Chapter 72
* * *
“That’s all for today’s lesson···.”
With about ten minutes left in class,
the teacher continued, tapping the book on the lectern.
“For your performance assessment, the second-years will be making a short film.”
Here it was. Everyone reacted the same way.
“Form groups and submit them before class ends. It’ll count heavily toward your grade, so prepare well.”
With that, the teacher planted himself in the chair beside the lectern, as if declaring he would not intervene any further.
One by one, the students got up and began searching for teammates.
“Seungho, you’re working with me, right?”
Shin Ayoung quickly came over beside me.
“Yeah.”
Naturally, I accepted. I had no one else to work with, anyway.
As I formed a group with her,
— “Ah, he’s with Lee Seungho again. I was hoping to work with him this time.”
— “Could they be··· dating···? No way··· right?”
I heard the disgruntled voices of the boys in another section. I had gotten used to it by now, enough to let it pass without reacting.
“Hmm···.”
Shin Ayoung drew the word out briefly.
— “I don’t mind, but···. If it’s just the two of us, Seungho will have a hard time.”
As she said, there were only two people in our group: her and me.
That was because this was a department-wide class. Jinuri from Practical Music and Isol from Acting and Modeling weren’t there.
“Wait here. I’ll go find some other group members.”
Like she was on autopilot, Shin Ayoung stepped forward.
Watching her do that,
this was pretty convenient.
Group members gathered even if I just sat still.
“I brought some other people.”
Shin Ayoung returned in no time.
‘···She’s fast.’
She had walked somewhere, exchanged a few words,
and brought back two people.
“This is Kim Jimin, and this is Choi Hyeonwoo. They’re both in Class 1. They’re in the drama club with me.”
Shin Ayoung introduced the two.
No wonder she was so quick. She must have been able to bring them over quickly because she knew them.
The two gave me a nod in greeting.
— “···And they’re dating each other.”
Shin Ayoung’s Minimi nodded with a self-satisfied smile, as if that were the most important part.
“···.”
I checked the time. There were about five minutes left.
“Since we’re all here, shall we divide up the roles first?”
There wasn’t much time, so we decided to settle that part and call it a day.
“···Actually, there’s not much to divide up. I’ll just organize it.”
The fact that the people she brought were in the drama club meant their roles were practically decided already.
“You two can be the actors.”
The two nodded as if they found that acceptable. They didn’t seem to have any other plans, either.
“I’ll handle the camera and direct, and the screenplay—”
“I’ll do it.”
Shin Ayoung raised her hand. I nodded.
“That settles it neatly, right?”
Shin Ayoung was unexpectedly good at writing. Apparently, she hadn’t applied as an actress.
It made sense. Shin Ayoung wasn’t an actress but an aspiring screenwriter.
‘I was a little surprised when I first found that out···.’
Looking back, it might have been only natural.
Shin Ayoung found other people’s attention burdensome. There was no way she could act.
She had joined the drama club because she wanted to write scripts, too.
‘···This group came together pretty well.’
I nodded, inwardly satisfied.
This was good enough.
* * *
When I got home and was looking over a video-editing program,
“···Huh?”
Something was wrong with the computer. The screen flickered strangely, then went black.
“Ah, damn···.”
Thump, thump. I knocked on it, but it wouldn’t turn on.
Once the main unit gave out, it lost all function and died on the spot.
“I did use it for a long time···.”
It was an old machine—I couldn’t even remember when I’d bought it—
but I hadn’t expected it to die so abruptly.
It was quite a shock.
‘I guess I’ll have to do the work at a PC café now.’
It couldn’t be helped.
Even if I dealt with the assignment that way for now, I needed to put together a new computer.
‘Since I’m replacing it anyway, I want to upgrade to a good one.’
Video editing was fairly demanding on a computer’s performance.
‘Let’s see···.’
I checked my bank balance on my phone.
I had made a decent amount at the event last time, but it was still a little short of enough to build a high-spec computer.
‘Who could I borrow money from···.’
Only one person came to mind.
