Chapter 30: A Change of Captain and an Unexpected Turning Point

As expected, Jang Heeyeon snatched up the bait.

After that, everything went smoothly. Since we’d successfully secured the cooperation of Jang Heeyeon, who had practically been a free rider, it was decided that the remaining three would handle the content, and Cho Hyunsoo would take charge of the PPT and the presentation.

Cho Hyunsoo’s direction might be off, but judging by how he could rattle off the lineage of social psychology or evolutionary social theory, he seemed the type to do meticulous research. The presentation materials were just a side dish; after all, what mattered in this assignment was the content.

Great, everything was going according to plan! On Monday evening, I waited for Jang Heeyeon in a small conference room in the business school building. Meanwhile, I started discussing the video proposal with Lee Rayoon.

“The video content should be about five minutes long, and the format is free. Hmm…”

“I wish the format were fixed; when it’s free, I don’t know where or how to start.”

“Yeah, right… It needs to be intuitively understandable at first glance, but also fun.”

Even after reading the professor’s guidelines several times, I felt confused. I had dealt with all sorts of group assignments in my past life, but this was my first time making a video myself. The quality of the video was one thing, but I also worried about how to express our topic well.

“Wouldn’t the ‘talking’ stage be more exciting than when you’re already dating?”

“Ah, Wooju sunbae, I just thought of something.”

“Really? What is it?”

“You know, getting someone’s number and contacting them. It might not seem like a big deal, but since the person on the other side contacts you without properly revealing who they are, it can be burdensome for the receiver.”

“Oh, that’s definitely true.”

“What if we make a video about someone who sees a person in the library, likes them, finds their number and contacts them, but when they express their interest, the other person is flustered? It’s something that can happen during the ‘talking’ stage.”

She spoke calmly, but for some reason it felt like it was her own experience. I didn’t know because I’d never had someone get my number in the library, but it seemed plausible. It fit well with our group’s topic: that a thoughtless action can feel as uncomfortable as crossing a line to the other person, and thus hinders the development of the relationship.

“Oh, that sounds perfect. Like the secret story of a library crush? That kind of concept!”

“Ah, I think it’s good.”

“Yeah, yeah, if the background is the library, we can film it at school, so it’s more convenient. And with Rayoon’s visuals, anything goes!”

But as they say, it’s one thing after another. Even after deciding on the concept for the video content, progress didn’t go smoothly.

I didn’t have a good sense of how to direct it, and I knew we needed to write a script, but I had no idea where to start. Even Lee Rayoon, who usually likes taking photos, didn’t seem to know much about videos.

I mean, there are so many things to prepare just to shoot one video. How on earth are the other groups pulling this off?

We have to do all of this in two weeks; it really is an extreme assignment. Whether in a game or reality, professors all seem to think students only take their class.

“Oh, guys. You’re here already. Sorry I’m late.”

Jang Heeyeon appeared late, wearing a cap pulled down low and a shirt jacket. As always, she had a bag slung properly over her shoulder, heavy with a DSLR camera and lenses.

When I checked the time, she was about ten minutes late today. Considering she’d insisted she absolutely couldn’t come because of her workshop, that was a pretty good showing.

“So, we’re filming with Rayoon as the main character, right? The background is school? Or can we go off campus?”

As expected, Heeyeon showed interest in the video shoot. At first, I thought Rayoon and I could somehow manage on our own, but considering the amount of labor required for a video assignment, it seemed absolutely impossible. Hoping Heeyeon would become our team’s savior, I handed her the synopsis I had roughly scribbled down.

“What? You two were coming up with ideas like this?”

Jang Heeyeon, who had been staring at her phone like a zombie throughout the group project, lit up her eyes. It was a relief that Heeyeon, who would be in charge of filming, seemed motivated.

“Oh, but Heeyeon is the only girl in our group. What do we do?”

“Right. I think Heeyeon sunbae would have to play the girl with the crush…”

“Hmm… Heeyeon, I’ve never done this before, but if you teach me how to use the camera and how to shoot, I’ll try to film it well!”

It was only after Heeyeon readily said she liked the idea that Rayoon and I realized there was a huge flaw in our synopsis. Heeyeon was, so to speak, going to be the overall director of this video content, which meant there was no one left in our group to play the girl who has a crush on Rayoon.

“What are you all worrying about? Just do it like this, the two of you.”

Heeyeon, her eyes wide, pointed at me and Rayoon. Then, as if doing a mating ritual, she drew a line in the air connecting the two of us.

“Wooju, you play the guy with the crush. The library strawberry milk guy, or something like that. That works.”

“Me and Rayoon, the two of us? But we’re both guys…”

“Turns out you have a very narrow mind. What era is it now? A guy can have a crush on a guy, and it might lead to something like stalking. What’s so weird about that?”

But the relationships covered in class so far had almost all been between men and women who date and form families…

While I hesitated, Heeyeon, her face serious and stiff, fired words at me like a machine gun. Somehow, listening as if bewitched, I felt oddly persuaded.

“Rayoon, what do you think?”

I turned to look at Rayoon because I wasn’t sure. Unlike me, who lacked confidence, Rayoon’s calm face showed little change in expression.

“I’d also prefer filming with Wooju sunbae.”

Well, okay. If Rayoon is fine with it.

Of course, the topic mattered, but honestly, the killing point of this video was Rayoon’s visuals, which had earned him a huge number of followers with just his face, and Heeyeon’s craftsmanship, which staked her life on capturing beautiful subjects on camera.

“I think… I just got an inspiration!”

While Rayoon and I stared blankly at each other, Heeyeon, who had been staring at us intently, suddenly pulled out a notebook and began scribbling furiously. The lazy, apathetic free rider from the first day was gone, and only a passionate, enthusiastic person remained in her place.

“I’ll take care of the rest. You two just need to show up on the day of the shoot.”

“But you have to write the script, too. And if you’re going to do everything, including scouting locations and directing, that’s a lot of work…”

“Heeyeon sunbae, is it really okay if we don’t help?”

“Of course. You two just trust me and follow along.”

Heeyeon, with a smirk, flashed her eyes beneath her pulled-down navy blue cap. Just like when she said she had to dash to the airport because of that idol’s arrival, she gave off an unusual aura that seemed impossible for anyone to stop.

But maybe because Heeyeon had just declared she would hard-carry the group project, at this moment she felt more charismatic than crazy. I felt like I wanted to massage her shoulders to give her more strength.

“The best way you can help me is by getting closer to each other. Go buy yourselves some ice cream or something.”

Heeyeon, who had firmly refused help, waved her hand in the air. Feeling like we shouldn’t interfere, Rayoon and I quietly left our seats.

And as Heeyeon said, I bought soft serve ice cream with Rayoon at the cafe on the first floor of the business school building. The swirl ice cream, half chocolate and half vanilla, was sweet, and with one bite, my mood naturally softened.

“But Rayoon, is it okay to trust Heeyeon with everything? We don’t have much time. What if she ends up flaking?”

“Hmm… This time, I have a feeling it’ll be fine. Let’s wait and see.”

The ice cream was delicious, but I didn’t feel at ease leaving all the work to Heeyeon. Rayoon probably wouldn’t understand, but I had a reason I absolutely had to get an A on this group project… However, the ship’s wheel had already passed to the new captain, Heeyeon, and worrying about it wouldn’t solve anything, so for now, I decided to wait as Rayoon said.

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