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The game started with Jeong Gyeoul’s team serving.

After winning the toss, Jeong Gyeoul kicked the ball with all her might.

*Whoosh—*

“…What? Where are you kicking it?”

“Gyeoul, is this your first time playing foot volleyball? Did you fail to control your strength?”

Kim Guk-min and Han Seo-jin chuckled, easing the tension.

They approached the net to tease Jeong Gyeoul, but Scorpion Instructor Kim Cheol-soo was focused solely on the ball.

Even if only 1% of the rumors about Jeong Gyeoul in the industry were true, she couldn’t possibly fail at something as simple as a foot volleyball serve.

Kim Cheol-soo had seen Jeong Gyeoul fight in Gyeongju with his own eyes, so he didn’t even consider the possibility of a serve miss.

“Get ready to receive! That’s definitely going in!”

“What, what did you say? It’s going in?”

“What kind of high-angle shot is that? Is it an ICBM?!”

Hearing this, the two scrambled back to their positions, preparing for the ball that was about to fall.

The small ball Jeong Gyeoul had kicked high into the air was heading straight for the far corner of Kim Cheol-soo’s court.

*Tap! Bang—*

Kim Cheol-soo, being an A-Class hero, still had his physical abilities intact even if his magic power was suppressed.

He managed to receive Jeong Gyeoul’s sky serve.

Thanks to his precise control of the impact when kicking the ball, the ball heading toward Kim Guk-min maintained just the right height.

Kim Cheol-soo’s perfect execution meant the attacker didn’t need to jump or strain to reach the ball.

If Kim Guk-min had just done a simple tap or jump kick, it would’ve been a flawless play, but he wasn’t a foot volleyball player, so no one expected that much.

All he had to do was lightly touch it with his head.

“Uh… uh-uh!”

But Kim Guk-min decided to use his foot instead, which led to a complete miss.

“…”

“Got it!”

Just as Kim Cheol-soo was speechless and Jeong Gyeoul was sure she had scored the first point…

“Ah!”

Han Seo-jin lunged forward.

Like a base runner sliding into home plate, she swept across the court roughly.

*Thud—*

She barely managed to touch the ball with the tip of her foot, and the ball just barely cleared the net, heading toward Winter.

“Receive it! Sister! Please!”

“Uh… uh-uh!”

Winter made a similar sound to Kim Guk-min, trying desperately to hit the ball, but her hands and feet moved simultaneously.

Her hand, not her foot, touched the ball.

“…”

“Got it!”

In an instant, emotions swung wildly.

“Scorpion Team takes the first point! 1-0!”

“Sorry, Gyeoul…”

“Sigh… It’s okay, I didn’t expect to receive that either.”

It would’ve been a super play if it was intentional, but it was clearly a fluke.

Otherwise, the ball wouldn’t have fallen so close to the net.

Jeong Gyeoul passed the ball back and positioned herself to prepare for the serve.

“I’ll receive it and carry it over, so just touch it with your head or foot, okay?”

“Okay!”

Winter and Yuna responded energetically, but Jeong Gyeoul wasn’t convinced.

‘…If they just touch it, I’ll have to link it up.’

Once everyone was in position, the Scorpion Instructor raised his hand and shouted loudly.

“Here we go!”

*Whoosh—*

Unlike Jeong Gyeoul’s sky serve, this was a proper serve technique.

The body leaned forward as the foot swung, kicking the ball with force.

Kim Cheol-soo’s inside-foot serve cleared the net, barely grazing the right corner of the court.

Even though it was just a variety show foot volleyball game, none of the cast had shown such skill and power before.

“Wow, what speed!”

“Amazing…”

Kim Guk-min and Han Seo-jin, as well as Yuna and Winter from the opposing team, were too busy marveling to even think about receiving the ball.

*Bang—*

Jeong Gyeoul, with light steps, ran to the right and received the ball smoothly.

The ball that rose into the air headed straight toward Yuna.

“Header! Header! Use your head!”

“Uh! Got it!”

Yuna, who had been planning to use her foot, adjusted her balance awkwardly but moved closer to the ball’s trajectory to head it.

“Yah!”

The ball Jeong Gyeoul perfectly tossed…

Hit the back of Yuna’s head and fell to the ground, rolling back to Jeong Gyeoul.

“…Is it a boomerang?”

She looked down at the ball at her feet with a defeated expression.

“…Sorry, Gyeoul…”

“It’s okay, you were just too hasty, so it hit the back of your head. Next time, try to time it better and aim for your forehead.”

“Okay!”

For now, things were still manageable.

She roughly understood their movements. Now, she planned to receive the ball and immediately run to the net to finish it herself, but…

“Ah! Move, sister!”

“Sorry… Gyeoul!”

“…It’s okay.”

Not only did they block Jeong Gyeoul’s path…

“Uh… your shots are strong.”

“…Why does it kick like this?”

They even sent the ball flying in the opposite direction for a home run.

“Handball! Winter, your hand touched it!”

“…Sorry, Gyeoul.”

“…It’s fine.”

They even blocked the ball with their hands, as if afraid of it.

The score quickly became 7-0.

She had planned to crush their strategy, but instead, it was Jeong Gyeoul who was being crushed.

‘This can’t go on…’

After losing five points due to Yuna and Winter’s super plays, Jeong Gyeoul decided not to pass the ball to her team but to shoot it directly into the opponent’s court.

“The rally isn’t connecting? It’s more boring than I thought.”

“If Gyeoul had bet on this, it would’ve been a disaster! Puhaha.”

As Winter’s team kept losing points, the Scorpion Team’s taunts continued endlessly.

It’s one thing to beat a 14-year-old middle schooler, but when that 14-year-old is an S-Class hero, it’s a different story.

