"If I know what love is, it is because of you."

- Hermann Hesse

CHAPTER 24

Yoona heard the sound of tires screeching.

He’s here already. She immediately finished her breakfast and stood up. “aunt, I need to go.” she picked a blue-colored rolled paper and went to her aunts’ chair and kissed her cheek.

“ Be careful okay? And send my good luck to Siwon as well.” she said, sipping her coffee after.

Yoona nodded. “I’ll make sure of that.” She winked. She went out of the kitchen, walked to the door and opened it. Siwon was already sitting at the hood of his car. He was wearing casual clothes, a black t-shirt that emphasizes his muscular body, denim shorts and rubber shoes. He was wearing a cap too, which somewhat shades his features and radiant smile.

“hey there lady.” He spoke in a cool voice and waved.

She walked forward and hit the front portion of his cap. The cap toppled forward. Siwon was quick enough to catch it before it fell to the wet ground. “what was that for?” he asked, amused at Yoona’s pouting expression.

“don’t act cool, you derpface.”

He laughed. “derpface? That hurts you know.” He put the cap at Yoona’s head. He then noticed the blue-rolled paper at her hands. “what’s that?”

She followed his gaze and raised the paper up. “this? Oh it’s nothing really. J-just a piece of—hey!”

Siwon had snatched it out of her grip. Yoona tried to get it back, but Siwon caught both of her hands and locked them with his. He unrolled the paper with his other hand.

Yoona felt his cheek reddened as she saw Siwon reading the thing she had written on the paper. Then out of the blue; he smiled, a smile that went through her heart. “You made this?” he asked as he let her hands go.

“w-well yeah...I’m not good in creating support banners so...Oh God. I’ll just throw it away.” she tried to snatch it, but he dodged her hand.

“Don’t. And besides, it’s the best banner I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“don’t be ridiculous. My penmanship . Don’t try to tell me white lies.”

Siwon pinched her cheek. He’s smile was genuine, like he was trying to make her believe his words, and he succeeded. “really, Thank You.”

Yoona couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad...just...whatever...by the way, aunt’s wishing you good luck.”

“oh, thanks. What about you? Don’t you want to wish me good luck?” he teased.

“okay. Good luck for the championship game.” She complied in a bright tone.

He smiled. “let me rephrase my question. Don’t you want to give me a good luck charm?” and he pointed at his cheek.

Yoona understood. “No. Definitely not.” She crossed her arms, emphasizing her statement.

“what? but you’ve kissed me on the cheek before. It would really boost my strength—hey” he stopped Yoona from storming out. “I was just joking. Don’t be mad. To be honest, your presence is enough for me.”

She continued to glare at him, hiding the happiness she felt upon Siwons’ words. ‘your presence is enough for me’. It gives her this tingling sensation on the pit of her stomach.Yeah Yoona, you’re happy because of that? What utter nonsense. “whatever Choi Siwon. If we don’t move now, you’re gonna be late... Why are you pouting? You look silly.” she chuckled.

“Hmp. Choi Siwon. Choi Siwon. really.”

“What...?” then it dawned on her the meaning of his words and behaviour. She snorted. “Okay. You’re such a handful.” She reached her hand out in front of him.

“shall we go oppa?” she said.

Siwon stood up from the hood of his car and held her outstretched hand. “that’s more like it.”

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Siwon and Yoona were walking at the hallway towards the gyms’ locker room. They could hear the booming of the spectators’ voices at the grandstand. She’s definitely not one of the players, but Yoona felt really anxious. She kept on hitting Siwon with sideway glances. His aura was really...how does she describe it? Normal, like he was just strolling at the beach. Doesn’t he even feel nervous?

“Don’t you even feel nervous?” she voiced out her question.

Siwon glanced at her. “No. I feel the opposite. I am excited.”

She nodded. She could clearly see that he was ecstatic. “well...I feel really nervous, I don’t know why.”

“those were just pre-game jitters. As the game commences, you will forget the anxiousness. You will soon shout like mad as the game progresses.”

“yeah...maybe so.”

