episode_0096

“Okay, one, two! One, two! Just a little more!”

Where did you get the loudspeaker from?

Park Hye-young, Kim Min-ji’s shooter, shouted loudly into a loudspeaker.

“Oh, isn’t that foul play? It doesn’t seem like it’s going to end!”

The branch manager’s voice was filled with confusion.

When did that person go there again… .

Next to the branch manager, Leah, who had her microphone stolen by her senior hero, was standing awkwardly.

“That’s right! Good job! Match the slogan! Try your best!”

“One, two! One, two!”

With a loud cheer, the participants in the tug-of-war lie on their backs and slowly walk backwards.

Well, at this point I’m starting to feel exhausted.

At the very end of the receptionist restaurant union team, commonly known as the ‘reception union’, stands a chef with an elephantine appearance.

Even at first glance, he looked to be over 140kg. The man with a warm impression, with a tug-of-war rope wrapped around his waist, served as an anchor and took on the incineration team’s attacks all by himself.

“Now!”

And when the fighting spirit disappeared from the eyes of the incineration team, the counterattack of the annexation union began.

“Pull it-!”

“Heavy! Heavy!”

The standoff, which had lasted so long that Leah yawned involuntarily, finally came to an end.

“Ah, Incineration Team! We’re being dragged away without even being able to resist! Is this how a strong contender for the championship falls apart!!”

The incineration team is strong.

Due to the nature of the department, not only are there heroes mixed in, but most of the people are carrying heavy incinerator flamethrowers.

However, even the most trained muscles were nothing more than child’s play in the face of the overwhelming weight.

“Ahhh – One step forward! Why is the Union of the Fold so strong!”

I think the person who enjoys the sports day the most is the branch manager.

The branch manager who can’t sit still for even a moment and wiggles his butt.

Not only Leah, who had the mic stolen, but also the guild staff member who was sitting next to her also missed their chance to speak and ended up giving up on the commentary after only sighing, saying, “Uh… uh…”

“They’re here! Hey, hey!”

Beep─!

“Game over! Receptionist Restaurant Union Team wins!”

As the whistle blew to signal the end, the referee’s flag tilted towards us.

“Haa, haa… .”

“The incineration team is finally falling apart. It seems like they lack stamina, so they should consider retraining… .”

At the branch manager’s soft muttering, the incineration team members who had exhausted all their strength and were rolling around on the dirt floor suddenly stood up.

“Okay, let’s get ready for the next game! Are you still free?”

“Of course. If you lose all your strength in the first game, how are you going to do the next game!”

The men entered the incineration team tent, jumping around like freshly caught live fish.

Rather, the winning team of the match appears to be more exhausted.

“Wow- You worked hard… .”

“Where.”

And me, watching the game.

I was about to go out to cheer up my teammates with a big smile on my face, but I got caught by Hanna Yeon.

“Ha, I’m going to do it… .”

“I said the same thing just now.”

There is another reason why I was watching the tug-of-war so intently.

“Mr. Eugene, if you’re having a hard time, should we take a break?”

“Okay, let’s continue.”

“You’re really working hard. Yeah, if you’re going to do it, you have to win! I really like it!”

“I’ll stretch my right foot first… .”

Baek Yu-jin and Kim Min-ji, who have tied each other’s ankles with rope, move forward relying on each other.

And then, bang─.

As Baek Yu-jin said to extend her right leg, Kim Min-ji also extended her right leg, causing their feet to become tangled and they fell forward.

“Let’s try again.”

“Mi, sorry! I’ll really focus this time. Left foot, I’m left foot.”

Even though Baek Yu-jin was indifferent despite repeated failures, Kim Min-ji could not hide her regret and fidgeted as she wiped the grass off Baek Yu-jin’s clothes.

“Practice.”

“Ha, I’ll do it!”

The problem was Hannah Yeon and me.

I haven’t been able to get it right since my first attempt, and it was all because I was so distracted by the game.

It’s not that I’m particularly interested in the game… .

“Come closer.”

“Isn’t this enough?”

“You have to be close so you don’t fall.”

The task of having to keep my body in perfect contact with Hannah Yeon was too burdensome for me.

“Okay, wait a minute… .”

Of course, this could be resolved if I just stopped having strange thoughts.

“You did it a little while ago. Raise your arms.”

“Sa, actually, isn’t practice unnecessary?”

“… What are you talking about?”

Hanna Yeon’s gaze turned slightly forward from ours.

“This time I made it halfway! Isn’t that really a good thing?”

“If you stretch your feet to the beat, you can go all the way.”

There was Kim Min-ji, who had fallen but was still bright-eyed, and Baek Yu-jin, who was getting up again with determined eyes.

It was so irresponsible to say that practice wasn’t necessary.

Those two people with completely opposite personalities are also getting along. It’s something that can’t be avoided forever. At the very least, they shouldn’t cause trouble to the team.

“Let’s do it… .”

“Yeah.”

Hannah Yeon’s arm resting on my shoulder.

And my arm wrapped around Hannah Yeon’s waist.

