Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Sports Festival #3
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After replenishing our fluids and cooling down, we returned to where the kids were gathered, and Lee Sea came up to talk to me.
"Nice going, Ijin. You were pretty good out there."
"What, acting like it's the first time you've seen it...? You've watched me play plenty."
Lee Sea had seen me play soccer since we were kids—enough times to be sick of it.
"Still..."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
Only then did she flash a bright smile at my words.
"If you'd said that from the start, wouldn't that have been great?"
"......"
This girl would definitely excel at social stuff.
She was the complete opposite of my personality, which made it hard to give praise, thanks, or apologies to others.
Envious? Not really.
I liked my own personality just fine.
"Are all the soccer kids back? Class C, gather up so we can head out?"
Under Teacher Jeong Chaeyeon's guidance—she'd gone off to the dodgeball courts with the girls earlier—we assembled back on the field.
This time, we'd split by gender again for two events.
Boys: tug-of-war. Girls: group jump rope.
There was a rule that everyone had to participate in at least one event at the sports festival, so these two usually drew a ton of the klutzes.
Besides those, the mixed-gender group events were basically just the relay race.
There was also that three-legged relay with me, Hong Yeonseo, and Seong Yurin—not the whole-class mixed 10-per-side relay.
As a side note, for the relay race, the male participants included me and Yoon Jiu, while the females were Hong Yeonseo, Seong Yurin, and—surprisingly—Lee Sea.
Truth be told, Lee Sea and Yoon Jiu were only in it because they were class president and vice president.
...I wasn't thrilled about the relay either, but as expected, someone had recommended me.
And that someone was who you think it was.
Fortunately, I didn't have to do tug-of-war.
Soccer and relay were enough; adding more would be too much.
Well, not that it was exhausting or anything. Just a hassle.
If I'd been in tug-of-war, I probably would've skipped the three-legged relay.
I watched Lee Soyun and Hong Yeonseo warming up on the platform.
As I mentioned earlier, Lee Soyun had to do at least one event, so she was prepping for jump rope.
Hong Yeonseo was the type who couldn't contain her overflowing energy, so she signed up for every event she could.
Dodgeball, jump rope, relay—you name it.
For reference, Lee Sea was sticking to just the relay.
Seong Yurin had the relay plus our three-legged one with me and Hong Yeonseo.
There were plenty of individual events, but none of our group was into them, so no one signed up.
The one with the most drive for that was Hong Yeonseo, but...
She said she wanted to compete everywhere, but ultimately preferred hanging out with us, so she focused on group events.
Hey, sports festivals were for chilling and having fun on a rare day off. Getting dragged around by the schedule would just wear you out.
"Soyun, fighting!"
"You got this."
"Uh, y-yeah..."
Lee Sea and Seong Yurin cheered on Lee Soyun, who was stiffly rotating her body.
"What about me?"
"You always do great on your own."
"Hey!"
Before the others could chime in, Hong Yeonseo pouted at my sly insertion.
Her acting was so awkward that an incredulous chuckle escaped me.
Mistaking my laugh for mockery, her mood soured even more.
That intense vibe made cold sweat trickle down my back.
Whoops. Push it further, and she'll really get mad.
"Do your best out there."
"Hmph."
She looked miffed at a glance, but Hong Yeonseo's lips were curved upward.
She bounces back so fast, yet her momentum is scary as hell.
I turned to look at the boys prepping for tug-of-war.
Yoon Jiu stood out immediately.
Next to him were... Seo Juhyuk and Hwang Jaeho, I think.
Seo Juhyuk had a sturdy build, while Hwang Jaeho was skinny but tall.
Sandwiched between them, Yoon Jiu didn't look small himself but seemed that way anyway.
I remembered their names because they got called out in class a lot.
Lately, I hadn't been sleeping through lessons much.
Recently, Yoon Jiu had been hanging out with those guys more.
I hoped he wasn't getting into anything a student shouldn't.
If he went astray, I wouldn't have the face to look at Jia.
We weren't even talking much these days.
