Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: The Water Balloon Bet
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Everyone was baffled by Hyorin's suggestion. But among them, the sculpture department senior was the most shocked.
"What?"
"A bet. The winner takes all of today's sales revenue. How about it? Sounds fun, right?"
The sculpture department senior gave an awkward smile as he glanced at Senior Ye-eun while Hyorin spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He was probably begging her to stop it, but unfortunately, Senior Ye-eun sided with Hyorin.
"Why not? It does sound fun. Let's give it a shot."
"......What?"
Only then did I realize why this situation had come about, seeing Senior Ye-eun's reaction.
'She's in on it with the senior.'
Yeah, it had seemed odd that Hyorin would suggest a bet like this in the first place.
She must have heard yesterday about merging the inns and talked it over with the senior.
Come to think of it, Senior Ye-eun had been displeased with the whole situation from the moment the merger was brought up.
She'd probably already discussed it with the other seniors too.
After all, the money made on the first day was substantial, so club dues wouldn't be an issue, and it was a chance to stick it to the sculpture department senior.
"Th-the other seniors won't just sit still for this."
The sculpture department senior tried to dodge the bet by blaming the other seniors, but he ended up hoist by his own petard.
"Don't worry about that. I've already talked to them."
"......"
Then Hyorin sidled up to me, flashed a sly smile, and nudged my arm.
She mouthed words at me.
'Did I do good?'
I nodded vigorously!
Seeing the sculpture department senior's shocked face felt so damn good.
If she'd planned this payback, she could've given me a heads-up.
But whatever.
I gave her a thumbs-up from an angle no one else could see.
Just then, the sculpture department senior, who had belatedly pieced it all together, scratched the back of his head and spoke up.
"Hey, cut the joking. Do you know how much money this is? To bet it all..."
"It's money we made thanks to us. And if you want it that bad, just win the bet."
Gulp.
It was the exact same situation for both sides.
Just because we'd proposed the bet first didn't mean we had the advantage.
I didn't know what the event would be, but one thing was certain.
No matter who won, the victor would be raking in a huge sum.
That was probably why the seniors had okayed the bet.
"......"
Even after all that, the sculpture department senior was still hesitating.
Not that I could blame him—he knew the stakes full well.
Sure, winning meant taking all of today's sales, but the sculpture department had tanked their business yesterday.
Losing this bet would mean blowing the entire festival's earnings.
The inn's profits became club dues, and those dues determined how smooth and luxurious student council life would be going forward.
From his perspective, it was money he absolutely couldn't let slip away.
But Senior Ye-eun seemed to have the upper hand.
Or more precisely, she knew exactly how to provoke him into our rigged game.
"Scared?"
"I was trying to protect your club dues, but fine. Any bet you want—let's do it. Start right now! I'll win no matter what and take all your earnings today."
Heh.
"You said it yourself—any bet."
Senior Ye-eun's provocation had worked perfectly.
The sculpture department senior couldn't take back his words once they'd left his mouth. And Senior Ye-eun made full use of it.
"So, what's the event?"
To his grumbled question, Senior Ye-eun replied with a broad smile.
"On the way here, I saw a water balloon toss game up ahead. How about that?"
"Water balloon toss?"
Water balloon... toss?
Hyorin's expression didn't flicker in the slightest, so had they decided on it from the start?
"Yeah, water balloon toss. Whichever department hits the most wins."
"Hmm, simple and good... Wait, but for water balloon toss, you need targets, right?"
At the word "targets," Senior Ye-eun's expression turned sly.
"The targets will be seniors from the opposing department. Fair and square, don't you think?"
"We'll be the targets?"
Nod.
Opposing department seniors as targets?
'This... is gonna be fun.'
It was awfully tempting.
Even if all I had in my hand was a water balloon.
The chance to nail the sculpture department senior's smug face.
"The throwers will be two per department. Five throws each, total of ten. Most hits wins. Sound fair?"
With his words already out there, the sculpture department senior could only nod silently.
Nod.
"Nice and clean. Decide who your throwers are and let us know. We'll do the same."
With that, Senior Ye-eun waved us over.
"Everyone, gather here for now."
Jungeun Park and I, Hyorin, and a few first-years from the kitchen approached, and without a moment's hesitation, Senior Ye-eun pointed at two of us.
"I'd like Hyorin and Kanghyeok to do the throwing."
"Yes, me?"
"Why not?"
"No, it's not that I can't..."
This bet might just be a matter of departmental pride.
I figured they'd carefully select throwers since we had to win.
"Then you and Hyorin throw. Honestly, the success of our sales is largely thanks to you two. Even if you lose the bet—which won't happen—no one will blame you. So no pressure."
If that's how they saw it, fine.
I turned to Hyorin, who was staring at the sculpture department senior with steely determination.
"You okay with this?"
"Yeah. I'm. Fine."
Hey, you don't look fine at all.
