Woohyun swung the baseball as hard as he could in the  batting cage, banking on his monitor 130 kmph. The ball bounced off the linked fencing and rolled back to him.

Not fast enough.

Woohyun positioned his feet, planting them on the floor and twisting his waist. Another ball would come out of the soon momentarily. The machine was shaking, marking the impending baseball shooting out towards him. In a flash, a baseball came out.

Woohyun was concentrated, hitting the baseball at a faster speed towards the machine itself and knocking it over to crash to the floor at 150 kmph. A loud crush sounded throughout the baseball field, everyone running to the batting cage to see what occurred.

"Woohyun! Are you hurt?" Coach Park asked, unlocking the gate for him to walk out.

Woohyun dropped his bat on the floor, fierceness as he stepped out. "I'm fine. I got 150 kmph."

There was something peculiar with Woohyun that practice, and it followed from school when Woohyun confronted Sunggyu in front of everyone. Sunggyu did not go to practice that day. Well Sunggyu was always late, but with an hour and a half in he had thought he would be in attendance eventually.

Woohyun wanted to be ridded of his guilt from saying the most ignorant thing he had ever thought in his whole life. Woohyun was no better than Sunggyu, and his own immaturity may have taken a toll on Sunggyu. He had no idea what his family life was like. He had no idea why he decided to try out for the baseball team. Lastly, he had no idea how he developed such a mean pitch. In a way Sunggyu was needed for the team, but his arrogant and belligerent attitude was not going to help anyone. Either way, this was not an excuse for Woohyun to say it.

Finally after less than 30 minutes before practice ended, Sunggyu appeared at the ball park with another unidentitfiable male with him. Sunggyu wore his usual garb, a baseball jersey of some sort with basketball shorts on the bottom. The both of them were finishing off cigarettes, throwing them on the field and smothering them down with their shoes. Sunggyu gave the other guy a handshake before walking over to the whole team.

"Who does this idiot think he is coming to practice so late?" Gikwang laughed. Everyone on the team followed suit with giggles as Coach Park angrily walked over to Sunggyu.

"Sunggyu, where have you been this whole time?" Coach Park ran up to Sunggyu to stop him.

Sunggyu looked off to the side, snickering at Coach Park. "I'm sorry, what?"

Coach Park took a whiff of Sunggyu's breath. "Sunggyu, have you been drinking?"

Sunggyu's cheeks lit up with a bright red color, his eyes closed and grinning shamelessly. 

"Sunggyu, you can't be doing things like this. Especially with our first game coming up in a couple of weeks. You need to get it together or you're off the team!"

"Ok, ok I will! I swear." Sunggyu collapsed to the floor, continuing to laugh and point at Coach Park.

"Someone help him up! Everyone else, get on the field" Coach Park yelled to the team, unable to fathom Sunggyu's idiocracy.

Instinctively the first person to run to them was Woohyun, looking for a way to make ammends with Sunggyu. Sunggyu was drowning in his own smell of alcohol and cigarettes, unbearable for Woohyun yet dealt with in hope of karma points. Woohyun wrapped his arm around Sunggyu's waist. Everyone else opted to go to the field, giving no care for Sunggyu in his condition. Woohyun hauled him to the side, Sunggyu's weight almost tripling in his inebriation. Taking his time, Woohyun threw Sunggyu on the bench and helped sit him up. 

"Ok Sunggyu, can you stay here while I get water?" Woohyun asked.

"I hate you, Woohyun," Sunggyu chimed. He closed his eyes, tipping over to the side.

"No, no." Woohyun held him up and surrounded him with backpacks so he could stay put. "Sunggyu, can you stay here?"

"No stupid, I really hate you."

Woohyun sighed. "I'm not surprised because right now I hate myself too." Woohyun reached into one of his teammates bags to get a canteen of water. "Sunggyu, drink this."

Sunggyu leaned his head back, closing his eyes and Woohyun aiming the flow right into his mouth. Not a single drop of water overflowed, Sunggyu taking a huge gulp. He became a lot more cooperative.

"Sunggyu, is there anything else you need from me right now? More water? Food?" Woohyun knelt in front of Sunggyu, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Yeah. I need you to leave me alone," Sunggyu demanded.

"I can't leave you, not like this," Woohyun grumbled. 

