Late in the afternoon, Yu Zuung came back home.

I shouldn’t be sad like this…

Though she kept repeating it, she just felt sad when she imagined Hyunwoo going on a trip with Suji. She wanted to push Suji out of his heart and take her place.

But that was her excessive desire. If she was too greedy, she would make life difficult for everyone without getting anything.

I can find a better man. I have to empty my mind.

She went into her room and turned on the music. It was ‘Temptation’ with which Hyunwoo planned to make a music video.

She practiced the dance to its tune. Since she came to Korea, she practiced dancing whenever she had free time. She had to cultivate her dancing for the music video.

It was also a task Hyunwoo assigned to her.

At that moment, her cell phone buzzed.

There were not many who called her phone. And most of the calls were from Hyunwoo.

So, she gladly picked up the phone.

Unfortunately, it was not his call but Myunghoon’s.

“As you know, Tuti & Angelica is making a great hit thanks to your help. I would like to treat you to dinner.”

Myunghoon spoke in broken English. Though his pronunciation was clumsy, his speaking and grammar were okay. It seemed he practiced that before calling her.

She was aware that Jihoon and Myunghoon liked her. They clearly showed far more interest in her than an interest in her as a colleague.

And that was not what she wanted. Though she wanted to mingle with them comfortably, she didn’t want to get closer than that.

She felt she needed to show him clearly she was not interested romantically.

“No, thanks. I would like to eat at home.”

“Is it because you have an appointment?”

“Not really. I just feel it’s not appropriate to have dinner with you outside.”

She explained to him why she couldn’t.

But Myunghoo didn’t seem to understand her because she spoke in English. Then, he began to read what appeared to be a prepared sentence in English.

“Then, let’s have dinner together. As this is not my house, I have to eat alone, too. Why don’t we lonely people get together?”

As a matter of fact, she felt depressed because Hyunwoo was dating Suji.

She felt even sadder while talking with Myunghoon. He seemed to think she was an easy girl he could easily take if he reached out to her.

Tears flew her cheek just like a girl who had her face slapped when she wanted to cry.

“Do you think I am an easy girl?”

Nonetheless, Myunghoon could not understand what she was talking about.

But he seemed to figure out what was happening to her after hearing her soaked voice. As he didn’t prepare English sentences for such an unexpected situation, he couldn’t say anything properly.

She kept talking to him in English for a while as if she wanted to vent her spite, and then spoke in clumsy Korean, “Please don’t like me. It makes my life hard. Please.”

Only then did he read her mind correctly. He kept saying sorry in a feeble voice.

She spoke in Engish again.

“Let me hang up the phone now. Sorry.”

***

At Ansan Intercity Bus Terminal, a group of seven students bowed to Hyunwoo, “Goodbye!”

They were the first of a series of tour groups.

They were supposed to travel to Anmyon Island. They would move only by public transportation. They would sleep in tents. Though they would go through hard times, they would learn much more than what they would from staying in modern facilities.

The students were full of ambition. Some of them even said they would rid bikes across the country, but that was too dangerous. They could do that later, but now their safety was more important than gaining experience.

“I can’t stress the importance of safety too much. Safety first. If you get hurt during travel, you will be banned from traveling for one year.”

“Don’t worry, sir.”

“And listen to your guide.”

“Yes, sir.”

Time was up finally, and they headed for the bus.

Hyunwoo watched the bus leaving the terminal and then came back to the Ani & Funny office, but Myunghoon seemed sullen for some reason.

Come to think of it, he seemed to be in that condition since three days ago. Hyunwoo asked him what’s wrong, but he didn’t reply.

He asked Yu Zuung and Jihoon next to him, but they didn’t know why.

Unlike her sad eyes, Yu Zuung said in a cheerful voice, “He’ll be alright.”

Hyunwoo felt the same way.

Late in the afternoon, 12 college students visited the office, five men and seven women.

