episode_0030

Even as a high school student, Jin-Woo was close to Lee Joo-Hyuk. When Se-ra wasn’t around, Jin-woo often hung out with Joo-hyuk. Of course, that didn’t mean Joo Hyuk was close to Sarah.

Should I say that stealing and eating candy that was offered in elementary school became a bad relationship?

Sarah still used to diss Joo Hyuk about that incident every time she ran into him.

The moment Joo-hyuk approached, Sarah opened her mouth, curling the corners of her mouth.

“I thought I hadn’t seen you lately, but you showed up again. Candy thief.”

Joo Hyuk glanced at Sarah and answered abruptly.

“Who is the candy thief?”

“Who are you, Joo Hyuk? No more stealing from other people, right?”

“Don’t steal! Buy it with my own money! You won a lot of prize money by participating in competitions, but would you steal it?”

“Ho… So should I call you by a different name now? Mama’s boy.”

“Wow!”

When Sarah lightly dissed Joo Hyuk, he got angry. Joo-hyuk thought of his past, when he was possessed by a ghost and showed an unsightly side, as a dark history. When I dissed someone about that incident, there was an immediate response.

“This is really… !”

“Really?”

It was when Sarah and Joo-hyuk slowly raised their voices. Jinwoo, who was listening to the conversation between the two, sighed and opened his mouth. The war of nerves that unfolded every time these two encountered each other was something Jinwoo was familiar with.

“Just stop there.”

“No, he started the fight first!”

“So who wants to steal ghost candy?”

Sarah and Joo-hyuk growled at each other, but soon stopped fighting.

When Jinwoo intervened, the two people tended to stop fighting.

“Whew, that’s it… .”

Jinwoo spoke to Joohyuk, who shook his head.

“Joo Hyuk. But why are you here instead of going into the classroom?”

Joo-hyuk’s classroom was 1st grade, 5th grade. It was a classroom far away from Class 1 where Jinwoo and Sarah were. Joo-hyuk did not go into the classroom, but was wandering around in the hallway near Class 1 for some reason. Then, a group of students came to see judo athlete Joo Hyuk.

Joo-hyuk answered while looking at Jin-woo.

“Me? I came to see how you live. We’re so busy preparing for the competition these days that we don’t even have time to play together.”

“Then come back to the classroom quickly. Why are you outside?”

“There’s nothing I can do because I’m surrounded by kids. They keep asking me to show them my gold medal, but why do I bring it to school?”

Joo-hyuk, a high school student, became a judo player with a promising future. Although he swept all kinds of competitions held domestically and achieved good results in world competitions, Joo-hyuk did not live an easy life. It was much busier than before.

Joo Hyuk has been busy these days as he participates in competitions.

There was a reason why I couldn’t go to school for a week after the semester started.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you. Are you preparing well for the competition?”

“No problem there.”

While talking, Joo Hyuk looked at Jin Woo and smiled.

“But. Did you receive a fun gift from an overseas fan last week? It’s definitely something you would really want.”

“Gift?”

“Uh. If you were me, you would probably be excited to have it. This is a gift I received from Yukio in Japan… .”

A gift I received from a fan in Japan.

Since participating in world competitions in middle school, Joo Hyuk has gained fans overseas. Although they had an ordinary appearance, they were fans because of their hot performances. Among them, Yukio was a fan living in Japan.

“What is that?”

Jinwoo became curious. The only objects Jinwoo was interested in were those related to mysteries. Moreover, if it came from Japan, it was worthy of interest. There were many strange stories in Japan.

“Hehe… .”

However, Joo Hyuk did not immediately reveal the gift.

“Do you want to know what it is? Then have a round of arm wrestling with me! If you win, I’ll show you a gift.”

Joo Hyuk placed a bet.

It was a bet that if Jinwoo won in arm wrestling, he would reveal a gift.

“Suddenly? Let’s arm wrestle here now?”

“You can do it in the classroom. Let’s get it done quickly before it’s time for inspection.”

“No, but… .”

Sarah, who was next to me, spoke to Joo Hyuk.

“What arm wrestling is this! Are you a judo athlete and want to arm wrestle with ordinary people? I guess I’m not embarrassed.”

“I asked Jinwoo.”

In the end, it was Jinwoo who made the decision.

Although he was embarrassed, Jinwoo wanted to see what gift Joohyuk brought.

I could do as much as arm wrestling with my friends.

“Okay. Let’s arm wrestle.”

“Okay.”

Jinwoo took Joohyuk into the classroom. But they were not the only ones who entered the classroom. Other students who were watching around started talking noisily.

“Hey! Joohyuk Lee is arm wrestling!”

“Arm wrestling? Who are you doing it with?”

“I’m not sure, but check it out with a friend! Come quickly!”

Joohyuk Lee, a national judo youth, engages in arm wrestling with an ordinary person.

It was bound to become a hot topic at school.

The rumor quickly spread and students gathered in Class 1’s classroom.

There was a crowd as if there was a sporting event taking place.

