NIGHTMARE

06 | hit that home run, kyun

"chang, i swear to god, if my dad doesn't shut up, i'm gonna-"

"focus, soonyoung!" the coach barked. "you're never going to hit a home run with your stance like that!"

changkyun chortled from his position behind his friend - the shorter boy, kwon soonyoung. "focus, soon," he said in a patronising tone.

with soonyoung batting, changkyun was getting awfully relaxed in the catcher's box.

soonyoung clenched his jaw and his grip tightened around the baseball bat. "i'll show you fucking focus," he hissed.

the ball came streaming towards him and changkyun got ready to catch. soonyoung hit it hard, sending it flying back through the air...

...only to land directly in the foul zone.

"foul!" jeon wonwoo yelled from the field.

"yeah, thanks!" soonyoung seethed at him.

"right," said coach kwon with a sigh, "switch with changkyun."

"but you're putting me off, dad!" soonyoung whined. "i've usually got ace aim!"

"just switch, please," coach kwon insisted, "you can use your 'ace aim' to its full potential in the catcher's box."

changkyun took the bat from soonyoung and stepped into the batter's box. soonyoung snickered as he pulled on his gloves.

"hey, changgy," he said teasingly, "if i'm gonna be doing a lot of catching, it means you've got shit aim."

"shut up," changkyun snapped back, rolling his eyes.

he steadied his stance and kept his eye on the ball. his head was a buzz of butterflies barging and crashing into each other. it had been like that all week.

changkyun missed the first four throws.

"up your game, lim!" the coach yelled.

"yeah, lim," soonyoung copied in a whiny voice.

"how about you actually focus, kwon!"

"yes, coach!" soonyoung immediately answered. "honestly," he muttered, "you wouldn't even believe that man is my father."

changkyun got ready and took his next swing. but something odd happened then.

the bowler was small and cute, with a head of fluffy dark hair. changkyun's eyes managed to turn the short figure into the spitting image of a certain literature teacher, and suddenly changkyun was disorientated.

he couldn't hit the ball back at mr. yoo. it might hurt him...

"oh my god!" the bowler huffed.

that's when changkyun realised he'd missed a fifth ball.

it's also when his mind cleared his fuzzy vision and he realised the bowler was just an angry lee jihoon.

"changkyun!" coach kwon called, beckoning him over.

"can i bat, coach?" questioned a chinese boy, raising an eyebrow from his place in the line.

"continue practise!" said coach kwon.

changkyun dragged his feet as he went over. a word in private with coach kwon was never a good thing. it was also never particularly private.

"lim changkyun," said the coach with a stern expression, "where are you? you're on my field with a bat in your hand, but your mind seems somewhere else completely!"

it hadn't been that bad, changkyun reasoned with himself.

"pull yourself together! you know we have our first game of the season against jeju greens in a few weeks, and we can't afford to lose our focus!"

"yes, coach," said changkyun.

"go do seven laps of the field," coach kwon instructed, "and i expect better next practise."

after seven laps of aching limbs and a mind drifting off to anything other than baseball, changkyun was finally done with practise, and so were the rest of the team.

"dad, tell mom i'm going to changkyun's to study!" soonyoung yelled as he sprinted past the coach, grabbing changkyun's arm along the way.

"study what?"

"math!"

the two of them ran out through the school gates and onto the sidewalk, stopping to catch their breath.

"since when are you coming over to study?" changkyun asked, wrinkling his nose at the other.

soonyoung just laughed. "we're not studying, dumbass," he said. "i wanna go karaoke!" he punched a fist in the air and took off down the street into town.

changkyun hurried after him. after that awful practise, karaoke sounded pretty good.

"i swear to god," said soonyoung once they had successfully booked a karaoke room, "my dad's even harsher on you than me - and he's my dad."

changkyun grunted and seized the karaoke mic. "he's not that bad," he shrugged.

"are you kidding?" soonyoung scoffed. "god, jooheon's so lucky he's living away..."

"your brother?" changkyun asked absently as he selected a song.

"yeah, he's a total bitch," soonyoung laughed. "it's so unfair. he's in college and i'm stuck-"

"be mine?" changkyun interrupted.

"huh?"

"by infinite," changkyun added. "or should i go with the chaser...?"

changkyun wondered whether kihyun liked singing. mr. yoo seemed like the sort of person who'd like infinite. he probably loved be mine.

changkyun was going crazy.

"just choose a damn song before i put on lucifer!" soonyoung screeched.

after karaoke, they got ramen and cola, and then went for pizza before walking home in the dark.

"well, this is my road," said soonyoung, feeling stuffed full of food and ready for sleep. "try and actually hit the ball next practise, yeah?"

"yeah, yeah, whatever," changkyun agreed half-heartedly.

"i'm serious, changgy," said soonyoung. "my dad is the worst when we lose a game. he literally just sits in front of the TV watching old baseball games and moping, so you've gotta be on your game next time, okay?"

"okay, soonyoung!" changkyun said, laughing as he pushed his friend in the other direction. "i'll see you tomorrow?"

"bye, changgy!"

"that nickname sucks. go home."

changkyun wandered the rest of his way home, dragging his feet. his mind was still foggy. he hadn't been able to concentrate since new year's.

there were lights and voices ahead. changkyun peered up to see a sign for the university night school building and he shrugged at it. who would study in the night to become a teacher?

"yeah, so-"

the voice just ahead of him was cut off by a shriek and only then did changkyun realise someone had walked straight into his chest.

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