The Applauding Extra 10

#10

“Oh dear.”

This was already the third time today. In-sae barely caught me as I staggered and said:

“What’s wrong with you today?”

“Guys, I have something to confess.”

I finally made up my mind at In-sae’s question. I had to tell them what I’d been hiding since last week. In-sae, who had completely figured me out in that time, slightly furrowed his brow as he looked at me. He already knew that when I talked like this, it was after I’d done something reckless. With a dazed expression, I looked at In-sae and Hee-ae and said:

“Actually, since Tuesday this week, I’ve been staying up all night studying for the exams…!”

As soon as I spoke, Hee-ae, who was particularly obsessed with sleep, looked at me with burning eyes. In-sae sighed and gave me a look that said I was hopeless.

“You said you’d be fine even if you stayed up for two nights.”

Sharp. In-sae remembered well that I had said staying up for two nights would be fine. Avoiding his gaze, I replied to In-sae’s question:

“Last week too…”

Hee-ae lunged at me with the most valiant spirit I’d ever seen from him. He grabbed my collar and shook me.

“You told me you were going to sleep early!”

“Why on earth did you have to tell him that?”

In-sae clicked his tongue as he watched Hee-ae shake me by my collar. Yeah, why did I say it? Sometimes I think I do foolish things. True to his sleep-obsessed nature, Hee-ae declared that if I didn’t sleep, he would pretend not to see me for a while.

“That’s harsh…”

As soon as I finished speaking, Hee-ae glared at me, so I had no choice but to close my mouth. After that, every time I went up or down the stairs, I noticed In-sae’s hand twitching, ready to catch me at any moment. What a good friend.

“Careful.”

In the end, before I could half-collapse, In-sae grabbed my waist and spoke. I clapped my hands and smiled at In-sae.

“That was perfect timing. Thanks.”

Seemingly surprised, I removed his firm hand from my waist and carefully went down the stairs this time.

***

I shook my head vigorously against the unstoppable fatigue. I wasn’t particularly sleepy, but I was insanely tired. In the end, I gave up on eating lunch. In-sae and Hee-ae also bought bread from the school store and sat down. In-sae chose a pizza bread, and Hee-ae picked a cream bread.

The two of them unwrapped their packages and each took a big bite of their bread. In-sae glanced at the clock. Despite it being exam period, In-sae actively participated in fan club activities. Of course, I didn’t go, using exams as an excuse.

In-sae looked at the time and practically stuffed the pizza bread into his mouth. Hee-ae opened his already big eyes wider and told him to eat slowly. Only after confirming that In-sae was eating more slowly did Hee-ae take his eyes off him.

“Want some?”

Hee-ae said, breaking off a piece of his cream bread. With a weak smile, I gently pushed the hand holding the cream bread back toward Hee-ae. I didn’t have much of an appetite.

“Eat.”

In-sae tore off a piece of bread from an area where his mouth hadn’t touched and put it in my mouth. Refusing to let me skip a meal—you’re a true Korean, aren’t you? He even tossed me a candy.

How many minutes had passed since then? I started nodding off. The sleep that had been so elusive was finally coming. In-sae was already gone. He must have gone to do fan club activities. Hee-ae looked at me, seemingly noticing that I was dozing off.

The last thing I saw were those golden eyes before I drifted into sleep. The sleep that had been so reluctant to come. The brief dream I had was completely black in my vision.

Then suddenly, the surroundings became quiet, and I woke up. A blanket fell from my shoulder. I don’t like the quiet classroom, though I’m not sure when it became so silent.

I usually kept my eyes wide and round. It made me look more friendly. But unlike usual, with the oncoming drowsiness, I had no choice but to keep my eyes narrowly open. Hee-ae and all the other kids had disappeared.

“So cool!”

“Wooooaaaahhhh!”

Seeing the commotion by the window, everyone must have rushed to the playground. From a distance, I could hear someone shouting about being ranked n again.

‘As expected, with nothing better to do during exam period, someone has come to have another hierarchy battle or whatever.’

I thought as I unsteadily raised my head. And then I set out to find Hee-ae. Actually, if I had been just a bit more awake, I wouldn’t have bothered searching and would have stayed in the classroom. Hee-ae, like the other kids, would soon return to the classroom after watching.

But unfortunately, I was intoxicated by the sleep that had finally come after a long time. My sleep-drunk brain decided that I should go find the kids.

I slowly gathered the blanket and narrowly avoided falling over mid-way. Holding my hazy head, I opened the classroom door.

“Oh my…”

And instead of the clear corridor air, I bumped into someone’s upper body. Instead of the corridor, I saw our school’s familiar uniform vest. Amazing to not wear a jacket when it’s still cold.

“I’m sorry.”

I quickly apologized. And since that student was blocking the door, I squeezed through the gap to get outside. I rubbed my stinging nose.

