I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 22: Sixteen and Growing, Plus a Retreat and a Competition (5)

After my homeroom teacher dropped that massive emotional bomb, a good amount of time had passed. It was just before lunch.

“Here you go.”

The teacher glanced at the iPad I handed over and gave a faint smile.

I wasn’t typically a fan of seeing a guy smile, but this kind of smile felt… warm.

“Thanks. She really looks just like my daughter. Maybe she’s even prettier because it’s a drawing.”

“I polished it up a bit.”

“Right. Well done.”

With a soft chuckle, the teacher saved the drawing.

He mentioned he’d print the picture and hang it up at home.

But honestly, I didn’t think that was a good idea.

Just as people who have passed shouldn’t linger in this world, I believed that keeping memories or belongings of the deceased around only invited loneliness and suffering, rather than sweet nostalgia.

That’s what I’d learned from my mom.

At our house, the only thing left related to my sister was a drawing I had made of her.

Everything else was given to Ha-yoon.

Those items were originally meant for my sister.

‘…Damn.’

That thought left me with a bitter feeling, but I didn’t let it show.

The teacher studied the drawing for a long time before patting my shoulder.

“Hey, would it be okay if I showed this to my daughter?”

“…Uh, sure, if you’re able to.”

“Thanks. I wonder if I could just send it through KakaoTalk.”

…?

Wait, what?

“Teacher?”

“What?”

“You said your daughter was… far away.”

“Hmm? Oh, right. She’s in Uzbekistan with my wife.”

“…”

So I’d been imagining something completely different on my own?

Give me my sympathy back, sheesh.

A laugh slipped out as I realized how ridiculous the misunderstanding had been.

“Hey, why are you laughing?”

The teacher looked concerned, but I felt embarrassed to explain.

“It’s just… you said she was far away, so I assumed…”

“This punk! Trying to send my daughter to the afterlife?”

“No! You’re the one who made it sound misleading—!”

Thump.

“Ow.”

The light tap on my forehead didn’t hurt, but I rubbed it anyway.

“Cut the nonsense, and let’s go eat.”

The teacher chuckled as he walked out.

Fine… I’d remember this and get back at him one day.

Pouting over the injustice, I walked out and saw the students coming back. Following Class 1 was Class 2—my class, with Ha Soyeol and Choi Yeseo.

Behind them came Classes 3, 4, and so on.

Our class president, dripping with sweat, approached the teacher.

To them, the teacher, who had skipped the morning training just to watch over one student, probably looked like a slacker.

But that wasn’t the case at all.

Everyone was too tired and drenched in sweat to complain.

I waved as I walked up to Ha Soyeol and Choi Yeseo.

“Did you have fun out there?”

“Seriously?! Some people were chilling in air-conditioned rooms while we were out there sweating.”

“Ha-eun, how’s your health?”

At my question, Yeseo scowled, while Soyeol showed genuine concern for me.

“Oh, I’m fine. But are you two alright?”

When I asked awkwardly, Soyeol nodded.

“I’m a sports major.”

“Oh, right. I keep forgetting.”

Her appearance made it easy to overlook.

“And you’re an idol trainee. Why is your stamina so low?”

I teased her slightly.

“…I’m dying.”

“Sorry.”

I looked up at the sky, then at her outfit.

“Now I get it.”

Training in military uniforms on a day this hot…

Just imagining it made my face scrunch up.

“So? What did you guys do out there?”

But I was curious and wanted to know more.

“Nothing special. Just some grueling crawling exercises.”

It sounded like they had to do the low crawl. If I’d had to do it, I might’ve collapsed from exhaustion.

“So that’s why everyone’s covered in dirt.”

“Yeah, but it was fun!”

Soyeol’s eyes sparkled as she answered.

Yeseo looked at her with a kind of awe.

“Soyeol was amazing, really. She came in first!”

Yeseo hugged Soyeol despite the heat.

“It’s too hot. Let go.”

“Aww…”

Yeseo went on and on, describing Soyeol’s incredible performance with admiration.

“She was like a bug, really.”

“Excuse me?”

“No, no, I mean… Just listen.”

Apparently, during the low crawl, Soyeol had used her protective gear to propel herself forward at an impressive speed.

It didn’t hurt her, and it was actually fast and fun for her…

What a scary person.

Our conversation didn’t continue much longer.

The teachers directed us to move to the cafeteria.

I brushed the dirt off their backs as we walked.

“Aww~ So sweet.”

“Enough.”

“Do it more.”

“I already brushed off all the dirt, okay?”

Yeseo flashed a cheesy smile, and Soyeol leaned in, asking for more.

“Face forward and walk, you two,” the teacher scolded.

They reluctantly turned back around, but their shoulders kept twitching.

