Chapter 18.

As Yoongi walked down the hallway with Namjoon after squeezing in a quick half-an-hour of practice, a girl bumped into Namjoon, startling both of them out of their reverie. The girl quickly bowed, before she ran away with her friend, their giggles echoing across the hall as they disappeared around the corner. 

"You have a lot of fans." Yoongi scoffed, his lips forming a small grin when he saw the piece of paper the girl had conveniently 'misplaced'.

"You jealous, Yoongi?" Namjoon smirked. "Oh wait, your biggest fan makes up for the lack of number of fans." 
"What the are you saying?" Yoongi arched his eyebrows at the taller male.
"Junghwa." 
"No." Yoongi shook his head immediately. "Do you even know how dumb you sound?"
"You know it's true." Namjoon snickered. "I see the way you look at her, Yoongi, it's so obvious."
"What's so obvious?" Yoongi stopped in his tracks, looking at Namjoon incredulously. 
"You like her." Namjoon spoke quietly now. "Don't you?"

Yoongi looked at him silently, chewing his lip out of habit.

"I saw the look on your face when Taehyung dragged her away-"

Yoongi held up his hand, to which Namjoon immediately ceased to talk. He was looking at him expressionlessly, something that was sending chills down Namjoon's spine.

After an excruciating silence, Yoongi finally spoke up, the strain in his voice evident.

"I don't. Because... I can't move on from Gayeon, even if I wanted to."

Namjoon looked at Yoongi wryly, before he cleared his throat to break through the awkward silence that hung in the hallway like sulphur. 

"I don't think Gayeon would want you to be miserable after she left."

Yoongi looked at Namjoon with a sad smile, and shrugged. The two fell quiet as they walked down the hallway, falling into step with one another. Eventually, the silence was getting to them and Yoongi was the first to break it.

"So what's that piece of paper in your hand?"
 

Yoongi had to admit it, he was pretty dang proud of seeing his name on the roster. Happiness swelled up in his chest as he looked at the number fifteen, and the words 'shooting guard' on the piece of paper Namjoon held.

That moment of pride was instantly punctured when Namjoon clicked his tongue loudly. 

"That chick must've stolen the roster from the coaches cabin, Daehyun's been looking for this for days." Namjoon grumbled. "Thankfully, he knows players as well as he knows all the good restaurants in downtown Seoul!"
"And we all know how good that is."

Yoongi began to snicker. Namjoon slowly nodded, before the two best friends burst into laughter.

May walked through the front door of 'Soul Dance Studio', where she was asked to come to in the afternoon. Since most of the teachers were busy with preparations for the basketball match that day, she managed to slip out the gate unnoticed.

However, with her school uniform and blonde hair, not to mention her Caucasian origin, May stood out like a sore thumb, earning her the eyes of everyone as she stepped inside the air-conditioned building. Her cheeks turned pink with the attention; while she was open and out-going with her friends, she couldn't say the same for people she didn't know as well. She would clam up and embarrass herself to the point where she wanted to cry. She had no idea how she managed to intiate the conversation with Junghwa on the first day of school.

But she was glad she did. One, because Junghwa was a really good friend, and two, because-

"Are you May?" 

A voice snapped her out of her thoughts, as she found herself facing a young woman, with a stern look on her face. May bit her lip as she edged back nervously, intimidated by the expression on her face. The Korean woman arched her eyebrows questioningly, beckoning her to speak. 

"Yeah, I'm May." She stuttered nervously, avoiding any possible forms of eye contact. After a excruciating moment of silence, the woman smiled, her grin making her seem far from intimidating. 

"I'm Hyerin. Hoseok's girlfriend-?"
"Oh, yeah... Hoseok did mention he was seeing someone elder..." May smiled sheepishly. "Sorry-"
"It's chill." She shrugged. "Come on. Jungkook told me to let you in. The boys are practicing right now." 

Hyerin nodded at her to follow her down the small hallway, and May did, her heart beating rapidly for a reason she did not know. Walking down the narrow path, the music that bounced off the white walls had become louder with each step she took, until they were standing outside a big red door. May looked at Hyerin curiously. 

"This is the practice room for my dance troupe. Junghwa comes here too. You know her, right?" Hyerin smiled kindly. 
"Of course! She was the first person I talked to at school-" May smiled sheepishly. "We're good friends." 

