SRW | Chapter 06

Bear definitely had a striking appearance. If Kim Jaeyoung stood out because he was prettier and more handsome than a celebrity, Bear drew attention with his massive build and rugged face that made it hard to believe he was a high school student. If he were in casual clothes, you’d easily mistake him for a gangster.

“I see.”

Kim Jaeyoung nodded. He was smiling as usual, but for some reason, it felt like he was upset. Why, though? I tightened my arm around his neck and redirected his gaze. Kim Jaeyoung’s body obediently followed my lead.

The basketball game was divided into two 20-minute sets, with the cumulative score determining the winner. Since there were ten players from each class, five would play per set. I was scheduled to play in the first set. Kim Jaeyoung would play in the second. I handed my bag to Kim Jaeyoung and walked to the center of the court.

“Let’s have a good game.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Following the P.E. teacher’s instructions, I shook hands with the opposing team. Bear, who was on the opposing team, extended his massive hand. I shook it with a smirk.

“Alright, ready, start!”

The P.E. teacher blew the whistle and then headed over to the soccer team. The match was intense from the start, fueled by the pointless pride of the second and third years. Well, everyone except me. I used to play basketball and soccer during lunch breaks like the others, but that was probably two years ago. Since then, I’d become a troublemaker who caused accidents and hadn’t touched a ball since. But…

‘[Special Dexterity]… This is crazy.’

Every time I dribbled, the ball seemed to stick to my hand like it was magnetized. I hesitated for a moment, then took the shot. Even though it was from quite a distance, the ball arced perfectly through the hoop. A flawless three-pointer.

‘This is bad…’

I was sure I could pull off NBA-level tricks if I wanted to. Damn it! The classmates who usually avoided me raised their hands for a high-five but quickly backed off when they saw my murderous expression.

I didn’t want to reveal that I had any “abilities.” Kim Jaeyoung would find out eventually. But until then, I needed to appear as an ordinary person to the other survivors. That way, I wouldn’t have to take the lead, and my chances of survival would increase.

So, I started playing dirty. I grabbed the opponent’s collar during a jump shot, and shoved them with my shoulder to steal the ball. Then I pretended to pass only to throw the ball at their head. Anyone could see I was playing disgustingly, but no one stopped me. Everyone knew that crossing me would make school life difficult.

“Ah, seriously! Are you kidding me?!”

Finally, when I tripped Bear, causing his knee to scrape badly. One of the second-years threw the ball on the ground and stormed over to me.

“Who plays like this?! If this is how it’s gonna be, I’m not playing!”

“Ah, my bad.”

“Your bad? Ha, you call this a mistake? You grabbed my collar earlier! You shoved him, and he got hit in the head with the ball!”

“Hyunwoo, Lee Hyunwoo. I’m fine.”

“You shut up!”

Lee Hyunwoo. That short underclassman who had switched from soccer to basketball earlier. I had expected Bear to step up. But instead, Bear was trying to calm down his furious friend. Maybe I didn’t provoke him enough. I deliberately tilted my chin up and gave a mocking smile. That seemed to piss Hyunwoo off even more, as he stepped closer and demanded an apology in a firm voice.

“Apologize.”

“I said it was an accident.”

“Even if it was an accident, you need to take responsibility for your actions!”

Wow, so righteous. Like a character straight out of a shounen manga. The image I had hoped Bear would embody was coming from this tiny guy, Hyunwoo. But he wasn’t a survivor.

“Alright… I’ll apologize, but you’ll have to take one hit.”

I deliberately raised my fist toward Hyunwoo. But Hyunwoo didn’t even blink. Wow, what a brave stance, unyielding even in the face of violence. I looked at him with a mix of pity and admiration. He’s so Cha Yuhyeok’s type. His definitely someone on the ‘good’ side.

“…Sunbaenim, let’s stop here.”

Finally, Bear stepped in. He grabbed my wrist with his massive hand. He probably thought he was gripping it tightly, but it had no effect on my awakened body. Still, I stopped moving as if restrained by his strength.

“What if I don’t stop?”

“I won’t stand by.”

“I can make sure you never play sports again, you idiot. Go ahead, hit me.”

