Morning, when people wake from sleep and begin a new day.
As if she hadn’t finished unpacking yet, opened boxes lay scattered here and there throughout Yeoncheong’s studio apartment. The disordered state of the house spoke for Yeoncheong’s heart.
A bed that still smelled new. Yeoncheong, with only her blue hair and face poking out from beneath the blanket, was still drunk with sleep. When sunlight began to stream through the curtains, she buried her head under the covers.
“Uuugh…”
Worries about new matters or environments usually led to one of two results. Either you stayed up all night unable to sleep from excessive worry, or you succumbed to accumulated fatigue and fell into a deep, late slumber.
“Why’s it so brigh…t?”
Grumbling at the blazing sunlight, Yeoncheong kicked off the blanket and got up. She checked the smartphone by her bedside and muttered.
“Ah… I’m doomed.”
Oversleeping, and being late.
Yeoncheong’s result from her worries was the latter.
***
Propelling herself with momentum, Yeoncheong got out of bed. The unmade bedding shook violently. She went straight to the closet and reached out. She took out the school uniform hanging neatly as a set and threw it onto the bed.
*Good thing I took it out yesterday.*
Yeoncheong had prepared it in advance, planning to try it on once.
At the mere thought of having to rummage through boxes looking for her uniform when being late was already certain, her head shook side to side on its own.
After taking out her clothes, Yeoncheong went straight into the bathroom. She washed her hair, which had become unruly overnight, and after finishing washing her face, she picked up the hairdryer.
“No, seriously, if it were any longer than this, how long would it take to dry?”
Though her hair only came down to about her shoulders, to Yeoncheong, even that felt too long. The hair length she thought she had grown used to grated on her nerves when coupled with the situation of being late.
“I should’ve just cut it short…”
It was a length born of compromise because her parents’ friend had fiercely opposed it. Yeoncheong shook off her stray thoughts and moved her hands busily.
In the end, it was Yeoncheong herself who had decided on it, tempted by the comment that it suited her well.
After coming out from drying her hair, Yeoncheong became even busier. The time to leave for school had already passed.
They say that when you’re out of your wits, there’s no room for other thoughts. Throwing off her pajamas onto the bed, Yeoncheong put on the skirt and white shirt. It was completely different from yesterday, when she had needed to mentally prepare herself before putting on each piece.
Blaming the smartphone alarm that had done its duty, Yeoncheong put on her socks and rose from the bed. In her hand was the blazer.
Her destination was the full-length mirror. This, too, was a gift from her parents’ friend, who had insisted that a girl ought to have at least one mirror.
Yeoncheong, who had opposed it at first, was now somewhat satisfied. There was nothing more convenient than this for checking whether she had put her clothes on wrong.
After putting on the blazer and adjusting her attire, Yeoncheong looked at herself in the mirror.
“It’s been over a month already… still can’t believe it.”
Yeoncheong, who had been fidgeting and standing on her tiptoes, sighed and averted her eyes from the mirror. The smartphone’s ringtone, still deserving of blame, was ringing.
Teacher Han Jisu.
It was her homeroom teacher’s call. Yeoncheong slid across the room to the smartphone and answered.
“Hello?”
“Hello. It’s Yeoncheong, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m your homeroom teacher, Han Jisu. I noticed you hadn’t arrived yet, so I called.”
It was exactly what she had expected. Yeoncheong spoke the words she had rehearsed while washing up.
“I was nervous, so I overslept. I’m all ready; I just need to head out. It’s close, so if I run, I’ll get there quickly.”
“Can you get here before the opening ceremony?”
Yeoncheong gauged the current time and the distance to the school and nodded. She didn’t forget to answer the person on the other end.
“If that’s the case, that’s fine. I just wanted to give you a brief introduction to the class before the entrance ceremony.”
The teacher’s advice not to rush and get hurt crossed with words of apology. Having finished the call, Yeoncheong moved immediately. Just as she was about to grab her light bag and leave, she met eyes with herself in the mirror one last time.
After hesitating briefly, Yeoncheong spoke her new name aloud.
“Ha Yeoncheong… It’s a school where people of similar ages go anyway. Don’t be nervous.”
Ha Yeoncheong lightly slapped her cheeks a couple of times with both hands and left the house.
***
The studio apartment she had put in the legwork to find until the very end proved its worth. Thanks to being near the school, she could avoid the disaster of missing the opening ceremony on her very first day at her new school.
For Yeoncheong, who aimed for an ordinary school life, it was a relief.
Yeoncheong ran lightly toward the school. She couldn’t actually walk leisurely just because she had been told to take her time.
She had tried it on beforehand, but moving in it was an entirely different matter. Though the lower half, with its perfect ventilation, felt empty, a more important problem had arisen for Yeoncheong.
*Self-introduction… ugh… what should I say?*
As she ran, the worry about her self-introduction had stolen the place of being late in Yeoncheong’s mind. Having never transferred schools before, she was simply at a loss as to what to do.
Yeoncheong racked her brain, worrying about a suitable greeting.
Because the school arrival time had already passed, Yeoncheong was the only one running in a school uniform. Having gone there a few times to take care of various minor matters, she knew the way. Reaching the school would be quick.
