It was a holiday where we could do nothing and just lie down, but thanks to the support around us, we ended up having a surprisingly abundant break.
After that holiday, the end of winter vacation was fast approaching.
On the internet, pictures combining puppies and school photos were circulating, and posts expressing despair about the end of the vacation began to appear.
In reality, the end of winter vacation wasn’t entirely hopeless.
After a few days of school, we’d get an additional two to three weeks of short break due to the spring vacation adjustment.
Between the end of winter vacation and the start of spring vacation, the atmosphere at school was really…
So easy to summarize that it could simply be called a playground.
“That girls’ middle school next door said they’re starting all at once in March.”
“Really? That’s so unfair!”
Talking about holiday money, discussing winter and spring breaks at other schools.
While chatting like that over a messenger app, once we arrived at school, it felt like there was nothing to do, so students began to unload their stories they had been saving.
Amidst that bustling atmosphere, there were also some diligent students pulling out their study packets.
If you asked me which side I was on, I would say I was just swept away by the atmosphere and engaging in small talk.
Dongha, who had been dragged around by dad throughout the whole vacation.
As soon as he met our usual group of four, he immediately asked me.
“How was the last Comic Con?”
Dongha, who is sincerely invested in everything related to magical girls.
I heard rumors that resellers had taken a big hit and cut their losses, yet he even pondered purchasing the official merchandise. Clearly, he wasn’t in his right mind.
At his question, I recalled the Comic Con that happened just before Christmas.
If I had to recollect that memory…
“There were so many people…”
A simple impression that there were indeed many people.
And I only remembered being super cold and liking the hotel.
Sure, there were a lot of things, but hardly anything was truly memorable, and all I had to show for it were a few cushions lying around the house and a couple of badges.
“That’s to be expected. So, what did you buy?”
Dongha, who frowned a bit at my impression of the crowd, perked up and asked what I had purchased.
Since I actually bought a lot of things, it was a bit awkward to single one out.
The only thing I could recall was a Moon character badge that Siyeon nagged me to get, dangling from my bag.
The rest were items at home, mostly in Siyeon’s room.
Getting up from someone else’s seat, I returned to my own for a moment, separated the clip from the badge hanging from my bag, and came back holding it in one hand.
“This one.”
“Oh, it’s the Moon character!”
Dongha, being a true magical girl otaku, instantly recognized the character’s face.
In contrast to Dongha’s pure admiration for the merchandise, Sunhyuk, as usual, was quick to mock.
“Wow, you carry stuff like this?”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Yikes!”
You too, with stuff like this.
His expression made it hard to pretend I didn’t notice, so I swiftly reached out and grabbed his neck like it was a chicken on a market day.
Sunhyuk, who was gasping, definitely meant to say that with bad intent, but he seemed to be fumbling for an excuse to cover up.
“Uh, I thought you weren’t into this kind of stuff! Why! Why!”
Finally managing to slip by with his crummy excuse.
As I loosened my grip on Sunhyuk’s neck, I watched him with eyes that said, “I already know everything.”
With a face that seemed to say, ‘I barely escaped that,’ Sunhyuk left, and the conversation shifted to holiday tales.
I didn’t care about distant cousins or eighth cousins whose faces I didn’t know; the central topic was undeniably about holiday money.
When students talk about holiday experiences, it usually comes down to how much each received.
“I got 170,000 won.”
“I got 310,000.”
“110,000.”
“200,000.”
In order, Sunhyuk, Dongha, Taehyun, and I.
Our pooled holiday money ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, which I’d say is a reasonable amount for student allowances.
Curiously, none of them jumped into the million range.
I didn’t receive anything this holiday, but it would be awkward to claim I got nothing, so I mixed in a bit of a lie.
Of course, knowing a bit about our family situation, Taehyun looked at me with those round eyes and a face that said, “Where did you get 200,000 from?”
I really didn’t want to bother explaining it further to the others, so I wished he’d not ask.
Maybe my intent was conveyed, but Taehyun just moved past it without saying much.
Those few short days of school transitioning from winter vacation to spring vacation.
It would be great if we could all remain in the same class for the second year…
But such a good fortune would never happen in reality.
After the spring vacation, looking at the class allocation chart, I saw my position.
2nd Year Class 8.
After checking my position, I scanned the other names in Class 8 with my eyes.
Out of habit, I started checking the boys’ names one by one.
‘They are all scattered…’
Taehyun, not here.
Sunhyuk, not here.
Dongha, not here.
