ReLife Player

[Athletic events (2) ].

The morning has ended.

Even though Eunha was missing, Class 3, put in their effort with Minji at the center.

As a result, the gap between the blue and white teams had widened even more, and the Class 3 was in first place in the entire grade.

«See, you’re good without me.»

«Are you running away in the afternoon again?»

Minji rolled her eyes at Eunha.

It was lunchtime. The class had scattered to find their families.

Eunha and Minji were headed in the same direction.

To be precise, this year, Eunha and Minji were going to eat lunch with the families of other children, including their own.

So they couldn’t have a big fight in front of their parents.

Eunha meekly replied that he understood and found a place where his family would be waiting.

«Ah!»

«Oh! Watch out!»

It didn’t take long to find them.

Before I knew it, Eunae was running toward me with her arms wide open.

Oh, I hope she doesn’t fall.

Eunha couldn’t help but feel anxious as he watched Eunae run.

The ground was uneven. If she fell wrong, she could burn her skin.

«…Huh…?»

I wonder if it’s different.

Eunae, who was running straight ahead, tripped over a stone and tilted her body forward.

Even as she fell, she didn’t seem to realize what had happened.

Thousand steps

If Eunha hadn’t closed the remaining distance and hugged her, she would have fallen to the ground.

Just seeing Eunae burst into tears would have torn Eunha’s heart apart.

«Oppa, I got you!»

«No Eunae, didn’t your Oppa tell you to run carefully? You would have fallen.»

«Hehe, I don’t know~»

Eunae nodded her head affectionately in Eunha’s arms.

I couldn’t be angry anymore.

Eunae was too adorable.

«Ugh, siscon. Can’t you at least favor us a bit?»

«Hey, it’s not like we find you guys attractive.»

Eunha snapped at them as they slowly walked over.

Minji had a dumbfounded look on her face, and the others had a knowing look on their faces.

«Kids, don’t stay there, come here. I’ve prepared a lot of delicious food for you today.»

Mom called them over.

Beside her, Minji, Eunhyuk, and Hayang’s mothers were preparing food and drinks.

Dad didn’t come today.

He had hoped to attend the Eunha’s Athletic events every year, but lately he had been overwhelmed with work. More than once he had come home late at night, exhausted, and fallen asleep in the bathroom.

So did the other children’s fathers.

Euna didn’t come either. As a student at the Secundary Player Academy, she couldn’t skip class.

That’s why his mom suggested that they have lunch together this year.

«Min-ji, you did really well today. You’re the class president!»

«Of course I am! I’m so good when I put my mind to it!»

Minji puffed out her chest as she ate her meatballs.

Even as she answered her mother’s question, she took care of Seona and Hayang.

«Eunae made these!»

«Oh, you made this, Eunae? It’s delicious. But who is this?»

«Oh! It’s me!»

Eunae held out her lunchbox, which contained nothing but egg rolls.

On top of the egg roll, someone’s face was smeared with ketchup.

Judging by the way his mother smiled quietly behind her, Eunae had insisted that she be included in the cooking.

«It’s delicious.»

«Isn’t it~?»

«Eunha, try this one too. Here, ah~»

«Ah~ Mmm, the best.»

Eunha ate the side dishes his mother held out to him with chopsticks like a baby bird.

Eunhyuk saw that,

«Mom, me too, ah~»

«Are you a baby bird?»

At the same time, Eunhyuk’s mother pushed a large piece of yubu sushi into Eunhyuk’s mouth.

Eunhyuk couldn’t speak for a while as he tried to finish the sushi that didn’t even fit in his mouth.

«Did you hurt yourself anywhere?»

«Nah, I’m fine. Un…ma.»

«Hayang, what’s that sound?»

On one side of the room, Min Su-jin, Hayang, and Seona were sharing the lunch box that Jung Seok-hoon had prepared.

Even though Su-jin had married Jung Seok-hoon, she remained unpretentious.

