Like a spring day, his gaze is calm, gleaming under the soft light of the sunrise seeping through the half opened club door. Ironically, his pupils are pitch black, and yet, there’s something so compelling about them that pulls you in.

He retrieves his hand back and swiftly lifts a volley ball lying on the ground. I self-consciously touch the top of my head, taken back by his boldness.

“junior?” he spins the ball on his finger and only when he looks at me do I realize he asked.

“ah, no, I’m actually a senior” I reply and he hums in response.

“That’s weird, I’ve never seen you before” he takes the ball in his hand and suddenly passes it to me. I barely manage to catch it. He smiles at my reaction and beckons me to throw the ball back to him.

“Do you like volley, Hayi?” a tingly feeling grips my insides at the mention of my name. It feels so foreign to be called out like that by a boy, who I just met less than five minutes ago.

I toss him the ball and he easily receives it.

“Not really. I know nothing about volleyball actually” I confess and lower my head in shame. I mean, who actually joins a club they know nothing about?

“Cool” he smiles again as he hits the ball to the other side of  the court. I stare at him in bewilderment. Cool? What does he mean by cool? Doesn’t he think it’s weird that I’m a complete bonehead when it comes to volleyball?

Exactly at that moment, a swarm of sweaty boys enter the gymnasium looking like they just emerged from the depths of hell. They look completely worn out; one of them even collapses from fatigue.

“I’m beat” one of the boys huffs tiredly, falling down next to his friend on the ground. “Why does morning practice even exist?”

“Ah, I need water” another calls out, looking around for a bottle. My eyes widen at the realization. Oh my god, I completely forgot it was my job to prepare refreshments. I mentally scold myself and turn around to go find the bottles, but Hanbin beats me to it, carrying a cooler filled with different energy drinks. The guys growl at the sight and immediately bombard the cooler, gulping down the fresh drinks in one go, some are even drenching themselves in cold water.

“Now I can die in peace!” one of them exclaims happily as he falls on the floor

“Don’t die yet you idiot, you’re our setter!” another guy crawls next to him and whacks his head, but strangely enough, he smiles, as if he just didn’t get hit.

“Aw, are you saying I’m a valuable member of the team?” he smiles cheekily and the other guy looks so done with him.

“Ugh, just die already” as he gets up, his eyes meet mine and I avert my gaze, out of habit. “you are..?” he asks loud enough for the others to hear and now all their eyes are on me. Nervousness starts to kick in as I’m about to introduce myself but Hanbin quickly comes to my side and pats my back lightly it almost feels like a gentle cool breeze.

“This is Lee Hi, she’s our new manager! Take good care of her” as soon as he says my name, literally all of them- except the guy that asked me who I am-jump in ecstasy, screaming at the top of their lungs:

“A GIRL! FINALLY!”

“MY PRAYERS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED THANK YOU GOD”

“Yunhyeong, I feel like I could really die in peace now”

“Donghyuk, stop being overdramatic! Guys, you’re scaring her! Stop it!”

I stand still in my place, utterly confused about everything. The boys are acting like a bunch of chimpanzees who just found a whole year supply of bananas, and I assure you, it’s not a pretty sight.

I take a few steps back, my eyes about to burst out of their sockets from all the craziness.

“Welcome to the volleyball club” Hanbin says as he smiles, apparently amused, and I could only stare at him in disbelief.

Volleyball club? More like an Amazon jungle.

Later that day, during lunch break, I find Suhyun with her brother Chanhyuk in the cafeteria, arguing about which yogurt flavor is the best. Classic Lee siblings, their banters are always ridiculous. Last time, they fought over which animal is lazier: a koala or a slot.

I roll my eyes at their conversation, and steal Suhyun’s juice can. Luckily, she doesn’t notice and I continue stealing from her tray of food.

“you’re impossible to reason with! Hayi, please tell him that-” she stops when she notices my hand on her tray and she slaps it away “Hayi!” she whines with a frown. I simply shrug.

“I don’t know about which animal is the laziest, but I am sure that chimpanzees are not” I mutter and they both narrow their eyes at me.

“Chimpanzees?” they say in unison.

“Suhyun” I start “I don’t think I could do it, it’s like a jungle! full of crazy animals ready to jump on you anytime!” I complain, my voice higher than expected.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Suhyun raises an eyebrow and Chanhyuk mirrors her reaction.

