Hunter's Return
Hunter, utterly indifferent to the stares around him, sent the same detached glance back at Jake's eyes.
He walked to a nearby empty table, set down the cooler, and pulled two water bottles from inside.
Jiyu followed, placing her canvas bag on the table and claiming a seat inside.
The waiting area buzzed with the energy of tournament participants and their companions.
On one side stood a small snack bar with a vending machine and a shop selling assorted tennis gear.
“You still playing tennis these days?” Jake asked suddenly.
“Yes, I take group lessons twice a week at the academy in Randall’s Island.”
“Oh, yeah? Good. You said you wanted to join the high-school varsity team, right? Just keep at it steadily—no stopping now.”
Jake had become busier ever since Hunter dove into the national-level tournament circuit.
His lessons at the Hamilton Residence basement court had to end.
Yet thanks to his skilled coach, Jiyu had built quite a solid foundation.
Grateful for what she’d learned so far, she registered Jiyu in the group classes at the tennis academy Hunter attended.
It was because she’d heard somewhere that making the varsity team would help with Ivy League university admissions.
Making the varsity team was achievable with effort, but becoming captain?
Leadership mattered as much as skill.
For Jiyu, who found it hard to stand before people, realizing the dreams and hopes her father had projected onto her would be the hardest of all.
Jake turned his attention to Hunter.
“Hunter, you did your stretching early, right? Thirty minutes before the match—let’s warm up.”
Hunter nodded, tapping the table with his knuckles.
“I’ll be back here after the semifinals. You stay and do your homework.”
Without giving her a chance to answer, he turned and followed Jake out.
“Wait… Hunter!”
Jiyu called out impulsively as he was about to leave the waiting area.
Her voice wasn’t particularly loud, yet Hunter heard and stopped.
He turned only his head, staring at her questioningly.
‘Oh, I should have just stayed quiet.’
Until now, even when Hunter entered tournaments, she hadn’t truly cheered for him.
Sometimes she even hoped he’d lose miserably if he was too annoying.
But since he had come along as his “winning jinx,” she felt a sense of duty to at least do this much.
She had gathered her courage, but now she regretted it.
“What? Need something?”
His tone was already dry and impatient, as if he had already entered match mode.
“It’s nothing. Um… well… I hope you win the semifinals.”
Her ordinary words of encouragement gradually trailed off.
Feeling his piercing gaze, she lowered her eyes, embarrassed as if confessing.
Yet after a long moment, Hunter still said nothing.
She looked up, thinking he had left.
Hunter glanced at her, the corner of his mouth twitching, before quickly turning away.
He covered his mouth with a fist and cleared his throat loudly.
“Obviously.”
Smiling confidently and leisurely, he turned to go.
Jake, eyes sparkling as he watched the two, grinned widely, showing every tooth, and waved.
“See you later, Olivia.”
Jiyu bought a bottle of water from the vending machine and returned to her table.
She stopped in front of the tennis shop.
Through the glass, a single item on the display caught her eye.
She hesitated briefly, then opened the door and stepped inside.
Jiyu picked up a dampener from the rack, chuckling to herself.
‘If I hang this on my racket for the final, what on earth will Hunter say? He’ll blow up thinking I’m calling him an idiot, right?’
Until last year, if Hunter was taunted by opponents or suffered from clever rule violations, he couldn’t control his fury.
He would rage on the court, smashing his racket in fury.
Jake had no choice but to film it and show Hunter the videos.
Word reached Lauren that Hunter had skipped practice for three days after seeing the videos.
She rushed to the Hamilton family, devastated.
Jake showed Hunter old videos of Roger Federer during his teenage years.
Roger had also exploded with anger and smashed rackets in his hormonal teens.
Jake advised Hunter that he had to release that condensed energy through control of anger and emotions.
The advice worked.
From that day on, Hunter began weekly sessions with a renowned sports psychologist.
He learned how to maintain sportsmanship, manners, and calm mentality even in extreme situations.
Thanks to this, the sight of him exploding like a nuclear bomb had become rare.
His indifferent face was almost irritating at times.
Jiyu handed the dampener to the cashier and paid.
It was an impulse buy, but she didn’t care.
She could just attach it to her racket if Hunter got angry.
Back at the table, she eyed the dampener and giggled.
It was adorable and girly.
The pink base with the red lipprint looked exactly like the kiss stickers she had stuck on her palm as a child.
She slid the dampener into her bag and opened her laptop, plunging into homework.
“Done!”
Thanks to her amazing concentration, Jiyu stretched comfortably after finishing.
The deadline Hunter set left no time for distractions.
She glanced at the clock—almost two o’clock.
‘Did he win? I hope he did.’
She had entered the tournament, but the anxiety weighed more heavily on her.
Jinx or not, she simply couldn’t help wanting him to win.
It was only natural to cheer for someone she knew.
She convinced herself of that.
‘Maybe I can just take a quick look.’
Jiyu gathered the scattered items from the table into her bag.
She noticed she was hungry.
She had lost track of time during homework.
The cereal bars she brought were all gone, leaving only empty wrappers on the table.
Suddenly, she remembered the chocolate chip muffin on the snack bar counter.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up.
Then she heard faint voices from the corridor—Hunter and Jake’s.
She froze and perked up her ears.
The voices grew closer.
The first thing to round the corner was Hunter’s abs, clearly visible because he had wiped sweat from his shirt.
“Ah!”
Jiyu startled and turned her head away.
As a child she had often seen him hanging upside down on monkey bars like a monkey, and his abdomen had been flat and smooth back then.
‘Is it just me? He told me I had no muscles—maybe the rest of the world thinks the same.’
The moment Hunter stepped into the waiting area, he saw Jiyu standing there and gave her a crooked grin.
“Jyu Parker, where do you think you’re going? I told you to stay here.”
Her pride stung at the arrogant tone, like she was an object.
‘Can’t I even buy a muffin from the snack bar?’
She glanced at him sideways and checked if her shirt was back in place.
Thankfully, the abs were covered, though his skin was still sweaty after the match.
He had boasted the semifinals would be easy, but it hadn’t been.
Jake, who had come with her, greeted a friend outside the waiting area.
Hunter walked alone to the table, pulled out a chair, and plopped down.
He stretched his legs straight and gently released the tension in his neck muscles.
Then he grabbed a drink from the cooler and downed it in one gulp.
‘Did he win? Or lose?’
Jiyu wanted to ask, but his indifferent expression told her everything.
She sat back down quietly.
The excitement from buying the dampener slowly faded.