Noraebang Recruitment and a Thorny Path Ahead
Noraebang and the theater club—"Three more hours here, please!" Han So-ra declared energetically. She shouted so loudly that the staff member listening couldn't help but grimace. But So-ra wasn't fazed by it at all. What could you do? It was just her nature.
"What should I sing today~?!" So-ra hummed a little tune. If the theater club president had seen that scene, he definitely would've given her an earful. Automatically, the words replayed in her head.
"Han So-ra. Do you remember why we're here today...?"
So-ra recalled the reason they'd come. It was to brainstorm for the upcoming interviews to recruit new members—something like that. It was the president's go-to line. The theater club ran on meritocracy and fairness when it came to acting. No connections, no favoritism, no nepotism. Even if there were personal circumstances on both sides, they stuck to minimal interference as a principle. Thanks to that, the club's atmosphere was always buzzing. Anyone could land the lead role, and they were always ready to pursue whatever direction they wanted.
"I wonder what kind of kids we'll get this year..."
With a hint of excitement, she looked forward to what was ahead. New members were already due to join, and it felt like just yesterday she'd been a freshman herself. The idea of no one showing up didn't even cross her mind. In So-ra's heart, the theater club held a world-conquering authority. If you asked if that matched reality, she'd probably hem and haw... but anyway.
So-ra casually glanced around.
"Ah."
"Huh?"
Her eyes met Sung-hoon's. His dazed mutter was surely just her imagination. That's what So-ra decided.
"Hey!"
So-ra waved enthusiastically. Sung-hoon, unable to refuse, waved back half-heartedly. At the same time, he tried to hide someone behind him. That sparked So-ra's curiosity like an explosion, and she dashed over in an instant.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
She immediately greeted Ha-yoon. As one of the school's top inssa—far from an assa like him—Ha-yoon responded warmly.
"Hello, Sunbae Han So-ra."
"Oh? You know my name?"
"You came to our class for the club intro."
"Oh, right? Sorry, I've been swamped lately."
So-ra scratched the back of her head with an "ah." It absolutely didn't mean she'd forgotten. How could she remember every single student's face in the class? But Kang Sung-hoon right in front of her was an exception. She'd seen him in a secret meeting with student council president Kang Eun-seo, and he was clearly no ordinary guy. If he joined the theater club, it'd be fun. For So-ra, who wanted to make every day count, he was someone she had to recruit.
And the girlfriend next to him...? She's gorgeous.
Ha-yoon appealed to So-ra too. With looks being the top priority for stealing the spotlight on stage, she was prime recruitment material. So, So-ra decided to cast her line.
"You two ever thought about joining the theater club?"
"Theater club? Well, of course..."
Ha-yoon hesitated for a second, then grabbed So-ra's hand.
"Of course I'm interested! It's the club I want to join!"
"Right? I figured you'd say that, Sunbae-to-be!"
So-ra gazed at the brightly shining Ha-yoon.
Jackpot. Got one!
So-ra cheered inwardly. With looks like that, even the president would nod on sight.
So-ra naturally shifted her gaze.
"What about you, over there?"
"Me? Hmm..."
Sung-hoon deliberately dragged it out. He did want to join the theater club, but not with the same enthusiasm as Ha-yoon. If anything, it was the opposite. He was picking it as an excuse not to join the student council. So, he gave the most ambiguous answer possible.
"...I'm considering it positively."
"Reaally? Not sure what that means, but you're in, right?"
So-ra brushed it off. She didn't watch the news, so she had no need to parse vague statements. What mattered was whether they wanted in or not. From that angle, Sung-hoon seemed willing enough. Whatever his real motives, So-ra saw him as perfect club material. Before she knew it, both were locked in as new members in her mind. If the president could read that, he'd be floored.
Satisfied, So-ra touched the corners of her mouth.
"Alright, let's go say hi! We'll get your faces stamped in with our president ahead of time!"
"......"
"......"
At her upbeat words, the two fell silent. Before So-ra could wonder what was up, a chill ran down her spine.
This feeling. The eerie sensation. Like someone was staring daggers from behind—
So-ra slowly turned her head. Her expression was frozen in a way no one could've predicted.
"P...President?"
"Nice work!"
Whack! With a ringing thud to the head, So-ra fainted.
...Dead?
I watched Sunbae So-ra collapse. She'd rolled her eyes back and passed out cold. She'd be fine, right...?
I cautiously glanced at Ha-yoon beside me.
"#($*&@#(*&$@??!!"
She couldn't even speak properly. The shock must've been huge; she was gesturing wildly at nothing. In contrast, the culprit who'd knocked her out...
"Sorry, our little pine cone didn't bug you guys, did she?"
He casually hoisted So-ra over his shoulder. Calling her "pine cone"—whatever that meant.
Kidnapping? Was this an open kidnapping?
My confusion must've shown, because the guy carrying So-ra looked at us and said,
"Oh, freshmen? That's why you froze up."
