red quinn 赤 | blue lock

chapter seventeen

❪𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊❫
•••

After playing with Bachira, he constantly appears in your sight, always asking you to play with him, and you can't help but deadpan at the guy. He seems to have an endless amount of stamina, continuously coming back for more. Today, however, is one of your lucky days since there's no trace of him for now. You assume it's because the last match of the first selection is approaching, and everyone is likely busy preparing.

Your team was currently occupying the weight room. It was a sight to see everybody training while you were doing a running test. It was even more amazing that you could keep up with the others now. However, you couldn't help but frown as you watched everyone effortlessly picking up the dumbbells.

That is beyond your strength.

You're currently doing a running test with Rin, watching as he effortlessly exercises his legs.

"Hey Rin, let's have a 1 vs 1 practice later," you asked.

"Whatever," he replied dismissively.

Aryu made his way towards you after finishing a lifting test, standing by your side as you took a sip of water.

"Let's take a bath after this," he stated, making you look at him. "Bonding in nakedness is the best."

There's no way you will do that.

"You can all go first, I'll be there later," you answered, coughing awkwardly.

Aryu tilted his head with a raised brow, staring at you. "Now that you say it..." he began, catching your attention. "You never shower with us..."

You blinked, wondering why he was paying attention to such a small thing. Your peripheral vision caught Rin, the one with the raised brow, currently staring in your direction.

"And?" you tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, but you could feel your throat burning with panic.

"And I never saw you without that jersey either. We never change together," Aryu continued, his tone probing. "Tell me, Kei, are you hiding something?"

Rin was now looking at both of you, also waiting for your answer. You couldn't believe this guy was such a gossiper. Meanwhile, you were glaring at Aryu as he stated his curiosity.

Thankfully, the only one who could hear your conversation was Rin, whom you prayed wouldn't pay attention to what Aryu was saying.

"Kei," Aryu called your attention, making you look at him and bite your lower lip.

"Are you actually gay?" he blurted out.

The moment those words left his mouth, your fist collided with his face, the sound of impact catching everyone's attention as they looked at the person now laying unconscious on the ground.

"MEDIIIIIIIIC!!" Tokimitsu's yell echoed throughout the room. You noticed Rin trying to suppress his laughter, hitching his breath, while you, on the other hand, glared at Aryu's unconscious form in disbelief. Someone showed up to take him away to who knows where.

You made your way to the room where you could change your goal for something else. With three goals left, you decided to get your phone to check something. Upon entering, you noticed a large LED monitor TV on the wall. Beside it was a keypad, and below the keypad was a small dispenser.

You read the instructions on how it worked and proceeded to input your name into the keypad. Almost immediately, your information appeared on the screen. The prompt asked you to select a transaction, and you chose "Exchange Goal." The options appeared, and you selected "phone." After a moment, the metal box below dispensed your phone, and you grabbed it, only to notice a "Zero" in your goal information.

You decided to stay in the room, not wanting to go back just yet, especially since there was a chair tucked in the corner, providing a perfect spot for you to sit. It was quiet here, making it an ideal place to gather your thoughts.

Turning on your phone, it took a second to unlock it, and as it opened, you noticed missed calls from different people. Scrolling through your logs, you saw 75 missed calls from Yuri. Not saying goodbye to her must have led to this barrage of calls. There were also over 99 messages from her, but you decided to hold off on opening them for now.

However, what truly caught your attention was one of your notifications.

Sae sent you a message.

Feeling curious, you couldn't help but notice the messages from him. Knowing he was in another country and busy with his soccer matches as a forward for the Japan national team, you were about to scroll through his message when a call popped up on your screen, displaying Yuri's name.

Yuri's calling...

Staring at the screen for a moment, you debated whether to accept the call or not. Feeling terrible about ignoring her, you sighed and slid up the green button, answering the call.

Bringing the phone to your ear, you waited for her to speak, silence engulfing the other line as neither of you knew what to say. Should you just say,
'hi, I'm alive...?'

"Hey..." you gulped nervously before speaking first.

"..."

Stumbling over your words, you struggled to find something to say. The sound of breathing on the other end confirmed you weren't alone in this conversation.

"...You,"

You began, biting your lip nervously, waiting for her response. What you didn't expect was what came next.

"YOU BITCH!" her voice erupted angrily through the phone.