Tryouts.

The mark of the new school year brings for new ideas, new beginnings, and new blood for the baseball team.

Woohyun stood at the sidelines wearing his Doosan Bears jersey, the eager beaver holding his baseball bat and prepared to show off his skills for the teams. In his view were different coaches with clipboards, observing the different players on the field and judging their every movement to see if it fits right for their middle school league. Woohyun brushed his fingers against the baseball bat, freshly bought and polished to a finish for splinter-free hold.

With a pinch of determination, Woohyun was ready.

"Woohyun!" Woohyun turned around to spot his friends running towards him. One of them skinny in figure yet muscular from head to toe. The other one taller in stature, bulky in his arms and calves. "Good seeing you here again!"

"Gikwang! Doojoon!" Woohyun ran towards them, the three of them jumping in the air in unison and slamming their shoulders together, shouting some odd noise of greeting between friends. 

"Are you ready for tryouts?" Doojoon asked, tossing a baseball back and forth between his fingers. Last year's pitcher and team captain, he was ready to take his role one more year.

"Yeah. No offense, but some of these new kids..." Gikwang shut his mouth, spit flying out of his mouth from stopping himself from laughing. The short stop was not as nice as the rest of the returners, his personality booming with arrogance for having one of the most important roles on defense.

"Hey, you never know!" Woohyun was optimistic about the team, and though many of the talent on the field were mediocre at best, he was not so quick to judge potential talent.

"Do you think we can get our championship this year?" Doojoon tossed his baseball in the air, flying into the sun like an eclipse before falling back down into his palm. "I'm feeling good this time around."

"With us three together again, we're going to be unstoppable," Woohyun beamed, not sure what to expect but taking it all in.

By the side of the baseball field, a limo pulled in by the park. A showstopper, the out of place vehicle garnered the attention of everyone at tryouts. Players, coaches, everyone stopped to witness who and what was happening. The driver opened his door to scurry around the limo and open the passenger seat to what looked like a male of Woohyun's age. He stepped out, his skin pale and deadly eyes staring down the baseball field. He wore a Doosan Bears baseball tee with the arms ripped off, basketball shorts at the bottom in a disheveled outfit. His hair was scruffy, shaved to the sides for a mohawk that drooped down to his forehead. Callous in look, he walked to the baseball field.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Doojoon wondered, raising an eyebrow at the potential new blood for the team.

"I heard about him!" Gikwang exclaimed. He pushed Woohyun and Doojoon together to whisper into their ears as the strange male grew closer. "His name is Kim Sunggyu. His parents are the owners of Kim Computers Inc."

"Daebak" Woohyun sputtered.

"No way, him? I would expect much different from royalty," Doojoon snided.

"Apparently he's a lot of trouble. There are a lot of rumors about him. He got kicked off of his old baseball team for killing his coach. He was involved in a drug ring at his previous middle school. That kid is crazy and knows ten different kinds of martial arts." 

"Really? Killing his baseball coach? That would be all over the news." Woohyun was skeptical.

"He looks capable of it," Doojoon shrugged his shoulders.

It was all typical middle school gossip and jargon.

Sunggyu grew closer in the distance, walking directly  towards Woohyun, Doojoon, and Gikwang with much sway and haughty in his demeanor. The three of them stepped back nervously, Sunggyu his lips as he approached them. "This is baseball tryouts, right?"

"Yeah it is," Woohyun answered, clutching his baseball bat to the point of almost breaking it in half. Something about Sunggyu made him nervous. It was a strange jitter, never encountering someone like him in his life. Woohyun was fearless, able to take things as they come and go no matter who they were. Sunggyu was different, though. His aura let Woohyun know that there was more to his story than everyone says.

"Yeah, it's not a gang tryout," Gikwang whispered into Doojoon's ear.

Sunggyu heard everything he said, rolling his eyes at their supposed funny joke. "You're so ing funny," Sunggyu scoffed before walking towards the middle of the baseball field. Not worthy of my time.

As he walked away, several other people walked over to Woohyun, Doojoon, and Gikwang to discuss the new kid at their tryouts. All of them huddled together, curious of what he was capable of.

