It's summer, with warm sunlight streaming through the blinds, cicadas chirping for their mates, and the air conditioning in the classroom broken, forcing everyone to ward off the heat with their notebooks and textbooks. Sweat beaded on everyone's foreheads and noses, and red, swollen crosses carved into their calves and arms.
While everyone else was scratching my skin until it was red, Yeoju was sitting at the window seat, dreaming. The important thing was that it was class time.
“Kim Yeo-ju! You don’t have much time left until your final exams, do you want to keep rambling and sleep?”
The social studies teacher, unable to bear it any longer, tried to wake Yeo-ju by hitting the desk with the textbook he was holding, but Yeo-ju was still in a dream because she was so deeply asleep.
“Kim Yeo-ju!”
Only when the teacher called her name again did the female protagonist rub her eyes and stretch. There were spit marks on her mouth and small bits of booger in her eyes.
“Haaam~ Wow, how long have I been sleeping? What period is it now?”
"It's third period, Yeoju. Let's focus on class."
"yes."
The teacher returned to his desk and resumed class. Looking back at the window seat, I saw the female protagonist, overcome with sleep and drifting off to dreamland.
———
Despite being in the same room, Soobin and Yeoju have completely different vibes. They're constantly biting their fingernails as they make unusually slow progress due to their relationship with Yeoju. It's understandable, because for Soobin, studying is everything. He even took the oath as the top freshman, so that speaks for itself.
‘I just wish things would progress quickly…’
To him, the world seemed pathetic. And since she even interfered with his studies, his repulsion towards her only grew.
‘Doesn’t he sleep at night?’
Subin also doesn't sleep at night, but Subin stares at Yeoju, who sleeps at school every day, as if it's strange.
W. Jeong Aeng-du