Dodgeball Brawl and Sunset Confessions
With a heavy thud, the ball rocketed forward. Ha Eunju barely managed to snatch the ball hurtling straight at her with blistering speed. She let out a groan from the excruciating abdominal pain.
Ugh… that strength is insane.
The impact was so fierce she nearly dropped it. She gripped it desperately to hang on, but her body started sliding backward. Shhhk— Her feet dragged across the ground as she was pushed back, her heels teetering right on the edge of the line before finally stopping.
"Seriously…"
She'd blocked it somehow, but irritation boiled up inside Eunju. Did that bitch Lee Yuyeong have no sense of restraint? She'd been planning to go easy on her, subtly looking down on her all the while, but if she kept coming at her like this, that was out the window.
"You wanna go all out? Fine by me."
Eunju stepped forward, her voice laced with clear annoyance. Yuyeong, still locked in Yandere Stage 1, said nothing. Her silence felt like outright dismissal.
"I'm not holding back anymore!"
She'd been treating her like a pushover until now, but no more. Eunju eyed Yuyeong as an enemy she had to crush, clenching the ball tightly. Her teammates yelled from behind to pass it back, but like Yuyeong, she opted for a head-on clash. She hurled it at Yuyeong's body with full force, no holding back.
Thump—
"Tch… that hurts."
Yuyeong's body jolted back slightly from Eunju's throw, but she caught it. Then Yuyeong threw, Eunju caught and threw back. They kept at it.
Bam— Whack—
For a while, only the sounds of the ball flying back and forth echoed in silence. No one could utter a word at the spectacle. Dodgeballs can make sounds like that? Everyone marveled quietly.
Bam— Whack—
The first to break the silence were the boys in the stands.
"…Why are the girls so scary?"
"Yeah, thank God it's not mixed teams."
No one replied, but they all nodded fervently in agreement. It was astonishing that both girls' hands were still intact after catching those shots.
No way that's because of me, right?
Goosebumps prickled all over my skin. Yuyeong had awakened her yandere side again, and Eunju was going just as berserk in response. I desperately wanted to deny that I was the one who needed to calm them down. The class rep, who'd been happily shipping romance rumors earlier, now looked at me with pity.
"Hang in there, Taeyang."
"I told you, it's not like that… please."
The match showed no signs of ending even as lunchtime wound down. The teammates from both classes had given up, standing around to watch the two-goers' duel. Some even flopped down in exhaustion.
Judging there was no path to victory like this, Eunju scanned Yuyeong's body while gripping the ball.
Target the legs.
She threw a breaking ball low, aiming for Yuyeong's legs this time. The ball skimmed dangerously close to the floor, hurtling toward Yuyeong.
Thwack—
And just like that, the endless match ended on Yuyeong's mistake. She'd anticipated low and swung her arm down, but the break sent it bouncing off her leg and away.
"I… I WON!!!"
Eunju cheered, but Yuyeong spoke up.
"Wasn't that a grounder just now?"
"What are you talking about!?"
Eunju snapped irritably, but reactions from the others were split too. The ball had been that ambiguous—grazing the ground maybe?—and insanely fast. Class 3 insisted it hadn't touched, Yuyeong's side claimed grounder, murmurs rising. Naturally, the loudest argument came from the two involved.
"It was a grounder!"
"No way, it flew straight without touching!"
"I saw it hit!!"
"If it hit, it would've bounced differently!!"
The crowd grew restless. But the whistle cut through the noise.
Tweet—
All eyes turned to the referee. No way a regular school sports fest prelim had video replay. The ref made the call solo.
And the verdict…
"Class 3 wins!"
"Wooooaaahhh!!!!"
The ref raised Ha Eunju's class's hand. It felt anticlimactic, but the situation was iffy, and the losers were too drained and intimidated by the pair to protest.
"…Don't screw with me!!!!"
As expected, only Yuyeong refused to accept it. Before her classmates could swarm Eunju, Yuyeong charged at her, fuming.
"Kyaa! Let go!!"
"No way! Cheater!!"
"You're really taking this to the end?!"
Yuyeong yanked Eunju's hair. Eunju grabbed back. The dodgeball showdown devolved into a full brawl in seconds.
"You shouldn't even approach Taeyang!"
"You're the one who needs to honor the bet! Get lost!!"