‘It would have to be Lee Seungah.’
I hardened my expression as I thought of her.
My parents weren’t the type to readily pay for things unless they were truly necessary.
They were basically hands-off parents.
They didn’t interfere much in anything, but it seemed they expected me to handle everything myself to the same extent.
This was the only way.
“···.”
Knock, knock—
I knocked on Lee Seungah’s door. I called out in as gentle a tone as possible.
“···Seungah, do you have a moment?”
— Come in.
I opened the door and went inside.
“···.”
Lee Seungah, seated in front of her desk, spun her chair around.
“What?”
Her brow was furrowed. She didn’t look particularly happy.
It was probably because I had worked her so hard at the gym yesterday.
—“···I can tell just by looking that you’ve come to ask me for something.”
Her Minimi let out a “Heh—” and burst into laughter. It quickly grew cocky.
What a sharp little thing.
“Ahem···.”
I cleared my throat quietly, then cautiously asked,
“···Could you lend me some money?”
“No.”
That was a quick and decisive answer.
— “Well, look at him, asking so boldly.”
Her tone conveyed disbelief.
I had expected her to say something like that. It was more or less the answer I’d anticipated.
Still, I couldn’t back down so easily.
“I’ll definitely pay you back by next month. Can’t you make it work?”
“Hmm···.”
— “For some reason, I don’t feel like lending it to him.”
The Minimi scratched its belly with a displeased face, looking entirely uninterested.
This wasn’t going to work.
I had no choice but to make a deal.
“I’ll give you one more day off from working out each week.”
“···.”
A spark of interest flashed in Lee Seungah’s eyes.
“···When?”
“Every Monday.”
Sunday was her regular day off, so including Monday would give her two days.
“···.”
Lee Seungah tilted her head slightly. She seemed to be considering it.
— “Not bad.”
The Minimi nodded, apparently satisfied.
“So, how much do you need?”
Lee Seungah rested her chin leisurely on her hand.
She spoke with an expression one might see in a noir film.
— “I’ve always wanted to try this at least once.”
Apparently, it was something she had wanted to do.
······.
“Tsk.”
I sat cross-legged on the bed and fell into thought.
Since I had borrowed money, I now had to work.
‘Finding a part-time job isn’t easy.’
It was even harder because I was a high school student.
“Ah.”
At last, I found a part-time job I could take.
It was at a fast-food restaurant.
They said they didn’t care about age. I already had a health certificate from another part-time job, so that was fine, too.
This was the only part-time job I could find around here.
I had no other options.
‘It’s a little far from home, though···.’
It wasn’t a major problem.
I could just run there and back, thinking of it as exercise.
I contacted them right away.
* * *
— Beep-beep-beep. Beep-beep-beep.
[Part-time job]
An alarm with that name went off.
Ha Seorim turned off the alarm as she put on her shoes. It was her usual routine.
“I put dinner in the fridge, so heat it up and eat it yourselves. And don’t eat nothing but ramen just because you’re alone, like last time, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, we know.”
Ha Seorim’s two younger brothers grumbled that she should stop nagging.
But her nagging didn’t end.
What could she do when she couldn’t help worrying about boys who were only in their first year of middle school?
Their parents were both out working, and she also came home late every evening from her part-time job.
She couldn’t help worrying.
“Finish all your homework today, too.”
“We know. Hurry up and go.”
“Okay, take care of the house.”
Ha Seorim stepped outside the front door.
— Beep-beep. Beep-beep.
At that moment, the door lock gave an alert that its battery was low.
‘···We need to replace the battery, too.’
I’ll have to tell them later.
She could almost clearly hear her parents muttering about how there were so many things to spend money on.
“Hoo···.”
She let out a light breath. As usual, Ha Seorim ran toward her workplace.
She did it because bus fare felt like a waste. Keeping up that commute cost more than one might expect.
Running like this was good exercise, too.
“Hoo, hoo···!”
Ha Seorim slowed to a walk when she was almost there. Her breathing had grown somewhat labored.
“···.”
