There's No Way My Oppa Would Do That
It was an utterly ordinary PE class. At the gym teacher's command to do whatever they wanted freely, the students were left to their own devices in the gymnasium. I watched the male students naturally grab a soccer ball and head out to the field.
'I should play soccer too.'
Just as I was about to step outside with that thought, a classmate approached me holding a basketball.
"Yo, Kang Ijin. Let's play basketball instead of soccer."
"Everyone's heading out to play soccer. Why basketball? And it looks like we don't even have enough people."
There were only five of us here, including me. Basketball was a sport that needed at least ten players. I liked basketball, but with this few people it would just be a glorified game of house.
Thump!
When I ignored him, my friend bounced the ball once, caught it, and smirked.
"I've already got the numbers. We're playing against some first-years over there."
In one corner of the gymnasium, I spotted the first-years who must have arrived late to class and were only now doing their warm-ups. It wasn't unusual for PE classes to overlap with other grades. But I was genuinely surprised.
There was a familiar face among them.
"You... did you deliberately suggest basketball to me so I'd end up matched against Kang Suho?"
When I frowned and asked, my friend answered with a broad grin.
"Your little brother Kang Suho plays basketball too, so we should have a brother-versus-brother match. You can't dodge this one. No wonder you tried to leave the gym the second I suggested it. So this was your scheme all along."
I, Kang Ijin, never run from an incoming challenge. Especially not when the opponent is Kang Suho—the guy I want to crush under my heel.
'An unexpected event just popped up.'
A showdown between two men who like the same woman was a classic cliché that no romance-comedy could do without. Right on cue, the first-years finished their warm-ups and received the same free activity time. I watched Kang Suho laughing and chatting with Sua.
Kang Suho must have felt my gaze because he kept glancing at me warily. He'd already accepted me as an opponent. Of course he had. He probably wanted to beat me in front of Sua and look cool.
"You're not scared, are you?"
My friend's sudden provocation.
"Don't make me laugh."
I let out a dry chuckle, then flicked my fingers for the ball. He passed it over. I bounced it once, then shot from the three-point line. The basketball drew a beautiful arc through the air.
Swoosh!
It slipped cleanly through the hoop.
"Whoa..."
The perfect shot left every student in the gymnasium staring in shock. See that? With a single shot, I could stun everyone here. And they still say I'm not the protagonist? Anyone could see that I was the main character.
"Ooh~ Kang Ijin, that form is killer."
"If you think you can't make it, just pass it to me. I'll break through every time."
"Okay. I'm counting on you."
"Obviously. We're winning this for sure."
The most critical reason I couldn't lose to Kang Suho was simple. Sua was watching. I would definitely beat that bastard and show her something impressive.
On the other hand, I was curious who Sua would cheer for. Her boyfriend, me? Or... her childhood friend? Normally this was the part where the heroine would hesitate about who to support, only to realize her true feelings and cheer for that person. It was another cliché...
Sua, who had been looking at Kang Suho, met my eyes and flashed a bright smile. She raised one small hand and waved.
Seeing that, it was painfully obvious who she would support.
Many students had gathered and sat along the outer walls of the gymnasium. Even the ones who had gone out to the field had come back inside. The sharp squeaks of sneakers against the wooden floor echoed everywhere. Only about ten people were moving around in the huge space, yet their movements filled the entire gymnasium with sound.
"Hey! Pass it!"
Kang Ijin received the ball, broke through with flashy dribbling, and shot. The ball he threw went straight into the hoop. The score was now 8 to 10. As the tied game opened up, the first-years' disappointment and the second-years' cheers mixed together.
"Fighting!"
"First-year Class 1, don't give up! We can still turn it around!"
"It's fine! It's only a one-point difference!"
"Kang Ijin is on fire! Just one more basket to pull ahead!"
"Completely destroy the underclassmen!"
"You know how embarrassing it'll be if we lose, right?"
The atmosphere of the match was growing hotter by the minute. Everyone was shouting their lungs out, cheering for their own grade. It was only natural. This was a basketball showdown between first-years and second-years. The first-years wanted to take down their seniors at least once, while the second-years refused to lose to their juniors as the upperclassmen. With the score so close, an intense back-and-forth battle continued.
And in the middle of all these people united in enjoying the game and cheering with one heart...
'What do I do...'
Jeong Sua was the only one who couldn't decide who to cheer for. She was fidgeting restlessly. On one side was her own class and her closest childhood friend. On the other side was the boyfriend she loved most in the world.
