Club Roadmap (2)
All the club members had gathered.
The three existing members, plus four new recruits including me.
Then there was Seora noona, half a ghost member, bringing the total to eight.
"Ah, hey."
Seora noona, who arrived a step late, greeted me with a slightly awkward expression before going to sit next to Han Saebyeok.
"She's going to be that awkward about it...?"
What on earth was going through her head when she was fiddling with my junk, then? Not pouncing on her then had definitely been the right call.
I shook my head a little.
I'd been wondering what face to make around Seora noona, but seeing her even more uncomfortable than I felt just made me sigh. Well, time would sort this out too. As long as I pretended not to notice anything, there wouldn't be a problem.
"Ahem. Everyone, may I have your attention, please."
Bam Nuna, standing at the front, cleared her throat and gathered everyone's eyes.
"From now on, I will be explaining this year's club activity plan."
Maybe because this was a formal presentation, her pronunciation was crisper than usual. The sight was kind of endearing, and I had to suppress a smirk.
"Please look at the screen. This is our club's roadmap for this year."
The roadmap that appeared was higher in quality than expected—clearly made with a lot of effort. It was obvious how serious Bam Nuna was about the club activities.
"The final goal of Club Toons is to produce a short-form animation and submit it to a competition at the end of the year."
Short-form animation.
It meant an animation that doesn't exceed about 10 minutes. Truthfully, since a 10-minute runtime usually included a theme song, the actual runtime would be closer to 5 minutes.
"That's a reasonable level for a college club to produce. I was wondering what kind of animation they'd make in just a few months."
The Japanese animation familiar to most people runs about 20 minutes per episode. It might only be 20 minutes, but actually producing that much animation takes a considerable amount of labor.
Making that kind of animation with just college club members? Even if you threw a whole year at it, producing something that looked decent would be tough. But a short-form piece? That had potential.
Of course, it wasn't like a short-form animation was a walk in the park either. For a mere seven or eight college students who didn't even have professional skills, even a five-minute animation was not an easy goal to pull off.
"Full-scale video production will begin in June at the earliest, July at the latest. Until then, we'll be planning and creating storyboards. At the same time, we'll also carry out training for the new members."
"Training?"
The person who asked that was Seongju Hyung.
Looking to the side, I could see a flustered look rising on Seongju Hyung's face. My guess was that the activity plan was more serious than he'd imagined, and he'd been caught off guard.
"Seongju Hyung joined with pretty casual intentions, after all."
Ahn Seong-hyeon and I were fine.
We were genuine otaku who joined precisely because we were interested in this kind of thing. Sure, I had some worries too, but I could accept this as just another experience.
"Areum seemed fine too."
She was relatively low-key about it, but Areum also had an unusual weeb intensity. Though not quite to the level of Ahn Seong-hyeon, of course.
On the other hand, Seongju Hyung?
Even at a glance, he was far from an otaku. The only works he'd mentioned enjoying so far were mainstream things like the Wanable series, and it looked like he had no interest in these kinds of activities to begin with.
Bam Nuna answered Seongju Hyung's question.
"The existing members will train all of you newbies. Our members are excellent. Basic Photoshop, editing—they can all handle things like Animate and motion graphics."
"Would we have to come in during vacation too?"
"Uh... yes, you would. Du-during vacation we'll be inviting, bringing in? professionals to teach you..."
Bam Nuna's voice trailed off at Seongju Hyung's question. She seemed to be gauging the new members' reactions.
Seongju Hyung nodded with a thoughtful expression and answered.
"Sorry for interrupting. I'll save further questions for the end."
"Ah, understood..."
Bam Nuna's face as she nodded looked a little anxious. She was probably worried that the newbies might say they'd quit the club.
I subtly glanced around at the others.
Ahn Seong-hyeon had a calm face, like he'd expected all this—maybe he'd heard something from Seora noona beforehand. Areum, rather than worried, wore an expectant expression, like it sounded fun to her.
"If we can just convince Seongju Hyung, it seems like things will be fine."
Actually, I was liking this club more and more. From the perspective of someone uninterested, it might feel like a hassle, but if you looked closely, this was a rare opportunity you don't come by often.
I mean, weren't they saying they'd invite professionals from the field?
Getting instruction from industry experts—there was no way something that luxurious was possible on a meager club budget. She was definitely funding it out of her own pocket.
