Ch.4
To Whom it May Concern
To say Jinki was nervous was an understatement; he stood in front of his closest half-stripped of his school uniform, looking over the contents before him. He sighed in frustration of himself, why did he even care what he wore? Minho wouldn't care either way. The thought of showering flittered across his mind, but he pushed it away quickly. What's the point if he was going to get sweaty again playing soccer? Soccer, why had he agreed to play? He didn't know the first thing about playing the game; another more devious thought trailed behind that one, but once more he shoved it away before it could take root. Jinki opted for a striped blue shirt and only mildly painted on skinny jeans. He'd hoped Minho would take one look at the restrictive pants and decide against playing. Speaking of Minho, he'd yet to text Jinki.
Jinki waddled downstairs, kicking his legs and bouncing a few times in a crouched position, trying to loosen up the unforgiving material that clung to his thick thighs. He sat on the edge of the couch, perched like some sort of bird. His phone was centered on the coffee table before him; Jinki just sat staring at the device, seconds ticking by slower then he remember's they should.
" Ugh!" He flung himself back, slumping into the couch cushions, chin tucked into his chest. He reached blindly to his left for the remote that hung precariously on the edge of it's arm. Tips touched the edge of the hard plastic just enough to cause it to slip completely off the arm and clattered to the ground, battery cover busting off and flying under the couch. " Of course..." Jinki slid off the couch lazily and rolled over onto all fours, arched well above his head as he scanned under the small space of the couch. He pulled out an arm tucked into his chest to feel around in the crammed space, face twisted up in fear of what he might find lurking in the depths aside from the backing. His hands grazed over a multitude of textures he didn't even want to think about before it collided with the thick plastic he was looking for. His shoulder jammed into the side of the couch, he grasped the locking tab and pulled it towards him. He bent forward scooping up the rest of the remote.
" Stupid thing..." He sat, back pressed into the edge of the couch, clicking the piece back into place. He flipped through the channels, ending up as usual on a music station, he hummed along to the video playing on the screen, singing out some of the words he knew. He was fairly distraction from Minho when his phone started to buzz under his eyes, he snatched it up quickly and unlocked it:
Honey, I'm going to be a little late coming home. I have to go to the grocery store after work. Love you, Mom.
His heart rate increased and slowed in a matter of ten seconds of reading the message, leaving him dizzy and light headed. He tipped his head back on the couch, blowing his fringe upward with huffy breaths. He dropped the phone back onto the table blindly, it landed with a loud clack. A slow song was playing now, he looked back to see a man cry-singing at him, hand out stretched dramatically to grasp whoever he was singing about. Onew rolled his eyes and dropped his head back again, ignoring the sappy song that was rubbing him wrong.
His phone buzzed, probably his mother again. He groaned, he really did love her, but good lord she coddled him way too much for the age he was now. He looked at the device, an unknown number read across the screen. He slid the small toggle to answer and lifted it to his ear, " Hello?"
" Hey! It's Minho!"
" Hey, what's up?" He tried to sound casual, not really sure to go about phone conversation etiquette.
" We're suppose to hang, remember?"
" Right, where did you want to meet up?" He fiddled with the edge of his shirt, trying to smooth out some the wrinkles.
" How about the park we pass by on the way to school?"
" Sounds good." He nodded even though Minho obviously couldn't see him.
" Alright, I'll meet you in ten." Jinki heard a click from the other end.
___________
Jinki made sure to leave a note for his mother letting her know where he was, or did he? The last ten minutes had been such a blur, and before he knew it, his legs had carried him to the park. There was no in between of him shutting the locked door behind him and finding himself planted on a wet swing seat he wished he had flipped over. It wasn't too wet, but it was still fairly uncomfortable and he hoped it would dry before Minho showed up. Jinki toed at the sandy, moist ground below his sneakers; drawing waves and pressing the sole hard into the wet earth to examine the print it left behind.
A sloshy foot fall caught his ears and he looked up to see Minho jogging towards him, sporting a black V-neck t-shirt and jeans rather similar to his own, but in a lighter shade of blue. His hair was pulled back into a tufty ponytail, most of the pieces having escaped the band and framed around his face and neck. It was still moist from what Jinki assumed to be a shower, ends flipped up slightly. Jinki really wished that he'd gone for that shower after all, trying to formulate a steathy way to sniff himself without seeming like a total weirdo. He couldn't come up with any, so he would just have to hope he didn't stink.
