NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34
The night before school starts
My mother said,
“Do you remember Baek-hwi?”
“Yeah, Min-ha’s Auntie’s son.”
“Right. I talked to Min-ha after a long time, and Baek-hwi got assigned to your middle school too?”
“Oh, really? So what?”
He’s probably doing well.
Not that I’m particularly curious.
“It’d be nice to know someone. So you can get close.”
“Fine.”
“Have you packed everything you need?”
“Ugh, am I a kid?”
“Do-hee, why are you so snappy today?”
“Sorry, I’m just really tired. I’m going to sleep first.”
Ugh, the practice sessions feel tougher these days.
I keep yawning from being tired.
“Sigh, then go to sleep already.”
.
.
.
The first school commute to middle school.
Su-jin, who was assigned to the same middle school, begged me to walk together in the morning, so I reluctantly agreed.
When I arrived at the meeting spot, Su-jin was already there.
“Jeong Su-jin, I’m here. Let’s go.”
Su-jin said cheerfully with a lively voice early in the morning.
“Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go~”
Su-jin seemed excited about the first day of school, chattering away happily along the way.
I just answered vaguely, and before I knew it, we reached the school.
“Well, I’m going in then.”
“It would have been nice if we were in the same class…”
Since Su-jin and I ended up in different classes, we had to part ways to our own rooms.
“If we’re in the same class next year, that’s good. Now hurry up and go.”
“I know…”
As I turned to head to my class, Su-jin grabbed my arm and said,
“Do-hee, you’re having lunch with me today, right?”
“You should eat with the kids in your class. You need to get to know them.”
“Why… let’s eat together.”
She was so excited on the way to school, but it looks like she’s getting worried now that it’s time to enter the class.
“You’ll make friends quickly anyway. If there’s no one to eat with, just let me know then.”
“Okay…”
“Alright, go in.”
I entered my assigned Class 1.
As I walked in, the kids who had already arrived were sitting together, chatting among themselves, clustered based on which school they came from.
The back seat by the window was empty.
Score!
I sat down, hung my bag, and put in my wireless earbuds.
Then, I listened to my singing video from the end-of-month assessment a few days ago to check it again.
The more I listened, the more I noticed things I could improve on.
Ugh, I should have worked on the ending notes more.
While I was listening, a girl came over and spoke to me.
“Hi, Do-hee.”
I took out my earbuds and looked at her.
Who is she?
As I stared blankly, the girl said,
“We were in the same class in fifth grade. I’m Hye-joo.”
Oh.
I think I remember her.
I should at least act like I know her…
“Oh, Hye-joo! I didn’t recognize you because of your makeup.”
“Yeah! If the seat next to me is empty, can I sit there?”
I wish she would just go away.
“Yeah, sit down.”
A moment later, two more girls came over and spoke.
Two girls approached from behind and said,
“Oh! Hye-joo!”
Hye-joo jumped up excitedly as if she was thrilled to see them.
“Min-kyung! Ji-ah, are you both in Class 1? Jackpot!”
Naturally, the girls called Min-kyung and Ji-ah sat in the seat in front of me.
Ha-ah…
If they’ve sat down, they should start chatting, right? The girl called Min-kyung spoke to me.
“Do-hee, you remember me, right? We were in the same class in the third grade.”
Ah. Really?
“Oh, yeah, I remember. It’s been a while.”
The girl named Ji-ah also chimed in.
“I was in the same class in the third grade too!”
“Then~ you know me.”
Honestly, I don’t remember a single one of them.
The girls continued talking excitedly.
“But Do-hee, are you wearing lip tint?”
“No, I’m just wearing sunscreen and lotion.”
“Wow, really? I thought you were wearing makeup!”
“Whoa, I thought you completely had makeup on, but is that all you’re wearing?”
“Just some ampoule and essence for skincare after washing my face…?”
“Really?”
Why would I be lying?
“Do-hee, do you have Instagram?”
“Oh, I have one! Share yours with me.”
“Ah, no. I don’t use Instagram.”
“What? Why not? If you did, you’d become an influencer right away!”
“I just don’t like social media…”
Just look at my mom; she’s all over social media.
“Then Do-hee, I don’t have your number, so give it to me.”
“Me too!” “Me too!”
Ugh.
I’m tired.
A moment later, a young female teacher, who looked like our homeroom teacher, came in and said,
“Alright everyone, we’re going to have the entrance ceremony, so please head to the playground and line up.”
“Yes.”
“And is Lee Do-hee here?”
I raised my hand and said,
“Yes, I’m Do-hee Lee.”
“Oh, student, please follow me.”
As I followed the teacher out to the playground, she handed me an award case and said,
“Do-hee, you’re the new student representative today!”
“Oh, the new student representative. Okay.”
Usually, the new student representative is the top student in the entrance exam, so I guess I did well on the placement test.
“You just need to give a brief oath as the representative, so when it’s your turn…”
The teacher explained how to conduct the oath.
…
“Next, we will have the entrance oath from the new student representative.”
I went up to the podium. And there was a camera capturing this moment.
“Oath.”
I raised my hand, fingers pinched together, and said,
“We, the 243 new students of Seoul Suan Middle School, solemnly swear to abide by the school rules and study hard to become honest and wise individuals.”
The camera flash went off.
I should definitely ask the teacher for this picture and save it later.
I should tell Ms. Jin-do and save this later.
That way I can brag about being the new student representative later.
.
.
.
