I arrived at the main building.
And I saw the building standing tall and imposing.
“……”
‘It’s huge, no matter when I see it. It looks more like a city hall than a faculty office.’
Thinking that to myself, I passed through the main gate and walked down the corridor.
The main building of Hanul Comprehensive Arts School was primarily used for faculty rooms and staff offices. Since running a giant school for nurturing gifted students required the efforts of many people, its scale was considerable.
It was, quite literally, the headquarters of Hanul Comprehensive Arts School.
The staff, many of whom were renowned writers in society, mostly worked here. It was also the main location for confidential documents and interviews, so the atmosphere was much more closed off than a typical faculty office. Because of that, even Hanul students couldn’t freely wander through the inside of the main building.
Students who had business in the main building were instructed to gather in a small classroom on one side of the building.
‘It’s not like the dormitory’s teacher’s office or the interview room, but being called up to the main building directly means I must be a student under special observation, which makes it feel even more intense.’
The last line of defense in school life.
For the problem children who struggled to adapt, this ‘special classroom’ was a place of terror that could determine the fate of their school days.
But…
For me, it was just an ordinary classroom.
On days without basic practical lessons, I always attended class in the special classroom. After going in and out of the main building like this, I gradually became used to the somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere that other students felt.
To put it in gaming terms:
Other students had become immune to the special dungeon gimmicks that reduced their morale by 25% and inflicted dot damage.
‘Is this some privilege I get because I’m a special admissions student…?’
Hmm.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not.
At the front of the classroom, there was a small room with the teacher on duty sitting in it.
‘He must be having a hard time guarding a classroom where problem children might show up at any time.’
The teacher on duty in the special classroom had also been selected through fierce competition to become a staff member. But I wondered what it felt like to only deal with the problem children.
‘They say the rotations change every year, but it must get really boring… Or maybe some people like that?’
I bowed my head to him, deciding that I would try to have a diligent school life.
“Hello, teacher. You must be working hard again today.”
“Ah, you’re here? Haha, calling me ‘teacher’ instead of ‘guard,’ that’s the only thing anyone calls me here… No one comes, so time barely passes… Ah! The professor in charge hasn’t arrived yet.”
It seemed like he was uncomfortable with the situation.
“Yes, I came early to prepare for class.”
“Oh… That’s admirable.”
“…..”
He patted my head.
“Kids should be playing outside… Should I go buy you some snacks? Or maybe play some music for you?”
“……”
“Hmm? Why? Oh… Do you need the bathroom? Do you need me to open the restroom?”
“…….”
“W-wait, you can’t go to the bathroom by yourself…? Should I call a female teacher for you? It’d be nice if we had a childcare teacher here.”
“……”
A childcare teacher..?
Is he going to treat me like a baby?
‘You’re the one who’s suffering, aren’t you?’
No matter how I looked at it, someone not much older than me was treating me like a little kid with all his strength. Any respect I had started to fade quickly.
‘Why does everyone treat me like a baby? The intelligence test conducted by the Ministry of Education showed I’m at an adult level. I thought I’ve lived a fairly responsible life. Why does everyone still treat me like I’m in kindergarten…?’
The senior students in the dorms were like that too.
The teachers I met, too.
Everyone seemed to mistakenly think I was a child.
It must be the same reason they kept trying to dress me in toddler clothes every weekend.
…
…Damn it.
“……”
Hmph.
It’s the same food anyway.
They’re not much older than me.
‘I can’t convince them that there’s an adult inside me… If I create too much of an awkward atmosphere by doing this, I’m worried it’ll look weird to the other students who’ll enroll next year.’
Anyway, back to school life. I should be getting closer to my classmates, who I won’t see for a long time, right?
‘Mari seems to float around because of her unique personality and special traits, but if I start doing the same thing, it’ll be even worse.’
I didn’t mind if people said “weird kids stick together,” but I couldn’t let Mari hear that and get hurt.
With that complaint in mind, I corrected him.
“I’m fine, I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m actually in the 4th grade of elementary school, so I’m already grown up. Even though I’m younger than others, I’ll be a middle schooler next year. I can do everything myself, so you don’t need to worry.”
“…..”
After saying that, I stood as confidently as I could, making sure not to let my still-loose uniform jacket show.
