Chapter 08
Maybe it was because she only slept for four hours after staying up late watching a movie and playing cards with her aunt the previous night. Or maybe it was because she had taken the first subway train and the bus that morning.
“I’m so sleepy…”
No matter how sleepy she was, Yeoreum had always held herself back during class and only slept during break time in the past summers. But today, she simply couldn’t fight her drooping eyelids. In the end, she dozed off with her head on the desk during the first-period class.
She had thought she would wake up as soon as the drowsiness passed, but when she subtly looked around, she realized it had grown dark.
“Huh, is it already evening?”
Thinking it was already evening, Yeoreum hurried to get up. But for some reason, her body felt unbearably heavy. It was as if a weight was pressing down on her whole body.
“Sleep paralysis…?”
Unable to see anything ahead and unable to move her body, she was certain she was experiencing sleep paralysis.
Yeoreum, who had never been through it before, panicked, but the saying “at least try moving your fingers” came to mind, and she tried to move.
It seemed her efforts weren’t enough to wake her heavy body, and a small “Ugh!” escaped her lips.
Just as she thought, “Wow, this sleep paralysis is awful,” she felt her body gradually getting lighter and her vision brightening.
“Heh heh. Did you sleep well? Ah, this is really funny.”
Haein laughed, seemingly unable to contain herself despite trying.
Yeoreum, still trying to process what was happening, blinked and noticed a pile of jackets stacked on her body, and she was startled.
“What… what is this?”
“It’s yours, so everyone added theirs. And since you were about to wake up, I lightly pressed it down with my hands.”
“Ah, seriously! Those guys!”
“She started it first.”
Haein quickly pointed to Hyunho, who was pretending to read a book, as if nothing had happened.
“Ah, Choi Hyunho!”
“What.”
“You’re impossible, really.”
“I’m buying a hammer.”
“Ugh!”
Hyunho stuck out his tongue with a clueless expression at Yeoreum’s fussing. Yeoreum, glaring at him, picked up the fallen jacket.
Originally, she intended to return it to its owner, but her attention shifted to Taeyoung, who was leaning on a chair, still asleep amid the commotion.
“He can sleep like that.”
Yeoreum smiled meaningfully, holding the jacket as she approached Taeyoung. From behind, Haein’s voice could be heard, muttering, “Seriously, that one…”
Just as she was about to hand the jacket to Taeyoung, her wrist was grabbed.
“What are you doing?”
Taeyoung, who had kept his eyes closed until now, slowly opened them and looked up at the slightly flustered Yeoreum.
Meanwhile, Hyunho’s expression hardened as he watched Taeyoung hold Yeoreum’s wrist.
“I was just wondering if it’s comfortable to sleep like that…”
Yeoreum stammered, flustered, but quickly handed the jacket to Taeyoung after receiving a message on her phone. Excited, she returned to Haein.
“Wow, awesome! I got in! I get to go for the interview!”
“Broadcast club? Oh, congratulations! When’s the interview?”
“Tomorrow!”
“When’s the announcement?”
“They’ll tell me before self-study ends tomorrow.”
“If you pass, do you want to go to the chicken place in the market tomorrow? Their fried chicken gizzards are really good.”
“Really? Let’s go, let’s go.”
“Ah! But it closes at 9… If we go after self-study, we won’t make it…”
“Then should we skip self-study?”
“Oh. Shall we? Are you okay with that? What if your sister scolds you?”
“We can go right after self-study ends.”
“Then, at dinner time….”
The two of them huddled together, planning how to sneak out of school without being caught.
Lunch time came.
After grabbing lunch and snacks efficiently, Yeoreum returned to the classroom after brushing her teeth and ran into Taeyoung in the hallway. They enjoyed chatting for a while, but Taeyoung left first to return a borrowed textbook to another class.
With Taeyoung gone, only Yeoreum remained in the hallway.
“Doesn’t it hurt your neck sleeping like that? I’m uncomfortable even with my head on the desk.”
“Well, I’m the class president, so I shouldn’t sleep like this.”
“You really shouldn’t. You’re the class president.”
“You should sleep too today.”
