School Daze - Chapter Seventeen
Title: School Daze
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Multiple
Summary: They Lost
-Chapter Seventeen-
After Junsu's injury, there was certainly a shift in the game. SM played angrily, most genuinely believing that Dong Wook had purposely taken out one of the finest players, simply to win the game. Dong Wook played more carefully than he ever had, second guessing himself more often than was normal.
Before the game had resumed play, he had glanced over at his angel, hoping for an understanding nod, but only recieved a questioning gaze, as if wondering if he really had hurt Junsu intentionally. That was a look he most certainly hadn't anticipated from Jaejoong.
Not his Jaejoong.
It cut him so deeply that he had hardly noticed when Young Bae scored a goal, bringing them only one point behind SM.
"We won't settle for a loss, boys," the coach was saying during their final timeout for the game. "We're going to have to take this one into overtime." He glanced at his team carefully, taking each player into careful consideration. "Choi!" He called suddenly, causing several of the boys to jump in slight surprise.
"Coach?"
"We're going to need you to score this vital goal." At his star player's silence, he gave the boy a careful glance, "You can handle the pressure, right?"
Dong Wook was silent for a moment, looking over each of the anxious faces of his teammates, the friends he had kept so close to him until recently. The younger boys who had looked up to him despite everything. The teammates he no longer wanted to fail. He glanced back at the coach with a determined gaze and nodded once, "I'll be fine coach. Just get me the ball."
The coach grinned and clapped his hands together, "Good! We're all counting on you."
It wasn't difficult, the task that had been set before him. Even in the most stressful situations he had proven to be able to keep a cool head and think straight. For his team, he would bring the game to tie and then they would go into overtime, where YG would prove victorious.
It wasn't as if they hadn't done some sort of play like this before.
There was no sense in getting worked up about something he was confident he could do. It was these situations that had truly seperated Choi Dong Wook from the rest of the team, the one trait he alone posessed. He was quite used to pressure. It was nothing, nothing at all.
But if it truly was nothing at all, why did he find himself nervous?
Why did he find himself almost dreading the pass he knew he would recieve from one of his teammates, while the rest of the school shouted for him to steal the game away from SM Academy?
Why wasn't he sure he could do it?
Taebin studied Dong Wook carefully as everyone prepared for the ball to be put into play, wondering just what could be going through the boy's head at this time. For some reason, Dong Wook seemed unlike himself. Nervous, almost. His brows knit together in concentration before he attempted to catch the boy's attention. "Dong Wook," he called silently, wanting his teammate's attention and no one else's.
Dong Wook glanced over his shoulder at Taebin, trying to pass off that angry expression he was always able to hold whenever the boy addressed him, but at the moment, he had trouble finding it. Rather than anger, his expressions flickered with slight desperation, as if not wanting the spot light to be on him.
"Calm down," Taebin spoke soothingly, stepping closer to the boy so his voice could take up a more peaceful and mellow tone. "Everything is fine, it's just another soccer game, alright?"
For a moment, Dong Wook accepted his captain's words, wanting desperately for them to be true, but the fact remained. This wasn't just another soccer game. It was a game against SM Academy, their sworn enemy. He had to make the goal in order for his team to thrash their opponents. Everyone was counting on him to do this, and do it right.
Taebin could see the muscles in Dong Wook's shoulders tightening, and let out a small defeated sigh. Cautiously, he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder and delivered a light squeeze before whispering into his ear, "Don't feel pressured to do anything if you aren't feeling up to it. The team cares about winning, I care about you."
With those words spoken, Taebin delivered another light squeeze to Dong Wook's shoulder and offered a brief nod before wandering to his own sweet spot on the field.
Dong Wook mulled over his captain's words for a long moment and eventually found himself feeling a bit lighter, as if a load had been lifted off of his shoulders. With his burden gone, surely he would be able to focus better and dedicate himself fully to this game and this moment. As unfortunate as Junsu's injury was, it was something that was already in the past, something he wouldn't be able to dote on forever.
Even if his angel didn't fully believe in him, someone did.
Someone cared.
Even if that someone was Im Taebin.
* * *
Junsu had put on a ngood enough act to get the trainer to grant him permission to return to the team bench so he could finish watching what would probably be the final play of the game. The boy eagerly hopped out on his crutches, practically falling several times before reaching the safety of the bench.