Two different events were gearing up side by side.
Beyond them stretched a long line of spectators.
Seeing all these kids in gym clothes lined up, gripping ropes—it really hit home that the sports festival was right around the corner.
"Think our class has a shot at winning?"
Lee Sea's question reached me as I sat quietly on the platform.
Hmm. Winning, huh.
"Hard to say. Group events rely a lot on luck."
Individual events only gave personal awards, so the class winner came down to group scores.
"Still, soccer looked like a lock."
"...We've lost practice matches before."
Our class soccer team had a solid record, but not undefeated.
"For real?"
"Yeah. There's a class packed with soccer club guys. We lost narrowly, but a loss is a loss."
It was a wild 3-3 slugfest, but our defense crumbled first, letting in one more goal for the defeat.
Our captain got teased by their soccer club players and whined so much, it stuck with me.
"Gotcha. But you beat everyone else except that team, right?"
"...Well, yeah."
Thanks to our tactically savvy captain—who was basically a soccer genius—our team's offense-defense balance was top-notch. Objectively, we were strong.
Unless it was the Dawn High soccer club, we could count on a win most times.
"You've never trained formally, right?"
Seong Yurin, who'd been listening quietly, cut in.
"Nah, just messing around with the kids. The captain taught us a lot this time, though."
He'd trained me as his pass shuttle, what with my growth spurt.
Even tempted me to go pro with him.
No chance in hell.
"I see. Even to my untrained eyes, you looked amazing. Impressive."
"Haha... Thanks."
I brushed off Seong Yurin’s praise with an awkward laugh.
Getting complimented to my face was tough.
Felt good, but I didn’t know how to react.
Or maybe I knew in my head but couldn’t act on it.
"Ah! Looks like it's starting."
I turned from Seong Yurin at Lee Sea's words—she'd been watching the field—and sure enough, the referee teachers were bustling about.
Beep—
With the whistle piercing the air, tug-of-war and group jump rope kicked off simultaneously.
From this distance, it was quite the spectacle.
Dozens of ropes, each with several, even dozens of students clinging on.
Hundreds moving at once—a grand sight.
Thanks to Class C's events being nearby, we could follow the action easily.
"Woo! Go Class C~!"
Even in practice, cheers erupted everywhere.
A couple voices started it, but the roar swelled instantly, filling the field with electric energy.
Lee Sea, out of the corner of my eye, was swept up in the wave too.
Seong Yurin clutched her book but watched the field with wide, sparkling eyes.
Couldn't be the odd one out sulking alone.
When I commit, I commit—that's my motto.
"Class C, fighting—!"
"Whoa!"
I joined the cheers, raising my voice loud.
If this were training camp, Class C would've gotten full points.
Meanwhile, in group jump rope, Lee Soyun—the last participant—was just pushing off the ground.
Hope that klutz doesn't get hurt.
She landed safely and hopped in place diligently.
Hong Yeonseo bounced effortlessly, like she could go for hours.
Next to the jump rope area, Class E's boys were sprawled out, securing their win in tug-of-war.
...No hiding it. They were up against our Class C.
Even from a rough glance, Class E had tactics.
Syncing pulls, enduring when ahead.
Ours? A ragtag mob.
They shouted commands, but timings were off.
I could see Yoon Jiu's strained face at the front, pulling hard.
If only he could rally the team.
More like a flag-bearer gripping the banner but not leading.
Still, unlike soccer, it was his crew at the core.
Tug-of-war ended in loss, but Class C was holding strong in jump rope.
Practice or not, they're going all out... You guys.
Lee Soyun, sweating buckets yet focused on the rope and jumping—almost admirable.
"Woo-hoo!"
The opposing class finally slipped up, and Class C scraped out the win.
Lee Soyun plopped down, slapping her thighs.
Hong Yeonseo patted her back from behind.
"Let's go to them!"
Lee Sea stood, and I followed with Seong Yurin.
Up close, Lee Sea held a water bottle in her leading hand.
She's so thorough about this stuff.