I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 119 : Sports Day (3)

"Cotton candy here!"

"Get your hot dogs!"

"Fish-shaped pastries! Both red bean and custard cream available!"

"Thirsty after eating? Get a slushie!"

"Tteokbokki and fish cake set for just 5,000 won!"

The staff who normally ran cafes, marts, and clothing stores on campus.

Today, they changed their businesses to set up a food court and were selling food for the cadets' memories.

"This is incredible, really."

The cadets' eyes lit up as they looked at the food courts lined up on both sides.

"Wow."

"I want to eat everything."

Kim A-yun and Song Yu-ha showed the remarkable feat of visibly drooling through their eyes.

"Um, it should be okay to eat a bit today, right?"

"Yeah. You should cheat a little too."

Kwon Seung-yeon and Hwang Ji-su couldn't resist the urge to snack either.

"Hmm. Maybe I'll try some fish-shaped pastries."

"But isn't it too hot?"

"Fight fire with fire."

Seo Jun-seong and Nam Tae-hoon were also quietly choosing their menus.

"......"

Lee Yu-jin was a bit downcast at the suddenly increased group size.

"Lee Yu-jin."

"Yes?"

"Want a hot dog?"

As Su-hyeon showed consideration for her, Yu-jin's expression softened a bit.

"...I want cotton candy."

"An unexpected pick."

With their academics, skills, and even appearances.

As these eye-catching cadets walked together, all the attention around them was focused on them.

"Hey, Jeong Su-hyeon! I saw you earlier, you're good at volleyball?"

"Your spikes were artistic, and the hitting point was amazing."

Su-hyeon bowed his head to the seniors' greetings.

"Thank you."

"Oh! Wait!"

Just then, Song Yu-ha, who had discovered something, pointed somewhere.

"What?"

"Isn't that Mina and Tae-hoon over there?"

"!"

"What what. Are they that kind of relationship?"

"......"

Kwon Seung-yeon and Su-hyeon exchanged glances.

'Hey, is that...?'

'Seems he's found his courage.'

Of course, Nam Tae-hoon was just talking one-sidedly by himself, and Choi Mina was quietly eating her fish-shaped pastry with a face that made it impossible to tell if she was listening or not.

Seeing Nam Tae-hoon diligently making efforts, Lee Yu-jin also burned with determination.

'That's right. I can't lose either.'

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After lunch time ended, the first competition held was tug-of-war against Class 3.

"Everyone."

Instructor Kim Cheol-han, gathering Class 1, made his eyes gleam.

"Finish it thoroughly."

"Yes, sir!"

At the very front, Su-hyeon and Kang Geon-woo stood in a zigzag pattern, subduing the Class 3 cadets with their gazes.

At the very back, Kong Yeongjin and Seong Do-kyung, boasting the greatest brute strength, formed a solid support structure.

Peeeep!

"Pull!"

"Hraaap!"

Every time the Class 1 cadets undulated in unison like a single snake, the Class 3 cadets were pulled forward.

Peeeeeep!

"Game over! Class 1 advances to the finals!"

"Waaah..."

Song Yu-ha looked at her sore palms with a tearful expression.

"How can it end in just 30 seconds..."

Meanwhile, in soccer, surprisingly, Class 3, who had defeated Class 2 in a penalty shootout battle, advanced to the finals.

"I didn't expect Class 2 to lose."

"Class 3 prepared well."

"Now everyone pay attention. Class 3's tactics are simple."

Kim Ho-su, who was serving as both player and coach, said.

"Players with good organization sit deep with ten men behind the ball to defend, and as soon as they steal the ball, they counterattack. At this time, more than half of the counterattacks are made through crosses by fullbacks and wingers running down the sides. They also have high-quality set plays for free kicks and corner kicks."

"Hmm."

Hong In-hyeon stroked his chin.

"It'll be annoying if they sit back."

"First, we need to be able to shake their defense and draw them out. Su-hyeon, take a lot of medium-range shots from distance."

"Then when the opponent is drawn out, we can pass to someone penetrating the empty space."

"Keu. It's like you read my mind."

Kim Ho-su gave a thumbs up.

"In-hyeon, you can play freely as an inverted winger. You know what I mean, right?"

"Okay."

"When the fullbacks overlap, the two center-backs and defensive midfielder will form a back three and give us a La Volpiana feel."

