#hatae couple

[sukimas]

I thought most touhous were or is that just the marisa influence

Youkai are kind of definitionally transgender if you understand what gender really means (i.e. fulfilling a certain role in human society), especially jinyou. A lot of Shinto gods are genderless or multi-gendered or have some other weird stuff going on, though not all of them (Izanagi and Izanami, for example, are basically a normal man and woman except Izanami's busy being a zombie right now.) We have two canonical trans people (Okina and Miko, based on Hata no Kawakatsu and Shoutoku Taishi), and a couple of others strongly implied in a more direct way than the basic youkai-being-transgender thing (all of the oni except Ibaraki-douji were definitely originally recorded as men, and Ibaraki is on rare occasion, depending on your legend.) Marisa, of course, has her strong thematic symbolism of being transgender.

However, there are a decent number of Touhous who are subaltern and alienated from society in other ways that aren't such excellent parallels for being transgender specifically, though I'd say they're a minority. Additionally, there are a few Touhous who are matter-of-factly not alienated from their roles in society or from experiencing gender in the slightest. Toyohime and Yorihime, being devout, though somewhat suspect, 自由民主�� members (and perfectly normal wives and mothers), fit into this last role fairly nicely. So I'd say that they're some of the least likely suspects for trans Touhous.

[zhongrin]

miss rin! ik you've already answered a question like this,

but what angsty song would you relate to you and your moots' selfships?

ooooh… ok, speedrun (i.e. me going through my fav playlist and picking the first couple that came to mind when i listened to the song) because i don't want to dwell in angst rn haha

my selfships:

i wish you love - laufey (zhongrin) i'll still love you anyway - tanny ng (meitham) from the start - laufey (rinvillette) if you're not the one - daniel bedingfield (wrin) let go - bts (jingmei) empty bed - saint punk (renmei)

my friends' selfships:

trivia 轉 seesaw - bts/suga (chilly - childe x @/the-travelling-witch)

daisy - stereo dive foundation (baivi - baizhu x @/floraldresvi)

blue days - ayaka (dottiro - dottore x @/leftdestiny-posts)

rain - motohiro hata (luscio - diluc x @/abyssmal-skies)

crystal snow - bts (calial - capitano x @/queen-belial)

your side of the bed - loote (brynnleif & brynnmitri (brynn help what are your ship names) - dainsleif & dimitri x @/beloved-brynn)

let her go - passenger (cryli - zhongli x @/crystalflygeo)

[urbanparkbbsr]

Crystal Urban Park is the best couple friendly hotel in bhubaneswar. Thehotel consists of deluxe rooms and super deluxe rooms and a multi-cuisine restaurant. There are some amazing places nearer to the hotel like the cinema complex, shopping malls, Dominos, KFC, Ekamra Hata, Exhibition Ground, Ram Mandir, and many more. This makes the hotel a perfect hotel to stay for couples.

[enterenews]

'In-house match' Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong, the best couple award followed by the grand prize

Actors Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong of 'Hatae Couple' in 'Company Match' won the Best Acting Award.

On the afternoon of the 31st, the ‘2022 SBS Drama Awards’ was held at the SBS Prism Tower. On this day, the best acting award in the mini-series romantic comedy category went to Ahn Hyo-seop and Kim Se-jeong from “Company Match”.

Ahn Hyo-seop said, “The word best feels very heavy. In fact, I don't even think about anything right now. Right now, I feel that I really have to work hard and learn more. I am always trying to do my best, but I will become an actor who improves day by day.

Next, Kim Se-jeong said, “I sent her grandmother while ‘meeting in-house’. At that time, it seems that she did not send it well because she was filming. She has decorated the country house beautifully, so I hope that many visits will be held by her grandfather,” she said.

In addition, Sejeong Kim added, “One of the things I felt while acting was that a place where good energy overcomes bad energy is where I am acting.”

[reading-is-an-escape]

The way Taemu and Hari so soft to each other I just can't in this episode. The way they looked at each other, those little smirks, little smiles. Their body languages. LOVE was printed loud and clear on their foreheads. My silly dorkies.

[javaphilesblog]

ENTRY 2/2 KDrama Blog 04/05/2022 | 8:18 pm

This is another blog for the second comfort drama that I really loved since the news about the casts was announced. 

Magtatagalog na lang po ako para damang-dama. Hahahahaha! So this is my last entry and hindi ko alam kung kailan ako makakapagblog na naman. So I’m doing this blog after I watched the final episode ng Business Peoposal. Partida, walang subtitle eh hinhintay ko pa nag 10:30. To be honest, wala naman ako plano manood ng ongoing series o ni Kdrama dahil natrauma na ako lalo sa mga ending. But noong napanood ko ang teasers, and the first episode, naadik na ko sa story, casts, characters, and plot. Yes cliches yung ibang parts pero iba yung saya kapag napanood mo yung drama na isang oras ka tumatawa, kinikilig , at magugulat. Yes, literal na tawa talaga kasi ibang klase ito na Rom-Com, nabasa ko na yung manhwa and talagang may ibang parts na iniba kaya unexpected ang mga scenes.

