[─So, I was once again seated in the right diagonal back seat of the Academy's heroine.
I woke up behind the protagonist of the Academy once more.
When my friends asked if I rembered my na, I could only answer like this:]
“Evande…”
End
“…Wait, that's it? It ends like this?”
I wanted to shout, but I held back since it was late at night. How could the story end without showing what happens next to the protagonist? It felt like there was more to tell, but the novel had wrapped up abruptly, leaving unsatisfied.
Before I knew it, my thumb had hovered over the "Post Comnt" button, as if I were under so spell, just like the last line spoken by the protagonist: "Evande..."
“…No.”
I paused and took my thumb away from the button. Instead of posting the comnt I had originally typed, I deleted it and wrote sothing new.
[Thank you for the great read. I hope the protagonist and their friends can live happily ever after, considering all they went through.]
A few seconds after I posted my comnt, a reply appeared beneath it.
[They surely will, thanks to you. Thank you very much.]
“…Thank ? All I did was enjoy reading the story,” I muttered, chuckling at how overly gracious so authors could be these days.
I clicked the back button, returning to the novel's cover and the title, The Right Diagonal Back Seat of the Academy's Heroine. I couldn’t help but think, ...Was that always the title? It was such an odd na, but after finishing the novel, the lingering emotion made it resonate more.
I’d been so imrsed in the story that at tis it felt like I was the protagonist myself. Leaving a comnt wishing for the happiness of the characters was simply a reflection of how much I cared about them.
Feeling content after receiving the author's response, I realized it was ti to sleep. After all, just like the characters in the novel had their lives, I had my own.
“Good night.”
I glanced at the family photo next to my phone and softly whispered goodnight to my parents, then drifted into a deep sleep, preparing for work the next day.
(Whispering voices can be heard in parentheses.)
The next morning, despite staying up late reading the novel, I woke up early. After sautéing so bean sprouts for breakfast, I headed to work earlier than usual.
I expected the office to be empty, but to my surprise, soone was already there before .
“Oh? You’re in early today, Senior.”
It was my junior colleague, who always insisted on calling "senior."
“Just woke up early, that’s all. How about you? What are you doing here so early?”
“Just so paperwork I need to handle.”
“Ah, I see. You’re diligent.”
"(…And if I co in early, I get to spend a little ti alone with Senior.)”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Nothing important.”
This junior had a habit of specifically calling "senior" because, besides being my colleague at work, they were also my junior from college. It was quite the coincidence that they ended up working at the sa company as after I joined.
Back when I was job hunting after graduating, this junior had recomnded this very company, saying it seed like a good fit. They must have been researching it for themselves, and as a result, our paths converged here. In hindsight, it wasn't such a random occurrence.
…Though I doubt they knew the company would turn out like this.
“So, what kind of paperwork are you handling? Need help?”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. This is sothing you’re not supposed to see, Senior.”
“Sothing I’m not supposed to see? I’m higher in rank than you.”
“There are just so things like that. Anyway, you don’t need to help, Senior. Why don’t you just do your thing?”
“Hmm, well, I don’t have much to do at the mont. I finished all the urgent tasks a while ago. Maybe I’ll clean the office.”
“Again? Seriously, Senior, you should just leave that to the interns. All they can do at this point is make coffee and clean up anyway.”
Usually, cleaning offices is the job of cleaning staff, and our company used to be no different. But not anymore.
“No, I’ll do it. I just like it when the office is clean. Besides, there’s that saying: ‘Treat the company as if it’s your own.’”
“…Wow, you’re a real model employee, aren’t you?”
On the surface, our company seems small, but it’s actually a subsidiary of a famous conglorate. Or rather, it used to be.
It used to have a huge, impressive building and state-of-the-art equipnt. But just around the ti this junior joined, sothing happened. The parent company decided to start a new subsidiary, taking away our building, equipnt, and employees, leaving only a small departnt—ours.
Suddenly, we found ourselves in a cramped office with old equipnt, and we had to do our own cleaning. If it weren’t for the fact that our salaries remained the sa, I’m sure there would have been a mass exodus.
