Hello friends, welcome back! ♥ My break was well spent, I got some good work done. Have the entirety of the story all planned out in excruciating detail now, and I even have a few chapters worth of rough drafts pre-written so I'm ahead of myself at the moment. :)

This chapter ended up being pretty Hanbin-centric in the latter half, which I suppose is fitting, since it is his birthday weekend!
 

It was early in the evening on Wednesday and Hanbin was standing in the hall with Donghyuk and Junhoe, passing a bit of time before his basketball semi-final got underway. He was feeling good for the game, confident they’d get past their rivals. They had home court advantage, after all, since they’d finished first in the regular season. Not that it made a huge difference, because hardwood floors were all the same. 

Movement down the hall caught his eye. Opposing players, three of them, and Hanbin grinned when he saw a head full of silver blonde hair. In the spirit of good sportsmanship he should ignore them, let them pass without comment. But where was the fun in that?

“Oh look, my favourite person.” Hanbin pushed himself up from the wall as they neared, eyes on his biggest rival in the league—Lee Taeyong. “Should I hire a bodyguard today, or are you going to play clean this time?” Maybe he was still a little bitter over his injury from last season, or maybe it was just the way that Taeyong always looked at him with a hateful sneer creasing his features.

Taeyong, accompanied by two of his teammates, Daehee and Hyungmin, stopped in front of Hanbin. “Keep talking, and the only thing you'll be able to run after today is your mouth.”

The threat didn't bother Hanbin in the slightest. “Yeah you'll need that to happen if you have any hope of overtaking my record this season, won't you?” Hanbin retorted, amused twinkle in his eye as he traded barbs with Taeyong. Hanbin was currently in the lead between the two of them this year, in their yearly rivalry for most points scored, but that could easily be changed from one game alone.

“Man, why the are you even talking to this anyway? Let's get to the gym.” Hyungmin pushed his way through the hall, but Daehee remained with Taeyong.

“Is it true, about you and the captain of Gwangnam? Bobby Kim?” Daehee questioned, arms crossed over his chest.

“Is what true?” Hanbin asked, unflinching. Of course the news about he and Bobby would be spreading throughout the district by now.

“That you're his little ?” Daehee replied, leaning in aggressively.

Nothing would happen before the game, though. None of them were that stupid. 

“Last I recall, not long ago you guys played Gwangnam, and at the end of that game you lost. So I guess that makes you guys the es.” Hanbin winked at Daehee. He really shouldn't be engaging them like this, especially not before the game. But he couldn't bring himself to keep his mouth shut.

Daehee cracked his knuckles but his response was halted by Taeyong's hand at his chest. “Enough, he's not worth our time. We'll see you on the court.”

“Yeah, go cry to your boyfriend after we destroy you tonight.” Daehee snarled back before following Taeyong down the hall. Hanbin watched them go with a grin. Nothing like a little pre-match trash talking to get him in the right mindset.

“Was that really necessary?”

Hanbin's smirk melted away just slightly as he turned to face Donghyuk. It was clear from Donghyuk's tone that he disagreed with Hanbin's pre-match conversation. “It's always necessary.”

Donghyuk shook his head. “Just because the guy's a jerk, doesn't mean you have to start with him.”

Hanbin shrugged, unconcerned with the criticism. “Rivalry's a fun part of the game! Besides, it's worth it when we win later. They'd be doing the same thing back to me.”

Donghyuk shook his head and sighed, the sound heavy with disappointment. “That doesn't matter, Hanbin. You should set a good example instead. It's one thing to respond to someone else, but it's another when you're the instigator.”

Hanbin grinned and slung an arm around his shoulder. “Okay, mom, should I go and apologize to them?”

Donghyuk shoved him off and tried his best not to smile. “No! That would just make it worse.”

“Are you sure? Wouldn't that be setting a good example?” Hanbin couldn't help but over it.

“I think Dong's got a point, actually,” Junhoe interrupted, “it's the semi tonight, bro. Be a bit more serious.”

Hanbin fixed Junhoe with a confused stare. “When did you become a pacifist?” Normally Junhoe would have been beside him, talking just as much . He'd never scolded Hanbin for taunts before.

Junhoe shrugged. “Just trying to help you be a better person, that's all.” Junhoe replied, winking at him. In truth though, he'd been thinking about sportsmanship a lot lately. He and Jinhwan had started out the way Hanbin and Taeyong were. But things wouldn't have gotten so bad if they'd both been politer in greetings. Maybe it was a bit different with team sports, but Junhoe still thought that Hanbin was only inviting trouble by being the instigator. Why fuel the fire when there was already bad blood?

“Hold on, you trying to help someone be a better person? I'll accept that from Donghyuk, but not from you.” Hanbin retorted, grinning at Junhoe's now glaring face.

“Excuse me? I'm a wonderful person.”

Hanbin shook his head in disagreement. “You're an okay person.”

“I think you're a good person, Junhoe.” Donghyuk joined in, much to Hanbin's disappointment.