At seeing his return to the stadium, both the SM students and the team were on their feet cheering for Junsu. Before seating himself next to Jaejoong, he gave a hearty smile and a quick wave and a thumbs up, letting everyone know that he was just fine. There was no need to be concerned for him now, the important thing was the completion of the game.
Jaejoong smiled slightly as Junsu chose to sit next to him for the remainder of the game, "Junsu-ah, how's your ankle?"
The boy's easy grin slowly faded into a childish pout and let out a puff of air, "The trainer told me to stay off of it for a month, since it looks like a pretty serious sprain. I'm to go to a doctor tomorrow to make sure it's just that." He dropped his crutches to one side and continued to pout.
"Well, the important thing is that you're alright," Jaejoong grinned finally, lightly patting the boy's shoulder, though there was still some awkwardness between the two of them.
And that awkwardness was something Junsu didn't miss a moment of. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and closed it, as if thinking over his words carefully before speaking out. "Hyung," he began carefully, "the other night-- You-- ani--" He bit down on his lower lip, trying to think of a proper way to string his thoughts and his words together. Finally he gave up on trying to be polite, and simply spoke freely, "Don't lead Yunho-hyung on."
Jaejoong froze, unable to even begin to think of what he could possibly say to such an accusation. "Junsu-ah," he began silently.
"Ya!" Junsu exclaimed excitedly, turning his attention to the game on the field, that serious face being completely covered by a mask of genuine excitement for the happenings of the game. He pointed to the field and beamed brightly, "Si Won has gotten so much better since the beginning of the season! I can't even move like that!"
Jaejoong sighed and allowed his gaze to drift to the players on the field. It was no surprise that both Yunho and Dong Wook were on the field.
"Get him, Dong Wook!" Lexy shouted from across the field, shaking Baek Kyoung violently in the process. Baek Kyoung had been released from the nurses office and given specific instructions to go straight to his room and get a little rest. Well, with such an epic game going on, of course that wasn't about to happen.
Baek Kyoung swatted Lexy's hands away from him before cheering his friend on as well. "Come on, Seven! You got this!"
The YG students were all on their feet, hollering and cheering for their soccer team to do what they could to beat their rivals. Stomping on the bleachers, waving banners sporting their colors, even cheering with the numerous cheers the cheerleaders had come up with.
Only May Doni seemed completely unaffected by the the spirit that seemed to bubble and brew within the YG student body, though she had to admit, the game was practically entrancing. Having never seen either team play before, she thought that the game would simply be a joke, two teams with no talent hating one another for no reason what so ever. But that surely wasn't the case. Each team possessed so much talent, even someone with no knowledge in soccer, much liker herself, could easily see that.
Now the game had finally reached it's last few minutes, leaving only enough time for one more play, and thankfully, in the case of her school, YG would have posession of the ball. It would more than likely go to Dong Wook, the one player who seemed to be put under some sort of pressure or other, but May Doni wondered if her sunbae would be able to handle the pressure this time around.
Though she wasn't quite able to put her finger on it, the situation seemed to play heavily on Dong Wook. While he was usually one to completely ignore Taebin or blow him off, he actually listened to whatever it was the captain had to say to him. He had even played so unlike himself that the team worried a little.
She cocked her head to one side, wondering about the game's outcome.
"May Doni!"
The girl frowned slightly at the voice that dared to call her name. "Why aren't you on the field, Lee Seung Hyun?" She muttered darkly as the freshman goalie took a seat next to her and reached for a paper cup so that he might take a sip. She still hadn't quite forgiven him for nosing in her business.
Seung Ri rolled his eyes at her, "Coach wants me to be well rested before over time, so that I'll be on top of my game." He wiggled his eyebrows at the girl and grinned his best, "Don't you want to be at my best for the team so that we can beat SM again?"
"So confident that Dong Wook-sunbae will be making the final shot and take the game into overtime?" May Doni shook her head in disapproval and turned her attention to the field.
"So confident that he won't?" Seung Ri challenged with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Why do you go to a school you hate so much, huh? No one here has ever done anything to offend you, so why so bitter?"
His only response was a dark glare and a cup of water to the face, and though the boy dropped the issue, the question raised in May Doni's mind. Why did she hate YG Academy so much? True it was never the schoolshe had wanted to attend, but at the same time, she had never given her school a fair chance.