It is a stress reliever drama pati na din yung mga OSTs . Grabe yung kilig and fun kapag maririnig ko lalo na yung Love, Maybe.

I really the characters here, walang masyadong nakakainis , good vibes lahat starting kay harabeoji/chairman Kang, research development team 1, shin's family and the four main characters.

I thought it will be just a simple rom-com but it was unexpected on how the audience loved the drama, casts and the songs. Sobra, talaga! Even me, na naghahanap ng something new sa Kdrama ay naattached talaga sa drama na to. To be honest, I am a fan of Sejeong and Hyoseop since I watched their dramas talaga. Ahem pati yung Busted, abangers talaga din ako ng drama. The pairing was unexpected and surprising since Sejeong was not the first choice but she nailed her character Shin Hari, Shin Geum Hui and Jin Young Seo(Blind date). Nakakalito nga pero , first episode pa lang, she got me with her Samantha and Rachel lines. Hahahahaha. I won't ever forget that. I like her positivity and her dedication to work. I was amazed also on how she is the best ever friend of Young Seo. They're both chaotics and I love their genuine friendship. Shin Hari is the best Girlfriend I ever watched in a Kdrama. Sabi nga nila, the Nation's Girlfriend. I admired her character a lot especially when she comforted Taemu in his trauma during their date and when he was hospitalized. Kim Sejeong really deserved this character and she nailed. Saranghae Sejeong! Mas lalo pa ko napamahal sa character niya since relate na relate ako doon sa time na may crush siya doon kay Minwoo for 7 years. Yung part na umiyak siya sa bus stop, sh*t, ramdam na ramdam ko yung sakit ng unrequited love. Yung mahal mo siya ng palihim, pero natatakot ka kasi baka masira yung friendship niyo. And she never took an advantage doon sa nalaman niya sa gf ni Minwoo. Despite of unrequited love, she found genuine and reciprocated love with Kang Taemu. They were really destined to each other. ❤❤❤ So, Shin Hari, you are deserved to love and to be loved by Kang Taemu!

Jin Young Seo is the best friend na gusto ko magkaroon in real life, she have done her best to support and protect her best friend. All her efforts talaga, grabe! Saan kayo makakahanap ng ganitong best friend? Tapos may black card pa! HAHAHAHA I love her bluntness and the way she pursued Secretary Cha was so lit. In the last part, gustong gusto ko yung pinaglabanan niya yung relationship niya with Sunghoon kay father niya. I'm so happy for them and thank you Seol In ah for portraying Hari's ever supportive best friend. Thank you because of you, Taemu and Hari won't meet.

Naks! Kay Archaeopteryx naman tayo aka as President Kang Tae-mu. Ahn Hyo Seop nailed this character even nasanay ako sa roles niya sa drama na heavy and emotional. It was just so refreshing to watch him in a Rom-Com drama talaga. And grabe yung chemistry nila Sejeong and hopefully, kahit tapos na yung drama, nandoon pa din yung closeness and support nila sa isa't-isa. Or magdate na lang sila. Char! Alam naman kalakaran sa Korean Entertainment industry, but maybe someday, somehow, di ba Dispatch?!?!?

Okay back to Taemu, I admired his personality talaga na workaholic and persistent sa lahat ng nagagawa especially when he wanted Hari to marry him and pati na din yung part na nafall na siya kay Hari. Nakakatawa lang yung part na gusto niya gantihan si Hari but it was changed during the drunk call and confession of Hari.

Then, during their relationship, napakahealthy lang ng relasyon nila, no dramas, no issues and wala naman kaagaw. I admired Taemu for being consistent and straightforward with his feelings towards Shin Hari. Gustong gusto ko yung lagi siyang tumititig and you can feel that deepest love na meron siya para kay Hari. Naloloka ako sa kanya nunun una because he seemed cold and focus lang sa work but he really changed when he met Hari in an unexpected amd chaotic way. Thank you Kang Taemu (baka naman pa black card, yate, or pakain naman diyan sa restaurant, hahahahah) for going to the blind date and meeting there your jagiya, Shin Hari. Despite his grandfather objections and office rumors, he never gave up on Hari and he still pursued her until the end. Kudos to you Kang Taemu, for being the best boyfriend to Hari and future husband to her. You're really good in all things, sabi mo nga and you prove it right. Don't worry, Shin Hari will always be there in your side and will accept your past, flaws and weaknesses. Just continue loving Shin Hari and Harabeoji, chairman Kang.

