Nice Rebound!
He came toward me and smiled. “Nice rebound!”
The first-years attempted a shot, but it rattled off the backboard and bounced away. Kang Ijin snatched it in an instant. He weaved through his teammates with crisp passes, then finished with a smooth layup to add more points to the board.
“Vice president’s physique is straight-up cheating.”
“How the hell are we supposed to beat that? It’s impossible.”
“Hey, Kang Ijin! The underclassmen are cursing you out, man. Go easy on them. Heh.”
“Go easy my ass. I feel like I’m about to drop dead. Fuck… haah, it’s so damn hot…”
Ijin’s face glistened with sweat. He had run more than anyone else on the court. As the heat built up in his body, he couldn’t stand it anymore and immediately stripped off his gym top. His broad, powerful shoulders and sharply cut muscles were completely exposed.
“Whoa… is that a human or a terminator?”
“Kyaa! Vice president, you’re so cool!”
“Ah, screw it. We’re already down by so much anyway. I’m switching to the vice president’s side.”
Praise for Ijin’s muscular frame flew in from every direction. Sua clutched the waistband of her gym pants tightly, anxiety surging through her. The body that belonged to her Ijin-oppa was now on full display for the entire world to see. Part of her felt a secret thrill at the fact that she could look at and touch that same body anytime she wanted, yet she still hated that others were ogling it.
She wanted to scream Oppa! Are you crazy! and run straight to him, but she couldn’t interrupt the game. With no other choice, she swallowed her frustration alone.
“Kang Ijin, the match isn’t over. Where are you going?”
“Just a second. I’ll drop my gym clothes off and come right back.”
Oppa picked up his top and scanned the stands. When his eyes met hers, he smiled and walked over.
“…Huh…?”
Why was he suddenly coming this way? Normally, Ijin-oppa felt like the comfortable boy-next-door when they were together. But after watching him score those flashy baskets and soak up all the cheers, he seemed like an untouchable, larger-than-life figure.
She was fairly popular among the first-years thanks to her own cute looks. But next to Ijin-oppa, that meant nothing. He was admired by every grade in the school. It wasn’t an accident that he had become vice president over all those strong candidates.
Of course she had vaguely known how famous he was. She simply hadn’t felt the weight of it before, because she had seen far more of his everyday side than his impressive one. Now she understood.
The man who kept sinking shots and drawing cheers from the crowd. Just how incredible the boyfriend she had really was.
Compared to oppa, I feel so lacking…
The moment that thought hit, Sua’s shoulders curled inward.
Why is someone like oppa even dating a bothersome girl like me…? At his level, he could have any girl he wanted…
Negative thoughts began piling up. As depression suddenly washed over her, her head slowly drooped and her whole posture wilted. That was when something landed on her head with a soft plop.
This is… his gym top…?
When she looked up in a daze, oppa was standing right in front of her. The instant their eyes met, he flashed a bright smile. Sua’s heart immediately began to race. The way he stood there quietly and then grinned the moment she looked at him—she loved that so much.
“Kid, hold onto my gym clothes for me.”
“W-why should I…?”
“Ah, stop whining. I need to get back right away, I’m busy. If you throw my clothes on the floor, you’re really dead meat.”
“Oppa! I told you not to speak so rudely—! Ah…”
Sua froze the second she realized all the nearby students were staring. The oppa who had seemed so impressive moments ago had reverted to his usual frivolous self, and her normal way of talking to him had slipped out without her thinking about the audience.
But oppa simply ruffled her hair roughly and said, “Fine. I won’t speak recklessly. You’re taking care of it, right?”
Normally he would never have let her get away with talking to him like that. Yet right now it felt as if he were officially acknowledging in front of everyone that she was allowed to speak to him that way. His thoughtful gesture wiped away every negative thought in her head.
When he saw her brighten up, he smiled again and jogged straight back to the game. Being with him often annoyed her and made her angry, but she couldn’t imagine meeting another man like him ever again. Dating Kang Ijin was, without a doubt, the happiest thing that had ever happened to her.
The dismissal bell rang and the match finally ended. The score was 12 to 24—an overwhelming victory for the second-years with double the points. A predictable outcome. In the first half I had taken it easy, loosening up and building atmosphere. But once the second half started, I went all out. There was no way the first-years could keep up with me.
When the game ended, Kang Suho’s legs gave out and he dropped straight onto the floor. He really had wanted to beat me. A younger brother trying to surpass his older brother? Absolutely impossible. If you want to win against me, get reborn as a woman. Maybe then I’d consider going easy on you.
