Chapter 24: Transfer Student Club Activity Orientation (2)

After finishing the drama club trial, I walked down the hallway and slowly fell into thought.

‘Did Rina in middle school like being the center of attention?’

To think that she liked being the center of attention, Rina in the graduation album somehow had a faint presence.

The quiet smile in the corner of the graduation photo was the epitome of ordinariness.

But when I opened the closet to go to the department store, it was full of all kinds of colorful and cute styles of clothes that attract people’s attention…

Rina didn’t show it on the outside, but maybe she wanted to be noticed?

‘Did she really?’

Now I know.

Even if it’s just a series of simple muscle memories, Rina’s actions and lifestyle are greatly influencing me.

The unfamiliarity I felt every time I looked in the mirror has now become familiar.

Now I’m acting and feeling my surroundings as if I were Rina from the beginning, with only my thoughts from my past life.

‘So, I…’

In my past life, I was just a retaker, avoiding standing out and wanting to live quietly.

Standing on stage and being in the spotlight was something so far removed from me.

That said, I wasn’t the type of person to feel this awkward just by touching a drama club script.

The awkwardness I felt instead of the expected excitement when I opened the script at the drama club trial.

It wasn’t the emotion I felt, but maybe it was the emotion Rina felt similarly.

Because there was no mention of the drama club in any part of the diary.

In the end, I quietly left the drama club without writing an application form.

“…I guess it’s not for me.”

I quietly put down the application form that didn’t even have my name on it.

My fingertips trembled vaguely, and a part of my heart felt empty.

But I still thought I should think about it again.

‘Is… going home really the best option?’

So I went around other departments with the team, but no department attracted me.

Soccer club? They begged me to be a cheerleader, but I didn’t even join the drama club?
Kendo club? It looks like it requires a lot of exercise, and honestly, I’m scared of swords.
Literature club? I like reading books, but I hate writing.
Photography club? It seems like you need some kind of sense, but there’s no way I have that.

In the end, I hesitantly wandered around, unable to decide on anything, and quietly left.

‘As expected… am I a going-home club member?’

A self-deprecating sigh escaped my lips.

When I came out of the building, the cold evening air brushed my cheeks and struck my empty chest.

The sunset was turning the sky red, and the scattered cherry blossom petals fluttered at my feet.

It’s really like a Japanese landscape.

The scenery, different from a Korean high school, comes into my eyes.

Inside, I kicked my toes for no reason and muttered self-deprecatingly. 

‘The going-home club isn’t bad. I can live moderately as a mob…’

But this is Takamari Academy.

It wasn’t a place where I could simply live quietly.

Moreover, I was no longer a mob, but intertwined with the center of this school.

Besides… when Aya and Mizuki aren’t around, the size of the loneliness I feel is surprisingly large.

Since when was it?

When did the time I spent with them naturally become natural?

I knew myself that spending lunchtime alone in the schoolyard was no longer something that suited me.

‘In the end, it turned out like this…’

I lowered my head and walked slowly, one step at a time.

I could hear the sound of cherry blossom petals falling.

Then, suddenly, I remembered what Reina senpai had said at lunchtime today.

‘Rinasan is also a very special person. Mizukisan and Aya probably know that well.’

“Me, special…”

The moment Reina senpai’s words came to mind, a part of my heart tickled strangely.

If I were really a ‘special person’, what choice should I make?

I looked up at the sky.

The red sunset spread over the school building.

The sound of the bell ringing in the distance signaled the end of the day.

Now I have to go home.

Just as I decided that and turned my steps, a familiar silhouette caught my eye.

“Rina.”

A quiet voice was heard.

I slowly turned my head.

It was Aya.

She must have finished guiding the club activities, and as always, she was quietly looking at me in her neat uniform.

A consistent, tidy appearance, a calm gaze that was almost cold.

“Did you look around everything?”

Aya asked as she approached me.

It was her usual neat tone, but there was a feeling that she was somehow concerned about me.

I hesitated for a moment.

Normally, I might have smiled and said, ‘Yeah, I’m thinking about it.’

But the moment I looked at Aya, my mind became clear.

‘Student council…’

What the heck,

wouldn’t it be bad to try it once?

If it’s impossible to remain a mob anyway,

if I stay as a member of the going-home club and wander around the schoolyard alone every lunchtime.

It might be better to join the student council and try something.

I took a small breath and looked at Aya.

And with a light smile, I said.

