Birds chirped over the heads of students running around the school grass field. Kyungsoo would have been lying under a tree to watch the sky and the puffs of clouds if he wasn't one of those students playing on the field. Since the weather had warmed up to Spring, the gym teachers had decided to hold joint classes outside to celebrate the season change. Students from each class were mixed into groups, told to find a section of field or cement court, and to play either soccer or basketball.

Kyungsoo hated exercising, and he didn't have any liking for a particular sport. He guessed that being able to see Yuwon from the other class was a perk, though having to face against her as an opponent was turning out to be a dizzying and tiring run-around that usually ended in her scoring a point past him.

The only reason his team scored any points was because Jongin actually stood a match against Yuwon. Where Yuwon had skill and speed, Jongin had power and observation. She glided and maneuvered past him with fleety footwork, and he would punt passes and score goal points from the other side of the field. Kyungsoo was pretty sure that the rest of the players, himself included, were just to meet the P.E. requirement that everyone looked like they were participating.

Kyungsoo did get to touch a ball—twice too—so there was no way to say that he wasn't participating. Once, Jongin had passed it to him, and he stopped it, kicking it back to him once he had repositioned. Jongin had flashed a wide smile at him when he did, and he felt something in his chest flutter. He hadn't ever seen Jongin look so free. He came right back to his senses after having that thought and promptly decided to stop thinking about it. The other time he touched a ball was when Jongdae's basketball rolled over to where he was, and his friend shouted in excitement before retrieving the ball from him.

Kyungsoo was fine with just standing around under the spring sun. The winter breeze hadn't quite left yet, and he basked in the warm sunlight and cool winds that caressed his skin. Every now and then he glanced at the soccer game to make sure that he wasn't needed, but otherwise, he was just enjoying the weather. That, and he sometimes found his eyes following Jongin across the field, and he could admit that he even scooted closer to where the game was being played—a.k.a the danger zone—just so he could watch him in action. 

Kyungsoo knew zip about sports, so he didn't know if just watching how Jongin moved could be deemed as creepy or admiring. He argued that he was intrigued because he rarely saw Jongin do any big movements. The rolling pencil trick back during one of their tutoring sessions and when he chucked the rag across the mall had been 'big' movements he had seen him do, but the Jongin on the soccer field waved his arms, leapt in strides to run, flung his head back to chest bump the ball into his control. Kyungsoo decided that he was definitely feeling admiration when a 'woah' escaped out of his mouth after Jongin blocked a mid-air pass with his forehead.

Although, another flew out of his mouth along with a quiet curse as someone kicked the ball towards him. He didn't know where any of the players were and just kicked it forward. The ball was swept in under someone from Kyungsoo's team, and he breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't disadvantaged his team. The rest of the players chased after it, but one broke away from the mass, jogging towards him. He jogged too to meet her half-way.

"Kyungsoo! Great defence."

He let out a sputter of a laugh at her comment.

"You know that that was pure luck."

She chuckled back through her pants, wiping her sweat with her forearm and wiping it on her gym shirt.

"Nonsense. You had good form too."

"Okay, now I know that that was sarcasm."

"It really isn't! C'mon, maybe you should jump into the game too. Jongin-shi looks really into it."

"Which is exactly why he doesn't need someone messing the game up for him. You're already a good enough of a challenge for him."

"Excuse me, Kyungsoo, but it's him that's a good enough challenge for me."

"Ah, true."

They laughed, and he waved her off as the ball got closer. Kyungsoo scuttled into a corner, then to some place around the middle of their field to avoid being caught in the battle for the soccer ball. He caught a glimpse of Jongin up close while doing so, and he felt himself swallow. Whenever he watched Jongdae's basketball games, he just saw his best friend and his teammates happy and drenched in sweat. But with that glance at Jongin, Kyungsoo didn't think that he just looked like he was having fun and sweaty. He looked captivating in a way Kyungsoo didn't know how to describe. But objectively. He was sure that other people would think the same thing, so his thoughts weren't weird, so to speak.