“What? You know, Donghyuk, Junhoe didn't even like you at first.” Hanbin said, grinning when Junhoe's face creased in betrayal. He didn’t get a chance to respond though before Donghyuk did.

“I can't blame him,” Donghyuk replied, “I was probably super annoying at first.”

Junhoe grinned and sent Hanbin a look of victory. “No you were cool, it was just bad timing.”

“Terrible timing,” Hanbin agreed, meeting Junhoe’s look with a smirk of his own, “he was still in the middle of having a hissy fit over having to share me with Bobby.”

“Well, you went about it very poorly!” Junhoe fired back. “You know, Dong, before Bobby came along, Hanbin and I used to hang out together every single Friday night. We'd go see a movie, or grab food or something. Every week, unless we had commitments.”

“Ah, so you were practically dating, then?” Donghyuk teased. Hanbin laughed and Junhoe looked annoyed.

“No, we were just platonically hanging out. Anyway that's beside the point! The point is that he went and scheduled a date with Bobby on a Friday night, and didn't bother to tell me until like the day before. Ruined my whole weekend plans.”

Donghyuk laughed at Junhoe's dramatic explanation, while Hanbin snorted.

“Do you hear this drama queen? A guy can't even go on a first date in peace! You know he wanted to spy on me?”

“I did not!” Junhoe denied. “Hanbin wouldn't tell me who the guy was, so I just wanted to go there first to scope him out.”

“You what?!” Donghyuk asked, laughing again.

“He said we'd go there together and hide in the bushes, wait for my date to show up. Then he'd go check the guy out to see if he met his standards. If not then he was gonna make me blow the guy off and hang out with him instead.” Hanbin grinned as they recounted the tale. Junhoe had come such a long way since then.

“That's not so bad, right?” Junhoe asked, even though it did sound terrible hearing it explained out loud. Had he really been so possessive of Hanbin? It was a little surprising to realize it.

“I can't believe Hanbin has put up with you for so long,” Donghyuk said, but he linked his arm with Junhoe's when he was about to pull away, “it's cute, though! A little crazy, but I guess it showed you cared, right?”

Hanbin shook his head at Donghyuk's comments. “No! Don't support that kind of behaviour! What are you going to do when you go on a date, if he acts like that?” Hanbin asked.

“I'd be flattered that a friend cared about me so much.” Donghyuk replied, grinning when it made the other two roll their eyes.

“Besides, Donghyuk will be fine,” Junhoe said, “I know Yunhyeong hyung really well so I approve already.”

Hanbin was just about to ask if something had happened between them, but then Donghyuk yelled in annoyance and shoved Junhoe into the wall. Junhoe laughed and Hanbin knew he was just making up.

“Stop teasing me,” Donghyuk whined, “the more you keep saying that, the sadder I'll be if he's straight.”

They made their way into the gym then, and Hanbin left his friends to head into the dressing room. He took his phone out, smiling when he saw a text from Bobby. It was a cute little good luck message, and Hanbin typed one back to him. It was a shame they had to miss each other's games. It would have been nice to have Bobby here watching.

“So did Hanbin tell you about our big double date this weekend?” Jinhwan asked, grinning when Bobby looked at him in surprise.

“I'm sorry, our what?”

“It's not really a double date, he just keeps pestering me that he thinks June and I would be a good match, and he said we should go out on a date together, the four of us.”

“We go out as four often though, what are we doing different this time?” Bobby grinned in amusement. Trust Hanbin to not give up on his gut feelings about people.

“He wanted to do something truly date-worthy,” Jinhwan replied, “so we're going to Lotte World on Saturday. It's a date for you two. June and I will just be your chaperones.” Jinhwan replied with a wink.

“Sure, whatever you say.” Bobby teased, but he was excited at the idea. He loved amusement parks, and he hadn't been to Lotte World in awhile, not since he'd still been trying to be straight. His last time there was a date with a girl, and it hadn't exactly gone all that well. He was looking forward to having a much better time with Hanbin.

“I love amusement parks, that's the only reason I agreed to go.” Jinhwan replied. “He said it's supposed to be a present because he and Junhoe have a tough math test this week and Junhoe's been studying hard for it.”

Bobby thought the idea was cute. He was just excited to do something fun together. “When did you guys decide this, anyway?”

“Sunday,” Jinhwan replied, “we hung out at the river for a while.”

“Where was I?” Bobby asked, even though he knew they'd hung out because Hanbin had told him. Jinhwan hadn't mentioned it, though, and he’d been waiting to see if he would.

“You were in church.” Jinhwan replied with a wink.

“How come you were hanging out with my boyfriend while I was sitting through service?” Bobby pretended to be offended.

“My trumpet lessons got cancelled last minute, so I decided to sit by the river and play.” Jinhwan explained, though he knew Bobby was only playing. “Hanbin texted me and said he wanted to talk to me.”

“Oh yeah? What did you talk about?” Bobby asked, wondering if that much was true. Hanbin hadn't really told him how they'd come to be at the river together, or even given him any details about what they'd done.

“Something unimportant,” Jinhwan replied with a grin, “you.”

