Jinhee still had her chin propped up, looking bored.
"..Alright, then I'll try presenting the main part once. You two will be the judges and evaluate."
"Okay..."
"Uh-huh."
I grabbed the microphone and stood at the podium, then began delivering my presentation.
"Hello, we are the Ghost Story Club team from Class 3, Grade 1 at Nakseong High School. Today, the topic of our presentation is a scientific invention called the Magnetic Hinge. To begin with, let us explain...."
"..."
"....."
"....."
"..Thats all. Thank you for listening."
The presentation flowed smoothly.
Since this item was originally my idea, and I'm naturally confident when it comes to speaking, there wasn't really anything to criticize about my presentation.
Soon, the two who had been listening quietly began to clap.
"You're good."
"Clap clap clap...."
And then, silence once again descended over the spacious seminar room.
I lowered the hand holding the microphone.
As expected, it did feel a bit empty with just us here.
'But there's no use crying over spilled milk.'
I couldn't call them back just because I felt lonely, not after everything that had just happened.
'Who told them to fight like that and do whatever they want?'
Did they really think they could act however they pleased and I'd still take them all with me?
If that's what they thought, they were greatly mistaken.
"Okay, this time, Im going to throw some questions at you from the judges, Let's practice together. First is. If I asked you how you came up with this idea, what would your answer be, Sunah?"
"Umm, I think.. I'd say something like this...."
"Yeah. Good job. And then..."
As the three of us kept preparing like that, before we knew it, it was already 1 o'clock.
"It's already 1 o'clock."
I put down the microphone and looked at the clock on the wall.
"It's about time for lunch. Do you guys want anything to eat?"
"Sorry, Joon. You know..."
At my question, Sunah hesitated as if she'd been waiting to say something.
"Um... can I go home for lunch instead...?"
"... At home?"
"Yeah.."
Sunah nodded with an apologetic expression.
"I need to go check on Grandma...."
"Oh, right. That's right."
I clapped my hands in realization.
That was something she had told me
in advance from the very beginning of
preparing for the training camp.
"Then Sunah, you can go home to have lunch. Jinhee, what about you?"
I asked Jinhee, who was resting her chin on her hand.
"Is there anything you want to eat?"
"..Hey, can I just go home for lunch too?"
Jinhee asked, glancing at me for a moment.
"I have to go to work in the evening, so
I need to catch up on some sleep before that. I just want to go home now, make something simple to eat by myself, and take a nap."
"...Really?"
I nodded with a hesitant hmm.
The part about the night shift was something Jinhee had already mentioned to me beforehand.
"..What should I do?"
After thinking fora moment, I decided
to just let the two of them go.
"..Can't be helped. Then let's just call
it a day for the competition prep here.
You both go home and get some rest."
I let out a sigh.
Sunah then spoke hesitantly.
"..Joon, I will just go see my grandma
quickly and come right back....".
"No, it's okay. Since you're going anyway, just stay home and take care of your grandma. We don't have anything else to practice anyway."
"..But we still have to deal with the
ghost story tonight..Il drop by later...."
"Yeah, well... Just rest up and come
back whenever you feel like. Don't come if it means you can't take proper care of your grandma because of me, As long as you're back before midnight, it's fine,"
I took screenshots of the PPT content and sent them to the two.
I'd be the one doing the presentation anyway, and all they had to do was answer the judges' questions that would come flying in afterward.
"I sent you the list of expected questions I came up with, okay? Just memorize those while you rest at home."
"Okay, got it.."
"I'll look over it while I'm at work. Thanks."
Sunah absentmindedly skimmed through the KakaoTalk screenshots, and Jinhee glanced over them once before putting her phone in her pocket.
I said my final goodbyes and dismissed the group.
"Tomorrow at school, I'll check if both
of you have memorized everything, Don't slack off just because you went home, make sure to memorize it, Alright, that's it for today! Thanks for all your hard work, everyone."
"You've worked hard too, Joon.."
"Thanks for your guidance."
The two said their goodbyes to me as they packed their things and headed Out.
Creak- Thud.
Jinhee and Sunah left the room just like that.
I sat alone for a moment in the empty
seminar room with no one else around.
Outside, the occasional sound of car horns could be heard.
Inside the empty seminar room, only the sound of the laptop humming echoed.
