To Third-Years, the Sports Festival Means One Thing
As Seoha had reported after going straight to the student council, the announcement came just a few days later — a detailed schedule of the sports festival and its events, distributed to every student in the school.
It was earlier notice than last year's. Seoha had handed over her position so cleanly that the new student council had managed to settle in relatively quickly, it seemed. With midterms at the end of April, the early-May holiday stretch where Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday happened to fall together, and a sports festival scheduled even earlier than last year's, they had apparently decided to start preparations well in advance to account for all of it.
The sports festival — the last one of their high school years, held only once a year. Remembering how special it was, Yeoncheong naturally expected the same atmosphere as last time...
Yet when the class president and vice president asked if anyone had events they wanted to enter, silence was all that came back.
"Hmm... this is nothing like second year."
She murmured it without meaning to, faced with a listless air that was the exact opposite of what she'd imagined.
"Can't be helped. Midterms aren't even over yet — talking about the sports festival is a bit of a stretch."
Hasol, muttering with her body half-turned away, had a point too. The rumor going around was that the gap between last year's sports festival and the school trip had been too short, so this year they'd pulled the earlier events forward a bit. And then Buddha's Birthday — counted by the lunar calendar, of all things — had to land in May and create another holiday cluster. With athlete selection, preliminaries, and all the logistics of running things smoothly, the result of rushing the preparations was the situation right in front of them.
Considering this was the new student council's first major event falling apart before it even started, Yeoncheong couldn't help but feel for her junior Chaerin.
With the teacher briefly out of the room, the classroom was a wall of idle chatter. In front of the class president and vice president, who stood sighing over what on earth they were supposed to do about this, Nayun sidled over and settled casually onto Yeoncheong's lap.
"So why don't you step up and lead them, then?"
She meant that Yeoncheong, who had thrown herself wholeheartedly into last year's festival for the sheer fun of it, should take on the same role again. But Yeoncheong recoiled, insisting that putting herself forward like that simply wasn't in her nature.
And in truth, replaying her memories of last year's sports festival and the Hwaryeong Festival, there had never once been a time she'd volunteered first. It was only because she gave her absolute best to whatever role she was handed that the whole school ended up watching her.
Nayun, who knew perfectly well that Yeoncheong was the type who only went wild once the stage was set, nodded and conceded it was a low blow even to suggest.
"Honestly, it's such a shame Suyeon's in a different class."
You only really get to know someone's true nature after spending enough time with them. Hasol, whom Yeoncheong had once mistaken for the same kind of sun, turned out to be closer to the gentle rays of spring, while Suyeon was the blazing, energy-packed sun of high summer.
Hasol swept her gaze across the bustling classroom and shook her head slowly.
"Even for Suyeon, I think this mood would be a bit much to handle."
"You think? The midterms being right around the corner is a pretty big factor."
"A bit? It's a colossal factor."
When friends gather together, noise is simply inevitable — and so Yeoncheong and her two friends soon became just another knot of gossip ringing through the classroom.
Their private chattering swelled into a general hum, and the classroom, which had turned into a full-blown market street, was finally brought to order by Teacher Jisu's shout as she returned.
"You kids, seriously! Everybody quiet down!"
She'd stepped out for just a moment, trusting they'd sort the roster out among themselves like last year — and come back to a classroom drowning in chatter, with a class president and vice president whispering about whether they'd have to just fill in the list haphazardly.
"Haah... guys. Are you children? Do I really have to tell you everything one by one?"
For a moment, Teacher Jisu found herself missing Suyeon — who was currently in the classroom next door.
Lunchtime. When Yeoncheong and her friends recounted the morning's events, Suyeon made no effort to hide the laughter leaking out of her.
"You only know how precious something is once it's gone, huh. She must be missing me, always complaining about how noisy I am."
Watching her like this, Yeoncheong wondered if that particular wish might actually come true someday. She swallowed the thought silently, and Seoha asked the group,
"So. Your class hasn't decided on a single event?"
"And yours already have everything picked out?"
It came out with the unmistakable implication that they had — and Seoha nodded lightly, while Suyeon tensed her shoulders as if to say she'd personally done the heavy lifting.
"Rather than agonizing over it forever, it's better to decide fast and focus on studying. Right?"
Solid logic, through and through. But as Yeoncheong's class made painfully obvious, knowing something and actually being able to do it were two entirely different things. Seoha added that it would have been impossible without Suyeon's drive and initiative.
Somehow, the whole conversation had turned into one big round of hype for Suyeon. Leaving behind the friend who smirked in the most insufferable way possible, the girls carried on with what they'd been saying.
"Anyway — the point is, we might be running a little late after school today. That's the heads-up."
"Apparently we'd never settle anything if it were just us, so they're not letting us leave until every event roster is filled."
Had they somehow seen it coming? A sigh escaped all three of them at once. Judging by the lukewarm atmosphere from that morning, there was no way it was going to end quickly.
Time flowed on, and the appointed hour arrived. Teacher Jisu wrapped up the final period by relaying the announcements, and — unlike her usual habit of leaving right away — she grabbed a chair that someone had abandoned at random, planted it in the corner of the classroom, and took a seat.
"Guys, I know midterms are right around the corner. But let's get this decided first, okay?"
At the teacher's nod, the class president and vice president stepped forward and began taking volunteers. Perhaps because of the warning that no one was leaving until everything was filled, names started appearing one by one on the previously blank entry list.
