episode_0023

Yi Hareem furrowed her brow as if irritated by the gazes of others.

Sitting on a bench, she took off her shoes and tidied her clothes and hair. The way she groomed herself with her feet was close to divine skill. It was more intricate and precise than most hands.

Her white shoes had open heels, making them look like slippers from behind. From the front, they appeared to be ordinary canvas shoes with crisscrossing laces.

“It feels a bit odd being barefoot.”

Thanks to Im Yuna, I’ve opened my eyes to a new fetish.

The students’ gazes towards Yi Hareem varied. Some students were cautious in their looks, fearing they might cause offense, while others admired her free use of her feet, and some looked at her with disdain.

…Surprisingly, all students had their eyes on Yi Hareem.

“Don’t see any attendants around her? Being from a prominent conglomerate, money shouldn’t be an issue, right?”

Even if she can freely use her feet, everyday tasks would be challenging. Just opening the classroom door, something that takes others 2 seconds, would take her dozens of seconds.

…Engaging in sports with others was practically impossible.

“Come to think of it, doing advanced physical education with such an uneasy body doesn’t make sense, does it?”

Many students seemed to share similar thoughts, watching Yi Hareem with puzzled expressions. Then, a student who appeared gentle and determined approached Yi Hareem.

“Hello, I’m Ishif. What’s your name?”

“…Yi Hareem.”

“Just checking, this is the advanced physical education department, right? Make sure you’re in the right place…”

“…I’m in the right place, and I’ll handle my own affairs, so you do you.”

“Oh, sorry… I’ll go then…”

A fleeting sense of guilt passed through Ishif’s expression. He seemed like a kind-hearted student.

“The atmosphere has turned tense.”

The group of students who were noisy just moments ago quieted down after Yi Hareem arrived. An awkward atmosphere weighed heavily in the air.

The change in atmosphere occurred when a large male teacher in gym clothes entered the scene.

“He’s the gym teacher we saw earlier.”

We saw him outside the auditorium on the day of the entrance ceremony, and he’s the same teacher we see during physical education classes.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Taesik.”

He held a blue document with a pen stuck in it.

“Today, before we dive into our department activities, we will conduct basic fitness tests. Events include the 100m run, pull-ups, sit-ups, flexibility tests, and more.”

We stood in the middle of the field following the gym teacher.

“The most important thing in exercise is stretching. Proper stretching prevents injuries and helps alleviate fatigue from exercise. The importance of stretching cannot be emphasized enough.”

He pressed a square radio button on the ground. Bright traditional music filled the air. Someone who had been fiddling with papers during regular PE class finally started moving.

“Watch closely and follow along.”

The national gymnastics created in the 1970s during the military dictatorship era had stiff and militaristic movements. To replace this, in 1999, a new program called ‘National Health Gymnastics’ was introduced and promoted.

What we were doing now was precisely that ‘National Health Gymnastics.’ Unlike the rigid military-style gymnastics, it was known for its embarrassing movements but also for being unexpectedly effective due to the many jumping exercises.

“Oops! Did it wrong.”

…There were surprisingly few students performing the movements correctly due to the unexpectedly challenging exercises.

“Ouch!”

Even I, initially following along well, messed up the movements midway.

“Yi Hareem seems to be doing well on her own.”

Due to the nature of the National Health Gymnastics having many movements impossible without arms, Yi Hareem had no choice but to stretch on her own.

The legs that stretch out elegantly, her movements were an art performed with tremendous balance and flexibility.

“…Huh? Seems like she’s more physically capable than me?”

Setting aside her surprise, she focused on gymnastics first.

“Hehe, this is subtly fun.”

Ha-yoon followed along with awkward movements, her laughter genuine and continuous.

Not only Ha-yoon but most students joyfully laughed while doing gymnastics.

“My posture keeps getting smaller because I’m conscious of my belly…”

I was the only one not enjoying it.

When performing a jumping motion, I bent my knees and then straightened them to deceive the eye.

“Hey, student Lee Ji-yoon, you’ve been slacking off… Do it properly from now on.”

“Yes.”

“She caught on.”

After gymnastics, they prepared for the physical fitness test ahead. Students brought out mats from the storage room and started doing sit-ups.

“Oh, shoot…”

Many students had their gym clothes folded, exposing shy bellies. Our class likes that.

*gulp*

As the session neared its end, Yi Ha-rim lay down. Without needing instructions from the students or the gym teacher, everyone’s gaze focused on her.

Yi Ha-rim repeated sit-ups with precise form, disregarding the gazes fixed on her. It was an honest posture without using any momentum.

Many people generally consider sit-ups as an exercise for the abs. In reality, it doesn’t help much with ab training. Instead, it requires a lot of strength from the back, lower body, and arms.

Sit-ups are an exercise that extracts strength from the entire body, improving overall stamina. This is why sit-ups are included in the U.S. military’s physical fitness test, which emphasizes strong core strength.

…In short, it’s truly remarkable for Yi Ha-rim, without arms, to do sit-ups without any momentum.

“Wow!”

Some students cheered with whistles.

“Impressive indeed…”

Although Yi Ha-rim received a failing score in the chin-up challenge, she scored close to perfect in sit-ups and flexibility tests.

The way students looked at Yi Ha-rim changed. From a disabled person struggling with physical limitations to a hero who overcame them.

“…Why does her expression stiffen as she receives cheers? Isn’t it normal to be happy when recognized for effort?”

Yi Ha-rim’s eyes, half-closed in her unique manner, were chillingly cold. The sound of teeth grinding against each other echoed like a shark’s jaws.

