Diaries of a Distance

Chapter 24

"Here let me try", I insisted.

I grabbed his right wrist and squeezed it hard. He tried to keep his pain hidden with his lips pressed together. I couldn't help breaking down the stubborn Jae Wook at this time and squeezed even harder.

"Yah. Yah. Ya- Argh!" he whinged.

He withdrew his wrist from my grasp and tried flapping it.

"I can't carry on playing, my wrist can't move", he calmly said to his team.

They cast each other worried looks.

"We can't go on without you", Eun Won protested.

"Yes you can. Ignore me, I'm still alive. GO!"

They slowly went back to resume the game.

"Oppa, are you alright?" Chae Rin's voice asked anxiously.

I looked beside Jae Wook where she, too, was sitting. Changmin was crouched down beside her, his eyes examining to see if she had any injuries.

Jae Wook merely nodded at her. He got up using his left hand. I got up, followed him to the bench and sat down next to him while Tae Hee sat on the other side of me. Jae Wook was still massaging his wrist and examining it.

I could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed off.

"You should go to the hospital", I suggested.

"I don't need to", came his plain reply.

"You hav-"

"I want to watch the game", he said with a final note.

We sat there watching in silence and gloom. It's clear that Jae Wook is the team's spirit. Even if they are amazing players, they couldn't manage the game. Changmin just scored again.

At long last, Chae Rin blew the whistle signalling the end of the game.

"73:88! Deagu High wins!"

My heart sank heavily. I looked sideways at Jae Wook. His eyes didn't read sad, or disappointed, or angry, they read shame more than anything else. The rest of the Seoul team on the other hand, looked extremely pissed off.

The Daegu team didn't jump and cheer the way I knew the Seoul team would have, though they did have the brightest smiles on and patted each other's back.

I noticed Chae Rin was looking regretfully at Jae Wook, trying to send a 'I'm sorry' message to him with her eyes, but she didn't dare say it to him.

Yoon Ho approached Jae Wook after he finished with the pats and stuck his hand out to Jae Wook, whose expression was blank. Jae Wook bent his lips to a slight smile and shook Yoon Ho's hand.

"See you at the next match Park Jae Wook, that's if you're wrist can manage it."

"Don't miss me too much, I'll be there for you", Jae Wook said sarcastically.

Yoon Ho smirked and went away. Changmin, I noticed, was casting a proud look of satisfaction at Jae Wook, who simply ignored him. Ki Tae, Sang Woo and Eun Won all

came over to where Jae Wook and I were seated. None of them said a word but all looked down at the floor except for Ki Tae, who still held his head high.

Dong Wook was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry Jae Wook. We'll get 'em next round, even if you're not there", Ki Tae said confidently.

Jae Wook raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing to Ki Tae. He turned to the others. "It's not the official match. I don't really care if we lose or win. Let's get outta here."