Yawning quietly as I entered the corridor, I could see the fan club group walking from a distance. In-sae and the fan club president were among the kids in the center.

“In-sae.”

Unconsciously smiling, I called out to In-sae. Being tall, In-sae was easily visible even among the fan club members. When I gestured, the fan club kids looked at me strangely. They probably thought I was sleeping throughout lunch.

After the group of kids came closer, I approached In-sae. In-sae turned his body toward me and asked:

“Still not fully awake?”

How did he know? In-sae’s cold hands, which seemed to have been outside, touched near my eyes. Startled by the coldness, which I disliked, I fully woke up.

“Argh.”

Flustered, I swatted In-sae’s hand away. Then, quickly blinking my eyes that were now completely free from drowsiness, I said:

“Thanks for waking me up.”

“You’re welcome.”

In-sae shrugged and responded indifferently. Although I had swatted his hand away, he didn’t seem to be offended. I decided that if I’m not fully awake later, I should place something cold near my eyes.

“But why did you specifically touch my eyes?”

“They’re swollen.”

Ah, making a sound of acknowledgment, I brought my hand to my eyes. As In-sae said, they did seem slightly swollen. I pressed firmly around my eyes to reduce the swelling. But isn’t it spring in April now? In-sae’s hands were unusually cold.

“Do you have cold extremities?”

“Yeah.”

Oh dear. That’s unfortunate. Must be tough.

The fan club people seemed excited, stopping in the corridor to talk. Since I was a fan club member anyway, I naturally blended in among them.

It seemed that earlier, someone had come to the school to have another hierarchy fight. The fan club president praised the Five Great Kings with an expression of awe as if writing an epic poem. Thanks to this, I could hear all about what Han Yeo-wol did and what Ban Eun-gyeol did without having seen it myself.

“And then he turned and entered the school, and no one dared to stop him. Around him, everything was dyed so intensely, like the reddest light emitted as the sun sets.”

So what was it dyed with? Blood? And even though it’s bright daylight now, you’re saying the sunset is setting? Is this what they call literary license or poetic license or whatever?

I lost focus again despite having just woken up. Then, seeing Hee-ae coming from a distance, I ran over. Hee-ae stopped awkwardly with an unreadable expression. He asked kindly:

“Did you wake up? You look tired.”

“Yeah. Oh, is this blanket yours?”

Hee-ae looked at the blanket in my hands and answered yes. I was about to return it to Hee-ae, but after hesitating a bit, he covered me with it again.

“Keep it wrapped around you. Um… Shi-dan gets cold easily.”

Hee-ae said, avoiding eye contact. I thanked him with a smile. I followed the kids in a daze for a while.

‘Who was that person I bumped into when I was coming out? And where are these kids going now?’

“Kyaaaaahhhhh!”

Hearing those screams again today, the Five Great Kings must be coming. I clapped my hands half-heartedly while staring blankly into the air. The kids cheered loudly.

“You were amazing today too, Ban Eun-gyeol-nim!”

“Sea’s Requiem Nam-hwi-nim! Sing a requiem for me, I’d die for it!!”

The fan club members, seemingly tired from exams, screamed loud enough to hurt my ears. Hee-ae couldn’t bring himself to scream along and just opened and closed his mouth.

“I’m, I’m a fan.”

Hee-ae shouted as loudly as he could manage. For some reason, I felt proud and clapped for Hee-ae. I’d always wondered about this, but those ear-splitting high notes were being made by the short boy standing at the very back.

“Two Hearts Lee Ye-gyeol-nim and Lee Han-gyeol-nim!! I’ll give you my heart, so please change your title to Three Hearts!”

My ears are buzzing. Though I was half out of it, I could still recognize Cho-yeon standing at the front. I blinked slowly at Cho-yeon. Cho-yeon gave me a fleeting glance as he passed by. When I mouthed “fighting” to him, he frowned. But I saw him smile for a moment.

The next day, Friday, Hee-ae stopped studying and asked:

“I heard you bumped into Han Yeo-wol-nim on your way out yesterday, is that true?”

“When?”

“Looks like you really didn’t recognize him.”

The student sitting in front of me said in a sympathetic tone. Can’t you sometimes pass by someone’s face without recognizing them when you’ve just woken up?

“How are we supposed to recognize them?”

“It’s because I had just woken up.”

I protested vehemently. The student in front grinned with a good-natured smile. In-sae, sitting some distance ahead, turned around and rested his chin on his hand.

“I recognized him.”

“That’s because you were more awake by then.”

“Is there anyone who wouldn’t recognize one of the Five Great Kings because they weren’t fully awake?”

The fan club president, sitting in the next row, pretended to be shocked. Hee-ae fidgeted with his hands and said:

“When I wake up, even I can’t recognize people.”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. You would recognize them.”

“But you didn’t recognize the Five Great Kings-nim.”

The president immediately cut in. Finally, I surrendered and wrapped up the conversation.

“I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus