The teacher demonstrated how to kick the ball while explaining, “See that? Don’t put too much pressure but pay attention to which part of your foot is striking the ball.”


  “Okay,” I replied.

  “Now, give it a try.”


  I scowled at the ball that the teacher placed on the ground cautiously. However, my kick resulted in a fancy failure. Scratching his head, the PE teacher tapped my shoulder and said, ‘Well, at least it’ll help when we play kickball.’ My brows met in the middle.

  I returned to the original line with my shoulders dropping. The Kim twins, who were sitting under the shade, called me.

  “What did the teacher say?” They added, “Did you get scolded a lot?”


  Unlike Kim Hye Woo, who look delighted, Kim Hye Hill carefully flung that question. I shook my head. Pulling the ball into my arms, I plonked myself down on the ground to sit beside them.

  I replied, “He said that it’d be good when playing kick ball since I’m strengthful.”


  “Haha, he dissed you right in your face,” said Kim Hye Woo.

  “Oppa!” Kim Hye Hill slightly slapped Kim Hye Woo’s arm as he teased me. Narrowing my eyes, I scowled at Kim Hye Woo then stood up.

  Kim Hye Hill looked up at me in surprise. She asked, “Where are you going? Is it because my brother teased you?”


  “Nah, I need more practice. I guess everyone in our class except me are able to dribble,” I replied while pointing at the kids gathered under the shade. Thinking about my situation, I heaved a small sigh.

  “What if our class and Class 2-7 don’t get to play soccer because of me? If I ask the teacher for a break, he would check up on me before allowing us to have the match,” I uttered.

  “Hmm……”


  “Let me go practice,” I added. Looking at the Kim twins, who couldn’t deny the fact, with teary eyes, I bid farewell and stepped outside the shade.

  Sometimes Yoon Jung In made fun of Kim Hye Woo’s poor athletic ability; however, that was actually a matter of physical strength. In terms of technical skills, nothing seemed to be a problem.

  The Kim twins already mastered dribbling the ball; needless to talk about Yi Ruda, Yoon Jung In, and Lee Mina. Unexpectedly, it was Shin Suh Hyun who left to practice until the end. I heard that he wasn’t so good in running and these kinds of activities.

  While I left the spot for a second, Shin Suh Hyun was gone somewhere too. Was it taking a break? Glancing around the schoolyard, I could soon find him. He was with a few familiar faces.

  Poking Yoon Jung In behind his back, Shin Suh Hyun said, “Don’t be so nice to him. If he gets used to you, we’ll be the ones to solve later problems.”


  “Exactly. Eww, honestly, we can’t even handle him now……” said Lee Mina in disgust.

  Eun Hyung was gently giggling in front of them while covering his mouth with the back of his hand. Flaunting his smiley eyes, Eun Hyung said to Yoon Jung In, “Yoon Jung In, how do you usually behave to other people that make them tell me all these?”


  “Eun Hyung, can’t you trust me? Is the faith between us not that enough?” Yoon Jung In suddenly cried out.

  Shin Suh Hyun continued eprimanding, “Dude, regarding your usual behavior, you shouldn’t be disappointed about Kwon Eun Hyung not being able to trust you, but you should feel guilty that he believes in you……”


  Watching Yoon Jung In react shamefully, ‘Hey, come on, why?’ I giggled, then a scene I saw earlier entered my head out of the blue.

  Hwang Siwoo’s surprisingly frowny eyes when looking at Kwon Eun Hyung and Yoon Jung In…… the look in his eyes had malicious intentions and frustration that could be seen in someone’s face when the person encountered something out of control.

  While I was in a daze for a second, the PE teacher woke me up by shouting some announcements. Stretching out his arms, he walked toward the schoolyard and blew the whistle.

  He shouted, “Everyone align here! Those who passed the checkup test can have a 20-minute break.”


  I could see Yoon Jung In and Eun Hyung’s brightened faces. Doing a fist bump, they both ran toward to their classes. The PE teacher stopped them from taking the test first of all.

  “I know that you guys can do this, so step back. It’s a waste of time.”


  After the teacher’s remark, Kwon Eun Hyung and Yoon Jung In stepped behind in embarrassment. Other kids came out.

  As always, those who were confident tried to show the teacher their moves first, so the next kids who got to take the test was Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda. Watching the two controlling the balls skillfully without hesitation, the PE teacher’s face turned odd.

