Start of Semester
The first day of class.
It was a pretty big day for me — the day to scope out the classmates I'd be spending the next several years with. If I didn't at least get acquainted with people today, I'd end up a total loner.
It was the time to diligently read the room and hustle your way into a group.
'I feel like I'm going to die from exhaustion.......'
I was slumped over at a desk in the corner.
Screw being a loner or fitting in — just let me fucking die. Right now, I didn't have the energy to pay attention to anyone.
"What's wrong with Kkangcheol?"
"Is he sick?"
The silver lining was the five friends I'd met up with before the semester started. Having already broken the ice ahead of everyone else, the six of us had clustered together and sat down.
On behalf of me, the collapsed heap, Areum answered.
"Kkangcheol stayed up all night yesterday, so he's tired."
That was true. However, the one who dealt the finishing blow was you, wasn't it?
I felt like picking a bone about it, but honestly, my conscience pricked me too much to blame Areum. Once I got hard, I'd thrown myself into it with full force. Had emptied both barrels before coming to school.
"Oh dear, it's the first day of class and he pulled an all-nighter."
"He said there was something he had to take care of urgently."
"Work? Does Kkangcheol have a part-time job?"
"Even I don't really know about that."
Contrary to her words, Areum already knew about the work I did. Just that morning, she'd stumbled upon an illustration on my computer, which I'd carelessly left on, and had made a huge racket.
'Whoa! Did you draw this? It's so lewd!'
'You said you did illustration work, so this is what you meant. Your art is really good!'
Thanks to that, my embarrassing shit got aired first thing in the morning. Because I'd only ever told her I drew pictures, never mentioning the genre. Showing someone else the pictures I drew — especially R-18 explicit illustrations that were frankly cringeworthy — was a far more mortifying experience than I'd imagined.
Anyway, time flew by in no time.
The first lecture was an OT session that consisted mostly of repetitive student self-introductions and the professors' course outlines, and we spent the time discreetly doing other stuff.
I instinctively grabbed a seat in the back and sneaked in a nap without getting caught. I almost made a total fool of myself when it was my turn during self-introductions, but thankfully, my friends woke me up well beforehand.
Friends. What a beautiful ring that word had.
I got a little bit of sleep thanks to you guys, my friends.
"Hwaaahm."
"Your mouth's gonna rip. Just gonna sleep all day?"
Mi-hyeon nuna, with her short curly hair, scolded me. This nuna looked like she was full of mischief, but she surprisingly concentrated intensely during lectures. Even during the OT hours that had no real content.
I laughed awkwardly.
"I seriously thought I was going to die, I was so drowsy."
"You do look tired. The dark circles under your eyes are still there. What were you doing pulling an all-nighter? Part-time job?"
Did I have to say it? It felt a bit embarrassing for some reason.
But it wasn't exactly something to hide, so I answered sheepishly.
"It's not a part-time job... but it's roughly similar. Freelance commission illustration work."
"Illustration? If you get commissions, you must draw pretty well."
Mi-hyeon nuna looked at me with surprised eyes. Then, grinning, she reached out her hand, shook mine, and pumped it up and down.
"I need to get close with Kkangcheol. A walking grade dispenser was right here!"
"Huh? Grade dispenser?"
Seongju hyung abruptly shot up. He'd seemed to be sleeping too, but he picked up on the word "grade" like a ghost.
"Sseup. You draw well?"
Seongju hyung, wiping away his drool, got a rough rundown from Mi-hyeon nuna. Why did it feel like this was snowballing? It was getting overwhelming.
Before I knew it, all six of us from the freshman meetup, including myself, had gathered in one spot. Even Ahn Seong-hyeon's eyes were sparkling. With a face that looked strangely excited, the bastard spoke.
"Cheoljin, you draw? Back in the day, you used to hate sitting around doing stuff. It's unexpected."
"I did, but after dropping out and just being holed up at home all the time, I got to like stationary things."
"Ah, aah......."
Ahn Seong-hyeon, who had looked ready to bombard me with questions, deflated and slunk back. I felt a little bad, since it was like I'd grabbed him by a weak spot and shaken him, but anyway, I'd shot one down.
But Ahn Seong-hyeon was the softest target.
Seongju hyung and Mi-hyeon nuna — the two driving the atmosphere — were the social butterflies.
"When there's a group project later on, I've absolutely got to bring Kkangcheol along!"
"We have Photoshop and Illustrator classes, right? Even for modeling, being good at drawing would be an advantage. Our department is basically half design."
"Ah, well, doesn't everyone know how to draw to some extent? Like Seongju hyung said, it's half design."
Seeing a future where I'd end up saddled with every single group project alone, I quickly protested. But not just the two of them — Lee Seo-jin and Pi Ah-reum shook their heads, too.
"I can't draw?"
"Me neither."
"Same for me. It's not that I absolutely can't, but not at the level of getting commissions."
"I dee kay!"
No, then why did you all come to the Digital Content Department?
The words caught in my throat, but it wasn't something I couldn't understand. There were people who simply came here because their grades fit, and others who lightly thought, 'I'll just learn it once I'm in college.' More than anything, things like modeling didn't strictly require outstanding drawing skills. Though it definitely gave you an edge if you could draw well.
Anyway, there was one thing worth noting here.
