After the basketball finals, you and Esther both became regulars at their basketball training sessions. Or rather, Esther became a regular, and you got dragged along with her rather unwillingly.
---
Esther throws her stationary into her pencil case the moment your homeroom teacher Mr Kim dismisses the class, stuffing all her personal belongings into her bag under a record of one minute.
"Are you running away from something? Why are you so fast?"
"To be exact, I'm running towards someone."
"And that person would be?"
"Jae. Basketball training starts in 30 minutes so I've got a short window of time to eat with him."
"Alright, go on to meet your lover boy."
You laughed as you whispered those words to Esther, turning back to face the Math question at hand.
"Join me for their basketball trainings."
"Oh no, I'd rather not. Sports isn't really my kind of thing."
"It's a statement, not a question. Pack your bags now and let's go!"
With that, Rachel began to take it upon herself to help you pack, shoving your stationary into your pencil case.
"Wha- I never said I was going!"
Shouldering your bag just as you said the last word, Esther left the classroom in a flash, leaving you to chase after her as she took off down the hallway.
---
That was how you found yourself trailing after Jae and Esther into the basketball court, using Jae’s taller frame to hide yourself whilst attempting to run away at the same time. Esther maintains a tight grip on your bag strap so it was impossible to break free and eventually, you gave up when Jae announces your arrival.

“Yo Kang! Don’t bother calling your girl, she’s here.”

On cue, Jae and Esther step to the side to reveal you at the back, and you get the best view of Brian’s reaction from the moment he knows you’re here, to the moment he finally sees you.

He snaps his head up when he hears Jae’s voice, his fingers just hovering above the dial icon beside your name. His eyes grow wide as his eyebrows shoot up, turning his body around frantically to find you. When he finally sees you, everything else fades out, and all you can see is him, each moment now moving in slow motion.

Both of you lock eyes instantly, and he immediately breaks out into a wide smile, his eyes turning into curves. Still grinning, he stands from his seat and you feel your breath hitch as he gets closer and closer. You memorise his every move as he makes his way over, from the way his hair bounces up and down to the way his hands swing out at a precise angle. When he finally stands in front of you, that’s when everything becomes a little clearer, and you start to notice every little thing about him that you have never bothered to know about before. Small strands of hair are now sticking out from his bed of hair due to the running before, the crinkles in his eyes showing; you count two lines on his right eye and one of his left. He can’t stop the wide smile on his face, trying to hide his teeth to seem normal, but then showing them again just because he cannot contain his excitement upon seeing you. He soon expresses his excitement verbally, causing you to blush from his comments.

“Oh! You’re here! I was just about to call you before Jae came in, hoping that you’ll still be in school. I’m happy that you’re here, it feels like I haven’t seen you in so long.”

You smile, shaking your head a little at his exaggeration. It has only been two days since he last saw you; you had lunch with the team as usual yesterday, but he was in the hospital for a checkup.

“I just saw you two days ago Brian Kang, it was not that long ago.”

But I missed you.

“Ah, really? I must have forgotten then, been spending too much time in the hospital.”

Brian Kang knew that he probably seemed like an overly excited puppy at this point in time, and he was trying his best to seem normal by not smiling widely. Yet, he just really couldn’t keep his excitement in, the corners of his lips still lifting up slightly as he continued to look at you.

Likewise, you found it hard not to smile at his adorable behaviour, your lips immediately curving into a soft smile as you instinctively reach a hand up to smooth the stray strands of hair back down onto his head.

Your little action caused a commotion amongst the team, the rest of the boys crowding around you to tease you about it. Wonpil was at the forefront of all the action, wriggling into your personal space