second lead. | 정원

chapter 56.

lvi.

Park Aerin stared at the boy who was stretching on the floor, legs straight as his fingers touched the tip of his shoes. She pouted, feeling jealous of his flexibility that she didn't have. Aerin attempted to reach for her toes, failing miserably as she mentally cried at how stiff she was.

Soft laughter could be heard as she looked up and turned to a now dark-haired Kim Sunoo. No matter how many times she saw him as a brunette, she was still astonished by the new change. Aerin was used to seeing him with strawberry-colored hair, but something about chocolate-haired Sunoo made him more attractive. She blushed and quickly looked away.

Weight was soon felt against her back indicating someone was relaxing on her. Before Aerin could react further, her upper body was shoved downward, nearly folding her body in half. She squealed in surprise, looking over her shoulder to find Sunoo resting on her.

"Sun, get off me please," The girl asked adequately, eyes looking so puppy-like that the boy wanted to squeeze the living heck out of her.

However, this only made Sunoo relax even more on her back as he allowed his weight to push the female closer toward her stretched-out legs eliciting another squeal from the girl. He laughed at her reaction, finding her adorable. "Help! Sunoo will fold me in half like a flip phone!" Aerin protested.

Trying to ignore the interaction between Aerin and Sunoo, Jungwon continued his stretching routine. Despite how many times he glanced at them, he couldn't deny that they looked good together. He stared at Aerin with a longing gaze, missing their past interactions which were now replaced by another boy.

Yang Jungwon extended a leg on the floor while keeping the other bent and maintained his balance, holding the position for a couple of seconds before switching sides. It wasn't long until he felt someone's eyes burning holes behind his back. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see a girl looking away.

He recognized her to be Na Sohyun, his classmate, someone he wasn't close with.

"They look happy don't they?" Mira commented, making Jungwon glance over at her as a small smile unknowingly surfaced on his lips. The girl was sitting in a crouched position, standing on her two feet, and her knees were bent. Her arms loosely embraced her legs as she quietly watched the future couple.

"To me, it looks like Aerin's being tortured," Jungwon remarked, watching them stretch on the floor with their legs spread out as their shoes touched. Aerin had her legs perfectly angled a solid ninety degrees as Sunoo pulled her by the arms, testing her flexibility. Another cry of despair sounded from the former.

The dimpled boy stood up as he brushed off the nonexistent dirt from his pants before extending a hand to Mira who didn't hesitate to accept. He pulled her up and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

The sound of a whistle echoed throughout the large gymnasium as everyone was told to gather around. Their coach informed them about today's activities in which they were going to play handball. Four teams will be created using the class attendance and the first six students will become a group.

Since Choi Yunseo (student number three) and Park Sebin (student number seventeen) had permission to not attend today's physical education class, they will be excluded from the game.

Mira (student number six) was slightly disappointed that none of her friends were on the same team as her, but she didn't mind her current members. Kang Yubin (student number eight) and Kim Sunoo (student number eleven) were on the same team. Ni-ki (fifteen), Aerin (sixteen), Sunghoon (eighteen), and Jake (twenty) were all together. And the final team had two of her friends Jungwon (twenty-four) and Cheram (twenty-five).

Regardless, Mira was going to try and win the game. It doesn't matter if her friends weren't in the same group because having fun was what mattered most. She was also kind of excited to play against her friends in different teams.

"You ready?" A male voice spoke when Mira was tieing her shoelaces. Jung Hacheo— Haseong, stood in front of her with an extended fist, gesturing for a first bump. "Happy to be a team with you, Mira."

Oh, Haseong wasn't going to give up that easy. Not until he saw her lover with his own eyes, that is.

-

In the end, Jeon Mira had to visit the infirmary after a rough game of handball.

One of her classmates had managed to accidentally throw a ball to her face, earning loud ooh's from the students watching. Her team almost won too, standing in the finals with Ni-ki's team.

After Jake passed the ball to a girl on his team who stood in the middle of the court, the girl, with no hesitation, threw it with all her might towards the opposing goal but soon regretted it when her aim went the wrong direction as it made contact with Mira's face instead.

The whistle blew and the coach stepped in. The spot between her eyebrows and forehead had a red circle imprinted on her skin. The game was forced to stop.

Park Aerin placed a hand over her mouth as she stared at Mira in horror, feeling as if she was also at fault for being on the opposing team. Cheram and Yubin jumped off the bleachers as they went to check on Mira's condition. Simultaneously, Sunoo followed along with a worried expression on his face. The rest only watched from a distance, Ni-ki's team included.

"I'm so sorry," The girl who threw the ball apologized, biting her bottom lip in guilt. Mira only shook her head in response as she laughed it off, "It's fine. Accidents happen all the ti—"

Liquid was felt flowing down her nose. She touched the entrance of her nostril with a finger before turning speechless at the sight she received after she retracted her hand. Another round of gasps were heard as Mira could see Jung Haseong coming back with tissues in his hand. Mira chuckled, waving a hand at the worried expression the girl who threw the ball had, "Don't worry. I'm used to nosebleeds—"

"What do you mean?" A firm voice spoke next to her. Mira turned to the side meeting a pair of familiar cat-like eyes that held anger yet worry and concern. Jungwon was frowning, an unhappy look visible on his face as he eyed the now-dyed tissues in her hand. "Don't get used to them. I'm taking you to the nurse's room."

And here they were. Unfortunately, the nurse was nowhere to be seen so Jungwon had to take matters with his own hands. He gently placed a cold compress on the girl's nose bridge when the bleeding hasn't stopped after five minutes. He looked down at Mira who sat on the bed with her head narrowly tilted up.

"You worry me," Jungwon whispered, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "If I were on the same team as you, I'd have blocked the shot by standing in front of you."

"Are you saying you would take the hit for me? That ball was fast I didn't have time to react," Mira muttered, lowering her head slightly as Jungwon pulled the compress away, checking to see if any more red substance flowed out. "I won't let you if it means you'd get hurt in my place," She added.

"I have fast reflexes, mind you," Jungwon stated, "But that last sentence was cute. Thanks." Patting her head was something he didn't expect himself to do. Too flustered with his action, Mira swatted his hand away.

"Oh God, can you guys stop flirting in front of me?" Another voice groaned before the curtains flew open revealing an annoyed Choi Yunseo. "An injured patient is still single here."