Chapter 8 - To The Soccer Field

"You're early. Follow me."

Son Jin Ae slowed down his bicycle when she approached Jeong Won who was already waiting outside the school gates.

"Hear me out first!"

She looked at him curiously and stopped for a second.

"I've told you before that I won't take orders from your friends, but lately I've been taking orders from them-"

"Wait for a mi-"

"Yes, it was coming from you but you see... Can't you say it directly to me? Why tell them to tell me."

Jin Ae huffed, "Look here. I don't send text messages and I only call when it's important."

She stared at him irritated then looked somewhere else, "Aish! Why do I need to explain to you!" Then she glanced at him and spoke sternly this time, "Follow me!"

Since it was Saturday, there were only a few students inside the school. Most of them were athletes practicing their sports. When Jin Ae and Jeong Won approached the field, the students playing soccer and those who were running in the tracks stopped. They bowed down to her before they went away. The field became empty due to her presence.

Jin Ae gestured Jeong Won to position himself by tilting her head in the direction of the net.

"I've played soccer but I've never been a goalkeeper!"

Jeong Won didn't know what to do. In front of him was Jin Ae with a basket full of soccer balls. She took off her jogging pants, revealing shorts inside. She played soccer at nights whenever she needed to destress herself. But today she wanted to destress using one source of her stress.

Jeon Won was thankful that he had his rubber shoes on.

"One lap for each goal."

Then she started kicking balls at him.

"Yah! one lap for- wait!-I haven't agreed yet- wait!- not too fast!- that hurts!- slow down!"

Jeong Won tried hard to block the balls but Jin Ae kept on kicking one ball to another which hit him from head to toe in return. The last ball landed on his forehead which made him fall to the ground due to exhaustion.

"Aish! I only made 7 goals," she said disappointingly, but a smile appeared on her face after and exclaimed:

"As expected, it was better than alone. You did well! Stand up now, you still have to run."

Jin Ae nudged him using her feet and Jeong Won, although tired, followed her and started to run seven laps. She watched him for a moment, picked up the balls when he reached five laps, and disappeared on the field.

"Aahh! Is punishing someone her way of relieving stress?" Jeong Won complained.

After running, he laid down on the field. Several minutes later, he felt a touch of something cold near his hand and saw a soda in a can near it. Jin Ae was already sitting on the ground, a little farther from him.

"Starting today, you won't have to follow instructions from others. I have already given them a week. I'll directly instruct you."

"Are you saying that now to make me feel relieved?"

"Think whatever you please," she replied curtly.

Jeong Won stared at Jin Ae who was now drinking her coke. He was about to open his drink when his cellphone rang. He turned his back to Jin Ae and answered it.

"Yes, mom. In the school. I'll be coming back in a few minutes. Yes. Yes."

After the conversation, Jeong Won moved to his original position.

"You can go now."

He looked at Jin Ae after she said that, her eyes fixed nowhere.

"You? Aren't you going home now?" he asked.

"I'll just stay for a while. Go first."

"Eyy, how can I just leave a girl here alone. Let's go home together."

"Pshhh! I'm even more worried about leaving a guy like you here. Just go."

"No. I won't go."

"Yah! how could you be so stubborn!"

"When my mom calls again, I'll say you're holding on to me that I can't go home."

Jin Ae scoffed and he smirked. They end up going home together.

* * *

Saturday morning, Jeong Won had a hang-out with his Student Org club mates. Although not affiliated to them anymore, they still include him in their club meetings. This time, they were talking about the upcoming club recruitment week.

"Jeong Won-ah, we are really sorry for your sacrifice for our club. Are you still alright?"

The Vice President nudged him, which hurted his arm. His body was aching due to his predicament last night. When they looked at him after hearing him gasp loudly, he immediately shook his head.

"No, it’s not what you’re thinking. I just fell out of bed last night. Hahaha."

“Take care of yourself,” Min Jung said.

Getting into the heart of their meeting, Min Jung brought out four pictures of their school's freshmen students and laid them on the top of the table. She pointed to each one of the pictures.

"Kim Seung Hee. Former Daegu middle school student council leader. 1-B. Han SoMi. Former Daegu middle school student guidance leader. 1-A. And this sophomore, Park Jin Young, 2-A. Jin Young was a former Student Council leader from Sonam middle school. He was a transfer student this year and he is first on our list being one of the best student leaders so we have to recruit him."

The Student Org club officials were elected and volunteer members were recruited.

"Do we really have to do that?" The club vice president asked, thinking how inconvenient it will be for them this time after their experience with the elites. The students looked down at their authority.

