Chapter 26 (2/2)

“You really are good at running.”

Jino had spent some time after falling down, but he managed to cross the finishing line right after Myohan. Myohan decided he had been wrong to think O Shin would have outran him. He asked, looking up at Jino, “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

He answered immediately. Jino plopped down on the ground, letting out a sigh of relief. His hands were still trembling and Myohan felt somewhat sorry. Of course, he did know he had done something really bad and awful, but he hadn’t known he would be that worried.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

Myohan apologized, but Jino wouldn’t even look at him. Myohan scratched his head, thinking Jino was angry. At least he wasn’t mean enough to turn the actual Myo Cheong into a rabbit and throw him in front of the whole school. O Shin took the stuffed rabbit from the teacher and stood next to Myohan. Myohan offered it to Jino.

“Here, it’s a peace offering.”

Jino took it, although he looked a bit surprised. Myo Cheong finally managed to throw Jagyeom away and ran up to kick Jino’s back.

“What kind of a pro runner falls while running? I hope you do that again when you’re in an actual race!”

“Cheong…”

“And why on earth did you call my name after… O Shit! What is that rabbit? Is that a stuffed animal?”

Jagyeom waved a hand from far away. He seemed to be feeling bad about failing, but he hadn’t failed at all. It was just that In Sadol was way too good at running.

“Congratulations, bunny.”

Myo Cheong turned to Myohan and glared at him, but even that fierce gaze wasn’t enough to scare him. He just showed him the stamp on his hand.

“I lost.”

It said second place, not first. Now he couldn’t demand Jino to show him his horse form, and he had to keep his promise of not bothering them anymore. How was he supposed to catch the horse now?

But, deciding to think of that later, he grinned, said bye, and walked away with O Shin. Myo Cheong just stared at him.

“….But, my class lost.”

Jino was the one to stop them. He stood up, the stuffed rabbit still in his arms, and showed them his hand.

“My class lost.”

“Hey, what on earth are you…”

“I promised to show you how I transform if my class loses.”

“I’ll show you.”

He didn’t seem to be lying. Myohan was a bit confused at this unexpected offer, but Jino seemed serious.

***

As the animals they had found so far were all small, they hadn’t thought aabout the fact that they needed a place for Jino. He couldn’t transform at school; he would easily be noticed. They had no choice but to head to Myohan’s home after the sports competition. Jagyeom and Sajun were with them.

“I should have been in the race, too.”

Myohan hadn’t seen Sajun for some time, but he clung on the second they met. He said he hadn’t been in the race because he found it too bothersome, and of course Myohan gave him a sneer. O Shin twisted and pushed away his hand on Myohan’s shoulder and then glared at him. But Sajun only snorted.

“You should be looking at him, not me.”

“What?”

“Choi Jino. He seems to be really into the cat.”

O Shin narrowed his eyes, and Myohan kicked Sajun to punish him for the nonsense.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, but do you live alone?”

Myohan nodded to Jagyeom’s question. Then he opened the door and let the others in. His home was quite spacious, and as the living room was large and didn’t have much of furniture, having a horse there wasn’t going to be a problem. The kitten came out meowing, but then it paused and went back after seeing so many visitors. Sajun said, ‘It’s the kitten from the other day!’ just to show that he and Myohan shared an important event.