“ready...set...and...start!”
taerae is starting to regret everything. if he had known this shit earlier, he would've refused junhyeon over and over again to join the game (but he couldn't).
going back, after junhyeon gave his heart-fluttering motivational short speech to taerae (trans: encouraging him to join the game), he immediately took the short one's hand and dragged him into the middle of the field (taerae couldn't even react because of how fast it was). eventually, taerae accepted his fate, following the younger's steps.
10 minutes before the game, their class decided to pair each of them. their team consisted of him, junhyeon, gunwook, kamden, gyuvin, park hanbin, seunghwan, haruto, matthew, and keita. taerae was hoping to get paired up with hanbin because they're obviously friend and close to each other. however, part of him was hoping to be with junhyeon because... you know all that cheesy stuff. yet, he thought he'd just embarrass himself in front of his crush—worst case scenario.
at the end, he got paired up with gyuvin.
well, that was unexpected—he supposed. out of any other people, they picked the tallest man to be his three-legged partner. why? “gyuvin has very long legs,” park hanbin reasoned out to him—which is very ridiculous since he's hoping for hanbin to choose him as his partner. he can't believe he got betrayed by his friends two-times in a row now.
matthew was paired with keita, kamden with seunghwan, haruto with hanbin, junhyeon with gunwook, and him with gyuvin.
taerae sighs. he has no problem toward the tall man, but he cannot stop thinking that their height difference would negatively affect their performance later.
but taerae cannot let that happen.
going back to the current timeline, taerae's now struggling to keep up with gyuvin. compared to his, gyuvin's legs are gigantic and humongous—almost like a giant tree.
“i told them it's a bad idea to put us together,” gyuvin said while trying to gasp for air.
yeah. it's really really really bad. the other class is currently leading the match, and the two of them are completely gone in the race. he can already hear park hanbin's complaint, stating how his grandma could singlehandedly end their career easily. “even my grandma walks faster than you two! no wonder she fastly reached heaven.” hanbin shouted, enough to be heard by taerae and gyuvin.
taerae cannot help but roll his eyes. “you paired us up together,” he internally screamed at hanbin.
after a solid 1:00 minute, gyuvin & taerae finally returned to their team's base. they're followed by haruto and hanbin (hanbin was saying stuff like they're worse than turtles before proceeding). “screw you!” gyuvin cursed at park hanbin.
taerae slightly stumbled, still his left leg attached to gyuvin's right one. god, that was the first time he moved his entire body. the exhaustion is real, especially now that they're basically being boiled under the scorching sun.
“hey, you did great for someone who's bad at sports,” he heard kamden said to him.
taerae giggles, “i don't know if you're saying that to console me, or if you're actually being sincere.”
kamden crinkles his nose, “it's genuine, i swear.”
seconds passed by, haruto and hanbin were immediately followed by matthew and keita. then, matthew and keita were succeeded by seunghwan and kamden. everything's going back on track after the disastrous duo (him & gyuvin). it was a bad start, but their team instantly got back into the game like a pro.
after seunghwan and kamden's amazing performance, they're followed by gunwook and junhyeon. everybody knows that these two are competitive as hell when it comes to these events. they're willing to do everything (as in EVERYTHING) as long as it will lead to their victory. basically, they've got a big ego to feed.
the race is getting intense. taerae can clearly see how desperate gunwook and junhyeon are just by seeing them. they're shouting like crazy—obviously so chaotic—while jumping and running around. even everyone around them started screaming and cheering loudly. it's really a battle of ego & pride!
“holy shit! we're catching up!” seunghwan screamed excitedly.
taerae felt a rush of adrenaline throughout his body. for the first time, he cared about winning in sports. he clasped his hands, praying for gunwook and junhyeon to attain victory.
“FUCK! THE OTHER CLASS IS CATCHING UP TOO! GO! GO FASTER!” kamden shouted. taerae didn't think that the quiet guy is capable of being loud and expressive until he saw and heard him with his own eyes.
the race ended when gunwook and junhyeon came first in the battle. everyone's screaming and shouting, including taerae who was just minutes away from collapsing to the ground because of exhaustion. who would've thought that their class will win? a plot twisted, indeed.
their team immediately went in for a hug. they're all sweaty (because of the heat and the game), and taerae didn't even bother. he was too immersed in the moment that he forgot he hates sweaty guys.
“we're proceeding to championship!” hanbin cried.
taerae was dumbfounded, “championship? there's championship?”
haruto nodded, “hell yeah! we're going to fight the team that won that match.” haruto stated, pointing at the other side of the field.
taerae, is once again, regretting his life decisions. he thought one game was enough, and he can now sit peacefully while watching the day unfolds—but he was wrong.
“wait, does that mean taerae and i are still partners?” he heard gyuvin queries his teammates.
“we'll be shuffling the pairs for the sake of you two,” hanbin said to them, which was immediately followed by insults and such.
their team followed whatever hanbin commands them. gyuvin was paired up with gunwook (which is pretty fair because they're both tall), seunghwan with hanbin, kamden with haruto, while keita and matthew stayed with each other.
wait... now everybody's got their own partner, does that mean—
“anyone who doesn't have a partner yet?” hanbin asked. junhyeon raised his hand, so did taerae.
OH FUCK. he's totally screwed.
“okay. i think that's a pretty good match.” hanbin gestured a thumbs up, conveying that they're all geared up and ready.
taerae saw junhyeon's figure drawing closer near him. he held his breath, so close to exploding whenever the fuck he wants.
“hey! you did great earlier!” junhyeon cheerfully greeted taerae.
taerae gave him a smile (he looks constipated by the way), “i blew it out but yeah... thanks.”
“hey! don't be discouraged. it's normal for starters,” junhyeon caressed his back
taerae swears his brain instantly malfunctioned when he felt the young one's touch. he loves skin ships, he cannot deny that. he loves hugging people, holding hands, and basically anything that involves skin contact. but he's always careful in doing it. he's aware that many of his friends don't like skin ships, so he tones it down more often.
but now, he's not the one initiating the skin contact—and he can't help but panic internally.
is he that touch-deprived?
“come on! you have that look in your face again. don't be down. i won't let us lose, alright? you can trust me.” oh, did junhyeon think that he's nervous because he might bring the team down again? tsk. tsk. tsk. if only he knew.
if only he knew.
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a/n: please prioritize junhyeon as your one pick !! i cannot let him goooo :(
