The past two weeks had been really weird for Sehun.

No, it was not because his elder sister Seung-ah finally came back to Seoul after finishing her master's degree in Harvard—though her return meant she also brought along her fussy attitude with her back home. It also did not owe to the fact that most of his friends suddenly behaved like professional athletes instead of business heirs with hobbies, now that the institute's annual sport game was around the corner.

It was because he continuously came across what he had thought to be nearly impossible before: his two best friends, who used to take little notice of each other, sharing a laugh like they had known one another for years.

Sehun picked at his pork cutlet as he secretly listened in to the conversation between Soojung and Jongin, who both sat across from him while eating their own meals. The two seemed to be talking about the upcoming season of Peaky Blinders, though Sehun could not hear them clearly since their voices overlapped with those of Jiyoung and Jackson, who were chatting about something. Sehun decided to give up his attempt to eavesdrop on his friends' talk and ate his lunch instead.

The first time Sehun noticed that something might have changed between Soojung and Jongin was on Wednesday, two weeks ago, after the three parted ways at the school yard to attend their own extracurricular activities. Sehun stopped on his way to chat with Taehyun when he caught a glimpse of Jongin talking with Soojung—and she was laughing—as they walked towards the sports field, which was located next to the tennis court. He found the scene a little bit strange since the horseback riding arena was actually in the opposite direction, though Sehun did not think much about it as he headed to the driving range.

But the real eye-opener for Sehun happened last week during their English literature class. They were doing a group assignment on Jane Austen's works when Sehun overheard Jongin casually asking Soojung which book of Austen she liked the most. The question was too random, even for Jongin's standard, that Sehun had to stop writing for a minute to think whether he had heard it right. After that day, Sehun could not help noticing that Soojung and Jongin talked to each other more often than they used to. There were even times when Sehun had to be the one who listened to Jongin and Soojung's conversation when they hung out.

Something is indeed odd, Sehun thought as he drank his apple juice.

"Let's go, Jiyoung."

Sehun frowned as he glanced at the two girls who suddenly got up from their seats. "Where are you going?"

"The east hall, there's this prepatory meeting for the sport game," Soojung said as she took her lunch tray.

Sehun rolled his eyes. "Y'all are taking this sports game a little bit too much, really."

Four pair of eyes around him responded to his remark with a stare that seemed to be saying, "you got a problem with that?"

"Just saying," Sehun scoffed as he eyed Soojung, "See you later."

"See you then," Soojung glanced at Jackson and Sehun before her gaze shifted to Jongin, "And good luck to you."

"Thanks," Jongin smirked at her, oblivious to a pair of eyes that questioned him from across his seat.

The three guys continued eating their lunch, with Jackson munching his bread while talking about the upcoming horseback riding competition with Jongin, much to the annoyance of Sehun who seemed fed up already with how everyone treated the sports game like Olympics. He personally viewed golf as no more than another class to keep him busy after school, especially since the institute obliged every student to do at least one extracurricular activity as an important part of their assessment.

Jackson left the table shortly after he finished his meal, leaving only Sehun and Jongin with their lunch trays in front of them. Sehun sipped the remaining juice from his bottle with his eyes checking on Jongin, who nibbled at his strawberries while scrolling on his phone, clearly unbothered by the fact that he was the last one to finish his lunch.

"What's that 'good luck' for?" Sehun casually threw the question.

Jongin looked up and blinked several times. "Oh, that. I have a quiz for world politics class after this. Soojung had it this morning and she said it was quite hard. I haven't studied for it."

"Oh, you really do need a good luck," Sehun said, tilting his head, "Funny, though, you did not tell me about that."

"Didn't I?" Jongin knitted his brows, "I mentioned it when I was talking earlier. You probably did not hear me."

Sehun crossed his arms on the table and leaned his body forward, observing his friend who, in his usual nonchalant manner, continued staring at his phone. There sits Jongin that I know—a composed, pratical man, as cool as a cucumber, Sehun thought. But why those indifferent eyes seem to twinkle a lot these days, though?

If there is one thing Sehun could never understand, it is the fact that he and Jongin managed to stay friends for years despite their contrasting personalities. While Sehun is the type who always lights up any party with his antics, Jongin is the one who sits back and laughs at what his friends do with a drink on his hand. Sehun is a social butterfly and Jongin is a fly on the wall. Sehun likes his liquor neat while Jongin always orders anything on the rocks. They are different as night and day, many say.

