"Hey, how was your timing?"

"5,23 seconds, bitches. Outscore that, I dare you."

Not sure if Kawahara realizes that the whole aim of this certain event is to match someone who is the exact opposite of you with you, but, in Kawahara's mind, I guess this just didn't click yet.

Also, his words were meant to Sagasuga, who had asked his timing.

"Next up is, Hyunda!"

Well, well.

I was expecting the classic moment where the real-life anime protagonist would come in last, but it literally came right up.

Needless to say but, I was extremely looking forward to this.

"Sigh..."

Despite that, Hyunda left the bench with a bored expression. He was the total opposite of Kawahara. It's as if he didn't even want to do this.

Honestly, after watching his expression, I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to this that much.

"That bastard..."

And Kawahara was rumbling on his own for whatever reason he had to be rambling.

Another fair mention would be that I was receiving glares from a certain individual. I really didn't have to mention what person it was at this point.

Hyunda essentially went to the running platform with a dead composure. Dead as in, he wasn't showing any signs of living.

"...Are you ready, Hyunda?"

"Ah, yes. Go easy on me, Yuka-sensei..."

Once again, Yuka-sensei's expression stiffened.

...

I really can't see his pattern here. This man is a living enigma whenever he wants to be one.

"Two, one, go!"

Why are you skipping out the three?!

"..."

"Oi..."

"Is he serious?"

Realistically speaking, there's no rule against this. If you truly are that physically incapable, then it's actually understandable that you show this time of performance.

"........Ahhh.......... Ahh........."

...

But why though?

What's the necessity for this?

I know that's nowhere near his actual speed. Well, I don't know his actual speed, but, is there some sort of strategy that I'm not seeing here?

Truly, I've already given thought about the strategy of going slow just in order to purposely manipulate the match compatibility.

However, Hyunda was way into it. It was as if he was a master of acting.

His slow running skills might just get him last place in class. I wish I was saying this with a sense of exaggeration or just with a simple sense of sarcasm, but this man was going as fast as a grandma who is walking down the street while moving at 2 seconds per step.

"Aniki, why is Hyunda?"

Kuzan must be some sort of masochist. Does he not realize that no matter how much he talks to me that I will not respond to his initiation?

"That fucking bastard... Fucking with me..."

Yet again, Kawahara was fuming due to Hyunda's over performance. It was truly a sight to see, but I'm not sure if Kawahara actually understood what was going on.

Hyunda was purposely going slow for some reason.

Roughly about 11 seconds later...

Well, he went faster than I thought. I seriously thought for a second that he was going to take his slow running to the next level.

"......Uff....... Uf...... Damn, this is too much..... I gotta take it easy or I might die...."

"Hyunda..."

"...Eh? Ah.... I'm so sorry for my lame result, Yuka-sensei! I really tried to demonstrate my best but I just couldn't do it! Will you find a room in your heart to forgive me!?"

The slow running act was one thing, but this was an ongoing act. Hyunda had been treating Yuka-sensei with a strange type of kindness. It's as if Hyunda was purposely aiming towards being kind with only one person, which was, Yuka-sensei.

"What a pathetic performance. Go and sit with the rest of your classmates. Reflect on your useless endeavor right away, please."

Yuka-sensei, instead of acting kind, acted like she was some evil stepmother towards Hyunda.

"Yes.... Once, again, I'm really sorry!!"

Hyunda had nobly bowed his head towards the Yuka-sensei who has her hands twitching out of rage for some reason.

"Out of my sight, you slug!"

"Y-Yes..."

...That was awkward.

No, what was truly awkward was how Hyunda, while getting back, smirked a low smile in a quick beat.

"Hey, you fucktard, what was your score?!"

As soon as Hyunda got back, he was immediately confronted by the angry Kawahara.

"13 seconds. Yours?"

"5, 23 seco- Not my point, damn it!"

You had no made your point yet, Kawahara.

"Well, what is it then? I'm really tired. I could use a sit to relax my body, honestly. Could you move out of the way?"

"Fucking little shit, why aren't you taking this seriously?!"

Using a typical move from him, Kawahara grabbed Hyunda's P.E uniform. However, despite that, Hyunda didn't resist.

"But I am taking this seriously. Can't you see just how tired I am?"

"Cut the fucking shit bastard... I saw you running earlier! You were faster."

"Ah, well, that's true. But then again, I wasted all my sprint back then. That's the main reason as to why I couldn't run as fast. Hey, I even managed to form a physical theory against your own claim."

"Hyunda, you retard... You actually think I don't know that you're lying, huh!?"

Kawahara pressed even further and slammed Hyunda into a walk.

