Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Sports Day: Even vs. Odd Showdown
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Do Ha-jun
Kang Da-hye, what're you up to? lol 02:00
Do Ha-jun, why is this guy messaging me?
At 2 a.m., no less.
Has he forgotten what he did to me?
Ignore.
I zipped up the hoodie draped over my gym clothes all the way to the top and looked up at the school gate.
⚙ SCHOOL BANNER ⚙ GoGoGo High School 26th Unity Sports Day I figured a sports day would have national flags lining the field and patriotic calisthenics music blasting from speakers, but it was dead quiet.
The field was completely empty, too.
With the hot weather, parents complained about making the kids suffer, so this year's sports day was being held indoors at the gym.
The usual row of teddy bear cotton candy trucks and fish cake stands I expected out front had been chased off due to complaints, too.
Ah, there's one truck.
A coffee truck sent by Jeong Eun-seong's fans.
Did Jeong Eun-seong film a promo video for his agency's global audition recently? (Not that I looked it up myself—someone posted it in our class girls' group chat.)
A life-sized photo from that shoot was hung on the side of the truck.
'No way this is from those sasaeng fans last time.'
Do sasaengs send coffee trucks? Who knows.
'They've got every type of milk out—low-fat, skim, you name it.'
Impressed by the variety, I headed to the gym.
"Da-hye!"
The PE teacher, whistle around his neck and a weird team cap on his head, spotted me from afar and shot his hand up. Next to him stood the geography teacher sipping canned coffee and the drama club advisor Yi Mong-ryong, dressed casually for once.
'Tall and handsome.'
The teachers were in their early thirties, but smiling, they looked like college students.
I thought of my old college buddies—still twenty-nine like me, but already balding from the crown and looking nothing like their undergrad selves.
"?!"
I gawked at our class's seating in the bleachers.
Park Su-hwan and Jang Ji-won were glued together.
Arms linked, pressed right up against each other... Park Su-hwan was stroking Jang Ji-won's head—someone about his height—like she was the cutest thing ever.
To do it, he'd stretched his torso as far as possible, while she scrunched her shoulders obligingly.
"What... what the hell is that?"
I grabbed Ga-eun, who was walking up just then, and pointed. She made a gagging face.
"They're dating."
"What?!"
I yelped in shock. Ga-eun nodded with a rotten grin.
This world's gone mad.
Completely insane!
Jang Ji-won is the first girl in my twenty-nine years to date a guy who treated her bestie like Serengeti wildlife footage!
Reality's crazier than drama!
Why do writers even bother with novels?
Just watch Jang Ji-won!
I snatched Ga-eun's grape slush and chugged it. As I pounded my chest, the homeroom teacher approached.
"Kids!"
One hand held spicy rice cake skewers, the other a sugar-dusted mozzarella hot dog. Our usually subdued homeroom teacher looked pumped for once as she pointed her hot dog at the corner.
"Go grab a pork cutlet sandwich, chicken tenders, and hot dogs! Seo Jae-kyeom's mom—no, an anonymous parent—sprung for it!"
"You already spilled it, Teacher."
"Oops!"
"I'll keep it secret for you."
"Thanks! But what's that?!"
The teacher, mid-chew on her cheese stretch, spotted Jang Ji-won practically in Park Su-hwan's lap and went wide-eyed.
"How does that kind of excessive skinship pass review?!"
"I'll tell Seo Jae-kyeom to break them up."
I pointed at Jang Ji-won and Park Su-hwan as our eyes met Seo Jae-kyeom's, then headed to the bleachers.
Do Ha-jun, sitting alone in the corner, gave a little wave when he saw me.
I ignored him and scanned around.
Let's see. Do-yeon over there getting her hair braided by Se-in. Su-a stretching next to them. Yeon-hee gaping at Jang Ji-won.
Jeong Eun-seong... dozing off way over there.
For the record, Jeong Eun-seong wasn't competing in any events today. With his audition video shoot and all his other stuff, he wasn't even sure he'd make it to school, so that was the plan.
Kids from other classes craned their necks to sneak peeks at Jeong Eun-seong and Seo Jae-kyeom, sitting out in the open.
"Why aren't the classes seated 1st, 2nd, 3rd in order? They're all split up."
Class 4 was next to ours (Class 2). I spotted 1 and 3 across the way.
Did they divide the teams? I tilted my head.
