—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Well… So don’t make In-wook’s life difficult!”
When Si-hwa got serious, Ji-eun stuttered and tried to defend me.
“You said something earlier, right?”
“Be… Being rejected?”
I guess this is the end of our bond as master and disciple, Ji-eun.
It was a short time, but I’ll never forget you in my life.
“Choi In-wook.”
“…Yes.”
Formal speech naturally popped out.
“Who is this girl?”
“If I were to introduce her… She transferred to our academy today…”
“I’m Lee Ji-eun!”
As if she had lost her cowering demeanor from a moment ago, she shouted her name in a loud voice.
“Who are you to keep ignoring me without even introducing yourself!”
“Yoo Si-hwa.”
There was no further explanation for her.
“I’m Yoo Si-hwa.”
“Is that so! Ms. Si-hwa! Anyway, please don’t interfere with my intimate moment with In-wook anymore!”
Ji-eun glared at Si-hwa while slightly leaning her body towards me.
At this point, wasn’t it a talent for Ji-eun?
No matter how she chose her words, they were always full of controversy…
“Aha. Okay. So I’m the one who interfered with your intimate time and ruined it, right? Is that correct, Choi In-wook?”
“Exactly!”
Shut up. Please.
I couldn’t say it out loud, but I almost blurted out harsh words.
“No, no. I was just guiding! Uh, the teacher asked me to guide Ji-eun…”
I tried my best to match Si-hwa’s mood, waving both hands with all my might.
“Interfering? When did I ever treat you like that~”
“But In-wook. The fact that Ms. Si-hwa interfered with our sacred ritual…”
Unable to take it anymore, I raised my index finger and placed it on her mouth.
“…I’ll listen to you later. Later. For now, just be quiet. Okay?”
Ji-eun stopped talking and looked up at me, blinking her eyes.
She did look cute in the midst of it.
She looked twice as pretty when she shut her mouth.
Fortunately, the bell signaling class time rang, and the excruciating time with Si-hwa ended there.
“…Let’s talk again later, Choi In-wook.”
Leaving those words behind, Si-hwa returned to her classroom.
I sighed deeply as I watched her walk away.
“…Can I speak now?”
Ji-eun, who had been silently standing next to me, carefully asked me.
“Yeah. Let’s go too.”
I thought she might nag at me, but I had neither the energy nor the time for that.
I thought it might have been the longest lunchtime I had ever felt in my life.
An hour or so could feel this long.
Feeling drained, I blankly listened to the afternoon class in a half-dazed state.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“So after school, you go and do your thing. And let’s meet in front of the gym after dinner, okay?”
“But this is my thing?”
“No, how is this your thing?”
Ji-eun and I were bickering in front of the Deforme clubroom.
“I can join a club too, you know!”
“Hey, there are plenty of good places elsewhere. If you want, I can even recommend some.”
“But In-wook isn’t there!”
“Then your goal wasn’t club activities in the first place!”
The one who ended the seemingly endless argument with Ji-eun was none other than our club president, Oh Tae-soo.
“Hey! In-wook! Huh? Who’s that pretty girl?”
Despite being twenty-three years old, the way he spoke was almost no different from our fifty-year-old uncle.
“She’s just a classmate. I’ll sort it out quickly and come in. You go in first, senior.”
“No, why are you sorting me out! Am I an object? Is it okay for someone who’s going to be a teacher to be this heartless?”
You’re really talkative, disciple.
Let’s start with silent meditation for you first.
“In-wook, you. Not enough with Ye-na and Si-hwa, are you seeking a new encounter with a girl!”
“Ms. Ye-na?”
Ji-eun tilted her head and repeated Ye-na’s name.
“Ahem… Young lady. Don’t tell me you don’t know Ha Ye-na, the flower of the monstrous club Deforme?”
“Oh~ Is she that pretty?”
At the president’s words, Ji-eun looked at him with interest.
“Of course! Ye-na, you see, her personality is a bit, but she’s nice and kind. Although it’s a bit of a waste to give her to a guy like In-wook.”
…Are you Ye-na’s father or something?
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the president’s words.
In reality, Ye-na’s father had the opposite personality of Oh Tae-soo.
He was very taciturn and serious.
“Anyway! If you’re interested in our club, come in and have some tea~ Young lady~”
I sent a fierce rejecting gaze to the president, but it seemed it didn’t reach him.
“Wow, really? Thank you!”
After the president opened the door and went in, Ji-eun followed him closely.
Ah… I need a cigarette.
With that thought, I entered the clubroom with them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Wow!”
Ji-eun exclaimed as she saw Ye-na’s painting hanging in the center of our clubroom.
