The Running Game

Chapter 9

Autumn 2009

She knew she was late to come to the gymnasium. She forgot how traffic could be worse on the weekend. She promised to meet her friends as they also came to support Gwang Tae. She only hoped that her friends would save a seat for her. Today is also the day when she promised Soo Ho that she would watch him play. Apparently it wasn't just her school that competed in this league, it was a competition between four schools in the same district. Gwang Tae said this competition is a chance for school athletes to get noticed by some talent scouts that might offer them to join the Korea Basketball Association or if they are lucky enough they could be offered a scholarship to pursue their basketball career in the US.

Rows of people were filling the bleachers, and it was getting crowded every second. She saw the first row was already occupied by the mass of people who came to watch the show. And the stairs that were placed in the middle of the bleachers were filled with a lineup of people who were queuing to get their seats. She turned around to see the basketball court. The team from her school was getting briefed by their coach. Among all those guys in black jerseys, her eyes were focused on the player number 23. The captain himself was listening to the coach thoroughly and once or twice he took a glance to the bleachers as if he was looking for something. It was until his gaze finally met hers.

They stared for a long time as if they were the only human among all those crowds. He didn't smile, but he couldn't hide his astonishment, confirmed by a glint of excitement in his eyes. She was only focused on him, forgetting the noise from the crowd and keeping her gaze at him with a smile etched on her face. Until her friend called her.

"Eun Young Ro! Right here!"

Byeong Tae called to show her seat. It was between him and Seol Hui and located in the third row of the bleachers.

"YAH! EUN YOUNG RO!" Shouted Hye Ryeong who was sitting next to Seol Hui. "How was your date with the capt?"

"Don't lie to us! Hye Ryeong just showed me a photo of you two in the cafe." Seol Hui was glaring at her.

She wanted to roll her eyes. Her friends could really be a pain in the ass and it's getting on her nerves.

"You are one of the hot talks in my club, you know. The girls were whining when they saw you two holding hands when you got detention from Mr. Kim." Jeong Min gave a nudge on her shoulder.

"OH! I know, You are not coming to support Gwang Tae. You're coming to support Lim Soo Ho! I thought you came to support your best friend, I can't believe you came to this match with such ulterior motives!" Byeong Tae gave her a sly smile.

She wanted to rip those sly looks off her friends' faces and wring their necks one by one. But of course she would never do that.

"You even brought a gift for him." Hye Ryeong raised her eyebrows playfully.

She squeezed her paperback. How could her friends read her mind? Is her head transparent or what?

"Yah!! I'm not dating Lim Soo Ho. Oh look! the match is starting!"

Saved by the bell, the host just announced that the match is about to begin. And it was her school first to begin the first match. She saw all the players lineup to take a group photo.

After that the players quickly scattered to their positions. She saw Soo Ho stand in the circle located in the middle of the court facing the opponent from another school. When the referee threw the ball into the air, Soo Ho quickly fetched it and made an offense move to get open shots against the opponents. He dribbled the ball cleverly, even his rival was having a hard time snatching the ball from him. Then he gave the ball by a chest-pass to Gwang Tae. Gwang Tae kept dribbling until he passed it to one of his teammates. At this rate, Soo Ho was already standing near the opponent's ring. He tried to dodge the opponents who obstructed him. It was until he fetched the ball again from his teammate and got a clear shot to shoot the ball up to the ring.