Bobby couldn't keep the facade up and he laughed at the answer. “Were you talking about how awesome I am?”

“Nah, he was asking me for advice on how to break up with you.” Jinhwan teased.

“Oh yeah? What did you tell him?” Bobby asked, wondering if he'd get a straight answer out of either of them. It's not that he was concerned at all about them talking. He was just curious.

“I told him the best place to break up with you would be at an amusement park,” Jinhwan said, “I told him to wait until you're on a roller coaster and then to shove you out of your seat when you get to the top of the ride.” Jinhwan teased and Bobby put him in a headlock. Jinhwan let him hold it, only because it was game day.

Bobby rubbed his knuckles into Jinhwan's hair. “Don't say things like that! You're gonna feel like such an if something goes wrong with the ride on Saturday and I fall out.”

Jinhwan laughed and managed to get out from Bobby's grip, and the first thing he did was fix his hair. “Okay fine. I'll tell him to do it one of those slow moving rides.”

“Kid's ride.” Bobby replied, and they both laughed at it.

“Anyway, I was just messing with you,” Jinhwan finally said, “he was really telling me about annoying he thinks you are.”

“Jinan!” Bobby shoved him against the wall, laughing when Jinhwan bounded back over to his side.

“I mean, sorry to put that on your shoulders before the game,” Jinhwan teased, but Bobby pushed him away yet again, “good luck!”

“Yeah I need luck, but not with the game,” Bobby replied as he turned back to face him, “I need it to make it through Saturday with your annoying there.”

Jinhwan laughed at him before waving him off and heading into the stands to take a seat. He was supposed to meet Jiun here as soon as he got off his shift, which would be a few minutes after the start of the game. So he pulled his phone out and sent a good luck text to Hanbin before starting on a message to Junhoe.

-hanbin and bobby might be the ones on the bball team but i probably have the best ball handling skills! ;)-

Junhoe's response was almost immediate.

-world champion ball handler-

-i should make my own sport get a gold medal- Jinhwan replied, grinning as he waited for a response.

-ball- was Junhoe's reply and Jinhwan couldn't help but burst out into laughter over it, shocked that Junhoe would come up with something like that. Shocked that Junhoe even knew the term.

-excuse me i didnt know you were so dirty!!-

-it wasnt me im with donghyuk!!- The response had Jinhwan laughing all over again, and wishing that they didn't have two separate games to watch tonight. He wanted to be able to watch a game together before they had to cheer for separate teams.

When half time came around Hanbin's team was up by eight points. It wasn't that much in basketball, but it was enough to offer a tiny bit of breathing room. Junhoe and Donghyuk didn't bother leaving their seats, instead remaining in the stands for the short break.

“Oh Donghyuk, guess who's coming over?” Junhoe teased, watching as Yunhyeong made his way towards them. He'd been sitting with a group of his friends a little further away during the first half, but he'd gone out at halftime and was on his way back now. But he was taking a little detour to come by where they were sitting.

Donghyuk shot him a look of temporary panic, right hand shooting up suddenly to comb through his hair. After enough hassling from Junhoe he'd gotten it cut and was currently styling it differently. It wasn't really anything that extreme, but it did look a little less uniform. The thing he liked the most about the new style is that he could actually make a difference with his hair by running a hand through it. It was kind of fun to mess it up.

“Hey guys,” Yunhyeong greeted as he walked up to them, “good game so far, isn't it?”

“Hey hyung!” Donghyuk's greeting was cheerful and bright, and he couldn't help but smile. Yunhyeong had such an attractive face. It was hard to take his eyes off of it.

“God can't I ever get a break from you?” Junhoe greeted, his usual standard fare when he saw Yunhyeong outside of their tutoring sessions. He didn't want Yunhyeong to think anything was up.

“Respect your elders, you punk.” Yunhyeong replied to Junhoe, before smiling back at Donghyuk. “You should take some notes from Donghyuk, he's sweet.”

Donghyuk's heart fluttered a little at the comment. He really hoped he wasn't blushing. “You know how Junhoe is, hyung, he doesn't know how to be nice.”

“Hey! Way to stab me in the back.” Junhoe grumbled back at him. He didn't really mind though. He was willing to take a hit or two to help Donghyuk out. Sometimes there was no better way to bond with someone than by teasing a mutual friend.

“No Donghyuk's right, I've known you long enough. Too long, really.” Yunhyeong grinned at Junhoe before reverting his gaze to Donghyuk and winking at him.

Before they got a chance to say anything more one of Yunhyeong's friends showed up, carrying two bottles of Pepsi. “What are you talking to these guys for? Let's get back to the others.”

Yunhyeong stiffened a bit at the comment. “I'm having a chat, Siwon, I'll be back over in a few minutes.”

“You should come back now. It doesn't look good for you, you know. Talking to these guys when you don't have to.” Siwon didn't have to say the slur for any of them to pick up on his meaning.

“Why doesn't it look good? Because we're younger?” Junhoe asked aggressively.

Siwon glared at him. “You know why.”

