Chapter 87 – May Sports Day (11)

The last event of the sports day is the continuous running.

Fortunately, Yuri, who was in a very disturbed state, had not originally planned to participate in this event.

The people participating in our class are me and Jeong Eun-ji.

First, the 1st graders started running among themselves, then the 2nd graders, and finally it was our 3rd graders’ turn.

“Runners from all 3rd grade classes! Runner number 1 should stand at the starting line, and runners number 3 and 5 should wait inside next to the starting line! Runners number 2, 4, and 6 should go to the opposite point over there and go to runner number 2’s track, and runners number 4. Runner number 6 can stand inside in the same way!”

“Seongjin, Eunji, cheer up. Don’t get hurt.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Yuri, who looked quite depressed, seemed to have recovered a lot and patted my back as I walked forward.

My order is number 5. I stood in the center of the playground, a little inside the starting line, close to each class seat, and Eunji Jeong, the last runner, stood near the center of the track in the 180-degree opposite direction.

“Going Class 3!”

“Win class 2!”

“Class 8! Class 8!”

The enthusiasm of the cheering was so hot that it could not be compared to any other sport.

All other events are treated as anti-unity events, and the losers are not that disappointed about the results, but this continuous race was different.

It is said that everyone works very hard in the Jinsugyo tradition of running, and it seems to be because both men and women can participate, and it is an event that is optimized for skill competition among other events.

‘Hmm, but is it really okay if I leave…’

I was definitely in a very good weight class, not only in my class but also in Jinsoo’s entire grade, but I couldn’t guarantee if I was fast at running.

There were a lot of kids in other classes who looked quick and agile, but since I’m small, I was a bit heavy.

Nevertheless, because of the stereotype that my classmates would be good at sports and anything else if they were in good shape, they suggested placing me as the important number 5 runner.

“Ready…”

Taang-!

With the signal gun firing, runners from each class started running at once.

Our class was slightly ahead until the 2nd runner, but we suffered quite a setback on the 3rd runner, and the baton was passed to me without being able to narrow the gap in the 4th runner.

“Han Seongjin fighting!”

“Run, run!”

With the enthusiastic cheering of my classmates, including Yuri, on my back, I ran as hard as I could.

In the afternoon, I was running out of breath after playing 4-a-side soccer and soccer, but I still ran like I was dying.

Because for the first time, I am participating in proper group activities in a proper academy life with proper human relationships.

So I wanted to do as much as I could.

Maybe it was because I was basically physically fit, but when I ran like crazy, the gap that had widened slightly began to narrow.

“Good job Han Seongjin!”

“Run more! Faster!”

“It’s narrowing down! Cheer up!”

Although I was still quite a bit behind, I did the best I could and handed the baton to Eunji Jeong, who took her stance and stretched out her arms.

From number 1 to number 5, I did half a lap of the track, but the last runner, number 6, did one lap.

So each class placed all of their aces at number 6, and it was the same for us.

And running is the specialty of our class ace.

Eunji Jeong, who received the baton, struck forward at a speed that almost made a ‘pop’ sound if it were a cartoon.

“Wow!!!”

As soon as Eunji Jeong started her crazy sprint, the kids in my class screamed at her to leave the playground.

Most people outside the track and field team didn’t know how fast Jeong Eun-ji was when she was running, and neither did I.

‘Crazy… It’s really fucking fast.’

As I sat on the floor of the playground, catching my breath and drinking water, I was purely amazed.

I had heard that it could run 100 meters in 11 seconds, but I had no idea how fast it actually was, but when I saw it in person, my first thought was that this was not a human.

“Huh…”

“Tsk…”

The feeling was even more severe for the runners in the other class, number 6, who were running far ahead of our class, so Eunji Jeong, who received the baton quite late, began to overtake them all at breakneck speed.

“Wow!! Jeong Eun-ji is crazy!!”

And Jeong Eun-ji widened the overwhelming gap and ended up in first place.

At this level, I don’t think there was any need for me to run around like that.

“Haha… Haha…”

Jeong Eun-ji was sweating profusely and out of breath after covering a distance much longer than her main field of 100 meters.

“You worked hard. Here’s the water.”

I handed the plastic bottle that was in her hand to Jeong Eun-ji, and Jeong Eun-ji, who was on the verge of fainting, couldn’t respond and just took the plastic bottle I gave her and put it to her mouth and gulped down water.

“Puh-haa… Hehe…”

“Wow, you were really crazy. I’ve never seen you run with such determination before, but I didn’t know you were that bad.”

“Haa… Huh… What is this all of a sudden. It tickles.”

“I just thought it was cool. Now, a triumphant high five.”

When I held out my palm, Eunji Jeong came over and clapped her hands without thinking.

Then, he took another sip of water and quickly opened his mouth as if something had occurred to him.

“Now, wait a minute… Where did you get this water?”

“That’s what I used to drink.”

“Well, what if I give it to you? I’ll give you a new one!”

“I’ll just drink what they give me, but I’m very dissatisfied.”

