“But Siyeon, aren’t you working on any projects these days?”
“I should start soon.”
“Chaeyoung has been appearing here and there lately. She must have been working hard all this time.”
I hadn’t been active since The Watcher.
On the other hand, Chaeyoung seemed to have worked on various projects during that time.
I saw that she had been appearing in a few dramas recently.
“Her skills have improved a lot.”
That was just my honest impression.
Compared to the past, Chaeyoung’s acting had surpassed the level of a child actor.
Sometimes, I could even sense a glimpse of determination in her performance.
I could somewhat guess what kind of time she had spent during the two years after transferring.
“It doesn’t seem like she’s coming to Hangongye…”
“Yeah. I didn’t see her at the exam site either.”
Unfortunately, it seemed she hadn’t been admitted to Hangongye.
Jiyoung had always looked forward to the three of us hanging out again.
Unless we met in the entertainment industry, I doubted we would ever be in the same place again.
Chaeyoung hadn’t responded to any messages since she transferred.
“Hello, I’m Thomas~”
Today was the entrance ceremony day at Hangongye.
As I passed through the school gate, students were dancing and doing various things to promote their clubs.
“Thomas” was the name of a club.
Hangongye was known for its strong club culture, so club promotions seemed to be in full swing.
“Hangongye clubs are really famous. Siyeon, what are you going to do?”
“Hmm… not sure.”
Since Jiyoung was an idol trainee, she would probably join a dance-related club.
But as I glanced around, no club particularly caught my interest.
If there was a martial arts club, I might consider it. Otherwise, I didn’t feel the need to join anything.
“We probably can’t participate in Hanseojeon right away, right? They hold it at the start of the semester, so I’m excited.”
“Hanseojeon?”
“Yeah. You don’t know what Hanseojeon is?”
Jiyoung explained Hanseojeon to me.
It seemed like a competition between the two most famous arts high schools—Hangongye and Seorim Arts High—held as part of a festival.
They competed not just in sports but also in theater and performances.
“Hmm…”
People naturally want their group to win.
It seemed like Hanseojeon was quite an intense event.
Though I wasn’t particularly interested.
“Ah, found you! Kim Siyeon!”
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from somewhere.
“Pi… Pink hair…?”
“An idol…?”
A cute girl with light pink-dyed hair stood before me.
Since many active idols attended Hangongye, hair color rules were quite lenient.
Judging by the ribbon color, she seemed to be a second-year student.
Pink Hair ran up to me and suddenly grabbed my arm.
“You have to come with me!”
“…Huh?”
“You! Be my comrade!”
“…?”
She extended one hand toward me while lifting one side of her lips into a smirk.
She seemed… strange.
Something about her manner of speaking and actions felt oddly familiar, but I didn’t bother thinking too much about it.
“Let’s go.”
“… Yeah.”
I ignored her and turned away with Jiyoung.
“Wa-wait, wait, wait! A senior is talking to you! Do you want your school life to be a mess?!”
Pink Hair hurriedly ran to block our way.
I casually brushed her aside, and she fell backward helplessly.
“Kyah!”
“This is a proper school, right?”
“…Maybe not.”
“Stop! Kim Siyeon! You’ll regret this—!”
Ignoring Pink Hair’s voice from behind, we walked into the ceremony hall.
After the entrance ceremony, it was time for the club introductions.
Sitting in the auditorium, I watched as senior students went up on stage to showcase their clubs.
Traditional Korean music, dance, singing, hip-hop, comedy—each club displayed its own unique charm.
I wasn’t planning to join any, but watching them passionately pursue their art was impressive.
It definitely felt different from my dry and dull middle school experience.
“Oh, it’s that senior from earlier.”
After several clubs had been introduced, it was time for the theater clubs.
A club called Daehangong was up next, and then—Pink Hair walked onto the stage alone.
“Electrifying jjajang! Rola-rola~”
She dramatically delivered her lines as if she were performing in a musical.
Her skills were quite impressive.
Her voice projected so well that it filled the entire auditorium even without a microphone.
She had the ability to instantly captivate the audience.
It was unexpected, considering my first impression of her.
I guess people at Hangongye really are on another level.
As the play progressed, other members joined her on stage, performing together.
Finally, all the members gathered to introduce the club.
“Hello, we are the Hangongye theater club, Daehangong. I am Choi Juhun, the club president and main director.
Anyone familiar with Hangongye would also know about Daehangong, so I’ll skip the explanations.”
“So that senior was part of Daehangong? I guess she really is talented.”
“But I didn’t expect her to be in the acting department.”
I had assumed she was in the music department because of her pink hair.
Turns out, she was an actor.
“As the top theater club at Hangongye, we will, of course, be performing at this year’s Hanseojeon.
If you’re a first-year with dreams and an interest in Hanseojeon, join our club.
That is all.”
There were more than just one or two theater clubs at Hangongye.
Since only one club could perform at Hanseojeon against Seorim Arts High, the selection was made at the end of the year.