"If you think staying with me is going to make me forgive you for what you said today, you're out of your ing mind." Sunggyu flicked Woohyun's nose, falling over on a bed of backpacks.

Woohyun watched as Sunggyu fell over drunkenly into his own downfall. "Ok then."

"And for your information, I like baseball. I used to watch baseball all the time when I was young when my grandpa was still alive. He was the one who got me into it, taking me to baseball games and everything when my parents were too busy to give a about me."

Woohyun lowered his head, his conscience beating him for what he told Sunggyu earlier.

"So if there's anything that gets me out of my ing house, I'll do it. I'm not quitting the team for any of you. No matter how much you hate me, Woohyun. You can take that and shove it. Guess what? You're nothing to me, too."

And at that moment, Sunggyu cuddled one of the backpacks and fell fast asleep.

Woohyun shook his head, continuing to sit on the floor after hearing Sunggyu's confession. People are monsters for a reason, and it takes something like this to bring it out of everyone. The fact that Woohyun was the final straw for Sunggyu to bring this all out, bringing out the worst while he was already beaten down. Woohyun took a deep breath, sticking with Sunggyu for the rest of practice out of obligation. 

"I don't hate you, Sunggyu," Woohyun mumbled to himself.

(((())))

Dongwoo posted outside the windows of the dance room of school, peeping inside to observe the people participating on the dance team. With Principal Horrace's final ultimatum, Dongwoo was practically forced to choose this dreaded activity to avoid being expelled from school again. It was a great way to start off freshman year. Only two months into starting school, Dongwoo had a choice between staying in school or his dignity.

This whole thing is unethical.

Dongwoo checked the area to make sure no one else would catch him, especially his rambunctious group of friends that would never let him live this down. After the coast was clear, Dongwoo opened the doors to the room and meddled inside.

The dance club had several people inside, majority of them of the female population. To prepare for their practice, a few of them took their places at the balance beams to stretch their legs into different flexible positions Dongwoo never thought possible. Some girls did the splits right in the air while other girls brought their legs back to stand their legs into something he only thought a contortionist could accomplish.

Needless to say, Dongwoo was very satisfied with the decision he made to join.

"Are you new?" Dongwoo turned around to see a different woman walk up to him. She looked different from the rest of the club, who wore leggings and tight tanktops for better movement. This one wore basketball shorts, a lose tanktop, and basketball shoes for the practice. Her hair was braided, wearing a hat backwards. She was still a high schooler, but Dongwoo suspected that she was a bit older than his sophomore self. Possibly a senior. "I'm Gina Choi."

"Daniel Jang." 

"Are you Korean?" she asked.

Dongwoo looked behind him to see if anyone else was listening in on their conversation. "Yeah. Um, what makes you say that?" 

"You look Korean. And it's easy to spot Asians here. I mean, there's only 15 of us," Gina joked.

"True. What grade are you?"

"A senior."

A-ha! She is a senior. "I'm only a sophomore." 

"What brings you here? I mean..." Gina giggled a little thinking about it. "... guys usually don't join the dance team."

"It's a very long story." Dongwoo was a little relieved that this noona had no clue of his previous history. "I needed an extracurricular activity."

"And you chose dancing out of everything?" Out of nowhere, Gina flipped her hair and rolled her body with such a smooth flow that was poison to Dongwoo's eyes. She was able to show much flexibility and charisma in her dance without even performing the splits for him. It was almost as if she had been doing this forever. "I mean, dancing is fun."

Dongwoo's jaw dropped, unable to comprehend the iness that erupted from her body. Dongwoo pushed his chin up to close his mouth, clearing his throat and dripping sweat like a pig. "Wow. That was, umm. Well. You are. Kind of. So maybe."

"I'm guessing that's a compliment," Gina smirked.

Dongwoo was a very smooth talker, everything that came out of his mouth was mesmerizing and he always knew the right words to say. But for the first time, Dongwoo had no idea how to talk to this girl. The senior was hypnotizing him into something else, and he intrigued with everything about her. 

Gina was friendly from the get-go, fairly talkative and eager to get to know the new person. But the second that she let loose and showed her moves, it was the most attractive thing he had ever seen. It was something Dongwoo could get used to, and most of all it was refreshing that Gina had no clue of his true self. Dongwoo thought maybe he could keep that part of his life a secret, starting something anew whenever he stepped into this dance room. It also helped that Gina was a senior, and the two classes would never have a way to meet otherwise. 

