Just so there's no confusion—this chapter picks up after Hanbin's boxing tournament (which he won). I had plans to finish that scene properly, but realized it wasn't actually relevant to the storyline, so I scrapped it and moved on. Just didn't want anyone wondering if they'd missed something!
 

It’s been a week since the tournament (which Hanbin won, of course), and Junhoe’s slowly been losing his mind with each passing day—but for once it had nothing to do with Jinhwan. He’s had a more pressing problem, and its name was Kim Donghyuk.

“I mean, he just won’t leave Hanbin alone, it’s annoying!” Junhoe bit the tip of his pen, his irritation manifesting in the grinding of his molars against the plastic of the cap. He’d tried to keep it to himself over the past week, tried not to say anything to Hanbin about it, but now that he was alone with Yunhyeong, everything was coming out.

“But wasn’t that the whole point of introducing them? Like, you said it yourself, it’s a pretty toxic environment at times for gay guys. It’s only natural he’d want to cling to Hanbin. Or is that the problem? He’s trying to move in on Hanbin, and isn’t looking to be your friend too?” Yunhyeong had listened with a critical ear and he was pretty sure he had Junhoe’s problem figured out.

“No, he talks to me too!” Junhoe retorted, annoyed eyes on Yunhyeong. “He knows I’m gay, so of course he keeps trying to be my friend.”

“And are you trying to be his friend back, or are you being a jerk?” Yunhyeong asked, amused that Junhoe could have such good intentions, but such poor delivery.

“I’m not being a jerk!” Junhoe answered, offended by the question. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t quite as welcoming as Hanbin. But it’s not like he was being rude to Donghyuk! But he was kind of annoying. Always there. Always waiting. Always smiling.

“Are you sure?” Yunhyeong teased. “You might not realize that you’re being off-putting. So maybe he’s clinging to Hanbin more because you’re scary.”

“I am not scary!” Junhoe replied, annoyed as well as offended now. “He’d be fine if he wasn’t there all the time! It’s not that he’s there at all. It’s just,” he struggled to find the right sentiment, “it would be nice if he tried making some other friends? You know? More than just me and Hanbin?”

Yunhyeong grinned and reached out to pat Junhoe’s knee. “How many other guys are openly gay at our school?”

“There’s a few--”

“Are there? I know there’s Woosung, but I’ll be honest, I only know about him because of how often you’ve complained about him. Ever since he and Hanbin broke up, I actually haven’t seen him with any other guys. I haven’t seen anyone who’s as out about it as the two of you. Clearly, being out seems to be important to Donghyuk. Do you know how he’s been treated by other classmates?”

Junhoe shook his head without thinking about it. “No, why would I care? I’m not his babysitter.”

“Well maybe that’s the reason why he’s sticking to you guys? It’s already hard enough to move to a new school and make friends, especially if you’re coming back to Korea after being away in America. I’m guessing things must be really different. But since he’s gay, he might not be welcomed by other guys. You and Hanbin got a lot of when you came out, I remember that. Maybe, instead of complaining about him, you could try paying attention to Donghyuk? See if he’s being treated poorly by your classmates? I’m sure he doesn’t want to seem like a pest, but maybe you’re the only guys that talk to him? I’m sure he’ll make more friends over time, you just have to be patient. He’s only been here a week.”

Junhoe frowned at Yunhyeong’s advice. Okay maybe he had a bit of a point. It was still early. It was just too much, though, too many new people! Over the space of the past month he’d gone from having Hanbin completely to himself to having to share him with a new boyfriend (which wasn’t so bad, because Bobby went to a different school, so Junhoe still had Hanbin to himself during the day) but now he had to deal with Donghyuk, who was in their class and constantly around! It was more than he could handle.

Yunhyeong grinned and went back to checking over Junhoe’s homework. Everything was always so dramatic with him! Yunhyeong almost felt bad for this new kid, he hoped he was tough enough to deal with jealous Junhoe. “Anyway, enough about Donghyuk. How are things with Hanbin’s new boyfriend? You didn’t say much about spending the day with him at the tournament.”

Junhoe let go of the Donghyuk conversation for now, relieved that he’d been able to get it out of his system without having to complain to Hanbin. Bobby was an easier topic to discuss now that Junhoe had made peace with his feelings about it.

“It went well,” he answered, “Bobby’s a good guy, I like him.”