‘Back when I was in middle school in my past life, when I spoke like this to adults, they’d say, ‘Ah, you’ve grown!’ and acknowledge me.’
– Yeah, when a boy expresses his thoughts, it’s because he’s grown up.
Ultimately, a child had to prove they had grown on their own. That’s why they had to show mature behavior so that adults wouldn’t worry.
sigh Is this part of the process of becoming an adult again?
“……”
“……”
“…Pfft.”
“…?”
But the teacher on duty burst into laughter after hearing my words.
“Hahahaha!! Hehe…! Aghh!!”
“……”
“Hahahaha!!”
“……”
“Hehe… Oh, my stomach!”
“……”
‘What’s so funny, teacher?’
“Hahaha! Hehe, no, sorry! I wasn’t laughing at you, but your answer was just so cute!”
“……”
“Hmmm, okay! I got it now! You can do things by yourself! I’m glad to know that! I was worried for nothing.”
“……”
In the end, I managed to convince him, but I felt somewhat uncomfortable. With the teacher’s satisfied smile, I entered the classroom.
Anyway.
After some twists and turns.
I sat down safely in the classroom.
“…Phew.”
No matter how I looked at it, it was an ordinary classroom. But the level of the class was far from ordinary.
“Ugh, why is this book so heavy?”
I pulled out the book I was supposed to study from the drawer and placed it on the desk. It was so heavy that I had to use both hands to lift it.
“Yup, there!”
The enormous, brick-like book finally emerged from the drawer.
– Thud…!
『The Story of Art』
The Korean title was Western Art History.
This ridiculously simple title belonged to a massive book written by the British art historian Ernst Gombrich. It was a comprehensive art book that covered the history of art from ancient to modern times. It was essentially an art history strategy guide.
It was even written in the original English text. The special class for special admissions students involved reading this original text and sharing our reflections.
‘Isn’t this something university students would do…?’
I don’t know since I didn’t attend art school.
Anyway.
This class also doubled as a way to evaluate whether I could follow all the middle school lessons. It’s almost like a defense against claims like, ‘Didn’t they just get in by luck?’
Sigh.
This was known as the “basic liberal arts class.”
It was a so-called “simple” class where you would build basic knowledge (according to world-class scholars) and talk to artists (according to renowned writers), or at least that’s how it was presented by the professors.
– Very simple, right? When I was in school, the black-and-white plates were hard to see, but they changed everything to color plates recently. I even had to travel all the way to Busan to get the original version. Now you can just find it at any bookstore. The world today is so convenient.
“…Is this…?”
“……”
“Where is your conscience?”
‘Well, at least I’m lucky since we’re doing both English reading comprehension and liberal arts at the same time… maybe?’
…
Of course, the professors didn’t expect too much from me.
‘Most of them just praised me for reading the book.’
But it wasn’t easy to follow along with this enormous book in English. As a result, even if I already knew most of the content, I had to skim through it before class to avoid getting confused.
‘Damn, I honestly thought the special class would be at a middle school level, but this Gombrich book came up…’
Honestly, this is cheating…! I should be allowed to at least pretend to be a genius for middle school-level work, right?
No.
A baby is always a baby.
‘…Waaah.’
I silently vented my frustration, quietly reading through the assigned material for the day.
It was just a little confusing because it was in English.
Ultimately, I was familiar with the art history content, so I finished reading it quickly.
‘But Cola, Hongcha, and seniors like Oh Yujin in high school had already learned all this in middle school. I didn’t even
know they were secretly studying…’
…sigh.
As soon as I recalled that fact, a chill ran through a corner of my heart.
If I stayed still, I couldn’t be with them.
…even Mari.
During the adaptation period, even on weekends, outings were restricted.
So, I couldn’t visit Mari in the hospital, but since we exchanged phone numbers, we talked often.
Mari’s voice, heard through the phone, was bright.
– “They said I just need to go through rehabilitation treatment for the next three months!”
– “Really? That’s great.”
– “Yeah, I want to go soon too. The middle school classes are simple, so I’ll finish them quickly and we can hang out! Let’s go out together!”
– “Simple…? Is it just reading and talking about books?”
– “Yeah! The books are thick, but they only have stuff I already know. When I was in America, I read them with the teachers.”
– “But it’s in English?”
– “Hmm? Didn’t you read those?”
