# Chapter 47
As soon as Kwon Dojin joined the soccer game, the tide of victory was clearly visible. When we were heading back to the classroom for the next lesson after winning comfortably, several groups of students blocked our path.
“Um, Dojin-nim—!”
“Yes?”
“Well, that is—”
The person had an expression like they had a lot to say, but they were stammering, perhaps because they were nervous. Dojin waited calmly without rushing them, and I rolled my eyes around, wondering if I should even be here.
“Congratulations on winning the soccer game! This is a small gift prepared by the fan club!”
As if their earlier hesitation had been a lie, they quickly continued and held out a gift to Dojin. Accepting the gift with a familiar gesture, Dojin smiled brightly.
“Thank you as always.”
“Oh my god, he said thank you, he said thank you!”
“I feel dizzy—”
I watched the students going crazy again with cloudy eyes. I really thought I had gotten used to it by now, but I was wrong. I just mistook restraining my reactions at Dojin’s request for adaptation.
“We need to get to our classroom. Could you let us through?”
A gentle voice echoed in the noisy hallway. It was a relatively quiet voice, but somehow those who were making a fuss heard it, shut their mouths, and made way.
Dojin, who showed his satisfaction with a nod at the beautifully formed path, turned to look at me. He stretched out his arm, grabbed my hand, and walked.
I was in the middle of self-hypnosis—I can’t see anything, I can’t hear anything—so my reaction was a beat late. As a result, I missed the timing to shake off Dojin’s hand and followed him with an awkward gesture.
The naturally converging gazes were burdensome, so I just looked down at the floor. No, even if he was going back, why did he have to drag me along and make me suffer? I didn’t understand.
Dissatisfaction bubbled up, but unfortunately, I couldn’t voice it. Many students, including Dojin’s followers, were stationed around us.
“This is more grand than a king’s procession.”
I quickly raised my head at the familiar voice. Seeing Baek Han leaning against the wall with one corner of his mouth raised, I was instinctively glad to see him. So I raised my hand and waved it slightly, and Baek Han roughly raised his hand in response.
“Why are you so full of complaints?”
“As if this is enough to complain about.”
I tilted my head at the fierce atmosphere. Somehow Baek Han seemed more on edge than usual, which made things awkward. I fidgeted with my fingers, then pulled my hand out of Dojin’s grip and stepped back.
“Habin?”
Dojin, who reacted as soon as I pulled my hand away, blinked his eyelids. I was impressed by his technique of asking what was wrong with such a simple movement.
“I’ll go to the classroom first.”
“Let’s go together. I was just about to go too.”
Dojin took my hand again. Because Dojin was ignoring Baek Han and continuing on as if it was only natural, I waved to Baek Han to greet him instead.
Baek Han raised his eyebrows and followed behind us instead of returning the greeting. Then he lightly chopped the top of my head with the side of his hand.
“That hurts.”
“Yeah. I meant for it to hurt.”
What nonsense is this? I looked at Baek Han with full dissatisfaction, and he responded with a snort. Dojin, who was walking a step ahead, came to my side and carefully cradled the top of my head where Baek Han had hit.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“…It’s not that painful.”
“What an exaggeration.”
“The person who hit me shouldn’t be saying that.”
I glared at Baek Han again at his words.
“By the way, Kwon Dojin. I heard you’re participating in all events?”
Baek Han asked with his head tilted askew, as if he had heard it somewhere. Dojin answered with a nod without even giving Baek Han a glance.
“Thanks to you, I’m now annoyed. Do you know how much they’re sticking to me asking me to participate in all events too?”
Baek Han’s voice was dripping with emotion as he spoke, chewing each word. His hand, clenched into a fist as if he wanted to hit Dojin, was trembling.
“So?”
“Stop creating unnecessary competition and just participate in one event, moderately. You weren’t even thinking of participating because it was troublesome, so what wind suddenly blew to make you act like this?”
Uh…, I think I was the one who put that wind in his sails.
Since I felt guilty, I subtly averted my gaze from Baek Han. Hoping that Dojin would consistently ignore him as usual, I kept my mouth shut.
“Habin said he wanted to see me exercising.”
This tactless bastard!
Thanks to Dojin, who finally revealed who had put the wind in his sails, Baek Han’s sharp gaze was fixed on me. I quickly moved to Dojin’s side, and he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Lee Habin, you…”
“I didn’t know he would participate in all events. I thought he would just run once and be done with it.”
