Gold Taeyang Revels in the Festival
The spring tournament awards ceremony was over, but the aftershocks of the victory were far from done.
It wasn't quite the frenzy from when they'd crushed Hancheong High to clinch their spot in the Sejong Cup, but articles about Munhyeok High's spring championship win were still popping up everywhere.
Back at school, we got our awards too. The chairman gathered the entire baseball team on stage for a little ceremony of his own.
"Munhyeok High's baseball team has achieved something monumental in our inaugural year—winning the spring tournament and advancing to the Sejong Cup. For this, I present this award to Geum Seong-muk and the entire team. Captain Geum Seong-muk will accept it on behalf of everyone."
Stepping forward as the rep, I took the plaque from the chairman. We shook hands, right hands extended.
"Congratulations, Seong-muk."
"Thank you, sir."
The chairman beamed, his face lit up.
With the baseball team's skyrocketing popularity lately, sponsors and interview requests were flooding in. He must've been having the time of his life.
Gotta drop by soon and squeeze some cash out of him.
We had hellish training coming up, and it was gonna cost a fortune. Time to hit the chairman up.
"Wh-what? Why do I feel a chill..."
I left the trembling chairman behind and stepped off the stage. Wandering the school that day, I finally pieced it together.
"Holy shit, it's the festival today?"
I'd been completely clueless.
No wonder everything felt extra chaotic.
I asked Ryu Ji, who was in my class.
"You knew it was festival day?"
"Hell no! I'm way less tuned into school stuff than you are, Seong-muk."
"That's not something to brag about, dude."
Anyway, suddenly dumped into a full-blown school festival.
Never really done this before, so it felt kinda awkward.
I scratched my head and asked Ryu Ji,
"So what're you gonna do?"
"Heard the martial arts club kids are running a sparring booth. Thinking of going break some boards or whatever."
"...Don't you feel bad for those martial arts club guys?"
"True martial artists thrive on getting pummeled by stronger foes. It's essential."
"Damn."
Coming from a yakuza kid's mouth, no less.
The martial arts club was in for some serious wailing today.
I've clashed fists with him myself—he's seriously strong.
Anyway, we split off to do our own things.
Festival or not, sitting in the classroom felt lame, so I headed outside.
Might as well wander solo for a bit.
Strolling the hallway, I bumped into someone familiar right away.
"What're you doing here, Geum Seong-muk?"
Choi Adam, short as hell with that signature rooster crest hair, hands jammed in his pockets, pacing the corridor.
"Where's Shin Hye-ji? You're solo?"
"Wh-what? You think I'm glued to her 24/7...?!"
The guy panicked out of nowhere.
Looked like he was in the same boat as me, so I stuck out my hand.
"Perfect. Let's check stuff out together then."
"...Tch, fine. No choice."
He accepted with an awkward grin.
As Choi Adam and I walked the halls, he suddenly tossed out a question like it'd just hit him.
"Hey, speaking of—where's your girl?"
"My girl? Who?"
"Who else? Olivia, duh. She's packing lunches for you and shit. Where'd you leave her?"
"Couldn't make it today. Some shoot."
"Ah..."
I'd texted her right after leaving the chairman's office, but she said circumstances kept her from school.
I'd love to stroll the festival with a cutie, but what can you do when work calls.
Noah's swamped with her class event too.
Something about a tea house run by the dance club. She said they'd show me something special if I dropped by—better swing through later.
"Makes sense. I thought maybe Olivia dumped your ass."
"Dumped? We're not even like that."
"Hmph, something's definitely up..."
He eyed me suspiciously.
I slipped past his gaze and kept walking.
"Oh, it's Geum Seong-muk sunbae...!!"
"Come check it out, just once!"
Every classroom we passed, barkers latched on.
After the tournament, everyone at school knew me—no escaping the attention.
Hard to say no outright, so we'd peek in briefly before moving on. Then, somewhere, the sound of wooden clackers drifted over.
