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Summer isn't his favorite season, but it's the best season because there's beach volleyball. Mark is no stranger to the beach, L.A. born and raised. Even after moving to Busan that hadn't changed. Today, the sun beams hot but shuttered behind shifting clouds, wind a gentle breeze. It's a good day to play ball.
The hosts don't fail to mention that either. Mark can hear their voices booming across the grounds as he changes into his uniform, red tank-top and red shorts cut high on his thigh.
“We’re in for a real treat today, everyone!” The voice rings out. Mark smiles. Of course. Jaebeom wouldn’t miss this for anything. “Representing the Red Sparrows, we have world-famous Mark Tuan and our own Kim Yugyeom on the court with us today. Mark’s been steadily climbing up the ranks ever since high school, and Yugyeom made a big splash during his university debut. The Gentle Giant , they called him.”
“Not only that,” another voice chimes in, “playing for the Blue Suns, we have Jinhae-born-and-raised Park Jinyoung with us as well!”
Mark steps out of the changing tent, feeling the sand between his toes, and the breeze ruffling his hair. The sun is warm against his skin; he feels energized, ready. He takes in a breath of fresh sea air.
“Right you are, Youngjae,” Jaebeom says, and Mark gags at the overly gross fondness in Jaebeom’s voice.
“Jinyoung’s partner, Kim Wonpil, is also joining us,” Youngjae continues. “They’ve been playing indoor volleyball together since middle school but took on beach volleyball starting from university. Jinyoung’s famous for his accurate sets and Wonpil’s an outside hitter with many tricks up his sleeve...it’s going to be an exciting match. I can’t wait!”
Mark jogs over to the workout area marked off by rope fences in front of the changing tents. He starts stretching his arms, one over the other. Yugyeom had texted him earlier to go ahead and start without him.
“Ready to get crushed today?”
Mark pauses stretching, opens his eyes, and smirks. “You sure about that?” he bites back before continuing stretching.
“I know it,” they say. “Get ready to eat sand.”
Mark laughs, big and unfiltered. “Sounds kinky, Jinyoung,” he says. “You sure you don’t mean something else?” He scales his eyes up and down the other’s body. Jinyoung’s got compression leggings under his shorts today. Mark groans. The outline of Jinyoung’s legs underneath the silky-looking material makes him weak.
Jinyoung smirks like he knows. “Like what you see?” He crosses his arms over his chest, and Mark gulps. Jinyoung’s smirk only gets bigger. “Good luck on the court today.” He holds up a hand and waves, turning back and walking away from Mark. “You’ll need it!”
Mark watches Jinyoung walk away and tries not to think of the outline of Jinyoung’s legs or the curve of his ass. He tips his head back and groans. “That fucker,” he sighs. “Why’s his ass so nice.”
☀️🏐🏐🏐🏐🏐☀️
Yugyeom flounces over to Mark twenty minutes later, meeting him in the team-designated area next to the official court.
“Hi hyung,” he greets. “Sorry I’m late. Took the wrong pair of shorts and had to go all the way back to get them.”
“No problem. Did you remember to stretch too?” Mark asks, bouncing a ball off his arms.
“Yep!” Yugyeom smiles. “Even did a little spiking warm-up on the way here!”
“That’s good. But don’t forget we’ve got to save our energy for today.”
“Yeah, I know...we’re playing Jinyoung-hyung and Wonpil-hyung after all.”
They glance to the other side of the court where the two men are warming up, tossing the ball between themselves. Mark heads over to his and Yugyeom's side of the court to practice, too. They bump the ball back and forth to each other. But Yugyeom angles his arms a little too weirdly and the ball flies over the net to the other side.
“Sorry!” Yugyeom calls out.
Mark goes over to the net to ask Jinyoung for the ball back and holds back a laugh at Jinyoung not-so-blatantly running his eyes over Mark’s bare arms. Mark flexes a little when he holds out his hand for the ball and delights in Jinyoung’s tiny scoff.
“Thanks, babe.” Mark winks and jogs back to Yugyeom, laughing when he hears Jinyoung’s annoyed growling behind him.
The whistle blows five minutes later. It’s time.
“Okay folks, that’s the whistle. It’s time for what we’ve all been waiting for...the Red Sparrows versus the Blue Suns game will now begin!”
Both teams line up at the net, bow first to the referees and the audience, and then to each other. Yugyeom and Wonpil step back and leave Mark and Jinyoung at the net. They shake hands, and Mark revels in the warmth of Jinyoung’s hand, the slight squeeze and the caress of his finger under Mark’s wrist.
