Animal Love
I had made up my mind about which club to join.
The one I chose was the Animal Love Club.
It was the club founded by Seo I-eung, the girl student I was relatively closest to at the Academy. Not that I had picked it solely because of her. I couldn't claim she had no share in the decision at all—but what pulled me far more was the simple fact that it was a gathering of animal lovers.
People who share the same tastes get close that much faster.
Anyone who genuinely liked animals would become friends with me in no time, beautiful girl or not. At the very least, I could push the relationship as far as the one I already had with Seo I-eung without much trouble.
But why hasn't a single person applied?
Was there no one at the Academy who liked animals? That couldn't be right. I might have overlooked something, yet there was no other club of this type. For something that looked more major than most of the others, a real-time applicant count of zero felt strange.
The ugly rumors clinging to Seo I-eung… I didn't think they were the whole reason. They must have played some part, of course, but not every student at the Academy even knew who she was.
I was still turning the puzzle over when a possibility struck me.
…Ah. Don't tell me it's because of this.
I found a line that explained everything.
◎ Entry Condition: There will be an interview, so after you apply, come straight to Class 3.
That had to be it. The mention of an interview had scared everyone off.
What kind of girl holds interviews just to recruit club members? It's not like the club is a company.
Seo I-eung's bad reputation, the high-handed demand for interviews, and the promotional post sitting at the very bottom of the page—those three things together had produced a grand total of zero applicants.
Can this club even get founded? They said anything under five members, including the president, gets rejected.
No idea. For now I just needed to raise the number. If the count stayed stuck at zero, even students who were thinking about applying would pause and think twice.
I tapped through my phone and submitted a club application. At the exact same moment—
The number jumped to two. Someone else had applied at almost the same second I had. Of course there had to be other animal lovers around.
So… do I just go take the interview now?
I didn't even need to walk anywhere. Seo I-eung was in the same class. More than that—she sat right next to me. For the record, after talking with the other guys earlier I had already returned to my seat, and she had stayed in hers the whole time.
“Seo I—”
Just as I started to call her name, the phone in my hand buzzed hard.
A text from Seo I-eung.
She was sitting right next to me. Why text?
While I was still wondering, another message arrived immediately after.
She was unexpectedly thorough. Not that I wanted to club with people like that either.
After getting her text I opened the app and checked the count.
It really had climbed. By eleven people, no less.
I texted her back.
That… actually made a fair amount of sense. There was no other reason the numbers would spike so fast.
She meant Isabella Chambers. So Isabella liked animals too.
A chill ran down my spine. From the seat beside me I felt a murderous glare. Seo I-eung was staring daggers at me.
Sensing imminent death, I hastily corrected the message.
Only then did she withdraw the killing intent and turn her head away. Note to self: never send her one-word replies again.
“Um… I applied to the Animal Love Club.”
Isabella’s voice drifted over from the next desk. A quick glance from the corner of my eye showed her standing blankly in front of Seo I-eung’s desk.
“What’s this about having to take an interview?”
“It’s nothing big. Just answer a few simple questions.”
I pricked up my ears and eavesdropped on the conversation between Isabella and Seo I-eung.
Seo I-eung tossed her a few questions.
“First question… Isamolla, you really applied because you like animals, right?”
“My name isn’t Isamolla. It’s Isabella.”
“Ignore the petty stuff and just answer the question.”
“Getting someone’s name wrong doesn’t feel all that petty… Anyway, why would I apply if I didn’t like animals? Of course I applied because I like them.”
Hearing the answer, Seo I-eung gave a small nod.
“Seomi-eum. Why are you even asking something like this?”
Isabella asked, deliberately mangling Seo I-eung’s name in return—a petty little revenge for not remembering hers.
“Because some people probably apply with the attitude of ‘whatever, I’ll just pick any club.’ I have zero intention of accepting anyone who isn’t a real animal lover.”
“Ah. That makes sense. Either way, I’m joining your club because I sincerely love animals, so don’t worry.”
“Got it. Next question.”
“There’s more?”
“Have you ever raised an animal?”
“When I lived in Britain I had two dogs.”
“Good. That’s all the questions. One last check.”
“What kind of check?”
“Turn on your phone, open YouTube, and show it to me.”
“What? Why YouTube all of a sudden?”
“It’s an algorithm check to weed out fake animal lovers. Fakes never get a single animal video in their feed.”
“You’re really picky…”
Isabella unlocked her phone and held it out. She was actually going along with this. If it had been me I would have just said “I’ll join another club” and walked away.
“Hmm…”
Seo I-eung hummed thoughtfully while scrutinizing the screen. Isabella watched her with clear nerves.
“…Why am I getting tense over something like this?”
A moment later Seo I-eung’s face settled into a satisfied look. She handed the phone back.
“You’re in. You can go back to your seat now.”
“Oh… okay…”
Isabella scratched her head, looking a little dazed, and returned to her desk.
Once Isabella’s membership was confirmed, the other girls who had applied through the app came up to Seo I-eung one after another. Unlike with Isabella, she ran a noticeably stricter interview. While she was at it she casually brought me up and leaked the false information that I was planning to join a different club.
And every single girl who heard that—
“Ah… so Hahwi isn’t joining this club…”
“…I’ll just go to another one.”
“Now that I think about it, I don’t really want to join a club that makes you interview this hard.”
“Mind if I look around at other clubs a bit more first?”
—came up with every excuse under the sun and backed out. They really had applied expecting me to join.
How is every last one of them here for the exact same reason…
Good riddance. Better not to have people like that in the club. There was just one problem left.
Right now our members were only Seo I-eung, Isabella, and me. A club with fewer than five people couldn’t be founded. Even if their motives were impure, maybe we would have to accept a couple of them after all?
We’re almost out of time.
After a brief moment of fretting I went for the last resort and hammered out a request for help on my phone. No idea if it would work, but I had to at least ask.
A short while later—
“Carrot.”
“Lotus root.”
Professor Santoto and Instructor Suptoto came trotting over to Seo I-eung.
“I’m joining too. Carrot.”
“We’re joining too. Lotus root.”
“Huh? Professors and instructors can join clubs?”
“Carrot. Of course.”
“Lotus root. We’re Academy staff. Why wouldn’t we be allowed?”
“Ah. So you’re coming in as club advisors or something?”
“We’re joining as regular members.”
“I have no hobby of advising. Lotus root.”
“If you’re joining as members, then about the interview…”
“What interview? Carrot.”
“Accept the applications right now or I’ll dissolve the club. Lotus root.”
“……”
With Santoto and Suptoto’s support, the Animal Love Club finally filled its five-member quota.