I Bought It For Nothing
There were all sorts of terms that could describe this kind of role—benchwarmer, scrub, totem pole—but Suhyun was a true master of the class. Whether it was soccer or basketball, for someone who had followed the long all-boys middle and high school pipeline, ending up on the weaker team was a painfully familiar process. The lowly defensive grunt who gets brushed aside by the attackers without a second thought. Back in school the other kids had simply been grateful to have enough bodies to fill out the roster, so criticism of Suhyun had been almost nonexistent.
“Umm~ Then since Kang-hyung is the skilled one, we’ll pair him with Suhyun-hyung, right?”
Somehow the Spirit members had managed to finish shopping and arrive at the pension. The guys were already cheering at the sight of the foot-volleyball net by the entrance. The numbers worked out perfectly, too. The first-year boys—vocalist Gunwoo, guitarist Taeho, and bassist Jiho—three in total. The second-years were just Suhyun and Choi Kang—two people. They had decided on a three-on-three and needed to recruit one girl. The person who declared she would join was none other than Hana.
“Let’s do this clean—first-years versus second-years!”
Choi Kang bounced the ball and showed off some flashy footwork. His well-honed muscles and agile movements were more than enough to intimidate the first-years.
“Hey! Let’s bet ice cream sandwiches!”
Hana, standing beside Choi Kang, wore a smug expression as she provoked the underclassmen.
“Noona! I call Baskin-Robbins!”
“Then if I win, it’s Häagen-Dazs?”
The stakes kept climbing.
“I… I’m not really confident…”
Joining in was one thing, but Suhyun hated the idea of his team losing because of him.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Choi Kang clamped a heavy hand on Suhyun’s shoulder. Even before the match started, the grip made Suhyun feel like his shoulder might crumble.
“I’ll personally teach those first-years some manners!”
“Huh. Hana, are you any good at foot volleyball?”
If Hana was decent, it would at least lighten the load on Kang.
“Me? I’m not, like, amazing or anything… but I do like kicking the ball around.”
When Hana stole the ball from Choi Kang and began juggling it with practiced little taps, Suhyun realized his worries had been pointless. Just watching her, she looked ten times more skilled than he was.
“Shall we start, then?”
The match began with the first-years on the attack. They had clearly kicked the ball plenty of times before; their breathing synced up smoothly. The second-years’ side, however, played out rather differently.
“Huh…?”
The ball should have come to Suhyun, but a massive shadow suddenly loomed over him. Choi Kang stretched out one huge leg with terrifying speed and made the save. Just as he had promised beforehand, he was sweeping away Suhyun’s worries in one clean motion.
The next attack belonged to Hana. Her long limbs drew graceful arcs through the air. It was not the sort of shot anyone could afford to take lightly just because she was a girl. Sometimes she delivered a stubborn, powerful strike; other times she pulled off precarious attacks that seemed to cling to the net. She was contributing several times more than Suhyun.
“Hey! Send it only to Suhyun-hyung!”
The first-years, sensing they might actually lose, revised their strategy. It was a cheap tactic, but with premium ice cream on the line, they began aiming the ball as far from Choi Kang as possible—straight to the spots where Suhyun would have to receive it.
“Ugh…”
The volleyball ricocheted off Suhyun’s foot. It was already the third point they had given up.
“It’s fine! Lee Suhyun! We’re still ahead!”
“That’s right. Focus! Focus!”
Both Hana and Choi Kang kept encouraging him. Clutching the ball, Suhyun wore a gloomy expression but stubbornly stayed in the game.
Despite the desperate efforts of Choi Kang and Hana, the first-years were steadily closing the gap.
Yeah. I have to do something.
His mind was frantic, but skill didn’t improve in the blink of an eye. The floating ball flew toward him. Determined to at least contribute this time, Suhyun twisted his ankle sharply and—
“Ow!”
He managed to receive the ball, but lost his balance and tumbled sideways. The moment his knee scraped across the dirt, the area where his pants touched burned fiercely.
“Are you okay?”
The members paused the game and rushed over.
“Ah, yeah.”
Hana offered her hand and helped him up, but every step sent a sharp throb through his ankle. Suhyun realized he wouldn’t be able to keep playing and found it hard to hide his guilt.
“I think I sprained my ankle… We should probably get someone else.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Yeah. It hurts every time I move.”
“Guys, the bet’s on hold! I’ll take Suhyun inside and be right back.”
