I Became an Artist in a Romantic Comedy

Chapter 21: Sixteen and Growing, Plus a Retreat and a Competition (4)

A mix of green and brown clothes. I headed to the gathering spot in my military-style uniform, where a bunch of kids, teachers, and soldiers were already gathered.

The kids were standing around aimlessly.

Though they were lined up, the formation looked pretty crooked.

It seemed that Choi Seung-cheol, the student council president, was trying his best to manage them in place of the teachers.

But the kids only half-listened.

“Hang in there, future politicians.”

If you’re going to govern people, you need rewards proportionate to the effort.

But there wasn’t much a student could offer to another student in the form of rewards.

The student council election had led to all sorts of campaign promises, but not much of it benefited individual students.

Most of the plans were at a public level—focused on “school facilities” rather than on giving tangible benefits to “students.”

“A few ideas come to mind, though.”

Like installing more vending machines, maybe?

“Once everyone’s here, class reps, check your attendance and report it to your teachers!”

Good luck, Seung-cheol. This is what being vice president gets you. You chose it, after all.

“Ha-eun, over here.”

As I moved toward the line where my class was, Ha Soyeol and Choi Yeseo were waiting at the back.

Did they wait here for me? Touching.

“Yeseo went to the restroom and got delayed.”

“Soyeol! Why would you say that?!”

Ha Soyeol shrugged, mentioning it casually.

So they didn’t wait for me. Hmm…

Even though we both arrived late, unlike me, who had just dragged my feet, it seemed they were delayed because of the restroom.

“Are you embarrassed about bodily functions?” Ha Soyeol asked abruptly, looking at Choi Yeseo.

“No…! It’s not that…”

“Huh?”

Ha Soyeol looked genuinely confused, but Yeseo’s face was about to explode.

Upon closer look, there was a slight smirk on Soyeol’s lips. Definitely teasing her.

“We will now select the company commanders who will be responsible for each class! Class representatives, come forward.”

While the kids around me chatted, the assembly continued up front.

Just hearing this announcement made me want to smack my forehead.

“Going forward, each company commander will handle head counts and reporting. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

It was baffling that they were doing this with students. As dizzying as it was, the whole situation amused me.

‘Why is this so funny?’

I felt like I was about to burst into laughter.

I tried to hold it in, but the situations kept getting funnier.

“Each company will have two platoons.”

They probably meant one for the boys and one for the girls.

“Select a platoon leader for both boys and girls and stand by.”

It’s similar to having vice presidents, except we actually have separate vice presidents for boys and girls.

The male vice president…

“…?”

Huh? So he was the vice president?

That guy, our class’s vice president, was the one who had asked me to help sweep the floor before.

I’d just thought of him as “average guy #1.”

Turns out he was popular. How had I missed that? Though, come to think of it, he did call my name in a familiar way back then.

Honestly, I hadn’t even known who my vice presidents were.

I remembered the class president’s name because the teachers occasionally called on them.

But for some reason, I couldn’t even recall the vice presidents’ faces.

“You were asleep during the class election,” Choi Yeseo giggled as if reading my thoughts.

“Oh, right. I did sleep through that.”

I didn’t care about the positions much, so I’d just ignored it and napped.

The vice president was basically the class president’s sidekick, right? If a teacher needed something, they called the president, not the vice president.

No wonder I didn’t remember. Makes sense.

“So, who’s the female vice president?” I asked.

“My friend!”

Choi Yeseo straightened her shoulders with pride.

She pointed her finger toward someone.

“…?”

It was the girl who’d sat next to Yeseo on the bus.

Something felt… off. Had I really been this oblivious to my surroundings?

In any case, the two went forward and stood behind the class president.

The male vice president wore a bright smile, while the female vice president looked nervous and uneasy.

If their personalities had been swapped, they would have fit their roles better.

While I was thinking this—

“Each platoon will form a squad of four people.”

Another round of splitting.

The students grumbled about how much longer they would be divided up, but the soldier reassured them this would be the last division.

“From now on, introduce yourselves as ‘1st Company, 1st Platoon, 1st Squad, Trainee [Name].’ Understood?”

Well, sheesh… better not say any bad words.

But that sour feeling didn’t go away.

The soldier continued talking, but it wasn’t important to me.

After all, I wouldn’t be doing the training anyway.

What mattered was the food.

What’s for lunch today? My stomach had been empty for a while now from the stress.

“Alright, let’s move out.”

Move? Where to?

Lost in thought, I hadn’t caught where we were headed. I’d figure it out by following the others.

I turned to the teacher following behind my class.

“Teacher, are we going for training?”

“…What were you doing instead of listening to the explanation?”

Thinking about other things. The teacher sighed before explaining it to me. But why were the teachers in casual clothes?

“You’ll see. It’s not anything physically strenuous.”

“Really?”

I’d expected marching right from the start.

