episode_0097

As expected, practice is important in everything.

We stretched out our feet at the same time.

That means, stretch out your right foot and your right leg.

In some ways, it could be said that they are one body and one mind, but in a three-legged situation, extending the same leg means death.

The result was a game that ended with the players falling to the grass.

I returned home feeling like a great sinner, but my angelic teammates welcomed me with a smile.

‘The scores are all in the contest anyway, right?’

I’m glad I entered the contest.

I don’t know if I’ll win, but I feel like I’ve been granted an indulgence.

“What should I do to get a high contest score?”

“We have to look friendly.”

“I guess so… .”

I think I’m on good terms with Hannah Yeon, but I don’t know what other people think.

It’s because Hanna Yeon’s face doesn’t show her emotions very well, and because she generally has a blunt expression, sometimes she even seems angry.

“Then, if you want to look friendly… .”

Fried chicken made by Hanna Yeon.

He picked up a round piece of fried chicken, beautifully coated in batter, with his chopsticks and brought it to Hanna Yeon’s mouth.

“Something like this… ?”

Rustle─

“Ah… .”

As I was tapping Hanna Yeon’s lips with fried chicken and urging her on, I heard a sound and a short sigh from next to me.

A woman with a gloomy appearance stopped, holding a convenience store plastic bag in her hand.

As soon as Baek Yu-jin saw us, she turned around as if she was running away.

“Wait a minute… .”

Most people say they eat lunch at a nearby restaurant.

It seemed like Baek Yu-jin was following the group of receptionists out, but it seems she just bought lunch at a convenience store and came back.

“Want to eat together?”

Actually, the lunch box was a bit too much for the two of us to eat.

One floor is filled with fluffy white rice. There is pork cutlet coated in batter like snowflakes, fluffy egg rolls, Vienna sausages, fried chicken, and even dessert.

“Are you okay…?”

“… … doesn’t matter.”

When I asked Han Na-yeon in a lowered voice what she thought, Han Na-yeon, who had already accepted the fried chicken I offered and was eating it, answered belatedly.

“I’m fine.”

“It would be nice to eat together. Come and sit down quickly.”

As I brought the chair that was inside the tent and placed it in front of the table, Baek Yu-jin approached me with slow steps.

Um… Now that I think about it, it’s that member of the company dinner.

The human mind is more cunning than you think, so when you call someone ‘that member’ and group them together, you get a strange sense of belonging.

“Ah, I found it. It’s here.”

And when someone appears who tries to undermine that sense of belonging, it’s natural to feel great hostility.

“Wow, this looks delicious! Nayeon, did you make this?”

Oh Hyun-seo brings a chair and sits next to Hanna Yeon.

It’s lunchtime so there will be a lot of people coming and going. Is it okay for me to leave the back door open and walk around?

I frowned and looked toward the back door, where the woman who had been guiding the vehicles with Oh Hyeon-seo was sitting alone.

“Can I leave that person alone and go around?”

“Who… Oh, me?”

Oh Hyun-seo, who had been smiling brightly while sticking her face in front of Hannah Yeon, tilted her head while pointing at herself with her index finger.

Then who else would there be besides you?

As I nodded silently in agreement, Oh Hyeon-seo glanced at the back door and continued speaking.

“That older sister came back after eating first, so I took her place for a bit?”

“Oh, really?”

I have nothing to say… .

He turned his head, biting his lip, and then his eyes met with Baek Yu-jin’s.

Why is this guy like this again…?

Without even thinking about chewing the sandwich she brought to her lips, Baek Yu-jin just stared blankly at me for a long time.

“What did you ask…?”

“Oh, no.”

Baek Yu-jin’s mouth, which had been still, began to move again.

Well well.

Even though we’re in the same place for the first time in a while, he ends up just eating his sandwich without even looking at his lunch box.

“Okay, eat this too. You have to run in the afternoon too, right? Obstacle course relay.”

I put the side dishes in the lunchbox lid and handed them to Baek Yu-jin.

To be honest, I didn’t really want to brag about Hanna Yeon’s home cooking. It tastes different from when you eat at a restaurant.

“… Thank you.”

Fortunately, he didn’t refuse what was offered to him.

Baek Yu-jin must have wanted to eat Han Na-yeon’s food too. She just didn’t have the chance to join in. Convenience store sandwiches are nothing compared to that.

“Nayeon, I want to try it too… but I don’t have chopsticks… can you feed me just one?”

Meanwhile, Oh Hyun-seo was clinging to Han Na-yeon’s arm and making loud snorting sounds.

If you keep bugging me, Hannayeon might flip the table… .

Of course, just because I gave it a bad impression doesn’t mean it actually happened. I just wanted it to happen.

“You eat it.”

“Oh, I had some spare chopsticks. Thanks… .”

When Hanna Yeon held out her wooden chopsticks, Oh Hyeon Seo showed her regret openly and slightly stepped back.

what…?

