Rain and Outer Space ✔️

4

As the end of September came nearer, the air got colder and wind started to blow. Leaves turned brown and some fell to the ground. It seemed gloomy when the autumn once again arrived, but not that day.

Jaemin couldn't help but felt ecstatic as the basketball championship started.

"Dude, you forgot your water bottle on the bus," Jeno jumped out of the bus and gave Jaemin his water bottle. They had just arrived in the place, a pretty big sport hall in the middle of the city.

"Thanks, Jeno," Jaemin smiled, "Are you nervous?"

"He puked at school and peed a lot earlier," Jisung said as he walked with the older two, "I think nervous is not the right word, terrified is."

"In your dream, Jisungie," Jeno rolled his eyes, but his face went pale.

They got into the building, which was already packed with another basketball teams, the committee, referees, and of course, supporters. Half of their school was already there in the bleachers even though it was Saturday.

Jaemin could feel the adrenaline running through his veins, reassured him that everything was going to be okay and that he would have a great time. After all, it was what he lived for...

...excitement.

"JIHSUNG PWARKH!"

Jaemin, Jeno, and Jisung, alongside the rest of the basketball team looked up to the source of the voice. A red-haired, tanned guy waved a little too excitedly while being held back by Chenle and—Jaemin's heart skipped a beat—Renjun.

Jisung waved back with a forced smile while Jeno chuckled.

"I bet it was a sarcasm? Donghyuck never liked you." Jeno said as they walked to their locker room.

Lee Donghyuck, a fellow eleventh grader who didn't like Jisung. The younger boy accidentally spilled his iced lemon tea on Donghyuck's uniform, back when they were in the first day of the semester. The next day, Donghyuck 'accidentally' spilled his lunchbox on Jisung's wide-opened backpack.

The hate was then mutual.

"Alright, boys. Gather 'round," the coach stood in the middle of the room and gave a motivational pep talk.

They finally got called to play. When they entered the arena, supporters from their school went wild. Air horns were blown, banners held high, high-pitched screams could be heard ("JIHSUNG PWARK!"), and Jaemin felt warm.

The captain of each team stood in the center, ready to take the ball.

"Go, Mark-hyung!" Jaemin yelled encouragingly as he ran towards his own position. Mark Lee, a fellow twelfth grader who was also the captain, smirked at him before focusing back.

The game started as Mark easily took the ball and dribbled it to the oponent's area. He passed it to Jeno, who passed it again to Jisung, who easily threw the ball from the outside of the three point line.

Supporters cheered as the ball got inside the ring. It was a good start and the game was getting better.

That day, nothing went wrong for their school team. In the middle of the third quarter, they had already earned twenty three points.

One minute before the third quarter ended, Jeno passed the ball to Jaemin. He caught it and went to the ring. Unfortunately, a member of the other team bumped him and knocked him down. The referee blew the whistle, and Jaemin got two shots of free throw.

Jaemin stood on the free throw line in front of the ring.

"Good luck, buddy," Jeno patted his back as he walked to his position.

Jaemin held the ball and dribbled it a couple of time. He took a deep breath. He could hear his own heartbeat, the crowd's cheers, and the other school team's supporter's boos. He smirked and threw the ball.

One point.

On his second try, Jaemin could feel a thick liquid gushing down on his cheek from his left eyebrow. He ignored the feeling and threw.

One more point.

The third quarter ended and the team brought him to the side. When he fell earlier, the opponent's elbow hit him and tore his left eyebrow. Jaemin quickly got surrounded by some paramedics, his coach, and his teammates.

"Lucas, you're in!" The coach ordered. Jaemin wanted to say that he could continue, but he got dizzy as he saw a needle.

Jeno noticed and quickly said, "Jaemin, come on, bro, stay with me. Just a small stitch, and it's done. It's going to be alri—oh sweet lord, he passed out."

Written : March 15th 2018
Published : April 18th 2018
I read your comments and saw your votes coming in. And I've never felt so thankful. I'm glad you enjoy my work. Please wait for the next updates, okay! Don't forget to leave comments (and vote if you wanna) because they make my day a whole lot better! Thank you very much!

—Nara

P.s. I'm going to update this story every Wednesday and Sunday on ± 6 pm KST.