Chapter 50

Yongsan IT High School bus stop.

As the bus came to a stop, Hayoon stepped off with a group of students wearing identical uniforms.

“Wow….”

About five minutes later, she arrived at the front gate of the school where banners were hanging.

[Hail the belated start of the school year! Congratulations on the delayed opening!]

[The school with the highest employment rate! Welcome to Yongsan IT High School!]

These were the typical banners that greeted her.

“I really hate them…just look at the color scheme…”

Of course, with this being Hayoon’s second entangled year of high school, she found herself receiving these formal banners with a pinch of cynicism.

Think about it.

Imagine throwing someone fresh out of the military back into the past, then after about six months, sending them off to Nonsan for military training again, only to celebrate their conscription.

Wouldn’t that feel wrong?

“Are you telling me I’ll be stuck here for three years…?”

Hayoon felt a dizzying sensation as she stepped through the school gate and crossed the yard. The high school she previously attended was a general high school, quite different from Yongsan IT High School. But how different could high school buildings really be?

She merely followed the other students heading toward the largest building and found herself halfway across the yard.

“Whoaaa!”

“Ahk!”

Suddenly, someone rushed over and Hayoon’s balance wavered, but she managed to steady herself.

And the person who had rushed over was none other than…

“Arin?”

“Is it really our school?”

“I already told you. What, do you think it’s fake?”

“Hahhe…”

“Haha…”

Arin’s usual carefree smile made Hayoon grin awkwardly in return.

In truth, Hayoon had only recently found out that she and Arin were at the same school. Since Hayoon hadn’t personally applied for high school, she was unaware of which school she’d be attending and definitely hadn’t anticipated that Arin would be there too.

“Truthfully, if you thought about it for a moment, it was obvious. Arin’s house is clearly near Hongdae or Seodaemun Station, and the only Meister High School around is this one.”

With her status window issue, Hayoon hadn’t spared much thought to discuss school-related topics. Eventually, during a break in May, when the broadcasting schedule slowed down, they naturally realized they were at the same school.

“I’ve never had a friend enter our school.”

“Uh, do you not know so many people? Even the folks in the Department of Design count.”

“Pfft, they’re not close friends. As you know, animation majors already have a lot of work to do, and in my case, even more.”

“Hmm, that’s probably true.”

“So I don’t really have any friends. Huh….”

Arin walked side by side with Hayoon, her arm wrapped around her ribs as she let out a cute sound, expressing her loneliness across the schoolyard.

“So what? Which class are you in?”

“Oh, I’m in the 1st Class of the Department of Design. It’s where all the key animators gather.”

“Of course. The Department of Design’s first and second classes traditionally have key animation and animating focuses respectively. Will you visit later?”

“Yeah, come by.”

With that, Arin giggled like any ordinary high school girl.

Her emotional ups and downs suggested she was thrilled to have Hayoon, a fellow classmate, join her school.

“Are you serious…you don’t have any friends?”

“Let’s go!”

“Huh?”

“The bell will chime soon, so we need to hurry to get there comfortably. There are a lot of strict teachers at our school who will scold us if we arrive exactly on time. It’s better to arrive early, don’t you think?”

Arin released Hayoon from her embrace and quickly started running.

“Ah, really…!”

Hayoon reluctantly followed after her.

Inside the high school building not long thereafter…

“Our Department of Design’s first class will be using this classroom. It’s written on the sign above, isn’t it?”

“Ah, thank you, Arin.”

“Don’t mention it. See you later?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Following Arin’s enthusiastic guidance, Hayoon entered the Department of Design’s 1st class.

Once inside, the squeaky door drew attention as they entered.

“….”

“…!”

“….”

Odd stares could be felt. From the female students, there were looks of admiration and even jealousy.

Because of Hayoon’s appearance, some of the girls seemed slightly defeated in their admiration, while others were clearly envious.

On the boys’ side, it was pretty predictable.

Since Meister High School is based on a technical high model, male-dominated tech schools rarely see female students.

And pretty ones? As rare as plucking stars from the sky.

Thus, with Hayoon checking that hard-to-meet criterion, her presence naturally drew curious looks.

‘This way, maybe?’

Hayoon checked the seating arrangement written on the blackboard and took her seat by the window.