Tok, tok, tok, tok—
"What's that...?"
"Ah, that's Seok Un-gang sunbae's 'One-Day Buddhism Experience' program! Probably next classroom over!"
"......!?"
Me and Choi Adam exchanged stunned looks at the underclassman's explanation. When the hell did Un-gang set this up?
"His classmates begged him last-minute, and he jumped right in! Super popular since it's led by a Shaolin monk."
Couldn't miss this.
We bolted to the next room. Peeking through the window, there was Un-gang in monk robes, clacking away at the moktak.
Tok, tok, tok, tok—!
"When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva practices deep Prajnaparamita, he illuminates the emptiness of the five aggregates and transcends all suffering."
"Emptiness doesn't mean 'nothing there.' It means infinite potential to hold anything—like our minds..."
"Ooooh...!"
Awe rippled through the participants with every word from Un-gang.
And amid them, a super familiar face.
"Isn't that Hassan?"
"Whoa, for real..."
Maybe feeling bad about grilling Un-gang on religion before, Hassan was there soaking it in. Deeper guy than I thought.
We kept wandering, and soon noisy cheers erupted from somewhere. Approaching, we spotted Ri Dong-hyeok standing there, mesmerized.
"Dong-hyeok, what's up?"
"Ah, Comrade Geum Seong-muk. Just watching—this looks intriguing."
Glancing where he pointed: balloons plastered to the wall, kids hurling darts.
"Ever thrown darts?"
Ri Dong-hyeok shook his head.
"No, sir. Never even seen 'em up north."
"Then give it a shot. Wanna bet a coffee?"
"For real, Comrade Seong-muk?"
"Dead serious."
"...Looking forward to that coffee you owe me."
"Oh ho, think you can take me?"
His eyes gleamed.
Teammates, so we'd never squared off. Unexpected matchup at a festival booth.
"Baseball club's Geum Seong-muk vs. Ri Dong-hyeok—at darts...!!"
"Ooh, gotta see this...!!"
Crowd swarmed instantly.
Apparently, ace starter vs. top closer was prime entertainment.
"Guys, crank it to max difficulty!"
"Yooo...!!"
Booth crew tweaked the setup for us: 16 balloons, shrunken sizes. Finally satisfying.
Yeah, too easy's no fun.
We grabbed darts, lined up at the mark, and hurled simultaneously.
"Hrah...!"
"Hup...!"
Pop!
Mine nailed a balloon dead-on. His...
Thunk!
Ri Dong-hyeok's embedded deep in the ceiling. Gonna be a pain to yank out.
"...Got the feel now."
No sooner said, he fired the second.
Pop, pop, pop...!!
Balloons burst with every toss.
Pop, pop, pop!
Same on my end.
Back in the day, darts after drinks was my jam. Couldn't lose to a rookie.
Pop!
"That's it...! Geum Seong-muk sunbae hits all 16/16! Perfect!"
"Whew."
Pretty solid for a long time off.
Glancing at Ri Dong-hyeok—he'd crushed it too.
"Ri Dong-hyeok gets 15/16! So close, one miss..."
"Hmm..."
Muffed the first, but locked in after—nailed the rest. Control freak, that one.
"Too bad. Wanted to beat you, Comrade Geum Seong-muk."
"Still got work to do, man. Keep grinding."
Clap clap clap...!!
Crowd applauded the show.
Match over, Ri Dong-hyeok joined the crew naturally. We roamed, snacked, hit booths.
"Hrah...!!"
Arm-wrestling the judo club captain.
I slammed his arm down in seconds.
"Heh, good match. Geum Seong-muk."
"Yeah, good one."
Handshake, then onward.
Next up: "Tarot House." A prior guest chatted seriously inside.
"Isn't that Do Dojin?"
"Yeah. Let's eavesdrop."
Closer, we caught his convo—an unexpected topic.
"...So my love luck peaks in August this year, and January next?"
"Spot on. Especially January—that's when it seals with that guy. Just seize the moment!"
