What You Mean To Me

“What’s your favourite colour, hyung?” The younger boy calmly asked as he swiftly worked on leading the ball up his trail on the vast green soccer field. Just right behind him, the older male followed him closely behind with a similar pace, a small smile set on his lips. Kicking his lower leg forward once he steadily arrived at the goal post, the soccer ball flew forcefully into the net of the post, the light bounce of a dribble resulting afterwards right when it hit the surface of the small patch of grass. Jaeho looked past his shoulder with a cheerful grin, exhaling as he tried to catch his breath from unexpectedly consuming more than half of his energy earlier from scoring.

Jin grinned back, lightly reaching his hand forward to give the other boy a friendly ruffle over the tip of his head. He then parted his lips to answer the question that he had received prior to the goal that that the younger boy had successfully scored. It was Jaeho’s seventh goal, surprisingly.

“Favourite colour, right? It’s sky blue.” He deepened his smile.

Jaeho responded with a light nod, mentally adding onto his list of knowable things about the older boy. Ever since he learnt just how great and excelled Jin was with his habit of occasionally enjoying a game of soccer, he felt as if he had finally met that one guy he could look up to asides from his other soccer buddies at school. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the fact that the younger boy himself had somehow gotten used to hanging around with the other boy through the company of his older sister throughout the year, so there probably wouldn’t be a reason to not take a liking towards him anyways. Besides, they were both friends.

Stealing the ball from the boy once more, Jaeho made a clean dash for the net with greater speed.

Looking right up ahead, Jin bit back another smile as he watched the younger boy shoot another solid goal, catching up to him on the field as he skidded to a stop just right beside him. Realizing that they had been playing soccer non-stop since an hour and a half ago, he was almost amazed at the other one’s stamina and passion towards the sport, even when they would often meet up to invite each other out for a quick or long game of soccer anytime over the weekends. And right about now, Jaeho made sure to play at his best each and every game with the single interest of getting to know more about him by scoring goals continuously. Because it meant that he would be able to earn more answers. In return, Jin had only happily agreed to this suggestion, amused.

Hey, it wasn’t every day that someone as young as Jaeho would normally look up to him like this.

Jaeho turned towards him once more, “Favourite kinds of music?”

“Rock and Hip-hop.”

Briefly answering him with a quick smile, Jin faced forward as he set his gaze on the soccer ball beneath him. Easily curling the ball upwards when the tip of his shoes met the base of the light object, his quick movements managed to catch the younger one off guard. Jaeho blinked, glancing the opposite way as he stared at his friend’s back. He broke out of his trance with small laughter, following his opponent closely behind as he quickened his own pace as well. Just right before he could intercept, Jin had already smoothly rammed the weight of the ball into the strings of the net, inching over to retrieve the ball with his arms as he lightly tossed it right back over to the center of the field. Jaeho grinned playfully as he retreated afterwards, jogging towards the starting point just as Jin had casually waved him over to signal the start of another game of soccer.

For the remaining half-hour of the afternoon, the two boys were able to enjoy each other’s company as they proceeded further with a couple more of quick rounds, taking turns in scoring solid goals with their own set of simple techniques and unique strategies used up along the way.

The younger boy deepened his childish grin right when his ball landed into the net once more, peering up at the taller one beside him as the other boy only flashed him a look of friendly defeat.

“Any favourite animal?”

“That’s a hard question. But if I had to pick only one, then it’d be Arctic foxes.”

Jaeho brightened, “Favourite season of the year?”

“Spring and autumn.”

“Favourite quote that you often follow?”

“Only you are the determinant of your own happiness.” Jin bit back a soft smile, wondering just how many more questions there would be left for him to answer once their match would be over. Not that he minded though, because the younger boy’s energy and enthusiasm oddly reminded him of his own younger brother at home. It was actually a pretty nice and pleasant recognition.

“Hey. I think I just learned a whole lot more about you today, hyung.” Jaeho chuckled to himself.

