160118 – Idol Stars Athletics Championship

Mark’s POV

“Why so gloomy, Mark?”

“Asking the obvious eh?” Jackson smirk in response as he hears my answer.

“There is always a next time, buddy. It is not like the whole Bangtan is team up with her, it is only Ji Min and Yoon Gi,” he replies cheerily while patting on my back.

“That is the problem…” I mumble under my breath.

Walking along the narrow corridor with Jackson following behind closely, my face unknowingly starts to darken. Each heavy step I take, the atmosphere surrounding the hallway change to match the mood I am in right now.

Jackson who notice the sudden tension in the air, poke me on my left arm lightly. I turn back to give him a stare which interprets ‘do not try to mess with me now’.

Ignoring the fact that I am not in the spirit of having a friendly conversation with him now which is a bad decision that he has already made, he says something which in turns makes me burst.

“I know you are upset about the whole grouping thing but they are going to be in this setup for only less than an hour. Seriously, dude. You are taking things way too much.”

“That is not what I am upset about. Have you not heard? Ji Min is going to hit on her!”

Silence sweep over in the aisle as we stop halfway. Jackson purse his lips with one hand on his hip as he takes in a deep breath. He eyes me suspiciously as if he did not believe a single word that I have just say.

“What are you blabbering about? Ji Min? Hitting on her? No… You must have misheard it or something,” Jackson say, still not fully convince.

“He is next to me while we are checking the team and I am positively sure that I heard him telling Yoon Gi that he is going to hit on her.” Anger is slowly consuming me as I explain.

“Mainly because he is in the same team as her. If he is not, he will not be doing it. We can persuade Ji Min to swap with the other guys. No need to make it a big deal, Mark.”

“The issue is he is going to do it whether he is or is not in the same group as her,” I sigh.

“You should confront him then. Tell him straight in the face that you are together with her so there is nothing he can do when he knows about it.”

“You do not understand. Who goes around informing someone, ‘Hey, you cannot be hitting on her as she is already taken.’ Do you think they will listen? No. They will be more determine to do it instead,” I say, stating the obvious.

Jackson is slowly nodding his head in agreement. He gets my point. He seems more worried and anxious than me about the situation now.

“What do you reckon we should do? You must definitely yell her, no doubt,” Jackson speak earnestly.

“That is what I am going to do when I see her later. As for the rest, I will handle it myself. Let us get going, we are running late in the practicing.”

As we are getting to the room where we will be taught professionally by the archery coaches, my mind is in a flooded mess.

The case with Woo Hyun has already been giving me headaches ever since she told me about it. Now, with Ji Min jumping in out of nowhere has make it worse.

The moment we enter the room, the first person who’s my eyes has land on is no other than Park Ji Min. glaring at him, he spots me with his lips curve up, appearing innocent. If looks could kill, he would be dead by now.

“What a fake ,” I whisper to Jackson as I stop the eye contact with Ji Min.

“He does not even know that you are in a relationship with her so you have no rights to call him that,” Jackson say in a hushed tone.

Before I can reply him, he nudges me in the elbow to remain quiet as instructors walk in.

The trainers begin explaining the basic technique of archery to a room full of guys. I am not listening to almost half of what they are saying as the whole Ji Min matter got me distracted. However, when we got to the practicing procedure, I manage a nine on my first try.

“You are really good at this!” Little did I know; it is Ji Min who has complimented me.

“Thanks,” I answer bitterly.

Praying silently in my heart that he will not practice next to me, he did, much to my annoyance. I continue with my own training, pretending that his existence is not here.

I am concentrating hard in the target at the ten mark. Thinking that the center is Ji Min’s face, I pull the bow string and release it with the arrow flying straight to the bullseye. The arrow hit perfectly on it, leading me to have a huge grin on my face.

Contended with my performance, I am once again being praise by the guy named Park Ji Min.

“You are such a good archer! Teach me a trick or two, will you?”

“Why are you asking me when we have professionals to help us? You are one funny guy, you know that? Plus, all those shots are most probably by luck so…” I reply with the nicest voice I can bear out.

More like imagining that you are the main aim, I thought.

“Right. Silly me,” Ji Min say as he scratches his head. Heeding my advice, he go to where the coaches are and seek for help.

Thinking that I have gotten the peace that I finally wanted, Ji Min comes back, running to the position next to me.

“They say that I should be…” I am not hearing a word to what he is saying but I just nod along.

“You are being so obvious.” Jackson pops right by my side when the practice is finish and are proceeding to the venue where all the groups will be.

“About what?”

“The way you act around him. He even knows and ask me why you are not yourself.”

“You cannot blame me for that. He is the one that makes me,” I say as a matter of fact.

Jackson wants to speak up but I cut him shortly. “I know what you are going to say, not now.”

Both of us stand in position as we reach the room. It is pack filled with idols of different groups. Everyone is chatting away; some look bored while others are patiently waiting for further instructions to be given by the staffs.

We are all lined up according to the entrance later. I am in the first group while she is in the third so she is not that far from my sight.

As usual, she is being herself; bubbly, cheerful, full of energy but there is one thing which she does best that is embarrassing herself in front of her members. She is doing some weird body movements with Ji Soo joining her. Once the rest of the members see what they are up to, they ignore them, as if pretending not knowing them at all especially Baby Soul. I laugh inwardly at this scene.

A moment later, the staff inform us that we will be going out to the sports hall group by group soon.

When we get the sign that we can go off, I follow my teammates that are ahead of me which is the Bangtan boys.

After knowing Ji Min is in the same group as me and what he is about to do puts me in a bad mood. I dismiss the thought and force a warm smile on my face as we head out to the hall.

Waving to the audience but mostly to the fans enthusiastically, I stop as we arrive at where my team is supposed to stand and wait for the others to come along.

