“Hana, you’re all ready, right?”
“Uh… yeah…”
Eventually, the day had come. It was my first day of school as an elementary school student. Even so, going back to being a third-grader again made me feel all mixed up inside.
I was pretty sure I had graduated from college, but now I was back in elementary school? If this were a regression, it might have been somewhat bearable. There must have been some reason I couldn’t do that, but now, only my body had changed—it wasn’t like I had regressed.
At Bora’s words, I had to force an awkward smile. The fluttering school uniform didn’t suit me at all. With a distant look in my eyes, I stared at the dinosaur pajamas lying on the bed. I really wanted to wear those and go to school.
But I couldn’t go in pajamas… Everyone would definitely think I was cosplaying and take pictures of me. Or maybe they’d laugh at me for acting like a little kid.
“Hmm…”
Bora was holding a camera and looking around. I mean, a phone would’ve been enough, but she pulled out this fancy camera like a journalist, which made me feel a bit pressured.
“Bora, you don’t need to bring the camera…”
“No way. It’s Hana’s first official day of school. If we don’t take proper pictures today, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
“Sigh… Didn’t we take a lot last time?”
“Not enough!”
With a padded jacket over my uniform, I stepped outside with Bora. The school was pretty far, so we had to take the car. The good thing was that Bora or Haru would drive me to and from school, so I didn’t have to bother with buses or taxis.
As I sat in the car, blankly staring at the scenery outside, we soon arrived at the school. It was the opening ceremony, so there were swarms of little kids everywhere. And there were plenty of parents dropping them off too.
For someone with an introverted personality like me, crowded places were like poison. I didn’t want to get out of the car, but Bora pulled me into her arms, and I had no choice but to step out.
Holding Bora’s hand, I stood in front of the school gate for a moment. Bora took a picture of me like this, capturing the moment. It was March, so cherry blossom petals were fluttering around, creating a beautiful scene.
Everyone probably had different thoughts as they looked at the cherry blossoms. I brushed a petal off my head and thought to myself. Over there, a group of students was walking by, laughing and chatting happily as they watched the petals fall from the sky.
Some of the girls seemed deep in thought as they looked at the trees. The boys, on the other hand, just treated it as a background effect and walked past without much thought.
“Say cheese~”
“Cheese!”
I decided to follow Bora’s lead today. Of course, I always followed Bora and Haru’s words anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.
“It turned out great! Hana, come here and see!”
Bora showed me the picture she had taken. There I was, standing in front of the school gate with cherry blossom petals scattered around me. I looked a bit awkward, holding up a peace sign.
The neat uniform, the gate of Starlight Elementary School, and the crowd of people walking by—it was a typical first-day-of-school photo.
“Hana, you and the cherry blossoms look so good together~”
Maybe it was because the picture was taken as the petals were falling, but it looked like something out of a magazine. Of course, it helped that the subject was naturally stunning.
With Little Magician Lumi’s bag on my back, I was dragged around by Bora, posing as a model for photos all over the school.
The boss couldn’t make it today because they were busy. It was a bit disappointing, but since they had come to the school entrance ceremony last time, it wasn’t a big deal. Still, everyone seemed more excited today because it was the opening ceremony.
In a way, it was the real start of my school life. While taking pictures, I didn’t realize it, but as I sat in the auditorium listening to the director’s speech, the reality hit me hard.
‘Am I really supposed to study with these little kids?’
I sat in my chair, looking around. When I thought about being an elementary school student, it didn’t feel real, but seeing all these kids sitting in the auditorium made me snap back to reality.
The 4th to 6th graders were somewhat bigger, so it wasn’t too bad, but the 1st to 3rd graders were so tiny. Wait, thinking about it, the 1st graders had just graduated from kindergarten, right…
Thinking about it, they were really young. But my current situation felt so surreal. Having to sit through classes with those little kids…
The kids around me seemed a bit restless, probably because they were away from their parents…
Everyone seemed visibly nervous. I also glanced over at where Bora was sitting. Thankfully, Bora was seated and looking in my direction. I waved my hand.
Bora waved back, acknowledging my greeting. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
Looking around, the number of children gathered in the auditorium was surprisingly small. Back in my day, there were so many students that each grade had 40 kids packed into 10 classes. Now, the number of students per class has been halved to 20, and there are only up to 4 classes per grade.
It’s true what they say about the declining number of elementary school students. Experiencing it firsthand made the news reports feel all too real. If Seoul is like this, I can’t imagine how sparse the population must be in rural areas. It really hit me how precious children have become.
Sitting in my chair, I could feel the kids around me glancing at me. Was it because my hair and eye color stood out? But it seemed like the boys were the ones sneaking glances. Whenever our eyes met, they’d quickly look away.
Come on, if you’re a guy, you should be able to hold a staring contest! It’s not like you’re a dog tucking its tail and running away just because we made eye contact. I ended up locking eyes with one of the boys who kept sneaking looks at me.
It felt like I was some kind of zoo animal. And why do the boys who make eye contact with me turn red? Is it because it’s cold outside?
“Congratulations once again to all the new students on your admission to Starlight Elementary School. The faculty and staff of Starlight Elementary will do their best to care for you with love. We sincerely hope for your blessings in your school life ahead. That concludes my remarks.”
Applause erupted as the chairman stepped down. Unlike the drawn-out endings you often see in stories, he didn’t drag it out with “one last thing… and one more last thing…” It made me wonder if he was really the school chairman, especially after the incident with the security buzzer last time.
At first glance, he looked more like a neighborhood gangster than an elementary school chairman. But the crisp white suit he wore did give off some chairman vibes, I guess.
The entrance ceremony was over. It was time for the new students to head to their classrooms. The 2nd to 6th graders, having been through this before, seemed familiar with the process and headed to their classes. But the 1st graders, who were new to the school today, were crying and clinging to their parents, not wanting to leave.
It’s just the first day, and we’ll be done and heading home in an hour. How can they not handle just one hour?
Some of the older students laughed as they watched the 1st graders. Maybe they were reminded of their own first day?
By the way, I needed to get my student ID… That’s where my class assignment would be listed. I thought Bora had it. She probably took it to get my class assigned. I quietly sat down in Bora’s seat and looked around blankly.
The kids were all bustling around with bright smiles. It being the first day of school, there was still some awkwardness. Some were even playing with friends from other classes.
That happened a lot. If a close friend ended up in a different class, things could get awkward. I guess it’s because they didn’t see each other as often.
I was just pulling out my phone to control a character on the screen when Bora returned to her seat.
“Sorry, Hana! The line was long, so it took a while.”
“It’s okay, Bora. I didn’t wait long!”
Bora handed me the student ID with my assigned class written on it. I checked which class I was in.
[3rd Grade, Class 1, Kim Hana]
Hmm… Class 1 isn’t bad. And anyway, when we move up a grade, the classes will reset, so it doesn’t really matter which class I’m in.
I grabbed Bora’s hand, and we started walking to 3rd Grade, Class 1. It was a bit far from the auditorium. The school itself was pretty big, though not as big as a university campus.
