Youngbae dribbled to his left only to be blocked in his step. Surprised at the contact, he quickly jumped and shot the ball. He watched it spin in the air before hitting the basket and ricocheting off it. The ball bounced to the other side of the court as Youngbae sighed.

He felt a pat on the shoulder before he heard a voice say, “C’mon Youngbae-ah. I thought you better than to shoot all the time.” Youngbae looked up to see his best friend shaking his head.

Youngbae could only nod. “Mianhe Jiyongie.” He bowed his head and went to fetch the ball. They went back to playing, Jiyong gave the ball to Youngbae. They set their positions and Youngbae started to slowly dribble the ball.

He gestured with his eyes that he was going right but he brought the ball back onto his left hand. With his right foot, he managed to blow by Jiyong and flawlessly layed the ball into the net.

Youngbae looked back at Jiyong who was giving him a smirk. “Now why can’t you play like that Youngbae?” Jiyong laughed as Youngbae shrugged his shoulders.

“Y’know I’m not one to shoot Jiyongie. That’s why I always try to shoot against you because I know you can’t defend me inside the three-point line.” Youngbae smirked at Jiyong’s gaping face. His challenge resonated deep in Jiyong and a fire started building inside of him.

Jiyong gritted his teeth and took the ball from Youngbae. “Show some respect.” His voice grew serious and Youngbae mentally laughed. “I’ll show you why I’m so much better than you.”

“Oooh I’m so scared G-Dragon.” Youngbae teased as he used his best friend’s dreaded name that was given to him by Youngbae’s brother.

“Yah! Shut up!” Jiyong narrowed his eyes at the laughing Youngbae. “You can’t say much Taeyang. You don’t even shine.”

Youngbae stared at him with a blank face before erupting into laughter. “What was that Jiyongie?!” He was holding onto his sides and had to go on one knee to keep his balance. “That was the worst joke you’ve ever said!”

“Ah just play!” The ball was tossed at Youngbae where it hit him on the head. He got up and picked up the ball.

“Just for that, I get the ball.” He stuck his tongue out at Jiyong and went to the three-point line.

They went back to their dance, not one person was getting an edge over the other. If Jiyong scored then Youngbae would come back with a fierce move to even up the score. When Jiyong, the sharpshooter, shot a three, Youngbae would come up with a flashy dunk.

The ball sailed through the net and Jiyong was casually blowing into his fingers. “You really need to get better at defending.” He patted Youngbae on the cheek as he passed him.

Youngbae went to the top of the three-point line. He slowly breathed in and out, controlling the ache of his muscles. They have been playing for over a couple of hours and both were dead tired. But they didn’t want to leave unless there was a clear victor.

Youngbae exhaled the air out of his lungs slowly as he started dribbling the ball low. He crossed the ball over a few times before bringing it onto his right hand. Jiyong saw through this and swiped at the ball. Seeing his way blocked, Youngbae pulled the ball back where he faked to shoot it.

Jiyong bit on the fake and jumped but Youngbae just blew past him. ‘Crap!’ Jiyong cursed in his mind. ‘He’s going to be doing something freaky.’ He sighed as he heard the loud bang of the basket.

When Youngbae blew past Jiyong, he knew that it was over. Their games always seemed to end like that. He threw the ball at the backboard. As it bounced back, he caught it with one hand and brought it between his knees onto his right hand. He dunked the ball and gripped onto the ring for a few seconds before letting go. His feet reached the ground slowly as he straightened out his knees.

“Ah Youngbae chincha? Why do you always have to show off?” Jiyong whined and he passed Youngbae a towel. “I know you’re better than me but c’mon! And do you always have to take off your shirt?!”

Youngbae chuckled at his friend’s antics. “Ah you know I’m not better than you Jiyongie.” Jiyong shook his head at the statement.

