“Anyone have any ideas about what our class will do for our school’s tradition, the Cherry Blossom Festival?”
A bespectacled male student who looked every bit a ‘class president’ stood in front of the blackboard and asked for opinions from the students. As each student shouted their opinions loudly, Jaeyoon, who had been quietly watching them from the back seat, turned his head away.
It’s already April.
Outside the window, pink petals floated in the air, swaying with the breeze. The cherry trees, mostly still in bud, would fully bloom around the time when the school’s traditional “Cherry Blossom Festival”—the main setting of this game—begins, showering beautiful flower petals.
Jaeyoon reached out and caught a cherry blossom petal that had drifted into the classroom. When he gently opened his hand, a tiny pink petal rested delicately on his bandaged hand.
Jaeyoon blew the cherry blossom petal on his hand toward the window. The petal flew freely in the sky again.
Feeling a smile naturally forming on his lips, Jaeyoon looked at his own hand. The meticulously wrapped white bandage. As he gently caressed the bandage, yesterday’s events came to mind, making his face flush with heat.
Shaking his head from side to side to erase the person who appeared in his thoughts, Jaeyoon brought his hand to his hot cheek, pretending to rest his chin on it.
‘Somehow… I feel like I created an embarrassing memory…’
The things he had done yesterday kept flashing in his mind. How embarrassing…
“Ah, please! Can you give me some realistic suggestions?!”
The class president shouted loudly. Thanks to that, Jaeyoon snapped out of his thoughts and burst into small laughter after seeing what was written on the green blackboard.
- Play – No match for the drama club. Rejected.
- Maid Cafe – Are you sane? Rejected.
- Butler Cafe – Oh come on! Rejected.
- Seafood Restaurant – Do you think we have a budget for that? Rejected.
- Haunted House – I hate ghosts. Rejected by the president’s authority.
The class booed at the president’s abuse of power. But the president stubbornly ignored them without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
- Throwing balloons at faces – Yeah, at your face. Rejected.
- Handsome Man Contest – Get that guy out of here. Rejected.
8…
9…
10…
While Jaeyoon was looking adoringly at the opinions coming from the high school students’ minds, his eyes met with the class president’s. At that moment, a glimmer of hope flashed across the president’s eyes.
“Jaeyoon! Don’t you have any ideas?”
I don’t. The words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back after seeing the president’s desperate gaze. Please, please! Pleeeease! Though he didn’t say it out loud, the desperation was conveyed, and Jaeyoon blinked, racking his brain.
The only thing that came to mind for Jaeyoon, a college student, was a pub selling snacks like pajeon. In reality, pubs were common at universities, and they were also the most thriving businesses.
Something suitable for high school that would differentiate from other classes and be a good idea…
As Jaeyoon was rapidly turning his brain, yesterday’s scene came to mind again. The image of himself panicking after spilling rose tea…
Ah, stray thoughts… Wait, rose tea…?
“How about a tea cafe?”
“A tea cafe?”
At Jaeyoon’s suggestion, not only the class president but all the students turned to look at him. Smiling awkwardly at the attention focused on him, Jaeyoon continued.
“A tea cafe where we wear hanboks and sell things like Sujeonggwa or Yakgwa.”
Is the budget insufficient? It’s not like everyone has hanboks at home these days. As Jaeyoon frowned, the class president smiled broadly and hit the podium.
“That’s good!”
“Is the budget okay?”
“We have enough to buy tea and yakgwa!”
“What about hanboks…?”
“That’s-.”
The class president moved away from the podium. Second row from the blackboard. He stood in front of a male student who was sitting by the corridor, intently scanning a fashion magazine. Ignoring the student’s crumpled expression, the president smiled brightly and placed his hand on the student’s shoulder.
“Our fashion club designer and son of a hanbok shop will lend them to us cheaply.”
“Hey, do you want to die? Do you think my mom would allow that?”
“Fighting!”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“I’ll buy you chicken.”
“You want me to risk my life for just one chicken? Where are you selling these drugs?”
“Come on~ Your mom always ends up granting your requests, doesn’t she?”
“Only after I get beaten up several times!”
“Nike!”
At the president’s shout, the male student’s eyes wavered for a moment. The president didn’t miss it.
“The limited edition Nike shoes you wanted!!”
“You… will give those to me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay!”
Their palms collided. It was a touching scene reminiscent of a famous cartoon.
Hey, help me too! The male student’s shout was ignored by the president, who returned to the podium with a bright smile. The president erased everything scribbled on the blackboard and wrote “Hanbok Tea Cafe” in big letters.
“Now then… let’s decide how to decorate it!”
As the classroom became noisy again, Jaeyoon looked at the scene as if it was cute. I never thought I’d be preparing for a high school festival again at this age. Back then, it was such a bothersome thing, but seeing it again after growing up, it’s all memories.
…I think I just sounded really old just now? …Well, I am old…
‘Somehow, it felt like I was saying, “Back in my day…”‘
I’m only 28 years old, thought Jaeyoon, feeling somewhat bitter, when the bell signaling lunch time rang. The students who had been enthusiastically giving their opinions suddenly got up from their seats, kicked the classroom door open, and ran out to the corridor.
They’re like Usain Bolt. While leisurely sitting in his chair watching the students running down the corridor, Jaeyoon looked up at the sound of the class president calling him.
