People liked to look down on the third dorm, but honestly? Chanyeol quite liked it. After all, they had copious amounts of room to share between no more than seven people. Not like he had an issue being around people, but it was actually quite refreshing to return to a somewhat calm dorm after a busy day at the academy.

The kitchen and bathroom were always free, as well.

Mostly free, that is.

"You've never heard of the concept of knocking, have you?"

Chanyeol grimaced at the sight of Jongdae wearing nothing but a towel, obviously getting ready to shower.

"Last time I checked this wasn't your room," he sighed, making his way past him and towards the little shelf with fresh towels. "Though I might be wrong, considering how much time you spend here."

Behind him, he heard Jongdae sigh.

"It's called hygiene. You should give that concept a chance."

Chanyeol shrugged out of his sleep wear, keeping his back to Jongdae.

"I'd call it a waste of water," he yawned. "Just admit that you're part fish."

It was silly, of course, because the dorm was sleek and modern, equipped with high class orbs and filters resulting in a steady supply of hot and cold water. Luckily enough, Chanyeol had a follow up in mind already, not giving him enough time for a reaction.

"You still wanna practice using fire orbs?" he asked over his shoulder, if only to enjoy the way Jongdae's eyes flit to the door immediately. They were alone though, with the sound of a running shower being their only company.

"Why, were you going to take back on your promise?" he asked, clearly playing down his insecurity as he stepped under the shower (the one farthest away from Chanyeol).

Sometimes, Jongdae reminded him of a cat. The kind that tripped over their own feet and then proceeded to its paws to pretend the embarrassment had never even happened. Yes, he definitely had the arrogance of a cat.

Chanyeol had always been a dog person.

He snorted.

"Like I'm gonna pass up on the opportunity to see you struggle for once in your life."

It had come out just a tad meaner than intended, probably fueled by the lingering memory of last Saturday, where he'd so easily helped out Yixing in ways Chanyeol couldn't.

"Ah, this must be the lower class humility I have heard so much about," Jongdae commented, and Chanyeol could hear him roll his eyes, but before he could even consider a response, the bathroom door opened.

They both turned in unison, and Chanyeol caught sight of Yifan, who had frozen in his tracks, eyes flickering away from Jongdae and to the ground, a bunch of clothes in one hand.

After a second of awkward silence, Yifan seemed to change his mind and left the room again. Chanyeol shrugged to himself - in his books, that was a justified reaction to seeing Jongdae, really. A pretty Yifan-like move, too.

"Anyway," he began, turning back towards the shower to start shampooing his hair. "Meet me at the engineering club after class tomorrow. I thought of something that might work."

"Sure."

Jongdae didn't say a word after that, leaving Chanyeol to stare at the tiles in confusion.
He left first, too, taking much less time than he usually did.

By now, a certain routine was starting to settle in. Getting up, eating breakfast with the others, attending class, and studying or attending club meetings in the afternoon. And despite the year having barely begun, Chanyeol could already tell that neglecting his studies would be fatal - he was still keeping up rather well, but it was obvious that this school was living up to its reputation of a steep curriculum, with complex themes and assignments thrown their way at a quick pace.

Which was why Chanyeol had already taken to the habit of bringing his studying materials with him wherever he went, just in case he found himself with a bit of free time. He could only hope his diligence would last a while longer but as of now, he could feel productive as he mentally went over a row of combat tactic terms while he relaxed inside the engineering building. Sure, studying worked best in silent environments but sometimes, Chanyeol appreciated the lively chatter and sounds of people tinkering around him.

He looked up from his messy sketches of battle formations to check the clock. Jongdae was late. He should have arrived at least half an hour ago-

struck by a sudden thought, he rose to his feet, leaving his study utensils behind as he crossed the room, heading for the door.

Just as expected, Jongdae was outside, standing by a wall without actually leaning against it - no doubt keeping his uniform in mind - an unfamiliar book in his hands.

Chanyeol resisted the urge to groan.

"There you are. How long were you planning on standing there?"

There was a tiny, annoyed tick flashing over Jongdae's expression as he was ripped out of his book, but it quickly dissipated... into a very familiar shade of exasperation.

"You were the one suggesting this meet up point. Unlike you, I do not waltz into other people's spaces like I own them."

Chanyeol rolled his eyes.

