Our First School Trip
Bad luck.
That was the thought Kang Yuwon had been carrying all day, and right now it was only getting worse.
Until a few minutes ago, nothing had been seriously wrong. With deadlines breathing down his neck, the mere existence of something as massive as the start of a new school year was enough to sour his mood — but that was nothing new. He had a backlog of chapters stockpiled, sure, but hard was still hard, stockpile or no stockpile.
What was happening now, though, made all of that look like nothing.
"Don't make me say it twice. Hand over the money."
He was being shaken down.
The seniors had dragged him into a secluded alley and were shaking him down for cash. No matter how much of a shut-in he was, this was a first — and he couldn't help but freeze.
...Should I just give them the money and leave?
He had money. Kang Yuwon earned more than most white-collar workers at mid-sized companies. His novel ranked high enough on the web novel platform for that. Hand over a hundred thousand won or so and they'd probably let him go. He didn't have cash on him, but a bank transfer would work fine.
"Hey. You ignoring us right now?"
It didn't take long for him to decide. He'd pay. The money he'd lose here versus the money he'd make writing once he got home — the latter was the clear win, even after factoring in the mental damage.
Just give it to them.
He was about to open his mouth when someone stepped into the alley.
"...."
Sharp eyes. A handsome face. A build solid enough that you could believe he was already an adult. The uniform of the school Yuwon attended. And in his hand, a long stick wrapped in cloth — clearly a bamboo practice sword, though Kang Yuwon didn't particularly care about that detail.
Who was that again?
He'd seen him before. He just couldn't quite place him. Kang Yuwon was the kind of person who paid almost no attention to school life, or to most of his human relationships for that matter.
But even he figured it out the moment the boy swung that stick like a real sword.
Baek Sihyun.
A well-known guy. A classmate, even. One of the more famous people in this neighborhood, if you could call it that. Handsome face, good at sports, not bad at studying, a clear dream, quiet but always looking out for people — and on top of all that, a half-Russian girlfriend. He was the spitting image of a fantasy novel protagonist.
Which is why I know who he is.
That was also why someone as socially disinterested as Kang Yuwon still recognized him. You could even say Baek Sihyun had influenced the personality of the protagonist in the novel Yuwon was writing.
Looking at him now, he really did seem like a protagonist. The lone hero swooping in to save someone in crisis. Outstanding combat ability. Facing two disposable thug-type villains. A complete rabble.
And I'm the extra.
Framed that way, the structure wasn't half bad. Maybe polish it a few times and use it as a plot.
"Guh—! This isn't over!"
By the time Yuwon came back to himself, the seniors were fleeing and Baek Sihyun was catching his breath. Even their exit line sounded like something a third-rate villain would say. I'm never writing dialogue like that in my novel, Kang Yuwon thought — and then Baek Sihyun spoke to him.
"You okay?"
It was the first time I'd ever hit someone for real — not sparring. The opponents hadn't been particularly tough, but my heart was still pounding regardless.
Retaliation... probably won't happen.
That specialized high school of theirs was way out on the other side of town to begin with. They had no real reason to come back here, and given the security around this neighborhood...
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the help."
"...Good enough, then."
I'd stepped in for a moment, but I had no particular desire to stand around chatting with Kang Yuwon. I was about to leave when he tossed something my way. It felt fairly substantial — an energy drink, and a strong one at that.
"...Out of nowhere?"
"I wanted to thank you, but I don't have anything else on me... I'll get you something proper later."
"It's fine."
It came up in his novel, too — middle school had been a living hell for him. He'd barely started writing properly back then, and he was still going to school on top of it, so of course. High school had let him find a steadier pace, and his life hadn't fallen apart quite so badly since. But according to what he'd written, he'd practically drunk energy drinks like water throughout middle school.
Not like I'll need it, but he's offering.
I didn't have any late nights planned, so I wouldn't be using it myself. Still, he'd gone to the trouble, and handing it back felt awkward. I stuffed the can into my bag and headed straight for the dojo.
A fair amount of time had passed since the start of the school year. And that was more than enough time for cliques to form in class.
Friends from last year. Friends made this year. Groups of people who just clicked had taken shape.
Of course.
Not me, though.
The only ones without a friend group to hang out with were me, Riya, Kang Yuwon, and Kim Hoyeon. The first three of us simply didn't care much about the people around us. Hoyeon... well, he hung out with us, so his other friends had sort of naturally fallen away.