Omg! My superduper crush, secretary Cha. To be honest, sa kanya ako naattract throughout the drama. KIM MIN KYU portrayed him well and he was so fine and I cannot resist his oozing hotness (when he removed his eyeglasses and shirt) and handsomeness, shit sama mo pa yung nakakamatay niyang dimples. Jusko! Sa SNOWDROP kasi bwisit na bwisit ako sa kanya talaga, yung role niya na si comrade Jo na mahilig sa cup noodles. Hahahahaha! He was a North Korean spy who turned into a GENTLE, HANDSOME, KIND, CUTE AND SEXY SECRETARY CHA SUNGHOON. Min Kyu really looked like the manhwa version. Despite being an orphan, he was treated wholeheartedly by the Kang family. JUSKO. Mas mahaba mahaba ang appreciation message ko sa kanya. So, ganito nga eh nasanay ako sa second male lead nafafall talaga eh. It was like gustong gusto ko siya, what an ideal man he is. I really love hus character in the drama, the gentleness, and cuteness lalo na pag bromance sila ni Taemu. Sana nga may double wedding sila eh hoping pero kahit special episodes lang naman. Char!

Nakakagukat din na he fell in love at first sight kay Young Seo and he crossed the line already para maexpress niya yung nararamdaman talaga niya. Pati na din yung support na ipinakita niya kay YoungSeo when he gave his savings(billion won yun eh) and wanted to invest with Young Seo's company. Hala mahaba na nga but still I admired his character so much not only as a secretary but also a brother, and friend to Taemu. Thank you Cha Sunghoon for rooting HaTae couple and showing your love towards Young Seo. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! (Pasensya na, ngayon ulit ako na attract sa isang Kdrama fictional character)

Finally, today/yesterday, the drama ended with 12 episodes. Maikli man pero napakaworth it yung paghihintay ko ng Monday and Tuesday kahit napakaaayaw ko ng Monday talaga. Hahahaha! My Mon-Tue will be incomplete already because there were no more Business Proposal episodes. Legit umiyak ako kanina dahil sa tuwa nang endgame si Line at HaTae couple. Naiyak din sa lungkot dahil tapos na ang drama pero I felt satisfied with the flow of the story on each episode. Worth it yung 149 ko sa Netflix at pati na din pagpupuyat ko kahit may klase kinabukasan

This drama relieved my stress and brought me back sa mga drama noon na napakalight lang ng plot at na puro tawa, kilig at walang masyadong conflicts. I won't ever forget this drama and I will recommend it to other Kdrama fans out there.

Thank you HaTae and Line couples for giving us this drama that comforts everyone. It made me love Mon-Tue and it is difficult to accept there were no more episodes of BP next week. 😭 My next week will be incomplete but I will continue to support the casts.

The ending was so ❤. Thank you Kim Sejeong, Ahn Hyo Seop, Seol Inah and Kim Minkyu for being part of this comfort drama. Thank you somuch for bringing Kang Tae-mu, Shin Hari, Cha Sunghoon and Jin Young-seo in our Kdrama world. It is so much love, fun, laughter, lightness, positivity and comfort that we received from this drama. It's been awhile since I was hooked in watching and finishing ongoing series. Thank you so much, SBS staff the manhwa author, and all the casts. Saranghae! ❤😭

#HaTaeCouple

#LineCouple

Yesterday was the final broadcast of the last episode but I will never forget this drama. This drama comforts me a lot through the comic scenes & sweet moments among the characters.

Thank you for the wonderful casts and great drama of year 2022. Kamsamnida!

[beezonia]

It’s Love, It’s Me.

Hari and Taemoo tell each other why spring is their favourite.

Hari loves spring, the blossoms, sun and everything in between. Loves the breezes that mess up her hair and how soft the grass felt In her fingertips.

“Reminds me of the time me and Youngseo found a small lake near her house and we jumped in. But only for like a few minutes cause we we’re freezing!” She laughs.

Her eyes creasing, smile etched into her face.

Taemoo let’s out a chuckle, the corners of picnic blanket they had set up in field flapping about.

“Me and Seunghoon did that too, we we’re bored and the party wasn’t really for teens. Both of us came back to my grandfather soaking wet, he never let us out of his sight again.” They share a laugh.

Her hairs shorter now, he muses. It just falls below her shoulders, the brown mixing in with the slightest bit of blonde.

“You’re staring. Am I that good looking?!” Hari winks smirk plastered on her face.

Taemoo inches closer, arm wrapping around her waist.

“You are.” He places a featherlight kiss on the tip of her nose. Red blossoming on her face like roses.

