I pointed to Dongha’s empty seat, which he had missed due to his rare absence, and asked, only to get a reply back.
In three light words, I was called a crazy kid for not being there, and then I sat down at my desk in time for the ringing class bell.
The first period was Home Economics.
Just after the bell rang, the teacher didn’t come in immediately, and a bit of time passed before they entered the classroom.
After calling out attendance in order and slapping the edges of the book on the desk, the teacher looked around the classroom and said.
“Hey, are there some missing here too?”
“Here too.”
From that comment, one could realize that a similar situation was taking place in the teacher’s class as well.
It turned out that not just Dongha but several other students had also taken time off, using trips as an excuse.
In our class alone, about three students were missing compared to usual.
Still, it was better than unexcused absences; after all…
In ancient times, most students now skipping class were involved in trips, a recent trend that wasn’t there before.
As it turns out, the 8th class of the Home Economics teacher also had two on field trips…
And for some reason, today there were three students absent due to illness.
One simply absent without notice, and while the reasons varied, their destination was undoubtedly Busan.
The teacher, feeling impotent in the sparsely filled classroom, lowered both corners of his mouth and let out a bizarre sigh with a strange expression.
“Ugh, what’s with that Magical Girl? Kids, we never skipped class to see famous singers or celebrities like this, did we?”
Then, when he brought his past experiences into the present with an attitude that seemed to say, ‘Today’s kids…’, one student who loved to stand out in the front raised his hand.
“Teacher, back then, if you skipped class, you got hit, right?”
“Right, back then, they just hit you with a stick like this….”
Like that vice president’s rebuttal wasn’t wrong, the teacher opened his arms in the air and described the length and thickness of the stick from his memories, swinging his arm through the air.
At the teacher’s over-the-top actions, laughter erupted in the class, similar to the audience’s laughter during a funny scene on a variety show.
After successfully eliciting a round of laughter from the students, he stared at the book talking to those absent.
“The world has really changed, skipping school just because you’re going on a trip…”
‘You got that right.’
I couldn’t help but resonate with the teacher’s lament in my mind as the lesson continued about how protein, fats, and carbohydrates provide energy in terms of calories.
The repetitive lecture time passed, and it was time for lunch.
As our first graders headed to the cafeteria, for some reason, the second and third graders were leaving the school with their bags.
If it were just one or two leaving, one might think that the second and third graders were skipping school for lunch… but they were all just going down the stairs to go home.
Thinking back, wasn’t it the day of the mid-term exam?
“Already going home? So jealous.”
“Is it mid-term for the second and third graders?”
“Yeah, that’s why they told us to be quiet during break time.”
Mid-terms, the academic evaluation that takes place in early or mid-May.
As a first-year middle school student, this was the last chance one wouldn’t have to take mid-terms and finals.
In reality, while it might not happen at school, students going to private academies or those with exceptionally driven parents sure had busier times.
After eating lunch and making a stop at the restroom before returning to class, we had quite a bit of break time left.
Those who studied hard clearly had a noticeable advantage during this time.
Sitting just one desk back and one seat over from mine was Ha-yun, who was intensely focused on writing something in her notebook.
Since she said math was hard, I thought she might be studying that, so I leaned my head over to take a peek…and—
There were just random numbers and celebrity names hastily jotted down.
“Phew, I can buy photocard packs for the boys now-”
At that confirmation, Ha-yun’s voice filled with relief burst out.
Canceling that thought I just had, this girl was definitely not the diligent student type.
With a sour expression on my face as I remained silent, I casually turned my head back in the opposite direction.
Ha-yun, who lifted her head late, looked at my grim expression and spoke.
“Don’t you collect photocards, Mari?”
“…Photocards?”
“Not drinks, photo cards.”
A two-letter clue brought to mind a beverage name.
Are kids using that abbreviation these days? saying it without any doubt, I received a light denial in return.
I suddenly realized how my mind had aged, still thinking of it as a ‘photocard’ until the abbreviation changed.
