Chapter 21

I put on the green and brown mixed outfit. After heading out to the assembly area in my military uniform, I saw the others who had already gathered—students, teachers, and soldiers.

The students were standing around lazily.

They were lined up, but the formation was a bit crooked.

At least the school president and vice president, Choi Seung-Cheol, seemed to be managing the students on behalf of the teachers.

But the students didn’t really pay attention.

“Good luck, future politicians.”

In order to lead people, there should be an appropriate reward, but...

It’s not like a student is going to do anything for another student.

There were various campaign promises made during the student council elections, but none of them actually benefited the students themselves.

Most of them were proposals that would help ‘school facilities’ in an official sense.

There were barely any benefits for the students themselves.

“Some of them are coming to mind.”@@novelbin@@

Maybe installing a vending machine? That was about it.

“Once everyone’s here, the class presidents should check the number of students and report it to their homeroom teachers!”

Good luck, Choi Seung-Cheol. But your chosen vice president... you're stuck with that.

“Eun-A, over here.”

When I moved toward the line where my class was, Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo were waiting at the back.

Did they wait for me because of me? I’m touched.

“Ye-Seo went to the bathroom, so she’s late.”

“Soo-Yul! Why did you say that?!”

Ha Soo-Yul casually said it with a smirk, clearly unbothered.

So they didn’t wait for me after all. Great…

Even though we were both late, unlike me who dragged my feet, they were late because of the bathroom.

“Are you embarrassed by your biological needs?”

Ha Soo-Yul suddenly said that, looking at Choi Ye-Seo.

“No...! That’s not it...”

“Hmm?”

Ha Soo-Yul looked confused, but Ye-Seo’s face was about to explode.

Looking closely, her mouth was slightly curled up. She was clearly teasing her.

“From now on, we’ll be choosing the company commanders for each class! All class presidents, step forward.”

While the students were chatting amongst themselves, the front was moving ahead.

Just listening to it, I wanted to facepalm.

“From now on, the company commanders of each class will check the number of people and report it. Got it?”

“Yes, understood!”

What the heck is this? Dealing with students like this? I felt dizzy, but at the same time, it was pretty amusing.

‘Why is this so funny?’

I felt like I was about to burst out laughing any second.

I had to hold it in, but the situation just kept getting funnier.

“And each company will have two platoons.”

They’ll probably be separated into male and female, I thought.

“Male and female. Each platoon will have one leader, and then they’ll wait.”

It’s like a vice-president concept. And vice-presidents exist separately for males and females.

The male vice-president is...

“…?”

Wait, he was the vice-president?

That guy. Our class’s vice-president, who asked me to sweep the floor last time.

I had thought he was just a regular guy.

Turns out he’s pretty popular. How did I not know? Well, he did call me by my name in a friendly way back then.

Come to think of it, I didn’t even know our class’s vice-presidents.

I know the class president since the teacher calls their name occasionally, but...

For some reason, I couldn’t even remember the faces of the vice-presidents.

“You slept through the election, didn’t you?”

Choi Ye-Seo seemed to read my mind and giggled.

“Right, I did sleep through that.”

It wasn’t really a position I cared much about. So I just ignored it and slept through it.

Isn’t the vice-president just the class president’s subordinate? If the teacher needs something, they call the class president, not the vice-president.

I could hardly be blamed for not remembering. Hmm.

“So, who’s the female vice-president?”

“My friend!”

Choi Ye-Seo puffed up her chest proudly and raised her nose.

She pointed to someone.

“...?”

It was the girl who had sat next to Choi Ye-Seo on the bus.

Something feels... off. Was I really this disinterested in the people around me?

Anyway, those two stepped forward and stood behind the class president.

The male vice-president was smiling brightly, but the female vice-president looked nervous, like she had an introverted personality.

If their personalities were reversed, they might’ve suited each other better.

Just as I was thinking that...

“Each platoon will pair up into squads of four.”

Another division.

The students grumbled about how many more groups they’d be divided into, but it seemed like this would be the last one, as the soldier spoke up.

“From now on, when you introduce yourself, say ‘I’m from Company 1, Platoon 1, Squad 1, trainee so-and-so.’ Got it?”

Ugh... I shouldn’t curse.

But the annoying feeling wouldn’t go away.

The soldier went on saying something, but it wasn’t important to me.

After all, I wasn’t participating in the training.

What mattered was the food.

What will we have for lunch today? My stomach, exhausted from stress, had long since stopped growling.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

Where are we going?

I wasn’t paying attention to where we were going, lost in my own thoughts. I’ll figure it out if I follow the others.

I asked the teacher, who was following behind my class.

“Teacher, are we going for training?”

“...What were you doing while the explanation was happening?”

I was lost in thought. The teacher sighed and explained. But why are the teachers in regular clothes?

“You’ll find out when we get there. It’s not really physical training.”

“Really?”

I thought we’d be marching from the start.

“We’re walking in step!”

I frowned at the shout from the front.

It felt like I was in ROTC.

“Do we really need to march now? Damn... Ugh.”

“No, no. Don’t mind me, just talk.”