Normally she should cheer for her friends and her class... but she was Ijin's girlfriend now. Not cheering for him felt wrong...
Honestly, she already knew which side her heart leaned toward. The entire match, her eyes had been glued to Ijin oppa.
Sua wanted to cheer for Ijin oppa. More precisely, she only wanted to cheer for Ijin oppa. She didn't particularly care if the second-years won. She just wanted to see Ijin oppa win.
But she couldn't do that. All her friends were cheering for the first-years. Cheering for Ijin oppa would look strange.
'I'll just watch quietly.'
With no other choice, she sat still and cheered for oppa in her heart while watching the game.
"Hi, Sua. Aren't you going to cheer?"
"Lee Yena sunbae?"
"Sunbae sounds too stiff. Just call me unnie."
Lee Yena approached her with a warm, eye-crinkling smile. As a fellow student council member, Yena was a sunbae with the same blonde hair as oppa and a bright, lively laugh that drew people in. Sua knew her face and name, but since they hadn't done much student council work together, they'd never really had a proper conversation.
Come to think of it, she was in the same class as oppa, right? Were they close? From what she'd heard, Yena hadn't applied for the student council herself—oppa had forced her to join.
'What exactly is their relationship?'
How close did they have to be for oppa to drag her into the council? She was curious, but decided to ask oppa about it later. She still remembered getting scolded by him recently for acting out from jealousy.
"Yena unnie..."
"You're so cute when you're shy. If it's not too rude, may I sit next to you?"
Despite her flashy appearance, the way she asked permission first made her seem like a genuinely kind person. Sua was shy by nature, so instead of answering verbally she simply nodded and scooted over slightly to make room.
"Thanks. We're in the same student council but we've never really talked properly. I wanted to get to know you better."
"I'm sorry. I should have greeted you first, unnie..."
"No, no! I didn't mean it like that! Anyway, why aren't you cheering for anyone?"
"Well... I can't decide who I should be cheering for..."
"Huh? Shouldn't you just cheer for the first-years?"
That would be the normal response. If she said 'Ijin oppa is my boyfriend,' Yena would immediately understand the situation. But the fact that she was dating Ijin oppa was still a secret. Her mouth itched to proudly declare that she was Ijin oppa's girlfriend, but Sua held it in and answered carefully.
"I'm childhood friends with Suho, so I'm also close with Ijin oppa. If I cheer for the first-years... I was worried Ijin oppa might not like it."
"You're... close with Kang Ijin?"
"?"
Sua caught the sudden change in Lee Yena's expression. The smile that had been on her lips when she heard the word "close" twisted slightly, and one of her eyes narrowed. Yena quickly composed herself, but she seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
"Is something wrong?"
"Sua!"
"Y-yes?!"
With a suddenly serious face, Lee Yena grabbed both of Sua's shoulders and said,
"If you're going through something big that you can't tell anyone else, you can tell me. I'll help you."
"What? I don't have anything like that—"
"Are you sure? Like, maybe Kang Ijin is threatening you with something you can't tell others, or if you do something that bothers him he says weird things to keep you from talking back. Maybe even saying you're 'close' was something Kang Ijin forced you to—"
"W-wait a second. What are you even saying? There's no way Ijin oppa would do something like that."
"Wh-what?!"
"...Yes?"
Neither of them could understand the other, so the conversation halted for a moment as they both looked confused. An awkward silence fell. The one who broke it was Sua.
"Ijin oppa has a playful side and he's a bit... no, he's quite perverted, but he's not the type to threaten or harass people. It seems like unnie misunderstood because oppa plays a lot of pranks, but I'm sure he just feels comfortable and likes you, so that's why he acts that way."
Sua did her best to correct Yena's misunderstanding. It was too much to insult her own boyfriend in front of his girlfriend. Still, she didn't hold any ill will toward Yena, so she spoke gently and calmly.
Meanwhile, Lee Yena's face had turned deathly pale. She wanted to deny every word, but faced with Sua who was sincerely saying there was no way, she simply couldn't bring herself to contradict her.
With great difficulty, Yena forced an awkward smile and tried to move past the conversation.
"R-really? Sorry... I must have been mistaken. Haha... ha... Well, if that's not the case then it's fine..."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Understanding... yeah, I have to understand... haa..."
Like someone who had received a severe shock, Yena unnie hung her head and muttered to herself. Whatever the situation was, she didn't seem capable of continuing the conversation. With no other choice, Sua left her alone and turned her attention back to watching the basketball game.