NOVEL NEXT chapter 51
50. What happens when your childhood friend gets sulky (2)
Physical fitness test.
It’s a student physical fitness assessment system that’s done in elementary, middle, and high school. We used to call it the physical fitness test, but nowadays they call it PAPS, the English acronym. At our school, we do it twice, once in the spring and once in the winter.
Of course, some schools might do it more or less than that. Anyway, there are five events.
When you think of fitness tests, you think of the shuttle run, push-ups, sit-ups, the 50-meter dash, and body fat measurement.
The body fat measurement just involves standing on the InBody machine, so it’s always first. The shuttle run is the hardest and most tiring, so it’s always last. So, Class 1 and 2 of the 1st grade gathered in the gymnasium and went straight to the health office for the InBody test.
“Oh, look, Overweight Kim Sungmin is here?”
“Shut your mouth, Stick.”
“A stick is better than overweight, right, you agree?”
“Nah, no way, girls like guys with some bulk better than sticks~”
As soon as they got their InBody result sheets, my friends started looking at each other’s, arguing about who was better and who was worse.
‘…I think I saw something similar back in elementary and middle school.’
Guys never really change, even as they get older.
I don’t know if it’s endearing or childish. It was so funny to watch, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Then Sungmin and Jaehyun glanced at me, who was smiling, and gestured me to come over.
“What’re you smirking at, Ju-uju. You come over here too.”
“Why?”
“Why what? You gotta show us your results too.”
“Yeah, everyone shows everyone else, fair and square. Hurry up and get it, dude.”
“Mine’s nothing to see….”
I’d checked it all already. I mumbled under my breath, but still handed over the results sheet.
Then Sungmin and Jaehyun snatched it away like they were waiting for it. They scrutinized it with eyes that looked like they were going to rip me apart if they found the slightest flaw.
“Weight 78, body fat 10, skeletal muscle mass 40… No way, why are you so good? What’s this?”
“Body fat percentage of 12%, what the hell, Joo-woo-joo, you b*stard, why’d you work out so damn hard?”
“Why? What’d it look like?”
“Hey, Dong-ho, check this out. This dude’s InBody results are seriously messed up, right?”
Jae-hyun and Sung-min started showing my result sheet to the other guys, but I didn’t stop them, just took a step back and watched quietly.
“You guys were the ones who wanted to see it. You asked to see it, and now you’re suddenly criticizing me?”
“We asked to see it because we didn’t know it would be this good, you b*stard.”
“Hey, I found something weird though. Joo-woo-joo, he has more leg muscle than upper body muscle.”
“Wait a sec, no way….”
Jaehyun trailed off, his gaze momentarily shifting before quickly refocusing. Whatever thought crossed his mind, he kept it to himself, leaving the comment unspoken.
Someone’s voice cut in then.
There’s only one person in this world who calls me by that peculiar nickname, ‘Woo-joo~chan.’ It’s my childhood friend, Aki.
I turned around and, sure enough, Aki was standing there, a results sheet in one hand, probably just having finished his InBody scan.
‘Ah, that startled me….’
I was momentarily shocked, but judging by his face, he didn’t seem to have overheard much. I casually replied.
“We were talking about the test results. You all done with your test, Aki?”
“Yeah, just finished. And the results were better than I thought!”
“Really? Can I take a look?”
“……What are you saying? Of course not, Woo-joo~chan.”
“Ah, sorry….”
“Mmm, good, you got it. Oh, but….”
“Came to keep an eye on your boyfriend, Fujiwara-san?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s Nam Jaehyun-san. Heh, no. It’s not like that?”
“You sure it’s not? He was staring so hard from way over there, I thought a hole was going to burn through Joo Woo-joo’s face….”
“It’s not like that, Nam Jaehyun-san…?”
Aki’s eyes narrowed into slits, and Jaehyun waved his hands as if it was all a joke, muttering, ‘Whew, scary… Just kidding, kidding.’
Watching them talk, I thought to myself.
‘…Aki does talk to other guys, huh.’
It feels like just yesterday I was grabbing her when she tried to run off from Jaehyun’s birthday party, saying she didn’t need anyone else but me. I’m relieved that she seems to have adapted well. Guess there won’t be any issues with guests later.
“Oh. …Ahem, Woo-joo~chan?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“I(Atashi), left something in the classroom… Could you maybe come help me look for it?”
“Now? We’re about to start the physical fitness test, though?”
“I have to go right now… Right now.”
“Ah, really? Then, well….”
Following Aki back to the classroom, I was left pondering her insistence. Her quiet actions and the subtle tension between us hinted at something unspoken—a connection that perhaps went beyond simple words.
“…Woo-joo~chan,” she said softly, her voice laced with meaning. Whatever she intended, it remained a shared mystery between us, cloaked in the complexities of a friendship that seemed to toe the line between innocence and something deeper.