"That guy, why is he even here?" Gikwang shook his head.

"Is his reputation true? Is he really as bad as people say he is?" someone asked from behind.

"Someone like him isn't going to make the team," another person responded.

They all watched as Sunggyu met with a coach standing at the pitcher's mound. The coach looked up, taken aback by hhis appearance. "Hello there. What is your name?"

"Kim Sunggyu."

"Kim Sunggyu, Kim Sunggyu... you'll be trying out for pitcher?" the coach asked.

"Yes." Sunggyu shoved his hand down his basketball shorts, clamping onto a baseball with his hands. He showed it off to the coach, expressionless and showing no excitement for the tryouts.

"Alright, let's see what you're made of." The coach stepped off to the side to allow for Sunggyu to take his position and show his worth.

Everyone on the sidelines watched as the new kid bravely moved forward to attempt to throw a pitch.

"This guy can't be better than Doojoon!" one of them chimed.

"Yeah, I've been pitcher for the last year. Who does this guy think he is?" Doojoon scorned.

Sunggyu stepped into the pitcher's mound with his baseball steady in his palm. His tongue peeped to the side of his mouth. With his thumb, he took a second to feel the stitchings of his own personal baseball, which has been his most prized possession for many years. No one on that field knew who he was. No one on that field knew of his power. A sharp eye towards the catcher, a sparkle came from Sunggyu's eyes once he met his internal crosshair with the catcher's mit.

Woohyun noticed this glimmer of light from Sunggyu's eye, biting his tongue at what would come next.

Sunggyu whirled his arm back, and with an overwhelming source of energy he swung it forward at the speed of light. The ball went flying through the air, curving in different directions of torque and defying every law of physics until it landed straight into the mit. Not a single inch moved, the catcher caught it right smack in the middle and fell on his back from the godly force of nature.

Everyone on the sidelines watched in astonishment of seeing what no man of their age has ever done before. Gikwang and Doojoon immediately shut up, speechless by what they saw. Woohyun dropped his baseball bat, unable to comprehend how that was possible.

"Wow. That. Umm. Well then." The coach tried to find the right  words to say.

Sunggyu turned around, his dull expression coming back after his pitch was over. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

(((())))

Three days of tryouts, and everyone stood by the bulletin board of the locker room awaiting for the coaches to post up the final results of the team. Some people will make it, while others' dreams will be put on hold by the names on a piece of paper. Students pushed and shoved, wanting to get in first on the good or bad news.

"We're going to have the same team again! I just know it," Doojoon convinced himself.

"I know. I think this year is going to be our best year yet!" Gikwang gave Doojoon a high five.

Woohyun stayed quiet, smiling and looking around on the side to see everyone's excited faces anxiously awaiting the decisions. Well, everyone except for Sunggyu, who stood in the back with his hands down his pockets acting like he was above everyone standing there. Woohyun was told by majority of his old teammates and friends to stay away from him. Sunggyu was trouble, and Woohyun was starting to believe it.

Finally the head coach of the team, Park Jong Tae, appeared at the door with his finalized list of players for this school year's baseball team. Everyone climbed on top of each other, pushing and shoving to see the list he taped up to the board. In a matter of seconds, the area was filled with a combination of ecstatic screams and furious screams from the outcomes.

"I didn't make it!"

"We did it! Another year!"

Woohyun pushed forward to see if he made it to the team, his eyes widened in surprise and excitement as he saw his full name in bold letters from far away. "Yes! Designated hitter and center field!" 

"This guy ing made it?!"

Woohyun spotted Doojoon pointing at the list, his voice filled with anger as he turned around to stare down Sunggyu in the back. Everyone was silent, shifting their attention towards Sunggyu. Woohyun squeezed himself into the crowd to take a closer look at the final team. Squinting his eyes, a different name was labeled under Starting Pitcher. Woohyun could not believe it.

"Sunggyu is the ing starting pitcher?" Gikwang was revolted by the results. "How could Coach Park choose someone like him?"

Sunggyu bit his lip, keeping his thoughts to himself. 

