Seven

The ball flew, smashing through the hoop and landing in a student's hands. It was a fast game, blocking and catching, throwing and teamwork. It looked hard from where I was sitting on the bleachers; watching the basketball fly. My eyes followed Jangmin, watching as he ran and jumped, catching the ball and passing it to his teammate. It was hard to concentrate on my brother when Minhyuk was amidst the students, wearing a tank that revealed his muscular arms. His hair was wet with sweat and his forehead slick with it. He looked hot, I had to admit. The way his muscles flexed when he jumped, dunking the ball through the hoop. I refrained myself from jumping up and cheering due to the fact Eunwoo was there. He had insisted on watching with me, saying his studying hour could be postponed.

"Jangmin's good." He only commented on my twin's basketball skills when Minhyuk was the one scoring the goals. I felt a little angry at him. Did he really hate Minhyuk? Maybe it was a guy thing, dominance and pride or whatever. I thought it was stupid. It'd be nice if Eunwoo and Minhyuk could be friends.

Once again the ball was passed from Jangmin to Minhyuk and another point was scored. I let out a little squeal and clapped my hands, excited in the moment. Minhyuk was so good at this game.

"Well at least Minhyuk has a suitable basketball partner; a lot of kids here can't play with him." Eunwoo said.

"Because he's too good?" I smiled brightly and looked up at Eunwoo who frowned grumpily at me,

"He's a proud jerk."

"Eunwoo!" I scolded him and slapped his shoulder. He held his arm and pretended to be hurt,

"Oww Soohyun!" He whined, making me roll my eyes. The guy was so mature sometimes yet so childish another. I could feel him smiling at me when I turned away, almost as if he was happy for my attention even if it meant being slapped.

After practice the players were covered in sweat and dispersed to different seats of the bleachers.

"You were amazing Jangmin-ah!" I jumped a little with excitement; proud of him. He smiled at me, sweat dripping from his face. I handed him his water bottle, suddenly distracted with the guy sitting not far away. Minhyuk and some other students were sitting together, hydrating after the game. My eyes were only on the one. It was mesmerizing to watch his throat ripple as the water poured into his mouth. Why did Park Minhyuk look so attractive while drinking? It was a mystery.

"Hey are you even listening?" Eunwoo waved his hand in front of my face and I turned back quickly, catching a smirk from my brother. It meant he'd noticed my observation of Minhyuk. He looked like a mess though. His hair was everywhere, exhaustion plainly written all over his face. Eunwoo passed him a towel and he dried his hair with a sigh,

"I think I need to visit the nurse after this. You two can head to lunch."

"The nurse?" Concern edged my voice as I examined my brother. He nodded,

"I have a headache. I'll meet up with you then."

"Try not to disappear again." Eunwoo joked and Jangmin smiled, wrapping the towel around his neck and standing up.

"I won't. See you then." He ruffled my hair with his hand, smirking.

"Hey you punk!" I pushed his arm away and glared at him, but felt a smile returning to my face. I could never be angry at him.

-------

"Hey friends!" MJ smacked his tray of food on the table with a loud crash and slid into a seat across from me, a big smile on his face.

I felt my jaw drop as his two friends followed, finding seats at our table. Why were they here?Moonbin gave the four of us a shy smile and sat next to MJ. I saw Baeksoon gaping at him as if he'd grown two heads. The blood was already rushing to my face as I saw Rocky sit down next to Eunwoo. Something flashed between them, behind the respectful nod and small greeting. Something definitely short of friendly. I met MJ's eyes, trying to communicate through my eyes. This was his plan, right? He winked, making me look away suddenly; awe turning immediately to disgust.

"Do you need something?" Eunwoo's tone was guarded and unfriendly as he examined his rival. I shoved him with my knee under the table, trying to give him the hint to be nice.

"MJ suggested we sit over here. Is that such a problem?" It was one of the rare moments Minhyuk spoke. His voice was smooth and attractive, making me excited with every word he said. Eunwoo looked away, a sour expression on his face. I knew he wasn't happy with the new additions to the table.

"Is Jangmin okay?" Moonbin was looking at me, worry written in his soft eyes. I nodded, suddenly feeling worried at the empty space beside me. Jangmin was at the nurse again, this time because of headaches. It bothered me that he was keeping secrets from me about his wounds and disappearing the other day. But at least he seemed alright.

An awkward silence followed, leaving me to pick at my food quietly. The only sound was the other students chatting and the loud slurping of Sanha enjoying his ramen. MJ was, not surprisingly, the first the break the tension,

"Minhyuk, have you met Soohyun yet?" He nudged the younger student with that stupid grin on his face. I looked up and met Rocky's eyes; feeling my cheeks warm. Minhyuk nodded,

"We ran into each other before."

I suddenly wanted to shrink away as the memory of tripping on the door and Minhyuk catching me flashed in my mind again. I was so embarrassed I wanted to disappear. I looked down at my food, too ashamed to even eat anymore. MJ laughed,

"Rocky said you nearly fell into him walking out of his class. Isn't she the clumsy girl you told me about?" His words made me burn with anger. MJ was such a jerk. I hated the deal I'd made with him, was he trying to embarrass me like this? Also, did Minhyuk really call me clumsy? I wanted to slap myself.

"Hey Soohyun isn't clumsy! And I don't think she enjoys you talking about this." I could almost imagine Eunwoo's glare as he spoke. I looked up, fighting back the urge to throw my chopsticks at Myungjun.

"It's fine. I'm glad I got to meet everyone here."

"So you're Moonbin, right?" Sanha changed the subject as he paused from slurping his noodles to look up at the guy across from him. Moonbin smiled cutely and gave him a nod,

"Minhyuk and I are in class 32, but MJ tells me you're Sanha."

Sanha's face lit up happily,"Yup! And this is Baeksoon, if you two haven't already met."

I watched as Moonbin and Baeksoon smiled at each other. Both were blushing.

"I'm here." A rush of relief flooded me as Jangmin found his seat beside me, looking surprised at the new people at the table. He glanced at me for a second with a questioning look. I was glad to see he was looking better. The bruises on his face looked like they were healing.

"What's with the new company?" He looked around the table, curious eyes resting on the three new guys.

"MJ decided he wanted to bring his friends over. He also decided to let this punk come along." Eunwoo tipped his head towards Minhyuk sitting beside him. I shoved Eunwoo's leg again in frustration.

"Do you have something against me?" Minhyuk narrowed his eyes at Eunwoo and the rest of the table fell into silence as both guys glared lasers at each other.

"I didn't ask for your company." Eunwoo said. Rocky turned away,

"Well I didn't ask for yours either, but I didn't think you'd be such a jerk about it."

"You--!" Slamming his hands on the table, Eunwoo jumped to his feet, looking as if he were about to punch Minhyuk straight in the face. Everyone in the cafeteria turned in surprise to look at us. I grabbed Eunwoo's arm desperately to stop him, already embarrassed. MJ laughed awkwardly,

"Hey, let's not get too wound up. We're only eating lunch; right?" He met my eyes as I sat Eunwoo down and both of us knew.

This wasn't going to work.