By Zephyria 
Since growing boys had been on edge since the first period, it was only natural that they were hungry before lunchtime.
Upon arriving at the cafeteria, Seung-pyo and his friends quickly received their meals and looked for an empty seat. One of Seung-pyo’s friends pointed to a spot with a welcoming look.
“The Class 2 kids are here. Let’s eat over there.”
“Let’s also set a definite time to play basketball while we eat. We only matched the date.”
As Oh Seung-pyo looked indifferently in the direction they pointed, his gaze collided with a very familiar round back of a head. For a normal person, encountering the psycho he had just argued with in the cafeteria would be a mood-killer, and they would avoid him.
However, since Oh Seung-pyo still had unfinished business with Ryu Jae-min, he had no choice but to head that way. He squared his shoulders more than usual, puffing out his presence like a male animal going to fight an enemy.
“Oh, it’s Oh Seung-pyo.”
Before he could even sit, the Class 2 kids waved welcomingly. Jae-min, who was sitting with them, merely lifted his eyelids to glance at Seung-pyo, then soon smiled and greeted him.
“Hi.”
“Uh, hi….”
The Class 4 kids widened their eyes in surprise. There was a new member among the Class 2 kids they often hung out with to play basketball.
“Do you eat with Ryu Jae-min these days?”
The attention of the kids who had taken their seats shifted to Jae-min, the new face of lunchtime. One of them asked cautiously, as if he had been curious for a while.
“Do you like basketball too?”
“I’m not very good at sports.”
At that, a Class 2 student shook his head as if telling him not to be so humble.
“I doubt it. Ryu Jae-min got a perfect score on all his PE practicals last year.”
“PE practicals and basketball games are different. But that’s a shame. You’re tall, so I bet you’d be good at basketball. How tall are you?”
“I was 180 when I measured last spring, but I think I’ve grown a bit more now….”
At those words, the kids glanced at Jae-min with looks of newfound realization.
Was he? Was he that tall? Because the image of a model student who only studied quietly and the sight of him sitting at a desk were ingrained in them, the fact that Ryu Jae-min was 180 centimeters tall felt fresh. They had stood with him many times, so they knew he was taller than average, but hearing the actual number made them feel a larger difference than expected, and their expressions soon turned into whispering.
“If he’s 180, isn’t that the same as Hyung-seo? No, I think Ryu Jae-min might be taller now.”
“Ryu Jae-min, can’t you join us just this once? If you practice for just three days—no, two days—you can play with us. It’s not like we’re pro basketball players.”
Jae-min smiled awkwardly. Only Oh Seung-pyo’s expression, facing that good-natured smile, was quietly twisting in disbelief.
“I’d like to, but I have to leave immediately after my supplementary classes, so I don’t have time. The atmosphere at my house is very strict….”
“Really? Not even two days?”
Many children knew that both of Ryu Jae-min’s parents were professors at prestigious universities. Rumors that his home education was strict had been rampant since elementary school. Thus, they knew that the mention of his parents wasn’t just an excuse, but that only made it more disappointing.
“Sorry. I don’t think it’ll work.”
Seung-pyo, who had been eating in silence, took a sip of water and suddenly added an unexpected observation.
“Your parents are strict? That’s surprising.”
Jae-min, who had been smiling while apologizing to the other children, looked at Seung-pyo with that same expression. Seung-pyo narrowed his eyes. Look at that. Only his mouth is smiling.
The other children, unaware of the inner circumstances, tilted their heads in confusion.
“Why? He looks like he’d have strict parents. I feel like he lives in a house like the ones in dramas. With marble stairs, and his mom and dad wearing suits even at home. It’s not actually like that, right?”
“Um… not suits, but they don’t really let themselves go at home. But there are no marble stairs. Our house isn’t a duplex.”
As Jae-min finished his answer with a joking laugh, Seung-pyo continued.
“He seems like a free spirit, so I thought the atmosphere at home would be like that too.”
“Him?”
The children blinked, as if Seung-pyo’s comment was the surprising one, but one by one, they began to nod slowly in agreement.
“He does have a bit of that vibe. Like he’s… transcended something.”
“Is it because he’s good at studying? I guess you really need to have talent.”
Unaware of what Seung-pyo was actually sneering at, the children interpreted the words in their own way and agreed.
Jae-min was a boy who didn’t yet have a friend he could call a best friend. He was good at studying, strikingly handsome, rumored to be rich, and had a good personality. Naturally, many children wanted to include Jae-min in their groups, but Jae-min himself hung out with this group and then that group, keeping things light and casual, yet navigating school life more smoothly than anyone.
Children who couldn’t form a group and drifted on the periphery were often prone to being marginalized at school, but Ryu Jae-min was different. Rather than drifting, he felt more like a voluntary outsider, so even now, as the semester was nearly over, the students of Class 2 still wanted to get closer to him.
He didn’t struggle to make close friends, wasn’t ashamed of being alone among children desperate to form cliques, and no one looked down on him. In those aspects, Jae-min certainly fit the description of a “free spirit.”
“A free spirit is much better than someone who acts suffocating by imposing their own standards. Thanks for the compliment,” Jae-min replied with a smile.
Listening to the conversation—or lack thereof—between the two, a student from Class 2 asked curiously, “Come to think of it, Oh Seung-pyo, you took Ryu Jae-min out in such a hurry earlier. Did something happen?”
“Ah… I just wanted to ask him something. I heard he has a relative in the legal profession, so I thought he’d know about this kind of thing. I lost my phone, you know. I asked if I could report it.”
“Come on, how would Ryu Jae-min know that just because he has a relative like that?”
“He does,” Jae-min answered calmly.
“There’s a legal provision called the offense of embezzlement of lost articles, which says you can’t just keep something you found. So, if we report it and catch the person who picked up the phone, they can be punished for it. Or we could reach a settlement.”
The children, who had fallen silent for a moment, blinked in admiration.
“Wow… I heard your father is a law school professor. Do you talk about things like that with him at home?”
“No, I saw it in a book I read a while ago.”
As expected, the top student in the school knows a lot. He’d probably take first place on a quiz show. The children formed a silent consensus and continued their meal. The topic shifted to deciding the detailed schedule for the basketball game in a few days, and while Ryu Jae-min and Oh Seung-pyo glared at each other occasionally, they finished every bit of food on their trays.
“So the game is right after all classes end on Friday, right?”
“Anyone who skips on the day pays a fine.”
As they left the cafeteria and walked down the hallway together, Jae-min stopped and spoke.
“I’ll stop by the library before I go. The teacher asked to see me for a moment after lunch.”
“Oh, see you later.”
Jae-min turned and headed toward the library. Since not many students visited the library during their precious lunch break, the nearby hallway was deserted.
Unlike when he was with the other children, Jae-min walked sluggishly with a slight look of fatigue, when he heard hurried footsteps behind him.
“Hey, wait a second.”
At first, Jae-min didn’t realize the footsteps were coming for him, but he turned his head at the sound of someone calling his name. Seung-pyo was approaching quickly, as if he had chased after him late.
“What now?”