“YA, you flirt! Stop teasing!” His fiancé wines.

The two of them burst into laughter, the sun shining down on the happy couple.

It was blessing them spring would be their comfort.

It was their love wrapped with a ribbon.

I know it’s short and I’m sorry but I hope you enjoy!!! I have more coming don’t worry!!

Love bee!

[hyojeongshipper]

Fall in love with you 🥰💜

[guiltymepleasures]

Q: What will be the catching point for the second half of the drama?

*cough*episode11*cough*

[oohjennyy]

i am catching feelings in this photo

[youkaigakkou-tl]

The Renren arc post

Just a little compilation of the details in chapter 67 to 77, this almost certainly isn’t even all of them

warning: very long. a lot of images

(link) first of all, not renren arc proper, but the hoodie haruaki was wearing in volume 10 was hatanaka’s from when he was a student

like i mentioned in the timeline post, this whole arc happens over 1 day. wack

(Chapter 68) ebisu-sensei, if i recall, sir, werent you spying on your mii-kun? we still havent gotten to that plot point yet like at all

Seating Arrangement

(chapter 69, nice) a month before this chapter was released, the author tweeted the seating arrangement for the class

(made in google sheets by me, link to the tweet)

Anemone

(chapter 69) the flowers in the background here are anemones, anemone coronaria.

they mean a couple things, but the gist of it is like “love”, “truth”, “suffering”, the works

Birthday

(chapter 69) utagawa’s birthday is april 14th. this is more of a headcanon than anything, but there’s a chance its the date she died.

she specifically points out it’s april here, and although the next scene where rensuke’s mask comes off probably doesn’t happen on the same day, i’m pretty sure it doesn’t happen too long after this

it’s definitely not the day takahashi found her as a gashadokuro, since that happens 2 months after she died

(chapter 74) of course, there’s a chance its just her birthday as a human. rensuke doesn’t mention if theres any reason he’s giving her the ring, but it might be for a birthday present

by the way, and this is relevant, “utagawa kuniko” is based off utagawa kuniyoshi, a woodblock print maker and painter, who made the depiction of the gashadokuro. he died on april 14.

305

this is super nothing, but 305 is a number that comes up a lot for just being a number. its:

hatanaka and mikis dorm room when they were students

rensuke and hijitas room now (confirmed to be the same room as hata and miki)

haruakis hospital room in vol 7

renkas hospital room (not the same hospital)

im told it has something to do with onmyoudou, but i cant find anything online. its probably nothing. but im pointing it out so itll haunt you on future rereads too lol

also, hatanakas birthday is 5/5 and mikis birthday is 3/3. cute

Book

(chapter 70) this book that got knocked off the table is what prompts haruaki to call takahashi, and i spent a while trying to figure out what it is

its... probably the laid back youkai dictionary? would make sense

also, i didnt notice this before writing this, but its the gida taxi business card! cute!

Woah Holy Shit

(chapter 70) wait. he straight up took off his mask to threaten haruaki. geez seimei-kun you got to see his sexy face before all of us!! kyaa!!

Finally The Goddamn Nyuudou House Heist, This Post Is Getting Long

(chapter 71) this seems like a throwaway “wow cool operation about to start” line, but this is probably talking to yamazaki or ame

(chapter 71) on first reading, you probably either glossed over this or thought “ok anti youkai power time” directly going against his conditions with renpapa that he wasnt going to use it (which you may or may not also have glossed over on first reading)

but rereading this knowing its yamazaki changes that (not by much, since its just 2 sentences and he doesnt act on it, but yknow, fascinating)

(chapter 72) here too, when he prioritizes getting mujina out with the intel

also how kurai doesnt even gloat too much even though he caught “haruaki”

even if it wasnt immediately revealed 1 panel later, you probably would have caught on to something being up with just this

or it would be the fact that it was revealed already theres a separate team in chapter 71

(chapter 73) again, here, when sano prioritizes tamao even though “haruaki” is with them too

ah, yknow, one o’ them “call forward”s, one o’ them “back-foreshadowing”

Amaaki Content

(chapter 76) finally getting to the chapters i did. i kinda hate reading my own chapters since i stared at them so much theyre burned into my brain, i hope theyre like, done well. if i had infinite time and energy i would totally redo these first chapters i did. in fact i kinda did, i had to come back and fix some text bubble shaping and phrasing before i posted these anywhere. anyway this has been totally irrelevant.

super un-haruaki-like expression, but im a amaaki liker hehe

a comment on bilibili really opened my eyes, its that this came from ame’s own feelings about haru teaching at hyakki (crying and punching walls rn)

The sky’s clear...

