2nd Round #4
2nd Round #4
Ha-rim frowned as if annoyed by people's gazes.
She sat on a bench, took off her shoes, and tidied her clothes and hair. Her act of grooming herself with her feet was close to divine skill. It was more precise and accurate than most hands.
Her white shoes had open heels, making them look like slippers from behind. From the front, they looked like ordinary campus shoes with crisscrossing laces.
'Barefoot is kinda hot.'
Thanks to Im Yu-na, I've awakened to a new fetish.
The students' gazes towards Ha-rim varied. There were those who were careful even with their glances, fearing she might get hurt, those who exclaimed in admiration at her free use of her feet, and those who stared with contempt.
...Surprisingly, all students had their eyes on Ha-rim.
'I don't see any attendants to assist her around? As a well-known chaebol family, they shouldn't be short on money, right?'
Even if she could use her feet freely, ordinary daily life would be difficult. Just opening a classroom door, which takes others 2 seconds, would probably take her tens of seconds.
...Exercising with others was virtually impossible.
'Now that I think about it, isn't it absurd to do Advanced Physical Education with such an unstable body?'
Many students watched Ha-rim with puzzled expressions, as if they were all thinking similar thoughts. Then, a student with a gentle, sheep-like appearance seemed to make up his mind and spoke to Ha-rim.
"Hi, I'm Si-peu. What's your name?"
"...Ha-rim."
"Um... just in case, this is the Advanced Physical Education Department, you know? Did you find the right..."
"...I found the right place, and I'll take care of my own business, so you just do yours."
"Ah, I see... Sorry... I'll go now..."
A flicker of guilt crossed Si-peu's face. He seems like a kind-hearted student.
'The atmosphere just got chilly.'
The group of students who had been chattering loudly just moments ago fell silent after Ha-rim arrived. An awkward atmosphere weighed heavily in the air.
The atmosphere changed when a large male teacher in a gym uniform arrived.
'It's the same PE teacher I saw earlier.'
He's the teacher I saw outside the auditorium on the entrance ceremony day, and the one I see every PE class.
"Nice to meet you. I am Tae-sik."
He was holding a blue document with a ballpoint pen stuck in it.
"Today, before we begin our full departmental activities, we'll conduct a basic fitness test. The events include a 100m dash, pull-ups, sit-ups, and a flexibility test."
We followed the PE teacher and stood in the middle of the sports field.
"The most important thing in exercise is stretching. Proper stretching prevents injuries and significantly reduces fatigue caused by exercise. The importance of stretching cannot be overstated."
He pressed a square radio button on the floor. A bright traditional Korean music beat echoed from the radio. The person who usually just fiddled with documents during PE class performed a movement for the first time.
"Watch carefully and follow along."
The National Gymnastics created in the 70s during the military dictatorship era had oddly stiff, military-style movements. To replace this, the 'Gukmin Geongang Chejo' was newly created and distributed in 1999 as part of the New Millennium Health Gymnastics Project.
The gymnastics we were doing now was that very 'Gukmin Geongang Chejo'. Unlike the stiff, old military-style gymnastics, the movements were embarrassing, but it was also famous as a surprisingly effective workout due to its frequent jumping movements.
"Ugh! I did it backward."
...Also, surprisingly, there were many difficult movements, so few students performed them accurately.
"Ueoeok."
I also followed well at first, but my movements got tangled up midway.
'Ha-rim... is doing fine on her own.'
Due to the nature of Gukmin Geongang Chejo, there were many movements that couldn't be performed without arms, so Ha-rim had no choice but to stretch on her own.
With her legs stretching wide and graceful movements, her stretching was an art performed with incredible balance and flexibility.
'...Huh? It seems her physical abilities are superior to mine?'
Putting my surprise aside, I focused on the gymnastics first.
"Hehe, this is surprisingly fun."
Ha-yoon kept smiling, genuinely enjoying herself as she followed along with clumsy movements.
Not only Ha-yoon but most students performed the gymnastics with joyful smiles.
'My dick is making me self-conscious, so my movements keep getting smaller...'
Only I wasn't enjoying myself.
When doing jumping movements, I faked it by bending and straightening my knees.
"Student Ji-yoon, you've been slacking off for a while... Do it properly from now on."
"Yes, sir."
'I got caught.'
After the gymnastics, we prepared for the upcoming fitness test. Students brought mats from the storage room and began doing sit-ups.
'Oh, shit...'
Many students had their gym uniforms folded, exposing shy belly fat. Our dicks love it.
...Gulp.
Towards the end, Ha-rim lay down. Everyone's gaze, from students to the PE teacher, was focused on her.
Ha-rim, ignoring the gazes, repeated sit-ups with precise form. It was an honest posture, using not even a slight momentum.
Many people generally know sit-ups as an abdominal exercise. However, it's actually a surprisingly ineffective exercise for strengthening the abs. Rather, more strength is used in the waist, lower body, and arms than in the abs.
Sit-ups are an exercise that builds overall physical endurance by exerting strength throughout the entire body. This is also why sit-ups were added to the fitness tests of the powerful U.S. military.
...In short, it was truly amazing for Ha-rim, who has no arms, to do sit-ups without momentum.
"Waaah!"
Some students whistled and cheered.
'She is indeed cool...'
Ha-rim received a failing score on pull-ups, which were impossible for her to attempt, but she achieved near-perfect scores on sit-ups and the flexibility test.
The students' gazes towards Ha-rim changed. From a disabled person with physical difficulties to a hero who overcame physical disability.
'...Why does her expression harden the more she's cheered? Isn't it normal to be happy when your efforts are recognized?'
