When Hyerim signed up for her school's newsletter club and was placed in charge of sport photography, she didn't expect to form an unlikely friendship with the captain of the ice hockey team, Lee Haechan.
❆ High School Sport AU
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Hyerim perched herself on the bench at the front, placing her bag next to her to save a spot for Sooyeon. She chose a good position, where she wouldn't be blocked by any more fangirls waving their posters and glowsticks around.
Slowly, one by one, the members of the Gators trickled onto the ice, goofing around, pushing each other against the barriers and wrestling. They started batting the puck around, getting a feel for the ice. Hyerim raised her camera and began taking photos of the boys, smiling to herself at their antics. Anyone could tell that they were close with each other by the way they fought playfully, and talked to one another like siblings.
Hyerim managed to get a few cute shots of the team, lowering her camera to flick through the photos she got, when she felt a hand on her head, making her flicker her eyes up to the culprit.
"Oh, Jaemin. Hey," she greeted him, lips curling up at the sight of the cheerful boy. He grinned back at her, flopping down in the space next to her, stretching out his legs and lazily leaning back a bit to look at her.
"You're here to watch warmups."
Hyerim nodded. "Haechan invited me. I hope I'm not intruding," she responded, looking around at the other boys. Jaemin quickly shook his head.
"Of course not!" The pink haired boy then leaned towards her camera, trying to see the photos. "That's a good one," he commented, pointing at the one that Hyerim had scrolled to.
"I agree, you guys look super cute." They spent a few minutes going through Hyerim's camera, laughing at pictures and agreeing on which ones to upload to the school website, when a bang resounded. The pair quickly looked up to see Haechan leaning on the rink barrier, glaring at Jaemin.
"Last time I checked, this was a warmup session, not a date." Haechan shot Hyerim a look, and she quickly apologised.
"I'm sorry, I distracted you. You should probably go and-" she gestured towards the ice, "warm up or something, I don't know."
Jaemin nodded, getting up from his spot next to her, and ruffled her hair.
"Don't miss me too much," he announced, then swung his legs over the barrier, jumping onto the ice, and zooming towards his teammates who were in a practice match.
Hyerim put down her camera, and watched the boys play, one in particular. The boy raced around, almost always managing to snatch the puck from underneath his teammates' noses. He was agile and nimble, attacking fast and defending well. Haechan, the star player.
She watched his facial expressions, focused and determined as he dribbled the puck around, dodging the interceptions, occasionally shouting instructions at his team. The practice match ended with his team winning, and he threw his arms up in the air triumphantly, a winning smile on his face.
❆
The match was over, with the Gators winning against the other school, bringing home another shiny medal.