(chapter 76) CRYING SOBBING PUNCHING WALLS RN ITS BECAUSE HARU MEANS CLEAR SKIES UEUEUEUE

We’re All Fools Compilation

(chapter 76) it was at this moment, that i realised: “OH RIGHT HIS FUCKING BRACELET”

anyway, heres the His Fucking Bracelet Or Lack Thereof compilation

I mentioned this in my google drive translation notes, but you can really see how the author purposely showed ame’s right hand at every opportunity

Anyway

(chapter 77) he’s riding gida here, not just for fun, but because he got jabbed with his own immobilization drug by kurai in chapter 75.

um. i hope i translated this in a way that made sense.

anyway this has been the renren arc post wahoooo!! super incomprehensible i hope i get better at this probably wont tho!! i wanna make a post like this for the seimei student arc and also kyoto arc too

[k-star-holic]

'In-house match' Ahn Hyo-seopKim Se-jeong, Hata couple's thrilling 'real' date

Source: k-star-holic.blogspot.com

[reading-is-an-escape]

It still irk me that people said that HaTae hot scene was so awkward. I mean, it supposed to? It was the 1st time for both of them. Wouldn't it be weird if both were so experienced? This was uncharted water for them so both approach w/some "innocence". And they were so gentle with each other, him letting her lead.

[yaoisex]

I never really got the appeal of Poputepipikku, that was too weird for me. Maybe because I didn’t get most of the references ^^;. I only watched a couple of episodes for the male seiyuu couples. 

And there were some great couples!! IshiKai & Soma, Kaji & Shimono, Sugitan & Yuukyan etc in previous season, Tosshi & Asanuma, Junya & Yuuma this season (those two couples were so hilarious I re-watched their eps too many times hahaha).

Can’t wait for today’s ep! It’s gonna be Hata & Massu!!!

Whoever is choosing those couples knows what’s up XD Some of them are actual OTPS! XD

I’ll die if they get Makonyan & Yukke on that show. 

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S2 Chapter 1.4 - The Laughing King and Crybaby Jack (Part 4)

4. RIVAL’S SHADOW

Smh can’t believe Haijima’s gentrifying volleyball in Fukui

Translation Notes

1. A campfire is “When a ball falls to the floor between either a couple or a few players and they are caught just looking at it as if they were circled staring at a campfire.”

Previous || Index || Next

He heard that Mimura started playing volleyball when he was in the third grade. Despite his small stature, his outstanding athleticism and mood-making personality soon made him the center of his elementary school team, and after serving as the ace of Shinei Middle School, he became the ace and captain of the powerhouse Fukuho Tech, and up until now, he had always been the focus of attention and expectations.

Mimura’s self-awareness about his own outward appearance was probably because he had been playing volleyball in such an environment for ten years. If a pampered child showed even the slightest hint of cockiness, admiration could easily turn to animosity and criticism. Mimura Subaru had to be the “idol type” who was loved by everyone.

Although it was true that Mimura was a hundred times more innately cheerful than Ochi, half of his friendliness was an act. His likes and dislikes regarding people were surprisingly intense. His mood had its ups and downs. If a TV or newspaper reporter asked him an imprudent question, he would make a face like a Noh mask and make bland comments from start to finish.

As Ochi helped with the balls for spike practice in front of the net, he glanced over at Mimura to see how he was doing with the interview. In a corner of the gym, Mimura and a woman wearing a pantsuit were facing each other. She was a reporter named Mizuno, a reporter from Fukurou TV. She was looking at him with a serious face and nodding, then writing down something in her notebook. She was petite, even for a woman, so the difference in height between her and Mimura was about two heads, so it was quite charming to see her trying her best to raise her head and Mimura almost leaning down to try to match his gaze with Mizuno’s. He could see a natural smile on Mimura’s face, so it didn’t seem worrying.

He was almost disappointed that she was already leaving after cutting the session earlier than arranged out of consideration for his practice.

Mimura, Hata, and Ochi saw her off as she left.

“Hata-sensei, thank you very much for your time during practice. Mimura-kun, do your best. I’m looking forward to seeing you at the qualifiers.”

Even Ochi, who didn’t play in matches, got excited when a girl told him, “Do your best!” Do teams with female managers experience this on a daily basis…? He couldn’t help but seriously wonder about the meaning of his existence.

After Mizuno changed her shoes at the doorway and went outside, the cameraman who had been filming their practice came running in, sweating. As he was putting away his equipment, he looked up at Mimura as though he had just remembered something.

“Subaru-kun. I’m sure Fukuho will win this year as well, but are there any other teams that are on your mind?”

“Teams that are on my mind?”

Mimura cocked his head.

“Oh, you don’t know? Seiin High School is making a very interesting team this year.”

“By Seiin, you mean the school that pulled out from the semifinals of the Autumn Tournament?”

