basketball ➸ lee eunsang

| 10 |

"what? i thought you were an only child?" dongpyo said. they were waiting for the bus in the bus stop, when haeyoung told dongpyo about what happened yesterday.

"i thought that, too." haeyoung said. "but guess what? life is a lie."

dongpyo sighed. "did you find any other information about your brother?" he asked.

"well, he looks very familiar, and when i saw the baby picture, i feel like i've seen him before." haeyoung said.

"ooh." dongpyo said. "what happened to him, then?"

"my grandma told me that he went missing after he wandered out the arena where my dad's basketball competition was held at the time." haeyoung said. "police say he got kidnapped after he wandered out the arena, after a while, police declared him dead and closed the case."

"that just sucks. imagine if that guy is still alive but everyone thinks he's dead." dongpyo said. "his life will just be wasted since he was separated from his real family." 

"i know right. plus, the police didn't give my family a chance. imagine if the police worked harder into finding him, then i'd have a brother and someone to take care of me. imagine the trauma my brother had, he was only three when that happened."

"what year was it when it happened?" dongpyo asked.

"2001. just before i was born." haeyoung said.

"why didn't anyone tell you about it?" dongpyo asked.

"well, the fire happened when i was thirteen or fourteen, i'm guessing my parents never told me before they passed because they wanted me to have a good childhood, and maybe they thought i wouldn't understand."

"and what about your grandma?"

"i don't know, maybe she wasn't ready to tell me."

"did she tell you his name?" dongpyo asked.

"it's been a long time, and my grandma had a memory problem a few years ago, so she forgot it." haeyoung said. "but she said it started with either an 'h', an 'm', or a 'j'. sorry."

"it's okay." dongpyo said. "oh, there's the bus. let's go."

the two boarded the bus and went on their way to school. but the whole time in the bus, haeyoung couldn't think of anything but who her brother was.

➸

a few weeks have passed after that incident, and nothing improved on haeyoung's search for her brother.

wow, life is hard. haeyoung thought. she was balancing so many different things; her social life, school life, basketball life, love life, and of course, the newest addition, the news about her brother.

it was september 8, the day of the competition. nothing much happened the past days, just her contemplating her life.

it was also the day before dongpyo's birthday, and the three were planning to celebrate his party after the conpetition. eunsang and mingyu were there, too, to support their school. sadly, haeyoung's grandmother wasn't there to cheer for her because she was unfortunately too weak.

in addition, it was also the first basketball competition haeyoung had ever since the fire. it was weird for haeyoung to not have her parents around, but it was also a new experience for her. she hasn't played basketball competition for years already, and she would be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous.

"all right, ladies! are you ready?!" coach choi, the coach of the girls' team, said.

"yes!" the girls exclaimed.

"let's go!"

the team went out and did the usual 'competition starting' before the round one started.

throughout the game, haeyoung could hear the cheers of her friends, including the cheers of her other schoolmates. it was a great feeling for haeyoung playing basketball competitvely after three to four years.

the whole time, she was just wishing her team would win the game. she wanted this to be a memorable moment in her life; the first competitive basketball game in almost four years. and luckily, her wish came true.

her team won the competition, mostly because of her and yiren. but she has to say, the other team from jaryong high school was very tough to beat.

"congratulations, ladies. let's go eat some food in celebration of your victory!" coach said. "it's my treat!"

the girls exclaimed. other girls exclaimed even louder when they saw two boys; mingyu and eunsang. "congratulations!" the two boys said.

"oh, you're here, too!" the coach said. "c'mon, join us."

"hey, we're here, too." dongpyo said, with a pout.

"don't worry dongpyo, wonjin, i noticed you two, too." the coach said, chuckling at dongpyo's cuteness. "join us, too. let's go!"

they all went to the restaurant near their school, and ate happily.

➸

another couple weeks have passed, and it was now october, the third month of school. haeyoung was surprised to see that she survived three months of hell without near-death experiences. autumn was also getting closer, and it was her favorite season, along with spring.

haeyoung was just casually putting things in her locker until two boys came up to her; wonjin and dongpyo. they were sweaty and panting, as if they had run a marathon.

"yes?" haeyoung asked.

"we saw... something... we shouldn't... have seen..." wonjin said, panting in between words.

"calm down first, catch your breath." haeyoung said. "what did you see?"

"mingyu... he confessed to yiren. and now they're dating! you hear me? DATING!" dongpyo said furiously, not even catching his breath yet. he coughed a couple times before taking a deep breath.

well, i expected that. haeyoung thought. but i didn't expect it to come this fast.

➸

ok, i know you all have commented in the last chapter who you think haeyoung's brother is. but im gonna ask again, who do you think he is now? comment here :D >>