As if it was no big deal. So, did that mean sophomores wouldn't bat an eye at this?
The upperclassman extended a hand.
"I'm Kim Do-kyung, third-year, theater club president."
He introduced himself smoothly. Following the vibe, Ha-yoon and I did the same.
"Park Ha-yoon...?"
"Uh... yeah. Kang Sung-hoon."
The moment he heard my name, Do-kyung sunbae's eyes sharpened.
"Sorry!"
He apologized out of nowhere. To someone he'd just met—what the hell? Caught off guard, I froze.
"Pine cone must've been a pain. I'll discipline her good later."
That explained it. So-ra sunbae must've talked about me. Luckily, he didn't know I'd used her as bait for the student council president.
"Anyway, you two thinking of joining the theater club?"
Ha-yoon tensed up at that. The guy in front of us was the president—his word would carry huge weight on acceptance. Make a good impression. I could see that thought filling her head.
Do-kyung sunbae, on the other hand...
"See that room over there? That's off-limits."
"Some kind of theater club meeting?"
"Oho, Sung-hoon, you've got good instincts. Exactly."
Do-kyung admitted it straightforwardly. They were meeting about how to handle incoming freshmen. And telling us that meant...
"Eavesdrop and you're out?"
"Bingo. So no dumb moves, yeah?"
As he spoke, he poked the dangling So-ra's head. Like a demo of what happens if you're caught. Not wanting to end up like that, Ha-yoon and I nodded vigorously.
"Have fun!"
Do-kyung left. For the record, the slung-over So-ra showed no signs of waking.
Watching the sunbaes go, Park Ha-yoon...
"So-ra sunbae isn't dead, right?"
"Prolly not? We'll know by 7 a.m. tomorrow."
"Huh? That's super specific."
"If she's dead, it'll be on the news."
I stated it flatly. Probably headline news around 7 tomorrow. If not, she was fine on her own.
And—
"Do second-years see stuff like that every day?"
Ha-yoon tilted her head. He'd pegged us as freshmen from our frozen stares, so second-years must be unfazed by now.
I shuddered.
"Scary. Second-years are no joke."
"Agreed. I'll take the long way around them."
Ha-yoon and I shared that quiet resolve.
In under ten minutes, we'd had a heavy experience. Drained, we booked a room. We still hadn't achieved our purpose here. Park Ha-yoon's studying—the whole reason we'd come.
So, we started studying. I'd worried she might insist on singing first, but the earlier fiasco killed that vibe.
"Wanna start with problems like today's quiz?"
I made some similar to the quiz we'd taken. Time limit: 15 minutes. As soon as my phone timer started, Ha-yoon dove in.
......
The result was shocking.
"Zero."
"I thought I nailed it..."
Another zero. Was she a bag of flour in a past life? Why so obsessed with bread?
"Lemme see your work."
"Huh? Sure, here."
It made no sense. Zeros are harder than perfect scores. I dug through Ha-yoon's solutions to find the issue.
"......"
"Hey, why the silence?"
I was speechless. Looking at Ha-yoon staring back, clueless about the real problem...
"...Idiot."
"I'm not!"
I pointed at her work.
"You are! Mixing up sine and cosine? Come on."
That explained the zeros. Something felt off—today's quiz had concept questions too.
"The rule's this."
I wrote the correct formula next to her—the exact opposite of what she'd memorized.
Ha-yoon stared at it for a bit.
"...Well, even that guy could mess up—"
"'I'm an idiot' chant. Now."
"...I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot!"
I finally got her to admit it. After drilling the right formula into her head, we retook the quiz.
"Exactly half right."
"Whoa, studying pays off!"
"You think? Half wrong."
I sighed at her glee. The road ahead looked pretty thorny.
Tap, tap, tap.
She drummed her pen on the table. The student watching for a while finally spoke up reluctantly.
"Eun-seo. Something bothering you?"
"...How'd you know?"
"We've known each other how many years?"
"One."
Tch, no fun. She thought that without meaning to at Eun-seo's deadpan reply.
Neat appearance. Model behavior. Top grades. Words that defined student council president Kang Eun-seo. That's how her friend saw her after a year. But lately, something was off. Ever since she'd pushed the student council on the freshmen.
What had happened? Her friend, clueless about Eun-seo's inner thoughts, was full of questions. But she wasn't too worried. Right on cue, Eun-seo stood from her chair.
"Guess I have to handle it myself."
Classic student council president move. Whenever something stalled, she took action personally. Watching her steel herself, her friend asked,
"So? What's the plan?"
"Go to him myself. As me, personally."
That's what Eun-seo said. In her mind, the past replayed.
"I can't trust someone like you."
"W-wait. Just a little longer..."
"Shut up. I don't have time for that patience crap."
Bitter memories. And at the center, as always, stood one man.
Kang Sung-hoon.
This time, Kang Eun-seo vowed to drag him into the student council no matter what.