“No.” The seriousness in his voice caught Youngbae by surprise. “You’re going to get better than me Youngbae. You may not see it now but you will.” He gave Youngbae a smile. “And don’t worry I’ll be here to make sure you do!”

Youngbae flashed him a grateful smile as he looked at Jiyong. But suddenly his face changed. Jiyong’s eyes turned hollow and sunken, the irises taking on a dull colour. He was pale, too pale to be healthy. A dark, red ring started appearing around his neck and his body was becoming too thin.

“I-I w-w-ill al-way-sss.....” The hollow, broken voice started saying. Jiyong held up a bony hand to Youngbae’s face. “B-e h-e-eere.”

Youngbae woke up with a start and he found his sheets clinging onto his body. His sweat saturated the bed covers and he drew them away from his body. He walked over to the adjacent bathroom, hoping to rid himself of the sliminess from his sweat.

He opened the tap and let the water fill the basin. The mirror reflected his image and he couldn’t help but be captivated at his look. His hair was missing its normal height, leaving it flat and covering his right eye. Stress lines were appearing on his forehead and around his eyes.

‘Why is it now that those dreams want to come back?’ He sighed and quickly shut off the tap, not wanting it to overflow onto the floor. He quickly washed his face, effectively waking him up. Youngbae picked up a small cloth from the cabinet and wetted it with the warm water. He slowly wiped himself clean of his sweat.

Walking down the stairs, Youngbae was greeted by silence. It was the usual silence that accompanied his home. His parents buried themselves in their work and seldom had any time for their family. Today was no exception as he saw his parent’s slippers by the doorway.

Making his way to the kitchen, Youngbae was surprised to see a plate of eggs and fruit. There was a note attached to the bottom of the plate. He picked it up and noticed his mother’s handwriting.

Youngbae we heard that you joined the basketball club again. We’re so happy for you! Eat well! You need it for basketball.

-Love mom.

Youngbae smiled at the note. ‘It’s been a while since omma has said anything to me, yet alone write a note.’ He shrugged his shoulders and sat down to eat his breakfast, all the while keeping an eye on the clock. Luckily for him, his dream had woken him up well before his alarm for school. His phone emitted a noise and the screen flashed, signalling a text message.

“Hey don’t forget your gear. Practice is on today.” –Unknown number.

He stared at his phones, wondering whose number it belonged to. But Youngbae was thankful for the text because he had completely forgotten about practice. He went back to his room to prepare his gear. He held up a pair of black and white basketball shoes. A small layer of dust covered them but other than that the shoes were in pristine condition. Youngbae made a small space in his bag and carefully placed the shoes in it.

‘Aish that stupid unnie!’ Jessica busily typed on her phone trying to delete some messages that were received due to Taeyeon’s plan. ‘I can’t believe she used my phone to text the guys! Am I like some manager for the team?! Nuh uh.’ She was so engrossed with her phone that she failed to notice the presence she was walking towards until it was too late.

Jessica walked into something that felt soft yet hard at the same time. The collision caused her to fumble and drop her phone. Time slowed down for her as Jessica watched the phone plummet to the ground, but before it landed a hand reached out and caught it.

“Here.” Hearing the familiar voice, Jessica looked up and was met with a familiar Mohawk. Youngbae was holding her phone towards her and Jessica snatched it from his grasp, almost violently.

“Yah! What’s the big deal?! Huh?!” She asked angrily. Jessica was clutching her phone close to her chest and she didn’t seem to notice she was the one at fault. Youngbae raised an eyebrow that was seen behind his shades.

“Huh? What are you talking about?” He asked in a confused manner. “YOU were the one who walked into me.” He chuckled as he watched her face start to turn red.

Jessica was beyond embarrassed but she wasn’t one to fold. “Well....you should’ve moved when you saw me coming!” She bared her teeth at him.

“Ottoke?!” Youngbae didn’t know how to react as he was surprised at the girl in front of him. He sighed and shook his head.

