Suppressing the surprise which had appeared on my face for only a second, I looked at Cha as she looked back at me.
"U- uhm, my name is Cha Hae-In and I hope I haven't been too disrespectful to you because I showed up late."
"You don't have to be nervous about that. Anyhow, my name is Sung Kyung-won and I hope you have what it takes to become a club member today."
"Thank you for your encouraging words."
From what I know and remember, Cha Hae-In is a socially awkward person when she isn't near people she doesn't know and is easily embarrassed if teased.
She also has longer hair than what it was in the manhwa and what I'm used to, but I guess she cut it because she thought it was a distraction for her while in battle even if it was tied up into a ponytail.
"Do you need to warm up your body first before we start testing to see if you can join?"
"Yes! I think that would be good if I did that before we race."
With Cha Hae-In stretching her entire body for a whole minute while I was looking up into the expansive sky where there were other universes besides this one, I felt someone gently tap my shoulder.
Wondering who it was since it was pretty apparent that I didn't want to talk to anyone right now, everybody in the track club was looking at me with wonder.
"Hey, Kyung? We all noticed that you were talking much more than usual with that freshman. Did something come up?"
"Nope. It just reminded me of somebody that I used to know."
"Is that true?"
"Of course."
"... Well, if you're being that direct then I guess you and that freshman have nothing going on with each other, right?"
Sighing since I was trying to recollect my thoughts and because I liked seeing the clouds high up in the sky slowly move, I turned to look at all the club members as I then clenched my fist and glared at them.
I mean, I, by all means, think that she's cute but my conscious is telling me that she should stay as a friend or stranger until we meet in seven years.
Mentally, I'm in my late twenties if I carry my age from my last life over here, but I'm physically fourteen years old while fifteen in Korean years.
Shaking my head and looking back at the track to see if she had finished warming up her body, she was now wiping the sweat off her forehead and arms while also taking small gulps of water.
Crossing my arms and going to a tree where there was a bunch of shade, I sat down with my back against the tree, crossing my legs, and shutting my eyes.
'She's going to need some time to rest and recover her stamina, so I'll get back up in five minutes.'
- Third POV -
Now that Kyung was nowhere near them since he was under a tree that was far away, their heads kept moving from him and Cha Hae-In.
With the club leader smacking all their heads in while steam was imaginarily seen coming out of their heads, he began walking to where Cha was resting as a mischievous grin was unconsciously made.
Tapping her shoulder so that she knew it was someone from the track club who wanted to talk to her, he said, "What do you think of Kyung?"
Her, obviously surprised by this out-of-the-blue question she unknowingly made a noise.
"Huh?!"
Looking away from her face and eyes since he felt guilty doing this, he scratched his cheek and elaborated.
"What I mean is, what kind of person do you think he is from the conversation you had with him before you ran around the track two times?"
Still not knowing what to do with the sudden question which was dumped on her, she said, "I- uh-! He seems like a nice person?"
"Is that a statement or a question?" The club leader asked with an eyebrow raised, trying to make sure whatever he was planning was going according to plan.
"I guess it's a statement?" Cha Hae-In answered, unsure of what the club leader was trying to do.
"Then you should say it like one."
Quietly taking a deep breath to calm herself down because her anxiety was acting up, she said, "He seems and looks like a nice person."
Internally smiling to himself since the plan was a success, he quickly glanced at the 'sleeping' Kyung and turned back to Cha.
"Well, now that you should have answered truthfully about how you think of him from that one conversation both of you had, the two of you guys should hang out with each other once school is over."
"Why would I-?"
"Don't you think getting along and knowing more about your senior is in your best interest?"
"I . . . guess?"
Giving her a light smile and then pointing at Kyung, he started to explain that since Kyung was crossing both his legs and arms while under the tree with shade, it meant that whoever he was racing had five minutes to rest.
"So, once he opens his eyes and gets up off the ground, he will immediately get into running position."
As she heard her senior say that about Kyung, she looked at his face, and for some odd reason, her face was starting to become warmer as she continued looking into his eyes.
When she was done staring at his face, she slowly moved down to his chest but since his arms were covering a lot of his chest, she then quickly darted to an area that she shouldn't have.
'What am I doing right now?! If I keep staring at him when he wakes up, he would think I'm weird for staring at him while he's sleeping.'
To the club leader who was just staring at her since she randomly went silent, he had a look of befuddlement since he didn't know what to do next.
"Uh, he should be waking up pretty soon since this whole conversation likely took three minutes so get ready."
And as if on cue, Kyung opened his eyes, got off the ground, and started heading to the track field to get into running position.
When she saw that, she put down her water bottle and towel down as she also began heading to the track to get into a running position.
Since they were close in proximity to each other, she decided that if she did want to get closer to him, talking to him more would be right, even if that would mean turning on her social anxiety.
"Uhm, after we're done, do you want to hang out after school so that we can know each other better?"
"Sure thing."
"3! 2! 1! Go!"