It Began With a Text

Text Friend

     A regular day at school. To be precise, that was when it all began.

     Han Jisung could sense the tension around him as he walked through the halls. And he could tell why.

     Posters, all over the school. No student would be able to miss it. They had been around the school for around a week.

                                                        Text Friend Month!

                         Seoul's greatest innovative experiment for the beginners of our generation!

                         Learn the possibilities and limits of the technology that has propelled our generation forward!    

                        Find out more on October 14th!

     Add in a bunch of cheesy images and bright colours, and the posters were practically the kind you'd find in elementary schools during Spirit Week. Which made it even more strange that these were taking over a high school.

     Teachers were annoyingly secretive about the whole thing and didn't speak a word. Everyone had resorted to waiting until the faithful day of October 14th. 

     Now that it was here, everyone was definitely feeling a little apprehensive. Not much happened at school, so any little change sparked excitement.

     Han couldn't deny the fact that he was definitely curious himself. 

     Throughout the day, teachers repeatedly told everyone to wait until the end of the day. People were getting restless.

     This better be good for all the hype they're giving, Han thought.

     Finally, Han was awoken from his nap in final-period math class. His teacher let in a woman with a bright green t-shirt, wearing a smile as if New Years had come early.

     "Okay, so I know everyone is curious, so I'll just get straight to the point!" the woman said. "Text Friend Month is an experiment with several schools in Seoul, including this one. Participation is mandatory for every 00 liner if your school is part of the experiment. You guys are the beginning of this new generation!"

     The woman put jazz hands for effect and waited for a reaction. Being in front of a crowd of high schoolers, she got none.

     Clearing her throat and quickly recovering, she continued.  

     "Here's how it works. Through a random draw system, every 00 liner in this school has been matched with another 00 liner. It can be in this school or another, it will be random."

     "You will be given the phone number of your partner. Everyone's job here is simple: For the next month or two, you will be contacting your partner and interacting with them purely through text. Everyone will be given a list of prompt questions to start off, but it's really up to you guys."

     "The purpose of this experiment is to understand the power of technology. Can it really form connections? Does it have the power to bring people together? Those are the questions we want to answer!"

     The woman stood there, looking proud after her speech. She scanned the room, clearly expecting a reaction this time.

     She got none again. Han could hear the grumbles around him. 

     "Well, THAT was anticlimactic."

     "What a waste of time."

     "Dang, they really had me excited for a second."