Chapter 58
The sports festival events were as predictable as ever: relay races, mission relays, three-legged races—mundane but perfect for stirring up the competitive spirit in teenagers. Unlike my original plan to slip away after the tug-of-war, I somehow ended up signed up for the three-legged race.
“They usually mix guys and girls for this kind of thing.”
“So?”
“You two really can’t be separated, huh?”
Go Hankyul teased. I sighed as I saw my name and Yu Hyunjae’s written next to three-legged race on the sign-up sheet. No one in our class clings to each other like you two, the class president added, joining in.
“Do we have to do this?”
“Hyunjae said he would.”
“What?”
Yu Hyunjae, who had been pretending to read his textbook to avoid my glare, was clearly the one who signed us up. I swallowed the lecture rising in my throat and pressed my fingers to my forehead.
“……Fine. Just once, right?”
“Yep. It’s a single-elimination round by grade.”
“You’re the only all-male pair, by the way.”
“So what?” I repeated.
Go Hankyul cackled before scrambling back to his seat at the sound of the bell. Only after he left did I realize how naturally I’d bantered with him—and how strange that felt. The class president, sitting in front of me, leaned in to emphasize his point.
“You two have to practice. You can’t just rely on raw talent.”
“Do we have to win? I don’t get it.”
“The prize money’s huge. And it’s a matter of pride against Class 9.”
“Isn’t Lee Joohyun in Class 9?”
“Yeah, and you know he’s a monster.”
“Wait, they say he can lift three girls with pure strength—no mana.”
“How would you even know that? Did he actually do it?”
“Apparently.”
“That’s weird. Why would he do something like that?”
“Does it matter?”
I kept my bored expression even as the teacher entered through the front door. The class president, annoyed by my indifference, kept nagging at me until the teacher finally scolded him.
***
“What’s this?”
Yu Hyunjae stood in front of me, holding a mysterious white rope. I’d been about to head straight home, but his massive frame blocking the doorway made me pause.
“We need to practice, Chanhee.”
“You too?”
“If we’re doing it, we should do it properly.”
“Shouldn’t we let the regular students have their moment?”
“No one cares about the three-legged race anyway.”
“Then we definitely don’t need to practice.”
“If we don’t place in the top two for any event, we have to pay a fine.”
“……What kind of rule is that?”
I shot a disbelieving look at the class president, who was packing up his bag with a smug grin.
“Chanhee, you weren’t actually thinking of skipping, were you?”
Before I could answer, Yu Hyunjae jumped in.
“We’re going to practice now.”
“Good. You should. Everyone else is too.”
The class president crossed his arms on one side, Yu Hyunjae on the other, and they both tugged me toward the schoolyard. Dragged along against my will, I ended up on the field, where Yu Hyunjae handed me the rope.
“Tie up. Stick your foot out.”
“……Wait—”
Yu Hyunjae crouched down and began binding my left leg to his right. Half-resigned, I matched my steps to his eager pace.
“Chanhee, put your hand on my waist.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected request, I froze. Yu Hyunjae, unfazed, grabbed my arm and placed it on his waist. Hey, you two look like a real couple! The teasing remarks made me flip them off. Yu Hyunjae whispered to me:
“They say we look good together.”
“They’re obviously messing with us.”
“So?”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Don’t stress over it.”
Yu Hyunjae smirked and pointed at our feet, signaling me to match his rhythm. Reluctantly, I moved in sync with him. What I’d assumed would be a childish practice session turned out to be oddly competitive. As we discussed pacing and footwork, someone from behind—practicing jokgu—bumped into me. My body lurched forward, and though Yu Hyunjae grabbed my waist, my momentum was already off-balance. We tumbled to the ground in a tangle, and the jokgu players stared blankly at us.
“You okay?”