"Hey. So dancing? Dongwoo finally spoke.

(((()))

Woohyun and Doojoon waited outside the library for Gikwang to finish his first tutoring session of the year, being assigned one shortly after receiving a bad grade on his test. Gikwang was on the borderline of being kicked off the baseball team last year due to his grades, and the cycle continues where he is at that stage again.

"What are you going to do after our first game next week? I'll be there on the sidelines to support, if you're celebrating I'll be there," Doojoon smiled.

"The parents might be taking everyone out for barbecue after the game, but I need to follow my brother to our new upcoming restaurant," Woohyun responded. "We recently turned our van into a delivery one, setting up things inside and finalizing recipes."

"Nice. What is it again?"

"It's going to be a soup restaurant, and my brother is thinking that we can have all of these ingredients and you can pick and choose what you want. It's going to be customizable. Nothing like that exists right now."

"Daebak. I don't think any restaurant has been able to do that yet."

"I know! This is really cool. The place is a bit far though, really out of the way of this school. But it's closer to my house."

"I'm definitely going to have to try this place out sometime."

Woohyun sighed. "Whenever it opens!"

Doojoon's lip quivered. His mood changing. "I guess he'll be at the game too, huh?"

Walking past the library was Sunggyu with a large pair of headphones on, who walked with blinders and not a single awareness that Woohyun and Doojoon were standing near him.

Kim Sunggyu. I see you. 

"Hey, I need to talk to him," Woohyun said.

"About what?"

"Baseball team business. He owes me something."

Doojoon nodded his head. "I'll be here if he causes you trouble."

Woohyun cleared his throat, running over to Sunggyu and tapping him on the shoulder. "Sunggyu."

Sunggyu turned around to see who it was, rolling his eyes after seeing Woohyun's ugly face.

"No." Woohyun grabbed onto Sunggyu's shoulder and forcefully spun him around.

Sunggyu snatched his headphones off in annoyance. "Woohyun, what the hell do you want?"

"We need to talk about something." 

"About what?"

The truth was, Woohyun had no clue what to tell Sunggyu. It was a bit impulsive, but upon seeing Sunggyu he had a lot of things he wanted to get off his chest. Especially after an eventful yesterday, Woohyun realized that the self-centered Sunggyu he met on the first day also had a heart.

"Woohyun, stop being stupid and tell me what you want?"

Woohyun took a deep breath. "If you want to stay on the baseball team, you need to start going to practice on time. And you need to go sober. You don't have to like anyone on the team, but at least be courteous when you're on that field. The second you step off and go back to your own world, feel free to move forth with your own ways. Also, no more cheating or doing anything that will get you kicked off the team. This might all seem self-explanatory, but for someone like you someone needs to baby you."

"Excuse me?" Sunggyu crossed his arms. This bastard, telling me what to do. "And what gives you this right to 'baby' me."

Woohyun had no right. He had no idea why he even bothered to tell Sunggyu all of this if he was going to respond this way, but he figured it would not hurt to give it a shot. "We have a game coming up, you're starting pitcher for a reason. You don't need the team, but the team needs you and is counting on you. Our team has always been average, but with you as pitcher I'm confident we can do well this season. That is, if you put your heart into it."

Put my heart into it? "I guess I can do that," Sunggyu muttered, turning back around to leave.

"Also."

Sunggyu halted himself, one more glance at Woohyun.

"I know you like baseball. If you gave no s about this team, you wouldn't have tried out in the first place. So deep down in your vain heart you care in some way, and I bet you'd rather be doing this than hanging out with your current crowd. Just do your job as a pitcher. That's all I ask."

Sunggyu exhaled his frustrations, everything coming out of that stupid idiot's mouth was feeding into his mind and taking over. Sunggyu hated him, because deep down inside Woohyun was right.

"You want to be on this team. You know it."

I hate you, you ing bastard. Without another word left to say, Sunggyu grunted and walked away. He placed his headphones back on and pumped up the volume to ignore everyone else around him.

Doojoon and Gikwang hurried over to Woohyun once Sunggyu left the premises. "Dude, what did you tell Sunggyu?" Gikwang asked.

