guarding cupid | yungi

2. possesion

the last few games before the final, yunho's mind had been filled with nothing but determination to win. he was the best player of his school's basketball team ever since his second year in high school. however to say he was nervous was an understatement. he knew all the college scouts were gonna be there one last time before they made their offers.

for yunho, the opportunity to even attend Yonsei University was a dream come true, let alone being in the basketball team too.

as he headed inside the stadium he stopped when he heard a muffled voice just outside their adversary's locker room. it was him, the person he swore to loathe until the day he died: song mingi.

ever since they were little, they had been enemies due to constant heated basketball interactions. yunho thought of mingi as arrogant and conceited. being the captain of the team doesn't make you the best player but mingi sure thinks so. that was his opinion on the boy, until today. he heard a small sob and started walking closer to get a better view. as soon as he met mingi's gaze, he felt a pang on his chest. the sight of the always competitive boy, wiping away his tears and trying to contain his sobs was heartbreaking. he tried to get closer but right then, Kyungbock's coach came out ushering mingi to come inside and get ready.

yunho stood there for a while until a he felt a hand on his shoulder hugging him with a playful force. it was seonghwa, yunho's childhood friend and teammate.

"what are you waiting for?" said seonghwa with his grip still on yunho's shoulder.

"nothing, let's go" yunho tried to brush it off but what he just witnessed left him with a weird feeling. he had never felt this way towards the boy and he couldn't help but be curious as to why mingi was crying. his mind filled with concern for his rival.

as the game progressed, yunho kept catching glances of the other team's captain. he looked anxious and desperate. yunho lost focus as he kept staring at the boy and when he least expected it the score was even. a timeout was called by the other team and yunho took a chance to catch his breath still with mingi on his mind. maybe mingi needed this win more than him. maybe he could let him win if that'd make him feel better. yunho didn't know why he was thinking like this. he hated mingi, or so he thought.

as the game resumed, yunho saw how most of hyungbock's players went over to him. he was confused yet alert at the same time, when he looked up, he saw mingi closing his eyes as the ball left his fingertips. when he looked at him, the hatred he felt before was replaced by something else. he admired how delicate but tough mingi looked. for a split second he felt his heart beat faster. but of course he blamed it on the last hour that he'd been running back and forth.

the sound of the buzzer woke him up from his train of thought. their team had lost the final and it was his fault. if only he hadn't been so distracted by the boy in front of him, he could've blocked the shot, he could've done something, anything if he didn't get caught admiring his enemy.

the crowd around him cheered loudly for the winning team. yunho was overwhelmed with the loud screaming and hundreds of people but still he found a way to get to mingi. he finally looked happy, his eyes sparkling as bright as the stars. yunho didn't know what took over him but he congratulated mingi and quickly walked away leaving room for the boy to celebrate.

when he got out of the locker room, he saw his parents on the distance. their faces full of empathy and love. he ran and hugged them tight. his parents were the best in the world and a hug is all he needed to feel better after loosing.

after they got home, yunho decided to skip dinner, going straight into the shower and the laying on his warm bed. exhausted from earlier, it took less than a minute for him to fall asleep. his eyes waiting to open again the next day.