“Is that a good thing?” Jin laughed back.

Picking up the ball that laid right beside the net, Jaeho lightly tucked it underneath his forearms as he sauntered back over to the middle of the field where the other boy was. Once he arrived, the two instantly dropped to the ground, their bodies softly thudding against the smooth surface of the vibrant green grass just beneath them. Spreading his legs out, Jaeho took in a breath of fresh air as a small breeze of wind rushed past them. He then parted his lips with a satisfied smile.

“Yup! Of course it’s a good thing. I’m always happy whenever I learn more about my role model.”

Hearing the younger boy’s words, Jin blinked in slight surprise. He eventually steered his gaze towards him, a brotherly smile threatening to fall over him when he gently ruffled the other boy’s hair. He then glanced back up at the clear sky, studying the pattern of the cottony white clouds.

“Really? Thanks for considering me as one then, Jaeho.”                   

Jaeho only smiled back in response, lightly shrugging his shoulders as if to signal that it wasn’t really a big deal to him, when in reality, the boy didn’t actually consider himself to have a lot of other people to count on in his life. Jin just so happened to be one of them as time gradually passed by within the year. And it was probably all thanks to that one and only dorky older sister in his family, who seemed to be the connecting bridge behind his improved friendship with the older male currently beside him. It was that one sister of his he would often find himself watching, strangely amused and skeptical at first, because he honestly didn’t think that all of these changes could be possibly made by the mere involvement and recognition of another boy. Just from this, he had unexpectedly seen so many sides of her during the year, either from frequently appearing extra bright and cheerful, or clumsy and thoughtful whenever she had a chance to think of that one boy she had been steadily falling deeper for by day, including all those other times that he had seen the two together. And even if Jaeho found his sister to be sometimes much too outgoing or irritating for his comfort, he didn’t choose to disregard the fact that her increased signs of happiness these days was one thing he could positively admit he was acceptingly becoming fond of. He simply liked seeing that silly and pretty smile of hers whenever his older friend was around.

For him, it would actually be quite okay if his sister remained this way in the near future as well.

Breaking the silence, Jaeho eventually parted his lips to speak, suddenly growing rather curious and expectant. Perhaps he only had one question left for the other boy to answer. Just one thing.

“What do you think of Jaein? Does my older sister mean anything to you?”

Just hearing her name softly echo through his mind, he felt his heart gradually grow warm as he began to fondly think about her. To him, he had always genuinely wanted her to remain close to him, right by his side. Somewhere along the way, he only found himself making an effort towards building their growing relationship and the process of getting to know more about her. Perhaps he’s never stopped to realize, just how much there was to her.  She was that one girl who seemed to have easily lightened him up in ways he didn’t think was possible at first. From her small and silly actions, to her shy and cute exterior, he simply adored it all. Jin blinked afterwards, his lips curling into a faint smile. Jaeho tried to grasp the meaning behind the other boy’s delighted expression, shortly interrupted once he heard him speak, the tone in his voice soft and light. The boy steadily extended his arms forward, gently pulling the younger one up from where he had been previously sitting. He then lightly tossed his black sports bag over his left shoulder, his smile deepening in place. There would be plenty of other opportunities in letting the other one know.

“Next time, I’ll be sure to let you know the answer to that right after our next game. Sounds good? Oh, but that’s only if you performed as well as you did today, kiddo.” Jin chuckled brightly.

Jaeho grinned back in reply, “Okay, you’re on! I’m definitely going to do well next week, hyung.”

