We trudged down the building stairs and soon arrived at the 4th floor, right below the boarding house. It was the study lounge.
A study lounge is a business that rents out meeting spaces, typically used by groups for studying or small gatherings.
When we opened the door and entered, we saw Gyeongwon already talking rapidly to the part-time worker.
"There are six of us, and well be working on a PowerPoint presentation, so we need a room with a projector. A larger space would be better, and if possible, one with a microphone as well. We'll rent it for the whole day."
"just a moment..."
The part-time worker searched for a room that fit our request.
We crowded behind Gyeongwon, but he didn't even glance at us.
He seemed pretty upset about how everyone was dragging their feet since the morning as it was the day before the competition.
"Did you get the room?"
"On it."
Gyeongwon replied curtly to Jinhee's inquiry.
Jinhee's eyebrow twitched.
Uh, you can use the seminar room over there. It's 3,000 won per person per hour, and for drinks, just take a cup and use the self-serve bar there. As for the fee, since our business hours are open until 11 p.m. multiplying the Usage time by that rate..."
It was 3,000 won per person per hour, so with 6 people, that would be 18,000 won per hour.
If we multiply that by the total 15 hours from now, 8 a.m., until closing time at 11 p.m., what will the total cost be?
"...It ll be 270,000 won, l help you process the payment."
"Here."
As I reached out from behind and handed over the money, Gyeongwon took a step to the side.
"Thank you. Please follow me this way."
We soon followed the part-time worker guiding us to the room.
Gyeongwon seemed to be acting sensitive since mnorning, so everyone was cautiously watching each other's reactions.
In this uncomfortable atmosphere, we entered the seminar room. The room was quite spacious, and the part-time worker who entered first turned on the lights for us.
"This is the room. It's usually used for seminars, but since there are no reservations today and youll be using it all day, it should be fine for you to use it for your purpose."
"..Wow."
"Such a big room...."
The club members looked around the
spacious seminar room in awe.
There was a podium at the front for presentations, and 30 chairs were arranged neatly, presumably for the audience.
"This is about the same size as a music room where competitions can be held, isn't it?"
"Are you sure it's okay to give us such a big room....?"
When Sunah and I asked with hesitant
expressions, the part-time worker smiled while untangling the coiled cables at the front of the room.
"You've paid in advance for the whole day, from our opening to closing, after all. Could you pass me the laptop for the PPT presentation? I'll connect it to the projector for you."
"here."
Soon, Gyeongwon handed over his laptop, and the part-time worker connected the cables and confirmed that the screen displayed the image.
After showing us how to use the air conditioner and other things, the part-time worker left, and we bowed in thanks as he walked away.
"Thank you."
"Thank you..."
Click-
This is amazing."
As soon as the part-time worker left, the club members looked around the spacious room again, exclaiming in awe.
"Wow, I can see everything from up here....
"How is this room so big? Doesn't it feel
kind of empty with just us in here?"
Sunah hopped over to the window and looked outside, while Jinhee started fiddling with things, grabbing the microphone and touching various props.
Hayoon also walked to the center of the room, crossed her arms, and glanced around.
I, too, was wandering around, thinking it really was big, when suddenly, I heard a sigh.
"Is everyone here just to have fun or what..."
At that moment, my gaze quickly shifted over to Gyeongwon.
Gyeongwon was tapping on the keyboard with a stern face, setting something up.
'That guy's been so on edge since morning.'
I wanted to refute but held back for now, while the club members, seemingly unaware of his muttering, kept wandering around the room and giggling to themselves.
"Joon, look at the view over here, the view...."
"Hey, but it's kind of scary since it's so big."
Hayoon also gently brushed the dust off the chair with her palm.
Among them, I stood with my arms crossed, humming thoughtfully while keeping an eye on Gyeongwon, who seemed on edge.
"Joon, the people down there look so tiny... I feel like we could even sing in here...."
"What are you doing? Do you want some wet wipes? Want me to grab Some for you?"
"No, it's okay. I'll get it myself."
"Joon, over there...."
"Wow~ there are two mics here. When the otaku shows up late, let's make him sing a song as punishment."
"Joon, over here..."
Sunah called out to me while bouncing on her toes in front of the window.
Jinhee tested the mic, letting out an "Ah-" sound.
Hayoon lightly tapped the dust off the chair she planned to sit on.
"Can you guys cut it out already?"
At that moment, Gyeongwon's sharp voice called out to us.
When we turned around, we saw him typing quickly over the laptop keyboard.
The club members looked at him with puzzled expressions.
"Have you planned not to prepare for the competition? Are you just going to keep messing around?"