"Right. We'll need to push with numerical superiority."

"Soyul and Seung-yeon need to run diligently and give it their all. Especially Soyul needs to do well in the middle."

"Leave it to me. I'm confident in my stamina."

"Jeremy, post up well and come down often to draw the center-backs."

"Got it."

"Alright, let's go!"

"Ou!"

As Kim Ho-su predicted, in the early stages of the game, Class 1 struggled in a frustrating flow.

"Damn it!"

As two or three players clung to her every time she got the ball, exerting pressure, Han Soyul couldn't endure and lost the ball.

"Run!"

With a simple kick-and-rush tactic that skipped complex build-up, a counterattack began instantly.

"Guooooh!"

As Kim Ho-su, boasting the best acceleration in Class 1, instantly caught up to the opposing winger, the winger, feeling the pressure, passed to the striker.

The striker then gave it to the winger on the opposite side before rushing towards the goal.

"Aish!"

Behind Nam Tae-hoon, who had been deceived by the opponent's fake and was bypassed, the opposing winger's cross went up.

"Not a chance!"

Kang Geon-woo, who had rushed out first, blocked the cross with a punch.

"Su-hyeon!"

Kwak Dong-ho sent the loose ball far to Su-hyeon.

"Ugh!"

Su-hyeon, who had bounced off his marker with a terrifying body check, received the ball with his chest and dropped it softly to his feet.

Then he advanced straight towards the goal!

Though not the type to display flashy individual skills, Su-hyeon's strength was concise dribbling that avoided opponents' tackles based on his dynamic vision and reflexes.

"Tch!"

Su-hyeon, who had peeled off the opponent's tackle while watching it, bounded forward.

'No chance!'

He succeeded in bypassing the opposing defensive midfielder who was rushing in to press with a picture-perfect La Croqueta.

"Waaah!"

"It's open!"

Su-hyeon, who had approached the penalty box, showed off his monstrous thighs and fired a powerful right-footed medium-range shot.

Bbeoooong!

A terrifying shot that seemed like it should be avoided rather than blocked went straight into the top corner of the far post, becoming Class 1's opening goal.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Hmm. Simple."

Su-hyeon stood in place, folded his arms, and nodded coolly as a celebration.

"His kick power is insane!"

"If that had hit someone, their fingers would've broken!"

But Class 1's lead was ended by Class 3's counterattack, which succeeded with a lucky header goal from a corner kick just before the end of the first half.

Thus, entering halftime at 1-1.

Kim Ho-su was discussing tactics on the spot to shake the opponent's defense.

"It would be good if Seung-yeon spreads wider to the sides, and Soyul actively penetrates and makes movements to receive cutbacks."

"Got it."

"Su-hyeon is just right. Keep drawing aggro with medium-range shots as I said earlier. Your passes are good too, so stab them in frequently. And..."

Kim A-yun's expression as she watched Su-hyeon, who had wiped his sweat with his own towel and was seriously attending the tactical meeting.

Seeing this, Hwang Ji-su nodded, confirming that her prediction was correct.

'Jeong Su-hyeon, good skills too.'

Well, it seemed natural that Kim A-yun would show goodwill towards Su-hyeon, who treated her well and provided tremendous help with skill development.

"Hmph."

Hwang Ji-su, who made an "hmph" sound for no reason, approached Kwon Seung-yeon.

"You should make a move too."

"Okay. Just leave it to me."

Kwon Seung-yeon showed enthusiasm, blowing air through her nose.

And a chance came to Kwon Seung-yeon.

In the 8th minute of the second half, Su-hyeon, who had bypassed his marker with a feint as if he was going to take another medium-range shot, stabbed a perfect trajectory lobbed through pass to Kwon Seung-yeon running to the side.

"Nice!"

Kwon Seung-yeon gently trapped the ball that dropped in front of her feet.

She was given two options.

'Cutback to Jeremy? Or shoot directly?'

The problem was that in a situation where the defense was tightly packed, there was a delay in her decision.

"Aww!"

After hesitating, she hurriedly took an awkward shot, only to have it blocked by the opposing center-back's foot, making Kwon Seung-yeon express her regret.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay."

Su-hyeon calmly raised his hand.

'Maybe I'll try the other side next time.'

In the 22nd minute of the second half, Su-hyeon's right foot shone once again.

