# Chapter 111
Woah. A loud cheer echoed all around. Simultaneously, the sharp sound of a whistle pierced through the disappointed sighs of the students, signaling the end of the game.
“Wow, I’m dying here.”
I wiped away the beads of sweat and tried to calm my rapid breathing. I went back to the stands and grabbed a water bottle, gulping it down.
The water, which had mostly melted, ran out after about three swallows. Feeling unsatisfied, I plopped down in my seat, and my overworked legs trembled as if trying to express their own feelings.
Somehow I ended up jumping in first for the group rope jumping, which meant I had to endure longer than others.
Plus, the rope that accidentally hit me in the face had left a lingering pain. I made a few mistakes, but I was fortunate that it was less embarrassing than the students who got caught in the rope after joining midway.
Anyway, our chaotically executed group rope jumping ended with our class ranking second to last.
“Is your face okay?”
Moon Seoheon, who sat down heavily beside me, reached out and held my face. My cheeks were squished between his palms.
When my hot face touched Moon Seoheon’s palms, a cool sensation spread. I stayed still, enjoying the refreshing feeling, as Moon Seoheon carefully turned my face to examine it.
“You got hit pretty hard.”
“Ah. It was really painful, but I’m fine now.”
The rope had made a tremendous noise when it struck my face. Recalling how I’d clutched my face in pain, I smiled awkwardly, but Moon Seoheon’s expression remained completely serious.
With our faces so close, things I hadn’t noticed before came into view. Like the restrained emotions on his pale face and distinct features, or the sight of sweat trickling down from his forehead.
Our rapid breaths from the intense activity secretly brushed against each other’s faces. Usually, the sweat smell from guys tends to be an offensive stench that makes you wrinkle your nose, but Moon Seoheon’s scent had just intensified without becoming unpleasant.
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
When the coolness of his hands holding my face had become lukewarm, I grabbed his arms and removed them.
I stared ahead, fluttering my shirt as if to drive away the heat. Worried that Moon Seoheon might find my sweat smell offensive, my shirt-flapping gestures were cautious.
“Are you in pain somewhere?”
“What?”
At this unexpected question, I stopped flapping my shirt and stared at Moon Seoheon with wide eyes. In response to my puzzled gaze, Moon Seoheon brushed his lips.
“Somehow… your reaction seemed different.”
“…What are you talking about?”
What was so strange about my reaction? Was it that weird that I had just stayed still and let Moon Seoheon examine me for injuries? Or was there another reason? I frowned, still confused.
“Just… you were so docile.”
The answer came out as I expected. But his subtly raised eyebrow suggested there was more to it than just that.
Moon Seoheon fluttered his eyelashes, closed and opened his eyes, then soon relaxed his expression and backed away. His attitude suggested that whatever had bothered him was now inconsequential.
I didn’t ask further and pressed the water bottle against my face. It was an action taken in hopes that the ice inside would melt a little from the heat.
After some time, the condensation on the bottle wet my skin and trickled down. Just then, our class president went forward and shouted that it was time for our class to prepare for tug-of-war.
I let out a groan as I stood up on legs that hadn’t yet recovered their strength, and I heard a small laugh from beside me. Whether Moon Seoheon laughed or not, I went down and did some light stretching.
“Can you use your right wrist now? Don’t overdo it.”
“Yeah, a little? Don’t worry, I won’t overdo it.”
When he pointed at my right wrist with an ominous tone, I laughed lightly and responded. Though it still ached slightly when I applied force, I unnecessarily rotated my fully healed wrist.
It had been several days since I took off the bandage, but perhaps because it had been wrapped for so long, it felt strangely empty.
As I walked following my classmates, first-year students who had just finished their tug-of-war were leaving. Kim Yuna must have been among them, as I spotted her at a distance, raising both arms in a fighting gesture when she saw me.
I nodded my head as if to say “you did well too,” when I bumped into someone behind me. The collision was so strong that my body lurched forward. My left knee gave way, and thanks to my reflexes, I managed to put my hands on the ground to avoid falling completely.
When I turned around to look after calming my startled heart, I saw an empty space with no one there. Looking around, there was no one I could suspect, so I frowned. Then, as nearby students began to notice me on the ground, I quickly got up and dusted the sand off my hands.
“Oh! Taeho, are you okay?”
Ko Kyungsu, who had been standing in front, rushed over when he saw me. I grabbed his hand to stop him as he tried to dust the sand off my pants.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it myself.”
“Okay.”
Ko Kyungsu rubbed the back of his neck as he withdrew his outstretched hand. It might have been an accident, but the lingering uneasiness of being hit by someone made me slap my pants forcefully as if to shake it off.
After confirming my pants were clean, I lightly tapped Ko Kyungsu’s forearm with my fist.
“Let’s get in position.”
