A Peaceful Day (2)
A Peaceful Day (2)
As the president of the Comics Club, I had a duty to guard the club room.
Therefore, I lay in bed and slept.
Then came a knock-knock-knock, and Da-yeon, who was with me, checked who it was, woke me, and opened the door.
"Yaaawn."
My hair now fell to my upper chest.
Maybe because JSM handled my upkeep, the waves were sleek.
The people Da-yeon ushered in were two first-years, a little guy and a little girl.
"Uh... we wanted... to join the club, but I think we got the wrong room. Have a good day."
Oho... this reaction was pretty fresh.
The two of them, the moment they confirmed our faces, turned right back around.
"Nah, come on in."
"What? No, I think we came to the wrong room."
Just then, Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh got back.
The first-years got spooked by Park Ji-hoon's overwhelming height and build and his thug-like face.
He thrust that thuggish face of his down to the runts' eye level and flashed a grin.
"What's this, freshmen?"
"No! I think we came to the wrong room! Thank you for your time!"
But Park Ji-hoon's warm grasp kept the two of them from escaping.
The runts were starting to get utterly terrified.
I gave a nod toward Tae-oh, and Tae-oh brought over two chairs.
"Sit."
""Yes!""
At my word, the first-year runts snapped into rigid posture. Their discipline, at least, was solid.
When we brought our own chairs and sat facing them, the two broke out in a cold sweat.
"You hot?"
It was still cold outside, though...
Had I ever mentioned I read faces? These two were pretty good-looking.
Or was that not face-reading? Whatever.
They were wearing couple rings, so I guessed they were dating.
"You said you came to join."
"No!"
I toyed with my long hair and flashed a smirk.
"I don't really like lying, y'know..."
"Aagh! We thought this was the Comics Club!"
"It is, though?"
"...What?"
When I went to pull a desk over, Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh helped me, and I handed the pair pens and A4 paper.
"Draw whatever you're confident in."
""Yes!""
The stocky guy, with utter shamelessness, drew a practically naked female character.
'Whoa... look at those proportions. If my face and body ratio were as huge as Da-yeon's, I might've ended up like that too...'
Maybe he'd studied art longer than I thought—aside from the excessive chest, it was incredibly natural.
And the short girl next to him drew a Gundam.
It felt awkward, like the two of them had swapped, but... she drew fucking well.
The girl seemed to fall into her own world, started drawing fast, and knocked it out in no time.
"Ooooh... pass. So, names?"
"I'm Baek Min-ji."
"I'm Heo Jun-su!"
The guy who drew the girl was Heo Jun-su, and the girl who drew the Gundam was Baek Min-ji.
Heo Jun-su had the kind of looks that'd probably be fine if he just lost weight.
Between Park Ji-hoon's grasp the moment they walked into the club room and the sudden drawing test, the runts still didn't seem to have gotten a clear look at our faces.
The two of them were sneaking glances around, then looked at me and jumped in shock.
"Si... Si-yoon..."
"Don't call me Si-yoon like we're friends, punk."
"We're sorry!"
Da-yeon was looking at the pictures they'd drawn with pretty serious focus.
I handed the pair tablets.
"You know how to use these?"
""Yes!""
"Oh, then let's skip the explanation and jump right in. Go sit at the computers."
Da-yeon and I each took one of them and watched them draw.
"You're good~ totally in. Ji-hoon, let's get jjajangmyeon!"
When Park Ji-hoon asked what they liked, they answered jjajangmyeon, naturally.
'Nobody's gonna give 'em shit anywhere~'
Until the jjajangmyeon arrived, I told them the club's rules and precautions.
"Hm, we've got the rules written down, got it? Read those and learn 'em."
""Yes!""
I handed them the laminated sheet I'd made just in case, labeled "Precautions."
- Mandatory full cleanup every Friday at 2 PM. Never skip.
- If you use the sleeping area, you must tidy up after.
- If you masturbate and leave evidence behind... no leniency: expulsion and a criminal record.
- If food supplies or the fridge run low, tell club president Kim Si-yoon.
- No outsiders allowed. Absolutely forbidden.
- If someone at school is messing with you? Tell Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh without hesitation.
- Club activities suspended one month before exam periods.
The two flinched when I looked down at them coldly.
"Additionally... no dating shenanigans in the club room."
""Yes!""
While Tae-oh was making drinks, the pair looked at the machines behind him and couldn't hide their amazement at the club's amenities.
Kim Tae-oh filled two cups with ice and concentrate, sealed the lids, handed one to Ji-hoon, and the two of them shook them hard.