Doojoon created a path between the crowd of people, walking towards Sunggyu with frustration for being rejected from the team. Doojoon was taller than Sunggyu, using his figure to threaten him. Once the starting pitcher and team captain, Doojoon was not chosen for a single position. "Did you pay off the coach to choose you? Is that what it is?"

Sunggyu kept his mouth shut.

"Why would he choose a ing delinquent over me? Why would he choose you of all people?"

Don't tempt me. Sunggyu clenched his fist.

"What the hell does he even see in you? Did your mommy and daddy do something about this?"

"Don't talk about my mom or dad," Sunggyu mumbled.

"What? What did you say?" Doojoon leaned his ear until Sunggyu's lips brushed against his, almost daring him to do something about it. 

Sunggyu took a deep breath, controlling his temper. He let his words do the talking. "My parents can't buy talent. You either have it or you don't. Clearly, you don't have it."

Doojoon slammed his fist against the wall, causing a commotion in the locker room. Gikwang and several other people lurched forward to pull Doojoon away from Sunggyu, dragging him out of the room as he screamed slurs and profanity at the new starting pitcher. Eveyone else in the room followed suit, supporting their fallen team captain out and leaving Sunggyu alone in the room. With less than twenty words even spoken, Sunggyu became enemy number one for the new middle school baseball team. Eveyone despised him.

Everyone except for Woohyun.

Standing at opposite sides of the locker room, Woohyun stared at Sunggyu and tried to read his thoughts. Even with all of the gossip floating around the field about the new starting pitcher, Woohyun had yet to form an opinion on him. Sunggyu gawked at his shoes, nothing else to look or talk to. 

"Good job," Woohyun commented.

Sunggyu thought everyone had left him, surprised that there was still one more person standing there. He looked at Woohyun, genuine in his voice for complimenting him. Sunggyu his lips, pouting them without nothing else to say. He shrugged his shoulders. "Ok."

With a simple response, Woohyun was shaky on whether to continue his meeting with him. Sunggyu looked mean. Sunggyu looked up to no good. For his own safety and best interest, Woohyun nodded his head towards Sunggyu and ran out of the locker room to follow the rest of his friends.

(((())))

"He's a tool!" Doojoon slammed his locker door shut, the first day the second year of middle school unappealing on many different levels. "I can't believe Coach Park chose him over me... what am I supposed to do now for the rest of the year?"

Gikwang looked at himself in the mirror to adjust his tie. "Someone like him won't be on the team for too long," he hummed. "Just wait it out. He'll be gone in no time."

"Someone with a record like his will be kicked out eventually." Doojoon ped his backpack. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Sure." Woohyun spun around to follow Gikwang and Doojoon to the cafeteria.

That was when he slammed his shoulders into Sunggyu on accident, catching him walking down the hallways in the opposite direction. Sunggyu was dressed to their school uniform, his mohawk spiked with hair gel and topping his outfit off with a leather jacket. He sported layers of eyeliner, and one could say that he almost looked like a panda bear. He dropped several papers on the floor from the impact. 

Woohyun gasped, bending over to help Sunggyu pick up the papers. Glancing at the front, the first page was a form for new students on campus. Sunggyu reeked of tobacco, so Woohyun scrunched his face as he returned the papers to his new teammate. 

Sunggyu snatched the papers from Woohyun, flipping through the corners with his thumb to ensure every single one he needed was at his hands. He looked up, recognizing Woohyun from baseball tryouts. Woohyun was up to speed with dress code, his hair slicked back for school and everything neatly buttoned up. It was a different look for Sunggyu, since the first time he met him was when he was in a Doosan Bears jersey. 

"Sorry about that," Woohyun apologized.

I know you're on the baseball team, and I don't know you very well. Let's keep it that way. "Get out of the way, stupid." Sunggyu rolled his eyes, pushing Woohyun into the lockers with his hand before walking off to the administrative offices. 

"What?!" Woohyun's eyes widened, spinning around in disbelief to see if anyone else heard what he heard. "Did he just call me stupid? I didn't do a single thing!" He flailed his arms, no one ever insulting him before for no reason.