Although Alice Group chairman Min Jun-sik had offered to give her the mansion she had lived in before, Su-jin and Jung Seok-hoon had moved to a small house nearby to spend their honeymoon because she didn’t want to leave Happiness.

That’s right. What’s with the «unma» sound?

Min Su-jin has become a stepmother to Hayang.

It was still awkward for Hayang to call her mom.

«It’s fine to call me ‘unma’ too. It seems special.»

«I’ll… I’ll work hard to call you quickly! Unni!»

«Hayang, you got it wrong again.»

«Ah!»

The three of them, including Seona, looked united.

Eunha looked at the giggling Su-jin and Hayang and hoped that they would get along like this.

«I’m going to the restroom!»

«Do you want me to come with you?»

«No, it’s okay.»

Hayang stood up and put on her shoes.

She pushed down her blue hat and climbed the stairs to the classroom.

At the restroom on the first floor, people were lined up and waiting.

«…Too many.»

It was the same on the second floor.

In the end, she had to go up to the third floor, where her class was located, to use the restroom.

She was going to be late.

Lunch was almost over.

Checking the time on her wristwatch, she quickly washed her hands and headed back to Sujin.

«Oh.»

«Huh?»

She bumped into Jin-sena, who was washing her hands at the sink.

Sena looked at her reflection in the mirror and was surprised.

There was silence.

Hayang and Sena had never spoken to each other before.

After her second year, she had no contact with Sena anymore.

It was no exaggeration to say that they hadn’t seen each other in over a year.

However, it wasn’t as if Hayang felt particularly happy about it.

After quickly fixing her face, Hayang turned on the sink next to Sena’s.

«Hello?»

«…Yes, hello.»

It was Sena who greeted her first.

Hayang, who hadn’t expected to be greeted, stammered a reply.

«…But what are you wearing?»

«What?»

Sena stepped back and squinted her eyes, scanning Hayang’s clothes from top to bottom.

She was wearing a pure white T-shirt and stretchy blue shorts.

«You’re covered in dirt.»

«It’s from my fall earlier.»

«Well, even if it wasn’t, it would still look ugly.»

Hayang remained silent.

In the mirror, Sena crossed her arms, a mocking smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

«Hey, I hear your dad has remarried, and the rumors are flying around in the business world.»

«And that’s all you’re wearing?»

«Well, I suppose a man born in poverty can’t go anywhere.»

«You and your dad are going to ruin Alice Group’s image.»

As Sena spoke, the children outside the restroom giggled and chimed in.

Sena had lost her power among the children around this time last year, but she hadn’t completely lost her clique. The children of those who worked at KK Pharmaceuticals hadn’t left her.

Hayang, on the other hand, was alone.

☆

«Why are there so many people in front of the restroom?»

The girls lined up, waiting for their turn to use the restroom.

Eunha clicked his tongue upon seeing this.

As a man, he rarely waited in line for the restroom, so it was very unfamiliar to see the line stretching around the corner of the hallway.

Even with the regression, he wasn’t used to it.

«Huh? Doggy, what are you doing here?»

«I’m not a doggy.»

Restrooms weren’t just in the classrooms.

The restrooms in the back of the cafeteria were less long.

But instead of standing in the line for the restroom, Seona wandered down the path leading to the courtyard until he called out to her.

«You’re the reason the other kids call me doggy.»

Jin seona pouted her lips.

Her triangular ears perked up and her tail stood straight up to express her feelings.

But in Eunha’s eyes, all he saw was the whimpering of a puppy who hadn’t even grown up.

«Why, what’s wrong with a doggy, it’s better than glutton.»

«If you hadn’t called me doggy, I’d never have been called that, and I’m not a glutton like Minji.»

«So you admit she’s a glutton.»

«…It’s a mistake, you kept calling her that and I got confused.»

«Yeah, next one in.»

«Do you want to get in trouble?»

Seona glared at him.

Eunha shrugged it off and poked his head into the courtyard she’d been staring at.

«But what are you looking at…»

«─I decide my own affairs, and it’s none of your business who I hang out with!»