"Yeah. You have a lot of guts to face someone like him one-on-one," Doojoon agreed.

 "I told him to be ready for next week's game," Woohyun responded.

Gikwang nodded his head. "Seriously. That kingka needs to be told about his responsibilities."

Woohyun stayed quiet, shoving his hands down his pockets. His eyes were focused on Sunggyu's back as he walked away from him, all of his attention on him until he turned the corner.

(((())))

Dongwoo packed his dance clothes in secret, shoving his gym shorts quickly into his bag and zipping it up to hurry to the team. He was running late for practice after he spent time talking to his English teacher to argue for extra points on an essay. Within the past months of going to dance after school, a strange motivation to do well and disregard his previous life sparked out of him. He cared more about his grades, and by actually putting effort he realized he was not half bad at school. In fact, once he applied himself his ranking in school shot up to the top 10% of his grade. 

He skipped steps upstairs to get to the dance room, his sudden drive to do well all thanks to one person.

"Daniel!"

As he ran upstairs, he was met with Ricky and Niel at the top looking down at him with stern faces. Dongwoo stopped in his tracks from seeing his friends running down towards them.

What the hell do you guys want now?! Dongwoo was growing disinterested in his friends, the gang that he has branded on his collar. The friends that he marked permanently on his body he no longer cared for.

"Hey, we have to go deal with some things right now," Ricky declared, hooking his arm onto Dongwoo to pull him down with him.

"Wait, I have to do something right now and meet with Principal Wallace," Dongwoo lied.

"No boss, this is serious. Joseph ratted me out for stealing the vodka last week. The cameras caught the both of us and he turned me in and ran free," Niel groaned. "That bastard has to pay."

Of course, Dongwoo continued to live the double life dealing with his 7 crew. When it came to affairs like this and someone in the gang was a traitor, the punishment was all up to Dongwoo. A lot of different situations had to be dealt with in a timely manner and authority needed to be placed. No one could cross him, and as the leader everyone followed his every order.

It used to be a thrill for Dongwoo. It used to be fun. After joining the dance team and discovering how far he could go, he was getting tired of it all. Tired of the violence. Tired of the people he hurt. 

Things were especially different after meeting Gina. She was a nice girl, interested in knowing who Dongwoo was as a person and could bring the best out of him. She was fun, yet grounded at the same time. Dongwoo appreciated that, never meeting someone before who could be on that level with him. She was everything Dongwoo wished he could be, and it was heartwarming knowing that he had someone to live for. Someone to be better for. He was checked out of the 7s, but things were still complicated since he was their leader. 

"How long is this gonna take?" Dongwoo complained.

"However you want it to," Ricky grinned, dragging him downstairs to take care of business.

As they kidnapped Dongwoo with them, his pocket vibrated with a text. Unfortunately, Dongwoo was unable to get a hand on his phone to check it out.

"Hey! It's been 10 minutes already. Where are you?" from Gina Choi.

(((())))

All bases loaded. Two outs.

The game was 4-3. The other team had a player waiting on each base. With the last batter up to the plate, the pressure was on Sunggyu.

Sunggyu needed to strike this person out. If the batter hit the ball in any way, their team would lose their first game.

Woohyun and Gikwang leaned over the railing, everyone crowding around to watch Sunggyu in his last determining pitch. 

Sunggyu's pitch had been going well throughout the game, but with the immense amount of stress that had never been placed on his shoulders, his pitch was shaky in the 9th inning. He needed to to concentrate, one strike to win the game. Sunggyu was held accountable for the team, and it was weird.

I ing hate responsibility.

Since Woohyun's meeting with Sunggyu about his attitude, Sunggyu had been slowly improving his habits at school and at baseball practice. Sunggyu tried better with his tests, even scoring himself at 72 in literature for a book he forced himself to read. He arrived at practice right on time, some days even coming more than half an hour early. He avoided confrontation at baseball practice, finding his inner zen to stop himself from punching people like Woohyun straight in their face. Deep down inside, Sunggyu worried himself to stay on the team. 

"Take your time Sunggyu! You can do it!" Woohyun encouraged.

"Shut up, Woohyun!" Sunggyu called out. I will throw this ball at you if you annoy me one more time, Woohyun.