These were simply things she didn't want to give thought to at the moment.
* * *
Ji Yong had the annoying habit of laughing or grinning stupidly whenever he had the ball in his possession. While his teammates considered it overly annoying, many opponents considered it slightly unnerving. His smile always suggested that he knew something his opponents didn't. His laugh suggested that he had the upper hand of the situation, whether he did or not.
Young Bae watched as his teammate hurried down the field in his traditional flashy style, faking a pass here, fancy foot work that involved working the ball between his opponents' legs there, and all sorts of crazy little tricks he picked up from multiple nights filled with caffeine, sugar and soccer videos he downloaded from the internet. He grinned at the boy's ridiculous way of playing, but always stayed a couple of steps behind him should the boy find himself in a spot of trouble.
After completely faking out Sungmin, Ji Yong passed the ball off to Taebin, and the captain used his skil and grace to fly through the field, easily avoiding those who for a second thought they could take him on.
Yunho was one of few who actually posed a threat to Taebin, with his seemingly unstoppable tenacity and hunger for revenge over his fallen teammate. Even if he had to do it on his own, SM would win this game! That much was very evident in his body language as well as his eyes.
After several seconds of struggling, Taebin had managed to pass it off to Jin Hwan, who was wide open and ready to take it all the way down the field.
But the game changing goal belonged to Dong Wook. It would be the super star who would be saving this game. The prince of the field who would lead YG to victory. They would pull through this one, just like they had pulled through their other victories.
YG was unstoppable.
Choi Dong Wook was unstoppable.
At least, he was until he glanced at SM's bench to steal one more glance at his angel.
Jaejoong stared holes right through him, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips, his head tilting to one side, as if trying to figure Dong Wook out. Was the boy still trying to figure out if Junsu's injury had been intentional or not? As questions continued to rise in Dong Wook's mind, Jaejoong quickly averted his gaze elsewhere, shaking his head slightly, that small frown only increasing.
It was as if Dong Wook's heart had stopped right at that moment.
Jin Hwan passed the ball to him, but as lifeless as he was, he couldn't possibly move. He was completely frozen after such a frown from the angel. He was even more frozen when the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game and the academy which he did not attend began to cheer.
They lost.
YG had lost.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Multiple
Summary: They Lost
-Chapter Seventeen-
After Junsu's injury, there was certainly a shift in the game. SM played angrily, most genuinely believing that Dong Wook had purposely taken out one of the finest players, simply to win the game. Dong Wook played more carefully than he ever had, second guessing himself more often than was normal.
Before the game had resumed play, he had glanced over at his angel, hoping for an understanding nod, but only recieved a questioning gaze, as if wondering if he really had hurt Junsu intentionally. That was a look he most certainly hadn't anticipated from Jaejoong.
Not his Jaejoong.
It cut him so deeply that he had hardly noticed when Young Bae scored a goal, bringing them only one point behind SM.
"We won't settle for a loss, boys," the coach was saying during their final timeout for the game. "We're going to have to take this one into overtime." He glanced at his team carefully, taking each player into careful consideration. "Choi!" He called suddenly, causing several of the boys to jump in slight surprise.
"Coach?"
"We're going to need you to score this vital goal." At his star player's silence, he gave the boy a careful glance, "You can handle the pressure, right?"
Dong Wook was silent for a moment, looking over each of the anxious faces of his teammates, the friends he had kept so close to him until recently. The younger boys who had looked up to him despite everything. The teammates he no longer wanted to fail. He glanced back at the coach with a determined gaze and nodded once, "I'll be fine coach. Just get me the ball."
The coach grinned and clapped his hands together, "Good! We're all counting on you."
It wasn't difficult, the task that had been set before him. Even in the most stressful situations he had proven to be able to keep a cool head and think straight. For his team, he would bring the game to tie and then they would go into overtime, where YG would prove victorious.
It wasn't as if they hadn't done some sort of play like this before.
There was no sense in getting worked up about something he was confident he could do. It was these situations that had truly seperated Choi Dong Wook from the rest of the team, the one trait he alone posessed. He was quite used to pressure. It was nothing, nothing at all.
But if it truly was nothing at all, why did he find himself nervous?
Why did he find himself almost dreading the pass he knew he would recieve from one of his teammates, while the rest of the school shouted for him to steal the game away from SM Academy?
Why wasn't he sure he could do it?
