Ordinary Daily Life? (3)
Since we'd switched seats this time, they probably wouldn't change again until exams were over.
Yoon Seo-ha was sitting next to me. I figured it was a pretty good setup for me. I was planning to borrow her class notes for the exam subjects anyway.
U Hana was right behind me. Lee Seol had been assigned a spot a little farther away, while Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su were scattered up front, one in each of the first-row seats.
"…."
It was class time now.
I was diligently taking notes, but at some point, my mind started wandering to other thoughts.
Normally, I'd be pretty wiped out by now. I'd stayed up late last night.
Jin-su hyung had sent over the script for his next project, and I'd pulled an all-nighter reading it, not getting a wink until dawn. He'd said last time he'd compile and send it all at once, and that was yesterday.
Offers like this were rare for a student like me, so I couldn't just skim through it. Plus, it was genuinely fun.
And the day before that, I'd done a photoshoot too….
But all that fatigue had vanished after U Hana's confession.
I shook my head, rested my hand on the desk, and propped up my chin.
Time to really focus…. Exams were starting, so I needed to pay attention in class.
That's when I felt something poking my arm on the desk.
Startled, I glanced sideways. Yoon Seo-ha was tapping my arm with the eraser end of her mechanical pencil.
I gave her a puzzled look, and without a word, she nudged the corner of her textbook toward me.
Scribbled there in short: [Next page.]
Ah. That's when I realized the teacher had already moved on to the next chapter.
I quickly flipped the page and jotted a small note in the corner of my textbook with my pen.
[Thanks.]
She glanced at it, then turned back to the front like nothing had happened.
I thought that nonchalant reaction was just so Yoon Seo-ha.
Still, it snapped me back to attention.
I straightened up in my seat and continued jotting down notes, aligning them neatly under what I'd already written.
Thankfully, the rest of the class went smoothly after that.
The bell rang, and as the teacher opened the door and left, the classroom erupted in chatter.
This time, someone poked my back. I knew who it was without even checking.
Had to be U Hana. The girl next to her wasn't particularly close to me.
I turned around, and sure enough, it was U Hana.
"What?"
"…Nothing, just."
U Hana blinked, looking a bit awkward. Seemed like she'd called me on impulse, no real reason.
Soon she got up first, saying she was going to chat with Lee Seol, and I stood too.
I was headed to the canteen. Maybe grabbing a coffee would perk me up.
As I rose, I casually asked Yoon Seo-ha next to me.
"Want anything?"
She looked at me, shook her head, and quickly turned away.
I'd figured since she'd helped me in class, I could buy her something—a mix of flattery and payback. But if she didn't want it, oh well. Yoon Seo-ha was the type who made her feelings clear: no meant no, yes meant yes.
Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su had face-planted on their desks the second class ended, so I headed out alone.
I wove through the kids in the hallway toward the canteen.
Just as I was almost there.
"Oh. Hot guy's here."
A familiar voice. I turned, and there was Jang Do-ah.
Leaning against the wall by the canteen, she spotted me and smirked.
Alone again.
Why's she always by herself?
"Hi."
She gave a nonchalant wave and greeting. Without thinking, I blurted out,
"Why're you always alone?"
She stared at me like I'd said something ridiculous, then chuckled.
"Cause I only run into you when I'm alone?"
"…."
"You look like you're asking if I have no friends."
"Nah."
The moment I saw her alone, my gut screamed that something annoying was coming. Sure enough, Jang Do-ah smoothly took the spot next to me, casually positioning herself to enter the canteen together.
The area was crowded, and people were glancing our way. Years of experience told me it wasn't my imagination.
She must've noticed too, because her steps halted abruptly.
"Bored right now?"
"…Huh? No?"
I answered without catching her drift, and she nodded.
"Okay. Then I'm out."
"Out of what."
"Not bored, so bailing."
And just like that, she walked off like her interest had evaporated.
Then it hit me late. …No way. Was this about what I'd said at the sports festival? That it'd be fun to have someone to mess with when bored.
She was seriously holding me to that? It was just random banter.
Taking pointless stuff that seriously? Weird kid.
I glanced at the canteen door, then back the way Jang Do-ah had gone. Yeah, she was odd.
I bought a canned coffee and headed back. Something was on my desk.
…Notes?
I quickly realized it was Yoon Seo-ha's. We'd only been seatmates for a day, but I could tell. She took notes separately, just like me.
Most kids used tablets these days, but I stuck to paper out of habit from my past life. Seemed Yoon Seo-ha was the same.
Right, I asked to borrow her class notes.
I sat down and picked them up.
"Thanks. These the class notes, right?"
"Yeah."
"When do I need to give 'em back?"
She thought for a sec.
"Tomorrow okay?"
I didn't answer right away, flipping through the notebook instead.
The first page revealed tiny, densely packed writing—super small letters crammed into each line.
I skimmed through, figuring out which lectures they covered, but cross-checking with the textbook would take time.
Asking her every unknown bit would be fastest, but bugging her nonstop felt rude after a couple times.
Without looking up from the notes, I said,
"Uh… day after tomorrow?"
"Cool, then."
She nodded easily.
Since I had to return them soon anyway, better to dive in now. I set the canned coffee down, pulled my textbook from the drawer.
Math first….
Her handwriting was meticulous—no trouble reading it. Matching the first sections was easy.
I started copying over, aligning textbook and notes.
Then I spotted something odd in her notes.
'Got the conclusion, but the process doesn't click. Start from tangent slope…?'
Not just rote notes—she'd jotted her own sticking points.
I looked up at Yoon Seo-ha.
"You figure this out?"
She glanced over, puzzled why I was suddenly talking, checked the spot I pointed to, and nodded.
"Yeah. Asked the teacher."
"Ah."
I started to move on, but she added,
"Want me to explain?"
"Nah, wasn't solved yet, so I was gonna offer. Lucky I know it."
Might come off as showing off, but she just glanced at me, no big reaction.
Her gaze lingered a bit—short, but with Yoon Seo-ha, it felt long.
"You must've studied hard."
I blinked.
Whoa. First time Yoon Seo-ha asked me something like that.
"Kinda had to back then? School was basically my whole world."
"Not anymore, huh."
"Yeah. Got something else I wanna do now."
"So why bother now?"
"…Dunno."
Good question. Why was I trying? It'd become reflex—just do it.
I pondered, then said,
"Honestly? Hate wasting what I've built up so far… Top ranks are nice anyway. Don't wanna hear 'he quit studying for acting' crap."
Spitting it out, that felt like the real reason.
Not some grand philosophy—just inertia from coming this far, and no desire to give people ammo.
Yoon Seo-ha looked mildly surprised.
"…Never pegged you for that."
"Surprising myself. Guess I was managing my image after all."
"…."
Of course, only the stuff I couldn't let go.
Come to think of it, dating was similar. Things I didn't wanna drop, and not wanting roadblocks as an actor.
Maybe that's why it sat undecided, straddling that line.
My thoughts veered off for a moment, snapping back at Yoon Seo-ha's voice.
"Ask if you're stuck on anything."
…Nice.
I'd been wondering how to broach it, but her offer made things easy. My mind eased.