Tae Joon’s POV (indoor sports hall)

“Again!” Mr Baek ordered.

With the momentum built up from sprinting towards the bar, I launched my body off the ground. Instead of flying over the bar, I collided with it.

“Again!” Thump! “Again!” Thump! “Again!” Thump! “Again!” Thump!

After knocking over the bar for the 20th time, I punched the ground to vent my frustration.

“Tae Joon, stop. Come over here.”

“Ye, Seon saeng nim.”

“We shall stop here for today. Tomorrow, take a break as well.”

“But the competition is coming. I can’t relax…”

“How many jumps have you made today?”

“Around 20.”

“Yeah, you are overtraining. Your heels aren’t made of steel. Besides, the problem doesn’t lie with your physical body,” Mr Beak pointed to his chest, “It lies here.”

I lowered my head in embarrassment.

“I may not know exactly what’s going on in your life but the way I see it is unless you resolve the issues of your heart, your form will never return.”

“It’s ok. I shouldn’t allow personal…”

“JUST DO WHAT I SAY. Why do you have so much comments…”

After I finished showering, I made my way back to my dorm with my coach’s words still ringing in my head.

“The way I see it is unless you resolve the issues of your heart, your form will never return.”

For someone with a crass personality, Mr Baek was surprisingly sensitive to his students’ feelings. As a National Sports Star, I was ashamed to admit that I had allowed my love life, or rather the lack of it, to affect my performance. Initially, whenever Krystal rejected me, I assumed that she was merely playing hard-to-get. I understood that girls had been taught not to accept a love confession so easily, otherwise their boyfriends would not treasure them. Besides, Krystal looked especially cool whenever she rejected me. I liked that. However, the things Jae Hee told me yesterday shook my confidence. He dropped some hints that Krystal was in love with someone who was neither him nor me. Apart from that sissy, Eun Gyeol was the only guy that Krystal was friendly with. Naturally, I suspected that he was my rival to Krystal’s heart.

On second thought, I should be thankful that it was Eun Gyeol instead of that sissy. Firstly, he liked Sulli, so he would not be fighting with me. At the same time, it gave me an opportunity to offer solace to Krystal’s broken heart after seeing her crush falling for her best friend. If I tried hard enough, miracles might happen. After all, Miracle is just another name for hard work. Yes I was working hard to win Krystal’s heart.

With such thoughts in mind, I could feel the knots in my heart untying and my mood lightening. Unfortunately, my happiness was short-lived. It was abruptly cut off by the sight that greeted me as I opened the door…

“Oppa, you are finally back!” Seol Han Na sprang out of nowhere.

“Han Na! Why did sneak into my school again? What if you get caught?” I played a voice recording from my mobile phone. Thanks to modern technology, I did not have to buy a tape recorder, especially for this purpose.

“Why did you use a voice recorder… never mind. There is a bazaar opposite our school today. I screwed up my Maths paper earlier. Can you go with me to cheer me up? Please?”

“No thanks. I am tired from all the training,” I played the voice recorder again.

“Why do you keep doing that? It’s so rude!”

“If you don’t like it, just leave,” I pointed to the opened door.

“Leave? Nope. I’m staying until you agree to go with me,” Seol Han Na folded her arms and sat stubbornly on my bed.

I facepalmed myself, wishing Krystal had half of Han Na’s enthusiasm when it comes to me. “Fine, I go with you on one condition. Stop sneaking into my school in future.”

“Okay!” Han Na agreed happily.

I knew Seol Han Na would not keep her word, but that would do for now.

At the bazaar…

“Yum. This BBQ chicken wing is so delicious. Too bad oppa doesn’t like chicken,” Seol Han Na her fingers.

“Yeah I don’t,” I replied half-heartedly.

“They should have bazaars like this more often. It’s a great hangout for couples. I could feel so much romance in the air, don’t you feel it too, oppa?”

I smiled weakly at her. I would have felt it too if the person beside me was Krystal.

“Hey, there’s a tarot card stall over there. Let’s go and try it,” Seol Han Na dragged me to the tent.

“Anyeonghaseyo, Miss. Are you here to ask about your love life?” the gipsy like lady initiated the conversation as she laid out the cards on the table.

“How do you know? You are so accurate,” Seol Han Na quipped.

Of course, she did. That’s what 9 out of 10 school girls asked when they approached tarot card fortune tellers, I thought to myself. After the fortune teller got hold of Seol Han Na’s attention, I took the opportunity to sneak out of the tent.

The whiff of fresh air and the absence of Seol Han Na was such a relief. I continued to walk down the path and checked out the merchandise.

“Young man, do you want to get one of these bangles for your girlfriend?”

I scanned through the cheap-looking plastic accessories and decided that Krystal deserved better. However, I changed my mind when I noticed that the old lady selling these goods had only one leg, hence I decided to get something.

“This is my hottest selling item,” the old lady passed me a pair of LED flashing bangle. I agreed with her recommendation. It was the most interesting item she had.

“Okay. I would like to have a pair of that,” I paid her a 10,000 won note.

“Wait a while. I prepare the change.”

“It’s ok. You can keep the change.”

“You reminded me of another young man who also paid me 10,000 won for the same bangles as a gift to his girlfriend,” the old lady made a passing remark.

I did not know the young man that the old lady was talking about, but I had this strange feeling that I could not lose to him. Therefore I whipped out another 10,000 won note from my wallet. “Haemoni, this is for you.”

“What for? You have paid me more than enough. Use the money to give your girlfriend a treat instead. She’s coming this way…”

“Oppa! Why did you disappear without telling me?” Seol Han Na was throwing tantrums again, “That fortune-teller is a charlatan! She said that you and I are not meant to be together.”

I could not judge the ability of that fortune teller, but I was sure her analytical skill wasn’t bad. On seeing that I left Han Na behind, she could infer that I did not like Seol Han Na in a romantic way.

“What are you holding in your hands? Couple bangles? Is that why you sneaked out of the tent just now? You want to surprise me with those?” Seol Han Na beamed happily at me.

“No,” I picked up my pace and left the bazaar.

“Wait for me!” Seol Han Na chased after me. Soon we were alone on the path leading to both our schools.

“Oppa, why do you have to walk so fast?” Han Na was panting.

“I’m really tired. I need to go back. Goodbye.”

“Wait! Don’t you want to give me the bangle first?”

“This isn’t for you. It’s for Krystal.”

“Krystal! Krystal! What is it about Krystal that I am not? Tell me and I would change…”

“You are NOT Krystal. You are Seol Han Na,” I sighed, “I hope that answers your question.”

“So what if I am not Krystal! What’s so great about her anyway?! She is a loose who makes out with random guys in public…”

SLAP!

On realising what I had done, I recoiled my hand in shock.

“Oppa, you’ve never hit me before. Now you slap me because of that ?!” tears were streaming down Han Na’s face as she ran towards her school.

I was aware that my action in response to Han Na’s words was unforgivable, but I could not help it. No one insults Krystal and gets away with it, as long as I, Kang Tae Joon is around.