---

“Do you have anything planned for next week, polar bear?” The boy asked, gaze fixated on what he was currently making with his hands. Placing the finished latte on the counter a minute later, he casually called out the order number that was printed neatly on the small piece of paper hanging right beside him. The female customer who had been sitting right in front of him just on the other side of the front counter, sent him a pretty smile of acknowledgement. Hoping that he’d be able to catch her open smile, the boy’s gaze only remained calmly locked with his next order, hands already reaching over to pop the ingredients into the juice blender. Disappointed with his entire lack of response, the girl lightly frowned, feeling rather ignored. Her friends beside her immediately comforted her, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder as if to tell her that it was okay. That it was normal. This sort of thing happened often at the café anyways, well, at least for him. Hey, if he had already been used to this kind of treatment at school, then it really wouldn’t make a single difference here, would it? The boy had been pretty oblivious to his surroundings from day one. He really only cared about two things when it came to working here at the café.

One, making sure that he’d be able to prepare all the customer’s orders right on time. Two, looking out for his girlfriend whenever he had the chance to do so. Nothing else really mattered.

Working next to him at the cashier, Haekyung lightly shrugged, unsure. “I don’t think so, why?”

Jungkook grinned, “Really? Then let’s go on a date.”

The girl turned to him with a brow raised, a playful smile set on her lips. “Seriously? I think we’re pretty much out on one every single day of the week. Did you forget that I practically see you twice a day?” He almost pouted at her answer, staring back at her. “Yeah, but that hardly even counts! Once in the morning when we walk to school, and twice when we’re spending time at the café. Not really nice or romantic, is it?” She blinked at his words, blankly gazing back at him as he flashed her a mixed look of discontent and sarcasm. It was oddly adorable. Haekyung lightly laughed in response, shaking her head. “It’s fine with me though. I don’t think it matters where we are, as long as we’re together, right?” His lips automatically curled into a smile at her answer, about to reply when he noticed that she was no longer paying attention to him since the lineup at the front was currently growing heavier by the minute. For a Tuesday, it was surprisingly busy.  

Deciding that he’d be able to ask her about it another time, he flashed her an affectionate smile, turning back to his orders. By this time, the two were only halfway through their shift for the day.

Jungkook remained behind the counter as he continued to prepare the drinks, while Haekyung would occasionally fill her role at the cashier or head over to a number of tables to drop off the other customer’s orders. Once he was finished with his last order, the boy blinked as he looked towards the cashier’s space, only to find it momentarily empty. Looking around the store, he eventually spotted her out from the crowd. She was at the very back corner of the café, near the windows. Busy noting down the order that was given to her by a younger boy who was brightly smiling up at her, she nodded to herself as she repeated his order, her gaze calmly fixed on the notepad in her hands. There was about five other boys that occupied the large table, including the other one who had been staring nonstop at her since the minute she arrived. One lemon tea.

Haekyung mentally noted, smiling politely afterwards.

Just as she was about to head back over to the front, the other guy’s friend quickly called out to her. The girl blinked, glancing down to see that he had been lightly holding onto her left hand when he stopped her. The boy blinked, flushing as he quickly let go, “C-Can you make that two?”

She nodded once more with a small smile, “Sure. I’ll be right back. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

They all nodded with similar smiles plastered across their faces, expressions bright as they watched her walk back to process their orders. Heck, three of the boys at the table even had their palms glued to their faces as their eyes remained locked to the very front of the store. Pretty much oblivious to their stares, Haekyung only continued to take the other customer’s orders up front at the cashier, when the line began to extend once more. Jungkook pinned his gaze on the group of guys that couldn’t keep staring at the girl working right beside him, narrowing his eyes at them as he crushed the ice for their drinks. He noticed that they were probably only 8^th graders.

Yeah, not like it made a difference anyway, because they were still guys.

The boy didn’t even realize that he had poured too much liquid into the cup just until he felt it overflow onto his hand. He blinked, correctly adjusting the amount of it before placing on the caps. He then glanced to his right, about to let the girl take over the drinks so that she’d be able to deliver it to the customer who had ordered it. But noticing that she was still busy punching in the buttons at the cash register, Jungkook decided that he’d help her do it instead, casually taking hold of the tray that was currently occupying the two lemon teas. He headed towards the back.

He stopped at table number nine, slowly realizing that it was the same group of guys from before.