"Serves him right. If he continues to be this stupid, he'll be off the team soon." Gikwang hooked his arm to Woohyun, pulling him towards lunch. "Let's go."

(((())))

A month of baseball practice with the newly formed team done.

Everyone sprawled around the field for their final stretches before heading out. A line of cars and parents on the sidewalk waited for their kin to finish to take them home for good on a Friday evening. The sun was setting, and with the sky burning with orange and purple flames it marked a memorable day.

Players bid farewell to each other and dragged their belongings to their parents arms to head home and sleep after a tiring practice. Woohyun strapped his backpack on and walked over to his brother, waiting for him in their family restaurant delivery van to go back to the restaurant. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes to fill his lungs with oxygen and exhale all the stress he had this whole day. As he opened his eyes, he had no idea that Sunggyu was standing right in front of him and bumped into him again. The both of them turned to glance awkwardly at each other.

"What the hell is your problem?" Sunggyu barked.

"Nothing!" Woohyun rolled his eyes. "Don't feel so entitled next time, Sunggyu."

"Woohyun, don't be stupid next time."

Without a doubt, Sunggyu and Woohyun rubbed each other the wrong way in their first month of practicing together. After their meeting by the lockers, Woohyun threw his guard up and followed his friends when it came to Sunggyu's treatment. He could not stand Sunggyu with his pompous attitude, coming into practice more than minutes late when everyone is running laps. Woohyun noticed that Sunggyu liked to half- a lot of things except when it came to pitching. Sunggyu tried so hard to pretend he was above everyone in baseball, the idea that without him the team would not be complete. The fact that he believed the rumors that his parents were paying off the coaches so that he could accomplish whatever he set forth. It was all talk, but Woohyun believed a lot of it. He also did not appreciate the fact that Sunggyu smoked, standing next to him in line and dealing with the wretched smell that followed him everywhere he went. Woohyun did his best to avoid him like the plague.

Sunggyu had very few people in his life that he actually gave a about, and Woohyun was very low on his list. Woohyun was always somehow in his way, and it annoyed Sunggyu how he would fight back whenever Sunggyu tried to end their conversations. Woohyun always annoyed him about everything, and sometimes Sunggyu had the urge of punching him straight in the face to shut him up for good. He was an annoyance, a hinder to his free spirit. Woohyun was highly respected for being the best hitter of the team, but Sunggyu had none of that for him.

Woohyun threw his stuff in the back seat of the family van, slamming the door as he entered the passenger seat with his brother. "You actually got the van this time?"

"Yeah. I had some free time to pick you up. Mom thought it would be nice to drive you instead of take the subway like usual." Boohyun was searching through his phone to set up a reminder for buying supplies. "Sit back for a couple of minutes, I need to take care of some things."

Woohyun reclined in his seat, taking his phone out to snap a picture of the baseball field along with the sunset. Sticking his hands out the window to get a nice view, he clicked the picture taken and observed it. The shadows and colors of the baseball field reflected the sunset, its beauty radiating and something coming out of a painting. Woohyun was always amused by things like this, taking an interest in a lot of things to add to his well-rounded personality. That was when he noticed something interesting in his picture.

The field was completely empty, everyone having bumrushed off to get home as soon as possible. Everyone but Sunggyu. Woohyun recognized his silhouette, the shadow of a male with a mohawk somber in appearance. He no longer appeared to be the pretentious snob that Woohyun could barely spend seconds with. He no longer had the front. The mask he put on when everyone was around him. Woohyun slid his thumb on Sunggyu's profile, looking out the window to see Sunggyu still standing alone on the field.

Coach Park walked up to Sunggyu. "When is your driver going to come?"

Sunggyu tapped his foot. "He should be coming soon, I swear."

"Sunggyu, that was what you told me yesterday. And the day before. And this whole month. I can't wait two hours after practice ends for your driver to pick you up each time. Don't your parents know what time your practices end?"

Sunggyu shrugged his shoulders. "Can't I just walk home? I don't get why I have to wait for my parents, I know where I live. I'm not dumb, coach."

"Regulations and precautions. I need to see you with a trusted guardian in our files."

