Chapter 46

Time passed peacefully, and May arrived.

Son Jin-hyeok wasn’t just running and pushing himself in sports.

He also did recovery training as a must. Since his muscles were shocked, he needed to relax them properly. Drinking orange juice and eating bananas, he walked around the field at a steady pace, massaging his body to prevent muscle stiffness.

“Whew, I’m sore!”

He could feel his body growing day by day. His T-shirts were getting smaller, and his pants were getting shorter.

During the spring physical exam, his height was measured at 175 cm. He was told it was taller than the average adult height. The only friend taller than Jin-hyeok was Lee Seung-hoon. Shin Woo-sung was more of a sideways-growing type.

‘Am I a 21st-century body type?’

It must be because he ate well, slept well, and exercised every day. He felt a renewed sense of gratitude for his parents.

There was an athletics competition in June, and Yeom Byeong-taek, Jo Seol-chan, and two others he hadn’t seen before were running around the field. Those two were said to be athletes who had graduated from other rural elementary schools.

‘I didn’t see them during last year’s regional preliminaries.’

They probably trained only in the morning and evening to avoid missing classes. Since there was no official sports team yet, they had no excuse to skip classes.

As he sat on the bench, massaging his legs while watching his friends, someone approached.

“Done with training?”

It was the physical education teacher, Lee Byeong-se. He was in charge of the track and field team, but he wasn’t a professional coach.

His nickname was probably something like “Wild Beast.” With his shaggy hair and dark skin, he looked like an animal.

Jin-hyeok hated him intensely because, in his past life, he had witnessed this teacher harassing a female teacher in the classroom. Since Jin-hyeok had stayed late to study, he saw the scene and timidly disrupted Lee Byeong-se by breaking a classroom window.

‘The thrill of breaking that window was something else.’

It was Jin-hyeok’s first act of rebellion.

Lee Byeong-se had spent over a week trying to catch the culprit who broke the window, but Jin-hyeok’s poker face kept him from being caught.

“You’re a track and field team member, so you should compete in the athletics competition, right?”

He called him a track and field team member on his own. Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

The track and field team wasn’t a formal club, so any student from the school could compete under the school’s name.

Lee Byeong-se had a nasty temper and looked like someone who enjoyed drinking and women. Jin-hyeok missed Teacher Kim Young-tae. If they could get rid of Lee Byeong-se, maybe Teacher Kim Young-tae could come back? But maybe he couldn’t because of the difference between elementary and middle school.

“Can’t I just compete in my third year?”

“Why? You have talent and good records. You need to keep at it so you don’t lose your edge. Wasting talent is a no-go.”

Lee Byeong-se frowned as he looked at Jin-hyeok.

Jin-hyeok felt the need to explain further. There was a line that worked well these days.

Jin-hyeok tried to be as polite as possible. He felt that Lee Byeong-se’s attitude was quite different from before.

“I have a younger sibling at home.”

As he said this, he stared straight at Lee Byeong-se, who hesitated and stepped back.

“Oh, is that so? I see.”

Yoo Jin was the best. Even that nasty Lee Byeong-se backed down. Jin-hyeok just wanted to go home, hug his sibling, and play around.

Even though he got his way, Jin-hyeok didn’t stop the staring contest with Lee Byeong-se. It was a rebellious instinct from past memories.

‘I won’t lose.’

Lee Byeong-se glanced away. It wasn’t like he was short on players anyway. First and second years were just there for experience, and the best records usually came from third years. But it was strange. From what Yeom Byeong-taek said, this kid’s family was doing well. But now it seemed they weren’t so well off.

‘Or did they go bankrupt in the past year?’

Lately, there were plenty of families in town who had gone bankrupt due to bad guarantees. Having to take care of a younger sibling must be tough.

Lee Byeong-se, who had turned away, tilted his head.

‘Why does this kid’s gaze look so scary?’

Lee Byeong-se glanced back, thinking he might have been hallucinating, but when he met Jin-hyeok’s eyes again, he flinched. Jin-hyeok hadn’t moved.

Idiot.

Still, Lee Byeong-se felt pleased. At least he had confirmed Jin-hyeok as a track and field team member.

It was better than losing him to the wrestling club.

Jin-hyeok held onto another ordinary day like this.

‘I’ll only compete in my third year.’

To compete, he’d have to be away from his family. That was Jin-hyeok’s only concern. While spending time with friends was fun, even a day without seeing his family left him feeling empty.

‘Living a normal life doesn’t mean wasting talent or hiding away.’

He didn’t want to live fiercely. He had already experienced the emptiness that comes at the end of such intensity. Even though his family made that emptiness less now, everything had its priorities. For Jin-hyeok, family came first.

Anyway.

