The morning bell promptly rang at 8:30 and Mrs. Jeon walked into class 3-1, prompting the students to immediately take their seats for class attendance.

“Youngjae is here…and Jooyeon’s missing class since she has a doctor’s appointment,” Mrs. Jeon muttered, marking the sheet with the students’ names. “And now we’re done.”

The teacher closed the folder and placed it on the surface of the podium. “So! I have big news, everybody.”

The students perked up at the mention of "big news" and with a smile, Mrs. Jeon revealed the announcement. “The seniors are going on a camping trip after exams and before the start of summer break!”

There was a resounding gasp in the room. A camping trip? Minyoung turned to Iseul, whose eyes widened upon the mention of a trip. The other students looked thrilled and Jang Wonho immediately raised his hand.

“Yes, Wonho?”

“Are we going to the mountains?” Wonho asked. “Or how about to the countryside?”

Mrs. Jeon looked amused. “We’re almost done sorting out accommodations and then we’ll reveal where we’re going.”

There was sudden hubbub upon the news as the students started to eagerly guess where they were going and Mrs. Jeon chuckled at their reaction.

“Okay, everybody! Turn it down!” The teacher called out. “Remember! You still have exams before the camping trip!”

The room echoed with a loud “boo” amongst the students at the reminder, making Mrs. Jeon laugh.

"Mrs. Jeon, don't kill our happiness like this!" Kim Jinyoung yelled from the back of the class, clutching his chest in feigned heartbreak and eliciting laughter from his fellow classmates.

Minyoung fiddled with the end of her side braid. A camping trip. One part of her was excited because school trips were usually something to look forward to. After all, last year’s biggest junior year trip was to Busan and they got to visit fortresses and temples. However, at the same time, camping was practically synonymous with outdoors.

Minyoung and anything outdoors went along like oil and water.

However, it was still something to look forward to. Each grade had three trips in one year – one before summer, one in the fall, and one before the end of the school year. Since they were in their senior year, their trips were guaranteed to be grand and the camping trip was an exciting way to take a break in the middle of a tiring year.

As Mrs. Jeon continued to run through announcements for homeroom, all the third years could think about was the upcoming camping trip.

9:45 in the morning marked the start of a short break for the Saturday classes and the classroom doors in all floors swiftly opened. The students eagerly filed out of the classrooms to stretch their legs, briefly socialize with their friends, or to buy a snack from the cafeteria before the start of the last half of lessons.

Minyoung and Iseul were among the latter, making their way back to their classroom after buying some bread and milk to eat during their free time. The two were in midst of discussing the recently assigned English homework while climbing up the stairs when Iseul gently tugged on Minyoung’s elbow. Minyoung stopped in her tracks, glancing at her friend, only to see Iseul nudging her head to the left.

Minyoung looked to her left, blinking a few times when she registered Seungcheol’s beaming expression.

“Oh! Seungcheol.” The girl said in surprise.

“Hey,” Seungcheol greeted. “I was just looking for you two in your class.”

An apologetic smile graced Minyoung’s lips. “Ah, sorry, we just went to buy some food. What’s up?”

“Coach Kim wanted to pass on a message that there’s a meeting after school. It’ll be in the tutoring room.”

The two girls exchanged looks in surprise and Minyoung allowed a smile. “Okay, we’ll be there then.”

Seungcheol smiled. “Sounds good. See you later!”

The two girls waved at the boy as he hurried down the stairs.

Beside Minyoung, Iseul hummed, deep in thought. “I wonder what the meeting’s for?”

“I don’t know…I hope it’s nothing bad,” Minyoung mused. “Didn’t Coach Kim and Miss Hwang say that the team wouldn’t be able to play in the tournament if they don’t maintain their grades?”

“I doubt it, we’ve been doing a pretty good job… Well, that’s what I think anyways.”

“Hmm…” Minyoung tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“I guess we’ll find out in two hours.“

“Make sure to finish the expanded equations worksheet!” Mrs. Jeon announced over the noise of students eagerly packing their belongings away once the bell rang. “We’re going to start looking at ellipses next on Monday!”

After stuffing her books and pencil case into her backpack and zipping it close, Minyoung slipped the straps over her shoulders and left for the meeting with Iseul following beside her.

Ahn Jiae, Kang Hyemi, Lee Chan, Kim Mingyu, Choi Hansol, and Xu Minghao were already seated and waiting in the tutoring room, murmuring greetings at Iseul and Minyoung when they entered. The two senior girls took their seats at the front row beside Jiae and Hyemi, who shyly smiled at them.

Shortly after, the rest of the boys filed into the room, their arrival announced by high-spirited laughter and overlapping conversations. Seungcheol’s eyes lit up when he saw Minyoung, who was going through her phone’s text messages, and plopped down on the empty seat beside her.

