‘If you nitpick even one word, you’re fucked.’
Lee Euishin thought while looking back at Kwon Yunsu, who was munching on ice cream and following behind. That ice cream the guy was perking his ears and excitedly eating was also something he’d bought for him.
After coming out from referee training it was 5 o’clock, Kwon Yunsu insisted he had to practice before going and bounced around holding the ball, and Lee Euishin held back the curses that wanted to come out and watched Kwon Yunsu’s exercise. The result was, well, not even worth cursing about.
There was no way his stamina could have improved in such a short time, and his shooting, which seemed to be getting better for a while, was bouncing here and there, a complete mess. His breathing became ragged much earlier than usual. He was too conscious of the approaching tournament and his own skill that couldn’t become dramatic.
On the way home from school, Kwon Yunsu had a gloomy face unlike usual. He didn’t say a word either. And Lee Euishin knew exactly how to soothe a dejected country bumpkin.
“Should I buy you that?”
When he asked while pointing to the ice cream shop that had approached, Kwon Yunsu’s eyes honestly sparkled. Lee Euishin left Kwon Yunsu standing on the roadside and went into the shop alone to order two cones. Kwon Yunsu, who couldn’t quite follow him in, was looking into the shop with desperate eyes that had lost reason. Lee Euishin skillfully suppressed the sensation of wanting to feel smug.
“Class President, you really. A handsome guy with good sense too. How did you know I like mint?”
When he was brushing his teeth and suddenly sang about wanting to eat ice cream, there was no way that memory could be easily forgotten.
“You’re really going to become a cool guy when you grow up…”
That was something he’d heard yesterday when he bought rice cake skewers, and the day before when he bought jjajangmyeon,
‘Why do I keep buying food for this bastard?’
Lee Euishin briefly had the same thought he’d had yesterday and the day before.
“A handsome face and his actions are pretty too…”
To Kwon Yunsu endlessly spouting gutless words, Lee Euishin suddenly bent his head down.
“Hey.”
“Why?”
Kwon Yunsu’s eyes when he whipped his head up sparkled energetically like a mischievous elementary schooler, and ice cream was smeared around his mouth. Was this the same guy who had been sighing like the world was ending in despair at his own talent 10 minutes ago?
‘…What’s pretty about this country bumpkin?’
“Why? What? Want some?”
Pushing back the ice cream Kwon Yunsu offered, Lee Euishin asked unexpectedly.
“Am I handsome?”
Kwon Yunsu nodded without delay too.
“Yeah, of course.”
You’re more handsome than me, so you’re incredibly handsome. Have confidence, Class President.
Lee Euishin reached out, grabbed Kwon Yunsu’s chin and pretended to examine it from various angles, then released it with a flick.
“You’re just ugly though?”
“No, look again. Your thoughts will change?”
While saying that, he’s distracted eating ice cream and doesn’t even look this way.
“You’re ugly.”
Even when he said it again with conviction, the response that came back was,
“Class President, let’s eat fried chicken too. I’ll buy it. The order is wrong. We should eat fried chicken and then ice cream.”
It was an expression of maddening regret.
“Chicken skewers are fine too.”
I’m not fine with it!
However, Lee Euishin was already being dragged by Kwon Yunsu holding his wrist, running across the crosswalk where the green light was flashing. I don’t want to. I don’t really like fried chicken or chicken skewers. You eat that crap alone.
But why? No matter how much he grumbled inwardly all day, he always became small in front of Kwon Yunsu’s appetite. He felt like he shouldn’t disturb Kwon Yunsu’s holy time,
“Me, meat doesn’t… digest well…”
Words like eat alone and go felt like he shouldn’t say them for some reason,
“It doesn’t digest well so—”
And he felt like he shouldn’t let him spend money.
“Let’s just eat one each, Class President-ah!”
Kwon Yunsu’s upper body, which had crossed the crosswalk at full speed, flopped forward. Catching that precarious body reflexively, Lee Euishin thought with lingering regret.
…He really is ugly though.
On Thursday, a week before the sports festival, the soccer tournament began.
Soccer and foot baseball, the co-ed single events, have long game times so they hold preliminary matches in advance and only do finals on the day of the festival. Unexpectedly and unfortunately, their preliminary performance wasn’t too bad. When the girls’ foot baseball, which started the tournament first, confirmed the semi-finals, that expression on Kwon Yunsu’s face. Lee Euishin thought for the first time that the sports festival was beneficial and useful to someone. It was the first time this week Kwon Yunsu showed a smile.
