* * *
Five days before the sports day.
As soon as lunchtime and after-school hours hit, the gym and playground were packed with students practicing.
Everyone was eager to win, and Jeongseo’s class was no exception.
Once regular classes ended and their homeroom teacher’s announcements were done, a group of tall boys gathered around Yoontae’s desk.
“Class 2 is already on the court. Let’s hurry.”
Yoontae glanced at the group and reluctantly stood up.
He wasn’t thrilled about practicing basketball after school, but it was hard to ignore the excited mood surrounding the sports day.
Plus, if he refused to go while Jeongseo was watching, he’d look like a jerk.
“If you’re bored, come and watch, Jeongseo.”
“Sure, but I’m heading straight home today, so I’ll come watch tomorrow!”
“Alright. Take care, and see you tomorrow.”
As Yoontae waved goodbye and left the classroom with the group urging his to hurry, Jeongseo waved back energetically, telling his to do well in practice.
After Yoontae disappeared, Jeongseo finished packing his bag and stood up. While everyone else was practicing, Jeongseo didn’t join.
The reason was simple: He didn’t need to practice for dodgeball.
And more importantly, if he went out to the field, his participation in dodgeball would be discovered.
The class had listed his as an anonymous participant, intending to hide his skills until the actual sports day to give the other classes a surprise.
Since his lack of participation wasn’t because of unfriendly classmates, Jeongseo didn’t feel lonely.
He decided to go home and do his calculus homework, and if his head hurt, he’d go for a hike with Seobok, his pet.
The days were getting longer, so even if they didn’t reach the peak, there’d be plenty of time to climb halfway and return before dark.
As he walked toward the school gates, a loud voice called out from behind him.
“Jeongseo!”
It was Ha Sumin, a classmate and fellow dodgeball player, panting heavily as if he’d just finished practice.
“Do you have plans tomorrow?”
“I was planning to watch Yoontae’s basketball practice.”
“Oh.”
Sumin blinked rapidly for a moment before shaking his head.
“Never mind that. Let’s start practicing dodgeball from tomorrow.”
Jeongseo’s eyes widened in surprise.
Pointing to himself, Sumin grabbed his hand, pleading with his to join the practice.
“Please, just join us. Our class is terrible at dodgeball. It’s like a disaster. We’ve lost to every other class. Especially Class 5—they’re insanely good.”
“We lost all the matches?”
Was their class really that bad at dodgeball?
From what Jeongseo remembered, their class had always won during combined PE sessions.
But Jeongseo hadn’t realized that their victories were entirely due to his skill.
Facing his had sharpened the abilities of their opponents, who were now much stronger.
Without knowing this, Jeongseo simply thought it was strange.
Class 5 didn’t seem all that impressive.
“If we keep this up, we’re 100% coming in last place at the sports day.”
“I can help with practice, but if I join, won’t the other classes find out?”
“Don’t worry about that at all.”
Sumin suddenly smiled slyly, as if he had a secret plan.
Jeongseo thought hard but couldn’t come up with a good solution.
“Anyway, you’ll practice with us starting tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, sure, I can.”
Jeongseo beamed, nodding enthusiastically.
It felt good to know the other students didn’t dislike him, and the guard he always had up began to crumble.
Sumin, momentarily caught off guard by his smile, cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Uh… okay, great. Now, can I get your phone number?”
Fumbling through his pockets, Sumin handed Jeongseo his phone.
He quickly typed in his number, and a moment later, his phone buzzed.
“That’s my number. Save it, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Ha Sumin waved his hand and ran back towards the gym.
Jeongseo stared blankly at the unfamiliar number that appeared as a missed call on his phone.
Since Pyo Yoontae had arrived, Jeongseo had been experiencing things he never would have imagined before.
And the fact that all these things were happy and enjoyable made his smile to himself.
School was no longer a place disconnected from Jeongseo’s world.
With a light step, Jeongseo headed towards the bus stop and sent a KakaoTalk message to Pyo Yoontae.
[Hey Yoontae, I think I won’t be able to watch the basketball game tomorrow because I have dodgeball practice. Sorry!] 5:01 PM
[Oh, but keep this a secret! Play hard!] 5:01 PM
[💪] 5:02 PM
°❀•°❀°•❀°
The next day, Jeongseo’s expectation of not seeing Pyo Yoontae after school was completely off the mark.
“Wow….”