“We’re not done talking about the phone. You embezzlement criminal.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t need it because your contract ended? I heard you say you could just buy a new one. And I told you I just forgot. I’ll bring it back when I remember.”
Seung-pyo let out a short sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets. Then, he whipped out an object and tossed it.
Reflexively, Jae-min caught it and checked the object in his hand. It was his internet-only phone, which he hadn’t seen in a while.
“Happy? I’ll give it back first. You bring mine tomorrow.”
He hadn’t stopped sneering until they were eating, but now he had suddenly changed his tune. What kind of trick is he trying to pull now? Jae-min looked at Seung-pyo with wary eyes.
“I told you, this isn’t my phone.”
“Cut it out. It’s not even fun anymore. Neither of us has any use for holding onto someone else’s stuff.”
I didn’t find it fun from the start. Jae-min complained inwardly as he put the phone in his pocket. Looking at him, Oh Seung-pyo truly looked bored with the situation. Jae-min hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…But you said you had screenshots.”
“I can just delete them. You wouldn’t believe me even if I did. And you have the recording you made earlier, so it’s the same. You said we’re both holding each other’s weaknesses.”
Through the hallway window, the grassy playground was visible. Children were playing and kicking a ball. Seung-pyo cast a frowning gaze into the distance and spoke quietly, as if making a concession.
“Let’s just wrap this up instead of adding more weaknesses. I only did it because I wanted to tease you a bit, so I won’t bring it up anymore. You just return my phone and let’s not drag this out.”
“…You really just do whatever you want.”
“Why? You don’t want to settle this?”
Regardless of whether he liked it or not, Jae-min found Oh Seung-pyo even more obnoxious than he had been in the archives.
It was his own fault for taking obscene photos as a high school student and sharing them on the internet. However, it was absurd that Oh Seung-pyo—who was neither a parent, a teacher, nor a police officer, but merely a classmate—treated Jae-min like a criminal and threatened him.
If he had pushed him out of concern or a sense of justice as a fellow student, he might have at least pretended to reflect on his actions. But it was obvious that Seung-pyo was simply doing this because it was fun to tease him, just like when he commented on the posts of the SNS visitors, and because he wanted to vent the subtle frustration that had accumulated from always losing to him in test scores… Jae-min hated the idea of groveling to him just to get what he wanted.
And now, he was acting as if he were making a concession, simply because he felt he might get into trouble too. He knew well that this was a guy who would only be satisfied if he won and held the upper hand over his opponent.
What kind of bastard is this?
Though he felt disgust inside, following Oh Seung-pyo’s words was the most rational decision. No matter how much he had recorded Seung-pyo’s threats, the situation was still more unfavorable for Jae-min.
If anyone was desperate to end this quickly and bury it as if it never happened, it was Jae-min, not Seung-pyo. Though he would never reveal such feelings. Jae-min answered curtly.
“Fine.”
“Then bring the phone tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
As Jae-min nodded, Seung-pyo let out a short sigh, but he didn’t leave immediately. Does he have something else to say? Jae-min also remained still, waiting for the remaining words. After staring at him, Seung-pyo spoke in a whisper, looking curious.
“But why did you do that kind of thing?”
“…What?”
“No, I mean, did you do it because of something like exhibitionism, or was there another reason….”
“You said let’s end this conversation. You just said it yourself.”
Even Jae-min, who had maintained a blank expression, couldn’t take it anymore and frowned. Seung-pyo let out a short, small “Ah” and nodded.
“Alright, alright. I’ll forget about it now.”
Then, he traced his finger across his lips, mimicking the action of zipping a zipper. How untrustworthy. Truly obnoxious. Of all the people to get caught by when his luck ran out, it had to be this guy….
“Hey, Oh Seung-pyo! We don’t have much time, where did you go!”
While Jae-min was sighing inwardly and glaring at the bastard in front of him, a voice calling for that bastard echoed from the far end of the hallway. “I’m coming!” Seung-pyo shouted back. Then, without a single word of goodbye to Jae-min, he whipped around and ran toward the voice.
Jae-min watched his retreating back with a dissatisfied face for a moment before turning and heading to the library.
Like many model students, Jae-min loved books. Naturally, he visited the library often and easily became close with the librarian teacher.
Jae-min had been a member of the reading club since middle school. After entering high school, he became busy preparing for entrance exams, so the actual time spent on club activities wasn’t very long, but visiting the library during lunch to borrow and read books in his spare time was one of Jae-min’s few precious hobbies.
However, it felt somewhat embarrassing to openly open a book that wasn’t a workbook or a textbook in the classroom. His middle school principal had been a person with a strong will to create a “reading school,” so there were times he had to read books even if he didn’t want to. But after coming to high school, it was truly hard to find children who read books.
Moreover, because the other children often exaggerated and praised his personality or grades, there were many times he had to laugh awkwardly, unsure if they were being sincere or mocking him. If he read books during breaks, he would be treated as even more of an oddball. That was why Jae-min always made an excuse to come to the library.
“Jae-min. If you have time, could you deliver this on your way out?”
“What is it?”
Just as he was about to leave after checking out his books, the librarian handed him a shopping bag containing books.
“If you go down to the first floor, a delivery driver will be waiting in front of the main gate. He’ll be wearing a vest, so you’ll recognize him. Just give it to him.”
“I will.”
“Thanks. I’ll buy you a snack later.”
“I’ll do this as a free service.”
Jae-min bowed with a smile and left the library. As he quickly descended the stairs and approached the main gate, a middle-aged man wearing a vest with a delivery company logo was indeed waiting.
The man, who had been looking at his phone, turned his head as if sensing the arrival of the scheduled customer, and Jae-min gave a slight nod of greeting.
“Hello….”
But before he could finish his greeting, the man’s eyes widened. Jae-min was unable to react and simply faced the situation as it crashed into him.
Because ordinary people do not possess superhuman reflexes, they mostly cannot avoid disasters or accidents that approach in unexpected moments. Jae-min, too, saw the soccer ball flying from afar, suddenly approaching like a comet, but could not avoid it.
With a thwack! sound, his vision went dark for a moment.
“Gasp…!”
“Ryu Jae-min, are you okay?!”
The silence while processing the situation was brief. The children who had been diligently kicking the ball on the playground in the distance were running toward the main gate with shocked faces. Jae-min, who had collided head-on with the ball, slumped down, covering his face with his palms, before lifting his head.
Among the approaching children, he saw the obnoxious Oh Seung-pyo running toward him with a considerably flustered expression. This fucking… Jae-min, who usually didn’t use harsh language, muttered a curse under his breath. Seung-pyo, who had arrived right in front of him, knelt down and peered at his face.
“Hey… are you hurt?”
Jae-min glared at Seung-pyo as if he wanted to kill him, but Oh Seung-pyo either didn’t notice Jae-min’s anger or didn’t care, as he only checked the condition of his face. The children each offered a word to Jae-min, mixing worry with attempts to evade responsibility.
“It was kicked from over there, but it flew all the way here.”
“Oh Seung-pyo! You should have kicked it more gently.”
“Does it work that way for me?”
