002.

SEUNGCHEOL

Several minutes before the friendly match started, my team and I gathered to hype each other up for a good game. Halfway through, my eyes wandered through the thickening crowd at the bleachers and despite the many faces, it was as if there were magnets between us because I immediately caught the familiar, soft eyes of my best friend's younger sister.

Jeon Haneul.

It was probably because she had always been the one of my circle to come over to most of my matches that it became easier to expect her in the crowd, or probably because I literally saw her everyday that I could just sense her there. One of the guys probably informed her of today's match because I was pretty sure I had forgotten to tell her about it—mostly because I'd expect her to come anyway.

Once our line of sight aligned, her face lit up so brightly that she reminded me of a delicate child. Oh, how innocent. Such a different image from how she was dressed last night. Now she looked cozy and nice in her favourite cream-coloured wool sweater that almost looked too big for her. But that was just how she liked it as far as I could remember: snug and warm.

I smiled and waved appreciatively at her. In response, she made a huge heart with her arms over her head, making me laugh. How crazy was it that your best friend's younger sister kept telling you that she loves you? I could never bring such a pure-hearted person into my twisted mind. I didn't want to taint her. 

Thus, like I always did, I denied her feelings and wiggled my finger in disapproval. Before I could register her reaction however, I had already turned my back on her.

NO ONE

A loud whistle shrieked across the basketball stadium, signifying the end of the match. The whistle was immediately muffled by the eruption of cheers and screams as Seungcheol ran and hugged his team, fully knowing they had won the match by a generous margin. He did not forget to shake hands with the opposing team and made some small encouraging talks before his attention was captured by a familiar voice shouting his name.

"Choi Seungcheol! You did it!"

It was Haneul. He could just tell it was her despite the many other voices overlapping with hers.

Seungcheol patted the back of the player that he had just talked with and turned to find the girl sitting amongst the crowd, waving her arms enthusiastically. When she realised that his eyes had found her, Haneul’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and she began to cheer louder. Seungcheol chuckled, “That girl. She’ll hurt .”

After the end of the friendly basketball game was formally announced through the speakers, both teams bowed to each other in respect and the audience cheered and applauded louder. Both teams shared some handshakes and small talks before Seungcheol was founded by another star player and his teammate, Kim Mingyu. Despite already being tall himself, Mingyu was still a tad bit taller than Seungcheol, a benefit he possessed to contribute to the team.

"Seungcheol hyung, Coach Kang wants us at the back," Mingyu nodded towards the door at the far corner of the stadium.

Seungcheol finally tore his eyes away from Haneul and nodded in response to his friend, "Oh, okay.". Before walking away, he made sure to wave at Haneul one last time and mouthed a "See you later" to which the latter made sure to shoot him finger hearts cheerfully. Mingyu followed Seungcheol's eyes and saw Haneul, the girl who had frequently hung out with his fellow teammate and often attended their matches, making her one of the most talked about girl within the team—mostly about how everyone thought her to be Seungcheol's girlfriend.

But as always, that ended with Seungcheol’s denial.

Mingyu chuckled as he walked alongside Seungcheol, "So like are you dating now?"

Seungcheol gave the guy a look and quickly dismissed the question, “Mingyu, how many times do I have to tell you? I only see her as a—”

"Little sister," Mingyu finished the other guy's sentence with a roll of his eyes. "Right. You've told me that like a thousand times."

"And you still don't understand?" asked Seungcheol.

"I am just not convinced is all," Mingyu shrugged before running off, not giving Seungcheol the chance to explain. "That guy," he sighed and followed the others to the the changing room.

HANEUL

Soon after the match ended, everyone dispersed out of their seats and towards the exit but I stayed in my spot, patiently waiting for Seungcheol as I always had. I took some selfies and replied some neglected text messages just to kill some time. A long moment after, some of the boys emerged out of the changing room in their own casual, clean attire. Upon seeing me still sitting at the bleachers, they waved at me cordially and I smiled politely, "That was a good game!"

“Thanks! Come see our match again next time, yeah?” they then bade me a farewell and exited the basketball court.

I had been around for almost all of their matches and not to mention that I was Seungcheol Oppa's friend, so they recognised me pretty well.