Junhoe nodded in response. “Ah, because we're gay, then. Right well you'd better stay over there, make sure we don't cough on you and turn you gay too.” Junhoe's voice was full of sarcasm and he punctuated his response with an exaggerated roll of the eyes.

While Junhoe confronted Siwon, Donghyuk's eyes were on Yunhyeong. Was he going to say something, or just let his friend talk ? Donghyuk hoped the situation wouldn't put increased pressure on Yunhyeong to stay in the closet (if he was even in there, of course) but he also couldn't be upset if Yunhyeong said nothing to Siwon. Something as simple as sticking up for them could hurt Yunhyeong socially if his group was full of guys who were like Siwon.

Siwon shook his head and balled his fist. “You know, you talk a lot for a .”

“What, you think I can't fight cause I'm gay? Boy, do I have news for you.” Junhoe was tempted to stand up and get in Siwon's face, but he didn't want to look like he was provoking him outright. Besides, the fact that he was still sitting down casually was probably annoying Siwon.

“Siwon, shut up and go back to the group.” Yunhyeong finally got in between them, and for a moment the two of them just stared at each other. Eventually Siwon shook his head and backed off a few steps.

“Man, gay guys.”

“Not with that face, you won't.” Donghyuk spoke up, emboldened by Yunhyeong stepping in between them. Siwon just glared at him in disgust but continued to walk back to his friends. Donghyuk heard laughter then, and he looked up to find Yunhyeong's bright smile focused on him. Making Yunhyeong laugh made Donghyuk feel like the funniest person in the building. He had it so bad.

“Nice one, Dong!” Junhoe replied, looking impressed.

“Thanks, Junhoe! Couldn't let you get all the good jabs.” Donghyuk winked at him before looking back at Yunhyeong, concerned look in his eyes when he noticed that Yunhyeong wasn't smiling anymore.

“Listen, uh I just want to apologize for that. I don't want you to think that all my friends are like that.” Yunhyeong looked sheepishly between them. “Siwon's just really vocal about things he disagrees with. Even when they don't impact him at all.”

“Don't worry, hyung, s are everywhere.” Junhoe replied, waving the apology off. He hated apologizing on behalf of other people.

“Yeah, you stood up to him anyway, there's nothing more you can do.” Donghyuk added. “You can't make your friends fix their behaviour if they don't actually want to.”

“Ah, I know, but still. I don't want that to ruin the night for you guys.” Yunhyeong said, looking guilty even though he’d done nothing wrong.

“Are you kidding? I love talking to s, that made my night, it didn't ruin it.” Junhoe laughingly replied, and it wasn't even a lie.

“Yeah really, hyung, he wasn't a bother. I'm more worried about you then us, I don't want our friendship to get in the way of your other friendships.” Donghyuk added, and he meant it.

Yunhyeong looked at him in slight surprise, but his bright smile came out again. “Ah, Donghyuk-ie, no one tells me who I can and can't be friends with. But that's sweet of you to be concerned.”

Donghyuk smiled back at him. He was pretty sure he was blushing this time.

“Anyway I should probably get back. But I'll see you guys later, okay? Tell Hanbin he's amazing when you talk to him.” Yunhyeong waved to both of them as he started to walk away, but turned back to them a second later. “Oh Donghyuk? The new hair looks really good.” He smiled and turned his head quickly before heading back over to his group of friends.

Donghyuk couldn't stop smiling.

“Wow, he was definitely fixated on you. He's gotta be in the closet.” Junhoe replied, grinning at Donghyuk's expression. “There's no question about it. He likes you.”

Donghyuk shook his head. “Ah, stop! Maybe he was just being nice?” The more Junhoe said it, the more he kept thinking it too. Why would Yunhyeong comment on his hair? Had he really noticed? Did he really like it?

“If he was just being nice then why did he duck his head away after complimenting you? Probably hiding the fact that he was blushing.” Junhoe replied, amused at the turn of events.

“I don't know, I just don't want to get my hopes up. I mean, if he's got friends like that, maybe he won't even come out.” Donghyuk knew that was a valid concern. Even back in the US, where being gay was a little more socially acceptable, he'd still known guys who refused to come out publicly due to family and friends. It was even worse here.

“We'll see. All I know is that he keeps coming over to say hi to you, any time he sees us.”

“How do you know he's not coming over to say hi to you?” Donghyuk replied, and he really was curious about Junhoe's reasons. Was he really the one Yunhyeong always wanted to talk to?

Junhoe waved his question off. “Are you kidding? He might address everyone, but he always ends up staring at you. You get the biggest smile. Trust me, I watch.”

Donghyuk didn't reply, instead he just focused his sights on Yunhyeong, who was sitting near the other corner, laughing with his friends. Was Yunhyeong really that focused on him? Donghyuk wasn't used to having that level of interest from a guy who was that cute. Even if Yunhyeong really wasn't gay, well, the attention was nice. He'd enjoy it regardless.

By the end of third quarter Bobby's team was up by twenty three points. Kyungbock's starting point guard was having an off night and their best forward had disappeared at half time, out with an illness.