“How was class?” Seungcheol asked brightly, shrugging off his backpack so he could set it down on the table.

“You know, the usual.” Minyoung gave a wry smile. “More homework for the weekend. How about you guys?”

“It was the usual for us too,” the boy sighed. “Oh! But a bee got in the classroom so we had to stop history class so we could chase it out the window.”

“At least you guys didn’t squish it.”

Seungcheol looked horrified at the idea. “Oh god, no.”

“Wonderful, everyone’s here!” The students looked up as Coach Kim and Miss Hwang opened the door and entered the room. The two teachers stood at the front, ready to address the group. Coach Kim nodded at Miss Hwang, who turned to the group and smiled warmly.

“Well, first of all, sorry how last minute the meeting is,” Miss Hwang began. “But we have a few things to address before you guys go home or go for practice.

“First, we just want to thank the tutors for their excellent work so far. Some of the teachers have mentioned that marks from quizzes, tests, and assignments have been looking pretty good. I think that’s great considering it's almost going to be a month since we've started.”

The group who were assigned as tutors smiled at the kind words as Coach Kim took over.

“As you all know, the opening ceremony for the tournament is on Monday so we’re cancelling tutoring that day. But that doesn’t mean that you guys can slack off on your homework.”

The coach glanced at the team a feigned stern look and Minyoung glanced at Seungcheol, who made a face at her in response.

“Anyways, if the girls are free after school on Tuesday, the team’s first game is at our home court.” Miss Hwang smiled at Minyoung, Iseul, Jiae, and Hyemi. “You’re all welcome to watch.”

“I recommend being up in the mezzanine at around 4 though,” Coach Kim added. “The seats get full really quickly. But other than that, you’re all dismissed.”

The students got up from their seats at once as they started to make their way home or to basketball practice. Seungcheol trailed after Minyoung, lightly poking her elbow a few times.

“What?” Minyoung whirled around and looked up at him.

Seungcheol stuck out his lower lip, casting his tutor his usual puppy eyes. “You’ll watch the game, right, best friend?”

The girl nodded and Seungcheol’s expression brightened, holding his fist out to her. Minyoung smiled back, holding out her fist as well for a fist-bump.

“Good luck with practice.” Minyoung said and Seungcheol waved happily, joining the rest of the basketball team heading to the direction of the gymnasium. She watched his retreating back and for a moment, she swore that she saw his shoulders slump as though in defeat.

Is he…okay? Minyoung blinked. She was about to speak up and call out to him in concern but Seungcheol was already out of sight.

–

An “oof” escaped Seungcheol’s lips as he collapsed in his bed. Basketball practice was intense, maybe even more than usual as their first game approached closer than ever. Since Seoul West specialized in defense, Coach Kim made the team watch their videos from last year and ran through different strategies and drills to break through their defense.

Before they knew it, it was already well past six in the evening and Seungcheol trudged home under autopilot, exhausted. After a long day at school, dinner and a warm bath were wonderful rewards once he arrived home.

Seungcheol sat up straight on his bed, fingers absentmindedly towel drying his wet dark hair as he buried himself in his thoughts.

Ever since his promotion as team captain that spring, something had been lingering in his mind. He forced himself to keep pushing it to the back of his mind and wore his usual cheery façade. However his doubts grew, especially with the tournament looming closer than ever.

Seungcheol often had doubts whether he was qualified to be the captain of the team. The previous captain, Hwang Woobin, left big shoes to fill – he was a talented shooting guard and a natural born leader who led the team to a memorable championship title. It was a massive surprise for Seungcheol that Woobin personally recommended him to Coach Kim to become his successor after his graduation.

It also surprised him that Coach Kim agreed wholeheartedly to Woobin’s recommendation.

If he was being honest, Seungcheol didn’t know what made his senior recommend him to be his successor. While he was a pretty good shooting guard in his own right, he didn’t feel that he possessed the characteristics of someone who could lead the reigning champions. He didn’t think he was charismatic enough to be a leader nor was he a naturally born one.

He didn’t deem himself to be anyone who could succeed Woobin after his legacy.

Maybe he was being too hard on himself (and maybe he was) but he couldn’t help but do so. With an exceptional group of regulars this year, Seungcheol felt the pressure to not only cinch SVT High’s record-breaking tenth championship but to also lead one of the best teams the school has ever had.

There was pride, of course, that he was chosen to be the captain. However, he couldn’t help but feel doubt and worry – especially since the opening of the tournament was so soon.

Seungcheol sighed, tossing the towel into the laundry hamper and glanced up at the clock hung on his wall. It was 9:17 pm.

He needed to distract himself from his thoughts.

Seungcheol opened his backpack and took out his books and pencil case, placing them on his desk. After cracking open his English textbook, he buried himself in his schoolwork in hopes of distracting himself from the thoughts in his head. 