Amidst the commotion, Jae-min calmly stood up and pushed back the children surrounding him. Then, he handed the shopping bag to the delivery driver, who had been observing the situation with wide eyes.
“Mister, here it is.”
“Ah, right….”
The driver took the shopping bag and hesitantly pointed to Jae-min’s face.
“But student, your nose is bleeding…. Hurry and go to the infirmary.”
“What?”
Jae-min wiped under his nose with his hand. Red blood actually came off. While he stood there blankly in disbelief, the children became even more frantic.
“He’s bleeding, he’s bleeding!”
“Gasp, get some tissues, tissues!”
Whew. Letting out a long sigh, Jae-min roughly covered the area under his nose and around his mouth with his hand. Ignoring the fussing children, he stepped inside the building, and Seung-pyo quickly followed behind him.
“Ryu Jae-min, how can you just leave?”
“What do you mean? I’m going to the infirmary.”
“Wait a bit. They said they’re bringing tissues.”
“It’s better to just go quickly.”
Having finished speaking, Jae-min whipped around and shoved Oh Seung-pyo, who had been following him. Due to the sudden force, even the large-framed Seung-pyo couldn’t help but stagger for a moment. Jae-min muttered in a low, small voice, as if spitting the words out.
“You son of a bitch, you did that on purpose.”
“What? Am I a superpower user? You think I aimed and kicked at someone I couldn’t even see from over there?”
“I want to kill you right now, so get lost. Don’t raise the blood pressure of someone with a nosebleed.”
“What a temper…. Then why didn’t you use your superpower to avoid it?”
Instead of answering, Jae-min turned back and headed for the infirmary. Since he couldn’t stop the bleeding just by covering it with his hand, the children he passed with every step stared at him with wide eyes.
This was the first time he had drawn people’s attention for something like this. It wasn’t his fault he was hit by a stray ball, but he felt embarrassed, and his face grew hot. While hurrying his pace to disappear quickly, something suddenly swooped close to his face.
“I told you to wait.”
Seung-pyo’s grumpy voice was heard again. Oh Seung-pyo, having procured it from somewhere, held a large clump of cloth under Jae-min’s nose, and Jae-min frowned and took hold of it. Only then did Oh Seung-pyo remove his hand and step back a few paces.
Jae-min didn’t throw away the cloth since he had already received it. After all, it was better to apply something to stop the bleeding than to walk while blood streamed through his fingers.
Finally arriving at the infirmary, he opened the door, but the school nurse was absent, perhaps because lunch break wasn’t over yet. Oh Seung-pyo pulled over a wheeled chair and commanded,
“Sit here.”
Then, he began searching through the desk and shelves for something. Jae-min ignored the chair pushed in front of him and stood there sullenly.
“I told you to sit, what are you doing?”
As Seung-pyo turned around to scold him, he was holding a large bag of cotton balls and a bottle of alcohol. Jae-min had never heard of using alcohol disinfection for a nosebleed. He frowned and turned his head away.
“I’ll wait for the nurse.”
“Even if you wait, you have to stop the bleeding. Are you just going to stand there while it keeps streaming down?”
“I said it’s fine.”
When Jae-min avoided Seung-pyo, who was thrusting the cotton ball toward him, Seung-pyo also frowned and pushed his face closer.
“Move your hand so I can see your face. If you’re hurt anywhere, it needs to be disinfected.”
“I’m not hurt. The teacher will be here soon, so you can go.”
“You’re really stubborn about the most useless things.”
As if trying to move the hand covering his nose, Seung-pyo reached out. It was the moment Seung-pyo’s fingertips very lightly brushed against the white wrist emerging from the sleeve.
The infirmary door slid open, and the school nurse entered. The teacher sighed as if exhausted and walked forward.
“I just stepped out to the restroom and didn’t even lock the door… did someone get hurt again in the meantime?”
“His nose is bleeding.”
Seung-pyo quickly stepped back and pointed at Jae-min as if tattle-telling. The teacher approached the two with an indifferent face. Children visiting with nosebleeds during lunch break were as familiar as regular customers.
“Sit here. What, did you play soccer? Basketball?”
“I played soccer, and he got hit by the ball while passing by.”
“Oh dear, how unlucky.”
Truly. He was truly incredibly unlucky. Jae-min deeply agreed with those words and unconsciously nodded. The teacher carefully touched the bridge of his nose.
“The bone seems fine, it doesn’t hurt, right? Your head?”
“I’m okay.”
“Now, move your hand.”
The school nurse tore off a small piece of absorbent cotton, placed it where the bleeding was, and had Jae-min press his hand over the bridge of his nose. The treatment Seung-pyo had attempted with cotton and alcohol likely wouldn’t have differed much from the nurse’s.
“Press down hard right here. There doesn’t seem to be anything else wrong, so you can go once the bleeding stops.”
Oh Seung-pyo stood by, blankly watching Jae-min apply pressure to his nose as instructed. Jae-min knit his brows.
“What are you looking at? Just go.”
“Yeah.”
“…And I’ll wash this and bring it back.”
Jae-min wanted to just throw away whatever item he had received from Oh Seung-pyo, but he was generally a polite person. He couldn’t bring himself to return it while it was still soaked with his own nosebleed.
Shortly after, Jae-min properly unfolded the clump of fabric he had been clutching haphazardly and gasped. What he had assumed was just some rag grabbed in haste was actually a dark gray short-sleeved t-shirt—the kind of design students often wore under their school uniforms.
Only then did the identity of the scent that had been mingling with the smell of blood truly hit him. Jae-min had been smelling it with his nose practically buried in the fabric—a scent that felt like a mix of laundry detergent and a person’s natural body odor. Before he could ask what it was, Seung-pyo held out his hand with a blunt expression.
“Just give it back.”
“I said I’ll wash it first.”
As the signs of a bicker grew stronger, the nurse chimed in.
“Just give it back. Blood comes out better if you wash it quickly. Take it to the restroom right now and wash it with cold water.”
“Right. She’s right.”
Outnumbered two-to-one, he couldn’t insist any further. Having the blood-stained t-shirt snatched away, Jae-min felt inexplicably embarrassed. There had been no need for the other to follow him while getting blood on a perfectly good shirt. Even though the other was the one at fault, Jae-min felt as if he were the one being dramatic.
Even after saying his piece, Seung-pyo didn’t leave immediately but looked down at Jae-min. Wondering if there was something left to say, Jae-min glanced up, only to see him cover his mouth and give a short, fake cough. The nurse checked on him as he suddenly started coughing despite having been fine.
“Do you have a cold?”
“No, ahem. I’ll be going now.”
“Alright. Be more careful of your surroundings next time you’re kicking a ball.”
Jae-min sent him a cold glare until Seung-pyo completely vanished from sight, then tilted his head in belated confusion.
‘Wait, was Oh Seung-pyo smiling slightly while pretending to cough just now?’
Puzzled, Jae-min turned his gaze and happened to spot the desk mirror on the nurse’s table. He froze instantly.
He looked a sight. Because he had been hit squarely by a ball flying from a distance, his forehead and the center of his face were still red, and he had absorbent cotton stuffed up one nostril. His hair was disheveled, and his usual neat appearance was gone, making him look almost foolish.