“Wow! It’s the real Lee Joo-hyuk!”

“You’re a judo genius.”

Judo genius Lee Joo-hyuk.

He was a player who had never lost in an official match. He even beat foreign players so mercilessly that even the general public heard Lee Joo-hyuk’s name. Jinwoo and Joohyuk sat facing each other at a desk in the middle of the classroom.

“Sera, you are the judge.”

“Good.”

The referee decided to look at Sarah.

Jinwoo put his arms on the desk and held hands with Joohyuk. The moment Joo-hyuk’s large palm covered Jin-woo’s hand, cheers rang out around him.

“Lee Joo-hyuk! Joohyuk Lee!”

“End it in one blow!”

“After you’re done, play a round with me!”

Everyone predicted Joo Hyuk’s victory.

There were also students who bet on the outcome.

“How many seconds do you think Lee Joo-hyuk will win?”

“5 seconds? I bet on 5 seconds.”

“If the body sizes are different, will it take 5 seconds each? It’s a miracle if curly hair lasts 3 seconds.”

“Is that so? That’s right.”

In the students’ minds, the outcome was obvious, but the interesting topic was how long Jinwoo could endure. Most students expected the duration to last in seconds. The holding time was in the single digits.

“Ready.”

It was right then.

Sarah, who was watching the referee, raised her hand and signaled preparation. The hands of Jinwoo and Joohyuk, who were holding each other, gained strength. The atmosphere in the classroom boiled over like an arena.

“Wow!”

The students’ cheers rang out loud.

Sarah lowered her arms and spoke briefly.

“Start.”

The arm wrestling began.

Joo-hyuk’s arm muscles swelled as he exerted strength. The shape of his muscles was clearly visible through the shirt he was wearing. As expected from a judo player, the direction in which Joo Hyuk applied his force was precise. It was a move that knew exactly where to put his hand.

“Hmm!”

However, Jinwoo’s hand did not fall.

“… … .”

Even though his rugged arm muscles were exerting force, Jinwoo’s hand did not move from where it was held. He just sat still on the desk as if nothing had happened.

“Huh?”

At that moment, the students who were watching the arm wrestling looked puzzled. Time passed and 3 seconds passed. Another 5 seconds passed, but the arm wrestling did not end. It wasn’t even clear whether one side had started arm wrestling in the first place. Unlike Lee Joo-hyuk, who was giving strength, Jin-woo was just calm.

“What… .”

“So, why can’t I move my hand?”

━━Tick! Tick!

It was when 10 seconds had passed.

Jinwoo moved his hand. It wasn’t the direction it fell to the floor. What was falling on the floor of the desk was the back of Joo-hyuk’s hand. The back of Joo-hyuk’s hand, which was slowly falling, eventually touched the floor.

Tuk! The sound echoed throughout the classroom.

At that moment, silence fell throughout the classroom.

“End.”

Sarah, who was watching the referee, announced the end of the match.

It was Jinwoo’s victory.

“Keuuu… !”

Joo-hyuk was still putting strength on his hands. However, no matter how hard I gritted my teeth, my joined hands never rose. The students in the classroom did not understand what they were seeing. While everyone was shocked and silent, Joo Hyuk eventually accepted the outcome of the match.

“Is it all over? So what is the gift?”

“I’ll show you after school today.”

Jinwoo released his hands. Joo-hyuk took his hand away, breathing heavily. Joo-hyuk’s palms were red because of the blood.

A judo athlete who swept the competitions lost power to the general public.

It was something I couldn’t understand. The students’ eyes focused on Jinwoo. But Jinwoo was only interested in mysteries.

Sarah asked Joo-hyuk with a smile.

“So how many times have you lost now? Joohyuk Lee.”

“I don’t know! I don’t remember so don’t ask.”

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Jinwoo arm wrestled with Joo Hyuk. As Sarah remembers, the two boys had made similar bets several times in places that no one could see. It was mainly a bet where the winner was decided by strength, like arm wrestling.

Jinwoo was the one who won every time.

Even after Joo Hyuk won several competitions, the outcome did not change.

Sarah looked at Jinwoo sitting at the desk.

He couldn’t help but be an interesting boy to look at.

‘As expected, he’s an amazing kid.’

Sera knew that Jinwoo was strong from the moment they first met.

Of course, simply having a strong body did not attract Sarah’s interest. There were quite a few people who could display superpowers by using magical methods or borrowing the power of divine beings.

Right now, Sera was also increasing her physical strength with the magic handed down from the samurai family.

A 17-year-old girl had a secret to fighting ghosts and monsters.

But Jinwoo was different.

There was no special reason for Jinwoo’s strength. It was not magical power, nor was it borrowing power from a divine being. There was simply a force that caused the phenomenon without any cause.

I couldn’t help but think that the boy named Jinwoo himself was strong.

It seems like my whole body is telling me that a person is strong but needs a reason.

‘It makes me want to study the body.’

Sera wanted to study Jinwoo’s body.