Chapter 160 – Jinsooje (2)
Ahead of the registration for Jinsuje’s individual/team talent show, all hopeful participants had to briefly show what they would do in front of the student council.
And…
“Can’t I just not do it now?”
I asked Yuri while waiting for some kind of rehearsal in front of the student council.
Yuri, who was standing next to me, seemed to be trembling, stamping her feet in place, but quickly shaking her head.
“No. You’re better at guitar than I thought. If you have that level of skill, you can’t let it go to waste. You should show it off at festivals like this and find out what you’re good at one by one. Do you know? Maybe you’ll find a career path thanks to this in the future? And this is your time. It’s your last chance.”
“But there’s no need for you to get caught up in something like this.”
I had a guitar on my back, and Yuri was next to me, waiting for our turn.
Because we both also applied to participate.
To be precise, you could say that Yuri made me participate.
When I was in my first and second year, I hung out with a bunch of gangsters, so on the day of the launch festival, I wasn’t even at the academy and was wandering around in random places, so this was actually my first and last time participating in the launch festival.
Yuri told me that she should have some real memories before she graduated and told me to participate in a talent show with my guitar skills, so she pushed me away.
And she said at the same time that she would join me too, so she signed up as a two-person team.
During lunchtime, I was waiting in line in front of the student council room with a guitar on my back, and the kids who were returning to class after eating came out, recognized Yuri, and exchanged words with him.
“What? Han Seong-jin and Lee Yu-ri, are you applying for a talent show?”
“Oh, that’s how it happened.”
“A guitar? Did you know how to play the guitar?”
“Just a little?”
“Oh~ Can you hit it once? I’m curious.”
“Why don’t you at least ring the school bell?”
While saying that, I took out the guitar on my back and roughly rang the school bell.
Naturally, since it was a song that didn’t have any impact, the boys looked a little disappointed.
“But what should I call it? Are you applying on your own or is Yuri Lee doing it too?”
“We are doing this together. Yuri dragged me here to do this.”
“Who pulled you?! I’m just trying to make memories for you-“
“A very couple only.
“Mr. Lee, have you ever been hit on the head with a guitar? Doesn’t it go away quickly?”
“But what are you going to sing?”
Then Yuri answered the kids’ questions instead.
“It’s a secret. Who told you about it before the festival? And hurry. The hallways are narrow.”
Only after Yuri pushed the other kids away did her line become quiet again.
Instead, I felt that people in front and behind the waiting line, who belatedly realized that I was the infamous Han Seong-jin, occasionally glanced at me with anxious expressions.
Well, I wasn’t trying to argue, I was just looking at people, so I was thinking about doing that, but seeing that I’m still receiving this kind of attention from some people even though October is almost over, it made me realize that it was a life without answers.
The kids in my class are all acknowledging that I’m not that guy anymore, but other classes and grades won’t.
“Yuri, after the talent show is over, do you have time to ask each team or individual about their thoughts or an interview?”
“Huh? Well… It does happen, right? If you compete as a club, there are times when it’s something to do with the club or to promote the club.”
“Really? That’s good.”
“Why, what are you trying to do?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Oh, how shameless! I’m participating along with you!”
In the end, without Yuri finding out what she wanted to know, she went into the student council room with me.
For the sake of simple screening, all the various fixtures in the student council room were pushed to the corners and only a desk and chair for three student council members were placed at the end.
When Yuri went into the student council room, which had a fairly spacious space, the student council executives looked at Yuri with curious expressions.
“I saw your name on the application, and senior Yuri Lee is really participating.”
“Are you… Doing it with her boyfriend?”
“That’s right. I’m the student council president, so please don’t be lax in the evaluation and be fair, okay?”
“Yes, I understand!”
“Then, I’ll play some MR on my phone. I think Yuri will be very embarrassed if I sing without anything.”
“Ah… Yes.”
I played the MR of the song we were supposed to sing on my phone and sat down on the chair.
As Yuri sat down on the chair, I started playing the guitar, and Yuri sang along with the MR accompaniment and the sound of my guitar.
#####
“I have to decide after seeing all the other teams, so I’ll let you know the results tomorrow. Thank you for your hard work, senior!”
“I listened to Yuri’s song very well!”
“Don’t go anywhere and talk about it because it’s really embarrassing, okay?”
“Yes~”
After finishing the audition, which was so small that it was embarrassing to even call it an audition, Yuri and I held hands and went back to the classroom.
As I was leaving, I playfully poked Yuri on the cheek.
“My girlfriend, you sing better than before? Did you practice secretly?”
“Well, that is…”
“Huh? Because you want to look good to me?”
