We all sat in a circle on the floor of my small apartment.
The early morning sunlight slowly entered through the window, but somehow everyone still looked half asleep.
In the middle of us—
Sihoon quietly placed some papers on the table.
Then he finally spoke.
"We have to make Minhu's dad realize something."
Everyone looked at him seriously.
"Studying is important," he continued calmly.
"But it's not everything."
"Besides studying, students also need experiences, activities, and things they genuinely enjoy."
His voice stayed steady while speaking.
"And if we don't try to help now…"
"It'll hurt Minhu too."
For a moment—
the room became quiet.
Then Yoonji suddenly made a worried face.
"…You know Minhu's dad is seriously scary when it comes to studying."
She crossed her arms while remembering something.
"I still remember middle school."
"There was a sports festival, and Minhu really wanted to participate."
"Mr. Kim even tried talking to his dad about it."
Her expression slowly became uncomfortable.
"But his dad came directly to the staff room that day."
"And honestly…"
"He looked terrifying."
The atmosphere became heavier again.
Yoonji lowered her voice slightly before continuing.
"He even said he would transfer Minhu to another school if he participated in the sports festival."
Beside her—
Yian slowly nodded.
"…I remember that too."
For a second—
everyone fell silent.
But Sihoon didn't look scared at all.
Instead—
his expression became calmer somehow.
"I know," he said quietly.
"But that still doesn't make it right."
"I think we still need to try," I said quietly.
"What if Minhu's dad changes his mind?"
For a second—
everyone looked at me.
Then Sihoon's gaze slowly met mine.
"…Yeah," he replied softly.
"We can't give up this early."
"So what do we do now?" Yian asked while leaning back against the wall.
Sihoon answered without hesitation.
"We're going to Minhu's house."
Yoonji's eyes widened immediately.
"…Right now?"
Sihoon nodded calmly.
"We'll talk to his dad directly."
The room instantly became silent.
Even Yian looked slightly nervous this time.
"…Are you seriously planning to fight Minhu's father at seven in the morning?" he asked carefully.
"It's not a fight," Sihoon replied.
"We just need him to listen first."
"But what if he gets angry?" Yoonji muttered worriedly.
For a moment—
Sihoon stayed quiet.
Then he looked at all of us seriously.
"If adults only think studying matters…"
"Then we'll show him this project matters too."
The confidence in his voice slowly changed the atmosphere again.
And somehow—
for the first time since last night—
this impossible idea started feeling slightly real.
A few minutes later—
we were already standing in front of Minhu's house.
The morning air still felt cold, and somehow the silence between us became heavier after reaching there.
No one moved immediately.
Yoonji looked genuinely nervous.
"…Why does his house already feel scary?" she whispered.
Yian let out a dry laugh.
"I suddenly understand why Minhu is always stressed."
Honestly—
I felt nervous too.
The large gate, the quiet atmosphere, even the neatness of the house—
everything felt strict somehow.
Meanwhile—
beside us—
Sihoon looked completely calm.
Like he had already prepared himself for whatever was about to happen.
Then he finally stepped forward toward the door.
"…Wait," Yoonji whispered quickly.
"What if he throws us out?"
Yian nodded immediately.
"Or worse."
But Sihoon simply looked back at us calmly.
"We came here for Minhu."
"So don't run away now."
And before any of us could answer—
he pressed the doorbell.
After a few seconds—
the door slowly opened.
A maid stood there, looking slightly surprised to see all of us so early in the morning.
"Yes?" she asked politely.
Before any of us could hesitate—
Sihoon calmly spoke first.
"We came to meet Minhu."
The maid looked at us for a moment before stepping aside.
"Please come in."
We slowly entered the house together.
The inside looked even more intimidating than outside.
Everything was perfectly organized and quiet.
Even our footsteps sounded too loud.
Meanwhile—
Sihoon walked in first without hesitation.
Behind him—
Yian and Yoonji looked like they were practically hiding behind his back.
Yian leaned closer to me slightly and whispered,
"If I disappear today…"
"Tell people I lived bravely."
Yoonji nodded seriously beside him.
"I'll disappear with you."
Despite my nervousness—
their reactions almost made me laugh.