And the moment Oh Hyun-seo put her chopsticks on Han Na-yeon’s food, a dark feeling rose inside me.

“Uh…Why are you like that, Haruya?”

“Oh, no… This is my favorite side dish… .”

Rejection.

Oh Hyun-seo doesn’t like eating Hanna-yeon’s food.

When I came to my senses, I was blocking Oh Hyun-seo’s chopsticks as they headed toward the fried chicken.

“Ah, there’s still a lot left?”

“I actually ate a lot… .”

That’s a ridiculous excuse. At least Hanna Yeon knows exactly how much I eat.

“Why?”

“Oh, no… .”

What should I do… .

When Hanna Yeon gave me a look full of doubt, my eyes turned red for no reason.

I guess it looks weird. I feel weird about myself too.

“Okay, kidding… story… .”

In the end, I had no choice but to put the chopsticks away.

It is not good to openly show ill feelings toward Oh Hyun-seo. In the current situation, I am in a superior position. The more so, the more I should be considerate of the other person.

I know it in my head… … .

“I’ll just eat one, okay?”

“Eat something else.”

“Huh… ?”

Oh Hyun-seo and I looked at Hanna Yeon with wide eyes.

Despite those stares, Hanna Yeon pushes the fried chicken towards me.

“There are a lot of other side dishes.”

“That, that’s right. Did I try to steal it without shame? Sorry, sorry.”

Oh Hyun-seo, who was groping around, unable to hide her embarrassment, eventually tried to maintain a bright tone and picked up the egg roll next to her.

“Hanna Yeon… .”

Hanna Yeon couldn’t stop her food from going into Oh Hyun Seo’s mouth, but she didn’t even notice that kind of thing anymore.

Only Hannah Yeon, who took my side, filled my vision.

I ate all the fried chicken on the spot. I ate it even though my stomach felt like it was going to burst.

* * *

“Ugh… .”

I ate too much.

If I went into the obstacle course like this, it was clear that I would roll over and cross the finish line.

“I didn’t know.”

“What…?”

“I like fried chicken.”

Of course I don’t know. I don’t particularly like fried chicken in the first place.

“No, I just feel like eating something strange today… . Isn’t it because you fried it well?”

Oh, I’m laughing.

I tried to cover up my impulsive behavior by adding a little praise, but Hanna Yeon’s lips twitched slightly and her face turned around.

“Did you enjoy your lunch? This game is the one that comes to mind when you think of sports competitions!”

The popular hero Leia, who had been invited after much difficulty, was now pushed behind the commentary stage.

Even the guild staff who were commentating on the side.

“Right now, obstacle course relay! Our Leah hero will be in charge of explaining the course!”

“Huh… .”

“What the heck, do it quickly.”

The branch manager growled softly at the junior hero, but the sound leaked out because the microphone was nearby.

You suddenly got annoyed and are passing it off… .

I could hear murmurs similar to my thoughts here and there, and Leah, who had unexpectedly received the microphone, continued her explanation in a voice that had lost all tension.

Course 1, hurdle jumping.

In our team, Shin Ha-kyun, who has relatively good athletic ability, was in charge of the hurdle course.

Second course, eating bread.

For some reason, Baek Yu-jin was unanimously nominated to eat the bread.

Course 3, 10 laps of the elephant nose followed by a full sprint.

Among the chefs, the youngest, Hanna Yeon, stepped forward.

And the last fourth course, borrowing things.

The ending is mine.

To repay the sorrow of being in a three-way battle.

I wasn’t satisfied with myself for making up for it at a festival where I just changed clothes and went out.

If you’re borrowing stuff, you don’t need any athletic ability, and thanks to the chefs’ enthusiasm, our tent is equipped with just about everything you need.

The point is, I have what it takes to look good.

“Then, players, please stand at your respective starting lines… .”

The commentator, who had regained his position, gave the signal to prepare for the match.

People taking their seats one by one.

As the first runner received the baton from each team, a branch manager came to the starting line holding a firecracker in his hand.

“When the firecrackers go off with a bang, it starts.”

You’ve prepared everything.

The branch manager kicked the dirt with his feet, put firecrackers in it, and covered it again.

And then he struck the match and lit the wick.

He took a sharp step back, his childlike eyes filled with anticipation.

Peeeing─

The flames rise.

The person who was farthest away thought it was the starting signal and jumped forward and then back again, and the people who had been trembling after him also straightened their disheveled posture.

“I think it’s hard to know… .”

Fireworks rising high into the sky.

phut-!

Soon, I could hear the faint sound of fireworks exploding, but the sunlight was so strong that I couldn’t see them.

That’s why the starting line became a real mess.

“shi, have you started it?”

“I don’t know! Just run!”

“Is it okay to start this?!”

Some people who heard the sound started off with a puzzled look on their face, and the rest who came to their senses late also started running while glancing at the sky several times.

“I didn’t see it… .”

After that, only the branch manager remained, crouching next to the starting line with a gloomy face.