Sanghyuk loved baseball. He has always loved the game. He started playing when he was young, starting off with tee-ball. It was his passion, his favourite pastime. He watched every game, no matter the team, and always criticised the players from his living room couch whenever they made an error.

He dreamed to play big, to make a name for himself in Korea then get sent over seas to play in the MLB in America, like Kang Jung Ho, one of his idols. 
But his dreams were short lived.

A ball, cracked off a bat so hard the wood shattered, came at him at full force. It had hit him in the leg, to be precise, directly on the knee cap.

He had never been able to walk right since, let alone run, let alone play. 

So he watched from the sidelines. Either from his tv, or actually at the games. He longed to be in the diamond playing, but no matter how much therapy he went though to get his leg working properly once more, it was never enough.

A star was rising amongst the baseball ranks in Korea. His name was Lee Hongbin, and Sanghyuk couldn’t help but feel envious.

Hongbin was around his age, and played third base, just like Sanghyuk had. He was good, had a good arm for throwing, and he could really hit a ball. But his baseball talents were always overlooked by the media. instead, they focused on his rather attractive looks.

His incredibly attractive looks, Sanghyuk always thought. 

The baseball player’s hair was a honey golden, and he had a smile that could kill, completed with dimpled cheeks and white teeth. His skin appeared smooth, with the right amount of bronze. He had a nice too, though, most baseball players did.

Sanghyuk found it unfair that this boy was utter perfection. And everything Sanghyuk wanted to be. He tried to make himself dislike Hongbin, to hate the player. But he never could. He was just too charming. 

So when Sanghyuk saw the baseball player out in public — much to his surprise, seated at bar, by himself. He didn’t pass up an opportunity to talk to him. 

Sanghyuk had just arrived at his favourite bar, to find it mostly empty. He spotted Hongbin easily, his breath leaving him at the sight of the baseball player in person. He was simply a piece of walking art. How this man was an athlete instead of a model, Sanghyuk would never know.

He walked over to the bar, sitting at a stool a couple down from the player, ordering a scotch over ice. The bartender laid it down, and Sanghyuk took a swig, side eyeing Hongbin. The baseball player was drinking a beer. 

“Aren’t you Lee Hongbin?” Sanghyuk couldn’t help but ask, wanting to hear the other speak, needing to hear the other.

Said person raised their head in surprise, almost instantly looking rather embarrassed.

“Ah, yes.” He said, reaching a hand to scratch at the nape of his neck. “Surprised you noticed…”

Sanghyuk snorted rather loudly, unable to contain the sound. “How could I not? You’re on my tv at least three times a week.”

Hongbin looked rather ashamed at that, lowering his head as he mumbled a soft “yeah,” under his breath.

“So what’s it like?” Sanghyuk couldn’t stop himself from asking, and he was met with Hongbin’s cute, confused expression. “What’s it like to play big?” He added.

“Oh, baseball?” Hongbin shrugged, “it’s nice, I guess. To have a lot of fans showing up to games. To play with guys that are so well known, and adored. Why do you ask?" 

Now it was Sanghyuk’s turn to feel embarrassed. He felt a burning in the tip of his ears, and he glanced away. 

"It was a dream of mine.” He finally answered after taking another swig of scotch, “to play big.”

Hongbin’s brows knitted in confusion, “and why didn’t you?”

Sanghyuk laughed, dry and humourless, “a of luck, and the swing of a bat messed up my leg. I haven’t been able to walk the same since I got hit with a ball. It cut my career short.”

Hongbin spluttered and Sanghyuk raised his head in alarm at the sound of a stool moving, then Hongbin was right there. Right in front of him, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Are you Han Sanghyuk?” Hongbin asked, a hopeful lilt in his voice.

Sanghyuk blinked as he stared at Hongbjn, face far too close. He swallowed, before replying with a hesitant “yes.”

Hongbin’s hands clapped together, “oh my goodness!” He sounded far too excited. “The scouts talked about you! They said it was a damn shame that you got injured because you were so talented,” he began, finally sitting back on the stool directly beside Sanghyuk, “I’m who they came to after you. I always wondered who you were, who was so good that I was compared to you. They didn’t go out scouting for months after your final game, months. I got lucky they scouted me when you were the one they really wanted.”

Sanghyuk felt his cheeks heat up. He couldn’t believe what Hongbin was saying, that Korea’s current baseball star was compared to him during his scouting. How incredibly insane, how unlikely. 

“I just can’t believe I’m meeting you.” Hongbin spoke again, a soft smile on his face now, revealing the cheek dimple that Sanghyuk tried to hate, but never could. “I never once thought about what you could be like. I always regarded you as the one who got away. It’s kind of neat, actually. I pictured you as a more built guy,” he joked, “but you’re rather lanky.”

Sanghyuk couldn’t find it in himself to be insulted, so he just shrugged, “there’s not much of me now,” he explained, “can’t do much with my leg.”

Hongbin’s legs were suddenly on both sides of Sanghyuk’s as he turned sideways on his stool, once more in the other’s personal space. The player leaned forward slightly, shameless. 

“You’re cute too.”

And Sanghyuk didn’t know if it was the beer Hongbin had been drinking that made him say such a thing, but he blushed nonetheless.