#Side Story, In Heat - 12

"Man, Jeong Seung-jo!"

"..."

Surprisingly, Seung-jo had fallen asleep in that brief moment. Despite shaking and kicking him, nothing would wake Seung-jo up. In the end, Seung-jo had to be carried by other boys and loaded onto the bus.

The boy who slept like the dead all the way to Seoul only opened his eyes when it was time to get off, ending his short but deep slumber.

After that day, Seung-jo no longer openly showed hostile killing intent towards other kids approaching Mu-heon. He even gave proper responses when kids occasionally spoke to him, eliciting unbelievable reactions.

However, there was just one person who noticed that something had changed within Seung-jo that day.

A year later, the retirement ceremony for the 3rd-year middle school kendo club members was quite grand.

"Senior! Please eat a lot!"

"Hey, what are you doing! Hurry and bring more!"

"Yes, sir!"

The junior club members had prepared a lavish table inside the club practice room for soon-to-be high school student and former captain Kang Mu-heon. Even more surprising was that despite the increasing prevalence of computer kitchens, they had done everything themselves from buying ingredients to cooking. Even now, the sounds of boiling, cutting, and frying continued as if they couldn't see the mountain of food that threatened to break the table legs.

Sitting at the head of the table with a dazed expression, Mu-heon seemed unable to grasp what was happening.

"Jeong Seung-jo. What on earth is going on?"

To Mu-heon's bewildered question, vice-captain Jeong Seung-jo smiled gently.

"It's their sincerity, so just eat it."

"Well, that's true, but..."

In fact, Seung-jo had known about all this commotion from the beginning. He had accidentally discovered the boys agonizing over what food to prepare while passing by the practice room. The juniors caught by the scary vice-captain were startled as if having a seizure, but Seung-jo quietly raised the corners of his mouth and turned his head, pretending not to see, thus tacitly approving today's event.

And at this moment that Mu-heon could never have imagined, Seung-jo was smiling his usual inscrutable smile at his friend, who was anxiously watching the precariously piled mountain of food.

"Senior, aren't you going to eat?"

The 2nd-year captain approached Mu-heon, who couldn't bring himself to pick up his chopsticks, with tears in his eyes. His fierce face, huge build, and thick voice made his teary eyes have only a nauseating effect, but Mu-heon didn't seem to mind and quickly picked up his chopsticks, looking apologetic.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. Aren't you all eating together?"

"How could we eat like greedy pigs... ahem, show our unsightly eating in the same place as you, Senior? We prepared this for you seniors today, so please enjoy it deliciously. Okay?"

"Come to think of it, why did you only call us when there are other 3rd years too?"

"Ah..."

The bear-like 2nd-year captain was at a loss for words. Seung-jo came to his rescue.

"I contacted them. They said they couldn't come."

Seung-jo made the 2nd-year captain, who was sending looks that said 'Vice-captain Senior! I must have misjudged you!', retreat far away with just one cold glance. Mu-heon wore a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Really? But the guys were all messaging that they had nothing to do... Strange?"

"...They must have a lot to do today."

"Well, whatever. Then we have no choice. Let's eat quickly and get rid of it."

As Mu-heon turned his attention to the meal, Seung-jo silently hid his cold gaze.

The food was more delicious than expected. Whether kendo skills affected their knife skills or not, all the ingredients were neatly cut, and the seasoning was well-balanced, making it comfortable to eat.

Mu-heon kept eating endlessly. He wasn't gobbling it down, but eating very normally, one spoonful at a time, yet his steady eating showed no change from the first bite to now when about ten empty dishes were stacked beside him.

Despite this somewhat eerie sight, the club members hiding behind the door were writhing with emotion, repeatedly exclaiming things like "The captain is eating the food I made...!" and "That's what I made!"

"G-guys. This won't do. To capture this emotion, a few more dishes..."

"Stop."

Seung-jo coldly restrained the 2nd-year captain, who was wiping tears and about to dash to the kitchen.

"V-vice-captain!"

When on earth had he approached behind them!

Those who had been so focused on watching Mu-heon that they hadn't noticed Seung-jo disappearing from beside him, now found the tall Seung-jo standing behind them with his hands in his pockets terrifyingly intimidating.

He smiled gently at them crouching and trembling, then nodded towards Mu-heon. Mu-heon was still slowly emptying the quite stacked dishes without a single sigh.

"That guy is a goldfish."

"...Pardon?"