Jinhwan was in the stands with Jiun, both of them in great spirits. Bobby was having a good game, barely missing any passes. It was great to watch him like this, impressive and on fire. It had Jinhwan feeling proud of him, proud of being his best friend.

“Hey, Jinan, I wanted to talk to you about Hanbin.” Jiun made the comment suddenly, catching Jinhwan off guard.

“Sure. What do you want to know, hyung?”

“How close are you with him?” Jiun's expression was soft, so Jinhwan didn't think he was asking about anything upsetting.

How close were he and Hanbin, though? The question actually made Jinhwan smile, because the truth was pretty nice. “We're actually rather close. Hanbin's a good kid.”

Jiun smiled. “I agree, I like him a lot. I just wanted to know if you know how serious he is, about Jiwon.”

“Ah, protective instincts coming out!” Jinhwan grinned and .

Jiun shook his head and smiled. “Oh be quiet. You know Jiwon, though, this is his first time really being in love. I can't help but worry about him a little. I swear mom's expecting them to make it as official as they can, she loves Hanbin.”

Jinhwan grinned. “Yeah does she ever! Hanbin loves him too, hyung.”

“You sound like you're pretty sure of that, Jinan-ie.” Jiun replied, and he was obviously digging for proof.

“He told me.” Jinhwan grinned. “We hung out on the weekend, I'm honestly not lying to you, but Hanbin asked me if he thought it was too early for him to say it out loud.”

“Say what? I love you?” Jiun's tone took on an amused edge, and his face broke out into a big smile.

“Yeah, the danger words.” Jinhwan joked. “Hanbin's crazy about him, so you don't have to worry about Jiwon's heart getting broken.”

“Good, just making sure. I mean, grandma met him, our pastor saw him; he better be serious.”

Jinhwan thought it was sweet, how Jiun felt the need to make sure. Maybe they were big enough now to not need physical protection from an older brother anymore, but the emotional protection was still something that would always be there.

“What about you, Jinan? You dating anyone I need to be aware about?”

Jinhwan met Jiun's eyes and shook his head. “Nope, still single. You only have one brother to worry about at the moment.”

Jiun reached out to ruffle his hair. “Good, makes life less stressful.”

One period later and Jinhwan and Jiun were down on the gym floor, congratulating Bobby on a well fought victory. They ended the game with a twenty five point lead and Bobby was ecstatic, singing the praises of his fellow players and making sure everyone felt appreciated. Jinhwan thought it was adorable, it was one of those things that made Bobby such a good captain.

While Bobby was busy getting a hug from his brother, Jinhwan checked the new message on his phone from Junhoe. They'd been trading updates back and forth and he'd just told Junhoe about Bobby's victory.

-damn impressive win!! we just won too but it was really tight, hanbin was a scoring machine though it was great-

Jinhwan was happy about the news, but also a little concerned. The final would be a showdown between the two. He hoped it wouldn't impact the relationship, but sometimes you could just never tell. At least they had a nice date planned in between the games.

“Did you hear about the other game yet?” Bobby was there at his shoulder, but Jinhwan pushed him away.

“God, go shower first before you touch me, you're sweaty, it's disgusting.” Jinhwan purposefully ignored the question.

“ off Jinan. Tell me or I'm gonna bear hug you.” Bobby loomed in front of him, arms held out threateningly.

Jinhwan laughed at him. “Don't touch me. Why does it matter who won? You're gonna win the title anyway, right?”

“Jinan!”

“Fine. Whimoon won, of course. Apparently Hanbin was the top player, or something. Battle of the boyfriends for the final!” Jinhwan grinned as he watched Bobby battle several emotions all at once. He could see the relief that Hanbin had been victorious, he could see the pride that he'd done well, but he could also see the conflict at having to battle him again.

“Maybe you guys should both abstain from the game, leave it to your teammates.” Jiun teased.

Bobby whined. “! I'm happy for him, but I don't want to have to play them again. This is gonna be tough.”

“Maybe you'll get lucky and Hanbin will throw you out the roller coaster on Saturday.” Jinhwan teased.

Bobby grinned back at him. “Maybe I should be the one throwing him out. No room for romance in sports after all.”

“Guess who broke their own point record from last season with one left to go?”

Hanbin groaned at Hoseok's question. If they kept teasing him about things he'd never get out of the locker room.

“Leave the kid alone, Hobi, he hasn't even showered yet.” Yoongi pulled on a fresh hoodie, watching as Hanbin tried to push Hoseok's hands away from his face.

“Just trying to show some love to our little star,” Hoseok teased, his fingers finally grabbing Hanbin's cheeks, “how does it feel, Hanbin-ah? Gonna set a new record for yourself and for the district this season.”

Hanbin grinned and allowed his cheeks to be pinched. “Ah, hyung, quit it, that hurts!”

Hoseok just pinched harder. “Such a star, we're not worthy.”

“Hyung!” Hanbin grabbed his wrists, trying to push him away. “Yoongi hyung, quit watching and help me!”

