GBH 103

Park Yoon-he, wearing the provided gym pants, hesitated. Se-kyung, who had been folding his tie into his chest pocket, turned his back and knelt down as Yoon-he approached.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“N-no.”

Park Yoon-he, now on Se-kyung’s back, felt awkward about the contact and tried to minimize the area of touch, but Se-kyung pulled her close as he stood up. Deliberately squeezing through a narrow gap to stand next to Song Yi-heon at the front of the starting line, they faced irritation at every turn.

“Ah, who is it? Really.”

The students, sensitized by the prizes, were unwilling to make room for late competitors trying to secure good positions. What melted the tough-looking male students was Se-kyung’s kind smile, out of place in the blazing sun.

“Sorry.”

“Ah, no! Please, stand here.”

Recognizing a well-known face in school, a respected, idolized, yet somewhat unapproachable senior, the male students voluntarily made their way. 

Se-kyung, who had joined last but easily made it to the front, stepped onto the starting line. 

Yeon-ji, who had arrived early and was burning with fighting spirit, spotted them.

“Oh, Yoon-he. You’re doing this too? Oh, Se-kyung?”

Recognizing Park Yoon-he from the same grade, Yeon-ji also identified the male student carrying her. 

Se-kyung, despite having parted ways in the classroom just hours ago, greeted them with particular gentleness.

“Hello, Yi-heon.”

“What are you doing here?” Song Yi-heon looked Se-kyung up and down with an expression that said, ‘Why is this guy here?’

“You hate this kind of thing.”

“I know. I thought I hated it too.”

Crowded places and contact with others were beyond Se-kyung’s dislike – they were things he abhorred. However, in the face of the natural disaster of jealousy washing over him, personal preferences couldn’t surface. Moreover, in the vast sea of jealousy, Se-kyung had no life jacket.

They say only those who have experienced jealousy know how to handle it, but due to Choi Myung-hyun’s oppression, Se-kyung had never felt jealous in his life. It would be more accurate to say he had no one to be jealous of, as Myung-hyun had made him give up before he could even desire anything. Without the opportunity to prepare coping strategies or protocols, Se-kyung was swayed by his instincts in the face of this raw jealousy.

“It’s fun, now that I’m trying it.”

It was bewildering why he voluntarily chose to carry a girl he wasn’t interested in, participate in a childish competition, and mingle with sweaty, dark-skinned boys, but he didn’t quit. As he said, the strangely rising elation was somewhat enjoyable.

It was almost the first time since Choi Myung-hyun’s surveillance began that he had shown such raw emotion.

“Hey, you-“

Just as Song Yi-heon, noticing that Se-kyung’s smile was different from usual, was about to ask if he was feeling alright, a student from the organizing club appeared with a whistle in his mouth. At the signal that the competition was about to start, the students assumed their ready positions.

Se-kyung also put strength into his extended foot, his thigh muscles visibly straining against his uniform pants, a contrast to his delicate face.

Beyond the white line drawn on the ground ahead were several poles with balloons attached. The goal was to pop those. There weren’t many balloons, so teams that couldn’t swing their poles at the balloons due to being pushed back would be eliminated.

In the open space between the starting line and the poles, dust swirled in the wind like a lawless zone.

Amidst the solemn atmosphere, with students eyeing each other warily, the whistle sound cut through the air. The group of students surged forward, kicking up dust.

Even as he ran carrying Yeon-ji, Song Yi-heon was thinking of taking Se-kyung out of the festival after this competition. The prize could be bought later with money, and Se-kyung, though seemingly robust, sometimes looked as fragile as a sick chicken to Yi-heon’s eyes, worrying him.

However, his worry dissipated when Choi Se-kyung forcefully pushed past him with his body.

“Ah!”

“That bastard!” Yeon-ji, scared of falling, tightly hugged Song Yi-heon’s neck and screamed. 

Caught completely off guard, Yi-heon barely managed to regain his balance. Choi Se-kyung, now far ahead, had secured a prime spot near the balloons, and other students swarmed around him like a pack of dogs, obscuring him from view.

Pushed aside by Se-kyung, Song Yi-heon found himself among the stragglers, but his eyes sparked with dry embers. The Choi Se-kyung who had shoved past him was clearly smirking. Unable to let it slide, Song Yi-heon charged into the crowd of students.

Barely managing to squeeze through the unyielding crowd of students to secure a spot next to Choi Se-kyung, Song Yi-heon was drenched in sweat. As soon as he got there, the pushing of other students made him grit his teeth and growl as he struggled to maintain his position.

“Hey, you… Are you not taking this seriously?”

“I am taking it seriously.”

Above, the female students were swinging their poles with all their might, aiming at the balloons. As their shadows fell on his chin, Song Yi-heon’s fierce gaze darkened further.

“You’re getting cocky.”

“The young one is being cocky, if anything.”

