I am Smart

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I’m a 16-year-old male, currently in my third year of middle school.

Puberty is about to end, and my basic social skills are nearly complete by now.

When talking to people, you have to maintain eye contact.

Staring at someone’s body is a big no-no.

Especially if that someone is a woman.

And this is common sense that has already been established long ago, even among the younger ones.

With her, whom I’ve met a few times, I have always… not always, but I’ve been trying my best to adhere to this rule.

But.

“”……””

Right now, it was nearly impossible to do so.

She had an extraordinarily beautiful and three-dimensional appearance, no matter where you looked at her.

But that was only difficult at first; now that I’m a bit more accustomed, I can handle it rationally.

However, the change in the other person.

That’s something that animals instinctively pick up on very sensitively.

And the change in a specific part of a woman,

“”……””

Instantly stole away the still immature social skills of the boys in puberty.

Boys learned from her several times that the expression “I can’t breathe” could actually happen.

As a few seconds felt like an eternity,

“Hey. Hey!”

– Tap

“Ah.”

“Ouch.”

The first boy to regain his composure slapped the back of another boy’s head.

Only then did the other boys snap out of it and finally avert their gazes.

The boy who struck was a high school student and was already familiar with the girl.

“Ahem.”

Suppressing the instinctual urge to look, the boy cleared his throat and spoke as calmly as he could.

“Ah, hello, sister.”

“…… Hello.”

The woman, seemingly forgetting where to place her hands, awkwardly rested them on her stomach, her ears turning red as she replied.

“Hey, pass!”

“Over here!”

“Go go go go!!”

The boys’ match resumed.

Moon Si-hyun, as she’d mentioned, sat on a plastic bench at the far end of the field, quietly watching the boys play soccer without participating.

Even while playing, the boys occasionally glanced over to where Moon Si-hyun was.

“……”

Momentarily reminded of earlier events, Moon Si-hyun instinctively raised her hand slightly before lowering it again.

She then looked down at herself and recalled the underwear she had changed into just before coming out for a walk.

Her wardrobe had two main types of underwear: regular bras and sports bras.

She usually wore sports bras for running, soccer, and Fiore, while opting for regular ones otherwise.

Perhaps due to her preference or differences in the products, she found the regular bras to be more comfortable.

It was because of the pressure from the sports bras.

That could be an advantage for her, but it was difficult to wear only sports bras because of that one merit.

Firstly, they were uncomfortable. In the past, she had tried wearing a sports bra, and even with the strong pressure, her physical attributes couldn’t be completely concealed.

Also, the boys’ gazes were drawn more to the ‘change’ rather than the sheer size itself.

Realizing she only had to bring that up when meeting boys, Moon Si-hyun gradually came to terms with the stares.

They would quickly adapt to the changed Moon Si-hyun.

…Hopefully.

A boy’s much-anticipated shot missed.

“Ah! Damn it!”

He stomped his feet in frustration.

About 30 minutes after Moon Si-hyun arrived, the heat of the field grew increasingly intense.

The students, who loved soccer normally, were even more fierce today. They didn’t hesitate to engage in physical confrontations to retrieve the ball.

Moon Si-hyun watched the match with keen interest.

– Thud!

– Whack!

One boy fought through the tussle and, in a blink, dribbled past the defender before kicking the ball decisively.

– Whoosh!

“……!”

Moon Si-hyun’s body slightly jolted.

“Wow! Nice shot, Daehyeok!”

“Nice!”

“Damn…!”

In that moment of mixed emotions, Daehyeok, with a wide smile, evaded the outstretched arms of his teammates.

…And ran straight toward Moon Si-hyun, who was quietly sitting with her legs together.

“Sister! Did you see!?”

“Huh? Yes.”

“How was it? Like Messi, right? Nice!?”

“I, I think it was nice. You did really well. It was super cool.”

“Wow……!”

The boy beamed at her compliment, then bowed his head and returned to the soccer field.

The soccer match resumed amid the collective lynching of the other waiting boys.

More time passed. Moon Si-hyun quietly stood up and entered the field.

“It’s over.”

“Hey! It’s over! Come back!”

“Hey! You were amazing, Daehyeok. Today, you are Messi-approved.”

“I really wanted to kick someone there, but I admit it.”

As if they had a pact, the boys encircled Moon Si-hyun.

And… this time, desperately holding back the swirling gazes, they began discussing various things about the match.

– Did you enjoy it?

– But you weren’t bored, right?

– So who do you think did the best among us?

At the last question, Moon Si-hyun pointed to Daehyeok from earlier, and he broke into a goofy grin, receiving banter from the other students.

“Oh, by the way, sister. Do you want to have a one-on-one dribbling contest with me? I’m really confident I can win this time.”