Fortunately, soon after the other boys left, Seungcheol Oppa appeared with his close friend who I recalled was named Mingyu. Noticing that I was still waiting for him at the bleachers, Seungcheol Oppa immediately waved me over all the while walking towards my spot. Excitedly, I skipped towards him and squealed, "You won again! Congratulations!".

"Thank you. Your cheer must have probably powered me up somehow," he smiled endearingly and ruffled through my hair.

A chuckle left his friend’s mouth and both of us turned to look at him curiously, though when I returned my gaze to Seungcheol Oppa, he was already glaring at the guy. It was as if they were having some soundless conversations without me. Mingyu then turned to look at me and smiled a toothy grin, “I’m sorry. That was so rude of me. Um, thank you for coming to our match again. That means so much to us.”

I smiled widely, "Sure! It was my pleasure."

“Alright, then. I’ll see you guys later. I have something to attend. So see ya!” Mingyu waved and ran out the stadium, leaving me alone with Seungcheol Oppa in the silence. Once he was out of the door, I turned to Seungcheol Oppa with a grin, “Are you tired? Or do you still have the energy to go and celebrate?”

Seungcheol Oppa blinked as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not tired but I don't think a celebration is necessary, Haneul-ah. It's not a big match, anyway."

“Oh, come on! I want to,” I tugged at his wrist with both of my hands all the while looking up at him pleadingly, “Please?”

Like most times, he tried to resist my puppy eyes but as most times as well, he lost with a sigh, "Okay, fine."

"Yay!" I cheered and hopped excitedly. "Okay! So what do you feel like eating today?" I grinned.

"I'm not really sure. How about you? What do you feel like eating?" Seungcheol Oppa chuckled, patiently bearing through my hyperactiveness. I wasn't even sure how he could still have me around him without losing that smile of his. Ahh, the many reasons why I was head over heels for this man.

"Hmm... I'm feeling barbecue!" I punched the air before proceeding to yank Seungcheol Oppa outside. "Barbecue it is then," he spoke in agreement behind me, obediently letting me drag him away.

It was rowdy as always at the barbecue place that I regularly frequented. It was just us two at a table full of meat, kimchi, some greens and a lot of other mouth-watering goodness. I happily watched as Seungcheol Oppa flipped the meat over the heat, allowing us to listen to the satisfying sizzle. I couldn't help but rake my eyes across his muscly arm as he did that.

Oh, Choi Seungcheol with folded sleeves were one of my favourite Seungcheols. Though, all of them were my favourite.

"I should've been the one to cook. We are celebrating your win, after all," I said, reaching out for the tongs. However, Seungcheol Oppa deftly escaped my hand and declined, "Nope, let me do this. You should be the one eating. Your fluffy cheeks are disappearing."

My face lit up and I immediately started blabbering away, “Really? Oh, thank God, I have been doing these weird face exercises that I swear to God, I will never show you until you actually fall hard for me to actually leave me and oh, I have also been using those jade rollers every night. Ahh, beauty is pain, indeed.”

Seungcheol Oppa stopped flipping to furrow his eyebrows at me, “Why would you want to slim down your face?”

I pulled a look at him and sarcastically replied, "Oh, I don't know, trying to impress a certain someone?"

Seungcheol Oppa sighed and grabbed a plate to put several meats on it before putting it down in front of me. “Self-care is important, I guess. But don’t change yourself too much for others at the expense of yourself, okay?”

I pouted as I picked up my chopsticks, "Okay, dad.". Before I could shove meat into my mouth though, his hand came to rest at my cheek and with his fingers, gently pinched at the skin. My eyes widened at the unexpected contact and I was grateful that I hadn't chomped down on the meat already or else they'd already been tumbling out of my mouth disgustingly right now.

“See? I was pretty sure I could pull at them easily before,” Seungcheol Oppa frowned as he gently pulled at my cheek again.

Holy crap. My heart could just leap out of my mouth right now. How did he expect that I wouldn't fall harder for him?

When he noticed how quiet I was being, Seungcheol Oppa quickly retracted his hand and cleared his throat awkwardly, “Sorry. That was rude of me touching you like that so suddenly.”

My eyes glinted in a teasing colour and I grinned as I leaned my cheek towards him, "No, no. Please do that again."

Seungcheol Oppa laughed and pushed me back down with a flick at my forehead. "Sit down and eat, Jeon Haneul."

