“Hmm?”
A reflexive, confused retort in response to the question.
In the end, that phrase that I’d already heard too many times even at home slipped out.
Instead of overreacting to a question I had heard countless times, I shook my head indifferently and answered.
“No? It’s the same at school; the kids ask strange things.”
“It only looks that way.”
I brushed off my classmates’ questions with an annoyed reply, but…
If even Shiyeon, who lived in the same home, felt that way seriously, then it was a different story.
Is the atmosphere around me really perceived like that?
I glanced at Taehyun, who was sitting across from me.
Even from an objective male perspective, Taehyun’s looks are above average.
His body wasn’t as skinny as Seonhyuk’s nor as muscular as Dongha’s.
Perfectly suitable for sports.
Perhaps aware of my question, he briefly glanced over at me, and when our eyes met, he quickly looked away.
Even though the atmosphere was getting strange, I felt no emotion, so I casually changed the topic to the food.
“Let’s eat.”
“Okay.”
That neatly concluded the couple gossip with a simple statement to eat.
After finishing a normal lunch, I didn’t immediately send Taehyun home.
Wondering if there was something to treat him to, I rummaged through the fridge and pulled out some cut pineapple that was lying around in the bottom compartment. We enjoyed a short dessert time together.
Afterwards, a brief conversation passed among the students.
“Oh right, have you all finished your vacation homework?”
With only a few days left in the vacation, students, suffering from the fear and anxiety of the new school year, often ask this question.
Seeking reassurance that those around them were just like them, they ask naturally.
Maybe, like my vacation homework that was blank, they were hoping for the answer “I haven’t done any.”
But reality is harsh. I had already finished my homework a long time ago.
“I finished mine.”
“Really?”
Taehyun’s mouth dropped open in disbelief upon hearing that.
If Taehyun was the only one surprised, it would have been one thing, but Shiyeon’s eyes lit up wide too.
The vibe felt weird, so I casually turned my head towards Shiyeon and quietly asked.
“Shiyeon, how much homework have you done?”
“Me? Um…”
She struggled to maintain eye contact, diverting her gaze while walking elsewhere.
The delay in her response indicated that she had something she didn’t want to share.
I quickly stood up from the sofa and grabbed her shoulder as she tried to escape.
“Homework.”
“Ah, I haven’t done it…!”
With the simple mention of homework, Shiyeon’s true feelings erupted.
Both of them hadn’t done a thing.
‘These guys….’
I didn’t really care about their grades, but I couldn’t just let the performance assessment scores slide by.
We had to have some basic standards.
I first made Shiyeon sit at the spacious dining table, then placed the dusty school bag on the adjacent chair.
“Both of you, gather with your homework.”
“Me too?”
Taehyun pointed to himself incredulously at the mention of “both.”
Given that it was apparent who else would be included, I said it as if it were obvious.
Thus began the forced session of vacation homework with the two of them.
Shiyeon had been talking about wanting to travel, yet here she was, not having completed a single assignment before leaving.
‘This is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous….’
Realizing that fact late made me feel flabbergasted, but I still relief that at least I realized it now, so I pressured them to get their work done.
After all, middle school vacation homework isn’t really that big of a deal.
If we gathered at the dining table and pooled our intelligence, we could finish everything in about three hours.
Rather than stressing over a tiny bit of homework until right before school restarts, it would be better to finish it quickly.
…Although it’s also understandable that one wouldn’t feel inclined to do it voluntarily.
As a side note, a few days before the vacation ended, Taehyun’s mother came over and thanked us for helping her son with his homework, taking Shiyeon along to a meat restaurant.
That month-long vacation passed in the blink of an eye…
Then came the notoriously hot and humid weather of Korea.
“Ugh…”
A weary groan escaped onto the desk, spreading across the floor.
Fans divided the classroom into four zones, spinning furiously.
Along with that, the air conditioner in the center of the room was also running at maximum output.
Despite this, with about twenty to thirty people crammed into the spacious classroom, sweat dripped profusely.
While trying to cool down with the strong gusts of the fans rotating every three seconds, a female student let out a breathtaking scream from the classroom.
“Shit, get lost, you bastards!”
“Ah, seriously, just a little, it feels like I’m going to die.”
The reason for this was none other than the students going crazy from the heat.