“I’m not the president.”
“You’ve never lost an argument, right?”
“I don’t live thinking about winning, but yeah, I’ve never lost.”
Yeoreum said, and Taeyoung fixed his gaze on her with a faint smile.
Just as Yeoreum was about to suggest leaving, a low voice came from behind.
“What are you doing?”
It was Hyunho. He seemed to be in a bad mood, so Yeoreum watched him closely. He only looked at Taeyoung, then glanced at Yeoreum briefly before returning his gaze to Taeyoung.
“Hey, I need to ask you something about English,” he said, taking Taeyoung away.
Left alone, Yeoreum felt a twinge of annoyance at Hyunho’s sulky behavior without even speaking to her.
“Did I do something wrong?” she wondered, but she couldn’t think of anything. She had been too busy sleeping in the morning, and it was only the afternoon now.
Pouting, she stuck out her lips when an unfamiliar voice suddenly spoke.
“Are you in the same class as Hyunho?”
“Huh? Yes… yes….”
Checking the name tag, she realized it was an upperclassman. Since Hyunho had greeted him, perhaps he was from the band club. Feeling awkward, Yeoreum responded, unsure of what to do.
“Han Yeoreum… your name’s pretty.”
A tanned, friendly-looking upperclassman muttered quietly, as if to himself or to Yeoreum. Looking at her, he said, “See you again.” and left with his friends.
Seizing the moment, Yeoreum hurried on, missing the senior’s parting comment, “She’s pretty.”
She only thought, “See me again for what? I don’t know. I should prepare for the interview.”
That evening, during self-study, Yeoreum couldn’t stop thinking about Hyunho. She recalled Boram’s question about whether she liked him. Today, he had been in a bad mood without telling her and had been ignoring her in small ways, which made her mind spin.
It was natural to notice Hyunho’s subtle mood changes toward her, regardless of her own feelings.
Quickly, she scribbled on the back page of her notebook: [Are you sulking? Why are you sulking?] and slid it to Hyunho’s desk.
Hyunho glanced and returned a note: [I’m not sulking.]
Yeoreum wrote back: [Then why the sour face?]
Hyunho replied curtly: *[I’m not.] *
Unable to hide her frustration, Yeoreum whispered:
“See! Even now!”
Her voice was unusually loud for the quiet room, catching the attention of a few classmates.
Hyunho, embarrassed, pressed a finger to his lips in a “shh” gesture.
“Study.”
“You have to tell me why you’re sulking to know.”
Hyunho, sitting close, lightly tapped her head with his pencil and smiled faintly.
“I’m not sulking,” he said. Yeoreum finally smiled in response.
“Okay, study hard then.”
Seeing Hyunho’s mood improve, Yeoreum felt genuinely happy.
The next day, about ten students were waiting outside the broadcasting room for interviews. Since they were going in three at a time, Yeoreum nervously bit her lips while waiting outside.
Even though she had practiced a mock interview with her sister the day before, her mind went blank. She took out some peppermint candies she had brought and offered them to her friends going in with her.
The candies helped calm her nerves a bit. Her friends had simply brought her milk and candies for luck, and she was glad she had remembered to bring them.
Ten minutes later, Yeoreum’s name was called, and she followed a senior into the broadcasting room.
She had expected the room to be visible immediately upon opening the door, but it felt like going upstairs into an attic.
After greetings, the interview began with simple questions like her motivation to apply and self-introduction. Though nervous, Yeoreum spoke calmly.
“Let’s do a voice test.”
It was No Seongwook, one of the five seniors, known for being quiet and intimidating.
He stared at her so intensely that her tension grew.
“Since we don’t have many members, there’s a lot of work with the equipment and broadcasting. Just read this as it is.”
Yeoreum was reassured by Yeonhee, who spoke kindly instead of the intimidating Seongwook.
Each candidate read the text into the microphone one by one. Yeoreum was last.
After her turn, Seongwook said in a low voice:
“…Good voice.”
At those words, Yeoreum straightened her shoulders as if standing at attention.
After leaving the broadcasting room, she immediately saw Hyunho outside and smiled brightly.
