It was rhythmic, soothing almost, he pondered. The hypnotic sounds of the tennis ball hitting the ground and the short pants that filled the air in exhaustion, there was something just captivating with tennis.

Normally he was shy and quiet, but tennis brought more of him out into the open. He cracked his knuckles nervously as he waited for the coach to address the mass of students. 

As always, the first month of training was always just to weed out the unmotivated, review/master the basics, and to pick the regulars. With regular matches every month, however, he knew that the competition would be tough...and yet, he felt anticipation and adrenaline rushing through his veins at the thought, hardly nervous at all.

"Alright, everyone line up!" a familiar voice ordered. He turned and saw the student-coach walking out of the sports room, clipboard in hand and whistle around his neck. 

Immediately, everyone fell into place as he did himself, except for a small group of seven. They lingered awkwardly at the edge close to where he stood and everyone knew that they were the transfers; everyone else knew each other; they had, after all, attended the same school for years together.

Jinjung, their coach, gave a quick glance to make sure everyone had stepped in order before his gaze swept over the nervous group and he moved to them, calm. He flipped through papers on his clipboard before pointing to each person, stating a number for them to line up in. The seven moved quickly and Jinjung moved to the front again.

"We are here to do one thing and one thing only - play tennis," the coach began, his eyes sweeping over the crowd without worry. "And that is what we will do. However, we will not be playing for fun. It will be taxing and demand attention. Those who have the confidence to become regulars line up on the right. Those who wish to become better tennis players to the left. Those who are here to have fun leave. This is not a playground."

Without waiting for the response, Jinjung swept around and went back into the clubroom, dragging out a taller player, obviously having been asleep with his hair disheveled and still disoriented. 

"No sleeping on the job Yifan," Jinjung warned, pushing him to the right, where he himself had also gone. Beside him was Kyungmin, a doubles player who had competed as a regular last year.

"Kyungmin," he greeted shortly, attempting a small smile. They were well-aquainted enough, but weren't partners - at least not yet. He wondered for a moment if they were going to be assigned together this year, especially since both of their partners had left.

"Hey Jongkyu," Kyungmin brightly responded, giving a wide smile. "You been good over the vacation?"

"Ok. You?" Jongkyu questioned back, leaning against the gate behind them nervously. The field itself was large with multiple physical education fields spread about and three different sports buildings and sheds. The fields were outlined with fences to keep out intruders, but few people walked down the peaceful streets of the Academy except the occasional odd couple, especially since most that lived in the area were retired senior citizens.

"Fun," Kyungmin beamed, opening his mouth to relay his vacation to Jongkyu.

"Kyungmin," Jinjung's cool voice warned. Keep on task.

"Sorry," Kyungmin immediately apologized, snapping to attention. He followed suit, seeing Jinjung's half-scolding gaze and throwing an apologetic look back. Jinjung went back to addressing the crowd. 

"Those on my left get onto the track. Ten laps," Jinjung ordered before turning to his right. "Those on my right get on the courts and warm up. We'll be playing a game."

...xXx...

His head pounded and he could hear his own heartbeat, steady against his chest. His breath came out in short pants but he felt exhiliration, that familiar rush as he played tennis.

From across the court, over the net, and at the other side, his opponent, whose name escaped him at the moment, served, throwing the ball up in the air, jumping to meet it halfway, and swinging his racquet with a practiced posture, sending the small ball flying over the net onto his side. 

He moved before thinking, his feet already speeding across the court as he swung his own arm, meeting the ball in a way he knew would slice across the court onto the opposite side of where the opponent stood, but just as quickly his opponent was there, swinging and just barely putting enough force on the ball, sending it in the air as a lob.

Chance!

He leapt into the air, glancing at the ball and swinging, angling his racquet so it would land in an unguarded zone and smirked. The ball collided with his racquet satisfyingly-

Thwack! 

-and he landed on the ground lithely as he scored a point, landing the ball close to the corner line.

"Slam dunk!" he proclaimed with an accomplished grin.

"6-4," the referee - the coach - called out, blowing his whistle. He walked to the net as his opponent did the same. 

"Park Kangdae," he introduced himself, sticking out a hand. "Nice game. You?"

"I'm Choi Jaehyun, a transfer," his opponent greeted, shaking it with a good-natured grin. 

"I know," Kangdae teased, smiling just as brightly. "It's easy to see who are the transfers around here. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask."

"I won't," Jaehyun joked back, half-surprised. His opponent had been rather...quiet and mature throughout the whole game, but outside, he was rather loud and flamboyant.

"Kangdae, Jaehyun, out," Jinjung ordered. "Yifan, Daniel in." 

Kangdae and Jaehyun obediently walked out of the courts, letting the two tall players walk in. Unlike Kris, who was graceful and purposeful with every movement, Kangdae noted, Niel was very laidback, letting the tennis ball roll across his fingers with ease...or nervousness...perhaps both?