Hata interrupted him with a hint of sternness in his voice, but the cameraman didn’t seem to notice. His tanned face crinkled into a broad smile.

“Yes, that’s them. They’ll be participating in the Spring High preliminaries. Oh, Hata-sensai, you must know them through the Koutairen. Do you know this? Their setter is only a freshman, but he was chosen as one of the Best Six for Tokyo middle schools.”

“Heh…Tokyo?”

“Oh, you’re also curious, aren’t you, Subaru-kun? Fukuho should brace itself too. If you keep sitting on your laurels, there might be a huge upset. It’s no good to think that you’ll always be the strongest.”

Huh!?

Ochi shouted in his mind and almost stepped forward. He was stopped by the shadow of Hata’s large body, but he really should have kicked him. If he just thought about it for a minute, he’d realize it was a rude comment to leave as a parting gift at the home base of the Fukuho in question.

From behind Hata, he watched Mimura’s face warily. For a moment, he wondered if he was alright, since his face seemingly hadn’t changed from the cheerful expression he wore when he was dealing with Mizuno.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll do my best.”

The charm had completely disappeared from his voice. There was nothing original or interesting in his short reply.

“Tanaka-san, shall we go? What’s the matter?”

Mizuno called from outside. The cameraman, oblivious to the fact that he had just ruined the good mood of an important news item for the sports section of the prefectural media with the force of an excavator gouging out the earth, shouted, “Okay, Mizuno-san!”, turned around and ran off.

“…I don’t think he should have done that, Sensei.”

After they left, Ochi vented his discontent. “You should have been blunter,” he said to Mimura in an accusatory tone despite himself. “If it would have been more interesting for us to lose, you wouldn’t have come to interview us.”

Just as he was considering spreading salt to purify the area…

“What’s Tokyo’s Best Six?”

Tokura poked his head out from nowhere.

“Kohei. Concentrate on practice instead of listening to our conversation.”

“It’s an interval. So Mizuno-san’s gone home already?”

While drawing in his head that was poking out, Tokura jerked his chin towards the gym. The BGM of shouts and ball sounds had settled down. If Mimura and Hata didn’t return soon, they wouldn’t be able to practice.

“Seiin, huh…”

Hata muttered as he cleared his throat and gave Ochi a look.

“They seem to be a hot topic among the reporters.”

“It seems like it…”

Still feeling unamused, Ochi nodded and reservedly looked at Mimura. Mimura, who was still silently staring outside, looked at Hata with narrowed eyes. “Seiin…their current captain is Oda. I don’t remember Oda’s team being that good.” He still hadn’t fully returned from his chilly voice.

“That’s right. Until the Inter-High preliminaries, that is…it was only at the Autumn Tournament that they suddenly came out of nowhere. I asked Ochi to prepare the video for me in a hurry, but we could only record parts of it, so to be honest, I still don’t know what happened. That’s what’s so creepy. Their first-years are playing ace and setter. They might come out on top because they have a lot of momentum from that…or they might lose where it doesn’t matter.”

“So in other words, they’re strong?” Tokura impatiently interrupted Hata’s unclear way of speaking. “What’s going on?” The other members of the team, seeing them talking at the doorway, were looking at each other, wondering if they should gather around.

“The Tokyo Best Six is a freshman named Haijima. He used to be a setter on a Tokyo middle school team that once made it to the top four of the Kanto Tournament.” Just top four? Tokura muttered before Hata continued. “Think of Tokyo, Kohei, as having ten times as many teams as Fukui. Some of them are private schools that attract promising players from all over the country. The Kanto Tournament is even greater than that. Even you can imagine how incredible its best four is from a competition rate that is much greater than the five prefectures of Hokushin’etsu.”

“T-ten times, and even greater…?”

“I heard he won the Best Six title in his second year at a tournament in Tokyo. Needless to say, volleyball isn’t a sport that can be played by just one person. But Haijima is one of those players that make you think that he can do it all by himself…he’s a somewhat creepy player.”

Hata said ominously while stroking the stubble on his chin in his usual manner.

“Subaru.”

He called out gently.

“You are a treasure born in Fukui, and I can only be grateful that you didn’t leave the prefecture and stayed here. I’m proud to be put in charge of you.”

With those cheesy words suddenly spoken to him, Mimura, who had been listening while leaning against the door, was taken aback. Ochi could see another weight being added to Mimura’s shoulders. Seeing Tokura’s simplicity as his face shined and his nose twitched even though he wasn’t the one being praised made him feel bitter.

“Haijima is two years below you, but…he’s probably the other genius in Fukui right now.”