I almost slipped out a swear word, forgetting that the teacher was there.

The teacher laughed and patted me on the shoulder but didn’t say anything more.

Please stop smiling like that. It’s even worse when a man smiles like that. It made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Since I was at the back anyway, it didn’t matter how I walked.

The only person who’d see me was the teacher. Ha Soo-Yul and Choi Ye-Seo were ahead of me.

In reality, the people behind me were all from the other class and the teachers.

So, nothing to worry about.

The teacher didn’t seem to mind my behavior either.

Sometimes I feel thankful that the teacher isn’t a stickler for rules.

“So, how far do we have to go?”

I asked the teacher.

“I’m not sure. How would I know? This is my first time here, too.”

They want us to keep walking on a hot day? I’m probably going to pass out from heatstroke.

Fortunately, no such incident occurred.

“Company 1, please line up to the right.”

We arrived at a building.

It looked like a place built for training purposes.

There were desks and a screen, so it had that kind of vibe.

By the way, the schedules for each grade are different.

The other grades were probably out for training.

Once the students were seated, and the last one took their seat, the projector screen turned on, and a video started playing.

It was a military-related video, but I didn’t catch the details.

I had fallen asleep. All that walking had drained me. It was almost like the annoying feeling of having to walk three steps just to turn on a computer.

When I opened my eyes, the educational video was already over.

...?

Why is no one here?

I was the only one left in the classroom.

What’s going on? Is this some kind of game of tag? Am I supposed to go find them now?

Just then, the homeroom teacher opened the door and walked in.

“You woke up? How’s your condition? You looked like you were sweating a lot, so I thought you weren’t feeling well.”

“I’m fine. It’s probably just because it’s so hot. Everyone must be feeling the same way.”

“...Is that so?”

“Yeah. Just look at how we’re all wearing military uniforms in this weather. Oh, did you already experience this?”

“Do you want to die? Anyway, you’re fine, right?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The teacher handed me one of the two mix coffee drinks they were holding. I nodded in gratitude.

“Still, you should rest. If you go out for training and something happens, it’d be a big deal.”

The teacher seemed to want to rule out any possibilities, so they left me behind.

“What about the others? Are they still training?”

“Probably?”

“...Then shouldn’t you go to them?”

“It’s fine. The class president is covering for me.”

What an irresponsible person.

“Just in case, I temporarily gave you my phone. If anything happens, just call me.”

Smart educator.

“And not just the class president, there’s also a soldier assigned to our class.”

“Well, I guess that’s fine.”

“Yeah, so don’t worry and just relax with me here.”

I wasn’t sure that was the best thing for a teacher to say, but...

“Alright then.”

I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

I had to stay quiet. The air conditioner in this training room was blasting cold air.

I never would have gotten this kind of privilege if it weren’t for the teacher.

“You’re already one of the ‘grown-up’ students. Don’t worry, just rest and then we’ll go for lunch.”

The teacher showed me the schedule.

It seemed like the teacher thought I was clueless, and honestly, they were right.

30 minutes until lunch.

It’s 12 now. We’ll head to the cafeteria at 12:30.

After lunch, we were supposed to gather at the parade ground for some basic training.

It looked like some kind of sport, but since I’m not participating, it doesn’t matter.

“You’ve got some time left. What are you going to do?”

The teacher folded the schedule and put it in their pocket.

“Can I have my phone back?”

“Do you think I’m going to give it to you?”

As expected.

“Hey, you draw well, don’t you?”

“Of course, no doubt about it.”

When it comes to drawing, no one beats me.

But teacher, there’s nothing to draw here.

The teacher must’ve read my expression, because they pulled out an iPad from their pocket.

“How wide is your pocket?”

“It’s a fourth-dimensional pocket. Anyway, can you do it?”

They handed me the iPad along with a pen that can be used for touch recognition.

“Of course, no problem.”

“…When did you start saying that? Forget it.”

Why? What’s wrong? I’m not old-fashioned!

“So, what should I draw?”

“…Here.”

The teacher pulled out their phone and showed me a picture from their gallery.

It was of a little girl. She looked like she was about to enter kindergarten.

“She’s cute. So, I just need to draw her?”

“Yeah. If you do a good job, I’ll reward you.”

Hmm... a reward.

“Shouldn’t I draw the background, too?”

“…Just draw a playground.”

Got it. I’ll draw it perfectly.

But why is the teacher asking me to draw this girl?

As I sketched a quick croquis, the teacher stared off into the distance.

“She’s my daughter. My daughter.”

“?????”

“Huh? Why is your reaction like that?”

“Did you get married? With that face?”

“What, you little…?”

This is kind of shocking.

This guy, who seemed like the neighborhood fool, is married... and with a kid?

“Ugh... Just... I miss my daughter who’s far away.”

Wait, what? Why are you talking like you just brought me ice cream?

I was still trying to recover from the shock when the teacher dropped another bombshell.

“......”

The teacher threw the bombshell and left, saying he was going to the bathroom. His face looked a bit pale.

“...Sigh. I guess I can’t draw it casually.”

Maybe I should’ve just gone to watch the training with the others.