In a way, I thought it was a natural reaction. I got goosebumps when I first came here too.
“Who painted that?”
Perhaps because her reaction was so good, the president seemed to be in a great mood, smiling from ear to ear.
“That too~ is the work of our club’s representative beauty. Member Ha Ye-na.”
The president nodded with a pleased expression.
“Wow… Ye-na is not only good at painting but also pretty!”
That’s probably all she’s good at.
She’s also good at making coffee.
She was even an S-rank.
I was confident I could praise Ye-na better than anyone.
“So do you only draw monster paintings like this here all the time?”
“Well… First of all, it’s an art club, but everyone should think of it as a club where they can have fun and relax.”
The president, who had taken his place in his bedding amidst the chaos, answered her with only his face peeking out.
“That sounds great! I want to join too!”
“What!”
The president kicked off his blanket and hurriedly got up, frantically rummaging through the filing cabinet.
“Membership application… Membership application… Choi In-wook! What are you doing! Hurry up and find the membership application too!”
…I’d prefer if she didn’t join, you know?
“Ji-eun, I think other activities besides drawing would be more fun for you.”
But my persuasion was cut short by the president’s shout.
“Gah! Choi In-wook, you bastard! Are you trying to divert a member to another club as a member of Deforme? Who bribed you! Tell me now!”
Ah… Please… Can you not do this?
The thought of Ji-eun and the president being like this here every day was already making me dizzy.
Creak.
The sound of the door opening was heard.
“Hello.”
It was Ye-na’s voice.
“Oh! Ye-na, you’re here! Hey, hey, we might have a bumper crop this year if we do well~ Ye-na~”
Unlike the president who was making a fuss, Ye-na put down her bag with her usual indifferent expression.
“What’s this about a bumper crop again? You’re not saying we’ll have an exhibition with only my works for the festival and call it a bumper crop, are you?”
“Hey, hey. Would I go that far~ We can just reuse last year’s stuff!”
…Basically, you’re saying you won’t do anything, right?
“Ta-da~ Here’s our new member!”
The president went behind Ji-eun and grabbed her shoulders with both hands.
“I’m Lee Ji-eun!”
Ji-eun reached out her hand first to Ye-na, who looked a bit startled.
“Nice to meet you!”
“Ah… Yes. Nice to meet you too.”
Ye-na looked at me with an expression that said, ‘What is this again?’
“You’re Ms. Ye-na, right? The president talked a lot about you!”
“Ah~ Yes. I’m Ha Ye-na. But I haven’t seen you before, are you a 1st-year?”
“Yes! I transferred from another academy today.”
“I see.”
After finishing the handshake, Ye-na approached me.
“How’s your body doing?”
Even in this chaos, she was worried about my health.
“I’ve gotten much better. Thanks to you, my arm seems to have healed completely.”
“That’s a relief then. But how did Ji-eun know about this place? Even the existing students here hardly know about this club.”
“Ah~ That’s because In-wook brought me here!”
“…Choi In-wook did?”
“Yes!”
“…I’ve never seen him do any promotion or anything before. I guess he really liked the transfer student friend?”
Ye-na looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.
No… That’s not it… She followed me…
“But In-wook! Where’s your drawing? Ye-na’s is hanging over there.”
“Mine isn’t good enough to show others.”
In fact, I had drawn under Ye-na’s guidance for about two months, but my progress was minimal.
Still, it was a bit better than at first?
But it definitely wasn’t a well-drawn picture.
“Hey~ Still, we’ll be drawing together from now on, so show me~”
Since I came here to draw anyway, I took out my sketchbook from the bookshelf.
I opened it to the picture I had been working on most recently, thinking of finishing it, but Ji-eun started giggling next to me.
“Wow~ In-wook. I thought you’d be good at everything, but there’s something you’re bad at!”
“There are many things I’m bad at. Don’t make fun of me.”
It was the first time someone outside our club had seen my drawing, and as expected, it hurt a bit to get that reaction, even though I had anticipated it.
I tried my best to learn… Well… People have different areas they’re good at.
“Should I teach you? That’s not how you draw that.”
“It’s fine… If you’re going to join, just focus on your own drawing.”
“Hey~ I’m serious! It’s because you had the wrong teacher.”
I didn’t mind her making fun of my poor drawing, but I didn’t want Ye-na to get caught in the crossfire.
“The one who taught me isn’t at fault. I’m just bad at drawing.”
“Then take this opportunity and let me…!”
“…Choi In-wook. Learned from me.”
Ye-na’s voice came from behind us.
“If you’re that good at drawing, why don’t you show us?”
When I turned my head to look, Ye-na’s mouth was definitely smiling, but her face was stiff.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