Gyeongwon, wearing a stern expression, continued typing impatiently.
He seemned to be trying to show that he was angry, but the club members just looked at him in puzzlement, as if not understanding what he was trying to say.
Jinhee narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"..Why have you been so pissed off since earlier?"
"We have to prepare for the competition. For the competition."
The guy said with a frown, his hands still typing.
"Aren't you going to do it? Did you just come here to mess around?"
"Is this how people who have a competition tomorrow should be acting? Seriously?"
His tone was authoritative and scolding, but Jinhee just let out a scoff, clearly unimpressed.
"What are you saying? Why are you speaking that way?"
"So it's my way of speaking that maters to you, my way of speaking."
Gyeongwon kept typing on his laptop, eyes still fixed on the screen as he spoke.
Seeing him, I couldn't help but wonder why people who get angry for the weirdest reason always avoid looking others in the eye.
There was just no respect for others.
A moment of silence .
At first, Jinhee thought he was just joking around and waited for a response. But when he said nothing and just continued typing with a stern expression, she gradually began to grow serious too.
After the uncomfortable silence, Jinhee spoke again.
"..Uh, sorry. For messing around."
"But aren't we going to have breakfast?
Aren't we supposed to wait for the otaku?"
"Can't we look around in the meantime?"
Gyeongwon remnained focused on his laptop, his fingers flying on the keyboard.
"That's not it. That's not it."
Gyeongwon muttered and nodded to his own question.
"Since we've already gathered, we should quickly get something done. That's how it should be, right?"
Without even looking at anyone, he
continued typing harder as if to show
his annoyance.
At his strangely accusing tone, the club members showed expressions of
bewilderment.
"For real...."
Finally, Jinhee, now pissed off, dragged a chair over with a screech and plopped down with a strained laugh.
"Fine. Let's do it. Let's f**king get started"
Her tone wasn't of someone genuinely
agreeing, more like she couldn't care less whatever the hell anyone did.
Soon, Gyeongwon gestured with his chin to Sunah by the window and Hayoon in the middle.
"Yoon Sunah, sit down. In Hayoon, you too."
Sunah stared blankly at me.
She pursed her lips, her face hesitant, as if trying to say something.
['Im hungry, Joon...]
Hayoon stood quietly in the middle, arms crossed.
Silence fell once again.
Gyeongwon was fiddling with his laptop up front, Jinhee was sitting in her chair in a crooked position.
Sunah was hesitantly looking at me, and Hayoon just stood quietly in the middle.
In such a stiff atmosnhere Gyeongwon
after fiddling with his laptop for a while, spoke again while still keeping his gaze fixed on the screen.
"Why isn't everyone sitting down?"
Then, as if she'd been waiting, Hayoon
lifted her chin and replied.
"When you say things like that, isn't it polite to at least look people in the eye?"
"Did you learn this from your parents? Your way of getting angry?"
Gyeongwon continued to fiddle with the laptop.
Now I understand, he was just pretending to be busy on purpose. Soon, his face began to grow increasingly red.
A heavy silence settled between us once again.
I was watching, unsure of how things would unfold, when suddenly, the seminar room door opened.
Click-
"OWO~ Sorry for being late~"
"...."
"....."
The atmosphere grew heavier.
Dukhun, who had just opened the door and walked in, flinched in surprise.
"...oi, what's with the atmosphere in here?"
"....."
"...."
No one answered him.
....
After a moment standing in the tense
atmosphere, Dukhun quietly closed the door behind him and scratched his head.
"What happened you guys-?"
"....."
"...."
When no one answered again, he just stood by the door, awkwardly reading the room.
Then he shuffled a bit and looked around.
"..Has everyone had breakfast?"
"....."
"....."
"If you haven't, why don't we start heading out soon..."
"Are you crazy?"
GveongWon's voice echoed quietly through the room.
"Is that something someone late says?
Suggesting we go eat now?"
At those words, Dukhun's expression
immediately darkened.
"...Hey. What's with that attitude? You're the ones who didn't answer me."
"Apologize, Ahn Gyeongwon."
Bang!!
Gyeongwon suddenly slammed the desk and stood up.
"Who the hell are you telling to apologize right now!!! Are you out of your mind!!?"
".... !?"
Dukhun stared at Gyeongwon, bewildered by the sudden outburst.
Gyeongwon's face flushed red as he let out another shrill yell.
"What are you, what are you really doing, everyone! Seriously, not a single person here who meets my expectations!!! Am I the only one struggling? Am I the only one actually working here!??????"
"...No need to shout like that."