"Sounds like a lie, but sure," he muttered, downplaying the fact that he did feel a little dumb for not checking earlier. The moment they stepped inside the large, glorified shed that was the engineering club, people immediately glanced their way, no doubt lingering on Jongdae.
Suddenly, him waiting outside seemed a little more reasonable. Chanyeol had been delighted over the absence of nobles in the engineering club, and he still was, really; not to mention that seeing Jongdae be the outsider for once should be satisfying. So why wasn't it?
Probably because Chanyeol was proud of this club and the idea of anyone being even mildly uncomfortable in this space was ridiculous and wrong to him. Either way, there was no rule against bringing visitors, so Chanyeol gestured to the empty table.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

Unlike his previous statement, Jongdae did hold himself like he owned the place, but he cut back on the snark and simply nodded, taking a seat. Seeing him so pliant was weird. The entire situation was mildly confusing to Chanyeol. If he were to step into a noble salon, he'd definitely not hold back on any account, and nobles tended to show active scorn instead of the passive curiosity of the other club members.

He shook his head. This wasn't about teaching Jongdae humility or convincing him of the equality of all people. This was about fire orbs.

He'd already prepared the device he was now plucking off a shelf.

"I'm borrowing this today, okay?"

Of course Minseok had been pretty much the only one to not notice Jongdae's presence. He was too busy lying on a sheet of tarp, awkwardly angled to fiddle with the downside of their prized possession - one of the very few prototypes of an orbal bike. Only when Chanyeol appeared in the corner of his limited vision - careful not to block the light - did he squint up at him.

"Hm?"

"I'm borrowing the orbal measurement device," Chanyeol repeated, ignoring the way some of the seniors were staring over to where Jongdae must be sitting.

Minseok blinked, wiping sweat (and smearing dirt) over his forehead.

"The small one?"

"Of course - I know you'll need the other for the bike."

That was evidently everything MInseok had wanted to hear - his eyes were already back on the wires.

"Sure. Don't break it."

"I would never."

Chanyeol smiled.
He really liked Minseok. Minseok didn't care about status or background or age. All he cared about was machinery, passion for machinery, and anything even remotely related to that. If only everyone was like Minseok-

Chanyeol's thoughts came to a screeching halt when he found Jongdae bend over his study materials, a pen in hand.

"What- are you doing there?" he pressed out, crossing the room in few, long strides. Jongdae didn't even blink.

"Correcting your notes," he drawled out, every trace of his previous politeness gone. "Your listening comprehension clearly leaves much to be desired. Not like that's new-"

"Shut up," Chanyeol whined, ripping his notes away from under Jongdae's fingers, ending up with a comically long, black line. "Who asked you? If I need help for studying, I'll ask Yixing. Or Luhan. Or Yifan- just, you know. Anyone but you, actually."

Jongdae had the nerve to shrug, calmly putting the cap back on the fountain pen. 

"There's really no need to highlight the fact that anyone exceeds you when it comes to studies."

Chanyeol was about to retort when he noticed the way people were still watching them, and ultimately bit his lip. They weren't here to fight, and he felt like the others would... misinterpret their idea of a semi-friendly conversation, maybe even try to kick Jongdae out, and he wouldn't want to see through that drama.

"Anyway," he said, slow and determined, holding up the measuring board. "Let's do this outside. I can't stand you without fresh air."

It wasn't a lie but mostly, Chanyeol wanted to go somewhere private. Jongdae had trained him in private as well, so it was only fair. Besides, he doubted the other would be able to focus in such an unfamiliar, noisy environment. He was too much of a spoiled noble boy, having probably grown up with perfectly silent, private rooms to study in.

Jongdae followed without a fuss, only further emphasizing how Chanyeol was the one in charge this time, and that he better deliver something.

Weird.

Shrugging it off, he walked around the shed until he found a suitable spot. Nestled between the windowless side of the shed and a high wall, passerbies were very unlikely to see or hear them. He flopped into the grass, and after a second of hesitation, Jongdae followed suit - in a much more deliberate, dignified swoop, complete with an expression of distaste.
Chanyeol couldn’t help himself.

"Is the ground too dirty for our highness?"

Jongdae didn't even bother glaring at him as he fixed his bangs.

"And this is the reason you're not the one wearing white."

Chanyeol snorted.

"Yeah, sure," he waved him off, wriggling around until he was comfortable, "the reason's classicism, and dressing the more important people in white cause they won't have to get their hands dirty, anyway."

