* Please note that this article is a fabrication based on a creative work. *
It was now the height of summer, and it was mid-May. I hated summer, but I was still looking forward to it because the sports festival was just a few days away, and I was in a good mood then.
I wasn't particularly good at sports, but I was strangely fast at running. Actually, I wasn't that fast, but I was faster than the average girl, so I decided to run in the relay.
"Hah- I'm a little nervous?"
"Don't worry, we'll do well day and night."
Of course! I'll give it all to you-
I wrote down my names in the categories and returned to my seat, my resolve firm. Later, looking at the paper, I saw that many kids were running, and while I knew they were all good at sports, I still didn't know Min-gyu's abilities, so I looked at him with suspicion.
Actually, I didn't go out and practice or prepare for the relay race. I'd already done it before, so it didn't make a difference, so I just cheered for myself.
As time passed, the day of the sports day arrived, and I woke up early on my own. I jumped up excitedly, and to be honest, it felt like the sports day was just for show.
"Good morning~!"
"Okay? You're so busy."
"Haha but I like it."
"Okay~ I'll dress up a bit and this guy is going to school now~"
As I went out to the living room, I saw my brother carrying his bag. He seemed to have put on some effort to make it seem like it was a sports day. Thinking that the student council was always busy with events, I quickly ate, washed up, and sat down at the vanity.
I didn't wear much makeup, but today I wanted to do something special. I put glitter under my eyes and smiled with satisfaction. I grabbed a curling iron to go to school and do my kids' hair, and then left the house.
In front of the apartment complex, the kids were standing there in their school uniforms, looking hot, and I ran towards them cheerfully.
"Hey guys!"
"Oh my, you put a lot of effort into your makeup."
"Jju, pretty haha."
"Hey! I'll go to class and dress you up too! I brought some hair accessories."
I pretended not to notice the kids and headed to the bus stop, even though they seemed a little annoyed.
When I got to the classroom, the kids were already busily applying their makeup, and I was glad I'd done it at home. Before the others could take their spots, I hurriedly found a spot in front of the desk, plugged in my curling iron, and waited.
While waiting, I was unsure of what to do with my hair, so I decided to just do a simple, floppy ponytail and picked up a curling iron. Since there wasn't a mirror near the desk, Soonyoung held one for me, and the kids all sat around me, watching.
"Lady, be careful not to burn your hand."
"Yeah yeah!"
I was just going to do a ponytail, but I ended up doing a puffy side part and I was pretty happy with it. I brought hair bands to do the kids' hair too, but I knew they didn't like having anything done to their faces, so I didn't bring anything.
I sat Sunyoung down in front of meHairbandI did it and fixed my bangs and gave it a curling iron.
"Honey... I have to do this...?"
"...Why..? I think it would be good if Young-i did this..."
"Oh, okay..."
"Hehe, next is Mingyu!"
I burst out laughing at the sight of Sunyoung getting up, playing with her hair, and then sitting Minkyu down.
After I finished fixing the kids' hair, I was satisfied with myself and took a picture with them while waiting for the assembly. Soon after, Teacher Jisoo came in and greeted them, a little surprised to see everyone getting ready.
"Let's go out to the playground when the broadcast comes out a little later~"
" yes! "
As soon as Teacher Jisoo finished speaking, the kids got noisy, and I waited while playing around with Soonyoung. Then Teacher Jisoo approached me, touched one side of my puffy hair, and opened her mouth.
"Yeoju, are you different today~?"
"Why, are you pretty?"
"Hahaha, yeah, you're pretty, so I fell in love with you again."
I smiled at Teacher Jisoo's words, and when I looked ahead, I saw Sunyoung's expression suddenly harden. I gave her a quick glance and sent her off, but she continued talking, but the glare in her eyes didn't go away.
While we were chatting amongst ourselves, the announcement came on and, under the guidance of our teachers, we headed out to the playground. The sun was beating down hard, but Sunyoung was there with a fan to shield us from the sun. After a quick warm-up and a meaningless opening ceremony, we sat down on our chairs. The shade above us seemed to provide some relief.
"Ah- the principal talks too much.."
"Hahaha but it's still so exciting! You guys secretly go out a lot, don't you?"
"Then~ watch over me, heroine."
I sat down in my seat with the fan on, and at my words, Min-gyu struck a confident pose and headed to the playground.