Yoongi just laughed though and continued packing his bag. “He's just proud of you; it up and endure.”

Hoseok dropped his hands away finally, grinning when Hanbin whined and rubbed where he'd just gotten pinched. “I only have one game left to tease you in the season. What am I going to do with myself when it's over?”

“Find someone else to harass.” Hanbin grinned and winked at him.

“Alright I'm packed,” Yoongi shouldered his bag and grabbed Hoseok's arm, “I'll get him out of your hair now so you can finally shower.”

“Thanks hyung, appreciate it.”

“You sure you don't wanna come grab food with us? We'll wait for you.” Hoseok offered. They were joining a few of their other teammates for a quick bite to eat to celebrate the victory.

“Thanks, but no. I have a history test tomorrow morning, want to get a good sleep for it.”

Hoseok looked at him in confusion. “Didn't that get rescheduled for you guys on the team?”

Hanbin grinned back at him. “Yeah, but I'm actually ready to write it, I don't need to put it off.”

Yoongi shook his head. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”

Hanbin laughed at their retreating figures before finally heading for the showers. The others were already showered and out, but he'd been preoccupied chatting to everyone instead, enjoying the atmosphere after an excellent game. He hurried through his shower, guilty about keeping his family waiting.

He dried off and dressed quickly, hastily packing up. He heard voices in the hall just as he was about to leave the locker room, and the words froze him where he stood.

“You promised me this year would be different, didn't you? So why am I disappointed again?”

The voice belonged to an older man, but he didn't recognize it.

“I'm sorry.”

“You're sorry? I reschedule a client meeting to come to your game, only to watch you lose, and you're sorry.” There was tension in the silence that Hanbin could feel from where he stood. He thought he'd recognized the voice of the other person, clearly a player from Kyunggi, but he wasn't sure.

“It would be one thing to just lose the game, but to lose to a team with a player like that, a player who goes on to do better than you, for the second year in a row. And all you can say is that you're sorry. After last season, I'd have thought I'd made it clear to you that I expected better.”

Hanbin felt a lump form in his throat at the words. There was no doubt that he was the player like that, and if that was the case, then it could only mean that the person being scolded...

“I'm deeply sorry for disappointing you.”

His rival—Lee Taeyong.

“To think that my son is bested again by the gay player,” a pause for a disgusted sigh, “disgraceful.”

“That has nothing to do with it, him being--”

“Oh it does, Taeyong.”

“He's just really good, okay? He's just a really good player.” Taeyong's voice was strained at having to admit it out loud, and Hanbin felt like he was invading, but there was nowhere for him to go.

“You should be better. But you're not, and now you have to live with that.” Another pause. “Well, I suppose that's it, then, we'll talk more in the morning. I don't want you riding in my car.”

“What?” There was a note of panic in Taeyong's voice.

“You wasted my time, I'll waste yours.”

“How am I supposed to get home? I don't have any money for the subway.” The panic was there again and Hanbin had never felt more uncomfortable in his life than he was feeling right now.

“You have feet, Taeyong. Use them.”

Heeled bootclicks retreated down the hall and both Hanbin and Taeyong were rooted the spot, listening as the older man left. As soon as the steps were gone Taeyong in a sharp intake of breath, and Hanbin thought he was probably about to start crying. Not that he'd blame Taeyong for shedding tears over this.

Hanbin wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Taeyong lay between him and the exit, and despite their mutual dislike of each other, no one deserved that sort of treatment from their parents, and Hanbin didn't want Taeyong to know that he knew. Your rivals weren't supposed to be the people offering you support, and as much as he wanted to go out there and tell Taeyong that his father was an , he thought it would only do more harm than good.

Another voice, then.

“Hey bro, saw your dad leaving without you. What happened?”

An awkward cough to clear his throat, and then Taeyong replied. “Oh, uh, just some came up at work, some emergency thing with the system, couldn't uh, couldn't get a hold of his tech guy--”

“Let me guess, the supportive dad network went down?” Hanbin knew he recognized this voice too, but he wasn't sure which player it was.

Taeyong didn't reply, he just let out a long shuddering breath in response.

“Dude, your dad's a piece of , I know that. Why are you always trying to hide his garbage behaviour?”

“He's not, Daehee, he's just, just doing what he thinks is best.”

“Taeyong, bro, no homo but you know I love you. Your dad just left you. You just played your off in a semi and he up and left you here because our team lost. Piece of .”

Daehee—the guy from before the game. And during the game, actually. He and Hanbin had traded insults almost the entire time. While Hanbin had always thought that Taeyong was an arrogant jerk with a bit of a temper problem, Daehee had always been the one making homophobic comments to him. It was weird to hear someone that he disliked so much be so caring towards someone else.

“Dude come stay at my place tonight, okay? I'll get my mom to make you kalguksu.”

Finally something resembling a laugh from Taeyong. “Can't turn down your mom's kalguksu.”

“I know, loser, it's your favourite. Come on, my dad's waiting.”

Hanbin peered around the door when he heard them leaving, watching their backs as they walked down the hall, Daehee with his arm around Taeyong's shoulders.

