Distance(d) | Sung Hanbin ZB1

Ch. 13 Hold On Tight

It was the first PE lesson of the year. It was usual practice for the whole year to have PE lessons together. The lessons generally consist of a warm-up session followed by an activity, like an inter-class game.

"Ok guys, listen up." The teacher tried to get the attention of his students. "Get into pairs with someone in your class for a warm-up."

Yuna was sitting out of PE because of period cramps, so Eunbyeol had to look for another partner.

"Can I pair up with you?" Jiwoong showed up at the perfect time.

"I'm not very athletic. Are you okay with that?"

"That's why you need me as your partner."

"Sure, as long as you don't mind."

They stood side by side while waiting for further instructions from the teacher. Eunbyeol looked around, and her eyes met Hanbin's. Seolah was standing right next to him.

.

When the teacher asked them to pair up with someone, Hanbin automatically turned to Chaeyeon, but before he could even call out her name, Seolah stood between him and Chaeyeon.

"Hanbin-ah, can we pair up?"

"Um..." Hanbin gave Chaeyeon, who was rolling her eyes at Seolah, an apologetic look.

"It's okay." Chaeyeon mouthed.

And Hanbin ended up pairing up with Seolah. He looked over to Eunbyeol and saw her pairing up with Jiwoong. He wondered why she wasn't with Yuna, but then realised Yuna was sitting on the side bench.

Who would like it when their crush was smiling at another guy? But what bothered Hanbin even more was the smile Jiwoong had on his face when he was looking at Eunbyeol.

Hanbin couldn't stop himself from looking at Eunbyeol and Jiwoong during the whole warm-up session. He was getting increasingly annoyed, seeing how comfortable Eunbyeol seemed around Jiwoong. Eunbyeol was giggling the whole time while doing sit-ups, while Jiwoong held onto her ankles. Hanbin's grip on Seolah's ankles tightened every time Eunbyeol lifted her body and drew her face near to Jiwoong.

"Hanbin-ah, how many reps do I have left?" Seolah noticed that Hanbin's attention was focused elsewhere.

"Oh, sorry, I completely lost count."

"Are you okay? You seem distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just do 5 more, and we can swap over."

.

In another part of the sports hall, Yuna was hugging her belly with her body curled up. She always suffered from bad cramps during her period, and it was no different this time. She didn't even have the strength to walk to the infirmary.

Out of nowhere, someone placed a big handwarmer on her lap. She lifted her head and saw Gyuvin, but he had turned around and was walking away. She held the hand warmer close to her lower abdomen; it soothed her excruciating pain and warmed her heart.

Yuna was then more able to divert her attention to what was happening on the court. And she would have to say that it turned out to be an excellent distraction.

Yuna and Eunbyeol's class was put up against Hanbin and Chaeyeon's class for dodgeball. Hanbin had always taken games and matches quite seriously, but Yuna could see in his eyes that he was extra competitive and determined to win. Jiwoong, who was on the opposing team, had absolutely no intention to give in either.

As one would expect, Jiwoong was playing brilliantly. But Hanbin was not one to be looked down upon either; he had good reflexes and was very agile. Tension grew as fewer and fewer people were left in the game. Until it was just Hanbin and Jiwoong left. The game was getting very interesting. Almost everyone in the sports hall was paying full attention to this legendary match between the two most popular boys in the year. Both of them were starting to get visibly tired, but neither of them dared to let their guard down. They threw and dodged back and forth. Just when everyone thought the game would never end, Jiwoong made a sudden, aggressive attack at Hanbin. Everyone's gaze followed the ball, and despite Hanbin's effort to dodge it, the ball brushed past his ankle. The whistle blew, and it was Jiwoong's victory. People from his class cheered and chanted Jiwoong's name. On the other hand, Hanbin looked really defeated.