It was an extremely sunny day.

‘A clear day without a single cloud.’

The sunlight was scorching to the point that the phrase ‘spring’ no longer seemed fitting.

The sports field was filled with dust flying under the deep blue sky. Kids excitedly chattering. It was May.

I used my hand to create some shade, then scanned the surroundings.

‘It’s already tiring.’

I felt like I might suffocate from the energy radiating from high school students. Well, they seem to be having fun. Good for them.

I sighed and went toward our classroom.

Now, let’s take a break for a bit…

“Lee Joo-eun!”

“Ah!”

At that moment, someone pushed my back from behind. A cheerful, high-pitched voice. No need to confirm; it was Yuhuina.

I turned around, gently rubbing the spot I got hit.

As expected, Yuhuina was there, grinning.

“Hey, why aren’t you wearing our class t-shirt?”

As she said that, Yuhuina was buried in a dinosaur-shaped animal pajama.

That’s right. Our class t-shirts were animal pajamas.

I awkwardly smiled.

‘I’ve never worn that even when I was a kid…’

Externally, I’m seventeen now, but inside, I’m an adult. I couldn’t bring myself to wear that.

So, I tried to stay quiet as much as possible, but it seemed impossible when Yuhuina directly pointed it out.

Avoiding Yuhuina’s gaze, I mumbled, “I just like the gym uniform.”

“Where is that! We all got matching t-shirts; we should all wear them together.”

I timidly retorted, “They didn’t wear them either.”

“They are them, and you are you! You can’t! You’re my friend!”

But it didn’t work.

In the end, I was dragged by Yuhuina. We arrived at our classroom.

“Hurry up and put it on!”

I had no power to rebel against the villainess3. I reluctantly put on the animal pajamas, shedding tears internally.

‘As expected, it doesn’t suit me.’

Such things look cute when worn by small and adorable kids like Yuhuina, not people like me who look like villains. ‘Ugh.’

I let out a deep sigh.

Turning my head, I looked at myself in the mirror. A fierce-looking woman in dinosaur leather glared at the mirror.

I made a small mocking face in the mirror, then followed Yuhuina out of the classroom again.

“Well, proud students of our Jeil High School…”

The opening speech from the school principal under the scorching sun was annoying. I yawned, then closed my mouth when my homeroom teacher’s eyes met mine. Damn, being a high school student is tough.

Nevertheless, the lengthy lecture came to an end. Hooray, now I can finally sit down. With a delighted heart, I walked toward the stands on the sports field.

After sitting down, I read the paper with the order of events for the sports competition, swinging it back and forth.

‘Let’s see, what events do I have to participate in…’

As mentioned before, I don’t participate in most games, so I just needed to do the required individual events, such as the 100m run.
‘Our class is up next.’

Running by classes, and it happened to be 3rd, so the order was fast. Well, isn’t that good? We just have to do this and then take a break.

‘Okay, let’s take a break for now.’

And not long after, Yuhuina approached.

“Lee Joo-eun, let’s go!”

It was our class’s turn.

The rules were simple. Five people make a team and run. Then, rank them based on who comes in early. That’s it.

Finally, our turn came, and I ran hard.

The result was 3rd out of the five who ran together.

It was a truly ambiguous number.

‘Alright, this is just right for me.’

I don’t need to be 1st. What’s the use of being good at that?

After claiming a moral victory, I returned to the stands.

While I was taking a good rest in the shade, the sports competition proceeded smoothly. Soccer finals, tug-of-war, group jump rope, and so on. Since I didn’t participate in any matches, I pretended to cheer enthusiastically.

“Lee Joo-eun!”

It was right after tug-of-war ended. Yuhuina, who was enthusiastically cheering, suddenly called me.

“Why?”

“Don’t you have nothing to do right now?”

“…No, I have a lot.”

“Don’t be funny! You’re not doing anything!”

Yuhuina lectured me, saying I lacked social skills. I listened with one ear and pretended to seriously listen with the other.

Soon, Yuhuina, realizing that it was a waste to lecture someone who doesn’t listen, shook her hands, giving up.

“Ah, forget it, forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. Anyway, you’re not busy now, right? Can you go to the classroom for me?”

“To the classroom? Why?”

“There’s something I need to bring.”

After hearing the explanation, it turned out there were still some cheer tools left in the classroom. She said she had been preparing for a week.

‘…Doesn’t it look sufficient right now? What more do you need to bring?’

While looking at Yuhuina and her friends decked out in various cheer tools, I seriously contemplated.

“Alright, I’ll go get it.”

Since I had nothing to do here and was a bit bored, I willingly decided to go to the classroom.

I worried that I wouldn’t find everything at once, but to my surprise, the items were neatly placed on Yuhuina’s desk.

‘She prepared a lot.’