“Yah! Why are you shaking your head for?!” She walked up to him and stared him down, which was quite a feat seeing that she was a couple of inches smaller than him.  She eyed him up and down, he was wearing a white polo that was tucked into his black slacks, and his tie was down to the fourth button. His black shoes shined brightly when the sun hit it. What were most peculiar about his outfit were his black shades that had a white division symbol. It gave him a cool aura and his hair gave him some extra height.

Jessica tilted her head when she looked at his glasses. It was a familiar brand to her and it was an expensive brand as well. ‘How could some guy like this afford them?’

Other students milled around them, feeling an aura of anger and displeasure emitting from Jessica. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Hey! How could you afford those Blanc and Eclare glasses?”[AN: Fck the haters. I still love you Jessica!] Youngbae was again surprised by her; he slowly took the glasses off and folded them into his pocket. He stared at her, his eyes were piercing and Jessica fidgeted under them.

Finally releasing his gaze, Youngbae let out a noise halfway between a snort and a sigh. Without saying anything he his heel and walked away, leaving Jessica dumbfounded at his actions.

“HEY! Where do you think you’re going?!” Youngbae heard the voice behind him so he quickened his pace. He turned the corner to his class and found most of the classroom still empty. He released a sigh that he didn’t know he was holding and went to his usual spot in the right corner next to the window. He carefully folded his arms on the desk and rested his head on his arms.

As Youngbae closed his eyes, he felt a presence make their way over to him. Not really caring who it was, since most students tended to avoid him, he didn’t lift his head to see the person. The chair next to him made a noise and he guessed that someone chose to sit beside him today. Normally it was the last person in that had to sit beside Youngbae.

“Aish. I can’t believe that I never noticed you in this class before.” The voice beside him sighed casually causing Youngbae to abruptly sit up in his seat. He turned his head to find Jessica with a scowl on her face. ‘No! No! Not her!’ Youngbae thought as he frantically looked for another place to sit but couldn’t find as there were only two minutes before class started.

“Geez, it’s not like I want to sit beside you.” Youngbae’s newfound companion said to him irritated. Jessica took out her books as the teacher walked in. Youngbae sighed and went back to his normal position with his head resting on his arms.

As the class moved further on, Youngbae felt a nudge on his shoulder. He looked up to see Jessica facing the board while her left hand was close to his shoulder. She eyed him from the side before looking back at the teacher.

“Well Mr.Dong? The answer please?” The teacher crossed his arms and waited for the answer. Youngbae remembered that he was in chemistry and remembered that they were doing organic chemistry so he stood up.

“A homologous series are a group of compounds. All members of which contain the same functional group and successive members differ in size by CH2. They have similar chemical properties and preparation methods, the show gradation in physical properties and can be represented by a general formula.” Youngbae recited the definition calmly without any stuttering and stopping. The whole class looked at him in admiration as he sat back down. The teacher coughed awkwardly and went back to teaching.

“Hey how did you know what the question was if you were asleep?” Youngbae groaned when he heard Jessica’s voice ask.

“Who said I was asleep?” He heard a quiet gasp and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Anyway to answer your question, it’s easier to keep an ear open than an eye open.”

“MISS JUNG! MR.DONG! Perhaps you would like to share to the class what you two were discussing.”

“Ah it wa-“ Jessica waved her hand frantically but she stopped when Youngbae spoke up.

“Sica was just asking what a functional group was.” His statement made Jessica freeze in her spot. ‘Omo. Did he just call me Sica? Why did I like it and why is my heart thumping faster?’ She patted her cheeks to try and hide her blush. Apparently the teacher thought it was a good enough excuse and went back to teaching.

She looked back to Youngbae who was back in his normal position. Jessica didn’t want to cause another disruption so she tore a page from one of her copies and wrote on it.

Thanks for the save.

Youngbae felt something land on his arms so he moved his head up and was surprised to see a crumpled piece of paper. He yawned before casually open