Roughly five minutes later, Jin found himself standing in front of North Everest Middle School.
It was decently large for a middle school. Brown brick walls stretched across the front like a fortress, with wide parking lots flanking both entrances. Behind the building sat a sprawling field: a football field, a worn-down baseball diamond, and eight chain-link-fenced tennis courts baking under the morning sun.
"Bye, Mom!" Jin called as he opened the car door.
"See you later, Jin! I've got a surprise waiting for you when you get home," she said, eyes twinkling with mischief.
Jin paused, halfway out of the car. "Um… okay?" he said, voice uncertain.
Whatever that meant, he'd deal with it later.
Jin awkwardly made his way into the school, doing his best to remember where everything was.
The brown-walled hallways stretched out in familiar rows, lined with an endless sea of lockers.
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out behind him, followed by a firm slap on the back.
"Hey, Jin!"
He turned, blinking in surprise and his eyes widened.
Standing there was a boy nearly a head shorter than him, grinning ear to ear. His messy black hair stuck out in every direction, and his sharp features gave him a foxlike, almost mischievous look.
"Ren?!" Jin blurted.
"Woah, what's with all the morning hype?" Ren laughed, raising an eyebrow. "You're acting like you haven't seen me in years."
Memories surfaced instantly, long afternoons spent goofing off at the tennis courts, arguing over whose serve was faster, laughing until their stomachs hurt. Jin's chest tightened slightly. After middle school, they'd gone to different high schools and drifted apart. But at this moment, none of that mattered.
Jin smiled. "It's just good to see you again, man."
Jin slipped into a seat near the back, with Ren right beside him. The classroom was already buzzing with chatter as students filtered in. The walls were lined with outdated posters about algebra, and Mr. Lien hadn't even looked up from his crossword puzzle at the front.
As they waited for the bell, Ren leaned over, whispering like he was about to spill a state secret.
"Bro… did you see Jennie today? She looks so hot. And Chaewon? Oh my god—don't even get me started on Chaewon."
Jin glanced over at the girls Ren was eyeing. Sure, they were cute, but…
"Ren," Jin deadpanned, "you're such a gooner."
Ren choked on a laugh. "Hey! I'm just appreciating the finer things in life, alright?"
"Whatever" Jin said with a soft smile on his lips.
Some things don't change huh.
Jin and Ren made it through most of their classes without much trouble. They only got called out twice and managed to sweet-talk their way out of both situations. Jin was pleasantly surprised to find that he still retained most of his academic knowledge, even after everything. Ren even commented a couple of times, clearly impressed by Jin's sudden "smartness."
"Bro, when did you turn into a secret genius?" Ren had whispered during science.
Jin just shrugged with a faint grin.
Near the end of the day, the school's overhead speakers crackled to life.
DING.
Tennis members, please make your way outside to the tennis courts for practice!
Jin turned to Ren, eyes already lighting up.
"Ready for practice?"
Ren groaned. "As ready as I can be. Coach Ruplinger's training is brutal, man. My legs still haven't forgiven me from last year."
Jin chuckled as they made their way toward the lockers. When they reached his, he paused, fiddling with the dial.
He flushed a little.
God, how long did I take trying to open this thing this morning? Like a toddler solving a safe…
After a moment, the lock finally clicked, and he retrieved his racquet with a small, satisfied nod.
When Jin finally made it to the courts, he was met with a wave of vaguely familiar faces. Names and memories sitting just out of reach. In truth, the only person he'd ever really hung out with was Ren.
Around fifty students crowded the courts, racquets in hand, water bottles at their feet, all circled loosely around Coach Ruplinger. The man stood at the center, arms crossed, scanning the group with a practiced eye.
"Welcome to the North Everest Middle School tennis team," Coach said, voice carrying sharp and clear.
He swept his gaze across the crowd. "Nice to see some familiar faces… and a few new ones too."
Jin glanced at Ren, who had suddenly gone pale.
"What's wrong?" Jin asked.
Ren swallowed hard. "You forgot, didn't you? He's about to say it."
Jin blinked. Then it hit him.
Ah, shit.
Right on cue, Coach Ruplinger's face split into a wide, far-too-pleased grin.
"Put your racquets down," he said. "And give me five laps around the building."
The entire group froze.
Not a sound. Just the collective groan of fifty souls realizing they'd signed up for pain.
At first, five laps didn't sound that bad. But Jin quickly remembered one lap around the building was about 600 meters. Five laps meant nearly two miles.
Groans echoed across the courts as everyone begrudgingly placed their racquets down and began the run.
Nearly twenty minutes later, the group stumbled back; drenched in sweat, breath heavy, gulping down water like it was liquid gold.
Once the last few stragglers returned, Coach Ruplinger clapped his hands.
"Circle up! Time to stretch out those muscles."
He led them through a series of stretches, starting with basic quad pulls, hamstring touches, and shoulder rolls. Eventually, they moved to the ground for deeper stretches. One in particular had them lying on their stomachs and pulling one leg across their body.
Of course, Ren couldn't help himself.
"Watch your backdoor," he muttered. "You're in prime position for—"
Twack!
"OW! What was that for?!" Ren yelped, rubbing the back of his head.
"That's for saying something so stupid," Jin replied dryly, not even looking at him.
A few snickers rippled through the circle. Even Coach raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Practice hadn't even started, and Jin was already wondering if stamina training alone would be enough to survive this.
"Alright guys, now it's time to hit some balls," Coach Ruplinger announced, clapping his hands. "Warm up first, then we'll run a few competitive matches so I can see what I'm working with."
Jin's heart pounded.
I can finally play tennis again, he thought, nearly vibrating with anticipation.
He and Ren had just stepped onto the court to begin warming up when a familiar ding echoed in Jin's mind.
Huh? Did the system just update?
Jin instinctively opened his UI, eyes scanning the screen. What he saw made his breath catch.
***
SUDDEN QUEST TRIGGERED
TASK: Impress Coach Ruplinger
[REWARDS]
30 GEMS
5 STAT POINTS
Coach's Goodwill
[PENALTY]
– Benched for the Entire Season
***
Jin stared at the glowing text, heart now thudding for a different reason.
No pressure… right?