pick me, 1 0 1

200. Kang Daniel | Three Points to My Heart

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You're the basketball manager, Daniel is the star player and team captain. You were basically meant to be.
(For anon who requested team manager!leader and captain!Daniel)

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"Good luck, boys!" You cheered, placing your hand in the center of the circle. The boys of the basketball team followed suit, "Mnet Academy, fighting!" You all cheered, bringing your hands up to the sky in a signature cheer.

"(y/n), are the water bottles all filled?" The coach of the Mnet Academy varisty basketball team, Coach Seokhoon, asked you, whistle dangling against your chest.

"Of course," Sanggyun, the team's small forward, teased, patting you on the back, "(y/n)'s our manager, they're always on top of it."

"Team captains, please come to the center," the referee yelled, blowing his whistle twice.

"Daniel," you stepped forward slightly, "good luck!"

Kang Daniel, varsity basketball team captain and your crush of three years, smiled back at you in the way that always made your heart flutter. "Thanks, (y/n)."

Ever since you'd first gotten to Mnet Academy and Daniel had showed you around campus, you'd been smitten with his good lucks and kind, charming personality. When the position of basketball team manager had opened, you'd jumped for the opportunity to get to know the guy better.

The two of you were definitely close, given all the time you'd spent together at league meetings and dinners, away games, and even all the time on the bus to and from practice. You'd thought that maybe, all the time you'd spent around Daniel would turn your romantic feelings into friendship ones, but no such luck—you had fallen for him harder than ever.

A loud whistle from the ref startled you out of your thoughts, and you hurried to wish the other boys good luck as well.

The game got off to a quick start. Dongho, your center, won the tip-off, and Seongwoo scored the first points of the game. Back on defense, Seunghyuk moved quickly to steal the ball, passing it off to Daniel, who scored his signature three-point all-net shot. This game was going to be an easy win, you could already tell.

By the end of the first quarter, your boys were up by 15 points, and had barely won a sweat.

"Guys, remember, let's not get cocky," Daniel said seriously to the circle of boys. You quickly handed him a water bottle, shoving a towel at the sweaty Seongwoo, who smiled at you in wordless thanks. "They're starting to get frustrated, and it's making them sloppy. We can win this as long as we keep our heads cool."

The boys nodded and jogged back onto the court, high-fiving each other in encouragement. As the second quarter of the game began, Seongwoo quickly won possession of the ball, only to be fouled, tripped by a member of the opposite team. You frowned at such blatant bad sportsmanship, glancing over at the other team's bench. They appeared unconcerned.

After the first foul on Seongwoo, multiple followed. Seunghyuk was shoved trying to pass the ball. Dongho got kicked, and Sanggyun was elbowed as he went up for a shot.

"(y/n)," Coach Seokhoon said quietly, quirking a finger to gesture for you to come over to where he stood, focused intently on the game, "I want you to follow number 14 on the other team. He's getting frustrated, and has started fouling already, as you can tell. I'm worried that he'll do something serious to one of our boys."

You nodded, fixing your gaze on number 14, who seemed to sense your stare. He looked up and sent you a wink and a wave that made your skin crawl. Then, suddenly, Daniel was next to number 14, glaring down at him and blocking his body from your view. The game started up again, as fast-paced as ever. You kept your eyes on number 14, who was definitely using a lot more knee and elbow than was needed in basketball.