For the past several years, Daehangong had always won that spot.
Because of that, the eyes of the first-years sparkled with excitement during Daehangong’s introduction.
Joining this club meant getting to experience Hanseojeon right from the start.
It seemed like Hanseojeon was a much bigger deal than I had thought.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Just as Daehangong members were stepping off the stage,
A girl with long, wavy hair down to her waist suddenly grabbed the microphone.
“There’s a first-year named Kim Siyeon here, right? You should join our club.”
“Huh?”
– Murmuring –
An unexpected statement.
All eyes suddenly turned toward me.
I wasn’t used to this kind of situation, so, unlike myself, I froze and stared into space.
The girl threw out one last, threatening remark before stepping off the stage.
“If you don’t want to die.”
What…?
“Nari.”
“Y-yes?”
“Kim Siyeon. Why isn’t she coming? Today’s the last day for club recruitment.”
“Uh… good question?”
With arms crossed, Shin Yurim glared at the door while speaking to Hana-ri.
Hana-ri, who had been watching anime, scratched the back of her head.
“Ugh, ugh… what’s up with that freshman? Even if it’s Kim Siyeon, how is she going to handle this?!“
Hana-ri recalled the past week’s events.
Following Shin Yurim’s orders, she had been tailing Kim Siyeon.
“Kim Siyeon! Be my comrade!”
“No.”
Simply asking her to join wasn’t going to work, of course.
So, the only option left was to claim her directly.
“Kim Siyeon, you’re mine!”
Poof!
She had even thrown a Pokéball at Kim Siyeon in an attempt to capture her, but Kim Siyeon just shattered it.
She didn’t even look at the Pokéballs flying at her from all directions—she just destroyed them all.
“If you won’t listen…”
Tatatatatak!
Too scared to approach her in person, Hana-ri bombarded Kim Siyeon with online messages instead.
She spammed texts, filled fan cafe posts—anything she could do.
But then—
“H-huh?”
One day, suddenly, both her phone and computer stopped working entirely.
She had to take them for repairs and ended up getting smacked by her mom for it.
As a bonus, all her saved anime files got deleted.
“Hiiiing…“
“Sigh… We need to start preparing for Hanseojeon next week.“
“B-but Kim Siyeon doesn’t seem interested in joining a club, senior…“
“Her opinion doesn’t matter. That’s it. We’re going to find her ourselves.“
Shin Yurim got up and headed toward Siyeon’s classroom.
Hana-ri followed with a worried expression.
“Ah… this isn’t good…“
She knew Shin Yurim’s personality well.
Despite the writer-like image, she was terrifying.
Having trained in judo since childhood, Shin Yurim was tall and strong enough to take down multiple grown men.
If things didn’t go her way, she resorted to force—this could get violent.
Slide—
“Kim Siyeon, come out.”
“No, thanks.”
But Hana-ri wasn’t worried about Kim Siyeon.
She was worried that Shin Yurim might actually try to take on Kim Siyeon.
With a slightly irritated expression, Shin Yurim strode toward Kim Siyeon.
“You. Join our club.”
“No. I already told your senior.”
“If you don’t want to die, join.”
“H-hiiik…“
The one who flinched wasn’t Kim Siyeon—it was Hana-ri.
Kim Siyeon simply twitched an eyebrow at the threat.
Then, suddenly, she stood up.
“You look like you’re about to throw a punch. Go ahead.”
“You little—”
What was this? A scene straight out of some third-rate action anime?!
Hana-ri could only stomp her feet anxiously, unsure what to do.
Then, just as Shin Yurim grabbed Siyeon’s collar, trying to flip her over—
Siyeon countered by grabbing Yurim’s arm and throwing her instead.
Crash!
“Kyaa!“
Chaos erupted in the classroom.
Just then, the classroom TV flickered on.
A video about Hanseojeon started playing, broadcasted by the school’s media club.
They played these videos every lunchtime.
This time, it was an interview video from Seorim Arts High about their Hanseojeon preparations.
Siyeon stared blankly at the screen.
“You little…!”
Shin Yurim sprang to her feet, about to charge at Siyeon again.
Siyeon, however, simply raised a hand to stop her.
“Regardless of everything else, Seorim will definitely win the theater competition.”
A voice came from the TV.
The interview showed a first-year student from Seorim Arts High wearing their school uniform.
Hana-ri turned her head—something about that voice sounded familiar.
“Oh. It’s Lee Chaeyoung.”
A rising actress, recently appearing everywhere.
A first-year already participating in Hanseojeon? Must mean she’s talented, Hana-ri thought absentmindedly.
But Siyeon’s expression was different.
“I’m better at acting than her.”
Chaeyoung provocatively challenged Hangongye through the screen.
Siyeon’s face subtly twisted as she watched.
And when the video ended—
Siyeon finally spoke.
“…I’ll do it. Theater.”
“…What?”
“I’ll join the theater club.”