CHAPTER 8

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I arrived at the soccer field and stood near the benches, looking awkward and out of place. There I was, dressed in a borrowed t-shirt and borrowed shorts. To say I felt uncomfortable would have been an understatement. I had managed to find time to sneak away to where my suitcase was hidden and retrieve my sports bra. It was my only solace. I wanted to stand with my roommate, but that idea was currently out of the question. He was standing with Luhan. I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms, so instead I gravitated over to a guy stretching alone. If I was stuck on this team, I might as well start making allies.

“Hello, I’m Kim Jisoo,” I introduced myself to the solemn looking boy.

He nodded in response and curtly told me his name, “Taekwoon.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a forced smile. “So when is David Beckham going to make his appearance?” I tried to joke with Taekwoon. I only earned a sharp stare. Okay, so maybe my joke was bad.  

I waited for a response, but one never came. He was quiet. The silence was refreshing. I was finding that quiet guys were hard to come by in this camp.  

Minseok came trotting towards us from his spot in the center of the field. “Jisoo, we’ll have to see find a pair of cleats for you. You’ll be fine in sneakers today though. I’m going to have you work with Leo. Be sure to mind what he tells you.” Minseok’s right eyebrow rose as he gave me a side eye. He was serious.

I nodded in understanding. Anyone who was willing to help me out, I would definitely listen to. I looked around for my partner. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Taekwoon giving me a strange stare. It looked like he wanted to say something but was struggling to find the words, and it was slightly creeping me out. That’s when it dawned on me.

“You’re Leo,” I stated more than asked.

Taekwoon nodded. Fantastic. Here I was trying to make friends with a kid who’s nickname was Leo, like a lion. My choices were really impeccable. At least it was better than getting paired with Luhan, he didn’t seem like a fun guy at all. The hard looks that he gave everyone from the center field made it look like he was hunting for his next kill.  

There was a small whistle too. “It’s nice to see some familiar faces out here again,” Luhan started. He paused for a few seconds to make sure he had everyone’s attention. “We are going to run things similarly to how we did last year. We’ll practice together for the first week then spilt off into smaller teams and hold a tournament,” Luhan explained to all of us. “That’s enough of me yapping. I want to see some action. I want two laps around the field from everyone before we move on to drills.”

We all lined up at the end of the field and started to run when Luhan blew his whistle. I tried to keep up with Taekwoon. Seeing as he was the only one to acknowledge me, I had questions to ask him.

“What are the drills that we are doing after this? It’s not going to be anything painful is it? I don’t have a high tolerance for pain.”

Taekwoon didn’t answer me, so I glanced over at him. He looked like he was trying really hard to run. I saw him look at me before pushing on a bit faster. I let myself laugh out loud at the realization of what was happening. He was trying to run away from me.

“Please answer my question,” I said, matching his new pace. 

He narrowed his eyes at me and slowed down. “Just passing and shooting,” he finally said.

“I’ve never played soccer before,” I admitted to him.

“Couldn’t tell.”

“Was that sarcasm? If it was, then I like you,” I said. It wasn’t often that I found someone who had a good sense for it.

“Kim Jisoo, quit talking or else you’ll be running for the rest of the day!”

My head snapped over to see Luhan glaring at me with his hands cupped around his mouth. Minseok was at his side giving me a “what are you doing? I cant help you,” shrug.

I waved them off and shut my mouth, running quietly next to the silent kid for the remainder of our second lap. We finished a good five to ten seconds ahead of the rest of the group, so I took the time to properly introduce myself. We had exchanged names, but that was all we knew about each other.

“It’s my first year here at the camp,” I started. “Minseok is my roommate. Because I’ve never played soccer before, he said he’d partner me up with someone who really knows what they are doing. I promise I’ll listen to you well.”

Once again, Taekwoon said nothing. It wasn’t like I was expecting him to say anything in return, but it would have been nice. I settled for the nod he gave me. It was better than nothing I suppose.

We lined up on the side of the field as the rest of the pairs were created. Minseok gave me a smile as he reiterated that I was paired Taekwoon. I followed my partner to the end of the field near the goal. He pointed to the sideline, motioning for me to stay there, while he moved infield with a ball. He kicked the ball to me, which I stopped with my foot. I’d never played soccer on a team before, but I wasn’t all hopeless. I could kick a ball around no sweat. I passed it back only to have it come immediately back to me, so I kicked it right back.  The next time, he kicked the ball up into the air. I caught it perfectly in my arms.

“That would be a hand ball!” Luhan screeched, coming up behind me suddenly and smashing the ball out of my hands. “Are you and idiot? Rule number one of soccer: no hands!”