Bu Seok
"We playing two on two today?"
Lee Young-min asks as he tosses me a basketball. I shrug and toss the ball to Du Shin-Il who is glaring at Lee Young-min.
"Not sure, Kang Il said he might have someone else joining us."
"Kang Il is coming?" Lee Young-min asks.
I nod and sigh, "Don't be mad. I thought you two had—"
"I'm not. Just surprised he can come with everything going on at the stadium."
"Don't worry, I can still make time for my new best friends," Kang Il's dry humor joins the conversation and I turn to see him and two others joining Lee Young-min, Du Shin-Il, and I on the studio lot's basketball court.
I recognize Ryan Jae as one of Kang Il's guests, but am uncertain of the other one's identity.
"Who are your friends?" I ask, mostly acknowledging the stranger since both Du Shin-Il and Lee Young-min were familiar with Ryan Jae.
Hopefully Lee Young-min will be magnanimous that his former love rival is apparently playing with us today.
Kang Il lets out a huff and points at the newcomer, "This is Ca Jin-Ho, my roommate and the newest Seoul Eagle."
Warning bells go off in my head and my jaw drops as I stare at the former boyfriend of one Tae Men.
If Lee Young-min doesn't start something, Kang Il might.
"The blobfish is too kind," Ca Jin-Ho chuckles. He opens his hands and Du Shin-Il tosses him the ball.
"Who are you calling a blobfish?" Kang Il growls.
"Sorry, that's what Tae Men always called you, guess the name stuck."
Warning. Warning. Warning!!!
Kang Il doesn't respond with anything other than an eye roll and a grunt.
"Well, it's nice to meet you. We don't get to play 3 on 3 very often," Lee Young-min nods, showing off his pearly whites with a grin.
He seems more chipper than usual.
"Let's go," Du Shin-Il coughs.
We play a few games over the course of the next hour and unsurprisingly, Kang Il sucks in all 3 rounds. At the end, we're all huffing and puffing, with the exception of the professional athletes of course, who seem fairly relaxed after having ran around for an hour.
"You've got skills," I admit, nodding at Kang Il's teammates. "Wasn't sure since—"
"Since I suck at basketball?" Kang Il supplies, sucking down some water.
I shrug and everyone else nods.
"Xiao Mei Cheng offered to bring us by some food," Du Shin-Il mumbles as he stares at his phone.
"Is Vivi with her?"
"She's at the bookstore writing; should I ask her to join?"
"NO. No girlfriends," I grumble, thumping the basketball sitting between my legs.
"What, why not?" Lee Young-min pouts.
"I know the answer to this one," Kang Il snorts.
His rare laughter has everyone, myself included, looking over at him in shock.
"How do you know?" I demand.
"Tae Men told me."
"How does she—"
YOU ARE READING
Context Clues | Completed
RomanceKang Il isn't known for being much more than a grouchy ball player with a temper and a hatred for kids. He doesn't have many friends, if any, and seems to resent anything that pushes him out of his comfort zone. He's ice cold, stone cold, with basic...
