Chapter 47: THE FESTIVAL ENDS (Part 2)

Inside Class IX-9, the atmosphere was very different from usual. The room, which was usually quiet and full of serious study, was now filled with laughter, shouts of joy, and the clinking of medals bumping against each other. The afternoon sunlight entered through the windows, illuminating the room with warm golden light. Small dust particles floated in the air, clearly visible under the sunlight. The wooden desks, which had been neatly arranged, were now messy because some students were standing on them to show off their medals more clearly. The large trophy won by Class IX was placed on the teacher’s desk, becoming the center of attention for everyone. Its shine reflected the sunlight, creating dancing light patterns on the ceiling.

CHEERS! Shouts of joy continued to echo in the room. The sound carried all the way to the corridor, making some students from other classes curious and peek through the door.

Mira hopped on top of a desk, the gold medal on her chest sparkling every time she moved. Her shoulder-length brown hair swayed following her energetic movements. "Look! Look! Mira’s medal is this big!" CLING! The medal made a sound when she bumped it against Rin’s medal, which was also displayed on her chest.

Rin, standing beside her, laughed, then lifted the medal on her chest proudly. Her chest puffed out as she showed off the medal. "Your medal is small! Look at mine! Much bigger!" CLING! Their medals clashed again, creating the sound of ringing metal.

"Hey, that’s not true!" Mira exclaimed, pouting her lips. "Mira’s medal is just as big! Look!" She brought her medal close to Rin’s face, almost hitting Rin’s nose.

Rin laughed out loud, stepping back. "Yeah, yeah. Just as big. Now get down from the desk, you might fall."

Mira shook her head firmly. "No! Mira wants to stay here! From here Mira can see all the medals!"

Ella sat in her chair with her back straight, her eyes looking at the medal in her hand with a small smile. Her usually firm hands now held the medal gently, like holding something very precious. Her slender fingers touched the smooth surface of the medal, feeling the cold metal texture at her fingertips. "We really did it," she murmured softly, her voice almost inaudible amid the crowd.

PLUK! Aria, sitting beside Ella, started crying. Tears flowed down her round cheeks. "I-I can’t believe it... we really won..."

Ella turned, then smiled. Her warm hand reached for Aria’s shoulder. "We won, Aria. We won."

Aria wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but the tears kept flowing. "I-I was always afraid we wouldn’t make it. I was always afraid we would fail. But we did it..."

Rin, hearing that, approached Aria and patted her shoulder gently. "Yes, we did it. And we’ll keep succeeding. We’ve proven that we can."

In the corner of the room, Luna sat quietly near the window, her eyes looking at the medal in her hand with a small smile. Her silver-gray hair hung over her shoulders, and occasionally she touched the medal’s surface with her slender fingertips. "We won," she said softly, her voice almost a whisper.

Nora, sitting beside her, just nodded, but there was a smile on her lips that was rarely seen. Her hand gripped the medal on her chest tightly, like protecting something very precious.

Eve, sitting near the trophy, her fingers dancing across her laptop keyboard. Her laptop screen displayed graphs and numbers moving quickly. "Based on the data, this is Class IX-9’s first victory in the school’s history. Truly an extraordinary achievement. Out of a total of 68 points, we managed to collect..."

Iris, sitting near her, smiled mysteriously. "You always calculate everything, Eve."

"Data never lies," Eve answered flatly, but her eyes sparkled behind her round glasses.

Fay, sitting in the corner, smiled to herself, her gaze drifting toward the medal she was holding. Her small hands held the medal gently, like holding a butterfly that didn’t want to fly away. "Beautiful... sparkling..." she murmured softly.

In the middle of the crowd, the sound of the classroom door opening softly was heard. CREAK! All eyes turned toward the door.

At the doorway stood Katrin, Maya, Sera, Rina, Irene, Liliana, and Fay—those from Class 2.2 who had become IX-9’s support team. They looked a little hesitant, like they weren’t sure if they were welcome in the middle of this celebration. Katrin stood at the front, her hands gripping the edge of her uniform tightly. Maya behind her looked restless, her fingers playing with the red ribbon in her hair. Sera stood with her arms crossed, but there was doubt in her eyes. Rina held her notebook, but her hands trembled slightly. Irene, who was usually hopping around, was now silent, standing behind Liliana. Liliana herself looked calm, but her eyes showed confusion. Fay smiled to herself, not noticing the tension around her.

GLUK! Katrin swallowed hard, then stepped in. "Excuse me..."

All the IX-9 students paused for a moment, then smiled. Mira jumped off the desk and ran toward them, her shoes making tap... tap... tap... sounds on the wooden floor. "KATRIN! YOU CAME!"

Katrin smiled slightly, her eyes starting to glisten. "We... we want to thank you. For being willing to play with us."