"Oh ho, playing coy, but Dojin's into romance too, huh?"
".........!!"
Do Dojin jolted, hiding the paper.
First time seeing him this flustered.
"H-ha. I'm a guy too, y'know. Interested."
"Sounds juicy—let's keep listening."
"No, we're good! Let's bounce...!"
"...?"
Do Dojin bolted, dragging us out.
Mid-escape,
"......"
Smile.
Eye contact with the tarot reader.
She stared deep, dropping cryptic words.
"...?"
Off we went, baffled.
Our quartet was tiring out.
"Oh yeah—Noah's dance club is doing a tea house. Wanna hit that?"
"Dance club......!!"
Choi Adam's eyes lit up.
Guess "dance club" hits different for guys.
"Lost the bet anyway—need a drink. Perfect."
"Yeah, sounds good."
All in. Headed to the dance club classroom.
Door open—bam, floral paradise.
"............!!"
"Welcome~!"
Dance club girls in matching maid outfits.
We blinked, scanning the scene.
"This is heaven..."
"Ahem, ahem..."
Choi Adam openly thrilled, Ri Dong-hyeok blushing and coughing. Only Do Dojin stayed chill.
Then, a familiar face bounced up.
"Kyaa, Oppa Seong-muk! You came...!!"
Ecstatic Noah, leaping.
Spotted the crew behind me.
"Aha! Others too...! I'll grab seats!"
"...?"
The nickname gap felt off.
Choi Adam and Ri Dong-hyeok shot me shady looks.
"Dude, that's Ryu Ji's sister...?"
"Comrade Seong-muk, in-law family's too intense..."
"Shut up with the nonsense and sit."
I waved it off.
Seated at Noah's spots, fancy menu handed over.
"Swan Lake Ade, Passion Tango Tea, Ballet-ccino... Tons of options?"
"Hmm, tough choice."
We pondered. Then, someone snuck up behind me. Sweet whisper tickled my ear.
"...Master."
".........!?"
I whipped around, eyes wide—Noah giggled.
"Hehe, I recommend First Love Strawberry Latte...! That's the one I make myself!"
"Oh ho."
Strawberry lover here—had to.
"Alright, that for me."
"Yess~!!"
Noah zipped off with the order.
Soon, trays arrived. We grabbed our drinks.
"Whoa, Geum Seong-muk's strawberry latte? Strawberry syrup overload."
"...Impressive craftsmanship."
Theirs had flair, but mine screamed extra love.
Wonder if others got the same.
Peeked at another table's—nope, mine was loaded.
"Let's see..."
Big gulp—tart freshness exploded.
Damn, that's the stuff!
Chugging more, my phone buzzed.
"...Huh?"
Unknown number.
Answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Geum Seong-muk? That you?"
"Yes, speaking."
"This is Do Hak-hoon. Father of Do Doyeon and Do Dojin."
".........!"
Korea Baseball Association president Do Hak-hoon. Perfect timing, with Do Dojin right here.
"Can we talk privately for a sec?"
"I'm at school with friends right now..."
"Your school rooftop. Even that's too much?"
"......!"
Festival meant outsiders allowed. He'd timed it perfectly.
"Sure, on my way."
"Good. I'll wait."
Call ended.
I slurped the last of my latte and stood.
"Gotta go—emergency. You guys take it easy."
"Huh, suddenly...?"
Waved bye to the crew and Noah, then headed out. Up the stairs to the rooftop.
Creeeak—
Door swung open. A burly man gazed at the school grounds from the railing. He turned slowly at my approach.
"........."
Do Hak-hoon eyed me silently.
Tall as me, massive build.
Plus his status atop Korean baseball—intimidating aura.
"You came."
Deep, resonant voice.
He adjusted his glasses.
"Let's talk. About Doyeon and Dojin."
...Here it comes.
I swallowed hard.
Suspected he hid something, but no proof.
"Sure."
This chat might unlock it all.