He watched someone from his team fake a left and run right. The teammate passed the ball to Jongin, and opponent players swarmed him like wasps. He rolled it back, front, around, slipping past them, but they returned just as fast. Then he caught Kyungsoo's line of sight and smiled. He twisted last second and kicked the ball to him. TO Kyungsoo. Letting out a shout, he panicked. His feet reacted before his mind, and he kicked it back at a direction slightly off from where Jongin stood. He almost cursed out loud when Jongin sprinted towards it and punted it back to the other side of the field. 

Everyone chased after the ball, some telling Jongin 'Nice!' before running again, but Jongin didn't run after them. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees, and Kyungsoo took that as a sign to be able to safely approach him. Jongin panted hard, and sweat darkened his shirt, but when he looked up at Kyungsoo, a glimmer sparked in his eyes and in the smile he grinned at him, exhilarated. Objectively captivating, Kyungsoo reminded himself.

"Nice kick," he said.

Pulling himself out of his daze, Kyungsoo gave him his best eyebrow.

"You and Yuwon are just trying to butter me up, aren't you?"

"It was a sincere compliment."

Kyungsoo snickered at the serious look he had donned.

"Okay, relax. I believe you. You should probably get back to the game though, before Yuwon scores another point."

Jongin looked like he wanted to linger, so Kyungsoo pushed at him to go, wrinkling his nose a little at touching sweat. A chuckle broke over Jongin's lips, but he had turned and jogged back to the ball before Kyungsoo heard it fully. With a little huff, Kyungsoo told himself that he would hear his laugh unbriddled one day.

He watched Jongin sneak in to steal the ball from Yuwon, but she sidestepped out of the way, practically twirling around him with the ball. He was watching the players crowding around them when something shone in the corner of his eye. He barely had time to raise his hands to his face before something slapped him from the left. He hit the ground, groaning a little as he rubbed his cheek. His hands had softened the blow, so it was good to know he had some kind of reflex at least. A different colored soccer ball rolled away from him, and he guessed that another group's ball had strayed from their field.

A girl with short dark hair from another part of the grass waved, pointing at the ball near Kyungsoo. He stood to kick it back to her but black shapes raced over his vision and he stopped, rubbing his eyes. 

"Kyungsoo!"

He turned towards the voice, opening an eye. Yuwon was running towards him, followed closely by Jongin. Her eyebrows were pinched in worry, so he righted himself as quickly as he could.

"Kyungsoo, what happened?"

"A stray ball hit me, but it's not bad. I blocked it with my hands."

"Then why are you holding your head?"

"Uh, because I covered my face like this."

She gave him a small chuckle at his reenactment then looked at the girl waving on the other part of the field. Kyungsoo thought that Yuwon would wave back, but instead she narrowed her eyes.

"She's saying that it was an accident."

She picked up the other ball and kicked it back to the girl, who gave another wave once she caught it. Yuwon watched her for a moment before turning back to Kyungsoo.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm good. Just caught me off guard."

Yuwon's name was shouted out, and he saw the players looking in their direction and holding the ball under their arm.

"You guys should get back to the game," Kyungsoo said.

Yuwon pursed her lips, the way she did when she wanted to say something. 

"Did you think that it was an accident?"

"Yeah, it probably was. Why?"

"Nevermind. Tell me if your head hurts any worse, okay?"

"I'll be fine. Go play."

She turned back to the players in a light jog, and Kyungsoo expected Jongin to do the same. He put up his hand to wave bye again, but Jongin's gaze stopped him. Distaste had pulled his features tight.

"That was on purpose."

"What?"

"That girl hit you with the ball on purpose. She's the girl's soccer team captain. She would've had better control of the ball than that."

Kyungsoo's chest pinched. The ball hadn't strayed; it had been directed at him. He rubbed the spot where his hands had taken the force.

"Oh."

Jongin's eyes widened, and his hand reached to rub the inside of his elbow.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to dampen your mood."

The apology shocked Kyungsoo out of the possibilities of the rumors, gossip, and people who acted on their dislike of him. 

