Even though the school and the student organization upheld transparency highly, there were still things undisclosed to the hoobaes, even to the most potential student representative’s member candidate.

This time, that undisclosed thing was pre-admission training, a program designed to prepare freshmen before entering clubs. It was held for a month. Freshmen were grouped into twelve groups, thirty members each. These groups would then attend mentoring sessions and forums with their sunbaes and also do tasks together in order to help them develop skills needed in their club life.

What made Chan worried was that the group members were chosen randomly, and only three people from the same class could be in the same group.

New people.

Oh .

His worries came true when the group list was hung on the class’s announcement board. He was put in Group 9 with fellow 1-1 student Jeon Minju and Jung Yujin.

Chan’s relationship with both girls were “I know you exist”.

His group was comprised mostly of girls he didn’t know. He did knew some guys, though – some of them were already well-known for their endeavors in international science Olympiads. He once attended a training with one of them. There were also some of his former classmates in Class 1-7.

Still, no one was really close to him.

Chan took a deep breath and stared out of the window, not knowing what to expect.

~o~

On a cloudy Monday afternoon, the freshmen lined up on the field, feeling unsure and worried. A sunbae stood on a stage used in ceremonies and gave a short speech.

“Good afternoon, freshmen. Today, all of you will start your pre-admission training. This is important to make sure your organizational skill is adequate to manage both yourselves and your chosen clubs,” she said, “Our forums will be held five times, today, this Thursday, this Friday, next Monday, and next Friday. After the forums, you have two weeks for mentoring sessions, both in a group and personal. After that you will be able to choose clubs. I hope that you can take full advantage of this program”

After the speech, the freshmen were brought to their rooms. Group 9 was brought to Classroom 1-4, which was located on a dark, secluded corner of the school with super weak mobile signal. And to add the unnerving vibe, the classroom’s lamps were also turned off.

Then the freshmen entered the room and sat while the sunbaes stood behind them.

“Fill the front row. Fill the front row”

After all freshmen were seated, some of the sunbaes came to the front.

“Good afternoon. Before we begin, can someone please lead the prayer?” one of them, a girl, asked.

A freshman raised her hand and stood up.

“Friends and sun…”

“Sorry to cut you, but please say your name and class. That’s our speaking ethics”

“Sorry, sunbaenim. My name is Im Nayeon from Class 1-8. Before we start our forum, let’s pray according to our own beliefs. You may begin”

The room went silent for a while as everyone was praying.

Chan whispered to himself, “Dear God, please, no matter how bitter this experience is, give me something, even just a little, that I can make good use of”

“That’s the end of our prayer” Nayeon said.

“Thank you. But after this, always say religions instead of beliefs”

“Yes, I will, sunbaenim”

“You may sit down”

“Thank you”

“So… Group 9,” the sunbae walked closer to the seats, “before we start, we are going to establish some rules. Please write them down”

The whole group was busy taking out papers and pens.

1. Uphold spirituality
2. There should be no forums inside the forum
3. Forum members should focus on the forum
4. The rules of Seoul High School should be followed
5. Girls should tie their hairs inside the forum
6. Forum members may not leave without permission
7. Complete attributes is mandatory and should be taken off when outside the forum
8. Comply to speaking ethics whenever speaking
9. Jackets and electronic devices, including watches, are not allowed, except with permission
10. Forum rules can be changed in certain conditions

“Any questions?”

A different girl raised her hand.

“My name is Choi Hyojung, Class 1-3, I need an explanation on speaking ethics. Thank you”

“Thank you, Hyojung. You may sit down”

A different sunbae, this time a guy, went to the front.

“I am going to explain about speaking ethics,” he said, “First, one may not speak until he is permitted to do so. If permitted, he should stand up and say his name and class, or later, your position. For example, Choi Hyojung, Secretary of Scouts. And most importantly, use proper, formal language. Korean is better, but we understand the diverse background here, so a mixture of languages is permitted. Any other questions?”

After a while, no one raised their hands.

“Alright then, let’s move on. Please close your eyes. Don’t worry, this is not some bizarre bullying or something”

Everyone did as told.

“As a group, you are going to have a lot of tasks. And of course, with thirty people here, you will have different personalities and ideas, and you might face difficulties. Therefore, you will need a PIC to organize your group. Now, we are going to choose two PICs, one male and one female. Those wanting to become PIC, please raise your hand”

Chan didn’t even think before deciding not to raise his hand. Of course, with little to no experience in organizing a group of people, he would do more harm than good.

Some time passed, but there were no signals telling them to open their eyes.

Suddenly, Chan felt two male sunbaes kneeled beside him and whispered.

“Would you like to become a PIC?”

Chan didn’t answer.