"Like you'd wear it exactly like your grass-colored uniform," Jongdae commented, but Chanyeol hadn't really been into this conversation, anyway, too busy fiddling with the board in his hands.

"You know what this is?" he asked instead, flipping it over to show it to Jongdae, who leaned forward ever so slightly, clearly trying to figure out what he was looking at. The board was rather flat, not any thicker than two of Chanyeol's fingers, and longer than a piece of paper, albeit less wide. While the bottom could be opened to display an overwhelming amount of flips and switches to configure it, the top only showed indents for orbs to be inserted, as well as connection lines and light scales, with varying standard outputs framing the outer end. It was basic stuff for Chanyeol, but from the tick of insecurity flitting over Jongdae's expression, he had absolutely no idea what he was looking at.

"No," was all he ultimately said, flat and simple, with no implication of impatience or defensiveness.

"It's an orbal measurement device," Chanyeol explained. "It... measures orbal energy."

Jongdae gave him a blank look.

"Don't look at me like that, you want technical details?" Chanyeol asked.

The other actually sighed.

"Why did I agree to this," he murmured, more to himself than anything, and while having someone insult his study notes was one thing, Chanyeol wasn't having this lack of faith in him when it came to technology this simple.

"We did things your way last time,” he said firmly. “Now zip it and listen."

Jongdae didn't look convinced, but he did keep his mouth shut, shooting him a look that spoke of low expectations. Good enough.

"To put it simply, you insert normed orbs onto the board, and you add the proper counter set here," Chanyeol began, flipping open a small hatch to display a row of five blue orbs. "In our case, that means water orbs only. Then you can hook this up to a machine, and this board measures how much energy is pulled out of these orbs. It's a very common device to make sure devices operate smoothly and pull an equal, measured amount of energy from the orbs. It's absolutely safe since the counter set of water orbs is there to ground them."

Jongdae nodded once, eyes on the board as Chanyeol inserted a row of simple fire orbs.

"And you want me to use it to improve my energy flow," he stated rather than asked, but Chanyeol shook his head.

"Nah. First of all, I want you to just use it. Not like I can help you if I don't know what you're having trouble with."

Clearly unhappy with the wording, Jongdae sat up straighter, waiting for Chanyeol to check the board one last time.

"Seeing as I'm not an orbal hairdryer, I'm not sure how you intend to plug me into this thing."

Chanyeol placed the device on the ground between them, completely undeterred.

"It'll be fine. I mean, there's no reason it shouldn't be. Just use your hands to activate the orbs directly."

Jongdae seemed very much unconvinced but he placed his fingertips on the orbs, anyway. Chanyeol didn't have to ask to know that he'd grown up with piano lessons - it was somehow evident from how he placed his hands.

"How much?" he asked, and Chanyeol shrugged.

"Just try to get a feel for it."

He saw the orbs glow, and the light scale flickered to life, showing a minimum of energy being pulled.

"More," Chanyeol muttered, and the scale began to climb, red lights steadily growing, only to stop again.

"You can go all out, I told you it's safe-"

"I am," Jongdae cut him off, sounding strained and annoyed. Chanyeol blinked.

"Oh. Okay then. Try alternating between them. Just play around a little."

If Jongdae was waiting for him to make a snarky comment he was out of luck; Chanyeol was entirely focused on the board and watching his fingers tapping into the orbs one by one, dancing over them like a pianist trying to work an instrument with sticky keys. There was certainly a strain to it, one that was very untypical for the oh-so-perfect noble boy, but Chanyeol didn't comment on it until he was absolutely certain of what he was looking at.

"Okay, okay," he muttered, and Jongdae halted immediately, fingers hovering over the orbs.

"Now just one. Pull as much as you can."

The scale still only lit up a third of the way, and Chanyeol hummed in understanding.

"Okay, I got it now. You're weak."

At the sight of Jongdae's somewhat confrontational expression, he hurried to elaborate before the other could cut him off.

"Your pull is weak," he added. "You're not able to get much out of the orbs. Which, in turn means that if you strain and force it, your balance is bound to be tipped."

He turned the board around to place his own finger on one of the orbs, feeling it prickle to life. He kept going until the scale was filled to the half.

"This is the level most students here move on, I'd say."

He let go a little, until it dropped to a third again.