But the moment we heard footsteps coming from upstairs—
everyone immediately became silent again.
woman slowly walked downstairs after hearing our voices.
The moment Yian saw her, he immediately straightened up.
"Aunty…"
A warm smile appeared on her face.
"It's been a long time, Sihoon, Yian, Yoonji."
Unlike the strict atmosphere of the house—
Minhu's mother looked gentle and calm.
Then her eyes slowly moved toward me.
"And this is?"
For a second, everyone looked at me.
I quickly bowed my head politely.
"Hello, aunty. I'm Jia."
The smile on her face became softer immediately.
"Oh…"
"What a pretty girl."
I blinked slightly in surprise.
There was kindness in her expression that felt completely different from everything we had heard about Minhu's father.
Then she pointed toward the sofa politely.
"Sit down first."
"Minhu is studying upstairs. I'll call him."
Hearing that at only seven in the morning somehow made me feel bad for him again.
But before she could walk away—
Sihoon suddenly spoke.
"Aunty," he called calmly.
"We actually came here because we need to talk to you."
"Talk with me?" she repeated softly in slight surprise.
Sihoon nodded politely.
"Yes, aunty."
"Actually… the school festival is coming soon."
"And we all joined the film club."
"That's wonderful," Minhu's mother replied warmly.
Then Sihoon continued calmly.
"…Minhu joined too."
The moment those words left his mouth—
her expression changed slightly.
Like she genuinely hadn't expected to hear that.
For a second—
she looked both surprised and confused.
"…Minhu joined a club?" she asked quietly.
Yian nodded carefully.
"Yes, aunty."
"He really likes it too."
A faint silence filled the room again.
Then Minhu's mother slowly sat down across from us.
And somehow—
for the first time—
it felt like she was seeing a side of Minhu she never fully knew before.
"Actually," Sihoon continued calmly,
"we decided Jeju Island would be the best location for our film."
"But Minhu said he probably wouldn't be able to join us."
He glanced briefly at the rest of us before continuing.
"And since we're all in the same group…"
"It wouldn't feel right without him."
For a moment—
Minhu's mother stayed quiet.
Then she looked down slightly.
"…I really didn't know he liked these kinds of things," she admitted softly.
"He never talks to me about what he likes."
Something about her voice suddenly felt sad instead of strict.
Then Sihoon quietly took the project papers from the table.
"This is the novel Minhu wrote with us," he said while handing them to her.
Minhu's mother slowly accepted the papers.
The room became completely silent as she started reading.
None of us dared interrupt her.
Only the sound of pages turning softly filled the room.
And somehow—
for the first time since coming here—
it felt like we finally had a small chance.
As she continued reading—
her eyes slowly became filled with tears.
She quickly looked down at the pages again, like she didn't want us to notice.
But somehow—
we all did.
At that moment—
she no longer looked like the strict mother of a top student.
She simply looked like a mother who suddenly realized she had missed a part of her son while only focusing on his future.
A quiet sadness appeared in her expression.
Like she was thinking about all the things Minhu never told her…
and all the things she never asked him about either.
But even then—
something still seemed to stop her.
She slowly lowered the papers into her lap before looking at us apologetically.
"…I'm sorry."
Her voice became quieter this time.
"I understand how Minhu feels now."
"And honestly… I think this project is beautiful."
A faint sad smile appeared on her face.
"But…"
She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"I can't do anything alone."
The atmosphere became heavy again.
"His father would never agree to this."
The hope we had slowly built inside the room suddenly became quieter again.
Then she looked down at the papers once more and whispered softly—
"And Minhu knows that too."
"We'll talk to uncle ourselves," Sihoon said calmly.
Everyone immediately looked at him.
Even Minhu's mother seemed surprised.
"…You want to talk to him directly?" she asked carefully.
Sihoon nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
"If Minhu can't say what he wants…"
"Then we will."
For a moment—
the room became completely silent again.
Yian looked nervous beside me.
Yoonji looked like she was already imagining disaster.
Meanwhile—
I quietly looked at Sihoon.
And somehow—
the confidence in his voice made even this impossible situation feel slightly less frightening.