“First, the coin toss to determine which team will go first.” Mark and Jinyoung let their hands go. “We have Mark Tuan as acting captain of the Red Sparrows and Park Jinyoung as captain of the Blue Suns.”
Jinyoung calls heads and they watch as the coin spins in the air. Jinyoung wins the coin toss and opts for the Blue Suns to go first. The referee blows the whistle and each team takes to their respective courts. Jinyoung stands behind the server line and spins the ball in his hands.
Mark crouches low in the back of his side of the court. Jinyoung’s serves are deep, fast, and pinpoint accurate. The whistle blows again. Jinyoung throws the ball up, and the game begins.
☀️🏐🏐🏐🏐🏐☀️
“Damn it!” Mark curses as the ball just grazes the line and is deemed in. He looks back to Jinyoung, who’s grinning wide, eyes wild.
“And Park Jinyoung has just scored a no-touch service ace! The Blue Suns win the first set, 21 to 19! Now the two teams will switch sides.”
Jinyoung and Wonpil high-ten each other, slapping each other on the back after.
“Ugh...Jinyoung-hyung’s serves are even more awful than usual today." Yugyeom groans. "This is your fault.”
“My fault? How is it my fault?” Mark asks, clenching and unclenching his fists, stretching out his fingers.
“He always does better when you’re his opponent.” Yugyeom rolls his eyes.
Mark can’t do anything but give a sheepish grin. The whistle blows and he and Yugyeom go to switch courts with Wonpil and Jinyoung. Jinyoung slides his fingertips down Mark’s arm when they pass by each other and Mark feels goosebumps rise.
“I'll crush you,” Jinyoung smirks.
Mark lets out a deep breath. “We"ll see.” He fixes Jinyoung with a stare, pleased when Jinyoung’s eyes turn darker. He jogs off to behind the server line, catching the ball from a ball boy. The whistle blows. Mark spins the ball in his hands.
“Mark-hyung, let’s get it!” Yugyeom yells.
Mark tosses the ball into the air, jumps, and slams it down on the other side of the court. Wonpil manages to get under it but his angle is wrong and the ball spins off to the side. Jinyoung tsks.
“Wow, and that’s the first point of set two to the Red Sparrows!” Jaebeom announces. “Mark’s jump serve is already incredible, but he put an extra spin on the ball and it bounced right off Wonpil’s arms!”
“What is it they say, an eye for an eye?" Youngjae laughs. "It’s Mark’s serve again.” Mark catches another ball from a ball boy, bouncing it off the sand. “Let’s see how the Blue Suns will handle it this time.”
Set two goes fast; Jinyoung and Wonpil don’t want this to go on to a third set, and Mark and Yugyeom try everything they can to get it.
Now it’s Yugyeom's turn to serve. If Mark and Yugyeom can get two consecutive points, they take set two and the game goes on to set three. The pressure is immense.
“Yugyeom-ah, nice serve!” Mark yells, hands behind his head.
The whistle blows, and Yugyeom throws the ball up in the air.
“Right after the whistle?!” Wonpil yells.
“Stay calm!” Jinyoung yells back, but his hands are twitching.
Yugyeom slams it down but it catches the net. Everyone runs up to try to save it, but the sand traps their feet, and their footsteps are heavy. It tips down toward the Blue Suns’ court, and Wonpil dives for it.
He misses by just a hair, and the ball rolls across the sand.
“Ooh, how unlucky for the Blue Suns but extremely lucky for the Red Sparrows,” Youngjae says. “I think we were all holding our breath for that one.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Youngjae. Now, the Red Sparrows are just one point away from taking set two...will they get it? Or will the Blue Suns take back the lead and the game?”
“No one knows for sure...doesn't that make volleyball so exciting, everyone?”
“Augh!” Wonpil pulls at his hair. “I could’ve gotten that one.”
Jinyoung pats him on the back. “You did your best. No one can predict a net ball.”
Wonpil sighs. “You’re right. Let’s get the next point and take back our lead!”
It’s Yugyeom’s serve again and the ball goes over cleanly. Wonpil receives it, and Jinyoung follows it with his eyes, waiting for it to drop so he can set.
It falls right into his hands. “Wonpil!”
Wonpil jumps up to spike it straight down the middle, but Mark and Yugyeom are there, their arms stretched out in front of him. Wonpil squints and changes his course to a cross-spike at the last second. But Mark reads him. Mark shifts his hands and the ball bounces off them, landing neatly on the Blue Suns’ court.
