Chapter 21: Sports Day Part 1

The warm sunlight gently filtered through the kitchen window.

Harin, adjusting her neatly tied apron, hummed a soft tune while whisking eggs.

The savory aroma filled the kitchen, and the ingredients she was preparing were neatly laid out beside the sink.

‘Tomorrow is Sports Day, so I have to pack my brother’s lunch!’

Harin took out seaweed for the gimbap and spread a thin layer of sesame oil on the rice.

“My brother likes ham, so I’ll make two rolls.”

Humming, she carefully placed the ingredients on top of the rice.

“What are you doing?”

A nonchalant voice came from the side.

Dohyun, who had been lounging on the couch just moments ago, stood with his arms crossed, glancing at Harin.

“My brother, tomorrow is Sports Day.”

While Harin was rolling the gimbap with her small hands, an unexpected remark struck her ears.

“Do you really have to? You could just buy it.”

Harin’s hands froze.

The chopsticks she had been using to place a small rolled omelette trembled.

‘Buy it? You mean just buy it?’

Though Dohyun usually had a carefree personality, this was too much.

Her eyebrows twitched.

“Buy it?” Harin slowly raised her head and looked at Dohyun.

Today, his typical indifferent expression felt oddly annoying.

“It’s fine if you just eat something quick. There’s no need to go through all this trouble.”

Dohyun waved his hand dismissively as if it didn’t matter, but Harin felt as if a dagger had pierced her chest.

‘Trouble? If I thought this was trouble, I wouldn’t have even started! I’m doing this out of love for my brother!’

Harin’s cheeks puffed up slightly.

“Hmph, I knew my brother would say something like that.”

Harin took a deep breath and swallowed the surge of emotion inside her.

“This isn’t trouble; it’s my way of supporting you. Please accept my feelings!”

Harin spoke in a small but firm voice.

Dohyun glanced at her, then shrugged.

“Alright, do whatever you want.”

His blunt response made Harin lower her head again, focusing on rolling the gimbap.

‘Well, if my brother eats it, it will give him strength. That’s all that matters.’

With a small sigh, Harin neatly packed the gimbap into the lunchbox.

Every little touch from her hands was filled with affection for Dohyun.

‘Next time, I’ll make sure he can’t say he wants to buy it. I’ll make him say it’s delicious!’

Just then, Dohyun approached and casually leaned against the kitchen table, quietly watching the lunchbox.

Harin, without saying anything, continued concentrating on rolling the gimbap.

Then, suddenly, his hand reached out and grabbed a piece of the rolled omelette from the lunchbox.

“My brother, it’s not ready yet!”

Harin puffed her cheeks and shouted, but Dohyun didn’t respond.

Instead, he popped the omelette into his mouth.

A moment later.

“It’s good.”

It was a casual remark, but Harin’s hands froze.

“Really?”

She slightly lifted her head and looked at Dohyun.

A subtle smile played on his lips.

“Yeah. Have I ever said the food you made wasn’t good?”

“No, but you said you were going to buy it earlier!”

Harin turned her head with a pout.

Dohyun lightly tapped her head and said.

“I just didn’t want you to go through unnecessary trouble. I know the food you make is the best. Anyway, I’ll eat it all.”

His compliment made Harin’s lips twitch with an uncontrollable smile.

“Hehe… Then, you have to finish it all tomorrow, okay?”

“Got it, got it.”

Even with his indifferent tone, Harin could tell he meant it, and her mood brightened.

‘As expected, my brother is the best in the world.’

With a happy smile, she finished rolling the last piece of gimbap.

After preparing the lunch, Harin turned and went back to her room to lie down on her bed.

‘As expected, housework is Level 1.’

Packing such a thoughtful lunch, her dislike for the ‘brother complex’ had lessened a bit.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound of a phone notification rang loudly, and a message appeared on the screen.

[Seo Yuna: I’m so nervous, what should I do?]

‘Such a child.’

‘Is she really getting nervous over something like this?’

[Kim Dohyun: Just do it like you practiced.]

[Seo Yuna: What if we end up last?]

‘Sigh, worrying is pointless.’

[Kim Dohyun: Just don’t fall.]

I turned off the screen and tossed my phone aside.

‘Jinyoung and Yuna… Why are they so serious about this?’

‘I couldn’t understand it at all.’

Leaning back on the bed, I let out a sigh.

‘Do they all think of Sports Day like it’s the Olympics or something?’

As my eyelids slowly lowered, the noisy scene of tomorrow’s event appeared in my mind.

It’ll be fine if I just do it casually. Just casually.

I thought about the tiring day ahead and slowly drifted off to sleep.

***

The next morning, Hanbit Academy was filled with energy.