“Guys, let’s stop and focus. If Hero Jeong Gyeoul gets angry, it’s scary.”

Kim Cheol-soo, the Scorpion Team’s captain, who had somehow become a brother figure to Kim Guk-min and Han Seo-jin during the seven points, tried to calm them down.

This was just a variety show, and the competitive spirit was part of the fun, but if it turned into real anger, he knew things could get dangerous.

‘She might kick me instead of the ball…’

He thought any further provocation would be too risky.

***

*Whoosh—*

“Ouch, that was high!”

Kim Guk-min made a mistake trying to receive the ball the Scorpion had sent over.

His foot touched the ball, but he sent it flying too high.

Before the ball Kim Guk-min kicked could even land on their court, Jeong Gyeoul was already moving.

*Tap tap tap— Thud—*

She jumped high into the air, spun once, and slammed the ball down with her heel.

The ball, which had been wobbling toward their court, was now fired straight into the Scorpion Team’s court.

*Boom—*

The sound of the ball hitting the court was more like an explosion.

It then bounced up and flew over the building.

It was a miracle the ball didn’t burst.

‘What kind of Shaolin foot volleyball is this?’

The Scorpion Team’s jaws dropped at my ruthless smash.

Winter and Yuna were equally stunned.

“Hehe.”

“Amazing! Gyeoul! You’re awesome!”

“That was incredible! What was that? Did you just spin in mid-air?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I thought the Scorpion Team would receive it, but they couldn’t.”

Winter and Yuna were all excited, constantly asking for high-fives.

Considering the taunts they’d endured from the Scorpion Team, it was hard not to join in.

“…Cheol-soo, can you receive that?”

“I can receive it, but… I’m not sure I can set it up nicely for you guys.”

“We’ll figure that out. Just receive it for us.”

“Okay, I’ll try to make it as smooth as possible.”

*Boom—*

Inside-foot kick: 7-2

*Whoosh—*

Heel kick: 7-3

*Boom—*

Spinning volley shot: 7-4

I kept hitting the ball before it even landed on our court, leaving no time for Winter and Yuna to make mistakes.

The score, which had seemed doomed, started climbing rapidly once I got serious.

“Wow… Gyeoul is carrying the whole team, and we’re actually winning.”

“Jeong Gyeoul, fighting!”

Winter and Yuna, who had entered the court as players, were now turned away from the game, cheering for me instead.

A new position of in-game cheerleaders had been created.

“…This can’t go on.”

“…Is there any way?”

“Anything, just to win!”

“Guys, stick close to the net. I’ll handle this alone.”

“…Like Winter and Yuna?”

“…Wouldn’t that look a bit weird?”

“Sorry to say, but if we want any chance of winning, we have no choice…”

“Got it! For victory!”

The Scorpion Team looked like they were preparing for a monster raid, filled with determination.

Did they think the Scorpion could take me one-on-one? I’m faster, stronger, and my movements are on another level.

But… is it okay for the other cast members to crowd the net while we two play the game?

I glanced at PD Choi, who actually seemed pleased.

‘…He knows broadcasting better than I do.’

And so, with four people crowding the net, a one-on-one showdown between the Scorpion and me began.

In the end, Winter’s team won 10-8.

“Sigh… I only scored one point, sorry.”

“No, no… If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have even scored one point. We’d just be standing there with our mouths open until the game ended.”

“Amazing… It’s shocking that you two are the same species as us.”

Our battle was incredibly intense.

With a single jump, we exchanged the ball about eight times in mid-air.

After landing, dozens of rallies continued until…

Someone showed a slight opening, and the ball came crashing down like a meteor.

Because of this, we had to replace the ball five times between 7-4 and 8-10.

“…I’ll give Team Jeong Gyeoul 1,000 coins.”

“Let’s move on to the next game quickly. My body’s warmed up now, so I think I can really get into it.”

“Since both of you are heroes, I expected the ball to burst at least once per game, so I brought six balls… but we’re out of balls now…”

“…”

Isn’t this the production team’s lack of preparation?

If they brought six balls expecting one to burst per game, they must’ve anticipated three sets…

What about my remaining 2,000 coins?!

“Shall we move on to another game then?”

“Since it’s the first day, we planned to use foot volleyball to get everyone sweating and then have a team dinner with the 2,000 coins… How about we just give it to you for free?”

If we had won all the coins from foot volleyball, it would’ve been 3,000 coins.

But judging from what we’ve seen so far, I would’ve won every game.

“Then the Scorpion Team gets to eat for free, right?”

“Will Winter’s team refuse to join the Scorpion Team’s dinner? If so, the production team will need to discuss this. Since this isn’t after losing in the second or third set…”

“Wha, what? Gyeoul, are you already drawing lines?”

“Come on, Gyeoul! We’re supposed to run the restaurant together, not compete!”

“Says the ones who were so excited during the game…”

Gyeoul will not forget the taunts.

“…Sorry, Gyeoul-nim! Please let us join the dinner!”

“What can we do to make you less angry? Just say the word!”

“Meanwhile, the Scorpion guy is just sitting there quietly, huh?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Cheol-soo! You! Gyeoul-nim wants you to kneel!”

“Huh? I don’t remember hearing that…”

When I tackled the Scorpion, Kim Guk-min and Han Seo-jin immediately pressured him.

Such loyal subordinates.

“Just kidding, everyone worked hard. It wouldn’t be fair if some ate meat and others didn’t. Let’s all eat together.”

“Wahhh! It’s a golden age!”

“Jeong Gyeoul, hurray!”

–

The king (PD Choi) decreed to the variety show officials,

“Do not punish or discriminate against the defeated, but instead, host a dinner.”

Thus spoke the king.

On a certain day in Winter Year 1 (2023).

–

 

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