Seungcheol sighed, closing his chemistry book to sandwich the half-completed chemistry worksheet. He massaged his neck, glancing at the clock. 11:35 pm.

While he got his English and biology readings done for Monday, he couldn’t concentrate on his math and chemistry assignments. In the end, Seungcheol gave up, closing the books. It was late, he was tired, and math and chemistry were his mortal enemies.

The boy crawled onto his bed, comfortable under his blankets and fishing his phone from under his pillow. Seungcheol had put the device on silent and hid it away from sight so he could concentrate. It was a habit for him to hide his phone whenever he studied since his friends never stopped talking in their group conversation until they fell asleep.

Just as he suspected, the notifications on the screen of his phone were all from the group chat and he chuckled softly. Seungcheol unlocked his phone, but instead of opening the app for the group chat, he opened his messages and started to compose a message.

It was late and the recipient was probably already asleep but it wouldn’t harm to try.

From: Choi Seungcheol
Minyoung T_T
Are you busy tomorrow?

Seungcheol opened up the app for the group chat when a new notification popped up.

From: Jung Minyoung
Just studying. Why?
Wait is it ok if we do a phone call instead

From: Choi Seungcheol
Ok!! ^o^

In no time, Minyoung’s name registered across the screen and he picked up her phone call, activating the speakerphone.

“Hello?” Seungcheol sat up straight on his bed, phone in his hand.

“Hi, sorry,” Minyoung murmured into the phone. “I think fast and type slow so I thought a call might be better.”

Seungcheol couldn’t help but be playful at that new piece of information. “C’mon Minyoung, step it up. People our age are fast at texting.”

“Well, I’m sooorry,” Minyoung huffed crossly, making him laugh. “Anyways, what’s up?”

“Oh…wait, did I wake you up?” asked Seungcheol, suddenly realizing how late it was.

“No, I just finished putting away my stuff before going to sleep right when you texted.”

“Ah…that’s good…sorry for how late it is.”

Minyoung’s voice came out soft through the speaker and for some reason, he found it calming. “It’s all right. Is everything okay?”

“Um…well…” Seungcheol mumbled and he mentally kicked himself. Why are you nervous all of a sudden? “I was wondering if you wanted to meet tomorrow and work on the chemistry worksheet. It’s okay if you can’t since it’s pre–“

“Tomorrow?” Minyoung spoke up. “Sure. I just finished the worksheet so we can work on it.”

Seungcheol blinked. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. That’s what tutors and friends are for, remember?”

Friends. Seungcheol couldn’t fight the smile that appeared on his face at Minyoung’s words. It had already been a day since the two of them had that conversation but he still had yet to get used to the fact that the two of them were friends now. Hearing Minyoung say those words made him happy and at ease. “You sounded really cool just now.”

“I know I’m cool,” Minyoung answered airily. “Anyways, where should we meet?”

“Well…we can go to Mingyu’s cousin’s café close to the subway station,” Seungcheol suggested. “How about that place?”

“Sounds good. What time?”

“I’ll meet you at your place at one, is that okay?”

“Su – wait.” Minyoung paused. “Did you say that you were going to meet me at my house?”

“Yeah, since we’re coming from the same area anyways. Would that be alright?”

“Y-yeah, for sure.”

Seungcheol smiled. “Okay, I guess that’s settled then?”

There was a sound of affirmation from Minyoung’s end. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah.”

“Umm…make sure to get a lot of rest and sleep well, okay?”

The boy blinked. Her voice was so soft that he wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I said you should go to sleep,” Minyoung replied a little louder. “It’s almost midnight.”

Seungcheol chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. You should get rest too. Don’t stay up late studying.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Good night.”

“Good night.”

With a beep, the phone call ended and Seungcheol collapsed back into bed, his head falling into his pillow. He glanced at his phone and opened the new notification that had arrived, making him smile softly and a warm feeling spread in his chest.

From: Jung Minyoung
You worked hard today ^^

Seungcheol’s fingers swiftly typed a reply and pressed the send button. His eyes read over the message over and over again, the smile still plastered on his face. As Seungcheol read the message for the nth time, the phone slipped out of his grip, falling on his face and making him yelp.

“Ow!”

From: Choi Seungcheol
Thank you >3< You worked hard today too!!!

Hello! Sorry for how late this is - life, pkmn go, and writer's block happened T_T I hope you guys are doing well. Also! This story has reached over 900 views ;_; I'm very thankful for the upvotes, subs, comments, and silent readers who have checked out this story.

In case you didn't know, I have a writing tumblr set up now (link on my profile!) so feel free to drop me a message if you want to talk about my stories or SVT or anything in general ^^ I don't bite and I would love to talk to some of you! Thank you again and see you next time!

P.S. I've been playing around with the layout so I hope it looks okay on mobile too.