A whole month? A whole month of Sunggyu waiting hours for his ride to come? Sunggyu was no longer the glamorous and self-centered kid Woohyun thought he was. Woohyun thought that Sunggyu had it all. The money, doing whatever he wants whenever he wants. Woohyun and his brother would always leave practice almost immediately after it ended, so Woohyun wondered if this was a regular occurrence that he was never able to see Sunggyu go through. He hated Sunggyu's guts with an undeniable passion, but even for Woohyun he thought this was very unfortunate.

"Fine." Sunggyu threw his dufflebag on the floor, kicking it away from him as he crossed his arms and waited.

Thanks dad. I don't know how many times I have to remind you to tell Yangha the right time to get me...

"Alright. Woohyun are you ready to go?"

Woohyun continued to stare at Sunggyu, a little more fascinated in why he was the way he was. Sunggyu looked around the area, as if he could tell someone's eyes were on him. He turned and noticed a restaurant van with the window open, a dark figure peering over at him. Sunggyu squinted his eyes to try and recognize him, but once Woohyun caught his glance he immediately turned to his brother to pretend he was not spying on him.

"Yeah. I'm ready to go."

(((())))

"Dance? You're putting me into dance class?" Dongwoo raised his feet on top of the principal's desk, reclining in his seat from disbelief. "We all do respect Mr. Horrace, but do you really expect me to participate in a class like that?"

"Daniel Jang, take your feet off the desk this instance," Mr. Horrace ordered.

Dongwoo slid his feet off, raising an eyebrow and slouching in his cushioned seat. This feels really good. Dongwoo closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet aroma of scented candles in the principal's office. 

"Sit up now!" Mr. Horrace slammed his fist into his desk.

Dongwoo sat up straight from the cringeworthy vibrations, the angry presence of Mr. Horrace frightening Dongwoo to an extent. With his back slightly arched and his chin pointing towards the celing, Dongwoo exaggerated all movements in an effort to annoy him while continuing to follow his demands.

"The School Board of Education, Crossroads Juvenile Detention Center, and your parents have all been worried about your peformance in and out of school. Especially after your most recent incident, you're very close to getting expelled. I'm sure you don't want that again for the fifth time."

Dongwoo rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything! There is no proof I punched him in the ear as you said, Mr. Horrace."

"I am sure that you've heard the many reports that after school activities can reduce involvement in after school violence. I know that you are involved in something on campus, Daniel. The administration is concerned about your future, and though many schools have tried giving up on you I can't forgive myself if I let off a fine gentleman into the world of crime without having done a single thing about it. Set by Crossroads, you are already on probation for the next five months. You do not have to take dance class, but you have a choice between chess, dance, baseball, and soccer to participate in." Mr. Horrace clasped his hands together. "You have no choice."

I have a choice to leave this school right now and never turn back! This is a load of bull. Dongwoo sighed. "I'll take dance class. I like watching sports, not necessarily playing them. And come on, do you really expect me to choose chess?"

"Very well." Mr. Horrace stood up from his seat, extending a hand shake for Dongwoo. "Thank you for coming in Daniel."

Dongwoo stood up from his chair, reluctantly shaking his hand before he mozied on out of the office.

Outside waiting for him was his best friends Ricky and Niel, sneaking up on Dongwoo as he walked out of the office. Dongwoo shrugged them off, pushing them out of the way and laughing hysterically. "Holy guys, what the hell was that!"

"What did Principal Horrace tell you?" Ricky asked.

He was being annoying per usual. What else is new? "They want me participating in an after school activity." 

"Like, chess?" Niel wondered.

"No, not like ing chess you idiot!" Dongwoo strangled Niel with his arm, jokingly rubbing his hair and pulling him down to wrestle. As he took him to the ground, a small tattoo of the roman numeral 7 appeared at the back of Niel's neck.

"Woah, calm down lovebirds." Ricky noticed this immediately and picked his friends up to cover incriminating evidence of their identities. 

Dongwoo and Niel laughed at each other as Ricky pulled them back up. Dongwoo brushed off Niel's shirt, fixing his hair and collar to hide the tattoo on his neck. "Alright, we're going to the Yankees game today right?"