"Fine, fine," I laughed as I finally ate. I was happily chewing on the juicy meat when I had an idea in mind. Meticulously, I wrapped the perfect lettuce wrap and put it in front of Seungcheol Oppa's mouth. "Say ahh." I said.

He was startled by the gesture but knowing how I would never give in, he opened his mouth and welcomed the wrap. I watched in satisfaction as he chewed the wrap and gave a muffled "Delicious". His hands then made a quick move to make his own lettuce wrap before leaning towards me, "Here."

I giggled and welcomed the food happily. It was the perfect amount of meat and the perfect size—he truly knew how I liked it. 

Once that was chewed and swallowed, I sighed in contentment, "And here I was wondering why we're not an item. I mean, everyone seems to think that we are," I nodded towards a couple people who were chattering and gushing while peeking glances at us. Seungcheol Oppa gave me a look, "You know why."

I rolled my eyes and muttered in displeasure, “Oh, lemme guess, because you only see me as a little sister? That reason can get quite boring, you know?“

He chuckled and placed more meat on my plate, "I'm sure a better man is waiting for you, okay?"

I sighed and poked at the new food, How can there be any man better than you? You're the literal definition of perfect.

"Oh yeah, thinking about it, I should have brought your team along. That's regretful," I frowned in realisation and Seungcheol shook his head in disagreement, "Don't. Stop spending too much on others, Haneul-ah. In fact, I am going to pay for all these food whether you like or not."

I gasped, "No, you don't! I brought you here to treat you for your victory!"

"Nope, I am not going to let you pay and that's final," he glared at me.

I folded my arms across my chest and huffed, "I mean if you're going to act like a true older brother, you should have let me paid for everything because that's what Wonwoo Oppa did to me like a dozen times."

"He did that?" he gawked. "Okay, don't kill him now," I blurted out quickly.

It took a while for the table to be swept clean and it took another unnecessarily long time of arguing on who was going to pay for the food (to which I have lost…). After thanking the owner, we both left with satisfied stomachs. 

"Great food with great company," I stretched my arms up in the air and sighed in fulfillment.

Seungcheol Oppa smiled but didn’t say anything. For a few minutes, we were engulfed in a comfortable silence as we relished in the night air. People were still wandering around and shops were still bright and running.

I looked to the side where Seungcheol Oppa was walking a small distance away beside me. "You know, we should go out again sometimes," I grinned.

"Of course we can. Just let me know so I can schedule you a day when I don't have work at the store," he smiled.

I wrinkled my nose, "Why does it sound like we're have a meeting for some school project or something? Doesn't this alone feels like a date to you?"

Seungcheol laughed and ruffled my hair, "Nice try, Haneul. Come on, let's take the bus. We need to get you home or your parents will worry.". He walked forward briskly, leaving me a few steps behind.

"Okay!" I skipped towards him cheerfully.

SEUNGCHEOL

The bus was thankfully not packed and we took the seats at the front with Haneul sitting next to the window. For around five minutes, not a word came out of the girl which rendered me confused because usually, she would take any opportunity to talk to me. When I turned my head to look at her, I finally understood why.

“She’s asleep,” I murmured, watching as Haneul leaned the side of her head against the cold window. Due to the movement of the bus, her head constantly knocked against the window, though that discomfort didn’t seem enough to wake her up. I couldn’t help the doting smile to slither up my face.

“Look at you, so innocent and angelic when you’re asleep. When you’re wide awake, you’re quite the little vixen,” I murmured teasingly before curling my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to lean against me instead. Carefully, I let her head rest against my shoulder and she seemed to be fond of that because she unconsciously snuggled against me in response.

I looked down at her face. Short lashes cascaded down her rosy cheeks, faded cherry tint across her luscious lips, a few blemishes that could never devalue her beauty—Haneul was beautiful. Inside and out. That was why I couldn’t—why I shouldn’t—let her wander deeper into my world. I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her. It would kill me to see that smile of hers being torn away, especially if it was because of me.

My sad eyes cherished the beauty that was just in my grasp and with my hand, I gently her head, lulling her deeper into sleep.

. . .

This is my first time trying out with with first person’s POVs (point of view), so do point out any mistakes of pronouns or whatnot. Thank you!

And yeah, cringy as it is, I have to continue using the very mouthful “Seungcheol Oppa” for Haneul’s POV because that’s how she called him, unfortunately. So do tell me if I accidentally let this girl be disrespectful and call him without honorifics lol.