Faded Sun| SunSun

[Chapter 8]

"I need to get ready." Riki said, quite coldly. Jake watched the boy storm off towards the changing rooms, still wondering why he was so mad.

The venue was packed, which made sense, considering basketball was the favored sport of the university. Jake's eyes peered towards the bleachers, he first spotted Mi-Sun, but she was sitting with her friends, so he decided not to intrude. Then he spotted Sunghoon sitting near the top, so he headed over to him.

"Riki's in a really weird mood ya know. I think he was trying to imply i'm some kind of whore in the car." Jake said, scratching his nape. He took the spot next to Sunghoon, who just burst out laughing. "Stop laughing...you're making me feel embarrassed." Jake blushed.

"I'm sorry, It's just really funny." Sunghoon breathed out, still catching his breath from his laughing. Jake was the farthest thing from a whore, so it was an entertaining thought. "What even happened for him to say that?" 

Jake scrunched his nose, thinking back to the car. "I guess when I said his student mentor guy was attractive-" Jake paused, hearing more laughter erupt from Sunghoon. He really didn't understand why this was so funny.

"You're so oblivious." Sunghoon chuckled, placing his hand on Jake's shoulder. "He's crushing on you hard dummy, haven't you realized?" 

Eyes widening, Jake flusteredly shrugged Sunghoon's arm off his shoulder. "W-what?! No I haven't realized!" He didn't realize a lot, like how he just shouted that. 

"Okay calm down, stop yelling." Sunghoon slapped his hand over Jake's mouth, waiting for the array of onlookers to look away. As people got back to their own conversations, Sunghoon removed his hand. 

"How do you know he likes me?" Jake asked, innocently pursing his lips. 

"I pick up on all that stuff, trust me, he likes you."

This was weird, Jake didn't know how to feel. He'd never thought about Riki in that way. He wasn't sure where he was meant to go from here. He couldn't tell Riki he knew about the crush, because he'd then have to reject him. Yet, he couldn't just ignore the fact that he knew. It was confusing.

"So...do you like Riki?"

"I-I don't think I do." Jake responded, completely honestly. "I just see him as a little brother."

Sunghoon nodded, understanding where Jake was coming from. He kind of expected that answer from him. Though he also wanted Jake to open himself up to the possibility, instead of just shut it down completely. 

"I know he feels a lot younger, probably because you've already been at uni for two years, but he's only a year younger. Why not give it a bit of thought?" 

"Oh I will, I'm just shocked right now."

Sunghoon smiled, as the buzzer rang through the building. He chuckled at how Jake flinched from the sudden sound, but quickly turned his attention to the courts. He could see Jay and Heeseung's team come out, alongside a team from their rival university. This was going to be a tough game.

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The game was in full swing, with the Seoul university's team up by three points. Both Jay and Heeseung had scored multiple times for their team, clearly the fan favorites of the university. The crowd went wild, watching Heeseung dunk another ball through the basket. He ran across the court high fiving his team mates, as they set up for the last play of this half.

With 10 seconds to spare, the rival team passed the ball, getting it somewhat close to the net. As the player went to shoot, Jay appeared in front of them, slapping the ball away, as the buzzer blared. 

The teams gathered around their coaches, taking seats on the front bleachers. They gulped down water, whilst recuperating for the next half. Though, Heeseung didn't have time to rest, sprinting off to the changing rooms, for an outfit change.

The nerves kicked in, as Jungwon walked towards the bleachers. He hadn't been able to attend the first half, due to an exam he had to sit. It was a hard decision on whether he should just miss out on the game entirely. Of course he wanted to support Jay, and of course he wanted to support Heeseung, Sunoo and Riki, but this was hurting him. 

Putting his own feelings aside, Jungwon knew he had to at least give it a try. It would only be hard to begin with, so he wanted to get it over with now. 

"Can I get everyone's attention! We have a very special performance from trainees of Sparkle Entertainment!"

Jungwon slipped into the second row, taking the first spot he could find.

"You may be seeing them debut very soon! So keep your eyes out for these spectacular performers!" 

The crowd applauded, as the announcer walked off the court. The lights dimmed, casting silence over everyone in that room. 

"Kim Sunoo fighting!" 

Jungwon turned his head, seeing Sunghoon yelling from the top of the bleachers. It was really cute how he supported Sunoo, making the boy smile. Jungwon kind of envied that he'd never get that, he'd never have Jay screaming his name before a performance. 

The music began, and Jungwon snapped his gaze back to the court. Three boys stepped out, to Panorama. All wearing leather, with purple accents. Sunoo had a purple jacket, Doyum had a purple under shirt, and Geonu had a purple corset. They looked really cool.

Like a real group.

The 2 minute performance went down a storm. The group nailed each part of the choreography, with Sunoo taking the center position. It couldn't have been anymore perfect, the trio did Iz*one proud. 

With a seamless transition, the music switched over, moving onto the regular portion of the performance. Heeseung, Riki, and Byeonghee came out, getting an even warmer welcome from the crowd. Mainly because of Heeseung's ever growing popularity. Just like the group before them, the three boys totally encapsulated the vibe of the song. Their sharp movements, and charisma, created something truly amazing.

The crowd got really hyped, hearing the remix of blended songs. Regular combined with getting closer, until getting closer was all you could hear. The three other boys joined the three currently on the court, forming the final combination.

They really went all out, creating a powerful and entertaining performance, for the crowd to enjoy. Jungwon even found his sadness fading, becoming totally enthralled in this performance. This was an insanely talented group, who were surely set for great things. 

And just like that, the performance was over. The six boys soaked in the applause, before leaving the court. Heeseung returned a few minutes later, finishing up the basketball game. With Seoul university gaining another win that day.

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Double upload today, cause I'm feeling generous😘