Min Jung looked at him seriously.

"Someone told me before that a member of a club determines its fate. We need to have strong-willed and interest-driven individuals as much as possible."

The four of them stared at the pictures letting out a big sigh. On the other hand, the elites were also having a meeting with the same agenda as them. Minghao was tasked to find the best students possible and now he was showing his lists. He showed them six pictures.

"These are our possible candidates. To continue the elite's legacy of student leaders, we will do our best to recruit them."

Son Jin Ae stared at the pictures and two young male students caught her eye, the same one Min Jung had set her target on and one she was familiar with.

* * *

Jun Ho watched as Son Jin Ae demonstrated to her students how to kick the soccer ball properly. She had always been good at that sport. She stood on the center and kicked the ball right in the direction of the net.

"Goal!"

Startled by the yell, he glanced at his side immediately. He was alarmed for a moment, as if he was caught doing something bad. He saw a young man smiling, staring at the field too. The round eyeglass he wore made him look geeky.

"Oh! Sorry to surprise you. I am Lee Si Wan, a new Mathematics teacher here."

He offered his hand for a handshake and Jun Ho accepted.

"Miss Oh told me to tell you about the gathering after class. She wants to make sure that you'll come."

Even though Jun Ho wanted to refuse, he couldn't find a reason to turn down the invitation. They gathered at a barbecue restaurant after classes. He and Si Wan were the first to arrive, then other teachers followed after several minutes. Most of them started to dig in even though the gathering had not yet started.

"Aren't you hungry yet?"

Jun Ho was busy checking the faces of those who had just arrived when Si Wan whispered next to him. Seo Ah, who was in front of him, also checked on his undisturbed plate.

He did not answer.

"Oh! I think we're already complete. Let's open the wine now," Miss Oh said. She gladly opened the wine which made a sizzling sound and one by one the teacher lifted their cups for their ample share.

On the other hand, Jun Ho was wondering why she said that they were already complete.

"Excuse me, but Son Jin Ae-ssi is not here yet."

Everyone stopped and stared at Jun Ho. Si Wan shushed him and whispered to him.

"Jin Ae-ssi doesn't attend faculty gatherings."

Jun Ho looked at him inquisitively and he just gave him a shrug. They were surprised when Miss Oh pounded the bottle of wine on the table.

"That proud lady! Since she's a shareholder in the school, she looks at us in a very demeaning way."

"What? She's a shareholder?" Si Wan asked surprisingly, others were surprised as well. Miss Oh slapped her mouth from slipping a secret she had held with insecurity. While everyone was taken aback, Seo Ah spoke:

"I guess that's why she's too full of herself. Being a shareholder doesn't make her different from us. Even though it makes her... a pa-part owner... of the school," she mumbled.

Only Jun Ho wasn't surprised at all.

"But, I wonder if someone invited her for today's gathering," someone said.

Everyone looked at each other.

"We didn't mind asking her because she had always turned down before, right?" A Values teacher beside Seo Ah said and everyone agreed.

"Ah! Let's forget about her and be happy tonight," said one teacher and they all lifted their glasses again.

They call it a night when Miss Oh left around nine.

"Wah! I didn't know Teacher Jin Ae is a shareholder of the school. I shouldn't have listened to them when they said not to bother inviting her," Si Wan said to Jun Ho.

They were on their way home. When Si Wan found out that their residences were close, he insisted on walking together. Now, he was pouring out his regrets over not knowing Jin Ae.

"But actually, I've been really nice to her since I came here. Even though she's a little snob and snotty, she has been helpful to me. She is just someone who is very hard to approach."

Jun Ho remained silent, he knew that they still had many things to learn about her. He didn't speak until they reached an end where they had to walk in their separate way. He casually bid goodbye.

The next day, Jin Ae was wondering why a basket full of strawberries was on her table when she came.

"Fresh strawberries I happen to see upon coming here. It's very delicious."

Jin Ae looked up to see the old Science teacher winking at her. She wondered what's the reason behind it, just then the Values teacher came to her and gave her a box of baked cookies with a sorrowful expression.

"Last week I gave out cookies to everyone and I found that I missed one for you. I was so bothered these days to leave you out so I made a special one for you," then she whispered to her much to her surprise.

"I especially put peanuts on it," then she hinted at Jin Ae's jar of kisses on her table. Jin Ae smiled and then shook her head confused when she left her.

"What's with them?" she asked herself.

Jun Ho smiled at his table thinking how funny people can change in an instant.