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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The first day of classes.
It was a pretty important day for me. A day to check out the classmates I would be spending time with. I needed to make a good first impression today to avoid becoming a social outcast.
Time to put on my social chameleon act.
I’m so tired I could die…
I lay slumped over my desk.
Forget social outcast, I was ready to just give up. I didn’t have the energy to care about anyone right now.
“What’s wrong with Kang Cheol?”
“Is he sick?”
Fortunately, I had the five friends I met before classes started. Having already broken the ice, we sat together.
A-reum answered for me. “Kang Cheol pulled an all-nighter, so he’s tired.”
That was true. But you were the main reason why.
I wanted to argue, but honestly, I felt too guilty to blame her. After I got hard, I enthusiastically participated. We even had a quickie before coming to school.
“Oh dear, why would he pull an all-nighter on the first day of classes?”
“He said he had something urgent to take care of.”
“Work? Does Kang Cheol have a part-time job?”
“I’m not sure.”
Despite saying that, A-reum already knew what I did. Just this morning, she had found some illustrations on my computer, which I had forgotten to turn off, and made a fuss.
“Wow! You drew this? It’s so sexy!”
“So, this is the illustration work you were talking about. You’re really good!”
Thanks to that, I had to endure some teasing this morning. I had only mentioned that I did illustration work; I hadn’t specified the genre. Showing someone my drawings, especially my R-18 illustrations, was more embarrassing than I thought.
Anyway, time flew by.
The first class was an orientation, mostly consisting of repetitive self-introductions and professors outlining their courses. We passed the time by doing our own thing.
I discreetly sat in the back and tried to sneak in a nap. I almost embarrassed myself when my turn for self-introduction came, but thankfully, my friends woke me up just in time.
Friends. Such a beautiful word.
Thanks to them, I got some sleep.
“Haaa…”
“You’re going to rip your mouth. Do you plan to sleep through the entire day?”
Mi-hyun noona, with her short, curly hair, chided me. She looked bubbly, but she was surprisingly focused in class, even during a pointless orientation.
I gave an awkward laugh. “I was so sleepy I thought I was going to die.”
“You do look tired. You still have dark circles under your eyes. What were you doing all night? Working?”
Should I tell them? It was a bit embarrassing.
But it wasn’t something I particularly needed to hide, so I answered sheepishly,
“Not exactly a part-time job… but something similar. Freelance illustration work.”
“Illustration? You must be pretty good to be getting freelance work.”
Mi-hyun noona stared at me with surprise. Then, she grinned, reached out, and shook my hand vigorously.
“I should get close to Kang Cheol. The grade vending machine was right here!”
“What? Grade vending machine?” Sung-joo hyung suddenly sat up. He had been sleeping too, but he had a supernatural ability to detect any mention of grades.
“Hmm. He’s good at drawing?”
Sung-joo hyung, after wiping some drool off his chin, listened to Mi-hyun noona’s explanation. Why did I feel like this was getting out of hand? It was making me nervous.
Before I knew it, the six of us from the freshman orientation were gathered together. Sung-hyun’s eyes were also sparkling. He said excitedly,
“Cheol-jin, you draw? You never liked sitting still and doing stuff like that. That’s surprising.”
“Yeah, but after staying cooped up at home for so long, I started liking quiet activities.”
“Ah, I see…”
Sung-hyun, who had looked ready to bombard me with questions, shrunk back. I felt a little bad for using his weakness against him, but at least I had neutralized one threat.
But Sung-hyun was the weakest link.
Sung-joo hyung and Mi-hyun noona… the two social butterflies were the real influencers.
“We definitely have to have Kang Cheol in our group for any group projects!”
“We have Photoshop and Illustration classes, right? Being good at drawing will be helpful for modeling too. Our major is practically half design.”
“B-But doesn’t everyone know how to draw to some extent? Like Sung-joo hyung said, it’s half design.”
I quickly protested, worried that I would end up doing all the work for group projects. But everyone, including Seo-jin and A-reum, shook their heads.
“I can’t draw.”
“Me neither.”
“Me too. I can draw a little, but not well enough to get paid for it.”
“I don’t know!”
Then why did you choose Digital Content as your major?
I almost said it out loud, but it wasn’t that unusual. Some people chose their major based solely on their grades, and others probably thought they would learn the necessary skills in university. Besides, modeling didn’t require exceptional drawing skills. Of course, being good at drawing was an advantage.
Anyway, there was one thing to note here.