Yunhyeong stopped what he was doing and stared at Junhoe with a shocked expression. When they’d met for their tutoring session last week, Junhoe had been explosive in his anger over the relationship, citing Bobby’s friendship with that other guy who’d kicked Junhoe’s . To hear such a turnaround in only a week’s time was almost alarming.

“Did you get hit in the head again?” Yunhyeong asked, grinning when Junhoe glared at him. “No, I’m serious! The last time we talked, it sounded like he’d killed your family or something, you were pissed about Hanbin dating him. And now you actually admit that you like him? Junhoe, this is huge!” 

Junhoe rolled his eyes at Yunhyeong’s response. God, he could be so irritating! “Whatever, hyung, I didn’t know him the last time we talked, but I know him now and I think he’s okay. I’m still watching him, of course, waiting for him to slip up.” Well, he was trying to. Unfortunately, Bobby was actually very disarming when he was happy. He had an infectious sort of personality that had a way of tearing down your walls when you were trying to stay alert.

“Well, I’m happy it went well! How was the other guy?” Yunhyeong was still surprised, and he wondered if things with that other guy had gone better than expected too?

“What other guy?” Junhoe asked, not wanting to say Jinhwan’s name out loud. He was still processing what had gone on between them.

“Oh come on, Bobby’s best friend! The guy who kicked your ? He was there too, wasn’t he?”

Junhoe frowned and nodded. “Ah, yeah, he was there.”

“And?” Yunhyeong prompted, wondering what Junhoe’s deal was. He clearly didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about him.

“He’s fine. Better than expected.” Well, sort of? Junhoe’s verdict on Jinhwan was still out. He wasn’t quite the monster Junhoe had thought he was, but still… Time would tell. After all he only had one day’s worth of being around him. The possibility still existed that Jinhwan would show himself negatively. Of course it also existed that Jinhwan reallywas a nice guy, and the Junhoe had seen at first was only a front.

“Wow, seriously?” Yunhyeong was shocked again! “I was expecting to hear stories of a bathroom brawl between the two of you.”

Junhoe glared at him again. “Never say never.”

“So what happened to make you think he’s not so bad?” Yunhyeong asked, genuinely curious.

Junhoe shrugged, because he did not want to think about that too much. He’d tried to block certain parts of the day out of his mind, but he was having a bit of difficulty doing just that—namely the stupid kiss. It was embarrassing, the way that he kept catching himself thinking about it.

Junhoe wasn’t a big fan of kissing, to be honest. It always felt awkward to him. But Jinhwan had kissed him so easily, soft and pleasant and Junhoe still blushed when he thought about it. ! He was thinking about it again!

Yunhyeong was watching him and he noticed that suddenly, out of nowhere, the pink tinge of a blush was creeping over Junhoe’s cheeks. Junhoe. Blushing?! “Okay something happened, you need to tell me!”

“What?! Nothing had happened, what are you talking about?” Junhoe panicked and choked a refutal out.

“You’re blushing! Something happened!”

“I am not! Aren’t you supposed to be checking my work, hyung?! Mom doesn’t pay you to come here and talk!” Oh god he needed Yunhyeong to shut up right now about Jinhwan!

Yunhyeong picked the discarded notebook back up, along with his red pen. “Fine, I guess you have a point. But I am not letting this go! If you don’t tell me what happened, I’ll find out myself.” Yunhyeong looked down at the page and got back to work.

“God, hyung! Just leave it alone, okay? Otherwise I might not tell you anything anymore!” Junhoe glared at him, even though Yunhyeong’s eyes were still caught in his homework. He couldn’t handle it if anyone else knew what had happened. If Yunhyeong even thought about asking Hanbin…

“Please, you won’t be able to restrain yourself!” Yunhyeong teased, grinning as he crossed out numerous incorrect equations. He wasn’t sure anymore what Junhoe was worse at—interpersonal relationships or mathematics.

“Hey, honest question, your mom makes really good money, so how come you don’t go to a fancy school like this one?” This wasn’t the first time Bobby had been here, of course, but he’d never really paid attention to the building before. The surroundings never meant , because all he cared about was coming in and mopping the floor with the opposing team. But now he was in Hanbin’s school, walking down hallways that Hanbin walked down every day, and he couldn’t help but notice the difference. It’s not that Bobby went to a poor school, or anything. It’s moreso that Hanbin’s school was extremely posh.