"I'm just trying to help!" Woohyun grumbled to himself, crossing his arms. I'm not yelling for you ever again, jerk!

Sunggyu fixed his eyes on the catcher's mitt, his teammate Yoseoh signaling him a number two with his fingers for the play. Sunggyu shook his head, unsatisfied with the choice. Next, Yoseob flashed him a fist inside of his mitt. Sunggyu shook his head once again, and with that there was only one thing left. 

Yoseob stuck his index finger out, twisting it in circles.

Sunggyu nodded his head, a sparkle flashing in his eye. He was ready. Bringing the ball back for a split second, Sunggyu heaved the ball forward with an indescribable force of nature that no other man was capable of. The ball went spinning in the air, curving from left to right to the confusion of the batter. It was flying all over the place at such a high speed before it landed perfectly right smack in the middle of Yoseob's mitt.

The game was over.

"He did it!" Coach Park threw his hat on the floor, stomping on it and pounding his chest as he screamed his praises to the heavens. "Sunggyu actually did it!"

With the bases loaded, the last strike ended it all. Sunggyu stood their speechless, his hands trembling from clinching the win for the team. He glanced over at the sidelines, the whole team jumping up and down from winning the first game. All because of Sunggyu. Even he had to admit, the experience was quite humbling and something he never thought he was capable of. He knew he was good after all the times he practiced with his grandpa, but for him to actually play baseball and win a game for everyone was quite a spectacle. 

"You did it, Sunggyu! You actually did it! The game was so close!" Woohyun brought his hand up for a high five.

Sunggyu ran back to the team, a slight smile escaping his face. "I know!" he said, running right past Woohyun and ignoring his five.

Woohyun blinked his eyes, staring at his hand that got rejected by Sunggyu stupidly. He weaved his fingers through his air, pretending it never happened and making use with it.

"Well done Sunggyu, I'm so proud of you!" Coach Park grabbed onto Sunggyu's shoulders and gave him a huge hug, lifting him off the floor and swinging him around in exuberance. "You have a gift! An amazing gift!"

"Yeah Sunggyu." Gikwang and several other teammates congregated together to share some words. "You were better than I thought." As much a Gikwang hated to admit it, Sunggyu played excellently today.

"Thanks," Sunggyu smirked. Serves him right.

In the midst of the celebration, families ran over to the sides to congratulate their kin for winning their first baseball game. Parents picked their children up, greeting them with fervent hugs and leading them off the field.

"Party with bulgogi!" Gikwang chimed, walking with Doojoon and both of their moms to leave the game.

Sunggyu's celebration suddenly turned south, the faces of his teammates leaving him to go off with their parents and brothers and sisters to bring the party elsewhere. Everything was all fun and games until this point, where Sunggyu had no family to show for it all.

"Didn't your parents come to the game today?" Coach Park questioned.

Sunggyu scanned the bleachers, not a single familiar face in the audience. "I guess not."

Coach Park sighed, placing his hand on Sunggyu's shoulder. "Aish, when will your parents ever learn," he mumbled to himself.

Woohyun was the last teammate standing with him, watching for the second time Sunggyu get left behind waiting for his own parents to come. He only saw the back of Sunggyu's head, but what he saw was someone who was disappointed after his very first baseball game. Someone disappointed that at the end of the game, he was reminded by everyone around him that once again he was alone. Someone disappointed that this temporary escape was over, and the reality of isolation was coming for him.

"Hey Woohyun, are you ready to go?" Boohyun hit Woohyun with a foam finger that said #1, poking him repeatedly until he answered. 

Woohyun's expression was blank, his attention focused on Sunggyu and what he was going to do now.

"We need to drop by the restaurant tonight. We have to go now," Boohyun badgered.

That was when Woohyun had an idea.

"Hyung, do you think we can bring someone with us?"

(((())))

Boohyun opened the glass doors into his restaurant, leading Sunggyu and Woohyun into a dark room of casted shadows by the streetlights and moonlight. Boohyun caressed the wall, flicking a switch that the hanging lights and illuminated the front area of the restaurant. Tables of the freshly-cut wood smell, the counters and floors polished and untouched to a shine. This place was brand new.

"You and Sunggyu can sit wherever you want." Boohyun ran into the kitchen, his dirty shoes scuffing the floor for the first time.

