Mark’s basketball practice continued the following week. He was especially excited, yet as expected, nervous for his upcoming meeting with Jinyoung. It was strange that for people who went to the same university, they never even once came across each other. The guy seemed to be invisible even when Mark tried to spend more time in the campus area by going to the cafeteria or the gymnasium for the first time. Although he skipped several places because surely a person like Jinyoung wouldn’t be in a nerdy place like a library or the laboratory, would he?

When Mark arrived in the field, like a metal fell into a magnetic surface, his eyes captured Jinyoung’s back figure. That shoulder was moving as the owner was laughing hard at his own joke. The others were only staring at him, judging him silently but he didn’t seem to care. He hit the unamused Jackson in the arm just because, making the guy walked away.

“JB would be happy to know that father joke is what it takes to push Jackson away.”

“Shhh! Shut up Hyunjin. Don’t you dare.”

Hyunjin pushed Jackson’s hand away from his mouth. “Did you not wash your hand? Ugh, what was that smell?”

Jackson grinned. “Sorry. The water in the bathroom was off. Stop hitting me!”

Mark ignored those background noise and went back to staring so hard at his target of interest. He could literally draw the picture of Jinyoung’s figure with his eyes shut close by now. But he didn’t wanna stop looking at that broad shoulder, he enjoyed how his heart beat faster as the other guy realized his presence and turned around. He just waved at him, but Mark felt melted figuratively. He wanted to reach out to touch those eye wrinkles, desperate to discover how they felt under his touch. But Instead, he just extended his hand.

“You are here,” Jinyoung said, pulling him by the hand that now they stood incredibly too close for a friendly gesture.

“You smell like grapefruit and blackberry,” Mark heard himself saying that out loud.

Jinyoung looked flustered, “You don’t seem to dislike it.”

“No, it smells really good.”

Mark didn’t know where that confidence was coming from. He could feel Jinyoung studying his face for a moment, before he looked away from Mark, laughing.

“Jackson, go wash your gross hand,” Jinyoung said.

“Here, Hyunjin my hand before Jinyoung gets even bossier.”

The two guys started bickering again before Mark felt his waist was being pulled closer to the side. He wanted to turn his head but another head was already snuggling on his neck.

“You don’t smell so bad yourself,” Jinyoung whispered the words directly to his ear, getting him unexpected goosebumps.

He then acted so casually as if nothing happened so that Mark wasn’t sure how to react. Did Jinyoung just flirt with him when no one was paying attention? Or was he just overthinking? Perhaps, this kind of interaction was normal between guys, platonic gesture even. His best friend never did that to him. But Mark had never been in a relationship and he never paid much attention to people to know what flirtation looked like. What he knew was his heart just skipped a beat for the guy and he didn’t want Jinyoung’s hand on his waist to move away.

“Hey Mark, your face is red. Is it because we’re talking about y cheerleaders?” Jackson squealed excitedly.

“Dude, no wonder because Irene is seriously hot,” Hyunjin’s eyes were full of love.

“Uh I know right!,” Jackson chimed in what seemed to be the most popular topic when bunch of guys gossiped: girls. “Have you guys checked her racks when she jumps?”

“Totally! I would give anything to have her go on a date with me.”

Jackson hit Hyunjin’s head. “Hey take a number and wait in line, you idiot.”

“Why? The handsome one always gets prioritized!”

“Then you’ll be at least 10 people behind me.”

“What?! No way I’ll be in the front line with Mark and Jinyoung.”

“Excuse me, are your eyes OK? I should be the one with them.”

“Oh shut up both of you. At least we establish that Mark and I are handsome,” Jinyoung gazed at Mark, smiling playfully pulling the smaller guy closer.

“OK fine, then which one of these two who has bigger chance of asking Irene out?” Jackson pretended to think.

Jinyoung watched them sharply, trying to find the answer before any of them spoke. It seemed like he was gonna choke the two guys if it wasn’t his name they called out. He was late though, Hyunjin opened his mouth fast to say Mark had bigger chance as he was far more handsome and Jinyoung was annoying. Jackson agreed as he liked to see Jinyoung got irritated every time he lost in any kind of competition.

“I will not ask her out,” said Mark.

“Why?”

He didn’t actually know what to say, he had no preference in girls. Zero interest at all in that matter, but he couldn’t just say he’s gay to people he’d just met twice.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen her. Although she sounds cool.”

