* * *

Kim Woosik flinched.

That crazy guy—how could he say something like that after watching Seo Jeongseo throw the ball?

Did he really think it was possible to win?

Kim Woosik glanced at the remaining time.

The only bit of good news was that there were just 3 minutes and 31 seconds left; if he could just hold out, it would be a draw and they’d play another round.

Then he could just pretend to die and sit back to watch.

It’s not that he feared defeat; he avoided it because it was unpleasant.

Kim Woosik glared at Jeongseo, who was holding the ball. Jeongseo moved around leisurely, then suddenly threw the ball hard toward Kim Woosik.

No matter how fast it came, a ball he could anticipate was one he could dodge.

Kim Woosik quickly dodged to the side, and an outfielder behind him passed the ball straight back to Jeongseo.

It was clear they had practiced these passes countless times; the ball barely stayed in the player’s hand.

Kim Woosik moved to avoid the ball heading back toward Jeongseo but stumbled and fell.

Jeongseo didn’t miss the opportunity and raised the ball high, throwing it with all the strength he had.

The blue dodgeball hurtled toward Kim Woosik, who shut his eyes tightly.

There was no way he could dodge that.

A loud, dull thud sounded, and the ball dropped to the ground.

“Damn…”

Never in his life did he think he’d feel this kind of stinging pain from getting hit in the face by a dodgeball.

Kim Woosik stood up, wincing from the direct hit to his face.

Embarrassing as it was, running around to avoid it would have looked even worse.

As he was about to leave the court, Number 4 shouted again.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you know hits to the face don’t count? Get back here!”

Kim Woosik’s eyes trembled violently.

No way… As he turned to look, Jeongseo flashed a dangerous smile and said softly,

“Oh, that was an accident.”

That expression was definitely not one of someone who made a mistake.

Kim Woosik could only feel despair. He’d heard somewhere before: don’t be fooled by a weasel’s cute looks; beneath them lies a cunning predator.

One second before the game ended, Kim Woosik was struck by the ball again.

This time, it wasn’t his face but his thigh, and he fell to the ground. Class 2-4 erupted into cheers.

Jeongseo wore an expression of satisfaction, as if he’d just played the most entertaining game ever.

“Seo Jeongseo is our ace!”

Class 2-4’s students crowded around him, celebrating.

The tense atmosphere from earlier was gone, leaving only a smiling Jeongseo.

Watching from a distance, Pyo Yoontae pulled out his phone.

Turning on the camera, he zoomed in on Jeongseo.

His flushed cheeks, eyes curving in joy, and the upturned corners of his mouth were just as endearing on the screen.

Just as his thumb pressed the shutter, Jeongseo’s gaze shifted toward him.

Click, the photo was taken.

Jeongseo moved away from the crowd surrounding him and walked over to Yoontae.

“I didn’t know sports day could be this fun!”

His bright smile was directed solely at Yoontae.

Unable to break the moment, Yoontae simply smiled faintly and patted Jeongseo’s head.

---

“We placed second in the three-legged race, our class came in first in tug-of-war, and what else… we didn’t even rank in basketball, and soccer was…”

Now, only the relay, the grand finale of the sports day, remained.

The students from Class 4 were huddled under a tent, calculating their scores in hopes of achieving first place.

Although the scores were displayed at the front of the field, there were still some results that hadn’t been finalized.

The class leader tapped on his phone and said gravely, “For the grade relay, our class has to come in first to barely edge out Class 5. If we come in second, we’ll end up third overall.”

The third-place prize was a gift certificate for a popular franchise pizza place worth 100,000 won.

While it was less appealing compared to the regionally accepted gift vouchers, and the amount was smaller, it was still a decent prize.

If they pooled their own money to buy other food to go with it, the class could at least have a satisfactory meal together.

The conversation paused for a moment, and the kids all glanced over at Pyo Yoontae, who was sitting near Jeongseo.

Specifically, they were looking at Pyo Yoontae’s injured ankle.

“Ugh… Lee Jihwan, that bastard. He always charges in when it’s to his disadvantage, doesn’t he? He’s going to end up in detention at least ten times later.”

Lee Jihwan, the one responsible for injuring Pyo Yoontae’s ankle, began to receive harsh criticism from the other kids.

Originally, Pyo Yoontae was supposed to be the last runner in Class 4’s relay, but he couldn’t participate due to his injury, leaving him frustrated.

Everyone had high hopes of winning first place, so the disappointment was inevitable.

If only Pyo Yoontae had been fine, Class 4 could have realistically aimed for first place in the relay.

The replacement runner for Pyo Yoontae was fast, but he couldn’t compare to Pyo Yoontae.

There was a significant difference in leg length.

