Chapter 61
* * *
The day of Sports Day.
I walked down the hallway alone.
I was on my way to the changing room to change out of my P.E. uniform and into our class shirt.
‘Nice weather···.’
A cool breeze came in through the windows here and there. It was perfect that Sports Day had been scheduled for a day like this.
“···?”
I stopped when I saw a figure moving down the hallway as if crawling.
“흐으윽···!”
A female student was dragging a box along, groaning with effort.
Round glasses, a familiar face I felt I’d seen somewhere. Then I realized she was our class president.
“후우···.”
She stopped for a moment and let out a sigh deep enough to make the earth cave in.
— “This thing’s insanely heavy···!”
Her Minimi’s face was bright red. It wore an expression that was half anger and half exhaustion.
The logo of a famous beverage brand was printed on the outside of the box she was dragging.
Three boxes of drinks.
It was obviously a fairly heavy load.
But···.
‘Where had the vice class president gone, and why was she doing this alone?’
I looked at her, honestly wondering.
“···.”
I looked around in case the vice class president was nearby, but···.
No one. The vice class president was nowhere to be seen.
Sure enough, she was moving it all by herself.
— “I got stuck with it because I got on the teacher’s bad side···!”
Her Minimi grumbled, but seemed determined to carry it all the way.
She seemed to be the type to do a job properly once she had taken it on.
That must be why she was class president.
‘This is kind of···.’
It was bothering me.
She didn’t seem to have noticed me, but I couldn’t just walk past after seeing her struggle.
“Class president.”
I called out to her and approached, picking up two of the three boxes she was carrying.
Pretty heavy.
I understood why she had been dragging them along the hallway floor.
It was too much for the class president to carry all of them.
“Huh?”
Only then did the class president notice me.
She seemed startled by what I was doing. Her eyes went wide.
“Where should I take these?”
“You’re going to help?”
“Yeah.”
“···Then just carry them as far as the field.”
“Okay.”
When I nodded,
only then did the class president let out a hollow laugh, as if she had been saved.
“Thanks. You saved me.”
“Sure.”
I answered casually, telling her not to worry.
It wasn’t particularly difficult. Even if it hadn’t been me, some other kid would have helped if they had seen her.
“But are these for our class?”
The thought suddenly occurred to me.
I looked at the class president with a hint of anticipation.
“Yeah, the teacher bought them. There are different kinds inside.”
Through the gaps in the boxes, I could see three types of drinks.
Toray, Blue Ade, and Pocari, one type per box.
“Since you helped, I’ll let you choose first.”
She said it as though granting me a favor.
Was that a privilege of being class president?
“Oh.”
It wasn’t intentional, but things had worked out nicely.
I personally preferred Pocari, so I wanted to choose that one. The others were tasty too, but that was my personal preference.
A bustling crowd—
When I came out to the field, I saw students hurrying around.
As I walked toward the tent under which our class was gathered,
“···Hmm?”
I saw a familiar figure in the distance. It was Isol.
She had already changed into her class shirt and come outside.
‘···She made it pretty oversized?’
Maybe she had ordered it intentionally oversized. The hem fell to her thighs, making her petite frame stand out even more.
She had also tied her hair into low twin tails that fell over her shoulders.
From a distance, she really did look like a doll.
— “···Is that why she works as a model?”
The class president’s Minimi muttered quietly as it looked at her.
It perfectly expressed my own thoughts.
“···.”
Isol looked around, apparently searching for someone.
After turning her head this way and that,
she looked in this direction and stopped dead-on.
Her eyes curved into crescents, and she raised one hand slightly.
“Seungho—”
Isol came trotting lightly from the opposite side, then
“···.”
her pace awkwardly slowed.
Her eyes slid sideways, and she checked my left.
When I looked to see who was there, the class president was following beside me.
— “···.”
Isol’s Minimi broke into a nervous sweat.
— “···Seungho, you’re too kind.”
It muttered, wearing a somewhat complicated expression.
— “···This won’t do.”
Isol seemed to decide that.
She quickly came up in front of me.
“I’ll help too.”
Isol tried to take one of the boxes I was carrying.
Watching her, I grew worried.
“It’ll be pretty heavy.”
“It’s fine—”
As Isol lifted the box, her waist pitched sharply forward.
“···!”
She nearly fell. Fortunately, she didn’t.
She shot upright, putting on a composed expression as if nothing had happened.
But her eyes, unable to hide her embarrassment, darted back and forth.
Maybe because she had been startled, they looked a little moist.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“···I-I can carry this much just fine.”
Her face turned as red as a persimmon.
Maybe because her skin was so pale, it stood out even more.
“L-let’s go, quickly.”
Wobble, wobble.
Isol walked forward, tilting her body from side to side.
— “···She’s not what I expected···.”
The class president’s Minimi adjusted its glasses while looking at Isol.
— “···So that’s what Isol is like? I thought she was a lazier girl···.”
“···.”
Sniff.
I unnecessarily drew in a sniff.
Feeling guilty, I followed Isol, who was walking ahead.
* * *
“Hmm···.”
Back and forth.
Shin Ayoung examined her reflection in the mirror from every angle.
‘This should be···.’
Her makeup had turned out well. She was satisfied with it herself.
On an event day like today, the teachers tended to be lenient, so she had put in a little extra effort.