Well, this was turning to be quite the scene.

Regardless, no one was showing any signs of stepping up.

"I never lie though. I'm an honest person. I can't live with myself if I lie to someone. Trust me here, this is the full extent of my physical abilities. What other proofs do you need?"

"I don't give a shit about these 'proofs', you better take this shit seriously or else-"

"Or else what? No, seriously. What are you going to do?"

"Do you even need to fucking ask!? I'll kill you!"

Imagine killing someone just because that someone didn't take a running event seriously at all.

"You'll kill me because I didn't take a run the way you wanted? Not because I couldn't, according to you, but because according to you, I could yet I failed to meet your expectations? Seriously? What are you, a child? Grow a brain cell, maybe that brain cell will actually give you a shred of intelligence."

I guarantee you that an average person would be quaking right now, but Hyunda was somehow fully composed against Kawahara's almighty push.

"Any last words...?"

This time, Kawahara was seriously raising his fist. Wait, is no one going to do a thing about this?

They can't possibly have immense faith in Hyunda. The hell, these heartless people don't even care if this situation escalates itself to the absolute worse.

"Tell your mom I said hi."

"Alright, fucking die now."

Regardless of Kawahara, who was aiming at Hyunda's face with his right fist, nobody was showing any sign of acting.

Unlike most people here, I actually have faith in Hyunda. There's no way that a real-life anime protagonist loses here.

And besides...

"Kawahara, what are you doing?"

"F-Fucking let go of me...!!"

"Cease your behavior or I will break your arm, right now."

She wasn't really joking about that by the looks of it. Kawahara was already locked ever since she took a hold of his arm.

"...Eh, it was only a joke, right, Hyunda!?"

"Oh boy, it sure was. Yuka-sensei, please show a bit of mercy to him! He didn't mean what he said!"

Once again, the kind act began.

"S-See? Now, if you please would let go of my arm...!"

Kawahara was seriously starting to show a hurt expression.

"One more interruption and I will cut your balls off."

After hearing that, Kawahara immediately went back to his seat.

I can only be glad that Yuka-sensei said those words to Kawahara only. My golden twins don't need to see such a tragic ending to their life.

"Next up, Sagasuga."

"Aye!"

Not going to even bother with Sagasuga. He ran quite fast, as predicted. Nothing worth mentioning actually happened.

The students kept on being called, but I had a slight problem.

I was growing bored of watching all of this.

Therefore, I decided to ease my boredom a little bit.

This normally wouldn't be possible but since she does behave like a lone wolf, it makes it easy for someone like me to approach her.

She was neither too close nor too distant from the girls and boys. While the whole class was mostly united under a certain place, she was all the way to the left.

I pretended to take out the garbage that I had in my pocket which was just a small paper.

By the way, I had no idea what the paper even was.

"Too bad I won."

Hm.

Maybe that wasn't enough.

Should I try something more?

I mean, the sight of Tsudo running is giving me endless boredom.

"Flawless victory followed by a flawless defeat."

Of course, by 'flawless defeat', I was referring to her supposed 'defeat'.

Now, was she going to take the bait---

Ah well, that escalated quickly.

"What?"

"You should value your life a bit more. Who knows, you might end up losing it without even noticing it."

She had confronted me at long last.

Eh, well, we were attracting a bit of small attention, but most probably interpreted it as partners' interaction or something like that.

It wasn't unusual for table partners to interact, under normal conditions.

But my case was totally different.

"Losing it? Ah, I see what you mean by those words. But, of course, you'd know them the best, right?"

"What's your deal? You keep randomly talking to me. Why?"

Honestly, I was just fucking around. It's fun to see someone this confused. Plus, I can't stand when I'm bored.

And what better way is there except to torment my partner with low-level mind games?

"Do I even need a reason to talk to you though?"

That's something I never really understood about human interaction. Why do humans talk with a reason for talking?

Interaction should be the aim to create a better understanding right?

"Maybe you don't. But I do. Give me one."

Woah, she's serious about this.

Now how exactly do I answer her...

I'm pretty sure if I try a sarcastic flirt she will take it as an insult.

Damn, is it written all over my face that I actually don't care about her looks or something?

Still...

"The hell? Screw you. I talk whenever I want to, not on the premise that I need a reason to."

Letting a bitch get her heads in the clouds this high is a true mistake to commit.

"Then, you do understand that the same will be applied, right?"

"What are you on about? Are you trying to imply that I talked to you because I thought you would answer back? Hahaha."

Ah shit, it still wasn't my turn...

Akihiko is next...

Which means that I had to keep myself entertained for a bit more.

"Was that not why you bothered to speak those words? Or am I somehow misunderstanding the situation here?"