“The play… That… No, I…”

Jeong Eun-ji seemed to be concerned about that because she also drank the bottle of water I drank after enlisting.

There was barely an indirect kiss and no fuss. Cute.

Meanwhile, Eunji Jeong belatedly realized what she had done without much thought, and she turned around in surprise and blushed.

High five with Han Seong-jin.

Originally, she should have hated breathing in the same space, but when he opened his palm, the option of refusing never occurred to her.

After naturally touching the palms of one’s palms, she also drinks the water bottle he drank from and even indirectly kisses her.

What was more embarrassing than the indirect kiss itself was the fact that the thought of ‘I’m embarrassed’ came to mind first rather than the thought of ‘I don’t like it.’

‘Why am I like this? I guess I’m really crazy! To a bastard like this… To a bastard like this…!’

Eunji Jeong fanned her hands, treating the sudden surge of heat as an aftereffect of a frantic sprint.

…

“The 3rd grade winning team is… Class 3!”

“Waaaaa!!”

We performed quite well in several events, and thanks to winning the relay race, which required the most points, we became the 3rd grade winning team.

Since the prize money was enough to finish in our own way and have a group meal, the kids in my class immediately ran to their homeroom teacher.

“Teacher! After finishing, let’s all eat meat for dinner!”

“Meat! Meat!”

“Okay, let’s eat meat! Let’s talk among yourselves about where you want to go and eat.”

“Ahhhhh!!! Hey, everyone gathers around! Let’s decide on a restaurant!”

The kids in our class, both men and women, who were so excited about winning the sports day, gathered together and started a meeting to decide on a restaurant.

It included me, Yuri, and Jeong Eun-ji.

“How about here? It’s really cheap here.”

“Oh, it’s so fucking delicious and the side dishes are so bad.”

“This is this! This place is really delicious.”

“Isn’t it too expensive?”

Since we had different opinions and no destination was decided, I organized the traffic.

Because I’ve been to a lot of places.

“Hey, then let’s go here. The taste here is just average, but there are refills and lots of seating.”

“Huh? Refill book? Is it okay?”

“I agree with Han Seong-jin’s opinion.”

“Me too!”

The kids in my class decided on their destination not because they were afraid of me, but because they simply agreed with my opinion.

Next to me, Yuri looked proud and lightly poked my side with her elbow and laughed.

After a while, we all sat down at the meat buffet.

The meat I ate with my homeroom teacher and my classmates that day was more delicious than any meat I had ever eaten.

Sitting next to Yuri and munching on the well-cooked meat, I felt supremely satisfied.

The atmosphere was incomparably better than the last time, which was a gang rally attended only by gangsters who were recognized even within the academy.

The meat I ate back then was much more expensive, but it tasted much better now.

‘I hope it will always be like this from now on.’

#####

That night.

The Jinsugyo group, who had held a sports day early, gathered together from first to third-graders and sat together to smoke cigarettes at an abandoned construction site in a neighborhood called a slum.

Everyone was holding weapons such as wooden blocks in their hands.

Soon, another gang carrying similar weapons wandered towards the abandoned construction site.

All students were members of the Eunbong School, a group of would-be gangsters.

Kang Baek-san, the leader of Eunbong Gonggyo, threw the cigarette butt on the floor and spit out the light, then tapped his shoulder with a wooden block and took a few steps forward, but then stopped when he noticed something strange.

“What? Where is that bastard Han Seong-jin?”

Jinsugyo leader Hwang Seong-tae also spat on the floor and walked forward.

“I searched for that bastard and couldn’t find it.”

“Not even your teeth, you fucking bastard. Hey, come to think of it, you’re the one who was chasing after that bastard, aren’t you? Are you pretending to be the leader when you don’t have a master?”

“The owner is a fucking idiot.”

Perhaps because it was a sensitive part, Hwang Seong-tae frowned and responded harshly.

Kang Baek-san also shouted with a grim expression on his face.

“Han Seong-jin, leave that bastard alone! I came here to kill that bastard, but why is there nothing left?”

“No, fuck, that bastard Han Seong-jin is-“

Hwang Seong-tae paused for a moment.

And I asked Kang Baek-san a question.

“Hey. Why are you only looking for Han Seongjin? Didn’t you want to have a fight with us?”

“You guys are just fucking bastards. I saw that bastard Han Seong-jin beat me before and fucked the shit out of me right in front of my bastards. Did you think I would just stay like this? There’s not a single day that I don’t think about it, so quickly bring that bastard with me.”〈 Br〉

“Ah, so we don’t care at all, we just have to kill Han Seong-jin?”

“Have you finally removed the thing that was stuck in your ear? If you understand-“

“I’m sorry, but Han Seong-jin retired because I wanted to let go.”

At Hwang Seong-tae’s words, Kang Baek-san’s expression distorted like a demon.

“Who can this fucking bastard do as he pleases!!!”

“Just looking at you, I guess you want revenge for what I did to you before?”

“If you say one more word, I will rip your jaw open.”

“You probably want to turn a blind eye to Han Seong-jin? No, something more than that… For example, a girlfriend?”

“…?”