Chapter XLV:

And so the Battle Begins

15:09 KST

Round 1

The afternoon sun blazed all around the open area, and along this scorching heat was the intensity seeping out from the battle ground below. The feud was fierce, bloody even. Brother to brother wrestled for survival, fought in the name of power and glory. Their battle cries drowned down the begging weeps of those who had been struck by their swords.

It was a war. A cold, agonizing war.

Nah, just kidding.

It was just a volleyball game.

 A simple, friendly game among two groups of gorgeous men.

However, the intensity still remains though, because for everyone who witnessed the game, it felt like being caught in an actual battle war. It wasn’t because of a horrid bloodbath—heck, there wasn’t even a single drop of blood on the sand. It wasn’t because of sudden displays of ninja-like skills or flying kicks or other Bruce Lee-esque attempts, either. The game was far from being violent.

What made it look like a smaller version of World War III was the burning aura from the two noticeable players within the concerned game. They were practically immersed in deep concentration, as if their life depended on hitting the poor ball thrown from the other side of the net.

“Mine!” Lee Donghae growled as he eyed the spinning object up in the air, jumped at it in a surprisingly graceful manner that made him look like executing a part of a dance choreography. With a hard strike, the ball went back to the other team, hitting the ground immediately that left the onlookers with an awed expression.

The other player was no less aggressive in this game; Kim Jaejoong ran and moved as fluidly as the ocean beside them, gliding through the small crowd of his teammates to strike on the incoming ball that made a score for them instantaneously. Cheers and whistles followed suit, and the flock of people watching them thickened as the seconds stretched on.

“Mine!”

“My ball!”

“That’s mine!”

“Give it to me!”

Came the shouts from the two, it seemed to be their battle cry, and the ones who was supposed to receive the ball backed away instead of risking their lives with a possible concussion in the head.

Dara, who was standing at the corner, looked simply aghast at how the game was unfolding. Donghae and Jaejoong were so in to it, and she was almost amazed by their skills, however, the two seemed to forget something.

“Wait time-out!” a shout.

“What the hell, Donghae,  Jaejoong?!” Eunhyuk stomped furiously. “The two of you are in the same effin’ team!”

“That’s right!” Kangin said through a wheeze. “Why the hell are you fighting over the goddamned ball? At least give us the chance of touching it!”

“Were clearly the underdogs here, can you at least have mercy on us?!” Siwon bellowed from the other side of the net.

“My gosh, you two are insane!” Ryeowook added while he sprawled on the ground, completely enervated from the game. “30 to 4 is just too much. You’re going to kill me!”

“I feel I just lost half of my body weight.” Shindong, who was already a crumpled heap on the said, whined.

“You didn’t even try hitting the ball once, hyung.” Kyuhyun teased which earned him a smack from the older.

“I joined this game to have a good time, but now I feel completely undermined.” Leeteuk grumbled, collapsing right beside Ryeowook.

Bending over as he propped himself by the knees, Donghae heaved a chuckle in between his gasping breaths.

“Not my fault, weaklings.” He grinned mischievously at them while looking undoubtedly tired himself.

“You should rest, man,” said Jaejoong who stood not too far from Donghae’s spot, eyeing the fellow idol haughtily.  “You look like someone who’s about to collapse.”

Donghae straightened immediately, staring daggers at the latter.

“Collapse?” He snorted. “I was just warming up!”

To prove his point, Donghae then started doing a set of jumping jacks and jogs in place, showing—or rather, pretending—how perfectly invigorated he still was despite the extreme game.

After acting like a man who just chugged down a gallon of energy drinks, Donghae diverted his attention back to Jaejoong, giving the latter an elevator look.  “I guess it’s you who should take a rest,” he said. “Your body is so thin; this game might not be healthy for you, dude.”

A smirk tugged on the corners his mouth as he told this and the man laughed to himself the moment he saw Jaejoong’s mouth twitch in annoyance.

“Oh, yeah?” The other guy huffed. “Does this look thin to you?” Jaejoong announced and, to the girl’s delight, started pulling his wife beater off, baring the lean and toned muscles of his upper body for everyone to gawk at.

Feminine squeals instantly erupted upon his action—a few girls even fainted when Jaejoong started flexing his milky biceps. Then he turned to Dara, flashed a thumbs up before winking her way. The woman simply laughed at this, while her new found friend clung to her dearly, seemingly drowning from too much feels.

“Holy mother of Christ, is he planning to massacre all of us in here?!” the girl sputtered, fanning her weakened self. 

Lee Donghae, on the other hand, was not an exemption from the awestricken crowd. He couldn’t deny the fact that even for a man himself, Jaejoong truly looked fit and well. Definitely not thin.

Damn, when did this girly dude transform into a fully developed man? As far as I remembered he looked thinner than Kyuhyun!

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