Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Bodyguard Dodgeball
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Monday came around, and as always, I slumped into my seat half-asleep.
Im Rua watched me without a word, simply holding out her hand.
-Tok
I reached toward Im Rua, and as if she'd been waiting, a mint candy dropped from her fingers. I immediately thanked her.
“Thanks...”
“Yeah, enjoy it.”
-Nom
After popping the mint candy in my mouth, I felt a slight lift in my drowsiness.
Actually, it really did wake me up a bit. With my mouth feeling so refreshingly cool, sleep had no choice but to flee.
But that wasn't the important part.
“First period math... Second period Korean... Third period Korean history...”
Boring subjects stretched out ahead of me in a row. Ignoring them, I murmured the one listed below.
“PE...”
PE—one of the few classes I threw myself into wholeheartedly.
At the same time, it was the absolute best subject for shaking off sleep.
I might slack on everything else, but PE? I went all out. It was fun, sure, but more than that, it was directly tied to my health.
Just actively participating was enough for some minimum exercise, and on a weekday like today when I couldn't squeeze in a workout otherwise, there was no better opportunity.
As I perked up at the thought of PE, Im Rua asked in an ice-cold voice.
“You like PE that much?”
Her tone came out especially frosty, making my body twitch involuntarily, but I managed to answer as evenly as I could.
“It's better than the other subjects.”
“Why?”
“It's fun.”
She shook her head lightly, clearly disagreeing with me.
“Not really. There are so many more fun subjects than PE.”
“Like what?”
“Isn't Korean fun? Reading all sorts of literary works and analyzing them.”
This time, I pushed back.
“It's not analysis. It's just forcing answers.”
“It is analysis.”
“No, it's not.”
“Why do you think that?”
At her question, I recalled an article I'd seen before.
It nailed the problems with our country's education system perfectly, so it had stuck with me clearly.
“A modern poet's poem showed up on the SAT, but they marked an answer as correct that went against the poet's own interpretation. How is that analysis? It's just shoehorning guesses and forcing them on students.”
The moment I finished, Im Rua fired back.
“That was definitely a mistake, but stuff like that is rare compared to everything else.”
It felt like a lame excuse. Forced, even. Probably because she was someone benefiting from the system.
Logically, I knew I was the one being stubborn—picking one tiny error and treating it like the whole sample. That made my side seem more forced.
But I didn't want to admit it. And since I knew it was a real issue, I refused to back down.
“There might be way more right ones, but it proves mistakes can still happen.”
“The teachers making the tests are human. They can mess up.”
“They shouldn't. People's entire futures ride on those tests.”
“But... still, you can't say one thing like that ruins the fun or meaning of studying.”
It grated on me. It was right, but it grated.
And I figured that feeling stemmed from my attitude toward Im Rua right now.
We lived in different worlds. She was all about studying; I was all about videos. Model student versus class slacker.
That difference twisted my perspective.
I knew it, but I still couldn't accept her. Not with my flimsy pride getting in the way.
“Tch...”
Even after accepting her mint candy kindness, I chewed it up and flopped right back down.
“...Gonna sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“......Do whatever.”
Whether she was disappointed in me or just found me pathetic, Im Rua didn't try to stop me anymore.
In the end, I dozed through morning homeroom, first period, second period, and third period just like that.
And during the break after third period.
“...Um, Jinwoo.”
“Ung...?”
“Sorry to wake you, but... could you step out for a sec?”
“Huh...?”
Her words pulled me from sleep.
Having slept so soundly, that lingering irritation toward Im Rua had vanished completely—like the drool trickling from my mouth right now.
-Swipe
I roughly wiped the drool with my arm and glanced around.
The girls nearby were all holding their gym clothes, staring straight at me. They were probably waiting for me to leave.
I caught on quick, mumbled a sorry, grabbed my gym clothes, and headed out.
*
PE time arrived, and we started warming up with the teacher.