«Minji, that’s not it, listen to what your mom has to say.»

On the courtyard, Minji and Minji’s mother were arguing.

Minji’s face was flushed with anger, while her mother was trying to console her with gentle words.

«You can be friends with Eunha and Eunhyuk. You can be even closer to Hayang than you are now.

But I want you to keep your distance from Seona, Min-ji.»

«Why are you telling me how to get along with my friends!»

Ah.

Eunha stiffened at the scene.

He quickly turned around to look at Seona.

Seona couldn’t hide her bitter smile, but her demeanor was somewhat nonchalant.

«…I’m fine.»

What was fine, Eunha didn’t know.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

It was Minji’s business.

He knew better than to interfere in her domestic affairs.

Meanwhile, their argument continued.

«Listen, don’t let anyone overhear. I’m not telling you not to be friendly with Seona. I’m saying you should keep a distance.»

«That’s what you’re saying.»

«Minji.»

«What.»

«Mom said it clearly. Don’t get too close to Seona. Do you know how much Mom has endured until now?»

«Mom. Why is it that other kids can hang out with Seona and their parents don’t say anything, but you do?»

Minji’s mother glared at her.

Minji glared back, unwilling to lose.

«I know she’s not a bad girl.»

«But why!»

«She’s an Ain, and you don’t know how badly other people think of Ain.

What are you going to do if they see you hanging out with her?»

«Why should I care about other people? My business is my business!»

«Your business is your business. But you’re my daughter, and I can’t stand seeing you involved with an Ain.»

Minji shut her mouth.

Her mother bent to her knees and comforted her, unable to speak properly and sobbing uncontrollably.

Even then, Seona was listening to them. Her tail flicked gently, and she looked up at the sky in wonder.

«What about you, Eunha?»

«What?»

«Do you say anything at home?»

«Do you think I would say something like that at home?»

«Well….»

Seona let out an awkward laugh.

She stood up on her sneakers, tapping the ground with her toes.

«I’m fine, I’ve always known that. There’s no way a girl like me could ever have friends.»

«Then what are we?»

«I mean, that’s why I’m so grateful to you guys. Thank you, and I’m so sorry.»

«If you’re sorry, then treat us better, Doggy.»

«I told you, I’m not a doggy.»

Eunha didn’t say anything more.

Seona leaned back against the wall and stared at the mountains beyond.

«…But she is still my friend.»

From behind, Minji said in a tearful tone, unyielding in her determination.

«The other girls’ moms said so. They say you can’t play with other kids because you’re hanging out with her.

Are you okay with that?»

«…I am.»

«You’re lying. Since Eunha and the girls are playing with Seona, aren’t you following suit?»

«No!»

«Kim Minji, stop crying, stop yelling, and look at your mom. Are you sure? They’re playing with Seona, so you can’t help but play with them?»

«What’s wrong with you, Mom? Why don’t you believe me?»

«Because I can see it.»

An argument that only goes in parallel lines, with neither party trying to find an agreement.

It was her mother who sighed first.

«…Fine. Then figure things out on your own. Don’t regret not listening to your mom later.»

«…I won’t regret it.»

«Stubbornness runs in the family…»

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

He could feel two of them leaving the courtyard.

Eunha tapped Seona on the shoulder as she stared blankly up at the mountain.

«Doggy, let’s go.»

«Why do you keep calling me a doggy?»

«Oh, I don’t know. Let’s go before we get caught.»

«Shouldn’t you say anything to Minji?»

«What would I say to her?»

«Or her mother.»

«I won’t, why would I.»

«If you don’t, that’s probably better. Eunha, you sometimes do ridiculous things, so that’s why.»

«Ugh.»

Eunha and Seona ran, manifesting mana to avoid being spotted by Minji.

Seona, keeping up with Eunha’s pace, wagged her tail as if she had no choice.

«Eunha.»

«What»

«…Let’s get first place today. Let’s make Minji feel better.»

«…Okay.»

That’s how the afternoon began.