.

So that was how the worst scenario––running around busily in the humid gym in the morning and take classes with exhausted bodies inside the classroom in the afternoon––came into existence.

‘They should have either just hold Sports Day events or just let us take classes!’ Whether the kids welcomed Sports Day or not, they tore their hair out with a groan and stood up from their seats one after another to head toward the gym.

That was when Yoon Jung In’s last announcement flew over to us.

“Oh, and the snacks will arrive at eleven o’clock. It’s on me!”

WOW! Loud cheers and whoops resonated around the whole classroom. It was the only happy news I had heard today.

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Since Eun Jiho’s uncle was the chairman of the board in So Hyun High School, our school wasn’t just one of the wealthiest academic institutions in the nation but also had a very huge gym. This dome structure had seats on the second floor, which was capable to accommodate the students in the entire school and still had many seats left.

The fact was never so regretful until now. If the gym was compact enough that it would not be able to fit all the students in this school, we could have had Sports Day events extended to the afternoon or just taken classes for the whole day. Anyway, it was too late to resent that.

Sports Day began, at last, amid the most subsided atmosphere I had ever gone through. No matter what sports match it was, those, who were participating in the games, were almost fixed. Yoon Jung In, Lee Mina, Yi Ruda, and Shin Suh Hyun were the major participants with no questions asked. The Kim twins and I had to take part in the cheering section for the entire event.

That wasn’t so bad. Hmm, anyway, I became less interested in dodgeball ever since I had the incident with Class 1-1.

“GO, GO, Class 1-8! GO, FIGHT, WIN!”

We began to support our class at the top of our lungs from the second-floor seats. Loud voices also showered from both of our sides. ‘GO Class 1-7! Fight for Victory Class 1-1!’ The entire gym was roaring with all kinds of chanting as if we were inside a speaker.

Six games were ongoing simultaneously in each divided section on the gym floor, so it was even difficult to grasp the overall situation. However, there was still an outstanding class among them.

Due to the narrow gap between the bleachers, I could hear other classes talking, “Which class is having the dodgeball match with Class 1-1 right now?”

“Class 1-4.”

“Whoa, they have such bad luck! They’re gonna get eliminated immediately, aren’t they?”

Listening to their conversations, I knitted my forehead. The gap between their athletic performances was too overwhelming that I could hardly tell them to not say such things in the early stages of the competition.

The variety of vibrant hair colors catching attention among these many people… They didn’t even make many moves. Once the ball came toward them, they simply caught and tossed it back. Whenever they threw the ball, two or three people got attacked so easily. As if they had calculated the angle, the ball that bounced off the people returned to Class 1-1. Someone, who snatched it, then threw it again to the opposite side, and another batch of players got out at the same time.

Someone else uttered again, “They should get nerfed, or else, that’s what we call overbalanced, isn’t it? Too unfair.”

“So insane! Do you think that’s a match?”

Listening to their complaints, I rested my chin on my palm apathetically.

I totally agreed to what they had just said while thinking, ‘Exactly. They must definitely get nerfed; however, they aren’t game characters, which turns out to be the problem.’ Then I turned my head upon Kim Hye Hill’s remark that came over from behind me.

“Those kids are your friends, but you’ll get scared too sometimes.”

“Huh? Oh…” I replied bitterly while taking my hand off my chin instinctively. Kim Hye Hill, who switched her gaze to me, narrowed her forehead in wonder.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Huh? Uh, nothing. Yes, I get scared sometimes.”

Ahaha… Once I started to laugh awkwardly, not only Kim Hye Hill but also Kim Hye Woo and kids from other classes began to look at me enigmatically. Diverting my gaze back onto the court, I darkened the look on my face.

It had already been two weeks since I didn’t have any proper conversations with the Four Heavenly Kings. Once we got split into different classes, they unexpectedly dropped by my house, at least, once a week. Our relationships were that much close. However, we haven’t spoken to each other for already two weeks.

I suddenly came up with the happening that took place on some Sunday afternoon during the first semester. I couldn’t even remember now, who first discovered the old digital camera at my house.

However, the fade video on the TV screen that first started with showing the faces of Jooin and Eun Hyung, who was wearing an apron, entered my head.

The camera then took the view of Yeo Ryung’s back and Eun Jiho’s straight face, and lastly Yoo Chun Young, who was solving math problems on the workbook, sitting beside me. I still remembered his smiling face that I encountered while rewinding and playing the video again.

Suddenly, I became frightened, wondering, ‘Actually, maybe all my memories are wrong, aren’t they? Were they really standing in our kitchen? Wouldn’t it be somewhere else? Is that video really filmed in the first place? Is the camera still in my house? If I connect it to the TV, am I still be able to watch that video? Wouldn’t it be gone already, for real?’

The rain was still pouring from the clear sky on the dome ceiling of the gym. My head was crossing some surreal thoughts alongside the surreal weather. Clenching my fist out of the blue, I hit my head like torturing myself.

At that moment, someone gently grabbed my wrist. I raised my head in surprise.

“Donnie?”

“Ah, Ruda.”

Rubbing his wet hair with a towel, Yi Ruda was looking at me in astonishment with his blue eyes. He then put down the towel and just perched on the seat right beside me. The boys behind our seats booed at us.

“Hey, Yi Ruda, do you still have a crush on her?”

“Ah, just shut the fu*k up!”

Looking back, Ruda flipped off to the kids, which looked so natural like some mischievous boys his age. ‘Geez, how could I get confused with his gender?’ I wondered in a daze. Ruda then turned around and flung a question to me.

“Did something happen?”

“Huh? No, nothing,” replying that way, I flinched. Ruda was the only person, who knew the truth about my relationship with Yeo Dan oppa, and at the same time, who was clearly aware of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Thus, it was the very chance for me to confess my agonized mind; however, I felt reluctant to reveal that the Four Heavenly Kings and I had grown apart, so I just lied to him instinctively.

Why did I think that way? However, I soon grasped the reason.

If I spoke out that my relationship with the Four Heavenly Kings had turned worse, I was afraid that it would hit me, at last. And if it happened, the time and days I had spent with them seemed to scatter away and disappear like a mirage in the desert.

Dropping my gaze at the floor, I soon lifted my eyes and smiled shortly.

“Rainy day puts me in a bad mood.”

As if he had grasped something, Ruda frowned and uttered, “Ah…”

“Huh?” Wondering why he was reacting that way, I soon realized something. Did he recall the incident that took place at the beginning of the first semester? I did cry under the rain; however, thankfully, he was then getting it wrong.

“Never mind. Anyway, just chill over here. I’m gonna go grab the victory for you.”

Speaking that way to me with a gentle smile, Ruda stood up from his seat. As soon as he got up, the boys behind us began to boo again.

“Dude, stop being cool. The train already left and won’t come back.”

“Ah, shut up! Just please shut the fu*k up!”

Throwing the towel that he was holding until just now to their faces, Ruda made them have their mouths shut for real then flaunted a smile at me so nonchalantly. Without saying that I started to get frightened of his grin these days, I just returned a smile to Ruda. He then descended the bleachers ploddingly to head toward the first floor.