"Hey!!! Does it look like I have any choice but to shout right now?!!"
Gyeongwon screamed, spitting out saliva as if he couldn't stand it any longer, even his glasses shook violently.
"We've been preparing for this competition for days, and you still fell asleep after waking up and showed up late! Has your brain gotten fat with your body!? Is your head too heavy to think or what!? The competition is
tomorrow, TOMORROW!!"
".oi. Don't make personal attacks."
T/N : Gyeongwon chill...
Dukhun glared back at Gyeongwon with an equally stern expression.
"Especially about someone's weight."
"Shut up!! The problem is what you're doing right now, that's the problem!"
"..Don't yell. And for your information, I went back to sleep because I wasn't feeling well today. Suggesting we go have breakfast was just me trying to lighten the mood since you guys seemed in a bad mood."
YAAAAAAAH~!~ļ!!!! For the love of god, just stop already! You went back to sleep because you weren't feeling well!? Because you weren't feeling well!?"
It seemed Gyeongwon had been holding in a lot, as he let out a piercing scream and even began trembling uncontrollably.
"Yesterday, you were late because you were babysitting your little sister. The day before that, you accidentally overslept. And the day before that, your alarm didn't go off. Huh? Huh? Huh???"
"....."
"But why are you never late for school!! Why are you never late for school!!! You overslept on purpose!! You did it on purpose!!!"
Even as Gyeongwon screamed hysterically, Dukhun just stood still and watched him.
"....Sorry that it's hard for me to wake up in the morning. I've gained quite a bit of weight. But you should also apologize for getting angry, yelling, and making personal attacks. Personally, I don't think I did anything wrong to deserve hearing that from you."
"AAAAHH! You're the one who should apologize!!! You're the one who should
apologize!!!" Finally, Gyeongwon couldn't take it anymore and ran towards Dukhun.
"You're crazy!!! Crazy b*stard!!! You're out of your mind!!! You crazy p*nk!!!"
He started pounding on Dukhun's
stomach who was still standing at the
entrance.
Dukhun just stared blankly at Gyeongwon, not even flinching.
".. .Are you serious, four-eyed? Seems like you're looking down on me because I'm fat. If it were Jinhee who was late, you definitely wouldn't have yelled like this."
"You crazy b*stard!!! You crazy b*stard!!!' You crazy b*stard!!! You crazy b*stard!!!"
Gyeongwon violently pounded on Dukhun's chest, while Dukhun stood his ground without wavering, his expression gradually distorting.
I let out a sigh and walked over to the two of them.
"That's enough. Stop it, Gyeongwon. Come Over here."
"This son of a b*tch, this crazy b*stard, what a joke, am I the joke...."
"Ahn Gyeongwon! I said stop!"
Now even Dukhun's face seemed twisted in anger.
"Oi, take it easy. When I get angry, I'm the type who has a hard time controlling myself rationally, you know? I'm asking you politely, so apologize for cursing at me."
"You should be the one apologizing you should be the one apologizing, ahhh-!!!!! You son of a b*tch, you crazy b*stard, you pig b*stard.."
"Excuse me, 'pig b*stard?' I'm sorry, but
has this bespectacled anchovy b*stard lost his mind? Do I look like a pushover just because I'm staying quiet?"
It seemed Dukhun was genuinely pissed off, as he expressed his anger in the otaku's characteristic polite speech.
" is your mouth garage can? Suddenly curse and scream? Are you lost your mind?, Can't you control your emotions?? Why are you being like this for no reason.
"damn it both of you stop,hey jinhee come and help me out!!"
Feeling like it was too much to handle alone, I called Jinhee, but the delinquent girl just rested her chin on her hand and frowned.
"Why should I? It's a fact that the otaku was late, isn't it?"
"But it's the day before the competition, you guys shouldn't be fighting. Hurry up!"
Only then did Jinhee finally pout and slowly walked over, half-heartedly trying to stop them.
"Hey~ Stop it~ Stop fighting~"
It seemed like Gyeongwon's snarky attitude earlier still rubbed her the wrong way, she clearly did not seem to have the intention of stopping the fight.
"Excuse me. Let me say this again, I'm not an otaku, I'm a normal person just like you guys. If you keep insulting me like this, I can seriously consider pressing charges for defamation, you know?"
"Hey, you pig b*stard!! Why do you always do that!!! Why won't you cooperate, why do you only care for your own comfort!!"
"Take it easy, you should know I have a nasty tamper too, So I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mess with me. Seriously, i can't believe I'm having to deal with this crap here..."
