After-school secret club

Joining a mysterious(?) club

I transferred to Wondae High School in the early days of October, when the weather was gradually getting colder, during my second year. I still vividly remember the feeling of cold air seeping all the way into my hoodie, making me keep tugging at my collar.


Back then, even just looking at leaves fallen to the ground made me feel down. I had rushed into transferring and moving while carrying ugly memories, so I guess it was only natural.


I prayed as I watched the scenery flicker past beyond the car window.
I hoped I could make it through school life safely this time.




"Today, we have a transfer student in our class. Come on, introduce yourself."


"Um... My name is Lee Chaeyeon. Nice to meet you."


The sound of the children's applause and their curious eyes crossed over me. Feeling weighed down by something, I ended up lowering my head. While the teacher was assigning my seat for the time being, I looked over the whole class. For now, everyone looked nice on the surface, and that made me feel relieved.


"Let me see—Chaeyeon, you can sit in the back of Group 3. That's the only seat left right now."


A single desk all the way off by itself at the very end. Should I call it lonely-looking? I wordlessly took my bag out, set it beside the desk, and sat down. Even after transferring, why did it still feel so unsettling?



When break time came, the kids gathered around me.
And they bombarded me with all kinds of questions, their excessive interest making me a little shrink back.


"Hey, you went to XX High School, right? What's it like there?"


"Did you have any friends there? It must be sad to leave them behind."


"Are you good at studying?"


By the time I was getting dizzy from the barrage of questions, someone squeezed in through the gap.


"Cut it out. You're gonna scare her."


Neat uniform, neat hair. The boy who looked like a model student to anyone shut the commotion down at once, then casually started talking to me.


"First, sorry. The kids are usually really loud."


"Oh? No, it's okay."


"Oh, right. My name is Myeong Jaehyun. Remember it. I'm the class rep for Class 4 here, so if you don't know anything, you can ask me!"


The guy who said he was the class rep pointed at his blue name tag and smiled brightly. He gave off a vibe that somehow reminded me of an innocent puppy. Thanks to that, my tension loosened a little.


"Thanks. Then, um, maybe..."


"Ah! You want me to show you around the school?? Sure."


Jaehyun, quick on the uptake, took me around and showed me various places at the school. Even though it must have been tiring, he kept explaining things without once furrowing his brow. There was no doubt he was a very kind and lively person.


"But aren't you tired? You've been walking around and talking this whole time."

"Nope. I'm fine! I like grabbing someone and just rambling away."


Come to think of it, with social skills like that, of course he'd be class rep.
Unlike me. Swallowing some inexplicable bitterness, I absentmindedly turned my head and saw a gray building.


"What's that place for?"


"It used to be a storage room for sports equipment, but these days it's been changed into club rooms... or rather, it was."


"What club?"


"Just, you know, a little bit of everything."


"Can I go take a look?"


"Hiss. Well... I guess you can look around."


Jaehyun looked pretty troubled on the way to the club room. In any case, we had already reached the building, and when the door opened with a creak, I couldn't help but be amazed.


"Wow. It's decorated really prettily."


"Ha. Shi. He's gonna freak out."


Ignoring his incomprehensible muttering, I looked around the club room to my heart's content. Pastel-colored curtains, flowerpots placed here and there, and cute little knickknacks pleased my eyes. Just as I was about to bend down to look closer, the door opened again.


"Hey, who are you? Who are you to be here?"


When I turned around, there was someone other than Jaehyun standing there. The words 'Han Dongmin' written on the blue name tag caught my eye. He strode right up to me and crossed his arms. His tall build and sharp, straight-lined eyes made me shrink back.


"Well, I..."


"Hey, wait!! I brought her here. Don't say anything to her."


Afraid that the blame might somehow splash onto me, Jaehyun desperately stepped in front of me. I was grateful, sure, but in this situation it wasn't all that reassuring. He couldn't block out that cold expression of his.


"Then why did you bring her here? Who is she?"


"Ah, she's... a friend who transferred into our class today. She said she wanted to take a look around."


Because of the sharp reaction, Jaehyun was visibly flustered. I felt like I was the one being made into the culprit.


"This is ridiculous. I told you to watch your mouth."


"No, I mean, I just kind of ended up saying it—"


Maybe because he wanted to brush the situation off, Jaehyun just gave a hollow laugh. I stood there dumbly, my expression twisted.


"You. Get out right now. And don't go around telling people there's a club room here. Got it?"


With that firm order, I was instantly turned into an uninvited guest. While I was panicking and not knowing what to do, Jaehyun cut in between us.


"Can't we just let her join too? Adding one more person isn't that big a deal."
"Didn't you say yourself that we only need three people here?"


"Wow, you're really strict about this. It's not even an official club."


Dongmin seemed to think for a moment, then let out a sigh with a slightly softened expression.


"...I'll think about it, so you both get out."


Jaehyun, who got kicked out along with me, pouted as if upset.


"Tch. What a prick. He really does whatever he wants."


"But I wasn't planning to join here in the first place..."


"Whoa, really?? Sorry, I said something unnecessary. Let's just say you're canceling it even now."


"No, it's fine, but I am curious. What exactly do you do here?"


At my words, Jaehyun broke into a broad smile. It seemed he had secretly been waiting for a new member.


"If you want to come in, I'll persuade him. He doesn't let anyone in besides us."


For some reason, it felt like I'd gotten tangled up in something weird right after transferring.


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