Mira blinked, then laughed. "Hey, why are you thanking us? We’re one team!"

But Katrin shook her head, her voice starting to tremble. "No... what we mean is... all this time we’ve always been shunned. We’ve always been considered useless. But you... you accepted us. You were willing to play with us. You made us feel like we mattered."

HIKSS... Maya, standing behind her, started crying softly. "I-I also... I’ve never felt like this before."

PLUK! Tears fell on Maya’s cheeks. She immediately wiped them with the back of her hand, but the tears kept flowing.

Hearing that, Ella stood up from her chair. CREAK! Her chair scraped back with a creaking sound. She walked toward them, her eyes looking at Katrin and the others gently. "Actually, it’s the opposite," Ella said, her voice firm. "We should be thanking you. Without your help, we wouldn’t have been able to participate in this sports festival."

Katrin blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ella smiled. "We didn’t have enough players. We didn’t have enough strength. But you came and helped us. You made it possible for us to compete. You made it possible for us to win. So we should be thanking you."

Rin, standing beside Ella, nodded. "Yeah. You’re part of this team. You’re part of this family."

HIKSS... Katrin couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Tears started falling down her cheeks. PLUK! PLUK! "You... you really accept us?"

Ella nodded. "Of course."

Ella paused for a moment, her eyes looking at Katrin and the others seriously. "Katrin, I have one question. Do you want to join Class IX-9? Become part of us forever?"

HAAAH! Katrin and the others were shocked. They exchanged glances, not believing what they had just heard. Their eyes widened, their mouths half-open.

Maya, still crying, lifted her head, her eyes wet with tears. "W-what do you mean...?"

"I’m inviting you to move to Class IX," Ella said, her voice firm. "Become part of us. Become one family."

HIKSS... Katrin looked down, her hands gripping the edge of her uniform tightly. Her fingers turned white from the grip. "We... we really want to, Ella. But..."

"But what?" Rin asked, her voice soft.

Katrin lifted her head, her eyes still wet with tears. "There are people waiting for us back in Class 2.2. After our class president’s explanation... we can’t leave them. They also need us."

HAAAH... Ella was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."

Katrin extended her hand. Her cold hand trembled slightly. "But we will always remember you. And if you ever need help, we will come."

Ella smiled, then took Katrin’s hand. A firm grip. Her warm hand held Katrin’s cold hand. "Good. We will also always remember you."

Mira, still crying beside them, jumped and hugged Katrin. THUD! Her body hit Katrin tightly. "We’ll miss you!"

HIKSS... Katrin returned the hug. "We’ll miss you too."

One by one, they hugged. Maya, Sera, Rina, Irene, Liliana, and Fay—they all hugged their IX-9 friends warmly. PLUK! PLUK! Tears fell everywhere.

"We’ll meet again," Liliana said in a calm voice.

"Definitely," Ella answered.

They walked toward the door. CREAK! The door opened. Before leaving, Katrin turned back one last time. Her still-wet eyes looked at all the IX-9 students with a sincere smile. "Thank you, everyone. For everything you’ve given us."

CHEERS! Class IX-9 shouted together. "SEE YOU!"

CLICK! The door closed behind them. The atmosphere inside the room became calmer, but smiles still remained on everyone’s faces.

HAAAH... Ella sighed, her hand still gripping the medal on her chest. "We lost them, but we gained something else."

Rin nodded. "Friendship."

On the other side of the school, Kai was walking down the corridor toward his classroom. The school atmosphere was starting to get quiet because most of the students had gone home. Only a few teachers were still visible in the corridor. The lights on the ceiling started turning on because the day was getting late. His footsteps echoed on the shiny ceramic floor. Tap... tap... tap...

Suddenly, a voice from behind called out to him.

"Kai."

Kai turned. Reina was standing behind him with a small smile on her face. She was no longer wearing her formal suit like usual, but a simple white blouse and a long black skirt. Her black hair was tied half-back, with a few strands loose and falling onto her face. In her hand, she held a thin folder—maybe containing school documents.

"Reina," Kai greeted, stopping his walk. "What’s up?"

Reina walked closer, her steps slow and graceful. "I just wanted to congratulate you. Your students were amazing today."

Kai smiled. "Thank you. They really are amazing."

"You must be proud of them," Reina said, her eyes looking at Kai warmly.

"Yes," Kai answered. "I’m very proud."

Reina chuckled softly. "You haven’t changed much, Kai. Still the same as before."

Kai looked at Reina. "You haven’t changed much either."

They both laughed. Soft laughter echoed between them, heard in the quiet corridor.

"Do you remember before?" Reina asked, her voice full of warmth. "Before, every time you were injured, I was always by your side. I always took care of you. I always made sure you were okay."