Jinhwan walked next to him and shrugged. “Well, she did ask me if I wanted to enroll somewhere different this time, but I said no. I don’t care how fancy the classrooms are—if you’re not in them, then why bother coming to Seoul at all?” Jinhwan answered, and even though he was being honest, Bobby still groaned at the answer and pushed him away.

“I mean it! You could be here, you’re rich enough. So why aren’t you?” Bobby didn’t often think about the different economic brackets their families were in, but it definitely existed. His family got by easy enough, but he knew that was mostly because both of his parents and his brother worked. Three incomes kept them afloat. However, he also knew that Jinwhan’s mom made more money than the three of them combined. You could tell the difference by the clothes they wore.

Jinhwan’s thoughts drifted to what his sister had told him. Maybe Bobby didn’t know either? “Well, she already pays your parents money for me, so it would be like paying double tuition.”

Bobby looked surprised. “Does she really?” His parents had never mentioned that they get money for Jinhwan staying with them.

“Yeah, I didn’t know either until Seiyeon told me a few weeks ago. Just one of those things that makes sense, but you don’t really think about? It doesn’t matter, though. I like our school. It has you, that’s what keeps bringing me back!” Jinhwan teased and latched onto Bobby’s arm.

Bobby grinned and accepted that as an answer. He was glad that Jinhwan didn’t feel bad going to a regular public school instead of a rich private school. But still, Bobby couldn’t help but wonder how different life would be if his parents made more money. He could have met Hanbin earlier, if that were the case.

Ah, Hanbin invading his thoughts again! Bobby was happy with the relationship, happier than he’d ever been, really. But he found himself thinking about Hanbin all the time and he wondered if maybe he was getting a little too attached? He never thought he’d be the type of guy to daydream about another person, never thought he’d ever feel so co-dependent. It was honestly a little scary sometimes, because what if Hanbin didn’t feel as strongly about him?

He was pretty sure Hanbin did—they texted constantly throughout the day, and Hanbin had even gotten himself on a schedule, Bobby had noticed. Different types of messages at different times of the day, selfies at the same time each day like clockwork, so Bobby had come to expect them. The more he thought about it, the sweeter it was. The only problem was that Bobby had never wanted sweet. It took some getting used to (not Hanbin, but himself, his own needs and desires).

Jiun told him that maybe he’d just been afraid of commitment, never wanted to get hurt before (which Jiun thought was stupid, his brother told him that getting hurt is part of growing up, it’s important to know that someone can hurt you and that you’re strong enough to get over it).

Oh well. Bobby didn’t have to worry about that now, because there was no way Hanbin would ever do anything to hurt him. They were both crazy about each other, and Bobby hoped they always would be.

But today would be an exception, because today he and Hanbin were in direct competition. They had a basketball game and they both expected to win. Bobby thought back to their very first meeting, when they were trying to figure each other out, how they’d talked about basketball. They’d gotten together since then to shoot hoops, and Hanbin hadn’t been exaggerating—he had a wicked free throw completion rate.

Of course that was something Bobby was going to use against him, and he’d already told his teammates to watch out for Hanbin, to always guard him whenever he was hanging back. They’d both promised each other that whatever happened in the game today wouldn’t affect their relationship.

They reached the gym and parted ways there—Bobby headed off with his teammates to the locker room, while Jinhwan wandered over to the bleachers to take a seat. He wasn’t the only one from his school that had come a spectator, but he wasn’t really in the mood to be social with any of them at the moment. He liked sitting on his own to watch Bobby play so he could pay attention to the game.

Just as he was about to sit down, though, he spotted him.

Junhoe.

Jinhwan might not have been feeling up to watching the game with his other school friends, but oddly enough he found the thought of Junhoe’s company appealing. They hadn’t seen each other since Hanbin’s boxing tournament, and Jinhwan was curious to see how Junhoe would react to him.

He was going to be nice, though, whatever reaction Junhoe gave him. Or at least that was his plan. Sometimes things happen and he ends up speaking before thinking and it gets him in trouble. But he wanted to try. For Hanbin. Maybe for himself, too. Junhoe showed a sliver of a potential fun side on the weekend, and Jinhwan wouldn’t mind seeing if he could unearth a little more.

He crossed the floor and didn’t pay any mind to the sets of eyes that followed him, going straight up to the top row where Junhoe was sitting in the middle. Jinhwan couldn’t help but stare a little appreciatively—Junhoe’s blonde hair suited him so well, and he had it swept back, a little spiky on top. Junhoe’s physical attractiveness definitely helped Jinhwan’s decision to play nice.

