Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
Though he was a bit confused, the name he soon recalled was Woo Jongwan. He was a homeroom teacher who used a different teacher’s office.
Woo Jongwan stood in the shaded spot next to Seo Juhan and spoke to him familiarly.
“Are you refereeing basketball?”
“Yes.”
Seo Juhan, who hadn’t been doing his best at his duties, pretended to be watching the students.
“I’m doing soccer.”
Woo Jongwan continued speaking amiably, as if he didn’t particularly care.
Seo Juhan felt relieved that he was also in the same boat of slacking off.
As if reading his mind, Woo Jongwan added.
“The class playing right now is my class. They kept complaining that I was making biased calls, so I came out for a bit.”
“Ah… I see.”
Seo Juhan answered briefly. The heat that seemed to boil his brain made social interaction difficult.
After a brief silence, Woo Jongwan spoke again.
“Doesn’t the Principal talk too much?”
“…He does talk a lot.”
“I really thought I’d die of boredom.”
“Me too.”
“Sometimes I want to tell the kids to rip off his toupee. I figure he’d stop talking then.”
Woo Jongwan said that and chuckled.
“…It’s a toupee?”
Seo Juhan asked, his eyes widening.
“Yeah. You didn’t know?”
“Not at all.”
“Doesn’t it show so obviously? People usually notice right away.”
Woo Jongwan seemed to find it strange that he didn’t know.
So it was a toupee.
Originally, gossip was humanity’s common method of communication that increased emotional intimacy and relieved stress. Having formed a slight sense of kinship, Seo Juhan let slip his own complaint.
“I wish he wouldn’t send messages. Always ‘To my beloved Yangseong School teachers.'”
“Ah, I know right. That damn Gungseo font.”
Seo Juhan and Woo Jongwan recalled the same thing and chuckled.
“Always that crap about education this and that. If so, then like a true educator, come to the classroom and teach yourself.”
Seo Juhan revealed more of his complaint-filled inner thoughts.
As if responding to that, Woo Jongwan secretly shared some premium information.
“The Principal came here after being disciplined for drunk driving.”
“Ah, really?”
Seo Juhan’s eyes widened.
“Yes. And yet he talks about future hope and whatnot.”
Woo Jongwan shook his head from side to side as if it was absurd.
Seo Juhan also chuckled and agreed.
“Right. Just staying still and quiet would be helping.”
“Exactly.”
Woo Jongwan answered while turning his waist to the side. It seemed he was stiff from just standing still.
He casually suggested while stretching.
“Let’s work out together next week.”
“Work out?”
“Yeah. Sometimes the teachers gather in the auditorium to exercise.”
“What kind of exercise do you do?”
“It varies day by day. Sometimes volleyball, sometimes badminton.”
Woo Jongwan asked as if just remembering.
“Ah, every time we leave after exercising, the 5th floor teacher’s office always has its lights on. That’s you, right Teacher?”
“Ah… yes.”
Seo Juhan smiled awkwardly.
“What do you do staying behind all the time?”
“Just… there’s nothing to do even if I go home.”
Seo Juhan mumbled vaguely. He didn’t want to spread rumors that he was attempting to escape as soon as he came as a new teacher.
“Ah, how pitiful. Really.”
Woo Jongwan expressed sympathy while grinning.
“……”
Seo Juhan tapped the dry dirt with the toe of his sneaker. A small pebble rolled away with a thud.
Seo Juhan, who had been pointlessly tormenting the inanimate object, raised his head. Then he blinked several times as if his eyes were blurry and opened his mouth.
“…The kids playing soccer right now, you said they’re your class, right?”
Juhan didn’t wait for his answer and immediately continued.
“I think there’s a fight over there.”
“What?”
Woo Jongwan sharply turned his head toward where Seo Juhan gestured with his chin.
“Ah, those bastards really! Not a single day goes by peacefully.”
Woo Jongwan ran off, fuming.
Seo Juhan watched from a distance as if watching a fire.
It was a scene of a brawl. Several were entangled together, grabbing each other’s collars and rolling around in the sand. Their rolling to gain the upper hand even looked like fighting dogs injected with stimulants.
The teachers who came running to break it up couldn’t easily enter, overwhelmed by the fierce momentum. Likewise, Woo Jongwan, who had only been shouting from the side, finally intervened in the middle and got knocked down by an innocent punch.
At that miserable sight, Seo Juhan clicked his tongue and resolved never to carelessly interfere whether they killed each other or not.
The fight didn’t calm down quickly, and casualties eventually piled up.
Soon after, an ambulance entered the schoolyard, blaring its siren loudly. The paramedics dressed in orange outfits loaded students onto stretchers and into the ambulance. The ambulance quickly exited through the main gate just as it had entered.
How amazing. Seo Juhan, witnessing the actual dispatch of paramedics for the first time, was impressed in a different sense.
The attention on them was only momentary.
The blockheads whose only thing to boast about was their physical ability were each desperate to show off their excellent athletic skills.
Soon the game continued as if nothing had happened.
Ah, this is exhausting.
Seo Juhan, having finished basketball supervision, returned to the midst of the students. Even though he hadn’t exercised directly, he was already exhausted. He quenched his thirst by gulping down a 500mL water bottle. It seemed today’s energy had already been completely drained.