Woohyun dropped his backpack at the front of the restaurant, grabbing a seat at one of the tables and making himself at home. He stretched his legs and arms out, the drive to the restaurant tiresome and stiff with Sunggyu sitting in the backseat. Sunggyu scanned the restaurant, judging the area for himself with squinted eyes. He dropped his dufflebag on the floor, taking a seat across the table from Woohyun. He ed his uniform, throwing it by the pile of bags and slouched in his chair. 

Boohyun walked backwards into the main room, holding two bowls of freshly made soup and waiting it to their table. He carefully placed a meal in front of the both of them, what seemed to be a bowl of soy sauce broth with noodles, tofu, and seaweed. "You guys are officially my first customers, and you deserve it after that win today. I'll get some utensils." Boohyun spun back around into the kitchen to grab them spoons for eating.

Woohyun watched his brother run back and leave him alone with Sunggyu, his blundering presence only making it a bigger struggle to be around. The two of them were quiet, and after their first win of a team Woohyun invited Sunggyu for an impromptu hangout to pass time before someone could pick him up. He had no idea what he was expecting when he brought Sunggyu over and with no desire in the moment to even speak with him, Woohyun thought he made a terrible mistake by suggesting it in front of Coach Park.

Sunggyu had no idea what to say, and it was almost involuntary for him to be around the most unpleasant person on the baseball team since Coach Park hopped on the idea. He's probably tired of dealing with me after practice every day. He glared at Woohyun, observing every detail of his face: Woohyun was sweaty from the game, his face dirtied up as well as his hair scruffed up from wearing a baseball helmet. His jersey was ed halfway, his tanktop peaking through with sweat glistening on his chest. Woohyun looked quite disgusting, not the most appealing person in the room. Let alone a restaurant.

Being in the same room alone with two random bowls of soup was one of the more stranger nights they shared together.

"So this is your brother's restaurant?" Sunggyu finally broke the ice.

Woohyun nodded his head, shocked that Sunggyu chose to speak to him. "Y... yeah." He stuttered, trying to continue on the conversation. "He just bought this place, and it will be opened up sometime this year. Everything is in the beginning stages. I've been helping out my brother here with cleaning and bringing in new supplies. We've been trying out different recipes..."

Shut up, stupid. "I only asked a yes or no question. I don't care to hear about anything else," Sunggyu snided. 

"Fine." Woohyun rolled his eyes, staring down at his bowl of soup. Sunggyu's company that night made a harmless pork soup mix into a very unappetizing dinner.

Boohyun finally ran back to their table to drop off two spoons and two pairs of chopsticks. "I need to make some calls outside," he made out before marching out of the restaurant.

"Hyung, wait!"

"Maybe you should stay here with us..."

And the doors closed right behind Boohyun, not hearing a single word that came out of their mouths.

Woohyun groaned, his hasty decision only ruining his night. He took his spoon, playing with the broth by scooping some up and allowing it to drip back down into the bowl. He leaned over the table with his chin resting on his fist. Everything was so exciting to him.

Sunggyu was in a predicament of leaving the restaurant and going straight home to save himself from an awful night with his most hated counterpart, or staying for several minutes longer to finish his soup before heading out. Damnit, I'm hungry. Sunggyu took his chopsticks, forming them like a claw and picked up a group of noodles to slurp into his mouth. In one breath, the noodles were gone, and so was his sanity. "Holy ."

Woohyun looked up. "What?"

"This is the best soup I've ever had."

Woohyun smirked. "You really think that?"

This is heaven on earth. "You have to tell me this recipe."

Sunggyu's fangirling over a basic bowl of pork soup was amusing for Woohyun, never seeing this lighthearted side of him before. Woohyun had no idea Sunggyu displayed feelings other than hatred. "That's why you need to be a customer at this place from now on."

You're kidding me? You're ing kidding me. Sunggyu's face riddled disappointment from the recipe being kept secret, and to receive some shorthanded witty comment from Woohyun was even more annoying. The only way to ease the ailment was by eating more of it. He spent no time wasted watching the bowl turn cold, finishing the bowl in a matter of seconds and raising the edge to his lips to chug every single drop of broth that landed at the tip of his tongue. After the deed was done, Sunggyu threw the bowl on the table like he was a champ. He his lips, hoping to get one last lingering taste of the deliciousness into his mouth before it all subsided.

