Junhyung picks at the sleeve of his duffle coat, the woollen coat blocking out the cold wind that threatens to tear his skin. His shoes crunch against the gravel and fallen leaves as he trails behind Hyunseung from the Academic Block to the Facilities Block. From where they are along the concrete path, Junhyung can spot the other seniors from their science theory class heading toward the Facilities Block as well. There aren't any other students lingering around in the lawns between the two blocks of buildings.

Doojoon had mentioned that training for the rest of the school began at 4pm while the seniors went for their revision classes. At the same time, Doojoon had asked what club Junhyung had been selected for, because if Hyunseung abandoned him this time like he had done during 7th period, there wouldn't be anyone around to help Junhyung until training ended 8pm for dinner.

They make it to the Facilities Block in a few minutes, the distance not too far. When the double doors of the building swing open, Junhyung feels a gush of warm wind enveloping him and he steps into the warmth quickly. Hyunseung walks in slowly after Junhyung, staring at him with observant eyes. Junhyung twirls the ring around his finger; he wants to know what Hyunseung is trying to look for in him. He wants to know if Hyunseung is trying to look for something he is trying to hide.

"I need to go switch bags," Hyunseung says, still staring at Junhyung. Junhyung nods and he stops twirling his ring only when Hyunseung stops staring, entering further into the hall. There are another set of doors, solid coloured doors that slide open instead of swinging open like the main block doors. A few paces before the sliding doors, there is a turn to a flight of stairs that are painted bright pink.

"The doors are to the lockers for the guys and the pink stairs go straight up to the girls' lockers, but during before and after training, there are female teachers patrolling the stairs. Guys aren't allowed up there," Junhyung nods in understanding and is surprised when Hyunseung slides open the solid coloured doors. A myriad of colours greet Junhyung as he enters the locker area for the male students. The lockers are arranged in neat blocks of different colours, red bleeding to orange and blending into yellow.

Hyunseung walks past the brightly coloured lockers, past yellow fading into green, and stops along the row of light blue coloured lockers.

"The tennis team is light blue," Hyunseung states as he opens the locker labelled with his name in printed bold letters. Junhyung waits as Hyunseung peels off his parka and beanie, sufficiently warmed by the hot air blowing through the vents of the school. Hyunseung stuffs the outer coat and beanie into the locker, pulling off his black school blazer and thick green vest as well. Junhyung averts his eyes and looks at the other seniors changing from the formal school uniform to their training attires. Some of the seniors are already picking their training bags up and heading off to different ends of the locker hall.

Some of the seniors exit by the sliding door that Hyunseung and Junhyung had come in through, nearer to the red lockers, while some leave by the other set of sliding doors nearer to the purple lockers. Junhyung scans the locker hall for Doojoon, but does not find the other senior in sight. When he hears the sound of heavy books hitting the bottom of the metal locker, he turns around to see Hyunseung out of his white long sleeved button up and tan pants. Instead, the other male is dressed in a dark green polyester shirt and white shorts that end slightly above his knee. There is the school crest on the left side of Hyunseung's shirt, his name printed on the back of his shirt.

Junhyung thinks the bright orange of Hyunseung's hair and the dark green of his training shirt clash horribly, but he doesn't find the combination unattractive at all. He feels himself beginning to sweat; he takes off his duffle coat, black blazer and green vest before replacing his black blazer again. He folds his coat and vest before stuffing them into his backpack, which was already laden with textbooks and notebooks. He finishes fumbling with his bag just as Hyunseung slams the door of his locker shut and picks up the training bag at his feet, tennis racket handle peeping out of the open zip.

"The tennis hall is on the second floor, the shorter way is through the purple door." Junhyung commits the piece of information to memory and hopes that he won't forget all the little notes by the end of the week. He lugs his backpack along with him as Hyunseung leads them out of the locker by the door closer to the purple lockers, noting that there isn't a light blue locker labelled with his name yet.

In the next hallway, there are two flights of staircases on either side of the hallway as well as another stretch of sliding doors instead of a wall. Hyunseung turns to the staircase on the left and goes straight up. Unlike most other buildings, even the Academic Block, where two flights of stairs lead to another floor, the two of them only ascend one flight of stairs before taking another left. Like the wall of sliding doors on the first floor, a similar set of sliding doors take up the left wall on this floor as well.

"This is the tennis hall." Sometimes, Hyunseung makes Junhyung wonder which of them is the stranger one. Junhyung, because Hyunseung feels the need to tell him that this is the tennis hall when it is clearly their destination, or Hyunseung, for telling him in the first place when it should have been obvious.