When Hana called a stop to the match, Choi Kang carried Suhyun back to the pension.
“You did good! I’ll crush those first-years and come back!”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Avoiding Seoeun and the other female juniors who had gathered to make hotteok, Suhyun managed to slip into the inner part of the room. Feeling rather down, he let out a heavy sigh.
“Haa…”
This kind of atmosphere really wasn’t for him. Activities like this simply didn’t suit him. Even as a benchwarmer, in a small-group sport the weakness showed too clearly. It would have been better if it were like PE soccer, with thirteen people per team.
When he rolled up his pant leg, he saw droplets of blood forming on the scraped knee.
“…Why are you hurt?”
The sudden voice made Suhyun flinch and whip around. He hadn’t heard anyone come in—where had she appeared from? The owner of the voice was Juyeon. She looked genuinely startled when she saw his wound.
“W-wait a second.”
She scurried over to the closet and pulled out the large bag she had packed that morning. One by one, the contents piled onto the bed: pajamas, a flashlight, a deck of cards, bug spray. After rummaging around for a while, what she finally produced was ointment and bandages.
“Use this…”
She placed the ointment—still in its original packaging, as if it had never been used—into Suhyun’s hand.
“Thanks.”
He dabbed it gently onto the wound with his index finger and winced at the sting. Juyeon knelt right beside him, peeling the wrapper off the bandage. Once the ointment was applied, she carefully centered the bandage over the scrape.
“…Done.”
Her reaction was like she had just cleared a quest. Suhyun couldn’t help letting out a small chuckle.
“Juyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you always carry all that stuff in your bag?”
Compared to everyone else’s simple luggage, hers was packed with an astonishing amount of random items.
“W-when I go somewhere unfamiliar… you never know when an emergency might happen.”
Anyone listening would think she was heading to a deserted island. Still, her preparedness had genuinely helped Suhyun.
“Do you have any pain patches, by any chance?”
He had asked half-jokingly, but Juyeon told him to wait again and began digging through her bag once more.
“Here.”
Her bag really did seem to contain everything. Feeling a little better, Suhyun stood and sat on the edge of the bed.
“I guess outdoor activities really are too much for me.”
Suhyun explained the reason for his injury with a touch of self-pity. Listening to him, Juyeon’s empathy meter looked ready to explode. Loners really shouldn’t try to participate in things. Doing nothing was far more helpful. She nodded vigorously up and down in complete understanding. Her light brown bob swayed in time with the motion.
“By the way, what were you doing in here, Juyeon?”
The other girls all seemed to be playing in the kitchen. What had she been doing alone in the room?
“N-Nintendo.”
Taking advantage of the earlier chaos, she had slipped into the room and spent the time until Suhyun arrived completely absorbed in her game. She had curled up in the blind spot beneath the bed and achieved perfect concealment. Being able to enjoy her newly bought game had been pure happiness.
“Oh. Really?”
“Yeah. It’s super fun.”
“I want to watch you play.”
Since there was only one console, they couldn’t play together anyway. He had worried that the two of them being alone would increase the chance of getting caught, but Juyeon accepted his suggestion. She pulled out the console she had hidden under the bed again. Her small fingers clicked the buttons with practiced ease. Just watching, it was obvious she was quite skilled.
“So close…!”
Juyeon had narrowly missed defeating the boss. Unable to contain her frustration, she smacked her thigh with the console.
“Mmm… This is so annoying…”
Suhyun felt more relaxed now. Seeing her honest reactions, it was clear he wasn’t the only one who had loosened up.
He was just wondering whether to retry when—
“Hey. Lee Suhyun.”
Hana opened the door and stepped inside, immediately spotting the two of them sitting unusually close. They were so near they almost looked like they were leaning on each other. When they noticed Hana, both turned toward her.
“Is your ankle okay?”
The pair jumped like elementary-school kids caught playing a forbidden game.
“Ah, yeah.”
“What about the scrape?”
“Juyeon put a bandage on it, so it feels better now.”
Even though he was the injured one, Suhyun felt strangely apologetic and smiled awkwardly.
“…I see.”
For some reason Hana nodded with a slightly sour expression.
“All right. Then rest up!”
She swung the door shut and left. Her left hand absently tapped the small paper box inside her pants pocket.
“…I shouldn’t have bought it.”
The twenty-five-minute round trip to the convenience store had been a secret from everyone.