Just this morning, we were all gathered here together...."
Back then, I just thought we'd all work hard together today and leave tomorrow.
But suddenly, before I knew it, I was the only one left all alone here.
'It's because of the b*stard Gyeongwon.'
I gave him the authority so that he could work hard with everyone, SO why did he suddenly start acting crazy and threw a tantrum?
Was it the first or second time Dukhun had been late?
Since tomorrow was the competition
day anyway, he could have just endured it for one day and then complained and confronted them afterward. That way, they might understand too.
Why then of all the time....
"..."
It was useless to worry about it now.
For now, I needed to get through tomorrow's competition before thinking about anything else.
After all, I would see them again at school.
For now, I should just go grab something to eat.
I stood up and left the empty seminar room.
As I left, I asked the part-time worker to lock the room.
" I'm going out to have lunch, but there's my laptop and other stuff inside. Could you please lock the door so no one else can get in?"
"Sure, got it~"
I went back to the nearby gosi restaurant.
The same place where you can eat like royalty for just 4,500 won.
The lunch menu was listed as Homemade Chicken Breast Cutlet', which appeared to be just chicken tonkatsu.
[T/N: Chicken Tonkatsu isa
Japanese-style breaded and fried
chicken cutlet.]
After getting my food and sitting down, I could still hear the civil service exam takers and other students next to me, chatting away about pointless things.
"A friend of mine called me. Asking
how I was doing, and I replied I'm just
living. That's all I said, but he seemed
to realize something and suddenly
stopped talking."
"Of course, man. If you're 30 and can't
even tell people how you're doing,
people can tell right away. You're
either unemployed or studying for
something"
Complaints about life coming from all
directions.
Then talk about women, about games.
"I'm in this study group, and yesterday
a really pretty girl joined. But the thing
is, she seemed to be just pretending to
study. So I started talking to her, and
she immediately gave me this super
warm, friendly response. And the way
her eyes flickered like she was kinda
sad. I could totally feel the I'm lonely'
vibe coming from her. I'm thinking of
asking for her number today...."
"I went to the bookstore, and there
was this pretty girl standing in front
of the 9th-grade exam section, looking
through the books. I felt this weird
sense of connection, so I asked, 'Are
you studying for the civil service exam
too?. But she just glared at me and
walked away."
I was bored from staying in my room
all the time, so I tried signing up for
a dating app. But it asked me to fill in
my occupation in the profile. I wrote
something random, and then this girl
started chatting and asked me again
what my job was, so I just deleted the
app right then and there."
I quietly ate my chicken tonkatsu
alone, listening to their conversations.
"You know, even when I play games,
I like to set strict time limits. Like, I'll
cover this much today, and play only
this much. I set a timer like that."
"Really? You really stick to a set time
limit?"
"I mean, I try to stick to that, but of
course, most of the time I can't really
keep it. Like, if I grind hard but end
up losing, and then try to quit, I just
keep thinking about it and can't focus
on studying. So I end up playing until
I win, and then realize that I went
overboard. Instead of easy wins, I play
matches where I can fight hard and
win."
"Most people don't realize this, you
know? The actual average score for
the entire mock exam is around 30-40
points. I mean, what other test in the
world has an average score of 30 or 40
out of 100? And it's not even five-option
multiple choice, it's all four-option
multiple choice questions, you know?
These kids here just don't study at all.
It's a fact."
"Self-studying is really hopeless. I'm
thinking of telling my mom to give me
money for a cram school."
"Self-studying is for crazy people. Or
maybe someone whos been through
every cram school but failed a few
times and just decided to study alone."
"How far have you gotten? What are
you doing today?"
"Today? I just pulled an all-nighter.
I'm gonna eat this and then just go to
sleep."
"Not bad.."
All sorts of pointless chatter and
complaints about life, discussions on
how to meet girls.
Talk about games, the world, the
news, the internet, streamers, soccer,
baseball...
Maybe it was just because I was
surrounded by guys at this table, I
wondered if female exam takers were
like this too.
Judging by the lip movements of the
female exam takers at another table,
they seemed to be talking about Netflix, So the situation didn't seem all that different.
Anyway, I silently listened to all the
conversations as I took bites of my
chicken tonkatsu.
'...What a mess.'