The boys looked up, the smiles on their faces slowly fading when they noticed that it wasn’t the same girl who had taken their orders just five minutes ago. Jungkook simply stared at them, nonchalant. He hadn’t even planned on talking to them when they started interrogating him out of the blue. The boy with the red cap groaned, “I thought it would be that really pretty girl coming back with our drinks.” The other one beside him with the grey sweater frowned as well, “I know.”

Jungkook mentally rolled his eyes, not knowing if he should be feeling offended or not. Hey, it’s not like he was going to be rude about it, even if he had to admit that he was feeling strangely jealous right now. And it didn’t help that Haekyung had been clueless about the entire situation.

Nope, not really.

He then responded with a shrug, “Uh, sorry? But as you can see, that “pretty” waitress is busy taking care of the lineup up front at the cash register, so there’s not much I can do about that, alright?” His reply didn’t even come close to satisfying the group’s disappointment, as they remained silent. “Did you want anything else, or can I get back to work?” The boy calmly asked.

The same guy with the cap from before nodded, “Yeah, do you know if that girl has a boyfriend?”

Jungkook bit back a small smile, not wanting to appear as if it was a big deal. He liked that he could openly let other people know that they were in a relationship. Especially to any guys out there who happened to be crushing on her. “She does. You’re actually talking to him right now.”

Jeez, that should finally get them off our backs.

He was pretty much expecting them to accept his answer, when only the opposite happened. The guy from before practically spat out his drink, eyes wide. His other friends around the table shared similar expressions, as if they were in utter shock and disbelief. He suddenly felt them examining him, up and down. The boy then raised a brow, strangely confused with their sudden change in behaviour. Okay, why was this so hard to believe? Not amused with the upcoming silence, he only stared back at them pointedly. It seriously took a lot in him to remain calmly still.

Once the group slowly blinked, regaining their composure, they then raised their voices in unison.

“You?!”

Jungkook instantly frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong with me?”

The younger boys snickered to themselves as they looked away afterwards, shrugging. “What? We didn’t even say anything. You’re quite defensive, you know.” He was just about to throw in a reply when he halted his movements. Haekyung was standing right beside him, her hand gently fixed on his right arm, as if to tell him to let it go. The girl let out awkwardly, smoothing the atmosphere. “Oh, it looks like you guys got your orders right on time. That’s great. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?” She finished, pulling the other boy along who apparently had a deep frown formed on his face as he only stared back at the group of 8^th graders, feeling irritated.

Once the two walked back to the front counter, she let go of his arm as she turned to face him.

Haekyung gently gazed at him, “You alright?”

The boy nodded, biting his lips down to shrug his remaining thoughts of irritation away from dealing with that very one group at the far back of the store. “Yeah, they got on my nerves. That’s all.” She shook her head with a small smile, “They’re just kids, Jungkook. I’m sure they’ll learn.” He pouted lightly. “I know, but did you see the way that those brats were taunting me back there? Jeez. And it was only when I told them that we were dating too.” In response, the girl simply deepened her smile. Had he always been this adorable, when he was jealous? It was her first time seeing him act like this, not knowing how to take it in as he had always been pretty calm and collected towards most things. To think that it was all because of her, made it more amusing.

“You’re so childish.” She chuckled brightly. He just smiled back at her, feeling rather comforted with her pretty and honest smile. Haekyung naturally placed her hands over the tip of his shoulders, lightly boosting herself up for height. She then gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, gently pulling back as she steadied herself right back on the ground. Jungkook blinked in silence for a couple of seconds, not even expecting her to do that. The girl felt her own cheeks turn a shade lighter at the way he was softly peering down at her, as if she was all he could currently see. She flashed him a genuine smile, quickly turning away to resume her previous spot at the cash register when she parted her lips to speak. He felt his heart slowly melt at her next words, his previous feelings of slight irritation and troubling mood entirely fading off into the distance.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about us, okay? You’re the most important person to me, Jungkook. That’s honestly all I really care about, so I hope you can always keep that in mind.”