***

The decrease in the number of student volleyball players in the prefectures can be said to be more serious for the boys than girls. The number of schools participating in the high school boys’ official tournaments had remained around twenty in recent years, and this number had been decreasing one by one.

If you were in the same school year, you had already made acquaintances with most of the members at the other schools at prefectural tournaments, and since there was a limited number of opponents for practice matches, you could get to know the members from nearby schools quite well.

Fukuho Tech had their school building in the downtown of Fukui, which was also the capital of the prefecture. Nanafu Seiin High School was located in Nanafu City, which was “rural” compared to Fukui. It only took 30-40 minutes to get there by train, but until now, the two schools hadn’t had any deep interaction. Until last year, and even until this year’s Inter-High preliminaries, Seiin was completely outside Fukuho’s mark. Fukuho was seeded first in every tournament, so after the second round, and after the final tournament in tournaments with qualifying group games, Seiin almost never made it through.

——However.

The group of black uniforms moving on the TV screen was a different team from the one in Ochi’s impression.

The receive wasn’t returned to the front of the net, and normally the left ace would have to be given a high set. The setter, Number 8, ran underneath the ball, pushing aside the other players. It looked like he was going to set the ball to the ace, Number 7, who was waiting in the left, but at the moment of the set, Number 8 twisted his body and set the ball back towards the right. The tall middle blocker, Number 2, who had jumped there at some point, spiked the ball fast.

At the end of the game, the opposing team showed perseverance and battled for the ball, and the final point was gained after a rally. He was amazed at Number 8’s bold decision to use a quick attack at this stage. It was not hard to imagine that this had been a painful point for the opposing team, as if they had been hit with a blunt instrument to break the spirit that had held them together. After losing the flow of the game, the receiver did a “campfire” with Number 8’s serve at the end. (1) The service ace pierced the court at the same time the twenty-fifth winning point of Seiin was etched in.

“…Where did a team like this come out from all of a sudden?”

Those words that someone muttered were the feeling shared by everyone in the room.

It was a video of the third round of the Fall Tournament a month ago, a match that Seiin won in straight sets, 2-0. The Fall Tournament, which was usually held at the beginning of August—this year from August 1st to 3rd, was a tournament Fukuho went to with about 70% of its strength. The schedule was tightly connected to Inter-High’s main tournament every year. As Fukuho had just returned from an away game, they couldn’t put in their best effort, and this was only a one-off tournament within the prefecture anyways. What Fukuho had fixed its gaze on next was the National Athletic Meet for some individuals, but their main goal was only Spring High.

Hata paused the video with the remote control from behind the team members, who were spontaneously leaning forward to watch the TV.

“As you all know, Seiin has won all their matches so far, but they won’t go to the semifinals. The school asked to withdraw from the tournament. We were wondering what would happen with Spring High, but their adviswor came to the coaches’ meeting and the lottery on Wednesday.”

Although the video was taken from a distance from the second-floor seats behind the end line, they could see that the team was full of tall players. It was easy to ask, “Where did all this talent suddenly come from?” when there were suddenly so many talented players in three different years at the same time in a school that didn’t have the power to attract strong players. The fact that the average height of the regulars was often directly related to the strength of the team was one of the tough parts of volleyball.

On Saturday morning, thirty minutes earlier than the start of practice, only the main second- and third-year members were gathered in the AV room. The AV room was a classroom with long desks lined up in tiers, and there was a projector screen and large TV installed at the podium in the front of the room. Fukuho’s school building itself was lamentably ancient, but as a strong athletic school, they had invested in some equipment.

Ochi was standing in a corner of the podium, keeping watch over the DVD deck while observing the expressions of each person in the dimmed classroom. Mimura sat alone in the front row, staring at the paused TV screen, accompanied by a 500mL strawberry milk carton again today.

He gave up trying to read anything from Mimura’s expression and looked down at the document in his hand. The white light filtering from the TV illuminated the copy paper. It was the team profile of Seiin as of the Fall Tournament.

“The left wingers are Number 1, Oda, and Number 7, Kuroba. Oda is the captain…163, but Kuroba is a freshman and 184. The right wingers are Number 4, Kanno, a second-year who’s 181. The middle blockers are Number 2 and 10, 193 and 187…”

“Who’s Number 10!?”

They stirred more at Number 10 than at the outstanding height of Number 2.

“Everyone probably knows Number 2, Aoki. This year he’s the vice-captain. Okuma…the second-year Number 10, I’ve never seen him before, Sensei.”

It was as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was hard to believe that a 187cm guy wandering around a tournament venue wouldn’t stand out, which meant he hadn’t been in any tournaments before.

“And Number 8, who scored the winning point with a service ace was the Tokyo Best Six setter, which was mentioned before.”

