Sports Day (5): Awkward Distances and Sudden Invites
It hadn't been long since the two-person three-legged race preliminaries wrapped up.
I glanced briefly toward the bleacher stairs.
U Hana and Lee Seol were sitting off to one side. They were side by side, but there was this weird sense of distance between them.
...Did they fight?
That subtle vibe I'd been picking up on earlier wasn't just my imagination, apparently. Was it because of what went down at the back gate?
Of course, that didn't mean I was about to wedge myself in there without a clue.
So instead, I headed down from the bleacher stairs.
Down on the field, the guys from our class were playing soccer. Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su were right in the mix, running around.
Around them, the girls and the guys who weren't playing—like me—were gathered, watching the game.
I should cheer them on too...
From what I could see, Ji Hyun-su definitely had some real training under his belt, and Seo Jae-hyun seemed pretty good too.
They'd already played one match that morning and won, apparently.
No goals yet in this one, and halftime ended just like that.
I held out a few bottles of drinks I'd brought to the guys coming off the field. They were drenched in sweat, panting as they walked over, and they each grabbed one naturally.
"Thanks."
Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su came over too and took theirs. They chugged them right after twisting off the caps, so I said casually,
"About that time I said come watch the soccer game. I kept my promise."
Seo Jae-hyun yanked the bottle from his mouth and stared at me.
"...You have a conscience?"
His reaction was so funny I couldn't help but chuckle.
"But you're pretty good at soccer?"
"Finally, you see the true value of this body..."
"Hyun-su."
"Agh."
In the final minutes of the second half, Ji Hyun-su took Seo Jae-hyun's pass and slotted it right in. That goal sealed the win for our class.
Once the soccer match was over,
the arm-wrestling finals and two-person three-legged race finals followed. Both were ones I was in—won arm-wrestling, got second in the three-legged. The guy-guy pair was just too fast.
Then I ran into Choi Dong-rak by chance, and now we were sitting under the bleachers off to one side.
I brought up something that had just popped into my head.
"That script you wrote this time? It was really good."
Honestly, I hadn't said it out loud before, but compared to the other entries in the contest, the difference was night and day.
This guy had real talent. If he nurtured it right, he could probably make a career out of something similar.
Choi Dong-rak either wasn't used to compliments or wanted to brush it off out of embarrassment—he changed the subject instead of responding.
"Don't forget this weekend."
"Huh? What?"
"My concert. Ticketing. No failures allowed."
"Oh."
I got it right away.
Come to think of it, I'd totally spaced on that too.
It used to be pretty much my only hobby, something I obsessed over.
"Thanks for the reminder."
Choi Dong-rak just nodded once, like it was no big deal.
This area was where his class had set up to rest, so a few familiar faces passed by.
One of them was Jeong Suhyun. Our class president back in first year. She'd ended up in Choi Dong-rak's class this year.
Our eyes met, and she waved like she was happy to see me.
She waved back awkwardly, then quickly looked away.
...Things felt a bit awkward now. Sure, different classes meant naturally drifting apart—that happens—but ever since the web drama dropped, there was an extra wall there.
Looking at it that way, maybe Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su were the impressive ones for acting totally normal around me.
Even Lee Seol and U Hana were being considerate, treating me awkwardly like this.
I rummaged in the pocket of my jacket. My fingers brushed something crinkly.
I pulled out a few and took my hand out.
"Suhyun, want some?"
Jeong Suhyun's eyes went wide, and she froze right there.
I held my hand out again, urging her.
She came over awkwardly, looked down at the candies and gummies in my palm, and picked just one.
"Th-thanks."
Choi Dong-rak, watching from the side, tilted his head.
"Where do you keep getting this stuff?"
"Dunno. It was just in my pocket."
"What kind of life is that?"
Choi Dong-rak pulling the same line as Seo Jae-hyun, huh.
Anyway, Jeong Suhyun was still struggling with the awkwardness, not hiding her fidgety expression, but she finally spoke up.
"C-congrats. I didn't get to say it."
Probably about my acting debut. I nodded lightly.
"Thanks. You watched it?"
"Yeah."
Right then, the speaker blared an announcement. A few classes, including Choi Dong-rak's, were called down to the field.
"Gotta go then."
"Yeah."
Choi Dong-rak's class cleared out to the field, and the spot that had been buzzing with people emptied out fast.
I stayed sitting there alone when I sensed someone approaching.
I turned and saw an unexpected face.
The first thing that caught my eye was her dark black hair, curling naturally inward at the ends.
Under it, she was in a black tracksuit top and short shorts. The girl radiating that effortless cool vibe was Jang Do-ah. She stopped in front of me, looking down at me with an intrigued expression, and I gazed up at her face, muttering in admiration.
"To hear that and still come over."
"Why not?"
"Guess shameless is the word."
I swallowed a hollow laugh and turned my head away.