Junhoe noticed Jinhwan as he was halfway up, eyes widening in surprise. He looked frozen for a moment and Jinhwan almost laughed, but Junhoe caught himself and nodded, and Jinhwan thought that meant that he wasn’t about to bolt away, at least.

Okay, be nice, be nice, be nice, be-- 

“Did you miss me? Want another kiss?” Jinhwan teased as he took a seat next to Junhoe. , could he not go one meeting without teasing Junhoe?! 

Junhoe looked away and Jinhwan noticed how quickly his cheeks flushed. Cute. 

“Kidding! I just wanted to come over and say hi before the game starts. Thought the boys might appreciate us being social on our own.” He tried to lighten things back up and hoped that Junhoe wouldn’t get flustered and retract.

Junhoe couldn’t believe his luck! Did Hanbin know Jinhwan was coming to watch? Why hadn’t he gotten a warning?! He’d been excited at the prospect of finally having some time by himself to watch the game (originally Donghyuk had said that he’d come and watch it with him, because he liked basketball, and Junhoe had thought about developing a case of food poisoning just to get out of it because he was done being social for this week, but then Donghyuk had opted this morning in favour of a study session with a teacher instead and Junhoe had been so relieved he’d felt like crying) and now Jinhwan was here?!

It’s not like he could tell him to go away. Junhoe was many things (cold, aloof, socially awkward) but rude wasn’t one of them. His only hope was that one of the senior classmen might spot Jinhwan as an opposing student and tell him to go sit on his side of the gym. Until then, Junhoe would just have to put up with him.

It would have been a hell of a lot easier if Jinhwan hadn’t brought up the damn kiss! Junhoe had finally managed to go a whole day without randomly thinking about it. And now this?!

Jinhwan waited for his response, wondered what was on Junhoe’s mind. Had he screwed up a potential bonding moment by teasing him? He was still trying to figure out how to work Junhoe, and now he knew for sure that teasing was really going to have to take a back seat if he had any hope of some semblance of friendship.

Maybe he should go back over with his classmates? Give Junhoe some space? He really didn’t want to, but he was reminded again of Seiyeon’s lecture on selfish behaviour. Of the two of them, Junhoe was clearly the one who was having a tougher time dealing with him. Jinhwan really ought to put his needs first.

“I don’t want to bother you for the whole game, don’t worry! Like I said, just coming over to say hi.” Jinhwan was about to stand up and head back over, but Junhoe’s entire demeanor suddenly changed.

“No, stay here!” Junhoe wasn’t looking at him, though, and Jinhwan followed his line of sight down to the gym doors, wondering what had Junhoe suddenly eager for him to remain? Someone had just entered the gym and was looking around in the stands, and suddenly the figure was waving at them.

“Oh hey, isn’t that the kid from boxing?” Jinhwan recognized the guy, the one who’d been looking for info on joining Hanbin’s gym. Donghyuk?

Junhoe grumbled under his breath and grudgingly confirmed Jinhwan’s suspicion. “Yeah, that’s him.”

Jinhwan noticed that Junhoe didn’t sound pleased about Donghyuk, but before he had a chance to ask, Donghyuk’s smiling face was right there in front of them.

“Teacher had to cancel, so I decided to come watch the game!” He exclaimed, eyes on Junhoe briefly before shifting to Jinhwan. “You’re the guy from the tournament! Ah, I forgot your name though, I’m sorry!” Donghyuk’s smile was still bright but a little sheepish and Jinhwan thought he was just adorable. 

He patted the seat next to him. “Jinhwan! You’re Donghyuk, right?”

Donghyuk nodded and sat down. “Ah, I feel even worse now, you remembered my name and I forgot yours!”

Jinhwan grinned and patted his knee. “Don’t feel bad! I’m sure you’ve met a ton of new people this week, you have way more new names to remember than me.” Jinhwan liked him immediately. Donghyuk was warm and friendly and practically the polar opposite of Junhoe.

Junhoe was glad to at least have Jinhwan as a buffer between he and Donghyuk. Like he’d told Yunhyeong, it’s not that he disliked Donghyuk. Not at all! Donghyuk was a really nice guy, super friendly, and under normal circumstances Junhoe would easily accept him as a friend. He’d even be super protective of him.

