Vacation is Almost Here # 2
Vacation is Almost Here # 2
"Oh, you know, just lei..."
Si-hoo shot me a look, and I hastily changed course.
"Leisurely! I'd hit the PC café, play some games! Go to the pool hall, shoot some pool! Grab food! That kind of fun, you know!"
"What? That sounds pretty normal."
I made it up on the spot, and Leona nodded without suspicion. I mean, it's not like she'd grill me over where I went, but a guilty conscience needs no accuser.
"He spends his weekends doing weird stuff. Anyway, Leona. I won't skip the next volunteer session, so... the jjamppong treatment—you'll let it slide, right?"
"Well, I'm not in the mood for jjamppong this time, so I'll let it slide."
Seriously, thank god!
Honestly, that was gate-level danger, but I navigated it beautifully. While I was talking with Leona, Yu-ri came over.
"Hey. You know vacation's coming up soon, right?"
"Hehehe, wow. So break really does come after all."
"Indeed. It's almost break."
The mood immediately warmed up at the talk of vacation. But then Yu-ri suddenly shot me a sharp look.
"You're laughing? You little shit, Kim Geun-cheol, you're laughing?"
"Huh? Why?"
"You bastard. Vacation, dumbass, means I'm sending you off to brutal training—where do you get off laughing? It's time to be swinging a sword, not giggling around, let alone playing."
What.
"Excuse me?"
"Yu-ri? What was that?"
Even Leona tilted her head, and so did I. No way it's nothing but training for a whole month, right? My body won't survive that!
"Training for a whole month straight?"
"Of course you train through the whole break, you idiot. Where do you get off thinking about playing—"
"H-Hold on!"
Before I could even yell, Leona beat me to it.
"Training is great, of course! But since it's vacation, wouldn't it be better to catch your breath for a few days? Constant overwork kills efficiency. Right? The rule is, if you want to improve, you've got to take proper rest."
She was talking a little frantically, but this was exactly what I wanted to say. Training for a whole month straight? I'd burn out for sure.
"Well, yeah, that's true, but even on rest days, you train lightly, you know? Skip even one day and, well, it's not good."
"When it's time to take it easy, you've got to just crash and rest!"
I vehemently agree!
"Obviously we have to train hard, but... to get some rest in! How about we all go somewhere together during break? Just a few days of fun, then back to training!"
Saved!
"Oh! Going somewhere sounds great!"
I immediately chimed in to back Leona up. If Yu-ri wins this argument, I really will be training for a whole month without a single break.
A superhuman as strong as Yu-ri might be able to pull off no-rest training, but I'm nowhere near that level yet. I've got to pace myself.
"Great idea, Leona! You've gotta take it easy sometimes!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
"Hmm, going somewhere, huh?"
Yu-ri rubbed her chin.
"Yeah, that could be good... but where?"
Right.
Leona suggested going somewhere, and I hyped it up, but I had no clue where. For that matter, were there even any domestic travel spots worth visiting?
"Fufufu, when you say summer, you mean the beach, don't you? Let's all go to the beach together!"
"The beach!"
The beach sounds great!
"What? The beach? Leona, don't tell me... you're suggesting we go to some beach in Europe?!"
Yu-ri shouted in surprise. Now hold on. For someone like Leona, casually suggesting we go to a beach in Europe wouldn't be strange at all.
But flying there is way too much of a hassle.
"Huh? What Europe. The beaches in Korea are great too."
Nationalist hype!
"We'll go swimming! Catch some crabs! Grab some octopus and have fun! Boil up the crab and octopus with ramyeon and, ahhh! That's real seafood stew right there!"
"Leona! You're from Europe and you know all this?!"
She's basically a native Korean at this point!
"I keep telling you, I'm half Korean! Then the beach it is!"
"Seafood ramyeon, I like it! Alright! Let's go to the beach!"
"Yes! Then it'll be me, Woo Yu-ri, Kim Geun-cheol, and Lee Si-hoo! The four of us, perfect!"
Wait.
Si-hoo.
Right!
Si-hoo's here too!
—Whirl!
I looked right at Si-hoo, and she seemed a bit flustered. Looks like Leona's thinking two girls, two guys for this trip. And if we go to the beach, that naturally pairs me up with Si-hoo!
And Si-hoo, who's disguised as a guy, obviously...!
"Kim Geun-cheol can obviously go. Lee Si-hoo? Your schedule's open, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah... I think it'll work. But we should nail down the exact date."
"Then let's coordinate!"
So we all gathered around a desk and settled on a date. I quietly asked Si-hoo about it on the side, and she said there's no way she could skip out when friends are going.
"Don't worry, Geun-cheol. It'll be fine."
"Yeah? Then we're good."
Anyway, I'm going to the beach with my friends.
Just thinking about swimming has me excited already.
But like, there won't be marine monsters or anything, right? I mean, if there were, they wouldn't open the beaches to begin with. The fact they're open probably means it's safe.
"...Kim Geun-cheol, that fucking bastard."
"What the fuck?"
As I got back to my seat, I heard someone cursing me from somewhere. Sounded like a guy's voice. What was that? Did I mishear?
* * *
"Alright, alright. As you all know, vacation is coming soon. Your favorite time of year, you minors. Rest well and get your individual training in. You've learned the fundamentals and general knowledge in the first semester, so second semester is when the real lessons begin. If you want to keep up, you'll need to put in the work even during break."
Instructor Lee So-ra went on at length about vacation, handing down all the precautions.
Seeing her like this, she's really no different from a regular schoolteacher. And the way she talks feels exactly like a duty officer addressing soldiers before they head out on leave—hits me with a wave of nostalgia.
