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Chapter 15.1: They Have No Idea (1)
After lunch, they sat back down on the chairs, forming a circle.
“As you all know, I’m Kang Chan from Class 2, and I’m currently in twelfth grade. Introduce yourself, starting from the person on the right. This has nothing to do with signing up for the athletic club, so don’t feel pressured.”
There were two students from twelfth grade, six from eleventh grade, and six from tenth grade. All fourteen students said their names, class, and grade in turn.
“Even if you join the club, attendance is not compulsory. It’s all up to you, but if anybody’s having a hard time in school, come look for us immediately. I know the woes of being an errand boy better than anyone else.”
Perhaps because they had just eaten pork cutlets together, the atmosphere was very relaxed.
“Lastly, using your current grades as a yardstick, if your GPA for the entire academic year were to drop even by 0.01, you’ll be kicked out. Keep that in mind.” Kang Chan continued. The atmosphere instantly became chilly but he didn’t seem to care.
“Sunbae-nim?”
“Yeah?”
An eleventh grader, Lee Deok-Gi, raised his hand.
“I don’t know what Dakyu is.”
Kang Chan looked at Seok Kang-Ho with a smirk.
“Ahem. Place a plastic bottle in the center of a circle with a diameter of ten meters. And then you run with a foot volleyball in your hand and try to hit it. That’s all.”
The students blinked. They didn’t understand what he was trying to say.
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll get it when you try it. From tomorrow onwards, we’ll be working out an hour before class starts, and two hours after class ends, so prepare some gym clothes or comfortable tracksuits.”
“Okay,” a couple of male students responded.
“Let me reiterate that it’s not mandatory for you to take part in all the activities, so don’t feel pressured. Understood?”
“Yes.”
“Head on back to class after the fifth period ends. If you want to join the club, fill out the application form before you go.”
Moon Ki-Jin raised his hand after Seok Kang-Ho was done speaking. “I’ll sign up now, teacher.”
“Me too!” Cha So-Yeon raised her hand as well.
One by one, all the students walked over and grabbed an application form. The bell eventually rang while they were filling out the application forms and asking a variety of questions, marking the end of the fifth period.
The students went back to their classrooms with mixed emotions on their faces, leaving behind Seok Kang-Ho and Kang Chan.
“Ugh!”
“What’s wrong?” Kang Chan asked Seok Kang-Ho.
“I’m just upset that the school isn’t doing its job of watching over the students. You saw their faces when they were eating the pork cutlets, right? It breaks my heart.”
Kang Chan looked at him and smiled softly.
“Don’t look at me like that. I think this body has consumed me.” Seok Kang-Ho looked embarrassed. “Anyway, I have to go. I’ve got a class to teach.”
“Alright. I’ll be warming up here,” Kang Chan responded.
“Okay.”
As soon as Seok Kang-Ho left, Kang Chan took off his shirt and walked over to the window before slowly beginning to do his warm-up exercises.
“Huh?!” He exclaimed in surprise after putting his left arm behind his neck and pulling it with his right hand, leaning his upper body to the side.
Was it because his physical age was young? His body was more flexible than he expected.
“What if I do this?” This time around, he stretched his legs to the front and back as much as possible.
“Ack!”
He managed to stretch his legs further than expected, but his inner thighs hurt as he did.
Afterward, he did his warm-up exercises for approximately ten minutes before looking out of the window due to the noise outside. He saw Seok Kang-Ho on the field.
Seok Kang-Ho was making his students play Dakyu.
Back in Africa, units often competed against one another when they didn’t have any special operations. Not only were they running until they were out of breath, but it was also the next best physical activity that offered low risks of injury, which was why the legion didn’t stop them from playing it.
The rules were simple—all they had to do was run with a ball and knock over a plastic bottle. Doing so would end the game. However, if the opponent were to touch the player that was holding the ball, the latter’s team would lose the ball. Hence, the players had to pass the ball before that happened. Moreover, they also had to make the shot outside the circle and–-similar to handball—it would only count if the player jumped and made the shot mid-air.
In truth, there wasn’t much to debate about in a game of Dakyu. There were occasional disputes about players stepping on the edge of the circle before jumping or throwing the ball after their foot touched the ground, but Dayeru would resolve any issues whenever that happened in the past.
Kang Chan’s heart raced when he watched the students play Dakyu, a game he had forgotten about. Back then, if the womanizer Smithen knocked over the plastic bottle, he would celebrate the win like a soccer player who had scored a goal in the World Cup.
‘Fucking bastard.’
Kang Chan clearly remembered the look in Smithen’s eyes when he said the words ‘God of Blackfield’ with his dying breath. It was faith. That was why that fucking bastard didn’t want to take any morphine. He didn’t want to be a burden even in his final moments.