The locker rooms’ door was a few distance away. Yoona could see the schools’ players outside, together with their loved ones. Perhaps wishing them luck. she thought. Kyuhyun was laughing with a girl younger than he was; it was his sister, judging from the similarities of their appearance. Leeteuk was with Sora, holding hands and whispering. A girl older than Sungmin was talking to him. Eunhyuk was chatting animatedly with Tiffany and a very elegant middle-aged woman. Hyuk sunbaes’ mother I guess. She thought. She was really beautiful. Her hair was drawn in a bun, she was wearing a simple yet very expensive-looking clothes. She was smiling brightly too, making her more radiant. But she looks really familiar...

Wait...

She stopped walking and stared at the lady again, her head spinning, trying to dig her memory. After a moment or so, she remembered. Her mind brought her to the night Siwon had told her about the tragic past of his family, the one night where she saw, for the first time, in an old photograph, Siwon’s whole family. Her eyes widened with surprise.

She took a sharp breath. She is stunning...Siwon’s mother.

“are you alright?” Siwon asked.

She looked at him. “what? me? o-of course.” She took a breath again. “oppa. Your mother is really...exquisite...”

Siwon smiled. “I guess you remembered her from the photo. You have a sharp memory, I’m impressed.”

“shut up...” Yoona saw Siwon’s mother laugh at Eunhyuks’ joke. Siwon maybe a living replica of his father, but he certainly got his mothers’ radiance and gaiety when laughing. “...you certainly got her joyful demeanor... “

He chuckled. “yeah...a lot of people thinks so too. She’s always there, supporting me in every championship game since my freshman year, even though she really does not understand basketball at all.” He looked at his mother in a loving way. “...let’s go...I’ll introduce you to her. She really wants to meet you.”

He reached out for her hand and took it. They then walked the short distance. When they arrived, Siwon kissed her mothers’ cheek.

“umma, you made it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She looked at Yoona, smiling. Yoona returned a shaky smile. The lady’s prominence still gives her the chills.

“Umma, this is Yoona. Yoona, this is my mother.” Siwon said.

“pleased to meet you ma—“ Yoona stopped speaking. To her utter disbelief, Siwon’s mom suddenly hugged her. She doesn’t know what to do, so she returned the hug tentatively.

The lady was smiling brightly when she let go of Yoona. She held Yoona by her hands, examining her with eyes full of glee. “You’re really pretty in person. If I ever had a daughter, she will be as beautiful as you are. But tough luck, I ended up with two sons.” She sighed.

Siwon chuckled. “really Mom, It’s the first time meeting Yoona and you tell her that disappointment of yours.”

“nah, it really is the first time meeting her, but I feel like I’ve known her for quite a long time.” Siwon’s mother then leaned at Yoona and whispered. “this guy,” she pointed at Siwon. “this guy talks a lot about you more than school, so I feel like I know you inside out. I hope you don’t mind.”

Yoona’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment. She never knew that Siwon talks about her with his mom. She doesn’t know what she should say. “I...I...”

“okay. Ten minutes before the game starts. Buckle up boys.” A bald man appeared at the vicinity and announced the news in a loud voice.

“I think we should go.” Tiffany suggested.

“yes. I think we should.” Siwon’s mom agreed. She then looked at her son. “Good luck, sweetheart.”

Tiffany kissed Eunhyuk in both of his cheek and wished him luck. Yoona was still a bit red in the face when she faced Siwon. “Good luck to your game.”

Siwon ruffled her hair. “cheer for me okay?”

Yoona nodded with an assertive smile. Her eyes followed his figure as he and Eunhyuk retreated towards the locker room. The other players were starting to pile inside as well.

“shall we go dear?” Siwon’s mom nudged her softly.

Yoona smiled at her. Siwon’s mother was the epitome of elegance, but she didn’t know that Mrs. Choi could be this warm to her. She’s sincere and amiable, very much like her son, Siwon. “yes...”

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“oh here they are!” exclaimed a girl from behind Yoona. Her gaze went to the court as the two opposing teams went out. The crowd erupted with an ear-splitting shriek. Some were hoisting up banners supporting their schools’ team, while some were rising up placards with pictures of their favourite player.