“And the Sparrows have taken set two with a block point! The sets are at one each, and whoever wins the next set wins the game! What an amazing turn of events! It’s anyone’s game now!”
“Yeeeeees!” Yugyeom screams, picking up Mark. “Third set, third set!”
“Looks like we’re not in the clear yet,” Jinyoung pants, bent over with his hands on his knees.
“Ugh,” Wonpil groans. “Thought I had that one. Your setting was perfect, too.”
Jinyoung rights himself. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back. “I know,” he sighs. “It felt like a good one.”
“No offense, but your boyfriend is annoying. Can he not be so good?”
Jinyoung bursts out in laughter. “All the more reason to beat him, right?”
Mark laughs and finds his footing again when Yugyeom sets him down. The momentum is in their favor. They just need to ride the high of winning the second set and take the third and final set to win the match.
“Folks, who would have thought we’d get to this point? With the odds against them, after a daring win in the second set, if the Red Sparrows get this point, they win not only the match but the gold trophy!”
The whistle blows again, and the court becomes hushed. It’s Jinyoung’s turn to serve now.
“Set three, let’s go!” Wonpil yells.
Jinyoung tosses the ball up and slams it down.
☀️🏐🏐🏐🏐🏐☀️
“Esteemed volleyball patrons," Jaebeom begins, "we’re deep into the third set now. Yugyeom won the last point for the Red Sparrows with a beautiful line shot, bringing the score to 15-15 in the Red Sparrows' favor. Whichever team gets the two point lead first will win the game."
“Unfortunately for them,” Youngjae begins, “it’s once again Jinyoung’s turn to serve. His serves have been especially strong today, having scored several service aces in set one and two.”
“But this is volleyball. And we never know what’ll happen until the last ball drops!”
Jinyoung sends the ball over, and the rally begins.
They go back and forth, neither side willing to give up the point. Jinyoung goes in for a spike and Mark jumps up to stop it. But Jinyoung knows him.
Jinyoung changes to a feint, and the ball floats lightly over Mark's fingers.
The ball drops in front of Yugyeom, but his feet are too deep in the sand to react. "Nooo!"
Mark grunts and sweeps his leg out, kicking the ball up by the heel of his foot.
"Yugyeom!" Mark yells. He falls onto the sand, scrambling to get back up.
Yugyeom finds his footing, runs up, and sets the ball into the air. "Mark-hyung! Last one's yours!"
Mark's back on his feet; he runs, jumps for the ball, and spikes it right between Jinyoung and Wonpil. Jinyoung gapes, awed, annoyed.
"Yes!” Mark grins and clenches his fist. “Did you forget?" Mark calls from across the net. "L.A. isn't the only place where I learned how to play!"
Jinyoung shoots him a dirty look. How could Jinyoung forget? Mark had spent a few childhood years in Brasil. They're nuts about volleyball, beach volleyball, and futevôlei there. Mark throws up a peace sign at Jinyoung before turning and high-fiving Yugyeom.
"Everyone knows they’re rivals on the court,” Youngjae says, giggling, “but it's a well-known fact that Mark and Jinyoung have been romantically involved for some time now.” Youngjae’s smile is evident even through his voice. “Doesn't that make this match even more fun?"
"Now the Red Sparrows are at match point. If they win this, the game is over!"
Jinyoung narrows his eyes and scowls at Mark. Mark grins and blows Jinyoung a kiss, tossing the ball to Yugyeom for the next serve.
Jinyoung receives it, but it goes long and over the net.
"Chance ball!" Yugyeom bumps it into the air.
Mark goes in for a powerful spike, but Jinyoung and Wonpil's arms pop up in front of him, and Mark tsks. He hits the ball lightly instead, and it rebounds off their arms.
Yugyeom dives to save it. “Mark-hyung!”
It’s a clean receive and high in the air. Perfect.
Jinyoung notices too. He rushes to the left where Mark is waiting to spike again, Wonpil at Jinyoung's side.
“Yugyeom!”
Mark twists his body around, leans back, afloat in the air, and sets the ball back toward Yugyeom. Yugyeom spikes it smack down into the empty side of the court.
“God damn it ,” Jinyoung groans. He falls over onto the sand, arm over his eyes, and grin wide.
“AND THAT’S MATCH POINT!" Jaebeom screams through the mic, getting to his feet. "A total of three sets, final set 17 to 15 points to the winner: the Red Sparrows! What a play by Mark, making it look like he was going to spike but switching at the last second into a mid-air toss! What skill!”