Hyerin grinned, before she pushed open the door to let May in. May stood at the door, her eyes lighting up with awe as she looked at the three boys dance vigorously and flawlessly. 

May couldn't stop smiling as the three boys finished their routine, and walked into the practice room immediately after the music turned off. 

"May!" Jimin exclaimed as he walked up to her. "I'd hug you but I'm sweaty." 
"Ick, no, stay away!" She laughed, just as Hoseok walked up to her. He gave her a kind smile, ruffling her hair as he grinned. 

"Glad you could make it. Did you manage to see our routine?" 
"Yes, most of it." May nodded. "Nicely done!"
"Hoseok choreographed it himself!" Jimin spoke up.
"That's amazing, Hoseok!" May gasped. "You're really good. You're too pro!!"

She winked at Hoseok, who shook his head as he laughed. 

"It's not much, just another choreo... Anyway, me and Jimin need to get a CD from Hyerin's room." Hoseok grinned. Hyerin looked at her boyfriend in surprise.

"I have an office?"
"Ah, you're so forgetful." Hoseok smacked her head playfully. "Your new office, idiot, I left my CD there! Let's go!"

Hoseok, putting his hands on Hyerin's shoulders, lead her out of the dance room, Jimin following them; but not before turning around and giving May what seemed like a sly wink. 

May turned around, her eyes falling on a tall lean figure dressed in black. Jungkook, who was gulping down the last few mouthfuls of water from his bottle, glanced at her out the corner of his eyes. Bringing the bottle away from his lips, he gave her a small smile. 

"Hey, did a great job, you did." May walked up to him, giving him a broad smile. 
"Thanks... I needed that." He gave her a weak smile. "It's not an easy choreography. I keep screwing up."
"But you were doing a pretty clean job, back there." May arched her eyebrows. 
"Yeah, and that's rare. Just... a lot on my mind, I suppose." He shrugged. "It's just- I- I don't know, May. After Dad left, it's just been so stressful. The only reason I'm holding myself together is for my sister."

May looked at Jungkook; he was obviously bothered by a lot of things, and though he didn't show it as much, she could still see the miserable look in his eyes. Tentatively, her hand reached out towards him.

"I think you need a break. From everything." May sighed, patting his arm slowly. "You look super tired. I think you just need to get away for a day and let loose. Be free." 
"Yeah, right, I can't do that." He scoffed. 
"Yeah, you can. If you're so stressed out you can't concentrate on anything." May sighed. "You won't be able to perform as well, if you can't think straight now. I know cause I'm like that. So do as I say. Take a break. For a day, at the least."

Jungkook let out a resigned sigh, before nodding slowly. 

"Thanks for that... you really get me, I guess." He smiled sadly. "I will... but can you come with me?" 
"Huh?" May blinked, before turning pink at the request. She hadn't expected the question to come her way. Jungkook let out a small laugh, before he patted her head gently. 

"Come on. We'll go to the beach, me and you. It'll be fun. Plus, I would really like your company.". 
"You would like my company?" She spoke softly, her cheeks flushed.
"No. I would really, really, really like your company." He grinned. "I'm going to get some more water. Don't run off anywhere."

"I ain't going anywhere." She grinned back, sitting on the floor as he walked to the door. 
"Oh, and by the way." He turned around, looking at her curiously. 
"Yeah?" She looked up. 
"You look cute when you blush. You should do it more often."

And with that, he gave her a small smirk as he walked out of the practice room. May's jaw dropped as she stared at the doorway dumbfoundedly. Her cheeks heated up to no end, as she flustered at his unusual remark.

"Goddamn it, Jeon Jungkook..."

The changing room was filled with the sounds of loud and rustic boys. Yoongi walked inside after Namjoon, and was immediately overcome by the cacophony of his teammates' excited chatter about the first match of the season. The under-19 basketball tournament usually started from mid-October and went all through to June. If everything went well, the team would make it to the final match which was held at a national level. 

"Min, there you are." Daehyun slung his arm around Yoongi's shoulder, flashing him a broad grin. "We were beginning to think you ditched."
"You really think I'm that kind of guy?" Yoongi chuckled nervously. Daehyun ruffled his hair, shaking his head.
"Yah, it's not like that." He laughed.
"Then what's it like, ey?" Yoongi replied in the dialect the two boys often used while conversing to each other. 
"Ahhh, Yoongi, I know you got us man. Cause you'll be dead meat of you don't." Daehyun snorted. "Alright, get dressed, I need to give you all a pep talk. After last year, you'll be needing it."

