In early May, when the weather was starting to get warmer, I was taking ice cream out of the fridge to eat.
Back when I was a guy working part-time, I couldn’t even dream of looking at Häagen-Dazs, but now I was eating it. I finally understood why it was so expensive—the smooth texture was just too good. As I scooped up the Häagen-Dazs with a spoon, I was trying to figure out what to do today.
On days when I didn’t have school, there wasn’t much to do. Today, I had been watching movies, but I got bored and decided to step outside. I put the ice cream container back in the fridge. May is Children’s Month, right? Since I’m still a kid, I had every reason to enjoy today.
Looking outside, I saw people working hard as usual. I felt a little guilty just lazing around. Oh, right, I had something to give to Bora today… I went into my room and pulled out a notice from school. The content was simple:
There’s a sports day coming up, and attendance is required. Since I don’t have parents, I figured I’d have to drag Bora, Haru, or Maru along.
I dashed to the office and showed them the notice. Bora, Haru, and Maru gathered around, looking at it with serious expressions.
“Who should go?”
Haru read the notice aloud. Ideally, all three of them wanted to go, but they decided only one should go to avoid drawing attention.
“Should I go?”
Maru raised her hand and volunteered. It’s usually the newest employee who goes to these kinds of events, right? Maru was working hard to avoid any blemishes in her professional life. Plus, she thought it’d be fun to go with Hana, who was quite the troublemaker. Someone needed to keep an eye on her—you never knew when she’d cause trouble.
“No, I’ll go. It’s been a while since I hung out with Hana.”
Bora insisted, but the debate dragged on as they all wanted to go. Meanwhile, I was bored and started peeking at the other office workers. It seemed like they were typing furiously on their keyboards just because I was standing there, but surely there weren’t adults here who only worked hard when someone was watching, right?
In the end, Bora was chosen to go to my sports day. Honestly, it didn’t matter who went—they were all good people. Though, it would’ve been nice if all three could’ve gone.
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“Woooooah!”
The place was filled with cheers, as lively as a soccer stadium. Starlight Elementary School’s sports day had begun. After a few short greetings from some celebrities, the event officially started.
The school must’ve had a lot of funding because even celebrities came to perform. It was the kind of performance you’d expect at a university event, not an elementary school sports day.
“Do I really have to wear this?”
I was holding a ridiculous team shirt. No matter how I looked at it, it was a thousand times worse than my dinosaur pajamas. The back had my name on it, and the front had a caricature of my face. I didn’t look this ridiculous, did I?
Of course, my green hair and green eyes stood out. These colors weren’t natural—maybe I was the only person in the world with this hair and eye color.
“You have to wear it! If you don’t, Hana, you’re not part of our team!”
Since Jiyu and Yumi were already wearing their team shirts, I didn’t have a choice. I took a deep breath and put it on. As soon as I did, Jiyu and Yumi jumped with joy and dragged me out to the field. The field was already buzzing with various activities.
“We’re about to play dodgeball, Hana!”
“Really?”
I wasn’t participating in many events. I confidently raised my hand for the highlight of the sports day—the relay race—but I ended up getting completely destroyed in a small qualifying race.
I ran as fast as I could, but this useless body just couldn’t keep up. In the end, the other kids took my spot. It made sense—the faster kids should go first.
“Hana’s going to get eliminated first for sure!”
“Yeah, yeah!”
They were underestimating me way too much. Back in the day, I was called the dodgeball ace. Today, they’d witness my amazing skills firsthand.
“I’m going to be honored…”
“Ouch!”
But I got hit by the first kid who threw the ball. I stood there with a dazed expression. Me, who always dies at the very end, getting eliminated right at the start…? But then, a voice woke me up to this harsh reality.
“Hana, out! Please come out!”
The teacher, who was refereeing, delivered a sharp remark. Completely out, I puffed up my cheeks and walked out of the court.
“I knew Hana would be the first to get out!”
“Totally, totally!”
As Jiyu and Yumi said, I had nothing to say since I was the first to get out. But being out wasn’t the end. I could stand on the opposing team’s side, catch the balls our team threw, and get another chance to attack. It was a blessing in disguise.
It was my chance to imprint my relentless aggression on the opposing team. The balls I threw at full power were impossible to catch or dodge. Smirking confidently, I stood outside the opposing team’s line and realized a big truth.
Our team was really bad at dodgeball. Instead of the ball coming to me, our team was swept away like fallen leaves by the opposing team’s attacks. By the time I got the ball, only one or two teammates were left. It was demoralizing.
Throwing the ball once and feeling like the game was over was bittersweet. If I had known, I would have joined a different game. I avoided soccer or other sports because they required a lot of movement, but seeing how dodgeball turned out, I think I would have had a better chance with other sports.
Feeling drained, I dragged Jiyu and Yumi to where the mats were spread out. It was where the parents were gathered. The field was so clean that finding Bora wasn’t difficult.
“Bora!!!”
I spotted Bora organizing lunch boxes on the mat and quickly approached her. Jiyu and Yumi followed behind. Bora greeted us with a smile.
“Hi, kids!”
“Hello!!!”
“Hana’s sister is so pretty!”
Bora was like my sister. In a way, since she was the first researcher I met, it was fine to call her my sister. Of course, the first hunter I met was a hairy weirdo…
Since Bora and I packed the lunch boxes for the sports day yesterday, I sat on the mat, trying not to drool. Jiyu and Yumi stuck close to me. My eyes sparkled as I looked at Bora.
“Bora, Bora! I want to eat the lunch box!”
At my words, Bora smiled and neatly took out the lunch boxes from her bag. She brought two three-tiered lunch boxes for my friends too. I helped make them, and they were really delicious. They were of such high quality that they could be sold at a convenience store.
As the lunch box lids opened, we couldn’t help but cheer. Fried food, kimbap, and various delicious meats were perfect for us, who were hungry from playing dodgeball. I picked up my chopsticks and started eating the food in the lunch box.
Jiyu and Yumi ate too. Both had parents who could prepare lunch boxes, but they asked to share mine. Food always tastes better when shared. While one side was passionately competing, I was enjoying the warm lunch box and watching.
Since it was an elementary school sports day, everyone was a bit clumsy. Sports are something you start young, but compared to middle and high school, these kids had fewer years of experience. So, they were relatively lacking in skill and physicality.
But it was still fun to watch. Competitions with winners are always entertaining. I chewed the food in my lunch box and watched the events with great interest.
