Jungkook wiped the sweat from his forehead that was dangerously trickling down to his eyes with the back of his hand. He could feel the fatigue from running around the court and diving here and there to save the ball kicking in. And it’s still the first set of the game.

He’d thought that volleyball wasn’t as tiring as the other sports since the court wasn’t that big and there were six people playing in a team. But after experiencing it himself, he knew he’s wrong. Preventing the ball with the speed of more than 100 km/h from dropping to the ground was incredibly exhausting. The rallies that were getting longer and longer made him even more worn out.

Thankfully, he’d been playing all kinds of sports since he’d been small. This fatigue wasn’t a big deal for him. He believed he would become used to it soon.

While the other team was rotating, Jungkook took a glance at the scoreboard and he didn’t realize it’s already set point for the starters’ team. The current score was: Benchwarmers 20-24 Starters. One more point and the starters’ team would win the first set.

He looked at the other side of the court and shuddered when he saw where Yoongi was standing. It was the starters’ team’s turn to serve and Yoongi was at the right side of the back row – the server position.

Front Row

Hoseok WS – Kangjoon WS – Seokjin MB

Back Row

Namjoon MB – Bogum S – Yoongi WS

Yoongi was a terrifyingly strong server. Actually, he was the strongest server in the club. His serve was so powerful and fast that Jungkook thought if he didn’t properly receive it with both his forearms, he would get hurt.

Jungkook looked at his surroundings and winced at their current position on the court.

Front Row

Minjae WS – Hyungsik MB – Teacher Lee WS

Back Row

Jimin S – Joohyuk MB (Jungkook L) – Taehyung WS

The best receivers of the benchwarmers’ team – Minjae and Teacher Lee – were now at the front row, which meant they couldn’t receive the serve. So it’s all up to the first-years at the back row to receive Yoongi’s monstrous jump serve. And this was the worst timing of Yoongi’s turn to serve for them. The starters’ team was just one point away from getting the first set. If the first-years weren’t able to receive his serve, then they would lose the first set.

“You look like as if we already lost the set.” Jimin clapped Jungkook’s shoulder. “Have some faith in us, will you?”

Taehyung turned to them, demonstrating his receiving moves. “I’m not that bad at receiving, you know.”

Jungkook’s lips curled into a smile and he’s no longer tense. “I’m not doubting you guys. I’m doubting myself.”

Grinning, Taehyung said, “I’m looking forward to see that pancake again.”

Jungkook didn’t know if he’s supposed to be encouraged or pressured with Taehyung’s remark, but the fact that his teammates was trying to cheer him up made him feel a lot better. With a whistle sound from the referee, the game resumed.

Yoongi mercilessly slammed the ball with full power that it seemed more like a spike than a serve. It was aimed directly at Jimin, which was a very clever move. If the setter hit the ball for the first touch, then he wouldn’t be able to toss for the spiker because the same player couldn’t hit the ball twice in a row. Despite his awful personality, Yoongi was really an awesome volleyball player.

Jimin had no other choice than to receive Yoongi’s serve because no one would make it in time to receive for him. Due to the strong impact of the serve, Jimin lost his balance after receiving and fell backwards, landing in a sitting position. The ball bounced high up in the air above him, giving enough time for Taehyung to run to him while Jungkook didn’t know what to do if he had to take the second touch – liberos usually hit on the first touch. Because each team was only allowed to have three touches before returning the ball to the other side of the net, the third touch was their chance for attacking. Naturally, the second touch was for tossing the ball to the chosen attacker. So, the reason for Jungkook’s hesitation was because he’d never practiced tossing before with the spikers.

Fortunately, Taehyung came to their rescue. He got to the ball in time and perfectly tossed the ball to Teacher Lee at the front row. As if he’d been waiting for this chance, Teacher Lee jumped and spiked the ball forcefully, earning a point for the benchwarmers’ team.

“Teacher Lee, I told you to hold back,” Coach Bang warned from the referee stand.

Teacher Lee chuckled awkwardly and bowed to apologize. “Looking at how hard these kids are playing, I guess I was carried away.”

While the benchwarmers’ team was rotating, Minjae clapped Taehyung’s back and said, “I didn’t know you can toss.”

Taehyung grinned proudly. “This happened all the time when we were at middle school. The opponents always targeted Jimin when they served. So I thought I should learn how to toss to cover for him.”

Jungkook gulped nervously. Jimin and Taehyung were way too skilled in volleyball compared to him. As fellow first-year, Jungkook was terribly intimidated. Looking at them, he wasn’t even confident if he could secure a place in the starting line-up.

Somehow, they managed to stop Yoongi’s serve after only one rally, which was a good thing. The current score was: Benchwarmers 21-24 Starters. And it’s still set point for the starters’ team. After rotating, it was Teacher Lee’s turn to serve. Unlike how he served usually, Teacher Lee did a slow overhand serve which was relatively easy for the opponents to receive. Perhaps it’s because of Coach Bang’s warning that he toned down his play considerably.

Even if Yoongi was in the back row, it didn’t stop him from attacking. Namjoon managed to receive the easy serve and properly send the ball to Bogum who had run to the net when Teacher Lee had served. Although there were other spikers in the front row, Bogum looked back and tossed the ball to Yoongi who jumped from behind the attack line – the line that separated the front row and back row. It’s illegal for the back-row players to attack at the front row, but it’s legal for them to attack from the back row.

Yoongi did just that. He spiked the ball from the back row and scored another point, securing the first set for the starters’ team. If Jungkook didn’t remember it wrong, what Yoongi had just done was called a back attack. And Taehyung confirmed it for him.

“Back attack!” Taehyung exclaimed in amazement.

“Seriously, he’s a monster,” Minjae added, shaking his head in disbelief.

Hyungsik shrugged indifferently. “He’s the ace. He’s supposed to be a monster.”

The referee then motioned the teams to switch sides. It’s one of volleyball rules that after each set, the teams changed courts.

While Jungkook was walking to the other side of the court, he stopped in front of the score board that was already flipped back into 0-0. He didn’t see Hyewon who was sitting beside it until she called out to him.

“Jungkook!” Hyewon called and Jungkook turned to her. “Go get the second set!”

Smiling at the encouragement, Jungkook replied, “Got it!”

As he looked at her, Jungkook realized that Hyewon had been watching him play the whole time. He didn’t know why, but knowing that, he suddenly got fired up. He was determined to win the second set.

“Let’s get the set back, guys!” Jungkook exclaimed when he got to his position at the right side of the court.

But of course, it was easier said than done.

In a blink of an eye, the benchwarmers’ team was cornered again. Before they knew it, the score was: Benchwarmers 23-24 Starters. It was the start