So, the reason Oh Seung-pyo laughed just now was…
“Is this funny?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, sorry. I was talking to myself.”
Jae-min looked in the mirror again. Looking closely, the disheveled state of his appearance was indeed a bit funny, even to his own eyes. However, it wasn’t a situation where the guy who caused this mess—no one else—should be openly laughing.
It seemed he had tried to hide the laughter, but since he’d been caught, it was useless. Whether hitting him in the face with a ball and causing a nosebleed was an accident or intentional, it didn’t matter… No, from the moment they first got entangled until now, every single action of that guy had been nothing but unpleasant and absurd.
It was almost infuriating that he had felt sorry for a moment just because a t-shirt was ruined. Jae-min felt his blood pressure starting to rise again.
“Teacher, I think I’m okay now. I’ll be going.”
“Alright. If your head starts hurting or ringing later, you have to come back, okay? If it happens after school, you must go to a hospital.”
“Yes.”
Lunch break was coming to an end. Students who had been playing on the field or chatting in the hallways were returning to their classrooms one by one.
When Jae-min returned to the classroom, several students who had witnessed the bloody scene greeted him as if they had been waiting.
“Are you okay? Is your nose alright?”
“Yeah, it was just a brief nosebleed, they said there are no other problems.”
“Why did the ball have to fly right there… Oh, there’s blood here.”
Because a student pointed it out, Jae-min only then noticed a small bloodstain on the hem of his school shirt.
Seeing the vivid bloodstain, the heat that had been slowly building in his head and chest for a while seemed to intensify. Thump, thump, thump. Jae-min had never felt this sensation—his heart beating faster than usual and heat rushing to his fingertips—at least not while at school.
Looking down quietly at the bloodstain, Jae-min spoke impulsively.
“Kim Min-jun. The basketball game against Class 4, can I really play?”
Whether the suggestion to play together was sincere or not, the students’ faces lit up overtly.
“Did you change your mind? We’d love that. Tall guys are always welcome.”
“I’ve never played basketball before, will it be okay?”
“We aren’t great either. Since skill levels are pretty similar anyway, physicals are what matter most. You know the basic moves like dribbling and shooting, right? Since we learn them in PE.”
“But I’ve never actually played in a game.”
“It’s fine. Let’s practice together tomorrow and the day after. Honestly, Oh Seung-pyo is really good and tall, so we desperately need a center who can block him right now. The kid who usually plays center can’t play this time.”
“Center?”
The friend’s enthusiasm to start a lecture on basketball positions was cut short by the teacher entering the classroom. I’ll teach you later! the classmate quickly whispered and returned to his seat.
While skill levels were similar, Oh Seung-pyo was not only tall but also good at basketball. Honestly, even if a beginner like himself learned through a crash course for two days, it was nearly impossible to have a significant impact on the game.
Despite knowing this, Jae-min kept falling into sweet fantasies. It wasn’t common for Jae-min to have distracting thoughts pop up during class.
If he happened to have a hidden talent for basketball, he could see Oh Seung-pyo’s face crumple in defeat. He was already winning in terms of test scores, but if he could make him taste defeat in basketball—a skill recognized by everyone—the shock to Oh Seung-pyo would be far, far greater than when his test ranking dropped. Just imagining a devastated Oh Seung-pyo made him feel better and better.
Time spent throwing and kicking balls with school friends had never been granted generously to Jae-min, even when he was young. However, both of his parents shared the opinion that one must have basic physical strength to study well, so Jae-min attended a physical education academy as a child. There, he did exercises like jump rope and running, and played soccer or basketball indoors. Among the academies he attended, he liked the PE academy the most, but that was when he was very young.
In middle school, he managed his fitness at a sports center specializing in personal training twice a week. Once he entered high school, he was told he had to save even the time spent commuting to exercise, so a trainer came directly to his house during times when he didn’t have tutoring or academy classes.
Therefore, his stamina wasn’t weak compared to others, nor were his athletic reflexes particularly bad. However, he had always exercised alone; he had zero experience with team ball games since elementary school.
“What we lack most right now is the area under the basket. Oh Seung-pyo is about 187cm, right? Just by stretching his arms, he has an advantage in scoring over us. So, the tallest person needs to cover Oh Seung-pyo with their body under the basket.”
“Is that the role of a center?”
“Actually, positions don’t mean much at our level, but for now, yes.”
After class, Jae-min listened intently to his friends’ basketball lesson. As with anything, theory and practice must go hand in hand to achieve good results. This was even more true for him, as he was starting later than others and needed to keep pace.
“Then I’ll study up on it by tomorrow. So it’s easier when we practice together.”
“Study? Studying basketball? That’s so you.”
“I think it’ll be easier to understand during practice if I refer to a few videos.”
“Uh… I guess so. Actually, I sometimes look up basketball videos when there’s a game. I’ll tell you about some channels worth watching.”
The students holding phones simultaneously focused their attention on Jae-min. One student stepped forward and held out his phone.
“Then put your number in. To play in a game together, we need to be able to contact each other when necessary.”
Although they had eaten together a few times recently, they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers yet. Because his parents forbade casual chatting with friends without a specific purpose, Jae-min had rarely given his number to other kids.
After entering Jae-min’s number, the students competed to send him internet links to reference videos. There were sports lecture videos explaining basketball techniques and game footage of actual professional players.
For the first time in a long while, several messages that weren’t from tutors or parents piled up in Jae-min’s messenger. A wave of anxiety crept in out of habit due to the awkward situation, but Jae-min soon changed his mind. It was only for a while until the basketball game. He just had to be careful not to get caught for a few days.
“We’re going to practice after class too. If you’re okay with it starting today, do you want to join?”
“I don’t know. Today is a bit…”
Today, he was scheduled to go straight to the academy with his pickup driver after school. He planned to study in the self-study room for about an hour before entering class.
It was too late to explain the situation and coordinate the time. However, Jae-min’s enthusiasm was already ignited, and he was the type to leave no regrets when doing his best in a short amount of time.
“Wait. I’m supposed to go to the academy right away today, so normally I can’t, but I’ll ask if I can push it back by an hour.”
“Oh, okay.”
Jae-min hurriedly called his pickup Hyung. At first, the Hyung was hesitant, saying, ‘I’ll get fired if your parents find out,’ but it seemed he also suddenly had a schedule that required some time. In the end, the two compromised to keep today’s matter a secret and ended the call. Jae-min turned back to the students with a smile.
“He said it’s okay.”
“Wow!” the students cheered softly. In the meantime, another break ended, and as the classroom door opened, the gathered students scattered to their seats like wild animals startled by a spark.
Even after school ended, it was just more academy or tutoring, and after those classes, he would return to a boring house with only his blunt parents. Jae-min had never particularly wished for his daily routine to end quickly, whether at school or the academy.
But today was different. He found himself wishing for class to end quickly. Once his heart started pounding, it wouldn’t easily settle down.
It was also the first time he was so restless that he couldn’t concentrate on class at all. Rushing with the other kids to claim the basketball court as soon as the last period ended, and learning basketball from school friends—Jae-min had always only learned things from adults, people called ‘teachers.’
