It was lunch time and the group was eating in their homeroom, gathering around Taeng and Jessica’s desk. Everyone brought lunch from home; they were engaged in a lively conversation. The door slides open, Jieun enters the room in a chipper mood looking for Taeng.

“Taeng oppa!” She greets, walking over to them.

He smiles, “Annyeong Jieun”

 The latter bows to everyone else, “Annyeong”

They smile, watching the young latter grab on Taeng excitedly.

“They posted up the roster for the basketball team oppa!” She says in a high pitch tone, grabbing his hand “Come on! Let’s check if you made the team!”

 Taeng’s eyes widen, “They’re posted already?”

 He was surprised the team had made their decisions so quickly.

Yoona latches his shoulder, “Let’s go!”

Yoona, Taeng, Jieun and Yul make their way to the gym. The entrance to the gym was packed; a lot of the other boys who tried out were gathered in front of the door where the roster was posted. Some walked away in sadness while others were high fiving in victory.

Taeng pushes his way through the crowd, his distance with the roster growing smaller. His eyes were glued on the paper, he slowly approaches the door. Taeng’s heart was beating fast; sweat was developing in his palms. His eyes lay on the many names listed on the white sheet.

Taeng scans the paper up and down before setting it lock on the title of “Varsity.” He holds in his breath as he tries to find his name.

“Varsity Members: “Zelo, Gongchan, Taeng-” He takes a double take, seeing his name being third on the list. A smile forms on his face; he excuses himself out of the large crowd to meet up with the three who accompanied him.

Anticipation was written on their faces, excited to hear Taeng’s news.

Yul sees Taeng’s smile and he grins, “You made the team!”

 Taeng nods, his three friends cheer in excitement.

 “Congrats! I knew you were going to make the team” Yoona says cheerfully, patting his friend’s back.

Jieun jumps up and down, clapping her hands in excitement “I’m so happy for you oppa!”

Taeng rubs the back of his head, “Thanks guys”

“Taeng!”

Taeng swivels and sees Kikwang approaching him.

 “Oh hyung” He replies smiling.

Kikwang pats his back, “I can’t wait to play with you. You might be my competition for MVP”

He dorkily smiles, “Thanks hyung. But I’m pretty sure I’m nowhere near as good as you”

The latter chuckles, “We’ll have to see about that”

Taeng chuckles, “So when do we have practice?”

“We have practice every day after school for 2 hours.” Kikwang explains, handing him a schedule.

 Taeng nods, “Okay thanks hyung”

 The latter smiles, patting his back again and heading out with his friends.

 “Let’s head back and tell the girls” Yoona says, containing his happiness.

 “I’m going to class” Jieun states, smiling at Taeng “Congrats again oppa. I’ll be at every game cheering for you!”

 Taeng smiles cheekily, “Thanks Jieun”

The latter warmly smiles, making her way back to her homeroom while the three retreat back to theirs. Yoona slides the door open, the girls divert their attention to the boys entering the class.

Sooyoung immediately stands up and points at Taeng, “And?!”

 Taeng smiles, “I made the team”

“Ahhhh!” The girls scream in excitement, running over to Taeng to congratulate him.

 “Congrats!” Sooyoung says excitedly, Sunny, Hyoyeon, and Seohyun saying the same.

 Jessica tackles Taeng into a hug, “Congrats Taengoo!”

Everyone was taken aback at her movements; Yul was burning on the inside. The sudden affectionate action she did made Yul ten times more jealous than normal.

Taeng chuckles, hugging her back gently “Thanks Jessica.”

The blonde latter releases, smiling at him before stepping back.

Taeng feels a punch on his right arm; he looks over to see Tiffany smiling.

“Congrats Tae!” She says happily.

Taeng smiles, “Thanks Fany-ah”

“I’ll be sure to cheer for you from the sidelines” She replies, eye smiling.

Taeng’s heart skips a beat, “T-thank you”

 Yoona wraps his arm around his neck, “Time for that steak I promised you-”

“Promised all of us” Sooyoung corrects, earning laughter from the group.

Yoona groans, “Only because Seohyun asked”

“I got practice after school though” Taeng informs, shoving his hands in his pocket.

 “Practice is only two hours right? I’ll treat you after practice” Yoona reassures smiling.

“You guys are going to have to eat without me” Tiffany says, texting on her phone.

 Taeng looks at her, “Why?”

 “I have plans with Donghae after he’s off practice” She replies smiling.

Taeng’s face falls again; his good mood was attacked with sadness and heartaches.

Yoona sees Taeng’s sudden change of character, “Your loss Tiffany” He says to her coldly.

Tiffany was taken aback at Yoona’s harsh words; she looks at Taeng “Sorry. Next time?” She reassures her best friend.

Taeng fakes a smile, “Sure”

 Tiffany smiles, returning her attention back to her cellphone.

Taeng sighs, feeling down and hurt he eats his lunch in quietness.

 The school day passes and Taeng agrees to meet his friends at the restaurant after practice. He heads to the locker room to change into his gym clothes, stuffing his things in his locker before heading out.

“Taeng!” Kikwang greets him with a cheerful smile.

“Hello hyung” Taeng replies, putting on his happy character.

 He doesn’t like acting sad towards others; he wanted to make sure he was always in a good mood. Taeng always plays charades to ensure the happiness of someone else.