(((())))

"I failed again!" Gikwang banged his head on his locker, crushing up his most recent test and throwing it on the floor. He turned around and slid down his locker with his eyes closed. "I got a 59 on that test."

Woohyun and Doojoon exchanged tests, Doojoon receiving an 82 while Woohyun received an 87. The two of them looked down at their friend, forlorn by the most recent scores from algebra. "Gikwang, you can't afford to do bad in school again this year," Woohyun scolded.

"I know, I know. Don't remind me." Gikwang kicked his ball of red markings and zero understanding of algebra into the middle of the hallway.

"Ya, get it together." Doojoon kicked his foot into Gikwang's knee softly. "It can't really get any worse."

Just when he said that, Sunggyu walked out of a classroom with a teacher following him closely behind. The teacher was holding out a paper, a big fat 0 bolded in red marker. Sunggyu grabbed the test from his professor, sighing as he checked out the contents of the test.

"The next time I catch you cheating, I will call your parents," the teacher threatened.

Sunggyu had nothing to say, bowing in front of her before he stormed down the hallway.

"Sheesh, talk about a failure," Doojoon shook his head.

"I heard about that. He was looking over Yoseob's answers the whole time since he sat behind him. He has no shame," Gikwang commented.

Sunggyu squeezed his test in his hands, noticing a paper ball in the middle of the hallway. Approaching the mini-sized lump, he kicked it in the air with a great force driven by anger. The ball sent flying in the air, hitting Woohyun in the eye. Sunggyu disregarded this, continuing to walk away.

As the ball fell from Woohyun's face, he scratched his eye in disorientation of what was going on. "Sunggyu, what the hell is your problem?!" he called out.

Time stopped in the hallways, the seemingly innocent Woohyun calling out what many coined the baddest kid of their school. Sunggyu turned around, furrowing his eyebrows and glaring at Woohyun standing across. This kid as no fear or self-control, does he? "Did you get a paper cut, stupid?" Sunggyu smirked.

"No, but I'm going to cut you right now."

"I'd like to see you try!"

Gikwang and Doojoon held onto Woohyun's arms prevent him from going after Sunggyu, Woohyun trying to resist in frustration. "Get your act together. You need above a 60 in every class to stay on the team. Or continue what you're doing now. We don't need you here."

"Well too bad, because the only person's opinions on the team I care about are my own. I'm on the team so deal with it," Sunggyu argued.

"Like it's under your control," Woohyun sneered.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Woohyun blurted the words without thinking. "No one on the team wanted you in the first place and could care less if you're gone. This is a baseball team, not a daycare for your parents to drop you off cause they care just as much as the team does about your existence!"

Sunggyu was fuming, disgruntled by Woohyun's words. They were borderline hurtful, not the most unpredictable thing for Woohyun to tell him. Sunggyu always had a front, a thick skull to carry him on. This time, their fight went hit a personal chord in Sunggyu's heart that almost sent him on the verge of tears.

It's only Woohyun, that stupid bastard is nothing to me.

But nonetheless, the words stung Sunggyu's heart. He threw his test on the ground, running away from Woohyun.

Woohyun stood there almost immobile, his mouth dry and his heart racing from the words that just came out of his mouth. Woohyun had never said anything hurtful like that in his life. Woohyun was almost ashamed, his face turning red from the tension clouding his mind. His hands were shaking, wondering if he won or lost this battle with Sunggyu.

"You tell him, Woohyun!" Doojoon patted Woohyun's back, wrapping his arm around him. "That jerk needed to be put in his place."

It was evil. It was a cruel and unusual punishment, and Woohyun thought he should be taken away by how malicious that insult was. Woohyun tried to swallow some spit and moisten his dry throat, but all water was out of his body. Woohyun always viewed himself as understanding, coming from a middle class family his parents had always raised him to see both sides of a situation.  He immediately regretted what he told Sunggyu. Today, Woohyun crossed a line that he could never go back. Nothing could ever be the same for him or Sunggyu ever again.

I lost this battle.