"And you're somewhere around here-"

"If you're trying to make me feel incompetent-" Jongdae began, but Chanyeol only clicked his tongue.

"Nah, I'm just explaining what happened during the lesson back then. You've been trying to do things that require this-"

He pulled out enough energy to fill the bar to three quarters.

"-but you only had this to work with."

Back down to a third.

"Which means that the main thing you want to work on is increase your pull," Chanyeol ended calmly. When he looked  up, Jongdae's eyes were resting on him instead of the board. Before he could call him out on not listening though, Jongdae blinked, snapping back into it.

"And how do I do that?" he half-demanded.

Chanyeol leaned back, slumping a little in a way that he knew wasn't healthy, but made up for it in comfort.

"Well, I don't have to tell you that every element requires a different kind of approach."

"A steady mind for earth orbs, flexible for air," Jongdae rattled down, "controlled mind for water, and no control for fire."

"Yeap. You just kind of answered your own question," Chanyeol shrugged. "You gotta loosen up a little."

When Jongdae only shot him an unimpressed look, he sighed.

"Okay, look. I'm not trying to step on your toes here, but you're obviously repressing yourself in probably every way I could think of. It's actually not much of a surprise that you have issues tapping into fire orbs."

"I am not repressing anything right now - aside from the urge to make you eat grass," Jongdae retorted snidely.

"Could have fooled me..." Chanyeol muttered. This was testing his patience but he had agreed to tutoring Jongdae, and if the other gave up now, it would make Chanyeol feel like a failure. He was definitely not going to lose to the other’s stubbornness. So he took a deep breath and patted the board between them.

"...but you can’t fool the  orbs. And if you intend to get better at using them, you’ll wanna loosen up."

Jongdae crossed his arms, looking all kinds of defiant.

"What do you want, for me to clown around and make a fool out of myself?"

"Being less repressed has nothing to do with being loud and obnoxious," Chanyeol argued. "After all, Yifan and Yixing are pretty good at handling fire orbs and you don't see them waltzing around and yelling their every thought. It simply means to be in tune with yourself."

"How does that stand in contrast to being in control?" Jongdae asked without missing a beat, and Chanyeol hesitated. Not because he was doubting himself, but because Jongdae genuinely didn't seem to understand and he had no idea how to explain it properly.
Handling fire orbs was something that came natural to Chanyeol. He'd be the first one to agree that a little more control would have prevented him from getting into many sticky situations in the past, but he also knew that he wouldn't have it any other way.

Chanyeol just was who he was, and he felt what he felt, and it was something so natural that the concept of someone not being able to just do that was hard to grasp.

"You don't... want to control everything at all times," he began slowly, still looking for words. "That is, you want to, but you don't want to disregard its existence. Yes. The goal is to accept and be aware of yourself."

It was a pretty good explanation in his books but Jongdae only lightly shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he admitted, evidently close to locking up and walking away when Chanyeol had an idea.

"You know what? You should join Jongin's morning exercises!" he burst out, suddenly very excited over having thought of this.

"Excuse me?"

"You know, the stretching and dancing thing he does in the morning," he elaborated, leaning back on his hands. With the way Jongdae was looking at him, he really believed the other would love to push his face into the grass right about now.

"How are morning stretches going to make my mind operate differently?"

Chanyeol shrugged.

"I asked him about it before and he said it's a cultural thing that's at least as much of a mind exercise as it is a physical one. I don't know, I got a feeling that it might help."

"I don't know, I got a feeling," Jongdae echoed blankly, judgement dripping from every syllable. "This is a waste of time-"

"Your method of teaching me swordsmanship included kicking me into the dust for hours on end," Chanyeol cut him off. "You can handle a bit of a morning exercise."

"I never said anything about not being able to handle it-"

"Then do it. I'm the tutor now, and I'm telling you to do it-"

"Aren't you just delegating your tutoring to someone else now-"

"Chanyeol?"

Their heads flew around to see none other than Yifan stand there, evidently drawn in by their noisy bickering. At the sight of Jongdae, confusion and apprehension flickered over Yifan's face. It was almost comical how the mere sight of him changed Yifan's posture, turning it slightly more rigid.

"Oh. Hey," Chanyeol began, fully turning towards him with the intent of drowning out any question the other might have about their unusual set up. "What are you up to? Need something maintained?"