Taebin studied Dong Wook carefully as everyone prepared for the ball to be put into play, wondering just what could be going through the boy's head at this time. For some reason, Dong Wook seemed unlike himself. Nervous, almost. His brows knit together in concentration before he attempted to catch the boy's attention. "Dong Wook," he called silently, wanting his teammate's attention and no one else's.
Dong Wook glanced over his shoulder at Taebin, trying to pass off that angry expression he was always able to hold whenever the boy addressed him, but at the moment, he had trouble finding it. Rather than anger, his expressions flickered with slight desperation, as if not wanting the spot light to be on him.
"Calm down," Taebin spoke soothingly, stepping closer to the boy so his voice could take up a more peaceful and mellow tone. "Everything is fine, it's just another soccer game, alright?"
For a moment, Dong Wook accepted his captain's words, wanting desperately for them to be true, but the fact remained. This wasn't just another soccer game. It was a game against SM Academy, their sworn enemy. He had to make the goal in order for his team to thrash their opponents. Everyone was counting on him to do this, and do it right.
Taebin could see the muscles in Dong Wook's shoulders tightening, and let out a small defeated sigh. Cautiously, he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder and delivered a light squeeze before whispering into his ear, "Don't feel pressured to do anything if you aren't feeling up to it. The team cares about winning, I care about you."
With those words spoken, Taebin delivered another light squeeze to Dong Wook's shoulder and offered a brief nod before wandering to his own sweet spot on the field.
Dong Wook mulled over his captain's words for a long moment and eventually found himself feeling a bit lighter, as if a load had been lifted off of his shoulders. With his burden gone, surely he would be able to focus better and dedicate himself fully to this game and this moment. As unfortunate as Junsu's injury was, it was something that was already in the past, something he wouldn't be able to dote on forever.
Even if his angel didn't fully believe in him, someone did.
Someone cared.
Even if that someone was Im Taebin.
* * *
Junsu had put on a ngood enough act to get the trainer to grant him permission to return to the team bench so he could finish watching what would probably be the final play of the game. The boy eagerly hopped out on his crutches, practically falling several times before reaching the safety of the bench.
At seeing his return to the stadium, both the SM students and the team were on their feet cheering for Junsu. Before seating himself next to Jaejoong, he gave a hearty smile and a quick wave and a thumbs up, letting everyone know that he was just fine. There was no need to be concerned for him now, the important thing was the completion of the game.
Jaejoong smiled slightly as Junsu chose to sit next to him for the remainder of the game, "Junsu-ah, how's your ankle?"
The boy's easy grin slowly faded into a childish pout and let out a puff of air, "The trainer told me to stay off of it for a month, since it looks like a pretty serious sprain. I'm to go to a doctor tomorrow to make sure it's just that." He dropped his crutches to one side and continued to pout.
"Well, the important thing is that you're alright," Jaejoong grinned finally, lightly patting the boy's shoulder, though there was still some awkwardness between the two of them.
And that awkwardness was something Junsu didn't miss a moment of. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and closed it, as if thinking over his words carefully before speaking out. "Hyung," he began carefully, "the other night-- You-- ani--" He bit down on his lower lip, trying to think of a proper way to string his thoughts and his words together. Finally he gave up on trying to be polite, and simply spoke freely, "Don't lead Yunho-hyung on."
Jaejoong froze, unable to even begin to think of what he could possibly say to such an accusation. "Junsu-ah," he began silently.
"Ya!" Junsu exclaimed excitedly, turning his attention to the game on the field, that serious face being completely covered by a mask of genuine excitement for the happenings of the game. He pointed to the field and beamed brightly, "Si Won has gotten so much better since the beginning of the season! I can't even move like that!"
Jaejoong sighed and allowed his gaze to drift to the players on the field. It was no surprise that both Yunho and Dong Wook were on the field.
"Get him, Dong Wook!" Lexy shouted from across the field, shaking Baek Kyoung violently in the process. Baek Kyoung had been released from the nurses office and given specific instructions to go straight to his room and get a little rest. Well, with such an epic game going on, of course that wasn't about to happen.
Baek Kyoung swatted Lexy's hands away from him before cheering his friend on as well. "Come on, Seven! You got this!"
The YG students were all on their feet, hollering and cheering for their soccer team to do what they could to beat their rivals. Stomping on the bleachers, waving banners sporting their colors, even cheering with the numerous cheers the cheerleaders had come up with.
