𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚁𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 || c.ch × k.sw ||

[Thirty N.ine]

the minute was going down quickly and each of the boys were stagnant in their positions, preparing for the final seconds.

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

the match began and immediately they were thrown into the game. sunwoo took over as leader, juyeon not far behind him as the two scoped out the map and defended their teammates.

changmin and hyunjae worked together to locate the opponents and attack when they were at an advantage.

and eric, as duelist, just made sure he was aiming right. there were a few close calls as he focused mainly on offense, but he was lucky to have juyeon to back him up.

they won the first round against the girls which was something to be proud of, but as they kept going it just became repetitive. they didn't bring any new strategies to the table which resulted in the guys catching on quickly. ultimately, they were the first team to complete a game against their opponent. it was pretty obvious it was their first time playing in this rank, there was no way the girls could have won with strategy alone.

to prevent distractions to the other teams, their win wasn't going to be announced until the very last match concluded- even as their screens were being displayed on the giant tvs attached to the ceiling of the stadium. the crowds did their best to remain silent if they caught a glimpse of the winners, they had to hold back their excitement just as much as the teams did.

sure it was only the first round, but eight of the sixteen teams were going to be eliminated - that's half ! they probably got lucky playing against KACHÉ, they couldn't assume every team would be as easy to beat as them.

-

"ladies and gentlemen, i'm sure you were all witness to that win by SLAY6 against their opponents SLVCHILD. however, we'll allow the teams a 10 minute break while the judges review the footage and make a last minute analysis. this is to ensure everything was in fair play. thank you for your patience and please enjoy the break."

the lights dimmed to allow the giant tvs to present sponsorships and commercials to keep the audience somewhat entertained as they waited. this newfound darkness, however, didn't make it easy for the contestants to get off the stage properly.

"we- we won this round right? the judges aren't gonna disqualify us for anything.... right?" juyeon's legs trembled each time he took a step off the platform, his hand clutching eric's arm.

"don't worry, we won while abiding all the rules. it seemed like a really easy match because it was." sunwoo pat his back, "we'll take a breather and be back to annihilating everyone else."

he was so cool and collected, definitely a worthy leader of the team. juyeon admired his confidence, now seeing how he advanced so quickly with chanhee...

"e-excuse me!" they nearly passed by the group of girls that called for their attention. it was KACHÉ.

"oh, hello." the five of them replied in their own variation.

"you guys played so well, it was an honor to go against you guys. I- I'm chunseo!" she held her hand out and, to be polite, each one of them shook it while also then shaking hands with the rest of her team. "it's our first time playing in- in a tournament like this." she laughed, her accent being a little hard to understand, "congratulations on your win, though! i hope we meet some time in the future."

the boys just laughed and nodded, giving a tiny bow towards them as they walked away.

"she seemed nice, and really nervous. I kind of feel bad about them losing so early, don't you guy-" changmin didn't get to finish his sentence when his shoulder was pushed forward by someone who was passing in front of him. "oh- sorry." his apology was ignored as the guy and his team only got further away, shoving themselves through the crowd.

"what a bunch of dicks." no one else could have described them any better than hyunjae.

-

"let's go, younghoon! they've only got 10 minutes." since chanhee was officially recognized as a guest, he thought it'd be fun to visit his uh boyfriend during the break. it was also a good opportunity to get younghoon to see them since he didn't before.

the entry of course was easier this time, which was great because they didn't have time to waste. ten minutes was such a short amount of time.

although, he couldn't exactly remember where their break room was. every door looked identical and there were no names on any of them. think, chanhee, think. he should have memorized the room number or asked a staff member because now they were just wandering around.

a door opened behind them and both younghoon chanhee turned at the sound of it, hoping sunwoo or anyone else had seen them struggling. sadly that wasn't the case.

a guy had stepped out, he was from one of the teams, and before chanhee could ask him for help he began berating them.

"You're not allowed in here, are you snooping around?"

"wh-" he was taken aback, "no! we're looking for my boyfriend's team."

"so you're spying for him? that's against regulations- obviously. he deserves to get eliminated for that. what's his team? I'll report him right away."

"now," younghoon held his hands up, "we weren't doing any of that. we just want to find his room. we promise we weren't spying for anyone."

the guy scoffed, "how do you expect me to believe that?" he took a few steps closer towards them. chanhee took a few back but younghoon stood his ground.

"look." this time younghoon took a step forward, "you don't have to believe us, but you should let us find our friends."

"woojin, just come back inside." his female teammate called from their break room, "they're not worth it." she waved her bright red lollipop around as her eyes scanned the two boys.

the guy, now named woojin, scoffed at her. it was obvious he didn't want to back down.

"i'm not going to lose this tournament because of some cheaters. they need to leave or i'm calling security."

"who's calling security?" everyone turned to the hallway where sangyeon had been standing. "what's going on here?"

chanhee and younghoon asked themselves the same question. it was such an odd scenario to be in- they didn't expect him to show up at all.

"who the hell are you? stay out of this before i report you too." woojin's chest puffed up as he faced him. probably to try and mimic the way sangyeon was built, but he paled in comparison.

"i suggest you go back inside before things get ugly, none of us are team members. you're the only one risking your position here."

he was right, and woojin didn't seem to like that. they noticed both his fists and jaw clench, chanhee in a similar fashion gripped the back of younghoon's jacket.

that was when the girl pulled him back finally, "enough. break time is over anyway."

dammit.

younghoon checked his watch and chanhee peered over to see the time, they were right. time was up and they weren't able to see them for this break anymore. sad.

woojin again gave them a final glare before retreating into the room, the girl following behind. 

it was disappointing coming to this conclusion, younghoon was visibly upset too, but they all had to exit and head back to the audience. luckily sangyeon was big brain enough to ask the staff for the room number, so next time they won't be wandering around and be able to save some time.