this is a scene from episode 8 of 'to maya after you' or 'maya: brotherhood expedition'
if you haven't heard of it, the boyz juyeon, model cha seungwon, and actor kim sung kyun go to mexico to explore the ancient civilisation called maya. in the middle of this episode, the three men are sitting in a crowd watching mayan 'warriors' play pok ta pok which is a traditional ball game played by mayans in ancient times. if you want to know more, watching the episode would be best💗 i watched it on the website 'kissasian'
in my fantasy world, I also go on this trip as i can speak spanish and throughout the trip there's something something going on with me and juyeon (obv since i'm not a minor) and this is where it all comes to life in a way.
let's get started 💫♥️
I'm still laughing at Sung Kyun when we arrive at the center of Merida when I hear Seungwon say "What that?" I look up and I see a crowd forming in front of the cathedral.
We keep walking closer until we arrive at the middle and sit down with front row seats.
"Is seems to be a ritual" "I think so"
We are all confused until Seung Won points out the ball used for pok ta pok and surely enough I hear the priest announce "It's the Mayan game, pok ta pok. Give them a round of applause, it starts now!"
I hear the men next to me exchange murmurs of excitement but all think about is if they're going to sacrifice a player at the end.
I subconsciously shift closer to Juyeon and listen in to the conversation going on next to me.
"Do you know about the pok ta pok twin myth?" "A myth?"
"The myth about the game against the lords of the underworld."
Seung won then dives into the story of the twins who played this very game against the lords or the underworld and became the sun and moon.
By the time Seung won is done, the priest is introducing the 'warriors' that will play the game.
They start with a ritual that intrigues the men beside me but I'm still is a rock while all of this is happening.
Sung Kyun notices and starts joking around, "Do you think they had a player like Messi for pok ta pok back then?" This bring out a smile in me but Sung Kyun doesn't seem satisfied "Salary negotiation. Ten cacao pods." Now I'm trying to suppress my laugh and he keeps going "Next year it'll be 15 cacao pods."
"Didn't they use their elbows?" Juyeon changes the topic back to the game.
"Elbows, bottoms, and hips." I correct him. I don't realize until now that I tend to correct him a lot. Maybe it's because he seems naive or it might just be because he's silly. I brush it off and turn my focus back to the game when they start.
I smile to myself because everyone suddenly becomes quiet. I look beside me and see they're all immersed in the game. I focus back on it as soon as Sung Kyun points out best player.
The next few minutes I observe the game closely until the game ends. But the referee brings out the ball again and we are all confused as we hear the horn being blown again.
My mind goes back to the sacrifice when the lighting turns red and the ball is lit on fire. Without myself knowing, I scoot closer to Juyeon until our thighs are side by side, he notices and doesn't say anything but I'm too lost in my thoughts to even notice what I'm doing.
The warriors start yelling and initiate the game with the fiery ball using their bare hands. I can't stop thinking about the sacrifice and my right hand ends up linking with Juyeon's left elbow.
Once the game is over, I realize the sacrifice wasn't ever going to happen and release a breath I didn't know I was holding. The boys start joking around and Juyeon join in with them not mentioning what happened with me and him. But my hand is still on his elbow while the other two stand up and they put two and two together while I attempt to pull myself together.
"It's finished, you can get up now." Juyeon informs me with the softest voice I've ever heard him talk in. "Oh sorry I didn't realize" I pull my hand away after a moment and can immediately feel the loss of warmth. "Oh no it's fine," and then in a whisper he says "I kind of liked it." Then turning his back to the camera he winks and me then walks away.
This brings me back to my senses. Now I definitely am not going to take that, I can't believe he just walked away after so deliberately flirting with me. So I try to spot him and find that he is practicing pok ta pok with one of the players. I try not to, but end up failing at not staring at him with admiration.
Sung kyun notices and stands next to me, "Do you have crush on him???" he whispers so that juyeon doesn't hear. I turn my head to look at him and find that he's also looking at juyeon with the same admiration a father would to his son. I try to suppress my smile as I reply back "maybe, i guess you'll never know". He looks back at me with a surprised look and I smile again but this time Sung kyun joins me and we erupt into a fit of giggles.
By the time Juyeon is done were still laughing and noticing his eyes, I could see he really enjoyed the new ball game. I can also tell from his cutesy wootsy smile that he forgot of how he left me hanging just a few minutes ago, so I grab his hand without a seconds' hesitation and start walking back to the dorm. I make it a point to also grab Sung Kyun's arm too with my free hand so netizens won't be able to create a scandal even if they tried.
Beside me I can hear Sung Kyun snickering but I don't pay much heed to it and charge on forward with the two men beside me. Seung Won said that he was going to leave right after the game to get started on dinner so I didn't look for him, but of course these boys weren't paying attention and keep bombarding me with questions.
"Where is Seung Won hyung?" The younger one asks but I can still hear the shock in his voice from when I grabbed his hand.
"At the dorm" I reply satisfied with myself, clearly this man doesn't know me yet even though we spent more than a week together living in the same dorm. But our schedules have also been packed every day since we got here. When we do have free time, I leave for a walk outside so I can experience the culture of mexico. From that perspective, I do understand his surprise, and it satisfies me even more so.