---

Sunday. The ones who could make it gathered up at the bleachers on the soccer field by the local park, when the group of friends were all notified about the soccer game that would be taken place during the second half of the day. Of course it was just for fun, seeing that it was a good opportunity for everyone to meet up once in a while. Nearing the end of the school year, their semesters only became heavily packed with upcoming assignments and tests, so it’d be a pretty good way to relieve some stress. Plus, the weather was actually quite warm and pleasant today.

The last ones to arrive were the siblings, Jaein and Jaeho. The two jogged across the field, waving.

Jin made sure to greet her with a soft smile, when their eyes briefly locked. Jaein blinked, happily matching his expression with a brighter one. Just right beside him, his little cousin, Ah Yeon had also came along with him today, when the younger one had cutely pleaded to tag along because she had really wanted to see her crush take part in his favourite sport today. Not that the girl didn’t already do so at school anyways. Noticing that she sitting right next to the older boy, Jaeho sent her a small smile, awkwardly looking away when the girl beamed back at him quite adorably.

Once everyone settled down a minute later, Hoseok and Namjoon gathered at the bottom steps of the bleachers, quickly scanning the number of heads in view as they took note of who was here today. On the upper part of the bleachers were Jin, Jaein, Jaeho and Ah Yeon, while Jungkook and Haekyung occupied the seats right below them. So that made an equal total of eight people present today, including themselves. Hoseok proceeded with an energetic smile as he waved his right arm up in the air. “Hey guys, want to form two teams for the matches?” The others nodded in reply, stepping off from their seats as they formed a circle around the two boys. “Should I be the leader for one team?” Jaeho suggested confidently. Namjoon laughed, “Sure kiddo.” Jungkook casually suggested with a shrug, “I guess Jin could be the other team leader, then.” The two boys that were appointed as leaders only exchanged gazes right afterwards, determined smiles set on their lips when a friendly sense of rivalry steadily grew between them.

Not long after, the teams were quickly formed as everyone took their places on the soccer field.

Team number one pretty much consisted of their leader, Jin, Hoseok, and Jungkook. The other team that they were playing off against was Jaeho, Namjoon, and Haekyung. Originally, it was supposed to be teams of four on each side, but Jaein had wanted to accompany Ah Yeon by the bleachers, afraid that the younger girl would come to feel lonely from cheering on for both teams by herself. Jin glanced towards the direction of the bleachers, smiling at the sight of the two sitting next to each other. He gently called out to her, “Jae, sure you don’t want to play? There’s still room for more.” The girl quickly shook her head in reply, assuring that she would be just fine.

Jaein smiled brightly, “Yup. I’m okay with cheering you on for the rest of the games. Have fun!”

Sending her a charming smile back, he nodded.

Jaeho also glanced towards Ah Yeon’s direction when the girl beamed, “Good luck, Jaeho oppa!” He then bit back a small smile, the colour of his cheeks growing slightly red. “Thanks, Ah Yeon.”

“Best out of three?” Hoseok asked for his friends’ approval.

The others simply nodded once more at his suggestion for the format and length of the match.

“Sure, sounds good to me.” Jaeho and Namjoon voiced out. “Yeah, let’s go with three then.” Jin and Jungkook gave their opinions as well. Haekyung just smiled, “I’m fine with anything, really.”

Six minutes into their first game, Namjoon was currently leading the ball up the net, gaze focused. He looked for an opening, realizing that he was already cornered by Jin and Hoseok on both sides, “Damn it.” Quickly losing control of the ball in his hold when Jungkook intercepted from the sides, the boy swiftly passed the ball over to his teammate, “Hyung, catch.” Jin saluted his friend as the base of his foot now steered the ball. Heading towards the other end of the field, Jaeho gradually caught up to him from behind, their distances close as he matched against the older boy’s speed. He calmly approached him as he skidded to a stop right in front of him, successfully swerving the object after a number of attempts in trying to snatch the ball. Fifteen seconds later, he hurriedly sped towards the other team’s goal. Jaeho then angled his aim, releasing a sharp kick at the ball.

