"Come on, Seolhyo. Park Dong and Irina is already eating any minute they'll devour all of it. Let's go, too."
She gave a tiny nod but didn't budge from behind me.
When I walk to the table, the whole group looked over then burst out laughing.
"Lol, here comes the lovebirds!"
"Finish your morning date already?"
"Man, it's too early for this cheesy stuff."
I chuckled at their noise, but Seolhyo only pressed tighter into my back, face completely hidden.
"Come on, Seolhyo, it's not gonna kill you," I coaxed, turning around to face her.
She instantly hid her face with both hands.
I sighed, then gently placed my hands on her waist and tugged her forward, guiding her to sit beside me.
She squeaked in protest, but I kept her in place until she gave up.
After all the relentless teasing, Seolhyo had finally managed to calm down and slip back into her usual self, though her cheeks still carried the faintest tint of pink.
Once breakfast was finished, we all went about cleaning up the mess left from the night before.
Park Dong was lying down staring at the tv with Suwon and Inseop after they clean the Table, Daegyu was washing the dishes proclaiming himself as a master in this art.
Outside, Hyewon, Seolhyo, and Jinkyung carried a tray of bowls and utensils back toward the house, chatting softly between themselves.
The air was crisp, the grass still wet with dew, and the faint smoke of last night's fire lingered in the yard.
Hyewon glanced over her shoulder. "Jinkyung, let's go inside first. You cleaned up everything here, right?"
Jinkyung nodded, wiping her sweat after cleaning the big wooden table. "Yeah, got it. Nothing left out here."
"Did you all have fun yesterday?"
Jinkyung turn around and sees Ono's dad standing there with a smile.
Jinkyung straightened politely, bowing her head a little. "Ah, yes. We ate really well yesterday. Thank you so much for letting us use the place."
The old man with a faint smile but blunt voice deep and steady. "It's good to hear. And you had your fun without drinking yourselves silly. That's a relief. Having self-control is a virtue if you can keep that, you'll avoid the kinds of mistakes that stay with you for a long time."
Jinkyung gave him a wary look.
Did he forget what happened yesterday?
Ono's father's has this faint smile. "That guy inho…"
"Because of his personality, other kids never really approached him. He often kept to himself. As a father, I worried he might carry that loneliness with him, but seeing him yesterday with you all yesterday, looks like he's doing okay in high school. As a blunt father, I was worried a lot too. It's been a long time since I saw such an excited face, Thank you."
Jinkyung remembering Ono blank expression yesterday that never once change or waver. "...Was that an excited expression..?"
Ono's dad replied bluntly. "Yes."
After we finished cleaning up Ono's house, we drifted outside to the gazebo near the place.
A table sat in the middle, but most of us just lounged around it.
Ono was seated cross-legged on the floor, arm locked with Daegyu's.
"START!!"
With a grunt and a quick slam, Daegyu's hand hit the wood.
"AAAAACK!?"
"Wow, Ono you're no joke, seriously?" Daegyu groaned, rubbing his wrist.
Inseop laugh at him. "HAHA, Daegyu, you went down in one second flat."
Suwon chuckled. "HAHA, I told you he's a monster."
Leaning lazily against the gazebo railing, Park Dong laughed mocking Daegyu. "The heck, Daegyu? so embarrassing Lol. Your build look decent but you're surprisingly weak."
Daegyu shot him a cautious look. "Heh, why don't you try it, then?"
Park Dong smirked, looking at Ono. "Heh~. Maybe I will Ono, do it with me!."
They locked hands.
Not even a full second later, Park Dong's arm was slammed down and his body sprawled onto the floor.
The whole gazebo shook with laughter.
"Lol, he didn't even last a second! HAHA"
"Guess Ono really is a beast."
"Park Dong being weak probably had something to do with it."
Park Dong didn't retaliate to this seemingly out of breath at the wooden floor.
Daegyu leaned forward, grinning slyly. "Hey, why don't you try it, Jinkyung?"
Jinkyung blinked. "Huh? Me?"
Seolhyo. "Why would you make a girl arm wrestle?"
Still hugging Seolhyo from behind, my chin resting lazily on her head while she fiddled with a camera, I chuckled. "Yeah, stop dragging girls into your pride matches."
