# Chapter 51
I couldn’t hide my complicated feelings as I looked at the team uniform that had already arrived. To think I had to wear this excessively flashy outfit. All because of one word from Kwon Dojin.
The absurdity of the situation made me feel melancholic, but I didn’t have the energy to overturn the decision and get a new uniform made, so there was nothing I could do.
“Habin, you’re going to look so cute.”
“I’ve said this many times, but what good does it do for me to look cute…?”
While I was seriously considering skipping school on the day of the athletic festival, the class president came in through the back door of the classroom and shouted.
“We have joint PE with Class 3 next period! Change into your gym clothes and come out to the field.”
“Isn’t science next?”
“I heard the science teacher had something to do and switched it?”
The murmuring about the sudden schedule change didn’t last long. Since this kind of thing happened quite often, the students moved to change into their gym clothes without complaint.
“Class 3 is Baek Han’s class, right?”
“I think so.”
When Baek Han was mentioned, Kwon Dojin’s brow furrowed as if he’d been waiting for it. It seemed he didn’t like having joint PE with him. But even someone like Kwon Dojin couldn’t do anything about something that had already been decided.
As I grabbed my gym clothes and headed toward the changing room, I spotted Baek Han’s back. It was unmistakably him, as the students in his path were stepping aside to make way for him.
“Baek Han-.”
Since I’d already spotted Baek Han, it felt awkward to ignore him, so I called his name. Not only did he turn around, but so did every student in the hallway. I froze in surprise at the unexpected situation, having thought that only Baek Han would turn around.
“Why are you guys holding gym clothes?”
“Joint PE with Class 3.”
Kwon Dojin answered Baek Han instead of me and patted my shoulder lightly. He bent down slightly to meet my eyes and mouthed, ‘Are you okay?’
His face was so close that it naturally blocked out everyone else’s stares. Thanks to that, my rapidly beating heart calmed down, and I slowly nodded.
Meanwhile, Baek Han had retraced his steps and naturally stood next to me. Kwon Dojin’s expression hardened subtly as he noticed Baek Han approaching.
“Why with your class of all classes?”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
“The bell’s going to ring in about three minutes, should we hurry to the changing room?”
I pushed the backs of the two who still weren’t getting along, holding my gym clothes between my arm and body. Even though I was only pretending to push without applying any force, both Baek Han and Kwon Dojin complied and started walking.
I knew that was their way of being considerate to me, who was relatively weaker than them, and it made me chuckle softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s nothing. Just open the changing room door.”
I tapped Kwon Dojin’s back since he was in front of the door. Though he looked puzzled, he obediently opened the door.
The other guys had already finished changing and gone to the field, so no one was there. Or maybe they had deliberately cleared out after hearing that Kwon Dojin and Baek Han were coming.
Whenever I used the changing room with Kwon Dojin, it was always empty anyway.
“I was happy that we didn’t have PE today. Now I’m suddenly sad.”
I opened an empty locker to temporarily place my gym clothes and unbuttoned my dress shirt. Baek Han and Kwon Dojin, who had taken positions on either side of me, burst out laughing at the same time, finding something amusing.
“You should exercise more.”
“Habin is always in the stands during PE anyway.”
“I just hate changing into gym clothes. Don’t you think it’s too rushed? We only have a 10-minute break, but we have to come to the changing room, change clothes, and then go all the way to the field.”
I think most students would agree with me. We can be this leisurely because the PE teacher doesn’t push us too hard; otherwise, we’d have to move much more quickly.
“We always arrive about 5 minutes after class starts anyway.”
“That’s only because I go with you, Kwon Dojin. Otherwise, I would have finished as quickly as possible.”
Today, I was having trouble with the buttons. Only after fumbling several times was I able to take off my shirt and put it in the locker.
“You’re making good use of Kwon Dojin.”
“Of course. It’s convenient.”
“I wish you would deny things like this.”
I laughed idly at the idle conversation as I lifted the gym shirt from the locker, but my hand suddenly lost strength, and I dropped it.
“Ah-.”
As I stepped back and bent down to pick up the clothes, I bumped into long, white fingers. Recognizing the familiar shape, I lifted my head slightly and confirmed they were indeed Kwon Dojin’s hands.
He picked up the shirt before I could, so I straightened my back. I extended my arm and waved it to get the shirt back from Kwon Dojin’s hands, and he handed it over. Feeling a bit chilly with just a short-sleeve shirt on, I quickly put on the gym clothes.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah….”
His response was a bit weaker than usual, so I tilted my head. Glancing at him, I saw he was covering his mouth and looking down. I reached out to touch his cheek to check his condition, but the bell rang, so I decided to change my clothes first.
“The bell rang.”
“You say that so casually. Shouldn’t we hurry?”
“We’re already late, so let’s take our time.”
Baek Han added that we had never arrived before the bell anyway, which left me dumbfounded. I wondered how he could be so confident, but when I thought about it, I realized I was similar, so I had nothing to say.