The others watched as his ball stably landed right into the net.

Namjoon grinned, impressed. “Nice aim, Jaeho.” Haekyung smiled in approval, “Good job! Jeez, I couldn’t even keep up with you.” Jin and Hoseok exchanged high-fives with the younger boy as well. Right by the bleachers on his left, he could clearly hear Jaein and Ah Yeon shouting out words of encouragement, taking turns in doing so. “Nice one, kid! I underestimated you.” At his sister’s words, he almost chortled.  Hearing her as well, the other boys laughed at her comment.

Ah Yeon also added, her hands cupped over the area of , “You’re so cool, Jaeho oppa!” 

Jaeho could only sent them an embarrassed look, before he wordlessly smiled back at them. He turned to his teammates, shrugging sheepishly. “Thanks, you guys helped me quite a lot though.”

Jungkook turned to the girl right beside him, laughing playfully. He naturally teased, “Are you sure you were even on the field? Cause I think I hardly saw you near any of our teams at all, polar bear.” Haekyung instantly frowned, realizing that he was beginning to make fun of her slow speed again. In reply, she flashed him a closed smile. “I seriously hate you.” Lightly pinching her on the sides of her cheek, the boy softly grinned down at her. Instinctively turning to gently squeeze him right back, her smile only grew wider. Releasing his hands from her cheeks, Jungkook snickered.

“I know, you told me that like a million times already. Just so you know, I’m still keeping count.”

“Good, keep counting.” Haekyung joked, amused.

The second match commenced shortly. Jaeho who had been leading the ball this time ran forward with the ball, stopping halfway when he curiously glanced past his shoulder. Haekyung had been trying her best in tailing him all this time, huffing and puffing. The younger boy shook his head knowingly, holding back his laughter as he caught the girl’s gaze. She blinked, rather confused at first. But when she finally knew what Jaeho was hinting at, she nodded. “Here. I’m counting on you, Haekyung noona!” He quickly kicked the ball right into her direction, so that she’d be able to have a chance in gaining some fair play with the soccer ball. The girl smiled, “Thanks, Jaeho.”

Steadily receiving the ball from him, she faced forward once more, evening out her own breathe.

Haekyung then ran full speed towards her opponent’s goal, her eyes bright as she bit down on her lower lip. Just before she could reach the other end of the field, someone else had already succeeded in distracting her movements, limiting her current choices. She then look to her right, gaping openly when Jungkook had literally only been a meter away from where she was standing.

“Come here, polar bear.” The boy smiled affectionately.

She shook her head with a competitive grin, sprinting off into the distance with the ball still in her reach as best as she could, “No way. This ball’s mine.” He simply chuckled, effortlessly matching her pace when he managed to once more appear right next to her just thirty seconds later. Haekyung blinked, dumbfounded. “What the – Seriously?” Deciding that he’d take it easy on her for now, Jungkook lightly fiddled with the ball in place, occasionally snatching the ball from the girl running right next to him as she had also done the same in taking it right back. He smiled mischievously, “Looks like you’re going to have to give me a kiss, if I manage to take the ball from you once more, polar bear.” She laughed in reply, “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, Jungkook.”

Turning her words against her, he lightly deepened his smile in amusement. The girl spaced out.

In just merely five seconds, the ball had been easily stolen from her as if she never even had a chance to secure it in the first place. Haekyung softly frowned, disappointed that her so-called “soccer” skills had only amounted to this much. Just looking at her defeated expression, he almost began to felt bad. Calling out to the closest player in his team on the field, Jungkook passed on the ball in his possession, transferring it right over to Hoseok. The boy then quickly turned his attention back to the other girl right behind him, who had her eyes currently glued to the floor.

