Chapter 108

Chapter 108
Chapter 108
In short, there were now four empty seats in the class . The bullies tried to transfer, but the school decided to expel them in the end . Byungsoo told Maru privately that in truth, he felt a little disappointed by the result .
[I did want this, but… It doesn’t feel like we won . ]
A 20 hour volunteer work turned into an expulsion in just a few minutes . The intended result was achieved, but Byungsoo probably didn’t like how they achieved it . After all, if it wasn’t for Maru’s intervention, the school never would’ve acquiesced .
“The Hanja teacher will take an indefinite break due to a private reason . He seems sick, so be sure to write him a letter . ”
The Hanja teacher would probably have to give up on education completely . This was a private engineering school . His relationship with the chairman was ruined for good, so he probably couldn’t continue working here . According to lawyer Park, the chairman was just cutting off his tail . The man probably suggested to the teacher to quit quietly while he still could .
“I heard the Hanja teacher was super corrupt . ”
“Maybe that’s why he got fired?”
Maru had to wonder just who was spreading these rumors among the students . Sometimes, they were scarily accurate to what really happened . In the end, the classroom was still as lively as ever, no one even cared about what happened to the bullies . Then again, the people who would care got expelled, too .
The boy called Gijung who used to get bullied by Changhu was still as quiet as ever . He did seem a little happier though, thankfully . The boy was starting to come back to class after break time with a smile on his face .
Despite all that, the relationship between the victims and the rest of the school wouldn’t improve by much any time soon . Most students probably thought of them as snitches at this point . Plus, everyone was in their own social circles already, it would be difficult for the victims to try to get in there .
‘But then again . ’
It looked like the victims went on to form their own social circle . A good sign . They would probably maintain a very good relationship together for a very long time .
Maru’s eyes met with Gijung’s . Maru shrugged, causing Gijung to look away with a bit of shock .
“Hm . ”
Maru told them multiple times that he was only helping them for the acting club, perhaps that’s why Gijung looked so shocked . He didn’t do all of this for a reward or anything, but that kind of reaction was still a little troublesome .
‘Byungsoo was like that, too . ’
The other boy gave Maru a bit of a forced smile the last time they met . The boy practically ran away as soon as he saw Maru, making Maru wonder if he did something wrong .
“Wonderful . The class looks so nice now,” Dojin said, looking at Changhu’s seat .
“I heard one of the kids in that group had ties to the chairman, I’m surprised that the chairman cut them off . I wonder if that guy’s actually a nice person?”
Dojin popped some candy in his mouth with a grin, Maru decided to leave the boy be . If he revealed the truth here, he’d be chased by Dojin for the next several days for details .
“I kind of feel sorry for the bullies . ”
“Oh, you big softie, you . ”
Daemyung was commenting as he looked sadly at the empty seats . Apparently, if you get expelled by the school, you’d have it on your record for the next two years . They’d probably have to study independently and do a test through the government to get a high school diploma . Only then would they be qualified to take the college entrance exams . At that point, they would be able to go around telling people that they dropped out of school instead of talking about what really happened .
“You don’t have to worry about it, they probably already hired good tutors to study . Maybe they’re even planning on doing international study . You know they’re all filthy rich . ”
“T-that’s true . But… That guy worries me a bit . ”
“Hosung?”
Daemyung nodded . There was a kid named Hosung in Changhu’s group . Unlike everyone else in that group, he alone seemed to have come from a poorer family .
“It’s totally his fault for acting like that, to begin with . Daemyung, this is just karma . Ignore it and move on . Man, you’re too kind . ”
Daemyung smiled awkwardly . The boy was right though . Since Hosung wasn’t blessed with money like the others, he would have to work very hard by himself . That would be no easy feat .
“I really have to earn a lot of money . ”
“What the hell?”
“Money?”
Maru told the two of them to think about what they want before falling over on his desk . Finally, he would be able to rest a bit . He was still busy for the rest of the week, but at least this was one thing off of his list .
“I’m sleeping . ”
“Fine, fine . Sleep!”
* * *
“Maru’s… a bit weird . ”
“Hm?”
Daemyung asked what was up as he passed a cup of hot chocolate to Dojin . Maru? Weird?
“He’s been a really cool guy from the day I met him . He also thinks really differently compared to all of us . ”
“So?”
“It feels like there’s a distance between the two of us . ”
“Well, he’s busy . He goes to a lot of places for acting . Maybe it’s because of that?”
“Well, there’s that, too, but… How do I put it? I feel a bit annoyed when I look at him . ”
“Annoyed?”
Daemyung stepped sideways, dodging a female student running towards him . He almost spilled his drink . Daemyung took a sip from his cup before it spilled over before sighing .