The runts' eyes sparkled when they tasted the finished cocktail.
"Cocktails are Tae-oh's hobby. Good, right?"
""Yes!!""
"If you behave prettily, Tae-oh'll make you some."
""Ahaha...""
Tae-oh made a bunch more and then even made cocktails for me and Da-yeon.
We ate jjajangmyeon and got chummy with the newbies at lightning speed.
Min-ji and Jun-su blended in with us pretty fast.
Honestly, based on that first reaction, I figured they wouldn't adapt, but they settled in naturally.
"Si-yoon~ are you asleep?"
Above all, Min-ji trailing me and calling out to me was pretty cute.
"No."
Min-ji pulled an electric blanket out of a giant shopping bag.
"This is a present!"
I had forgotten that I should've explained the club rules more thoroughly.
"Any electronics in this club have to be bought with club activity money and have to be approved by the student affairs office."
"Huh?"
"But the student affairs office owes me a thing or two, so it's fine. Go with Ji-hoon, say you're from the Comics Club, and get the approval sticker."
"Okay! And here, eat these!"
Sweet chocolates, candies, jellies.
Less than Da-yeon, but Min-ji took pretty good care of me, as if she knew it was that time.
I was lying down covered with the electric blanket when Park Ji-hoon came over.
"Hey, you not going to class?"
"What... time... is it?"
When I forced out a dying voice, Park Ji-hoon checked my face.
"Ten minutes till class."
Knowing I get worse pain than most every cycle, Park Ji-hoon worried about me, woke me slowly, and helped sit me up.
Honestly, he took such good care of me that I was grateful to Park Ji-hoon.
So... with that sentiment in mind, I gazed at Park Ji-hoon evenly and said,
"Your breath stinks. Get lost."
I bickered with Park Ji-hoon for a long time, then headed to class.
The same days kept flowing by, and after school I often went to the academy to see Mr. Go Min-su, or visited his house.
I also played with Hyun-ji, Mr. Go Min-su's second child, now four years old.
His firstborn son Go Hyeon-min was utterly captivated by my looks and liked me a ton.
Then a weekend morning came.
"Hyaaah."
I stretched and sat up to find Alpha and Beta staring me right in the face.
"G'mornin'."
""Meow.""
"C'mere."
Two cats, one 13 kg and one 10 kg, jumped into my arms and completely covered me.
Their fur was thick, so the texture was wonderful to touch.
Alpha boasted a size that was large even for a Maine Coon, but Beta was even bigger than Alpha.
After I lazed around with the cats for a while, Dad called me to eat.
Dad must've opened my door earlier to wake me up.
"Let's go."
""Meow.""
When I sat at the table, Alpha stared at me, so I scratched his chin.
"Eat your food."
"Yeah."
I ate at Dad's instruction and said to him,
"Oh right, I'm supposed to go visit Da-yeon's grandpa's place today."
"Yeah, I heard."
"What time are we going?"
"They said they'd leave at eleven?"
I turned on my phone and checked the time: 7 o'clock.
"Why'd you wake me up so early."
"Alpha and Beta wanted to come in."
"Huh... your excuses get more creative by the day..."
Dad looked at me and chuckled.
"And seeing as it'd been thirty minutes since they came in, you woke up on your own..."
"That part's true."
Alpha and Beta woke Dad up the instant they got into his room, but they always woke me up with some extra caution, for some reason.
The pecking order Alpha and Beta established in our household went
me > them > Dad.
Dad was treated as a total butler.
"Da-yeon's family probably already got ready, right?"
"This time, I heard it's just Seon-hwa, Da-yeon, and you going?"
"Why?"
"How would I know?"
I nodded vaguely and shot a text to Da-yeon.
(Me) - wanna go swimming?
(Da-yeon) - Yeah! See you in 30 minutes!
Just like Da-yeon, her replies were lightning fast.
From what I'd confirmed, her replies were only that fast to me and Kim Seon-hwa.
She read everyone else's and replied only after some time had passed.
Of course, it was a method I taught her...
I swam with Da-yeon, then checked the time and headed up to get ready.
After I changed and came out, I met Da-yeon and Kim Seon-hwa in the hallway.
Our outfits were so luxurious you'd rarely see us in them normally.
Kim Seon-hwa, who's much younger than Lee Jin-seok, was in her forties now, but that signature polished, rich charisma of hers was alive and well.
A limousine was waiting in front of the apartment.
Moments like this made me feel in my bones that Da-yeon's family was Hanseong.