  He carefully threw a question toward us, “Were they also student athletes or soccer players in middle school?”


  “No.”


  “Hmm, that’s so weird……”


  Leaving aside the teacher wondering about the situation again, Ban Yeo Ryung and Yi Ruda passed the finishing line. After them, the Four Heavenly Kings, Lee Mina, and the Kim twins passed the test successfully with light steps; thus, there was another round of exaclamation among the kids.

  ‘Geez, they shouldn’t have higher expectations this way……’ I thought to myself and flinched in tension. My turn was about tenth in the queue. ‘PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!’ Keeping that prayer in mind, I kicked the ball.

  It seemed that I was doing well until the last cone without making any mistakes. However, the moment I tried to turn around the orange cone, the ball bounced off my feet and disappeared far away from the schoolyard.

  “ARGH!” Shrieking, I ran after the ball. There was a burst of loud laughter behind me. I said to myself, ‘That’s cruel! Why don’t you respect the extra’s human rights?’


  Rambling those craps in my head, I picked up the ball at the edge of the schoolyard. The moment I passed the finishing line, I was already out of my mind.

  Patting my back, Kim Hye Hill uttered, “Good job. That was hard.”


  “Come on, I saw you guys doing it so effortlessly,” I replied with tearful voice. Kim Hye Hill showed a clumsy smile. At that moment, someone beside us tapped our shoulders. It was Kim Hye Woo.

  “Look at that place.”


  “Who is it?” asked Kim Hye Hill apathetically. She turned her head then soon remained silent. I also became quiet.

  Hwang Siwoo was stepping forward with the ball in his hands. The group of his boys cheered him loudly, “Sunbae, you can do it!”


  “Dude, he is already good that he doesn’t need any of your cheers.”


  The boys flattered Hwang Siwoo so obviously; however, he smiled delightfully then spun his arms a few times. While he stood in front of the starting line, every eye was bent on him.

  It was a smooth start; however, before he got to pass the three cones, something took place. Looking at the ball bouncing off his feet and flying over to somewhere else, Hwang Siwoo sweared, “Argh, god dan it! FCK!”


  Blurting out to that extent, Hwang Siwoo threw a glance toward the PE teacher then ran toward the ball to pick it up. He started to dribble again as soon as he got the ball; still, the result wasn’t that good. His face turned dark as the ball kept bouncing off his feet and became out of control.

  It was after quite a while that Hwang Siwoo passed the finishing line. At that moment, his facial expression was as dark as it could get.

  Watching that sight, Kim Hye Woo spoke quietly, “It ain’t that good.”


  “What do you mean?”


  “If the person taking the test right after him does good, there may be some trouble.”


  “Ah……”


  As soon as I realized what he tried to imply, I emitted a small whoop. However, it was Hwang Siwoo himself who didn’t practice enough. Why would he hurt his pride just because he didn’t do well on something trivial like that?

  I whispered in a low voice, “Just because of something like that?”


  “Hey, we’re only sophomores in high school. We’re still fine to act like a child,” replied Kim Hye Woo.

  The look on my face turned a little weird. Kim Hye Woo was talking like he wasn’t a sophomore in high school.

  Meanwhile, the next person slowly got up from the ground and stood in front of the starting line. My eyes wide opened.

  “Eh?”


  He was Ban Hwee Hyul.

  Beside me, Kim Hye Woo knitted his forehead even more and murmured, “Ah, this is really not good……”


  His words left a strange tension between us. Amid the situation, Ban Hwee Hyul started dribbling the ball along the cones.

  Unlike the time when Hwang Siwoo began showing his moves, there wasn’t any cheering or exclamation. Only some cold, indifferent, and piercing glances were on him as if the kids were observing a fish in the fish tank.

  Meanwhile, Ban Hwee Hyul was doing so splendidly. He was excellently moving around the cones and controlling the ball.

  I sighed again, “Ah……”


  “Oh, lord, we’re screwed up,” murmured Kim Hye Woo while touching his forehead.

  Hwang Siwoo and his clique gave Ban Hwee Hyul a murderous look. However, Ban Hwee Hyul quickly passed the finishing line without getting his breath back. Just like Yoon Jung In, he was effortless, smooth, and awesome in taking the test.

  Although Ban Hwee Hyul showed an amazing performance, no one in the class complimented him. The only thing left in the spot was the strained atmosphere that Hwang Siwoo and his group of boys brought among us.