They were private tutors who would teach the students of the Ani & Funny office Korean, English, math, history and science. Although they majored in animation, the students would need some knowledge in essential subjects, Hyunwoo thought.

The college students had been called today for job interviews.

They were all from the colleges in Ansan.

As there were no famous colleges in Ansan, Hyunwoo selected some of the best college students as the tutor candidates. Obviously, they seemed tense because they were there for a job interview.

“I’ll let you know through text messages some time today.”

After sending them away, Hyunwoo sent them text messages. Though twelve students applied for the job, only seven passed the test. One tutor for each subject.

He called the seven finalists late in the afternoon the next day. Though he specified it in the job listing, he once again reminded them of the hourly rate and their assignments.

Their contract period was just one month. It would be renewed automatically if Hyunwoo found nothing wrong with them, but he would replace those who didn’t show any tangible outcomes in their tutoring.

“Next week the construction of the alternative school will be completed. You can come and teach our students next week.”

“When I checked out the location, it’s in a place which is inconvenient for us to use public transportation. How can we get there without using a taxi?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. We’ll offer a free shuttle bus.”

They were pleasantly surprised at that.

In fact, he felt offering a free shuttle bus for them was a financial burden, but there was no other option. Fortunately, Juhwan and some other staff with KOVE DREAM volunteered to drive the bus.

“I’m going to select the best teacher every month and offer 50% more salary in bonus. So, do your best!”

“Yes, sir!”

One week later, the buildings of the research center and the dormitory were completed. The construction of the welfare facility for the students had just started, but other buildings were available for their moving in anytime.

Hyunwoo assigned the rooms of the dorm to the students. There was a total of 31 students including twelve from the alternative school Dreaming School including Mingyu and 19 students who quit school to transfer to Ani & Funny.

He also offered rooms to the staff members of Ani & Funny who wanted to move in.

When they were notified, they immediately moved in gladly.

Though the dorm was built quite large, its rooms were instantly occupied.

Hyunwoo gave the students several rules they had to follow at the dorm.

When they violated the rules, they received penalty points. When their points kept piling, they would be expelled from the Any & Funny office and the alternative school, let alone the dorm.

One of the rules was that they were required to pass the state qualification exam.

Most of them agreed. Though they didn’t like studying, they couldn’t get by with a middle school diploma through their life.

Hyunwoo gathered the graduates from the alternative school. Beside them were Duyoung Jang, Kuroda and Taeho Min.

“You guys read the prospectus about the establishment of our alternative school, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

He didn’t need to explain to them again.

The biggest purpose of the school was to have them serve as assistants for Duyoung, Kuroda, and Taeho.

Actually, Hyunwoo emphasized it most in the prospectus. And the students there were most interested in their research areas while attending Dreaming School.

Hyunwoo had to divide the students first. He wanted them to select which researcher they wanted to work with.

As soon as Hyunwoo told them to choose, they instantly pointed their fingers at the reachers they had in mind. Out of the twelve students, three chose Duyoung, two chose Kuroda and seven chose Taeho.

Hyunwoo had the students move their research materials to their separate offices, which took some time. Though he didn’t intend, the amount of the moving stuff was proportional to the number of students assigned to the three researchers. Duyoung’s materials had the smallest amount of stuff and Taeho had the largest.

Hyunwoo also helped them move their research materials.

While moving Taeho’s research materials, Hyunwoo noticed the notebooks titled ‘Failure Note.” He was curious what he wrote down there, but he didn’t dare to ask. Actually, he asked Taeho about it, who refused to answer at the time.

Still, Hyunwoo couldn’t quench his curiosity.

Come to think of it, the situation was different now. Taeho was now a member of the joint research team along with Duyoung and Kuroda.

Yea, there is nothing to lose even if I ask.

Plucking up the courage, Hyunwoo cautiously asked.

“May I open this ‘Failure Note’?”

“Of course. We’re a family now.”

In an unexpected response, Taeho approved easily.

While taking a brief break, he opened the notebook.