Alright! So I saw pictures of Yunho filming for Yawang in a hockey uniform. Then the idea of hockey popped into my head. And well… then this fic just popped out of nowhere. I hope it’s alright.

Also, I changed the date of BoA's passing in the last chapter aha.

Rating: PG13+ for swearing

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"The South Korea men’s national ice hockey team holds the record for the largest victory in the sport."

Yunho looked up from his computer screen, startled. His knuckles left the spot they'd been pressing into by his mouth and he blinked stupidly at the girl in the doorway. "What?"

BoA shifted her feet, glanced at the carpet and bit her lip, before lifting her head and boring her gaze into his. "The Korean Ice Hockey Association will have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics for the first time, under Host Nation Rules, as Pyeongchang was awarded the 2018 Olympic Games."

Her shoulders slumped and she took a tentative step into their bedroom. Her hands played nervously with the hem of her shirt, and strands of her hair fell out of her ponytail and trailed messily around her face. He felt his stomach jump when she looked at him imploringly with her beautiful brown eyes. "And I'll never really understand hockey. I spent hours researching it and you're right, I'll probably never understand why your favorite sport is hockey or how amazing it is, but I'm trying, Yunho. I…I want to know why it's so important to you but I can't see it as anything but violent and unnecessary but you love it and I…"

BoA swallowed, swiping quickly at the tears that rose in her eyes. "I love you," she whispered raggedly.

He had straightened in his chair during her speech, and now he couldn't do anything but stare at her as she stood, vulnerable and honest in their bedroom. His throat worked to say the words that rose to the forefront of his mind, but some sort of paralysis had struck his body, leaving him totally incapable of saying anything.

A few agonizing minutes passed as she waited, heart breaking with every second he stayed silent. Finally, when she felt like her knees would be unable to support her if she stood there, looking at him, for one minute more, she let out a small sob and a whispered, "Okay." She turned, bolting out of their room and out of their condominium.

It was only when he heard the door slam and a car start that Yunho regained control of his body. "Oh, ," he whispered, standing so abruptly that his chair toppled to the ground. He grabbed his jacket and car keys, and prayed to God he could find her in time.

000

Five Days Earlier…

Yunho's muscles tensed as BoA's fingers trailed across the ticklish area around his ribs. She giggled at his reaction, her smile pressed against his neck as he growled. He'd had an awful day (he didn’t know why people felt it was necessary to come up to him to tell him he was the worst singer to grace the planet, or why people kept throwing the world ‘traitor’ around as if it didn’t hurt his feelings. The criticism from everyone broke through his tough resolve and all he wanted to do was to tell them how he truly felt. But he couldn’t. He knew better than to lash out. He had a reputation to uphold, and as much as he would have liked to spill out the truth to everyone, he knew it wasn’t the time or place for that. To be frank, he was in a ty mood, and he wasn't sure that even BoA could help him now).

The girl in question lifted herself up onto her hands, leaning over him and letting her hair cascade around her shoulders and face. "So…what are we doing on Friday?" She smiled lazily at him, a slow grin that he knew he was the only person to ever see. "Movies on your laptop? A night out in a place where nobody knows us?"

He shifted, glancing away from her face. "I uh…can't."

The smile melted. "What?"

He risked a glance at her face, and felt something inside of him sink at the look of disappointment and hurt he found there. He cringed, knowing the words he was going to say next would only serve to upset her further. "I made plans with Changmin and the others to go watch the national hockey game. Last time, the game was boring. But this time the game, I heard will be exciting. We all managed to get that day off to go watch the game; no schedules or anything. It took us forever to convince Sunsaengnim to let us go out in public again. Y’know… boy tim -"

She pushed herself away from him, sitting up on the bed and wrapping her arms around herself. "You're breaking another date," she informed him quietly, refusing to look in his direction. He felt panic rise in his throat and he sat up with her, reaching out to touch her. She evaded his hand, and he sighed.