Just as it seemed Se-kyung might support the constantly jostled Yi-heon with his tensed shoulder, “I’m sorry. It’s because I’m thoughtless.”

Se-kyung shoved Yi-heon with his shoulder. 

Yeon-ji, who had already nearly fallen once, preemptively hugged Yi-heon’s head in fear.

“Song Yi-heon! Hold on tight!”

Deaf to Yeon-ji’s scolding, Se-kyung could only see the back of Yi-heon’s head cradled against Yeon-ji’s chest. The twisting sensation in his gut was expressed as a smile, but madness clouded Se-kyung’s eyes. He silently extended his foot.

Everyone was too focused on swinging their poles to burst the balloons to notice what was happening at their feet. Yi-heon was no exception, looking only upwards to find an advantageous position, hoping Yeon-ji would quickly pop a balloon.

As Yi-heon shifted back and forth in place, he tripped over Se-kyung’s foot and lost his balance. He tried to resist his body’s involuntary forward fall, but it was too late. Yeon-ji, feeling the tilt, grabbed I-heon’s hair.

“Whoa…!”

Then Se-kyung, still carrying Yoon-he with one hand, blocked Yi-heon’s chest with his free hand. The leg that had caused Yi-heon to lose balance now switched roles to support him.

“Yi-heon, you should be careful. Yeon-ji might get hurt.”

Whether giving both the illness and the cure, Se-kyung spoke with seemingly genuine concern even after tripping him. Of course, it wasn’t sincere. Behind Se-kyung’s mocking smile, the sunlight split into multiple rays, spreading like a victorious halo.

The next event was also a two-person race. Two paired participants had to tie their ankles together and pass through obstacles. Se-kyung tied Yoon-he’s ankle to his own. Until then, Yoon-he hadn’t been able to gather her spinning thoughts. Far from athletic, she had struggled just to swing the pole while on Se-kyung’s back, and now with Se-kyung’s movements below, she was on the verge of motion sickness.

Though she managed to stand at the starting line with support, Se-kyung said something incomprehensible to the dazed Yoon-he.

“Lean on me.”

“Huh? Eek!”

Before she could even question it, the whistle blew and Se-kyung shot off like a bullet. Once again, Yoon-he flailed like a paper doll before being dragged along by Se-kyung’s arm around her waist.

Choi Se-kyung, who had been making way for other students to pass, now stood blocking Song Yi-heon’s path as if he’d been waiting for him. Although it was a race where everyone rushed to pass through obstacles and no one was supposed to guard the white-lined track, no one else so blatantly blocked a competitor.

Song Yi-heon gritted his teeth at Choi Se-kyung, who was standing firmly in his way. “You’re really asking for it.”

“Why so scary?”

Se-kyung’s voice, which didn’t sound scared at all even to Park Yoon-he, was so annoying that Yi-heon wanted to punch him. For once, she was on the side of Yi-heon, whose fist was shaking with restraint.

“You want to fight?”

“Me? Surely not.”

Song Yi-heon kicked at Choi Se-kyung’s shin with his free foot. Se-kyung dodged the kick while taking care of Yoon-he. He even had the leisure to counterattack, and Yeon-ji, realizing that Choi Se-kyung and Song Yi-heon were fighting, jumped in sync with Yi-heon to avoid Se-kyung’s kick.

Naturally, they were in last place as they ran while kicking at each other. Yeon-ji tried to pull Song Yi-heon along, urging him to go faster, but both boys were completely focused on kicking each other without giving an inch.

Even when they reached the first obstacle, popping balloons by stepping on them, the balloons were secondary. The colorful balloons laid out on the field swayed in the wind created by their kicks. Their sharp kicks precisely avoided the balloons, landing where the other’s foot had just been.

Yeon-ji, unavoidably stepping along due to her tied foot, made a tearful face. “Can’t you two please fight without involving me…?”

* * *

Peep-!

As the whistle signaling a short break sounded, participants sprawled across the field. Se-kyung also shook out his sweat-soaked hair. His shirt, always neatly tucked into his uniform pants, was now wrinkled and sticking out. Due to rolling around on the field, his uniform pants were covered in a layer of dust.

“Choi Se-kyung, drink some water!” A male student who had been watching the competition approached, waving a water bottle. “You crazy bastard, why are you doing that to Song Yi-heon?”

Despite his words, he chuckled, seemingly finding it satisfying to see Song Yi-heon getting thoroughly beaten by Se-kyung. Se-kyung snatched only the water bottle and turned his back, uncapping it and handing it to Yoon-he, who had collapsed onto the dusty field.

Though she had merely been dragged along by the physically fit Se-kyung, her cheeks were flushed and she was on the verge of passing out. Her hair, originally tied in a simple ponytail, was now as messy as if she’d been in a catfight. She grasped the water bottle with both hands as if it were nectar and gulped it down.