But God Junhoe was tired of constantly being around him, because Donghyuk was all energy, all the time; it’s tough for him to handle. It was funny, though. A minute ago and he’d wanted nothing more than for Jinhwan to excuse himself away to the other side of the gym, and now Junhoe wanted to hug him in relief for staying. If a senior classman came by now and tried to kick Jinhwan out of their section, Junhoe would fight for him to stay.

Jinhwan was piecing together the same concept. It was like the tournament—Junhoe had spent weeks being uncomfortable with the very idea of Bobby existing in the same space, but then as soon as Jinhwan had shown up and gotten in Junhoe’s face, he’d warmed up to Bobby.

Maybe the key to Junhoe was being the lesser of two evils? Jinhwan thought it was kind of cute, really. When presented with two poor options, most people would simply flee the scene. Junhoe instead sought to make the less irritating option into a good option.

Jinhwan could work with that.

“So, Jinhwan, how come I haven’t seen you around school?” Donghyuk asked as he propped his backpack up behind him.

“I don’t go here,” Jinhwan admitted, “I’m only here for the game.”

The look on Donghyuk’s face was comical at first, but then he let out a sigh of understanding. “Ah, right, you’re best friends with Bobby! Of course you go to his school.” There was another surprised look on Donghyuk’s face then and again Jinhwan thought it was a little funny, almost felt like laughing.

“If you’re best friends with Bobby, then are you older too?” Donghyuk asked in a bit of a panic, and Jinhwan grinned at him.

“Yeah, if you’re the same age as Hanbin and Junhoe, then I’m a year older than you.”

Donghyuk clumsily half bowed right there next to him. “Ah, I’m sorry! I haven’t been speaking respectfully to you--”

“It’s okay!” Jinhwan laughed at him. God, Donghyuk was so cute! “Relax, it’s not a big deal.”

Donghyuk looked half relieved, but half upset still. “It’s just that, after living in the United States for so long, I keep forgetting about age ranks. People don’t care in America, if someone’s older than you it’s not a big deal, just don’t be a jerk and everyone gets along.”

“Really? Sounds kind of nice, to be honest. Less complicated socially.” Jinhwan replied.

“Is it ever,” Donghyuk whined, “I keep getting busted by older students for not speaking respectfully to them. So, uh, it’s been tough settling back in.”

Jinhwan heard the little wobble in Donghyuk’s voice and his eyes were on him immediately. “Are you getting for it?”

Donghyuk shrugged and smiled at him, and even though he barely knew him, Jinhwan could tell the smile was fake. “Ah, it’s not a big deal. It’s not like I walk around wearing a sign that says ‘I just moved back after spending five years in the US, go easy on me’! I shouldn’t be forgetting so much, it’s not like I didn’t spend over half my life here as a kid.”

Jinhwan frowned. Donghyuk had him feeling protective already! He put an arm around his shoulders and hugged him a bit closer. “Ah, don’t worry about those people! They should be able to figure it out. I mean it’s not like you’re speaking rudely to them, right? Sometimes people pay too much attention to what you say, when they should be paying attention to how you say it. It would be one thing if you refused to use honorifics and talked to their faces too. Then you know it’s intentional. But if you’re being nice and forget to use them, they should understand that you don’t mean it disrespectfully.”

Of course Jinhwan was aware that he was being highly hypocritical at the moment. He busted guys all the time for not speaking to him respectfully. Donghyuk’s situation had him second guessing his own actions though, and from now on he would try and take his own advice.

Donghyuk brightened up at Jinhwan’s comments. “Ah, thanks! Um, is it okay if I call you hyung?”

Jinhwan smiled at him. “Of course!”

Junhoe listened to their exchange, a guilty feeling creeping up from the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know Donghyuk had been having a difficult time readjusting to life in Korea. Yunhyeong’s advice haunted him: ‘Maybe, instead of complaining about him, you could try paying attention to Donghyuk?’ No wonder he’d been glued to Hanbin if he’d been having problems connecting with everyone else. As annoying and exhausting as he could be at times, now that Junhoe knew he was having trouble, he was going to have to help him out a little.

The sooner Donghyuk adjusted, the sooner he could make more friends and maybe not be stuck to their sides all the time?

“Who’s giving you ?” Junhoe asked, peeking around Jinhwan. “Everyone knows you’re the guy that just moved back from America, no one should be bugging you.”

Donghyuk looked a little surprised at the question but he smiled and shrugged it off. “Ah, it’s not a big deal! I don’t keep track or anything.” The shift in his attitude was noticeable, though, the momentary drop nothing but a blip on the radar.