I continued making excuses without taking a breath. Baek Han’s fist was trembling more than before, making my heart tremble too. Feeling like I might get hiccups if I kept looking at him, I buried my eyes in Dojin’s shoulder.
“You’re definitely going to participate in all events, right?”
“Habin said he wanted to see me exercising, how could I not participate?”
It wasn’t exactly wrong, but did he have to say it in such a melting voice? I wanted to grab Dojin by the collar and scold him for acting in a way that could cause misunderstandings, but I endured it.
I was also scared of Baek Han beside me, and still scared of the gazes of other students all around us.
“Ha… I guess it can’t be helped.”
Baek Han, who let out a deep sigh, vigorously shook his hair. Just as I peeked up to look at him, Baek Han flicked my forehead.
“Ow!”
This time it really hurt, and I reflexively let out a groan, causing Dojin to urgently match my eye level. Then, after looking at the area that was hit, he frowned deeply.
“It’s red now. Are you joking around?”
“What, what. You made me annoyed, so you’re lucky this is all you got.”
Even if others had urged Baek Han to participate in events, they wouldn’t have pressured him excessively due to his status. So it seemed insufficient to say he was annoyed, and I tilted my head.
“Ah, don’t tell me. You’re going to participate in events too?”
“Thanks to you, I’m going to end up participating in all events.”
Baek Han’s sighing action deepened my questions. If he doesn’t want to do it, can’t he just not do it? Baek Han is Rank 5, so no one would dare criticize him if he did as he pleased.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to—”
“How could that be? When I clearly know Kwon Dojin is participating, what would everyone think if I avoided it? They’d say I’m scared, like a dog with its tail between its legs.”
Saying that he absolutely could not tolerate hearing such words, he trembled in a different way. The sound of his teeth grinding was an added bonus, as if just thinking about it hurt his pride.
Seeing that, I felt a bit sorry for unintentionally escalating the situation. Enough to understand why he had flicked my forehead.
Regardless of Baek Han’s dislike and my sympathetic feelings toward him, when Baek Han confirmed his participation, screams erupted from around us once more.
From what I could vaguely hear, the conversations mainly consisted of things like “looking forward to the competition between Baek Han and Kwon Dojin” and “it feels like a dream that Baek Han-nim is also participating.” Judging by their reactions, the situation seemed likely to grow beyond what I had imagined.
“I really didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
“Is that so.”
“Really!”
“Alright, I said I get it.”
I pouted at his half-hearted response. Meanwhile, Dojin was busy staring at my reddened forehead while I was talking with Baek Han.
“It doesn’t still hurt, right?”
“No. It’s fine now. Let’s just go to the classroom.”
I led Dojin, who was acting like a puppy that didn’t know what to do, toward the classroom. It seemed like he wouldn’t move from his spot until the bell rang.
“But didn’t Class 3 already have their basketball match? How did that go?”
“We won. Just one more win and we’re in the finals.”
“Then I guess you really do have to do all the events.”
If they had lost in basketball, at least one event would have been reduced, but it seems Baek Han’s class also won, probably because they fiercely competed for his honor or something.
“I’ve never participated in the sports festival before.”
I let out an awkward laugh at the voice full of annoyance. Dojin, who had been quiet until now, sneered at Baek Han’s words.
“Why? Afraid of being outclassed by me?”
“…What did you just say?”
I gasped in surprise at Dojin’s behavior, effectively provoking Baek Han’s pride. Why is he doing this after being quiet all this time? I tried to stop Dojin to prevent him from further provoking Baek Han, but Baek Han was faster in opening his mouth.
“You think I’m worried about being outclassed by you? Me?”
“If not, why are you being so noisy about it?”
Irritation showed in his rounded eyes. Baek Han exhaled loudly as if incredulous, then sharpened the corners of his eyes.
“You better participate in all events.”
“I was going to do that even without you telling me.”
Dojin, who dismissed Baek Han’s fierce aura with a snort, turned to me and smiled as if nothing had happened.
“Shall we go to the classroom, leaving this noisy barking guy behind?”
“Are you done talking?”
“Calling someone a ‘guy’ to their face is a bit…”
Though Dojin had been composed at Baek Han’s words, his shoulders trembled at mine. Then he glanced at Baek Han with reluctant eyes. During the brief silence that followed, Dojin seemed to be contemplating how to refer to Baek Han, and then, as if reaching a conclusion, he displayed a clear smile.
“Then, son of a bitch?”
“No. That’s even worse.”
I pressed my forehead, as I had hoped he would speak politely, but instead of doing so, he returned with an even more twisted response.
