I caught myself literally staring into his eyes like I was being pulled by a very thin string. Thin but strong.

I tried to move my gaze but failed. It felt like I was paralyzed, I couldn't even move my eyelids.

He didn't move either...

This moment was different from all the previous similar encounters as I felt something ignited somewhere deep inside me, the heat from which spread all over my body. Burning me to ashes and freezing me to thick ice at the same time.

This... Whatever this is, is completely foreign to me... Never have I ever felt something like this before. No one has induced these kinds of spark in me before...

...

Not even that person who forced 'His Wife' title on me......

...

Then why?

Why do I react for him?

...

~

We stayed like that for a moment or maybe more than a moment. Then, he was the first one to break the gaze. He casually turned his head to focus on the stage like nothing happened as he should because nothing really happened. But if nothing happened why do I hear my heartbeat through my ears bleeding my eardrums?

C'mon Dayun don't be such a teenage girl, I mentally slapped myself to turn the other side.

~

~

~

Finally... After heaven knows how long, the speeches were over...

I guess, it just lasted for about forty minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

I never liked to hear people speak, not even when I was in school.

They're boring and energy-sucking.

But unlike me, Moon Insoo was listening to them carefully. It seemed like he actually found them interesting.

I mean... Why wouldn't he? He talks like that too.

He has even caught me sleeping during his speeches twice.

. . . . . . . . .

After the speeches were over the host came on the stage and announced the start of the games.

...

Ah... Finally... Something interesting!

...

So... There were five games in total.

First... 'Running race', where fathers should carry their kids on their back and run. Second, 'Throw the ball', where kids would throw balls to their dads who would be standing a few meters away and they catch and throw the ball into a basket a bit away. Whoever fills the basket first, wins.

The next game didn't involve the kids much, it was just for their fathers. Every one of them would be given a crown and they should make their kids wear it, who stood at the end of the finish line. While doing so, they must climb a wall, walk between tyres, swim across the pool and a few more obstacles.

Hmm... It looks like the hardest one to me.

Forth came the 'Clip the doll' challenge. Participants would be given with a huge number of hair clips and those who clip the most to the doll within the given time would win the game.

Interesting.

The fifth and final game was 'Stand on the folded paper'. The traditional thing. Father should stand on a piece of paper with their kid, and with each whistle, they should fold the paper into half. Those who survive the fall wins. This game holds the most points and whoever wins this has the highest chance of winning.

The host explained.

. . .

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

All the participants were called to the centre of the ground where all the games were about to take place.

Iseul and Insoo were so very ready for the challenge as he said, "Wish us luck!" followed by her "Cheer us, Momma..!"

I wished them both the best and sent them off for the game.

I felt the excitement growing inside me too. It sounded fun.

.

After all the fathers left with their kids, all the women came to the front to watch the game and to cheer them.

I did the same thing...

After warming up, everyone assembled on the starting line.

The first game, 'Running race', was about to begin...

Everyone carried their kids on their back and got ready. Insoo carried Iseul on his back.

The school's Physical education teacher was the one who had to start the match. He stood at one end of the line with a whistle, ready to be blown.

He gave commands...

On your mark

Get set

And

*Blow*

He blew the whistle indicating them to start running.

Insoo ran slowly at the start as he was adjusting the way he carried Iseul. But once he was comfortable with the way he carried her, he took off with full energy.

He was running in the sixth place but quickly made it to three.

Two more to go...

He crossed one

And the other...

He was leading now!

Him being young and athletic played to his advantage.

If we look at this from a way, it's a kind of cheating because all the other players were in their 30s while Insoo was just 24.

But... Isn't everything fair in love and war?

The finishing line was just a few meters away.

Now, just a meter

He was close to winning

And...

He won...

They won the first match!

Everyone clapped and cheered for them. I shouted as much as could. I was super excited.

.

After calculating the points and after they've been provided with enough rest. They got ready for the next game, 'Throw the ball'...

There was a basket full of balls and the kids stood near it. Each kid should take the ball and throw it to their dad who stood a few meters away and they should fill another basket which was placed another few meters away. It looked rather easy. You don't have to spend too much energy.

Everyone got ready and...

The whistle was blown.

All the participants started to fill their baskets as fast as they could. Iseul and Insoo worked perfectly as a team and filled theirs too.

But everyone played it so well, specifically, there was this one father-son duo who were the best. They had already filled half of their basket when everyone had just started to fill theirs. They were working super-fast. Especially the little boy was full of energy and spirit.

After sometime the game was over. Obviously, the said father-son duo won the match. Iseul and Insoo did well too, but they were in some fifth or sixth place?

The points were noted and after a little break the next game began.

.

The crown game...

Like in the running race, all the participants stood at the starting line.

And the whistle blew.

And just like in running the race, Insoo leaded this too.