"First time for everything with a girl like you."
"Even you have firsts with girls? Sounds nice."
"Yeah, you're the first."
I knew it was weird banter, but I wasn't about to match her energy.
She didn't care and plopped down right next to me anyway. Jang Do-ah crossed her legs, glanced down at the field, then turned back to me.
"No, but seriously—how do the girls around you keep changing?"
My gaze flicked to Choi Dong-rak.
"...Not him."
"Then will you help protect my image this time?"
"Scram?"
I nodded slightly, and she gaped like it was ridiculous.
"You've already given up on me, huh."
"Only with you."
"Am I your first for that too? You're full of firsts."
"... "
I ignored the replies that weren't worth the effort and fixed my eyes ahead.
Down on the field, Choi Dong-rak's class was doing the balloon-popping relay. Ours was up next.
"Watching you made me curious. Why do girls crush on guys they could never have?"
I answered vaguely, eyes still forward.
"It's not a fantasy."
"Whoa, full of yourself."
"Didn't say it was me."
"Then how are you so sure whose it is?"
I didn't bite and switched topics instead. The one thing I was actually curious about with her.
"So, did you spread my story around?"
"As if. The guy with the best rep in school says he's gonna bury me? I was just shaking in my boots. What could I do?"
"Would've been nice if you'd realized that sooner..."
"Nah. Then you wouldn't even acknowledge me."
She thought this was acknowledgment? The moment that crossed my mind, she beat me to it.
"You're gonna tell me to scram now, right?"
"... "
...She must've etched that "scram" from last time deep in her memory. Not that what I was about to say was much different.
Jang Do-ah grinned shamelessly even after reading my silent cue.
"I'm quick on the uptake, right? How about it?"
Bragging about understanding when I tell her to get lost... What was I supposed to say to that?
Then she leaned in a bit, like she was sharing a secret.
"Wouldn't it be fun to have someone to mess around with lightly when you're bored?"
"And that someone's you?"
"Right?"
What was I supposed to make of that?
"I don't like you much, though—"
"Love yourself more? That's what you were gonna say?"
She cut me off.
"Tch, isn't that line kinda cliché?"
"You've heard it before, huh."
"Post a slightly depressing thing online, and you get dozens like that."
"World's still worth living in, then."
"They're probably just saying it to get in your pants."
I turned to face her straight on.
"Not interested."
Her eyes slid sideways for a second.
"Oh... really?"
I let out a deflating breath at the sight and turned back forward.
"Everything up to now was textbook playbook, but you fell for it too easy?"
"...Who wouldn't believe it when you stare like that?"
She said that, then tilted her head like she was calculating something.
"But saying that means..."
"Yeah."
"...Almost got me."
Jang Do-ah smacked her lips like she was genuinely disappointed, then snapped back to her usual self. She stood, brushed off her butt.
"Guess I'll take the hint and bounce. See you next time. Bye."
"... "
She vanished as quickly as she'd come.
Sports day was pretty much over now.
Classes gathered, checking scores, sharing leftover drinks and snacks, showing off photos from the day, laughing and chatting.
Our class score was surprisingly high. We'd lucked into top spots in the big-point events.
Arm-wrestling... won, but it wasn't huge points.
Looking back, I'd hustled pretty hard all day myself. Competed earnestly, got dragged around everywhere, watched stuff, dealt with people. Felt like finally over.
But unlike me, Seo Jae-hyun and Ji Hyun-su still had energy to burn. They looked bummed. Like, we could keep going, why end it now?
Seo Jae-hyun spoke up first.
"Wanna hang out after this?"
"Where?"
"Karaoke? Or escape room?"
Around Seo Jae-hyun were me, Ji Hyun-su, U Hana, Lee Seol, and Yoon Seo-ha.
Only Ji Hyun-su jumped on it.
Yoon Seo-ha was just kinda there by chance, and there was still that awkward tension between U Hana and Lee Seol. I was honestly beat.
"Got stuff to do."
As expected, Yoon Seo-ha bailed first, turning away without a second thought.
Seo Jae-hyun didn't even blink—probably saw it coming. That used to be my role...
Left with the usual five. I was tired, but.
"Should we?"
"You're going?"
Ji Hyun-su eyed me like he was genuinely surprised.
"Yeah. Let's."
I said it because Lee Seol and U Hana still looked awkwardly distant.
Before Seo Jae-hyun could even light up, U Hana piped up brightly.
"Let's go, let's go! Wanna hear Min-woo sing. Escape room sounds fun too!"
U Hana was in right away. Lee Seol was the holdout.
She was right there, so I said casually,
"Hey, come wi—"
"Yeah, let's go."
The second I spoke, Lee Seol stepped forward like she hadn't heard and said it.
"... "
I shut my mouth.
Was it my imagination? Felt like she ignored me on purpose.
One minute she's dragging me straight to the snack bar... Now what's this?