He’d only compete when his skills were at their peak to set records. It wasn’t like there was a dedicated track at home or school anyway. So, he didn’t feel any regret about training. He could run on quiet country roads or by the beach. For the long jump, there was a practice field behind his house that his dad had built to international standards when he made a wrestling arena.

‘He even brought fine sand for it.’

Cats had once tried to invade it, but after being caught by Jang Gun-i, who used it as a public toilet, they were chased away, and the area remained clean.

Home and family were the best.

Lost in these warm thoughts, Jin-hyeok turned his shoulders and waved to his track and field friends.

“Byeong-taek, Seol-chan, want to run a 100-meter dash?”

“Sure.”

This was another way to gain competitive experience.

Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seol-chan had also grown taller and their limbs longer over the winter break. But they were no match for Jin-hyeok. Especially in speed.

“Ugh, the gap with Jin-hyeok has gotten even bigger.”

“Hey, Jin-hyeok, how did you get so much faster?”

“I bike to school.”

A 20-kilometer round trip.

Every day.

Actually, I run 20 laps around the field before you guys even get to school.

Jin-hyeok, catching his breath, shouted boldly.

“Let’s fix your form!”

“Ugh!”

Yeom Byeong-taek and Jo Seol-chan ran faster than when they raced Jin-hyeok.

They had experienced the excruciating pain of Jin-hyeok correcting their form before.

‘Just fixing their form could improve their records.’

Jin-hyeok clicked his tongue, seeing Yeom Byeong-taek’s arm swing and Jo Seol-chan’s wide knees.

***

After midterms, the sports festival was waiting. In elementary school, they had a big sports day in the fall with two teams, but in middle school, they held a class-based sports festival in the spring. It felt unfamiliar. You might wonder why, since it wasn’t the first time, but…

In the past, he never participated in any events except team sports during the sports festival.

‘I was too scrawny to be included.’

A bitter smile crossed his lips.

Anyway, whether then or now, it was an event with no tension. Back then, he didn’t participate, and now, all the events were too easy.

Jin-hyeok participated in soccer, wrestling team events, and the relay race.

With his good physique, he couldn’t be left out, and his chick-like friends’ eyes lit up when they saw him, so he couldn’t turn away.

‘As class president, I have to set an example.’

Lee Seung-hoon won the individual wrestling event. As a wrestling club member, he’d be scolded if he didn’t win.

But there was a player who got scolded.

“Uh-oh!”

“What’s that!”

Thud-.

“What was that!”

“Hey! Disband the wrestling club!”

In the team event, Son Jin-hyeok slammed a wrestling club member from another class into the sand. The guy was taller than Jin-hyeok and weighed nearly 100 kg.

‘Compared to Taeyang hyung, this guy is weak and like tofu.’

The wrestling club member tried a leg sweep, but Jin-hyeok’s steel-like legs held firm. With a grip on the belt, he skillfully shook his opponent, breaking their balance, and his sheer strength sealed the deal.

Jin-hyeok overwhelmed the wrestler. Bending one knee slightly to show a gap, then flipping the incoming opponent with a tiger-like waist was the highlight.

“He got beaten the same way twice.”

“Is that a judo technique?”

“Something like that.”

“He’s a real monster.”

The wrestling club member got scolded by the wrestling coach, Seong Bu-hyeon. But even the coach, who had noticed Jin-hyeok’s rope-climbing skills, just laughed and gave a light reprimand.

“You okay?”

Jin-hyeok felt bad, but the world of competition was cold. He couldn’t just lose on purpose. He brushed the sand out of his opponent’s hair to show his regret.

The wrestling club member, who had heard about Jin-hyeok carrying the high school captain and knocking out a third-year, kept his mouth shut.

Middle school soccer.

It was fantastical. Shots flew over the goal into the basketball court, and passes aimed for the stands. Jin-hyeok, playing sweeper in front of the goalkeeper, gradually lost focus.

Of course, there were skilled players, but to Jin-hyeok, they all looked the same.

‘I’d do better even in boots.’

The goalkeeper closed his eyes as shots flew over the goal, and Lee Byeong-se, the referee, got hit in the groin by Yeom Byeong-taek’s kick and rolled on the ground. The kids cheered for the justice-serving shot.

‘Is this Shaolin Soccer?’

In his past life, Jin-hyeok liked soccer, playing in amateur leagues and often in the military. He liked running, so he naturally liked soccer.

“Hey! Trip him!”

“Damn it! He’s too fast!”

He volunteered as a defender to help out but got fed up with the attackers’ terrible balls and ended up dribbling himself. Neither Jo Seol-chan nor Yeom Byeong-taek could keep up. He got past the goalkeeper and scored two goals. He didn’t want to shoot from afar in case someone got hurt.

Beep-!

Yay-!

With a loud whistle, the horseback battle began.

