Swallowed - Chapter 41

They said the cherry blossoms would be in full bloom this spring, and the weather had indeed been consistently good. The day of the sports festival was also pleasantly cool with sunshine, so both the people running on the court and those watching felt relaxed.

Jaeha’s team easily won the preliminaries and was already looking forward to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, they were scheduled to meet the Tourism and Foreign Language team, which consistently ranked first every year, in the semi-finals. It would have been better to meet them in the finals, given their good performance.

However, Jaeha’s department was already in a festive mood, enjoying a rare spectacle and continuing an unprecedented winning streak. They had already booked a Korean BBQ place for a post-sports day dinner.

The effect of Baek Jaeha, who had appeared like a comet in a department that had always suffered the humiliation of being eliminated in the preliminaries, was remarkable. In fact, hidden behind Baek Jaeha, all the freshmen were quite athletic.

“Why isn’t the Korean basketball league snatching up Baek Jaeha? Wow, I feel like I’m watching Slam Dunk right now.”

Yoojung waved her pom-poms, saying things that would make basketball players feel dumbfounded and hurt their pride. Seyeong was also excited and waved her pom-poms along. The upperclassmen, like gods, had prepared and distributed cheering tools, so the sophomores who came to watch couldn’t just stand still. At first, they waved them reluctantly, but as they watched the game, they were cheering enthusiastically, shaking them vigorously.

“Kyaa!”

As the players who had been resting on one side and exchanging tactics came onto the court, enthusiastic cheers began. Seyeong looked at Jaeha with a pounding heart. Jaeha, who was wiping the sweat from his chin with the back of his hand because he was hot even when standing still after playing several games, found Seyeong and smiled brightly. If there were no sun in the sky, it would be here on the basketball court. Seyeong blushed and cheered.

“Hanse, tell me just one thing Baek Jaeha can’t do. What is he that he’s so perfect? When God made people, if he gave them something, wouldn’t he have fairly not given them something else?”

Donghyun, who had been watching quietly with his arms crossed and leaning against the fence, nudged Hanse’s side with his toe and spoke as if picking a fight. In fact, everyone there knew that he wasn’t really picking a fight, even though his tone was sarcastic. He just wanted to hear Han Seyeong brag about her successful boyfriend. Yoojung’s eyes sparkled as she stopped cheering.

“…Giving up.”

“Oh, geez. Wow, major rose-colored glasses.”

Yoojung shuddered, saying she was getting goosebumps, but her face was full of smiles. Seyeong was voluntarily speaking up, even though she was holding pom-poms in both hands.

This had never happened in the past two years. Han Seyeong had stubbornly used TTS even on the first day of the semester when she was unreasonably criticized by a professor. Getting accepted into the exchange student interview would be one reason, but Yoojung was certain that this change was definitely because of Baek Jaeha.

Seyeong stared intently at Jaeha running around on the court with a faint smile. Baek Jaeha doesn’t know how to give up. He says he agrees to break up when the semester ends, but she knew he was only saying that as a temporary measure because he didn’t want to break up right now.

“Have you told him yet? About the exchange program. Then will Jaeha enlist then too? It won’t be easy to match the timing, will it?”

Daram, who had also passed the interview, asked. It was unknown whether Jaeha would enlist at that time. Judging by his personality, she thought he might recklessly follow her to the United States.

Actually, she was hoping that Jaeha would stubbornly refuse to break up no matter what.

Seyeong suppressed the nasty selfishness. Seeing Seyeong’s expression, Daram tilted her head as if something was wrong.

“What’s wrong? Did things not go well with Jaeha?”

“What are you talking about?”

Yoojung, who had been shouting and cheering, somehow heard that and suddenly jumped in. Daram narrowed her eyes, saying she was ruining the mood, but Seyeong shook her head and focused on the court again. Just then, Jaeha’s teammate was dodging a defender and passing the ball to Jaeha.

“Just shoot it! Fire it!”

It was the three-point line, but Jaeha boldly raised his arm and his large body lightly floated into the air. The moment she thought the ball had left his hand, it was already hitting the backboard and falling into the rim. A huge cheer erupted as the net rippled and spat out the ball. Seyeong was already getting up next to Yoojung, who was standing up and cheering.

Jaeha showed his skills without fearing the expectations placed on him. The sweat he shed as he ran around the court sparkled in the sunlight.

Seyeong stared intently at him, determined not to miss a single moment of Jaeha’s appearance and to engrave it in her heart. Even when the ball was in someone else’s hands, Seyeong’s eyes followed only Baek Jaeha.

The opposing team was also formidable, so they immediately put a tight mark on Jaeha. It became difficult for the other teammates to pass to Jaeha, but they became more free and started running, aiming for the goal directly.

