Sooyoung was happy to have his little cousin finally join him in high school, and he was overjoyed to know his good friend Jihyo was actually the cousin he never really met, their family drama might have kept them apart, but they ended up being friends regardless, and now they could work on being close, like Chorong was to both. But it was senior year and things aren’t as lax as they used to be, and quality family time was something he couldn’t afford that often, and now we have the tallest Park preparing for tryouts along with his vice-captain Bae Joohyun. 

“How do we do this?”

“Well, Joonie, we could just go according to the script and do the same as last year?”

“You know how little I agree with that thing. Our seniors were good at playing, but they had never been really good at bringing out maximum effort in minimum time. I want something that will show us how their endurance is and what they are capable of without having them play for two hours after running around campus.”

“Yeah, our seniors were trained well, but they didn’t really know how to pick them.” The older boy laughs. “Remember Kim Changin?”

“Oh, don’t remind me!” A new voice speaks up.

“Hey Seul, you are late.” Sooyoung greets.

“I know, Yerm was having trouble with a physics problem and it took me longer than I anticipated to help him solve it.”

“I’m glad he’s picking up his studies again.” Joohyun says fondly.

“But now we gotta figure out something better for tryouts because we don’t want the Kimcident again.” Sooyoung adds with a touch of fear.

“Well, then we should start working something out. The team coming?” Seulgi rushes them to start working.

“They will arrive if they feel like it, but honestly, it’s supposed to be up to Joonie and I.”

“Then I’m here too and we’ll figure it out.”

The trio of footballers got working on coming up with something more effective in choosing the new players, they had to be certain the chosen ones would be able to perform well enough for the team’s needs. All in all, it would be their last official assignment as captain and co-captain, Seulgi was just always supportive all around, and both wanted to do this right. The seniors had decided to not compete at all this year, all of them wanted to dedicate more time to their studies, even if some had already received proposals from various colleges. 

Sooyoung would be attending Tokio U, something about his mother also going there and him wanting to follow her steps, he was already fairly fluent in japanese, having learned from an early age, and he had also seen a scouter form there in a few of their games the previous year. Joohyun was aiming for Yeonsei, he did get a sports scholarship, but he also didn’t really want to keep playing throughout college, he had a lot more to experience and wanted to have enough time for whatever new hobby he wanted to try. If all things failed, he would take the sports scholarship, but he wanted to try first. Seulgi had accepted his invitation from Busan University of Foregin Studies, and would be moving during the holidays, he would have to be there about a week before classes were officially over and the teachers had already set a schedule for students like him.

Yeri also wanted to attend college in Busan, but he would be trying for Korea Maritime and Ocean, he would also be trying for the National University of Education, but he really wanted his first option. Seulgi had helped his boyfriend figure out what he really wanted to do, and his choices were the main motivator for Yeri to start taking his education seriously, the younger boy had also decided to not take the test to see if he could skip his last year, he knew he needed more time to get to the level where he could take the test and get in. The brainstorming went well after their planned schedule, Sooyoung had decided to move the meeting to his house at some point and the other two just slept over, once mrs Park told them it was too late to go home already.

The next day, the entire team gathered and voted for the best ideas as to how their tryouts would go. It was decided it would take place the next friday, the only day the field would be free, the other clubs had already reserved it for their own tryouts. It was good, though, Sooyoung and Joohyun decided to take the team out for dinner and celebrate the new year starting along with announcing the new captain, they had the extra budget for it and the coach wasn’t at all against the idea. When the day came, however, the captain and vice-captain were very nervous, they had spent a lot of time planning everything so it would all be fine, but the pressure was still there. The previous year was when Sooyoung had been appointed captain, he had never planned everything like this.

Freshmen flooded the field when the time came, seemingly, their school’s reputation preceded them, and all clubs had a lot of applicants. Another thing Sooyoung hadn’t noticed until now, when he had to skim through the many candidates and pick out the best fitted. Now our captain duo understood when mrs Shin at the student’s office had laughed and told them they would, undoubtedly, need the field for the entire afternoon and advised them to begin as soon as possible if they wanted to be out of there by the time school closes. It was a tight schedule, but the team managed to test all candidates, Joohyun and Seulgi had quickly come up with a division among the players so they would all take different groups to make things faster.