Students, each wearing their class T-shirts, gathered on the playground.

The 1-B class T-shirt was a black plain T-shirt with a tiger painting on it.

‘Their fashion sense is really the worst.’

Colorful canopies were lined up on the playground by each class.

Underneath, students were either drinking water or pretending to stretch while chatting away.

The 1-B class canopy was no different.

“Today’s weather is so hot.”

“But it’s still better than class.”

“True.”

While the class was wasting time with pointless talk…

“Hey, guys!”

A loud voice came from behind the canopy.

Their homeroom teacher, Yoo Jeonghwan, crossed his arms and walked over, surveying the class.

At his voice, the students, who had been murmuring, slowly lifted their heads.

“Today, don’t worry about anything else. Run for the honor of our class.”

He had seemed like the least enthusiastic person just yesterday.

‘Did he get heatstroke?’

It was definitely hot today, though.

After a brief pause, he spoke again with a serious expression.

“Especially, don’t lose to Class A.”

The students were confused by their teacher’s sudden burst of energy.

“Why are you bringing up Class A all of a sudden?”

“We’re going to try our best, but why make it sound so heavy?”

“Did something happen?”

At that moment, Yoo Jeonghwan hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“Actually… I made a bet with Class A’s homeroom teacher.”

The words that followed were unbelievable.

The students turned to each other, shocked.

“What??”

Yoo Jeonghwan shrugged nonchalantly.

“Class A’s homeroom teacher suggested we bet the cost of a class trip next week. He challenged me, saying he’s confident we’ll lose, so I accepted right away.”

The students were speechless, exchanging glances.

“The cost of the class trip…?”

“What happens if we lose?”

“Is that something a teacher should do?”

Faced with the barrage of questions, Yoo Jeonghwan cleared his throat and replied.

“If we lose, our class will have to stay behind and study at school.”

In that moment, the canopy area fell silent.

“All 2-person 3-legged race participants, please get ready!”

A clear voice echoed from the speakers, signaling the start of the first event: the 2-person 3-legged race.

Students watched anxiously from their class canopies, awaiting the start.

Yuna and I, chosen as representatives, stepped up to the starting line.

Yuna looked at me with a tense expression.

“We have to get first place. Got it?”

“Really? We could just run casually.”

“Didn’t you hear what the teacher said? If we lose, we’ll be stuck studying while the others go on the trip!”

Ah, she didn’t want to study.

That’s why her grades were like that.

Yuna clenched her fists, clearly nervous.

I shook my head and tied the knot around my leg.

The representatives from the other classes were already practicing at the starting line.

Then.

A loud shout came from the 1-B class canopy.

“Hey, we have to win! We don’t want to be stuck studying while the others go on the trip!”

“Kim Dohyun, Seo Yuna! You have to win!”

The class cheered us on, filled with determination.

In the center of it all stood Jinyoung.

‘I’m embarrassed for them.’

BEEP—!

The whistle blew, and the race began.

All the participants surged forward from the starting line.

“Kim Dohyun, Seo Yuna, run!”

“Go Class B!”

“They look like a photo shoot with how they’re running. Why?”

“They make a good couple.”

Yuna’s voice echoed with each step as she moved in sync with me.

At first, we were a bit off, but after a few steps, our pace matched, and we found our rhythm.

Those who weren’t in sync had already fallen behind.

The representatives from Class A were the only ones still close behind, but Yuna didn’t falter and shouted louder.

“One, two! One, two!”

Her breathing was heavy, clearly showing her excitement.

It was the perfect moment for us to trip.

To prevent that, I whispered to Yuna.

“Hey, keep the speed steady.”

“Don’t overdo it, or we might fall. Let’s not make it a hassle.”

We slowed our pace a bit, becoming more composed.

As we neared the finish line, our steps grew lighter.

The loud cheers from the canopy echoed.

“Kim Dohyun! Run!” shouted Seo Yuna.

“Just a few more steps and we’re first!”

“Go, beautiful couple!”

In the final few steps, we matched our pace and sprinted toward the finish line.

Class A was closing the gap, but we crossed the finish line first.

“Class B crosses the finish line in first place!”

The referee’s announcement rang through the playground.

The field erupted in cheers.

Our friends at the canopy screamed and hugged each other.

Yuna, breathing heavily, placed her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

Soon, she approached me with a joyful expression, raising her palm.

“High five!”

I hesitated for a moment before lightly raising my hand to meet hers.

“Is it really that great?”

“Yeah, it feels amazing!”

Yuna smiled brightly and ran toward the canopy where our classmates were.

“Seo Yuna, Kim Dohyun are the best!”

“We’re going on the trip!”

Our friends’ cheers filled the canopy.