 “Coach should be here soon” Kikwang states, leading Taeng to the benches.

Taeng was greeted by the other teammates, Yul pats on his shoulder “Welcome to the basketball team”

He chuckles, “Thanks man”

“Hey Taeng” Donghae greets, placing his water bottle on the bench.

 “Hey” Taeng says bluntly, hiding his distaste for him.

Donghae looks at him weirdly, shrugging his shoulders and runs towards his teammates on the court.

“Alright team; let’s run 5 laps around the gym” Kikwang yells, clapping his hands.

“Yes sir!” The team replies, starting to run along the court in unison.

As they finish their laps, a slender man walks through the double doors.

“Coach!” Kikwang yells, making his way over to him.

 The latter smiles, “Hey Kikwang. How’s it going?”

“Good, we just got done running laps. We were waiting on you” He replies, looking at Taeng “Oh coach! You have to meet Kim Taeng”

The coach nods, “Okay. Let me meet him”

“Taeng!” Kikwang calls out to him.

Taeng runs over, “Yes hyung?”

 “This is Coach So, Coach this Taeng. He’s probably one of the best players I’ve seen” Kikwang says smiling.

Taeng smiles sheepishly, embarrassed by his hyung’s flattering words.

“Hey Taeng, I can’t wait to see your moves” He replies smiling warmly.

“Thanks coach” Taeng replies grinning.

 “Alright team! Let’s do some drills!” Coach So yells, blowing his whistle.

A couple minutes pass by and Coach marvels at how well Taeng was playing. His moves were sharp and his shooting was sublime.

“I’m impressed by you Taeng” Coach So says to him smiling.

“Really? Thanks” Taeng replies grinning.

 “Kikwang I think you found your competition” He says laughing.

“That’s what I said” Kikwang replies laughing along with him.

After doing endless drills practice was over, Yul and Taeng head to the locker room to change.

 “I’ll wait for you outside” Taeng says to Yul who was still changing.

“Okay” Yul replies, taking off his shirt.

He heads out and sees Tiffany sitting on a bench in front of the locker room.

“Oh Tiffany” He says placidly.

“Hi Tae” She replies smiling.

Taeng didn’t smile back, he knew the reason why she was here and it made his heart hurt more.

“Waiting for Donghae?” He asks, trying his best to sound happy.

 Tiffany excitedly nods, “Yeah he should be out soon”

On cue Donghae busts through the double doors, smiling when he sees Tiffany waiting for him.

At that point as well, Yul comes out from the locker room “Ready to go Taeng-” Yul stops his sentence, seeing Donghae and Tiffany together.

 It remains quiet for some time; Tiffany was oblivious to the weird atmosphere.

“Well, I hope you two have fun. Make sure to have a steak for me” Tiffany says chuckling, walking out with Donghae by her side.

 Yul looks over to Taeng, a defeated look on his friend’s face, he clasps his shoulder.

“Come on man, let’s go” He says softly, he didn’t like seeing his friend sad.

Even though he knows Jessica has a crush on him, he cares for Taeng like a brother. He knows the feeling of loving someone who likes someone else. After all he’s lived in the friend zone with Jessica as long as Taeng has.

 Yul tightens his grip on Taeng’s shoulder, waiting for his response. Taeng slowly shakes his head, slinging his bag over his shoulder before slowly walking out with his friend.

They meet up with the group at the Steak House, sliding into a booth.

 Taeng tried his best to smile, but the vision of seeing Tiffany with Donghae together wiped the smile off his face. Yoona was sensing the trouble in Taeng, he kept trying to crack jokes and tell lively stories. Taeng chuckles bitterly, staring at the brown table and keeping quiet the majority of the time.

“Are you okay Taeng?” Sunny asks, looking at Taeng with worry.

 Taeng looks at his short friend, “I’m fine Sunny, just tired from practice”

“Well once you eat the steak, you’ll have loads of energy!” Sooyoung says cheerfully.

Taeng softly chuckles, “I hope so”

 The sizzle of the steaks was heard, the waiter brings them their meals. Everyone devours the tender meat, Taeng being the slowest.

He couldn’t help but think of Tiffany, how hurt he was when she saw how oblivious she was to his character.

Was he not making it obvious that he’s in love with her? Or was his assumption right? Does his best friend only see him as a friend?

 His heart starts to ache again, he was losing his appetite and he didn’t want to eat the rest of his steak.

He shoves the plate forward, “I’m full”

 Yoona looks at him with concern, “You didn’t even eat half of it”

“I’m not that hungry” Taeng replies sadly.

 Yul’s face falls, “You have to eat. You just came from practice; you might get sick if you don’t eat properly”

 Taeng smiles weakly, “I’ll be okay. I think I’m going to head home, thanks for treating me out Yoona I’ll pay for my own”

Yoona shakes his head, “No don’t, I can pay. But please stay; you need to relax after a long day of school and practice”

 Taeng looks at his friend, his eyes becoming emptier. “I’ll be fine. Thanks again, I’ll see you all at school tomorrow” He says with no emotion, excusing himself out of the booth and exiting the restaurant.

“Taeng…” Yoona says softly, watching his friend walk away.

 “Is he okay?” Seohyun whispers to him.

Yoona keeps his eyes on the door, “No…he’s broken”