To get even a slight breeze from the air conditioner, they brought their chairs closer and placed them between desks.
They’d step up onto the cramped passage between desks to reach out their hands toward the air conditioner’s vent.
Each break, a student placed right under the air conditioner suffered dearly.
With sweat-soaked students clustering around, it was naturally not a pleasant situation.
On these swelteringly hot summer days, the usage rate of the snack bar also tends to drop.
Even leaving the classroom turned into a challenge.
Even someone like me, who usually ordered snacks and drinks from the snack bar, was quietly seated in class.
I wouldn’t even consider stepping out unless it was an urgent need for the bathroom.
Even the water cooler in the corridor that I usually used without a second thought was ignored; I just filled a thermos with ice water from home.
With heat warnings daily and sunlight so bright it almost hurt to look at, the attitudes of the students towards gym class changed significantly.
“…”
Right after the first period ended, during the break, gym class was next.
It was time for the boys to grab their gym uniforms and rattle out of the classroom.
However, there was no clattering sound at all; the classroom was filled only with the sound of the fans and air conditioner.
“Ah, it’s gym class.”
Even if a student announced, “It’s gym class,” by checking the schedule, no one stirred.
They were expressing with their whole bodies that there was no way they would even think about doing gym class under the scorching sun.
Even the class president, who should have gone to the staff room to ask the PE teacher if we would have gym class indoors or outdoors, had his face buried in his desk and didn’t move.
A studious student rummaged through their locker to find their gym uniform, but they started to subtly watch those around them.
They were diligent enough to prepare, but they too didn’t want to go out in this heat.
“Hey, hey, don’t take it out.”
As the diligent student started to take out their gym uniform, a friend from the back row, who was lounging around, scolded them upon hearing the rustling sound.
Using the diligent student as an excuse, they worried about whether they would possibly step outside.
No one wanted to go out; it was a bizarre scene as all the students united silently under the five characters of “I don’t want to go out.”
What kind of outdoor physical activity can you do in this weather? Definitely indoors.
Looking around the classroom, it seemed everyone shared the same thought.
The bell that signaled the start of class rang throughout the school, and a truly ridiculous sight unfolded where not a single student stepped outside, instead sprawled out in their chairs.
About five minutes after the bell rang, the sound of the front door opening echoed in the classroom.
“What are you all doing? Not going out? Are we really having indoor gym class without asking anymore?”
“Ah…”
As the teacher stepped up to the teacher’s desk and firmly announced that it would be outdoor gym class, the students’ sighs spilled out almost to the point of resentment.
It seemed the teacher didn’t expect such a reaction from a small joke, as they laughed while their chest swelled and deflated, repeatedly correcting their words.
“I’m just kidding, just kidding, lie down.”
The students who had lifted their heads while grumbling sank back down to their desks upon hearing the teacher’s words.
There are things you can joke about and things you can’t, and children laid back down.
Using their pencil cases or books as pillows, they began to enjoy a sweet, dark nap in the dim classroom.
Classes like this always felt like the time passed quickly.
The PE teacher was fine playing with their smartphone at the teacher’s desk.
And the students were glad to catch up on missed sleep.
Even though I wasn’t particularly sleepy, I leaned over my desk, enchanted by the classroom’s atmosphere.
As I closed my eyes to match my classmates, I thought that by the time I opened them again, drowsiness would envelop me completely.
Feeling so incredibly sleepy, I thought, “I’ll take a nap at home…”
“Now that vacation’s over, everyone needs to wake up, see you tomorrow-”
“Yes-”
‘Now I’m not sleepy.’
At closing ceremony time, my eyes always open wide when it was time to go home; it was truly fascinating.
The sounds of the fans and air conditioner, which had been spinning for hours, finally ceased.
Even getting home poses a challenge in summer.
When it’s cold, you can just layer up, but in the heat, you can’t peel off your skin, making it the most challenging season.
Although it’s a thoughtless thing to say, I wished for a typhoon to blow over briskly.
As I thought that, the moment I stepped outside of school…
“What the hell is that?”
I was left speechless at the banner hung on the truck right in front of the school gate.
[We are looking for a woman aged between 13 and 20 who doesn’t want to study or work because the world’s meaning has changed and is against leading a flashy life, to live alone and bear children for a rough 60-year-old grandfather. Please come in this vehicle.]