After diligently changing clothes and organizing the locker, I closed the door. Baek Han had already changed and was by the entrance, so I turned to look at Kwon Dojin.
“Kwon Dojin?”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you just standing there? Aren’t you going to change?”
I tapped Kwon Dojin’s forearm, which was still not fully dressed. He had been blinking slowly but finally moved his arm that had been frozen.
“I’m going ahead-.”
“Huh? Oh. I’ll follow soon.”
Before I could finish speaking, Baek Han opened the changing room door and waved his arm casually. As always, Kwon Dojin didn’t care whether Baek Han stayed or left.
Not wanting to abandon Kwon Dojin, I squatted away from the lockers and waited for him to finish changing. I rested my elbows on my knees, making a flower cup with my hands, and looked up at Kwon Dojin. Through his hair, I noticed his earlobes had turned red.
“Hmm?”
Did I see wrong?
Since his hair was covering it, there was a good chance I had seen wrong. But remembering how he had pretended to be fine even when he was sick last time, I got up and approached him.
“Kwon Dojin.”
“Yeah?”
When I called him, Kwon Dojin turned around immediately. I moved to his side and tucked his hair behind his ear. Seeing his earlobe still flushed red, I touched his forehead.
“Habin?”
“You don’t seem to have a fever…. If you’re fine, then that’s good.”
Earlobes can turn red just from exposure to cold air. I didn’t think the changing room was that cold, but everyone’s different.
Kwon Dojin, who had been adjusting his appearance, grabbed his ear where I had touched. With a face that clearly showed his embarrassment, he insisted again that it was nothing.
“Let’s go. It’s been a while since class started.”
Unlike his usual self, Kwon Dojin pressed his lips together and showed no reaction. Finding this strange, I blinked a couple of times and waved my hand in front of his eyes.
“Ah-. Yeah. Let’s go.”
His unreliable state made me grab his wrist. If I left him be, he seemed like he would trip over something.
“Habin.”
“Yeah?”
The previously dazed Kwon Dojin finally returned to his normal state. I let go of his arm, but he grabbed my hand firmly.
“Don’t show your bare skin to others carelessly, okay?”
“…What kind of nonsense is this?”
Wondering if I had understood correctly, I replayed what I had just heard in my head. No matter how many times I rewound it, I couldn’t understand what he meant, and my face crumpled without a chance to compose myself.
“Hm? Habin-.”
“You need to say something that makes sense for me to agree.”
When I spoke with clear rejection, Kwon Dojin made a sad face. I often gave in to this expression, but this time I couldn’t. The statement was just too absurd.
Seeing that his sad look didn’t work, he seemed to change tactics. He hugged me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. It was a difficult posture to maintain while walking, but Kwon Dojin didn’t seem to find it hard.
“It’s because Habin is too handsome.”
“Right, thanks.”
There was no joy in being called handsome by someone who was genuinely handsome. When I removed all emotion from my voice, Kwon Dojin rubbed his cheek against my shoulder.
The warmth felt close by was familiar, but the sensation of soft hair tickling the nape of my neck was not. I shrugged my shoulders and shook him off.
“Ugh-. Hey, step back a moment.”
I shrugged my right shoulder to shake off Kwon Dojin, who was still attached to me. He could have resisted if he wanted to, but he obediently stepped back. I opened my palm and patted away the lingering ticklish sensation on my nape.
As soon as the process ended, Kwon Dojin clung to me again. Deciding to accept reality, I headed toward the field with him hanging on my back. The routine headcount seemed to be over, as the students had formed groups and were scattered around.
“Finally here?”
Baek Han, who was in the stands, tilted his head back. His posture looked like it would cause blood to rush to his head, so I went closer to him and placed my hand on the back of his neck to return his head to its normal position.
“What are you doing?”
“My neck hurts just watching you.”
After removing Kwon Dojin’s arm from around my neck, I sat down next to Baek Han, and Kwon Dojin followed, sitting next to me.
“By the way, aren’t you guys playing soccer or something?”
“What about you?”
“Have you ever seen me move?”
“I just don’t see the need to move.”
“Hmm….”
While it was true that there was no real need to move as Kwon Dojin said, the athletic festival was coming up soon, and Class 3 was our rival.
“If we win when we split up by classes now, doesn’t that mean we’ll win at the athletic festival too?”
This isn’t a manga where someone could become stronger in a short time and come back. I hugged my knees and muttered without much meaning.
“Ha-, Lee Habin, do you have a knack for provoking people?”
Baek Han and Kwon Dojin stood up simultaneously. I looked back and forth at the two with wide eyes, as they had just expressed their intention not to do anything, yet were suddenly moving.
“Gather up. We’re going to play soccer with Class 3.”
At Kwon Dojin’s quiet words as he took off his outer clothes and left the stands, all the boys reacted as if they had been waiting. The atmosphere on the field completely changed in less than 5 seconds, filled with all kinds of cheers and shouts.
I was the only one who couldn’t adapt to the suddenly transformed air and could only open and close my mouth.
“What is this….”
I desperately needed someone to explain what was going on.