Kai smiled, remembering the past. "Yes. You were always there for me."

Reina continued, her voice becoming more spirited. "And you always protected me. Every time there was danger, you always stood in front of me. You always made sure I was safe. You always supported me, in any situation. Since the beginning, you’ve always been like that."

Kai nodded, his eyes looking at Reina gently. "Because I know you would do the same for me."

Reina smiled widely. "You’re right. I’ve always been there for you. And you’ve always been there for me. That’s us, Kai. We’re always together, in good times and bad."

Kai laughed softly. "You’re still the same as before, Reina. Still talkative."

Reina laughed. "Yes, I know. But you’re still by my side."

They laughed together, remembering the difficult times they had gone through together. The sound of their laughter echoed in the quiet corridor, creating warmth between them.

Suddenly, tap... tap... tap... the sound of footsteps from the end of the corridor broke the silence. A woman walked toward them. Her black dress fluttered in the wind from the open window. A large round hat covered most of her face, but her graceful posture and calm steps made her easily recognizable.

Kai was surprised. That woman. The same woman he’d met in the park. The woman who always appeared at unexpected moments. The mysterious woman who always disappeared without a trace.

The woman stopped in front of Kai and smiled. A warm and mysterious smile. "Congratulations, Mr. Kai. Your students played very well today."

Kai smiled, slightly surprised but also happy. "Thank you, Ma’am. I didn’t expect to meet you here."

The woman laughed softly, her voice gentle and soothing. "I happened to be passing by. And I saw the volleyball match earlier. Truly amazing. They played very cohesively."

They started chatting casually. The woman asked about his students, about how he trained them, and Kai answered enthusiastically. Soft laughter could be heard in the quiet corridor. They looked familiar, like old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

However, beside them, Reina started feeling uncomfortable. Her forehead began to furrow, and the smile on her face slowly disappeared. Her sharp eyes moved from Kai to the woman, then back to Kai. There was something bothering her. Something she couldn’t explain.

CREAK! Reina’s fingers clenched at her sides. Her nails pressed into her palms.

"What is this?" Reina thought, her eyes not blinking. "Who is this woman? Why does Kai look so familiar with her?"

She tried to listen to their conversation, but their words felt faint in her ears. All she saw was Kai’s sincere smile, his light laughter, and his warm gaze toward that woman.

HAAAH... Reina sighed, trying to calm herself.

Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She stepped forward, cutting off their conversation with a slightly tense voice.

"Sorry," Reina said, her eyes looking at Kai. "Kai, who is this woman?"

Kai blinked, slightly surprised by Reina’s interruption. He saw Reina’s uncomfortable expression, and was a little confused. "Oh, this... she’s the woman who helped me in the park. When I had a headache a while ago."

Reina looked at the woman with a sharp gaze. "In the park?"

The woman just smiled, unaffected by Reina’s gaze. "Yes. I happened to be passing by and saw Mr. Kai in pain. So I gave him some medicine."

Reina blinked, then smiled—but her smile felt forced. "Oh, I see. But you know, I’ve known Kai much longer. Much longer."

Kai blinked. "Reina?"

Reina kept talking, her voice getting faster. "I’ve known him for a long time. I’ve always taken care of him when he was sick. I’ve always made sure he ate on time. I’ve always reminded him to rest. And he’s always protected me. He’s always supported me. We’ve always been together, in any situation. I—"

"Reina," Kai cut in, his voice firm but gentle. "You have a meeting to attend, right? You said earlier there was a principal’s meeting."

HAAAH! Reina stopped, coming to her senses. She blinked, then slapped her own forehead with her palm. PLAK! "Ah, right. I almost forgot."

She looked at Kai with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Alright, I’ll go first. See you, Kai."

She glanced at the woman briefly, then turned and walked quickly away from them. Tap... tap... tap... Her footsteps grew faster and farther, echoing in the corridor that was starting to grow dark.

The woman’s soft laughter was heard after Reina left. Her voice was gentle and full of meaning. "She’s an interesting person," she said, her voice full of meaning.

Kai nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes. She’s like that."

The woman looked at the watch on her wrist. "Oh, it’s almost evening. I really must go home now."

Kai nodded. "Alright, Ma’am. I hope we can meet again."

The woman walked toward the school exit. Tap... tap... tap... Her steps were calm and graceful, like floating on the floor. At the doorway, she stopped and turned back. The afternoon sunlight entering through the door created a silhouette behind her, making her look like a figure from a dream. Her black hair fluttered in the evening breeze. A mysterious smile appeared on her face.

"We will definitely meet again, Mr. Kai," she said in a gentle voice. "See you."

Then she stepped out, leaving Kai still standing in the corridor with a deep sense of confusion and curiosity.