Minho stood before him, " Hey, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you. I had to shower..." He ruffled his own bangs, mussing them up against his forehead.
" It's ok, I had some stuff to do at home, anyway." The lie was a small one, insignificant really.
" Ready to play some soccer?" Minho beamed again at the thought of sports.
" I guess, but...Where's the ball?" He looked around Minho, trying to spot the black and white sphere.
Minho fished out a keychain from his pocket, jangling it in front of Jinki; he turned and pointed towards a shed near the small soccer field on the edge of the park. " There."
Jinki's eyes got wide, " Did you steal that?"
Minho laughed so hard his shoulders shook, " No, my dad's a soccer coach and he uses this field sometimes. What do you take me for?" He took off down the stretch of land before Jinki could apologize.
Minho already had a ball and locked the shed back up by the time Jinki made it over to him, Minho kicked it from foot to foot. " You know how to play, right?"
" I kick it into the net?"
Minho laughed, " More or less...Guess we shouldn't complicate it too much. First one to five goals wins, loser buys us drinks, ok?"
Jinki nodded, attempting to get his game face on.
_______
Needless to say Minho killed it, straight up kicking Jinki's in under forty five minutes. He'd even attempted to let Jinki score at least one goal, but when he took a shot for it, it went way right of the net. Minho tried to not laugh, he really did...But he couldn't stop it from tumbling out, especially since Jinki decided to kick so hard he'd kicked his own feet out from under himself.
Minho easily stole the ball back and kicked his final goal as Jinki lay in the grass, chest heaving from running back and forth across the field; Minho believed in teaching in the moment, trying to get down some basic terms to Jinki as he stole the ball out from under him.
Minho jogged over, Jinki layed out all limbs in the grass, not looking as if he'd move anytime soon. Minho layed down next to him, looking at Jinki's sweat streaked profile as he spoke, " You alright?"
" Y-yeah.." He coughed, trying to muffle it with the back of his hand. " Just a little tired is all."
" You did pretty good for never really having played before..." Minho complimented him.
Jinki his side to face Minho, brows drawn up in disbelief, " There's no need to lie...I know I'm bad."
Minho shook his head, " No, I'm serious."
Jinki shook his head, " Whatever you say, Minho."
" Why don't you believe me?" His voice came out something akin to a small child's for someone who normally had a deep tone.
Jinki just rolled his eyes, " I kicked so hard I fell over...I don't really think that qualifies as good playing."
Minho couldn't hold back his laughter, rolling away from Jinki as he curled into himself with laughter.
" See?" Jinki couldn't help but laugh himself, Minho's laughter was infectious like that.
Minho quickly wiped away tear streaks that ran at odd angles down his face and sat up, he toed at Jinki's shoe with his own. " Man, all that laughter sure made me thirsty..." He made sure to emphasize 'thirsty' to the point of being obnoxious.
Jinki sat up as well, " Yeah, yeah...Where's the vending machine?"
Minho pointed across the field to a small row of rectangles lined up and down the side walk across the street. Jinki stood using no hands, rocking a bit on his heels before steadying himself. He'd forgotten to ask Minho what he wanted to drink, turning he was in close proximity to the other boy, their bodies almost pressed together. Jinki breath caught in his throat, " What..What do you want to drink?"
" I dunno, I'll figure it out when I see what they have. Turn around." Minho's oversized eyes bore into him.
" W-Why?"
Minho leaned in close, " You have grass all over your back again."
Jinki exhaled, " Oh ok."
Minho brushed his hand quickly over the expanse of Jinki's back, " Geez, Hyung...What is it with you and grass?"
He swung an arm over Jinki's shoulder, guiding them along to the vending machines once more. Jinki froze up, " Hyung?"
" Well you are my Hyung, aren't you? Or would you rather me call you Jinki all the time, it's kinda formal don't you think?"
" I suppose you can call me that...If you want to."
" Good, now c'mon Jinki-hyung. I'm thirsty, remember?" There was that obnoxious emphasis again.
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