Chapter 251 - Chapter 251 (1/2)

Side Story 8

5. Your daily routine (3)

Ding, dong. Ding, dong….

From the elementary school kids who'd find the embrace of their mothers more comfortable than their respective classrooms, right up to those teachers with greying hair and only a little bit left on their clock until retirement...

….The sound of the end-of-school bell, capable of re-energising pretty much everyone who heard it, rang around noisily throughout the school.

Most of the kids in the classroom formed expressions of ecstasy as if they were about to fly away. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo, sitting among them, carried a carefree face as he greeted the end to his school day in this place.

"Everyone, don't go home late because you want to hang out with new friends you made today, okay! Understand?"

Yeees-!

After the token replies, half consisting of mischievous voices of the male students and the other half high-pitched tones of the girls were made, the classroom became empty in no time at all now that the day's schedule had come to its end.

Jin-Woo deliberately took his time packing up his bag, before he spotted Young-Gil hesitantly and slowly approaching him like a full-bellied tortoise.

'….?'

Jin-Woo stopped packing his bag when Young-Gil cautiously asked him a question.

"Uhm... I'm heading off in the direction of the 'Gigamart', but what about you?"

'Ah, I guess he wants to get close to me.'

An easy-to-read relaxed smile formed on Jin-Woo's face.

'A minor favour shown when young can also become the start of a relationship later on like this, huh?'

Jin-Woo smiled for a little while, before shaking his head.

"Well, yeah, it's in the same direction, but there's something I gotta do first."

"Oh...."

As Young-Gil stood there in disappointment, Jin-Woo lightly tapped the boy on the shoulder and grinned brightly.

"Let's go."

Not too long afterwards, both of them exited from the school building.

"What? Track and field club??"

Young-Gil asked with a surprised voice, while Jin-Woo nodded calmly as his reply.

"Yup."

The reason why Jin-Woo chose this school, far from his home, instead of those nearby was because it was only this particular one that happened to have a track and field athletics department.

Young-Gil could only tilt his head when Jin-Woo replied that he'd join the track and field team from today.

'Was Jin-Woo good at track in the past?'

He remembered hanging around Jin-Woo for only about a month or so. The memories of him playing that game really well were the only thing that came to the boy's head, but he just couldn't recall Jin-Woo doing anything particularly outstanding during physical training or club activities.

No, Young-Gil simply remembered Jin-Woo doing pretty much everything at his pace – which was leisurely.

'A high school track and field club should be operated by only the talented students, though....?'

The boy suddenly felt worried about Jin-Woo and found himself unconsciously chasing after his friend. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo crossed the athletics field and approached the group of athletes loosening themselves up in the corner of the field.

"Mm...?"

Their attention soon shifted towards the incoming duo of freshmen. They initially expected the two to walk past them or change their heading, but their expectation turned out to be off the mark. The senior with the biggest physique took a step forward and 'greeted' the duo.

"What do you two want now?"

Jin-Woo briefly scanned the atmosphere of the team members and replied with a smile.

"I'd like to join the athletics club."

The senior with big physique, the captain of the track and field team Choi Tae-Woong, alternated his gaze between Jin-Woo and a shorter kid with a rather unhealthy complexion.

"You wanna join the club?"

"Yes."

"Both of you?"

Jin-Woo looked behind, and Young-Gil hurriedly shook his head.

"...No, just me."

After seeing Jin-Woo's continuously-smiling mug, the seniors grew interested and gathered around the freshmen.

"Ohh, what's this? We have an applicant wanting to join us?"

"This is my first time seeing a freshman barging in here and wanting to join the team, though."

"He's not playing around, is he?"

Choi Tae-Woong scratched the top of his head and scanned Jin-Woo from top to bottom before asking another question.

"You a student-athlete?"

"No, I'm not."

"Okay, you have experience running track in middle school?"

Although Jin-Woo was rather experienced in running all over the gap between dimensions to kill Sovereigns, that wasn't something he could refer to as his middle school days, or running track competitively, so he could only shake his head with a wry smile.

"No, I don't."

The seniors in the athletics club were ready to welcome this enthusiastic newcomer right up until that answer. But now, their complexions were hardening drastically.

A freshman who hadn't even run track competitively wanted to enter the athletics club comprised only of student-athletes?

Wasn't this kid taking high school track & field way too lightly?

