LCL CH 7

Lim Dae-han sat in the next row over. Our eyes met briefly, but since we weren’t at that level of closeness, I averted my gaze. Senior Hyuna naturally took the seat next to Lim Dae-han.

“Why did you turn down senior Seong-hong’s invitation to drink yesterday?”

“That senior always asks me to drink whenever he sees me. It’s annoying.”

“He cherishes you. Ever since I got to know that senior, it’s the first time I’ve seen him dote on an underclassman like that. He may be only two years older than you, but  Can’t you tell from the way he clings to you?”

It wasn’t just senior Hyuna. The seniors really liked Lim Dae-han a lot. As if they had taken a liking to him before admission, they bombarded him with questions from day one.

Whenever there was a drinking occasion, they looked for Lim Dae-han. The seniors who enjoyed partying all wanted to get close to Lim Dae-han. Naturally, I hung out with my peers.

I played around roaming in a group of about 10 people. Not all peers could be close friends together, but when we gathered, that’s about how many there were. Fortunately, I was part of that group, but unfortunately, Lim Dae-han wasn’t.

“By the way Dae-han, we have to submit the liberal arts assignment weekly, right?”

“Yes, you only have to upload it two hours before class.”

“Can I send it to you by then?”

“Yes.”

“When are you going to do it?”

“I should do it today. It’s better to do it quickly.”

The peers were so noisy that I could barely hear the two of them talking. The more that happened, the more I concentrated.

I even furrowed my brow. I know they were not going to talk about anything serious. I also know that they were just seniors and juniors taking liberal arts classes together.

Even when Lim Dae-han was in high school, he had many female friends. It seems like he would be shy around girls, but surprisingly, he didn’t discriminate between boys and girls. If spoken to, he conversed well with whoever it was.

Sometimes he even said girls were better than the guys who hung around acting like they would pounce on anything. Back in high school, I felt jealous and bothered, but now…

“Then do you want to do it together after class? I’m not working my part-time job today. After finishing the assignment, we can grab dinner too. You’ve never asked me to buy you a meal.”

I wish he didn’t do that much…

Because the surroundings were so noisy, I couldn’t hear Lim Dae-han’s answer. What did he say? To eavesdrop on their casual chat, I strained so hard that wrinkle lines formed on my forehead.

Even as I tightened my lips and focused, Park In-gong, who couldn’t read the atmosphere, tapped my forehead.

“Hey, Ki Young-hyun. Why are you frowning so hard?”

He applied quite a bit of force, causing my head to jerk back before snapping upright like a bobblehead. It was impossible to glare at Lim Dae-han and Senior Hyuna, so I glared at Park In-gong. My nose wrinkled fiercely before relaxing

“Why are you frowning? Are you sick?”

“No, no. I’m fine.”

“If nothing hurts, then why the expression?”

“It’s just… Your cigarette smell.”

“Ah, come on. I tried to get rid of the smell too. Will you respect a smoker’s freedom?”

Perhaps because he felt unfairly criticized by his classmates, he added a lie.  I scoffed at Park In-gong’s nonsense and ignored him, rubbing the back of my neck.

I didn’t hear what Lim Dae-han answered. Over Park In-gong’s rambling shoulder, I snuck a glance that way. I thought I was being discreet with my gaze, but our gazes immediately met.

It seemed Lim Dae-han had been looking at me for who knows how long. Well, Park In-gong was being quite loud.

“…”

The eye contact was meaningless and I slowly looked away again like the gentle drizzle that seeps through clothes unnoticed.

If you’re going to come smelling like cigarettes, sit in the corner. Why should I do that? I also paid tuition. I sighed as I watched my classmates bicker and playfully jab at each other, then ran my tongue over my lips.

So noisy… The phone I had placed on the desk flickered. The messenger was Lim Dae-han. Making sure the nearby students couldn’t see the name, I picked it up while covering the screen with my palm.

Lim Dae-han: [Ki Young-hyun]

Lim Dae-han: [Are you hurt?]

Ah. He heard the conversation I had with Park In-gong. Oh, geez.

It was nothing special, but a smile formed on my face. It can’t be anything but strange. My shoulders rose without me realizing it. Okay, there was no one to say anything, but I cleared my throat and tapped the keypad.

Me: [I’m not hurt haha ​​It’s just Park In-gong arguing with me]

Lim Dae-han: [lol]

Lim Dae-han: [I don’t want to take class]

Lim Dae-han: [Let’s run away]

“Geez.”