Hyunseung slides one of the doors open and enters the tennis hall, Junhyung closing the door behind them. There were about six courts occupying the massive hall as well as some free space beside the court closest to the sliding doors. Each court was fenced by green wire mesh with a door to the court in a corner of each fence. All of the fence doors were open.

There are a group of students in the free space. They stand evenly spaced in a square formation, practicing their racket swing. One of the older students stands in front of the group, demonstrating the motion and counting aloud. A man with a full navy blue training attire stands in one of the courts where two doubles pairs rally, surveying them critically.

Hyunseung tosses his training bag onto the pile of other training bags in one corner of the entire hall. Junhyung sets his backpack down near the outer edges of the mess of bags, the shape of his bag standing out. Hyunseung walks over to where some of the other seniors are gathered without his tennis racket. Junhyung recognises the students from their science theory revision class and bows his head in greeting to them. Hyunseung doesn't pay much attention to his fellow year mates, but focuses his attention on the doubles match going on.

Junhyung isn't trying to stick close to Hyunseung, but he finds himself drawn to the doubles match too.

The movement of the ball is fluid, rhythmic, the sound of impact a steady stream of thud-thud-thud. The taller pair of doubles covers the entire court easily, returning the fastballs by the slighter pair almost effortlessly. The power in each of the balls that land on the taller pair's court catches Junhyung's attention. He wasn't a power player himself, but he wasn't expecting so much force from the shorter pair. The rally breaks when one of the short players smashes a lob by the tanned, tall baseliner, successfully earning a point.

The coach, the man in the navy blue training attire, exits the court after the point and walks over to where Hyunseung, Junhyung and the other seniors are gathered.

"20 laps around the courts." None of the seniors argue, not like the team Junhyung had in Seoul University High. Hyunseung starts running the perimeters of the courts along with the other seniors and Junhyung remains standing, awkwardly, in front of the coach.

"You must be Yong Junhyung, the new transfer that Heechul was talking about. I'm Choi Dongwook, the coach of the academy's tennis team," Junhyung bows formally, bent at his waist, to greet his new coach.

"Heechul told me that you're recovering from something so you won't be training with us this week yet, but is it healing well?"

"Yes, it's healing fine. Thank you for your concern," Junhyung bows again as he delivers his rehearsed lines. He had prepared for every and any possible situation regarding his health, aside from when he had gotten rammed into the locker. He doesn't doubt that Hyunseung has his suspicions; it would be even weirder if he didn't have any, but Junhyung thinks he can sufficiently block Hyunseung from finding out about the truth. Junhyung has spent too much time and effort hiding his secret for it to be discovered by Hyunseung.

Coach Choi doesn't press the subject – just like the others, Junhyung thinks – but nonetheless, like the other times before, Junhyung is relieved. Coach Choi sends him to the benches lined along the courts and warns him of stray balls that sometimes escape from courts despite the fencing.

Junhyung assumes a seat on one of the benches and feels almost like an intruder. He looks around the hall, mainly looking out for Hyunseung. Junhyung is anticipating, almost eager, to watch Hyunseung doing tennis drills or rallying with someone. In middle school, no one else in the tennis team matched up to Hyunseung other than Junhyung so the brunet rarely got to watch Hyunseung playing from the sidelines. Hyunseung playing tennis always appealed to Junhyung. His playing style was all-rounded, powerful, skilful and speedy and Hyunseung always had a particular sort of grace to his playing that made him so enjoyable to watch.

Junhyung had never seen anyone else on the courts play tennis as beautifully as Hyunseung did, not even professional players or internationally ranked players. Hyunseung was by no means a better tennis player than those professionals or ranked players, but they lacked the grace that Hyunseung had. If Junhyung had to really describe it, the way Hyunseung played sometimes looked like a ballerina dancing to a majestic song.

It isn't hard to track Hyunseung from the small group of seniors running the perimeter of the courts, because as much as the school permits individuality and outrageous hair colours, there aren't that many people in the school with orange hair. Much like his playing style, Hyunseung moves just as gracefully as he runs. Junhyung can see the other seniors working up a sweat, panting slightly, breaths shorter; Hyunseung is sweating as well, but he doesn't look out of breath at all. It looks more like Hyunseung is walking in the park on a particularly hot day, not at all like Hyunseung is actually doing a warm-up run before training.

Junhyung watches the way Hyunseung moves, trying to pick out which element made the other male look so fluid. He doesn't even realize that almost half an hour has passed until a sharp whistle pierces the air as all the seniors finish their warm-up rounds. The whistle startles Junhyung out of his daze.