I deliberately taunted him, but Bear didn’t budge. He just tightened his grip on my wrist.

Kind and righteous, but slow and cautious. Bear lacked what it took to be a leader of a survivor group. Hyunwoo, with his quick actions, seemed more suited for the role.

‘Can I save him?’

If I can save him, should I try to save Hyunwoo? But how? My rarely used brain was working overtime.

Peep!

“What’s going on over there?!”

The P.E. teacher, who had just noticed the commotion, blew the whistle and approached. I slapped Bear’s hand away and raised both arms in surrender, completely changing my attitude from mocking to apologetic.

“Alright. I’m sorry.”

“……?”

Suddenly? The guy who looked like he was about to throw a punch suddenly changed his attitude, leaving the onlookers confused. Even the bench players had gathered, but Kim Jaeyoung was the only one still sitting on the bench. He seemed completely indifferent, even though the person he liked was in the middle of a fight.

“I’m not good at basketball, so I couldn’t control my body. Sorry.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

I apologized again to the second-years.

“Since 20 minutes are up, it’s time for the second set, right? As an apology… here. I’ll at least put a bandage on you. I have disinfectant in my bag.”

I led Bear, who had a scraped knee, to the bench. Hyunwoo was still distrustful, so grabbed Bear tightly. Bear shook his head, indicating it was fine. I sat Bear down next to Kim Jaeyoung. Bear awkwardly greeted Kim Jaeyoung, but Kim Jaeyoung didn’t even look at him and spoke to me instead.

“Did you make up?”

“Yeah. I’m going to put some disinfectant on him.”

“Okay.”

Kim Jaeyoung handed me my bag and stood up to stretch lightly. As his short gym shirt rode up, revealing his skin, Bear quickly averted his eyes. Yeah, anyone would feel awkward seeing that. Kim Jaeyoung, with his delicate and pretty face… had a beautiful body too. Was there anyone else with such smooth, fair skin? And yet, he had well-defined muscles… thick thighs… Even as a guy, it’s hard not to feel weird looking at him. I took off my shirt and threw it at Kim Jaeyoung, who was about to head to the court.

“Are you an exhibitionist? Put this on.”

Even though it was my sweaty shirt, Kim Jaeyoung didn’t seem to mind and put it on immediately. The class president’s gym shirt was way too small for me too. I’d have to change back after class.

Kim Jaeyoung pointed at me as he entered the court, probably telling the P.E. teacher that we’d made up. The teacher nodded awkwardly and blew the whistle to start the second set. Hyunwoo was sitting on the opposite bench and glared at me like a watchdog. I ignored him and took out a small first aid kit from my bag.

“Sunbaenim, do you always carry a first aid kit in your bag?”

“Yeah. My role model is Florence Nightingale¹.”

“Oh… okay.”

I took out the disinfectant from the kit, sprayed it on Bear’s wound, covered it with gauze, and taped it up. The [Special Dexterity] skill seemed to apply here too, as I moved as if I’d done this dozens of times before. Ha, to think I only used such a sweet skill for hitting, breaking, killing, and tormenting… Ugh, forget it, let’s not think about it.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Kang Deokho.”

“That guy earlier, Lee Hyunwoo, right? Are you close with him?”

“Yeah. We’ve been together since elementary school. But why do you ask…?”

Bear, Kang Deokho, looked at me suspiciously. I wondered how to dispel his doubts and get him to help save Hyunwoo. After a moment of thought, I took out a small box from my bag and handed it to Bear. He looked at it curiously, and I gestured for him to open it.

“This is… a smoke grenade?”

“Technically, it’s a signal flare. But it produces smoke too.”

Inside the box were six emergency signal flares. I’d bought them online in bulk to temporarily escape the monsters’ line of sight. I wasn’t sure if this would save Hyunwoo, but I couldn’t talk about the future. I had no justification to do more. Ha, would he really fall for such a lame lie? I leaned in close and whispered in his ear with a grave expression.

“There’s a ghost attached to him².”

“……Huh?”

“Ahem, ahem… I, uh, have spiritual powers… I can see a ghost behind Hyunwoo.”

Damn… my face was turning red. Spiritual powers? What a load of crap.