One of the seniors blessed with a short fuse suddenly jumped into the conversation from the side.

"You haven't run track before, so why do you want to enter the team?"

Jin-Woo's reply was rather simple.

"There's someone I'd like to meet during the athletic meet, you see."

She was still in the middle school division, but without a doubt, she possessed enough talent to participate in the regional competition.

Well, she used to be an excellent athlete before she had to give up on that dream after becoming a high-ranked Hunter, didn't she?

If it was an athletic meet featuring participants from both middle and high schools, then wouldn't he be able to naturally run into her there?

Jin-Woo judged that, rather than forcibly get close to her and insert himself into her life that way, this might be a far better approach for both of them.

However, judging from the expressions of the seniors, it seemed that they didn't share his thought process.

"Athletic meet....??"

The expression of the senior with the short fuse, Jeong Gu-Shik, hardened like stone. Even if one was to look down on running track, there was a line one shouldn't cross.

Jeong Gu-Shik's anger shot up to the top of his head and he was about to roar out some choice words to chase away the freshmen, but then, captain Choi Tae-Woong formed a grin and gave his permission.

"Fine."

Jeong Gu-Shik looked back at his captain with an expression of a man failing to comprehend the situation.

"What?!"

"However, there is a condition."

Choi Tae-Woong used an expression that said 'Be quiet' to defeat Jeong Gu-Shik, and pointed at a glasses-wearing student busy stretching his muscles over yonder.

"You see that friend over there?"

Jin-Woo followed after the pointing finger and nodded his head.

"Yes."

"That friend is the worst runner in our team, a reserve from the second year. Meaning, you gotta at least beat that friend to earn the right to enter our team."

That was a bold-faced lie.

Even before he heard the explanation, Jin-Woo had already analysed that particular second-year student's abilities, and as a result, he began chuckling inwardly.

'At first glance, that student's thighs and calves look lean and thin, but they are actually hard and well trained. And confidence simply oozes from the rest of his body....'

Spying from the student's steady, relaxed breathing or his upright posture, Jin-Woo knew immediately that he was looking at no ordinary athlete here.

Meaning, the third year seniors were trying to make fun of him. How could Jin-Woo not laugh when their intentions were so easy to read like this?

Jeong Gu-Shik also belatedly realised what Choi Tae-Woong was trying to do and quickly changed his expression.

"Ahh, right! You said that you're aiming to enter the athletic meet, right? Well, in that case, a simple little admittance test like this is no problem for you, right?"

Jin-Woo didn't like the way this guy was grinning slyly like that, but still, asked back in a calm manner nonetheless.

"That senior…. Is he really a reserve?"

"I guarantee it."

Choi Tae-Woong replied in a confident voice, and the rest of the athletic team members had to try their best to hold back their laughter.

'He's a reserve, alright. Well, the truth is, he did finish third place in last year's regional meet, but he sprained his ankle during winter training so he's been demoted to a reserve spot, for the time being.'

If he were to get technical here, then Choi Tae-Woong wasn't really, really lying by saying that the glasses-wearing guy was the worst 'runner' here due to the lengthy unscheduled lay-off, and that he was in the reserve spot because of the injury.

Jin-Woo then replied in an easy-going manner to captain Choi Tae-Woong and his insidious smile.

"Very well, I understand. Let me try."

This b*stard, he fell for it!!

Not just Jeong Gu-Shik, but everyone in the athletics club shouted out "Hooray!" in their heads.

'A guy who can't even recognise the third-place finisher from the regionals last year wants to join the track and field team? Gimme a break.'

Choi Tae-Woong, standing in front of the group to deal with Jin-Woo, did his utmost best to hide his laughter threatening to break through his lips.

"Very good. However, just running the track like that wouldn't be any fun, so…. How about this? If you win, you get to join the team, but if you lose, you do the team's laundry and cleaning for one month, free of charge."

"Sounds good."

"J-Jin-Woo...."

Young-Gil tried to stop him, but Jin-Woo simply formed a smile that said: "It's fine."

'Let's see how long you can keep that relaxed face of yours.'

Choi Tae-Woong looked towards the 'reserve' student and shouted out loudly.

"Hey, Sahng-In-ah! Looks like you'll have to take to the track for this one."

The ace of the team, Woo Sahng-In finished his stretching exercise and raised his body up.

"It's not a problem."