.

Then it was the Kim twins who reacted so actively all of a sudden beside me. They both spoke in rage.

“What? That’s going too far. How can he say such things…?”

“Exactly. Although we aren’t that close to Yoo Chun Young, Hwang Siwoo is just saying bullsh*t!”

“Very true, right? I’m so at a loss for words…” agreed Lee Mina. However, she soon became dumbfounded at the twins’ following remarks.

“Instead of his fancy background, kudos to Yoo Chun Young’s appearance.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t casted in the show because of his family. His face made it happen. You got to say what you got to say.”

As I couldn’t stand the twins’ conversations anymore, I quietly intervened, “Are you guys shielding him or not?”

Whether it was Yoo Chun Young’s chaebol background or his gorgeous appearance that made his drama debut, they sounded pretty much the same in the perspective of unfairness…

That was when the bells rang above our heads to notify us that the class was over. Since the previous class ended quite earlier, the break started now, at last.

I checked the timetable, wondering, “What’s the next class?”

While I prayed in my thoughts hoping that PE class wasn’t after this, other kids dashed toward their lockers and took their gym clothes out before I actually found the following class. Watching that sight, I furrowed my forehead.

Kim Hye Hill uttered while also taking her workout clothes beside me, “It’s PE; today we even have the performance test. Did you practice a lot?”

Being absentminded amid the situation, I replied, “Ah, yeah, I did a little during the weekend, but maybe I’m not a person to get close to balls… Yeo Ryung and Yeo Dan oppa helped me practice, but the ball was bouncing everywhere… whenever it went that way, the two ran toward it to catch the ball. I felt so sorry that I was almost about to kneel down…”

“Hmm…”

Leaving Kim Hye Hill to swallow her moan quietly, I looked outside the window. It was pouring heavily today since the morning.

Watching the puddles under every horizontal bar at the schoolyard, I suddenly asked, “Wouldn’t PE class get canceled today?”

As soon as I threw that question, the front door opened; a kid from the next-door class stepped inside.

“The teacher said to come to the gym for today’s class!”

Looking at him quickly disappear after leaving those words, I grimaced. Kim Hye Hill stretched her hand and patted me on the back.

In the end, I took out my gym clothes hesitatingly then stood in front of the backdoor with the twins. We shouted toward Ban Hwee Hyul, “Hwee Hyul, let’s go!”

Somehow, we became to move classes or engage in other activities with the same group of kids having lunch together.

Once we yelled that way, belligerent glances like those of snakes flocked from all quarters. However, we didn’t cower at all, but instead, stood straight.

As if he had committed a sin, only Ban Hwee Hyul walked ploddingly while sinking his head on his chest with his gym clothes in his arms. Coming to a halt in front of us, he spoke in concern.

“If you keep doing this way…”

“I am not scared of him at all.”

It was Kim Hye Hill who uttered that way without hesitation. So did Kim Hye Woo.

Showing a grin, he said, “Right, I’m only trusting Kim Hye Hill.”

As soon as those words slipped from his mouth, Kim Hye Hill punched him on his side. Watching them quarrel, Ban Hwee Hyul seemed to put a mirage-like smile on his lips.

Blinking swiftly, I wondered, ‘Was it an illusion?’ but soon smiled and pushed them out in the hallway to leave the classroom.

I had been thinking this quite often that thankfully, the Kim twins were nice and even had minds of their own. Sometimes they were too perfect for me to get along with them.

However, the good feeling I had from this small happening didn’t last long. The thing took place in front of the shoe rack.

After we changed our shoes into sneakers, we found Ban Hwee Hyul standing still like a rock with a stiff face. He still had slippers on his feet.

Looking at him in wonder, I tilted my head and asked, “What’s wrong?” but my face soon darkened at his response.

“My sneakers… they are gone…”

WHAT??!!

Before I got to respond, the Kim twins clenched their fists and burst out anger one after another.

“Are they really insane?”

“Gosh, they’re acting like kindergarten…”

The twins were indeed also quick in grasping the situation.