The seniors, including Hyunseung, and some of the other team members from the other courts gather around the coach. It must be a special whistle because not all of the team members move to gather. Coach Choi speaks, Junhyung can see his mouth moving, but he doesn't hear the instructions from where he is sitting. When Coach Choi finishes with his instructions and dismisses the team, Hyunseung heads over to where he tossed his training bag and pulls out his racket from the ped compartment.

Hyunseung enters one of the courts where some of the other team members were already waiting, baskets of tennis balls at their feet. But before all the other seniors gather, Hyunseung picks up two empty baskets and places them on one side of the court before going to the other side. One of the other team members, a giggly brunet, puts one of the baskets full of tennis balls next to the empty baskets; the three baskets lined in one neat row.

Junhyung doesn't recognise what the two of them are about to do, but then the brunet picks up the tennis balls and starts to fire them rapidly toward Hyunseung. Junhyung doesn't understand the purpose of the drill, because Hyunseung just returns them into either one of the two empty baskets without any pattern. It doesn't make sense until he hears someone shouting, "that one isn't blue, that's red".

It makes more sense, then, why Hyunseung would stare at the tennis balls in the way that he does. In the way that makes Junhyung wonder what was so special about those tennis balls. From the distance between Junhyung and the court, he can make out Hyunseung's face, barely, but he can't really see the colour marks on the tennis balls. The giggly brunet's impressed expression tells Junhyung all he needs to know, though.

The way Hyunseung moves with his tennis racket to return the tennis balls captivates Junhyung. He doesn't have to move on his feet to return the balls, because the point of this drill, Junhyung has concluded, is to increase concentration and focus and to sharpen precision in ball handling. Nonetheless, Junhyung finds it hard to take his eyes off of Hyunseung. The tennis racket, more than a piece of equipment, looks more like an extension of Hyunseung's arm.

Junhyung admires the perfect control that Hyunseung has over the racket, directing the racket to send the balls into the right baskets with accuracy. Anyone else might not have noticed, but Junhyung can see the way Hyunseung returns the tennis balls into the exact same spots in the baskets.

Hyunseung finishes the entire basket of tennis balls before he lowers his racket and relaxes into a more comfortable stance. The giggly brunet tips the balls from their separate baskets back into the first one before switching sides with Hyunseung.

As soon as Hyunseung lifts his racket and postures himself to serve, Junhyung is ensnared once more. Junhyung only notices now that the person serving doesn't have an easy time either, because of the constant bending required to pick the balls. Hyunseung doesn't find the rhythm of the motion immediately, sometimes a beat slower than before. However, he settles into the motion of bending, picking then serving within a few shots, his movements consistent.

The giggly brunet is not as giggly as before after missing a few of Hyunseung's shots and misdirecting some of them. His eyebrows are knitted in frustration; Hyunseung's shots slow down by just a fraction but Junhyung doesn't think that the orange-headed male is tired.

It takes the not-so-giggly-now brunet a few more minutes than Hyunseung to finally empty the basket of the coloured tennis balls. Hyunseung gives him a pat on the shoulder after mixing the balls back the way the brunet had done. The two of them carry the three baskets over to the door of the fence and leave the baskets there. Coach Choi signals them over to where he is standing with a viewpoint of the entire tennis hall. He tosses them a canister of tennis balls and points to one of the free courts. Junhyung stands from his seat on a bench closer to the court they were in and shifts to a bench right in front of the court that Hyunseung and the giggly brunet now enter.

Hyunseung takes the side of the court so that he and the giggly brunet's back face Junhyung. The two players meet at the net, spinning Hyunseung's racket. Junhyung cannot hear the words exchanged, but when Hyunseung picks up the canister and walks back to the baseline, it is clear who is serving.

Hyunseung rolls the three tennis balls out of the canister and stuffs two of them into his pocket, bouncing the remaining one against the ground. He tests the ball against his racket, bouncing it from ground to racket, ground to racket. He catches the ball neatly in his left hand, racket in his right and pauses just for a split second before the tennis ball is in midair, racket swinging to make contact.

A set is different from a drill, Junhyung thinks. Hyunseung serving the ball in a set is different from the way Hyunseung served the ball during the colour identifying drill. The tennis ball smashes into the left far corner of the singles court and Junhyung can faintly feel the gasp of breath that escapes him. Hyunseung serving in a set, when he is fighting for a point, is much more brilliant than the soft serves meant to simply pass the tennis ball. The giggly brunet is, once again, not as giggly as before. Junhyung cannot see the face of the brunet, not really, but he can see the tension in the brunet's shoulders.