Yoongi nodded, before walking towards the changing rooms.

He soon came out of the changing room, wearing his team jersey with his training shirt underneath, as well as his shorts. Yoongi felt a bit weird, but at the same time, a strange sense of pride as he walked around in his team clothing.

As he walked to his locker, a boy named Kim Jiwon, whom everyone often called 'Wonbin', suddenly held his arm out in front of Yoongi, blocking his path.

Yoongi looked up at the taller boy, blinking rapidly. Why is this guy not letting me walk past him?

"Dude, I just realised that we've never really talked before." Jiwon grinned.
"Oh, I, uh-" Yoongi stuttered, his voice failing him as he looked at Jiwon nervously. "Hey-?"
"Is he always this shy?" Another teammate, who was called Hanbin, walked up to the pair, before giving them a wide grin.

"I think so. You always this shy, Min?"
"Yeah- I'm sorry, I'm not good around people-"

Yoongi smiled sheepishly as he fumbled with the zipper of his jacket, avoiding eye contact. He knew that he was just going to kill his chance of making new friends, but somehow, it didn't matter. People leaving him alone after talking to him for a few minutes was something Yoongi was used to, anyway.

However, Jiwon and Hanbin were stubborn enough to get him to speak up a bit more.

"Ah, he's cute." Jiwon ruffled his hair. "It's okay, Min Yoongi, we don't bite."
"You'd think he'd get used to his team by now." Jackson jumped over, putting his arm around Yoongi's shoulder. "Come on, Yoongi, lighten up!"

Yoongi went rigid as his looked around for Namjoon frantically, panicking inwardly when he couldn't find him anywhere. 

"Okay, folks, leave him alone." A familiar voice spoke up. "The kid's already on edge 'cause it's his first match, the last thing Daehyun needs is one of his best players to have an anxiety attack."
"Yes, boss." Hanbin scoffed, before patting Yoongi's shoulder. "We're going to continue this conversation later, okay Yoongi? Don't run off after the match!!"

Hanbin winked as he jogged off towards Namjoon. Jiwon and Jackson grinned, before walking off towards another one of the players. Soon, Yoongi was left on his own with Jiho, who was rummaging through his locker. 

"Thanks for the save." Yoongi murmured unexpectedly, startling Jiho. The blonde haired boy glanced over at him, before shrugging. 

"Joon told me you're awkward around people." He mumbled. 
"Well, he got that right." Yoongi shrugged nonchalantly. 
"Plus, after yesterday's stunt, this is the least I could do to make up for it." Jiho smiled weakly. "Since you won't accept my apology-"
"Not yet I won't. Never said I wouldn't." 

Jiho looked at Yoongi in surprise, as the auburn-haired boy gave him a small smile. 

"Good luck today. You better do your best." Yoongi nodded, before walking back towards his locker. Jiho looked after him in shock, before allowing a breathy chuckle to escape his lips. 

"But of course, the same goes for you, Min Yoongi."

The fifteen boys were required to wait in the hallway outside the air-conditioned stadium/gymnasium, so that they could file inside one by one. Seeing that Namjoon was discussing strategies with the other centre players, Yoongi decided to do the same, and walked over to Mark and Hanbyul, the other two shooting guards for their team. 

"Min Yoongi." Hanbyul grinned, holding his arm out. Yoongi smiled a little as he took Hanbyul's hand in his and shoulder-bumped him. Hanbyul was in the same class as himself, so it was easier for him to speak to the taller male.

"Mark Tuan." The other male with orange-brown hair smiled at Yoongi, holding out his hand. "How long have you been playing?" 
"Since I was six." Yoongi grinned, as he shook Mark's hand. 
"That would be around thirteen years? No wonder you're good." Hanbyul gasped. 
"I try." Yoongi scoffed. 
"So how do you wanna play today?" Mark jumped straight to the point. 
"Well, since Hanbyul's taller than us-" Yoongi arched his eyebrows up at Hanbyul. "We should send him in first."
"Short people problems." Mark chuckled as he high-fived Yoongi. 
"I don't mind going in first. You're all the better SGs anyway."
"Yeah, yeah, shut up." Yoongi snickered.