“…… No. I’m just… not feeling well today. Sorry.”

Seeing a classmate look at her body while suggesting it, she regrettably turned him down.

As she watched the setting sun and the cheerful faces of the boys,

“”……””

The boys quieted down.

“Hey. It’s not going to be a bloodbath now, right?”

They whispered among themselves, trying to avoid her hearing anything.

“……”

Moon Si-hyun paused, piecing together the words she couldn’t hear.

After a moment’s thought, she opened her mouth.

“Everyone worked hard. I’ll buy you ice cream.”

“”Thank you for the meal!!””

The boys’ loud voices echoed around her.

They headed toward an ice cream shop.

However, strangely enough, she specifically asked the boys to only get tube-shaped, so-called chupa-chups ice cream.

With chupa-chups in hand, they chatted outside.

“Sister, but didn’t you say you’re 21? You must be very rich.”

“You seem to have a good job. Didn’t you say you’re attending some prestigious university? Where was it?”

“Of course, ice cream is nothing to buy for you.”

“Wow……”

“Oh… do you do tutoring or something? If you go to a prestigious university?”

“Um, not tutoring. Something else.”

Moon Si-hyun casually tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I have a job that only I can do.”

“Wow……”

“Whoa……”

“Hmph…”

At their pure reactions, Moon Si-hyun’s shoulders rose slightly.

After a little more time passed, with dozens of students, their conversations never reached a conclusion.

Then, one boy, who had been chatting with a group, spoke loudly.

“Honestly, Hyun-dil is the coolest.”

“Hey. Don’t talk about games while there’s a woman present. Don’t be a nerd.”

Then one boy jokingly said.

“Not really. I know Fiore.”

“Huh? Sister, do you know Fiore?”

The boys looked at Moon Si-hyun with expressions of surprise.

And that expression soon turned to pleasure.

“Um… I know a little. What rank are you all?”

“Oh, you know! I’m Silver.”

“I’m Gold.”

“I’m Gold.”

“Dude, you just became Silver.”

“Our top rank is Gold.”

“I’m Platinum.”

“That’s right. He’s the highest.”

Various ranks were mentioned.

“Hmm, hmmm…”

Moon Si-hyun took another bite of her ice cream, looking as if lost in thought.

“By the way, what’s it like to be a Grandmaster? Is there one around?”

“Grandmaster? Um…”

The boy hesitated for a moment.

“No, I don’t know about Grandmasters, but there’s no Grandmaster. That’s a true heavenly realm.”

“Okay.”

“But I keep an eye on the Grandmaster replays, and from Grandmaster onward, it’s really something else. It feels like they’re just born different.”

The Platinum-ranked boy spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“First of all, their physicality is on another level. It feels like they have several times more nerves than us.”

“…… And?”

“Masters are the same, but from there onward, it’s like talent. Their reaction speeds are out of this world.”

“…… And?”

“……?”

The boy, taken aback by Moon Si-hyun’s sudden closeness and not understanding her repeated inquiries, stumbled.

“Oh, and first you have to be born with it. You need to be smart, I think. The ability to reflect, or something? Not just a sense, but knowing how to outperform others.”

“Hmph. Is that so?”

“Hehe, yes.”

“Hmph……”

Of course, nobody would understand her underlying thoughts.

They just laughed back because she was smiling rarely.

A bit more time passed.

Now, the students were chatting among themselves.

– Hey, are we seeing this person again?

– Yeah.

Then one boy approached Moon Si-hyun.

– But what was this person’s name? Why are we seeing her? Is it interesting?

“Sister, do you play Fiore well?”

“Just okay.”

“Hey, don’t say that. I’m actually really curious.”

At the boy’s persistent questioning,

Moon Si-hyun, as if waiting for this moment,

“Actually, uh-”

– It’s Moon Si-hyun. No, is she really…

Click.

Her sentence was abruptly interrupted by a few words heard from nearby.

“What? Bru? What did you say?”

“…… Nothing.”

Moon Si-hyun paused and stopped talking further.

As the sun began to set, it was time for her and the boys to part ways.

Seemingly sensing this, the students engaged with Moon Si-hyun more actively.

They asked her about hobbies, skills, and even mustered the courage to ask for her phone number, all ending in failure.

Then, one boy suddenly seemed to recall something and said.

“Hey, by the way, does anyone know her name?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“How did we not know until now?”

“Shit, we’ve only been calling her sister.”

Eventually, the boys gathered around her.

“Sister, what’s your name?”

“……”

“It’s a secret.”

“…… Huh?”

She answered with a response that was completely unexpected.

Bowing politely, she departed.

And as she walked away, her ears…

Were bright red.