“The goddamn Volleyball club! It’s..it’s..ugh” I growl in frustration and rest my head on the table.

“there, there” she pats my back gently “I think one of the volleyball guys is in my class; Jinhwan is his name if I’m not mistaken” I turn my head to the side to look at Suhyun as she speaks, and surprisingly, she rolls her eyes with a groan “he’s such an arrogant flirt, I hate that guy” Suhyun declares with a vehemence I’ve never seen on her before. She never spoke badly about anyone before, so this is a first for me. And if I remember correctly, from today’s hectic introduction, Jinhwan must be that shortie with a temper. He looked anything but a flirt honestly.

“Jinhwan is a great guy, don’t listen to this idiot” Chanhyuk protests as he smiles my way.

“Stop shielding your friends, you know he’s an A+ jerk” Suhyun retorts with a sneer, but Chanhyuk doesn’t fire back, instead, he ignores her and looks at me.

“I know most of the guys there, and I can assure you that they’re all great people. Once you get to know them, you’ll understand what I’m talking about” I nod at his words, secretly hoping that they’re true, and that I won’t heavily regret this.

School is over for the day. I bid Suhyun and Chanhyuk goodbye as I change to my jersey again and enter the gymnasium. I’m a tad bit late, but as I’ve predicted, all the members are there, some have began practice while others are talking with the coach. I put my bag down on the bench, starring in awe at how different they look. They’re all so focused and immersed in what they’re doing that they didn’t notice me, contrast to this morning.

I sit quietly, marveling over their amazing postures and reflexes as one of them suddenly dives to save the ball from falling. He gets up abruptly as if nothing happened, and continues on, his eyes still as fiery as before, and that stirs something in me.

For a second, my eyes fall down to my lap, cynically staring at my rough small hands. When was the last time I’ve ever felt passionate about anything? Elementary school when I was into drawing shapeless figures? Middle school when I thought I was destined to be an architect? Were those even real passions? I clench my hands and shut my eyes as I recall my past.

Was I always this empty? Or did Dad’s constant discouraging remarks get the best of me?

My chain of thoughts goes for almost an hour, until the coach whistles and beckons for the members to gather around, indicating the start of a break. I take it as my cue to do my job and I go prepare the drinks and towels.

I hand them their refreshment and they fall down on the ground panting from exhaustion.

“Thanks Hayi” Hanbin says as he takes his towel, our hands accidently brushing. I flinch at the touch, but he doesn’t notice and smiles as he plops down on the floor next to his teammates.

The coach shouts that break will be over in 15 minutes and goes out, leaving me with the boys alone. I start to take steps away from them when I suddenly hear my name being called

“Hayi come join us!” I turn around and see Ji won ushering me to come.

“Idiot!” Junhoe slaps Ji won’s head playfully “trying to hit on her aren’t you?” they all roar in laughter as Ji won joins them too, beaming cheerily.

“hit on her? More like scare her with that ugly face of his”

“Hey! Take that back!”

Unknowingly, I start smiling at their little banters, recalling the image of chimpanzees I had of them this morning. Slowly, I approach them and eye a spot near Hanbin. Amidst the chaos of the boys, Hanbin notices my gaze, and with a dreamy smile, he pats the empty place near him and so I sit there, claiming the spot as if I own it.

I don’t know how or why, but there’s something oddly relaxing about Hanbin’s presence that I can’t pinpoint.

“And now we’re complete” he mutters, loud enough for me to hear, and I turn my attention back to him.

“What?” without averting his gaze from the boys, he leans back, his elbows resting on the floor, a gentle smile playing at the tip of his lips, that almost made me forget about all the worries weighting me down.

“With you, Hayi, we’re finally complete, as a team”

A.N: okey so first of all, sorry for the late update, had a really rough week filled with self-hate and stress and so on

second, Thank you so much for the comments and the subscribers! I honestly didn't expect them AT ALL! and yes! I agree that Lee Hi's fanfics (and even iKON's) are rare.. but I finally found the opportunity to write a fanfic about my fav soloist <3 

I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^ I tried to introduce the guys indirectly, since each one will have his moment to shine ;) Once again! thank you so much! and excuse me for any mistakes you find while reading ^^