"No! Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I'm the one who kinda dampened your mood, don't you think?"

A nervous chuckle escaped him, but Jongin didn't laugh along. He stepped forward, frustration mixing with the distaste.

"It's not your fault either."

Another voice called from the field, calling for Jongin. His eyes looked in their direction, but Jongin didn't move. Kyungsoo didn't want to keep Jongin from playing, and he didn't want to give his classmates another reason for them to dislike him. They looked to be getting along really well, and Kyungsoo wouldn't hinder that progress.

"You should go play. I'm good now."

To show it, Kyungsoo threw out a few air punches and shooed at him.

"Now go win for the team. You're our only hope against Yuwon."

The edges of Jongin's mouth curled up in a smile then, but he pressed his lips together as if to stop it.

"Be careful," he said quietly.

Kyungsoo nodded. "Thanks."

He gave one last glance before turning back towards their game. Kyungsoo decided to reposition and keep watching with a wary eye for any more flying balls. Jongin managed to pass the ball to a teammate, who scored a point. The players fanned out back to their original positions, and another round began. 

When twenty minutes remained of the class, Kyungsoo had become more involved with counting the score than with playing the game. People would ask him the score, and he supplied the answer. Right now Yuwon's team was winning by one point, and Kyungsoo's team started playing more aggressive. They tried more interceptions and attempted more dangerous passes and goal kicks. Jongin managed to score one to tie the game, but after it, Jongin called a timeout at their goalpost. 

Kyungsoo was, by the definition of the word 'team,' allowed in their group huddle, and he almost didn't have a choice when Jongin waved him over and everyone's eyes turned to him. He shuffled on his feet seeing everyone on his team sweating and panting except for him, but no one else seemed to mind when Jongin started talking.

"San-shi, you have a sharp eye, so if you watch their offence and position on the far left, you can lead the distration for Seunghee-shi to slip through and score. Seunghee-shi, you've been only passing for a while, so they won't expect you to score. Mingi-shi, you stay nearby to act as a buffer and to confuse them. The rest of us pass the ball until San-shi can signal for the best opening. Kyungsoo, what's the score?"

There was a pause in the conversation, and he realized that Jongin had asked him something. Plus, everyone's eyes had stopped on him.

"Six-six. A tie."

"A tie, so let's make this round count. Ready?"

He stuck his hand in the middle, and everyone piled their hands together. Kyungsoo reacted a second later than everyone else, but the hand break was successful. They walked back to their spots on the field, calling good lucks and words of encouragement. Even their goalkeeper clapped Kyungsoo on the arm before retreating to the goal. Jongin looked out over the field with a hand shading over his eyes then looked at him. Kyungsoo waved him off with a smile, and Jongin smiled back, even if it was to the ground, and gave him a shy wave before jogging to the center line. Yuwon's team had also finished their break, and Yuwon flashed Jongin a smirk just as the ball was rolled in.

Listening to Jongin say so much in one uninterupted breath had Kyungsoo replaying his words, his mannerisms of his voice, his calmness, in his head. He didn't giggle out loud, but the smile for it showed on his face as he thought of how well Jongin could lead. See, Jongin knew what he was talking about. He showed respect to all the players and made a plan that was best for the team even if he wasn't in the spotlight, though Kyungsoo suspected that Jongin was someone who didn't mind watching in the background. Whatever bad things people had to say about Jongin could be promptly proven as lies just from watching him play.

As exciting as watching Jongin's plan roll into action could have been, Kyungsoo did everything in his power to stay away from it. He didn't want to mess up the plan or get kicked by accident. The passing part of the plan seemed to be going smoothly. He saw Jongin pass the ball to San and then lost sight of what was happening through the tangle of people. He assumed the tensions were high though, because more noises were rowding up from Yuwon's side of the field.

"Kyungsoo-shi!"

He thought that maybe someone from the mass ahead of him had said something similar to his name, but he realized that the voice had come from behind him and belonged to their goalkeeper. He turned around in time to see her pointing at something to his right.