“First, you need to learn the under-basket shot and defense among the shots.”
“No matter who shoots, they’ll try to break through you. So you shouldn’t block them immediately just because they pretend to shoot. It could be a fake.”
Jae-min wasn’t the only one excited. The kids joining him were also very hyped. Just as the experience of learning something from peers was unfamiliar to Jae-min, it wasn’t easy for the kids to experience teaching something to the top student in the school.
The classmates competed to give Jae-min basketball lectures, but the theoretical lessons ended quickly. With shouts that they would understand naturally once they actually ran, the kids immediately began to move.
The weather was still too cold to play outside, but the basketball court on one side of the field was heating up as if a fire had been lit. Students began to throw off their coats one by one because of the heat. And there were those who watched the scene from afar before walking toward the court.
“Practicing?”
At the sudden voice, the Class 2 students paused their practice for a moment. Before they knew it, the Class 4 students they were set to play against had approached the court.
Holding the ball he had just received, Jae-min breathed heavily and stared at one person. The target of his gaze was, without a doubt, Oh Seung-pyo, who stood a head taller than the other average-sized boys. A Class 4 student asked excitedly,
“Ryu Jae-min, did you really decide to play in the game?”
“I decided to play this time instead of Hyung-seo.”
“Daebak. Hey, how is it? Are you good at basketball too?”
Amidst the commotion caused by the unexpected sight, Oh Seung-pyo remained quiet without saying much. He looked at Jae-min, and the corners of his mouth moved slightly, barely visible.
It was an expression that could be seen as a smirk or a sigh of disbelief. Unaware of the invisible psychological warfare between Seung-pyo and Jae-min, the other kids were simply excited and chattered about their plans.
“Should we practice here together? We can just use the other hoop.”
Then, Oh Seung-pyo gestured with his chin toward the outside of the school gate.
“Why would we practice with the guys we’re playing against? Let’s go to the park court over there.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“You guys work hard too.”
Oh Seung-pyo left behind words that could have been either encouragement or sarcasm and walked away. Perhaps stimulated by Class 2’s passionate special training, the Class 4 kids also left with a more emboldened air.
Jae-min watched the receding line of students until the end. Oh Seung-pyo was arrogant even from behind. His shoulders, back, and the back of his head clearly showed that he didn’t consider even a 0.01% possibility that he would lose in basketball.
“We don’t have much time. Let’s finish practicing quickly.”
Since the flow had been broken and the kids were idling as if it were a break, Jae-min was the first to encourage them. There were less than 30 minutes left until the pickup Hyung was supposed to arrive.
Jae-min was in a hurry. Like a student cramming for an exam, he wanted to bet on it if there was even a 0.01% chance.
* * *
“Oh Seung-pyo, a kid from Class 2 is looking for you.”
During break time, Seung-pyo, who had been laughing and joking with friends, turned his head toward the back door at a student’s message. There was only one student from Class 2 who would come looking for him, and the expected person was standing there.
Seung-pyo stood up without rushing. He slowly approached the back door, stood blocking Jae-min’s path, and asked,
“Did you bring the phone?”
“Let’s talk for a moment before I give it back.”
“What now.”
Though grumbling, Seung-pyo followed Jae-min. Throughout the walk, Seung-pyo looked at the black crown of the head slightly lower than his own. He resisted the urge to poke the white whorl of hair with his finger to irritate him.
Looking at the way he walked, it seemed Ryu Jae-min wasn’t satisfied with the proposal to just return the items and end it. Even though Ryu Jae-min himself would be the one to benefit if the accident between them was treated as if it never happened, it was clear that his foul personality wouldn’t let him let it go easily.
As if no one could tell he was joining the basketball game specifically because he wanted to retaliate. A guy who’s never even played a game, not knowing his place.
“What do you want to say?”
The place Jae-min took Seung-pyo to was the archives room, which had now become their secret meeting spot. Click. After locking the door, Jae-min took a deep breath as if he were about to make a major announcement. Because his expression was so serious, Oh Seung-pyo found himself taking a small breath in as well.
Jae-min took a familiar phone in a transparent case out of his pocket and held it out. Taking it, Seung-pyo turned on the screen, touched it a few times, and then frowned. He cast a crooked glance at Jae-min, his expression asking what on earth he was doing.
“You brought the wrong one. This isn’t mine.”
“I know. I didn’t bring your phone.”
“What? Why?”
“Ending it like this doesn’t solve the problem. And I can’t trust that you’ll keep your promise.”
Seung-pyo let out a huff.
“Do I look that bored to you? How long do you think I’ll drag this out? I have zero interest in your pervert photos anymore. If we’re talking about trust, I’m the one who can’t trust you. A double-personality psycho freak like you.”
“Right. Since we both can’t trust each other, as you said, let’s make it more certain.”
“How?”
Jae-min’s expression remained serious throughout. Even while thinking he was hearing nonsense, Oh Seung-pyo couldn’t quite shake his curiosity and waited for the next words.
“Let’s bet on the basketball game. If your class wins, I’ll return your phone and delete the recording files. I’ll delete everything stored in the cloud and on the phone right in front of your eyes. You return my phone after the bet is over.”
“Who knows how many more copies of the files you’ve made, so what’s the point of that?”
“I’ll even write a memorandum if necessary.”
It was a series of statements that made him doubt his ears. Seung-pyo stared intently at Jae-min as if gauging his sincerity. It was because he couldn’t tell if this was a joke or if he was serious.
Class 2 had rarely won against Class 4 to begin with, and now that they were about to leave the paint to a complete novice, the possibilities were slimmer than ever. Seung-pyo found it absurd that Jae-min had proposed the bet with such confidence, and while he still thought the conditions Jae-min offered were meaningless, he was curious about the alternative.
“Though it won’t happen, what if your class wins?”
“Apologize to me.”
“…….”
“And delete those photos you saved, right in front of me.”
Seung-pyo didn’t hold back and frowned. His voice rose slightly.
“What do I have to be sorry for? You’re the one who suddenly popped out and bumped into me, dropped your phone, and then took mine without permission.”
“Apologize for blackmailing me with that. And you didn’t say sorry after hitting me with a soccer ball, either.”
Seung-pyo was immediately rendered speechless. Staring at Jae-min with his mouth slightly agape, Seung-pyo narrowed his eyes and let out a weary sigh.
“You really hold a grudge.”
“Don’t act like you don’t. From where I’m standing, you’re worse.”
“I’m not losing a single word to you.”
“Exactly. I’ve never lost to you once.”
He expected Jae-min to get angry at that, but Seung-pyo just rolled his eyes with a scowl and suddenly chuckled.
“Well, that’s true, isn’t it?”
Since he readily agreed to a comment meant to provoke him, Jae-min, who had been acting aggressively, was instead deflated and cleared his throat. However, it wasn’t that Seung-pyo was suddenly being generous. He was simply finding the situation amusing internally.
Seung-pyo cast his gaze downward, appearing to ponder the bet.
‘This guy really thinks he can beat me at basketball? Does he mistake a basketball game for preparing for an exam?’