Soon,their purpose was forgotten, as the three boys engaged into a fierce conversation about the NBA teams they supported. 

"Once a Chicago fan, always a Chicago fan." Yoongi put his hands up. 
"Sorry, Heat all the way." Mark smirked. 
"Aren't you from LA? You should be rooting for the Lakers!" Hanbyul snickered. 
"It's a matter of personal preference!" Mark rolled his eyes, before looking back at Yoongi. "I support the Lakers too, just not as much as Heat."
"Heat's meh, to be honest." Hanbyul shrugged. "I don't really support a team. I just watch the playoffs when I can."
"Don't say 'Heat's meh'! They're good!" Mark snapped. "They won two years in a row!"
"Yeah, coulda won that third peat last year, couldn't they?" Yoongi retorted, his lips curving up into a triumphant smile. Hanbyul let out a loud snort as Mark grumbled in defeat. 

"Sassy." Mark pouted. 
"That's my middle name." Yoongi winked. After a few more minutes of amiable conversation, the three boys exchanged phone numbers.

"We'll continue this conversation on chat." Mark winked at him.
"Which school are we up against again?" Hanbyul spoke up. 
"Changsuk High. That super elite school." Mark muttered disapprovingly. 
"How are they at playing?" Yoongi asked curiously. 
"Ah, I keep forgetting that you're new." Mark chuckled. "They've got really bad defense. It's easy for us."
"But they have really good shooting guards to compromise." Hanbyul sighed. "Although one of them did leave last year, right? Since he was in his third year?" 
"Yeah, hopefully, the new player's not that good." Mark shrugged, just as three unfamiliar people turned around the corner of the hallway.

"Ah, speak of the devil, it's the shooting guards themselves." Hanbyul muttered, just as the three players of Changsuk High School approached them. Yoongi couldn't care any less for the other players, as he looked through his phone's messages.

"Min Yoongi?" 

Yoongi looked up, arching his eyebrows at the unknown person that had called his name. And his eyes widened as he saw who it was. But only briefly, as a stony expression fixed itself onto his face as he stood up straighter. He glared at the three players of the away team, and out of those, one player in particular. 

"Yook Jinhyuk."

Yoongi spoke in a disgruntled voice, arching his eyebrows at him. An eerie silence had engulfed the entire hallway, and the whole team's attention had now turned towards Yoongi and Jinhyuk. Namjoon blinked, as he slowly recognised the person standing before him as someone that used to go to the same middle school he did. Someone that Taehyung, Yoongi and himself didn't like one bit.

"I still remember you from middle school. Still as short as ever." Jinhyuk snorted. "Man, I didn't think I'd be playing against you, of all people, for my first match."
"Yeah, well what are you wearing, insoles?" Yoongi scoffed, walking up to Jinhyuk. 
"Very funny, Yoongi." He said scornfully. "Why didn't you kill off your ed-up sense of humour with your friends that day, huh?"

Jiho was the first to move; he dashed towards the pair and wrapped his arms around Yoongi's chest and arms, forcefully holding him back. Even Jinhyuk had jumped back in fright when Yoongi lashed out at him, letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw that Yoongi had been restrained by Jiho and Hanbyul.

And he wasn't the only one. By now, the rest of the team had a fair idea of how violent Yoongi could get when he was angry, so they were all relieved with Jiho's timely action. 

Daehyun stepped forward, his eyes burning with rage as he looked at the three players of Changsuk High School furiously.

" off." He spoke dangerously. 
"I'd rather not. Plus, you'll be seeing plenty of me, anyway, point guard." Jinhyuk cackled. 
"Well, someone's done their homework." Yoongi snarled. 
"Well, someone hasn't." Jinhyuk chuckled mirthlessly. "Tell me, Yoongi, do you still cry Gayeon's name in your sleep?"

Yoongi let out a strained shout, as he tried to wriggle himself away from the pair of arms holding him back. 

"Apologise." Mark spoke up, standing in between Yoongi and Jinhyuk as he looked down at the latter with a stern expression. 
"And why should I do that?" Jinhyuk arched his eyebrows at Mark. "You don't even know Yoongi as well as I do."