Only May Doni seemed completely unaffected by the the spirit that seemed to bubble and brew within the YG student body, though she had to admit, the game was practically entrancing. Having never seen either team play before, she thought that the game would simply be a joke, two teams with no talent hating one another for no reason what so ever. But that surely wasn't the case. Each team possessed so much talent, even someone with no knowledge in soccer, much liker herself, could easily see that.
Now the game had finally reached it's last few minutes, leaving only enough time for one more play, and thankfully, in the case of her school, YG would have posession of the ball. It would more than likely go to Dong Wook, the one player who seemed to be put under some sort of pressure or other, but May Doni wondered if her sunbae would be able to handle the pressure this time around.
Though she wasn't quite able to put her finger on it, the situation seemed to play heavily on Dong Wook. While he was usually one to completely ignore Taebin or blow him off, he actually listened to whatever it was the captain had to say to him. He had even played so unlike himself that the team worried a little.
She cocked her head to one side, wondering about the game's outcome.
"May Doni!"
The girl frowned slightly at the voice that dared to call her name. "Why aren't you on the field, Lee Seung Hyun?" She muttered darkly as the freshman goalie took a seat next to her and reached for a paper cup so that he might take a sip. She still hadn't quite forgiven him for nosing in her business.
Seung Ri rolled his eyes at her, "Coach wants me to be well rested before over time, so that I'll be on top of my game." He wiggled his eyebrows at the girl and grinned his best, "Don't you want to be at my best for the team so that we can beat SM again?"
"So confident that Dong Wook-sunbae will be making the final shot and take the game into overtime?" May Doni shook her head in disapproval and turned her attention to the field.
"So confident that he won't?" Seung Ri challenged with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Why do you go to a school you hate so much, huh? No one here has ever done anything to offend you, so why so bitter?"
His only response was a dark glare and a cup of water to the face, and though the boy dropped the issue, the question raised in May Doni's mind. Why did she hate YG Academy so much? True it was never the schoolshe had wanted to attend, but at the same time, she had never given her school a fair chance.
These were simply things she didn't want to give thought to at the moment.
* * *
Ji Yong had the annoying habit of laughing or grinning stupidly whenever he had the ball in his possession. While his teammates considered it overly annoying, many opponents considered it slightly unnerving. His smile always suggested that he knew something his opponents didn't. His laugh suggested that he had the upper hand of the situation, whether he did or not.
Young Bae watched as his teammate hurried down the field in his traditional flashy style, faking a pass here, fancy foot work that involved working the ball between his opponents' legs there, and all sorts of crazy little tricks he picked up from multiple nights filled with caffeine, sugar and soccer videos he downloaded from the internet. He grinned at the boy's ridiculous way of playing, but always stayed a couple of steps behind him should the boy find himself in a spot of trouble.
After completely faking out Sungmin, Ji Yong passed the ball off to Taebin, and the captain used his skil and grace to fly through the field, easily avoiding those who for a second thought they could take him on.
Yunho was one of few who actually posed a threat to Taebin, with his seemingly unstoppable tenacity and hunger for revenge over his fallen teammate. Even if he had to do it on his own, SM would win this game! That much was very evident in his body language as well as his eyes.
After several seconds of struggling, Taebin had managed to pass it off to Jin Hwan, who was wide open and ready to take it all the way down the field.
But the game changing goal belonged to Dong Wook. It would be the super star who would be saving this game. The prince of the field who would lead YG to victory. They would pull through this one, just like they had pulled through their other victories.
YG was unstoppable.
Choi Dong Wook was unstoppable.
At least, he was until he glanced at SM's bench to steal one more glance at his angel.
Jaejoong stared holes right through him, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips, his head tilting to one side, as if trying to figure Dong Wook out. Was the boy still trying to figure out if Junsu's injury had been intentional or not? As questions continued to rise in Dong Wook's mind, Jaejoong quickly averted his gaze elsewhere, shaking his head slightly, that small frown only increasing.
It was as if Dong Wook's heart had stopped right at that moment.
Jin Hwan passed the ball to him, but as lifeless as he was, he couldn't possibly move. He was completely frozen after such a frown from the angel. He was even more frozen when the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the game and the academy which he did not attend began to cheer.
They lost.
YG had lost.