Having always been first while attending expensive tutoring and academies, perhaps Jae-min’s sense of reality was a bit skewed in these matters—believing that as long as he set his mind to it, he could be the best anywhere.
It was laughable that a guy who would be a complete rookie on the court was acting so arrogant, talking about bets and such. Even if Ryu Jae-min were some basketball genius from a manga, it would be impossible for him to perform well enough to keep up with Oh Seung-pyo in just a few days.
Since middle school, Seung-pyo had consistently received passionate offers to join the basketball team from the coach. He had declined every time because he didn’t want to pour that much passion into sports, but as a basketball enthusiast, he couldn’t just leave a novice who looked down on the sport alone. Ryu Jae-min needed to learn that the world isn’t always that easy.
“You live such a tiring life. I tried to let it slide even though you’re annoying, but you just keep biting like a dog.”
“…….”
“Still, it’s fun. Let’s do it your way. But I think the conditions are a bit boring.”
“…Then?”
“Whether you win or lose, you break even. You have to return a phone you picked up anyway, so isn’t it a bit cheap to use it as a bet to act all generous? If we’re going to bet, I want at least one more condition.”
Breaking even regardless of the outcome. In truth, that was why Jae-min, who had no chance of winning, could rush into the bet.
‘He’s the one who holds grudges.’ Having been hit where it hurts, Jae-min inwardly cursed Seung-pyo as he carefully considered the additional condition. What kind of absurd condition was he going to add now? He didn’t want to regret proposing the bet.
“Let’s go with this.”
As he spoke, Seung-pyo raised his hand, curling his thumb and middle finger into a circle. When Jae-min blinked, not understanding, Seung-pyo kindly added an explanation.
“If you lose, ten finger flicks to the forehead.”
With that, he snapped his middle finger against his thumb in the air. Unconsciously, Jae-min stared only at Seung-pyo’s hand. His long fingers had prominent knuckles, and his nails were trimmed short. As one could guess from his love for basketball, they didn’t look particularly soft.
Neither before nor after proposing the bet had Jae-min factored in the possibility of physical pain. He had been inwardly anxious about what kind of cheap or dirty demand would come out, but the additional condition Oh Seung-pyo proposed was much simpler than expected.
‘Will it hurt a lot?’
Because his father was strict, he had been disciplined occasionally, but he had never been flicked on the forehead. He had played games hitting foreheads with classmates when he was young, but the hand of a child and the hand of Oh Seung-pyo before him seemed vastly different in size, hardness, and destructive power.
“Why? Scared?”
As the silence stretched, Seung-pyo asked again. Jae-min shook his head as if he had never hesitated.
It was just a game. How much could ten flicks as a game penalty possibly hurt? As long as it ended with getting hit regardless of who won, it was still a break-even deal for Jae-min.
“Fine.”
“You’re the one who proposed the bet, so you can’t cancel.”
Then, Seung-pyo snapped his thumb and middle finger with force, muttering as if to himself.
“Back when I learned Taekwondo, I used to break pine boards with this….”
“Is threatening people your hobby?”
He felt a slight chill, but Jae-min snorted as if he found it pathetic. Oh Seung-pyo, perhaps joking, simply gave a silent smirk. It must be a bluff. No matter how strong he was, there was no way he could break a wooden board with a finger.
Without erasing his smile, Oh Seung-pyo took a large step forward. He tilted his head slightly to bring his face closer and lightly brushed Jae-min’s bangs with his fingertips. He didn’t even touch the skin, but for some reason, Jae-min’s forehead and brow felt itchy. At the strange tickle that felt like it might trigger a sneeze, Jae-min reflexively frowned, and Seung-pyo, still smiling, whispered in a low voice.
“You’re dead now.”
It was a terrifying proclamation, but the tone was playful. Before Jae-min could respond, Seung-pyo whipped around. He took a few steps backward, opened the locked door, chuckled spitefully, and left one last word.
“Practice hard. Not that it matters since you’ll lose anyway.”
He wanted to retort that you never know until you try, but Jae-min didn’t open his mouth carelessly. It was true that the possibility of winning was close to zero, and acting arrogant with only words while lacking skill was something suited for a perpetual second-place finisher. It was time to stop falling for childish provocations and lowering himself to that level.
Oh Seung-pyo left the archives first. Jae-min brushed back the bangs where the other’s finger had touched.
* * *
Thump, thump, thump.
A cheerful sound echoed every time the heavy ball hit and bounced off the coated urethane floor. During lunch break, six boys who had finished their meals like lightning in under ten minutes were moving busily within the rectangular basketball court.
Ryu Jae-min was a model student among model students, always maintaining a neat school uniform without even undoing a single shirt button. Seeing such a Jae-min running around frantically with his shirt open to reveal his collarbones, his tie undone and tossed aside, and his sleeves rolled up high, was eye-catching enough to draw the gaze of those even inside the classroom. One student muttered:
“If this were a co-ed school, there would be so many girls watching right now.”
Though it was still winter, the bodies of the eighteen-year-old boys running with the ball quickly heated up. Some were sweating despite the cold weather.
The boy with the ball suddenly raised his arm and jumped as if to attempt a shot. Jae-min jumped with him to block. However, instead of throwing the ball, the boy quickly pivoted, passed by Jae-min, and slipped behind.
Startled, Jae-min immediately chased after him. The guy who tricked Jae-min ran at full speed toward the hoop while dribbling, but Jae-min, despite the late start, was faster. Just as the boy reached out to shoot, Jae-min had already caught up, and the ball, nearly at the hoop, hit Jae-min’s hand and bounced to the floor.
“Ah!”
The ownerless ball fell into someone else’s hands, and instead of running, he took a shot right from where he stood. As the ball flew long, all eyes on the court focused on one spot.
Clang! Instead of passing through the net, the ball hit the rim and bounced out. Jae-min immediately jumped up and pushed the ball into the hoop.
‘Goal!’
Jae-min landed on the floor, cheering inwardly. To have scored a goal after only one day of practice—even he thought this was quite impressive. As Jae-min turned his head with a face full of radiance, the other boys on the court approached him laughing and shouted:
“Foul!”
Jae-min’s proud expression turned into wide-eyed confusion.
“Why? Isn’t this a rebound?”
“We’re playing half-court right now, so we’re only using one hoop. If you catch the ball and put it in immediately, it’s a foul. You have to dribble at least once or pass before scoring.”
“I didn’t know.”
Jae-min, who had been excited thinking he succeeded in a layup, felt slightly deflated. However, the laughter of the boys surrounding him only grew.
“Hey, but that’s not important! We’ll be playing full-court when we face Class 4 anyway, and you only did that because you didn’t know the rules. For a beginner, you’re damn good.”
“Are you sure this is your first time playing basketball?”
Only then did Jae-min laugh out loud and high-five the boys. Having run hard, the sharp, biting winter air felt incredibly refreshing. Playing a basketball game with friends for the first time was more, even more fun than he had expected.
Last night, he couldn’t fall asleep immediately even after lying in bed. It was something he would be severely scolded for if his parents found out, but he had lost track of time secretly watching basketball videos with earphones on.