At first, the class representative started the tug-of-war, and many of the strong kids in our class went out. Among them, only Soonyoung, Wonwoo, and Mingyu went out, and I, Seokmin, Seungkwan, and the kids cheered them on.
So, the tug-of-war was won easily and we cheered and jumped up and down.
"Hey guys! One relay!"
Time passed, and now the relay race, my turn, had begun. Perhaps I was unnecessarily nervous and let my guard down, but when the order was decided, I ended up last. Still, since the men and women were divided, Mingyu was the last man in line, so I was next.
Wonwoo, Mingyu, Seokmin, and I went out to the relay race, and the rest of the kids were cheering me on from the middle of the field.
-bang!
Wonwoo was the first to run, starting with the starting noise. Perhaps because he's a fast runner, he was right in front. I cheered inwardly, trying to relax, and before I knew it, my turn was right around the corner. Seokmin was ahead of me, and the gap between us and the other team was barely even. Seokmin then passed the baton to me, and the other team followed suit, almost immediately.
" ah,! "
"Hey lady!"
"Yoon Yeo-ju!"
After I'd run a little while since I'd received it, I felt like something was pushing me and I fell forward. The kids next to me were calling my name, and I grimaced at the pain in my knee.
The gym teacher next to me told me to stand, and I forced myself to stand and started running. Looking ahead, Min-gyu seemed quite surprised, and out of consideration for me, he moved further back to take the baton.
As soon as the baton was taken from my hand, I immediately sat down and started to cry in frustration.
"Hey, lady! Are you okay?"
"Noㅠㅠㅠ It hurtsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ"
The kids ran right over to me, and when I asked if I was okay, tears welled up in my eyes and I cried. It was embarrassing to cry about falling at this age, but it was sad that someone had pushed me and caused me to fall.
Sunyoung, who was watching me cry out loud, hugged me like a princess and headed to the observation deck where the health teacher was.
" are you okay? "
"Teacher... it hurts..."
"Let's get treatment and go to the bathroom."
Sunyoung sat me down across from the health teacher. I looked at my knees, and my gym uniform was torn, bleeding. As I was being treated, my tears subsided, and when I came to, everyone was surrounding me, as if Mingyu had finished his relay race. Furthermore, Teacher Jisoo was there, watching me being treated, and the shame doubled, and my face flushed red.
"The scars will remain."
"Really? Is there a lot left?"
"Um... The wound is so big that I think it'll remain for a while."
After receiving treatment for my arms and palms, I said goodbye to the health teacher and entered the building. Even when I arrived at the restroom, they were still following me, so I stopped in front and turned around to see six startled men.
"Follow me to the bathroom? Wait here."
"Okay, go."
I went into the bathroom alone, closed the door, and looked in the mirror. My makeup was all smeared with tears, and I looked haggard. I roughly wiped the smudged makeup off with water and did some quick touch-ups with the cushion in my pocket.
As I looked in the mirror and saw that my face looked pretty good, I put my hand on the doorknob to open the door and go out, and then I heard their voices in my ears.
"I saw it, Yeoju Mi."
"Ha... That's them, right?"
"Oh, right."
"..what happened to you guys?"
"Oh, before the teacher came, there were some kids who were cursing at the female lead in the bathroom. That girl from before was one of them."
I thought it was a familiar face...
I opened the door, vowing revenge, and they were startled when I came out and awkwardly asked how I was doing.
A few days had passed since the sports day ended, and now it was time for the teachers to leave. Everyone was visibly sad, so our class decided to throw a party on the last day before Teacher Jisoo left.
I came to school early in the morning, made a cake with cookies, and wrote a letter on the blackboard.
"I have nothing to write..."
" me too. "
" me too! "
" me too. "
" me too.. "
"Oh, these guys. Write something! Like, thank you for teaching me something."
"What about studying... Yeoju, why did you write so much?"
I didn't think I wrote that much, but when I compared it to other kids, I felt like I wrote a lot. I felt embarrassed by Min-gyu's words and coughed.
Soon after, the bell rang and Teacher Jisoo came in. She smiled as if she had expected it and said thank you.
Finally, we took a picture, and some of us took individual pictures. Then, Teacher Jisoo approached me and handed me her phone. I stared at her, wondering what she was saying, and she opened her mouth.
"We should take the last photo together."
" .. Ah haha, yes!"
Another precious memory was created.