PLAY ON- Taekook

9

"Taehyung, you dumbass you aren't supposed to kick the ball with the front of your feet" I ducked down to his legs, grabbing his foot and positioning it correctly. "There, that's better. Now try again" He kicked the ball once more, this time managing to score.

"Yay i did it!" he jumped up and down in excitement.

"See you're improving fast, you're a pretty good player if I must say"

"Thanks" he giggled "I owe it all to you". His smile was bright in the dark field. Once again I had to force myself to look away. It was the first time i've talked to him since the incident. We were practicing for the tournament while also trying to get Taehyung to catch up. You could cut the tension with a knife. Neither of us mentioned what happened that night but there were definitely some unspoken words between us that needed to be addressed. But neither of us had the courage to say anything.

The two of us stared at each other awkwardly, Taehyung playing with the hem of his shirt. I cleared my throat "Let's try this again" I placed the ball in front of him and instructed him to position his foot the same way as before. "Good, now kick it. Make sure your aim is correct". He looked at me for reassurance, I noticed Taehyung was someone who really hated messing up. Whether that was when he made a small mistake on stage that nobody noticed, and he beat himself up for it with Naeun at the bar. Or when he made mistakes in practice and he called himself a failure. I gave him a nod and a smile, he turned around and kicked the ball, aiming perfectly and managing to score another goal.

"Yo that was sick. Are you coming for my role as captain?" I snorted, trying to boost his confidence on the field at least a little.

"If I carry on like this I might be the next Kobe Bryant" He shrugged his shoulders and flipped his non-existent long hair back. I tried to contain my laughter, pressing my lips together as tightly as I could. "What's funny?" Taehyung giggled at my face, I could only assume I gave it away quickly.

"Taehyung...Kobe Bryant is a basketball player."

"No way." His eyes went wide "So that's why people gave me weird looks when I yelled Kobe every time I kicked a ball?"

"Probably" I couldn't help but smile at his genuine shock.

"Come on Kobe, let's practise some more."

---

We made our way into the changing room, and I still couldn't get my head off that night. I was sick of avoiding the topic. "So are we just gonna pretend nothing happened." I turned around from my locker to face Taehyung, frustrated and confused. He looked at me, a smirk on his face "What are you talking about?".

"Are you seriously going to play dumb?"

"I just don't know why you're so worked up. It was just a risky encounter, nothing more." He shrugged his shoulders, turning to put his shirt on and dismissing the conversation . I didn't know what to say, was i overthinking it? Did he really not mean anything by it?

I stood still, thinking about all the one night stands i've had with girls in the past, all with no feelings, no care. I didn't even sleep with Taehyung, but I'm so hung up on that night. It was just sexual attraction, right? That's all i felt for Taehyung. Nothing else.

- - -

I got back to my dorm, and rested on the couch where Jaehyun and Jackson were playing video games.

"How was practice? Did you guys fuck?" Jaehyun and Jackson snorted, not looking up from the screen, where they were both trying to get their cars to outrun each other.