"You loved it that much," Woohyun laughed.

"Shut up." Sunggyu blushed, shaking his head bashfully because he was afraid to let his guard down.

"I'm glad you liked it." Woohyun finally took a sip of broth from his spoon, his eyes hungering for more. "Wow, this is really good!"

"See?" Sunggyu crossed his arms. "You never tried your own brother's bowl of soup before?"

Woohyun stuffed his mouth with noodles and tofu, chomping on his food and speaking at once. "We've made bowls of soup before because my brother is trying to find his flavor. This might be the best one I've ever tried."

Sunggyu watched Woohyun eat his food like a savage. "You're a stupid pig."

"Stop calling me stupid," Woohyun grumbled. "Why do you keep calling me stupid, anyways?"

"I call them like I see them."

Woohyun ignored him, continuing to eat his bowl.

"Hey Woohyun, I have a question."

Woohyun looked up, a serious expression crossing Sunggyu's face. He swallowed his food and dropped his spoon in the bowl. "What?"

"Why did you and your brother take me here?" Woohyun's intentions confused Sunggyu, especially after everything that the both of them have gone through for the past two months.

Woohyun opened his mouth, blinking his eyes and waiting for some words to come out. "Honestly?"

"Honestly. If you see me as a pity case, tell me now so I can leave. The last thing I need is someone feeling sorry for me."

Woohyun was unsure how to respond to that question, because deep down inside he pitied Sunggyu to no end. And not because Woohyun thought he was better than him. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel sorry for you, because I do. I feel sorry that you have to wait hours on end after every practice just to get picked up by someone who isn't even a family member. I feel sorry that you have all of this talent and you contribute more than you know, but it all goes unappreciated by every member on the team. I feel sorry that because you have a bounty on your head, everyone automatically assumes you're the suspect. I feel sorry for you because people misunderstand you, just like I have been misunderstanding you since we first became teammates."

And lastly. I feel sorry for you Sunggyu because even though I don't like you, no one deserves to be alone after winning a game like this. 

Sunggyu lowered his head, realizing all the scrutiny he placed on Woohyun's head was undeserving. And maybe that was also his fault, because he never gave Woohyun a chance since the first time they met. He did not want to make a connection with him, save himself the pain of having a friend who would betray him.

"I guess I do pity you, Sunggyu. I pity the fact that you don't have a single friend on that team, and maybe if you tried to open your eyes you could see that I'm sitting right acro..." Woohyun shut his mouth, finishing his statement there. 

If you tried opening your eyes, maybe you could see I would like to be your friend.

"Anyways, you finished your bowl of soup so you should probably head out now," Woohyun suggested. "I guess you are a pity case."

Sunggyu soaked in every word Woohyun told him. The empathy was getting to him, and without much more thinking Sunggyu headed to the door. "Later, Woohyun." He was done dealing with Woohyun, done with this mess of following him to his brother's restaurant to listen to how sorry he felt for him, done with his bowl of soup so he had no other reason to stay. Sunggyu had his hand on the handle of the door, ready to make his exit.

But in the reflection of the glass window, in the dim lights, he saw a faint image of Woohyun watching him leave. A glimmer in Woohyun's eyes showed a sense of honesty, his words and venture to talk to him genuine in every way. Sunggyu turned his head, at the corner of his eye he had a better look at his teammate. 

That was when Sunggyu let go of the handle and walked back to the table.

Sunggyu would stay at the restaurant with Woohyun for the next couple of hours, getting to know Woohyun better as a person and not as an enemy before he was picked up.

This would carry on for the rest of the year.

This concludes the second chapter of flashbacks. The next chapter will conclude the flashbacks portion of the story, followed by 4 more chapters of this story before it all ends ;_;

I swear, I will respond to all these comments soon! I've been so busy writing stories and balancing out Christmas celebrations. Xmas in Philippines is kind of intense, and I'm going through this thing called Simgbang Gabi where I go to church a lot.

Once again, all my commentors, readers, subscribers, voters, all of you. <3 I seriously love all of you and thank you for supporting and reading this. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I'm writing this!

Also, as you can see. There are a lot of different parallels between the past and future. If you don't see them now, I will outline them after the last flashback chapter.