Payback AU: What If

Act 7 - DAZZLE

Whoever thought summer was the perfect weather for sports must be an absolute crackhead. Yoohan looked at the uselessly clear blue sky and fanned the inside of his tracksuit. How can someone be expected to run and jump and do all those exhausting things in the middle of this heat? If it wasn't for the punishment...

"Never thought I would see you in this uniform," a group of kids came over to him, the original member of the track and field team. But for the love of God, Yoohan couldn't seem to remember the name of these people.

He'd been spending his entire morning and afternoon practicing with the club for the past two weeks. He knew some of them fleetingly. He was an outsider that just temporarily recruited so they could have enough runners. No one bothered to speak with him, and he never bother to speak with anyone either. Except for the club president, who by duty bound to converse with him about the schedule, the training regime, and whatnot.

Despite how he just suddenly barging in on their club, though, these kids were actually decent enough not to show their displeasure. They might have talked behind his back, but no one out rightly scorned him or anything. And without anyone provoking him, Yoohan just went about his own thing, practicing and exercising, and doing whatever practice question and puzzle that Jay sent him.

Ah, Yoon Jay.

The plague of Yoohan's mind. The itch of his heart. They hadn't met again since the last time in the cinema, but nothing seemed to change in the way he sent his text and call him late at night too. Yoohan had no idea whether he felt relieved or annoyed by this. But Yoohan was thankful for this tournament he was forced into, since it kept his mind and body too busy to be thinking of useless thoughts.

"It's kind of different seeing you without all those bruises and injuries." the ever-friendly club president sat next to Yoohan and offer him a welcoming sight of a water bottle. "Keep hydrated."

Yoohan thanked him and silently downed the cool water. He had thought that a sports club would be full of boisterous kids, but these people were actually the calm sort. Perhaps because it was more of an individual battle than a team one, and a harmonious effort wasn't a must. So Yoohan didn't feel too uncomfortable inside this circle, even as an outsider. They mainly kept to themselves, and even though he could feel curious glances, it was not overbearing. He didn't mind entertaining a few small talks on some occasions.

"No one provoked me these days," Yoohan answered briefly. And he realized it just now, much to his surprise. Not even those kids that glared viciously at him on the last day of the semester. Yoohan had been able to go about his days without any single fight.

No, when it came to it, he hadn't been involved in any fight ever since he met Yoon Jay.

The only one who provoked him these days was Yoon Jay. Though in different ways.

With no one rubbing him in the wrong way, Yoohan was less irritable, less aggressive, and less cold. In that way, he looked just like any other student. And the club members found out that Lee Yoohan was actually not the scary kind. He was quiet most of the time, surprisingly hard-working in practice (although it probably had something to do with the promise of freedom from the library), and never imposed on anyone. It made them wonder why Yoohan was such a trouble kid before.

"Is this thing always held in such a huge place?" Yoohan asked out of nowhere. There were a lot of people, way a lot of people for Yoohan to feel comfortable. The stadium was large and had several sections. Curiously, he also spotted high school students.

Hmm...high school student.

"Not usually," the club president explained kindly. "But this time it was a joint meet with the high school division so we need a bigger venue. Although that means we have to do it in an open field. It's much more bearable in summer when it's indoor."