I'd seen it on the internet before, but
turns out.
These people really do exist.
"Hey, coffee time, coffee time."
"The part-timer at that internet café is
really pretty...."
"There's a girl at our study group who
looks like Dasom from Forurincess.
Jealous...."
**
After finishing my meal, I took a short
stroll through the streets of Noryangjin.
While walking, the claw machine shop
where Sunah and I had played together last night appeared in my eyes, and without thinking, I walked in.
'Let's try this machine.'
Unlike regular claw machines, this one
was the type where you move a stick
to push the prize through a hole by
nudging it carefully.
I inserted the coins and wildly shook
the stick.
Whirr- clink- whirr- clink-
For some reason, I felt really excited
today.
As if I had become one with the
machine.
Clunk- clunk-
In the end, I ended up winning a
bunch of the displayed prizes without
even putting in much coins.
"This is awesome, this is awesome."
Every time a prize clattered down into
the chute with a clunk, a thrilling jolt
ran down my spine.
This time, I moved to another spot and
approached another claw machine.
There, again and again, I kept inserting coins and pulling the lever.
Whirr- clink-whirr- clink-
(Dad~ The boulder's rollin']
Clunk! Clunk-
'This is insane, insane, again....'
Whirr- clink- whirr- clink-
Feeling satisfied, I kept playing a few
more times, and before I knew it, an
hour had passed.
Even though I was by myself, I was
thinking of heading back quickly to get
more pracice m ior he presentation,
but I've wasted too much tỉme here.
As I dusted off my hands and stretched, all that lay before me were countless lifeless dolls with vacant eyes, nowhere to go.
"If Sunah were here...?"
I could have given her all of this.
Leaving my disappointment behind,
I left the dolls on the shelf, so anyone
could take them, and walked out of the shop.
Soon, I walked down the street and
turned the corner, and there I was.
(Noryangjin Tower of Despair)
5th floor Noryangjin Boarding House
4th floor Yulgong Study Longue
3rd floor ljoha Internet Cafe
2nd floor Exciting Coin Karaoke
1st floor Kim Gun Billiards Club
B1 floor 24-hour Comic Cafe
B2 floor Play Again Bowling Alley
'..Maybe I should try some bowling
downstairs before going back.'
Anyway, I've reserved the study lounge
until 11 PM, So I have time to waste.
The sun hadn't set yet, so there was
plenty of time until then.
So, for now, I guess it was okay to
relieve some stress and have fun.
It's just me anyway, no one to stop me.
With an excited heart, I headed down
to the bowling alley in the basement.
A little escape is always fun.
Rrrrrrrroll- Bang!
'Yes.'
As I casually bowled a few rounds,
suddenly, a woman in the next lane
turned to me and spoke.
"You must really like bowling."
"...Ah, yeah.....?".
I turned my head to look, and realized
it was a face I'd seen a few times before.
An older girl wearing thick prescription glasses.
She was someone from the boarding house.
We'd never talked before, but I vaguely
remembered her glaring at us a few times when we were being loud.
"You're the new guy in Room 8, right?"
She spoke to me while loosening up her wrist beside me.
She looked like a college student,
probably in her mid-twenties.
But she shouldn't be a college student,
maybe someone preparing for the civil service exam.
It had been a while since I talked to a girl, and somehow, my heart pounded.
"...Yeah, that's right. I moved in yesterday."
"Sorry about earlier. I'm studying for the 9th-grade civil service exam, and after failing a few times and staying cooped up in my room studying, I guess I've been getting a bit edgy."
When I went upstairs to find Hayoon earlier and called her name in front of the empty room.
She must be apologizing for glaring at me at that time.
"..It's okay. I was the one making noise in the hallway first, after all."
I blushed as I rolled the ball.
Suddenly, the civil service exam girl let out a small laugh.
"Why'd your face suddenly turn red?"
".Huh? No, what.."
"You're blushing."
She stepped closer and poked my side gently with her long finger.
With her thick glasses and typical tied-back hairstyle of a student, I hadn't noticed before, but up close, her eyes were pretty, and she was quite a beautiful girl.
"Look at you all red"
She playfully dragged out the words as she poked my side firmly, twirling her finger around.
The strange sensation of being poked in a sensitive spot sent a strange tingling sensation down my spine, so I pulled away and awkwardly laughed.