We stuck our heads outside the window then looked at the dumping ground. The things at the garbage dump would already have turned wet due to the rain pour since the morning. Even if we were lucky enough to find the sneakers right away, Ban Hwee Hyul wouldn’t be able to wear those immediately.

Then something flashed through my mind. Heaving a sigh, I uttered, “Those bastards did it on purpose as they’re aware that today we have the performance test…”

Since Ban Hwee Hyul beat Hwang Siwoo out so easily, I should have expected that Hwang Siwoo and his clique would do something dirty to him. Still, didn’t they feel shameful? What were they gonna do to compete with someone wearing slippers?

While I rambled those thoughts in my head, Kim Hye Woo looked at the shoe rack in front of the neighboring class.

“Hey, Ban Hwee Hyul, what’s your shoe size? We can borrow from someone in our next-door class,” he said.

“Oh, that makes sense…!”

Kim Hye Hill and my face brightened for a moment but soon stiffened at Ban Hwee Hyul’s response.

“300,” he replied.

300? Geez, he wouldn’t be talking about the movie with the same title…

Kim Hye Woo also became speechless. As if he couldn’t find any shoes with a size of 300 at all, Kim Hye Woo glanced at the shoe rack next-door for quite some time then finally brought Ban Hwee Hyul to the neighboring class. He then beckoned at us to leave.

“Change your clothes and go to the gym first. I’ll search for a little bit more than follow you guys. Can’t even imagine what the teacher will say when we show up with slippers on today during the performance test,” he explained.

“Uh, um, okay.”

Since he said nothing wrong, Kim Hye Hill and I replied bitterly then turned around for now. However, we still couldn’t get rid of our anxious feelings even on our way to the dressing room.

Kim Hye Hilll then murmured, “… Makes me so concerned. Well, there might be someone who’d lend his shoes if he knows that we have a performance test today during the PE class, but the point is that my oppa doesn’t have a wide acquaintance in the first place…”

“Eh, really? That’s weird since he has an attractive personality,” I mumbled.

Shrugging, Kim Hye Hill replied, “Oppa and I have been together since we’re young, so we’ve seldom felt in need of friends you know.” Suddenly squinting her eyes, she added, “But aside from that, everyone in school knows that the seniors have targeted Ban Hwee Hyul for bullying…”

Perhaps she was concerned about the latter. I nodded at her remark since I also received a piece of relevant advice once from someone who wasn’t that close to me.

However, it even made me worry about the overall situation even more, so as soon as I stepped inside the dressing room, I glanced in the hallway that we just walked along.

I said to myself, ‘The two will show up in PE class, right…?’

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After changing our uniforms into gym clothes, we arrived at the gym. However, Ban Hwee Hyul and Kim Hye Woo didn’t appear even until the bell rang to announce the start of class.

Checking the attendance before warming up, Yoon Jung In walked toward us with widened eyes.

“What’s going on? Where are Kim Hye Woo and Ban Hwee Hyul? Why are only you two here?”

As he asked us with unclear pronunciation due to the whistle he had on his lips, we made an eye gesture toward Hwang Siwoo and a group of his boys.

Beside them, Ruda was standing there showing a smile with his hand in his pocket. Once the sight came into view, I sighed involuntarily.

Lowering down my voice, I uttered, “That is…”

Once he listened to the story, Yoon Jung In turned pale. He roared, “Are they insane?!!”

“That’s what I’m talking about?” I replied.

“Geez… I’ll try to make an excuse to the PE teacher anyway, but not sure if it’ll work.”

Dropping those words, Yoon Jung In scratched his nape in bewilderment then walked back to the kids. He clapped his hands while standing all the way in front and shouted, ‘Let’s warm up!’

While I watched that sight vacantly, this time, Shin Suh Hyun approached us.

“What’s up?” he asked.

Once he heard the overall situation from us, the look on his face also turned the same as that of Yoon Jung In before. Looking at him, I thought that friends did resemble each other.

Scowling at Hwang Siwoo as if he was about to throw a punch at him, Shin Suh Hyun barely stopped himself from the urge he had then returned to his place while gasping in anger.