“YEAAAAAH!!” Mark and Yugyeom bellow out in victory, slapping their hands in a high-five.
Mark whirls around and looks across the net, giggles at the furrow in Jinyoung’s brow. He knows Jinyoung’s setter pride is hurt. Mark offers his hand and Jinyoung takes it, pulling himself up. Mark taps Jinyoung on the back and removes his hand just as fast, calling Yugyeom so they can shake hands with their opponents. Mark and Jinyoung clasp their hands together for a second then move on. Jinyoung sticks out a hand to shake Yugyeom’s, the other ruffling his hair. Mark shakes both of Wonpil’s hands and claps him on the shoulder for a job well done.
The four of them turn and face the referees, bowing to them first. Next, the audience, at all the people who came to cheer them on. Mark looks up at the commentator’s box behind the audience stands, waving at Jaebeom, who gives them a two-finger salute, and Youngae, who waves wildly back with both hands. Then they head to the stage to receive their trophy.
“Many congratulations to the Red Sparrows on their win today. Mark Tuan, Kim Yugyeom, this gold trophy is rightfully yours. Congratulations again.” An official hands them the trophy and they hold it up together for photos, Jinyoung and Wonpil clapping off to the side. “A word to the audience and everyone else watching?”
Mark takes the proffered mic. "First of all, thank you to the league, the officials, and everyone who made this possible. Thank you, too, to the audience for always coming out to support us. We hope you can continue to love us and volleyball. Thank you." He and Yugyeom bow again and go down the stage steps.
After a bow and a round of applause from the audience, Jinyoung and Wonpil follow them to the workout area.
“Can’t forget post-match stretches!” Yugyeom beams. “Good game today, by the way,” he says to Jinyoung and Wonpil.
Jinyoung huffs but smiles. “Yeah. Good game, Yugyeom.” He reaches up to ruffle Yugyeom’s hair again, who whines and tries to push him off. Jinyoung side-eyes Mark, looking him up and down. “You too, Mark. Good game.”
Yugyeom pretends to gag and flops onto the rubber mats. “Ugh, we just finished a game. Can you not?”
Jinyoung looms over him, sticking out his tongue. Wonpil intervenes before they start outright wrestling.
“Good game, guys!” He claps Mark and Yugyeom on the back. “Sad we lost but we’ll get you next time. Just you wait!” He flops next to Yugyeom on the mat, crossing one leg over the other. “Sucks that you guys can’t take home the trophy today though. But I guess it makes sense they wait to see who wins before inscribing their names onto the trophy.”
“Yeah, it does,” Yugyeom agrees. “But it’ll be cool to see our names on it when we go pick it up later!”
Mark and Jinyoung sit down as well, stretching their legs out and lining them up to make a diamond. They pull at each other’s hands and Jinyoung grabs onto Mark’s thighs to pull himself down even more. Mark hisses.
“Ah, ah! Jinyoung, you know my thighs are sore,” he whines.
“Sorry, babe.” Jinyoung says, eyes glinting when he looks into Mark’s eyes.
Wonpil leaves first when he's done stretching, saying he wants to shower as quickly as possible.
"It was fun today," he waves at them. "See you guys next time!"
Yugyeom follows shortly after. "I'll see you guys later?" He looks at Jinyoung while Mark is still on the floor stretching. Jinyoung nods.
"See ya, Yugyeom," Mark says, sitting up and waving him off. "I'll text you." Yugyeom nods and waves as he walks away.
Mark and Jinyoung get up to change, and Jinyoung smacks Mark on the butt before retreating into a stall, cackling the whole time. He finishes first, scrolling through his phone mindlessly while waiting for Mark. Mark comes out, red-short sleeve hoodie, black shorts, black cap, and towel around his neck. Jinyoung's suddenly blasted with a memory of a younger Mark, and he barks out a laugh at how Mark still looks the same.
"Something funny?" Mark asks.
"Your face," Jinyoung says, and pretends to stumble when Mark shoves him.
"It's the face of a winner. I can see why it's unfamiliar to you," Mark hmphs.
Jinyoung rolls his eyes, "yeah, yeah” and plants a kiss on Mark’s cheek. “Congrats again on winning. That last set was so good,” Jinyoung sighs. “Annoying, but good.”
"Thank you, baby." Mark giggles and kisses him back.
