The Applauding Extra 8

#8

Hee-ae often made ambiguous expressions whenever Nam-hwi became more talkative than before. In fact, most people did. It was the first time the Five Great Kings had shown interest in anyone. The students were perplexed by this.

While everyone supported the friendship between the Five Great Kings and Cho-yeon, they were all disturbed by this different version of the Five Great Kings. The other day, Hee-ae suddenly grabbed me and just stood there silently.

What was Hee-ae’s expression like then? Since that moment, Hee-ae had gradually become calmer. Hee-ae had said:

“I was actually jealous of Cho-yeon-nim.”

After hesitating, I gently patted Hee-ae’s back. Hee-ae looked at me with a composed expression.

“Not anymore. I hope they become good friends.”

Hee-ae smiled with a straight posture.

Indeed, the Five Great Kings occupied a large part of everyone’s daily lives. Their change would have been awkward for everyone. Everything was temporary, and gradually the students were getting used to it.

I looked at Cho-yeon. We didn’t acknowledge each other at school, though we never explicitly discussed it. Feeling playful, I lay down, looked at Cho-yeon, and said:

“Let me sleep over.”

“Get lost.”

Cho-yeon threw the cushion he was holding at my face. This is too much—tomorrow’s the weekend anyway. Plus, thanks to the setup where most villains in web novels are separated from their parents, Cho-yeon lived alone.

“No?”

“…I don’t know.”

After a moment of silence, Cho-yeon answered as if his resolve had weakened. With a mischievous smile, I said:

“Actually, I can’t. Sorry.”

Cho-yeon kicked me hard as soon as I finished speaking. Even so, he controlled his strength so it wouldn’t hurt. He took back the cushion and said:

“Next time, just stay over.”

“Yes, next time.”

***

[Nam Hee-ae][7:41 PM] What are you doing tomorrow?

[Yu Shi-dan][7:43 PM] Nothing.

[Nam Hee-ae][7:49 PM] Want to meet up and study together tomorrow? Is 2 PM in front of Cafe A okay?

[Yu Shi-dan][7:54 PM] Sure. See you tomorrow.

I re-read the messages I exchanged with Hee-ae yesterday. Today is Saturday. Time has already flown by, and we’ve entered April. Though exam period was still a while away, I gladly decided to go out since this was my first planned meeting with Hee-ae.

I opened my closet door and threw on any t-shirt with a hoodie zip-up. Then I packed my pencil case and notebooks in my bag. How admirable that my first appointment with Hee-ae is a study date—I’m such an exemplary student.

Looking in the mirror, I shook my hair once to fix it. My ordinary black hair and black eyes reflected back at me. I shook my head once and called out loudly to my parents:

“I’m going out!”

The door closed as my parents told me to take care. I stopped in front of the gate to adjust my shoes.

As soon as I opened the front gate, the scent of flowers wafted toward me. I walked following the fragrance. Keep going and you’ll reach the busy intersection where Cafe A is located.

With April’s arrival, fully bloomed cherry blossoms accumulated like snow. The cherry blossom petals floated down gently like a warm winter. From a distance, the intersection looked like spring itself.

I walked along the cherry blossom tree-lined street toward Cafe A. From far away, Hee-ae waved and ran toward me. I waved back in greeting.

Hee-ae ran up to me and then abruptly stopped. He just paused after seeing me. I guess casual clothes looked awkward on me. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck.

“I told you not to run so fast.”

I went up to Hee-ae and patted his back.

“…”

Hee-ae avoided my gaze with a puppy-like expression. I waited for a while until Hee-ae seemed to calm down. When he appeared somewhat composed, I pointed at the cafe door.

“Let’s go in.”

I said as I opened the glass cafe door. The bell attached to the door rang with a clear sound.

Ding-a-ling—

“Welcome.”

The cafe was bustling with couples. A somewhat pale-looking employee smiled and greeted us. The staff member looks professional with that smile despite seeming tired. Mentally admiring this, I approached the counter with Hee-ae.

“May I take your order?”

“Yes, I’ll have a hot Americano, please. Hee-ae, order too.”

When I nudged Hee-ae, he finally stammered out his words. Hee-ae was strangely shy in unexpected situations. It made me wonder how he ever struck up a conversation with me on enrollment day.

“I-I’ll have a latte. One cafe latte, please.”

“I’ll process your payment now.”

After paying, we settled by the window of the cafe. The employee was busily moving around preparing our coffee. Understanding the hardships of part-time work, I watched them working with a sympathetic gaze.

“Look outside. Aren’t the cherry blossoms pretty?”

Hee-ae looked out the window and smiled faintly. I also turned my gaze outside and admired the cherry blossoms for a while. Soon after, Hee-ae took out the notebooks and pencil case he brought and stacked them neatly. I quietly followed Hee-ae’s lead and took out my books and pencil case.