“You will get huge benefits if you become a PIC. When I attended pre-admission training, I was a PIC too. You will have more experience compared to your peers. You might also get an advantage if you were to run as a functionary in your club or in the student organization”

“You can also get to know your friends better. You will have a larger opportunity to socialize with students from other groups and classes”

Chan’s heart shook. He wasn’t interested for a spot in the organization board. But more organizational experience? More socialization? Intriguing, he needed that! But he would also need experience, which he didn’t have. The group’s fate would be in his hands. What if he messed up? His groupmates would blame him, and he would end up with a bitter experience and no friends. But what if he didn’t mess up?

 “On the count of three, raise your hand if you want to. One…”

Chan daringly raised his hand.

“Okay, I’ll bring you to the front”

One of the sunbaes took him by hand and brought him to the front.

The girl sunbae then said, “Okay, everyone, please open your eyes”

Chan opened his eyes and immediately looked to his side. Aside from the sunbaes, there were three girls. And no guys. Everyone except him was female. That meant no guy had raised their hand. The guys of his group must be like what Soonyoung told him, busy with academic things and didn’t bother to think about organization.

That also meant… Chan became a PIC by default.

“Okay… Because there’s only one male, he automatically became PIC. But we still have to choose the female PIC. Please introduce yourselves, tell us what motivates you to become a PIC and give us one word to describe yourself”

Two of them were the girls who spoke earlier.

“My name is Im Nayeon from Class 1-8. I decided to run for PIC because I want to know my groupmates better and would like to contribute a lot. One word to describe myself… Well-organized”

“Thank you, Nayeon. And the one next to her?”

“I’m Choi Hyojung from Class 1-3. My motivation is that I want to develop my leadership skills. I’ll describe myself as innovative”

“Thank you, Hyojung. And the last one?”

“I’m Park Sooyoung, also from Class 1-3. I want to become PIC because I think I can organize this team well. I choose the word hardworking to describe myself”  

“Alright, now please close your eyes, including those in front. Everyone except the candidates should vote for one, and only one, candidate” the sunbae said, then approached Chan, “You too should vote”

“Those who pick Im Nayeon, please raise your hands”

The room went silent as the sunbae counted the votes.

“Okay, lower your hands, please. Now, Choi Hyojung”

There was another silence. Chan voted for Hyojung.

“Okay, lower your hands. Now, voters for Park Sooyoung, raise your hands”

There was a longer silence. Chan felt emptiness on his left side. Nayeon had stood there, but Chan felt her no more.

“Okay, you may open your eyes”

When Chan opened his eyes, only Hyojung was there. Both Nayeon and Sooyoung had gone back to their seats.

“So, your female PIC is Hyojung. Now for your male PIC, please introduce yourself like they did” the sunbae said.

Chan cleared his throat.

“My name is Lee Chan, I’m from Class 1-1. My motivation in becoming a PIC is to get to know the group members better and train my leadership skill”

“And one word to describe yourself?”

Chan cleared his throat again.

“Tough”

~o~

Chan forgot he was a PIC until Hyojung messaged him two days later, a day before the second forum.

Choi Hyojung : Hello, lee chan, right?

Choi Hyojung : I’m hyojung, group 9

Lee Chan         : Oh, right, that’s me.

Lee Chan         : we’re both PICs, right? What should we do?

Choi Hyojung : every group member should have had a notebook and a nametag by the next forum, and PICs from all groups will coordinate this

Lee Chan         : oh, those are the attributes?

Choi Hyojung : yes

Choi Hyojung : we PICs are going to have a meeting today during lunchbreak in front of class 1-2, please come

Choi Hyojung : oh, also, we should collect attendance and time of arrival, then report it to our sunbaes tomorrow at lunchbreak

Choi Hyojung : let’s divide our tasks… choose, 1-1 until 1-5 or 1-6 until 1-10?

Lee Chan         : time of arrival?

Choi Hyojung : yes, like the sunbae said, to make sure no one comes late to school

Lee Chan         : ah, I remember…

Lee Chan         : I’ll take 1-1 until 1-5

Choi Hyojung : okay, don’t worry, I will help if your time is limited

Choi Hyojung : fighting! J

Lee Chan         : thanks for the info! J

Collecting attendance meant he should wander from class to class and meet with his groupmates, asking whether they would come full-time, late, should leave early, or wouldn’t come at all. Coming late, leaving early, and not coming should also have an acceptable reason, and he should collect them and later reported it in the forum. While collecting time of arrival is simply asking when they arrive, hoping no one came late because it broke forum rule number four – obey school rules.

Both tasks meant engaging in small talks with people he wasn’t really close with.

He wasn’t a fan of this kind of things, so he wouldn’t do it, but being the PIC…

Damn! He forgot that he was chosen as the PIC. As the name said: person in charge, he had to do it.

He decided to start collecting the day before, because it would take him a great deal of time to gather his courage and knock the classroom door.

After collecting attendance from his classmates (both of them could come), he knocked on 1-2’s door.