Today's game: Bodyguard Dodgeball. We'd rotate bodyguard roles.
Balls thrown by guys only out guys, and vice versa for girls. Basically, we had to protect each other.
Teams were drawn by lots, and I prayed I wouldn't end up with Im Rua.
But as always, my wishes like that never came true.
I drew the same team as Im Rua.
Most girls were kinda lukewarm about PE. Im Rua, though? She went hard at it, ranking in the top three among the girls.
Thanks to that—and my own solid PE grades—we could've avoided teaming up, but the lottery draw screwed us over.
“Let's do our best.”
“...Yeah.”
Whether she'd already forgotten our earlier spat or just didn't care a bit, Im Rua greeted me cheerfully. I just nodded and let my actions speak.
-Tweet!
Before I knew it, the whistle blew, and Bodyguard Dodgeball kicked off...
-Whoosh! Thwack!!
Im Rua's fastballs started slamming in.
She threw herself into PE and had great athleticism to boot.
What did that mean?
Simply put, every single ball she threw was a massive threat to the other side.
There were guys who weren't great at PE or didn't care much about it, and Im Rua targeted them ruthlessly.
Like piercing a weak defensive line—super smart, really.
-Thwack! Thwack!
As Im Rua's vicious throws took out girls left and right with no mercy, our side got hit back hard too, and before long, a bunch of our teammates were out.
Couldn't be helped. The more she racked up outs, the more opponents swarmed us to attack.
Our numbers evened out, then dwindled further. Both teams.
The count kept dropping until, suddenly, only Im Rua and I were left on our team.
Turned out most of the athletic guys had gotten taken out early.
Teacher, come on—with all the strong girls piled on our team, no wonder the powerhouse guys got funneled over here.
“Whoa, just Seo Jinwoo left, huh?”
“You're dead meat today—say it with me.”
“Jinwoo. They don't have many good girls left, so stick close behind me and hide.”
Im Rua stepped in front of me, ready to shield.
A petite girl—who barely reached my shoulder—insisting on protecting me felt a little ridiculous, but also... reassuring.
I trusted her. Because it was Im Rua. That awesome Im Rua.
-Screeeeeam!
A ball from a male classmate came hurtling straight at me.
Insanely fast. Like he was seriously trying to take me out for real.
It was the kind of throw that'd make anyone flinch...
-Thwack!!
...but Im Rua smacked it away with her hand. Casually, like it was nothing.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
“Yoona! Over here!”
Right after deflecting it, she called out to an eliminated teammate for the ball.
-Grab!
-Screeeeeeaaaaam!!
-Thwack!!
The curving shot arced perfectly toward a girl hiding behind a guy, nailed her leg, and bounced her out too.
Im Rua's monstrous attack left even me rattled.
“How was that, Jinwoo?”
She flashed a confident grin my way, and I had only one thing to say.
“...That was badass, Im Rua.”
“I can pull that off easy.”
She held out her hand nonchalantly, and I gave her a light high-five on her palm.
Something felt off. Like she disliked me, but then showed kindness out of nowhere.
Somewhere in that gap, it felt a bit stupid. A bit funny. Utterly confusing.
What did Im Rua really think of me? What kind of guy did she see me as?
As those thoughts started crowding my head, an insanely fast ball came screaming in.
-Screeeeeeeeeam!!
This one aimed right at Im Rua's head, no less.
-Whoosh!
My body moved faster than I thought.
-Smack!!
Unprepared, I awkwardly threw myself in front of her and managed to swat the ball away just before it hit.
And Im Rua?
“You idiot...! That was thrown by a guy...!!”
......She was busy yelling at me. Not even a thanks.
But soon enough, she dropped the irritation.
Instead, she suddenly yanked my arm.
Her small, soft hand brushed mine, and...
“Ow ow ow ow ow...!!”
...a massive pain shot through my finger.
What the hell? Give me back my finger!