(3) J E N O

You beamed as you watched the clock tick. After ten measly seconds, you would be free. You formulated the quickest route that would get you to your long-awaited destination: the gymnasium.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two...one!

“Y/N, help us out with stacking the chairs! You can’t just leave!”

“Ahah...actually I can!!! I’m really sorry guys, I’ll make it up to you all next time. I’ll stack all the chairs next week! Gotta go!” You shoved everything in your bag and ran to the doors of the gym. Adrenaline flushed through you, and your now clammy hands were shaking vigorously.

Please, please, please....YES!! YES YES YES YES YES!! You jumped and galloped around in an elated joy. You falsely thought you would be able to contain your happiness, proven wrong by your high-pitched squeals easily escaping your mouth, disturbing the class nearby as they packed up to leave. You ecstatically stared at the mere piece of paper with your name, amongst others, scribbled on messily. You had made the badminton team, your absolute favourite sport that you had rigorously trained everyday for. Beside your name, you spotted the name Lee Jeno. The name seemed familiar, but you couldn’t remember the face to match it. You only hoped that he was just as passionate and ready to win as you were. You skipped home anticipating the first practice on Monday.

-

Monday after school, you sped to the gymnasium to change into your sport attire. You hurriedly stripped while no one was here, yanking your hoodie and sweats off and flinging them onto the ground. Even though none of the girls had arrived yet, you still decided to change as fast as you could and take the extra time to practice. You ped a pocket from your knapsack that contained your school’s gym uniform: a black t-shirt with two rings of red on the sleeves, black basketball shorts that went up to your knees, and your own white and blue running shoes that you always wore since middle school. You quickly threw the clothes on you, tightening your shorts and double-tying your sneakers. You then took your racket and entered the gymnasium, spotting three others who have already started practicing. You approached them, asking if it was okay to play 2x2 before the others would arrive. They agreed, so you looked to the boy closest to you.

“Do you want to team up against them? We’re already on the same side.”

“Sure, as long as we win” His fiery glare sparked the same momentum in your eyes, giving you the feeling that you both would do what you can to win. Finally, everything was starting.

To your approval, your side was winning. You had to admit, you were good, but so was your teammate. You had contrasting techniques to score points: You would smash furiously, but that boy could lightly bounce it barely over the net and trick the opponent. The game could not see its end, alas as you were concentrating solely on the game, you had not realized that everyone had come out and the real practice would commence in a matter of moments. You heard the whistle from the coach and you all gathered to sit down. As a parting goodbye, you whispered to the boy and properly acknowledged his skill.

“You’re so good!

“Thanks. You are too!”

The coach began to speak:

“Okay guys, you all know that you are the best of the bunch. Our school is known for placing first in the area so the expectation still stands this year as well. Let’s get this co-ed season up and running again. The person next to your name listed on the sheet will be your partner for the season. For the next week, you will be playing against each other 1v1. Get to know their weaknesses so that when you are teamed together, you know how to strategize effectively to win. Okay, I’ll call out the names and assign you to a court: ….. ….. …… ….. Y/N and Jeno, court 5 …. …. …. ….”

You got up and headed to court 5 as the coach instructed. It was located at the far end of the gym on the right corner. You anticipated that your