“I don’t understand basketball but I could feel the excitement of the crowd.” Mrs. Choi spoke mildly. She was sitting at Yoona’s left side, while Tiffany was at her other side.

Tiffany shook her head. “tell me Yoona, is this a championship game, or a boybands’ concert?”

Yoona responded with a soft laugh. She was still nervous, moreover, she was starting to doubt whether she should show her own banner or just keep it. Compared to the banners of the other spectators, hers was too simple. She tried to be artistic, but all she could do was to write something then put a little printed out picture of a ball. In her opinion, what he had done was rather disastrous.

“WOOOO!!” Tiffany’s shout made Yoona look at her. Tiffany was lifting a placard, a blue one as well, supporting the schools’ team and a good luck to her boyfriend. “you know, you should open that ‘banner’ of yours. I think Siwon is looking for it.” she spoke, her attention still at the court.

True enough, when Yoona looked at Siwon, she could see that his eyes were searching the whole crowd. Ignoring her feeling of uncertainty and shame, she opened the rolled-up blue paper and raised it high above her head.

BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOUR OPPONENT SIWON OPPA. was written in the banner.

When Siwon found the banner, he gave Yoona a very cheerful smile. She smiled back, it was shallow, yet at the sincerity of his approval, she felt her heart swell.

She did not notice that Tiffany was looking at her in a knowing way. When she looked at her unnie, Tiffany was shaking her head, smiling.

“what?” she asked.

“oh Yoona honey, you’re glowing, blooming like a flower.” Tiffany teased. “you are in—“ her voice was drowned by the booming voice of the crowd. The game’s about to start.

“what was that again unnie?” Yoona asked.

Tiffany shook her head. “nevermind.”

The teams were now in the middle of the court, ready for the jump ball. Siwon had his eyes on the ball, his expression furrowed with concentration. When the referee tossed the ball up, he jumped, as well as his opponent. He reached out and managed to grab the ball.

And the game begins.

When Siwon reached the ground, he passed the ball to Eunhyuk. The latter immediately dribbled the ball and went near the basket. But alas, a player of the opposite team blocked him. he tried to swoop sideways, but his opponent is rather quick.

“I won’t let you get through. we will make sure that your team will pay.”

Eunhyuk smirked. “It’s not our fault that you were defeated by us last year. And besides, we will never let you win.” Like lightning, he passed the ball back to Siwon. Siwon, who avoided those who tried to block him by sheer speed, shoot the ball into the basket.

First two points goes to Siwons’ team. The crowd irrupted.

“NO! not yet!” there goes the other team.

The opposite team showed the skills they had upon defending the ball and securing a two point shot. so the score had become 2-2.

The game went on like that for about 7 minutes, when Siwon’s team scores, the opposite team brings back the lead to a tie. It was a tough quest, but the tougher it was, the more determined and focused Siwons’ team becomes.

When it was down to 10 seconds, Kyuhyun managed to get the ball from the enemy’s hand. he dribbled it, and sweep sideways against the other players. He then passed the ball to Sungmin, who were standing unguarded at the three-point line.

Sungmin received the ball and aimed at the basket. Then, as the crowd become silent for a while, the ball went straight to the basket. 25-20.

Siwon’s team did not let the other team score again, until the whistle blew, signalling the end of the first quarter.

“wow. The enemies. They’re strong.” Yoona exclaimed.

“they’ve been waiting for this, to actually take their revenge. They were our school’s final opponent last year. The final score was 104-102. It was really close.” Tiffany explained.

Mrs. Choi chimed in. “yes. I remember that. Siwon made the opponents’ captain cry.”

“really?” Yoona was astonished.

It was Tiffany who answered. “yeah. That was the highlight of the game. Siwon was just a player back then in his second year. He did not yet have his captaincy now. Siwon managed to stop that opponent countless times. At the last seconds, when the captain was about to shoot to tie the score, Siwon stopped him. They lost. ”

A loud whistling sound erupted in the still air. Second half was about to start.