"Today, I will be conducting the theory lesson."
"Oh, what's the occasion? What about Instructor Maikes?"
"She's with her own class. With break so close, the instructors are taking over their respective classes directly."
"Ah, I see."
Come to think of it, there are other classes too.
Not that I've had any reason to deal with them—I've been giving them the cold shoulder. Though now that I think about it, there are still quite a few kids in my own class I haven't exchanged a word with.
I should try to get friendly with everyone come second semester.
Anyway, Instructor Lee So-ra's theory class ended, and lunchtime arrived. I headed off with my friends to eat like usual.
—Ring.
A phone call came in.
[Ryuna]
It was Ryu A-ra, the eldest sister of the Ryu family.
What's this Chicken Angel Sister calling about?
"Hey. I'm gonna take this real quick. Go on ahead. I'll catch up."
"Finish up fast and come."
"Yep."
I sent my friends ahead and stepped into the hallway to answer.
"Oh, yes. Hello. This is Kim Geun-cheol. Wow, you actually called me yourself. So nice to hear from you. Hehehe."
"Yeah. Good to hear from you, too. Have you been well, Geun-cheol?"
Same voice I heard back then.
"Oh, yes. Of course I've been well. The chicken you sent last time—I ate it gladly. Seriously, thank you so much. So, ma'am? What's the occasion for your call?"
"Yeah. Nothing major. Geun-cheol? I heard you came up right below our Cheon-hwi in the ranking match this time?"
"Oh! That got leaked too, did it? Hehehe, it just sort of worked out that way. I've been teasing Ryu about it nonstop, and his face turns bright red. I thought I'd die laughing."
"Fufufu, you really are our Cheon-hwi's best friend. I'm glad to see you two getting along so well."
Just what is she building up to here?
"And you take good care of Cheon-hwi, too. Yes. So, what I wanted to say, Geun-cheol? You said you enjoyed the chicken, right?"
"Uh... yes? Of course I did. Is there... something you'd like to ask of me?"
"Call it a request—why don't you come join us sometime?"
Come join them?
That's not hard.
"Ah, but I don't mean come over to the house."
"What do you mean?"
"Lately, Cheon-hwi's been saying he's all grown up and won't come on family trips anymore. So, Geun-cheol, I'd like you to sort of stick to his side and get him to come. Break's coming up, right? I'm counting on you."
Wh-What?
What the hell is this woman saying right now?
My heart went cold, and my head started spinning.
"Would you come along with Cheon-hwi? We'll eat delicious food together. It'll be fun."
"Oh, well, about that. My schedule is..."
No matter how you look at it... tagging along on a friend's family trip is kind of a lot, isn't it? My face is pretty thick, sure, but even so, a friend's family trip is just too much.
"Ah, then I'll send you the itinerary."
I offered a polite refusal, but Ryuna steamrolled right over my words, firmly telling me to come... This was already a "you're coming and that's final" situation, with no regard for any refusal.
"Check it and call me back."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
"Thank you. For being such a good friend to our Cheon-hwi."
"Oh, come on, that's nothing to thank me for. Hehehe, friends being close at school is only natural. Yes. I'll hang up now."
—Click.
I shoved my phone into my pocket.
"No, this is a bit..."
Tag along on a friend's family trip?
Just thinking about it is unbearably awkward...! Is this seriously for real? Is there anything more painfully awkward than crashing a friend's family vacation?
Of course, Ryuna is practically a benefactor who's showered me with chicken gift cards. But still, this is too much. She's clearly going for a "you must come no matter what" vibe... I'll politely decline.
Besides, I already made plans to go to the beach with my friends, so I'll use that as an excuse.
Now, let's go eat.
"Ah, one sec."
I hit the bathroom before heading to lunch, and when I came back out—
—Thud, thud, thud!
"Hm?"
From the other end of the hallway, some guy with sky-blue hair was stomping around, scanning his surroundings like a monsterkin. I looked closer—it was Ryu.
Soon enough, Ryu spotted me.
"You!!!"
"Huh?"
"You Taliban bastard!!!"
The hell is wrong with this guy.
"What the hell did you say to my sister!"
Ryu strode up and shouted, his face bright red.
Ah.
He already heard about that.
"No... I didn't say anything."
"Why on earth should I have to spend my break together with you! Stop spouting nonsense this instant! If you don't call and cancel right now, I'll grind you to dust, you goddamn Taliban bastard!"
"What?! Dust?!"
This I cannot tolerate!
Truthfully, up until now I had no intention of going. But seeing Ryu throw a fit... now I really want to spend some time together!
"Hey. Ryu."
So I called out to him, smiling.
"You sure you wanna be running your mouth at me right now?"
"Wh-What? What the hell are you babbling about...!"
"You wanna have a terrible time?"
"What do you mean, 'have a terrible time'?!!!"
Still hasn't come to his senses?
"You're not getting it? Fine. Okay. The Ryu family tra— family trip. I'll be participating."
"Wh-Whaaaaaat?!"
Just as expected, Ryu totally lost it.
This is my joy.
"Stop it right now! What nonsense are you spouting!"
—Grip!
Ryu seized my shoulders tight, shoving his face in close and shouting with rage. I placed my hands over his wrists and sneered.
"Oh, ohhh? Grabbing me? You're grabbing my shoulder? This won't do, not at all! I'm calling Ms. Ryu A-ra right now!"
"Aaaaaaaaargh!"
Is there any sound in this world sweeter than Ryu's screams?
Even better than listening to Mun Min shriek.