Seyeong, who had been engrossed in watching the game, was distracted when her cell phone, which she had put in her pocket, vibrated faintly. She put down her pom-poms and took out her phone, but it was an unknown number. It wasn’t a number starting with 070, so she sent a message saying she couldn’t answer the phone. She always guided people to send messages like this because she couldn’t talk on the phone.

While she was looking for Jaeha, the opposing team scored. They were definitely skilled, as befitting the winning team. Jaeha was also unable to use his strength because he was being harassed by such a tight defense that it was dirty.

Seyeong regretted how nice it would be if she could cheer him on loudly at times like this. She was very envious of Yoojung, who was shouting almost hysterically right next to her.

As the game time was running out, the atmosphere became more and more intense. Seyeong was also standing up and watching, but she was so engrossed that she didn’t even think about waving her pom-poms and had her hands clasped tightly together. She had never wanted to win, but for some reason, she didn’t want to see Jaeha lose.

She was cheering him on, shouting “Baek Jaeha! Fighting!” in her heart.

“Oh, screw it!”

Yongwoo shouted and threw the ball backwards. The ball flew in a strange direction, causing both teams to stop and stare at the ball. The ball passed over the head of the defender who was tightly marking Jaeha and landed directly in Jaeha’s hands. Jaeha, who jumped up and caught the ball, quickly ducked and spun around to get rid of the mark.

“St, strength… strength! Give it!”

Seyeong, who was watching Jaeha dribbling quickly towards the goal, shouted without realizing it. Seeing him struggling among the guards who were chasing after him, she naturally shouted. The only word she could say was just one word, but she hoped her voice would reach Jaeha.

***

“I was really touched. Oh my god, Hanse cheered out loud.”

Yoojung, who poured soju as soon as the pork belly was grilled, said in an emotional voice. Seyeong blushed at the thought of that time. Once she made a sound, she cheered in a trance.

“It was cool.”

Daram also agreed, and Seyeong waved her hand, telling her to stop. As she put down her chopsticks and tried to pick up her phone, Yoojung told her to put it down, saying it was hard to eat. Jaeha, the hero of today’s victory, was busy receiving drinks from all over the place. When she looked at him with worried eyes, wondering if he was drinking too much, Yoojung smiled and called Jaeha.

“Baek Jaeha, I’ll give you a drink too.”

“I’ll gladly accept.”

Jaeha, who had rushed over, naturally sat next to Seyeong.

“Did you hear Seyeong cheering for you earlier?”

Yoojung asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Jaeha smiled at Seyeong. Seyeong couldn’t stand it because she felt embarrassed for some reason.

“Yes. That’s why I was able to cheer up.”

Jaeha wrapped his arm around her waist, so Seyeong just emptied her glass. The soju that went down her throat was not bitter but sweet.

“Aren’t you going to give me a reward? I worked hard because my sunbae told me to cheer up.”

He even knew what she had cheered, so he must have really heard Seyeong’s voice in the midst of it all. Seyeong was surprised, but on the other hand, her heart was beating fast because she was happy. How many years had it been since she had made such a loud noise? It was a voice that she had always suppressed because she stuttered and couldn’t form sentences properly. She hadn’t even shouted like this when she almost drowned.

Jaeha, who noticed that Seyeong’s expression had become complicated, didn’t delve deeper and filled her glass. Seyeong stared at the shimmering alcohol, then turned her head and whispered in Jaeha’s ear.

“You did well. I’ll give you a reward when we get home.”

Jaeha shuddered at the soft melody. He felt goosebumps all over his body and smiled with difficulty. The way he squinted and raised the corners of his mouth was so sexy that Yoojung’s eyes widened.

It was fortunate that they were staying at Jaeha’s house near the school at times like this. It would have been quite difficult to go home like this. She was quite drunk, so it took quite a while to cross the campus and cross just one crosswalk. But still, she was glad she wasn’t alone. No one cared whether it took 10 minutes or an hour.

They stopped by a convenience store, holding hands tightly. Jaeha chose a drink, ramen, and some snacks that were good for relieving hangovers. He didn’t let go of her hand while he was doing that, so Seyeong carried some and Jaeha carried some, struggling. It was difficult to finish paying and go upstairs, but Jaeha kept squeezing her hand. His hand was all sweaty. It wasn’t that hot yet. Seyeong looked up, wondering if it was because he was drunk, but Jaeha’s expression was somehow gloomy.

What was the problem after eating, drinking, and having a good time? She was worried and was about to ask him why, but Jaeha spoke first.

“You said you’d give me a reward.”

Ah. Was there a reward he wanted? Seyeong smiled faintly, thinking she was unnecessarily nervous, and nodded. She wanted to give him everything she could. She was willing to give him any reward he wanted.

“Is there anything you want?”

If Seyeong hadn’t been drunk, she wouldn’t have said that so carelessly. But it was a good day, she was excited about the fact that she had cheered out loud for the first time, and the alcohol sloshing around in her head made her careless.

Even though she already knew what he really wanted.