Chapter 39: Sports Day (1)
When Kang Ra-Eun first became a high school girl, the place that she hated the most was high school. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to take classes, but because she hated wearing a uniform, especially the skirt, every morning. That was why going to school every weekday was the worst part of her day, but that had changed as of late.
“I’m off.”
Ra-Eun finished getting ready to go to school and greeted Kang Ra-Hyuk, who was sitting in front of his desk while waiting for the stock market to open. He tilted his head in wonder at Ra-Eun's change in attitude. She had never once greeted him first in the morning unless she was in a very good mood.
“Did something good happen?” he asked.
“Something good? Not really.”
Nothing in particular came to mind, except one thing.
“Except that I absolutely destroyed the boys in Starcraft again yesterday, I guess?”
Ra-Eun had been hanging out with the boys often lately. She played basketball or football at lunchtime and went straight to a PC Room after school, just like what a normal high school boy would do. Ra-Eun had been ecstatic lately since she had returned to the life of her former high school days.
Since his little sister was happier from hanging out with high school boys than earning millions of won from stock trading, Ra-Hyuk couldn’t bring himself to be happy for her.
“Don’t hang out with guys too much,” Ra-Hyuk remarked.
“Why not?” Ra-Eun asked.
“Well...”
Ra-Hyuk looked like he wanted to tell her something, but...
“No, forget it.”
He decided not to, which caused Ra-Eun’s eyebrows to twitch. She hated nothing more than when someone stopped what they were about to say, since it made her even more curious and bothered her significantly.
“What? I’ll hit you if you don’t tell me,” she warned.
Ra-Eun believed that the most effective method of communication was fists, not words. Ra-Hyuk tried to calm down Ra-Eun’s aggression.
“I just stopped myself because I thought I was being too nosy. It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it.”
“...”
Ra-Eun stared daggers at Ra-Hyuk. She wanted to force him to tell her, but she could not push any further due to lack of time.
Tch.
Ra-Eun clicked her tongue and went out the door before she was any later for school. As Ra-Hyuk watched Ra-Eun walk out the door, he blurted out what he couldn’t bring himself to tell her with a bitter smile.
“Guys get the wrong idea when a pretty girl like you hangs out with them.”
It was especially true for boys at the age where they were highly interested in the opposite sex. But unfortunately, Ra-Eun did not seem to have noticed it yet.
***
Ra-Eun saw the familiar back of a certain normal high school boy as she passed through the school gates. She quickly came up to him and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Sang-Woon.”
Choi Sang-Woon was one of the boys in the group that she had been hanging out with lately while playing basketball and going to the PC Room. He was startled by Ra-Eun’s greeting, since he had never expected to meet her here. Actually, it was not abnormal to meet Ra-Eun, but she had never once greeted him so intimately first.
“H-Hey,” Sang-Woon responded.
“Why’s a guy like you slouching so much first thing in the morning? Straighten out your shoulders a little.”
Ra-Eun put her hand on Sang-Woon’s back and straightened it out for him. The sudden skinship caused Sang-Woon’s face to redden like a tomato.
“L-Like this?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s unsightly to see a tall guy like you all hunched up like that. Stay like this from now on.”
Ra-Eun looked like a bona-fide girl on the outside, but she sometimes acted like a boy their age. Ra-Eun’s gaze directed back to the front again as she was fixing Sang-Woon’s posture. She could see Seo Yi-Seo from a distance.
“I’m off. I’ll see you later.”
Ra-Eun shot Sang-Woon a smile while waving her right hand. Her long hair fluttering in the wind as she trotted toward Yi-Seo was as beautiful as a scene in a drama. Autumn felt like spring in Ra-Eun’s surroundings.
Another person greeted Sang-Woon as he was staring blankly at Ra-Eun.
“What are you just standing around like that for, Sang-Woon?”
Sang-Woon’s best friend, Kim Yeong-Gyo, tapped him on his arm.
Sang-Woon answered, “I was savoring the momentary return of spring.”
“Are you crazy? What bullshit is that?” Yeong-Gyo asked in confusion.
His friend did not seem to be doing too well first thing in the morning.
***
Ra-Eun came up to Sang-Woon and Yeong-Gyo as soon as she finished her lunch.
.
“What are we playing this time? Basketball? Football?” Ra-Eun asked enthusiastically.
Yeong-Gyo let her know what had already been scheduled.
“We decided to have a football match with Class 4, but I’m not sure if you’d be allowed to join.
Only boys usually did things like this. It wasn’t because the boys did not want girls playing with them, but because there wasn’t a single girl who wanted to join their football matches. However, there was one exception to this unspoken rule in this school: the girl before their eyes, Kang Ra-Eun.
“Then let me join,” Ra-Eun expressed.
“Mmm...”
