PLAY BALL | minsung

eight

It was a day Jisung and Seungmin had dreaded.

They were switching rooms.

It was approaching the last week of Spring Training, and Woojin was forcing everyone to switch rooms one final time.

It was weird to think about, how close the end was. Yet the future of the relationships that have been made here, seemed unclear.

It was like no one wanted to talk about it. You went to practice and a game every day and when it was over you were one day closer to going home. It was scary.

What would happen?

Jisung felt like he was flying yet at the same time he felt that baggage was pulling him down. The problems, the issues, the gossip, the cocaine addicts.

Jisung was not sure how he was going to tell Seungmin. He deserved to know, obviously, but it wasn't a comfy thing to bring up, and it certainly wasn't something he could just tell him out of the blue. The problem with switching rooms was the less he saw him, the less he'd want to tell him. It was like the universe was telling him he shouldn't.

Except he should.

He just didn't quite want to.

"Woojin, do we have to?"

Seungmin was practically hanging on the older's arm, begging him to let him stay with Jisung. Woojin rolls his eyes, roughing up the boys hair, "Yes, you have to."

Seungmin looks up at the ceiling suspiciously, "Whaaat if you suddenly change your mind?" The boy heavily nudges the oldest, trying to bribe him with a 20 dollar bill. He wiggles his brows suggestively, "this is like more than 23,000 won, a fair sum if I do say so myself."

Woojin looks unimpressed, pushing the younger off of him, "You will survive for a week without sleeping in the same room."

Jisung hears the butt end of this conversation as he drags his suitcase out of the hotel room into the hallway. The boy drops his bag as he runs over to his friend, holding his arm while giving him the saddest look he could muster, "C'mon, Woojin, buddy ol' pal, look at us."

Woojin stares at the pair, arms crossed and unamused, "We can't just separate," Jisung's eyes are wide as he talks, like he's begging, "we are two peas in a pod, cut from the same cloth," Jisung stretches for another idiom, cringing as he thinks, "uh, birds of a feather?"

Seungmin shakes his head, even he knew it wasn't going to happen. Woojin sighs as he rubs his eyes, almost speaking to himself, "I knew you guys would be a pain in my ass to separate." Woojin claps his hands together, manager mode on, "Look, Jisung, Changbin is in room 1927, please take your stuff there so we aren't late for practice again."

Jisung does one final pout, trying to gain the older's sympathy, "But—" Woojin gives him a look, one that's says he is not playing, "Fine."

Jisung hugs his friend dramatically one last time while. Woojin rolls his eyes, "You're the worst!"

—

"Lee Felix! You better be in here!" Jisung
bounds into the athletic training office, bright energy filling the room. He wasn't going to let the morning bring the rest of his day to a halt, this very well could be a glorious day waiting to happen.

Felix peeks his head out of a door, like he was hoping he was hearing things. His eyes widen, smiling when he sees Jisung standing in the hallway. He shushes him, still not being able to contain his laughter, "Shhh, keep in mind this is still a work place, not a playground."

Jisung feigns confusion, responding sarcastically, "Well it would be so much more fun if you worked at a playground," he begins to ponder, scratching his chin, "although that would be weird, that's how you catch a case."