Luhan was exhausted from today's soccer practice. Seems to him that every muscle in his body was pleading for rest. A good massage could come in handy now, he thought. He was almost asleep when he remembered the term paper waiting to be finished. Prefessor Kim demands that it should be passed tomorrow without any excuses.
Damn that Minseok. Luhan lifelessly dragged his aching body towards his study table. He was mentally cursing their team captain, Kim Minseok, who was responsible for their soul-draining workout. "The Brute", as the team calls him behind his back, prepared a training routine tailor-made for spartans.
Luhan loves soccer but he is definitely not a blood-thirsty, six-packed warrior. In fact, he was this medium-sized boy with effeminate features. Girls from his university adored him for his innocent looks, the kind which would remind you of a deer.
Minseok, on the other hand, was a competitive leader. His sharp eyes complement his strength. He is in fact, really strong as no hint of exhaustion can be seen from him amidst the heavy training. As the team captain, he is in-charge of making sure that everyone in his team is fit and prepared for competition. But there are some times when he would go overboard and it could be too much for his teammates.
Luhan can feel the thick bags under his eyes the next day. He barely slept but he finished his term paper and was able to pass it on time. Thank God for caffeine. It's almost time for practice so he headed towards the locker room to change into his uniform. He bowed to greet his other teammates, who were mostly older than him. When he reached his locker, he was surprised to see Minseok standing there.
Luhan bowed down to greet his senior. Minseok smirked. "Feeling a bit tired, China?"
Luhan shook his head and removed his uniform from the metal locker. He took off his shoes and put on his studs. He could still see Minseok at the corner of his eye. When Luhan stood up to change into his uniform and immediately, Minseok went out of the locker room and into the field.
It was about thirty minutes of gruesome workout and an hour of practice game for the whole team. All of them were lying on the ground except for Minseok. He was staring at the camcorder the coach set up to record the game.
"Everyone, hit the showers, except Number 7." Minseok called out.
Luhan flinched as he heard his number being called out.
He approached Minseok who was still engrossed in the screen of the camcorder.
"Did I-"
"Look here." Minseok cut him off. Luhan's eyes were focused on the screen. "And here." Minseok pressed another clip. "And finally, here" They were all shots of Luhan.
"As I see it, you had three good openings to kick the ball to the goal. Yet, you never took the shot and pass it on to either Jongdae, Kyungsoo or JunMyeon." Xiumin turned the camcorder off. "You're a good player, Luhan. But what you lack is confidence."
"I wasn't sure, Captain." Luhan replied. "I had to give it to the best kickers of the team."
"You ARE the best kicker of the team." Minseok tapped Luhan's shoulder. "You need to claim that, China."
Luhan's cheeks turned red. "Thanks... I guess." It was the first time he received compliment from Minseok.
"I'm going to train you more. You should come an hour earlier than everyone else. And you can come by my house on weekends." Minseok continued, "Only if you want to."
Luhan didn't know why but he agreed immediately to Minseok's offer.
"But for now, I guess you need some sleep." Minseok smirked. "Off you go!"
