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Side Story 17

9. I'm going there to meet you right now (3)

The 'impulse'.

An overwhelming impulse, that's what Kim Cheol felt; this powerful impulse, strong enough to nearly blow his reasoning away, almost completely swallowed him up.

'But..... But how come I.....'

Why did he want to kneel down in front of a kid that he'd never seen before, a student from the same year, but from another school?

In that brief moment, if he didn't force his ankles and calves to be still with all his might, then he would've shown a pretty disgraceful sight to everyone.

Way too close for comfort, indeed.

Kim Cheol couldn't describe this situation in any other way. Still, he managed to overcome it somehow and wiped the cold sweat pooling on his forehead with the back of his hand.

It was at that moment that a really plausible theory popped up in his head.

'Could it be that.... I'm scared by a dude from the same year as me?'

If it was not that, then how else could he explain away this current situation where his breathing quickened up suddenly and he wanted to avert his gaze while all strength drained out of his legs, as soon he met his opponent's eyes?

Too bad, Kim Cheol simply couldn't accept reality as it was.

'Don't make me laugh!!'

By relying on his superior physique surpassing that of high schoolers, as well as physical strength that matched his size, Kim Cheol enjoyed incredible prominence during his middle school days. Yet here he was, getting scared by another kid in the same age bracket?

Such a thing was not possible. No, more than that, such a thing could not be allowed to happen.

"H-hey, Cheol-ah? What's wrong?"

"You feeling okay, my man?"

The seniors began showing concern for his well-being, and as his reply, veins bulged in Kim Cheol's throat as he roared out.

"Nothing's wrong, seniors!!"

'That's right, there's nothing wrong with me!'

Kim Cheol convinced himself of this fact and powerfully nodded his head.

'Right, I was suffering from a simple dizzy spell because I didn't have a fulfilling breakfast. That must be it.'

In order to prove right the theory that he just cooked up on the spot, Kim Cheol slowly raised his head and stared straight at the freshman of the opposing school.

Although possessing a pretty well-trained physique, the first-year high school kid standing there was like a stalk of straw compared to himself. Finally regaining some sort of leeway now, a grin floated up on Kim Cheol's lips.

Smirk.

'....I knew it.'

Getting scared by a kid that might get knocked out in one punch from him? What an absurd thing that was.

Kim Cheol straightened his slightly hunched figure as the unbridled confidence from earlier on returned to his face.

The members of the Hwaseong Tech High's track team were feeling worried from the sudden changes Kim Cheol was going through, but they regained their smiles after confirming that their ace had returned to how he was.

"Dayum, you surprised me there."

"I'm telling you, our ace freshman really knows how to command attention."

The seniors patted his shoulder to encourage him, and Kim Cheol replied with a confident smile before fixing his gaze back on Jin-Woo.

'What a disgrace, why did a dizzy spell have to happen at the same time as looking into that guy's eyes...?'

Kim Cheol began thinking that he needed to return this ill-timed disgrace he suffered back to his opponent tenfold somehow. The best method to overturn an embarrassing situation was to suppress the other's spirit.

'....'

Only now did he notice that, even though he was glaring at the kid, this fellow first-year was being insolent by standing upright and shooting a glare right back.

Not once did Kim Cheol let a moron like that walk away in one piece until now.

"Hey, you."

He lowered his voice and pointed to the rear of the athletic field with his chin.

"I've got something to say to you, so follow me to over there for a sec."

Oh, ohh-!

While the members of the Hwaseong Tech High's track team whistled in excitement at their junior's spirited display, Jin-Woo's seniors were hurriedly blocking him from disinterestedly following after Kim Cheol.

"Jin-Woo! Listen to me, you mustn't commit murder!"

"You ain't thinking of spilling someone's blood on the day of the competition, right?? You gotta hold it in."

"That's right, let's just think of it as saving a poor soul today and let that kid be."

Jin-Woo chuckled and gently shook off the hands of his seniors.

"Don't worry, seniors. I'm sure nothing will happen over there."

The seniors tried to confirm the safety of his 'opponent' once more.

"Really? There really won't be anything bad happening to that kid, right?"

"We're choosing to believe you."

"That friend over there, he's definitely walking back here on his own two feet, right?"

Jin-Woo smiled brightly in order to put the worries of his seniors to rest and quickly walked over in the direction Kim Cheol had disappeared to.

'.....'

The captain of Hwaseong's track team, Joh Gi-Seok, watched all of this unfold from the side and formed a disbelieving expression before walking up closer to his rivals.

"You guys.... You all being serious right now?"

Choi Tae-Woong sneaked a glimpse at Joh Gi-Seok's face before shifting his gaze back in the direction where Jin-Woo had gone off to and spoke up in a worried tone of voice.

"Don't talk to me, man. I'm feeling really conflicted right now."

Choi Tae-Woong had been watching Jin-Woo's monster-like motor reflexes from a close vantage point, so all he could do now was to fervently pray for that fella named Kim Cheol to not try anything funny for his sake.

***

While walking after Kim Cheol, Jin-Woo's anticipation grew just a tiny bit. Could it be that this kid also regained the memories of the past, too?