When her own group enter the hall, she is also gesturing to her fans very happily. As she approaches to her standing place, she beams at me as I flash her a grin when we make eye contact. We quickly break it in case someone notices it.

The remaining teams make their way to their place. The event has officially commenced after the oath taking. Everybody spread apart for the first game to take place.

I follow Jackson who settle himself down at a spot. The rest of Got7 sit around us as well as the Bangtan boys.

They begin laughing and joking but I am not listening to their hearty conversation as my mind is in another place. My eyes are stuck on this sole figure, observing her motion and everything else including small details till I hear…

“Pretty right? Her, I mean.” Ji Min casually talks to me as he shifts his seat next to mine.

“Pardon?”

“The girl you are eyeing on. Lee Mi Joo. Let me tell you something. I am going to woo her,” Ji Min says softly that only the two of us can hear.

“Oh really? That is…good,” I reply, trying hard to keep myself cool.

“The best part is that I am in the same team as her for the archery match later so it will be easier for me to get close to her.”

I am restraining myself from beating him up into pieces as I let out an awkward laughter.

“Lucky then. So, what makes you like her? Any traits of her that got you interested?” I ask, curiosity fill in my body as I am keen to know how she has got his attention.

“She seem to be a really nice person. Outgoing, gorgeous. I do not know but somehow I got the feeling that she may be the one for me. Have you had this hunch before when you see this certain someone and think that she is your love of your life? That is how I feel right now,” Ji Min answer, face beam with satisfactory.

I do and yet you are the one that is looking at my one and only, I thought coldly. However, from the outside, I bear out a delighted expression.

I cannot contain myself but to ask more questions to him even though it infuriates me.

“How are you planning to woo her?” I curse and swear a thousand languages inside my heart as I inquire him this. What am I even doing?

“About that, I am still figuring things out. During the match, I will talk to her, know about her likes and dislikes. If I think she might feel the same way as me, I will ask her out after this event has ended. If it is a no, there is nothing I can do about it, right?”

“… Oh, yeah.”

“Wish me luck, will you? After all, you are the only Got7 member that I have told about this matter.” His eye smile form as he says.

“Sure,” I agree reluctantly.

Once he stops talking to me and join in the discussion with the others, I turn my back around them, letting out a snort.

Fully unware of what is going to happen to her later, she is enjoying herself, playing finger games with her members.

When the sportscaster announce that the archery match will begin shortly, Jackson and I move, Ji Min and Yoon Gi behind us. All the idols who is taking part in this sport move to the spot where it will take place. She and Kei are walking to there as well.

Putting on the equipment and having a trial run after, Jackson and I wait for the next order to be given out by the sport commentator.

With everyone ready to begin, the sports announcer says that the first match will be between Group A and C which is my team against a team with Cube artistes inside.

When it is my turn, I am the last in line to shoot with my opponent, Eun Kwang of BtoB. Though there is a high chance of us losing, I still give my best.

Like how I practice before, I pull the bow string and look at the target with precise. However, Ji Min and his words got me severely distracted. Plus, the fact that they are sitting together with Kei between them (thank God but still) is not making me feel any better.

All eyes are on me; the pressure is building up. I release the string but much to my disappointment, I score a two. I shake my head; this is not my practice went previously.

My teammates cheer me on, telling me that it is alright. As I turn to face them, I steal a glance on her which she mouths me some encouragement words.

When Eun Kwang is finish with his turn in which he scores an eight for his team, it is my attempt again.

I take in a deep breath as I calm my beating heart down. Once again, I pull the string, concentrating on the bullseye. Releasing it, my arrow land on the score of three. Discontent with what I achieve, my teammates comfort me. Why can I not hit on the perfect ten as I did during my practice?

I watch Eun Kwang as it is his turn to shoot. His arrow fly straight to the center, the crowds applauding furiously as they witness Eun Kwang getting a ten.

I heave a heavy sigh as I place my arrow into the bow string. Though there is no point scoring a ten since the gap of the results are big, I still must keep myself focus. I let go of the string and to my relief, I manage to get a nine.

The match ended with Group C winning. The next round involves the mix teams which are the Bangtan boys and Lovelyz against AOA and VIXX. Clearly, I am not pleased with the setup.

I watch silently at the back when it begins. I keep my eyes on Ji Min throughout the entire match.

When Ji Min is done with his turn, he takes his seat beside her. He cast a smile to her as he takes his place. I frown at the sight.

Halfway through the tournament, I spot Ji Min glancing at her side as if trying to strike up a conversation with her. Till the end of it, he did not manage to have a talk with her and instead he just glimpses at her several times.

Overall, their team lost which means a good thing for me as Ji Min will not have the chance to speak to her.

“I try to talk to her but my mouth will not let me,” Ji Min tells me when he is beside me.

“Well…”

“But somehow, I think she knows that I wanted to so she does it first.”

Wait. What? I do not see her opening to converse with him. Are my visions failing me?

“Really?” I ask, making sure what he says is true.

“Yeah. She just whispers to me, knowing very well of her surroundings.”

“What did she say?” I question, getting anxious by the minute.

“Nothing much. Just a ‘Hi’ and telling me about the archery match.”

“So did you ask her anything in particular?”

“Like what I told you before, I now know what are her favorite things and what not. She is pretty easy going, quite fast to get to know what she is like.”

I am starting to get butterflies in my stomach. This is not going so well. When I first thought that they are just merely sitting next to each other and with Ji Min not talking to her, it is exactly what I wanted to happen. But, no. it is the opposite. They did talk and they get to know about each other.

“Does that mean you are going to have a chat with her again?” I ask, feeling sick.

“She ask me to meet her at the back of the w