At least, there were only female classmates around her. It looked like the area would be free from annoying male students intruding upon her, and that was a relief.

‘Let me just finish the drawing.’

Hayoon took out her tablet and started completing the artwork she had been working on before arriving. To secure work hours during high school, she had to take breaks like this throughout the day to keep sketching.

Working steadily until the homeroom started.

“Alright, alright. Hi there. I’m Park Geon-su and I’ll be your homeroom teacher for this semester.”

Park Geon-su entered the classroom about three minutes before the assembly began, writing down his name in Chinese characters on the blackboard to gather the students’ attention.

A few moments later:

“Ah! I made it on time!”

A male student rushed in.

“Your name.”

“Pardon?”

“Your name. Name.”

“Um, Kwak Seok-Min.”

“Kwak Seok-Min… Aren’t you supposed to be seated before the teacher enters? Especially on the first day, during our first lesson and the school’s opening ceremony.”

Through this short exchange with Kwak Seok-Min, it became clear:

This teacher was a stickler for rules.

‘The bell hasn’t even rung yet. You’re crazy….’

Hayoon watched Park Geon-su and Kwak Seok-Min arguing with a somewhat exasperated expression.

‘Oh, man, I’ve ended up with a teacher who’s really strict.’

With a lethargic expression, Hayoon stared at the lectern. There was their teacher, balding but with visible gray strands, giving a long speech.

“Hey, listen up. You’re not middle schoolers anymore. And while I understand you were doing online classes due to the pandemic, attendance was lacking. Now that you’re here in person, I expect to see more diligence than just what you showed online…”

It was a monotonous lecture.

How do you start your first day of school in May with “You guys were terrible during online classes. Now let’s do better” rhetoric?

‘The homeroom teacher draw was definitely messed up.’

Had she used all her luck on certain special draws? Hayoon realized the homeroom teacher draw had failed spectacularly this year and swallowed her despair. All she could do was hope it would pass quickly and wait silently for Park Geon-su to end the homeroom period and leave.

“Kwak Seok-Min! Your attendance rate is really low. You are the number one in the attendance list! Is this acceptable? Arriving late today, even after me?”

“Sorry, I apologize!”

“Jeong So-youn.”

“Yes?”

“You too, try to improve your attendance. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Most of the homeroom period had been spent nagging students.

‘At least, it’s a relief that even he doesn’t overdo it with female students.’

In a school of 400 students where female students number less than a hundred, Park Geon-su seemed to be especially careful with his female students.

And Hayoon’s class was a majority girls in the Department of Design.

Female-dominated class. Female-dominated department.

With Park Geon-su’s peculiar disposition towards females, the first impression could potentially not be too bad.

“Kwak Seok-Min!”

“Um…?”

“Did you not sleep? Why are you dozing off?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Isn’t it?! Apologize.”

“Sorry…”

The only thing left to do for the poor Kwak Seok-Min was to wish him well. Being number one in a female-dominant class paired with a female-favoring teacher was not a great luck.

‘He’s going to have a tough time…’

While watching Kwak Seok-Min with half-lidded eyes, Hayoon briefly gazed out the window. Soon, Park Geon-su finished reprimanding the male students and ended the session.

With the first class over, it was time for a break.

“Hayoon!”

“Oh, Arin.”

True to their earlier conversation, Arin had arrived.

“Really, this is so unreal. Why did you decide to come here?”

“There weren’t many decent high schools around here. Plus, I thought a vocational school would be more understanding about drawing in class compared to general education.”

“Yeah, yeah, good choice. It’s super relaxed here.”

Arin still seemed genuinely excited as she laughed and rustled something in her hand.

“Hey, that’s….”

Hayoon recognized it. It was ‘Ah’ crackers — a savory ramen-flavored snack she used to buy at the school canteen in middle school.

“Didn’t you eat breakfast? Have some.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Arin had already crumbled the ‘Ah’ crackers and stuffed them into Hayoon’s blazer pocket. With a sheepish smile, Hayoon accepted with appreciation.

Certainly, having someone she knew in school was a relief. She didn’t need to make an effort to befriend new people, they could share snacks, and enjoy each other’s company.

Continuing on with aimless chatter with Arin…

“By the way, can we start a club?”

The main topic arose.

Through the right club, they might be able to receive subsidies for casual gatherings and social events from the free club funds.

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