GAUCHE, kageyama

六

chapter six!

GAUCHE

"Mina-chan? Are you there?"

A voice called out from the inside. The said girl who sat from the wooden floor as she took of her shoes in the genkan, immediately turned around from recognizing who the voice belonged to. Ukai's mother, as Mina always called her Obasan, peeked out from behind the door as she smiled upon the young girl's presence. Compared to her unkempt son, the woman was more seemly and proper; yet the family's genes remained strong and it could be seen from the way she looked— the same sharp features that the family held.

"I am home, Obasan," She greeted the woman with a sheepish look, knowing she was supposed to be home earlier than usual. "Sorry for being late."

Of course, the rice itself wasn't going to be washed and cooked on it's own—she had chores to do to keep the house running safe rather than for Ukai to burn down the kitchen. And for his parents to be rarely home, Mina learned to shoulder half of the chores she and the blonde Coach split.

"Goodness, a busy day for you, dear, is nothing to apologize about," The woman gave her a reassuring look as she wiped her hands with a towel. "But that Yankee looking son-! I'll be damned if that boy doesn't come home early— he's been slackin' off about taking care of this place! Even you have to do chores now, Mina-chan. I swear, if Ukai doesn't get hitched by the end of this year, I'llー"

And then she started going off, saying stuff that clearly she didn't have to hear about. It was almost often that whenever the woman was home, there was always room for complaints about Ukai; it might've been her first priority to keep scolding her own son. One method that the blonde Coach did pass down to her was that whenever his mother would ramble, the simplest way to stop cut off her thoughts would be to intervene and throw a question.

"Where is Oji-san?" She queried hesitantly out of fear but much to her surprise, the woman did stop from her endless talk.

"Oh, my husband? He's back at his father's house helping," She sighed heavily as if she was just deeply exasperated. "I can bet you they're drinking— and his old man just got out of the hospital too!"

Looks like she shouldn't have brought up her husband either. Mina pathetically bit her lips as she simply slithered out of the area, wanting to beat herself for being so stupid sometimes.

"HM?"

She blinked. Lunch was already in session and being the forgetful person she was, Mina forgot to bring her water bottle to schoolㅡ and now here she was, turning the corner to get a drink from the vending machine when she saw Kageyama in front of the machine as well.

"Osu," The boy nodded his head towards her as a greeting, the sound of the drink clattering as it fell was heard in the background.

"Milk today too?" Mina commented, eyeing his carton and moved to the front once Kageyama stepped back. "Kageyama-san, you like milk a lot?"

"Guess so," He replied while drinking. The girl was also picking her own drink and once he was what it was, he mumbled. "Ooi Ocha..?"

Mina picked up the green tea bottle and twisted it open. "You should try it. Good for health!" She gave him a thumbs up before drinking a little bit to quench her thirst. "Kageyama-san, you have practice today too?"

He nodded once more but there was a glint of excitement in his eyes. "We got training camp after school today since Golden Week is right around the corner. Plus, we have a practice game with a team from Tokyo— I'm expecting a lot of good games." He was completely absorbed in his own tale, the grip on his drink tightening as the carton crushed slightly from his evident enthusiasm.

The brunette eyed his expression, letting the corners of her lips lift for a single second before returning flat. Good for himㅡ rather, she was relieved that Kageyama wasn't scowling like he usually did and showed an expression other than that. Volleyball must mean a lot to him, she mused. Mina had seen him once in a while after school, running off to the gym with Hinata once the bell rang. It was almost astounding to see him look so determined about a sport when he looked like he hated everything that crossed his path.

Well, rather than musing over such things, she should just wish him good luck. Mina raised a fist and gave him a sweet smile. "Kageyama-san, hwaiting!"

"H-Hoowah..?" The latter reluctantly parroted her words, but failed ultimately in deep confusion. He looked a bit scary with his furrowed brows like he was scowling at her.

"It means good luck," She chuckled. "Do your best, Kageyama-san."

Mina lightly patted his shoulder before walking off. With his eyes trained on her figure, he mumbled the words again under his breath but couldn't exactly grasp the pronunciation. Kageyama glanced back at her before scratching his now tinted ears. Because of his god awful expressions, people— specifically women, had a hard time approaching him and often scuttled away from him. Not that he really had a good gist of his own self but he knew that his looks and personality weren't exactly a social magnet. That meant that he wasn't used to gestures like those coming from girls.

But to think that Mina freely touched him just like that, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. Maybe a little surprised, probably flustered and some parts of him that he couldn't necessarily label. But it was a nice change at least, having someone to cheer on you like that.

Maybe he should've thanked her.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

guise omg?? im back??
I AM SO SORRY FOR LEAVING
THIS BOOK FOR SO LONG
BUT I NGL I WAS GOING
TO REWRITE THIS CAUSE IT FELT
LIKE CRAP AND ALL MY
KOREAN EXPERTISE IS FROM
WATCHING KOREAN STUFF
AND FROM KOREAN FRIENDS?¿
anyways, i hope this
book gets finished up like chop chop
cause i wROTE THIS TWO-THREE YEARS AGO
AKDHAKS