[✔] r (i) v a (l) r (y) // smeb x faker

ch 7

kyungho sat at the cafe, tapping his foot impatiently. he had been waiting for about thirty minutes now, and he still hasn't showed up.

he turned his phone on and checked his messages.

...

kyungh0: where are you

kyungh0: ???

kyungh0: it's been half an hour

...

no reply.

just as the frustrated top laner was about to furiously type in a string of "colorful" words, the person he was waiting for finally appeared, walking into the cafe with a slow pace as if he wasn't even late. 

said man was wearing a mask, leaving only his hair and eyes visible to the public, but kyungho had seen him around so much that he could recognize him even without seeing his entire face. kyungho was sure it was the same for the man as well.

the masked figure glanced around, and when his eyes landed on kyungho, who was also wearing a mask, he walked towards him and sat down in front of kyungho.

"not even an apology for being late?" kyungho asked half sarcastically, careful not to put in too much salt to the point that it can hurt the other's feelings.

the man he was talking to rolled his eyes. "i didn't promise you anything. i said if i can come, i might. and i did. so what do you want?"

kyungho sighed. he had been so confident earlier, but now he was kind of struggling to find the appropriate words to say.

however, since the other looked like he was beginning to lose interest, kyungho decided to just fucking wing it.

"lee sanghyeok, what the fuck is up with your team today?"

kyungho noticed how sanghyeok had tensed, his eyes growing cold and distant.

"what's your problem?" sanghyeok hissed, avoiding yhe question, "you won, didn't you? why the hell do you care?"

kyungho didn't back down. something in him told him not to. "i'm gonna sound like a busybody but holy shit sanghyeok..." he sighed, "we're rivals. contenders for the 'best lol player of all time' title, even though majority would root for you. every time we fight, it'd be a close fight. you've beaten me in one worlds finals and two worlds semis, for fuck's sake!"

he groaned before continuing, "i wanna know what's wrong. you're not acting like the sanghyeok i know lately."

sanghyeok stiffened, his eyes avoiding kyungho's. "i don't know," he mumbled, "but i do know that i don't like losing and it's pissing me off."

kyungho suddenly felt bad about asking.

awkward silence hung between the two until sanghyeok eventually just stood up.

"i'll be off to practice now," he said, walking away.

"wait, what about coffee? you haven't even ordered anything yet!" kyungho protested, feeling guilty. he had wanted sanghyeok to at least feel a bit better before he left.

"it's fine. i have food at the gaming house." sanghyeok shrugged.

"then we'll go out again sometime!" kyungho insisted, following sanghyeok to the exit. "i gotta make it up to you."

"for what?"

"for being an asshole."

kyungho swore he heard sanghyeok chuckle very softly under his mask at that answer.

"yeah, sure, why not?" sanghyeok shrugged again.

kyungho smiled, feeling his spirits lifted slightly. "okay, see ya when i see ya."

sanghyeok was about to leave, but stopped for a while. "hey," he glanced at kyungho, "why are you doing this?"

this time it was kyungho's turn to shrug. "well, i wanna see my rival actually be a rival again," he cheekily stated, "he's no fun to play with now."

sanghyeok raised an eyebrow, and kyungho hoped the joke had amused and not offended him.

after hearing a more audible chuckle this time, kyungho let go of a breath he did not realize he was holding.

"well, see you around, rival," he heard sanghyeok say as the latter walked away without turning back.

kyungho smiled to himself.

"yeah, see you around, rival."