That service ace—it might be too unfair to call it a mistake by the two players who did the campfire. It was a jump serve with a low trajectory over the net, piercing like a Japanese sword bent backwards. From the receivers’ point of view, it looked like the ball was coming at them with several percent more speed than it actually was.

“In addition to having that jump serve, he’s a tall setter at 181cm. Freshman, Haijima…I don’t know how to read his first name.”

The second-year Kakegawa, who played in the same position, groaned quietly. At 175cm, Kakegawa was plenty big enough to be a setter.

“I’m just wondering this, but…why isn’t that guy here?”

Yanome raised his hand and spoke up. Kakegawa, who was next to him, looked uncomfortable, but it was a natural question that was on everyone’s minds.

“Sensei, don’t you go to the middle school prefecturals every year?”

“That’s true. It’s just that at last year’s prefecturals, Haijima’s team, Monshiro Middle, went from being unmarked to making it all the way to the semifinals.”

Hata answered from the seat in the back overlooking the heads of the team members. From being unmarked to the semifinals—just like Seiin in the Fall Tournament. It wasn’t as though there was any connection, but a faint chill ran across everyone’s faces.

“When I first saw him at the semifinals, I was curious about him too. So I asked a middle school teacher I knew to send me a video of the second round that came before…but I was so confused when I watched it that I didn’t end up contacting the Monshiro coach. To be honest, I didn’t know how to fit this player into the team when Subaru became a third-year. I didn’t think he would go to an unknown school and that a team like this would be completed somewhere else.”

Mimura twitched at the mention of his name and looked back over his shoulder at Hata. Hata, oblivious to his reaction, folded his arms and stroked his chin.

“I’ve always wanted to see what would happen if I put him on the same team as Subaru. It’s a shame he doesn’t have enough experience to be invited to the selection team for this year’s National Athletic Meet.”

“Are you saying that we’re not enough, Sensei!?”

Tokura suddenly stood up and flared up at Hata, his voice raised.

“Are you saying that if Subaru-senpai was on a team with those Seiin guys instead of us, he might get even stronger!? You don’t believe we can go to Nationals, Sensei!? We all joined Fukuho with our own achievements in middle school. It’s not like we’re a bunch of random guys who happened to be in the lineup this year!”

“No, that’s not what I…”

“That’s what they think, isn’t it? The media.”

Mimura’s voice overlapped with Hata’s as he hurriedly tried to rephrase.

Everyone immediately looked at Mimura, not to mention Tokura’s exaggerated reaction. Mimura had turned back to the front, staring at the TV screen again. He rested his chin in his hands and chewed on his straw with the tip of his mouth while speaking in a slightly slurred manner.

“For the past eight years, no one but us have gone to Nationals, so I can’t help but think that if we let someone else go, they’ll just go all the way to the top and win.”

“Subaru-senpai…!?”

Tokura was stunned. The other guys were also looking at each other like they wanted to say something. The conversation had taken a strange turn…Unable to just watch, Ochi tried to smooth things over from the podium by saying, “Well, sit down, Tokura.”

“There’s a backstory to this. The day before yesterday, the TV station guy said something worthless to Subaru and left.”

With an unconvinced look on his face, Tokura sat down with a thump.

“Sorry, sorry. This is my fault.”

Hata forced his thick voice to become brighter and banged on the desk twice, as though he was trying to lift the heavy atmosphere that had sank down from the ceiling.

“We’re going to keep an eye on them, but don’t be alarmed any more than you have to be. It’s the same as against other teams. Of course we’re going to go to Spring High again this year, in accordance with our tradition, and we’ll make every effort to achieve that. We’ll start practice at nine. The second-years will help the first-years put up the net.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kakegawa and Yanome urged Tokura to stand up. As Tokura reluctantly left his seat, he threw a tearful gaze towards Mimura’s back.

Tokura must have wanted Mimura to back him up on his words. Mimura, however, kept his face turned to the TV as if he was there in body, but not in spirit. He didn’t even seem to notice that he was chewing the end of his straw to a pulp.

It was impossible for Mimura to create such an atmosphere under normal circumstances. He knew that he wouldn’t really care, but he couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the thought that the cameraman’s insensitive parting gift would have created an unwanted scratch within Mimura.

The TV’s white light was shining on Mimura’s face as he took up position right in front of it. He was exhausted, his chin resting in his hands, but he was hunched forward as though absorbed by the video.

The video was paused, showing the Seiin team gathered in the center of the court, celebrating their victory. Number 8, Haijima, who scored the service ace, was behind the others and about to walk from the service zone to the court. The number “8,” dyed into the back of his uniform, was displayed in the foreground of the screen, as though to show something to Mimura.

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[hyojeongshipper]

Ahn Hyo Seop x Kim Se Jeong sama sama suka alkohol...