“Yeah, right! I wanted to look good, so I secretly went to a coin karaoke room and practiced alone! Can’t I do that?”
“No, on the contrary, I am very grateful. Our student president, who only knew about studying, went all the way to Kono for her boyfriend.”
“… That’s all you need to know. Anyway, this isn’t a bad thing, right? I’m leaving behind a memory from my school days.”
“Yeah, it’s okay. I was a little nervous because I’ve never played guitar in front of anyone except you guys.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll pass. How many people in the academy can play the guitar so freely in the first place? It’s something special in its own way, so let’s wait until the festival by holding a group talent show and practicing this together.”
“Yes, thank you, Yuri. Thanks to you, I get to try something like this before I graduate. Whether I pass or not.”
“…♡”
Yuri seemed to like my answer, so she crossed her arms tightly and walked down the hallway together, not paying attention to the stares of the other kids, back to our class.
Inside the classroom, several girls and a few boys were discussing the budget for the maid café.
Of course, Suyeon and Eunji were there.
“Ah, senior! Did the screening go well?”
Sooyeon ran over to me and asked about the results of the examination, but since we didn’t know the results yet, I just shrugged my shoulders.
“I did as much as I could.”
“Then it will work out! I heard you play really well the other day. By the way, we are talking about how to prepare for the café, but why don’t you go play soccer? Then, let’s talk here together!”
“That’s right, now that I think about it, Seongjin, you were the first to bring up the topic of the maid café. Have you thought about what to prepare?”
When Suyeon and Eunji asked me, the eyes of the other remaining children all turned to me.
In particular, the looks in the eyes of the boys, who were able to fulfill their own selfish interests thanks to my selfishness, were very unusual.
“You can just rent clothes…”
“What drinks to sell?”
“Mixed coffee and iced tea.”
“Eh? That’s enough? That’s barely enough?”
“You don’t know what.”
I waved my finger at the class leader’s words.
“If our class opens a maid café, do you think the kids who come there will come because they want to have a drink?”
“Uh… Because it’s a café?”
“Completely wrong!”
The class president was startled by my strong denial and flinched.
“If I want to have a drink, I’ll go to a proper café that serves everything. If people come to our class maid café, that means…”
I placed Yuri, Suyeon, and Eunji side by side.
“I’m here because I want to receive service from these guys in maid uniforms!”
“That’s right!!!”
The remaining boys who did not go out to play soccer enthusiastically supported my opinion.
Ignoring the girls’ pitiful looks.
“The quality of the drinks? That doesn’t matter. As long as they don’t sell shit, I wouldn’t really care what they sell. Would you come to a maid café because you want to see a maid or something to eat or drink?”
“Well, it’s still Kapende…”
“Even if you try to imitate a real café by adding coffee beans, sugar, and cream, if you can’t sell it all, it’s hard to keep the rest. Oh, of course, for the sake of a little differentiation, it’s okay to order iced tea overseas from Crystal Left instead of Lipton. I guess dessert isn’t hard to make, so why not just buy a few cookies somewhere?”
“Anyway… Isn’t that too insincere? I’m barely selling something like that, will anyone come?”
Yuri looked a little anxious, but my opinion was firm.
“Wow. Absolutely.”
It was the same reason why men couldn’t just pass by at a university festival where three goddesses were in one place wearing maid outfits and serving customers.
Even though it is known to the outside world that at least two of them are in a relationship with me, no man can ignore goddesses like Yuri Su-yeon and Eun-ji in maid uniforms.
Even if no girls show up, you can secure 50% if you just grab the guys.
It’s a game we can’t lose and a privilege unique to our class that holds three goddess levels at the same time.
“Out of the three here, one customer and two servers will take turns, and the additional people who need to serve can take turns taking turns. The girls wear maid uniforms, I don’t know if there will be a demand for them, but the boys may also be needed for serving. I guess I could just order about 3 suits that give me a butler look.
And for the mixed coffee, 3 to 5 cans of 170 cans are enough, and the taste should be as mild as possible so that there is less discomfort…”
After that, we talked about how to organize a café until lunchtime was over.
Even the girls who were disgusted at first quickly changed their attitude and actively cooperated when they said, ‘If we make a lot of money from this and have money left over, we can have a company dinner or split the money.’
It seemed like Yuri Su-yeon thought to herself that if Eun-ji wore a maid uniform and served customers, a lot of people would come.
So, we all gathered together on the weekends and practiced for a group talent show, and during the week, under the leadership of the class leader, we prepared for the festival by stocking up on necessary items within the given budget.
A week before the festival, each class began decorating with themes prepared by each class.
Now, no one cared about the empty seat at Gong Yeong-bae, and we gathered together and were busy preparing for the launch ceremony.