He had never found sports games interesting before, but thinking of it as preparation for a game he would actually play made every single detail feel new. He had once thought it was foolish for people to risk their lives running around for a single ball, but after learning about tactics and rules, he realized it wasn’t foolish at all; it was a game where you had to use your body well and think quickly to succeed.
“I studied a bit yesterday.”
“If you can do this much after watching one day of online lectures, you’re a genius.”
“At this rate, isn’t the basketball team going to try and scout you?”
While they were chatting in high spirits, other students from different classes had already lined up by the court, waiting. One of them, holding a ball, shouted complainingly:
“You guys used it for twenty minutes. It’s our turn now.”
There were only two basketball courts on the playground, and since the upperclassmen always occupied one, competition for a spot was fierce even for half-court games. Jae-min and the Class 2 boys had succeeded in securing the court by rushing there as soon as lunch started, but now it was time to yield to the Class 4 students.
If they stalled here, they might shake the opposing team’s mental state a bit, but since they had agreed to prepare for the match fairly, the Class 2 boys didn’t persist and stepped off the court.
“Hey, Ryu Jae-min.”
As Jae-min was about to leave the court with his jumper in hand, Oh Seung-pyo called out to him. Instead of answering, Jae-min just turned his head to look at Seung-pyo.
“Put your padding on right away. I won’t go easy on you if you walk around like that, catch a cold, and start wheezing.”
Whether he caught a cold or not. Wouldn’t it be a good thing for Oh Seung-pyo if Jae-min got sick? While Jae-min was being sarcastic internally, Oh Seung-pyo began flicking his thumb and middle finger in the air, as if warming up. The boys standing next to him looked at Seung-pyo with curiosity.
“What’s that, finger exercises?”
“Yeah. Just making sure I’m well~ prepared so I don’t lose any power.”
“True, you can sprain a finger if you’re not careful during basketball.”
Then, the boys began imitating Seung-pyo in a group, flicking their fingers in the air. They seemed to think those finger movements were some kind of warm-up. Oh Seung-pyo had a talent like a water ghost, making everyone around him look just as pathetic. Jae-min didn’t bother hiding his thoughts and clicked his tongue with a cold expression.
As Jae-min turned his back, the Class 2 boys followed him in a crowd. Having somehow become the leader, Jae-min stood at the center of the group. As they moved away, the Class 4 boys walked onto the court, whispering.
“But isn’t Ryu Jae-min better than expected? He’s practicing hard, too.”
“Right. I thought we’d have an easy win since he said he’d never played, but I don’t think it’ll be that simple. He might even be better than Hyung-seo.”
“I thought Oh Seung-pyo was the only one who was good at both studying and sports, but that guy is impressive too.”
As one boy admired him jokingly, the edge of Oh Seung-pyo’s eyebrow twitched upward. After staring in the direction the Class 2 boys had disappeared for a moment, Oh Seung-pyo let out a short, airy laugh.
“He can only do so much. Do you really think Ryu Jae-min will suddenly become an ace? What could he possibly do?”
“I’m just saying we shouldn’t let our guard down.”
“Sure. He’s not bad for a beginner. Let’s get to practicing quickly.”
When Oh Seung-pyo clapped his hands once and stood in the center of the court, everyone stopped chatting and took on serious expressions. Even if it was just a game for a trivial bet, it was an important event for high school students who suffered through entrance exam studies all day.
They split into teams of three and played rock-paper-scissors. Seung-pyo’s team went first. As Oh Seung-pyo stepped onto the court, the boys playing on the next court, other students on the playground, and people inside the building all looked at him.
If the gaze directed at Jae-min had been close to curiosity—like looking at a strange sight one had never seen before—the looks directed at Seung-pyo carried a wider variety of emotions. Stable affection from looking at something consistently good, longing or jealousy-tinged envy of wanting to be like him, and even neurotic hatred from wanting to remove the thing before their eyes.
However, Oh Seung-pyo didn’t care about the gazes of the hidden spectators and threw the ball. The boy who received the pass delivered it without delay, and another boy took the ball.
Seung-pyo ran to receive the ball he had passed, but naturally, the opposing team was marking him as their top priority. The boy with the ball gave up on passing to Seung-pyo and took a shot immediately. The ball hit the rim and bounced off.
The ball soared high into the air before falling. The boys rushed forward to grab the bouncing ball. The first one to get it was Seung-pyo. This time, instead of passing, Seung-pyo raised his arm toward the hoop from where he stood. The ball flew in a large arc and slid smoothly through the net.
“Oh, a 3-point shot.”
“That was damn clean.”
The students watching Seung-pyo from the windows admired him. The Class 2 boys, now back in the classroom, had become spectators looking out at the playground. Despite it being winter, some of the boys who had sweated had changed into the t-shirts they wore under their uniforms.
Jae-min rarely sweated at school, so he didn’t carry a spare t-shirt. After glancing at the boys changing their clothes, Jae-min turned his head toward the window. He caught a glimpse of a dark-colored t-shirt neckline inside Oh Seung-pyo’s uniform shirt collar, but he couldn’t tell if it was the one used to wipe his nosebleed or not.
Unlike Jae-min, who was preparing for the game focusing on under-the-basket defense, Oh Seung-pyo roamed the court as he pleased. He would shoot a 3-point shot from afar, perform a layup shot right under the hoop, and occasionally break through several defenders alone to score. Jae-min, who was not yet used to watching basketball, felt dizzy from the speedy progression and the way Seung-pyo’s position shifted as if he were teleporting.
In the past, he wouldn’t have been able to tell if someone was good or bad, nor would he have cared, but not anymore. Jae-min could tell for sure. Seung-pyo’s level was so distinctly different from the other boys that he could have played as a professional basketball player right now.
He felt like he couldn’t win. Even though he was the one who proposed the bet, Jae-min was already losing confidence. People said that because basketball is a team sport, even if one person is a beginner, anything can happen if luck and teamwork are on their side. But even so, the fact that beating someone like Oh Seung-pyo was infinitely close to impossible was something the other boys watching the playground would also admit.
Nevertheless, the reason he had made a bet that was like hitting a rock with an egg was exactly as Oh Seung-pyo had said. Even if he lost, Jae-min broke even. If he luckily won, he could delete the photos Oh Seung-pyo had and receive an apology from the obnoxious guy.
As Seung-pyo said, in this day and age, the act of deleting a photo in front of someone might be meaningless. However, he didn’t think the act of admitting one’s own fault was meaningless. Whenever Jae-min had admitted his mistakes in front of others, he had felt either reflection or humiliation—at least one of the two. And those emotions always had meaning.
There was a high probability that Jae-min would lose the bet, but even if he did, he had nothing to lose. The phone was something he had to return anyway, and the recording file was trivial whether it existed or not. Oh Seung-pyo, who asked what the point was in showing him the deletion process when data could be copied indefinitely, wouldn’t believe the file was truly gone even if he watched Jae-min delete it with his own eyes.
