, it's there to use. Hand over yours."
Topic shifted; Yuyeong refocused. I sighed inwardly, pondering ahead.
……Wait, thinking about it, Gahee and Yuyeong are close. They'll meet at the festival. What if Gahee spills to her? Whether Gahee trash-talks me out of spite, senses the weird vibe and Yuyeong asks first—odds are high she'll tell.
"Ha……what now."
"Heh. Game not going your way?"
Texting Gahee now to keep my Elmae dream secret? Too awkward. And would she even listen? Hitting her up after ghosting, just for that? Lame.
Racking my brain, a question hit: Did Gahee tell my sister?
I was tense. What if Sis heard and chewed me out?
Days passed—no word. If she brought it up, I'd admit wanting a different school. Seemed it'd blow over quietly. Honestly, I didn't wanna dwell.
Maybe test the waters? Gahee aside, if Sis knew and told Yuyeong, trouble.
Nah—just tell Sis first I want Elmae. Ask heroines to keep quiet. Cleaner, less stress.
A few days later, I indirectly learned if Gahee had spilled everything to Sis.
"Festival committee, thanks for your hard work—just hang in there a bit longer…"
First committee muster, and…
"Pulkkot High seniors, set an example for our Pullyip Middle juniors, guide them kindly despite any shortcomings. Pullyip Middle folks, follow seniors' lead well…"
The day Pulkkot High and Pullyip Middle festival committees finally met face-to-face.
"……"
"……"
"Huh? Kim Taeyang?"
The moment we locked eyes, our faces froze.
Why… WHY are Choi Gahee and Seong Juyeon on the festival committee?!
I screamed internally.