“Well, if anyone bugs you again, let me know who and I’ll have a chat with them.” Junhoe meant it, too. He hated bullying behaviour.

“What are you going to do? Tell off an older student?” Jinhwan teased, but he was curious. He wouldn’t put it past Junhoe to do exactly that.

“Being older doesn’t give you a free pass to be an , so yeah, I would.” Junhoe answered, and he looked Jinhwan in the eyes as he said it. He didn’t mean it aggressively, though. He was actually pleased that Jinhwan had seemed so concerned for Donghyuk, especially when he barely knew him. It was yet another sliver of proof that probably meant that Jinhwan really wasn’t so bad.

Jinhwan just grinned back, satisfied with Junhoe’s answer. He could appreciate Junhoe’s blunt behaviour if it was being used to protect someone else.

Any further conversation was cut off then as the announcer gave a ten minute warning call for the game to start. Donghyuk bounced excitedly next to Jinhwan, his eager puppy behaviour back in place. He was happy to have found Jinhwan here, relieved at how welcoming he was. Donghyuk was having more trouble fitting back in than he wanted to let on, and so far the only guys who gave him the time of day were Hanbin and Junhoe (Hanbin moreso than Junhoe). It was an uncomfortable situation because Donghyuk was such a social butterfly. He’d gone from having a mountain of friends, from being class president every year, to being an outcast.

He was trying to find his way, and while Hanbin was always really nice, Donghyuk had been starting to feel like Junhoe didn’t like him much. Maybe he just had a hard personality to gauge, though? He seemed friendlier now.

While they continued discussions in the stands, Bobby was rallying his team in the locker room, giving them a last minute pep talk. As the captain, that was Bobby’s responsibility. It was a hard won responsibility, at that. When he’d decided to come out last year, he’d gotten a cold response from most of the team. He’d spent the year proving himself over again, and by the end of the season the decision to name Bobby as the replacement for their graduating captain had been unanimous.

It was a good feeling, knowing that he’d probably single-handedly changed some stances on what gay guys were like. There was still prejudice, though, and of course some of the guys still didn’t like that he was open about being gay. But he’d earned his support, and it felt good.

Nobody knew he was dating the star point forward of the opposing team, though, and Bobby and Hanbin had decided to keep that information strictly private. While some of his teammates knew he had a new boyfriend, none of them knew who he was. Bobby had tried to keep details to himself, but Hanbin’s name had slipped out a few times (first name only, never family name).

He really hoped nothing came out today. It would just make things too awkward.

Hanbin was thinking the same, his mind half on the pre-game pep talk going on in his team’s locker room, and half on what it was going to be like, playing Bobby’s team. Hanbin had faced a similar tough time with his basketball teammates coming to grips with his uality, but with the amount of points Hanbin scored during their last season, the complaints had ground to a minimum.

Things were going well for him this year, even with the position change. He’d been playing as a shooting guard last year, but with a few key forwards graduating off the team, his coach had decided to try him out in the small forward role instead. Hanbin had gone into it b with confidence on the outside, but he’d been nervous on the inside. He’d been used to scoring plenty of baskets from the three point line, hanging back out of the main action, and now he was right up front.

Turns out he’d been worried for nothing. Aside from good shooting skills, one thing he’d come to cherish about being up front was having more of a hand in controlling the flow of action. The combination of he and point guard Yoongi’s plays had yielded to even greater team chemistry on the court this season. On top of all that, there was yet one more skill Hanbin had discovered about himself.

Drawing fouls.

All in all, it had really carved out a very special niche for him in the team, and he relished being untouchable. It was a good feeling, when everyone recognized how important you were.

But how would it go today, playing Bobby’s team? As luck would have it, Hanbin had been injured last season when the teams had played (and he’d even been too grumpy about it to want to watch the game, conveniently using a science project as a means to escape coming out to watch—of course he hadn’t bothered to tell anyone that the project was only extra credit, something he’d asked his teacher specifically to assign him to get him out of watching).

He’d grown up since then, though, and he’d never miss a game (even one he couldn’t play in) if he could help it.

Game time came and Hanbin couldn’t stop himself from looking for Bobby, smiling when he caught his eye. He really hoped the game wasn’t going to cause any trouble for them, because they were both highly competitive people. Hanbin hated losing, though he was okay at dealing with loss when he’d done his best and was simply outclassed by someone else.

Bobby had a tougher time dealing with defeat, sulky and grumpy after losing. They’d promised to meet later regardless of the outcome, loser buys the winner dinner. Maybe dessert too.