Jeongseo couldn’t close his mouth as he looked around, from the floor to the ceiling, taking in everything.
The ceiling was much higher and cleaner than the school auditorium, the floor was shiny and smooth with no bumps or cracks, and there was still a faint smell of the new building.
After school, Jeongseo found himself led by Pyo Yoontae, not by the kids, into the indoor gym at the Black Panther Training Center.
The 4th class kids had decided to practice for the sports competition here until then.
“See, I told you not to worry!”
Even though it wasn’t his training center, Ha Sumin came over to Jeongseo with a smug look. Jeongseo had only thought about Pyo Yoontae living at the training center, not that they would be able to rent out this gym.
Besides, did Ha Sumin also know that Pyo Yoontae lived here?
Jeongseo felt a strange feeling since he had only learned about it from Pyo Yoontae, and it was odd that Ha Sumin, who usually didn’t talk much with Pyo Yoontae, seemed to know.
What is this feeling, Jeongseo wondered after checking out the gym.
“Ha Sumin, did you also know that Yoontae lives here?”
“……Huh? Pyo Yoontae lives here?”
“……Didn’t you know?”
Ha Sumin shook his head vigorously, not just with his hands but with his whole head.
“No, I just thought we could borrow it since it was made at Pyo Yoontae’s place. I had no idea he actually lived here.”
“Aren’t you going to change clothes, Jeongseo?”
As Jeongseo’s shoulder was embraced, Pyo Yoontae appeared, now dressed in a dark training outfit that reached mid-calf and a short-sleeved T-shirt.
As soon as Ha Sumin saw Pyo Yoontae, he asked, almost as if he had been waiting for it.
“Pyo Yoontae, do you live here?”
“Yeah.”
“Seriously, did you come here just because they built this place for you…?”
“Of course not. They provided the venue, so stop chatting and get ready for practice.”
Pyo Yoontae urged with a nod, and Ha Sumin shot his a sour look before walking away.
Jeongseo, sensing he needed to prepare as well, tried to pull away from Pyo Yoontae’s grasp, but instead, he drew his closer.
“Have you become close?”
“Close? I thought the kids didn’t like me.”
Jeongseo had intended to tell Pyo Yoontae about this yesterday, but he ended up talking to Shin Byungwoo about something else and forgot.
Hoping that Pyo Yoontae would share his joy, Jeongseo looked up at him, but his expression was oddly ambiguous.
After staring at his with his deep yellow eyes for a while, he eventually responded, “That’s good.”
Jeongseo was unsure if the indifferent tone was just his misunderstanding, but he didn’t have time to confirm as someone from the basketball court called for Pyo Yoontae.
Watching Pyo Yoontae’s retreating figure, Jeongseo quickly headed to change clothes upon hearing his name being called.
°❀•°❀°•❀°
“I thought everyone in our class was good at dodgeball.”
Jeongseo’s voice was strained from the effort of throwing the ball.
At the same time, the ball hit a student standing across from him, who seemed dazed for a moment before looking down at the ball that had fallen at their feet.
There were already several students like that.
All of them either froze, closed their eyes, or ran towards the ball in confusion, leaving Jeongseo wondering what was going on.
“Guys, if you think you can’t catch the ball, move out of the way! Why are you just standing there?”
Jeongseo shouted at the students waiting in line as he picked up the dodgeball again.
But they all knew.
They knew they should avoid the ball if they couldn’t catch it, and they knew they shouldn’t close their eyes when the ball came.
They all knew that.
They just couldn’t do it.
“But when the ball comes, my eyes just close automatically.”
As the recently eliminated student muttered in frustration, Jeongseo perked up his ears and grasped the ball before releasing it.
“If you try hard not to close your eyes, you’ll get the hang of it quickly! Next person! You guys are so much worse than I expected, so you need to work harder if you want to win!”
Jeongseo waved his hands as if there was no time for conversation.
The students in Class 4 looked at him with renewed surprise at his straightforward manner, but trembled when their turn came.
Throughout the gym, the sounds of the ball hitting and short screams echoed repeatedly.
* * *
*Summary page is only available for login users. Non-users can view the chapters on the chapter list.*
Idk how to feel about some of these students having a crush on him but not doing anything when that guy threatened them all to not talk to our MC…….
I mean they’re all teenagers so I guess I can’t judge too harshly but 💀
When will the male lead say he knows