Rattle.
On another note, the door needed to be fixed as soon as possible.
“I’ve been looking all over for you.” A female student approached him without hesitation.
Who was it?
“Heo Eun-Sil?”
Heo Eun-Sil looked like a completely different person without any makeup.
“The oppas told me they’ll be picking us up and that they’ll be coming to the back gate because of what happened last time.”
She looked pretty, but there was something about her face that seemed disproportionate. In any case, Kang Chan thought she looked much better with makeup.
“I got it. Leave.”
Heo Eun-Sil silently studied Kang Chan’s expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kang Chan asked.
“Can I join the athletic club too?”
Caught off-guard, Kang Chan couldn’t respond right away.
“Even if I come to school, I have nothing to do and I don’t understand what the teachers are teaching anyway.”
Even though she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her bad standing posture remained the same. Heo Eun-Sil was perpetually leaning her body weight on one leg. It wouldn’t be weird for someone to wonder if she was born like that.
“Then why are you going to school?”
“I want to quit school, too. That’s why I ran away from home several times before. But ‘cause my mom tried to overdose, I agreed to graduate from high school on the condition that I can do whatever I want.”
Her life itself was tiring.
“Heo Eun-Sil.”
Heo Eun-Sil quickly glanced at his right hand.
“I’ll discuss it with the other students tomorrow and let you know. Now, leave.”
“Is that really necessary? Op—I mean, isn’t it up to you?”
This bitch had already gotten a taste of cheap, dirty, and worthless authority and power. Kang Chan thought about how great it would’ve been if Heo Eun-Sil were a guy since, if that were the case, he would’ve beaten her until she was at death’s door and made sure she wouldn’t be able to go near him ever again.
Seemingly deducing his emotions through his eyes, Heo Eun-Sil quickly turned around and walked toward the door.
Clang.
That damn door needed to be fixed.
Kang Chan shook off his annoyance and resumed doing his warm-up exercises. Even though his strength and agility were definitely lower, his body was much more flexible now.
Gangsters? Gangs? They have no idea—the kind of resolve one must have when surrounded by and facing countless enemies wielding crescent-shaped swords. What it’s like to see countless blades slicing apart fallen allies, and what it’s like hearing the dreadful screams. What it feels like to fight using a dagger next to a comrade who had been mutilated beyond recognition.
Those people wielded a fillet knife and went berserk with it for the sake of protecting their interests, but Kang Chan lived as a killer to survive and save at least one more person before being killed.
Parents? School? Life?
Kang Chan smirked. If he were to take those into consideration, the right call would’ve been to call the cops, just as Dayeru said. But were those things more important than Smithen’s faith, who called out ‘God of Blackfield’ while clinging on to his dear life?
If he were to make a compromise, he would eventually be won over by the things he enjoyed now.
‘Moron.’
If it weren’t for the womanizer Smithen’s final moments…
Rattle.
Kang Chan glared at the door and found Kim Mi-Young standing there, so he quickly eased up.
“What’s up?”
“All the classrooms are in chaos right now. Students have been badgering the members of the athletic club at every chance they get during the breaks because they want to join the club too.”
When Kang Chan grinned, Kim Mi-Young looked a little relieved.
“Can I join too?” she asked.
“What?”
Kim Mi-Young kept glancing at the door.
“I heard Eun-Sil is going to join the club too. I have one last class for the day, so I’ll come here after it ends. I’m joining the club.”
Kim Mi-Young ran out after she was done speaking. Coincidentally, Seok Kang-Ho then entered the room.
“What happened?”
“She said she wants to join the athletic club.”
“This is becoming a problem. Apart from her, many other students want to join the club after classes end.”
“You’re still good at running, huh?”
“I’m a P.E. teacher, you know. By the way, there’s only an hour left. What are you going to do?”
“They’ll be arriving at the back gate.”
Seok Kang-Ho’s gaze sharpened as it had before when he was Dayeru.
“What are you going to do?”
“Daye.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be back no matter what.”
“No matter what?”
When Kang Chan nodded, Seok Kang-Ho sighed heavily.
“Fucking morons. They should’ve messed with someone they could handle. But then again, those people are idiots.” He spoke just like Seok Kang-Ho, but the look in his eyes was that of Dayeru’s.
“Captain.”
“What?”
“I like my wife.”
Kang Chan chuckled lowly.
“So don’t do something silly and make a P.E. teacher go to jail for acts of violence.”
“Okay.”
“Ayy, fuck! Don’t be like this. Let me go with you.”
“Forget about it. Remember Mangala?”
“Tch! You’re bringing that up again.” Seok Kang-Ho tilted his head, looking displeased.