“That’s right. Mark must have higher standard in girls.”

“Yeah, what’s your type, Mark?”

Now the other guys joined Jinyoung in the action of staring at him. Mark didn’t know since when Jinyoung had his eyes fixated on him but he didn’t like being in the spotlight like this.

“Um…just with whom I can feel comfortable.”

They were still silent, waiting for him to continue.

“Someone who is good looking?” he wasn’t sure. He couldn’t just describe a certain Park Jinyoung whose hand, since Mark said he wouldn’t ask Irene out, was comfortably rested on his shoulder like a perfect boyfriend material he was.

Luckily Yugyeom noisily announced his entrance. Jackson and Hyunjin went to help him bring the equipment and this topic about ideal girl practically ended.

After that, they mostly talked about the following match. They were surprised to find out that Mark had never been to a basketball match before. Not even when Yugyeom made his debut in the league.

“He didn’t want me to come anyway.”

“He asked me to pay for his rent in return,” Yugyeom defended himself.

“Good thing you didn’t come, Yugyeom took a ball in his face and fainted,” Jinyoung said.

“I didn’t faint!”

“Yeah you kinda did. You didn’t even remember your name.”

“Don’t you dare laughing, Hyunjin!”

“Oh look. His face is just as red.”

“Stop laughing, Jackson! It was stage fright. Watch me in the next match, Mark. I’ll show you how cool I am now.”

Surely Mark would come to see Jinyoung in action. The team A’s opponent for the upcoming match was the strong Blue mountain. He ever heard about them once as the universities’ rivalry was not secret in town. But only now, he learned that the Blue had strong players and their shooters were sharp. Their strong offense was getting even better this year that they didn’t even need tight defense. Therefore, Yugyeom as a center had to do harder practice. That guy whined upon the probability he’d come in contact with the Rock, the famous center from Blue mountain. Jackson however was 1000% sure the game would be exciting and he couldn’t wait for that. He said that the Red devil wasn’t an easy challenger either although it’s team A’s first match with the Blue.

When JB, accompanied by coach Argus, arrived, the whole team followed his practice instruction. Mark, again went to a private practice with Jinyoung. Jackson expressed his envy as Jinyoung got to spend more time with newbies. JB’s word didn’t seem to be that sincere, but Jackson was easily convinced that he was far more needed in the field with the others so that the coach didn’t really need to comment.

So there was Mark, in one side of the field with a ball in his hand and Jinyoung watching him.

“I can wait forever, but I prefer you start now Mark.”

“Those girls are watching us.”

Jinyoung gave a knowing smile but he didn’t even glance at the direction Mark was pointing at.

“People like nice view. There’s nothing you can do about that, isn’t there? Although I’d be much happier to keep you just for me.”

Mark dropped the ball as his jaw dropped slightly. Didn’t have time to process if that was another flirting, he picked up the ball and got ready to throw it down. It fell too hard that it bounced back higher than he expected. Thankfully it was caught skillfully by Jinyoung before it could break Mark’s jaw.

“Careful there, you don’t want it smashing your pretty face,” Jinyoung passed the ball back to him.

Mark checked if anyone else saw this, but even the girls had left. So he fixed his grip on the ball, focusing on the training. He felt the weight of the ball in his hand and dropped it with reasonable strength this time. The ball bounced perfectly to his palm like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet. He couldn’t help but repeating the action, his hand just moved naturally going to the direction his ball went. Without him realizing it, he managed to dribble 10 times.

“Good job there,” said Jinyoung, “It’s satisfying to see your ball bounces like that.”

At that, Mark had to manage his expression again. What Jinyoung said was perfectly harmless; a normal comment on a basketball practice. There’s no need for his other balls to twitch.

Jinyoung passed him the ball, expecting Mark to start dribbling it again. The second tap, he easily snatched the ball mid-air.

“You gave your opponent an opening by bouncing the ball higher than your waist.”

“Maybe my dribbling was too slow?”

Jinyoung giggled, “Nice notion, but there’s nothing wrong with slow dribbling as long as your rhythm is unreadable. And that’s not yet your concern. Now what you need to do is spreading your knees, don’t lock them. You need to be ready to move around when you dribble the ball.”

Mark followed his instruction and bend his knees a little.

However, Jinyoung didn’t seem to be too happy for he suddenly moved behind him. He attached his body to bend Mark’s to the right angle. His face rested well on his shoulder and his voice went straight to his ear.

