Chapter 6: Chapter 6 (1/2)
The black boy strode into the room. From the color of his name tag, it was apparent that he was a second year.
While everyone else was giving the uppercla.s.sman a blank stare, Juho remembered who he was. Coming to think of it, there had been a black student in his high school. They had never talked, but Juho remembered his looks and his brusque impression.
”h.e.l.lo,” Juho said in midst of the silence. As he found his seat, the uppercla.s.sman looked at him. The rings arounds his eyes were paler.
”Hey.”
”You must be part of the Literature Club too.”
”I wouldn't be here otherwise.”
”I'm Juho Woo. Nice to meet you.”
It was a strange sight. He spoke fluent Korean, contrary to his looks. At Juho's greeting, the rest snapped out of it and greeted the new guest.
”Baron Kim. Second year. You don't have to be so tense.”
Baron looked stern. It was very unusual to be around a black uppercla.s.sman in Korea. The others were feeling like they were walking on eggsh.e.l.ls, all except for Juho.
”Would you mind if I call you Baron?”
”If you want.”
Encouraged by Juho's boldness, Seo Kw.a.n.g began to ask Baron questions, indirectly, of course, ”You and I have the same last name.”
”My father is Korean. I was born here.”
Baron didn't seem to be bothered, but he didn't seem friendly either. The silence returned. As if he were used to it, Baron took out a book from his bag.
It was the Literature Club after all. The members seemed to possess some level of interest in books. Juho looked intently at the book in Baron's hand. Seeing how fidgety Seo Kw.a.n.g was getting, it was getting obvious what book it was. Baron's hand was clearly visible wrapped around the white book cover.
Fwoos.h.!.+
It was Mr. Moon, and that was the signal that the silence had come to an end.
”Mr. Moon!”
”Yea, yea! It's me.”
Although the students welcomed him, Mr. Moon remained calm.
”Everyone's here.”
”Is there only five of us in the club?”
”Makes roll call that much easier.”
Had there been no promotion or was that one of the lazy clubs? How many high school students liked books? There were only five people in that school who would join a literature club, including Juho.
Mr. Moon put down the pile of books in his hand and sat across from Baron. Then, he put everything he brought onto the table. At a glance, it was apparent what they were.
”I'm Song Hak Moon, the homeroom teacher for the Literature Club. Let's have some fun.”
Fun... He seemed oddly excited. His att.i.tude was different from the one he showed in cla.s.s. It hadn't been that long since Juho met him, but at the moment, he was livelier than ever.
”You seem much happier than you are in cla.s.s,” said Seo Kw.a.n.g.
Juho wasn't the only person who thought Mr. Moon was different from the usual. Everyone looked at him, wondering what he was so excited about.
Mr. Moon spoke with a big smile. It was an innocent smile that you wouldn't normally see in a teacher, ”Of course! Teaching you guys is less fun than counting grains of sand in a desert. You don't know the misery I go through every Sunday night do you? Dreading coming here.”
”Um...”
Of course they wouldn't. He was the first teacher who had said such a thing so confidently. How did one react in that situation? Mr. Moon's face was too vivid to move on with silly jokes.
Seo Kw.a.n.g had a big smile on his face. It was sort of unexpected, but once he realized that the teacher was no different from him, he was able to identify with Mr. Moon.
”Haha!” Seo Kw.a.n.g laughed out loud now.
”If I want to make a living, I have to be here. Life is too short to be living with such pain, but that doesn't make teaching any more fun. That's why I looked around the school to find something fun.”
”And that was the Literature Club?” asked Juho. This was one strange teacher.
”A compilation, to be exact. I found it at the school library.”
The books he had brought were compilations. 'How curious,' Juho didn't know that he could find things like that at the school library.
”This, is the tradition of the Literature Club. All of the succeeding compilations are being kept at the school library. Thirty-four volumes in total. What we're going to be working on is the thirty-fifth compilation.
”We're making a compilation?” Sun Hwa asked.
The compilation books had varying t.i.tles and thickness. The content was probably different as well. It looked technical and difficult.
”It's not all that hard. You're only compiling the process.”
”So, are we writing something for the compilation?” Seo Kw.a.n.g asked, expecting it to be the club's primary activity, but Mr. Moon cringed.
”You're not writing to put it into something. That's not fun.”
”Then, what is it?”
”You can't get the order mixed up. Compilations aren't about the objective. They're about the process. You're leaving a trace behind.”
”I'm not sure I understand,” Seo Kw.a.n.g answered after raising his hand.
After some more thought, Mr. Moon started again, ”Then, forget it.”
”Pardon?”
It made no sense.
”You don't have to understand. Anyhow, we, as a Literature Club, will be doing activities that fit the club's name. That should be enough.”
He definitely had no talent for teaching. This had been what Mr. Moon had been wanting to say all along, 'The compilation will complete itself as we write along. In other words, the compilation is memory.'
”Then, what's an activity that fits the name of our club?”