"Hey, next week is your sports day, right? Everyone has to participate in at least one event, so split up the tug-of-war, dodgeball, and soccer. Have the class president prepare some."
"yes"
The sports day is approaching. Just yesterday, I was exhausted from searching for my keys, and now it's the sports day. As usual, I looked out the window, resting my chin on my hand, and gazed at the playground. But why is this person sitting next to me?
"Wow...free sunlight storage. Vitamin D is so good."
Here's what happened: When I opened the classroom door and walked into school, my desk was tucked away, right next to the window. Judging by the other kids sneering and giggling next to me, it was clear they were doing the same.
”…“
"He seems like he'd just accept it without saying a word if something fell from the sky. I'm starting to get bored, what if this keeps happening?"
I just went to my seat, unlocked it with the key I found yesterday, and threw it in the trash. Just in case, I moved the stuff inside to my desk drawer and sat there... When Seokjin came to school, he moved his desk next to mine and started talking nonsense.
I was leaning against the window, silently preparing for class when the class president came to the podium and announced that he was going to decide on the sports competition items. He called out each student's name and wrote down the number of participants for the sports competition.
“So, does this mean we’ve done everything except Seokjin?”
Then Seokjin raised his hand and looked in my direction, saying he would play dodgeball with his partner. My presence was so minimal that my friends didn't care whether my name was there or not, but Seokjin emphasized his participation in the dodgeball game, silently nodding with his eyes for me to join in, too.
.
.
.
Finally, on the day of the sports day, I had strongly warned Taehyung the night before that I absolutely must not pretend to know him. I was fidgeting and checking on the second-year class to see if Taehyung was okay, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Well… I guess I’ll do well..”
.
.
.
Taehyung's point of view
“Oh shit, the only thing that’s missing is a deflated soccer ball.”
"ㅋㅋㅋCome on, be quiet and let's get out of here quickly. The gym warehouse is really cold."
Squeak- thud-
bang-
"You guys? You piece of trash who bully my sister."
Outside the gymnasium, the atmosphere was bustling with activity due to the sports festival. Inside the warehouse, filled with the stench of underground air and dust, no matter what I shouted, it wouldn't be heard.
“What? Is this your first time seeing me? Aren’t you a third-year student?”
“I don’t know about that, but a soccer ball… are you looking for this?”
Knock knock
I bounced the soccer ball once or twice and then settled it under my feet.
“Hey, you’re a second year based on the color of your name tag, right? Haha ...
“Please~ Try it.”
“Wh..what? Are you crazy? LOL”
“Please…try it.”
Bang- tak-
Then the soccer ball bounced over the warehouse wall
Ping- bang- koo-kung-
It flew straight towards them.
““Gyaaaaak-”
Dust flew, and gym supplies were scattered and tossed around inside the warehouse. I rummaged through them, searching for the ones trapped underneath.
“Sh..what the hell is this guy doing?”
"Go apologize to Kim Yeo-ju. If you don't want to get beaten up anymore."
He never hardened. He looked up at me, holding onto his bare leg. He opened his mouth with a hollow laugh.
“If you look closely, you’re that troublemaker who’s ruining our school’s reputation, you bastard? Who are you to tell Kim Yeo-ju to apologize?”
“If that dog barks, I have no choice but to muzzle it.”
Oh, right, right... I guess there's no need to do that."
“Even if John X gets hit here, you can’t hear anything outside.”
.
.
.
“Just keep barking once.”
.
.
.
Beep-
After the whistle blew, I turned my back to Seokjin and spread my arms wide.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I never dreamed a woman would be a striker."
The small sound of an apology coming from behind made me even more angry. Then the ball flew at me, and I dodged it at first and then picked it up. As I caught the ball, all eyes turned to me, and in a moment of panic, I lost sight of it and went over to the other side.
“Yay, Kim Yeo-ju is dead!!!!”
Shoooooooo-
The distance between us and the ball was at best a meter. But for some reason, the ball flew with such force that it struck me squarely in the face. My head spun and I collapsed on the spot.
Pfft-
“Huh..? Hey, heroine!! Heroine!”
“Seokjin, can you carry me to the infirmary?”
Even in the moment of fainting, I could still hear him. The sound of deep breaths, the scent of Seokjin's fabric softener reaching my nose. It had been so long since I'd been carried by someone, his back so warm.
“Hey, lady.. I’m sorry.. Ha.. Wasn’t it like this.. Huh? Lady, come to your senses? Are you okay?”
When I opened my eyes, Seokjin was staring blankly into space. I found that sight laughable, so I tightened my grip on his hand. Seokjin, startled, hugged me as I lay on the bed. The sight of him so startled me that I couldn't help but blurt out, "What's happening?"
“Hey he ...
“Huh? You’re talking now?!?”
“I’m human too. I can speak too.”
Seokjin shed a bucket of tears and kept apologizing to me. I quickly took the medicine next to me and headed back to the gym. But the light coming into the gym storage room kept bending strangely.
“Seokjin, wait a minute, there’s someone in the gym storage room?”
“Yeah, I can hear something too..?”
“Open it quickly.”
Squeak- bang
“Huhh ...
The scene inside the warehouse was terrifying. Taehyung's eyes were spinning.
The sight and Taehyung's bloody fists were aimed at the boys in our class who had been bullying me and the frightened girls. I quickly pushed Seokjin back, closing the gym storage room, and approached Taehyung.
"Kim Taehyung...you...what are you doing!"
”…“
"You won't open your mouth? Tell me quickly what's happening."
Taehyung came over to me, leaned his head against mine, and sobbed. He just cried endlessly.
"Sister... if it was this bad... then you should have said something,
I don't even know that... I don't know..."
Taehyung's words quickly calmed my startled heart. I left the bloodied and stretched-out men in Seokjin's care and left the gym storage room with Taehyung, heading to the infirmary.
“Is it because of me…because of you?”
Taehyung, aware of his mistake, simply nodded. I rubbed disinfectant on the wound on Taehyung's face, and I clenched my fist, feeling the sting.
"Kim Taehyung. Promise me you won't fight again."
“..&;₩;@@..Promise me..“
"what?"
What Taehyung said surprised me even more.
"Sister...promise me you won't be taken advantage of like that anymore, and that when you're in trouble, you'll come to me first and ask for help."
"I...I won't fight if that's the case...or if it's not, I won't fight."
"If someone saw this, they'd think it was a reunion of separated families."
"Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay... Ugh..."
The tears that seemed about to flow down somehow stopped flowing, and someone came into the infirmary.
Squeak-
They were the kids in my class. Looking at Taehyung's face and theirs, I didn't hate them, but rather felt sorry for them.
“No..no Kim Taehyung..you you this..hey..you player..”
“Yeoju..Yeoju, @&@..”
“What the hell are these guys talking about? Speak up.”
“No… ha… sorry. I won’t bother you anymore. Is that okay now?”
They glared at Taehyung and then left the infirmary again. It was a fleeting moment. If I hadn't seen that light, if Seokjin hadn't heard that sound, someone would have died. I looked at Taehyung again and smiled.
“I have to go to the sports festival..”
As I was heading to the playground, someone shouted loudly. It turned out that they were the guys Taehyung had beaten up like dogs.
“Kim Yeo-ju and second-year student Kim Tae-hyung are siblings!!!!”
"Oh, it's X"
"Wow, finally an official coming out"