Come to think of it, I think I saw my desk mate’s name on the seating chart earlier, but I couldn’t remember it. Since the name tags were detachable, many students weren’t wearing them, and my desk mate was the same. While I was hesitating about whether to ask for their name, I heard the sound of someone tapping on the teacher’s desk.
“Alright, quiet down.”
It seemed to be the homeroom teacher. A middle-aged man with curly hair wearing a black suit jacket over a striped shirt was standing in front of the teacher’s desk. Only then did I come to my senses and look around to see the classroom was full of students. And in the front right, I could also see a back of the head that was clearly Kim Eorin’s. It was my first time seeing him in person, but I could tell. I really felt the reality that we’d ended up in the same class. I suddenly let out a sigh. When the students quieted down, the teacher picked up chalk and wrote “Park Sunsu” in the middle of the blackboard.
“Mm. I’m Park Sunsu, who will be taking charge of Class 5 as homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you, kids.”
At just those words, the students groaned in despair. How were their hearts already in perfect sync when they’d just met? Looking at the students’ reactions, it seemed they had been hoping for a different teacher. The teacher scratched his chin and said,
“Why, were you expecting Teacher Jo Sugyeom?”
“Yeeess.”
“Don’t be so disappointed, Teacher Jo is our assistant homeroom teacher.”
“Waaaah!”
At the teacher’s words, the students cheered while thrusting their fists. One student sitting in the very front seat even jumped up from their seat. Although there had been a teacher introduction time, I hadn’t remembered each one individually, so I didn’t know who Teacher Jo Sugyeom was, but seeing the students act like this, I thought he must be a very good teacher.
“You guys, I understand, but you’re hurting my feelings just 5 minutes after meeting me. If it’s just about looks, right?”
When the teacher threw out a joke, the students burst into laughter.
“He’s only assistant homeroom teacher in name, you won’t see him anyway, you brats.”
“Awww.”
“Try to be fond of me instead. We’ll be seeing each other for a year now.”
The students laughed again. The atmosphere was bright, so I felt a bit relieved. I already got the feeling that they seemed like good teachers and good students. I was also smiling slightly when suddenly Kim Eorin caught my eye. Whether they already knew each other or had already become close, Kim Eorin was laughing while saying something to his desk mate. The slightly visible upturned corners of his mouth were vividly imprinted in my eyes, so I blinked as if erasing an afterimage.
“Mm, anyway. Nice to meet you, kids. Although it’s not hanging there yet, the class motto for every class I’ve taken charge of so far has traditionally been ‘Keep your hearts pure.’ Not your heads though. I hope everyone will keep their hearts right and pure, and study hard. I’m counting on you for this year. Anyone have questions?”
“Teacher, when was your first love!”
The student who had jumped up earlier raised their hand and shouted vigorously. The students went oooooh, cheering softly and raising the mood. Then the teacher sighed.
“You know, when I enter a classroom, I get this feeling. About what this class is like and what that class is like, that sort of thing. Looking at our class, I can tell we’ll be last place in test averages but will win first place in the sports festival no matter what. Kids, let’s just keep our hearts pure. Got it?”
“Yeeeees.”
“So teacher, when was your first love?”
The teacher held up his left hand. There was a ring on his ring finger.
“My first love is sleeping at my house right now.”
“Wooow!”
“When did you start liking them!”
“Mm, no one believes me when I tell them. Since middle school for me. It’s been over 20 years now.”
“Wooow!!!”
“What about the baby?”
“There is one.”
“Wow. How old is the baby?”
“8 months. Inside my honey’s belly, 8 months.”
“Woooooh!”
Another cheer rang out. When I glanced toward Eorin, Kim Eorin was also banging on his desk and laughing with his mouth open like the other students. He was no different from ordinary peers his age. Seeing a special person laughing and cheering like kids his age gave me a strange feeling. Even though no one could see it, I blinked while deliberately pretending to wipe my hands on my pants to hide my stirring heart. The teacher, fed up with the continuous cheering, waved his hand.
“The class next door will come to watch thinking you guys are doing some kind of talent show, you brats. When I ask for questions, I thought you’d ask things like what subject the teacher teaches. Isn’t anyone curious about that?”
“Hehe. Teacher, what subject do you teach?”
“Geez. I teach Korean. This is totally like receiving a bow while lying down.”
The teacher sighed.
“Anyway, if there are no more questions, I’d like to choose a class president now. What we’re picking now is temporary, but if nothing happens, it’ll probably stay as the first semester class president. Anyone want to do it?”
The class became quiet in an instant. They even lowered their heads deeply in case they made eye contact. I was no exception. As if he expected this, the teacher opened the attendance book without hesitation.
“Let’s see. Mm… we have a Yoo Chiwon in our class.”
Startled by the suddenly called name, I drew in a small breath and reflexively covered the back of my neck. I felt the student next to me turn their head toward me, perhaps hearing my breathing.