She took out her phone and checked her bank balance. It was her little energy boost before work.
Looking at it naturally brought a pleased smile to her face.
‘It’ll be soon.’
She had almost saved up the amount she wanted. She was working part-time to buy a new bass.
To be honest, her financial situation wasn’t very good.
She couldn’t exactly ask her parents for money without a second thought.
‘Still, I’ve almost saved it all.’
There wasn’t much left to go.
“Mate Ha Seorim, starting my shift~”
Ha Seorim entered through the back door and cheerfully greeted the employees inside.
It was the greeting used at the store where she worked.
“Oh, Seorim. You’re early today.”
The manager, who was moving boxes inside, greeted her.
“I came early to take over. It was busy today, wasn’t it?”
“A little?”
It was Friday evening, so she supposed that was to be expected.
‘···Unni must be completely wiped out.’
She could easily imagine the face of the older girl working the previous shift. It would be best to go relieve her quickly.
Ha Seorim bowed her head to him.
“I’ll go take over now.”
“All right, good work~”
The manager was about to continue on his way when—
“Oh, right.”
He stopped.
Calling Ha Seorim back, he said he’d forgotten something.
“A new hire is coming in today, okay? When they arrive, teach them the ropes.”
“Huh? Is it a girl?”
“No, not a girl. Once they seem to get the hang of things, we’re thinking of sending them out to the floor alone later.”
The fact that they were considering sending the person out alone meant they must have been quite good-looking.
“Not right away, of course. But you’re on the floor, too, so I wanted you to know in advance.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ha Seorim answered energetically. Even if she hadn’t felt that way, she made sure it showed.
“Hello~”
Clomp, clomp— Ha Seorim changed into her employee uniform in the locker room and came back out. As she passed the tray area and entered the dining area,
she saw an older coworker who looked ready to collapse halfway into a crouch.
“Seorim, you’re here···?”
She turned to Ha Seorim with a weary smile.
“Nothing unusual today, right?”
“No, nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Got it.”
After completing the handover, Ha Seorim took her place on the floor in her stead.
“Ugh— Phew, I can finally rest.”
“Good work.”
“I’m heading out, then. Good luck~”
“Yes, good work.”
Ha Seorim watched her leave with faint envy. She had only just clocked in, but she already felt that way.
‘Let’s see···.’
There still weren’t many customers.
She decided to clean the floor before people started pouring in, and was wiping down a table when—
“Hey, Seorim.”
An older male coworker approached with a subtle smile.
He was, what was it again, an older boy one year her senior who attended a high school nearby.
He was still in his everyday clothes, apparently having just arrived for work.
“···Hello.”
Ha Seorim gave him a slightly troubled smile.
“I’m going to get some coffee before we start. Do you want anything?”
“Ah···. I’m not really fond of coffee.”
At some point, talking about pointless things while they worked had started to tire her out.
It often broke her concentration for no reason, and she would get scolded by the manager for it.
Ha Seorim turned her gaze away and scrubbed the table hard.
It was a signal telling him not to talk to her right now.
“Really? Something else is fine, too.”
He kept asking, oblivious.
“I’m really fine.”
“There’s nothing you really like? I’m buying, I’m telling you.”
He was persistent.
If she accepted his favor, it was obvious he would approach her later and ask her to buy him a drink in return.
She also didn’t like becoming indebted to other people.
“Mate Ha Seorim?”
Just then, the manager called her.
“Yes, coming.”
Ha Seorim hurried over. She didn’t miss the chance to escape.
“Oh, there you are.”
The manager gave Ha Seorim a kindly smile. He pointed behind him with his thumb.
“This is the guy who’s starting today.”
“Hello. I’m Lee Seungho. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I’m also···.”
She was about to return the greeting naturally when—
“?”
She jerked her head up. Ha Seorim’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly.
“···Oh.”
“···.”
The other person was no different. Lee Seungho faced her with a strange expression.
···Sssip.
Ha Seorim barely managed to suppress the sigh that was about to burst out inside.
Ah, seriously, what kind of day was this?