Ahn Seong-hyeon didn't answer. And the guy I knew had dreamed of becoming a comic artist back in middle school.
"Now that I think about it, Seonghyeon actually draws better."
"Oh?!"
The group's eyes swiveled toward Ahn Seong-hyeon. The guy, who'd been sulking alone, flinched his shoulders in alarm at the sudden attention. Sorry, but why don't you soak up some of the spotlight in my place.
Just like that, everyone began bombarding Ahn Seong-hyeon with questions, but there was one person who didn't let me go.
"I only trust Kkangcheol."
"...Trying to freeload?"
"I'm good at presentations! And gathering data too!"
I smirked and shrugged. Well, whatever. It wasn't like there was a project right now anyway.
Seongju hyung, who had been messing with Ahn Seong-hyeon, spoke up.
"Man, I'm hungry. Guys, let's go eat lunch."
*
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
OT week was over.
During that time, I'd gotten acquainted with a handful of classmates. For the record, I wasn't the one who started any conversations. The group I hung around with was just so noticeable that I benefited from the spillover effect.
Including myself, the three guys and three girls from the freshman meetup — this group of six stood out sharply among the other first-years who were all still awkward around each other.
We were the very first group that had formed.
And it wasn't just because of that.
'Well, everyone's looks are definitely eye-catching.'
I didn't even need to say much about Areum and Seongju hyung, and the other three also had looks that wouldn't lose to anyone. Ahn Seong-hyeon especially stood out in a different way. His muscles were so ridiculously prominent that he inevitably drew eyes — it wouldn't have been a surprise if people thought he was the only one there from the Phys Ed department.
Given all this, I sometimes felt like the odd one out. Was it really okay for me to belong to this group?
What kept me from sinking into those thoughts was Areum. I constantly replayed her advice telling me not to put myself down.
Anyway, aside from our group, the vibe between everyone else was still visibly awkward. Someone had been picked as class rep, but they weren't exactly proactively organizing meetups, so there was no chance to get close. It seemed like, this time, the first-years were mostly people like me who hated taking initiative and were on the quiet side.
The first-years were spending time in this ambiguous atmosphere, still wondering if it was okay to call each other friends yet.
Right after a lecture ended.
"Okay, can I have your attention? I'll briefly announce something regarding MT."
The second-years came in and started talking.
The time had finally come to go on the membership training trip.
But a thought suddenly hit me.
'Ah, wait. What about the groups?'
Did we get to form them ourselves with people we got along with?
Back in middle school when I was bullied, I would have been disgusted, but now I was desperately hoping for it. Things were still awkward with the others.......
*
The group members were decided at random. Come to think of it, that was obvious. It was still early in the semester; there was no way they'd let freshmen form groups however they wanted.
Each group consisted of a team leader and an assistant team leader from the second-years, plus the freshmen. I was in Group 3, and by an incredible stroke of luck, I was in the same group as Seongju hyung, Areum, and Ahn Seong-hyeon.
"Ah, only me and Mi-hyeon unni got split off."
"I know, right. Put us in Group 3 too!"
Lee Seo-jin and Mi-hyeon nuna had been split from us. And on top of that, the two of them weren't even in the same group. They'd been completely separated and placed in groups with other people.
Honestly, I was just glad it wasn't me. Just thinking about what it would've been like if I'd been the only one split into a different group made my vision go dark. I'd resolved to change, but that was way too fast a pace.
Not long after, the kakaotalk group chat was created.
The team leader had invited us.
- Lee So-yeon: This is the Group 3 chat. I'm Lee So-yeon, a second-year from the student council.
- Yu-bam: Hello! I'm assistant team leader Yu-bam! A third-year!
Strangely enough, the second-year was the team leader and the third-year was the assistant team leader. Was it because they were in the student council?
'Maybe they dumped the bothersome work on her as the junior member.'
Well, it wasn't important. I wasn't the one who got the work dumped on me.
- Lee So-yeon: For the freshmen, we'll pick one guy and one girl to do cross-dressing. It's a department tradition, so there's no right of refusal. Does anyone want to volunteer?
A bolt from the blue struck. Cross-dressing — what the hell kind of bizarre tradition was this?
Of course, no one volunteered.
The group chat was silent.
At that, our team leader-nim took special measures.
- Lee So-yeon: I'll start a ladder game.
A sudden ladder game of destiny began.
I hadn't even known kakaotalk had a ladder game feature.
"Please, pleasepleaseplease!"
I shouted alone in my room as I pressed the button.
[Kang Cheol-jin: Boom!]
For a moment, I couldn't tell what it meant. What did 'Boom!' mean? Did it mean I had to cross-dress, or did it mean I'd dodged the cross-dressing?
- Kim Seong-ju: Ah.......
It was the latter.
The cross-dressing assignment for our group went to Seongju hyung for the female role. And Areum got picked for the male role, for the record.
"Hell yeah!"
I shouted for joy by myself and danced a little jig, when —
Bzzz.
My phone buzzed, as if there was more to come.
I checked kakaotalk.
- Lee So-yeon: Then let's think about what to do for the talent show. Just for reference, even the people doing female disguise and male disguise must participate. The rule is that everyone in the group participates.
"Ah......."
My mood plummeted.
They wanted me to get up on stage...?
"Ugh, I'm itching to drop out."
I really wanted to skip the MT.