• eyes | jaemin •

+ nine +

i nod in acceptance. "alright. game on."

"you look calmer than i expected." he comments with a laugh as he dribbles the ball in his hand, as if it was his second nature.

i furrow my brows as i kept my eyes on the ball.

"well then, good luck." and as if on cue, wooyoung tosses the ball into the air with one hand as the two of us jump to reach out and get the ball first.

a wave of adrenaline coursed through me as my fingers came into contact with the ball.

i swiftly grabbed it and turned away from wooyoung, fully utilising my body to block him as i begin dribbling the ball towards the net.

"not so easy." his confident voice came from beside me as he instantly snatches the ball away from my grasp.

he runs towards the net with the ball in hand.

buckling his knees with his hands in position, he aims, and releases the ball.

the ball is thrown upwards and then downwards in a perfect arc.

crap, no!

i rush up to the net and jumped, and it was as if everything happened in slow motion.

the tips of my fingers brushed against the base of the ball, and as i reached out to grab to ball with my other hand, it slipped away from my fingers.

my eyes widened as i felt myself being pulled down by gravity as the ball zoomed past before my very eyes.

there was a thud sound as it hit the rim of the goal.

i could only watch with bated breath as the ball circles around the goal and eventually...

enters the net with ease.

no, no, no, no....way....

"jaemin." his voice snapped me out of my demoralising thoughts.

i clenched my fist tightly and gulped.

"l-looks like you win, huh." my own voice came out as a whisper.

there was a moment of silence until wooyoung places his hand on my shoulder, causing me to look at him.

"no, you did."

"what?"

"i saw your effort. when you tried to jump and get the ball away from the net...do you have any idea how you might've injured yourself by jumping that high?"

"you're the one who truly won, so you have no reason to give her up just because of this."

what is he saying?

"i have to apologise for lying to you. i do have certain feelings towards hana, but it's only one of a...sister. when she confessed to me in Busan, i only replied her like that on an impulse. i didn't know how to answer her, and telling her my true feelings would only hurt her, so why not make her detest me? when she left for Seoul, she left me with the sad look on her face. that was when i realised i was foolish. i wanted her to be happy,"

"and then i came here and found out about you. this Basketball game of ours—it's for me to see if you really like her or not."

"so-you didn't-"

"that's right."

"what in the world..." i ran my fingers through my hair at the sudden revelation.

"you have my blessings." he laughs, and then pats my back encouragingly.

"well then, i look forward to seeing the two of you together..." he takes a few steps towards me. "i'm sure she likes you a lot too." he whispers, then pats my back again and leaves.

fortunately for me, wooyoung failed to see my cheeks slowly turning into a deep shade of red.

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A/N: plotttt twisssst
finale next!