He heard that Class 5’s final runner was a fox beastman.

Of course, while the fox was relatively fast, against a leopard, and given that it was running in human form, Pyo Yoontae had a considerable advantage.

His legs were much longer than that of the fox beastman, and he had decent endurance for a feline.

All the kids in Class 4 knew that if Pyo Yoontae had participated, the other classes wouldn’t have stood a chance, leaving them with a bittersweet taste.

Although Jeongseo and Pyo Yoontae were sitting a bit apart, they could hear everything being said.

Jeongseo, who honestly hoped for a first-place finish, also felt a sense of disappointment.

But thinking about how much more upset Pyo Yoontae must be due to his injury, Jeongseo pretended not to hear and presented a video he found amusing.

“I saw this earlier while scrolling, and it was totally funny…”

“You said the sports day was fun, right?”

The sudden question caught Jeongseo off guard; he couldn’t understand why Pyo Yoontae was asking that.

However, he nodded vigorously. It was so much more enjoyable than last year. After a brief pause, Pyo Yoontae stood up, and Jeongseo looked up at him, puzzled.

“Where are you going?”

“It’ll be more fun if we win first place. Jeongseo, come with me.”

Jeongseo stood up with a dazed expression and followed Pyo Yoontae.

Where were they going?

After trailing behind, they arrived at the back of the gymnasium.

“Why are we here?”

In the cool shade, Pyo Yoontae looked around before finding a suitable spot to sit.

Leaning against the wall of the gym, he nodded at Jeongseo, signaling for him to sit beside him.

Although Jeongseo was curious, he obediently sat next to him, and Pyo Yoontae said,

“You can hear the broadcast from here, right, Jeongseo?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I think I can!”

“Then wake me up when the 2nd-year relay starts.”

With that, Pyo Yoontae closed his eyes, and black ears suddenly popped up on his head.

Jeongseo couldn’t understand why he had partially transformed, but he figured he was just very tired, so he quietly admired Pyo Yoontae, who was calmly resting with his eyes closed.

This was the fourth time Jeongseo had seen Pyo Yoontae partially transform.

Thinking that he was probably the only one in the school who had witnessed this made Jeongseo’s heart flutter.

°❀•°❀°•❀°

When the announcement that the 2nd-year relay was about to start came on, Jeongseo woke Pyo Yoontae.

He immediately got up and tucked his ears and tail away.

Then he said he was going to the bathroom and disappeared, leaving Jeongseo to return to the tent alone.

But Pyo Yoontae didn’t come back, and the relay began without him.

What’s going on?

Jeongseo tried calling him, but Pyo Yoontae didn’t pick up.

‘Should I check the bathroom? Did he fall while going up the stairs by himself?’

Just as Jeongseo was about to jump up in alarm.

“Huh? Isn’t that Pyo Yoontae?”

A kid sitting in the front pointed to the center of the playground, and there he was, standing there boldly.

The cast on his leg was gone.

‘It’ll be more fun if we win first place.’

Pyo Yoontae’s earlier comment flashed through Jeongseo’s mind.

It wasn’t just a passing remark, was it?

“What? Is Pyo Yoontae really running in the relay? Didn’t he hurt his ankle?”

“What do we do? I think it’s because of our conversation earlier…”

No one in Class 4 expected Pyo Yoontae to suddenly participate in the relay, causing a stir inside the tent.

Some thought that since he seemed fine, he must be okay to run, so they decided to just watch.

However, most kids strongly felt that he shouldn’t be running. Jeongseo knew just how badly Pyo Yoontae’s ankle was swollen, so he couldn’t just stand by and watch him participate in the relay.

This was the last chance before the relay began.

Jeongseo sprang up and rushed to the front of the tent, shouting.

“Pyo Yoontae! You’re not fully healed yet! Come back!”

In the distance, Pyo Yoontae looked back once but didn’t show any response.

Jeongseo thought maybe he hadn’t heard and was about to shout again when the starting gun for the relay rang out sharply.

As the first runners took off, someone tugged at Jeongseo’s shirt. It was the class leader.

“For now, let’s stay seated since it’s dangerous. Yoontae wouldn’t have gone out if he wasn’t okay, right?”

“……When I saw him yesterday, his ankle was all swollen…”

Jeongseo’s voice was filled with worry, but with the relay already underway, there was nothing he could do.

Reluctantly, Jeongseo returned to the tent and sat down, his leg anxiously bouncing.

Class 5 was in the lead, which seemed to confirm that there were indeed a lot of fast runners in their class, followed closely by Class 3, then Class 4, Class 1, and finally Class 2.

If they could maintain this pace, they could still come in second place. It was a smooth handoff as the first runner passed the baton to the next.

“Ah…!”

* * *