Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 5.1
Eun-sae barely managed to hold back her laughter.
Why on earth Yoon Tae-seung? How did she even end up liking him? He barely spoke, and when he did, he was even worse with words, so every new school year, people debated whether he was just a plain nerd or a secretly strong one.
However, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Kim Si-hyun that outright. Everyone’s taste deserved respect. After all, her own mother married her father, so it only made sense that somewhere in the world, there would be someone who liked Yoon Tae-seung too.
But to think that person was Kim Si-hyun, walking right beside her on the track…
Eun-sae forced the corners of her twitching lips back down and casually asked,
“How do you know Yoon Tae-seung? You’re not even in the same class.”
“Ah, well, it’s kind of a long story…”
Si-hyun’s eyes lowered shyly, and her cheeks flushed pink. Eun-sae blinked several times, unable to believe what she was seeing. Was Kim Si-hyun really blushing while thinking about Yoon Tae-seung? She even began to worry, wondering if her friend might be cursed or something.
“These days, the boys are crazy about soccer. It’s not even a school-sponsored thing, but they’re always setting up class tournaments and playing during lunch or after school.”
Eun-sae nodded lightly as she listened to Si-hyun’s gentle voice.
“The other day, I was sitting in the stands eating lunch with my friends, and I almost got hit by a soccer ball.”
Si-hyun’s gaze naturally drifted toward the field. Since there was only one goalpost on each end, students from all grades were mixed together, chasing the same ball. It looked so chaotic that Eun-sae couldn’t imagine how anyone could even tell teammates apart, yet somehow, a match was happening.
Amid the crowd of boys, Yoon Tae-seung came into view. He was running faster than anyone else, chasing after the ball. Judging by that speed, it was hard to believe this was the same person whose reaction time was usually the slowest out of everyone Eun-sae knew.
“The ball came flying right toward me, and it was terrifying. I couldn’t even think of moving. My body froze, and I just shut my eyes tight…”
“Don’t tell me Yoon Tae-seung saved you?”
Eun-sae quickly asked before Si-hyun could even take another breath. Si-hyun let out a small, sheepish laugh and shrugged her shoulders.
“Yeah… he ran right up to me and headed the ball away.”
“Wow.”
Eun-sae replied in a flat tone.
“I don’t even know where he came from, but he was so fast. And after he stopped the ball, he just shook his wet hair and went right back to playing like nothing happened. He looked so cool.”
“That’s because his head’s so hard he probably didn’t feel a thing. You seriously thought that was cool? Him running around drenched in sweat?”
Eun-sae really tried to respect Si-hyun’s taste, but her real thoughts kept slipping out. Even so, Si-hyun just covered her mouth with her hand and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yeah. I even wanted to wipe his sweat for him…”
“Gross.”
Eun-sae’s stomach turned. If she’d known this would happen, she would’ve let her lunch digest before asking.
Eun-sae hated crabs. Whether it was soy-marinated or spicy marinated, she couldn’t stand the fishy smell or the slimy texture. Still, plenty of people loved crab. She understood that this was what people called taste. Kim Si-hyun liking Yoon Tae-seung wasn’t all that different.
“So that’s why you started liking him? Because he saved you from a soccer ball?”
Eun-sae asked as she chewed her last jelly candy. She already didn’t understand why Si-hyun liked Yoon Tae-seung, but liking him for something that trivial made even less sense.
“No, there’s more than that, of course.”
Eun-sae actually wanted to be convinced. If she could hear a reason that made sense, maybe she could understand Si-hyun a little better.
“What else?”
“After that day, I started noticing him more. Like the other time, I was waiting at the water dispenser, and he told me to go ahead first. And once, I dropped my textbook in the hallway, and he picked it up for me.”
Wouldn’t anyone do that, not just Yoon Tae-seung?
“Our classes overlapped during PE once, and he was demonstrating Taekwondo in front of everyone. He looked really cool then too…”
The longer Si-hyun spoke, the deeper Eun-sae’s frown grew. It just sounded like she’d started liking him ever since that day, and now everything he did looked impressive in her eyes.
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