#10. Conditions
#10. Conditions
The Department of Architecture is truly an independent and bizarre ecosystem of a department.
Judging from the data accumulated over the past four years, if I were to tell outsiders about the phenomena that happen here, about nine out of ten would tilt their heads in confusion.
And the representative phenomenon I'll talk about today is the Burnout Syndrome that comes during exam period.
Burnout Syndrome refers to the state where someone who was passionately immersed in their work suddenly complains of extreme physical and mental fatigue and becomes listless—and surprisingly, more than half of the architecture students experience this during exam period.
Isn't that weird?
Normally, students pour all their passion into studying for exams and then crash afterward.
The reason was simple.
It was the Design Deadline.
Drawings. Diagrams. 3D modeling. Rendering. Retouching. Plotting.
The sheer number of processes required to present the practical results in front of the professors was enough to wear anyone down.
This wasn't "studying" or anything like it.
It was a pure concentration of labor itself.
To draw the plans, you had to pull out a calculator to compute the turning radius of a parking lot.
To make the model, you had to cut stairs down to the millimeter with your eyes bugging out, then attach them with tweezers while your hands shook like crazy.
There was no intellect involved in this process.
It was an utterly dumb, repetitive task.
And the students who poured everything into it ended up suffering from severe Burnout Syndrome.
Because at the final evaluation, only the professors-nim's sharp criticisms were waiting.
Of course, they sometimes bestowed praise like a blessing, but that was extremely rare. Out of a 10-minute evaluation, you could safely assume 9 minutes and 45 seconds were pure stabbing critique time.
Paying not-cheap tuition to work like a dog and get beaten until not a speck of dust remained on your back—that was this practical course called [Architectural Design].
Does this explanation help you understand a bit?
And right now, I was suffering from severe burnout.
"Aah... I don't wanna... Hwi-min-ah..."
About three hours until the Modern Architecture midterm started.
Sitting in the Design Room chair with my feet up on the desk, I leaned the chair back and kept repeating how much I didn't want to do it.
"If you're gonna fail, fail by yourself."
Hwi-min shot a jab at me as I grumbled.
"Don't wanna... You fail with me too..."
What are friends? When a buddy's having a hard time, isn't it a friend's job to suffer together?
If a friend says something like "Nah, you got this!" at a time like this, they're definitely keeping their distance from you.
Ah. Of course, this only applies between guys.
Despite my sabotage, Hwi-min gritted his teeth and kept studying.
Fucking bastard... Good at design too... Studies hard on top of that... What the hell am I supposed to live off of...
...Write Erotic Novels and make a living off it. Duh.
It was actually feasible, and the pay was decent right now, but why did it feel so bittersweet for some reason?
Ah. Come to think of it, there's someone in our department working in a similar industry.
I turned my head and looked toward Han Na-eun's seat.
She was like an endangered animal who hardly ever inhabited this place unless it was deadline season... but...
Huh?
"Minho oppa."
Huh...?
Was I hallucinating right now?
Why was Han Na-eun standing in front of my desk?
"Minho oppa."
White cardigan.
Pink tennis skirt.
Thin-rimmed round glasses.
When I didn't answer, Hwi-min, sitting next to me, poked me.
"Hey. Minho. She's calling you."
Hwi-min was looking at us two with a super puzzled expression.
"Is that really Han Na-eun?"
I blurted out a weird question in my bewilderment.
"Is there another Na-eun you know besides me, oppa?"
Han Na-eun lifted her glasses slightly with a sassy expression.
"No, not that... What's up?"
The moment I acknowledged her real existence right in front of me, sweat started pouring down my back like a waterfall.
No way... Is she reporting me...? Or maybe... demanding something else?
Money... If she asks for money, how much do I have to give?
It felt like numbers were spinning around above my head.
"Instead of here, how about we step out and talk...? You got time?"
What do I do... Should I talk to her?
No no. Let's stall as much as possible first.
"Ah... I have an exam soon, so I was studying. How about after the Modern Architecture exam?"
But the one who cut me off wasn't Han Na-eun—it was my pal, Lee Hwi-min.
"Bullshit. Hey, Na-eun, this guy's been whining about not wanting to study non-stop. Take him out for some air or something."
"See?"
Han Na-eun gave me a sly smile.
Whoa... Fucking asshole. Not helpful at all, you prick.