Leeteuk had gained position of the ball. He passed it to Kyuhyun, who passed it to Sungmin. Sungmin then seized the opportunity and hoisted the ball up. As he was about to release the ball, a large figure jumped in front of him and smacked the ball away from his grip.

The opponent dribbled the ball and ran until he reached the basket. He jumped, eager to raise his teams’ score. Then...BAM! Siwon had smacked the ball away. Eunhyuk was the one who caught it and shoot it. an alley-oop.

“YES!...” Tiffany spoke with a snap.

The difference of the scores was beginning to increase, in favour of Siwon’s team. Sweat was running through their unfazed concentration. Sungmin had again managed to secure another three points. Their score was 10 points higher than their enemy. The first half had ended in that way.

“No. Damn.” The captain of the opposite team kicked the seat in their locker room. “that Siwon bastard! He kept on blocking us, that’s why we can’t score. ”

A boy with brownish hair spoke. “the other players were pretty good, no, excellent shooters as well. what should we do captain?”

The captain’s eyes narrowed as he looked at each of his players’ exhausted faces “We need to get their captain off the court.”

The atmosphere of the whole gymnasium had become quite tense now that the first half was finished. More blood will be shed at the second half. Would Siwon’s team gain the upper hand? Or will their opponents make a comeback?

“the air seems to be different.” Yoona said.

“yeah. But I wonder how the enemy will narrow down the score. If they had come up a strategy during the break, I hope it’s clean...”

Yoona’s brows furrowed. “what do you mean unnie?”

“I sure hope they don’t resort to a very nasty plan...”

The players returned to the court. All of their faces were contorted with concentration. Yoona noticed that the opposite team had changed one of its players. He was a rather large man.

“a substitute?” Yoona asked, talking to herself.

“yes.”Tiffany responded. “but what are they planning? As far as I could remember, that player is unreliable in the court. His only weapon is his build.”

Yoona felt anxious. She looked at Siwon. He was sweaty and all, but she could see that he was smiling, as if something fascinates him. His team mates were like that as well.

The opponent had gained control of the ball. A brownish-haired boy dribbled and tried to shoot it, but he missed. Siwon and the substitute jumped for the rebound. Siwon had caught the ball mid-air, and at the same time, a massive forearm hit him in his gut. The ball slipped through his hands as the pain engulfed him. He fell to the ground.

“FOUL!” the referee shouted. The crowd erupted with snide and angry remarks.

The substitute smirked at Siwon. “I will break you.” He said in a menacing manner and walked away.

Yoona’s eyes became slits. She felt so furious at the substitute that she had this urge to whack him with the bench. It was obvious that what the substitute had done was intentional. Are they trying to get Siwon injured to keep him out of the game?

“scum of the earth.” She spoke in a dangerous tone.

“dirty fellow.” Tiffany was angry as well. “so this is their gameplan. The substitutes’ role was to beat Siwon until he is left injured; it will make him vulnerable and might get him out of the game.”

“they think that oppa will lose in that kind of cheap trick? They’re wrong. He isn’t the captain for nothing.” Yoona said with conviction.

“of course. And look at Hyuk, Kyu, Teuk and Sungmin. They seem to be all fired up because of what that fellow did to their captain.” Tiffany said.

Yoona looked at them, and Tiffany was right.

Siwon positioned for the free throw. Even when his gut was still painful, he managed to accurately shoot the ball. The spectators erupted with cheers again.

The opponent had gained access to the ball. One player dribbled it towards the basket, he reached out to shoot the ball, but Siwon was already there and smashed it out of his grip. “not enough.”

Sungmin caught it and passed it to Eunhyuk. The latter swerved and avoided the person that was blocking him. He lifted his hand up and shoots. The ball went straight to the basket. Another two points.

The captain of the other team procured the ball and passed it to the substitute. He then dribbled it, and went to the basket. He jumped, attempting to dunk, but Siwon had managed to whack it out of his grip.