“Spread your knees a little more,” he commanded.

Mark, despite how fast his heart raced, did exactly as he was told. He could feel his bottom slightly brushed Jinyoung’s groin as he squatted lower. He heard the other gasped but he himself wasn’t in his best condition to register what was happening. Park ing Jinyoung was secretly grinding his crotch on his in an open space where many people could easily see them.

“Now try to dribble the ball with your right hand, remember: not too high. Manage your strength. And your body has to stay in a position like this. In this way, you can charge forward while protecting your ball.”

Right, he was in the middle of a practice. Mark had to remind himself. This close proximity between them was needed so he could be in the correct form. Although it was hard to ignore the bulge pressed against his , he nodded, didn’t want to risk weird sound coming out of his mouth.

Jinyoung got up and his crotch rubbed Mark’s a little, making him jolted his body forward.

“Woaaa!”

The other guy looked at him. Far too innocent for someone who had just practically molested someone else. Wait, Mark didn’t refuse his advance, so it wasn’t really a molestation.

“Any problem, Mark?”

He shook his head and continued his practice, across Jinyoung this time. He barely heard the whistle blew twice as he was too busy clearing his mind from the feeling of a certain bulge on his just before, but he noticed Jinyoung made a movement so he stopped.

“I need to join the team now. Is it okay for you to do it alone?”

Mark nodded slowly. He wanted to watch the practice but his heart needed a rest for beating too fast when Jinyoung’s around.

“Alright then. Practice dribbling with your right hand twenty times, then try doing it with your left hand until you feel comfortable using both of your hands. You can also start moving with your legs, just don’t hurt yourself when I’m gone.”

“Okay.”

Jinyoung, studied Mark’s face until they heard the whistle again. “I gotta go, good luck here”

Mark watched him jogging away. The team members were already in the field, but he also spotted some ordinary club members like him doing individual practice. So Mark went back to his ball and started dribbling.

….

 “Woaaa, the second practice and now you can dribble like that. I’m impressed, Mark.”

Mark immediately lost the control of the ball. He found Jackson crouching not far from where he’d been practicing for almost an hour.

“Thanks.”

Jackson got up to pick up the ball. “I always know Jinyoung is a good teacher.”

“I guess.”

“You’re not very talkative,” Jackson passed him the ball. “I like that in a man. Come on pass the ball to me.”

“Then why…Do you hate yourself?” Mark passed the ball less swift than Jackson did.

Jackson laughed as he didn’t seem to get the sarcasm, “You’re funny and of course I love myself. Anyway, you threw ball the ball well enough. Did you ever play before?”

“If I did, I would be in the field with you guys by now, not being grilled by Jinyoung.”

Jackson chuckled. “After the match, I’ll ask Jaebum to hand you over to me if Jinyoung was too much.”

Mark didn’t expect that, “Oh you don’t have to.”

Jackson passed him the last throw, “Don’t worry. I’m a better teacher. Look at how we interact, you learn better passing and I get to know more about you. How far have you gone with Jinyoung, eh?”

“Don’t you steal what’s mine, Jackson,” Jinyoung came out of nowhere, face as red as his hairband due to the hot sun which now had slowly set.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Jinyoung.”

“Shut up. Jaebum needs you to practice with Yugyeom.”

“What? Why?”

“Nothing, he said something came up.” Jinyoung took the ball from Mark and handed it to Jackson,” Go away.”

“Alright, don’t be sissy” Jackson looked offended but eventually walked away. He went back to say good night to Mark though. And Mark didn’t miss how Jackson winked.

“Such a flirt,” Jinyoung said under his breath while drilling a hole on Jackson’s head with his eyes.

Jinyoung must had felt Mark’s stare on him because he turned his body toward him. “It’s late, do you need a ride home?”

Mark’s mouth opened slightly, “Oh gee… thank you. But I live in the dorm. I… don’t think that a ride is necessary.”

“Great, then let me walk you dorm.”

Mark laughed, “You mean, walk me home?”

“I’d love to. Thanks for inviting me.”

Mark giggled and found Jinyoung laughed with him this time.

“Let me just get my bag first.”

And just like that, they walked in silence to the building at the back of the university. The sun had completely set and the sky had started to turn dark blue. Mark watched the street lamps , almost like magic. It almost seemed like they were strolling a special path to the most romantic ball in the palace. If that was the case, he’s supposed to be the lucky Cinderella. He thought it was about the time a prince saved him from misery and loneliness. He stole glance at Jinyoung and instantly blushing discovered the guy had been staring at him.