"Ah, you are. I was speaking to myself essentially. Somewhat rude of you to interrupt me and glare at me like that."

"Liar. You know that's not true. Just admit it. You want to talk to me. After all, I am your table partner."

Well, well, isn't this bitch getting a little too far ahead.

Then...

"No, not really. Seriously, give me one reason as to why I should even speak to you."

"I can give you more than one if you want."

I'm pretty sure that whatever she's going to say is utterly false or beyond my current knowledge, but why not.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Hmpf. Well, for starters, I am well educated-"

"Ah, so well educated that you wanted to kill someone for stealing food, yes, yes. Tell me more."

"Don't interrupt me, bastard..."

Yeah, I'm not really scared of you no matter how much you stare at me like you want to slice and dice my throat.

"Right, right. Let's hear it."

"You know what, forget it. You're not even going to listen, are you? I hate people like you, who only hear, but never listen."

I'm surprised she knows the difference, but it was still way too early to end this conversation.

"No, I'm serious now. I'll hear you out. Come on."

"...If you interrupt me a single time, you'll regret it."

Hey, stop staring at my balls.

Damn it, why always them!?

Leave them alone you vile creature!

"As mentioned, I am fairly educated. Although I may not look like it, I can hold my ground pretty well with words."

Please don't tell me that her reason is that she is supposedly well educated.

God, I could seriously care less.

"In addition to that, I hold tremendous knowledge in astrology."

...

"Furthermore, I constantly strive to be different from the rest, so I am therefore original."

No, no, you clearly don't understand how originality works if you believe that isolating yourself from everyone else makes you original. You're just being distant.

Plus, originality certainly doesn't come from difference alone.

"There, I gave you three reasons as to why someone would be interested in talking to me. Happy now?"

"But how are people supposed to know that about you if don't even tell them?"

"Well, that's up to them."

Ah, I see.

This is the type of girl I'm dealing with.

No, no.

I'm fairly experienced--- no, I have unique knowledge about her type.

She's the type of girl who expects anyone in this world to be lured away by her female charms. Therefore, she believes that it's only natural that people will naturally talk to her.

Not because of what she said, obviously.

Against common logic, she most likely believes that people are somehow supposed to guess these certain traits about her.

Well, that's just fucking retarded.

And it still wasn't my turn. Kan was up next since Akihiko had finished.

"Nobody will ever talk to you, honestly."

Not unless you are some desperate virgin, which, let's be honest, the chances are quite high considering the world we live in nowadays.

I suppose that my words were contradicting then.

Maybe I should've reinforced them with a bit of logic.

"Because you say so?"

"Well, obviously not. I forgot to state the reason as to why no one will ever talk to you. Are you curious now?"

Since there weren't any of the boys left to run, except me, after Kan would be done, I was without a doubt next.

Ultimately, this conversation would cease to be in a few instants. This was all for the sake of fulfilling my boredom.

"There's no such reason..."

"Oh, but there is."

And Kan was done.

My name was called out from afar.

I was about to walk away without saying a single another word, but---

"Hey, you're not going to tell me!?"

Oh, so that's why she bothered to squeeze my wrist.

Then...

"You don't talk to anyone, therefore no one will speak to you. If you think about it, I was the one who started to talk to you, not you. Not because of your traits, but because I just wanted to talk. Essentially, if the other individual never takes the initiative, that's how it's going to be. And you aren't even going to bother to change that."

I wasn't speaking in such a loud tone where anyone could just listen to the conversation.

What I just said wasn't meant with any sense of kindness. I was just concluding our conversation.

Realistically speaking, I had a bigger problem at hand.

If you can even call it a problem that is...

"Three..."

Would I run slow or run fast?

I could run between slow and fast.

What was important to think about here was that my partner would be the exact opposite of me.

In other words, should I run too fast, my partner will be a slow person. And should I run slow, my partner will be fast.

Then again, what was the whole point? We had no idea of what this compatibility was for...

I understand that it's a selection method, but what for?

No one, except Yuka-sensei, knows.

Ultimately, I decided that it was best to go between slow and fast.

"7,13 seconds. Well done!"

Not really. Well, it wasn't that bad by normal standards but I could've done way better.

What kept my mind busy until the P.E class was over was who would be my partner.

Objectively speaking, nothing really interesting happened. After the girls were done running, we dressed back and returned to the classroom in a somewhat long time after.

Mainly because the girls were damn slow to dress up...

The classroom, 11:30 am.

Although I said some strong words back to her, she was not showing any signs of talking.

Yes, she would stare sometimes but eventually quit and then stare back.