Maybe I should’ve just smacked them.

It didn’t take long to reach the cafeteria.

To me, it felt more like a school cafeteria than a restaurant, but I decided to ignore it and call it the cafeteria.

“Enter in two lines.”

Class 1 started filing in slowly.

The food was served on either side, where you took only as much as you wanted.

When it was our class’ turn, both Soyeol and Yeseo looked relieved.

“Finally, lunchtime,” Soyeol sighed.

“I’m starving.”

Us hungry middle schoolers were practically drooling.

I’d just had coffee, so I wasn’t as ravenous.

With my tray in hand, I took only as much as I could eat and found seats with Ha Soyeol and Choi Yeseo.

They sat on either side of me.

…There were seats in front of me too, you know.

But since they often acted strange like this, I just let it slide.

Thankfully, the class president and vice presidents sat in front of us.

With her friend there, Yeseo happily started the conversation.

The chat continued as I ate, listening to their stories.

But, inevitably, something happened just because we’d moved to a different spot.

Clatter!

The sound of a tray dropping echoed through the building.

Everyone turned to look toward the serving area.

Honestly, at this point, I wondered if I was secretly Conan or something. It wasn’t a murder case, but…

Why did things keep happening wherever I went?

“Hey! Are you crazy?!”

A high-pitched voice came first.

“What the…! Who do you think you are?!”

A low, gruff voice responded, sounding strangely familiar.

“Hey, you two over there! What’s going on?!”

Luckily, a soldier quickly arrived to defuse the situation.

Order was restored, and we turned back to our own conversation.

“So, how did it go?”

“And then he just wailed!”

Laughter quietly filled the table.

Most of us were nearly finished with our food and were about to leave when I noticed a student sitting alone.

Earlier, I hadn’t realized, but he was enormous.

He looked a bit lonely eating alone, but—

‘None of my business.’

It’s not like I was a volunteer here. I didn’t need to make conversation with him.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought something was off.

“Isn’t he from Class 1?”

The female vice president asked, and everyone nodded—except me.

“Class 1 should’ve already left. What’s he doing here?”

“It doesn’t concern us. Let’s go.”

Yeah, let’s not get involved in something unnecessary, okay?

When I said that, Soyeol and Yeseo agreed and followed me.

The other three looked back with concern.

“Class president, the others are waiting.”

“Oh, right! Coming.”

With that, they soon caught up to us.

After lunch, the schedule was a short break, then gathering back on the sports field.

We all returned to our rooms to rest.

“Wasn’t the assembly time 3 o’clock?”

“They did give us a pretty long break.”

“Yeah, but didn’t we pay to be here? Can they really call it an ‘assembly’?”

One boy complained that the word “assembly” made it sound mandatory.

Other complaints sprang up here and there, but the class president, vice presidents, and I stayed quiet.

“Lee Ha-eun. Step outside for a minute.”

I was lying on my bed, resting, when the homeroom teacher came in and called me out.

“Can’t you just tell me here—”

“Out. Now.”

I was too lazy to get up.

…Maybe students like me are why teachers are losing their authority?

As soon as I had that thought, I sat up.

“They’re planning some kind of sports game later.”

“Count me out.”

“Right? I’ll make sure they know.”

The teacher turned to leave, satisfied with my response.

“Oh, by the way, teacher. What about my reward?”

“Reward? Oh, right. I’ll give it to you back at school. Just wait.”

Drat. Guess it’s not coming anytime soon.

The teacher left, and I returned to the common area.

Everyone looked exhausted but still energetic.

At 3 o’clock, we gathered on the sports field after an announcement.

“…What the?”

As soon as we stepped outside, everyone froze.

In the middle of the field was a

huge net.

The rope was as thick as half my arm.

Each class president took hold of an end, forming a giant hexagonal net.

And there were six classes.

“Hm…”

I had a rough idea of what kind of “sport” this would be.

“Each company selects one representative.”

At this instruction, the students murmured among themselves.

Most of them hadn’t figured out what the sport was yet.

Actually, could this even be called a sport?

Though the schedule labeled it as one.

“If it’s a low-crawl sport, does that mean… the same thing as before?”

“Yeah! Then…!”

“Ha Soyeol!”

All eyes in our class turned to Ha Soyeol.

Feeling the pressure, she hid behind me.

“Give it a try. You said it was fun, right?”

I patted her on the head, and she nodded.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Just don’t get hurt.”

“Mm. I’ll get us a prize by winning.”

Not that I needed a prize.

I told Soyeol I’d buy her something from the snack bar when we got back to school, and her eyes sparkled.

‘Yeah… even if you win in a game with nothing at stake, food is still the best reward.’

For Koreans, something to eat is always the top prize.

TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES