Chapter 79
Chapter 79
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Sports Festival #11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Vice President Im Seongho and Treasurer Kim Juyong didn't show up in the clubroom until about an hour had passed.
Both of them looked wiped out on their faces, but they appeared as if they'd just taken a shower.
From what I heard, they'd racked up a ton of penalty points, so to offset them with service points, they'd been hauling heavy stuff around campus as volunteer work, then rushed to clean up, which made them late.
They were the relatively well-behaved ones in the club, but they seemed like troublemakers in their own right.
Maybe it was because they only read comics here.
Still, with more people around instead of just the two of us, the room felt livelier somehow.
Thanks to that, it got noisy and fun, and we wrapped up the week's final club activities on a high note.
...But with plans over the weekend, was it really the last one?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Huh?"
I'd finished club activities and come home, only to find the lights on inside for some reason.
It couldn't be a burglar, and sure enough, when I opened the door, my hunch was right.
"Mom?"
"Ta-da! Surprise! Ijin, you're just getting home now? You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?"
Of course not.
Who else knows the house passcode besides family?
I didn't even need to open the door to know it was my parents.
Dad must be busy and not around, so it looked like Mom had come down alone for a bit.
She was closing in on her forties, but with just a touch of MSG seasoning, she could pass for early thirties.
Dress her a bit younger, and she could fool strangers into thinking she was in her twenties.
As an aside—and of course, my parents didn't know, so it was one-sided—but these folks were like my second set of parents to me...
The memories of my previous life's parents were still vivid in my mind, but that didn't make these ones any less my parents, so I planned to fulfill my duties as a son.
"I haven't eaten... but what's up with the no-notice visit?"
"You little punk. Your tone with your mom is way too stiff~ You've been too mature since you were a kid—no cute side to you at all."
Can't help it when the content inside is all grown-up.
Keeping my unspeakable secret locked away in my heart, I tossed my bag on the bed, washed my hands, and sat down at the table, where a familiar home-cooked aroma wafted up after so long.
"Sports festival tomorrow, right? I heard from Sea's mom. Why didn't you tell me? I almost missed it completely."
"Well, I figured you'd be busy."
"Hmm~ Your dad's swamped for sure, but I can swing a day or two off, no problem."
With that, Mom scooped a heaping bowl of steaming freshly cooked rice and handed it to me.
No idea when she'd arrived, gone shopping, and prepped everything, but alongside the leftovers from the fridge, the table was piled high with platters of freshly made side dishes.
"This seems like too much..."
"It's fine. Everything on the table is for now—eat up, fridge the leftovers, and finish them this week. And don't just microwave instant rice every day; you've got uncooked rice, so use the cooker sometimes..."
"Yeah, yeah, got it."
I dodged the massive barrage of nagging by shoving a spoonful of rice in my mouth.
...What's wrong with instant rice? I eat it to save the environment.
Cooking rice means washing everything afterward. Rice cooker, spatula, the bowl you eat from every time.
That's a ton of detergent. Pollutes the planet.
Instant rice? Just separate the trash. Perfect.
......Blah blah excuses, but really, it was just laziness.
Still, home-cooked food after so long... it had a certain warmth to it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After dinner, I helped clean up, then shared a cup of after-meal tea with Mom, chatting like old times.
I'd planned to work on some merch illustrations tonight and crash early, but with Mom here after so long, we had to talk a bit.
"You coming tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Gotta see how awesome my boy is. I felt awful missing your entrance ceremony."
I was fine with it, but a normal high school kid might've been a little bummed.
Even though I'd told them it was okay a bunch of times, they'd kept calling, full of apologies.
"So, heading back the day after?"
"Mmm~ Probably can't stretch it that far, so I'll head out tomorrow evening."
"Ah..."
Misreading my nod as disappointment, Mom apologized.
"Sorry? Things look busy all year."
"No big deal. Thanks to you guys, I get to go to school so carefree."
The pocket money I earned was peanuts; their living expenses were huge, so I only spent on necessities and saved the rest for the future.
"Ugh, true... but c'mon, throw a tantrum at times like this, son!"
"Haha..."
I brushed it off with an awkward laugh.
Even without past-life memories, I wasn't the type to throw tantrums unless I was really little...
Sadly, couldn't fulfill Mom's wish there.
"By the way, son?"
"Yeah?"
Suddenly, Mom leaned in with a sly glint in her eye.
"Heard you got some new girlfriends? You rascal~ Wonder who you take after! Your dad was all about your mom~"
"......"
I flapped my mouth like a fish, at a loss for words.
The topic hit out of nowhere.
"Mom's rooting for you anyway? Being a pure-love guy is great, but having ambition's cool too!"
"......Ah... Yeah."
"Oh my. Are you embarrassed? Didn't know my boy had this side. Hehe. Guess I gotta prep to check out your girlfriends tomorrow."
With that, Mom zipped off to the master bedroom.
She really was a force of nature with her my-way-or-the-highway vibe.
Somehow my empty cups were already cleared, rinsed in the sink, so I headed to my room.
Sea would be thrilled tomorrow.
When she came over as a kid, Mom always doted on her.
Hong Yeonseo and Seong Yurin? No clue, obviously.
Lee Soyun? Maybe met a couple times, but not well enough to say they knew each other.
Yoon Jiu... Was worried how to explain him to Mom, but luckily, he'd gotten hurt and wasn't coming to the sports festival.
Just postponed for later, but it bought me a breather for now.
Feeling a bit pumped, merch work was off the table, so I stuck to the plan and hit the hay early.
Need to shake off fatigue ahead of time to handle the marathon ahead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the day of Dawn High School's sports festival, the whole neighborhood buzzed.
Not just the festival—any event day was like that.
The long uphill from downtown to school filled with street vendors.
You'd see the usual cotton candy machines and balloon stalls, but also full-on food trucks and ice cream vans setting up shop.
Sports festival events drew massive crowds to Dawn High.
Makes sense—with tons of students already, add parents, and business booms.
"Whoa! Skewers! Whoa! Cube steaks!"
Hong Yeonseo's eyes sparkled at the food truck grub.
"You skip breakfast or what...?"
"I ate."
"......"
Her confidence left me speechless.
Yeonseo, showing off her appetite bright and early.
Dorm girl hanging on the way to school? She'd woken up extra early to wait and walk with us.
"Don't you have morning events? Let's grab lunch after."
Lee Sea gently reined her in.
Yeonseo wasn't seriously charging in anyway and nodded easily.
"When're your parents coming?"
Lee Soyun, trailing right behind me, asked the group.
"Mine said they can't make it."
Seong Yurin said flatly.
Usually, when she said something touchy, she'd sound detached but with a subtle hint of it bothering her.
No trace of that now, so she really didn't care if her parents skipped.
"My folks... both have overseas work schedules, super busy."
Hong Yeonseo's parents, being world-class athletes, had unavoidable commitments.
So just me, Sea, and Soyun's parents?
"Iijin's probably can't either, so just us two, huh?"
Sea said to Soyun.
As Soyun nodded along, I spoke up.
"Nah. My mom's coming. Around lunchtime, she said."
The four of them froze on the spot.
Then they turned to stare at me, mouths agape.
"......Huh?"
"......Eh?"
"......Heh?"
"......What?"
A rainbow of reactions burst from them.
What? Did I say something weird?