Meanwhile, I was too busy indulging myself in two certain individuals' romance.

Can you imagine how supposedly embarrassed you have to be to text your crush when she's literally right next to you?

What's more, Hinagiku was equally embarrassed too.

How nice.

Keep blooming Rayazaki. While you can, that is.

Yuka-sensei was still not in class for whatever reason, so we were basically doing nothing.

Well...

She was somewhat bothering me, yet when I said these words, I didn't bother to look at her.

"What? You wanna say something?"

"..."

I swear that I have no patience for this type of development. I'm not asking for a romantic development but if you want to talk, then talk.

While I wasn't asking for the development itself, I somehow wanted to know how she would react.

"If this is about what I said earlier, then don't be salty about it."

"I am not salty..."

Said every salty person ever.

"I don't care. If you have something to say about it, then say it. Don't beat around the bush. Looking at me all the time won't answer your internal questions."

I wasn't exactly sure whether or not she had internal questions regarding this, but she kept looking at me for a reason.

"You're wrong."

What?

"Explain."

"You're just wrong. You don't know anything about me."

"And how exactly am I supposed to know anything about you? Actually, I do know some things about you. How you are supposedly extremely well educated, love astrology and whatnot."

"That doesn't count. I deliberately told you that."

No fucking shit, you literally made sure that was the case.

"Your point being?"

"My point is that you don't know anything about me, therefore you shouldn't assume that you do!"

"No, listen you damn mess of emotions, I didn't assume anything, I just told you what I know about you because you told me, remember?"

"Again, that doesn't count!"

I wasn't seriously in the mood.

"If that's all you've got to say then don't even bother speaking. All I did was tell you my opinion on your own issue."

"I don't have issues."

"Oh fuck off."

Her aside, since Yuka-sensei was taking way too long, I decided to listen to some music.

Oh no...

Out of all the songs...

Given that I had to lower the music volume a little bit, the music itself wasn't that loud.

However, since my earplugs are somewhat good, the maximum potency is quite high.

"Linkin Park?"

...

"I will slap you."

"You wouldn't dare to."

This bitch seriously is disregarding how serious I am about gender equality.

"And besides, 'Crawling in my skin' sucks. Why not listen to 'Numb' or 'In the end'?"

"They are overrated. Sure, they are forever epic, but a bit overrated."

"What!? No, they're not! Gosh, how can you be this wrong all the time!"

"You're the one who's wrong... But, seriously, do you still have something to say?"

It seems that I somehow had to end this stupid argument. Ignoring her wasn't going to work most likely.

Also, she's somewhat talkative when provoked.

Hey, she was exactly like that in the first place.

When Basara-sensei gave that punishment to us all, she protested first.

"I was going to say something, but your shit music taste got my attention in a bad way."

Oi.

That, I will not forgive.

"My taste in music is not shit... It's just different from yours."

"Yeah, therefore, shit."

"What happened to being well educated? Why are you cursing, miss?"

"I-I'm not cursing!"

At least that tsundere reaction was natural.

"Whatever, prove your point. If my taste in music is shit, then you must have something better, right?"

Little did she know that 'Crawling in my skin' was a random song from my gigantic playlist.

I had more than 100 songs to counter her.

"Lend me your earplugs. I will show you what true music is all about."

"I swear if you pull out some mumble rap shit, I will break your phone."

"What do you take me for?"

Without saying much, she took off her phone from her pocket and I lend her my earplugs.

She then inserted my earplugs in her phone's earplug cable.

"...What exactly do you listen to?"

"Something far better than what you listen to."

She must be oddly confident to be judging my taste in music after listening to a random Linkin Park song that I have on my playlist.

"Here, plug it in."

It was about time, I was about to find out what she listens to. Additionally, she had the other piece of the earplugs on her right ear. Apparently, she wasn't even going to share the whole pleasure of listening to her own music to me.

"This better be worth it."

...

.........

.................

I suppose I'm somewhat dumb?

How did I not guess it, honestly?

It was literally the widest of possibilities when it comes to the type of music that would appeal to females nowadays.

At least she isn't a Taylor Swift devotee, but this is...

As much as I would like to complain, I really couldn't. Perhaps I was far too biased towards this type of music and never tried it for that reason.

Kinda like how some pieces of music just seem terrible from miles away yet as soon as you listen to them you start to enjoy them without knowing why.

This was one of them.

We listened to the music for roughly 4 minutes without saying anything to each other, until it came to an end.

"...So?"

"Wait, is that it? Aren't there more songs to it?"

"Huh..? Y-You mean, you want to..."

"If you know it, then don't say it, just play the next one."

I was honestly feeling a little weak for enjoying something like that.

Damn it, how could I fall into her trap of K-pop!?

"...Alright..."

Letting the next song play in, I deeply reflected on my poor decision making.

Wait, I mean...

It's not even bad though. I can't actually call it bad straight up. I don't have a possible counterargument here.

Denying it out of spite would be far too biased.

Why didn't someone tell me that K-pop was actually good...

I seriously thought that it was just a bunch of random Korean dudes who got plastic surgeries that had no singing skills whatsoever, yet...

"Hyallo, I'm back! Please, all of you, take your seats."

And Yuka-sensei had returned.

...

I really didn't want the class to resume. Yuka-sensei was picky about the fact that we were distracted from class, thus she would often send ultimatums back at us if we were to be distracted.

I'm fairly sure she realized this immediately and began to stop the music.

That, I could let not.

"...What are you doing?"

"The class is going to resume. I'm putting it back, otherwise..."

"Just put it in the middle of our chairs, she won't notice it..."

"Why are you going so far, it's just mus-"

Thankfully, she realized the foolishness in her own words and went with my idea.

By the way, I wasn't going to let out a single comment about K-pop to her.

I could not.

Regret do I have when I say this, but, admitting it to her, is absolutely out of the question.

"Now, you might've been wondering as to why I've been away this whole time! Well, fear not, I shall explain! You see, I was matching every student here!"

Wow, what a surprise.

Totally did not see it coming from a mile away.

"And so, I will now post the results on the board!"

Of course, she had to write them on the board.

Also...

"Can't you just put it on a shuffle? Why does it end every time...?"

"...Are you addicted to it?"

"No, don't be stupid. Don't assume things like that. Just put it on a shuffle already."

"Only if you admit that you are addicted to it."

"Hell no."

"Then, no music."

Unfortunately, my ego is bigger than my penis.

I painfully let go of the music and retrieved my earplugs.

Furthermore, my name was already on the board along with my partner.

Regardless of that, I had no opinion about it.

"As you can see, these are the pairings! I would explain what the special exam would be based on, but, it's lunchtime! In other words, I will see you all after lunchtime! Bon appetit!"

Yuka-sensei left in a hurry. I wonder why.

That's good news actually.

Because...

"Hey, are you going to eat right now?"

"Yes, I am."

"No, please don't."

"...What?"

"I'm saying, don't go."

I really want to listen to your music, that's all.

But, I will never tell you this, of course.

"Why can't I go?"

"Actually, my bad. You can go. Just leave your phone here."

"So you want to listen to the rest, is it?"

"Well, it's not that. I was just curious about the rest. It's not a desire, but a curiosity, you see..."

"Heh, I guess you might as well admit it, you're hooked."

Damn right I am.

"Is that a yes?"

"...Well, only for 10 minutes. I'll then really have to eat."

"Alright, sure."

Yesssssssssss!!

"But, before that, how about we trade playlists?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's pretty basic. You listen to mine and I listen to yours. This is a way to repay for listening to mine."

"Good choice."

After switching our phones, I told her something in addition.

"Ignore those messages that are popping up on the screen please."

"Don't worry, I have zero interest in your personal life."

If that was a roast, then you failed.

Because that was Rayazaki's personal life lol.

"Also, where should I start?"

"You like Korean songs, right? Therefore you like Japanese songs too? Or not?"

"I guess I don't mind them."

"Then, try some SPYAIR songs. I think you might like them."

You really can't go wrong with SPYAIR if you are new to J-Pop.

Weirdly enough, we were developing a somewhat good interaction, even though it was solely due to music.

I also realized that if it wasn't for music then we would be arguing right now, probably. Well, no, she would be eating as we speak.

There's nothing remotely noteworthy about this interaction. You can be the complete opposite of a certain person yet if your musical tastes collide, then you are bound to receive a well-deserved interaction in return.

Plus, there was a bigger alert right now.

Someone was approaching my direction.

Even though she was absorbed in my playlist, even she noticed a third existence approaching me.

Well, I guess this was bound to happen...

I really didn't want to make things awkward, but I had to make a move to talk to my partner at some point.

Before leaving, the pairs were already supposedly talking.

My table partner, by the way, isn't my partner for the special exam.

"Hey, are you free right now? Wanna have lunch?"

It was Yulia, a girl who I have never spoken to in my whole life.

Furthermore, this was a bad time to ask that because I was in the middle of listening to music.

"Sorry, I don't really have money."

"I'll pay you, come with me, Daniel. I want to talk to you."

My table partner was somewhat glaring at Yulia for no reason.

This was hard for me.

To prioritize the music or to prioritize my special exam partner?

Decisions, decisions.