Running to You | Park Han + JL + Steven | Haneulz + Stejay AU

Chapter 25: Regionals | Day 1

@Haneulzdefendr: even JL clapped first when Jeongwoo crossed the finish line >_< THEY'RE ALL SUPPORTIVE BOYFRIENDS

Jeongwoo placed second, barely a breath behind the first runner. But when he jogged back to the tent, flushed and beaming, he looked like he'd just won the entire meet. Woongki leapt off the bench and smacked his shoulder with a grin. "That was hot."

"Don't say that to me right now," Jeongwoo wheezed. "I can barely feel my legs."

JL handed him a water bottle. "You were really good."

Jeongwoo blinked. "You think so?"

JL nodded. "You look more confident than last time. Stronger."

Jeongwoo smiled wide. "I've been working on my stride. Still want to try the 800 meters someday."

"Distance boy dreams," Woongki teased. "Let us know when you're ready to suffer."

Then it was Juwon's turn.

As he bounced out to the long jump pit, the mood shifted. Juwon wasn't just performing -- he was the performance.

"Let's go, sunshine," Woongki muttered, grinning.

@jumpinjuwon: JUWON DOING HIS LITTLE ARM WAVE BEFORE THE RUN UP T_T omgg

@woneyclub: juwon looks like he's about to break into a musical number and then jump 6.7 meters casually. how is this man real

@parkz_5k: if juwon doesn't get recruited for a boy group after this like wdym?? i've never seen someone land a jump like a K-pop stage!

His first jump was solid -- 6.51 meters, placing him in the top five. His second, even better. But it was the way he landed -- smooth, smiling, and blowing a kiss to the judges -- that set the crowd screaming.

Back at the tent, Juwon flopped dramatically beside Chih En. "I have sand everywhere. But did you see that girl in the red scrunchie? I think I made her cry."

"She dropped her phone," Chih En replied. "And screamed."

"Same difference," Juwon said, grinning.

Kyungho shook his head, but even he was smiling now. JL chuckled, glancing up at the sky for a moment. Steven, beside him, crossed his arms and nodded to Juwon. "You did good out there."

Chih En was up next.

There wasn't an announcement, but the murmurs had already begun the moment he stepped out of the tent. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wearing the KNSU warm-up jacket halfway off, as if the sleeves couldn't quite contain the biceps he'd somehow grown over the past month. His face was impassive, almost eerily calm. And absurdly beautiful.

Like, painfully beautiful.

@chih_chi: chih en is what you get if a greek god and a high-end graphics card had a baby

@aungdan_cafe: he's so handsome it feels fake. like if he blinked wrong I'd believe he was CG

Chih En walked to the starting line without a nod, without a glance at the crowd. He didn't smile. He rarely did. That only made it worse.

"He grew again," Steven muttered under his breath, watching Chih En strip off the warm-up top to reveal a sculpted frame that looked like it had been carved out of endless training hours and relentless discipline. "I swear he was shorter than me a month ago."