"Wow... as expected... my fashion role model... you look incredibly pretty today, you know?"
"Really~? Thanks, fufu."
Kim Seon-hwa touched the clothes she'd gifted me and nodded, satisfied.
"As I thought... Si-yoon has to wear clothes like this, you know?"
"Right? Sigh... if Dad only had half your eye..."
"Ahaha, our Si-yoon is truly radiant."
"Mom, what about me?"
"Of course to Mom, Da-yeon is number one~"
We boarded the limousine under the bodyguards' guidance.
I opened the fridge set up inside the plush vehicle and found nothing but alcohol in it.
"No soft drinks?"
At my words, Kim Seon-hwa opened a different fridge and handed me one.
"Oh."
The limousine, which was just slightly tacky in a 21st-century way, was surrounded by security vehicles.
Anyone watching would think the passenger was the president.
Time passed, and we arrived at Lee Gi-seok's residence.
This was already my fourth visit to Lee Gi-seok's home.
The place was such an outrageous palace that the house my grandparents live in looked ordinary by comparison.
Above all, the antique atmosphere of the home, built like a modern hanok, made it easy to understand why Lee Jin-seok had decorated his apartment the way he did.
"Grandpa~"
"Oh my! There's my sweetheart!"
Da-yeon spotted Lee Gi-seok, ran over, and got wrapped up in a hug.
The way bodyguards were stationed everywhere around made it look like they had money to burn.
Far as I knew, Lee Jin-seok did all the work...
Kim Seon-hwa greeted Lee Gi-seok with a brief but immaculately perfect greeting, and I just gave a nod.
"Si-yoon is here too!?"
Lee Gi-seok looked at me and slightly spread his arms.
"What, want a hug?"
"Why, that'd be nice~"
"No thanks."
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
Lee Gi-seok, laughing heartily, liked me quite a lot.
Lee Gi-seok had apparently been studying baduk—an old gentleman I didn't know had been sitting there, and he rose and greeted Kim Seon-hwa.
"How do you do."
"Yes~ it's been a while."
Kim Seon-hwa exchanged greetings with the stewards and followed Lee Gi-seok into the guest room.
Da-yeon and I naturally headed toward the courtyard, and two stewards attached themselves to us.
I felt it every time I saw it, but this was genuinely excessive.
'It really is over the top... though... I guess you've gotta throw money around like this for it to circulate. If you hoard it like Dad, society'll probably stagnate.'
Da-yeon looked back and spoke with a smile.
"Could we get two cookies and two glasses of orange juice, please?"
"Yes~ I'll bring them right out."
There was a place Da-yeon and I always spent time whenever we came here.
The riding arena out behind the house.
Did that even make sense? A riding arena behind the house.
They said the house had been passed down for three generations now, and it was our hideout now, I guess, but it was genuinely excessive.
Da-yeon and I changed clothes, grabbed a carrot in one hand each, and headed to the riding arena.
I even had my own personal horse here.
If you asked why there was a personal horse for me at the home of the ruler of the giant dinosaur corporation that was Hanseong,
I guessed it was because in Lee Gi-seok's heart, I'd already settled in as family...
I stroked my horse, white as my skin, and fed it the carrot.
Then I watched Da-yeon mount a horse, and got help from a steward to climb on.
Da-yeon, who'd come to Lee Gi-seok's house often, was quite good at riding.
I'd never ridden a horse in my past life, so I floundered at first, but I could confidently say I was pretty good by then.
The custom-made saddle was adjusted perfectly to my height every time I came.
Whenever I saw stuff like this, I thought it was a ridiculous waste of money...
But try riding a horse at a gallop in your house's yard. Honestly, it was fucking awesome.
Enough to say this was the reason I came to visit.
I was riding with Da-yeon, giggling together, when Da-yeon, who had less stamina than me, got worn out, so I dismounted too.
And above all, if you ride too long, your back hurts.
I stroked the horse's head, which was as big as my torso, gave it a treat, and headed to the pavilion set up in the middle of the meadow.
Snacks were already laid out as if they knew we'd be coming.
I kept saying it, but it was fucking excessive...
A breeze that felt a little chilly, even though we were dressed warmly, blew in...
And a cozy warmth filled the pavilion.
A hot draft blowing down from the ceiling.
At the same time, glass walls rose up in the direction the wind was coming from.
This was the future... insane...
"I think I rode too long..."
"Why? Your back hurt?"
"A little?"
"Lie down here a minute."
"Okay."
I pressed firmly into Da-yeon's hips and back and gave her a massage.