“One Americano and one cafe latte are ready!”

I stood up at the employee’s loud call. I stopped Hee-ae as he was about to get up and brought the coffee myself. I handed the cafe latte to Hee-ae.

“Can you help me with just one problem?”

“Sure, show me the problem.”

Hee-ae took my workbook and calmly worked through the calculations.

“Ah, I got it. Here, this…”

As Hee-ae’s youthful voice explained methodically, I became immersed immediately. I tried to focus and not miss anything Hee-ae was saying.

“Thanks for explaining.”

I took back the workbook from Hee-ae and concentrated on solving the problem. It seems easier to focus when studying with a friend. And so we studied, looked out the window, studied again, and looked out the window again.

“Do you like flowers?”

Hee-ae had a puzzled expression.

“Yeah. I like them.”

I spoke slowly, still gazing outside. By the time exams end, the cherry blossoms will probably all have fallen. I resolved to appreciate them as much as possible now. Hee-ae flinched noticeably at my words.

“Mm, flowers are nice.”

Hee-ae said awkwardly. I stared blankly at Hee-ae’s unnatural behavior. Was there something strange about what I said?

In the end, not understanding, I shook my head and turned my attention back to the workbook. Hee-ae was studying so passionately that it felt awkward to interrupt him. Since I couldn’t just entertain myself, I tried to follow Hee-ae’s example and study hard. But halfway through, I gave up and started a conversation.

“You’ve been attending all the fan club meetings. Is it fun?”

“Huh?”

After much hesitation, Hee-ae nodded.

“You must really like the Five Great Kings.”

“Shi-dan, about the fan club meetings…”

Hee-ae glanced at me cautiously while rolling his mechanical pencil. I gestured with my eyes for him to continue.

“You don’t go much, right? I don’t see you there often.”

“Yeah. I don’t go much. Now it’s almost exam period.”

It’s nearly a month away, but let’s consider it exam period anyway. Hee-ae always seems to want to say more but never does.

I put down my empty Americano cup and closed my notebook. The clock showed 5:58 PM. The sunset penetrated through the window and soaked into me. Hee-ae’s golden eyes were tinged orange from the sunset.

“Let’s go.”

We left the cafe and walked a bit. This direction was opposite to my home. But knowing this, I still continued walking along the tree-lined street.

“It’s surprisingly difficult to catch those when you try.”

In the middle of our walk, Hee-ae caught a falling flower petal. I looked at the petal in Hee-ae’s hand and spoke. Hee-ae clenched his hand once with the cherry blossom petal in it.

“Shi-dan. You have flower petals in your hair too.”

“Really? Hee-ae, can you take them off for me?”

I tried to shake off the petals but eventually gave up and asked. Hee-ae brushed off the back of my head. I felt something flutter and fall.

Around the end of the row of cherry blossom trees, Hee-ae looked back.

“If we go further, it’ll get late.”

Just as Hee-ae said, I returned home 15 minutes later than usual. And Sunday flew by in a flash.

***

Now there’s only a week left until exams. Though it’s quite late, I’ve decided to start studying. I quickly opened my textbooks and skimmed through them.

‘I just need to focus on memorization.’

Fortunately, the first year of high school curriculum was manageable. It seems I only need to focus on memorizing the subjects that are already becoming hazy.

I started muttering and memorizing what I needed to learn. Two weeks of April had already passed. We were already entering exam period.

“Shi-dan, did you sleep late yesterday?”

How does Hee-ae always know these things? I smiled awkwardly at Hee-ae who rushed up to me as soon as I arrived at school.

“I was studying since there’s only a week left until exams.”

I tried to dismiss it casually. I memorized up to page 98 yesterday, so today I should be able to cover up to page 111. The sound of the pages turning was quite loud. Hee-ae closed the workbook he was solving and said:

“So what time did you go to sleep yesterday?”

“Just one hour later than usual. I’ll sleep early today.”

“What time do you usually sleep?”

I avoided his gaze and smiled awkwardly. These were the most persistent questions Hee-ae had ever asked me. I contemplated Hee-ae’s obsession with sleep.

Hee-ae stared at me with a not-quite-angry look and chattered away. His speech beginning with “How important is sleep,” was the longest thing Hee-ae had ever said. In the end, I shook my head and raised both hands.

“I’ll sleep early once the exams are over.”

Hee-ae shook his head back and forth. In-sae made a deflating sound as he laughed beside us.

“In-sae laughed.”

“Yeah.”

In-sae returned to his expressionless face. Feeling somewhat disappointed, I said:

“It suited you well though.”

He smiled slightly again. As I replaced the lead in my mechanical pencil, I asked:

“What’s the first class?”

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus