# Chapter 77
Yoo Wono, who heard my shout, stopped his swinging fist and looked at me. His fist was hovering just a few centimeters away from Kim Junwoo’s waist area.
Kim Junwoo, who flinched heavily at the fist that came without time to avoid it, looked back and forth between Yoo Wono’s face and fist with a pale expression. Soon he exhaled a short sigh of relief, but the glance he shot at me revealed numerous emotions.
He seemed to be feeling something—whether it was concern for me tearing Yoo Wono’s shirt, or questions about what I had just said.
Like Kim Junwoo, there was something strange about Yoo Wono’s gaze as well. A strange light flashed in his glass-like, pitch-black eyes, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
While continuing to stare at me, Yoo Wono lowered his fist and put his hand in his pants pocket. Watching him stuff in the stone he had been clutching all this time while smoothing out the wrinkles made me involuntarily swallow.
He’s been carrying that in his pocket? Is he seriously crazy?
As I stared at him with an incredulous expression, Yoo Wono dropped the corners of his mouth even more and said:
“That’s right.”
It was an answer to my question. It was just a brief word that could be seen as a mere response, but the tone in his voice held a questioning note. It meant, tell me why you asked such a question.
I shook my head slightly to clear my hazy mind. This made my vision spin more, but if I stayed still, it felt like my eyes would droop shut.
After clenching and unclenching my lips, I carefully spoke the words I had organized during that brief moment.
“If you could run the relay race with Moon Seoheon, would you participate?”
“Yes.”
“Then stay after school the day before the sports festival.”
Yoo Wono tilted his head as if asking what I meant.
“There will be a selection for representatives who will participate in the relay race held before lunch at the sports festival. Enter then and win.”
I kept my voice as low as possible so no one else could hear. Kim Junwoo, who was standing next to me, probably heard everything, but it would be fine if I shut him up.
Since Yoo Wono is on the track team, winning the race would be like eating cold rice for him. There aren’t any third-year students who could beat him, and since they pick four people, it should be easy to accomplish.
The relay race, called the flower of the sports festival, is held by grade level, so there was no chance for Yoo Wono and Moon Seoheon to compete together. It was a big match that would get the attention of all students since it was the final event, but it had nothing to do with me. However, the medley relay held as the last event of the morning was different.
Unlike the final relay race held by grade level, it was an event-type competition where first, second, and third-year students competed against each other. The winning grade in the match would not only receive points for their class ranking but would also get their lunch taken care of, making it an event that received even more attention than the final relay.
From what I saw in the anime, that lunch was quite good. It was a catering service from a hotel, offering various high-class dishes and unlimited coffee.
I remembered it because it was a scene I had watched with admiration, but it was also an episode where a major accident occurred, so I couldn’t forget it even if I wanted to.
Moon Seoheon ends up participating as the second-year representative in that race, and he gets injured in that event. It’s because he falls heavily while running, but it wasn’t due to his own mistake—Yoo Wono bore a big responsibility.
It was nonsensical that Yoo Wono, who barely attended school, would know about the sports festival plan. So, he doesn’t receive a recommendation for the relay race and can’t participate, but feeling disappointed, he barges in during the medley race held in the morning.
Yoo Wono discovers that Moon Seoheon is running last and substitutes for a third-year representative student, and when I saw that scene, all I felt was bewilderment.
He wasn’t officially replaced with the third-year representative who was the last runner. Regardless of whether the third-year was waiting at the starting line or not, Yoo Wono, who hadn’t even received the baton, started sprinting the moment Moon Seoheon began running. Afterward, it was literally chaos—the third-year who was in position to start looked bewildered and shocked, and my expression wasn’t much different.
As a result, the race became a mess, and as surprised athletes collided and fell, Moon Seoheon got injured. If that had been the end of it, it might have been manageable, but when the guys who usually disliked Moon Seoheon went so far as to harass him by interfering with the treasure hunt planned for the afternoon, it became a catalyst for the main characters’ anger.
So, if Yoo Wono were to officially run in that race, there wouldn’t be a major accident. Moon Seoheon wouldn’t get hurt, and he would safely complete the sports festival, so it was actually a good opportunity.
“Since you’re in different grades for the final relay, you can decide whether to apply or not… but get selected as the last runner in the medley race.”
“The last runner?”
“Yes.”
When I nodded, Yoo Wono’s eyes took on a strange look. After a moment of staring into his slowly blinking eyes, he grinned.
Suddenly, I felt a hand gripping my chin. Yoo Wono had released my wrist and firmly grasped my chin. It wasn’t a strong force, but as he turned my head this way and that, my upper body swayed weakly.
Ah, I really feel like I’m about to lose consciousness soon. Even without touching it, I could feel my forehead getting hotter and burning up. Cold sweat ran down my cheeks and dripped onto Yoo Wono’s hand. I glanced at him.
Yoo Wono’s gaze, examining my face as if wanting to confirm something, was almost beastlike. Kim Junwoo, who had been supporting my shoulder, grabbed Yoo Wono’s arm in shock.
All those scenes gradually became blurry and rippled like waves.
“Huh? Hey?!”
With Kim Junwoo’s surprised voice as the last thing I heard, my eyes slowly closed. Unable to hold on any longer, my body went limp and started to collapse sideways.
Fortunately, thanks to Kim Junwoo wrapping his arm around my shoulder, I didn’t fall ungracefully to the ground.
Even though I was about to lose consciousness, the noisy commotion around me pierced my ears. While I couldn’t control my body, my reason was still intact. Soon, the murmuring grew louder. It was such an exaggeratedly noisy atmosphere for people talking about someone collapsing that I couldn’t help but laugh, though it was so quiet that it probably wasn’t noticeable.
“Uh… why are they…”
My ears buzzed at Kim Junwoo’s flustered voice. He probably muttered quietly, but since I was so close to him as he supported me like an embrace, it resonated in my head like a sudden loud noise.
“They’re coming.”
At Yoo Wono’s words that followed, my heavy eyelids, which seemed like they would never open, lifted slightly. With bleary eyes, I secured my field of vision and saw an empty space among the students surrounding us to watch.
Like Moses’ miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, five silhouettes were walking along a wide-open path.
Wow, even though my vision was shaking and I couldn’t see properly, I could tell who was approaching quickly. Just like the main characters, the guys walking in a row were emitting a colorful radiance that lit up the distance. Perhaps it was because of those eye-catching hair colors.
Maybe because my face was hot, Yoo Wono’s fingers felt cold as they brushed against my chin and then fell away.
The cool sensation felt rather nice, and I felt a bit disappointed when it left. The fact that I was having such thoughts about Yoo Wono showed that I wasn’t in my right mind.
Now thinking that I really should lie down, I closed my eyes. Seeing Kim Junwoo stepping up to help, I thought they wouldn’t possibly abandon me at this point. Believing they would take me to either the hospital or infirmary afterward, I leaned my body with peace of mind.
With my head ringing, I let out a shallow groan, and sure enough, not long after, I felt my body floating.
* * *
A white light poured over my closed eyelids. It wasn’t bright enough to hurt my eyes, but when the light squeezed through my barely opened eyes, my eyelids trembled.
At that moment, something gently settled between my frowning brows. It applied just a tiny bit of pressure and then began to rub softly. Only then did I realize that “something” was someone’s finger.
Who is it? As I wondered, I remembered that I had fainted and collapsed during lunch time. When I opened my eyes wide and abruptly sat up, my head spun from having been lying down for so long.
“Ugh…”
As I let out a faint groan and held my head, someone’s palm covered it. Feeling the warmth spreading over the back of my hand, I raised my lowered head to look at the person.
My puzzled gaze changed to confusion as soon as it met eyes that were as warm as cappuccino.
“Moon Seoheon?”
Was it because I had just woken up from a deep sleep? My voice came out cracked. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat, and Moon Seoheon pulled his auxiliary chair closer and cupped my cheeks with both hands.
I was startled by the unrestrained contact, not to mention the already close face that was now right in front of me. I stared at Moon Seoheon with wide eyes.
Moon Seoheon slowly looked me up and down as if checking if there was any problem, then withdrew his gaze. Just as I was feeling uncomfortable with his gaze fixed on my face, he slightly lifted my cheeks and tilted his head.
Our eyes were locked at a distance close enough for our noses to touch. The tilted head felt unfamiliar. For a moment, my body froze as if I had forgotten to breathe.
What is this? It’s like he’s about to kiss me!
With my mind going blank, I blinked my eyes, wondering if I was still feverish. But while my body lacked strength, my head was clear. Coming to my senses, I tried to push him away as if my body was on fire.
At the moment I pressed hard on Moon Seoheon’s chest with both hands, he didn’t budge at all and murmured in a low voice:
“What did you say to Sunbae Yoo Wono during lunch time?”
It was a flat tone without any inflection. Yet, my heart sank as if I had heard something I shouldn’t have.
I must have sweated quite a bit while sleeping, as my body was damp. Perhaps because of that, my body, which had felt hot, suddenly felt chilled as if cold water had been poured over me.