“Ah, fuck. It stings like hell.”
“Why?”
“No, crazy! I’m scraped and they’re spraying that shit with pain relief spray.”
He was closing the cap of the empty water bottle when he heard profanity mixed with complaints from behind.
Seo Juhan didn’t particularly want to hear it either, but he couldn’t deliberately make his ears deaf.
The situation was this. Instead of the school nurse who had ridden in the ambulance with a student to the emergency room, other staff members occupied the health booth, and it seemed that whatever patient came, all they did was roughly spray pain relief spray. There were endless complaints about that unkind behavior.
However, Seo Juhan didn’t particularly feel any sympathy for them. If they were kids diligently fulfilling their duties as students, maybe, but they were just as arrogant themselves while having mountains of complaints.
[Attention. The classes participating in the soccer finals should prepare. Players, please enter the field right now.]
It was right after Seo Juhan set down the water bottle at his feet. A resounding announcement from the speaker pierced his eardrums.
“Kids, it’s the soccer finals. Get ready.”
Seo Juhan urged them, wanting to send them off quickly.
“Wow shit, we waited so damn long.”
“Those bastards are all dead.”
The kids stood up making loud noises, perhaps to reduce their tension.
The kids who had been like stupid sunflowers even the day before midterms looked very solemn. It was as if they were facing a battle where the nation’s safety was at stake.
If an accident happened, his position would become troublesome and awkward. Therefore, Seo Juhan gently told the thugs.
“Kids, please just don’t get hurt. Safety is the top priority.”
“Yeeess!”
The kids answered surprisingly obediently and vigorously. It was like responding to the caring boss of an organization.
The guys entered the field with firm steps.
Seo Juhan, who had no strength left at all, just sat there. He didn’t care how the game went. His textured brown bangs were stuck to his forehead beaded with sweat.
He leaned back with his palms on the ground, almost sprawled out.
“Now then, we’ll begin broadcasting the soccer finals of Yangseong School’s 7th Sports Festival! For today’s broadcast, we’ve invited the darling of the college prep class, commentator Kim Gichan.”
“Yees! Nice to meet you! I’m Kim Gichan.”
“Today finally! We’ll determine who Yangseong School’s strongest soccer team is. It’s the college prep class versus the physical education class. Just hearing the names makes you wonder if the college prep class can possibly put up a good fight against the physical education class. How do you see today’s game results?”
“As you mentioned, the physical education class is no easy opponent. Especially their excellent cooperative defense, and their overall teamwork is very good.”
Soccer commentary could be heard from somewhere. The guys from the class who weren’t participating in soccer were sitting in the very front, appointing themselves as commentators.
“However, our college prep class also showed a very impactful performance in the preliminaries. Especially against the information class, we achieved the feat of 4 to 0. The players are in great condition and full of confidence.”
“Also, there’s a rumor that the opposing team captain Kim Minseok is injured.”
“That’s right. According to reliable sources, he’s taking painkillers and entering the match because of a calf injury. We can definitely expect a victory.”
“Ah, and doesn’t the college prep class have our Yangseong School’s representative player Go Un playing?”
Among them, Kim Gichan’s voice could be heard the clearest. His unique way of speaking and his fawning matched exquisitely as if doing an impersonation.
Seo Juhan held back the laughter that was about to escape.
“Ahhh! It’s on, the physical education class! They’re showing aggressive play right from the start of the first half.”
“The defensive line is too high up.”
“Now, player Go Un has launched!”
“Ahhh! Good!”
Seo Juhan’s brown eyes moved smoothly following the moving object. A figure charging forward came into his view.
Indeed, it was as the commentators said. Go Un was driving the ball through the enemy at tremendous speed like a cartoon protagonist.
“Ah! The center’s open, right?!”
“It’s open!”
The kid was wielding the game to his liking, using his overwhelming physique as leverage. He even looked like a rugby player at first glance.
The opposing team didn’t dare to stand in his way. Even if they blocked, they just bounced off his accelerating bulk.
“Ah, Go Un is good!”
“Ah, is it opening?!”
“It’s opening!”
“It opened!”
“Ahhhhh!”
Go Un instantly stood in a one-on-one match with the goalkeeper.
“Shoooot!”
It was a fierce kick. The soccer ball expertly curved high over the goalkeeper. Then it bent diagonally and flew like a shot put into the corner of the goal.
“Goooal! It’s a goal!”
The goal net shook violently.
Speed and power, plus technique—everything was on a different level.
“Ah, really! It can’t not be a fantastic goal, player Go Un!”
“He proves his class just 10 minutes into the first half!”
“It’s amazing! I’m speechless!”
It was truly excellent physical ability.
In fact, it wasn’t just soccer. Go Un participated in almost all the events where only a few from the class competed, like basketball, futsal, relay races, and so on.
Seo Juhan suddenly recalled the eternal truth that ‘kids who study well also do well at other things.’
Now he understood. Despite his gentle personality, the reason he could serve as class representative lay there.
With a physique that was intimidating just standing still, plus exceptional athletic ability, even the gangsters wouldn’t find it easy to treat him carelessly. Especially in a world of guys whose brains were filled with muscle, it was the most important capability.
Seo Juhan also couldn’t help but admire the kid once again.