“you little..” the substitute exclaimed, gritting his teeth. He went aground, faster than Siwon did. When Siwon hit the ground, the substitute placed his feet outward, making Siwon stomped through it. Siwon lost his balance and twisted his other foot. He bumped painfully to the floor. “ARGHh”

“Time-out!” the referee shouted. The schools’ coach called for a time-out. Eunhyuk instantly ran towards Siwon and helped him stand up. “are you alright?” he asked.

Siwon answered through gritted teeth. “yeah...I think so...”

The crowd was throwing fits of insulting word upon the opponents. Tiffany couldn’t control herself too. She shouted, “WHAT! YOU STUPID, TALENTLESS RAT! YOU LITTLE—“ she stopped  when she saw Yoona stand up and started to walk. She caught her hand. “where are you going?”

Yoona looked at her with murderous eyes. “Unnie, don’t stop me. I want to go down to the court and hit that bastard with the bench. I want to punch that ugly face of his so bad.”

Despite being angry, Tiffany laughed. She found Yoona’s reaction so amusing. “as much as I’d love to help you with your plan, we are not allowed in the court.” She pulled Yoona and made her sit down.

“but I really, really want to strangle that moron.” Yoona spoke with suppressed anger. She turned to Mrs. Choi. The lady was so calm. “don’t you, Mrs. Choi?”

The lady just smiled, a smile that gave her the chills. “Nah, I’m quite regarded as an elegant lady, so strangling him myself is not an option. Besides, I have the resources. I know the family of that boy; I can easily cancel the 45% stocks I have with his parent’s company. But of course, Siwon would never like that” her eyes actually gleamed.

Yoona was left speechless. What a formidable lady.

The game resumed after two minutes. Despite his injury, Siwon still played. His other team mates want to just bench him, so that he could rest. But Siwon insisted not to. As a result, the team tried to block every person from going near Siwon, especially the substitute. Their gameplan had become unorganized. Because of that, the opponent had diminished the 10-point difference in score.

“I’m fine! Go back to your positions. “ Siwon shouted at s.

It was Kyuhyun who responded. “hyung, losing is better than you being pounded by their dirty tricks.”

Siwon shook his head. “NO.”

His team mates had recognized the finality of his voice. They backed-off.

Sungmin stole the ball from his opponent, he then got blocked. He dribbled the ball fast, and made it bounced towards Leeteuk. Leeteuk jumped; the one who was guarding him jumped as well. But instead of shooting, Leeteuk passed the ball to Eunhyuk.

“A FAKE!”

Eunhyuk raised the ball and shoots. SCORE!

The ball then was caught by the large substitute. He was blocked by none other than Siwon.

“you’re still playing. What a stubborn fellow.” The substitute smirked.

Siwon did not respond. He merely looked at him with distaste.

The opponents’ anger rose. “you dare to look at me like that? You will pay for it” He bounced the ball so hard that it rose up above his head. He reached up and caught it with his two large hands, when he let his arms fall, his elbow targeted Siwon’s head.

Siwon, wide-eyed, had instantly noticed the opponents elbow. He immediately tried to avoid the collision. The opponents elbow had crashed near his left cheek. He felt this stinging pain.

“FOUL!” the referee shouted as the third quarter ended.

The audience were throwing misfits of curse words. Tiffany was too, her voice hoarse from shouting swear words.

Yoonas’ anger intensified by a hundred fold, but when she saw the little wound at Siwons’ cheek, she felt murderous. She stood up, unaware of her surroundings, or rather, she does not care at all. Her eyes were slits. At the top of her lungs, she shouted.

“YOU FILTHY, GROTESQUE, BRAINLESS GIT, IF YOU EVER HURT SIWON OPPA AGAIN, I SWEAR AT MY PARENTS TOMB THAT I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND PEEL THE SKIN OF YOUR UGLY FACE BY USING MY AUNTS’ BREAD KNIFE!”

Yoona breathed heavily. She was so angry that she did not notice the silent atmosphere. All of the people in the stands, as well as the court, were looking at her. She looked around, and it dawned on her that she was too loud that everyone had heard everything, including, as what she had described, the grotesque substitute player. He was looking at her with shock in his face.

She looked down at Tiffany. “was I...to loud?”