Sung-hyun hadn’t answered. And I knew that his childhood dream had been to become a manga artist.
“Come to think of it, Sung-hyun is even better at drawing.”
“Oh?!”
Everyone’s attention turned to Sung-hyun. He flinched, startled by the sudden spotlight. Sorry, buddy, but you have to share the burden.
As everyone started bombarding Sung-hyun with questions, one person didn’t let me off the hook.
“I’m only counting on Kang Cheol.”
“…You want a free ride?”
“I’m good at presentations! And research!”
I chuckled and shrugged. It wasn’t like we had a project right now.
Sung-joo hyung, who had been teasing Sung-hyun, suddenly said, “I’m starving. Let’s get lunch.”
·
A week passed quickly.
Orientation week was over.
I had become acquainted with a few classmates. Not because I initiated conversations. My group of friends was so noticeable that I benefited from the spillover attention.
The six of us from the freshman gathering—three guys, three girls—stood out among the still-awkward first-year students.
We were the first group to form.
But that wasn’t the only reason we were noticeable.
We’re all pretty striking, I guess.
A-reum and Sung-joo hyung were undeniably attractive, and the rest of us were also above average. Sung-hyun, in particular, stood out, albeit in a different way. He was so muscular that he looked like he belonged in the Physical Education department.
Because of this, I sometimes felt like I didn’t belong. Should I even be in this group?
A-reum’s advice kept me from spiraling into self-doubt. I kept reminding myself not to put myself down.
Aside from our group, everyone else still seemed awkward around each other. We had a class president, but they hadn’t organized anything, so there weren’t many opportunities to socialize. It seemed like many of my classmates were quiet and introverted, like me.
As we all awkwardly navigated the first week, unsure if we could call each other friends yet…
Right after class, “Attention, everyone. We have a brief announcement regarding the MT.”
A group of second-year students walked in and started talking.
It was time for the Membership Training (MT).
A sudden thought struck me.
Wait, what about the groups?
Would we be grouped with people we got along with?
I would have dreaded that in middle school when I was an outcast, but now, I desperately hoped for it. I was still awkward around everyone else…
The groups were randomly assigned. Thinking about it, it was obvious. They wouldn’t let us form our own groups so early in the semester.
Each group consisted of a second-year student leader, a sub-leader, and a group of freshmen. I was in group 3, and thankfully, Sung-joo hyung, A-reum, and Sung-hyun were in my group as well.
“Aw, Mi-hyun unnie and I are the only ones who got separated.”
“Yeah, put us in group 3 too!”
Seojin and Mi-hyun noona weren’t in our group. And they weren’t in the same group either. They were separated and placed with other students.
Honestly, I was relieved it wasn’t me. The thought of being the only one separated from my friends filled me with dread. I wanted to change, but that was too much too soon.
Soon, a KakaoTalk group chat was created.
The group leader had invited us.
Lee Soyeon: This is the group chat for group 3. I’m Lee Soyeon, a second-year student and your group leader.
Yoo Bam: Hi! I’m Yoo Bam, your sub-leader! I’m a third-year!
Strangely, the leader was a second-year, and the sub-leader was a third-year. Was it because they were part of the student council?
Maybe the third-year passed on the responsibility because they couldn’t be bothered.
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t me who was being bossed around.
Lee Soyeon: We’ll be choosing one male and one female freshman from each group to cross-dress. It’s a department tradition, so there are no objections. Any volunteers?
It was like a bolt from the blue. Cross-dressing? What kind of bizarre tradition was this?
Naturally, there were no volunteers.
The group chat fell silent.
So, the leader took drastic measures.
Lee Soyeon: We’ll use a ladder game.
Suddenly, a ladder game appeared in the chat.
I didn’t even know KakaoTalk had a ladder game feature.
“Please, please, please!”
I chanted as I pressed the button.
[Kang Cheoljin: Lose!]
I froze. What did “lose” mean? Did it mean I had to cross-dress, or did it mean I was safe?
Kim Sung-joo: Oh…
It was the latter.
Sung-joo hyung was chosen for the cross-dressing. And A-reum was chosen for the male costume.
“Yessss!” I cheered and danced around my room.
Buzz.
My phone vibrated, as if it had more to say.
I checked the message.
Lee Soyeon: Now, let’s think about what to do for the talent show. Keep in mind that those who are cross-dressing have to participate as well. Everyone in the group has to participate; that’s the rule.
“Oh…”
My excitement plummeted.
I had to go on stage…?
“I want to drop out.”
I wanted to skip the MT.
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