“It’s a waste of money.”
“That’s exactly what my dad says.”
The comment about sounding like someone else’s dad got to me, so out of curiosity, I asked how much it actually costs.
“How much? That photocard thing.”
“The group I like is 17,000 won each.”
‘17,000 won each…?’
I could just picture a transportation card with idol faces on it, and the price of 17,000 won made no sense to me.
That’s the price of a whole chicken, making it hard to grasp the value; I couldn’t help but express my confusion.
After pondering how best to phrase my thoughts without hurting anyone’s feelings, I landed on a short question.
“Why would you spend that much money on that?”
“This is actually really cheap; the rare ones can go for 1,300,000 won.”
‘What the actual…!’
Upon hearing that, I cursed inside as Ha-yun casually first skipped over the ten thousand won range and climbed rapidly to the hundred thousand won tier.
At that rate, I could just buy a new graphics card!
The deeper I got into this abyss, the more absurd it became.
Regardless of the industry’s reliance on fan love, isn’t it essentially a way to hit fans in the back of the head and force them to shell out money?
“What are you talking about?”
Taking the opportunity while my desk partner Seo Hyun was absent, Siyeon entered the classroom and immediately sat next to Ha-yun, asking her.
Siyeon seemed to have adjusted well to school life, collecting friends here and there.
“Talking about photocards; Siyeon, you don’t collect them either, right?”
“Yeah.”
‘Phew.’
With Siyeon’s immediate answer, free of hesitation, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
I was thankful that she didn’t have a hobby of collecting those things.
These days, it seems like kids are even collecting toys by character, and the prices are quite absurd.
When I think about it, there wasn’t really any money spent on hobbies at my place.
Pointing out the part where we spend the most would have to be food.
Of course, recently there have been tablets and additional academy fees, but there are more places to spend now.
“I know someone in the class next door who resold their photocards for a 500,000 won profit!”
Photocard resale, a wave of young and ‘MZ’ words surged through my mind.
Ha-yun was saying photocards themselves are money, dragging in a friend from the neighboring class and boasting about earning 500,000 won.
500,000 won; if we were the age of 14 with no income at all, we might’ve exclaimed ‘Wow, that’s amazing’…
But now, the two girls in front of Ha-yun, who were part of the top 0.1% with monthly deposits of 500,000 to 600,000 won, were simply indifferent to the story.
Siyeon and I just listened flatly, without any real reaction.
Then the words I just heard were translated through my head, changed to our way of speaking, and came out of my mouth flatly.
“…Ah, a reseller?”
“Resale! You’re not supposed to call it that.”
When I said “reseller,” Ha-yun exploded in response.
That’s a word created by resellers trying to craft their image, but they’re just cheap jerks who buy low and sell high.
Anyway, after concluding my thoughts on Ha-yun, who was pouring her allowance into either photocards or transportation cards.
“So, you can resell them later?”
“Yep! You can get back what you spent! Maybe sell for more?”
Ha-yun began theorizing, much like a stock market hopeful.
Such a simple thought brought a bittersweet expression to my face.
“Ah, I see…”
Do you really think that idol will last forever?
Who would buy up those cheap cards a student can collect?
If there’s a drunk driving controversy, those idol cards won’t sell either, right?
If you’re so invested in idols, how many others are out there thinking the same?
Do you really believe you can get back what you put in?
Suppressing the numerous cynical thoughts swirling within and simply nodding as I muttered, ‘I see…’.
During this student phase, sure, it’s a time to be obsessed with idols and celebrities.
Spouting the thoughts I just had would obviously be pointless.
Since the conversation wouldn’t get through, I wouldn’t win this round anyway.
There’s no need to douse cold water on what they enjoy.
“How about you, Siyeon? Let’s collect boy idols’ cards together!”
“Don’t do it.”
With speed, she shot that down as if it wouldn’t work on her, giving a serious glare.
Unlike you, Siyeon had the financial ability to collect those cards worth 1.5 to 1.7 million won.
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