New Semester, First Steps

The spring break—neither short enough to dismiss nor long enough to savor—had finally come to an end.

On the morning of the opening ceremony, I was barely dragging my sluggish body upright when the phone rang.

It was a voice that defied every expectation of surprise. I let out a sigh too quiet for her to hear.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are."

I couldn't really blame her for making a fuss. Ever since that incident, I'd been throwing my school life out the window with everything I had. Naturally, even the basic act of getting up on time for the opening ceremony and getting ready for school was something I hadn't done in ages—so instead of needling her the way I usually would, I played along and matched her energy.

"Don't worry about me too much. I'm fine now."

The days I'd spent living without dreams, without friends. But now, there was someone by my side who treasured me. That single fact alone was enough for me to look forward.

With spring just beginning, Mom was the one who really needed looking after—designer work always piled up around this time with spring trends and all the rest. When I told her not to worry about me for no reason, her bright voice came through the phone saying, "Well, that's a relief~", and though I couldn't see her face, I could practically picture her grinning.

"Ah—ah, the signal's getting bad? I can barely hear you, so I'm just gonna hang up."

I jabbed the end-call button without waiting for a reply. She might give me an earful next time, but I'd deal with that when it came.

And right then, a text notification chimed.

Was she about to chew me out for hanging up on her like that? Scratching the back of my head in mild dread, I opened the inbox—

"…Honestly."

When all was said and done, she really was a good mom who cared about her son. The only reason I'd been able to come here at all was because she'd gone against Dad's opposition and looked out for me. Thanks to that, I'd met Seol-hwa—and ended up where I was now.

Saying it out loud would have been too much with all the feelings tangled up inside me—but a text, at least, I could manage. Swallowing down the embarrassment, I hit send.

"A new semester, huh…"

Outside the window, the leaves of a cherry tree that had bloomed ahead of schedule were scattering on a gentle breeze. Watching them, a dull ache began to settle in one corner of my chest.

I wonder what that guy's up to.

A face I'd buried in a corner of my mind and deliberately refused to think about, because remembering only brought pain. But maybe perfect forgetting simply doesn't exist—because in the end, the sight of spring dragged it back up. It felt a little late to be saying so now, but looking at the spring scenery brought the old days flooding back. Talking with Mom might have had something to do with it, too.

The headache that used to stab through my skull was gone. So was the urge to turn away from the past. After all, it was because of what happened back then that I was who I was now. But the longing that snuck up on me unbidden was something I couldn't do anything about—and I let out a silent sigh, as if trying to expel it all.

After walking a commute route that felt neither quite familiar nor quite long-lost, Seol-hwa and I arrived at school and headed straight for the notice board. The class assignment sheet that would decide a whole year's fate was posted there, and naturally the crowd was packed tight around it.

If I'd known it'd be like this, I would've come earlier.

We waited our turn, and as I was scanning the assignment sheet, a bright "Good morning~♪" rang out from a distance—Eun-ha, with Tae-yang trailing behind her.

"Wondered why there were so many people—it's the class list! By the way, what's with the look? I almost didn't recognize you~"

Calling it a new-year makeover felt a little off, but I'd gone for the fresh style I'd tried out at the mall that one time. It was more uncomfortable and more of a hassle than I'd expected, so I'd barely touched it since—but starting today, I figured I'd put in the effort. Judging by the way Seol-hwa kept stealing glances at me with a flushed face the whole walk to school, hand in mine, the effect was definitely working.

"Yes! Tae-yang and Seol-hwa are in the same class!"

"Hey, I'm on there too, you know?"

"Sorry, sorry! I just forgot to say it!"

"You could at least get the words out."

A relief was a relief, I supposed. Thankfully, both Seol-hwa's name and mine were on the list. The two loudmouths coming as a package deal was a problem of its own, but for Seol-hwa, this was pretty much the best possible class arrangement. I considered giving Eun-ha her usual smack on the head for striking a victory pose while conveniently leaving my name out—but the result was good, so I let it slide just this once.

"Hey, morning!"

"Oh, Yurim's here! Hi hi!"

"You guys are overflowing with energy first thing in the morning."

Did they ever run out of steam? I shot back, but Yurim didn't care in the slightest. She glanced between the assignment sheet and us, then curled her lips into a thoroughly unpleasant smirk.

"Well, well, well? No wonder everyone's grinning like idiots—both halves of the goosebump couple mountain range are in the same class. You're in for a rough year~"

"Tell me about it. At least this time nobody's gonna stick their nose in where it doesn't belo—"

"And whose mouth is spouting all that useless garbage, Han Yu-seong~?"

Before I could get another word out, she had me by the throat, and I had no choice but to tap out on the spot. I was still coughing when Yurim kicked me lightly in the leg and said, "That's what you get for being a smartass."

"I'm just in the class next door, so whatever—I'll come visit all the time!"

"Coming from literally anyone else that wouldn't mean much, but from you it's terrifyingly convincing."

Even last year, when she'd been in a different class from Seol-hwa, she'd shown up constantly—so being in different classes probably didn't mean much of anything to this one.

"What's this? Everyone's gathered already? Figured it was noisy first thing in the morning."

"Oh, it's Yu-hyeon. Jiwu's with you too?"

After all that talk about keeping things under wraps, here they were walking over hand in hand. Had they given up on the act? Catching the look on my face, Yu-hyeon let out a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, pretty much. We talked it over during break. If something comes up with people around us, we'll just deal with it. And I didn't really like making her watch other girls keep hanging off me."

