For an autumn day, Jinyoung was sweating like he was in a summer heat wave. His shirt clung to his back and was darkened in sweat in every dip and curve. The sun was barely peeking over the farthest bleachers now though, so it wasn’t long before the temperature would cool down. Brushing his soaked fringe away from his forehead, he exhaled, took a running start, and took a swing at the ball in front of him.

Clink.

His narrowed eyes wrinkled in frustration as the ball nicked the side of the goalpost. He had been practicing shooting drills for almost two hours already. Why did the ball never go where he wanted it to go? If it did, why was his form so bad? Practice had only started three days ago so he knew he shouldn’t expect much improvement, but it did frustrate him seeing his more skilled and better teammates getting praised by their coach.

“Ow…” he heard someone mumble from behind him. When he turned to see who it was, it was none other than his bus friend, Sooji. She was rubbing at a sore spot on her arm that was getting redder by the second.

“Are you okay?” His eyes were wide with concern as he ran to her side. Seeing that the ball he kicked earlier wasn’t too far away, it must have hit her when it bounced off the goalpost. Even though she insisted that she was fine, he wasn’t having it. He’d gotten hit with sports balls many times in his life and came out with bruises. It was an obvious lie that someone who admits they never had an athletic background would be okay. Pulling her other hand away, he lifted her arm to see the damage, “Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to be here. You should ice this,”

After a quick trip to the locker room, he came back out with a small plastic bag full of ice. He took a seat beside her on the grass and cradled her arm. Sooji whined when he pressed the cold bag against her warm skin, but eventually gave up and accepted defeat. Looking around the field, she noticed that no one else was there. The only equipment still out were the balls he was kicking to practice, and his gym bag by the far side of the bleachers.

Jinyoung took a quick peek at her as she busied herself with the scenery, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m always here after extension,” Jinyoung averted his eyes when Sooji turned her head towards him to answer. He wasn’t expecting her to look at him. Using her free hand, she tucked a strand of hair that was falling out of her loose bun behind her ear before pointing towards the bleachers, “I end earlier than you, so I usually sit there and do homework while waiting. I don’t expect you to notice though because you’re busy and focused on practice… which, by the way, why are you the only one here?”

“Captain Im ended practice early,” He shrugged, “Something about having to drive a classmate back home or something. Jihoon thinks that classmate is his crush or girlfriend because why else would he leave practice for a nobody, you know? Anyway, I don’t think it affects us much because our starters are already prepared for the first game.”

“Right, your first game!” Sooji gasped excitedly, clapping her hands together when he let her arm go, “When is it? I’ll come watch you!”

“This coming Friday, but you don’t really have to come. I don’t think I’ll be playing much. I’ll probably be switched in only when our star players get tired,” he sighed, disappointment in his voice, “I don’t want you to have to come for no reason,”

It’s not like Jinyoung didn’t already know she couldn’t come anyway. Sooji had private tutoring lessons in the evening which would’ve conflicted with the game time. Though, that must’ve slipped her mind because she was too excited for him. Nevertheless, there were other games throughout the year. However, Sooji clicked her tongue disapprovingly and shook her head, “Even if you were in for five minutes, you still played!”

To his surprise, Sooji stood up and raised her arms up high towards the sky. He raised a brow, confused as to what she was doing. In a way, it seemed like a cheering stance, but it also looked like she was just stretching. He couldn’t really tell, but he stood up anyway. Letting her arms drop to her side, she flashed her signature crooked smile at him, eyes curving into upside-down moons, “And if five minutes is all you will play, then I will cheer the loudest during those five minutes!”

A knot tightened in his stomach the longer he looked down at her genuinely enthusiastic expression. Jinyoung never knew what to do with her friendly approaches. They had barely even known each other for a month, yet she treated him like they had been friends since childhood. The atmosphere around her… it radiated warmth. It was comfortable. With a chuckle, he averted his eyes towards the ground as a shy smile made its way onto his lips, “You really wanted to join the cheer team, didn’t you?”

Sooji shrugged and turned heel to grab her bag from the bleachers. With a giggle, she added, “Something like that,”

Something important must be happening since Teacher Park was standing by the podium when Jinyoung entered the room. To clarify, Teacher Park always arrived as soon as the first bell rang. This time, he was early by about ten minutes. Giving the room a once-over before he sat down, Jinyoung notice