The club members all sent shocked glances at the vice-captain who blurted out such rude words about the captain they revered like the sky.

"He eats whatever he's given. He's decided to eat, so he'll probably finish all that, but after that, even he will inevitably suffer at home. He's human too. His stomach can't possibly be okay."

"Whaaat?"

"If you're thinking of feeding him more, you might get to see his stomach burst in person."

"Waaah!"

"Who was it! Who said to make this much!"

"C-captain! Don't eat anymore!"

Surprised by the chilling content hidden in the quiet words, the members ran crying. Mu-heon looked up with surprised eyes in the middle of eating. Taking advantage of this moment, he seemed to notice Seung-jo leaning against the door, and grinned despite being pestered by the clinging members. Seung-jo also returned a faint smile.

Only he knew Mu-heon's limit that no one else knew. Having eaten this much, there would be quite a scene on the way home. It was a rare chance to see such a tough and strong guy who never even caught a cold staggering unsightly.

Seung-jo quietly smiled, then soon returned to his usual expressionless silence.

"Ugh... my stomach."

Seung-jo supported Mu-heon, who was staggering while clutching his stomach, and narrowed his eyes at the pharmacy sign visible not far away.

"There's a pharmacy over there. I'll go buy some medicine, so sit here for a bit."

"I'm really pathetic. Sorry for making you clean up after me."

"It's fine. I'll be right back."

After seating Mu-heon on a bench, Seung-jo quickened his pace and entered the pharmacy, ordering a digestive medicine from the pharmacist who greeted him. When the pharmacist disappeared behind the partition after acknowledging, suddenly a familiar voice came from beside him.

"You've become quite meticulous, I see."

Where Seung-jo turned, Hong Young-ui was standing, now grown as tall as Seung-jo. For some reason, he had quit the club not long after the spring training camp a year ago. Though he had grown much taller, his eyes that crinkled when he smiled were exactly the same as then.

"Who are you?"

"Pretending not to know? Do as you like."

Despite Seung-jo's unpleasant expression, Young-ui still showed his usual unconcerned boldness. Whether Seung-jo looked at him or not, Young-ui started talking on his own.

"That's Kang Mu-heon outside, right?"

"..."

"You still seem to be missing the most important thing."

When Seung-jo made a puzzled expression at those words, Young-ui smiled.

"Patience isn't always sweet."

"...Get lost."

Though his words were brief, Young-ui could read the swirling emotions in Seung-jo's eyes.

"You'll regret it."

"Keep talking if you want to die."

Just as Seung-jo muttered with an expressionless face, clenching and unclenching his fist, the pharmacist called out with perfect timing.

"Your digestive medicine is ready."

Seung-jo turned around, took the medicine, and left the pharmacy without giving a single glance. Young-ui watched Seung-jo leave, then turned around at the sound of the pharmacist calling his name.

A moment later, as Young-ui stepped out of the pharmacy, he saw Mu-heon sitting on a distant bench with Seung-jo standing in front of him. Seung-jo's face was softly relaxed as he held Mu-heon's shoulder, supporting him.

Young-ui watched the backs of the two disappearing figures with an expressionless face, his smile gone. Though they looked close at a glance, to him alone, that sight didn't look peaceful at all.

Young-ui remembered when he first saw Seung-jo. He was sitting on the ground, looking at Mu-heon, who had beaten him in a match, with eyes full of anger. But a moment later, when Mu-heon turned around and reached out his hand to Seung-jo, the expression of the guy taking that hand melted as if he was overjoyed.

He thought it was ridiculous.

As he kept watching, various aspects caught his eye. Seung-jo liked Mu-heon, but at the same time, he couldn't bear wanting to win against him. While he would glare murderously at other guys who even spoke to Mu-heon, his expression when watching Mu-heon practice kendo was that of a collector looking at an unobtainable item.

Young-ui thought that for Seung-jo to truly love, he would need to beat Mu-heon in kendo. But could such a day ever come? Mu-heon was a real genius, and Seung-jo, who was at best talented, seemed unable to beat him no matter what he did.

How far into the future could they walk side by side? Young-ui was genuinely curious about that.

"I wonder how long he can endure."

Love and jealousy. The day Seung-jo's patience, walking a tightrope between those two lines, would run out. That day would probably be the end of their petty friendship.

The boy turned his back on the direction Mu-heon and Seung-jo had walked.

A cold wind blew.

[To be continued in the next volume.]