“Why are you dropping?”

“Are you nervous?”

I have avoided practicing until now because of things like the curve of the waist touching my palm, the softness felt through my clothes, and the body heat transmitted from our bodies touching each other.

Don’t worry about it.

When I have negative thoughts, I feel ashamed of this situation.

This is just a practice for the sports meet. Come to think of it, I’ve hugged Hanna Yeon several times. It wasn’t always a situation where I had to worry about things like this.

“Are you going? Should I stretch my right leg?”

“Go quickly.”

When I actually try to stretch my legs, I feel a little scared.

Even though there is grass, wouldn’t it hurt if I fell? Also, would it be okay if there is quite a difference in height?

“Phehe… They look just like mother and daughter.”

As I continued to worry, the people in the tent began to gather on the grass where the two-person, three-legged game was taking place.

“Mom and…daughter?”

This is something I was already concerned about… .

As I stared blankly at Hanna Yeon, Hanna Yeon’s gaze also turned to me.

It’s annoying to see you blatantly bowing your head and looking at me, but you’re even secretly smiling?

“It would be nice if you were taller. But if you look like mother and daughter, that means you’re really old.”

“You’re being childish.”

“Ugh… .”

Although she was at an age where being called childish could be considered a compliment, she felt like she had been hit because she had been yelling at Hanna Yeon out of pride.

“Ah, anyway, practice! Aren’t you going to practice?”

“… … .”

He quickly changed the subject and shook his tightly bound feet.

“Okay, players, please take your places on each line!”

At that moment, the referee with the whistle around his neck shouted.

“Huh?”

already?

In the end, the only thing I could do for practice was to stand with my feet tied together.

“Ah, I, Shin Ha-kyun, will give you the order.”

Shin Ha-kyun is coming towards us with a loudspeaker. He doesn’t really feel the need for it, but he is in charge of the overall supervision of this sports competition.

“The pair of Kim Min-ji and Baek Yu-jin will be the first runners, and I will ask the pair of Lee Haru and Han Na-yeon to finish. As relaxed as possible. With the mindset of catching up when the other team makes a mistake.”

It was an arrangement that gave off a subtle sense of anticipation.

Kim Min-ji and Baek Yu-jin don’t really get along. So, even if they fall behind a bit, it’s appropriate for them to be the first runners with a goal ahead of them, and it seems like Han Na-yeon and I are supposed to catch up with those who went ahead.

Considering that Hanna Yeon and I have been friends for a long time, it was an appropriate instruction. If we had coordinated our steps in advance, it would have been perfect.

If I lose here, I won’t be able to face my teammates…

“Ha, can you do it?”

“I don’t know.”

The second runner comes to the starting line and ties his feet again.

“… Are you angry?”

“… … .”

After tying the knot, I glanced up, but Hanna Yeon didn’t even make eye contact with me.

Well, if Fair keeps refusing to practice, he can’t be happy.

“Still… Won’t it work out somehow? How long have we been friends? Huh… .”

As I stood up with a sheepish smile on my face, Hanna Yeon wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer to her.

“Practice it in your head, because you’re going to keep going like this.”

“Oh, I got it.”

I also hesitated and placed my hand on Hanna Yeon’s waist, closing my eyes while waiting for the game to start.

From now on… I will keep in step with Hanna Yeon… .

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her exercise separately, but why is Hanna Yeon’s waist so thin?

And every time the wind blows, it smells good… Ah, I’m still using this shampoo. It smelled the same way when I was a student…

“This day… .”

Sniff sniff─

“Leeharu.”

“Huh?”

Like a stone thrown into calm water, a familiar voice spreads out, creating ripples in the back of my head.

At the same time, pure white flesh filled my field of vision, and only then did I notice Hanna Yeon, who was standing precariously.

“Ugh… !”

I was so startled that I turned my body back to where it had been leaning toward Hannah Yeon.

Oh, when did I get into this position… .

“Mi, sorry… .”

When I lowered my head and looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the area under Hanna Yeon’s ears was slightly red.

“Ugh… I fell five times.”

When did the game start again?

Kim Min-ji is hanging on the grass, exhausted, and Baek Yu-jin is dragging her.

“I’m sorry… .”

“Okay, it’s okay. Just catch up.”

I don’t know where my confidence came from, but I wanted to reassure Baek Yu-jin as she handed me the apple.

The fastest team has already almost reached the finish line.

Even if you don’t get first place, you still get points. Since you won the tug-of-war, you still have a chance as long as you avoid getting last place with zero points.

widely.

The baton that was in Baek Yu-jin’s hands was passed to me.

Most of the teams had already passed the halfway point, and even the teams that had only walked and had no intention of running had received the baton and set off.

Okay, let’s just catch up with that team.

“Hanna Yeon, just do the same thing as before.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“Um…then as usual?”

As usual.

Yeah, if it’s normal, it’ll be fine.

“… … Okay.”

I wonder if Hanna Yeon had the same thoughts.

Even though we didn’t have any slogans, we stretched out our feet at the same time.