"P-please don't..."
"Do you study alone?"
"Yeah, alone.."
"What about your friends? I saw you all coming in together last night."
"...They all left. We had a fight."
I muttered and picked up a ball.
"So that's why you're here, bowling alone."
"..Yeah, right."
I sighed and rolled the ball.
The heavy bowling ball rolled smoothly down the lane and knocked all the pins down at once.
Crash!
"Oh, a strike!"
The civil service exam girl playfully clapped beside me.
I awkwardly scratched my head.
Then, she stepped even closer to me.
"Why did you fight with your friends?"
"...Just, well.."
Caught off guard by how suddenly she closed the distance, I turned my head shyly.
But the civil service exam girl stepped even closer and stood right beside me.
"Tell me. Bottling things up inside won't help you study."
"When people study together, they need to let go of what's bothering them."
She got close enough that I could see the curve of her neck.
"Why did you fight? With your friends?"
Her voice was gentle and soothing.
I just scratched my head, my face turning even redder.
"...We just didn't get along very well."
"How? In what way didn't you get along?"
She tilted her face closer toward me, With her so close, just barely out of reach, my shoulder tensed up stiffly. Blushing bright red, I told her what had happened.
"..We have a group of our own, and I was originally the leader."
"Uh-huh. And?"
"..But I left the responsibility tovsomeone else for a while to prepare for a competition, and they started behaving completely selfishly...".
"So that's why you fought~"
Her voice was gentle and understanding.
In this lonely Noryangjin, where there was no one to lean on and I was preparing all alone without friends, it was comforting to have someone listen to me.
So I just nodded silently.
"...I was upset. It felt like no one cared about keeping this group running properly."
"That's right, it's frustrating. You can't help but wonder if you're the only one who cares."
"Exactly...".
Then, the sister who had been gently empathizing next to me suddenly stepped closer and met my gaze.
"Hey, you know, instead of that group, how about joining the group I'm in?"
"...The group you're in...?"
"Yeah."
I looked away, embarrassed by the prettier eyes I saw behind the glasses, but she stood at a distance so close that our chests were almost touching.
Even when I tried to look away, she stuck persistently close. I wondered why she was being so pushy, but somehow, it didn't feel bad at all.
So, thinking I might as well hear her out, I cautiously asked.
"What kind of group is it...?"
"It's a study group formed by the people from our boarding house. Thevpurpose is to help each other with studying."
"Studying...."
She persistently tried to meet my gaze,
while I glanced sideways nervously, sneaking occasional looks at her face.
As I turned my head away, she took
a step closer, teasingly smiling and
saying, Hmm? Hmm?.
In the end, with a hesitant expression, I
gave her an answer.
"But I'm... Im not studying for civil service exams, I'm preparing for a competition..."
"Everyone's different there. Some here are preparing to retake exams, and others are just studying for certifications."
"Really...?"
"It's a group where we help each other stick to study schedules, wake-up times, and things like that. It's tough to do it alone, so we support one another."
"When you join, I'll take good care of you. Let's study hard together, okay?"
She would check my wake-up times.
Was this sister going to be my wake-up call or something?
"Hmn? Hmm?"
With her smiling face almost touching my nose, I turned bright red.
I hesitated for a moment, but since I was leaving after a day anyway.
I guessed spending a little time with the pretty exam-prepping sister wouldn't be so bad.
I soon gave in to her persistent invitation and nodded reluctantly.
"..Then I guess I'll go join you. I was just about to keep messing around alone anyway."
"Aww, you're so kind, so sweet~"
She raised her hand and gently patted my head.
She seemed like the type who was natural with physical contact and had no sense of distance, kind of like Teacher Jang Hwaeun.
She looked extremely thin and wore
high-prescription glasses, exactly like
someone who only focuses on studying.
Why was she here, bowling and chatting casually with me?
"But what kind of competition is it?"
"..It's a science exhibition competition."
"Wow, isn't that a really famous competition I heard if you get accepted there, you can even get into the Clover company, right?"
"Yeah, something like that...."
"Then I can consider you a job seeker, right? What's your name?"
"Joon, Lee Joon. It's a single-syllable name....."
"Joony, give me your hand. I'll teach you how to roll the ball properly."
"Okay here..."