Then Yoona heard a soft laugh. Mrs. Choi was laughing so much, she held her stomach. “Oh dear...that was really...” and she continued to laugh again.

Tiffany laughed as well. “that was great Yoona.”

Yoonas’ cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She slowly sat on her chair as almost all of the people laughed. She looked at Siwon, he was smiling, quite amused, and winked at her.

 The audience were cheering as loud as ever as the last quarter began. The player who kept on hitting Siwon was now on the bench.

The fourth quarter had started with Siwons’ team leading by a mere three points. And as the time passes, the game had become extremely difficult for the opponent. They were blocked easily by Siwon. Sungmin had his three-point shots working on, as well as Eunhyuks’ alley-oops. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun were displaying their excellent abilities in guarding, passing and shooting.

The opposite team was trying to catch up. They were determined to win, but exhaustion was already taking a toll of their abilities.

 At the final seconds, Kyuhyuh had managed to steal the ball from the player he was guarding. He passed it to Sungmin, who bounced it to Leeteuk. Leeteuk had again faked and passed the ball to Eunhyuk.

Eunhyuk dribbled the ball fast, staring at the guy who was blocking him. He swerved sideways, hoisted the ball up and shoots. But it missed.

With only two seconds left, Siwon jumped high up and dunked the ball hard on the basket. The referee blew his whistle.

The championship game had ended, 107-92. Siwons’ team won.

The crowd shouted and screamed like crazy. Yoona hugged both Tiffany and Mrs. Choi, all the while jumping up and down. “we won! We won!”

The team received the trophy and heaved it up.

The audience were piling down towards the court, shouting and congratulating the players. Some of them were jumping up and down, while raising a large banner upon their heads.

“Let’s go.” Tiffany suggested. The three of them, Tiffany, Yoona and Mrs. Choi went down to the court.

The three spotted both Eunhyuk and Siwon. Upon seeing Siwon, Yoona felt so proud and happy that she rushed towards him and threw herself at him in a very tight embrace.

Siwon, who was a bit astonished at Yoonas’ powerful embrace, returned the hug and even lifted her off the ground.

“oh my God. congratulations...” Yoona said. She then got off him and looked at him full in the face. The gash on his left cheek was still evident. “I’m so happy!” and to everyone’s surprise, including Siwon, Yoona tiptoed up to kiss Siwon in both of his cheeks.

Siwons’ smile widened as he stared at Yoona. She was really happy for him.

“oh sweetheart, congratulations.” His mother interrupted his thoughts. He hugged his mother and kissed her on the cheek.

“thank you Mom.”

“I’m glad that I came. I met Yoona, she really is a wonderful person, and funny too. That speech of hers was astounding.” Mrs. Choi laughed softly.

“Yeah, it really is Yoona.” Eunhyuk chimed in. Tiffany was with him.

Yoonas’ face reddened again with shame. “that was totally embarrassing.”

Siwon laughed and pinched her cheek.

“I need to go my son.” Mrs. Choi sighed.

“where are you going mom?” Siwon asked.

“I apparently need to sign some documents.”

“I’ll bring you to your car then.”

“No. stay here. I can manage. I’ll see you at home okay?” Mrs. Choi smiled.

“Okay.” Siwon answered.

Mrs. Choi turned to face Yoona. She reached and grabbed hold of Yoonas’ two hands. “It’s really nice to meet you Yoona” she smiled genuinely.

“the pleasure is all mine Madam.” Yoona returned the smile.

“Don’t call me Madam, I feel old. You can call me ‘mother’. Siwons’ friends call me that.”

Yoona squeezed the lady’s hand. “okay, mother.”

“that’s more like it.” the lady released Yoonas’ hands. She then waved them goodbye and walked away.

“you two should change your clothes, they’re all wet with sweat.” Tiffany spoke and pointed at Eunhyuk and Siwon.

“yeah.” Eunhyuk agreed. He put his arm around Tiffanys' shoulder and walked towards the locker room.

“shall we go?” Yoona asked, smiling. She hooked her arm at Siwons’

Siwon returned the smile. “yeah...”

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It's quite long I think.

My english is not that good so pardon my mistakes.

^_^