"Yeah, fair enough."

Their feelings for each other were solid, sure—but watching the opposite sex constantly swarm your partner still didn't sit right. Jiwu was clinging to Yu-hyeon's arm like a koala, looking unmistakably happy. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Those two would figure things out on their own.

"Anyway, same class, huh? Looking forward to another year."

"Yeah. Same here."

I guess popular guys really were built different. He offered a handshake with that easygoing, polished manner of his, and I took it, feeling a little awkward about the whole thing.

"What, what? Since when are you two so buddy-buddy?"

"Mm, not that long."

Part of it was probably the Jiwu situation—but maybe he was also being friendly because of the envelope I'd handed him on Valentine's Day? He'd been the one to freely give up his seat in the first place. The guy had a uselessly thick skin, I thought, though I didn't bother saying it out loud.

"Hmm~ Some familiar faces, some new ones too? College entrance exams and all that are going to be rough, but let's make the last page of our youth a good one!"

Even this guy…

Of all things, the same homeroom teacher. At this rate, was this year going to be any different from last year at all?

"I was worried I might get stuck with strangers, but I'm glad there are so many people I know."

"…Yeah, same."

I had my doubts about whether class assignments were supposed to be this slapdash, but Seol-hwa and I had ended up in the same class, so… I decided to just accept it, sighed inwardly, and went along with what she'd said. We hadn't gotten the dramatic next-to-each-other desks situation, but this much was more than enough to be grateful for.

"Well, the entrance ceremony's over and there's no class today—how about we do a quick round of self-introductions?"

A chorus of groans flew back—"Just let us go home early~" and "What is this, kindergarten?"—but the teacher didn't bat an eye, staying firmly in his own world.

"Come on, come on. Instead of wasting time complaining, let's just get it over with and go home, yeah? How about we start with Eun-ha in the front row?"

"Yes, sir! Hi everyone, I'm Yu Eun-ha! Hobbies are looking after kids and chatting! Favorites are cute things and delicious desserts! Let's have a fun year, everyone~!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She's got way too much energy for no good reason.

That said, being able to stand up and talk with that kind of high-tension confidence no matter who was listening—that was a talent in its own right. If someone asked me or Seol-hwa to do the same thing, it would obviously be a nonstarter…

"Oh, right! And my best friend is Yun Seol-hwa over there by the window! She's super kind and thoughtful, so everyone should try talking to her at least once! My goal is to get her a hundred friends!"

…Yeah. That's a talent too, I guess.

And as for the Seol-hwa who'd just been called out without warning—

"Ah, um… well, that is…"

The Seol-hwa vessel, struck dead-on by an unexpected torpedo, was quite literally one hit away from going under. Should I jump in? I was still fretting over how when I started to stand—and my eyes met Seol-hwa's as she glanced my way. Seeing me, she took a steadying breath, then made a move to speak again. I stopped halfway out of my seat and sat back down.

"I—um! Y-Yun Seol-hwa! My hobby is, well, that is… taking care of cats! And my favorite thing is Yu—I mean! R-reading! Nice to meet you all…!"

Did she just almost say I was her favorite thing?

I could feel the gazes of the classmates who'd been with us last year flicking toward me like they'd just caught something entertaining. Was I imagining that? I let out a sigh of pure resignation.

"I'm exhausted…"

"What can I say… You did great."

Thankfully, not everyone had to introduce themselves. After Seol-hwa, only two or three more people gave brief introductions before the school day wrapped up. Lately the nasty rumors Ju-hee and her crowd had been spreading had mostly died out, and I'd been feeling the shift in how our classmates looked at Seol-hwa as she spent time with me, Eun-ha, and the others.

"Still… it wasn't all that bad, right? Looks like you're going to make a lot of friends."

"Yeah… that's true…"

But thanks to the nuclear bomb Eun-ha had casually dropped, kids had crowded around Seol-hwa just like when she'd first transferred in. By the time she'd gone through greeting them one by one and we finally made it home, she was completely wiped out. It felt like only yesterday that I'd been spouting nonsense on the rooftop about making friends. Was this what people meant by being deeply moved?

"Honestly, it was sudden and… a little scary…"

"Anyone would nearly pass out if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a bomb like that got dropped on them out of nowhere. That's normal."

If that arrow had come flying at me… I didn't even want to think about it.

"But when I saw you, Yu-seong, I felt like I could calm down a little. I made a lot of mistakes, of course… but I at least managed to put something together, so… yeah."

"…Since you brought it up. You almost said I was your favorite thing back there, didn't you?"

Seol-hwa's whole body went rigid for a second. I let out a long, helpless sigh.

"Th-that's, well?! You could call it a force of habit… I mean, not that! It's just… I'm sorry…"

"You've got nothing to apologize for."

I beckoned her over, and Seol-hwa trotted up to me like a puppy who'd just been called.

"You did great."

I didn't know how it looked to anyone else, but from where I stood, she'd tried hard enough. It was a world of difference from when we'd practiced up on the rooftop. I gave her hair a light stroke, and Seol-hwa broke into a soft, relieved smile.

Even so, I don't really want anyone else seeing that expression.

Was calling it possessiveness going too far? Still—there was a part of me that wanted to believe I was the only one who knew that look on her face.

"Let's give this year everything we've got."

"…Yeah!"

Friendships, studying… there was plenty to think about, one way or another. But the two of us together—we'd figure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it out somehow.