The game started out quick, with Hanbin’s team taking the lead early on. Bobby saw it all from his position on the court as point guard, saw the dangerous combination of Hanbin and his team’s captain. Bobby tried to adjust on the fly, directing his team in a way to attempt to minimize Hanbin’s skills up front.

But damn if Hanbin wasn’t quick on his feet!

Bobby groaned when the referee called Seunghoon on a foul against Hanbin--again. It was like everything he’d told them prior to the game was clearing out of their heads. Bobby stood on the line and watched as Hanbin effortlessly sunk both of his foul shots, putting his team up by seven points, now.

Whatever, they could recover. Bobby looked to his coach and called for a line change. It was time to bring out their own secret weapon, power forward Chanwoo. On his way out Bobby grabbed his arm, speaking into Chanwoo’s ear. “Watch their number three, he keeps drawing fouls.”

“Gotcha, hyung!” Chanwoo answered, eager to get his name on the scoreboard. Five minutes later and Chanwoo had managed to even the score up. Bobby and Hanbin were both taking a breather on their team’s benches, recharging before their next line change.

Hanbin frowned as he watched Chanwoo sink a three point shot right before the buzzer ended the first quarter. Whatever. He was starting the second quarter, so he’d get his team ahead again no problem. 

That was soon the theme of the entire game—each team leap frogging the other, passing the lead back and forth. Bobby commanded his side well, trying to avoid the magnetic pull Hanbin seemed to have when it came to fouling in the box. But Bobby’s rival, Yoongi, kept setting Hanbin up perfectly, either to sink baskets or draw fouls. Bobby was starting to fear that the final result would simply come down to the luck of the timer—who would have the ball at the final second?

Halfway through the third quarter Bobby was hit with another concern. Hanbin was going in for a layup, only to be tripped up by one of Bobby’s centers, Jooheon. He hit the wood hard, knee first. Bobby barely held himself back from going over to him, reminding himself that this was not his place to be checking on him. Instead he rounded on Jooheon.

“I told you to stop fouling him!” Bobby yelled, letting his frustration out on his teammate. Hanbin was hobbling off the court with help, and Bobby felt terrible. If Hanbin was really hurt…

“It was an accident!” Jooheon yelled back, bristling at the censure.

“The whole lot of you, it’s like you can’t stay away from him!” Bobby muttered, loud enough for Jooheon and the others to hear, but not for the crowd. He needed to cool off and get his head back on.

“Why are you so upset?” Minhyuk, the line’s shooting guard, questioned. “I mean, not to be that guy, but Jooheon did just take out their leading scorer. You’d think you’d be happy about that.”

Bobby was about to answer, but Minhyuk’s comment reminded him that his anger had more to do with the fact that it was Hanbin who was hurt, and not that Jooheon had fouled him. He had to remember to react in his team’s best interests, and not his heart’s.

“Yeah, I know, but I just don’t like the idea of us only winning because someone got injured,” Bobby said, trying to fake a reason for his anger, “I don’t want us to get a reputation as a team that fouls all the time. And you guys have been all over him.”

“Weren’t you the one telling us to be all over him?” Minhyuk asked. “He has a reputation for drawing fouls, I’m sure he’s not taking it personally.”

“Yeah, yeah, just, be smart!” Bobby said. “I’m sick of giving up points on foul shots.” At that point the referee was calling for them to line up, Hanbin’s team taking those shots Bobby had just mentioned. Since Hanbin was injured, Yoongi took both of them in his place, netting both baskets.

As they moved back into position to restart the game, Bobby held the ball and waited for Minhyuk to finish tying his laces back up.

“Hey, hyung?” Chanwoo sidled up to Bobby, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “What was your boyfriend’s name again?” Chanwoo grinned at the momentary look of panic on Bobby’s face. “It was Hanbin, wasn’t it?”

Bobby was going to murder this kid! Trust Chanwoo and his perceptive ways! “Whatever you’re insinuating Chanwoo, don’t. There’s more than just one Kim Hanbin in Seoul.”

Chanwoo grinned even wider. “Thanks for confirming his family name, hyung!” Bobby nearly choked on his own saliva—! He couldn’t believe Chanwoo had baited him into revealing more information!

Bobby looked at him with serious eyes that caught Chanwoo off guard. “Don’t say a word--”

“Chill, hyung! Your secret’s safe with me.” Chanwoo winked at him. “And look, he’s not injured after all! So you don’t have to kill Jooheon.”