She was stiff with tension. On closer look, her hands were trembling slightly. She'd stepped up bravely, but was she scared after all?
'Jeez.'
How'd she catch that thief while getting this worked up over something like this? I was grateful, but it also made me pity her.
"So, I want you two to do it. Can you?"
At the senior's words, I looked away from Hyorin and replied.
"Yes, I'll do it."
Whoosh!
At my agreement, Hyorin whipped her head toward me.
"You're really gonna do it?"
What? Wasn't this already decided?
Or maybe she was hoping I'd talk her out of it.
Unfortunately, I had no intention of stopping Senior Ye-eun.
"Yeah, I will."
I didn't like how they praised Hyorin's courage one minute and dismissed catching the thief as luck the next.
Opportunities like this didn't come often, and I wasn't about to waste the revenge Senior Ye-eun had set up.
"Good call. Catching the thief was impressive, but even without that, you're the only one here who can do it, Kanghyeok. Weren't you pretty athletic in high school?"
Had Hyorin told her?
"Not really athletic, just a hobby."
"From what I heard, it was more than a hobby."
If it wasn't pro-level, it was a hobby, right?
"Still, you must be confident in throwing. You were on the baseball team."
I wasn't totally confident, but I didn't think I'd fail.
Next to painting, throwing balls was what I'd done most.
Nod.
With my nod, everything was settled.
"Alright, that's decided. Now, let's plan our strategy."
"Strategy?"
"Of course we need one. You weren't planning to just go at it fair and square, were you?"
Well, obviously...
"Our goal is simple."
Senior Ye-eun's expression hardened menacingly.
"Total victory. Today, we crush the sculpture department."
The inn door was closed.
Because of the bet, sure, but honestly, no more customers were likely at this hour anyway.
Finally closing up allowed us to soak in the real festival vibe for the first time.
That laid-back, carefree atmosphere we'd missed amid the sales rush.
'Nice.'
If it weren't for the bet, I'd have wanted to enjoy the festival like this.
Without the business side.
Maybe sensing our thoughts, Senior Ye-eun mentioned casually as we walked.
"After the bet, let's hit another inn for drinks. You've all worked hard."
Drinks? Not a bad idea.
Jungeun Park, trailing behind, teased playfully at her words.
"You're buying, right, Senior?"
"If we lose, sure. But we won't, so no worries."
Everyone laughed at her confident declaration.
Our foolproof strategy, cooked up with the senior before closing.
If it went according to plan, this bet was ours for sure.
Of course, there could be variables.
But seeing the sculpture department senior stomping ahead angrily, I doubted it.
We arrived at the water balloon booth and first got permission from the student running it.
"You're doing a bet? And the targets are these two?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Water balloons bursting on your faces will soak you head to toe. You okay with that?"
"Raincoats should work, right?"
"No, even with raincoats, it'll be similar. Worst case, your underwear gets drenched. If you're fine with it, I won't stop you."
The sculpture department senior shot Senior Ye-eun an uncomfortable look at that.
But Senior Ye-eun, dead set on winning, smirked and provoked him again.
"Scared?"
"We'll do it. Doesn't matter if we get wet—we're winning."
Watching their tense staredown, a thought crossed my mind.
'Hmm, this is gonna be a mudslinging match.'
There'd be a winner and loser, but no clean victory.
Even one hit out of ten throws meant getting drenched eventually.
But neither seemed to care.
All they wanted was to beat the other.
"Don't cry when you lose."
"That's what I want to say."
"Hmph!"
"Ha!"
After the verbal sparring, they spun on their heels and told the booth student.
"We can start now, right?"
"Yeah, no customers anyway. Let's go. Targets, come over here, suit up in raincoats."
Senior Ye-eun and the sculpture department senior geared up inside the booth and emerged.
"I'll go first."
Senior Ye-eun strode confidently to the target spot, sticking only her face out.
Then.
Heh.
As if it were the most natural thing, the sculpture department senior grabbed five water balloons and marched to the throwing line.
With a smug grin, he said.
"I'll go easy on you, special service."
Fair enough—no rule said targets couldn't throw.
As long as you hit the opponent, who threw didn't matter.
She smiled brightly.
"I figured you'd pull something like this."
Senior Ye-eun had anticipated this exact scenario.
The sculpture department senior, smug with balloons in hand.
Senior Ye-eun eyed him meaningfully, then suddenly called out.
"Hey, Park Inseok!"
Park Inseok, the sculpture department senior.
When Senior Ye-eun had talked about her winning strategy, she'd explained him to us.
He wasn't always like this; sure, he seemed obnoxious now, but he actually took great care of people.
This mess wasn't something he had to do, but he'd stepped up for his juniors despite the backlash.
I'd wondered why she went so far to defend him back then.
And now her words cleared it up.
"I like you."
"......What?"
So, don't hate Park Inseok too much.
"I like you, you idiot."