Chapter 441 (1/2)
It was the season when the skies were high, and the horses were fat[1]. It was mid-October. The winds were cool, and the rays of the sun looked perfect for a nap. It was the season of naps given by the heavens.
“But why is autumn the season of reading?”
Dojin asked as he read a book. When Maru had a glance at it, he saw that the book was about getting a cooking license in Korea.
“Since the weather is good, perhaps it’s called that because many people read during this season?”
Daemyung looked back as he spoke. In his hands was a book: Macbeth. Oh, Macbeth. Daemyung had been carrying that around since early October. He read through King Lear pretty fast, but it seemed that Macbeth wasn’t to his tastes.
“I think I heard somewhere that it’s a way of marketing to raise sales because October has the least book sales in the year,” Maru said.
He wasn’t sure where he heard this from since he heard about it in his previous life, but he could vaguely remember it. Statistically too, book sales were the highest during the beginning of the semesters, Spring[2] and Winter, when it was also the season to wrap up the year, and then Summer. So it wasn’t entirely false. Though, it was nothing compared to the marketing of chocolate sticks.[3]
“No way.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
Dojin and Daemyung retorted at the same time.
Maru just shrugged since he honestly didn’t care.
Just like how everyone called it the season of reading, there was a wave of reading craze in the class. Of course, most of them were either reading comics, fantasy novels, or martial arts novels[4]. The paper that had the ‘list of 100 books that teenagers should read’, that the teacher put up, had already turned dull.
“Yeah. What about it?”
“We’re going to the broadcasting room today, aren’t we?”
Hearing that question, Daemyung nodded with a smile. Dowook sighed and laid back down on the table again.
“Dowook, it’s fine. Anyone can make mistakes,” Daemyung said as he patted Dowook on the back.
Dowook replied with a ‘shut up’.
“The kids really like the radio broadcast.”
Dojin pointed at the ceiling. He was probably referring to the speakers. Maru crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“Did you say you were going to do that until the end of October?”
“That’s what we talked about, but I’m not sure. I’ll tell Yeondu-seonbae about it today.”
“That’s not entirely true. She’s really straightforward when it comes down to it,” Daemyung said as he closed the book.
“You are such a good guy. Should I go talk to her about it?”
“It’s fine. She’ll tell me on her own. Anyway, that broadcasting club alliance, or something? She might be talking to them and that’s why she can’t give me a clear answer. Also… it’s not like it’s harming us.”
Dowook, who they thought was sleeping, said that it is a big harm to him since he lost his lunch time.
“That’s true, but this is also an opportunity. If things go well, we might be able to go on a YBS radio program. And it’s also more memories for us. As Dojin said, the others seem to like it. I don’t think it’ll be bad even if we continue doing this for a while.”
“If you say so, I don’t have any complaints either.”
Dowook said that he was full of complaints, but neither Daemyung nor Maru replied to him. Dowook eventually became quiet after grumbling for a while.
“How about the first years? Don’t they find it tiring to use up lunch times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays?”
Lunch times were pretty important to high school students. They might not consider spending their precious lunch time, which was required for saving up energy for the afternoon classes, on club activities.
“That’s good. Well, I guess they were the most excited about it.”
“Jiyoon was a little unexpected though.”
It had been two weeks since they started broadcasting. Jiyoon, who at first, took a step back saying that she was embarrassed, now acted with more passion than anyone else in front of the microphone. Thinking back, she was the one that showed the most stable acting at the café before. Although her process of getting into acting was a bit rough, she concentrated harder than anyone else once she did get started.
“Thinking about how they aren’t making any mistakes even though it’s done live, I think practicing plays has helped them somewhat.”
“Also, their pronunciations have gotten a lot better since they started preparing for the audio drama. It’s to the point that I could tell during practices for the play.”
“That’s an unexpected benefit.”
“Apparently, Aram’s practicing all day with a pencil in her lips.”
“Did Jiyoon tell you that?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
He knew the reason. That was because he wasn’t able to meet up with her that often because their schedules kept criss-crossing. During weekdays, he was busy, and during weekends, she was busy. Due to a problem with shooting the sitcom, she told him that the shoots were on Sundays for a while, so he wouldn’t be able to meet her for at least another half a month. He told her that he’d visit her house, but she clearly told him that she didn’t want to meet him for now. When he asked why, she replied that she wanted to focus on what she was doing right now.
As soon as he heard that answer, he realized that there was another reason for it, but he didn’t want to pry any further. Instead, he decided to wait; wait until she solves the problem herself and brings about a conclusion that satisfied herself. After that moment, they would be able to meet with comfort.
“Do you hang out with Jiyoon a lot during the weekend?”
“Huh? No.”
“You became a couple so you should really take her out on dates.”
“It’s fine. We meet every day at school.”
“...What did you do during the Summer holidays?”
“Me? Why do you ask? I practiced for the club.”
“No, not that. I meant with Jiyoon.”
Daemyung smiled brightly as he mentioned the name ‘Jiyoon’. While wondering if her name was that good, Maru also sighed to himself. Next to them, Dojin, who was listening, put down his book. Then he said something to Daemyung.
“You damn idiot.”
“What? Why?”
“Tsk, that first year looked cute. I wonder what made her like this dense bear guy.”
Dojin clicked his tongue and stood up. Maru just nodded. Daemyung made a clueless expression as he stared at Dojin who went to the bathroom. Then, he looked at Maru while tilting his head, asking a question,
“What did you do with your girlfriend during the summer?”
“We went to the sea on a short trip.”
“J-just the two of you? When did you have the time?”
“We went on a one-day trip when both of us had free time.”