I looked at my left. At my right.

No signs of living creatures around me.

I turned the lever handle of this huge white-painted metal door. I peeked my head inside. After seeing that the locker room was indeed empty, I carefully snuck inside. I closed the door as silently as I could before I turned around to face the interior of the room.

Wow. It looks like the school has been funding the soccer team really well.

The three walls enclosing the room were built with perfectly arrayed and furnished wooden compartments, where the players hung their extra blue soccer jerseys neatly. Their school uniforms were tidily folded in their respective compartments. The floor was coated with dark blue paint, the stylized initials of Seoul Elite High dinted in the middle, and a cool cartoonized image of Shoot the Tiger above the initials. Surrounding the spot of the school logo were three long light-beige leather couches.

This. Is. So. Fascinating.

With my jaw still dropping in astonishment, I walked towards the far right portion of the room. There was this pair of huge doors made of frosted glass, imprinted with the school logo in white paint. I turned the handle. A perfect column of five cubicles on the left side revealed itself. Even the dividers were made of thick, fine frosted glass. The floor was covered with sparkling white glazed tiles. On the near right side were full-sized mirrors and on the far side of the right wall were bowl-styled sinks, seemingly placed on top of the counter.

After closing the frosted glass doors of the shower, I turned around. There was another door on the opposite side, made of expanded metal wire mesh. A rectangular metal plate hung on it, ‘Equipment Room’. I could see white towels folded in piles in various compartments, soccer equipments such as gloves, nets, orange field cones, and a huge meshed casing on the farthest side of the room, where many soccer balls were contained.

Cool locker room . . . .

Wait. I almost forgot what I’m here for.

I regained focus and headed back towards the lounge area of the room.

Now where are Kim Joonmyeon’s things?  I began strolling through the compartments, starting with the right most one, nearest the door. I didn’t even know what player number Kim Joonmyeon was in the soccer team because I simply didn’t give a damn. I just looked at the name plates of the uniform folded in each compartment. Before I could even reach halfway of the compartments, I heard emerging noise from the outside.

Why were the students back so sudden? The soccer game had just started a few minutes ago.

After a few seconds, distinct deep, loud voices stopped on the other side of the door. I heard the knob starting to turn.

Shoot! Not again!

I started sprinting towards the right side of the room…no…no…not in the shower room! My delicate, innocent eyes. I might see…eeww! I shook the inappropriate thoughts off of my head that almost made me cringe and vomit. So I shifted my direction to the left, going towards the Equipment Room. It was a good thing that there were no padlocks or anything.

I instantly made my way inside and closed the mesh door. I ran towards the soccer balls casing at the farthest area of the Equipment Room. I ducked behind it and held my breath.

The boisterous soccer team entered the room. The peaceful and tranquil locker room became chaotic and noisy very quick. I peeked above the casing . . . .

Crap. I’m not ready for this.

All I could see were sweaty, half- guys in their soccer shorts. Some entered the opposite room which was the shower room.

Mother of sheet.

I thought I stopped breathing. I ducked again when this familiar water boy opened the mesh door of the equipment room. He went to get a pile of white towels from the wooden slot closest to his spot. I sighed in relief when I heard the door of this equipment room closing once again.

Phew.

And sighs. Why do I always have to be in this kind of situations?

I peeked up once again when I think I saw…wait…is that Kris? And he was taking off his soccer shorts underneath the towel wrapped around his waist . . . .

Barf…I can’t even-

Wincing, I ducked the third time. I couldn’t even imagine how more disgusting things could get if I continued looking outside this equipment room.

“We were close to beating them into pulp if only it didn’t rain.” I heard that familiar voice of the tanned rodent, coming from the lounge.

“I think it’s nature’s way of still being merciful to those arses.” Sehun, the blond one, responded. “I also thought you were gonna tackle number thirty two on the ground, Jongin. It looked like you were about to murder him earlier.”

“I was about to, cause he thinks he’s the .” This Jongin guy replied. That cuss was so crisp like Rice Krispies.

“Hey, give me back my towel!” Someone randomly shouted, seemingly from the shower room.

Jongin didn’t stop with that cuss. “And their school color . Violet? What is that, some kind of a girls’ school?”

“Actually it’s palatinate purple,” Baekhyun corrected him.

“Violet, lavender, purple, whatever. Their salamander school mascot looks f.ucking ridiculous.” Jongin retaliated.

“It’s not a salamander, Jongin. It’s a lizard,” Sehun countered Jongin.

“Tch. Lizard? Then their mascot would be better off as that giggly, singing purple dinosaur on tv.” Jongin continued.

“Yixing, return my towel!” Anonymous shower guy shouted again.

“And did you see the arrogant b.astard Kim Jongd.ick? He came out with that violet bonnet to match their violet soccer uniform, thinking he’s some luxury brand model . . . .” Jongin said.

“Jongin, it’s palatinate purple.”

“He looked like crap . . . like that violet character in the Teletubby-something whatever show.” Jongin continued.

“Yixing, my towel!”