“Good morning, uh… S… Sorry, can I see Lee Hayi, Yoo Jiae, and Jung Yein?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m Hayi. You’re Lee Chan, right? Is this about the pre-admission training?”

“Y… Yes, I am taking attendance. Uh… Will you come tomorrow?”

“When will it end?”

“Mmm… Four thirty”

“Then I cannot, sorry. Gotta attend English course”

“Okay… How about the others?”

“I don’t know… I’ll ask them later. You can talk to me”

“Thanks. Uh… By the way, please report when your arrival time tomorrow”

“That can be faked! Everyone should come early, right?”

“Uh… Are you sure?”

“They wouldn’t know!”

“I’ll let Hyojung decide”

“Teehee, that will absolutely make your job easier, won’t it? Okay, good luck!” Hayi cheered for him.

“Thanks, that means a lot. Goodbye!”          

After he went out, he let out a heavy breath out of relief. How thrilling.

Three classes to go… Uh, I’ll let Hyojung do it. She has volunteered too… Alright then. Chan thought.

Later that day he went to the meeting.

When he arrived, he was surprised to see none of his acquaintance. Neither Soohyun nor Yeri became a PIC and Soonyoung and the rest of student representatives’ candidates should not become one, but he hoped for someone he knew. None.

He stayed silent the whole meeting, playing with his fingers. He didn’t have anything to say or do – he had absolutely no idea about this organizing stuffs and Hyojung already took notes.

Three days as a PIC and Chan technically did nothing.

~o~

Then came the day for the second forum.

Chan and the rest of the group decided to gather near the parking lot before going to the forum room, making sure everyone wore their nametags and brought their notebooks.

Chan had been introduced by Yeri to her classmate Wen Junhui, a tall boy from China, and he was trying to engage him in small talks.

“Hey Chan, you’re the PIC, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Stay strong, bro. Haha”

Chan didn’t know what he meant.

“What do you mean?”

“If the sunbaes get angry, remember, it is all staged” Junhui answered, which Chan didn’t think was an answer.

 “Don’t make me pee my pants”

“Hahaha, relax…”

Even though he didn’t understand, what Junhui talked about made Chan’s feet eager to run away.

Finally the group was complete and they walked to Class 1-4. When they arrived, they lined up in front of the door. The windows of the class had been covered with newspapers so that no one could peek. The room with windows open were already dark – imagine how dark it would be with windows covered.

One sunbae got out from the room and stood in front of them.

“Group 9, make two lines. Each line should start and end with a male”

The single line then divided into two. Chan stood front-most on the left line, Junhui behind him. Hyojung stood second from the front on the right line.

“Is the group complete? Waiting for anyone?” she asked.

Everyone looked back to check, including Chan, even though he had no idea. Hell, the attendance was done entirely by Hyojung! He even forgot to report the attendance he collected from Class 1-1 and 1-2 to Hyojung, forcing her to retake them.

“Yes, sunbaenim” Hyojung answered.

“Okay, now please come in”

As they entered the room, they felt contrasting ambience with what happened on the first forum on Monday. Every sunbae wore no smiles, just enraged faces. And each and every one of them were shouting, getting angry without a reason.

“Come on, quick!”

“Who told you to be so slow?”

“Fill the front row! Don’t you guys remember?”

Everyone took their seats, but no one sat down.

Two female sunbaes from the previous forum walked to the front, but their expressions were cold and scary, no traces of smile could be seen.

“Now what?” one of them asked coldly.

Everyone was silent.

“Come on, no one remembers? Ugh…” the other one mocked.

“Come on, fast! What should we do now?! Come on, don’t stay there standing like idiots!”

Sooyoung raised her hand.

“Friends and sun…”

“Where the hell is your speaking ethics?!”

“Sorry, sunbaenim. My name is Park Sooyoung from Class 1-3, before we start the forum, let’s pray according to our beliefs. You may start”

Everyone went silent to pray, but Chan was too shocked to pray for anything.

“That’s the end of our prayer” Park Sooyoung said.

“Beliefs! Beliefs! Didn’t you guys pay attention? Anyway, thank you, Sooyoung”

“Now what?”

Hyojung raised her hand.

“My name is Choi Hyojung from Class 1-3. I want to report Group 9’s attendance list”

She then mentioned anyone who couldn’t come, who would come later, and who would leave early.

The sound of someone counting was audible. Some, including Chan, turned around by instinct.

“Hey! Hey! Focus!”

The horrifying sound of a female sunbae startled them and they turned their heads back to the front.

What the hell is this? Chan thought.

“Hyojung, you said only six people couldn’t come and no one comes later, but there are only 23 people. There should be 24. Who is this one?”

Hyojung couldn’t answer. Her silence was like a fresh meat feasted upon by hungry wolves in the form of a shower of questions and taunts.