Jinyoung chuckled his beautiful laughter. “You’re being shy is the cutest thing ever.”

“Yet you’re keeping your distance,” said Mark

Jinyoung seemed startled. He turned his head down, watching his moving feet that marched together with Mark’s. “I feel a little embarrassed, I’m afraid I don’t smell nice now.”

That was non sense. To Mark, Jinyoung still smelled like grapefruit and blackberry despite how much his body had produced sweat. Was it the perfume or was it the detergent? He’d like to know. By contrast, he himself wasn’t sure how he smelled at that moment. Despite the cool breeze embracing his body, it was drenched in sweat less than half an hour ago. For that reason, he didn’t try to close the distance between them. He just hoped the wind blew his body odor away from the other guy.

“You’re coming to the match, right?” asked Jinyoung.

“Of course,” Mark turned to face Jinyoung. “But I haven’t been to a match before, can you give me a know-how?”

Jinyoung burst into laughter, making the other confused.

“Was that a stupid question?”

Jinyoung looked at him for a second before continuing watching the street ahead of them, while Mark still watched him expectantly.

“Well, firstly I’ll get you the ticket so you don’t have to jostle against other people in your way in.”

“Will there be a lot of people?”

“Maybe. But most of them will just be students from both universities. But you can also see some people bringing their kids, you know, for family time. It’s on the weekend anyway.”

Mark noticed how Jinyoung’s lips moved to produce those sounds. His cheeks were no longer red and his hair was not as damp as before. Mark had to force himself to look away from the face and started paying attention to the words. Too much nodding would give the other wrong impression.

“I’d like you to sit at the back of the ring pole behind us with the other club members so that you’re not lonely.”

“Can I watch well from there?”

“It’s more exciting from there, that’s from my personal experience.” Jinyoung looked at him again, “Watch how the players move and report back to me what you learn.”

Mark stopped his step. “Are you giving me homework?”

Jinyoung smiled, “That’s why I’m buying you the ticket. I don’t do that to just anyone.”

Mark’s jaw dropped, “I thought you liked me.”

Jinyoung’s chuckle only grew louder.

Mark saw his dorm and regretted how unusually close that building was from the field. Jinyoung was also awfully quiet. If Mark was tired, he was sure the other was exhausted.

“Are you thinking about the match?” Mark asked, “I’m sure you’ll do just great.”

Mark wondered if smiling was Jinyoung’s default mode, but he liked it.

“Thanks Mark, that was very thoughtful. But I was actually thinking about how to naturally ask for your number.”

Mark’s heart jumped and he immediately looked away. It’s just a phone number, it’s normal to be asked, especially by someone whom you have met twice. Especially with possibility to meet frequently in the future. So Mark extended his hand, asking for Jinyoung’s phone.

Jinyoung’s wallpaper was nothing but a blue sky. His frequently used applications were also the functional ones. Mark tapped the contact app which was seated at the right corner, suggesting that Jinyoung preferred calling to texting. He typed his number and handed the phone back. He watched the guy adding him to his contact. Although curious as to what Jinyoung named him, Mark believed it was rude to peek.

While Jinyoung continued to be busy with his phone, they arrived at the dorm.

“So, this is me,” Mark announced.

Jinyoung scanned the building, “Which floor are you in?”

“The fifth.”

“For real?” Jinyoung’s thick eyebrows knotted a little.

“Why?”

“You didn’t tell me you live on the same floor as Jaebum.”

Mark couldn’t make out a word to that information so he went silent. He could swear he’d never seen the captain roaming around the building. Not that he’d catch him walking around, cuz Mark hardly left his room unless for reasons he considered to be necessary. It was a short list: classes, grocery store, and launderette. He even got his food mostly by delivery.

“You didn’t know?”

“I never see him around the building.”

“Well, guess you just don’t find him eye catchy. Glad to know.” Jinyoung looked satisfied, “I gotta go now, I’ll see you around, ok?”

“Okay.”

Jinyoung squished Mark’s shoulder before heading back to the university.

Mark watched him taking out his phone and immediately felt his own phone vibrated. He didn’t pick up as he saw Jinyoung waving his hand while still walking away.

The first text he got from Jinyoung was that very night. The three words that got him elated, ‘sleep tight, Mark.’