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RENJUN didn't even need to wait until the halftime, to realize that Yuyan wasn't just friends with the goalie of their soccer team. This Mark Lee guy was more to Yuyan; and Renjun realized it with a pang in his chest.
When Mark Lee caught a ball from the opposing team, Yuyan jumped up and yelled his name in the loudest voice she could muster. Renjun felt small compared to the Sunbae that was standing on the soccer field, stealing Yuyan's heart with the smallest of movements.
When the halftime rolled in, Yuyan asked if Renjun wanted a drink. He quickly nodded, but before he told her that he enjoyed Oolong tea, the student was already gone.
Renjun watched her with tired eyes. Instead of running to the food truck next to the soccer field, she ran towards the field and met the goalie once again. Renjun pressed his lips together, watching Mark Lee ruffle Yuyan's hair.
Yuyan pointed to her seat on the bleachers and for a second Renjun and Mark's eyes locked. Mark looked at Renjun for a millisecond before concentrating back on Yuyan who gave him the biggest smile and heart eyes Yuyan had ever sent him.
Renjun uncomfortably shifted in his seat and waited. The flowers he felt in his chest started to hurt and he wanted to go home. Forget the hotpot and hide himself under his sheets in his dorm room.
But he stayed. He stayed because he liked Yuyan. He watched the woman say goodbye to the soccer player and jog over to the food truck. Yuyan quickly ordered two waters and walked back to her seat on the bleachers.
She handed Renjun the plastic bottle with a grin. „How do you like the game so far? Our school has a great team, don't they?" Yuyan asked and took a big sip from her water.
Renjun scanned the label of the water and sighed quietly—sparkling water. He couldn't drink sparkling water without getting a tummy ache. He bit his lip and opened the water. He didn't wanted to hurt Yuyan's feelings so he took a generous sip before answering her question.
„Our team is great!" He lied. The opposing team had a way stronger defense than their team and the striker from the other team had a strong left foot. If Mark Lee would be a tiny bit unconcentrated, the other team would quickly catch up to their goals.
But Renjun didn't say that aloud. Yuyan wasn't even listening to him properly. Renjun knew, that as long as this Mark Lee guy was in Yuyan's vision she wouldn't look at him at all. He had to be patient until he had Yuyan for himself.
Just forty-five more minutes, he told himself and took another sip of the sparkling water—already feeling the tickling sensation in his stomach.
The second part of the game started and Yuyan was waving around her paper slogan, screaming Mark's name. Her heart was bouncing up and down and doing the craziest somersaults in her chest, while Mark's name fell from her lips like the biggest secret her heart owned.
And to some aspect, it was her biggest secret. No one, unless Chunhei, knew of her dying crush on the one year older goalie. Yuyan would spend nights awake, just looking at his SNS and scrolling through his Insta, admiring his pictures.
She liked him so much. And she wanted to be so much more to him. She wanted to be the girl he loved. She wanted to be loved by him. And not in a friendship kinda way. She wanted to be his lover.
Yuyan wanted to be the one he called late at night when he was lonely. She wanted to be the one to wake up in his bed and cuddled against his chest. She wanted to be the one to taste his lips and dug her hands into his hair when making out. She wanted to be the one he longed for, after a intense game. Yuyan wanted to be Mark Lee's lover—
„Our defense is too weak against that striker", Renjun's voice caught Yuyan back into the reality. She gulped and looked at the thin Chinese boy next to her. Renjun had warm brown eyes and a similar warm smile on his lips, while he analyzed the game that happened on the field.
Yuyan blinked twice and quickly scanned the striker from the other team. „He's a lefty", Renjun continued, quickly scanning Yuyan's face before looking back at the field. „Lefties are inscrutable. Our team has to be careful."
The second Renjun's words left his mouth, Mark Lee threw himself to the left side of the goal only to realize the opponent had kicked the ball into the right corner of the goal.
The fans of the other university started cheering. It was their first goal after all. And even if they didn't manage to win, they still managed to trick Mark Lee and his team.
Renjun looked at Yuyan, who had a heartbroken look on her face. She started at Mark, that rubbed his knees and shook his head, before retrieving the ball out of the net.
„As I said", Renjun started. „Lefties are unpredictable." Renjun shook his shoulders but stopped moving when he felt Yuyan hit his shoulder. There was a devastated glint in her brown eyes and she pressed her lips together.
„You called it." She sniffled. „If you wouldn't have analyzed that stupid striker, he wouldn't have shot a goal. Look at my Mark. He's devastated." Yuyan shook her head and pressed the paper slogan to her chest.
My Mark, Renjun looked at Yuyan and the flowers that had grown in size in his chest, ever since Yuyan had smiled at Renjun a while ago, were poking his lungs.
The flowers were so pretty. Just like Yuyan. Renjun took a deep breath and ignored the stinging pain in his chest. „I'm sorry, Yuyan." He apologized and Yuyan sighed.
„It's okay. I just hope Mark's okay. He hates losing." Yuyan looked at the field and saw Mark yelling towards his teammates. „I think he's alright. One goal difference isn't that bad." Renjun knew Yuyan was ignoring his comment, as she was concentrating back on the game, so he did the same.
The opposing team shot two more goals in the second half of the game, which made them win with a score of 3-2. Yuyan and half of the girls on the bleachers were bawling their eyes out and crying into their Mark Lee paper slogans.
Renjun sat on his spot, his stomach aching from the sparkling water. He was confused how to cheer Yuyan up, after her favorite team lost, but he had no time saying anything, as Yuyan jumped up from the bleachers and ran down to the soccer field.
Renjun watched her meeting Mark by the goal and crushing him in a tight hug. A sharp stung went through Renjun's chest and he realized that Yuyan and Mark weren't just friends. And Renjun also realized that his feelings for Yuyan wouldn't be mirrored that quickly.
If Yuyan was really in love with Mark Lee, that made Mark his love rival. How would he win against someone with a charisma like that? Renjun felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He sighed and felt like going home, when Yuyan appeared in his sight.
„Ready for the hot pot?" Renjun asked, happy to have Yuyan all for himself. But the girl had different plans and Renjun could see it in her eyes. No, no, no, no, no, please no, his mind screamed when Yuyan opened her mouth.
„I invited Mark to eat hot pot with us. I hope you're alright with that."
