It All Started With A Kick✔️ | Kim Sunwoo

05

| pleasant company |

it was d-day. sunwoo's inter-school soccer match. they were going against an all boys' school nearby. eric and minju dragged hayoon onto a bench at the school field. it was still early - way before the match started. sunwoo and his teammates were warming up around the field, kicking the soccer balls, doing dribbling exercises with cones. sipping on her iced-cold drink, hayoon let her gaze wander around until someone made an eye contact with her. his eyes twinkle as he flashed her a smile which made his adorable dimple show. at that moment, hayoon realised that she had caught the attention of someone from the opposing school.

"yah, we'll be back with snacks!" eric exclaimed to hayoon as he dragged minju with him. with that, hayoon was left all alone as she fidgeted with her hands. she grew anxious at the feeling of being alone in a field filled with boys. "hi," he timidly greeted her. hayoon looked up only to find a pair of charming eyes stare back at her warmly. "can i sit here?" the unknown stranger pointed onto the space next to her in which hayoon smiled and agreed. "i'm changmin, ji changmin," he grinned, sticking his right hand out. hayoon took his hand in hers, amused that he was brave enough to approach her, "i'm lee hayoon." weirdly enough, they got along quick and hayoon was very pleased that changmin turned out to be as easy-going as she thought despite his shyly approach.

"oh who could this be?" minju asked, surprised that there was an unknown boy talking to hayoon. "hey man, i'm eric," eric being the social ball he was greeted changmin swiftly and everyone would think they were best of friends in a span of seconds. then, the whistle was blown which signalled for all players to train in their sides of the field. changmin set off, waving to his new found friends, to practice before the real match. unknowing to them all, one pair of eyes watched them with envy and distress.

sunwoo jogged around his side of the field - quick on his feet as he sprinted around cones, passed the soccer ball to his teammates and stretching his joints. his gaze focused on the brown-haired male on the opposing team. 'changmin huh?' sunwoo scoffed when he got a view of the male's jersey. the whistle sounded once again, signaling that the match would start. sunwoo jogged towards his gym bag where he kept his spare jersey. holding it in his palm, he searched for the familiar figure among the other students who had started swarming the benches at the field. "sunwoo!" a cheery voice called out to him. sunwoo sighed silently at the voice as he turned back forcing a smile. "oh hey yeji," he nodded at her. "is that for me?" yeji asked excitedly, gesturing to the spare jersey in his hand. "no-" "wah! thank you! i have never experienced something like this before," and yeji snatched the jersey from him as she continued to ramble on about how it would be her first time. it would be hayoon's first time as well.

hayoon had seen seo yeji in that number 12 jersey. for some reason, her heart had dropped at the fact that sunwoo had given yeji his jersey instead of her. she was already not looking forward to the game at that moment. until someone reached out and placed his jersey on her lap.

"changmin?" hayoon called out to which the lad smiled brightly at her. "but it's yours," hayoon said, her hands already stretched out to him to return his jersey. "hayoon, i want you to wear it," changmin gently pushed it over to her. unknowingly, a smile found its way on her face. "okay, do your best!" hayoon cheered him on and then she slipped on his jersey which turned out to be a little big on her small self. "if i win, let's hang out," changmin grinned before he jogged away into the field.

sunwoo noticed that, the number 02 jersey that hayoon had just put on, and he was not pleased at all. the players started to conquer the whole field. sunwoo found himself head on against changmin. he doubt that changmin knew what trouble he had gotten himself into. the whistle blew and the cheerings of the spectators filled the atmosphere. the soccer ball ended up with sunwoo and sunwoo was quick on his feet to dribble the ball forward nearing the goal. unbeknown to sunwoo, changmin was swifter than he was as the lad kicked the ball away from sunwoo's possession. at changmin's rapid move, the opposing school was at an advantage as they managed to score the first goal. hayoon cheered when the ball flew into the goal post. "hayoon, are you cheering for the opposing team and not our school?" minju gaped at her.

sunwoo's gaze darkened as matters had gotten more serious. his eyes focused on changmin who was walking near him. closing the distance between them, with all the strength he had, sunwoo shoved past changmin's shoulder harshly before turning back to offer a half-hearted apology. on the other hand, changmin did not care at all. changmin was only set on winning so that he could get to know more about his new lady friend. just the thought of it made changmin blush and smile like no other.

the intense match got everyone on the edge of the seat at the spectators observed. the two teams kept on getting ties with one another. it was the last goal, which would determine the winning team. the field was silent as players kept their focus on the game. changmin had the ball and he took a deep breath before kicking it over to his team mates. sprinting between players was sunwoo as he desperately looked for ways to steal the ball from the opposing team. it went by in a flash and - "goal!" eric and minju chorused together with the rest of the spectators. their school had won the match and almost everyone went down the field to celebrate with the team. hayoon stayed put in her seat looking for the brown-haired lad. she grinned when she found him on the benches with his team, looking defeated.

"changmin!" she halted infront of him. "hey hayoon, i lost," he chuckled, rubbing onto the nape of his nape. he seemed embarrassed. "it's okay! all of you did so well! so phone, please," hayoon put out both of her palms. changmin was surprised but he was even more happy even though he had lost the match. "give me a call and let's meet again soon, ji changmin," hayoon beamed at him brightly before she ran off to find her friends.