Even though I noticed it, I couldn't understand her psychology.
Ha-rim's characteristic half-closed eyes were chillingly cold. A grinding sound, "Ppudeudeuk," came from her shark-like teeth.
"Finally, the 100m dash. ...Student Ha-rim will be tested separately later using a different method."
'Well, this can't be helped.'
If it were a simple exercise, perhaps, but an intense exercise like running was very dangerous.
"...I'll do it."
"What?"
"...I said I'll run."
"There's no need to overdo it..."
"I'm saying I'll do it because it's not overdoing it."
Ha-rim glared at the PE teacher. Tae-sik sighed and then spoke cautiously.
"...I'll allow it, so run moderately. You're already close to a perfect score, so there's no need to overdo it."
...
Ha-rim nodded with a stiff expression.
The 100m dash took place on a straight track. Ha-yoon was slow due to her short legs, and I dawdled because of my enormous dick, achieving a record close to the bottom, in the 24-second range.
"...It seems we're the slowest here."
"Hehet."
Ha-yoon seemed delighted, as if she had found something in common.
'If I didn't worry about my dick, I'd easily break the 20-second barrier...'
Of course, it's a meaningless assumption. If I ran with my dick flopping around, I'd immediately be reported, handcuffed, thrown into prison, and have my ass opened up by those shitty faggots.
'...Wait, if I somehow ended up in a women's prison, wouldn't I become incredibly popular? Featured in the newspaper a month later as the man who impregnated 300 women. ...Oh, that's kinda hot.'
While I was having such silly thoughts, Ha-rim stepped onto the track. For some reason, her ready stance looked sacred and sublime.
The PE teacher positioned students at various points along the track to prepare for any potential accidents.
No fear could be found in her eyes. She truly showed not even a hint of anxiety.
'She's a character who seems like she'd appear in a hot-blooded shonen manga, not Queen Valtz Academy... Is this what they call a girl crush?'
I felt a human coolness from someone whose limbs weren't intact, a coolness I had never once felt in my life.
"Ppiiik!"
The whistle blew.
Ha-rim started.
...It was an all-out sprint that anyone would acknowledge.
In running, the biggest role in maintaining balance isn't played by the legs, but by the arms. Humans easily fall with even a slight deviation if their upper body sways. In that respect, Ha-rim's running was close to a human triumph.
Moreover, her running was so dangerous it could be said she was risking her life. If she fell without arms, her head, the human solar plexus, would directly hit the ground.
Of course, the PE teacher also took safety into consideration and put a thick headgear on Ha-rim's head. She frowned severely at the headgear, but knowing she was being stubborn, she didn't say anything else.
In the end, she completed the 100m.
"...20 seconds."
""Clap clap clap clap clap!!""
"Amazing!"
"Ha-rim! Ha-rim!"
The students shouted excitedly. The sound of fervent applause echoed across the sports field.
"You are a true athlete."
The PE teacher also praised Ha-rim in a serious tone.
...
Only I noticed that Ha-rim's expression was seriously souring.
'Why does she hate it so much? Isn't it much better to have your efforts recognized than to be ignored for having a disability?'
Apart from noticing it, I couldn't understand her psychology.
"Wow... she's faster than us."
Ha-yoon's mouth dropped open.
Although initially uneasy, Ha-rim soon began to be treated as something of a mascot for the [Advanced Physical Education] Department.
Of course, not everyone respected Ha-rim. Some students looked at her with gazes close to contempt.
'It's probably because her upper body swayed grotesquely when she was sprinting...'
Her intensely moving figure without arms, something humans are so accustomed to, was indeed alien.
'Many reasons are needed to like someone, but not many are needed to hate someone.'
...But strangely, Ha-rim was more comfortable with gazes of hatred than with gazes of praise.
'Conquering heroines is good, but... Ha-rim is somehow difficult to approach.'
It was more comfortable dealing with Park Tae-i, who was openly a Lowlife, rather than someone I worried might get hurt by even a small action.
'...Well, at least it seems certain she's not a Yandere.'
The first day of [Advanced Physical Education] ended with the fitness test.
* * *
"Bye, Ha-yoon."
"Okay..."
After confirming with my eyes that Ha-yoon got on the bus, I walked home.
"Ugh, I'll be busy again."
After arriving home, I organized my Ingmart shopping cart and started a thorough cleaning.
"Ugh... there's a disgusting amount of mold."
Due to the nature of always damp and humid semi-basement rooms, mold inevitably grew no matter how cleanly one lived. The bathroom, in particular, was so bad that mold appeared even with daily cleaning.
"...Should I just buy a house?"
Muttering, I wiped the wall with a rag. Dark green mold was swept away. No matter how much I cleaned, I never got used to it; instead, I got goosebumps every time I cleaned.
After thoroughly cleaning the house, I checked something I had been curious about.
Kkung. Kkung. Kkung.
"Are you there?"
Kkungkkungkung. Kkung.
"Hmm... there's nothing strange like last time..."
I searched the places where I had found the miniature cameras in order. After a long inspection, I came to a conclusion.
"There are no cameras anywhere."
Not a single trace could be found.
"As expected, someone installed them. I don't know who it was, but it's definitely some crazy perverted bastard!"
This is the problem when you're pretty. Perverts, whom you might see once in a lifetime, swarmed like flies.
"I will become the King of Security!!"
I went online and ordered security windows and a double deadbolt.
"Hidden cam perverts... cut!"
Only after finishing my shopping could I finally feel at ease.
"Tomorrow, I'll be going to the [Dance] Department... My dick won't be discovered, right?"
While I was at it, I also ordered an athletic cup.
