.jpg)
The other children were too busy reading Sienna's mood to openly show their affection for Hunter. Yet, whenever he passed by on the way home, they would exchange meaningful glances and giggle among themselves.
Things that had previously gone unnoticed were now becoming visible to Jiyu.
The cliques that had begun to form rapidly in the fifth grade had solidified by the sixth. The children instinctively knew which clique they belonged to.
The clique Jiyu belonged to was the 'Nerds.' Most children who were good at studying but lacked social skills and had mediocre athletic abilities fell into that category.
Regardless of gender, the children wanted to join the 'Popular Kids' clique, which included Hunter and Rex. Those who received attention no matter what they did had little interest in studying.
For the children of upper-class families whose status was known just by mentioning their last names, getting into a top university didn't hold much meaning. That didn't mean they went to mediocre colleges, either.
Upper-class children of that level, as long as their grades were decent, entered Ivy League universities through legacies or donor-based admissions. Thus, they didn't struggle or obsess over grades and specialties like other children did.
The fact that Hunter was so desperately devoted to tennis was actually the exception.
Still hating the spotlight, Jiyu had no intention of joining the clique Hunter or Sienna belonged to, even if they had let her in. Not that such a thing would ever happen.
Having attended the same school for about seven years since kindergarten, she no longer acted like a dog tucking its tail and running away whenever someone spoke to her. However, her innate personality hadn't flipped 180 degrees. Jiyu still felt most comfortable hanging out with her best friend, Chloe.
Separate from that, she did feel a tiny bit of curiosity.
'What on earth do the other kids see in Hunter to like him so much?'
Since she saw his face every day, she couldn't tell for sure, but since everyone said he was handsome, she'd grant them that.
He was tall, rich, and athletic.
Well, that was mostly true.
But that was only the surface.
Would they still like him if they knew how self-centered and willful he was? Hunter Hamilton wasn't the type of person who could like anyone other than himself.
Jiyu shrugged.
Whether someone liked Hunter or not, it had nothing to do with her anyway. And she firmly believed it would stay that way forever.
In October, the trees along the Bridle Path—the wide carriage road surrounding the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir north of Central Park—were beautifully colored with vibrant autumn leaves.
At 2:00 PM, students from various private schools in the Upper East Side area began gathering at the Bridle Path, wearing athletic wear emblazoned with their school logos.
Jiyu, Chloe, and a group of girls entered the Bridle Path under the guidance of their PE teacher. A short distance away, students from Alton School, wearing short-sleeved athletic gear with a white logo on a navy background, also walked onto the path.
Starting from the fifth grade, the beginning of middle school, students had to choose one sport they wanted to do each term. For the fall term, Jiyu chose volleyball; for the winter, softball; and for the spring, lacrosse.
However, after experiencing them all, she concluded that team sports were a waste of time. This was because she had spent a year merely acting as a background character on the sidelines while the popular kids jockeyed for position and passed the ball among themselves.
This year, she chose individual sports: track and field, cross-country, and outdoor running. Although the names differed slightly each term, it all boiled down to one activity: running.
Like other private schools in Manhattan, Aster School did not have its own athletic field. While there was a sports center, it wasn't large enough for track sports. Therefore, most schools used Central Park as their playground.
This year, Hunter also chose track. His reason was that, unlike team sports, he could leave school by 3:20 PM.
From Monday to Thursday, he had practice at a tennis academy on Randall's Island from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. To make it on time, sports like basketball, football, or field hockey—which didn't end until around 5:00—were impossible.
However, she hadn't expected a massive influx of popular kids, including Sienna, to flock to track just because Hunter chose it.
'If I'd known this, I would have just stuck with volleyball.'
Jiyu regretted it belatedly.
The locations where each school set up their base camps were determined by long-standing custom. Alton School set up their base camp a bit further down the path than Aster School.
Lately, Hunter seemed to have begun realizing, even if only a tiny bit, that there are such things as manners to be observed between people. As he passed by Aster School's base and locked eyes with Jiyu, he acknowledged her with a slight tilt of his chin. Jiyu responded in kind with a very slight nod.
Since it happened in an instant, fortunately, no one noticed.
After warming up as usual, the children started together from the starting line, some surging ahead and others falling behind at their own pace.
Jiyu loved this time when she ran alone. Although it was only one street away from Fifth Avenue, the air felt crisp and refreshing once inside Central Park.
The warmth of the gentle sunlight resting on her shoulders, the fluttering red leaves falling, the reservoir sparkling as it reflected the afternoon sun, and the skyline of the Upper West Side visible in the distance.
As she ran, taking in scenery that looked like it belonged in a tourist brochure, all other noises vanished, leaving only the sound of her own rhythmic breathing and the thud of her feet hitting the ground.
Usually, it was like that.
But suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps running in unison, shaking the earth. Startled, Jiyu glanced back while running. A group of about ten boys from Alton School were running together. Leading the pack was Hunter, who was a head taller than the other children.
When she suddenly locked eyes with Hunter while running, a flustered Jiyu began running diagonally, glancing back repeatedly to get out of their path. Then, her feet tangled.
Just before she stumbled and fell onto the dry dirt ground, she squeezed her eyes shut. Her thighs and knees were scraped simultaneously, and the sharp point of her elbow hit the ground, sending a jarring vibration through the bone.
"Oh, look over there!"
"Shit, she took a nasty fall."
"What was her name again?"
"Isn't it Olivia? The Neverland kid."
"Oh, right! Should we help her?"
The voices of boys who had just entered puberty poured out all at once.
She thought she had stayed well-hidden in the corners with an inconspicuous role throughout the musical performance. She hadn't expected anyone to remember her name.
"Shut up and just run."
Even without looking, she could distinguish Hunter's voice, harshly snapping at them.
Jiyu squeezed her eyes shut. Setting aside the pain, she felt an unbearable sense of shame at the fact that she had fallen so ridiculously in front of Hunter and the Alton School boys.
'I want to dive straight into the reservoir.'
Pushing herself up with bloodied palms, she sat up, only to lock eyes with Hunter again as he passed by. He glanced at her with a frown, as if she were pathetic, before coldly averting his gaze and turning his head.
Strangely, she felt miserable. She felt a flush of heat, like the fever that consumes the whole body during the flu.
'How much will they tease and mock me for this now?'
With her head hanging low, Jiyu finally felt the pain. Her ankle throbbed, her knees were scraped, and blood seeped from a long scratch on her thigh. Bright red blood began to well up from her scraped elbow. Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back. Crying in front of others only drew more attention.
'I need to get up quickly.'
Just then, a pair of legs wearing blue athletic shorts appeared before her eyes. The logo 'ALTON' was embroidered in white on the left hem of the shorts.
Before Jiyu could look up, her arms were grabbed and she was hauled up abruptly. A rough, inconsiderate grip; angular shoulders at her eye level.
She didn't even need to see his face to know it was Hunter.
As she glanced up, he was panting heavily, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a wristband.
"Are you crazy? Why were you running diagonally?"
"……."
.jpg)