Chapter 21: The Question That Hung in the Air

Wooju let out a sigh.

After all, the filming period was just one month.

In that short, if short, span of time of being stuck with Won Jitae, all he needed to do was continue as he had until now.

“Won Jitae… why… did you quit volleyball?”

Yes, even though he had thought about it, the question had suddenly popped out due to a mixture of whim and an unexpected situation.

With the alcohol loosening his emotions and inhibitions slightly, the surroundings quiet and cozy, and that voice asking if he had no curiosity somehow making him feel at ease.

It felt as if no matter what he asked, Jitae would answer without a problem.

Slowly, Jitae put down the fork he was holding.

“You were curious about that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

Jitae, who should have answered, immediately threw the question mark back at Wooju.

“Hey, I asked first.”

“So why are you curious?”

Jitae stared persistently.

The atmosphere felt markedly different from before.

When they had started the truth game, Jitae’s face had seemed quite cheerful, but now there was an inexplicable gloom.

He looked flustered, like someone who hadn’t expected such a question, and at the same time seemed resigned that the question he didn’t want to hear had finally come out.

Moreover, the way he asked was strange.

“Why curious?”

The answer to that question might have been simple.

“I thought you’d keep playing volleyball. Like me.”

“……”

“I didn’t think you’d retire suddenly.”

The day he heard of Won Jitae’s retirement was still vivid in his mind.

It was when he had been miraculously scouted by a European team.

All the media hailed him as the birth of a genius volleyball player.

Family and countless others had showered him with congratulations.

The pride of breaking paths no Korean had before, and the excitement of being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with great players on a bigger stage… the first to know, the first to share that excitement was Jitae himself, not the family or Park Hyunjin.

He had tried contacting him without hesitation, but couldn’t reach him.

For days, he heard the voice message saying the phone was off.

On the day of departure, the association official delivered unexpected news.

Won Jitae had refused all scout offers and left Korea.

“Couldn’t you have asked? From my perspective……”

“Your perspective?”

Wooju flinched at the cold, sharp voice.

The eyes meeting his were chilling.

It was the first time Wooju had seen that face of Won Jitae.

“Hey, why are you suddenly sharp?

You told me to ask anything, and I did. I thought about it for a while before asking too.”

“Thought about it for a while?”

Jitae clenched his hand under the table.

Reason told him not to sharpen the tone further, but it wouldn’t obey.

Even his own voice sounded unfamiliar to him.

“Yes.”

“So you must have wanted to ask this since the first day you saw me?”

“Yes. What about it?”

Jitae smirked.

Thinking that when they first met, he had just found it interesting, yet had carried this question in his mind all along, made Wooju feel a little hurt.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Wooju’s curiosity.

It was a question anyone would naturally be curious about.

Still, he felt a surge of emotions he couldn’t control.

“Why? Can’t I?”

At his sharp sneer, Wooju was taken aback.

Had he asked something he wasn’t supposed to?

Was asking why he quit volleyball such a sensitive question?

Why did Won Jitae have that expression?

Questions circled endlessly in his mind.

Wooju was confused.

He didn’t necessarily expect an answer.

He wasn’t going to force him to speak.

But this reaction was not what he had imagined.

“So, you… have been watching me all this time since you came here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You always wanted me to remain your rival?”

Wooju furrowed his brows.

Was Jitae angry now?

And if so, why was he being so sharp?

The unexpected confusion made him feel intoxicated faster than before.

“You think I…”

Jitae swallowed the rest of his words and brushed his hair back forcefully.

Wooju looked at him, confused.

“What is it, Won Jitae? If you have something to say, say it properly.”

“……”

Jitae paused as if contemplating, then hardened his eyes.

“Why I quit volleyball? You still really want to know?”

Jitae’s emotion was slightly agitated.

Wooju tried to think of a rebuttal, but no words came.

Even though he felt frustrated, he couldn’t help but be curious about what those words were going to be.

“Because it wasn’t fun.”

Jitae turned his head.

He couldn’t meet Wooju’s eyes while saying it.

The self-loathing rising from deep within made him hate himself for saying such a thing, making it impossible to look at Wooju.

“…What?”

“Because it wasn’t fun. That’s why I quit.”

But this was the method he chose in the end.

Ironically, he was hurting the one person he least wanted to hurt.

“Why? Did you expect some grand reason?”

Wooju’s eyes trembled.

‘Right. Wooju, nothing is over. You know that best. So you can do it again.’

Words he had never forgotten reverberated in his ears.

Even as time passed and voices faded, he had never once forgotten them.

“Hey, you……”

Old memories boiling with anger, Wooju quickly grabbed the wine bottle.

He filled his glass and downed it in one gulp.

“Hey, what are you doing? You can’t even drink……”

“Are you serious right now?”

“……”

Wooju wiped his mouth.

His throat burned like fire.

Not only his face, but his whole body felt scorched.

He frowned and grabbed Jitae by the collar.

“Are you serious……”

After seven years, he had thought they were getting along naturally.

He had assumed they could honestly share the past.

It wasn’t just his body that had grown.

He had matured physically and mentally.

But that thought had been completely wrong.

Jitae, sharp and unyielding without explanation, and Wooju, frustrated and grabbing his collar, were both still trapped in their immature past selves.

“How can you say something like that……”

He was angry.

He didn’t know why.

He just hated that Jitae could say those words.

Jitae, with empty eyes, made no resistance and stayed silent.

A brief standoff followed.

Neither spoke.

“You……”

After a moment, Wooju moved his lips, and silence lingered.

His grip on Jitae loosened gradually.

Wooju slowly blinked, and his body collapsed forward.

Jitae instinctively raised his hand to support Wooju’s tilted body.

He felt him breathing steadily, unmoving.

The wine was strong.

For someone who couldn’t drink, finishing that much at once, it wasn’t surprising he lost strength.

“Wooju.”

Jitae shook him gently.

“Ah, damn……”

Wooju made a small sound but hadn’t fully regained consciousness.

His body grew weaker, and he fell completely into Jitae’s arms.

“……”

Jitae slowly released his hands from Wooju’s shoulders.

“…Wooju.”

He held Wooju’s back firmly, pretending to support him, giving strength with his hands.

Wooju had always been that way.

He let people lean on him, then easily let them fall.

Yet Wooju was a world in itself to him.

Even during vacations when others rested, athletes could not take a break.

Inside the Daehyeon High gym, only the sound of sneakers scraping across the polished floor echoed.

“Alright, everyone gather.”

Following the coach’s words, students practicing in small teams gathered in one place.

“That’s it for today’s training. Clean up and head in.”

“Yes!”

“And don’t skip summer self-study.

Those with remedial classes, make sure to attend.”

Earlier, the students had been enthusiastically answering, but now they were silent.

Ignoring the usual scolding to not neglect studies, Wooju and the students diligently began picking up balls and cleaning.

“Wooju, on your way, PC bang?”

Park Hyunjin and Jo Suhyuk slowly approached Wooju.

They were already fully packed and ready to leave.

“I’m not going. You guys go first.”

“Hey, don’t tell me you……”

Hyunjin sighed, realizing what Wooju intended.

“If the coach sees you practicing alone, you’ll have to run laps.”

Suhyuk chimed in, saying they’d get scolded too and suggested leaving.

“As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine. Go ahead.”