Within a flash, Jinhyuk was pinned against the wall, his arm twisted behind his back at a painful angle that was drawing agonising gasps from his mouth. Mark twisted his arm a bit more, forcing a shout out of Jinhyuk's mouth.  

"I could do it, you know? Break your arm if I wanted to." Mark hissed. "Since you really like playing dirty, I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well. And you just might be the first act if you take it too far." 

Mark immediately let go of Jinhyuk, pushing him towards his teammates. He looked at him stiffly, before gesturing towards Yoongi again. 

"Apologise." 
"I will..." Jinhyuk murmured, rubbing his arm painfully. "Only if you win over our team." 

"Oh, don't worry, we will." Hanbyul spoke up. "I'm sure you must know how beautifully Yoongi plays ball. Beating you will be a piece of cake."
"I suggest you don't push your luck, newbie." Jiwon grinned mischievously. "We know your team better than you do."
"What happens if they lose, Jinhyuk?" One of the away team's players spoke up, looking at Jinhyuk mischievously. 

Jinhyuk glanced back at Yoongi, before his lips slowly formed a smirk. 

"If you lose... Yoongi has to admit that he's at fault for the car crash three years ago." 

A stunned silence filled the whole hallway. Even Jinhyuk's own teammates were taken aback by his conditions for their 'wager'. When everyone recovered from the momentary shock of the statement, they let out outraged cries of protest. 

"Who the do you think you are?!"
"Take your wager and shove it up your !" 
"Man, your apology, Yoongi's better off without it-"

"Fine, I agree."

Junghwa looked at Taehyung as his phone began to ring. Looking around the lunch hall, she noticed that people were slowly starting to file out. It was almost time for the basketball match to start, and since it was a home match, the students were allowed to watch. 

"Probably Namjoon asking us where we are..." Taehyung mumured as he held the phone to his ears. "Yeah, Joon?"

Junghwa's eyebrow flew up curiously as his rectangular smile turned into a frown. 

"Jinhyuk's on the team? Wow, that's intense- He didn't." Taehyung hissed under his breath, rather dangerously as his face began to show signs of anger. "Jinhyuk did what now? I sure as hell hope that Yoongi hasn't agreed to those terms- oh my ing god. Yeah, I'm coming right now."

Taehyung abruptly hung up, grumbling under his breath as he put his red book in his bag along with a few other things he had taken out.

"What's up...?" Junghwa asked nervously, seeing the frustration on Taehyung's face. He shook his head as he stood up, grabbing his blazer. 
"I'll see you later, Junghwa." He muttered angrily, before rushing away from the table. Junghwa grabbed her bag and ran after him, shouting his name. 

"Yah!" Junghwa snapped, grabbing his arm. "What's going on?!"
"...come on." Taehyung nodded at her to follow him. "I'll explain on the way." 
"Why not now?" She walked with him as they followed everyone to the stadium. But instead of walking through the doors like the rest of the students were, Taehyung lead her further down the hallway, his eyes blazing with cold fury. 

"Taehyung. What's going on?" Junghwa stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms across her chest as she demanded an answer. Taehyung looked at her stiffly, before letting out an exasperated sigh. 

"Yoongi's a ing idiot." It was all Taehyung said. Junghwa rolled her eyes, as she walked over towards him.
"If this is something stupid, Taehyung-"
"It's not." He shook his head. "It's pretty serious." 
"How serious, Tae?" She asked softly. "What did he do?"

Taehyung looked down at her, gulping involuntarily before he looked away, his eyes downcast as glanced back at her with a wry expression.

"Yoongi agreed to take the blame for the accident three years ago if our team loses today's match."

Uh oh... #drama #ohno #ohsnap #ohhhhhhhhsnap
I'm sorry for not having any basketball action this chapter (I know, I promised... I'm a bad author OTL) I'm so sorry! I've been terribly busy preparing for my exams (actually I'm updating in between them >.>) so I hope you understand T.T
I hope you like this update although i know you won't ^^ And I NEED U! What an amazing song <3 BTS deserve the four wins they have under their belts :'D Min Yoongi looking at the trophy like it's his child... #youdeserveitsuga #agastD #proudofmyboys #mybabies <3<3<3

Thanks for 89 subscribers!!! <3<3<3 I love you guys... infinitely :')
- Haru. (P.S. Can I do Yoongi's tie for him?^^)