Yeong-Gyo was troubled. The boys in their class were absolutely fine with it. Rather, they would be happy for Ra-Eun to join them. Ra-Eun had been displaying her athleticism to her heart’s content in basketball, football, or any ball game during free time in PE. It was to the point that any team that had her in it was guaranteed to win. However...
“I’m not sure if the Class 4 guys would be up for it.”
Yeong-Gyo couldn’t predict at all how the Class 4 guys would respond if they said Ra-Eun would be one of their starters, since other classes still did not know of Ra-Eun’s greatness in the sports day events. He wasn’t sure if they would even believe such a thing. It wasn’t a huge problem, but it still bothered Yeong-Gyo a little.
“I’ll try talking to them.”
At that moment, Sang-Woon stepped up.
Yeon-Gyo asked his assertive friend, “What are you gonna tell them?”
“Nothing much, I’m just gonna tell them that Ra-Eun’s gonna join us. It’s not like girls aren’t allowed to play football.”
“That’s true, but...”
“Regardless, I’ll put in a good word. Don’t worry.”
Ra-Eun smiled at the confident Sang-Woon.
“Thanks, I’ll trust you,” she said.
That was enough to instill Sang-Woon with enough courage.
“Y-Yeah, don’t worry and just trust me!”
Yeong-Gyo also got up from his seat as Sang-Woon marched toward Class 4.
“Hey, Sang-Woon! Are you seriously going by yourself? Wait for me!”
As soon as the two boys left, Yi-Seo and Na Gyu-Rin took the chance to quietly ask Ra-Eun, “Are you really gonna play football, Ra-Eun?”
“Yup.”
Ra-Eun had been enjoying playing football with the boys lately. It was also partly to recall her former high school memories. Park Geon-Woo and his friends had become far too busy to play football or go to PC Rooms when they became adults, so Ra-Eun was planning on enjoying her school life to the fullest now that she had gotten another chance.
However, Yi-Seo was still worried about her.
“I’m not telling you not to hang out with the boys, but shouldn’t you refrain from doing things that might cause misunderstandings?” she asked.
“Misunderstandings? What kind?”
“Well...”
As Yi-Seo was hesitating, Sang-Woon raced through the hallway and exclaimed at Ra-Eun.
“Ra-Eun! Class 4 said okay!”
“Okay, then I’ll go change into pants. Gimme a sec,” Ra-Eun replied.
The match had been established. Since lunchtime was not long and she had to get ready to go out as soon as possible, she asked for Yi-Seo and Gyu-Rin’s understanding.
“Sorry, I’ll be heading out first.”
“O-Okay, be careful. Don’t get hurt like last time.”
“Okay.”
Gyu-Rin sighed as she looked at Ra-Eun as thrilled as the other boys were.
“I never expected Ra-Eun to have that kind of side to her,” Gyu-Rin mentioned.
“Me too.”
Being active was good and all, but...
“I hope Ra-Eun doesn’t do anything that causes the boys to get the wrong idea,” Yi-Seo expressed.
She had the exact same worry as Ra-Hyuk. The same went for Gyu-Rin.
“Yeah, but... it’s Ra-Eun we’re talking about. I’m sure she’ll draw the line at some point, won’t she?”
Not only had Ra-Eun rejected the womanizer Park Se-Woon, but she had even shoulder-thrown him. Yi-Seo was also well aware of that, but she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“I just have a bad feeling about it for some reason.”
***
Class 5 was able to win against Class 4 thanks to Ra-Eun’s hat trick. She had also become a goddess of football along with basketball.
She headed to the outdoor faucet with Sang-Woon before the bell rang. Because it hadn’t been long since summer had passed, Ra-Eun was covered in sweat.
“Huu...! It’s so hot.”
Ra-Eun rolled up her hair with both of her hands to cool herself down with cold water. Sang-Woon was intensely anxious as he stared at her exposed nape.
Ra-Eun noticed his gaze and asked him, “Is there something stuck on my neck?”
“Huh? N-No! Nothing!” Sang-Woon stuttered.
“Really?”
She held her rolled-up hair with one hand and filled the other hand with water to clean her petite face.
“...Oh.”
Ra-Eun realized that she had forgotten something.
“I didn’t bring my handkerchief.”
Sang-Woon took out his own as soon as he heard that.
“Use this,” he said.
“It’s okay, I can just let it air-dry.”
“No, it’s fine! I can just wipe my face with my shirt. Here!”
Sang-Woon urged Ra-Eun so much that she had no choice but to accept it. She wiped her face and neck with the handkerchief.
“I’ll give it back to you after I wash it,” Ra-Eun remarked.
“You don’t really need to...” Sang-Woon muttered.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“N-Nothing!”
Ra-Eun headed back to the classroom first with the handkerchief after thanking Sang-Woon again for letting her borrow it. As Sang-Woon was left all by himself, he replayed what had just happened with Ra-Eun in his mind while splashing his face with cold water.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l