"What's happening now?" you asked as you stole a handful of chips from the bag on your friend's lap. It surprised you that you were this close to him, considering he had been your crush ever since you landed in this country.

 

"Wait... wait wait," he murmured as his eyes stayed glued on the soccer players. His hands were in midair, ready to deposit some snacks into his mouth but now he was frozen still. His two friends sitting on his other side were statues just like him.

 

All of a sudden, a cheer exploded through the crowd, making you jump in your seat. You looked down and saw that you had dropped some of the chips. What a shame.

 

"No!" the three boys to your right groaned at the same time. "No, how did they get the ball! I swear they should've got a yellow card." You looked between the boys who had sunk into their seats to the soccer field where... well, you didn't know what they were doing.

 

"Why are you guys sad?" you asked, "Somebody scored."

 

One of his friends shot you an incredulous look before putting his palm over his forehead. "Yeah, somebody scored all right. China scored!"

 

The other friend threw his empty bag of chips on the ground. "Jeez, we barely have any time left and Korea still hasn't made any goals yet."

 

You blinked. "China scored a goal?"

 

Your crush raised an eyebrow at you. "Yeah, weren't you paying attention?"

 

You were tempted to say no but you didn't want to make it seem like you weren't exactly fond of his interests. I mean, it's him! So instead, you started clapping.

 

"What the—why are you clapping!" his friend said through a mouthful of fries.

 

"Why not?" Your claps slowed as the three boys turned their attention towards you.

 

"Because China scored!" the other boy snarled through gritted teeth.

 

This time, your crush was the one who put a hand over his eyes as he sunk back into his seat. "Guys, she's Chinese."

 

"What!" the two friends yelled in unison. "How could you bring her here?"

 

He shrugged as he dragged his hand down his face and avoided eye contact with you. "I don't know. I had an extra ticket."

 

"Dude, she's probably China's lucky charm or something! They've never scored this much before. You know, it would've been wiser to give the ticket to an actual Korean. Can't believe you brought a Chinese girl."

 

You bit your lip as the boys turned their heads to watch the game again. Your crush wouldn't look at you (not that he did much before either) and it felt like a bad time to take more chips from him and drown yourself in their crispiness.

 

What was wrong with cheering for your own country?

 

The silence in the air got thick and since their focus was on the game, you decided you wouldn't be missed if you slipped away for a bit. Your legs were sick of sitting here anyway.

 

"I'm gonna go to the washroom," you told your crush quietly and his only response was a curt nod. You let out a light sigh as you walked past the seats and out of the playing field.

 

The rest of the stadium was quiet but it wasn't an uncomfortable quiet like you had experienced with the guys. The red rug led you to the washroom but you decided to wander around a bit more. You contemplated purchasing something from the menu but remembered that the guys had sneaked in a bunch of their own food. They'd let you have some of it, right? Even if you were Chinese?

 

You could hear the fans through the walls and could see the game on different monitors scattered throughout the halls. It seemed a lot easier to watch games on TVs since the camera followed the players that you were supposed to focus on.

 

You really wished you could like soccer as much as your crush did. Maybe buying them a souvenir would make up for you being Chinese.

 

"Hmph..." you pursed your lips as you came upon the souvenir shop and realized you had left your things with the guys.

 

...If only you knew how to get back.

 

-

 

"She left her phone here," he sighed as he put his own phone away and stood up. "I'm gonna go look for her."

 

"You sure, man? Maybe she's just taking a dump."

 

He didn't reply as he maneuvered around the seats and walked out to the halls where he saw no one in either direction. He headed towards the bathrooms and saw that the female's stall was still occupied. He leaned by the door with his hands in his pockets, waiting.

 

And he waited and waited.

 

She didn't come out.

 

Maybe she was crying in there, he thought. Girls did that when boys said dumb things and hurt their feelings.

 

He ran a hand through his hair and ran over to a souvenir shop where he bought a small teddy bear holding a China flag. This should cheer her up. He knew it had been wrong for the guys to say such things about her but he felt even worse that he hadn't stopped them.

 

He jogged back to the restroom but it was still labelled as occupied.

 

He knocked and cleared his voice. "Excuse me," he tried.

 

"Hmm?"

 

He let out a relieved sigh and continued. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened out there. Us guys are really, uhh, passionate about our sports. They didn't mean what they said, I'm sure of it. You don't have to—"

 

The door opened and he stepped back, holding out the stuffed bear. But the white-haired lady who came out only smiled gently back at him. "I don't think I'm the one you're looking for."

 

His mouth opened but he was too confused to speak. Instead, he bowed low and spun around quickly, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

 

But when he turned around, he found you. Snickering behind your hand, you stood in front of him with your palm on your stomach, trying to control your laughter.

 

He grabbed your wrist and set the bear in your hand. "Don't say a word of this to the guys," he muttered as he led you back to the soccer field with his fingers wrapped around yours.

 

You liked the warmth of his hand and you especially liked that he didn't let go, even when his friends were eying the two of you.

 

---

 

when i got this request last week, i thought it was soooo cute and new ;3; can't believe i put it off for so long.