Class hadn’t even started yet, and he already didn’t want to listen. I chuckled at the message. I had given him a hard time since April, so I flipped over the phone in response to the complaint.

I leaned back slightly, pretending to smile in sync with my classmates’ conversations. Lim Dae-han was fiddling with his cell phone and then shifted his gaze to look at me. I curled my lips.

Another glance landed on me. It was senior Hyuna. I bowed my head. The senior raised her hand in a small wave.

Ah, right. I should have asked if Lim Dae-han was going to work on the assignment with senior Hyuna after class.

Just as I picked up my phone to send another message, the professor entered the classroom. Of course, some people continued to use their phones whether the professor came in or not, but I didn’t have that kind of nerve. I stashed my phone out of sight. There was no need to ask right now.

Later. I’ll ask later.

Introduction to Economics is a required major course for first-years. It doesn’t end in one semester – you have to take the same professor’s major course “Introduction to Economics II” the following semester.

So, there’s a whole year of classes ahead, but unfortunately, the professor assigned to class 1 was incredibly boring.

He was famous for starting classes on time and ending on time, sometimes even ignoring break times. And with a rather emotional temperament… According to seniors, he was a stereotypical hardliner who couldn’t find a job elsewhere and ended up becoming a professor by chance. He was commonly referred to as an old-fashioned person.

The three-hour consecutive lectures consisting of simple readings were incredibly boring. It was torturous even for freshmen who had been confined to schools, academies, and study rooms from 9 am to 6 pm, or even 10 pm.

On top of that, the Introduction to Economics class happened to be from 3 pm to 6 pm – the exact time when drowsiness peaks. My eyelids felt heavy, slowly opening and closing.

If I let my mind wander even a little, I felt like I might doze off.

The professor just read the textbook in silence. Even though he claimed to have written it himself, he could have at least made the class interesting if he was going to force students to purchase it. But he simply recited line by line.

It was even more difficult because the tone of his voice was constant. Most of the students in the classroom were lying face down, already sleeping soundly.

Those who had a late lunch suffered from food comas, while those coming from an earlier lecture took the chance to rest. I had taken a liberal arts class beforehand, so I felt a bit tired too.

I lowered my head and yawned. Haaam. I wiped away the tears that had accumulated in the front of my eyes. Since I had no intention of sleeping anyway, I twisted my back and glanced around the classroom with the intention of stretching.

Can we really all just sleep like this… Doesn’t the professor feel insulted? As I scanned over the slouched students, my eyes met Lim Dae-han’s, and I couldn’t help but grin widely with flushed cheeks.

Suddenly, Lim Dae-han narrowed one eye. The meaning was clear. It was a wink. I stared back at him with widened eyes.

I was suddenly wide awake. I looked around to see if anyone noticed, but they were all slouched over, so no one could have seen it. Why would he randomly wink during the lecture?

When I opened my eyes wide, Lim Dae-han covered his mouth pretending to laugh. He was clearly teasing me on purpose.

“No matter what… Don’t you think that’s going too far?”

At that time, the professor who was reading the textbook made an insinuating comment. His tone was so monotonous that I thought it was written in the textbook. Hiding my bewildered expression towards Lim Dae-han, I turned my head to see the professor sternly watching the slumped students.

He placed his hand on the steel pole and tapped steadily with his fingers. His discomfort was palpable.

As if telling us to be aware of the situation, I shook Park In-gong awake. The frowning guy sluggishly rose like a zombie.

I only moved my hands hastily. I knocked on the desk to wake up my friend sitting behind me, and I also woke up the guy sitting in front by nudging his back. With difficulty, the surrounding students woke up.

But I couldn’t wake the other students. The professor’s expression remained unchanged. No, it even hardened further after seeing the awakened students’ state.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told by your seniors, but sleeping in class and having others attend on your behalf from the start of the semester is unsightly behavior, you should know that. Don’t you know because you just graduated from high school? Where’s the student representative? If not, at least the class representative.”

The professor was scolding us. My mouth tasted bitter. Instead of the student representative who was in Class 2, the class representative raised his hand. Although he wasn’t asleep, he still had a sleepy face.

“What does the class representative think about this situation?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Tsk tsk… If the freshmen are already like this, how will you manage in society later?”

The professor sighed and clicked his tongue. He irritatedly opened the attendance book that he only carried as a formality. The atmosphere became colder.

“I’m going to take attendance now, so please raise your hands and stand up.”

The professor called the students in an unknown order rather than the usual order. One by one, people stood up from their seats and grouped them into one group.