SMW 29

“No way, Choi Seol entrusted it to me personally. Don’t you guys know what he’s like?”

Whether those words were convincing enough, the madness in their eyes subsided for the moment. Though they still looked desperately longing.

“Tsk, then let’s just go watch.”

“Me too, me too.”

Now, as if they had all suddenly become parrots, the boys began shouting “me too” in unison. I gave them a look that said they didn’t stand a chance. Being fools in front of Choi Seol was more than enough.

“Go get permission from the owner first. Or just go down to the field and see him in person.”

“Hey, that’s cheap. Look at that loyalty, just because he’s Choi Seol’s shuttle.”

“The bastard who couldn’t even utter a peep in front of Choi Seol just now is talking a big game.”

“You’re probably going to confess your hidden feelings pretty soon, huh? You’re not going to do something weird with that watch, are you?”

“Yeah, I am. If any of you want to watch, feel free to follow.”

Getting worked up over words like that was only akin to feeding them. The word ‘shuttle’ bothered me deeply, but denying or making excuses was something you only did with people you could actually reason with.

When I ignored them, the guys eventually gave up and started chatting among themselves.

“But since when does Choi Seol play soccer? He usually doesn’t move unless it’s PE class.”

“Who knows. I heard he just volunteered for it? Some say the homeroom teacher even switched him to self-study because of it.”

“Whoa, I should’ve said I’d play too. Does Choi Seol really have something going on? I told you before, his family is in the mob…”

“Ah, whatever. Let’s just go watch. I heard the kids from other classes all went out to see Choi Seol too.”

As if they had never coveted the wristwatch, even those remaining in the hallway all headed down to the field. I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to stay in the classroom. It was absolutely not because I was following Choi Seol’s words.

Instead, I approached the window and leaned my head out. On the field, clearly visible from the classroom window, the game was already underway. At first, I wondered if they were insane to play soccer in the midsummer heat, but looking at the sky, I think I understood why the teachers allowed it. The weather was muggy, but the thick clouds in the sky were blocking the sunlight, so it seemed unlikely that anyone would collapse from sunstroke.

I looked back at the field. Though they were small, I could distinguish the faces of the players to some extent. Choi Seol was a forward. As I watched him cross the field without hesitation, handling the ball with effortless ease, I suddenly felt a sense of regret.

“Maybe I should have participated too.”

If I’d been lucky, I might have ended up on the same team as Choi Seol. That bastard Gyeong-ho usually dragged people he hated along to use them, but he was always useless at times like this. He should have carried [unauthorized copy]me there [unauthorized copy]on his [Read on Read BL Novels]back if necessary. Why on earth did he give up so easily today of all days?

I glared at the guy I presumed to be Gyeong-ho and lowered my gaze to the wristwatch. Because I had been gripping it tightly for fear of it being stolen, my palm was damp with sweat. Worried that it might have gotten on the watch, I quickly wiped it on my shirt and brought it closer to my eyes to examine it more closely.

They said it was an expensive watch, and it certainly looked luxurious. It wasn’t new. Although it had been well-maintained, signs of wear were visible here and there. Just as I had felt in the book, I felt as if Choi Seol’s characteristic heavy scent lingered on it.

Did he receive it from his parents? I have to keep it safe. A sudden wave of pressure washed over me.

I looked around. Except for a few people asleep on their desks, everyone had flocked to the field, leaving the classroom quiet. After confirming no one was watching, I carefully strapped the watch onto my left wrist. It took surprisingly long to adjust the length of the strap. Out of pride, I thought the middle setting would be fine, but in the end, it only barely stayed on my wrist when I tightened it as much as possible. Choi Seol must be truly massive.

Vowing to make sure I unbuckled it before returning it, I turned my wrist this way and that. I couldn’t take my eyes off it for a while.

I didn’t know why he entrusted this to me, but thanks to it, I had greeted him and spoken to him. That alone made my heart, which had been feeling stifled all day, feel not just light, but fluttery.

Just then, a cheer erupted from outside.

I leaned my head out the window. The students from our class were crowding around Choi Seol, jumping up and down. It seemed he had scored a goal. My own lips curled up in a smile. Even though the sky was gloomy, I felt strangely happy.

As I watched with a fond expression, I suddenly felt as if Choi Seol looked this way. It might have been a delusion, but my heart reacted to the smallest possibility. With the sound of a whistle, the game resumed. For a while, my eyes followed only Choi Seol.

Thump, thump, thump.

The more I watched, the faster my heart beat, leaving me breathless. They were the ones playing [Read on Read BL Novels]the game, yet I didn’t know why I was like this. I felt as if the unauthorized copysound of my heartbeat would reach the field. As I pressed my chest to hide it somehow, the ticking sound began to grate on my ears. I brought the wristwatch to my ear. Listening closely, my heartbeat and the sound of the second hand were ticking in a steady, synchronized rhythm.

That overlapping sound felt so much like the heartbeat of the watch’s owner that I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was going crazy. My heart might have actually broken. I had no idea how to stop my heart and breathe.