But for someone as vibrant and dynamic as Sehun, Jongin represents stability that makes him a reliable advisor Sehun never knew he needed. Sehun knows for a fact that he could always rely on his friend to give him brutally honest advices. Jongin rarely mince his words when he speaks, but anyone would agree that his comments are mostly well thought out—again, in contrast to Sehun who often gives snarky response with sarcasm written on his face.

"You seem to be getting friendlier with Soojung," Sehun said, though the statement came out like a question.

"It's natural, of course, after you bailed on us last month." Jongin looked up from his phone. "What—do you think it's weird?"

"A little. I mean," Sehun paused, his eyebrows creased, "I just never thought you two would get along so well."

Jongin stared into Sehun's eyes, pondering over the remarks."Well, it turns out she is fun to talk with. We're just vibing well, I think."

Sehun lightly nodded as he stared at the table where Jongin casually put his phone, the screen of which was showing a news website that Jongin probably had been reading before.

"So, are you texting with her now or... calling each other?" Sehun asked, rather cautiously.

Jongin leaned back and crossed his arms, his mouth slightly grinned. "You're not prying on me, are you?"

"Just asking," Sehun shrugged, "You know, we're talking about Soojung here."

Jongin's eyebrows raised. "What's with her?"

Sehun ran his fingers through his bangs. "Well, she is my childhood friend, you know that. And you are my best friend."

He paused for a moment, staring at Jongin who just rest on his seat before he continued, "Like I said, I am just asking. Just wondering what's going on with you two."

Jongin shook his head lightly, chuckled a bit as he looked down at the table. He did not say anything in return and instead took his fork to eat one remaining strawberry on his plate. Sehun glanced at the clock on the wall, noticing that they only had less than 10 minutes until the lunch break ended. He turned to Jongin.

"Say, do you like Soojung?"

Jongin swallowed the remaining food in his mouth and nodded. "I like her."

Sehun held his breath, somewhat taken aback by Jongin's remarks that sounded as if it was a common answer to such question. He bit his lip and let out a long sigh, trying to surpress the sound of his own breath. Jongin observed Sehun's face as he locked his phone and put it into his trouser's pocket.

"What? You don't?" Jongin frowned, tilting his head, "I doubt that, though... you've been friends with her longer than I am."

Of course. "Yah, that's not what I meant. I mean—"

"Yah, I have to go. I think I have to study a bit before the quiz," Jongin stood up and moved a bottle of banana milk from his lunch tray to Sehun's, "Take the milk. I am full already."

—do you love her?

With that, Jongin dashed and left Sehun's question unanswered.

And if there is another thing Sehun could never understand, it is what actually lies behind Jongin's plain words.

 

[][][][]

 

"Great match, Noona!"

Soojung raised her fist and smiled at Hweseung, who cheered at her with his hand waving his racket in the air from his side of the court. They had just finished their Friday's practice match, the last session of the week before the annual sports game started on Monday. Soojung walked towards the net as she wiped the sweats on her forehead, approaching her junior.

"Your backhand improves a lot, keep it up," Soojung playfully hit Hweseung's arm from over the net.

Hweseung thanked her. "I can already see you receiving a gold medal this year."

"Oh, you know what," Soojung squinted her right eye, as if imagining something, "I can see it too."

The two chuckled over the joke before Hweseung said he had to go. He asked whether Soojung would come on the weekend to practice more, but she said she would rather rest her muscle and relax before the game. After all, it is not like they are playing to reach the level of Wimbledon—they know themselves better.

Soojung approached her bag on the bench near her and took out a towel, wiping off her sweats from her neck. She gulped down her water as she glanced at the Audemars Piguet on her left wrist before she quickly packed her equipment. As she slung her bag over her shoulder, ready to leave the court, Soojung caught sight of a familiar man sitting on a bench behind the fence. He waved his right hand and stood up, his left hand closing a book that he had seemed to be reading. Soojung smiled knowingly and walked towards his direction.

"Yah, why are you here again?" she approached him, her eyes crinkled at the corners.

Jongin smiled. "Waiting for you. Good match, by the way."

Soojung looked down, her cheeks felt warm. "Thanks."

He put his book inside his Prada messenger bag and signaled to her that they should get going. "Do you want to eat something? I am a little hungry."

"What do you want?" Soojung asked as she walked on his right side.

"Your call. I am okay with anything as long as it is okay with you."

"Hey, you're the one who is hungry—why do I have to be the one to choose?" Soojung whined, but Jongin only eyed her with the corner of his eyes and smirked.