Bobby looked back at their bench, watching as Hanbin got to his feet, jumping a few times on the spot to test his knee out. Bobby breathed a silent sigh of relief. He managed to catch Hanbin’s eye, who winked at him before turning back to his coach.

Time to get his head back in the game.

The game ended up coming down to a matter of luck at the end after all. Right up until the final second on the clock, Bobby’s team had held onto a one point lead. Like clockwork though, Hanbin had drawn a foul and sunk both of his shots in order to secure victory. Junhoe grinned, leaning back against the wall and watching as Hanbin celebrated on the floor.

“Ah, what a thrilling game!”

Jinhwan frowned, disbelief at the last minute change in outcome. He could see it on Bobby’s face, the irritation of a defeat that he hadn’t been able to prevent. Oh well. He knew Bobby had plans with Hanbin for after the game, but given that Bobby had just lost, Jinhwan thought it might be prudent if they didn’t leave the boyfriends alone at the moment.

“Wanna crash their date? Bobby said they made plans to have dinner after the game.” Jinhwan looked at Junhoe, hoping he’d say yes. Sitting with him during the game had been surprisingly fun. Junhoe had a great mind for snarky commentary, and Jinhwan had found himself laughing often. Donghyuk had eased into the conversation by the second half, and Jinhwan had noted that Junhoe actually seemed to go out of his way to include Donghyuk in the conversation more.

“Is it loser pays?” Junhoe asked with a grin, and Jinhwan grinned back.

“Unfortunately! Knowing Bobby, I thought it might be a good idea to drop in and ensure competition doesn’t get in the way of romance!” Jinhwan joked, pleased that Junhoe hadn’t declined.

“Yeah, why not? I’ll never turn down free food!” Junhoe answered, surprising himself by accepting. Whatever. It didn’t mean anything.

Donghyuk busied himself with his backpack while he listened to them discuss the post-game meal plans, quietly waiting to see if they’d extend the invite. He told himself not to be upset if they didn’t—he would almost be like a third (fifth?) wheel, after all. Boyfriends and their respective best friends.

Jinhwan glanced briefly at Donghyuk, who seemed to be taking an extra long time with his backpack. He looked back at Junhoe, motioning to Donghyuk. Jinhwan wanted to invite him, but he remembered his thoughts from earlier: what would be best for Junhoe?

Junhoe caught Jinhwan’s glance, and he was frozen momentarily as he debated his options. Invite Donghyuk? Make an excuse so it was only the four of them?

No, that would be cruel.

“You coming, Donghyuk?” Junhoe asked him, annoyed just a little when he saw Jinhwan smile at him out of the corner of his eye. Like a parent hoping their child would make the correct choice in some sort of test. But he focused back on Donghyuk just in time to see the look of relief that flashed across his face briefly before he locked it away behind a smile.

“Ah, I don’t want to intrude! Are you sure? I do have a lot of homework, I could just go home.” No, don’t give excuses! He knew it was just his own insecurity acting up, and he hoped Junhoe wouldn’t pounce on the opportunity to take the invitation back.

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure!” Junhoe replied. Maybe he should have been a little nicer in that reply? He thought about Donghyuk’s admissions earlier about having trouble fitting in. If Donghyuk declined dinner, Junhoe would just have to force him.

Jinhwan covered any potential awkwardness from Junhoe’s blunt answer. “You’re coming! You have to meet Bobby properly, after all!”

Donghyuk was convinced by their answers. “Okay, hyung! I’ll come!”

Junhoe nodded, relieved the situation hadn’t gotten weird. Being super nice to everyone could be tiring, after a while. Donghyuk descended down the bleachers first, and before Junhoe made to follow him, Jinhwan looked back at him.

“That was nice of you,” Jinhwan whispered, genuine smile on his face.

It made Junhoe blush. He wasn’t used to dealing with people happily pointing out when he did something nice! “Yeah, well, I feel bad for him.” Okay, that was half true, but also half a cop out answer? Jinhwan just laughed though, and even though the laughter was directed at Junhoe, he didn’t actually feel offended by it? It just felt like the teasing of a friend. Not that it made it any easier for Junhoe to accept it. “Ugh, whatever, hyung!”

Jinhwan looked back at Junhoe with an expression that was all pleasure, and it took Junhoe a second to figure out why.

Had he just called Jinhwan hyung?

.