Autumn Festival (2)
"Whoa... it's packed in here."
Line 3's terminus. The stadium near Daehwa Station. Red and blue. A massive crowd decked out in colors symbolizing their schools welcomed us.
The baseball game had kicked off in the morning. I'd checked the score on the way over, and it was a nail-biter—they were trading leads back and forth.
Maybe because of that, the cheers from each school's fight song echoed thunderously all the way here from the baseball field.
It was so loud, I worried it might damage your hearing if you were actually there.
Basketball should be fine, though...
Naturally, I started fretting. Unlike the outdoor baseball stadium, basketball was indoors. They'd probably keep the volume down a notch. Fingers crossed no hearing loss tomorrow.
I glanced sideways.
"......"
Lee Soo-min, wearing a white-based hockey jersey replica with red stripes. Black dolphin pants on the bottom, but the oversized top made it look like she wasn't wearing anything up there at first glance.
And face paint on both cheeks—cute little school symbols.
She'd waited all morning for that. No wonder her pupils were already half-dilated from exhaustion.
Her stamina was shot. Totally understandable.
She'd drained herself waiting for the face paint, then we'd spent a full hour and a half crammed in the festival crowd heading from school here.
Now's the time.
I pulled out the item I'd packed that morning and handed it to her.
I knew her abysmal stamina well, so I'd brought some helpers. Didn't expect to use them before the festival even ramped up, but...
This was the perfect moment.
"What's this?"
"Fatigue recovery drink and chocolate. Eat up."
A fatigue recovery shot from the convenience store this morning, and my homemade chocolate.
With all the cheering and jumping today, chocolate beat cloying cookies for a change.
Luck was on my side with the gacha today—the perk yielded a generous batch.
About 30 pieces, each the size of those alphabet-stamped famous chocolates.
I'd shoved 25 at Min-jun to share with the crew. Minus my two, that left three for Soo-min.
For reference, this chocolate's effect was awakening. Like a doping agent that forcibly amps you up when you're drained.
Unlike cookies, it didn't recover fatigue itself. Push too hard after, and the crash hits all at once the next day...
But that's her call.
Of course, I didn't spell out the side effects for Soo-min. She'd never believe me anyway.
"...Thanks."
"No biggie."
She tore open the wrapper and popped the chocolate in. Her pupils snapped wide—pop—dead-fish eyes revived in an instant.
Life extended by 3 days.
Remaining life: 63 days
Not bad for one chocolate—decent life boost. Meant it had real impact.
I'd been hoping for gains from this major festival event. Seeing the payoff lifted my mood.
"Feeling better? Let's hustle before we can't get in."
"Got it."
Entry was ages away, but the basketball arena line was already massive.
Seniors said last year they oversold tickets beyond capacity—even ticket holders got cut at the door.
They got roasted for it, but no law says they won't pull the same stunt this year.
Near school. A beer hall famous for group fried bites and chicken combos.
We'd gathered for a casual afterparty once all festival events wrapped.
Everyone skipped dinner glued to the games, so the towering platters of fritters and chicken vanished in a flash.
"Uwaaa... my voice is gone..."
Kang Min-jun, deflated to a raspy wheeze, no trace of his usual self.
His sudden tire-spinning act cracked everyone up.
"Sucks we lost..."
Apparently baseball led by 2 runs till the 9th, then ate a walk-off homer.
Min-jun chugged his beer with a hollow stare, still reeling.
Kim Seo-yeon, who'd watched baseball with him, sidled up and consoled—or tried to.
"Still, it was super fun, right?"
"Yeah, it was. Your dancing."
"...What?"
Good intentions backfired into attack mode. Seo-yeon retaliated swiftly.
Couldn't see great from across the table, but Min-jun's wince said she'd hit hard.
"You guys aren't tired?"
A stark contrast to half-knocked-out Soo-min beside me.
"S-Sorry! Truce?"
"...This time only."
The bickering duo clinked glasses like nothing happened—cheers.
Lightning-fast mood flip. I accidentally blurted what I should've swallowed.
"They say couples' fights are like trying to cut water with a knife..."
"Hey. Lee Jun-woo."
"My bad. Sorry."
Perfectly synced comeback. I threw up both hands in surrender.
"You too—this time only."
"Your mercy humbles me~."
Seo-yeon accepted, then side-eyed Min-jun beside her. Quick glance away, but sitting right there, I caught it clear.
That subtle emotion in her gaze at him.
Right about now, huh?
The phase where platonic guy-pal Min-jun starts looking like man material.
I hadn't noted the exact timing, but her eyes confirmed it.
Your closest guy friend gradually turning romantic? Common in novels and real life.
"Cheers."
Soo-min, across from me, silently watching like me. She shoved her beer at me with a pouty glare.
She'd seen Seo-yeon's look too, judging by her vibe.
Unlike Seo-yeon just starting to waver, Soo-min had realized her feelings for Min-jun last semester.
But her timid personality shrank her around him—no progress, barely maintaining status quo.
Even today—choosing me over him for basketball.
Reason? Inevitable skinship from wild cheering. Too shy, she bailed preemptively.
Original story mentioned her dodging him for a same-sex friend at baseball for the same reason.
Found her frustrating reading it. Seeing live? Yep, frustrating.
Not that I'll help...
I knew her genuine feelings from the novel—felt bad, sure.
But meddling would just complicate things. Better to spectate.
No gains helping her anyway. Stick nearby, feed 'em snacks occasionally, focus on my life extension.
"Speaking of, you guys got into basketball fine? All Day Time's blowing up."
"All~ in this big bro's palm. Our school's got that old saying: Trust the student council? Might as well trust the weather service."
"Huh? That's a real thing?"
"Made it up just now, obviously."
I shrugged at Min-jun. He shook his head at my shameless grin.
Like any school, ours distrusted the student council hard—meme-level "trust weather more."
As Min-jun said, the uni anon community All Day Time was a dumpster fire of council hate.
Mass door-cuts from oversold tickets—promised no repeat from last year, yet worse: 5x victims.
Rumor mill said execs printed extras for pals, sparking the mess. Just hearsay, but plausible.
All that hate today—wonder if it'll extend their lives decades. Kinda jealous...
Council ignored the backlash stone-cold. Even posted game results casually on the official BXL story.
Thanks to the fiasco, despite our blowout basketball win, no praise for players anywhere online.
Poor athletes busted ass for nothing.
Made me curious about the team's vibe. Recalled a basketball teammate I chatted with sometimes—messaged him.
- Yo, congrats on the win. Watched—y'all killed it.
- Thx.
- Where you at? Still running?
- Wanna run too. If you're free, need backup here.
Link with his reply. Hot post on All Day Time—hundreds of comments already.
Comments exploding in real time. Tons posting, but I knew who Anonymous2 was.
Tired Lee Soo-min