“I get that he focuses on something a lot if he puts his mind to something . I also get that he cares a lot more for people than he likes to let on . After all, our relationship could only improve like this thanks to Maru . ”
Dojin continued with a hint of embarrassment, Daemyung started feeling a bit embarrassed as well . This guy said too many cringey things whenever they talked . Well, that was his charm, Daemyung figured .
“But if you look at him, you’ll notice that there’s always a reason why he does something . ”
“Well, he’s only doing something because he has a reason . ”
“Ah… Damn, this is so hard to explain . It just feels like he’s a bit up in the air . He’s always busy and hardworking, but he has no motivation . No, he has motivation, but… Yeah! He’s just circling around!”
“Circling around? Maru?”
Daemyung thought for a second . Maru? Circling around? Sure, he was doing that at the beginning of the school year for sure . He was always sitting at the edges of the club, never getting himself deeply involved . He was studying Chinese, CAD softwares, and sometimes even study guides for government employees . But recently, Maru was focusing solely on acting . How was that “circling around”?
Then, Daemyung came to a stop . Maybe Dojin was onto something .
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m weird, but that’s what I feel whenever I look at Maru . He seems motivated but it doesn’t make sense why he’s motivated . It makes sense when I compare him with you . You’re clearly working hard because you desperately want to get good at acting, but Maru doesn’t give me that feeling at all . Even when he’s working even harder than you . I might just be worrying too much, but… It feels like the more I know about Maru, the further I get from him . ”
A single word crossed Daemyung’s mind .
“Empty . . . ”
“ . . . . . . ”
With a short exchange of glances, Daemyung realized that this one word explained everything Dojin was trying to say all this time .
* * *
Maru felt exhausted . He was glad that there was a heater running right above him . The school finally decided to unseal the heaters when the weather became cold . Thank goodness . Looking around him, he noticed that Dojin’s seat was empty . He couldn’t see Daemyung either .
“Did they leave to get snacks?”
There really weren’t other places to go at this time . Maru yawned as he took out his phone, his mailbox was completely empty . In the past, when he really was this young, he used to text his friends nonstop . But as he aged, he grew tired of even asking for an update or making small talk with them . His tendency to call people instead of messaging them probably contributed to his empty mailbox, too . But there was one person he always looked forward to getting messages from .
Her .
He wasn’t even able to send her a message with how busy he’s been .
“What’s up?” he said, sending the message .
A reply came in just a few seconds .
[Waiting for food . ]
Ah, right . She had quite an appetite . He recalled how she used to frown often whenever she got a new role in a play, the new memory lightened his mood even more .
“Do you have time on the weekend? I still haven’t gotten my money back . ”
Again, a beep .
[We only have two weeks till the prelims . No time to play! Are you practicing well?]
“Well, you know . ”
I’m working hard, just for you . Maru couldn’t bring himself to actually write that, so he just told her he was being lazy .
[Lazy? Wow, so confident . Well, we’ll be taking first place in the winter nationals, so just you watch! Plus, we see each other three times a week already . Do you really have to ask for money through the mail? Don’t you try anything weird, now . ]
“Weird? No way . ”
Maru dropped back down on the desk after responding, “ok” . He’d be seeing her again today as well . She was hard at work, even in the amateur classes . Her motivation was almost blinding in his eyes .
‘Come to think of it, I need to be careful of him . ’
Her charm was already starting to attract the attention of a few boys in their class .
“Why couldn’t she just be a little pretty?”
Maru got a little worried, thinking that someone might steal her away from him . He thought of the future after high school, before shaking his head . He didn’t want to think about such things right now .
‘If she really does get together with someone else, then I . . . ’
The door behind him opened, cutting Maru’s thoughts right then and there . It was Dojin and Daemyung . Strangely, they didn’t have a smile on their faces .
“Did something happen?”
“No, it’s nothing . ”
What happened? Maru looked at the two with curious eyes .
* * *
Miso absolutely wasn’t a fan of the extra one month given to them . She had created a schedule to try and make the club feel as nervous about the play as possible, but the extra month ended up ruining everything . They started practicing in August . They started doing runs in September, and they held the play at the festival in October to figure out extra problems . The plan was to enter the prelims perfectly in November . Miso’s plan was perfect, but…
“We’re getting lazy . ”
They were entering their fifth month of practice . Even pros only practiced for up to 2 months . Especially because extra practice could sometimes negatively impact a play, but they were entering their fifth month at this point . Everyone was visibly lax at this point .
“Everyone, come around . ”
Miso gathered the students around her .
“I’ll give you guys homework . ”
“Homework?”
“Yeah, homework . You guys need something a little extra . ”
They all looked at each other after hearing the word “extra” . Miso snapped her finger before continuing .
“Prepare a short one-man play . Your play will be about the person standing to your right . Observe your target carefully before making the play . It doesn’t need to be anything special . You’re just going to be imitating your neighbor . ”
“What?”
The club members looked at Miso in confusion .