Chapter 3 : New Semester

As a child, I had a dream.
A tiny, insignificant dream, as if I didn’t even believe in it myself.

Unfortunately, the dream withered before it could even take shape.

My father’s accident before I even graduated high school…
It was a crushing blow, forcing me to abandon everything I held dear.

As I stared blankly at the poster, someone approached me.

“Oh, junior! Interested in theater?”

One looked like a delinquent, the other a mild-mannered guy with glasses.
A strange combination, I wondered who put them together.

“Um… A little?”
“If you’re interested, join us. I’ll teach you a lot.”
“You barely participate anyway.”
“I can start being active this semester.”

The guy with glasses gave the delinquent a look of disdain. I hesitated for a moment, then asked,

“Are you both in the drama club?”

I wasn’t sure about the delinquent, but I felt like I almost recognized the one with glasses.

‘Ah, the club president.’
I finally dredged the memory from the recesses of my mind.

‘Was his name Kang Joohyuk?’
Respected by everyone and more mature than his peers, Joohyuk was the perfect club president.
He was a good person, one of the few people I stayed in contact with after graduation.
Seeing his youthful face again filled me with a sense of nostalgia.
Then, an unpleasant voice broke the spell.

“Lee… Haram? Haram, we’ll become close anyway if you join the club, so just call me Oppa, Minseok Oppa.” ( TL Note : Oppa is an endearing term for “brother” or “big bro” in Korean)
The delinquent had read my name tag.

“Ah, yes. Senior Minseok. ”
“I told you to call me Oppa.”
“This is more comfortable for me, Senior Minseok.”
“Minseok, stop bothering her and let’s go. You should head to your class too, junior.”
“Oh, okay. Um, could I ask your name, Senior?”

The guy with glasses hesitated for a moment, then smiled and replied,

“Kang Joohyuk. I have a feeling we’ll see each other again soon, junior.”
“Probably. I’ll see you around then.”

He seemed to have sensed my interest in the drama club.
I walked toward my classroom with lighter steps than before.

The tingling sensation grew stronger as I revisited these moments transformed into memories.

***

Entering the classroom, I scanned for an empty seat.
There was a privilege granted to those who arrived early on the first day of school.

The right to choose your seat.
Thanks to arriving 30 minutes early, there were plenty of good seats left.
I strode towards an empty desk and planted my bag on it like Neil Armstrong planting the flag on the moon.

Air conditioning behind me, people in front of me, and not too close to the entrance.
This seat, fulfilling all my requirements, was a fortress.

“Okay.”
This guaranteed a pleasant academic life for at least a month.
As I pulled out my chair, someone tapped my shoulder.

“That’s… my seat.”
“Seat?”

I turned to see a classmate fidgeting nervously, pointing towards the front.
I followed his gaze and saw an unbelievable message written on the board.

[Please sit according to your attendance number.]

An ambush.

***

How did this happen?
My seat was right in the center of the classroom.

One might think it was better than the front row, but it was strategically the most visible spot for the teachers.
Having inadvertently occupied this strategic location, all I could do was groan inwardly.

A cute girl sat next to me.
I studied her face but couldn’t recall her name.

“…Who are you again?”
“I… I’m Lee Hyelin.”
“Ah. Did I just say that out loud?”
“Y… Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Haram. Why are you so nervous?”
“Sorry…”

I began to understand why I didn’t remember her.
Hyelin was incredibly timid, almost invisible. And I wasn’t one to pay attention to those around me.

I spoke to her, trying to put her at ease.
“We’re friends now, right?”
“Friends…?”
“We exchanged names, so that makes us friends.”
“R… Really?”
“Yeah. So, first favor as a friend, buy me some bread.”
“O… Okay! I’m a good runner.”

Hyelin smiled and prepared to dash off. I quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

“I’m kidding. And why are you so excited?”
“I was worried about… making friends in high school. It’s nice to meet you.”
“What are you talking about? Today is the best day to make friends.”
“B… Best?”

I rested my chin on my hand, smiling at her.
I felt the need to educate her about the reality of the new-semester friend market.

“Think about it. How many high schools are around here?”
“Six? Seven?”
Hyelin counted on her fingers.