“Lastly, it’s the 100m run… Yi Ha-rim will have a separate test later.”

“Well, can’t help it.”

While simple exercises might be fine, intense activities like running were very risky.

“…I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“…I said I’ll run.”

“No need to push yourself…”

“It’s not pushing myself; I want to do it.”

Yi Ha-rim stared at the gym teacher. Kim Tae-sik sighed and cautiously replied.

“…I’ll allow it, but run moderately. You’re already close to a perfect score, no need to overdo it.”

” …”

With a stern expression, Yi Ha-rim nodded her head.

The 100m run took place on a straight track. Ha-yoon’s slow speed due to her short legs and my cumbersome size led me to achieve a time in the mid-24-second range, nearing the bottom.

“…Seems like we’re the slowest here.”

“Heheh.”

Ha-yoon seemed pleased as if she found a common ground.

“If I didn’t worry about my size, breaking the 20-second barrier would be easy…”

Of course, it’s a meaningless assumption. Running while swinging your size around would lead to immediate arrest, a stint in prison, and getting your ass ripped open by the inmates.

“…Wait, what if going to a women’s prison makes me super popular? Featured in the news a month later as the guy who impregnated 300 women… Oh, that’s messed up.”

Lost in absurd thoughts, Yi Ha-rim stepped onto the track. Her stance exuded a sacred and noble aura for some reason.

The gym teacher positioned students around the track, preparing for any potential accidents.

In her eyes, there was no trace of fear. Truly a figure without even a hint of anxiety.

“It feels like a character straight out of ‘Passionate Boys’ rather than Queen Bartz Academy… Is this what they call a girl crush?”

Living with someone whose limbs were not in perfect condition, she felt a sense of human dignity that she had never experienced before.

“Beep!”

The whistle blew.

Yi Ha-rim took off.

…It was an undeniable sprint to anyone who saw it.

When it comes to maintaining balance while running, the most crucial role is played by the arms, not the legs. If the upper body wavers, humans easily stumble with even a slight deviation. In that sense, Yi Ha-rim’s running was close to a triumph for humanity.

Moreover, her running was so risky that it could be considered a matter of life and death. Falling without arms meant that the human head, the nape of the neck, would hit the ground directly.

Of course, the physical education teacher took some safety precautions by making Yi Ha-rim wear a thick headgear. She grimaced at the sight of the headgear but didn’t say anything, perhaps knowing she was being stubborn.

In the end, she completed the 100m race.

“…20 seconds.”

“Clap clap clap clap clap!!”

“Well done!”

“Yi Ha-rim! Yi Ha-rim!”

The students cheered excitedly. The vigorous applause echoed through the sports field.

“You are a true athlete.”

Even the gym teacher praised Yi Ha-rim with a serious tone.

“…”

I was the only one who noticed that Yi Ha-rim’s expression had turned seriously sour.

“Why does she hate it so much? Wouldn’t it feel much better to be recognized for your efforts rather than being ignored for having a disability?”

Despite noticing this, I couldn’t quite understand her psyche.

“Wow… she’s faster than us.”

Ha Yoon’s mouth hung open in surprise.

Initially anxious, Yi Ha-rim had unwittingly begun to be treated as the mascot of the [Advanced Physical Education] department.

Of course, not everyone respected Yi Ha-rim. Some students looked at her with disdainful eyes.

“Perhaps it’s because her upper body shook oddly when she sprinted…”

Moving vigorously with arms missing, a condition so unfamiliar to humans, appeared alien.

“While many reasons are needed to like someone, no significant reason is required to hate someone.”

…Strangely, Yi Ha-rim seemed more comfortable with the hateful glances than the praising ones.

“Capturing a heroine is good, but… Yi Ha-rim feels awkward to approach.”

Rather than worrying about receiving hurt from someone who might be concerned about small actions, it was easier to deal openly with someone like Park Tae-i, who was clearly a troublemaker.

“…Well, at least she’s definitely not a yandere.”

The first day of [Advanced Physical Education] ended with a physical fitness test.

* * *

“Goodbye, Ha Yoon.”

“Yeah…”

After confirming that Ha Yoon boarded the bus, I walked home.

“Oh, busy again.”

Upon arriving home, I organized the E-Mart shopping basket and started deep cleaning.

“Ugh… so much mold.”

Due to the perpetually damp and humid nature of the basement room, mold always grew no matter how clean I tried to keep it. Especially the bathroom was particularly bad, requiring daily cleaning to prevent mold growth.

“…Should I just buy a house?”

Grumbling, I wiped the walls with a cloth. The dark green mold washed away. No matter how often I cleaned, instead of getting used to it, I shuddered every time I cleaned.

After thoroughly cleaning the house, I checked something I had been curious about for a while.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Are you there?”

Thud thud thud. Thud.

“Hmm… nothing strange like last time…”

I searched through the places where I had found the miniature camera before. After a thorough check, I came to a conclusion.

“There are no cameras anywhere.”

There was no trace to be found.

“Someone must have installed them; I don’t know who, but it’s definitely some crazy pervert!”

Being pretty was the problem. A pervert I had hesitated to confront once in a lifetime had swarmed around like flies.

“I’ll become the king of home security!”

I went online and ordered security windows and a double door lock.

“Pervert, cut it out!”

After finishing shopping, I could finally feel relieved.

“Tomorrow, I’ll be going to the [Dance] Department… I hope I won’t get caught sleeping.”

While thinking about it, I quickly ordered a groin protector as well.