Last weekend, when they had completely passed the summer weather, his parents had visited his grandparents’ house. It had been roughly two months since his life of exile, so it was about time. It’s shameless to say, but the adults in this family were too soft on him.
And when he came to school on Monday, Lee Euishin could tell something had changed. It wasn’t because of the autumn breeze blowing in where the heat had subsided, nor because of the excited crowd already wearing the class T-shirts and accessories that had arrived. Kwon Yunsu—the country puppy who always ran around energetically wrapped in all sorts of sounds and colors—had a face hardened like stone.
“He’s nervous.”
Baek Seunghyun said, watching Kwon Yunsu who changed into gym clothes as soon as he came to school, stretched at the back of the classroom, then immediately sat down and started reading the P.E. textbook.
“Yeah, he’s nervous obviously.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that face.”
“He’s going to be like that all week, so don’t be too surprised, Class President.”
At the others adding a word each, Lee Euishin suddenly felt strange. Even though it’s a place closer to the city than the countryside strictly speaking, it seemed like the kids in this neighborhood grew up seeing each other from when they were young. Those words that felt like shared years bothered him for no reason. What kind of kid was little Kwon Yunsu? Obviously a brat who didn’t listen and gave adults a hard time with tantrums. Or maybe he was a mind-blowingly gentle kid.
In any case, Kwon Yunsu started the week wearing uncharacteristic taciturnity. As if possessed by something, he became less talkative and sighed a hundred times an hour, and finally even left food. Kwon Yunsu who suddenly became an alien awkward with Earth’s environment. Annoying and unappetizing. Lee Euishin put force in his eyes and picked up his chopsticks.
“Really not eating?”
“…Huh? Uh……”
At the end of the chopsticks Lee Euishin was shaking was a large chunk of pork cutlet skewered. Kwon Yunsu goes crazy for side dishes like this in a childlike way.
“You want to collapse later? What energy are you going to run with?”
At that reproach, Kwon Yunsu’s face turned pale as if he’d swallowed poison. After lunch in 6th period, the soccer preliminary first round was scheduled.
“Give it to Baek Seunghyun?”
“……”
“At least eat this?”
Suddenly Kwon Yunsu looked at Lee Euishin with eyes brimming with anxiety.
“Euishin-ah, I think my stomach hurts…”
…This bastard. Usually it’s Class President, Class President, but at times like this it’s Euishin?
Lee Euishin controlled his twitching mouth and irritably organized his tray. I’m not some mom following around with a spoon saying eat just one more bite. Handle it yourself. Whether you starve or not.
“Hey, you get punished if you leave food.”
Behind his back as he stood up holding his tray, he heard Baek Seunghyun coaxing the guy,
“I won’t.”
A powerless response followed.
But that day, Kwon Yunsu was punished.
He fell during the preliminary first round and fractured his leg.
—Kwon Yunsu!
Lee Euishin was watching the game next to the P.E. teacher and third-year senior who were refereeing. As expected, exactly as he expected, the game proceeded.
Baek Seunghyun, who was superior in build and speed, flew around brilliantly leading the play, and Kwon Yunsu desperately ran around the playground but couldn’t catch a proper attack chance. However, perhaps the daily practice was worthwhile, because whenever an opportunity arose, he passed the ball quite accurately to guys who could score points like Baek Seunghyun or Kim Minwook. The heart wanting to win somehow was conveyed, and Lee Euishin’s chest felt tight. He wondered if this was a teacher’s heart.
“Kwon Yunsu!!!”
What he first heard was Baek Seunghyun’s shout that rang loudly enough to shake the playground.
Soccer is essentially a game where the ball becomes the protagonist, where attention is drawn purely following the ball’s direction, and so Lee Euishin had momentarily forgotten where Kwon Yunsu was running. When he turned his gaze following Baek Seunghyun’s shout, only then did he see Kwon Yunsu. Among two or three guys gathered and standing, Kwon Yunsu was lying down holding his leg. Leg. The left knee that Kwon Yunsu’s hand was covering. Lee Euishin, with his good eyesight, noticed in that short time that Kwon Yunsu’s face was covered in tears. The P.E. teacher blew the whistle to stop the game, and one quick-witted female student ran inside the building to call the health teacher.
