The other side | duty after school.

S1 - Chapter one: A New World.

Ha Ye-Rim

As I open my eyes, I expect to find myself in a hospital room or perhaps even dead. Instead, I'm in a school I don't recognize, surrounded by people I didn't know. To add to the confusion, the actress Yeo Joo-Ha was standing in front of me, dressed up like her character. My head was pounding, and I couldn't make sense of what was happening. "Yeo Joo-Ha Eonni?" she asks, her eyebrows furrowing in concern as she places a hand on my head. It was then that I realise this wasn't a dream. "Ye-Rim, are you not feeling well? It's your Banjang," she adds, trying to help me regain my bearings.

Banjang? I glanced over my surroundings to see familiar yet unfamiliar characters. Everyone from the drama "duty after school" are here, including Kwon Il-Ha, Chi-Yeol and Na-Ra. What is this? "Ye-Rim, let's go to the nurse's room." Maybe, that will solve whatever's going on here.

As I walk to the nurse's room with "Yoo-Jung", my mind is racing. How did I end up in this school with people I don't even know? Am I hallucinating? I can't seem to remember how I got here but I remember how I got here. I shudder thinking about how Ha-Rin just killed me as if I was no one. The nurse checks my vitals and assure me everything is okay. Yoo-Jung sighs in relief and it makes my heart yearn. No one aside from my grandma showed me this little kindness. It's the bare minimum yet I crave for it. Everything here feels so surreal yet so real.

As we walk back to the classroom, I can feel a sense of unease settling in. Suddenly, I realise that I need to use the bathroom. But wait, if this is all just a dream, why do I have bodily needs? I shake my head, trying to make sense of it all. As I stand up to leave, I can't help but wonder if everyone around me thinks it's strange for me to be here. I mean, I don't belong to this world or this class. Do they know that?

Just then, I hear someone calling out my name. My heart races with fear as I turn around, expecting the worst. But it's just Do Soo-Cheol, looking at me with concern. Or is he? I can't shake off this feeling that everything around me is just an illusion, a figment of my imagination. "Ye-Rim, where are you going?" "Soo-Cheol, why are you asking her where she's going? Do you like Ye-Rim?" Soo-Cheol's friend teases him. "Do you guys know me?" Both Soo-Cheol and the other guy turn to each other and then at me. "Banjang, Ye-Rim is acting weird."

As I sit there in the bathroom, I can't help but think about the situation I'm in. I'm in a different reality, in a school that I don't recognize, and the people around me are treating me with respect.

I try to calm myself down by locking myself in a cubicle, but the reality of the situation hits me hard. Ha-Rin did stab me, and now I'm here. How is this even possible? It's not like someone can just go into different realities, right?

I start to doubt everything, but I come up with a way to test if this is real. I decide to hit myself to see if I feel pain. If I do, then that means this is real.

I close my eyes and hit my head against the bathroom door, and it hurts a lot. I hold my head in pain, and I can feel the reality sinking in. I am Ha Ye-Rim, and I am in duty after school. But wait, does that mean I'll be chased by aliens? The thought makes me laugh out loud, but then I realise how screwed I am.

As I sit there, lost in thought, I can't help but wonder about Grandma. What happened to her? Did she make it out okay? Did my wish somehow save her? I try to push the thoughts out of my mind, but they keep creeping back in. I feel guilty for leaving her behind, even if it was just a wish.

But then I remember something else - the aliens. In this world, duty after school means being chased by aliens. It's a strange and terrifying thought, but it's also kind of exciting. It's like being in the middle of an action movie, and I'm the star.