Yifan hovered there, radiating awkwardness.

"Uh, no. Just. Stopping by to test the bike cause someone asked me to. I didn't mean to interrupt… whatever this is."

Chanyeol felt the heat rise to his cheeks immediately. Of course someone would catch them in the act. Being seen with Jongdae was kind of embarrassing. After all, he didn't want anyone to think they were friends or anything.

"You weren't interrupting at all," he announced with utter certainty. "We were just, you know. Arguing."

Yifan nodded slowly, looking all kinds of doubtful, while Jongdae seemed to have developed a sudden interest in the board again, where he trailed a finger over the orbs.

"Okay," Yifan muttered, still nodding to himself. "Uhm. Good luck with that."
“Thanks.”

Chanyeol smiled - a little too wide, maybe - watching Yifan leave.

He counted to ten in his head before deflating.

"Phew. So much for that. Anyway, I'd say-" he began, cutting himself off the moment he saw the red lights on the board. They showed a higher level of energy than earlier. Jongdae had apparently not even listened to him, opting to stare at the orbs instead, wearing an unreadable expression.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Chanyeol asked, a little stumped over the sudden change in atmosphere. Jongdae's fingers left the board almost immediately but Chanyeol was certain he had not imagined the scales rising the way they had. Something about this exchange had affected Jongdae, and while it was a clear sign that it had triggered an easier pull of energy, it wasn’t exactly something to celebrate.

"Nothing," Jongdae said evenly, and Chanyeol hummed.

"Yeah, sure. What is it? If you're worried that Yifan's gonna tell on you-"

"Telling on me would include acknowledging my existence and I doubt that's something he's looking to do."

It had come out quiet and even, but it was enough for Chanyeol to finally understand.

"Oh, don't mind him, he's awkward around nobles-"

"Save it," Jongdae sighed, looking around to finally settle on the blue sky above them. "He speaks to Yixing just fine. It's just me he dislikes. It's been like that since the day we moved in."

Chanyeol scoffed.

"Please. I dislike you. Yifan doesn't."

When Jongdae didn't reply, Chanyeol relented and lay down on his side, hands running through the soft grass, preparing himself for a different lesson entirely. One that he was only willing to give because Yifan was a really great guy and didn#t deserve anyone thinking badly of him.

"You gotta put yourself in his shoes," he said eventually. "His parents own an orbal factory in Bareahard, and most of their clientele consists of big shot nobles. It may not mean much to you, but a tiny misstep for Yifan could mean the end of his parents' business."
Jongdae didn’t seem convinced.

"Like I would ever stoop so low."

"Nobles can be fickle," Chanyeol shrugged. "Just look at the way they treated Yixing, and he's supposed to be one of them-"

"He isn't," Jongdae cut him off surprisingly firmly. "And neither am I."

"Yifan doesn't know that," Chanyeol argued, surprising himself with how calm he sounded. "And he's smart enough not to risk it. You're not some random baron either. One day, he might upset you, and word might get around that he's not in your good books, and just like this, the factory could be over and done with."

"You never seem to worry about that," Jongdae said in an unexpected fit of childishness, and Chanyeol halfheartedly flicked a daisy at him.

"Well, that's because you ," he quipped. "And also I don't crouch in the dirt for any noble. But you can't ask that of people. Especially not someone like Yifan."

It was nothing but a logical statement to Chanyeol, an obvious truth, really, and yet Jongdae lowered his head. He didn't fidget, and he didn't meet his eye as he got to his feet.

"So I guess I just have to get used to it, then."

Chanyeol watched him dust off his uniform, plucking off the blades of grass to ensure he was still presentable. Something about the small gesture - or maybe it was his voice - had Chanyeol sigh.

"Don't be such a loser."

Annoyance returned to the other's face. While it felt familiar, Chanyeol wasn't done yet.

"If you give up on the orbs as fast as you give up on Yifan, let me know, so we can stop wasting time."

It had come out a little harsher than intended and for once, Chanyeol bothered to course correct.

"Yifan will come around," he said, slow and certain. "He's a great guy. Just give him some time."

Jongdae looked like there were words burning on his tongue, but after a few, endless seconds of hesitation, he opted to lightly shake his head.

"Forget it," he muttered. Chanyeol rolled over and watched him leave, feet restlessly tapping against the ground.