The guy who’d crashed into me didn’t even apologize—just waved a hand, eyes still glued to the ball. It didn’t hurt enough to annoy me, so I braced my hands on the ground to push myself up. Before I could, Yu Hyunjae tensed his body, slid his hands under my arms, and hoisted me up in one swift motion. For a second, I felt like a sack of potatoes. Even if I was over 170 cm tall, lifting me like an empty box was ridiculous.
“……You’re hurt.”
“Huh?”
Only then did I look down and see the blood on my gym pants.
“It’s nothing. Let’s just keep going.”
“Let’s go to the infirmary.”
“Why? It’s just a scratch.”
“We’re going.”
“I said I don’t need to!”
Yu Hyunjae suddenly started moving, dragging me along with our legs still tied. I had no choice but to be hauled along like deadweight. The humiliation was unbearable. I knew he was bigger than me, but I hadn’t expected this much strength.
“Hey! Hey!”
“Don’t strain yourself, Chanhee. You’ll get hurt worse.”
“Just untie it! We can go after!”
“You won’t go if I untie it.”
Yu Hyunjae fixed me with an unnecessarily sharp gaze. After several attempts to reason with him, I finally convinced him to untie the rope—but by then, we were already far from the field. He kept eyeing me suspiciously. The absurdity of it all suddenly struck me, and I burst out laughing. My laughter seemed to confuse him even more.
“Your face is hilarious.”
“That funny?”
“Yeah. Hilarious.”
“……Do I look ugly?”
“Huh?”
I scoffed in disbelief.
“If you’re ugly, then what the hell am I? A squashed rice cake?”
“……Am I good-looking?”
“Asking obvious questions gets you obvious silence.”
Yu Hyunjae finally grinned again.
“Good.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“It’s a relief that you think I’m good-looking, Chanhee.”
The sudden compliment caught me off guard, and I lost track of what I’d been about to say.
“……I mean, it’s not like only I think that… right?”
“Do you?”
Yu Hyunjae scratched the back of his head, looking adorably boyish. I thought how young he still seemed in moments like this. He stared at me for a second before dropping his next words casually:
“You’re good-looking too.”
“Huh?”
“You’re cute, Chanhee.”
“……What the hell are you even saying.”
The whole conversation about our looks felt stupid, so I stormed ahead of him. Yu Hyunjae trotted after me, catching up in no time.
“Chanhee, your face is red.”
“Shut up.”
“Embarrassed?”
“I said shut up.”
Yu Hyunjae laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder. The moment we stepped into the school building, we ran into the nurse just as she was leaving. After a lecture and some first aid for my knee, we were left alone in the empty first-floor hallway.
“Should we go practice again?”
“Let’s just go home. You’re hurt too.”
“People will think you broke a leg or something.”
I grumbled, and Yu Hyunjae chuckled, giving my back a light push. Hurry up and change. If we left in our gym clothes, we’d get demerits, so we had to go back to the classroom. The red glow of sunset filled the room, casting a strangely intimate atmosphere. Just as I was about to unbutton my shirt, a strange thought struck me.
Wait… we’re alone. And we’re changing clothes?
I hadn’t thought twice about it when we changed with the others earlier, but now, heat rushed to my face. A glance at Yu Hyunjae showed him nonchalantly unbuttoning his shirt, oblivious. The fact that only I was overthinking this made it even more embarrassing. I forced myself to act natural as I changed my top, but when I went to pull down my pants, Yu Hyunjae suddenly called out in a rush:
“Chanhee!”
“What.”
“Uh… that…”
“What.”
“……Can we, uh… turn around for the pants?”
I stared at him, stunned, as his ears turned bright red. All I managed in response was a curt “Yeah,” before turning away. Only after I’d changed into my uniform and slung my bag over my shoulder could I finally face him again. His face wasn’t so much red as bathed in the glow of the sunset. Thankful for the early winter dusk, I gestured for him to follow.
“Let’s go.”
Just as I reached for the back door of the classroom, Yu Hyunjae hesitated, then called my name:
“Chanhee.”
“Hm?”
Half-turning without thinking, I found him suddenly standing right in front of me.