Yeoncheong and her two friends, who had of course come prepared, raised their hands without delay. Yeoncheong signed up for the three-legged race and the obstacle race; Nayun took the tug-of-war and the class relay; Hasol chose the tug-of-war as well.
Just as it seemed things were finally winding down, Teacher Jisu slowly rose from her chair.
"All filled in now?"
"No, ma'am. We're still short a few for the tug-of-war and volleyball."
But gaps still riddled the list here and there. Every sports festival has its unpopular events, and the third years — with far fewer entries than the other grades — were no exception. Volleyball in particular was dreaded by everyone, since not a single member of that club happened to be in their class.
Taking in the situation, the teacher studied the roster and the students' faces carefully, then licked her lips.
"Hasol, Nayun — if you can manage volleyball, please take it. Yeoncheong, you can do the tug-of-war too, right? And also..."
"Excuse me? Teacher, hold on!"
They'd been told to wait as long as it took, but apparently waiting indefinitely wasn't on the table when there was work to be done. Yet sensing that ending things half-finished would only drag the process out further, she turned instead to Yeoncheong and the students she was closest with, pleading for entries.
Yeoncheong wondered why she was going this far — until she heard the reason.
"Guys, could you just do it once for me? I really don't want to be micromanaging this kind of thing on top of writing exam questions."
Teacher Jisu was just as swamped by midterms as any of them. And who could refuse such a heartfelt plea from a working professional?
And so, with everyone's consent, Teacher Jisu gathered up the completed roster and licked her lips one last time.
"This roster is final, alright? If anyone really wants to change, find a substitute and come see me later. I'm off!"
Having accomplished her mission, the teacher departed with a beaming smile. Just as Yeoncheong and the rest of the class were about to file out of the classroom, the class president slammed a hand on the lectern and seized everyone's attention.
"Guys. What are we doing about our class t-shirt? Forget everything else — this we have to settle properly. We're all here anyway, so let's decide right now."
"Oh, right."
"That's the important part."
The students who had been slumped over in despair just moments ago were nowhere to be found; as if this were the actual main event of the third-year sports festival, the class perked back up and returned to their seats. Yeoncheong too, reading the room, sat back down — and before long, Class 3-1 was buzzing with the class t-shirt selection meeting.
Wh-what is this... are these really the same kids from before?
Which design was better, which one was prettier — it was a conversation she had absolutely no way of breaking into, so all she could do was rest her chin on her hands and wait out the heated debate.
After school, in the club room. Seoha poked at the soul-drained Yeoncheong's cheek, one poke at a time, purely for her own amusement.
"Haha!"
Suyeon, having heard secondhand why she was in that state, pounded the desk and roared with laughter.
"Yeoncheong, you seriously didn't know? For third years, the class t-shirt matters way more than the actual festival."
"No — how could...!"
Granted, she'd seen plenty of eccentric class t-shirts last year, including Seoyun-sunbae's ensemble of a Hawaiian shirt and matching sunglasses, along with the rest of the third-years' creations. But how could that possibly be the main event? The only thing different was the number pinned in front of their grade.
For Yeoncheong, who at every sports festival had fought tooth and nail in the most literal sense, this was simply incomprehensible.
Meanwhile — perhaps envious of Seoha's antics — Suyeon poked at Yeoncheong's other, still-untouched cheek and asked,
"So? What's your class t-shirt, that it drained your soul like that?"
"...Not telling."
Between the dazed fog she'd been in since arriving at the club room and her reaction now, one thing was obvious: the uniform they'd chosen did not sit well with her at all. What on earth could this garment be, that she was this reluctant to describe it? The curiosity was irresistible.
Seizing the rhythm of the moment, Suyeon caught hold of her friend's cheek as she tried to pull away.
"Even if you won't tell us, there are plenty of people we could ask. So you might as well tell us nicely."
And she was right. Between Hasol and Nayun in the same room, and Siyeon and Seobin besides, there were more than enough sources to interrogate.
But Yeoncheong must have truly despised talking about it — because even after they pointed out there was no point keeping it a secret, she simply shook her head side to side and exercised her right to remain silent.
"Fine, don't tell us. I won't tell you mine either, then."
Apparently, that much she absolutely had to correct.
Yeoncheong pushed away Suyeon and Seoha, who were tugging at her cheeks, and licked her lips.
"I'm not even curious about your class t-shirt, for the record."
"Did I say it was the t-shirt I'm hiding?"
Suyeon's mouth curled up at the corners — she'd been caught. And in that instant, Yeoncheong remembered how this friend, in her capacity as self-appointed "club president," had once cooked up some absurd activity out of nowhere, and shot to her feet.
"Hey! You're scheming something weird again, aren't you?"
"'Something weird'? That's harsh. Do you have any idea how hard I'm negotiating right now?"
Now the tables had completely turned — it was Yeoncheong clinging and wheedling, demanding that Suyeon reveal what she'd been keeping hidden. Whatever Yeoncheong was hiding about her t-shirt could be found out by asking anyone, but whatever Suyeon was hiding could only be heard from Suyeon's own mouth.
"Ugh, please just tell me! At the very least I need time to brace myself!"
It was a request that bordered on begging. But Suyeon only beamed brightly and replied,
"No need to worry! It's good news for every single one of you!"