"Jeong Su-hyeon!"

Han Soyul, who had cut off the opponent's pass with quick feet, immediately stabbed a through pass to Su-hyeon.

Capturing the somewhat long pass by running at tremendous speed, Su-hyeon watched the movement of the opposing defense and instantly stabbed a killer pass to Jeremy McGarr, who was finding and entering good space.

"Perfect angle!"

Jeremy McGarr, who received the ball while bypassing the opposing center-back with instant speed, sent a low pass to the right to avoid the rushing goalkeeper.

"Nice pass!"

Kwon Seung-yeon succeeded in widening the score to 2-1 by putting the ball into the empty goal.

"Hou!"

Swooosh!

Kwon Seung-yeon excitedly launched a knee slide celebration.

Class 3, who had abandoned their ten-men defense and started an all-out attack with the hope that one goal could take them to overtime, however, suffered a counterattack just before the end of the second half.

"Run!"

Kim Ho-su, who was dribbling the ball and sprinting solo, sent a through pass to Hong In-hyeon, who was penetrating the center.

"No!"

As the angle for a right-footed curler opened up, the surprised center-back hurriedly moved to block the angle.

"Hook!"

Hong In-hyeon, who had beautifully bypassed him with a body feint, penetrated to the side.

'Damn, it wasn't a shot!'

The Class 3 center-back, who didn't expect Hong In-hyeon, who had been repeatedly penetrating inside and aiming for shots today, to attempt the movement of a classic winger, was beautifully caught by the counter-movement and watched his back.

Bbeong!

Hong In-hyeon pumped a low and fast trajectory cross into the box.

That ball passed by Su-hyeon and Jeremy McGarr, who were rushing into the box, and flew to the far post.

"Uooooh!"

Nam Tae-hoon was already rushing there!

'Watch me, Mina!'

With the sole thought of wanting to look cool to Choi Mina, it was the moment when Nam Tae-hoon's determination, which had made him overlap all the way to the goal just before the end of the second half, shone.

'Catch it!'

As Nam Tae-hoon threw his body and executed a heartfelt diving header.

"Huh!?"

Nam Tae-hoon's eyes widened as he belatedly realized that the ball was lower than expected.

"Puaek!"

Eventually, the ball hit his face head-on and rolled into the goal.

Peeeeeep!

"Goal! It's a goal!"

"Well done, Nam Tae-hoon!"

"Wait, didn't it hit his face?"

"That must've hurt a lot."

Among the whispering cadets.

"...You all saw it!"

Nam Tae-hoon maintained his dignity despite the embarrassment.

"A diving header that perfectly deadened the cross's speed! Class 1's problem solver was none other than me, Nam Tae-hoon!"

"Nam Tae-hoon."

Looking at him, Su-hyeon quietly said.

"...Your nose is bleeding."

Thanks to Nam Tae-hoon's clincher goal, which was accompanied by bloodshed, Class 1 won 3-1.

❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀

After that, winners of various events continued to be decided.

And the result so far was that Class 1 had won all events.

Class 1 showed their prowess by winning all finals—basketball and tug-of-war against Class 2, and volleyball and dodgeball against Class 3.

"This year's Class 1 is too dominant."

"There wasn't such an overwhelming score even in our time."

"Are they going to win everything?"

"Nah, that's impossible."

"Class 2 seems really good at baseball. They might lose there."

The second-year cadets buzzed with surprise.

"In this case, is the first-year MVP Jeong Su-hyeon?"

"That guy Hong In-hyeon was also quite impressive when playing basketball. He was good at soccer too."

"Hmm. It'll depend on how they do in the remaining events."

"If I were betting, I'd put money on Jeong Su-hyeon."

"Oh? Me too."

"Then I guess I should bet on Hong In-hyeon."

"Being a contrarian again?"

"Sigh."

Now only the baseball finals between Class 1 and Class 2, and the track events remained.

For Class 2, although the hope for overall victory had long since vanished.

"Understand? Baseball is our advantage!"

"Yes!"

Instructor Choi Seung-wook wanted to maintain at least some final dignity by winning even one event.

However.

'Baseball. Finally, my time has come.'

Whether that dream could be realized with Su-hyeon there was something to be seen.

'...Should I insert some coins and swing?'

Su-hyeon thought.