I walked over to Kang Suho, who had been running nonstop for nearly thirty minutes, and offered my hand. A faint smile crossed his face as he swallowed the bitterness of defeat.
Time to play the kind older brother who looks after his sibling. That way Sua, who was watching, would like me even more.
“Good work, Kang Suho. You did better than I expected.”
“As expected, I still can’t catch up to you in sports, hyung.”
What the hell is this idiot saying? His brain is just as pathetic as the rest of him. Since he grabbed my hand, I pulled him to his feet. Thanks to that, not a trace of sorrow over losing remained on his face.
In the first place, winning or losing this game had never mattered to Kang Suho. Even in defeat he would just think, It’s because the opponent was hyung. The only one who absolutely could not lose was me. My carefully built image would have taken a serious hit if I had.
Thank god I won.
With that weight off my chest, I looked around. The second-years were leaving the gym with satisfied expressions. The first-years looked a little disappointed, but they still greeted me one by one as they filed out.
“Aren’t you leaving? Don’t you have class next?”
“I wanted to leave with hyung.”
I really didn’t want that. After playing a little basketball together, did he think we were suddenly on the same team? Sorry, but I have zero interest in ever being on your side.
“Hey, Lee Yena.”
“Uh…?”
I called out to Lee Yena, who had also been heading out of the gym. She gave me an awkward reaction, and I narrowed my eyes.
“Hello, sunbae.”
“Yeah. Uh… yeah… Hello, Suho.”
Even when Kang Suho greeted her, her response was half-hearted. She usually acted bright and cutesy in front of other people, even if she didn’t in front of me. She was definitely hiding something.
“You were sitting next to Sua. What were you two talking about?”
“N-nothing in particular…”
For someone claiming it was nothing, her voice had no strength behind it. She clearly felt guilty about something toward me.
“Really?”
“Y-yeah… really… You’re suddenly accusing an innocent person… Nothing happened, I swear.”
“Really? You know that if you’re lying, you’re the only one who loses, right?”
“I-I’m telling the truth. S-Suho, your brother is acting really strange today, isn’t he?”
“Hyung? Is something wrong?”
I wanted to keep pressing her with some subtle threats, but Kang Suho was standing right there. Since I could find out anytime I wanted, I decided to let it go for now.
“It’s nothing. Just go.”
How dare she try to paint me as the weird one by using Kang Suho? I’ll definitely make her repay me with her body later.
A moment later—
“Oppa. Suho.”
Sua’s pure, clear voice tickled my ears. Strange. Just hearing her call my name seemed to melt all my fatigue away.
“Oppa, here’s your clothes.”
“Thanks.”
I took the top from Sua and slipped it on right there.
“Phew… thank goodness.”
From beside me came Sua’s small, relieved murmur. She really had been bothered by me being shirtless. It was worth stripping on purpose.
When she kept staring at me without saying anything, I spoke up.
“Are you a pervert?”
“What?”
“You were staring so hard while I was putting my clothes on. I figured you might have that kind of taste.”
“What are you—when did I stare like that? And oppa, you’re the one who deliberately took everything off in front of everyone and then shamelessly called me a pervert. What kind of nonsense is that?”
With both hands on her hips, Sua passionately defended herself. Her reaction was stronger than usual. Probably because Kang Suho was standing there and she wanted to save face. This guy really was a nuisance. Couldn’t he just disappear already? I wanted some alone time with Sua.
“I was only joking because you were staring so intently.”
“You should read the room before making jokes like that, Ijin-oppa.”
“Got it.”
Still, I loved that Sua would always nag a little but ultimately let my dirty jokes slide. It meant she had grown so used to them that she no longer even considered them a reason to dislike me.
“Hyung. Maybe I should start working out too?”
While I was enjoying the light banter with Sua, Kang Suho’s pathetic voice cut in. I turned to him.
“Why? You interested in exercise now?”
“It’s not exactly that… but all my friends work out a lot, so I was thinking maybe I should try it too.”
He claimed he wasn’t interested, but the desire was written all over his face. He must have been really envious of my muscular body. Did he want to show off to Sua by getting in shape? Well, with that scrawny frame of his, he couldn’t flaunt anything the way I could.
Unfortunately for him, I had zero intention of helping even if he did start working out. I hoped he would just look it up online and figure it out himself.