"You damn vixen!"
"You think Taeyang'll like you acting like this?!"
And in that mess, someone got unwanted splash damage.
"Taeyang? So it is true?"
"How's he in a love triangle with girls like that?"
"Poor Taeyang guy."
I felt like I might faint. Hell, I wished I could just pass out now and wake up after it all blew over.
"………Haa~"
I sighed deeply from the gut.
How am I supposed to survive school now?
I regretted not noticing those two had been fighting over me all this time.
I've gotta get better at reading the room from now on.
Whether I'd learned my lesson or not, their fight ignited in a flash.
"Let go, both of you!"
The referee teacher rushed in panicked, but the chaos dragged on even as they tried to separate them.
"Your goody-two-shoes act is so annoying! All you do is threaten people!"
"When did I threaten you? Quit pretending to be pure! You're the creepy one!"
"You did threaten me! Acting all sweet to everyone while trash-talking behind backs!"
"Knock it off!!"
The teacher finally pried them apart and bellowed, dragging them both to the office.
"Hic— Hic—"
"Sniff… waaah~"
"Again with the fake tears."
Eunju put on a pitiful sob show, while Yuyeong glared and called her out on the lies. The dodgeball semifinal ended leaving nothing but bad vibes.
"Can I transfer again?"
I couldn't show my face at school until graduation after that. The rumors spread school-wide in under an hour.
In the end, the dodgeball match went with the ref's call—Ha Eunju's Class 3 advanced to the finals. The two hauled to the office mercifully escaped suspension. They claimed it was just a heated moment during the game, and since both had spotless records, the teachers let it slide with a reconciliation.
But if parents show up tomorrow, it'll blow up again.
I worried I'd get dragged in since Taeyang came up, but it didn't happen.
Yuyeong, back from the office, apologized to everyone around and slumped with her head down, listless. When classmates nudged me to talk to her, she just kept mumbling sorry. Good thing her Yandere Stage 1 had worn off.
She probably won't talk to me for a while, so I'll leave her be.
I decided not to push it.
Homeroom ended, and after-school hit. Last practice for the sports festival today.
"Everyone! Last practice today, so keep it light and focus on condition management."
"Yessir~!!"
The sky was dyed sunset orange, students buzzing cheerfully about tomorrow's event. Laughter drifted from outside the window, contrasting the quiet sob echoing in the stairwell. Yuyeong, unable to leave school, huddled on the empty stairs, stifling her cries.
"I don't wanna go…"
Per the bet, she had to give up on me. Eunju would keep chasing me, they got along so well, so soon enough I'd date her. No room left for Yuyeong. And next year after graduation, I'd follow Eunju to her high school anyway. No more meetings, just drifting apart.
Thinking about it, it was a hopeless bet for Yuyeong from the start. I'd seen her at her worst in front of me… No guy would fall for a gloomy girl like that. Meanwhile, Eunju had killer skills melting guys with her fake charm.
If only I'd stayed the bright, pure girl…
If she hadn't obsessed from the get-go, hadn't bugged me, hidden her otaku side—would it be different? Now, approaching would just make me sick of her clinginess, so she hesitated.
Taeyang would hate me again.
Yuyeong sobbed alone until she calmed. She washed up in the bathroom, fixed her puffy face, and returned to class around the end of practice.
"Ah, crap, left my bag."
She froze. Hearing my voice, Yuyeong ducked away. I didn't spot her and entered the classroom. Soon after, Ha Eunju followed me in.
"…"
Yuyeong unwittingly peeked from behind the door.
"Ah, crap, left my bag."
Annoying, but no choice—I headed back up. Tired from practice, but my uniform was inside too. Sis was washing them tonight, so I needed to grab it.
I entered and went straight for my bag when a voice called from the door.
"Ah, there you are."
"Huh?"
Turning, I saw Eunju.
"Hey, Taeyang…"
Her voice was a bit hoarse, probably from all the yelling. …Yeah, this was awkward. First time seeing her since she and Yuyeong scrapped in the gym over me.
"What's up?"
"Uh… did you watch the dodgeball game?"
She knew it was embarrassing, avoiding my eyes with flushed cheeks.
"…Yeah, I saw."
Silence stretched. Sunset light just bathed her.
"Hoo~ Then I'll just be straight."