He blinked, noticing that she had been staring at nothing in particular, her gaze somewhat blank.

Jungkook’s lips curled into a small smile. Adorable.

The girl only looked up when she saw the base of his shoes appearing right below her, arching her brows at the way he was gently tapping his lower lip with one finger. Jungkook chuckled at her cluelessness, shifting closer to her as he playfully glanced down at her, “So am I still going to get that kiss I was talking about earlier?” Haekyung shook her head, stifling a small grin, “Nope, but I’m willing to give you a hug though.” She then pulled on the collar of his hoodie, lightly wrapping her arms around him to keep him in her embrace. He smiled into her shoulder, returning her hug as he tightened his arms around her back a minute later, apparently satisfied.

“Oh well, I guess this is fine too.” The boy lightly shrugged, his smile gradually deepening in place.

Right at this time, Hoseok had only just passed the ball right over to the leader of their team. Jin took over briefly, guiding the ball towards the other end of the field. Nearing the goal, he took the few extra seconds that he had needed, in steadying himself into a favourable position to adjust his current aim, before releasing a low kick that was strong enough to ram the object right into the center of the net. The score was currently one to one, equally distributed on both sides of the two teams. Jaeho let out small breathe, pressing the back of his palm right onto his own forehead, wiping away the sweat that had formed just then. The other team happily cheered for the goal, exchanging brief looks of acknowledgement and a few words. Jin blinked as he turned his gaze towards the bleachers once more. He flashed the two girls a warm smile, lifting a hand up in the air to wave back. Jaeho saw the look on his sister’s face right at this very minute, secretly wondering if she knew just how silly she had looked. Or had her expressions always looked kind of funny to him? Yeah, probably. However, he just shook his head with an amused smile, sighing.

Can’t you see just how happy you always are when Jin hyung’s around, sis?

Jaein grinned openly, calling out to her crush and his team on the field. “Yay, Team Seokjin! You guys did great!” Hoseok and Jungkook also glanced back at the sound of her clear voice, flashing her closed smiles. The third and final match was eventually over within twenty minutes, and the two teams gathered right back over at the bleachers once more as everyone spread out to take their seats, taking small breaks. Jaeho’s team had finally won in the end, with a score of two to one against the other boys in team number two. And he was pretty much exhausted right now. The younger boy reached for a bottle of water from his own backpack, chugging the liquid down as he glanced towards his left. Jin blinked, realizing that the younger boy had taken a seat right next to him, sending the other one a small smile when Jaeho just looked back at him expectantly.

Oh, right. He had wanted to know his answer from the week before, during their previous match.

Jaeho did earn the right to know anyways, seeing how well he had played against his team today. But it was never really about that though, because all the older boy had simply wanted, was some time to think his answer through before he could properly give the other one a sincere response.

Yeah, just that. 

Jin gradually inched closer to Jaeho by the bench, lowering his head so that his voice could be accurately heard within an audible reach. He didn’t seem to hesitate for even a second, when he lightly whispered into the other’s boy ear, his lips curled into a genuine smile. Jaeho took in his words, deep in thought for a few seconds when Jin slowly pulled back from their close proximity. The younger boy then shifted his view towards his older sister on the opposite end of the bleachers. She was currently talking to Haekyung, laughing out loud when they somehow came across a rather hilarious subject. Jaeho briefly looked away afterwards, smiling lightly to himself.

I guess, it’s finally good to know that he’ll be the one to make my older sister happy from now on.

---

“I had so much fun today!” Ah Yeon beamed, happily glancing up at the other three who had been currently walking right beside her at very moment. “Yeah, me too.” Jaeho responded with a light chuckle. The older boy behind them smiled, “I’m glad that you two had a great time, then.”

Jaein added with a small grin, “It’d be great if we could all get together more often, right guys?”

“Yup!” Jaeho and Ah Yeon responded cheerfully.

Deepening his smile, the other boy nodded in reply as well, delighted with the others’ excitement.

