Three

It was a Sunday. This Friday, the team would be having their first game. So, by tradition, the team had dinner together in a cozy restaurant owned by Jongdae's grandmother. She was a plump and pleasant elderly woman who treated everyone on the team--including Kyungsoo and Baekhyun, who went to team dinners as well--very well, and usually always insisted on feeding them for free, despite the fact that the boys could eat more than twenty servings. Yet she smiled and would pet Jondae's hair, doting on all the boys like they were all her grandchildren.

So all the guys were happy to go to dinner, and for a few of the team members, it was their first time here. Kris was amazed at the amount of food, eating three servings for himself. Tao, a second baseman and outfielder, ate even more than that.

The guys all joked around, Baekhyun mocking the other boys, laughing errupting from everyone in response.

Kyungsoo was seated safely between Baekhyun and Yixing, a sleepy-eyed outfielder and shortstop. He had been placed across from Jongin, and was doing his very best not to look up every other second. He simply kept his eyes low, eating his curry ramen.

Baekhyun started laughing then, his arms going up as he mimicked something Tao said, causing his elbow to bump into Kyungsoo's, which made the content in his glass, which happened to be a red, fruity punch, to spill into his lap and over his shirt.

Yixing glanced over and frowned, handing Kyungsoo some tissues, Baekhyun too busy entertaining to realize what had happened.

Kyungsoo sighed, wiping up the red sugary drink. As he reached to get more napkins, he saw a bronzed hand holding them out. Looking up, he saw that hand belonged to Kim Jongin, and his cheeks automatically burned from embarrassment at the red stains on his clothes. "Thanks," he said softly, and Jongin smiled in response, their hands brushing ever so slightly as Kyungsoo took the napkins.

His heart didn't stop beating erratically for the rest of the night.

*     *     *

One of the best things about game day was the uniforms.

SM Academy was scrawled in black cursive on the top of the front over a gray base, and Wolves, the mascot of their team, in larger blue cursive underneath that. Their number was small, on the upper left on the front of the jersey, and in larger numbers on the back with their last name on top. Gray pants that fitted tightly to toned thighs followed that, and dirt-stained cleats. Their hats were gray too, with a large W in the center.

All in all, the uniforms looked absolutely gorgeous on the athletic males. Baekhyun was openly checking out Chanyeol in the locker room before the coach started their pep talk. Kyungsoo was far too shy to so obviously let his eyes go up and down Jongin's figure, but he did sneak quick peeks, loving the way the jersey laid on his broad shoulders.

Their coaches were Siwon and Donghae, graduates of SM themselves. They were kind but firm coaches, and they had results to back up their methods.

Kyungsoo stood with Baekhyun in the back as the players sat on benches, nodding seriously as their coaches encouraged them and reminded them of little details on plays, tips for batting or throwing, and they also offered a little intel on the other team's players, warning them to watch out for number sixteen, who was a left-handed batter that was rumored to be able to hit it out of the park no problem.

The players grabbed their bags, heading towards the field, talking with each other as they went. Baekhyun hopped up to walk next to Chanyeol, o