Taehyung heard Eunwoo claim to be bullied and laughed. "Don't try to shirk your responsibilities."
"It's true. Boss, today at Shanghu Square..."
As the result of seven separate universities' mergers, Rain City United University's campus layout was a little complicated. There were some areas belonging to the school that outsiders had free access to. Shanghu Square was one such area. It was a recreational square and residents nearby often went there for walks or dance activities.
Some RCU clubs also liked to hold their activities there. There was no need to first gain the school committee's approval, which made things much more convenient.
"What happened next? Did you guys fight?"
"No, but we almost did. I accidentally bumped into one of them and they started shoving and scolding me. Then, our two groups started quarreling."
"And then?"
"And then they challenged us to a battle."
"...The heck?"
"We decided to have a friendly match. The losing team will have to apologize."
"Mm. Everything's fine as long as you're alright."
"Boss, I'm so touched by your concern."
"Don't forget to wash the socks when you're back."
"......" Being touched was a delusion.
——
At night, Taehyung made sure that Jungkook's socks were safely delivered into Eunwoo's hands. Then, he appraised him from head to toe and asked, "Sure you didn't get beaten up?"
"Nope. But Boss, they're way too arrogant. Look.' As Eunwoo spoke, he passed his phone to Taehyung. "They spread this incident all over the internet and uploaded it on Weibo and WeChat. They even posted this on both the city and our school's online forums. To make things worse, I've just searched and found out that there's someone in their club who won a prize in an artistic roller skating competition before. I think our club is doomed."
Taehyung moved his finger and scanned the content of the forum post. He then did a quick search of the opposing club's information. He pondered the whole incident. "Heh."
"What?"
"Fool, you guys have been set up."
"What do you mean?"
"They're a newly established club that badly needs publicity. Intentionally finding fault on Saturday night, provoking the bunch of you, attracting widespread attention, unabashedly circulating this entire incident... all these speak of a publicity stunt. They're trying to hype up their club at the expense of RCU."
"Eh."
Eunwoo felt that things were not looking good and immediately reported Taehyung's suspicions to his club president.
The club president had also suspected the same. However, the problem was that regardless of whether it was a publicity stunt, it was impossible to retreat halfway. There were only two options now—to either win or be an embarrassment.
"I'm going to try obtaining help from someone in the figure skating team," The club president said.
Taehyung who was listening at the side immediately shook his head. "That's a blunder."
After hanging up on his call with his club president, Eunwoo softly tapped Taehyung's arm. "Boss, you have a solution, right? Please... help?"
"Wash the socks."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll wash them."
——
Sunday evening arrived and the gossip spread like a virus online. Within one night, everyone in school knew that the inline skating club was going to compete with a bunch of outsiders. Some people made sarcastic remarks while others were in it for the drama. Some suggested tips and ideas while a few people broke into a sweat thinking of the potential outcomes. However, they all had one thing in common—all of them were united against a common enemy. After all, as a member of RCU, no one was willing to see their fellow students being bullied by others.
They must win!
This was the thought of most people as reflected in the constantly ticking feed of status updates in WeChat.
Taehyung oddly felt like he was under a lot of pressure.
The competition was set for the next day, a Monday. After learning of the incident, the school committee quickly gave the inline skating club special approval to use the east sports field from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm. The school committee teacher expressed the school's heartfelt wishes, saying that they could not help much beyond providing a home ground advantage, and hoped that the students will perform to the best of their abilities blah blah blah...
The inline skating club had never enjoyed such a huge activity ground before. The club president was overwhelmed by this special treatment.
Taehyung rushed over to the sports field immediately after his lesson. When he reached the place, he got shocked by how many people there were.
The majority of them were there to watch a show.
Jungkook was also there. The bag was slung over one shoulder and wearing his signature white tracksuit, he was casually leaning against the wire fence surrounding the sports field and attracting his circle of attention.
Some people were simply this extraordinary. Although he was low-key and kept silent, he was impossible to overlook even without speaking a word.
Taehyung did not have time to deal with Jungkook. He ran into the true center of the storm.
Jungkook spotted him as well. Seeing his head over, he immediately followed.
Taehyung walked to the inline skating club president's side. Under the semblance of concern, he asked, "President, has it begun?"
"No, we're still deciding on what to compete," The club president replied.
Taehyung glanced at people standing opposite the club president. There were around five or six of them and they were all guys. They were led by someone with hair dyed in the shade of an ash grey. He asked Grey Hair, "So what are we competing?"
"Need you ask? Of course, it's roller skating tricks."
"Roller skating tricks can't do. There are no judges. How would we know who won? To decide the winner, we'll need to greatly increase the difficulty of the tricks performed. What if someone gets injured? Have you bought insurance? Furthermore, you bunch have someone who won gold in the Nationals before. Coming over to compete with us who are doing this for recreation, what are you guys up to?"
