II ~ Take What I (Try to) Give to You, Hakyeon

Jaehwan caught the orange ball Wonshik passed to him, he ducked left and right until he could dribble it past Hongbin, and he found that his path was open. An easy basket. Nothing stood in his way.

Perhaps he should have wondered why.

Time seemed to warp itself as everything went from normal to slow motion. Jaehwan prepared to shoot, but at the last moment, light blonde hair appeared and disappeared in a flash. Before he knew it, the nineteen-year-old was being lifted off the ground while a dimpled brunette swept the ball from his grasp. The ball was dribbled a short distance, shot through the air, and landed in the opposite basket with perfect ease.

A cheer rang close to his ear before the blonde was gently placed down on his knees. The world returned to its normal pace while footsteps swiftly increased their distance from him. “Hey, that’s a foul!” Jaehwan cried as the basketball rolled to a stop in front of him. The blonde contemplated bouncing it so high that it’ll disappear into oblivion…and maybe even make a comical reappearance and hit the head of one of the twin brats celebrating only a few feet away. He was about three point two seconds away from doing just that when the two youngest cackled and high-fived each other, but the strong arms of Wonshik picked him up and held the nineteen-year-old captive before he could grab the ball. “Let me go!”

The platinum chuckled as Jaehwan clawed to pry his arms off, but it only made the younger male hold him closer to his chest. “Calm down, Jaehwanie,” Wonshik murmured, but it went unheard as the blonde gave up and instead screamed his dragon-like frustrations and woes out into the court. Hongbin and Sanghyuk clapped and laughed at the sight, but took several steps back to ensure they were out of reach should the nineteen-year-old break free.

“C’mon, hyung, it’s just a game!” Sanghyuk waved.

Hongbin grinned widely, dimples as prominent as ever. “Yeah, hyung. Calm down.”

They received a glare in turn, and suddenly the eighteen-year-old platinum found himself in a battle as he tried to hold back his raging hyung.

The group’s two eldest stopped midway in their approach to the court. With the sun just beginning to move toward the horizon, Hakyeon and Taekwoon had decided to join their dongsaeng in the park after they got off from work, but seeing the chaos that unfolded before them, the two wondered if they should have just invited themselves in one of their dongsaeng’s homes instead. The duo glanced at one another, then to the carriers of drinks and bag of snacks they held, up to the court, then back to each other again.

One… Two… Three…

The dragon cry pierced the air once more, and the two took that as their cue to veer off course to the park bench nearby—close enough to where the youngsters could see them if they studied their surroundings, but far enough to not be noticed so quickly. After all, they just got done with eight-hour shifts each and needed to recoup before being dragged to a game of three-on-three.

Maybe if they were lucky, the four would be too exhausted by the time they decide to wonder where their hyungs are…

Hakyeon set the bag of snacks on the bench while Taekwoon kept the drinks on his lap. They observed the turbulence of the basketball court for a few minutes in a comfortable silence, then watched with more interest as Jaehwan grabbed the ball and pointed to the maknae line. The trio gave one another puzzled looks, then Sanghyuk asked him something. The blonde waved his free arm in a dramatic gesture and appeared to yell something at them. However, whatever he said only made the three laugh, and Jaehwan stormed past them and managed to score two baskets before being lifted into the air once again by the maknae.

Taekwoon sighed lightly while the brunette beside him chuckled. “Where does Jaehwan-ah get so much energy?” He glanced at the golden male, who shook his head and looked at the nineteen-year-old with a fond smile playing on his lips.

“That’s Jaehwanie for you,” Hakyeon said. His eyes dimmed soon after, however, and the smile slowly turned into a small frown.

Taekwoon tilted his head. “Hakyeon-ah? Are you okay?” No response. “Hakyeon-ah?”

The frown lifted back up, but it was a sad smile that sat on his face now, and as Hakyeon turned to face the slightly taller male, his eyes read acknowledgement and…guilt? “Sorry, Taekwoon-ah,” Hakyeon said. “What did you say?”

The twenty-year-old blinked at him. “What’s wrong?”

Hakyeon shook his head, but didn’t bother to change his expression. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing that you should be worried about.”

Taekwoon’s stare hardened. “Hakyeon-ah…” He frowned, but the sudden burst of laughter from the dark-chocolate brunette made the raven’s scowl change to confusion.

Hakyeon waved his hands. “No, really. It’s not what you think. I’m fine.” He gazed at his lifelong friend with twinkling eyes and a bright smile and waited patiently as the raven studied his face and body language. He almost purred when the tension in Taekwoon’s shoulders disappeared and the younger settled back in his seat.

Hakyeon reached over to brush a few stray strands away from the feline-like eyes, then picked up the bag of snacks before scooting closer to the slightly taller male. Suddenly, the brunette faced the side of the bench, lifted and stretched out his legs on the seat, and pressed his back against the raven’s left arm and shoulder. Taekwoon barely blinked in the process even as the twenty-one-year-old squirmed a bit to make himself comfortable on his makeshift chaise lounge chair. In contrast, the action only made the raven relax further, as the older male wouldn’t be this carefree if something really was bothering him.

Hakyeon nodded toward the court. Shouts from both teams could be heard now. “You say Jaehwan-ah, but I’m curious about where everyone gets their energy from.” His eyes threatened to become crescents as he twisted around to grin up at his ‘chair.’ “All I know is that you keep yours to yourself until you feel like you need to show off.”

Taekwoon peeked at the golden male through his fringe and quirked a brow. “And you use all your energy until you’re the walking dead on auto-pilot.”

Hakyeon opened his mouth, but closed it shut just as fast. He looked off into the far distance, eyes slightly wide and utterly pitiful. “You’re right…” he sighed, slouching dramatically.

The raven shuffled through the drinks in his lap before pulling out a small yellow container. He handed it to the lounging boy, whose pout immediately vanished at the sight of the beverage. The brunette cooed and accepted the peace offering, ignoring the soft eye roll but missing the tiny smirk from the other.

***

“Do you think Hakyeon-hyung and Taekwoon-hyung ditched us?” Hongbin asked, wiping the damp brown bangs away from his forehead. The sun had nearly set, but the sky was still alive with vibrant pinks, lavenders, and light blues dancing across the otherwise fiery sky. Hongbin surveyed his three companions. Wonshik was chuckling nearby as he fanned Jaehwan, who was sprawled out much like a starfish, with a notebook. Sanghyuk slowly made his way around the court to grab their water bottles and handed one to each of his hyungs. When the maknae passed Hongbin his drink, the seventeen-year-old gestured to the cell phone in his hand. “They texted us over an hour ago that they were coming, but they’re still not here.” He paused, then the brunette looked up with widened eyes at the taller boy. “You don’t think something happened to them, do you?”

The light blonde teenager stared blankly at the dimpled male for