Of course, not too much—just enough to give the impression that she had dressed up appropriately.
‘My hair looks good too.’
It was a style different from usual.
Usually, she wore her long hair straight. This time, she had tried a ponytail. She thought it would suit a hairband best.
“That’s done.”
Shin Ayoung had spent plenty of time in the changing room.
Last year’s Sports Day, she had more or less let it slide,
but this year, she had made thorough preparations.
“···.”
And there was a reason for that, of course······.
It was to appeal to Lee Seungho. She wanted to look pretty for him.
It was only natural.
Wanting to hear a compliment from a boy you liked was a natural thing to do.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung gently bit her lip.
What, exactly, would Lee Seungho say?
That her makeup looked good?
That it suited her?
Or······.
‘You’re pretty.’
Just imagining him saying that···
“···Ugh.”
She felt her ears grow hot. She was strangely embarrassed.
Her face was a mess right now.
The fact that she was even thinking like this was mortifying.
“Sss, hoo···.”
Calm down. Just calm down for now.
Like she did when acting normally, Shin Ayoung pretended she was fine.
Pretending···.
She wasn’t very good at pretending···.
Thinking that Lee Seungho would see her with makeup on,
with a face different from her usual one, was why.
‘Ah.’
Now she understood why Isol had looked away then. She finally understood Isol’s reaction.
“···.”
First, she should go out.
It was almost time to gather.
“···.”
As she walked down the hallway and felt the cold wind, her heated cheeks gradually cooled.
“Ayoung.”
A voice caught her attention.
A greasy, cheesy voice. She could guess who it was without turning around. One of her club seniors.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung’s expression fell of its own accord.
Thinking she shouldn’t let that happen, she forcibly lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Hello, Senior.”
She turned around with a bright smile.
He wasn’t alone. There was a woman beside him whom she had never seen before. Her name tag showed she was a third-year senior.
“···That outfit suits you.”
His gaze traveled up and down Shin Ayoung’s body.
“Is your class shirt a basketball uniform?”
“Ah, yes.”
Shin Ayoung answered appropriately. She was used to this exchange by now.
“Who’s she?”
The female senior standing beside him asked, glancing at him.
“A junior from my club. You know, the one I told you about.”
“Oh, her?”
“She’s a classmate of mine.”
He pointed beside him and introduced the girl to Shin Ayoung.
“Hello.”
Shin Ayoung gave a small bow.
“Oh, you’re Ayoung, right? I’ve heard a lot about you from him. You’re writing the scripts for the stage productions too, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“···That’s impressive.”
The female senior smiled.
Well, that was certainly a smile. A manufactured one.
‘···This is pretty obvious.’
Shin Ayoung pondered inwardly.
She probably had a thing for her senior.
It was written all over her face.
She had always been perceptive.
But ever since she herself had begun recognizing feelings of that sort, she noticed them more easily.
“Hey, let’s go now. We’ll be late at this rate.”
She tugged lightly at the senior’s sleeve.
“Huh? Already?”
“What do you mean, already? It’s almost time to assemble.”
“Oh, then wait a second.”
He held out the drink he had been carrying.
“Here.”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to give it to me···!”
Shin Ayoung waved her hands.
“Aw, it’s fine. I have plenty left anyway, so I’m giving it to you.”
He pushed it at her, practically forcing it into her hand.
“Ah, yes··· Thank you.”
She had no choice but to accept it.
“···Let’s go already.”
The strength with which she tugged his sleeve gradually increased.
“All right, let’s go.”
Even as he walked away, he gave her a small wave.
“See you later.”
“···.”
Shin Ayoung watched them and sighed inwardly.
‘It’s burdensome···.’
She would have to say something someday.
But it really wasn’t easy.
“···.”
She looked down at the drink he had given her.
Toray. It was a famous sports drink brand, but it wasn’t a flavor she personally liked.
No.
In truth, she probably wouldn’t have been happy no matter what he gave her.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung made her way out to the field through the hallway on the opposite side.
“Ayoung.”
The class president, who spotted her, called out.
“I left the drinks down there, so you can take one.”
“Thanks.”
Shin Ayoung nodded and headed toward where the boxes had been placed.
“Ah···.”
A short sigh escaped her.
Maybe because she had arrived late, there was no Blue Ade left—the only ones remaining were the Toray she was holding and Pocari.
It couldn’t be helped. She’d have to settle for Pocari······.
“Shin Ayoung.”
Lee Seungho called out to her.
He was holding a blue bottle and held it out to her.
“Huh? Wha—?”
“You like this one, don’t you? I thought it might run out, so I grabbed it ahead of time.”
“Uh··· y-yeah. I do.”
The answer came out in a dazed tone.
Shin Ayoung nodded slowly.
Apparently that was all Lee Seungho had wanted; he turned back. Maybe he hadn’t changed into his class shirt yet, because he went back inside the building.
“···.”
Shin Ayoung sat down.
Holding the drink bottle he had given her, she tapped it lightly with her index finger.
“···.”
Because he had actually paid attention to her preferences.
A silly smile formed with a tiny poof.
A delayed laugh slipped out.
Until just a moment ago, she had wanted him to notice that she had put on makeup.
She had wanted him to compliment it.
“···.”
Somehow,
now this single drink made her feel even happier.