Soojung rolled her eyes, though she felt like laughing rather than feeling annoyed. She thought over what to eat as they walked along the running track, passing by the sports field on their right, where members of the school's football club were practicing. Soojung glanced at the bleachers on their left and noticed some pairs of eyes staring down at them. She quickly averted her gaze and stared at the lane lines instead. Next to her, Jongin casually whistled a tune that sounded like Ne-Yo's song, apparently could not care less about his surrounding.

Jongin stopped when they reached a hallway near the school's west yard that led to the women's locker room.

"You need to change, don't you? I'll wait here."

Soojung nodded and started walking down the hallway, but stopped after only three steps away. She turned her head to Jongin and asked, "How about burrito?"

"Perfect."

 

[][][][]

 

The Mexican restaurant in Hongdae was rather packed that afternoon, perhaps because many people chose to relax on Friday after five days of hard work. Jongin ordered beef burrito for himself, chicken burrito for Soojung, and a portion of cheese nachos for them to share. They sat at the balcony since Soojung wanted to breathe some fresh air while sipping her ice lemonade. Sitting in front of her, Jongin gulped his cold beer, his eyes casually staring at the passersby crossing the street below.

"How I wish everyday could feel like Friday."

Jongin shifted his eyes to look at Soojung. She was randomly stirring the straw in her glass, her left hand supported her chin on the table. The afternoon sun shone bright behind her seat, creating a halo around her head. He unknowingly smiled a little as he picked up the remaining half of his burrito.

"Why? Because you can go out with me?" Jongin asked before he took a bite.

"Being cocky, aren't you?" Soojung threw a playful glance at him, "Because it feels good knowing I can stay up late tonight and spend my whole day tomorrow in bed."

"Ouch, I thought you like spending time with me," Jongin put his right hand on his chest, acting as if he was hurt.

Soojung hummed as she picked a tortilla chip and dipped it into the cheese sauce. She eyed Jongin and simpered, her lips curled up in a silly smile. "I never said I don't."

Jongin chuckled in between chewing a mixture of flour and beef in his mouth, amused at how Soojung always got him with her unpredictable remarks. With one big bite, he finished his burrito and went on to take a long chug of his drink to wash away the aftertaste. He wiped off the traces of sauce on his lips with a tissue as he eyed Soojung, who munched on her meal with her eyes looking blank, as if she was daydreaming.

Eating out with Soojung had been part of Jongin's schedule over the past two weeks, to the point that it felt like he was developing a new routine. It somehow started on Friday, two weeks ago, when Jongin passed by the tennis court and saw Soojung sitting with her legs crossed on the concrete court. She was staring at the racket on her lap, her ponytail hung loose on her shoulder. Jongin stopped to observe her and he suddenly craved a bowl of creamy shrimp spaghetti. He did not know why he felt that way—more specifically, why that specific meal—but he was certain that he wanted to eat the spaghetti with Soojung.

So Jongin walked inside the court and crouched down next to her, asking her to eat with him. Soojung said yes.

The next week, Jongin stopped by the tennis court on the days of the tennis club's practice schedule. On Wednesday, he found himself craving a clam chowder soup when he saw Soojung sitting on the bench with her head hung low, so he asked her to have a meal with him. Later on Friday, Jongin asked Soojung to eat with him again, this time because he craved a bowl of Japanese udon after seeing her practicing dribbling alone. On both days, Soojung went with him.

Jongin dropped by again on Wednesday this week. His eyes met with Soojung's by chance when she was still in the middle of a practice match, but surprisingly, he did not feel like eating anything. So he decided to wait on the bench outside the tennis court while keeping himself busy with his phone. She came out around 20 minutes later and asked him, 'What do you want to eat now?', to which Jongin replied, 'Whatever you want.'

Today, as Jongin came to see her at the tennis court, he realized that he had never really craved any of the food he had thought before. Jongin simply wanted to eat with Soojung.

"So that's your plan for tomorrow? Doing nothing?"

"Hmm?" Soojung looked up to see Jongin and nodded lightly. "I think so. Why?"

"Nah, I thought you are going to practice more," he paused, crumpling the tissue and put it on his plate. "That's good, relax a bit. With the way you practiced in the past two weeks, people would think you're joining the Korea Open."

"Yah, do you even think I can enter the qualifying round? I highly doubt that," Soojung sneered.

"I've seen your practice sessions a few times and, believe me, you're already overqualified for a mere high school tournament," Jongin leaned forwards, resting his hands on the table, "Why don't you join a professional club or something? I am sure you can go higher."