"BoA, I’ll make it up to you. It’s just…this hockey game doesn’t come up often and…”

She stood abruptly, moving even further away from the bed. "I understand," she said sharply, pulling her hair back into a bun. He resisted groaning; when she had her hair down it meant she was in a fun, playful mood. If it was in a ponytail, she was trying to be serious but was still up for some fun. A bun, though, and all chances of her being in any sort of good mood were moot. "I understand," she repeated, adjusting her top and glaring at him, "that I'm not remotely as important as some stupid, bloody game with sticks and ice."

Anger rose in his chest, both at her implying that she was unimportant to him (she WAS important to him, dammit) and her demeaning generalization of the sport. "BoA-"

"I don't understand what's so great about it," she continued, eyes ablaze. "What's so freaking fun about skating around and slamming people into walls, and chasing after a stupid little puck?"

"BoA-"

"It's a stupid game. It's not any fun to watch, it's unnecessarily violent and gruesome and I just hate everything about it! For the past few weeks you've blown off every single moment I've tried to plan with you, just so you can either watch your stupid game or to hang out with your boys. We rarely ever have enough time as it is with our busy schedules but every freaking time I want to have our own time together you always manage to blow me off!"

"Shut up!"

She froze, eyes wide and jaw slack, as he stood from the bed, seething. "You don't know what the you're talking about," he snarled, drawing himself to his full height and stalking towards her. "Just because some people are stupid and can't even come close to comprehend what it means to enjoy a damn sport, to have that one outlet for frustration, that one outlet for when your own ing girlfriend doesn’t know how to keep her ing mouth shut for five seconds. You can't even begin to know how much I enjoy hockey, or why I’m so damn frustrated with all the reporters hounding Changmin and I for no damn reason, being constantly questioned like there's no tomorrow, so why don't you shut the hell up and get out?!"

The last thing he remembered before their bedroom door was slammed in his face was the broken, hurt look in her eyes as she whispered, harshly, " you, Yunho," and left his room.

000

His hands tightened on the steering wheel of his car, remembering that night. BoA very rarely cursed, and usually only ever did so when she was extremely frustrated. Hearing the vulgar word slip from her lips, so venomously directed at him, had sent his head reeling.

He'd almost immediately regretted the terrible things he'd said to her when he'd let his frustration from the day consume him, but it had been too late to take it back. If there was one personality trait he had in common with her, it was stubbornness for sure. He hadn't expected her to cave so quickly, and her heartfelt confession had taken him completely by surprise.

He had no idea where she could have possibly gone. There was nowhere she could run to, nowhere she could feel safe other than their home or the company, and she didn't need a car to get to either of those. She was going somewhere, though, and with a purpose. She hated driving, something about "saving the world" and lowering gas emissions. He honestly didn't understand it, but she believed in it so he let it slide, for once. So, for that reason, she rarely took the car unless she needed to go somewhere specific (besides she had a driver most of the time or he offered to drive).

He groaned as he came to a red light, fingers tapping against the worn leather of the steering wheel cover as he rolled his head to the left, glancing briefly at the store display next to him. He did a double take, eyes roving over the new release of Super Junior’s album.

And suddenly, with startling clarity, he gripped the steering wheel and suppressed the urge to growl as he realized where she was.

000

Donghae gave BoA a knowing look as a loud pounding sounded against his front door, and Yunho's muffled shouting reached their ears. She sniffled, wiping at her tear stained face and looked away from him before he could see the fresh wave of tears consume her. He reached over and slid a hand into hers, squeezing her fingers softly. "Do you want me to answer the door?"

She waited a few seconds before answering, quietly, "You might as well, before he breaks the door down and then the other members will give you an earful. Or before your neighbors call the police." She gave him a weak smile. "Or both."

He huffed out a laugh through his nose, and pressed a kiss against her forehead as he rose. Sighing, he made his way over to the door, keeping the chain lock in place so that as he opened the door, it would only stay ajar a mere six inches. "What," he demanded, warily giving his friend the once over.

Yunho, to be honest, looked like hell. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was sticking up even more than usual. He was pale and even looked like he'd lost some weight, and he somehow managed to look simultaneously depressed, happy, desperate, and mad as hell. "Open the door, Donghae," he growled, inching closer.