He played even better than I thought he would. Maybe I had underestimated him. When everyone had just started to climb the wall, he was already on the other side.

Someone fell down after going mid-way. I found it hilarious. Am I a sadist?

But Insoo worked like a cheetah - fast and calculated, as he passed every obstacle rather effortlessly.

He was magnificent.

I mean... He has such a perfectly craved strong and tall body, of course he should be able to do that. All the time and energy he spent working out would be useless if he couldn't do that. But it was so impressive regardless. Not everyone who works out can do it.

And...

He won the match by placing the crown on Iseul's head.

I shouted my lungs out. I never knew I could shout like this. Maybe because I never had so much fun like this before. But I was super happy now, that I wanted to dance and celebrate his victory.

At this point, all the ladies looked daggers at me. They were jealous and annoyed.

What? Can't watch someone do better than you?......

.

Next, was the 'Clip the doll' challenge.

The challenge looked rather, simple.

But my duo failed miserably...

They didn't even make it to the top 20

.

Then came the last and the most important game, 'Stand on folded paper'.

All the participants stood in front of a piece of paper. And after the whistle blew, they should stand on it and with each successive whistle they should fold the paper in half and stand on it again.

This was a difficult task. It could get even more difficult in the successive rounds. And two persons would be standing on it, above all.

I looked at Iseul. She was very excited and energetic. She was having a lot of fun. But when I looked at Insoo, he looked rather tired. That third game must have sucked a lot of his energy. After all, he's put a lot of effort into this competition.

I was worried. It's just a game, there's no need for him to work so hard over winning this. The fact that he came and participated with Iseul was already more than enough for me, and it would be for Iseul too. And I was super grateful to him for that. But he is someone who takes everything seriously, be it a business deal or a simple game, he never likes to lose.

I just wanted him to look at me once and tell him by any means that it's okay and that he did well so far. And that I'm grateful.

...

Like he had actually read my mind, he turned to the crowd and searched for me. He found me rather quickly as he looked at me. I looked at him too.

And then he did something that'd stay in my mind forever. He slowly nodded and smiled at me, a soft smile.

No one would notice this, but I knew... I knew he got my message and I returned the smile with added energy. I was so happy. He had given me a lot of good memories today. He's done a lot for me today. I'd never sleep during his speeches again.

.

The referee blew the whistle and the game started. With each successive whistle, the number of people remained in the game decreased tremendously because many of them fell losing balance.

And with each whistle the match got harder... and harder.

Within a few minutes, only ten remained and it decreased to five not so long after. Iseul and Insoo were doing well till now.

The next whistle blew and now the paper was folded so small that only one could stand on it. So, he carried Iseul in his arms. Iseul clung onto him like a baby lemur. On side note, it was so adorable to watch.

In the middle of all the tension and anxiety, I couldn't resist taking out my phone and clicking a picture of them.

What? Priorities first...

I couldn't take a clear shot, because I was a bit too far away. But I managed to click a decent shot.

Now back to the game... Now only three remained and the paper was folded so small they had to stand on one leg. And there fell the other.

Now, only two remained. One was Insoo and Iseul, the other was that father-son duo who won the second game. They both were struggling because, now they stood on the tip of their toe.

Everyone was at the edge of their seat, eagerly watching the game. Both of them would have a lot of points because they both had won in the previous games. So, whoever wins this would be the winner.

It's one out of them. But who is the one? That's what triggered everyone's interest.

It was crucial.

It looked unimaginably hard but both of them managed to stand in that position for quite a long time.

Then...

One of them fell

And the entire stadium stood up to celebrate the victory of the other.

The host congratulated them on winning the match.

They screamed in joy.

But it wasn't the case for the one who fell, they had lost the match.

The one who lost the match was...

Insoo and Iseul

As the game grew harder and as time passed, Insoo couldn't stand on his tiptoe, he lost his balance and they fell.

Iseul didn't seem much affected by losing the game. And I knew she wouldn't be sad too. She was rather excited about participating. But the same cannot be said for Insoo. Just as I had expected, he was broken. It made me sad.

What is there in a game to be this sad though?

I wanted to reach them, but I have to wait till the prizes were given.

That father-son duo won the first prize. Everyone cheered for them. I clapped for them too.

Their prize was nothing fancy but a giant teddy bear. It looked even bigger than Iseul.

Insoo and Iseul won the second prize. It was a teddy bear too. But theirs was smaller. It looked about the size of one's forearm.

The third prize was

Obviously an even smaller teddy bear.

And with that the event was over...

~

After the event ended, I ran to where Iseul and Insoo were. It was hard to spot them and took me a couple of seconds to do so.

There...

I spotted them. Insoo was holding Iseul's hands and they were looking for someone.

It was me, I guess.

I ran to them...

To be continued...

Note - For update information, kindly read the note below.