NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63
“You will be competing in many events from now on! And if you place in the top three….”
Chalrang-.
Han Si-woo raised something high in the air after receiving it from the production team.
“You will receive these gold, silver, and bronze medals. Gold medals are worth 3 points, silver medals are worth 2 points, and bronze medals are worth 1 point. The ranking based on the medal points will give you different opportunities to choose songs, so you better work hard!”
Even though they were called gold, silver, and bronze medals, they were, of course, not made of real gold, silver, or bronze. They were simply hastily made tokens by the production team.
Most participants were not fixated on the medals themselves but rather on the song selection rights that came with the medals.
But at this moment, someone was obsessively wanting the gold medal more than anyone else…
‘I want that gold medal…!!’
… it was Seo Yoo-jin.
She was always eager to be first. Watching the athletes in the Olympics on TV, she thought to herself that she also wanted a gold medal.
However, a gold medal wasn’t something you could just get because you had a lot of money at home.
So, she felt a burning desire for the gold medal when she saw Na Ah Ah’s Sports Day medal, more than the song selection.
It might seem like a childish thought, but she was indeed childish.
“Okay, then let’s go around and each talk about one event we excel in? We need to allocate people efficiently to get good results… So, who wants to go for arm wrestling? Any strong arms….”
“Me! I’ll do the arm wrestling! My arm strength is impressive! And for the rest! I’m good at sports! I’ll take them all!”
She actually had outstanding athletic abilities compared to her peers. She had a slight stamina issue, but she was faster at running than others, strong, and had excellent reflexes, so she was called a short-distance running prodigy during her school days.
If she hadn’t become an idol, she would probably have been an athlete.
‘That gold medal will be mine…!’
Seo Yoo-jin thought as she threw down her declaration and ignited her resolve.
And in the first round of arm wrestling…
Thud-!
“Ugh!”
“Ha Ye-rin trainee, wins!”
…incredibly, she was eliminated in just 0.5 seconds.
“Oops… Sorry, Yoo-jin. I should have controlled my strength better.”
“Tch!”
Seo Yoo-jin clicked her tongue, glaring at the apologizing Ha Ye-rin.
‘What a lucky person…!’
She had pushed so hard her palm turned red; what was there to control her strength for…!
Afterwards, Ha Ye-rin overwhelmed other participants and easily secured the gold medal in arm wrestling.
Seo Yoo-jin watched bitterly, promising herself the next time.
‘It’s disappointing, but it can’t be helped… Yerin unnie is way taller than me, right? …I can’t compete with her using physical differences.’
Still, Seo Yoo-jin looked at the upcoming event and sensed her gold medal.
[50m Running]
‘That one, I’m confident in.’
When she was in middle school, she had a record of 8 seconds for 50m, placing first among the girls in her class.
She was sure she could win a gold medal in this one.
‘Let’s see… Who else is on the other team… Oh, that unnie is back from Team 1 again?’
When Ha Ye-rin represented Team 1 once more, Seo Yoo-jin glared.
It was the perfect opportunity to repay her for the humiliation in arm wrestling just moments ago.
‘Hmph! How fast can those skinny legs run anyway?’
Ha Ye-rin, who had overwhelmingly long legs among the Na Ah Ah participants.
Seo Yoo-jin thought that with her quick squirrel-like legs, she could easily beat Ha Ye-rin.
And the result was…
“Wow-!! Ha Ye-rin trainee 6.89 seconds…!! 1st place-!!”
…another defeat.
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
“…….”
Seeing the unbelievable results, Seo Yoo-jin fell into despair.
‘W-was that just a coincidence…?’
Of course, Seo Yoo-jin wasn’t the type to be disheartened by a mere result.
She quickly shook off the pain of defeat and prepared for the next event.
And….
[100m Running]
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
“Y-Ye-rin! You just clocked 12.63 seconds for 100m; did you train as an athlete before?”
“Huh? No, not really…, haha.”
Seo Yoo-jin looked at the silver medal in her hand and anticipated the next event once again.
And in the subsequent event…
[Hanging on the Bar]
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
[Chicken Fighting]
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
[Speed Stacking]
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
[Long Jump]
Ha Ye-rin gold medal, Seo Yoo-jin silver medal.
“Ugh…! Ugh!!”
Even in long jump, Ha Ye-rin jumped a meter farther than second-place Seo Yoo-jin, producing an overwhelming result.
“…Ick, ick.”
Seo Yoo-jin could only scream upon seeing the silver medal hanging around her neck once more.
“Why is that unnie so good at sports!”
The already annoying Ha Ye-rin became even more irritating.
More, more, more!
~~*
“Wowwww-!! Unnie, amazing-!!!”
“Is the last event finally a gold medal? That’s insane-!!!”