The four of us were seriously torn apart.
Having skimmed through the boys’ names, I moved on to check the girls’ names.
Surely, there wouldn’t be none from this side, right?
‘Seo Hyun is here… oh, and Siyeon is here too?’
At least, as a silver lining, I found some familiar names.
It seemed that while the boys were all scattered, Seo Hyun and Siyeon from my previous class somehow ended up in the same class again.
At least I wouldn’t have to eat alone in the cafeteria.
I let out a deep sigh of relief inside and called out to Siyeon, who was searching for her name here and there, to show her the seating chart.
Though our seats were quite far apart, at least we shared the same class.
‘It looks like the second year will be all girls hanging out.’
In terms of topics of conversation among girls, there wasn’t much I could truly contribute.
With that thought, I walked into Class 8, feeling indifferent.
Second year of middle school, a time when teachers, parents, and students alike find each other difficult to manage, due to the infamous “second year syndrome.”
Unlike the confusing first year, students who show at least some maturity are beginning to pour in.
Of course, it’s merely a façade of maturity.
Little kids trying to act like adults.
When we become second years, those who used to brawl in first year gradually stop being rowdy…
If you look at it one way, the so-called ‘rebels’ seem to be settling down a bit too.
Some students who are into comics nurture little black histories called ‘style’ in their hearts.
But at the same time, the dreaded element of exams starts to penetrate school life.
Every subject teacher will remind us it’s a crucial time that determines our life’s path.
Midterms, finals, first assessments, second assessments, first written evaluations, and second written evaluations.
In an attempt to officially rename terms, many similar terms merely multiplied in a hodgepodge.
While teachers differ in their chosen terms based on their ages, they commonly say the same thing.
“Wasn’t it nice to just play around? From now on, everyone needs to focus.”
Focus, underline what’s in the textbook that says “It will be on the test,” study hard.
Words I’ve probably heard until I got earwax in my ears in my past life.
No matter how much the world changes and technology advances, some things remain unchanged.
If anything, the only difference may be that the facilities have improved a bit more than the times when we had fat monitors?
The essence of repetitive rote education has remained unchanged.
Just like how we underline “It will be on the test” parts in the textbook…
We’d doze off during class, or get a piece or two of ramen from a friend in the back who was sneaking it.
In reality, we lived lives vastly distant from study.
That is the life of a middle school student.
Middle school study is just preparation for studying in high school.
Then what is high school study?
Study to rank well for college.
And what’s the consequence of studying well for college?
To get an edge in the hellish job market.
For Siyeon and me, whose final destination is guaranteed, it was merely another location for mood management.
Of course, it would be terrible to explain that to Siyeon and tell her to quit her studies, as that’d make me a terrible adult, and middle schoolers are still a bit too young to grasp that essence.
They might understand it with their minds, but their bodies still have those obedient “Do as the adults say!” cells working hard.
In contrast to those who think logically, here we had a completely different aspect once they twist their thoughts and spit them out.
What does school mean to me?
It’s like a replay in the feminine round and acts as CCTV to see if anything strange happens to Siyeon.
Anyhow, as long as nothing bad happens, it’s a good thing to keep coming until high school.
…At least for the sake of some common sense.
“Gah, that was a good nap.”
Stretching out, I exited for school.
Seeing me stretch so refreshingly that tears were almost welling up at the corners of my eyes, Siyeon gave me a scolding look.
“Aren’t you sleeping too much at school?”
“If I’m sleepy, I should sleep. Holding on won’t help with studying.”
I countered her scolding directly while spouting a truth I learned from past experiences.
Unlike in first grade, the after-school atmosphere has quieted down considerably.
As we transitioned to the second year, there was simply no reason to meet the boys from the first grade who were spread across other classes.
The only boy I could see regularly was Taehyun, whose home was entirely overlapping, while I had no news from Sunhyuk and Dongha, who I parted ways with just before leaving school.
They probably weren’t the type to come looking first, and I imagined they’d just hang out with their well-matched friends at PC bangs every day.
As for Taehyun, being wrapped up with other boys meant he’d only occasionally acknowledge me when we’re in the elevator nearing home.
I knew that boys were generally cold, but it still felt a bit disappointing.
Ah, though I can’t really say it was thanks to that…
“Let’s grab some tteokbokki on the way!”
“Should we?”
I felt comfortable just wandering down another path with Siyeon after school.
Siyeon seemed to prefer this way as she actively expressed her wishes.
Tteokbokki… it’s fatty and direct.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.