"Is Bam Nuna really an heiress from a chaebol family?"
She said she was an exchange student, so it probably wasn't a domestic chaebol, which only made me more curious about her true identity.
Well, that wasn't really the important part. I was simply pleased to have unexpectedly gained a learning opportunity.
"Ahem. Our activities aren't just about animation production. In July, we'll also take part in Comics. We'll run our club booth there."
Comics. The otaku festival held in Seoul and Busan.
I was pretty sure it was scheduled for late July this year.
"We sell goods and doujinshi at the booth."
By goods, did she mean making things like keychains or mouse pads to sell? And doujinshi meant fan-made publications, right? I had some confidence in my drawing skills, so I figured I could participate actively.
"I should join as a production artist."
And when it came to booth operations, I'd take a step back. Being out in front of people was too much.
But hold on.
"We also do cosplay. We make the costumes ourselves. Saebyeok and Hana are in the Fashion Design department, so they're pros at it."
Cosplay, she says?
"Fucking perverts."
Just being out in front of people was burdensome enough, and now I had to walk around in costume? I suddenly felt the urge to bolt out of the club room.
"If we have the capacity, we'll also do a Halloween party! And during vacation, we'll go to the beach and have fun!"
Bam Nuna's voice grew louder, as if gaining confidence. That was probably because these plans were about having fun, not about difficult, tedious work—topics that could actually draw the members' interest.
But for me, it was actually bad news. I'd be perfectly happy just holing up in the club room and working...
On the other hand, Seongju Hyung's expression had transformed into the exact opposite of mine. He seemed to like the active schedule.
"With that, I'll finish presenting the roadmap. We only have a little less than a year left, but let's enjoy our activities together!"
"Waaah! Our club president is so cool!"
Areum was the first to shout and applaud. I followed along with the applause, but things like cosplay and Halloween parties were already starting to gnaw at me.
But I soon shook my head and cast off the worry.
One thing I'd learned over these past few months was exactly that: let the small worries go.
"Somehow it'll work out."
Yeah, unlike before, it was only a bit burdensome now, and I didn't think it was something I was completely incapable of. If this had been a year ago, I'd have run away the moment I heard the plan... This much was a huge improvement, wasn't it? I could still change even more.
Just then, Bam Nuna spoke up while holding a box.
"Now then, we'll be drawing lots! Time to pick teachers and students!"
Apparently, instead of training everyone together, they planned to pair us up one-on-one for teaching.
"I'll take two, and Saebyeok and Hana will each be in charge of one."
I casually glanced back at Han Saebyeok and Ju Hana.
Han Saebyeok—the Smoking Woman with that cold, sharp impression.
And Ju Hana—similarly cold-looking on the outside, but whose inner self was actually a shrinking violet.
"As long as it's not that nuna."
I just hoped it wouldn't be Han Saebyeok. Being taught one-on-one by her would be so awkward I might die.
If I had a choice, I'd want Bam Nuna as my teacher. She gave off a good impression, was friendly, and was a sunbae from the same department. It felt like she'd be understanding about a certain amount of mistakes.
But life has a way of not going as you wish.
Having lost at rock-paper-scissors, I ended up last in line.
"Oh, I look forward to learning from you, club president!"
"Ahem. Seong-ju, I'll teach you well. No need to worry."
"I got Bam Nuna too. I'll study hard."
"I like a student with motivation. Seong-hyeon, I look forward to working with you too."
In the blink of an eye, Bam Nuna's two disciples were decided.
"Yap! Let's see, who did I get...?"
Areum, who had drawn a slip of paper from the box, made drumroll sounds with her mouth as she checked the result. Then, she immediately ran over and hugged Han Saebyeok.
"Waaaah! Saebyeok unni, please take good care of me!"
"Sure."
Han Saebyeok gave a small smile and hugged Areum back. Then, she suddenly glanced back at me.
Pik.
Was it my imagination, or did one corner of her mouth rise especially high for a moment?
"Hey, I don't want to learn from you either, lady."
I couldn't bring myself to say that out loud.
Anyway, with that, my teacher was automatically decided. I turned to look at Ju Hana, who at some point had shuffled nearby and was hesitating.
"I-I look forward to learning from you, nuna."
"Uh, uh-huh..."
Ju Hana answered in a tiny voice, fidgeting with her hands.
...I had serious doubts about whether this was actually going to turn into a proper education.