What Can I Do

Chapter 4 ~No stars in the sky, it's too polluted for that babe

The school's basketball tournament had been the cause of great excitement for all the students in the school. It was an excuse to get out of class and see the students just compete with each other, rather than other schools. Anyone could sign up and out of the five boys, only 3 did.

Jae was determined to play and win at least once this year, his love for basketball pushing him to be more competitive and fierce court. Brian was only a little ways away from being on the same boat as Jae. Basketball was one of the only things Brian still loved to play and put any attention into. He used to love singing but gave it up when he moved to this school. He enjoyed basketball since it was the only time he got to play with everyone else, without them ignoring or backing away from him. He was good and everyone knew it.

Sungjin had signed up for the game, thinking it would be fun, and would take his mind off all the studying and cramming he had been doing lately. He was also very athletic, in many of the schools clubs and teams.

The only person not present at the game was a certain black haired boy, who was once again in his little save haven on the roof.

Overall, there were about 15 boys in the tournament who took alternate turns playing a game of 5 on 5. During the first game, Jae, Brian and Sungjin were playing together on one team with two other students. There were hundreds of students sitting on the bleachers.

In the front row, Haru was cheering for Jae, constantly giving him the fighting! sign. Although she wanted to cheer for her friend, she couldn't keep her eyes off another boy on the court.

Sungjin saw Haru looking in his direction and played with the idea of the look she sent in his direction to be for him. He stunned at the thought, and it only made him play harder, hoping to impress her.

Brian was fiercely focused on the game, making his face more intimidating as he sped through the court, reaching the other side in record time. Grabbing the ball which was mid throw towards him, he shot it into the hoop. He pumped his fist in the air and genuinely smiled at his basket.

When Haru saw his smile, her heart stuttered, because she had never seen him smile before, especially not out of true happiness. It was a stark contrast to his usual stoic and scrunched eyebrows look. It completely transformed his face into something light and carefree.

She felt herself fall a little, looking at that smile. As soon as it was there, it disappeared again when the coach blew his whistle.

"C'mon guys, let me hear you!" Jae yelled as he ran down the bleachers, giving everyone a high five. He was ever the hype man, even when he was playing in the game.

Farther towards the top of the bleachers, Wonpil sat, silently cheering on Sungjin. Wonpil was not athletically inclined at all, allowing him to cheer for Sungjin at every game and competition he had. He knew Sungjin would do the same for all his competitions.

Today was no different, and even if he was upset at him yesterday for ignoring him, he wasn't one to hold a grudge. He still showed up to cheer for his friend as he always had.

He watched as Sungjin paused for a moment on the court after Brian had shot a basket, looking towards a spot on the bleachers. Wonpil traced his line of sight and was dejected to find him staring at Haru, who was seated in the front row. Sungjin turned back to the game and continued playing extra hard.

The game commenced again and Brian and Jae were determined to win against the other team. They were the strongest players, but they still tried to get everyone to participate in the game, making them good leaders.

Slowly though, the other team began to catch up, much to the disappointment of the two boys. Jae ran towards one of the player on the other team, and stole the ball from the side. He dribbled for a while, looking around to find his teammates. Unfortunately, most of them were otherwise occupied and not close enough to the net to make the shot. Soon a very tall guy from the other team had cornered him and tried to block the ball.