no space ! MINSUNG

the game

"I want to leave."

"What?"

"I want to go home."

The three of them fell silent. Jisung stared at his plate, then quickly looked away. If he kept looking, he was sure he'd throw up.

"I'm getting Selene." Chan stood up, unsure how else to handle the situation.

He headed to the Slytherin table, exchanged a few words, and returned with Selene by his side. She slid in beside Jisung, ignoring the curious glances from around them.

"Hey, Ji. Are you okay?" she asked softly, gently rubbing his arm.

He shook his head. "I don't want to play today."

"Okay," she said calmly, "but you've trained hard all week. Do you really want to throw all that away?"

"Yes."

They all groaned in unison.

"You're going to that game, Ji. That's just your anxiety talking." Selene nudged his plate toward him. "And you need to eat."

He pushed it away. "I feel sick."

"That's probably because you haven't eaten," Hyunjin pointed out.

"Come on, you don't want to let your team down," Selene added.

"It's not my team. It's Chan's. I didn't even want to do this in the first place," Jisung muttered.

Selene sighed, long and loud, before turning more serious. "Look, I understand. But it's too late to back out now. You said yes, and you can't just quit at the last minute. You made a commitment."

Jisung groaned, frustrated. "I'm not eating."

"Fine, don't." She gave in, then softened again. "You'll be fine. You're scared now, but once the game starts, you'll see it's not as bad as you think."

Jisung nodded, even though he didn't believe her. Not at all. This past week had taught him one thing—he would never put himself through something like this again.

He didn't think they had a chance. Slytherin had dominated for the last three years, and Gryffindor was barely holding on. If there was any chance they could win, it wasn't going to be because of him. He thought about the bet and felt like he might disappear.

"Just don't think too much, Ji," Chan said, patting his shoulder. "It only makes it worse."

How Jisung managed to get into the changing rooms was a complete blur. He couldn't remember the past hour, and a heavy pit had settled in his stomach. But it's fine, he told himself. Just avoid bludgers and quaffles. Simple.

But his confidence faltered when he saw the broom—Lindsay's old one, which she had lent him.

It was broken. Not completely, but just enough that someone had subtly tampered with it, leaving it barely functional. Jisung hadn't noticed until now, right before the game.

"Slytherins," he muttered under his breath. It had to be them. They were here before Gryffindor. He glanced around, but everyone else was already outside, waiting.

He tried to cast Reparo—once, twice, three times. Nothing worked. It must have been some advanced curse. He cursed himself for never paying attention in class.

He thought about telling Lindsay, but that would only cause panic. No point in sabotaging the entire team.

Jisung took a few deep breaths. It was fine. He'd be fine. He wasn't the Seeker—he could handle a little turbulence, right?