"They're doing odd-numbered classes vs. even-numbered classes."
Ji-su snuck up behind me and hooked her arm in mine.
"Odd classes are Yeon Team, evens are Go Team."
"...Why those names?"
"Our school's GoGoGo High, and the school flower is the lotus?"
"Oh..."
They really slapped those together.
"So this is like the Yeon-Gu rivalry."
"Go-Yeon match."
"Yeon-Gu."
"Go-Yeon."
"Yeon-Gu."
"Fine. Yeon-Gu it is. Where Yeon Team gets schooled by Go Team."
"...Then Go-Yeon?"
"Where Go Team chalks up a lotus win."
"What?"
Ji-su laughed in disbelief, then gave me a knowing once-over.
"You think you can win, huh?"
"Obviously."
I answered confidently, and she burst into giggles. Her cheeks dimpled like always, angelic as ever.
"Yeah. Give it your all then."
The grand prize is great, too. I figured you'd like it! Ji-su headed off to Yeon Team's bleachers.
'Grand prize.'
They said culture gift certificates.
Sweet. Even if I don't snag MVP or popularity award, maybe relay first place... or heck, even cheering award.
Eyes gleaming, I rounded up Go Team's class presidents and vice presidents.
Seo Jae-kyeom, spotting my gesture, stopped bullying Park Su-hwan, grabbed the flag, and walked over.
He only had the flag, but cheers erupted from the first-years' side.
"What's that?"
"They told me to handle the flag."
"Makes sense..."
Seo Jae-kyeom holding the flag alone made for a great visual. Everyone else seemed to agree—the other class reps were smirking.
"No beauty contest for Flag Bear?"
"We already won."
"Focus, dude. Da-hye's talking."
Seo Jae-kyeom propped the massive two-meter flag upright, leaned against the pole, and nodded at me.
Thanks.
"Any cheers you guys know?"
Most of the cheer squad ended up on Yeon Team, of all things.
"I got the wave."
"Card section."
"Cheer songs? Da-hye, you know any?"
"Nope..."
I shook my head awkwardly—I didn't know a single one. Then the Class 4 president piped up.
"Apartment?"
"Ah, I know that song!"
I shot my hand up confidently. Others chimed in, "Me too!"
"Starlight flows~ across the bridge~"
"Da-hye~ loves~ random games! Ah, apartment, apartment..."
"...?"
"...?"
"Da-hye, that's... a drinking game..."
"Sorry..."
Guess I was ahead of my time...
As I cringed, Seo Jae-kyeom snickered beside me.
"Anything else?"
"Ding ding ding, the phone's ringing...?"
"Ooh!"
I know that one! I clapped enthusiastically. Behind us, Su-a was stretching her neck for the girls' 50m dash. She caught my eye and winked.
"Watch this. Unnie's crazy fast."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And ten minutes later.
⚔ SCOREBOARD ⚔ Go: 10 Yeon: 0 Thirty minutes later.
⚔ SCOREBOARD ⚔ Yeon: 55 Go: 50 One hour later.
⚔ SCOREBOARD ⚔ Yeon: 100 Go: 50 Two hours later.
⚔ SCOREBOARD ⚔ Yeon: 350 Go: 110 Han Ji-su
We can win this, right?>< 12:27
...Damn it.
The scoreboard flipping from Go-Yeon to Yeon-Go won't leave my head.
Tug-of-war. Lost.
Balloon pop relay. Lost.
Balloon burst? Lost.
Group jump rope? Lost, of course.
And countless other events I can't even remember—we lost them all!
Our class lost, Class 4 lost, 6 lost, 8 lost... we got crushed across the board.
That 100 was from Su-a and Seo Jae-kyeom sweeping the 50m dash—50 points each. The other 10 was cheering points.
At first, I thought, whatever, win or lose a dumb sports day, just have fun.
'But once you're in it, it's surprisingly immersive.'
And I need that grand prize—culture gift certificates! Gotta buy workbooks!
Unlike you all who can just use allowance without 'em, I need them desperately!
Glancing over, even the homeroom teachers were locked in, faces flushed red.
I saw Se-in collapse flat from cheering her throat raw.
"Hahaha... Se-in's way too into it..."
Me too...
Listen, I gotta vent. Something I wanna rat out. Curse with me.
How dirty did those Yeon Team jerks play earlier!