“Walk in step!” shouted someone from the front, making me frown.

I felt like I was in ROTC.

“Now we have to walk in sync? What the hell—oh.”

“Go ahead, don’t mind me,” the teacher said.

I’d almost cursed, forgetting the teacher was there.

The teacher patted my shoulder with a laugh, but didn’t say anything else.

Could you stop smiling like that? That creepy grin made me feel even worse.

Since I was at the very back, it didn’t really matter how I walked.

Nobody would see me except the teacher. Soyeol and Yeseo were in the row ahead of me.

Behind me, there was only the teacher and the class behind ours.

In short, nothing to worry about.

The teacher didn’t seem to mind my behavior either.

Sometimes, I was grateful that this teacher wasn’t overly strict.

“So, how much farther is it?”

I asked the teacher.

“Well… I wouldn’t know. I’m here for the first time too.”

In this heat, and they want us to keep walking? I might just collapse on the way.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen.

“1st Company, file into the room on the right.”

We arrived at a building.

It looked like a facility meant for education.

With desks and a screen, it had that exact vibe.

Apparently, the schedule differed by grade.

The other grades were probably off doing actual training.

When all the students had taken their seats, the last of them sitting down, the screen lit up, and a video started.

It was some military-related video, but I didn’t catch much of it.

I’d fallen asleep. Just walking here had drained my willpower. It was like needing three steps just to turn on a computer.

When I opened my eyes, the educational video had already ended.

…? Why was I alone?

The classroom was empty, with only me left sitting there.

What was this, hide-and-seek? Was I supposed to go find them?

Just as I was thinking that, my homeroom teacher opened the door and entered.

“Awake? How’re you feeling? You looked unwell with cold sweats.”

“I’m fine. I was just sweating from the heat. I bet all the kids were like that.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, try wearing this uniform in this weather. Unless you already have?”

“Want to get smacked? Anyway, you’re okay, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

The teacher handed me one of the two instant coffees they had. I nodded gratefully.

“Still, you should rest. It’d be a problem if something went wrong during training.”

Apparently, the teacher left me behind just in case.

“The others went to train, then?”

“Probably?”

“…Shouldn’t you go check on them?”

“It’s fine. The class president is taking care of things.”

What a carefree attitude.

“Plus, I gave them a temporary phone, so if anything happens, they’ll reach out.”

Smart teacher.

“And we have assigned soldiers with the class too, remember?”

“Well, then, no problem.”

“Exactly. So don’t worry and relax with me here.”

Not exactly a teacherly thing to say, but—

“Fine by me.”

I’ll just act like I know nothing~

Discretion advised. This air-conditioned classroom…

This privilege wouldn’t have been possible without the teacher.

“You’ve already been cleared with the adults. Just relax until it’s time for lunch,” the teacher said, showing me the schedule.

It seemed the teacher thought I had no idea about the plan. They were correct.

Lunch was in 30 minutes.

It was 12 now, so we’d head to the cafeteria at 12:30.

After lunch, it looked like there would be some basic training on the sports field.

It seemed like sports, but I wasn’t participating.

“We’ve got a little time. Want to do anything?” the teacher asked, folding up the schedule and tucking it back into their pocket.

“Would you mind handing me my phone?”

“Think that’s likely?”

As expected, no.

“Hey. You’re good at drawing, right?”

“Definitely. No one can beat me when it comes to art.”

Though, teacher, there’s nothing to draw here.

The teacher must have read my expression because they pulled out an iPad from their bag.

“How big is your bag?”

“It’s like a four-dimensional pocket. So, can you manage?”

The teacher handed me a stylus along with the iPad.

“Of course.”

“…What a retro response, never mind.”

What? What was that about? I’m not old-fashioned, okay?

“So, what should I draw?”

“…Here.”

The teacher pulled out their phone and showed me a picture from the gallery.

It was a young girl. She looked about the age to start kindergarten.

“She’s cute. Just her, right?”

“Yeah. If I like it, I’ll give you a reward.”

Hmm… A reward.

“You don’t want a background?”

“…Let’s say, a playground.”

Request received. I’ll draw it perfectly.

But who was this girl for the teacher to want her portrait?

Just as I was about to sketch, I looked up and our eyes met. The teacher looked off into the distance.

“She’s my daughter. My daughter.”

“?????”

“Hey, why that face?”

“You’re married? With that face?”

“Oh, you little—!”

Well, this was… a shock.

The guy I’d seen as the neighborhood clown was married, with a kid, even.

“Yeah, well… I just miss my daughter, who’s far away.”

Uh… Should I say something? This was like stepping on a landmine. He was talking like he’d just brought home some ice cream.

Just as I struggled to recover, the teacher dropped another bombshell and said he’d be right back, heading to the restroom.

His face looked slightly pale.

“…Sigh. No way I can half-ass this drawing.”

I should’ve followed the kids to watch them train instead.

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