He shouldn't be surprised, really. Just because someone could do ty things, it didn't make them a completely bad person. He was relieved that Taeyong had Daehee, who had no problem telling Taeyong exactly what he needed to hear about his dad. A lot of people might just stay out of it, but Hanbin knew that he'd be saying exactly what Daehee had said. He'd be pushing Taeyong to stand up for himself and not believe the garbage coming from his dad.

Hanbin remained against the wall for a minute, suddenly blinking back his own tears. He might not like Taeyong, but it still hurt to know that he was facing that sort of stuff from his own father. It wasn't right. No one deserved that. And if Taeyong was hearing that at home, then it was no wonder that he acted like a jerk at times. If his dad was always comparing them, of course he'd take his own frustrations out on Hanbin.

But what was his own excuse for being a jerk back? There was none. Taeyong was fighting off insecurities that stemmed from an abusive father, while Hanbin was just willingly acting like an .

Donghyuk and Junhoe were right after all.

Hanbin finally left the locker room, heading back out for the gym. There were still a few families gathered around, and he spied Taeyong and Daehee with an older man that was probably Daehee's father. He was patting Taeyong's head and had a fond look on his face. At least Taeyong had someone. At least he wasn't facing it alone.

Hanbin focused on his own family then, stooping down to pick up Hanbyul when she came running to him.

“Oppa, you won! I was cheering for you!”

Hanbin kissed her cheek. “I know, I saw you. I'm happy you came to watch.” He was happy she was there—happy she was old enough to appreciate these things now. It was better to have the whole family together at times like this.

“Ah, finally, I was worried you'd drowned in the shower.”

Hanbin grinned at his dad's comment. He set Hanbyul down before giving his dad a very tight hug that lasted far longer than it usually did.

“Not that I'm complaining, but are you okay?” His dad hugged back, arms tight around Hanbin's back..

Hanbin pulled back and grinned at him. “I'm good, just happy that you're here.”

“Where else would I be?”

Hanbin didn't reply, instead he went over to hug his mom.

“Hey jerk, where's my hug?” Junhoe approached him then, Donghyuk behind him.

“Careful what you wish for!” Hanbin gleefully warned before wrapping his arms tightly around Junhoe, squeezing as hard as he could. Junhoe fought him off, but then Donghyuk joined in, helping Hanbin to squeeze Junhoe even tighter.

“Ah, guys, stop!” Junhoe yelled, trying to untangle himself.

“Boys, honestly! Let him breathe.” Hanbin's mom scolded them with a smile on her face. They remained in the gym for a few minutes, recounting the final excitement, and being surrounded by them all lifted Hanbin's spirits up again.

The echo of Taeyong's father's words left him for a while, but they came back an hour and a half later when Hanbin was in bed, history book open in his lap for a bit of extra reading before he went to sleep. He was still a little too high on adrenaline to fall asleep yet, and now that he was thinking about that post-game scene again, he couldn't get it out of his head.

A knock on his door, followed by his dad's head poking around. “Hey, are you still up?”

“Yeah, just reading for my history test.” Hanbin watched as his dad came into the room and closed the door behind him.

“I just wanted to say, again, that I'm really proud of you, you played a great game today.”

Hanbin smiled at the praise, but it was bittersweet. Not a day in his life had ever gone by that he'd doubted how much his father cared about him. He felt like it had become something that he'd taken for granted.

“But, I noticed that for someone who just played their way into the final, you seem upset. You worried about playing Bobby again?”

Hanbin shook his head. “No, well, I guess, yeah. A little. But that's not what I'm bothered about.” His dad came over to sit down on the edge of his bed, concerned look in his eyes.

“Wanna talk about whatever it is?” His dad offered.

Hanbin nodded. “I overheard one of the guys on the other team, Taeyong, and his dad.”

“The silver haired kid, right? Your arch nemesis?” He asked teasingly, because of course Hanbin had ranted about him at length before.

Hanbin nodded again. “Yeah, that one. Well, turns out his dad's an . Told him he was disappointed that he'd lost to me, the gay kid, and then he just left him there. Said he didn't even want to drive him home.” Hanbin wasn't really sure why he was still feeling so affected by it, but he couldn't get the chilling words out of his mind.

“Sometimes it's easy to forget that not everyone has it as good as you.” His dad reached out and squeezed his hand.

“We've been rivals for a few years now, and I never had any idea that his dad was like that. He even specified me, since we're always in competition. It just made me think, you know, no wonder he doesn't like me, if his dad compares us like that.”

“I'm sorry you overheard that, Bin-ah. Even for a rival, it would still be tough listening.”

“It's not just that, though.” Hanbin paused, deciding to give the whole explanation. Maybe he just needed to say it out loud and admit his own part in it. “I was a jerk to him before the game, I mean we're always jerks to each other, but I started it. Probably made him hate me even more.”

“Don't feel bad. You're rivals, your only interaction is through a sport. There's no way you ever would have found out, except by accident. Do you think he would have wanted you to be sympathetic instead?”