“Aah, haha.”
The good thing was that the sports day really helped build friendship.
Thanks to that, our team, which had been awkward to the point of dying, finally lifted the atmosphere….
[1st Team: Gold 8, Silver 1, Bronze 3]
[2nd Team: Gold 2, Silver 9, Bronze 4]
…we secured the first place with an overwhelming margin.
For reference, all 8 gold medals from our team were won by me.
In the other events, the times conflicted, so the rest of the team members had to participate.
‘Still, 8 gold medals mean I dominated.’
From the beginning, in the body of Ha Ye-rin, I had an insane talent for sports.
On top of that, with the muscles and physicality trained from my part-time job experiences, I was practically a sports machine now.
‘Finally, the effort from those years of part-time jobs paid off.’
For so long, despite working hard at part-time jobs, the money just went to living expenses and my parents’ entertainment expenses, leaving it unfulfilling. Now, I could finally take pride in my experience.
As I looked happily at the gold medals I earned, it happened.
Zing.
‘…What’s this killing intent?’
Feeling an oddly familiar sensation, I turned my head to see….
Clang clang.
…there was Seo Yoo-jin glaring at me with 8 silver medals around her neck.
‘…Oh boy.’
From what I could observe, Seo Yoo-jin seemed to have decent athletic skills as well. If she had stayed away from me and participated in different events, she might have easily earned some gold medals.
‘So why did you follow me?’
She relentlessly trailed me into each event, ending up with 8 silver medals.
Zing, zing, zing-!!
Perhaps feeling frustrated, she kept glaring at me.
Normally, I would have ignored such a scene, but maybe I was getting accustomed to it.
Fidget.
“……!”
I deliberately played with the gold medals I earned right in front of Seo Yoo-jin.
“Eek…! Eek…!”
At this, Seo Yoo-jin started glaring even more intensely.
“Pfft!”
Having teamed up in the first team competition, it seemed we had built a decent intimacy.
Seo Yoo-jin did indeed look cute this way.
While we exchanged this peculiar gaze-off (?), it happened.
“Alright, this concludes the sports day-! Did everyone enjoy it-?!”
“Yes-!!”
Regardless of the ranking results, it seemed the sports day had been enjoyable for the participants as cheerful responses erupted among them.
“Then, we should now announce the rewards based on the rankings! First, the teams that ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd will have the opportunity to select their desired songs!”
“Wowwww-!”
“And I’m sorry for the remaining 5 teams…, yes, they will decide their songs randomly using the cyber roulette we used in the first team competition.”
“Ahh….”
It was just what I needed.
As soon as I heard the opportunity to choose the song I wanted, I whispered to Na Han-na next to me.
“Han-na, what should we do for our song? Do you have something in mind?”
“…Um, I didn’t really think about it because I was lazy…, but… maybe something along the lines of girl crush?”
Although Na Han-na replied sleepily, as if it were a bother…
‘Girl crush, huh… that’s good….’
I agreed with her idea.
Our team, consisting of me and Na Han-na, focused more on dance rather than singing.
If we picked a dance song that stands out, following the vibe of the original song, we could achieve decent results.
As I pondered over which girl crush concept dance song to select, it happened.
“Now, let me explain how the song selection opportunity works! Come forward!”
“…Huh?”
…No, song selection is just song selection, why do we need to know how it works?
Just as I was starting to wonder, the production team struggled to bring and set something up on the field.
What they brought was a target board filled with writing.
And beside it, another production team member was bringing…
‘…An archery bow?’
What on earth… could it be that…?
“Did you think you would simply get to choose your desired song? Well, that’s a misunderstanding. The opportunity to select a song! It will be decided through archery!”
“…….”
Now that I look closely, the densely written words on the target were recent idol group hits.
And the closer you got to the center, the more frequent the songs we wanted appeared.
“Starting now, each of the top 1, 2, and 3 teams will have one member come challenge! You’ll have one try! After picking your desired song on the target, all you have to do is hit it with the arrow. Sounds simple, right?”
…Simple, my foot.
If we could do that, we’d be national representatives.
Swish-.
“Um…”
At that moment, Yoo Seol from Team 2, also eligible for song selection, raised her hand and asked.
“What if we totally miss the target?”
“If you miss….”
Han Si-woo couldn’t immediately answer and sneaked a glance at the production team.
The production team then relayed instructions to Han Si-woo through a sketchbook.
Han Si-woo, receiving the production team’s intentions, grinned and replied.
“If you miss, you will lose the opportunity and have to select your song through the cyber roulette like the other teams.”
“……”
In that instant, I realized that this sports day was merely a scheme to fill up screen time.
At the same time….
‘Damn production team….’
I felt an impulse to shoot an arrow at the Na Ah Ah production team’s brows.