Hyunseung calls out the score, his tone calm and level. Junhyung feels a rush of exhilaration as the idea of watching Hyunseung play tennis really sinks in.

The orange haired male is ruthless in his play, unforgiving almost to the point of brutal. Hyunseung effortlessly slams three more aces into the opposing singles court; the speed and strength of the shots too much for the giggly brunet to even try to counter. The brunet begins preparing for his turn to serve, but it is clear that he isn't expecting a service game like Hyunseung. Junhyung isn't surprised by the nervousness in the brunet's motions, sometimes a little too hesitant or a little too hasty. His serves are strong, solid serves, but none that faze Hyunseung. Junhyung strains not to blink because he wants to watch every second of Hyunseung on the court.

Hyunseung's steps are swifter and faster than they were in middle school, always on his toes, footwork light and breezy. Junhyung is sure Hyunseung is not the fastest player on the team, but Hyunseung is far from slow. The brunet has steady footwork though, rivalling Hyunseung's speed or perhaps slightly faster. However, Hyunseung has the precise skills to go with his quick movements and they begin a rally, the brunet struggling to make use of his advantage in speed.

Hyunseung doesn't move much from his spot, just a few steps in either direction, because the brunet is only barely returning Hyunseung's rapid shots. The brunet is defending, barely, but defending. Junhyung watches for any holes in the defence by the brunet and is surprised to find few. Even though Hyunseung is attacking all different points of the court in strategic moves, the brunet can always return the shot.

Junhyung smiles, he thinks, it is less painful than his smile-grimace. Hyunseung is one of the best tennis players that Junhyung knows and if anyone on the team can keep up with Hyunseung, instead of being completely and utterly steamrollered as Junhyung had expected after the service game, the academy's tennis team might be as elite as they claimed to be.

So engaged is Junhyung in watching the match between Hyunseung and the brunet that he doesn't even realize the time passing – this happens a lot when he's watching Hyunseung – until Coach Choi blows a long, shrill whistle through the tennis hall. Junhyung winces at the sound and tears his eyes away from the set where the brunet has just sent the tennis ball careening straight into the net. Everyone moves to gather where Coach Choi is standing authoritatively, so Junhyung mimics the rest of the team, hovering near Hyunseung and the giggly brunet.

Coach Choi runs through a brief set of cooling down stretches, which Junhyung awkwardly watches because it would be unnecessary for him to stretch.

"Morning training as usual, don't be late," Coach Choi finishes and dismisses the entire tennis team. Junhyung waits for Hyunseung and the giggly brunet, who is clinging onto Hyunseung's arm now, to move off before he can follow after them. He doesn't expect Hyunseung to turn around and look for him. Hyunseung drags the giggly brunet over to where Junhyung is stock still.

"Hello Junhyung, I'm Lee Joon," the giggly brunet quickly unlatches himself from Hyunseung the moment they arrive in front of Junhyung and offers his hand. Junhyung accepts the proffered hand, his whole arm shaking from Joon's enthusiasm.

"I've heard about you the whole day and I was hoping to meet you but I got busy during lunch and I only have Psychology with Hyunseung but you weren't there and I just didn't get to see you until now but you seem really nice!" Junhyung stares blankly at Joon, who is still smiling like he wants to rip his mouth apart and honestly, don't the students at the academy understand that you can blind people with the brightness of your smile?

Junhyung wipes away the droplets of spit that have landed on his face from Joon's ramble and just nods, he hasn't known what to do with all the students from the academy since first period besides nodding and giving them his grimace-smiles which they all seem to like. Junhyung looks over to Hyunseung who shrugs and beckons for Junhyung to follow as he walks toward his tennis bag, most of team having left the hall.

Junhyung gestures in the general direction of where Hyunseung had gone. Joon flips around and starts whining about bad dongsaengs who mistreat their hyungs just because their hyungs are less intelligent and not as skilful in tennis.

Junhyung trudges along after Joon and Hyunseung, rubbing the flat plane of his abdomen, willing his clothes or his body to muffle the grumbles that are beginning to come from his stomach.

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long wait between Chapter 5 and 6! My laptop broke down and whatever I had written for chapter 6 was stuck in there, along with all my story details about the academy and the previous chapters I had written. I also lost the mood to write for All-Stars and I don't know if you'll notice, but I was really struggling in the middle bit of this chapter. This one is a little bit longer than most of the previous chapters as well, so I hope that makes up for the long pause between updates a little! Please enjoy this and look forward to the next chapter, because I intend to let Junhyung's secret out then! Although who finds out in the story is a different thing ;D