It was then. A drop of water fell on the back of my hand, which was gripping the window railing. When I looked up, the sky was damp. The raindrops, which had been falling one or two at a time, gradually gained strength and soon began to pour down on the children’s heads on the field. It was absolute chaos.

Amidst the scenery where the children’s shouts and the sound of rain mingled, the sounds that had been driving me crazy were gradually being silenced.

“Ah, what a waste. The game was just getting interesting now that Choi Seol was in it.”

The soccer game was called off due to an untimely rain shower, and with that, the long summer break supplementary classes came to an end. The students, who would normally have rushed out of school in relief to enjoy their freedom, were now stranded at school by the sudden rain.

Except for a few who were well-prepared or didn’t mind getting wet, most remained to avoid the rain, so the classroom was still crowded. However, Choi Seol was nowhere to be seen.

Wondering if he had gone home first, I checked his desk, but his bag was still hanging there. Choi Seol still carried my bag around. Honestly, it was just fascinating that he carried someone else’s bag as if it were his own.

Lacking that kind of nerve, I was still using the bag from middle school. Choi Seol’s bag was kept carefully in my room. It wasn’t that I felt bad or uncomfortable about swapping bags. Rather, every time I confirmed that Choi Seol was using my thing, my heart fluttered.

Maybe it was admiration. Choi Seol was so famous and impressive, even to another guy, so it wasn’t strange to have such feelings. As Gyeong-ho said, jealousy was something you only felt toward someone you considered an equal. If I were a girl, I would have definitely fallen for him, but since I’m a guy, this feeling must be admiration.

“Yeo-reum, let’s go home too. My mom said she brought the car.”

Gyeong-ho patted my shoulder and adjusted his bag. Perhaps because my reverie [Read on Read BL Novels]had [visit our site]just been broken, I blinked blankly.

“Me?”

“You said you didn’t bring an umbrella.”

“That’s true, but…”

I glanced at Choi Seol’s desk and fiddled with the watch on my wrist.

“Huh? That’s a watch I haven’t seen before. I don’t think you had it until a moment ago.”

Only then did Gyeong-ho notice the watch and show interest. He didn’t seem to know it belonged to Choi Seol.

“But what’s with this awkwardness? Did you steal your dad’s watch? It really doesn’t suit you.”

“…Shut up.”

“You brat, are you embarrassed? This big brother understands everything. When you think of ‘adult coolness,’ isn’t it the wristwatch? Dressing up in a sharp suit, wearing a luxury watch on the wrist, and saying, ‘Time’s up, I’ll be going now.’ That would be so stylish…”

“Shut up, your mother will be waiting. Let’s go down quickly. I won’t be responsible if you get smacked on the back.”

I left the classroom first, leaving behind the [unauthorized copy]friend who said embarrassing things every time he visit our siteopened his mouth. Still, I couldn’t visit our siteflatly reject a friend’s kindness in offering to go together on a rainy day.

I’ll just go out, greet Gyeong-ho’s mother, and then come back with a reasonable excuse. Since it was a shower, it would stop if I waited. Surely he didn’t go home and leave his bag behind on the last day of class. I also had to return the entrusted wristwatch. Therefore, my waiting for Choi Seol was absolutely not because of any ulterior motive. I came down to the first floor with Gyeong-ho, coming up with all sorts of valid reasons in my head.

“Wow. It’s like there’s a hole in the sky.”

The situation was more serious than I had thought. It was just as Gyeong-ho said. To the point that I would believe the sky had been punctured, the rain, which had been thin until a moment ago, had turned into a downpour.

“Let’s wait here, my mom says she’s bringing an umbrella.”

The parking lot was right in front of us, but I didn’t dare run. At this rate, I really had no excuse to refuse. Unless I was insane, I couldn’t insist on going alone in this torrential rain without an umbrella.

What should I do? I had looked around while coming down, but Choi Seol was nowhere to be seen. Did he really just leave his bag and go? Did he have an umbrella? With his personality, I didn’t think he’d be the type to pack meticulously.

“Hey, Baek Gyeong-ho. Give me a ride too.”

Just then, a male student from our class approached.

“Find your own way home, punk.”

“Hey, look at this cheap bastard. How am I supposed to find my own way in this situation?”

“How should I know? Anyway, the car is full up to Yeo-reum.”

“I know your car is huge. Oh! Hello, ma’am.”

Just then, Gyeong-ho’s mother approached under an umbrella. She was also holding a large long-handle umbrella in one hand. I quickly bowed and greeted her.

“Hello, ma’am.”

“It’s been a while, Yeo-reum. I heard you’re still playing well with our Gyeong-ho? I’m very grateful. By the way, there’s another friend here.”

“Yes. I’m Kim Jin-su, a classmate. For your information, I also play well with Gyeong-ho, ma’am.”

“Hey, I told you to get lost.”

Gyeong-ho’s fist flew straight into Jin-su’s side.

“Ack! You bast… Gasp, ma’am! The word that just came out was merely a groan. Please understand. Gyeong-ho, are you really doing this? Someone else is being forced into a car even though they said they didn’t want to. Isn’t that too much?”

“Who?”

“Choi Seol.”

While the two were bickering, my head, which had been scanning the surroundings, snapped around.