And the clearest proof of those "friend groups" was right now.
"Alright — form your school trip groups starting now."
Voluntary group formation. For the school trip, no less.
Our school sent third-years on a field trip at the end of the year — all the way to Jeju Island. Three nights, four days.
So groups and rooms are separate, then.
Rooms were just split into boys' and girls' — two types, that was it. Groups, on the other hand, were free-form clusters of people who wanted to stick together. Which meant mixed-gender groups were fine.
Good. I can go with Riya.
Honestly, putting the groups together didn't take long. Like I said, the friend circles were already set. People just went with their own, and that was a group.
And of course, the four of us left over became one group. Paradoxically, people who refused to join a clique always ended up forming a clique of their own.
"I'll post the packing list in the class group chat, so check it and come prepared!"
The class president's words barely finished before the room exploded into noise — everyone talking about what they'd do, what they'd bring. We weren't part of that racket.
"I'll make our group chat, then! That cool?"
Three of the four of us were already close, and the remaining one didn't have any sharp edges to his personality, so nothing felt particularly awkward. Hoyeon handled most of the organizing. The rest of us just had to react and offer opinions.
"We... can't bring laptops?"
"Apparently not."
"And they're collecting phones...?"
"Yep. Confiscated."
"Oh, come on!! My deadline!!"
Kang Yuwon looked like the approaching deadline hell was short-circuiting his brain, but that wasn't my problem.
Anyway, the packing list for the trip boiled down to three main things: a change of clothes, writing supplies, and swimsuits plus beach gear.
"We're going to be at the beach for a while, huh? Guess we really do need swimsuits."
"On the third day — about three hours, they said. Works out fine for us."
"You'll get a sunburn."
I had the first two covered. A swimsuit, though — no. It had already been five years since I'd gone to the beach in this life, and whatever I'd worn back then wouldn't fit now. Meaning I needed a new one.
"Riya, do you have a swimsuit?"
"No. Too small."
Same situation for her. Maybe we could just go in a T-shirt and shorts. Swimsuits were expensive, after all.
That was when Kim Hoyeon lit up like he'd had a brilliant idea and turned to us with a proposal.
"Then let's go buy swimsuits together this weekend. I need a new one too."
"Just the three of us?"
"No? All five of us."
"One's Kang Yuwon, and the other is...?"
"...What about my opinion? Nobody asked me?"
Four was one thing. Five felt like a lot. When I asked, Hoyeon's face went just slightly red before he spoke again.
"Let's bring Haryeong too. It'd be weird if Riya was the only girl."
"I'm fine alone."
"...Haryeong said she wants to come."
Even setting that aside, picking out a swimsuit would be harder if Riya were the only girl. Having Jin Haryeong there — another girl — would make things much more comfortable. They already knew each other, and they went to the same academy, so getting closer on this outing wouldn't be a bad thing either.
"Hello? My opinion?"
"You joined our group — you don't get an opinion!"
"We literally just started talking today, right?"
Even while saying all that, Hoyeon kept glancing at Kang Yuwon, checking whether he was actually annoyed or fine with it. And since Yuwon wasn't genuinely pushing back, he was probably okay. Kang Yuwon was the type to say so outright if he really didn't want something.
They got comfortable fast, though.
They'd clearly just met, and already they looked at ease with each other. Hoyeon really wasn't meant to be stuck in a group like ours.
"Alright — Saturday at two, at the department store. I'll post the time and place in the chat."
We hashed out a rough plan, and not long after, school let out.
For once, Riya didn't have academy today — a rare break from her near-daily schedule. We headed home together the moment the bell rang. Her place was on the way, after all.
"Sihyun, are you looking forward to the school trip?"
"The school trip? ...Yeah, I am. I've never been on one."
I'd never been on a school trip. Not in this life, and not in the last one either. My previous life had been a pileup of bad luck — no field trips in middle school, and in high school I'd done nothing but kendo. Spending the night away through school, across both lives, was a first.
"Then I'm looking forward to it too."
"If I'd said I wasn't, were you going to say you weren't either?"
"Mm. Then I wouldn't be."
What exactly was the standard for "looking forward to something" inside Riya's head? I wondered for a moment, then huffed a quiet laugh and took her hand.
Still cold. Still slender.
"I'm looking forward to the weekend, too."
"...Mm."
With that, we headed to our respective homes.
And one day later — Saturday arrived. The day of our plans.