Donghae rolled his eyes at the dramatics, and said, "Listen, Hyung, if you think that just because the other members aren’t back from their schedules yet, I'm going to let you on my doorstep for God knows how long, you've got another thing coming."

And suddenly, right before his eyes, the fight left Yunho, leaving him deflated on Super Junior's dorm’s doorstep. His left hand came up to grip the doorjamb, and he leaned his weight against it, looking up at Donghae with defeated eyes. "Please," he whispered, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he was ashamed to find his vision blurry with unshed tears.

Donghae had never seen Yunho like this before. He looked completely broken, standing on the doorstep and begging for a chance to explain himself to his distressed girlfriend. He knew that Yunho's relationship with BoA was stressful as it had been kept a secret from the world, but he also had known the other boy long enough to recognize that he was in love.

"Donghae," Yunho begged again, drawing him out of his thoughts. "Please."

A small, warm hand slid over the one of Donghae's that was resting on the doorjamb. He turned to look over his shoulder and found BoA standing behind him. She gave him a small smile and nod, indicating that he could stand aside. His fingers stretched over the chain lock and slid the small bolt aside, and retreated to the safety of his bedroom. The front door creaked open slowly, revealing each disheveled adult to the other.

Yunho's eyes drank her in hungrily, while she deliberately avoided looking at him. "I never meant it," he said hoarsely. She looked at him, a questioning look in her eyes, and there was nothing he could do to stop his knees from giving out. He fell to the ground, kneeling in front of her, and buried his face against her stomach as he wrapped his arms around her thighs. ", BoA, I never meant it. You have to know that. You're not stupid, you're not annoying, or a bother to me, or anything else I might have said to you just because I was in a ty mood."

Her hands remained by her side, despite the fact that they itched to wind their way through his unruly hair. She remained passive, staring at the top of his head without any external interest. Her apparent nonchalance made him tighten his grip around her and nuzzle her stomach desperately. "If I could take it back, I would," he muttered against her top. "If I could go back and never say any of it, I would." When she remained quiet, he squeezed his eyes shut tight, and moaned. "Baby, please. I…I can't do this. I can't sleep at night without you, and knowing that you're mad at me. I can't see you in the company or anywhere else and not have you so much as look at me or say something, anything."

She didn't say anything for a few, agonizing minutes, and then shut her eyes and whispered, "I'm tired. I'm tired of feeling like I need to compete with a damn sport for your attention. Or with your friends that you always hang out with. You never have time for me and I’m not even being selfish. Think about all the times we had our alone time, yeah… not many. The past few weeks…all you've done is talk about hockey, or go to games with your friends, or hang out with your friends and you don't even notice me when I try and talk to you."

His breath was ragged and his grip was tight against her, desperate for her to understand. "I know," he said. "I…you're more important. The most important thing in my whole life and I don't know how I'm supposed to go on without you, BoA. These five days have been miserable and I don't…I can't…." He looked up at her, embarrassed by the tears in his eyes. "I never wanted you to think you had to compete with hockey or my friends," he confessed. "I never… never meant for you to look up useless facts about some sport I know you don't like, just because you wanted to make me happy…just because I was an . I don't deserve you," he whispered, tears falling down his face and soaking her top. "But hell, BoA, I love you. I love you so god damn much. Please don't leave me."

She collapsed almost immediately, falling into his arms and he willingly caught her and pressed desperate kisses against her hair. She cried against his neck, and her arms wrapped around him tight. He held her against him as she sobbed. "I love you," he repeated, firmly, pulling back so that he could kiss her on the lips. Her breath was hot as it mixed with his, and she whispered, "I love you, too."

It was fifteen minutes at least before they stood once more. Yunho enveloped BoA's hand in his own, tugging her out the door as he said, softly, "Let's go home, BoA.."

--

Author’s Note:

I was aiming for it to be saaaddd, but I don’t know if it worked. Hope you liked it!

Btw, I'm sorry to say this but I won't be able to update for a few days. I definitely jinxed myself the other day when I said my Profs didn't give out any work yet. Imagine how surprised I was when I found out I had an essay and some other work due soon.. hah!