Park Dong suddenly stand up looking at Jinkyung. "Jinkyung-mon!!, we can't let our middle school team lose like this!."
"What does that even have to do with this?" Jinkyung muttered, rolling her eyes.
Inseop and Suwon's eyes lit up at the same time they almost look like an elementary student. "Oh! Jinkyung versus Ono would actually be a good match."
"BIG MATCH!!" "BIG MATCH!!"
Jinkyung fidgeting.
Ugh... I hate the strong image..
Jinkyung finally agreed sitting on her knees her arm was resting on the small table across to her was Ono.
As they grip each other hands.
Jinkyung feeling an tingling feeling.
Hands are small..
Kind of cute, I think..
"START!"
But!! A match is a match!!
For a moment, their hands stayed locked, neither budging.
"Woah!! he didn't fall right away!!!"
Ono's brows furrowed, a flicker of surprise crossing his face but he recover quickly.
..Impressive.
However!!
BAM!
The boys was staring at Jinkyung who lie on the floor.
"Jinkyung lost too.."
"No way.."
"She lasted about 5 seconds.."
Seolhyo tapped Seojin's arm, signaling him to let go.
He released her at once.
She crouched beside Jinkyung. "Are you okay, Jinkyung?"
Jinkyung pushed herself up slightly and rubbed her wrist. "Yeah… I'm fine."
"Hey, take it easy. What were you thinking?" Seolhyo said, concern lacing her voice.
But Jinkyung wasn't hearing what she was saying.
Losing like this… without being able to do anything.
It's the first time.
Her expression suddenly softened, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
Strangely enough, Kim Jinkyung didn't seem to hate her first defeat.
Seolhyo near her face and felt a shiver crawl up her spine seeing Jinkyung like this for the first time.
Inseop and Suwon were glaring at Ono from across the table, not wanting to believe no one can defeat this guy.
Then Suwon's eyes suddenly lit up. "Seojin! It's your turn!"
Inseop whipped around to me too. "Yeah, Seojin. Defeat that guy. I seriously can't stand his smug face."
I raised a brow and looked at Ono.
His expression didn't change even once its always blank, calm, if anything he look bored.
Which part of that is smug?
Park Dong slapped a hand onto my shoulder. "Go, my boy. Don't embarrass our class."
I chuckled at their antics.
I sat down across from Ono, resting my elbow on the small table. He mirrored me, placing his arm down without a word.
When our hands clasped, I felt it immediately.
Solid.
His palm was rough, calloused from all the exercise.
Thick skin along the base of his fingers. Slight ridges across his palm.
Ono's eyes finally sharpened as he looked at me, focus settling in.
For the first time, he actually looked serious.
"START!!"
The moment the signal rang out, our arms locked in place.
Nothing moved.
Not even a millimeter.
The table creaked faintly under the pressure, but neither of us budged. My muscles tensed, veins standing out along my forearm. Ono's grip was unyielding, his wrist perfectly straight, posture slightly tense finally feeling a pressure on his muscles.
Seconds ticked by.
Ten.
Twenty.
The noise around us faded into the background.
I could hear my own breathing, steady but heavier now.
This guy…
He's really strong.
Half a minute passed, and it felt ridiculous.
They looked like a statues locked in place.
Inseop hissed under his breath. "Why isn't it moving?!"
Park Dong leaned closer. "Hey, is this thing frozen or what?"
Ono didn't even blink.
That's when I decided.
Alright.
Enough warming up.
I adjusted my grip just slightly, tightening my fingers, lowering my shoulder.
I let out a slow breath and stopped holding back.
My muscles bulged as I pushed, not explosively, but steadily, pouring everything into one clean motion.
Ono's eyes widened just a fraction.
That was it.
His arm trembled.
Just a little.
Then, inch by inch, his wrist tilted.
Gasps erupted around us.
"OHH!!"
I pressed harder, gripping hard the edge of the table, until-
THUD.
Ono's hand hit the table.
Silence.
For a split second, no one spoke.
Then the gazebo exploded with noise.
"SEOOOJIIIN!!"
"HE WON!!"
"YEEEES!!"
I released Ono's hand and leaned back, exhaling hard, arm burning.
Ono stared at the table for a moment… then slowly lifted his head.
"…You're strong," he said plainly.