Either way, Niel would be fighting the captain. It wouldn't be that entertaining of a game.

However, Kangdae soon found himself entranced by the game, watching the small yellow blur smash into each other's courts and mildly surprised by the near even skill the two displayed. They were both tall so lobs were out of the question and with long legs naturally gifted to them, they both also had good speed. However, Kris was slightly more analytical, calculating every hit, while Niel was slightly more instinct, putting all of his strength into every ball like it was his last.

"6-6," Jinjung called out, blowing his whistle. "End the game."

Both players were breathing hard, sweat glistening upon the back of their necks and soaking their shirts.

"Not going to finish?" Niel questioned, wiping his sweat with his sleeve.

"Not today," Jinjung answered, jumping down from the referee's chair. "Now come on. Everyone take twenty laps."

A groan rang out loudly.

"Make that thirty," Jinjung decided, throwing a sharp glance at them. "Now."

"That was so your fault," Kangdae muttered to Jaehyun with a sigh. Jaehyun only gave a shrug in answer as the team began running.

...xXx...

There were several high-pitched screams in the boys' locker rooms, enough to make the people on the field turn in curiosity before they realized what had happened when they spotted a familiar bright pink bicycle leaning on the side of the building.

"She's here again?" a member of the nearby soccer team complained.

"Well, she is one of the few not afraid of coming in alone," another pointed out, spotting the ball and running off again. "Hey! I'm open!"

"Park Junhi!" one of the many members of the tennis team squeaked in disbelief. He was half-dressed, wearing his jeans and holding his shirt in his hand. "I told you to stay out of here!"

"Not my fault you guys are all shy about your body," the lone female replied, rolling her eyes. She looked around the lockers room - the male locker room - without shame, looking for someone though her eyes lingered quite obviously on the nearby eye-candy. "Where's Jin-Oppa?"

"Not here obviously," Jongkyu replied, pushing her out while muttering profuse apologies to the other males.

"Where is he then?" Junhi questioned, letting herself be pushed out. 

"No idea," Jongkyu answered before shutting the door and returning to his changing. He heard a faint 'You butthead!' from outside the door, but he ignored it along with the many stares he was receiving as he returned to his locker to change, trying not to turn red.

Oh gosh. He wanted to melt into goop and die. His sister was so embarrassing.

"Who was that?" an unfamiliar student asked, blinking curiously. Jongkyu looked him over, surprised. He was a good-looking male, average height, and skinny. The male was already dressed, wearing the school's uniform for college, and had bright red hair styled neatly. Sweat glistened on his brow but it looked natural rather than disgusting, but more importantly...when had he gotten there?

"What?" he blurted, caught by surprise. His mouth dropped in horror at his own thoughtless words. This guy was going to think he was rude!

"Who was that?" the male repeated, unperturbed. "Oh, I'm Jang Hyunseung. I'm a transfer. I came late because...well, it's a long story."

Jongkyu felt elation that the handsome guy was paying him attention, but he felt under scrutiny at the same time. His mouth felt unusually dry and he couldn't answer for a moment.

"Park Jongkyu," he mumbled finally, dropping his eyes and pulling on his shirt to avoid talking further.

"That was Park Jongkyu?" Hyunseung asked, tilting his head to the side. 

"I mean, I'm Park Jongkyu," Jongkyu corrected nervously, daring to meet the other's eyes again. "That was my sister Junhi."

"Oh," Hyunseung said shortly. "So why was she here?"

Jongkyu reached into his locker, pulling out his uniform jacket and pulling that on so he'd have time to organize his thoughts. He at socializing. Period. And now this good-looking upperclassman was talking nonstop. He was sure he was red.

"She was looking for Jung-Hyung," Jongkyu answered, praying for an escape or explanation when one came as the door opened and a familiar voice called out.

"Yo redhead," a familiar voice called loudly. Several red-headed people (all dyed of course) turned towards the voice - Kris-Hyung as he liked to be called; only Jung-Hyung called him by his other name and Kris-Hyung often complained that 'Captain Kris sounded like something out a cereal commercial.' "Who's Jang Hyunseung?"

The said male raised his hand, replying a chipper voice. 

"Here."

Kris-Hyung's attention zeroed in on them along with a good half of the locker room...and Jongkyu just wanted to change in peace.

"Come on," Kris-Hyung called not-at-all-quietly, tapping his foot. "We've got to sort out your transfer stuff since you're late."

"Yes sir," Hyunseung agreed. He turned to Jongkyu one last time. "See you around."

And then he left, following Kris-Hyung out the door.

And Jongkyu sighed in relief.

Gosh. He could die now. What was with all the attention on him in one day?

...xXx...

Authors Notes

Sorry for not updating quickly but I hope you enjoyed the quick chapter. I'm still working out who'll get into the team and who'll be second stringers. Anyways, don't forget to review and I'll hopefully update again soon.