“I’ll join the student council.”

Aya’s eyes shook very slightly.

The way her lips slightly opened and closed seemed to be trying to hide her surprise.

“Really? You don’t have to force yourself.”

“Yeah. I thought about it, and I think the student council would be good.”

Aya looked at me quietly.

Various emotions that were difficult to explain passed over that calm face.

And… very slightly, clearly, the corners of Aya’s lips rose.

“You made a good decision, Rina. I’ll welcome you.”

I scratched my head and smiled shyly.

“It, it’s not that great of a decision…!”

Nevertheless, Aya still looked at me and smiled softly.

When I met that gaze, I felt embarrassed for some reason and looked away.

‘Aya is really relaxed…’

The wind blew slightly, and the cherry blossom petals fluttered.

I walked side by side with Aya with a slightly lighter step.

Like that, I decided to join the student council.

***

Hiiragi Haruto walked down the hallway of the old school building and looked outside.

The sight of Rina and Aya talking in the playground came into view.

A little while ago, he had accidentally witnessed Rina telling Aya that she would join the student council.

Hiiragi quietly narrowed his eyes and muttered softly.

“…So it came to that.”

Tachibana Kaho, who was walking next to him, also nodded quietly.

“So it came to that.”

Tachibana folded her arms and looked at the hallway, continuing to speak calmly.

“The first-year student council will have three girls. It will be difficult to do physical labor.”

Hiiragi looked ahead without a word.

The main tasks of the student council are event planning and practical roles.

As such, there were tasks that male students had been in charge of, and those tasks were often quite physically demanding.

But now, that flow might change little by little.

Tachibana glanced at Rina and smiled lightly, as if bitter.

“But… they’re candidates for the ‘third trinity’.”

“Trinity…”

Hiiragi quietly repeated the word.

Takamari Academy’s legend, Trinity.

Although it’s not official at Takamari Academy, there’s a custom of calling four beauties the Four Beauties.

And when three of them come together, they are called the Trinity.

In the school’s history of over 100 years, there have only been two Trinities.

It’s not simply praised for beauty, but three people who can represent the school in all aspects, including academics, art, and relationships, come together.

Even one person would attract attention, but if three are together, they have a strong influence that can change the atmosphere of the school altogether.

“It’s really strange.”

Hiiragi leaned his arm on the window sill and looked at the scenery outside the window, muttering quietly.

“A transfer student becoming a Trinity.”

When Rina first entered, everyone thought she was just an ordinary transfer student.

But Hiiragi thought Rina was a special person from the beginning.

If she wasn’t a special person, she wouldn’t have been able to capture his gaze so much.

Knowing that fact better than anyone, Hiiragi tapped the window with his finger, as if suppressing the lingering feelings in his heart.

Hiiragi Haruto fell in love with Kurosawa Rina at first sight.

Even if he tried to deny it, the feelings engraved deep in his heart wouldn’t easily disappear.

He wasn’t a person who gave up easily.

“She’s just a candidate, not a Trinity.”

Tachibana’s quietly spoken words broke Hiiragi’s thoughts.

“That’s right, Yukikawa senpai is still alive and well.”

Hiiragi bit his lip slightly.

As long as Yukikawa Reina, everyone’s angel, was there, it was difficult for Rina to be officially recognized as ‘Trinity’.

But whether Rina became a Trinity or not, it wasn’t an important issue for Hiiragi.

He looked at Rina outside the window again and sighed a little.

“…But, why are you looking at Kurosawasan with that look?”

At Tachibana’s sharp question, Hiiragi was startled and looked away.

Since when had he been staring so blatantly?

“It’s… nothing.”

Hiiragi answered vaguely, but Tachibana looked at him with a meaningful smile.

“Really? I really hope it’s nothing. The dark-haired young master who made many girls cry.”

Tachibana’s words had a slightly bitter smile mixed in.

Hiiragi coughed and turned his head.

“The past is the past.”

“Is there any guarantee that the past won’t repeat itself?”

Tachibana’s words sounded like a joke, but they seemed to pierce a corner of Hiiragi’s heart.

He closed his mouth tightly for a moment and looked at Rina’s back.

“…So, it’s really nothing.”

Hiiragi’s low voice quietly echoed in the hallway of the old school building.

Tachibana smiled quietly, walked next to him, and uttered a word that flowed out.

“I hope, this time, it’s really nothing.”

Hiiragi’s gaze towards Rina was shaking.