I closed it after my number was called

Minseo keeps studying in waiting areas at the bank and community service center, but hides her book whenever her number is called. In front of the counselor, she faces the moment her hands closed the book first.

Minseo opens her workbook while waiting, but when her number is called at the counter, she puts it deep in her bag first. The same thing happens in other waiting areas. When the counselor suggests looking separately at the time she was waiting and what happened after her number was called, Minseo says she closed the book because she was afraid she would look like someone who had come there to study.

When you close what you were doing after being called

A study rhythm starts to come back into view when you notice the moment that made you stop what you were doing, rather than the time you managed to keep going.

What did the person say that interrupted your waiting?

The hand that put the book at the very bottom of her bag after her number was called stays with me. In that scene, I saw not a day spent unable to study, but the hurried act of hiding the place where she had been studying. If you are going through a similar moment, tell me next time which hand moved first.

Scenes

• 01 · The moment her number was called 01 — Minseo covers the note “because my studying keeps getting interrupted” on the first page of her workbook with her finger and half-closes the book on her lap. Bank employee: Customer number 218, please come to the counter. Minseo: Yes.
• 02 · The waiting happens again 02 — Three days later, at the community service center, Minseo opens her workbook while waiting, but when her number is called, she pushes it to the bottom of her bag. Community service center employee: Number 117, please come to this counter. Minseo: Yes, I'm coming.
• 03 · Let's separate the two places 03 — Minseo places the two folded tickets side by side on the table, then pulls her hand back as she starts to unfold the corner of the community service center ticket. Saebyeok: It was different while I was waiting and after I was called. Where did you stop? Minseo: I covered it right away when I was called. I was studying while I waited.
• 04 · Why she hid the book 04 — The counselor writes “while waiting” and “after being called” in separate sections on the paper, then slides the blank spaces toward Minseo. Saebyeok: After you were called, was the book the first thing you closed, or was it something else? Minseo: The book. I was afraid I would look like someone who had come there to study.