Na-eun grabbed my wrist and pulled me up from my seat.
"If you keep dawdling, I guess I'll have to talk right here?"
As I stood up, she whispered softly in my ear.
Her words made my spine snap straight automatically.
"Sure~ Sure~ Let's go grab a coffee somewhere and chat~"
Right now, Han Na-eun was like a walking bomb to me.
The moment she yelled out loud, "[Lee Min-ho threatened me and shoved his dick down my throat!]", my four years of hard college life—no, my 26 years of life—would go straight down the drain.
"Mm~ I think the strawberry frappuccino sounds good~"
...She's picking something expensive too.
"Yeah yeah. Whatever our Na-eun wants to eat, I'll buy it all. Haha..."
Hwi-min was watching our conversation like we were some alien species.
"You guys been close since when?"
"Why not? We could be. What have you done for me anyway."
I snapped irritably at innocent Hwi-min.
"What a rude way to talk, you punk. Hey, get lost quick. If you're gonna keep bothering my studying."
"Let's go, oppa."
I had no choice but to follow Na-eun as she headed down the hallway.
With every step, it felt like weights were being added to my feet.
Is this what it feels like to be livestock dragged to the slaughterhouse?
The place Na-eun took me was a cafe on the basement first floor.
"One strawberry frappuccino."
She turned her back, glanced at me, then looked back.
"What about oppa?"
"I'll have the same."
I always drank iced Americano, but today... I was strangely craving something sweet...
Imagining what she was about to bring up, I figured there was no need for the drink to be bitter too.
"How would you like to pay?"
When the cashier asked, Na-eun just said she'd grab a seat and left me standing there alone.
"This'll do."
Yeah. Gotta buy this at least to lighten my sentence a bit.
I took the drinks and sat across from Na-eun, who was fiddling with her phone screen.
As soon as I sat, she put her phone down on the table and stared right at me.
"...Oppa."
"Yeah."
"You've got exams and stuff, so I'll make it quick."
Gulp.
My throat made a loud gulping sound as I swallowed.
"...Spit it out."
"Like I said before, I won't report you."
Phew. Thank god. Really thank god.
"If oppa goes around spreading my identity to the school or around with a 'you die, I die' mentality, it'd put me in a bind too."
I hadn't planned to, but she was right.
If I lost half my mind and blabbed that Han Na-eun was the HNE Author everywhere, she wouldn't be able to keep attending school.
Or live a normal daily life.
Yeah. You're scared too. Gotcha.
"But still, this is something I absolutely can't just let slide. What oppa did was a clear crime."
Here we go—the main point.
"Instead, help me with my work."
"Your work?"
"Yeah. Oppa knows what I do."
What Na-eun does... Draw Erotic Illustrations? And she wants my help with that?
"I'm not getting it—what exactly am I supposed to help with?"
"You won't help?"
Cold expression.
One leg crossed over the other, signaling who was in charge.
Her gesture was telling me everything.
That from the start, I had no right to refuse.
"...I'll help."
But no matter how much I racked my brain, I still had no idea what I could possibly help with.
She was already a star illustrator, highly praised in the industry—what kind of help did she need?
I knew backtalk wouldn't help in this situation, but I couldn't beat my curiosity.
"How exactly should I help?"
"The novels oppa reads at home every day. That one."
She must mean [I Imprisoned Her]. Obviously.
Mm... Since I'm the author, I do read it during proofreading.
"I need to get a feel for that author's tastes."
...Author-nim. You're already nailing it 200 percent.
"But... talking here feels kinda iffy... You're already drawing really well..."
Thud.
Han Na-eun slammed her small fist on the table.
"What do you know, oppa? You're not even an author."
...I am the author, though.
But there was zero need to reveal that to her here.
From her perspective, I was the pervert who almost forced himself on her.
If she found out I was an Erotic Novelist on top of that, who knows what kind of eyes she'd give me...
She might even change her mind and decide to put a potential modern-day criminal like me behind bars.
Whew... For now, cooperating fully with her was the smart move.
"Got it. So, what exactly do you need from me specifically?"
"No plans after your exam today, right?"
The Han Na-eun (1) upload for today was already scheduled.
No real plans after school...
"Yeah."
"Perfect. Then let's dissect that author's latest chapter together. For reference."
...Oh my god.