The classroom exploded with questions.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Yian immediately stood up.
"Your dad actually came to your room?"
Minhu nodded.
"And he didn't yell at you?"
"Yian," Yoonji sighed.
"What? That's an important question!"
Despite himself, Minhu laughed.
A real laugh this time.
Then he looked at all of us.
"No..."
he said quietly.
"It wasn't because of me."
Everyone looked confused.
Then Minhu's gaze slowly shifted toward me.
"It was because of Jia."
For a second—
the entire group turned to look at me.
My eyes widened.
"What?"
Yian pointed at me dramatically.
"You talked with Minhu's dad?"
"Are you not scared of anything?"
"Yian!" Yoonji scolded him before turning to me.
"But seriously..."
"How did you even have a conversation with him?"
I instantly became nervous.
My face felt warm.
"No..."
I quickly shook my head.
"I didn't do anything."
I lowered my head.
"I just talked a little."
But Minhu shook his head.
"No."
His voice was firm this time.
"If you hadn't talked to my dad..."
"He never would have listened."
The classroom became quiet.
I didn't know what to say.
Honestly—
I still wasn't sure if I had really changed anything.
Then Minhu smiled.
And slowly opened his bag.
From inside, he took out a folded piece of paper.
"I didn't expect this either."
His fingers tightened slightly around the paper.
"And honestly..."
"I still can't believe it."
Yian leaned forward immediately.
"What is it?"
Minhu looked down at the papers for a moment.
Then he handed them to us.
I carefully took the first page.
At the top—
a title was written.
Beneath it were pages of dialogue and scenes.
My eyes widened.
"This is..."
"A script?"
Beside me, Yoonji looked just as shocked.
"Who wrote this?"
Before Minhu could answer—
Sihoon spoke calmly.
"Your dad wrote it, right?"
Everyone turned toward him.
Even Minhu looked surprised.
Then he slowly nodded.
"Yes."
Yian's mouth fell open.
"Wait, what?"
"How did you know that?"
Sihoon leaned back in his chair.
His expression remained calm as always.
"I saw it before."
"Saw what?" Yoonji asked.
"In the Film Club room."
"There was an old file with pictures from previous projects."
His gaze shifted toward the script.
"Your dad was in some of those pictures."
For a moment—
the entire group fell silent.
Yian stared at him in disbelief.
"That means you knew from the beginning?"
"Then why didn't you tell us?"
Sihoon looked at him.
"Because I thought it would be better if uncle told Minhu himself."
The classroom became quiet again.
For the first time—
I noticed a small smile appear on Sihoon's face.
Not because he was right.
But because things had finally turned out the way he hoped.
Meanwhile, Minhu looked down at the script in his hands.
"My dad told me he used to write when he was young."
"He even participated in film projects during university."
No one spoke.
Because somehow—
that was the last thing any of us expected to hear.
"So why does he want you to focus only on studying?" Yoonji asked quietly.
The smile on Minhu's face faded slightly.
For a moment—
he looked down at the script in his hands.
Then he spoke.
"My dad told me something last night."
Everyone listened carefully.
"When he was in university, he wanted to become a screenwriter."
The classroom fell silent.
"He worked really hard."
"He joined film clubs."
"He wrote scripts."
"And he believed one day he would make it."
Minhu paused for a moment.
"But it didn't happen."
His fingers tightened around the papers.
"After graduation, he couldn't find stable work."
"His family was struggling financially."
"So he gave up."
No one spoke.
Even Yian remained unusually quiet.
Minhu looked at the script again.
"He told me dreams are beautiful."
"But failing while chasing them hurts."
For a moment, I remembered the look in his father's eyes.
Maybe it wasn't anger.
Maybe it was fear.
"He said he didn't want me to experience the same disappointment he did."
The classroom became quiet.
And somehow—
for the first time—
we all understood him a little better.
"So..."
Yian suddenly leaned forward.
"Does that mean he agreed to the Jeju trip?"
The entire group stared at him.
For a second—
the classroom became completely silent.
Then—
Yoonji smacked the back of his head.
"Ouch!"
"Are you dumb?" she asked.
"We were having an emotional conversation!"
"But I want to know!" Yian complained.
To everyone's surprise—
Minhu laughed.
Then he looked at all of us.
And slowly nodded.
"Yes."
For a moment—
nobody reacted.
"Wait..."
Yian blinked.
"Yes?"
Minhu nodded again.
"My dad agreed."
The classroom exploded.
"What?!"
"Seriously?!"
"You're not joking?"
Even Yoonji looked shocked.
Minhu couldn't stop smiling.
"He said if I promise not to neglect my studies..."
"...then I can go."
For a second—
I couldn't believe it either.
All the worry.
All the arguments.
Everything we went through yesterday.
And somehow—
it worked.
Yian suddenly jumped from his seat.
"WE'RE GOING TO JEJU ISLAND!"
His voice echoed through the classroom.
Several students turned around to stare at us.
Yoonji immediately covered her face in embarrassment.
"Sit down!"
But nobody could stop laughing.
Beside me—
I noticed Sihoon quietly smiling.
Then Minhu looked at us.
"No."
He shook his head.
"Not just me."
His voice softened.
"This happened because all of you refused to give up on me."
For a moment—
the laughter faded.
And something warm filled the space between us.
Friendship.
The kind that stays beside you even when things seem impossible.
For the first time in days—
everything felt right again.
Then Minhu stood up.
"After school today, I'm treating everyone."
"Really?" Yoonji asked.
"Of course."
Minhu smiled.
"You all helped me."
Yian immediately raised both hands.
"I knew being your friend would pay off one day."
That earned him another hit from Yoonji.
The entire group burst into laughter.
And somehow—
the heavy atmosphere from yesterday completely disappeared.
After class ended, everyone slowly started leaving the classroom.
Yian was already talking about where we should eat.
Yoonji was arguing with him.
Minhu followed behind them.
I smiled while watching the group.
Then—
"Jia."
I stopped.
Turning around, I found Sihoon standing behind me.
For some reason, my heart skipped a beat.
"Hm?"
He looked at me quietly.
The noise from the others seemed distant for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Not now."
I blinked in confusion.
"What?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"You can stop worrying now."
For a moment—
I just stared at him.
Then I realized what he meant.
The café.
Minhu.
His father.
Everything.
Before I could say anything—
Sihoon had already started walking toward the others.
Leaving me standing there.
And somehow—
a small smile appeared on my face as well.