“Why is someone missing?”

“You guys didn’t check before entering the class, did you?”

“No, sunbaenim!” another sunbaenim provoked.

“You are the PIC, right? Did you make the attendance list seriously?”

“No, sunbaenim! We didn’t take this thing seriously, sunbaenim! Just a simple task!”

“Answer me, Hyojung”

“Hey, your friend is being interrogated. Help her!”

“Only the girls speak! Where are the guys?”

“This room is all girls, sunbaenim!”

So now you’re questioning my masculinity? Chan grunted.

One sunbae walked back and forth, slapping table after table while repeating, “Answer! Answer! Answer!”

“Hyojung, did you check or not? Yes or no?”

“No, sunbaenim” finally Hyojung answered.

“Okay, thank you, Hyojung. Please, guys. Just a simple task, attendance list! You can’t even do it correctly?”

“I want a punishment for them”

“I agree”

“Okay, from now on, all arrival time you guys reported should be 20 minutes earlier than the morning bell. So you should come, maximum, at 6:10, not 6:30. Any objections?”

There was a long silence.

“Come on, we give you a chance to disagree, say something!”

“This is a forum! Two-way! It’s not some bullying ! Talk, damn you!”

“Oh my God, am I talking to a wall?”

 “On the count of three, if there is no objection, then the rule will be declared”

No one disagreed.

Some sunbaes sighed.

“Look at how much time we’ve spent on such a petty task. Now let’s move on to our main agenda. So today, you should work as a group to make the map of South Korea with clear borders between provinces, in two minutes with these origami papers”

Ridiculous… Chan said to himself. He started to feel sick of this pointless forum.                                                                  

“Challenge accepted?” the sunbae asked with a snicker.

One student raised his hand.

“My name is Jung Chanwoo from Class 1-5. Can I request for the lamps to be and for an additional time of 30 seconds?”

“Lamps! Goddamnit, my beloved hoobaes, lamps! Why didn’t anyone notice? It’s been twenty five minutes! Come on… Did you even think of your surroundings when you first came inside?” one male sunbae stood beside Chanwoo, embraced him, and then screamed sarcastically at everyone.

Of course not, you’ve been screaming your asses off since we first came, no one would notice! Chan complained in his mind.

“Silence, please, I have to talk,” the female sunbae who had been controlling the forum cut him, “Sorry, what’s your name?”

“Chanwoo, sunbaenim”

“Give me a reason why we should turn on the lamps and give you additional time”

“Because I think it is not possible for us to work in darkness with such limited time”

“Have you tried it?”

“Not yet”

“Then you won’t know if you don’t try. I don’t think the lamps and the additional time is necessary. We’ll stick to the original condition. Anyway, thank you, Chanwoo. You may sit down”

 Why did you bother asking then? Chan grumbled slowly.

“Okay, now, start!”

Everyone was surprised at the sudden start command, but they gathered quickly to where the papers were put. It was a bloody mess, with everyone talking in panic mode, topped with the sunbaes’ annoying remarks.

 Chan was a bit behind, but he managed to grab a paper and tore it to form a province.

“This is Gangwon-do, here” he said and passed the piece to Nayeon, who was in charge of arranging the paper cuts. That was the first sentence he said out loud for the past hour.

“Five, four, three, two, one! Stop! Everyone, back to your seats!”

After everyone had sat down in their places, some sunbaes gathered to examine their project. There were chuckles, snickers, and hums. One sunbae brought their paper to the front.

“Let’s see here, people”

It was a mad disaster. It surely shaped like a peninsula, but it was nowhere near the shape of South Korea. Origami papers in blue, red, pink, black, green, and purple scattered on a piece of drawing paper, one over another. Wet drips of glue came out leaking from the sides of the papers. A black piece, meant to be Jeju Island, fell off when the paper was lifted.

“What is this? Maybe it’s the coast of China” another sunbae pointed at Chan’s pink Gangwon-do, glued on the far left of the paper.

“Do you think your group succeeded the task?” one rhetoric question was thrown.

Junhui raised his hand.

“My name is Wen Junhui, Class 1-6. I think, maybe…”

“No maybe. A yes is a yes, a no is a no. You’re a guy, right? Answer it clearly like a man!”

“Yes, sorry, sunbaenim. I think we succeed because everyone took part. I think the core of this task here is teamwork, and we have shown a good one”

“Alright, alright, good point. Okay, it’s the end of our forum. Can someone lead the prayer?”

Chan raised his hand.

“My name is Lee Chan from Class 1-1, before we end the forum, let’s pray according to our be… uh… religions. You may start”

After a while, Chan ended the prayer.

“Okay, please exit orderly, and don’t forget to take off your nametags”

“Thank you for today, sunbaenim”

Chan felt his tense facial muscles relaxed right after his both feet were outside the room.

I’m so not going to do well. He said to himself.