"Heeyyy~ Stop fighting- Don't fight-"
Gyeongwon was hysterically losing his mind, while Dukhun, looking like he was about to unleash a black dragon flame or something, kept speaking in polite honorifics.
And Jinhee was just lazily waving her hand around standing between the two. I walked up and grabbed Gyeongwon by the shoulders and shook him, then quickly turned my head to call for Sunah and Hayoon.
Sunah had a terrified look on her face...and Hayoon's expression seemed to read 'I'm holding back my laughter'
Laughing...?
As if she hadn't been the one suffering from low blood pressure that morning, she let out a small pfft and started laughing.
What the hell.
At that moment, a surge of anger shot through me.
I was the one struggling to hold Gyeongwon back, trying to stop them from fighting, and she was laughing in this whole mess. Was I seriously the only one worried the club might fall apart?
"...F**k this, I seriously can't do this club president sh*t anymore. Do whatever you want, fight or don't fight."
I backed off and left them to it. Just like Jinhee, Hayoon, and honestly, everyone else seemed to want.
The moment I released my grip on Gyeongwon's shoulders, he lunged straight at Dukhun.
He started throwing punches again, huffing and puffing, but Dukhun didn't even flinch or felt the pain because of his fat body.
In the middle of their argument, Dukhun got angry and shoved Gyeongwon witha smack, who was sent flying and sliding across the floor.
"Apologize."
"You apologize! You apologize! You apologize! You apologize!"
"Apologize, now."
Gyeongwon continued to lunge at him, his face flushed red as he kept shouting over and over, while Dukhun stood his ground with a stern expression and demanded an apology, pushing him back every time he lunged at him without budging an inch.
" let go Sunah, let go to eat "
"um.. ok.."
Looking a bit afraid, Sunah flinched but came over to me.
Soon, she came to my side and whispered with a worried look on her face.
"..A-Are you sure we shouldn't stop
them..?"
"I don't know. Doesn't seem like anyone wants to, anyway."
Sunah pressed her lips together and looked away.
Jinhee was still standing next to Dukhun, demonstrating how to punch as she said "Hey, you should throw your fists like this', while Hayoon was staring at me with an expressionless face.
Our eyes met, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. I was the first to speak.
"Hayoon. Why were you laughing earlier?"
Hayoon looked at me for a moment, then tilted her head slightly.
She opened her mouth, as if showing off her beautiful jawline.
"I Just...I found it funny."
"...You think it's funny when friends fight?"
"Sorry, Joon. I apologize."
She smiled softly at my reaction, brushing her hair back with a light, breezy motion.
"But you have to admit it's always funny. Nothing's more hilarious than watching kids fight."
Next to her, the bespectacled twig and the piggy otaku kept hurling insults at each other, while the delinquent girl instigated the fight.
Watching the two losers, faces flushed and huffing with rage as they fought, she actually thought it was funny and laughed.
"..Ugh, fu*k, seriously? Why the hell do I feel like laughing right now....."
Gyeongwon let out a shrill screech of
Kyaaaaah, his voice even cracked at the end. For a moment, the corners of my mouth twitched. But I barely held it in, clinging to what little dignity I had left as the club president, and also as a human being.
"....In this serious situation, it's wrong to laugh just because it's funny. In Hayoon, you should reflect on yourself."
"Actually, you feel like laughing too, Joon, don't you?"
Hayoon looked at me witha gentle smile.
"If you don't laugh now, you'll regret it later when youre home. You'll think you should've just laughed back then, even if you remember it later, it will not be funny anymore."
"Crazy p*nk crazy p*nk crazy p*nk crazy p*nk!!!!!!"
"I can't hear you Mr. f*cking b*stard a twing a colon a garbage cana prostate breaker an anal disease—"
The funniest fight in the world is a fight
between two nerds.
I bit down on my lip, barely managing to stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward again.
"...That's not true at all, Hayoon. It's not funny even a little. You really need to reflect on yourself."
"Oh my, Joon..."
At my words, Hayoon gave a soft smile, narrowing her eyes gently.
She lowered her pretty evelashes softly.
"Why are you like this? Just laugh a little,"
"When you're really close, you laugh. It's the ones who aren't close that try to stop the fight."
Her soft voice, that strange and incomprehensible way of thinking, for
some reason, seemed to captivate me, and my heart skipped a beat.
I forced myself to ignore it, holding on to my dignity as the club president, and nodded toward Sunah.
"Let's go, Sunah, Time to eat."
"Uh, huh..."
Leaving the chaotic room behind like that, Sunah and I went out together to have breakfast.
Hayoon's blank lingering gaze stayed fixed on my back, until the moment I stepped out of the room.