*The second-years are on the second floor of the main building, right?*
Arriving at the second floor in one breath without resting, Yeoncheong surveyed the hallway. Her eyes met a female teacher who was half-leaning between the classroom and the hallway.
The moment they saw each other, they realized they were homeroom teacher and student.
The female teacher beckoned, and Yeoncheong walked quietly toward the classroom. The students in the classroom, having witnessed the homeroom teacher’s signal, poked their heads out and craned their necks.
Having changed her shoes, Yeoncheong followed the teacher inside.
Teacher Jisu, having seated all the students who had been peeking through the hallway windows, spoke.
“Well. I don’t know where you heard the rumors, but you all know, don’t you? She’s a friend who transferred to our school today. It’d be best to hear the self-introduction directly from her, right?”
Teacher Jisu stepped back, creating a space for Yeoncheong to come forward. Naturally, the students’ gazes shifted from the teacher to Yeoncheong.
For Yeoncheong, who had spent the last four years seeing only boys in the classroom, the current classroom full of only girls was an awkward sight. For a boys’ middle and high school student who would shout just at seeing a passing girl, the situation itself was stimulating.
The resolution she had made before leaving the house, and the greeting she had rehearsed while running to school, both became meaningless. Yeoncheong lowered her head, seeming somehow awkward and also shy, and opened her mouth.
“I-I’m Ha Yeoncheong. Please take care of me from now on…”
The script she had crafted after much deliberation had long since become a blank page, and what came out of her mouth was a simple greeting carrying only her name.
When no words followed, Teacher Jisu tilted her head forward. The homeroom teacher, having checked Yeoncheong’s state, supplemented the clumsy self-introduction.
“She’s a friend who came from a completely different region, so she’ll be very awkward, okay? Please get along well with her.”
Having spoken that far, Teacher Jisu also ran out of things to say. It was difficult to do the self-introduction in her stead based on having only met her a few times before the transfer.
Just as she was worrying about what else to say, the school broadcast rang out.
“Ahem. Hwaryeong High School’s first-semester opening ceremony will now proceed, so students are requested to gather in the gymnasium.”
As the broadcast of the same content began for the second time, Teacher Jisu clapped her hands and spoke to the students.
“It’s already this late. Kids, let’s hurry to the gymnasium.”
The students got up from their seats, grumbling as if annoyed. As they filed out of the classroom through the front and back doors, a teacher from the neighboring class passing by called out to the homeroom teacher.
“Teacher Jisu, aren’t you going?”
“Ah, I should. Just a moment.”
The homeroom teacher, who had shown Yeoncheong the seat she would take, called out to one of the students leaving the classroom.
“Seoha.”
At the teacher’s call, one female student turned her head and approached. The teacher exchanged a few words with the student and followed the neighboring teacher.
“Now, shall we go too?”
A voice that dug into her ears. Though not very loud, it carried an atmosphere that seemed to wrap people in.
“Huh, where?”
“Where else, the gymnasium.”
The female student called Seoha smiled lightly, as if amused by something.
***
Had the teachers nagged them? The hallway, emptied of students, was quiet.
In that quiet hallway, regular footsteps echoed. Then, irregular footsteps followed, unable to decide whether to walk side by side or from behind.
“You can walk comfortably beside me, you know?”
“Ah, no. I don’t know the way well…”
Yeoncheong waved her hand and walked behind. Though the gymnasium was plainly visible next to the main building, Seoha didn’t say anything in particular.
Black hair cascading down to her waist evoked silk holding the night sky, and skin like white jade with red pupils added a mystique like a red moon floating in the night sky.
Swallowed by Seoha’s atmosphere, Yeoncheong silently followed behind.
Yeon Seoha, glancing back, spoke.
“Don’t be too awkward. You know the seat the teacher mentioned? The one next to it is mine.”
At the words “next to me,” Yeoncheong reacted. Seoha nodded slightly, as if to say it was true.
“I’m Yeon Seoha. Please take care of me from now on.”
“I too… please take care of me.”
When Seoha turned her head slightly and smiled brightly, Yeoncheong hastily averted her gaze. Seoha, who had been staring at Yeoncheong’s appearance, looked forward again and walked, and Yeoncheong also looked ahead.
“You haven’t gotten your books yet, right?”
“Yeah. Right.”
“Let’s go get them together later.”
“…Why you?”
“The teacher asked me to. And she told me to give you a school tour while I’m at it. Do you hate it?”
Yeoncheong shook her head.
“No. I’d be grateful if you did.”
Thanks to Seoha, who had approached her first, Yeoncheong let out a long breath of relief.
“Hey! You two there! The opening ceremony is starting soon. Get in quickly.”
Before they knew it, the two had arrived in front of the gymnasium. At the teacher’s words in front of the gymnasium, their steps quickened slightly. Following Seoha, who found their class accurately among the crowd in identical uniforms, Yeoncheong went inside.
Watching Seoha walk ahead, Yeoncheong thought that, for a start involving being late and a self-introduction devoid of content, it wasn’t a bad beginning.