11 Jul 2012

Dear Eonnie,

Today’s Monday again. We gathered for training, but it was quite heavy hearted, after all that had happened.

For one, Jong Kook hadn’t returned yet. We could not contact him through calls or messages. And Jae Suk and Suk Jin couldn’t get to him during breaks because he is always with the teachers (he arranged for consultations with various teachers, just to get away from us). The Year 1s and 2s have different timing for breaks, so Gary, Haha, Kwang Soo and I were tied on our hands as well.

And secondly, everyone is still worn down by what happened recently- the revelation that we won’t be able to perform. It was a blow to us, because that was what kept us going throughout the intense trainings.

We sang a little, and danced, making mistakes here and there. Teacher Im looked disappointed, but he didn’t say anything.

Finally, it was Teacher Myuk who came up with the idea of hiding notes around the school, and we had to find them. We’d make a verse based on the musical notes, and the teachers would rate them. The winning team gets to have pizza (sponsored by the losing team). Hehe. It sounded fun right? The thought of pizza lighted up the mood immediately. We drew lots and I ended up being with Gary. Kwang Soo and Haha were in another team, and then Suk Jin and Jae Suk.

Haha: It’s not fair! Gary can write so well.

Kwang Soo: We can snatch away the notes from other teams right?

Teacher Myuk simply shrugged, and the boys laughed playfully.

“They’re going to form an alliance, right?” I asked Gary worriedly. If they did, they could easily snatch away the notes we found and Gary’s talents will go to waste.

Gary doesn’t seem as concerned as I did. “They won’t be able to fight us if we sneak around,” he said.

We decided to stay together because it was easier to defend when we’re together, although it was harder to find the tiny pieces of papers.

When we met Haha’s team though, he told us, “Hyung, if the three teams clash, I will definitely help you defend! So later you must help us come up with a line okay?!”

I laughed inwardly, but Gary nodded. And we left unharmed.

Indeed, the three teams had a face-off at the foyer minutes before the time for searching were up. The other two approached us, while I hid behind Gary, protecting all the notes we had found. He held me with one hand, and his other hand was ready to attack/defend at any second. So Haha’s story of Gary being a pro in martial arts were true!

He looked at Haha, who nodded back subtly. Then suddenly, Jae Suk pointed out, “Haha’s working with them!”

With that, his team moved to attach Haha’s pair. Gary moved towards Jae Suk, but I tugged at his arm, signalling that we should run.

H