𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 || c.ch × k.sw ||

[Forty S.ix]

"crap, crap, crap, c r a p !" after their 'cheating' issue was resolved, they were thrown swiftly back into competing. hyunjae was clearly having difficulties this time, dying round after round while they played against slice<3.

"i hardly last 30 seconds in these rounds, sorry i can't be of much use."

"maaaybee," changmin paused as he tried to maintain focus in the game, "it was due to your misogyny earlier. i think they can sense it."

"that's stupid." hyunjae pouted, "i didn't mean it! it just came out."

"if it came out so easily, you must've meant it."

"no way! it was a mistake, and i take it back. anything to get my mojo back. we've come too far to come in 2nd place."

"then maybe apologize? you're talking too much, the rest of us are still in, you know."

deciding not to bother the rest of the group anymore, hyunjae clasped his hands together and... prayed? not to god though, to the slice<3 members. he apologized for his comments earlier, hoping they'd somehow hear his thoughts and grant him the power to stay alive in the game for more than 40 seconds.

thankfully it seemed to work, he was able to contribute this time around. was it magic? it didnt matter, it was time to win this.

they were neck and neck for 1st place. each time a round ended, the boys had to take that moment to wipe the sweat off their palms or take a sip of water.

juyeon at this point was nearly shaking in his boots. the adrenaline rush had been long gone and instead now the anxiety was kicking in- even if they were doing well so far.

"are you okay? you're shaking more and more with each round." eric placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling him shiver under his touch.

he slid the headset off one ear to hear him better, "i can't believe you guys have gone through so many of these. i'm just waiting for it to be over."

"they get less scary and more exciting as we go on, you'll see next time."

juyeon couldn't help but smile at the words 'next time.' "you're so confident i'm even going to be playing with you guys again."

"you don't seem confident enough! c'mon, you're literally carrying us through first place."

"i really don't think-" unfortunately he couldn't finish his sentence because their tiny break was over.

"c'mon big guy, we're almost done." eric quickly pinched his cheek before they went back into position.

the moment of truth. it was almost as if they took turns winning rounds. the girls would win a round, giving them a point over- but the next round the boys would even out the score again. it was painful knowing they would either lose or end in a draw.

"team, we need to change strategy. we aren't getting anywhere like this."

"juyeon's right," sighed sunwoo, "this would either end up with us losing or a tie."

changmin scratched the back of his neck, "well... what do you suggest?"

"we need to switch roles. we're doing the same thing over and over again and it's not working. since we're tied right now we can try it out, and switch back if we lose."

"hear that guys? team leader juyeon has spoken."

"ah- youngjae don't call me that. sunwoo is more the leader here than i am."

"not today i'm not. but anyway, let's do this!"

the plan was in motion. some of the members had an easier time switching, like sunwoo and juyeon as they were typically all-around players. changmin and eric, on the other hand, were too used to attacking to remember to stay defensive. 

but they caught on halfway through the round, and it seems they caught the girls off guard as well. they won that round. their first time being a point ahead of their opponents.

"yes!" they collectively cheered. it was working.

"do we continue as we are?"

juyeon nodded his head, "it might be risky but we i think we might even do better this round."

"you ladies heard it here first," eric announced, "we're keeping the strat."

"wait, sunwoo do you have a better plan? i didn't mean to just burst out my answer like that."

he shook his head, "no. it worked once and it can work again." he had been feeling just a little down seeing how quickly and easily juyeon was able to assume the leader position, but they were winning so he had to feel better... right?

switching roles was the best idea they could have come up with, they found creative ways to use their characters for these new purposes and it was much easier the second time around. the slice<3 girls hadn't yet caught on to this new strategy. 

sunwoo would glance over to the opposite team every once in a while to see the puzzled look on their faces. not too long ago the puzzled faces belong to them, it was amazing how fast the tables could turn at a tournament like this.

-

"no way, no way, no way, no- YES!" eric slammed his palms against the counter, the others followed suit and they yanked off their headsets to envelop each other in a group hug.

no words, only cheers could be heard from the boys as their team name was announced as the first place winners. it was almost surreal, the group was full of these teary-eyed idiots.

"WOOOOO!" the trio in the audience did not hold back their cheers. the three were out of their seats, having a mini group hug of their own as they jumped up and down in glee.

for what seemed like eternity, yet not long enough, the entire stadium was enveloped with celebration. even those who weren't exactly fans of a particular team were joining in with excitement and adrenaline. it was truly an otherwordly experience.

"chanhee!" sunwoo pulled away from his mates to yell out into the audience. he was inaudible to everyone but himself, his voice being drowned out by the thousands of other people there.

yet, chanhee could hear him. almost clearly even.

"sunnie!" he replied. and in that moment it was just them two. 

the redhead waved him over. was it even possible to access the stage from here? surely security would attempt to stop him.

he started to shake his head, overthinking the situation- but a hand grabbed his and jerked him toward the stage.

"w-what are you doing?"

"we're going to see our boys!" sangyeon had also grabbed younghoon and the three ran past the screaming crowd, their shrieks deafening.

"HIWE'REWITHTHEBOYZPLEASELETUSIN- THANK YOU." apparently that was enough to convince the security guard there to let them in. not that they really gave him time to stop them.

they let go of each other's hands shortly after passing, each targeting a different member of the team on stage as they ran up the steps.