“There’s also an Eorin. My name is Sunsu, so our class nickname is pretty obvious even without looking.”
The students burst into laughter again.
“Mm, then Chiwon. You have a pretty name, will you be class president? Where is Chiwon sitting?”
The teacher looked around as if searching for me and met eyes with me, who had widened my eyes. When the teacher went “hmm” and narrowed his eyes as if gauging me, I pressed my lips together and shook my head. No, I don’t want to. I felt the area around my eyes heat up a bit. Getting red around the eyes when flustered was an old habit.
“Okay, okay. If you don’t want to, I won’t make you. People will say I made a kid cry on the first day when I didn’t do anything.”
Looking at my face, the teacher chuckled and withdrew his words. I could see several students laughing and looking this way. I’m not crying though. I lowered my head to hide my face as the redness spread beyond my eyes.
“Teacher, do you take recommendations too?”
“Mm, go ahead.”
“I recommend student Kim Eorin! Ah, please keep it anonymous.”
Kim Eorin’s desk mate raised their hand high and spoke. Since they spoke while raising their hand right next to him and asked to keep it anonymous as a joke, the students chattered and laughed again. Kim Eorin got indignant with a laughing face and smacked his desk mate’s waist repeatedly. He acted like an ordinary seventeen-year-old, which was unfamiliar and strange to me, so I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
“Eorin? Will Eorin do it?”
“No, teacher.”
At the low voice heard directly rather than through a speaker and the neat speech, I rolled my eyes for no reason. Even though Kim Eorin, the chairman’s grandson who entered as top student, was in the class, the teacher didn’t particularly push Kim Eorin toward being class president. He didn’t seem like the type to be hung up on such things. When someone came forward to recommend him, only then did he ask subtly, but it was also scrapped when Kim Eorin said he didn’t want to. The teacher, who had been looking around, lit up.
“Then you do it.”
“M-me?”
“Yeah, you. Kang Yeongjin, right?”
The teacher picked out one student. It was that very student who had jumped up earlier and suddenly shouted to talk about first love. When told that he should be temporary class president, Yeongjin nodded his head. Looking at his reaction, it seemed he had secretly wanted to do it.
“Who will be vice president?”
“Do you take recommendations, teacher?”
“Sure.”
“I recommend Kim Eorin! Ah, anonymously of course, ack!”
“Stop it!”
When the same conversation repeated, Kim Eorin got indignant and smacked his desk mate repeatedly. The students and even the teacher burst into laughter.
“If you don’t want to be class president, you have to be vice president, what else can we do. Right?”
That’s how it was decided that Kim Eorin would be vice president. Next to Kim Eorin, who was making a disgusted expression, his desk mate laughed while patting his shoulder.
“Alright, then we’ve decided on class officers too. Shall we establish rules? Daily duties will be done by two people rotating in attendance number order, and I’ll divide you into groups for cleaning and assign you to cleaning areas. Since our class is close to the back garden passage, you’ll probably also clean the vine shelter area, flower bed area, and central stairs area. Don’t worry, I’ll make a good rotation. Also, anyone caught using their phone during class will have it confiscated for a week. And anyone late to morning self-study will do double cleaning duty, so don’t be late.”
“Boooo.”
“What’s with the booing, you brats. We’ll decide other things gradually. Ah, right. Although our school’s culture is relaxed, you have to wear uniforms to school, kids. I won’t say anything about what you wear over the uniform, but still wear the uniform first and then wear other things. And no dyeing, perming, or earrings. Just in case I’m saying this, but piercings are obviously not allowed either. If you get caught with alcohol or cigarettes, just try it. I’ll teach you a lesson.”
It was all talk unrelated to me. As I was nodding and listening, the teacher pulled out a stack of papers from under the desk.
“Then now let’s write self-introductions. You just need to fill in the blanks well. For ‘What I want to say to the teacher,’ well, whether you have a chronic illness or can’t do something well or want to try something as a first-year high schooler, you can write anything. If you really have nothing to write, just write ‘Please take care of me’ at least.”
The papers the teacher distributed were passed along fluttering from the front. After passing the remaining sheet to the back, I took out my pencil case from my bag and started by writing my name on the paper.
There wasn’t much to write. Birthday, family relations, pheromone manifestation type, special skills, hobbies, close friends, future dreams, phone number. I had many blanks I couldn’t fill.
At the very bottom, the “What I want to say to the teacher” box was the largest, and after agonizing, I brought my mechanical pencil over.
“I am living at Haebam Orphanage. Since I don’t have my own phone, I wrote the orphanage director’s number and the orphanage number instead. And I do not want to reveal my pheromone type to the students.”
After putting down the pen and agonizing again, I continued writing “Please take care of me” but immediately erased it. Although it was a customary greeting, I thought that writing various circumstances beforehand and then saying please take care of me would seem like asking to be looked after favorably.
[To be continued in the next episode…]