“Let’s say six. An average class has about 45 students, so assuming an even distribution, about seven from our class should have ended up at the same school.”
“Y… Yes!”
“Now, our school has four departments, well, three if we exclude culinary. Divide by three, and roughly two should be in our department. And how many classes are in our department?”
“Four!”
“Right, four. Two divided by four is 0.5. So, our middle school classmates are no longer whole people. Now, the question is, what’s on everyone’s mind in our class right now?”
“To… make friends?”
“Correct! You’re smart. Everyone is open to making friends today. So, go around and make some friends.”

I gave her a gentle push on her back.
Nudged forward, she hesitated for a moment, then went over to a group of chatting students and introduced herself.
She soon smiled brightly and waved at me, having successfully made new friends.

A former programmer’s problem-solving skills shouldn’t be underestimated.
I couldn’t help but assist Hyelin, who seemed like a small, timid animal.

My attention, however, was elsewhere.
I looked at the guy sleeping soundly in the next row, even snoring.
‘That idiot.’

His name was Han Dojun.
My best friend in my past life.

I guess we couldn’t be considered best friends anymore, missing a crucial component.
But did labels really matter?
We could create a new one. Tetris buddies, or something.

I followed him into the drama club; he was the reason I got interested in theater in the first place.
He dragged me, unwilling as I was, into joining the club with him.
We lost touch after I joined the military, but I still felt enough camaraderie to celebrate his success as an actor when I saw him on TV later on.

In short, Han Dojun could be described as someone who would have frozen to death on the streets if he weren’t an actor.

His abilities outside of acting were incredibly lacking.
Especially when it came to interpersonal relationships. He was terrible.
Seeing him sleeping soundly on the first day of school made me worry.

‘That idiot. He won’t have any friends without me.’
Was it my duty as a friend to save him?

I walked over to Dojun and tapped his shoulder.
He woke up with a frown. I smiled and said,
“Want to be friends?”

Dojun looked at me with a sullen expression and gestured for me to come closer.
I leaned in, almost close enough for our noses to touch. He whispered in my ear,
“Who cares?”

Unfazed, I smiled brightly, placed my arms on his desk, bent down to meet his gaze, and spoke as sweetly as possible,

“Don’t we know each other?”
“So, who cares?”

He pushed my arms off his desk and went back to sleep. My carefully crafted mask of a smile almost cracked.
‘Is he crazy?’

I had a feeling we wouldn’t become friends in this life.

***

Our homeroom teacher walked in, handed out informational letters, and explained the necessary details with a bored expression.

He was the picture of a world-weary adult.
He scratched his head, then spoke as if something had just occurred to him.

“Oh, and we need a temporary class president. Anyone interested?”

Murmurs filled the room, but no one raised their hand.
Everyone knew the position was a thankless task.
The teacher frowned, then pointed at me and Dojun.

“If no one volunteers, the ones with good masks will do it. The prettiest and the most handsome, you two decide between yourselves.”
“I’ll be the vice president.” said Dojun.
“Okay. Then the temporary president is… Lee Haram? Right. Haram will be the president, Dojun the vice president. The president needs to collect the club application forms and bring them to me before the end of tomorrow’s assembly. That’s all.”

With Dojun taking the vice president role, I became the temporary class president by default.
Since the vice president only filled in when the president was absent, I would be stuck with all the work. I sighed softly, imagining my future caught between the students and the teacher.

Hyelin nudged me.
She seemed curious about something.

“What club are you joining, Haram?”
“Hmm, let me see.”

I looked over the list of clubs in the informational letter.
There was a wide variety, from popular ones like film and soccer to academic clubs.
There were a few I was interested in, but my choice was already made.

I carefully wrote “Drama Club Atti” in the application section.
Hyelin watched me, then, after a moment of hesitation, wrote the same thing on her form.

“You’re joining the drama club too?”
“Y… Yes. It seems fun.”
“I’m glad. But don’t take it lightly. You need to be prepared.”
“O… Okay. Ah?”

Hyelin pointed behind me, as if she had noticed something.
I turned around to see Dojun standing there silently, staring at me. He said,

“You seem to know a lot about theater?”