Having scored another goal, Seung-pyo was smiling and high-fiving his friends. His cheerfully laughing face shone like a different person from the obnoxious Oh Seung-pyo who stood before him. As Jae-min stared at him in silence, a student nudged his shoulder.
“Why do you look so serious? Don’t worry too much. I’m telling you, you might actually win.”
“Yeah. I’m not worried.”
Lunch break passed quickly. Only after the first bell rang to signal the start of class did the children on the playground swarm back to their classrooms. Jae-min stopped staring out the window and straightened his posture.
Regardless, Jae-min practiced truly hard. The students of Ilyang Boys’ High School, who saw him practicing dribbling alone or attempting layup shots even during breaks, all shared a similar thought: he never let go of the top rank in the entire school because he was that tenacious in everything he did.
* * *
The moment he stepped out of the house, the freezing morning air snapped him awake as if he had been doused in ice water.
Having woken up early, Seung-pyo set out on his way to school, looking up at the sky while playfully blowing out puffs of white breath. Even though it was nearly seven, the sky was still pitch black. Winter—where mornings come late and nights fall fast. Seung-pyo didn’t dislike the long nights, but the spring and summer, with their longer days, were certainly better for being active.
The air was cold, but Seung-pyo wasn’t. Rather, he felt refreshed and in a good mood. Even in winter, Seung-pyo always walked around the house in short-sleeved t-shirts. Whenever his aunties visited, they would see him and shiver, claiming he was like that because he had a lot of internal heat since he was young. As they said—whether it was because of his age or some other reason—neither Seung-pyo nor his Hyung seemed to truly feel the winter cold.
Anyway, why had he woken up so early today? Seung-pyo chewed over his schedule for the day. There were no particularly demanding assignments or classes, nor was it a scheduled exam day. The only special event today was the long-awaited basketball game against Class 2.
The possibility of him losing to Ryu Jae-min, kneeling to apologize, and receiving finger flicks was non-existent even if a miracle happened a hundred times, but regardless, today’s game seemed to be on Seung-pyo’s mind. The fact that he thought of the basketball game the moment he opened his eyes proved it.
Tsk. He didn’t want to admit that he was conscious of this match, but he couldn’t ignore it either. Seung-pyo clicked his tongue for no reason as he entered the school gates. The area near the gates, usually bustling in the morning, was still quiet.
As Oh Seung-pyo crossed the playground, he stopped abruptly at an unexpected thump. While there were lights on the playground, only a few illuminated the perimeter sidewalk. Looking toward the sound, he spotted the silhouette of someone standing on the basketball court amidst the gloom.
No way. Frowning, Seung-pyo approached, only to let out a small gasp of disbelief.
Just then, a ball that had left a fingertip drew a long arc through the air and perched atop the rim. It spun around, teasingly hovering as if it might go in, but instead of passing through the net, it plopped down outside.
Thump, thump, thump… The ball bounced on the ground and rolled away, as if trying to escape the court. Jae-min, who had been hurriedly chasing after it, finally noticed Seung-pyo and looked up.
To Jae-min, who stood there holding the ball and staring at him in silence, Seung-pyo was the first to speak brusquely.
“Don’t tell me you came here at dawn to practice for today’s game? Someone might mistake you for a basketball team member heading to a national competition.”
“If I were on the team, why would I practice? I’m not good, so I have to practice more so I don’t cause trouble for the other kids.”
“There aren’t any kids in Class 2 who are actually good anyway. Even if someone else played instead of you, you’d still lose.”
“That’s just your opinion.”
As if he didn’t care whether Seung-pyo was standing there or not, Jae-min returned to his previous spot. He stared intently at the hoop, concentrating, and then whipped the ball. Swish. This time, it went in perfectly. Jae-min’s eyes widened slightly in joy, but that was all.
Like a screen playing on a loop, the same scene repeated for a while. Jae-min repeatedly shot the ball and went to retrieve it, while Seung-pyo watched from the side, looking bewildered.
Jae-min’s success rate wasn’t particularly high. Since Seung-pyo arrived, he had taken six shots, and only one had gone in. Since the other kids weren’t perfect marksmen either, it couldn’t be said that his skill was lacking, but for Jae-min, who had set the high goal of beating Oh Seung-pyo, he still had a long way to go.
“Aren’t you just going to hang around the basket anyway? What’s the point of practicing 3-point shots?”
“My choice.”
I asked a damn long question and he gives me a rude, short answer. While grumbling internally, Seung-pyo called out to him once more.
“Hey.”
Unable to watch any longer, Seung-pyo stepped onto the court. Jae-min had just retrieved a ball that had bounced off the rim.
“Give it here.”
When Oh Seung-pyo held out his hand, Jae-min stared blankly without a word before finally passing the ball. As soon as Seung-pyo caught it, he launched it. The ball soared as lightly as his movement, passing through the hoop without hesitation and hitting the floor. Seung-pyo asked, waving his left hand.
“Are you left-handed by any chance?”
“No.”
“Then, based on the right hand, you’re putting too much strength into your hand, which is why you keep missing.”
“….”
“Look. You don’t throw by putting strength into both hands; you have to support the ball with your left hand and push with your right for the ball to fly in the right direction. The left hand is just there to help, don’t you know?”
Having retrieved the ball, Seung-pyo demonstrated once more. Again, the ball passed through the hoop effortlessly. See that? Seung-pyo looked down at Jae-min boastfully.
One might have found the interference annoying, but Jae-min took the ball without a word. As he took his stance to throw, Seung-pyo added more advice.
“Bend your knees more. Don’t think of it as throwing with just your arm strength; think of it as throwing with your whole body. Focus on your right hand and keep your body light.”
Normally, Jae-min would have been disgusted by such interference, but instead of resisting, he obediently bent his knees. He stared intently at the hoop, then leaped lightly and threw the ball.
The ball flew in a stable arc. Both of their gazes followed the ball simultaneously. The sky was gradually brightening into a pale blue. The round ball, catching the first rays of the rising sun, passed through the hoop silently.
The fallen ball bounced a few times on the floor before rolling away, but this time, Jae-min didn’t go to retrieve it immediately. Neither of them spoke. After a brief silence, Seung-pyo let out a small snort and slung his bag over his shoulder.
“The other kids will be arriving soon. Stop now and head inside.”
“Okay.”
Despite his answer, Jae-min didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. Rather, as if he had found the fun in it thanks to the successful shot, he was taking his stance again, aiming for the hoop.
Stubborn as a mule. Seung-pyo shook his head and headed toward the classroom, leaving Jae-min behind. If he was going to play under-the-basket defense instead of Hyung-seo, he should have practiced layup shots instead; he couldn’t understand why he’d come out at dawn to practice 3-point shots, which he’d barely even get to use.
The reason he bothered to give advice was that it wouldn’t change the overall tide of the game anyway. If they were going to lose even if a rookie substitute’s success rate improved a bit, they were just going to lose.
…Well, the way he approached practice with far more seriousness than expected was quite surprising.
Is that really how he becomes the top student in the school?
Seung-pyo was now thinking the same thing that he had refused to agree with when others praised Jae-min in admiration. Surprised by his own thought, Seung-pyo shook his head vigorously and went up to the classroom.