At my words, he looked up startled, then nodded with a small smile. Taking our positions to the right of the long rope laid across the ground, Ko Kyungsu, who stood on the left, squatted down with a solemn expression.
Unlike me, who was positioned a bit behind the middle, Moon Seoheon stood third from the front. Since the front positions were mostly filled with students who were big or strongest, those in the middle and back were just average in comparison.
Following other students who were using the trick of rubbing sand on the rope, I also coated my palms with sand. Soon the teacher approached, bringing the whistle to his lips, and I took a ready position and looked at the opposing team.
Unexpectedly, the opposing team was Class 3, where Ye Abin and Hong Hachan were. Honestly, I had been thinking I didn’t care whether we won or lost and was just trying to be careful not to get hurt, but now that I knew who we were up against, my competitive spirit was rising.
I gripped the rope with my left hand with as much determination as Ko Kyungsu. When the whistle blew, I hurriedly stood up and pulled with all my might.
“Uaaahh!”
Thunderous shouts came from the students striving to win. Both our team and the opposing team were yelling so loudly that my ears were ringing.
For a moment, I unconsciously put force on my right wrist, and a slight pain flared up. Realizing my mistake, I eased off and pulled with only my left hand, and our evenly matched struggle gradually shifted in our favor.
As I felt us slowly being pushed back, I suddenly sat down hard on my bottom. I closed my eyes tightly from the impact, and when I opened them, all the students around me seemed to have fallen down.
Thinking we might have lost, I quickly raised my head, only to see Moon Seoheon and the other students at the front still standing. Soon the teacher, who was serving as referee, blew the whistle and extended one arm toward our class. It meant we had won.
“Ohhhhh!”
A different kind of joyful shout echoed loudly. I gently pushed away the student who had fallen and was using my body as a cushion. The student, who had been grimacing from the shock of falling, regained his senses and abruptly raised his upper body.
As he turned to look at me with an apologetic expression, I waved my hand and said it was fine. After all, everyone around us had fallen like dominoes, and no one was seriously hurt, so my gesture meant “get up now.”
The student, scratching his head with an embarrassed face, pressed on his legs to get up. He could have just stood up like that, but Moon Seoheon, who had somehow approached us, grabbed the student’s t-shirt and pulled him up.
The student, who rose quickly like a radish being pulled from a field, turned around with a surprised face. When Moon Seoheon gave him a glance with his expressionless face, the student closed his gaping mouth. Soon after releasing the t-shirt, Moon Seoheon pushed the student aside and extended his hand.
“Ah, thanks.”
Stopping my dazed staring at the two, I grabbed his outstretched hand. As I got up and stomped my feet, a light sand wind rose. With dust enveloping my entire body, I became even messier than when I had just fallen.
As I was dusting off my clothes to clean up, Moon Seoheon was quicker again. His hands slapping around my thighs were harsh. While thinking absurdly “are you my mother?”, I felt a stinging gaze and looked up.
The student whom Moon Seoheon had pushed aside was staring at us with a strange look from a distance. When our eyes met, feeling uncomfortable, I grabbed Moon Seoheon’s shoulder and pushed him away.
“Hey, hey. Stop that and move.”
When I said this, Moon Seoheon stepped back and couldn’t hold back a leaking smile. He seemed pleased despite my scolding, making me feel bemused, and the student next to us seemed to feel the same way.
* * *
While watching the first-years’ cavalry battle, which was reaching its climax with three teams already fallen, it was almost our turn as second-years. Just as I was about to get up, Moon Seoheon, who had returned from the bathroom, began looking around.
“What are you looking for?”
“Yeah. Water.”
“Water? Where did you put it?”
“I put it here.”
Moon Seoheon pointed to a corner of where we had been sitting and tapped the concrete floor lightly while raising his eyebrows. Seeing his puzzled expression, I got up and thoroughly scanned my surroundings too.
I recalled the half-full bottle that had been there before Moon Seoheon left his seat. I couldn’t remember exactly where he had put it, but since it didn’t have legs, it should be nearby.
As I looked around, I felt like I had kicked something, so I looked down and saw a water bottle rolling away.
“Hey, isn’t that it?”
It seemed to have fallen on the ground, and judging by the amount of water left, it looked like Moon Seoheon’s bottle. At my words, Moon Seoheon quickly walked over and picked up the bottle that had rolled far away. It had some dust on it, but the cap was tightly closed, so it seemed fine.
Still, since my foot had kicked it, I thought he might feel uncomfortable drinking it, so I offered him mine.
“Drink this instead.”
Moon Seoheon stared at the water I offered for a moment, as if considering, then shook his head as if it was fine. Though he had just come from the bathroom, he seemed to want to drink again, and he opened the cap and was about to put it to his lips.
His eyebrows wrinkled at the faint fishy smell that wafted up.
