Chapter 22: Awkward Morning After

“…Anyway, that volleyball idiot.”

Park Hyunjin sighed deeply as he watched Wooju trudging along.

“Leave him be. Seems like the loss in the finals is still hitting him hard.”

At Suhyuk’s words, Hyunjin nodded in agreement and left the gym.

Once everyone had gone, Wooju raised the nets he had just put away.

He brought the cart of balls over and focused on serving practice.

A few months ago, in the Cheongryong tournament, they had defeated Wonjang High to reach the finals, but in the end, they had lost.

The frustration he had felt back then still lingered in his heart.

“Hah… ha, so hot.”

By now, the court floor was scattered with countless balls.

Though it was still early summer, moving his body made him sweat profusely.

He thought he might die of heatstroke once proper summer began.

Wooju slowly went to the entrance of the gym and collapsed into a seat.

At least it was near some shade, letting a breeze in.

Closing his eyes to cool off, he felt as if someone had pressed pause on a video.

Not a sound reached him.

It was calm and quiet, yet he couldn’t feel at ease.

Somewhere deep in his heart, he felt an emptiness.

A black shadow loomed above.

Before he could react, something cold hit his cheek.

“Ah, damn.”

Startled, Wooju pulled back and lifted his head.

“Studying alone?”

“…You manage to get into someone else’s school even though you go to a different one?”

Won Jitae, wearing his Wonjang High summer uniform, smiled.

In his hand was a can of electrolyte drink, condensation dripping down.

“You should blame your school’s security for being lax. How can you allow enemies to wander in like this?”

Even though he was the “enemy,” Jitae brazenly entered the gym.

Wooju naturally tried to take the drink from Jitae’s hand, but he raised it sharply.

“It’s mine.”

Then, with a showy motion, he opened the can and drank straight from it.

Wooju narrowed his eyes, glaring at him.

“But why are you here?”

“Just on my way home.”

In terms of distance, Wonjang High and Daehyeon High weren’t far apart.

Wooju had chosen Daehyeon High not only for its prestigious volleyball team but also because it was close to home.

Wooju’s home wasn’t far from Jitae’s either.

Meaning, even though Daehyeon High was closer for him, Jitae had still chosen Wonjang High.

“I thought you might be studying alone, so I came to check.”

Jitae naturally sat next to Wooju.

One in short sleeves and athletic wear, the other in the summer uniform, leaning against the wall side by side.

“How did you know that?”

“You lost in the finals.”

Jitae offered the drink he was holding.

Wooju stared for a moment, then quickly snatched it and drank.

Seeing Wooju drink directly from where his lips had touched, Jitae smirked slightly.

“Since you lost in the finals, I figured you’d be frustrated and practicing alone.”

“Yeah, good for you.”

“If we’d won against your school, we should’ve at least taken the championship, right?”

Ouch. Wooju crushed the can in frustration.

“It was close. We pushed it to the fifth set.”

“But you lost.”

“Hey, seriously…”

This was clearly him coming into Wooju’s school just to pick a fight.

Wooju glared at him, huffing.

Seeing that, Jitae laughed at how satisfying it seemed.

“Won Jitae, you lost in the semifinals and still act calm? Not frustrated?”

“I was frustrated. I lost to you. Didn’t I say? I couldn’t even sleep that night because I was so upset about the semifinals.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“……”

Jitae started bouncing a volleyball that had rolled by, tapping it lightly with his hands.

“Volleyball’s fun, so I smile.”

That single line knocked the wind out of Wooju’s momentum.

He stared blankly at Jitae bouncing the ball beside him.

“Not you?”

“…Of course it’s fun. Isn’t that obvious?”

Wooju snatched the ball back irritably.

The Jitae he had seen that day had a clear smile, modest but sincere.

It was a smile born from love for volleyball.

Wooju didn’t want to lose either.

He wanted to enjoy volleyball as passionately as Jitae did.

When he opened his eyes drowsily, a somewhat familiar ceiling came into view.

It felt like waking from a long dream.

Past events rarely appeared in dreams, except the last match with Won Jitae.

But why did a different memory, a mundane moment not from a game, appear now?

“Ah… my head.”

Raising his body, a sharp headache hit him.

It was why Wooju usually avoided drinking.

Not only was he bad at drinking, but he also suffered extreme hangovers.

And last night, he had recklessly consumed strong wine.

Yet he couldn’t avoid drinking it then.

‘Because it wasn’t fun, huh? You thought there’d be some grand reason?’

“….”

Jitae’s words pierced his mind like the headache itself.

Though he didn’t remember every detail from last night, that line remained vivid.

Hearing that he quit volleyball because it wasn’t fun made him furious.

At one point, he had said volleyball was fun.

Smiling about how much he loved it.

And now, seeing Jitae say he quit because it wasn’t fun, with an empty expression, how could Wooju not get angry?

Back in first grade, he had made it miraculously to the finals of a major tournament, only to be crushed and cry in frustration.

The opposing players were excellent, sparking both envy and anxiety.

And what resolved all that worry was a single word from Jitae.

His smile had steadied Wooju’s mind.

But last night, he had heard the opposite, almost a denial of that reassurance.

“Ah, so annoying.”

At that moment, his phone fell beside the bed.

The screen lit up, naturally drawing his gaze.

“…Damn.”

It was already past noon.

He was supposed to be on morning duty but had just woken.

Wooju hurriedly got up.

The smell of food wafted from the kitchen.

Stepping out slowly, he saw Jitae stirring a pot with a ladle.

Judging by the smell, it seemed to be bean sprout soup.

“You’re awake?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah.”

“Wash up and come eat.”

It seemed Jitae had prepared breakfast since Wooju woke up late.

He quickly washed his face, tidied his messy hair, and went to the kitchen table.

Leftovers from last night and the bean sprout soup were laid out invitingly.

“It’s a soup I usually make for hangovers, so it should taste okay.”

“Th-thanks.”

Wooju scooped up some soup.

Feeling the warmth soothe his stomach, he began to feel slightly better.

He took a bite of rice, glancing at Jitae.

He looked normal, not much different from usual.

Even though he had probably drunk a fair amount of wine, he seemed unaffected, suggesting he handled alcohol well.

“Wooju.”

“Huh?”

“You know you broke the rules, right?”

Wooju reacted slowly.

“You were supposed to be on meal duty this week, but I did it instead.”

“Hey, that was because I drank yesterday…”

“No exceptions. You broke the rules, remember?”

He had been the one to set the penalty for breaking rules, and Jitae’s words reminded him of that.

“You owe me a favor.”

“Alright. So what’s the favor?”

“Not now. Later.”

What? That was anticlimactic.

Jitae quietly went back to eating, as if he hadn’t said a word.

It was a slightly awkward, uncomfortable morning.

Last night’s drinking had not gone well.

Even with hazy memories, it was clear Wooju’s question had upset Jitae.

The reason remained unknown, but the problem was…

“…….”

“…….”

The atmosphere was unbearably awkward.

After finishing lunch, Wooju sat with Jitae in front of the living room TV.

The sound from the screen filled some of the silence, but the discomfort remained.

Should he apologize?

And for what exactly?

He wasn’t even sure he had done anything wrong.

His mind was filled with question marks.

Even if he tried to ignore it, the image of Jitae’s expression from last night lingered, irritating him.

In all the years he had known him, Wooju had never seen that expression.

Even when he had misbehaved, Jitae always met him head-on, but not this time.