“No, that would probably just be worse.”

“Probably. But now that you know, all you can do is just stop being an . You don't have to be quiet and let him say whatever he wants to you. Just don't instigate things. If he wants to fling mud first, respond, but you know which topics to avoid. But if he just ignores you, then ignore him back.”

Hanbin wondered if it would be that easy. Could he look at Taeyong and not be sympathetic after what he'd heard? He felt like he needed to make it up to him, somehow. “I just feel bad, you know? He's going through that , and then there's me, with my perfect family, and I'm just making it worse for him. He's got a reason to hate me. What's my reason for being rude to him? I don't have one. I'm just choosing to be a huge jerk.”

“Why do you feel bad only now? Do you think it's right for you to be a jerk to someone even if they have a good family?”

Hanbin was silent at the question, shame churning in his gut. But that was the whole point, wasn't it? Personal reflection is never supposed to feel good—it's supposed to hurt, so you remember why you shouldn't be a ty person.

“Sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself won't do anyone any good. You're a good person who acted like a jerk. It happens all the time. It doesn't make you a bad person. Just learn from the situation, and next time remember that you should always try your best to present a good image to people, even those who do you wrong. You're the one with the great life, Hanbin. You have a family who loves and supports you, great friends, a great future ahead of you with multiple options for success. So act like it.”

They were sobering words that he needed to hear. They still hurt, though. “You're right. It just , figuring out that you're doing something bad.”

His dad squeezed his hand again. “Don't get hung up on it. Just try not to do it again. There's always going to be rivalry in sports, and there's always going to be trash talking. Just don't initiate it, and don't get personal.”

“Thanks, dad.” Hanbin felt better after getting the hurt feelings off his chest, and his dad was right, after all. He had nothing to drive negative feelings. It was easy to always tease and be a jerk in certain situations. It was harder sometimes to be a good person. But he should be striving to do that.

“You have a good heart, Bin-ah.”

“Use it for good, and not evil, right?” Hanbin joked back, and it made his dad laugh.

“Exactly.”

“Dad?” He waited for a moment, until their eyes met, before asking a sudden question that he wanted to explore. “Were you ever disappointed?”

His dad looked confused. “In what? You?”

Hanbin nodded. “Did you ever wish that I wasn't gay?”

His dad took a moment to respond, thoughtful and contemplative. “I was never disappointed, not even in the first second after you told me. I was worried, though, I still worry about you even now. It's a tough world to live in. You're a strong person, but with the laws the way they are...” His dad trailed off then, and Hanbin wondered what he meant.

“I'll be fine.”

“I just worry about your military service, when that comes up.”

Hanbin nodded. “Ah, right. The whole, it's illegal to be gay in the army thing.”

“I've had my lawyer researching the specifics of it all. You'd probably have to renounce your relationship when you join, just to be safe. No contact for the duration of the service.”

That was another sobering line of thought. But it was still years off.

“Ah, I don't want to give you bad thoughts before you sleep. But you asked, and I don't like lying to you. I worry about you a lot, for all the things you'll face that are out of your control.”

Hanbin was the one to reach out and squeeze his dad's hand, this time. “Maybe laws will change by the time I enlist.”

“Ah, I doubt it. Politics are slow moving, especially for policies that don't affect the politicians. But all we can do is continue living, and we don't worry about that bridge until we cross it.”

Hanbin grinned at him. “You have your lawyer looking into it, you're already worrying.”

His dad grinned back. “I'm worrying so you don't have to.”

Hanbin blinked a few times, trying to clear the tears out of his eyes. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to be so lucky as to being born to parents who never hesitated in their support of him, but he had to remember that not everyone had what he had. He couldn't take it all for granted anymore.

“And what about you? Do you ever wish you weren't gay?”

The question surprised him, the way his dad threw it back on him. But his answer was quick and it was certain. “No. I like being gay, I like guys. I'd probably be a different person if I was straight, and I like who I am.”

His dad smiled at his answer. “Good, that's what I want to hear.”

“I mean, sure, I get a lot of for being gay. But I'm sure I'd get for other things if I was straight.”

His dad nodded. “People always come after those who are successful.”

Hanbin grinned. “Ah stop it, you're gonna give me a big head.”

His dad reached out then, ruffled a hand through Hanbin's hair. “I have a big head. You, however, inherited your mother's genetics.” They both laughed at that one, and Hanbin squeezed his hand again.

“Thanks, for everything. For supporting me in everything. I probably don't say that enough.”

“I know you mean it, even if you don't say it.” His dad stood up then. “You feeling better now?”

Hanbin nodded. “Yeah, thanks for checking on me.”

“That's my job. I know you, I know when you're upset. Just glad I helped. Get a good sleep, Bin, do well on your test tomorrow.”

“I will, I'm ready for it.”

“You're ready for anything.” His dad stopped at the door to look back at him, and Hanbin could see the look of pride in his eyes. His dad's advice was something he really needed to follow. He had as perfect a life as possible given all of his surroundings. He needed to make sure he acted like it. No more unnecessary taunting, no more behaviour.