He thought back to the way Yifan had all but fled after their little tournament, how he tended to avoid eye contact with Jongdae and went perfectly silent during their shared meals at the dorm. At first, he'd assumed the other was particularly anti-social, but he'd quickly realized that Yifan was just a normal guy who tried to avoid the nobility. Chanyeol had known quite a few people like him.

With a thoughtful hum, he buried his head on his arms, not even wasting a thought on the amount of grass stains currently manifesting on his uniform.

Despite his previous hissy fit, Jongdae made sure to get up early and ask Jongin to join him in his exercises - who was obviously delighted over the opportunity to share something about his culture. For a moment, Chanyeol watched them from the top of the staircase, observing Jongin explain certain poses to him, correcting his posture and going on about the significance of wind.
Then he strolled down the stairs, casually greeting Jongin and taking a seat around the low table placed into the corner of the entrance area. Jongdae had glared at him, clearly unimpressed, but Chanyeol had simply taken out his study materials. He wasn't there to watch Jongdae try to feel the wind (however much of it would reach them through the windows) - no, he was there because he was waiting for the right moment.

It came when Chanyeol was about to give up, came in the form of a slightly ruffled-looking Yifan finally trudging down the stairs with a basketball under his arm, wearing comfy clothes and the expression of someone who had been caught in the act.

Chanyeol put down his book.

"Oh, morning," he said with the exuberance of someone who had been awake for way too long already, "Getting in some morning practice?"

Yifan shot him a funny look.

"Yeah...?" he dragged out, clearly thrown off by the fact that Chanyeol was acting like this was new to him. Like they hadn't had a conversation about basketball just two days ago, where he had mentioned preferring to play in the early morning, when the court was deserted.

"Can I join you? Just for today," Chanyeol hurried to add. "It's been forever since I played."

Yifan blinked, eyes flitting to the other two.

"Sure-"

"Awesome!" Chanyeol cut him off, jumping to his feet with enthusiasm. "Let's all play together. It's not really a game if it's just the two of us, right?"

He could see Yifan regret even leaving his room already, but Chanyeol only heartily patted his shoulder.

"Don't you wanna join, too, Jongin?" he asked, patting Yifan once more when the other reacted with mild confusion, but curiosity. "See? Great idea. With me and you, and Jongin and that loser, that would make for a good number, right? Wait, maybe we should ask Luhan, too, since he's in the basketball club. Oh, but then we need Yixing as well, to make it even again-"

And because YIfan was just too nice - and sleepy - to put up much of a fight, the six of them found themselves on the court not too long after.
It was essentially Luhan versus Yifan, really, with both of them having to babysit two incompetent players. Basketball was kind of a street sport, known to be an activity enjoyed by commoners, so obviously, Chanyeol had tried it before. The same could not be said about Yixing, Jongin and Jongdae though. Seeing Jongdae try and dribble a ball was absolutely hilarious, and with a bit of whining and team-shuffling on Chanyeol's end, he could soon enjoy seeing Yifan squirm through trying to teach him. Jongdae clearly tried his best to follow along but the way he moved was too flowy, his movements too weak, and maybe Chanyeol had finally found something Jongdae was genuinely bad at - aside from cooking. It was honestly quite satisfying to watch, and Chanyeol considered that his payment when he purposefully butchered his last throw, letting the other team win.

Just this once, he told himself as he watched Yifan high-five Jongin and, after a beat of hesitation, also offered his hand to Jongdae (who copied the gesture so mechanically and awkwardly that Chanyeol had to hold back on a snort).

"Not bad for your first game," Yifan muttered.

"Thank you for showing me how it works," Jongdae replied, polite and stilted as usual, but it was enough for Yifan to shoot him an awkward grin.

Chanyeol smiled-

-and then yelped when he was smacked over the head.

"Are you even listening?" Luhan demanded, loud and accusatory, "Park Chanyeol, how dare you lose like that? You dragged me out here at o'clock to lose?!"

"And I thought Chanyeol was a sore loser," Yixing commented, looking amused more than anything.

Chanyeol ducked but Luhan was faster, jabbing his side as he went into a flurry of vivid complaints, rendering Chanyeol too caught up to even notice the unreadable look Jongdae was giving him.

Luhan was right of course.

Chanyeol hated losing more than anything.

But he hadn't stepped on the court with the intention to win, and he'd gotten what he wanted, so he could let it slide. Just this once.