After the simple entrance ceremony, all the students returned to the classroom.
Sitting back in the same spot, the girls surrounded me again, chattering away.
“Do-hee, why did you become the new student representative?”
“Aren’t the top scorers in the entrance exam usually chosen?”
“Really?”
“Do-hee was super smart, got perfect scores in elementary school, right?”
“Wasn’t that just a rumor?”
“It must be true, right Do-hee?”
“Haha, I was just lucky…”
‘I really hope they chatter among themselves. I’m exhausted.’
Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the homeroom teacher came in, and the kids quieted down.
The teacher wrote her name on the board and spoke.
“Hey, everyone, nice to meet you! My name is Cha Min-jung.”
“I’m going to conduct an orientation on what middle school life will be like, but first, you’ve all sat where you want, right? Let’s arrange ourselves by number.”
The kids sighed and got up to move to their assigned seats.
Phew, thank goodness.
It’s a shame I’m away from the window, but being surrounded by girls is a hundred times better than the pain in the ears.
When I got to my seat with my number, I ended up with a girl I had never seen before as my partner.
I sat down and said to her.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.”
She looked at me with a nervous face and replied.
“Uh… Hi!”
She’s pretty cute.
After the introductions, I rested my chin on my hand and listened to the teacher’s explanations until the second period ended.
When break time came, all the kids were busy getting to know their partners.
I, however, took out my phone to check the sports news.
Oh, looks like the dog team won yesterday.
Come to think of it, it’s been forever since I’ve watched soccer because I’m so tired.
While I was looking at my phone, I noticed my partner, the girl, debating whether to talk to me or not, her mouth twitching.
Geez, she’s cute, so I’ll let it slide.
I turned to her and said.
“I didn’t tell you my name, did I? I’m Lee Do-hee. What about you?”
“Oh..! I’m Yoo So-hee.”
She seems cute, so she probably got a lot of compliments, but why is she so shy?
“Is that so? Nice name. Where did you go to school?”
“Oh, I just moved here from Incheon…”
“Oh, really?”
So, she doesn’t know anyone here.
If I get close to her, I can use her as an excuse to hang out quietly together.
But she’s so shy and cute, like a newborn puppy, I want to tease her.
“Do you know Daeshik from Bupyeong in Incheon?”
“Uh…?”
“What? You lived in Incheon and don’t know Daeshik? He’s the best in Bupyeong!”
“Oh… I’m sorry…”
She seems scared and can’t even look me in the eye.
Ah, why is she so cute?
“Haha, just kidding, just kidding. There’s no such person. I was just trying to get you to relax. Sorry if I scared you.”
“Ah… No! Hehe…”
So incredibly cute.
Yup!
I want to bite you.
Sohee, perhaps mustering her courage, opened her eyes wide and said something.
“Um… Dohee, I was really surprised when I first saw you because you’re so pretty!”
“Ah, really? It’s the first time I’ve heard someone say I’m pretty.”
Sohee widened her already round eyes even more in surprise.
“Really…?”
“Yeah, it’s really the first time.”
“You’re totally pretty…”
“How am I pretty?”
Sohee seemed flustered as she examined my face from all angles before answering.
“Um… your eyes are really big… your eyelashes are long, your nose is pretty, your mouth is pretty…”
“And?”
“Your face is small and… um…”
Ah, I want to tease her more.
But I’m really worried she might get scared, so I can’t keep going.
“I’m just kidding, haha! Sohee, you’re really cute too.”
“Ah… thank you.”
“You’re really too cute.”
“Hehe…”
“Do you want to be close friends with me from now on?”
“Yeah…”
Sorry, Do-ah.
I think I gained a little sister today.
Of course, my number one in my heart is our Do-ah…
As we chatted and exchanged numbers, the school bell rang.
It was time for third period math.
The math teacher came in.
After introducing herself, she started the orientation, which was typical for the first day.
She explained that the math class would be divided into upper and lower levels after combining classes 1 and 2.
Thinking about it, I remember that in my previous life, we had mobile classes for both math and English too.
After third period ended, the teacher pasted the class division list on the bulletin board and left.
“Should I check what class Sohee is in?”
I went up to check the list.
For now, I’ll be in the upper class.
Sohee is… also in the upper class.
As I scanned the upper class list, I saw more familiar names.
Class 2 Baek-hwi, Class 2 Jeong Su-jin.
Looks like Baek-hwi is in class 2 as well.
He was kind of fun to tease when he was younger.
.
.
.
Lunchtime rolled around.
Even though I had gotten a bit closer to Sohee, she hesitated to ask to eat together and was mumbling to herself.
What to do with someone so cute?
“Sohee, shall we go eat?”
“Don’t you need to eat with your friends…?”
I’m so proud of Sohee for thinking of my position first.
“I don’t have any friends.”
“Really…? But I saw you talking a lot with the class this morning…”
“They’re just familiar faces. You’re the only friend I have.”
Sohee’s face brightened up immediately.
Just as Sohee was about to continue speaking, Su-jin came over to our class with a pitiful expression and said to me,
“I can’t make friends… Dohee, let’s eat lunch together.”
Ah.
When I turned to look at Sohee, her face, which had been bright, was now on the verge of tears.
Am I now the main character in a yuri love triangle?
.
.
.
So I just made them both friends.
During the end-of-month evaluation season, I’ll probably sneak out for lunch like it’s nothing, but if both have no friends and skip lunch, how would that work?