“…”
‘…I need to live more diligently.’
As I reminded myself of reality and read the book, I heard the sound of the classroom door opening.
– “Creak”
It was the teacher who had been joking earlier.
‘Oh, it’s not the professor.’
He walked toward me and spoke.
“Hana, the professor said you can take the class later. Would you like to come to the admissions office with me now?”
“Pardon? The admissions office…?”
At this moment, I hadn’t been assigned to a class yet.
To me, the admissions office was essentially the same as my homeroom teacher.
“It’s about the youth drama appearance.”
“Youth drama?”
“Yeah, they said they really need your help.”
“…?”
What…?
*
In drama or movie shoots, there is something called a ‘hand double.’
Of course, it’s not a professional role.
It’s like a temporary stunt double.
For instance, if the actors play roles in specialized professions like artists or technicians.
There may be scenes in which characters are deeply engrossed in their work. But it’s not possible for every actor to undergo months of specialized training just to mimic those actions.
So, they hire an expert to perform the “specialized hand movements.” Of course, the hands are often filmed in close-up shots, so the expert’s identity is kept hidden.
When the actor’s performance and the expert’s hands are edited together, viewers are led to believe it’s the same person performing both actions.
[Actor’s face] + [Expert’s hand cam] = Expert character at work = profit!
Actually, there are tricks involved in this. Sometimes, the actor just mimics the hand movements on a completed prop, which is enough to be passable for dramatic license in most scenes.
…But still, showing the character working in the scene makes it more convincing.
And the director coming to ask for shooting permission at Hanul Comprehensive Arts School seemed to be someone who preferred that kind of emotional appeal.
‘Interesting, I’ve worked part-time on a few shooting sets in past lives…’
In my previous life, my rough hands never matched the delicate hands of the actors. Being big-built, I mostly helped with props and setting up the set. The filming locations were often far away.
– “Would you like to be a hand double for the youth drama?”
That’s when I became interested.
‘Sometimes, seeing other media production sets sparks inspiration.’
I gladly agreed to the suggestion I heard from the admissions office. Then, Director Kim Youngmi, with a wry smile, said:
“To be honest, I was worried it might be too much for an exception student who hasn’t officially enrolled yet. But since you want to give it a try, I feel relieved. Originally, I was going to ask Mari, but since she’s in the hospital, they gave up. Instead, they heard about the exception student and asked for your help.”
Huh?
They went to Mari too?
‘Still, she’s the granddaughter of a chaebol, but she’s so stubborn…’
I replied, somewhat stunned.
“It’s not that burdensome. I’m personally interested in it. The more sets I see, the more imaginative I become.”
“Every time I hear you talk like this, I can’t believe you’re only in 4th grade.”
“I’m in 1st year middle school now.”
“Hehehe…”
Ms. Kim Youngmi didn’t respond to my statement.
‘What, maybe she was trying not to hurt my pride?’
Tch, she’s treating me like a little kid again.
I’ll have to become a proper adult soon so she’ll believe me.
Anyway, regardless of my thoughts, the conversation shifted to another topic.
“Our school campus is so beautiful, so we get a lot of requests for shooting permissions like this. But after those shoots, the facilities are always ruined, and the principal doesn’t like it much.”
“Ahh.”
“So, we were going to refuse this time, but the director insisted on filming here. Eventually, we agreed to let them use one of the studios, though we’ll assign someone to supervise.”
…That’s true.
Filming time = money, so filming sets always tend to be a chaotic, make-do situation. If they didn’t operate that way, they wouldn’t make deadlines.
Suddenly, curiosity struck, and I asked:
“Are the actors coming for this shoot famous?”
“Huh? Didn’t you know?”
“No, I didn’t hear about it before coming…”
“That one famous from the sitcom… What was her name? Juri, I think? She’s coming. She’s the one who always does funny dances at night.”
Juri.
Juri…?
As soon as I heard the name, my uncle’s voice echoed in my mind.
– “You’re better than Juri from The Outrageous Big Family.”
“Ah.”
The girl from the evening sitcom.
A scene from years ago, still remembered as one of the best moments of the show.
The so-called ‘Give me your allowance’ dance…
The rising young child actress, now a popular newcomer, was coming to our school.
‘She eventually quit acting, though, didn’t she?’
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