Eunju lifted her bowed head, eyes sparkling as she looked at me.
"First off, sorry for fighting with Yuyeong over you without telling you."
"Got it."
Then came her confession.
"Honestly, at first I approached you on purpose to recruit you for baseball club!"
Blushing furiously in the sunset glow, she spilled without pause.
"But hanging out more, we clicked so well, and you have these cute sides… Ah, what am I even saying. Anyway. Gradually, I lost track of my own feelings. Once I realized Yuyeong liked you, I started obsessing weirdly. Guess I caught it too."
Hearing a confession straight-up was embarrassing. My face heated to match the sunset.
"Hoo~ Straight to the point: I wanna keep hanging with you, Taeyang. Even after graduation, same high school, keep seeing you. So… go to my school?"
No pretense—this was her rawest honesty yet. Her affection seemed genuine. She'd opened up like this; lying would be rude.
So.
"Sorry. I don't think so."
I confessed my honest feelings too. If I'd picked up on it early and walled off, maybe she wouldn't have fallen. Bitter.
"…Why?"
Her voice quivered wetly. Her eyes, brimming like she'd cry any second, shimmered in the sunset. Fitting for the school idol—she was pretty. Few guys could reject that face easily. Even I felt the pang saying no. Afraid direct eye contact would weaken me, I turned away—toward my seat.
"Someone I'm kinda watching out for."
"Watching out for?"
"Someone I gotta look after… anyway, yeah."
She wouldn't get it even if I said. Kim Hayan. Gotta stay by my sis's side to keep her from going yandere. How to explain that?
As I trailed off looking away, she seemed to snap.
Poor girl, stuck rivaling Yuyeong of all people… Wait, no—she'd scrapped evenly with her, so she wasn't ordinary either.
Still, one worry nagged. I didn't know Yuyeong super well, but building bad blood with a potential yandere risk? Trouble later. I changed topics, advising out of concern.
"More importantly, maybe apologize to Yuyeong and make up? Dunno what happened, but."
They'd "reconciled" in the office, but no way it was real. Cautiously asking, she bristled.
"No, even if it was a misunderstanding, the threats and stuff got out… haha, was that nosy?"
Eunju finally shed a tear and yelled.
"Do you even know what she's like?!"
"Uh… weird?"
She choked at my answer, then exploded.
"…Weird, then why… No! More than that!"
Fuming, she spilled a massive secret.
"She's an otaku!!"
"…Huh?"
"Saw her at the bookstore by the station! Buying some book with big-eyed half-naked girl characters, all excited!"
"And?"
"And?! You're fine with that?!"
"Yeah, already knew."
"Wha…"
Her steam deflated. She'd built it up like some bombshell, and that was it? Otaku reveal wouldn't change much even if school knew. Yuyeong just hated admitting her hobby. …But Eunju knew?
"You didn't seriously blackmail her over that, right?"
Gotta be pointless harassment.
"You're really okay with it?"
"With what?"
"Otaku's creepy! I get chills seeing them mutter weird stuff alone!"
True. Yuyeong muttering alone was creepy. I agreed, but didn't fully back Eunju.
"You an otaku too?"
I pondered how to reply. No need—better distance her for Yuyeong's state and her safety.
"Kinda?"
"……"
I heard teeth grinding. Then tears streamed.
"Wh-what do you see in that ugly bitch!!!!!"
Screaming that, she bolted from the classroom.
Huh? Like? Some misunderstanding? Otaku part fine, but liking Yuyeong? Bad—more weird rumors linking us. Had to clear it, so I turned to chase.
"Taeyang…"
Shit! Yuyeong, why're you still here?!
Her puffy-faced self emerged from behind the door, approaching me.
"Uh, Yuyeong? What you just saw—"
"Mmm~ no need to say."
She shook her head. Tears stopped, now beaming brightly. Sunset bathed her smile.
"No need."
"No, it's not what you think. Misunderstanding!!"
She gazed at my frantic denial and spoke.
"Yeah, as expected…"
"Yeah, thought about it—not, right?"
But I never heard her follow-up, her true thoughts.
Yeah, as expected… I'm glad I like Taeyang.
A warm spring breeze blew down the hall, gently enveloping the two. In this coming-of-age drama, Yuyeong was the winner.
"Heehee, take care of me from now on too, Taeyang."