"Hey now, what are you up to? What else can we compete if we don't compete on roller skating tricks?"
Taehyung nonchalantly shrugged. "We can compete on speed. Everyone here can be the judge."
At his words, numerous people in the crowd nodded.
Grey Hair was amused. With a slightly mocking expression, he asked, "Little boy, are you taking me for a fool? You've already prepared external helpers, haven't you? You're just waiting for me to take the bait."
Taehyung crossed his arms. He mimicked his expression and replied, "Don't you take us for fools either. Who's the one laying a trap here, everyone knows." As he spoke, he fished out his student ID and passed it to him. "My student ID. Take a good look. The metal embosses on it are different from the ones you find on fake IDs that you can get for 20 won. If you don't believe me, you can verify it at the Academic Affairs Office."
His action startled Grey Hair. "You?"
"Yeah, me."
"You're racing against us?" Grey Hair was in disbelief and asked again for confirmation.
"Why? Can't I compete?" Taehyung spoke and looked at the club president. "President, can I?"
"Yes... yes..." The club president felt himself breaking into a sweat.
Grey Hair was dissatisfied. "How can this do? By competing with you, we're going to win with an unfair advantage. Ask a guy to come up instead. Speed skating it shall be. Whoever who's afraid is a turtle."
"Heh," Taehyung scoffed. His laughter was arrogant and domineering. "Say, even though I'm feminine, you guys might not necessarily win against me either."
Grey Hair frowned and was about to speak when someone behind him stepped forward. "I'll compete with him."
Taehyung looked at the speaker. He was of an average build with tanned skin. He wore a red jacket with a skull design and a dog tag necklace, looking like a young rapper.
He walked in front of Taehyung and said, "I'll compete with you."
"Sure."
"Loser will streak."
At his words, the crowd stirred. Many immediately objected, saying that he was being a bully. From the beginning, most people felt that losing was a given after learning that a feminine boy would be speed skating against a guy. Some people had already helped the inline skating club to come up with an excuse. By letting a boy compete, even if they lost, it was nothing to be too embarrassed about. The inline skating club must have done this as they felt that they were bound to lose, and wanted to minimize their level of embarrassment. Even though sending out a boy to mess things up was nothing glamorous, it was still a very effective solution.
It wasn't just the crowd who thought this way. Grey Hair had the same thoughts.
To be honest, even the club president thought this way.
However, this condition from Skull Head had aggravated things and it was now impossible for the RCU inline skating club to muddle their way through this challenge.
Taehyung was stunned for a moment. He solemnly met his eyes and asked, "You're serious?"
"Of course."
Taehyung pointed at him. "I admire your courage. Alright, we'll do as you say. The loser will streak."
The crowd went into an uproar and felt a wave of pity for him. Boy, you've lost your mind!
Eunwoo was almost in tears. "Boss, we won't compete!"
At this moment, a voice sounded from the crowd. This voice was low and reserved, and his tone was like frosted steel with a bite of unhappiness to it. "I'll do it."
The crowd looked over and saw Jungkook stand out. He walked to Taehyung's side and said, "I'll compete instead. The loser will streak."
Whoa——
The surrounding students were once again sent into a flurry. Even Jungkook had appeared! And he wanted to stand in for a boy in a competition too! Just what was his relationship with this guy??
Based on the numerous plot twists in this "show" so far, it was more than well worth their time here.
Taehyung did not even turn his head. He put one hand back and it coincidentally landed on Jungkook's chest, managing to stop him in a very suave manner. He said, "There's no need. Get your phone ready for recording. He's going to streak in a bit."
Jungkook sounded exasperated. "Stop fooling around."
"I'm not."
Jungkook grabbed his wrist. "Have you forgotten? You need to do as I say."
"Stand at the side and watch me. I'll do as you say tomorrow."
Jungkook's face was a little grim. "The one named Kim, why are you still so dense?"
"The one named Jeon." Taehyung turned to meet his gaze. "Right now, it's enough if you just cheer '666' for me."
The surrounding audience all felt their hearts... clamoring. How come there was even a lovers' quarrel? Jesus, where did this drama pop up from...
Jungkook was ultimately unable to change Taehyung's mind. He retreated into the crowd and stood beside Eunwoo. He quietly said, "Later, if he loses, I'll just scoop him up and run. Clear the way for me."
"Alright!" Eunwoo heavily nodded. He suddenly felt that Jungkook was not that detestable after all.
Even though Jungkook was always going against his boss, he was still quite dependable at crucial moments...
"I'm willing to wash your socks for you," Eunwoo said sincerely.
Jungkook was speechless. "I'm not willing..."