Even with everything, tryouts ended at six, already too late, and Sooyoung was happy to have decided to bring the team for dinner, everyone was too tired and hungry after a whole afternoon of trying to evaluate the first years, make sure nobody was getting hurt, and write reports about those who stood out. They headed to their usual barbecue place, it had big portions and a fair price, the owner being an alumni himself, and always gave discounts for students of their school, they only had to show their student ids and would get 20% off. The man knew sometimes it was hard for highschoolers to have something nice, or be able to go on dates with the money they had, and he wanted to help them out, just like he had been helped when he took his girlfriends on dates back then.

“Gentlemen!” Sooyoung begins, Joohyun standing on his right side. “I’d like to thank you all for the help during tryouts today.”

The boys cheer and raise their glasses, just for the sake of it.

“Before anything, I’d like to say it’s been a great pleasure to stand beside you all on the field and be certain that each one of you was willing to give your all for me as I was for you. Joonie would like to say a few words as well.”

The team already had a few teary eyes among them, they all knew it was tradition for the captain leaving to announce the new captain right after tryouts. When Sooyoung had been announced, the team was showering, too many dangling bits for the boy to want to celebrate there. Later, Joohyun heard from the previous captain that it was just because Sooyoung was too gentlemanly and he just had to watch the boy lose a bit of his composure. With that memory, Joohyun begins.

“I know most of you just saw me as that cocky guy who ran fast.” There are a few chuckles. “And it’s kinda true. But I’m very honored to have been your vice-captain, it was amazing to play alongside you all and learn how we worked as a team, together. Thank you very much for all the moments I’ll never forget and wouldn’t have experienced without this team.”

Another round of cheers goes around and Sooyoung steps forward again to finish his speech.

“Well, here’s my last toast as your captain.” 

He raises his glass and they all hit their glasses with a bit more force, the strawberry juice spilling on the captain’s cuffs, certainly staining his white shirt, but Sooyoung doesn’t care. This was the last time he would be leading these boys and he wasn’t letting anything spoil it, he was too happy for that.

“Now, I’d like for the next captain to share a few words soon, but I’d like to tell you all about this guy and why I made the decision. I feel like I should have asked everyone and have you all vote, but our seniors didn’t do that, so I went to Sehun sunbae and talked to him about it, and then I understood why there isn’t really a voting for the position.” Sooyoung takes a moment before continuing. “And I also understood how I should make my decision, and this little guy is the one I know who can bring out the best of you all, challenge those who are staying in ways I never thought about and improve with everyone.”

“Can you just say who?” Jongwoo calls from his seat. “We kinda are all little guys for you, you freak.”

Everyone laughs, and they are all thankful for Jongwoo’s playful spirit at the moment, they needed a break from all the sentimentalism.

“It’s not you, if that was your doubt.” Joohyun quips, gathering a bit more laughter.

“Well, Kim Doyoung, why don’t you come up here and talk to your team about respecting their seniors?” Sooyoung throws offhandedly. 

Everyone stops a little at that. They all knew Doyoung had a chip on his shoulder about their captain and vice-captain, the boy never really agreed with them since the moment his name was put on the final list. What Sooyoung had learned from the captain before him was that it was important to have people who would follow you, but it was more important to have ones who will challenge you and get you to think in another perspective. The main reason Sooyoung knew right away the answer was Doyoung when he heard that was because the boy never failed to force him out of his comfort zone, out of his perspective and see things with a broader vision. 

They butted heads a lot, but many things Sooyoung changed about their team was thanks to the boy who would never hesitate to question him when he thought Sooyoung wasn’t doing the best for the team. And, honestly, Joohyun was the one to rant about the boy’s attitude, but both captain and vice-captain would always stop and consider the opposing ideas to try and find a new solution to things.

“Well, now THAT is a surprise.” Coach Choi comments. “But it makes the most sense, I’d say.” Then the coach holds a very satisfied grin for the rest of the evening.

Doyoung, still stunned, is pushed to stand and say something. He manages to mumble something, but it’s never really expected for the new captain to actually give a speech, they are always too stunned to actually be capable of coherent sentences. The dinner goes on well into the evening, and the team only leaves because coach Choi demands they head home and sleep.