Soojung gave it a thought as she chewed on her last bite of burrito. It was not the first time someone mentioned that to her. Even her coach believed that she could compete for a bigger tournament at the national level. Her friends at the tennis club also encouraged her to become a professional athlete. But Soojung always brushed off the suggestions, as she insisted that playing tennis was just her hobby.

Upon her silence, Jongin gave her a questioning stare. Soojung sipped on her lemonade and pursed her lips, sighing as she stared back at the man who somehow made her felt like she wanted to open up about what she had been thinking all this time.

"I would be lying if I said I've never thought about that, Jongin," she said, tilting her head, "but what do you think my businessman father would say if I tell him about it?"

"Well, there are a lot of tennis players whose fathers are businessmen," Jongin thought for a while, "Rafael Nadal, Ernests Gulbis—aren't they?"

She gave a light nod. "But, you do realize it's different for us, right? I am sure you know this better than anyone; as the heirs of our family's business, at the end of the day we should do what's asked of us."

Soojung paused and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know why I am so diligent at practice? It's not only that I want to win the annual game. It's because... we will soon graduate high school. And I know that our time to play around is running out."

Jongin smiled faintly, his gaze softened, realizing that he and Soojung shared the same feeling.

"Sure, I can still play tennis in my spare time later on, but we will be busier in college. So I think that sooner or later, I either have to hang up my racket, or... to play tennis like our fathers do golf," she added.

"You mean playing tennis while discussing business? Jeez," Jongin shook his head lightly, "Are you even sure you want to take the path of your father's? I mean, your cousin Jessica did not do that."

"Yah, Jess established a clothing line in the US," Soojung scoffed, "As far as my father and uncles are concerned, she contributes in diversifying our family's business empire."

Jongin mouthed 'oh, my bad,' and reached out his right hand, patting Soojung's left shoulder consolingly. "But, you know, it won't hurt to ask your father about it. Well, that's if you still want it—"

"Can we just talk about something else?" Soojung waved him off, whining, "I feel dizzy all of a sudden."

Observing her face, Jongin knew right away that Soojung's mood suddenly went down. She tried hard not to show it, but Jongin could tell; the corners of her lips turned downward and her eyes were avoiding his gaze. She just nibbled on the nachos while staring at the road.

Jongin sat in silence for while before he shook Soojung's left hand gently on the table. "Hey, did I go too far? I am sorry."

Soojung pulled her hand away and, in return, she patted his hand lightly before she put the hand above her chin, supporting her head. "It's okay. Sorry if I am too sensitive—it's just overwhelming to think about all of it."

Jongin crossed his hands on the table, nodding. "Don't be sorry. I can understand."

She smiled at him before she sipped on her drink and continued staring at the crowds of passersby at the intersection below. Jongin leaned his back on the chair and sighed, his brain tried to find a way to lighten the mood between them. It was the first time he saw Soojung being tense for a private matter and the way she expressed it was different than when she usually complained if she found something she did not like.

"What's the schedule for your equestrian competition? Will it begin on Monday too?"

Jongin raised his eyebrows, surprised that Soojung took the wheel on their conversation.

"No, for us it will run from Wednesday until Friday," he leaned closer to the table, "I'll join the advanced level for dressage on Thursday and two show-jumping competitions on Friday."

"So short? Our tennis game will take place from Monday until Friday."

"Well, you guys have a number of matches until you reach the final, right?" Jongin paused. Seeing Soojung nodded in confirmation, he continued, "For us it will end every one round. The winner will be decided right after each round end."

"Ah, I see."

Jongin bit his lower lip, his eyebrows knitted, as if he was thinking of something. He suddenly looked straight at Soojung's eyes with an intriguing smile. Soojung caught the mood and in return, she stared at him with narrowing eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

He pulled his face closer to hers. "Soojung, I'll give you a gift if you win a gold medal."

Soojung tilted her head, her lips slowly turned into a grin, "What? What kind of gift?"

"That's... a secret," Jongin raised his pinky finger in front of his face, "I'll give it to you if you take the top."

She slowly raised her right hand, but stopped in the middle. "Do I have to give you a gift too if you win? I mean—what if you win in all of the three categories, should I give you three gifts then?"

Jongin chuckled. "That's your choice. I'm not expecting you to give me anything back in return. I just want to give you something."

Soojung thought for a while before she linked her pinky finger with his. "Okay, you promise?"

"I promise," Jongin smiled as he shook their linking fingers lightly, "And I'll be there to cheer on you."

 

 

 

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Author's note:

Hi everyone. Thanks for reading this. I hope you find this story interesting. Please give your comments below and upvote this story if you like it.

I'll try to write an update soon. Stay safe and healthy! xx