After the class ended, what happened to the vice president still bothered Song Yujin.
However, the following day, he was already occupied with practice, and Lee Hyun's strange behavior was completely forgotten.
"Okay, team! The upcoming competition might still be a few weeks away, but this is the perfect time to get ourselves in the right mindset and ramp up our preparation! This is the time to fine-tune your techniques, push your limits, and solidify your strategies. Remember! Greatness isn't achieved overnight; it's the result of consistent effort and dedication."
Coach Park clapped his hands to gather the attention of all the club members once again. "Now, I want each of you to set personal goals for these next few weeks! Whether it's improving your times, perfecting your techniques, or building strength, let's use this time to push ourselves and support one another. Your hard work now will pay off on competition day!"
The club members shouted back, raising their hands in the air.
Among all the hands that lowered after that boosting of energy, one remained lifted. Coach Park pointed at that person. It was the club manager—Min Wooyeon, a third-year student.
"Sir, how about the midterm exams? Are we exempted?"
Mr. Choi stood from the corner of the club room where he sat. "The coach encourages you to dream of winning the competitions but exempting you in the midterm exams won't be possible, even in your wildest dreams."
"Aww…." The members unanimously answered and looked dejected.
Coach Park chuckled at their reaction, but Mr. Choi took it seriously. "This is the reason why you're hearing from the coach his well-thought speech now. The week before the competition will be the examination days. So, you will have to take a break from practice for a few days and focus on studying. That's why he's telling you right now to prepare. You will be under strict training from today. Good luck."
Min Wooyeon mumbled, "Like they weren't already in that."
Song Yujin laughed at his words. It seemed that in Mr. Choi's standard, what they do isn't yet strict.
They went ahead with training after that.
- - - - -
It was lunchtime already and the bustling cafeteria was alive with the usual din of student chatter. Kim Hajin, a third-year student, sat alone at a corner table, her thoughts troubled and her friends who came with her to eat, knew she was occupied with something deep, so they didn't bother her.
Hajin slapped her forehead after being so clueless about the rumor going around the campus. Well, it was probably because it was only going around among second-year students, but the subject of the rumor was her brother, so she felt guilty that she had no idea about it all.
The rumor suggested that Yujin was an adopted child who was supposedly mooching off their family. Normally, it wouldn't bother her because she knows the truth but…this rumor seemed to be the one responsible for her brothers' quarrel.
So, to help the two reconcile, Hajin had made it her mission to get to the bottom of the rumor. She decided to skip lunch.
"Hey, Hajin, where are you going? You haven't even finished your meal!" Shin Eun-Ae, a friend of Hajin, asked worriedly.
Hajin smiled at Eun-Ae reassuringly. "I just remember I have something I need to do, so I'm leaving first. Continue your meals, guys, don't mind me. See you later!"
Hajin went back into her classroom. She said she'd find the root of the rumors, but she actually had no idea where to start. She pulled a notebook and a pen on her bag, then she started jotting down how.
After staring blankly at the blank paper, Hajin stood and walked out. She went downstairs—the floor where the second-year classrooms were. She sauntered down the hallway, listening to the whispers and chatters of the students taking a break in their classrooms.
She spotted 2-A—her brother's classroom. Her feet moved and stopped before the opened door, her eyes scanned the room. There were only two guys in the room, standing by the windows looking outside while chattering, and their backs were turned to Hajin.
Hajin was about to leave after not spotting her brothers, but then the words of the two boys made her stop.
"Song Yujin and Kim Hajun haven't been speaking with each other these days. They transferred here together, so you might think that they're closer but who knew they were brothers?"
"They were close. I think they just drifted away when they met Lu Yuze."
"Man, that guy sure knows how to wreck relationships! He must be poisoning Kim Hajun's mind. I mean, he did nothing but hang out with that guy with some of the thugs in the third year, while Song Yujin became an athlete. I bet Kim Hajun is jealous his adopted brother was better than him."
"If you say it like that, then do you think he was the one who spread that rumor?"
"Kim Hajun doesn't strike me as someone who spreads rumors, but I bet he mentioned it to Lu Yuze, and Lu Yuze is probably the one who did it. Poor Yujin, look at him training hard when his brother was ruining his image."
"Yeah, if Song Yujin's leeching off Kim Hajun's family, then why does he need to join the club and avail the scholarship and free tutoring classes? He can just show he's smarter than Kim Hajun and I bet their parents will support him more than Hajun."
Hajin gasped. She was surprised that people saw her brothers in competition. Is it the result of the rumor? Is this why Yujin didn't want anyone to learn the truth and never correct the wrong assumptions of their relationships?
Her heart sank after realizing his adopted brother's intentions. The bond between the three of them was strong, yet she was aware of the fault underneath, waiting to be activated by impure influences.
And it did happen.
Hajun's inferiority complex showed.
Hajin palmed her forehead. The forgotten rift between her brothers appeared again, and this time, she felt powerless to convince the two to reconcile. The thing she must do first was clear the doubt and misunderstanding between the two, by finding out who spread the rumor.
She asked some second-year students about Lu Yuze and found out how distant everyone was from that person. She heard outrageous rumors about him: smoking, skipping classes, hanging out with thugs outside school, and many more.
Why would Hajun befriend that kind of guy? Hajin wondered, extremely worried for her little brother. "And thugs…do you know who are they? Are they out-of-school teenagers or…?"
The guy who last answered Hajin's question shook his head. "I think…they're just delinquent students. I saw him once with them and noticed they were wearing the same uniforms. They might be third years since I rarely see them on this floor."
Kim Hajin's pulse quickened. She asked to describe the appearance of the third-year student the guy saw, and a face appeared on her head. Her investigations led her to Choi Sungkyu of 3-C, a student known for his bad behavior in school, and is considered a delinquent and feared by some.
However, Hajin wasn't scared. Before the lunch break ended, she went back to the third floor and stomped to the classroom of 3-C.