Just before this, the group of friends separated shortly after the soccer game, each choosing to either head back home individually or in groups, depending on how convenient it was. Like usual, Jin had found himself accompanying her back home, as if it had eventually became a natural habit of his, only after a short period of time. Jaein had also became aware that they were together more frequently, compared to the past when they had only been friendly strangers to each other. It was rather nice to know that their relationship had somehow progressively developed after all this time, when the girl hadn’t predicted that any of this would have happened at all. Jaein was grateful for their built friendship that had meant a lot to her, even if she knew that it might always remain this way in the future, unchanged. Because she was simply alright with staying just friends, always being content with it. That single feeling, in being consistently afraid of not having her feelings returned to her no longer existed. The girl learnt that there was so much more to it.

She was okay, if it meant that he would always be there, right next to her.

Their gazes briefly locked when he looked her way, and the two only softly mirrored each other’s smile. Jaeho blinked, noticing their small exchange. The younger boy then shifted closer to Ah Yeon at the front row, casually distancing himself as he provided the other two some space just at the back. Realizing that they had all arrived at the front of his house, Jaeho made sure to quickly sling an arm around the younger girl’s shoulder. In response, Ah Yeon only peered up at him with slight confusion, her cheeks turning bright red when the boy beside her gently pulled her along.

“Come on, Ah Yeon. Our mom baked some great cookies today, you can have some if you want.”

“Okay! Thanks, Jaeho oppa.”

Despite her acceptance, the younger girl then turned to her older cousin for approval, expression bright and hopeful. Her smile only grew wider when Jin simply nodded with a small chuckle, signalling her that it was alright with him. He didn’t mind hanging around a bit longer anyways. The two teenagers were eventually left alone when Jaeho guided Ah Yeon through the front door.

It was quiet for only a minute or so, when the boy beside her eventually parted his lips to speak.

"You know, someone close to us recently asked me about you."

Hearing what he had said, the girl blinked as she curiously glanced up at him, unsure of how to exactly respond as she patiently waited for him to continue. Jin’s lips curled into a faint smile, deep in thought. He then naturally reached out for her right hand, gently locking their palms together in place. Jaein felt her heart jump at the unexpected warmth he was currently providing her with, her lips slightly parted in reply. Like this, she could only silently hold their gaze, just before he had sincerely glanced back. The boy then calmly took one step towards her, closing the small gap between them as he tightly held onto her hand. Jaein averted her gaze to their hands.

It felt warm, and pleasant. Jin continued softly,

"He wanted to know if you meant anything to me. If you held a place close to me, I guess.”

Jaein slowly found herself catching his gaze once more, the colour of her cheeks gradually growing lighter. The rate of her heartbeat had also managed to pick up in irregular strides as well, the sound of it faintly reaching through her ears. This time, she wondered if her actions had finally given away all of her nicely kept emotions. Ones that had been steadily growing in affection over time. And maybe even if he did figure it out, it certainly wouldn’t have changed the way that she had currently felt for him either. Looking right into his eyes, his gaze held a mix of gentle sincerity and warmth. The girl had seen this side of him so many times in the past, but it had felt different.

Standing close to her from a small distance, he lowered himself to match her height.

Jin angled his head at the perfect angle, catching Jaein off guard as he gently brushed his lips over the surface of the girl’s left cheek. The kiss lasted for a couple of seconds, their hands remaining wonderfully locked in movement. She lightly froze, the temperature of her heart steadily rising in place. Then came the pleasant realization, that he had simply felt the exact same way as she did, after all this time. Perhaps she was too unaware of these changes, not knowing that these feelings had already started somewhere along the way. It finally hit her, when she figured it out.

It was the fact that she simply had a place in his heart as well.

In time, happiness slowly reached her. Jin pulled back, his lips curling into a genuine smile. "Now that you're here right in front of me, I don't think I'm capable of explaining it all in words, Jaein."