Despite the upheaval, we adapted. The shared experience of going through it together had brought the remaining staff closer. Well, all except for one manager who took out their stress on us.
Honestly, if it weren’t for that Manager Han, I bet the office’s stress level would drop by half.
As I quietly fud about our manager while cleaning, I heard my junior muttering and shaking their head.
“Ugh, whatever. Go ahead and clean, Senior. After all, you’re the one who insists on treating this company like it’s yours. (…Well, it’s not a bad mindset to have, especially considering what’s going to happen soon.)”
“…What did you just say?”
“Nothing important.”
“…You really have a bad habit of muttering like that. It makes people curious.”
My junior had this annoying habit of mumbling to themselves just loud enough that you knew they were saying sothing but not enough to hear it clearly. Naturally, it made wonder what they were saying, but whenever I asked, they would never tell .
If I had to compare it, this habit was as frustrating as a writer who leaves a novel unfinished, like the author of The Right Diagonal Back Seat of the Academy's Heroine.
Ugh, thinking about it again, I wish I’d pressed the author to reveal what happens next.
As I pondered, my junior suddenly smiled mischievously and asked :
“Hmm, Senior, am I on your mind?”
“Co on, how could I not be curious?”
“…Hehe.”
“…What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing. Anyway, Senior, what do you want for lunch today? Korean? Chinese?”
Just as we were chatting, they brought up lunch plans. We often ate together, so it was natural that they assud we would today as well. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitnt.
“Sorry, but I have plans today. I can’t join for lunch.”
“…Plans? With who? It’s not Yujung or Deputy Shin, is it?”
“Huh? No, it’s not anyone from the company. I’m eting Seonghyun. He’s in the area today, so we’re grabbing lunch.”
“Oh, Seonghyun? Then I can co too, right?”
This junior was referring to Ji Seonghyun, a long-ti friend of mine. We’ve known each other since elentary school and even attended middle school, high school, and college together. Naturally, my junior knew him too since we all went to the sa university.
I had thought about inviting them to join us for lunch, but unfortunately, Seonghyun had insisted it be just the two of us. He was married now, and his wife was the kind of person he never wanted to upset.
“I asked if you could co, but Seonghyun said no. He doesn’t want to create any misunderstanding with his wife. He’s super cautious about that kind of thing, even though I’m going to be there too. The guy is really intense about it, right?”
“…Right. I’m not sure if that’s really because of his wife, though. Well, what about dinner then? Free for that?”
“Ah, about that… I’m also eting Seonghyun for dinner. He’s free in the afternoon and offered to wait until I get off work so we can hang out.”
“(…Ugh, that guy’s no help at all, is he?)”
“…Wait, did you just say sothing bad about or Seonghyun?”
“…Pfft, is it wrong to say sothing bad? You’re both leaving out to hang out by yourselves.”
“Co on, I haven’t seen Seonghyun in a while. I promise I’ll make it up to you next ti.”
“Really? Then no backing out when I ask you to hang out next ti, okay? You know I don’t forget promises, right? Rember when I visited you in the hospital, and you said you’d treat to dinner as thanks? I’m still waiting on that.”
“Wow, you really don’t forget anything, do you? Alright, alright. I promise.”
“Yes! Seonghyun is useful sotis, after all.”
As we chatted and I cleaned the office, I could hear more people arriving outside, signaling the start of the workday. Among the voices were so shouting—probably from Manager Han berating soone again.
Hearing the commotion, my junior frowned, and I sighed.
“…Hey, relax your face. You know Manager Han will just comnt on your expression if he sees you like that.”
“…Let him. I won’t have to deal with him much longer anyway.”
“…Wait, what do you an by that?”
“There are just things, Senior.”
The cryptic way my junior said this while glaring made curious, but before I could ask for more details, Manager Han stord into the office, interrupting us.
…Wow, I didn’t know my junior could make such a scary face. I rember them being upset after a certain drunken incident, but this looks like a whole different level…
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