“Bambam texted me earlier,” Jinyoung says, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. “He wants to meet up and get dinner with everyone since we’re all done now.”
“Jackson too?”
Jinyoung nods. “I think Jackson’s gonna get there a little after us since his fencing practice just finished.”
“Okay, sounds good.” Mark hoists his bag onto his shoulder and sticks his hand out. “Wanna go drop off our stuff, shower, and then head to the restaurant?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Jinyoung squeezes their hands together, and they stroll alongside the beach on the way to their shared apartment. Mark rattles off about the other matches from today, and Jinyoung nods and hums when appropriate, rubbing his thumb over the curve of Mark’s hand.
When they're clean and dressed, they meet up with the others at their favorite casual dine-in spot with the great crab cakes. They’re escorted to a private room in the back and Jinyoung can already hear their yells as he and Mark approach. When they slide the door open, balloons, flowers, and a cake greet them.
“Congratulations!!” Yugyeom and Bambam pop party poppers over their heads, and the other members laugh and pull them into the room.
Youngjae orders a round of drinks for everyone after Mark and Jinyoung settle in. They lean against each other, Jinyoung pillowing himself on Mark’s shoulder.
“You should’ve seen them,” Youngjae says. “They were on fire today! I got so excited I almost forgot to commentate a few times!”
“They played really well today.” Jaebeom takes a swig from his beer. “Definitely worth coming down for.” He raises up his bottle at them.
“Hey, hey, hey!” Jackson crows as he slides the door open. “Getting started without me?” The night runs long, food and drink shared, and cake smashed into each other's faces.
☀️🏐🏐🏐🏐🏐☀️
Mark and Jinyoung stumble into the entryway of their apartment, unwilling to stop kissing each other.
“Stop,” Mark pulls away and laughs, “at least let me put away the champagne in the fridge first.” He heads to the kitchen, Jinyoung at his heels. Mark opens the fridge and places the bottle, a gift from their friends, inside. He turns back around and bumps into Jinyoung. “Hey,” he says. “Miss me that much?” Mark’s arms curl around Jinyoung’s waist, but Jinyoung stops him, a smile wide on his face.
Jinyoung drops to one knee and pulls out a velvet box from his pocket. He opens it up. The silver band twinkles in the dim light of the kitchen, reflecting moonlight.
“Mark Tuan…” Jinyoung starts.
Mark buries his face into his hands. “Oh my God,” he trembles, “oh my God, oh my God…” His ears turn bright red, and he trembles again when he tries to speak. “W-wait, Jinyoung, wait…”
“Mark Tuan...I love you.”
Mark starts giggling. He giggles as he puts his shaking hands down and reaches into his own pocket. “Jinyoung...Jinyoung, I love you too.” He gets down on one knee as well, takes out the box from his pocket, and shows off the sparkling silver band to Jinyoung.
Jinyoung laughs, booming and loud. “Oh my God ,” and he grabs at Mark and pulls him into a hug. They fall into each other, laughing, and tears spilling down their cheeks. Jinyoung grabs Mark’s face and kisses him, moving his mouth over Mark’s and conveying all of his love between their lips.
“Wait, wait, let's do this right,” Mark says as he stops to catch his breath, even as he’s bubbling with laughter and tears. Jinyoung wipes away the tears from Mark’s cheeks and dives back in, kissing each cheek lightly. He gets back on one knee.
“Mark Tuan,” he starts again, grin threatening to overtake his face.
“Park Jinyoung,” Mark replies in a wobbly voice.
They look each other in the eyes and their smiles grow ever bigger. Breaths pass between them and then
“Will you marry me?”
They laugh with wide eyes at them popping the question at the same time. “Yes! ” and “of course, you idiot, I love you ” fall from their lips and they fall into each other again. Mark’s arms wrap tightly around Jinyoung’s waist and Jinyoung’s arms go around Mark’s shoulders. Jinyoung hides his face in Mark’s neck as Mark kisses at his ear.
“God, I love you,” Mark says, breath tickling Jinyoung’s ear.
Jinyoung giggles, and it tickles Mark’s neck. “And I love you, my handsome gold-trophy winning volleyball beach boy.” Jinyoung’s fully seated in Mark’s lap, and Mark’s thighs are starting to get numb. But he wants to stay like this a little longer. He presses Jinyoung against him tighter.
Mark thinks about the summer he’s fallen in love with: the beach, the volleyball he plays during it, the gold he’s won today; he loves all of those things. But none of them even come close to how much he loves Park Jinyoung.