Chapter 20 (2/2)

After that, Myohan never mentioned it. He saw no necessity to do so and he didn’t want to do so. O Shin seemed to think the same thing.

“I don’t like playing with balls.”

O Shin shrugged at Myohan’s question. His broad shoulders and balanced body looked quite athletic, but it seemed like his preference didn’t match his body.

“Let’s play soccer! Soccer!”

Well, there was only one boy who liked playing with balls there, and it was Sinsul. He let out a deep sigh to see that none of his classmates was half as enthusiastic as he was. They had all worked under Yuja’s command for the festival, but it seemed like they weren’t that happy about the sport competition either.

Myohan could see how sad he was, but he pretended not to and looked away. In the distance, Myo Cheong was standing with his class, quite annoyed. And there was another tall student next to him.

“Well, let’s pick who’ll do the relay race first. Five will run each race according to your class number.”

Yuja, who couldn’t stand it anymore, eventually took command. The boys, who hadn’t bothered to lift a finger when Sinsul was talking, all got up. Luckily, no class was using the race track around the yard. Yuja made class numbers 1 to 5 stand at the starting line and asked Chookjae, “Choi Jino will do the relay race, won’t he?”

“Probably.”

Myohan, who was still hiding from the sun behind O Shin, narrowed his eyes to hear that. He didn’t know Choi Jino, but the name strangely sounded familiar. He had heard it before.

“Then class 6 will win the race. We should aim for second place.”

Class 6. That was the rabbit’s class. Myohan looked at Myo Cheong again. He suddenly recalled where he had heard the name Choi Jino. Jagyeom had told him that the boy who said Myo Cheong was being bullied was named Choi Jino.

“To be honest, isn’t it cheating to make a real athlete participate in a high school sports festival?”

“Who’s Choi Jino?” Myohan asked, and Sinsul looked at him with wide eyes. Then he said, tutting, “You should pay more attention to others.”

But Myohan just snorted.

“Tell me now if you want to stay alive.”

“…You know, the boy who runs around this yard during lunchtime every day.”

Myohan didn’t know. He always slept through lunchtime, so how could he know? Sinsul gave him a pathetic look, but he had to dismiss it quickly after seeing Myohan narrow his eyes.

“He’s a pro runner. He’s really fast. See, the tallest boy over there.”

Sinsul pointed with a finger. Myohan looked in that direction and frowned to see Myo Cheong there. The student who had been with him was now getting ready, stretching his legs.

He had to be Choi Jino. His legs looked really firm, probably because he was an athlete. He had been running since he was really little, and he wasgood at both long and short races. Sinsul went on saying what he knew about Jino.

Myohan rarely paid attention to bothers, but he couldn’t help thinking about Choi jino. His face, the movement of his muscles — they all felt familiar. Maybe it was just because Myohan had been way too into the twelve zodiac animals during the last few months, but he strangely looked like one of the twelve.

“Numbers 16 to 20!”

Yuja raised his voice. O Shin grabbed Myohan’s arm and made him stand up. Myohan said he was going too far. If he started doubting every student, it would never end.

If Choi Jino was an animal because he was a good runner, then was Sinsul was a dog because he liked to play with balls?

“…”

But then, something flashed through his head. It was an animal instinct he couldn’t explain with words. He tried to take Sinsul’s arm, his suspicion growing.

“Hey, Shin Seonhan!”

However, Sinsul called someone and ran away. Myohan looked at his back as he went away, and then his empty hand was still stretched out in an awkward position. What had he meant to do after catching Sinsul?

“Myohan, what are you doing? Come quick.”

Yuja called out to him again and Myohan scratched his back. O Shin smiled in secret, looking at the confused cat.