If the rider’s feet touched the ground, it was over. The wings on either side helped, but if the middle horse held on tight to keep the rider from falling, they’d win. Jin-hyeok gladly became the horse.

Chae Kyu-ho, riding on Jin-hyeok’s back, made a pained face.

“Class president, I think I’m going to throw up. My balls hurt.”

“Hang in there a little longer, buddy.”

Chae Kyu-ho, the rider, wanted to give up because he was tired, but Jin-hyeok held his thighs tight and didn’t let go. Jin-hyeok avoided direct confrontations, running around instead. Chae Kyu-ho’s combat skills were lacking.

‘I’m amazing at running away.’

Jin-hyeok fueled his determination, remembering the threat of tonkatsu that winter.

Finally, the opposing team’s horse’s legs gave out, and the game ended.

Whether it was a picnic or a sports festival, the best part was lunchtime.

His life, which used to be hiding in the shade reading books, had transformed into eating lunchboxes with friends. It was an exciting, heart-pounding time.

After lunch, as they were resting.

“Wow! What’s that?”

A few trucks he’d never seen before entered the school field. One had a giant hotdog picture on its cargo wing.

The vice-principal took the mic at the assembly area.

[This is a snack truck prepared for our students. We’ve prepared enough for everyone, so please line up orderly-.]

Whoa-!

[Hey! Hey! Order! Damn it-!]

Order went out the window.

Jin-hyeok also sold out his sense of order among his friends. He thought he’d blend in among hundreds.

But he was tall, so he stood out.

‘Was there something like this before?’

There wasn’t, so it was strange. Whatever. It was fun to ignore the rules and make a mess with his friends.

Heh heh-. A smile naturally formed on his lips.

As the afternoon schedule began, another truck appeared.

Whoa-!

The wing body opened, and the middle schoolers’ cheers grew even louder. It echoed all the way to town, more like an explosion.

Even high school classrooms opened their windows to watch the field. Teachers and students were united.

[Pom-pom- pom-pom-.]

Cheerleaders.

The girls you only saw on TV during basketball tournaments had appeared on the school field. It was no wonder chaos ensued.

“Oh my-! I’m dying-!”

“Seoul girls-!”

“Sister! Just call my name once-! Call me Byeong-ah-!”

“I’m done for today-!”

Jin-hyeok helped Chae Kyu-ho see better by giving him a piggyback. The sight of the short kid tiptoeing and hopping behind him softened his heart.

With Chae Kyu-ho on his shoulders, he stood on tiptoe. That way, he could see better.

[Thump-thump-.]

Jin-hyeok’s mouth hung open. His shoulders moved to the beat on their own. Chae Kyu-ho complained of pain, but Jin-hyeok’s senses were elsewhere.

‘Good, good. Oh, well done. That’s right, that’s right.’

Another sensitivity seemed to bloom.

Basketball. The last of the ball games.

The friend playing center was shorter than Jin-hyeok but complained of an ankle injury. Jin-hyeok had no choice but to step in. He grabbed every rebound. Opposing players fell every time they collided with him. He’d throw the rebound to a friend near the half-court line and run toward the opponent’s goal, where the ball would come back to him. Then, a layup.

“Did his hand just touch the rim?”

“Looks like it.”

The opposing team’s defenders hadn’t even crossed the half-court line yet.

10-kilometer marathon.

It was open to anyone. But they said there were bonus points for top finishers. Taeyang Middle School had a marathon runner named Lee Eun-su, who had been a representative for Chungnam during elementary school.

“Huh? Wasn’t Jin-hyeok a sprinter?”

Jin-hyeok finished before that runner.

Lee Eun-su got scolded by Lee Byeong-se.

Thanks to Jin-hyeok’s performance, Class 1 won.

And so, the ordinary sports festival ended.

***

“Oh, was it Jin-hyeok on the banner at last year’s track and field competition?”

“I thought Taeyang National Nuclear School won.”

“It’s the same thing, man. Teacher Kim Young-tae was the coach back then-.”

Jo Seol-chan got excited and blabbered whenever Jin-hyeok’s name came up.

“Our Joker captain swept everything-. Those country bumpkins couldn’t keep up, right?”

“Jin-hyeok’s nickname is Joker? Why Joker?”

“Well-.”

Jo Seol-chan quickly shut his mouth. He naturally did so when he met Jin-hyeok’s emotionless gaze from afar.

“The last runner in a relay is called the Joker-. Hey, class is starting. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Jo Seol-chan pushed his friend’s back.

Watching Jo Seol-chan quickly disappear into the classroom, Jin-hyeok tilted his head.

‘I think he saw me. Weird? I was going to say hi.’

Jin-hyeok’s physique, the incidents at the start of the semester, and the new student who swept the sports festival. With no student unaware of Son Jin-hyeok, his school life seemed to flow without conflict.