“Thank you. Really, really thank you, Jaeyoon!”
“We can do the Hanbok Tea Cafe all thanks to Heejun.”
“Of course.”
The president, who nodded briefly to Lee Heejun who had appeared boasting, thanked him several times and then left the classroom with Heejun, saying “Sleep well” as his final words.
After looking around the quiet classroom, Jaeyoon stretched. Feeling his stiff body loosening a bit, he collapsed onto his desk.
Knowing that Jaeyoon sleeps instead of eating in the cafeteria during lunch time, the classmates said “Sleep well” to him instead of inviting him to eat together.
Jaeyoon’s hair fluttered in the breeze. A perfect quietness for such a sunny day. It was a good environment for sleeping.
As Jaeyoon was happily closing his eyes to the drowsiness that was creeping in, the classroom door opened noisily. Did someone forget something? Too lazy to check who it was, Jaeyoon just kept his eyes closed and waited for the student to leave. But instead of leaving, the student approached Jaeyoon with large strides.
What is it?
Jaeyoon’s brow furrowed slightly. After the initial possession, his classmates didn’t wake him up when he was sleeping. That meant the person approaching him now wasn’t from Jaeyoon’s class.
He could sense that the person who had stopped right in front of Jaeyoon was checking him out, even though his eyes were closed.
Who could it be?
Although he was curious, Jaeyoon had a feeling that if he got up now, something troublesome would happen, so he stubbornly kept his eyes closed, pretending to sleep.
“Did everyone leave without waking him up?”
Jaeyoon’s eyebrows twitched upon hearing the voice. Why did he come looking for me? Jaeyoon barely swallowed the sigh that was about to escape.
“Hey, it’s lunch time. Wake up.”
Jaeyoon tried his best to ignore the person who was grabbing his shoulder to wake him up. But the other person was just as stubborn. Seeing that Jaeyoon showed no signs of waking up, he started shaking Jaeyoon’s body left and right while shouting loudly.
“Hey, Lee Jaeyoon! It’s lunch time!”
Feeling that if he didn’t get up now, it would be obvious he was pretending to sleep, Jaeyoon reluctantly opened his eyes slowly. Oh, finally awake? At the voice tinged with joy, Jaeyoon let out a small sigh and leaned back against the chair.
After massaging his neck once, Jaeyoon turned his head to look at the other person. He could see hair that looked dry due to bleaching.
“Im Hangyeol.”
“Don’t you have any close friends in your class? How come no one woke you up during lunch time?”
Jaeyoon exhaled a bursting sigh and ran his right hand through his hair. At that, Im Hangyeol’s orange eyes wavered greatly as he looked at Jaeyoon.
“Hey, that, that… what happened to it?”
Jaeyoon kept his mouth shut as Im Hangyeol pointed at his right hand. He couldn’t possibly say he burned himself while making a fuss alone. But Im Hangyeol seemed to interpret Jaeyoon’s behavior differently, and asked in confusion:
“Is it… because of me…?”
‘That would be my arm, not my hand.’
Jaeyoon thought about showing his arm hidden under the cardigan but gave up because it was too troublesome. Honestly, if he were to determine the cause, it was indeed Im Hangyeol’s fault.
If he hadn’t gripped my arm so tightly and caused bruises, I wouldn’t have gone to Jinhoo Sunbae’s room and done those embarrassing things.
Im Hangyeol’s eyebrows furrowed as he took the silence filled with various meanings as a yes. Seeing his face full of apology, Jaeyoon let out a small sigh and got up from his seat.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. Next time, listen when someone is talking.”
Jaeyoon patted Im Hangyeol’s shoulder as he passed by, leaving him in the classroom and going outside. Since the classroom was disturbed, I’ll go to the infirmary to sleep.
Im Hangyeol, left alone in the classroom, stared at the classroom door quietly. Then he looked down at his hand blankly. Damn it. Im Hangyeol muttered under his breath.
***
“Ugh…”
Jaeyoon’s expression crumpled at the face he saw as soon as he opened the infirmary door. Following Im Hangyeol, they’re appearing one after another. Jaeyoon was about to close the infirmary door and leave. But the other person didn’t allow it.
“Didn’t you come to the infirmary because you had something to do?”
“I did, but not anymore. So if you’ll excuse me…”
“Lee Jaeyoon.”
Jaeyoon’s body froze. Isn’t this the first time he’s called me by name? Jaeyoon raised his head to look at Han Doyoon. Though he was clearly smiling, unlike usual, his eyes were sunken low. Is he in a bad mood?
“What is it?”
Han Doyoon stared at Jaeyoon intently without saying anything after calling him. From his face to his collarbone, his legs. Jaeyoon’s brow furrowed. That bastard again…!
“If you have no business, I’ll be going.”
Jaeyoon put strength into his hand holding the infirmary door. He wanted to slam the door shut, but the other person was a character with immense power and wealth in this game. Not wanting to disturb his mood and create troublesome situations, Jaeyoon closed the door while mentally drawing dozens of patience characters.
“Haa…”
He let out a long sigh that rose from deep within. It seemed like sleeping today wasn’t meant to be. Thinking he might as well go eat, he was about to head to the cafeteria when—
BANG!
The infirmary door opened with a loud noise. Han Doyoon’s red eyes looked down at Jaeyoon after opening the door so violently that one might worry it had broken.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
