Chapter Text
Sigh. Life is hard.
To be honest, Hyunjin's life wasn't terrible. Actually, it was pretty good in the grand scheme of things. He had friends, a loving family, and he was captain of the schools quidditch team, so, really, it could be much worse- yet, still, this was the phrase he chose to repeat to himself as he mournfully hit his head against the table, over and over again.
Du. Du. Du. Du. Du. Du.
"Hyunjin, I swear to Merlin, if you keep doing that you're not going to have a single braincell left for the match today."
Ah, yes. The match today. At Minho's harsh reminder, Hyunjin groaned. Always one for the dramatics, he held the note for an awkwardly long time, garnering the attention of his fellow quidditch team.
"What are you moaning about this time?" one of Ravenclaw's chasers questioned, clearly used to his antics by now.
"Do you even need to ask at this point?" Minho cut in again, looking back to Hyunjin so he could roll his eyes at his best friend. "It's clearly about Seungmin."
At the name, Hyunjin flung his arms in the air before flopping back to the table and knocking over one or two mugs of coffee. Fortunately, they had magic, so Hyunjin didn't spoil anyones morning. Well, spoil anyones morning too badly, at least.
"I don't understand why you think he hates you so much- he doesn't. Like, at all."
Hyunjin glared at everyone that made noises of agreement.
"He clearly does. You haven't heard some of the stuff he says to me on the quidditch field! His wizard insults are so mean," He pouted.
"Yeah, like what?"
"He said I was more annoying than Moaning Myrtle! Moaning Myrtle, Minho!" Hyunjin wailed, rather ironically.
Minho gave him a long blink.
"Wow, what a soul-cutting remark. I wonder why he said that," he responded dryly.
"I know, right?" Hyunjin agreed, not catching onto Minho's sarcasm. The rest of the quidditch team did, though, and their sniggers prompted Hyunjin to resume banging his head on the table.
"Stop using my misery for your entertainment," He said, each word punctuated by another thump. He then shot up again, remembering something else and startling everyone around him.
"And, you know what he says to me every time he wins? 'Better luck next time'. Do you know how annoying that is?" He scoffed.
The quidditch team only stared at him, all in varying states of confusion. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Hyunjin nodded defiantly. "Yeah, he hates me," he finished, before throwing his head back to the table, narrowly avoiding a plate full of food.
He sighed.
Life is hard.
° • * . ☆ .° . ° •*
Hyunjin hadn't always dreaded quidditch matches with the Slytherins. To be frank, he had actually really enjoyed them, always up for the challenge they would bring to the field. It was in their blood- Slytherins were cunning, Ravenclaws were incredibly intelligent, they were all practically born for strategising, for quick thinking that could end up being the decider of a match. It was so interesting to see what they would come up with, the different ways they would try to bring down their opposition. Hyunjin's matches with the Slytherins had always excited him, given him that adrenaline rush that every quidditch player craved.
That was, until, Kim Seungmin took over as the Slytherin seeker.
Hyunjin didn't have anything against Seungmin- in fact, it was quite the opposite. He had always found the boy adorable; Seungmin bore slight resemblance to a puppy, so it would have been hard for Hyunjin to not think he was cute. However, after playing against Seungmin in a quidditch match, what Hyunjin felt towards Seungmin was less of 'wow, he's cute', and more of 'Merlin, he's hot'.
When Hyunjin played his first match against Seungmin, he had made the worst rookie mistake any sportsman could possibly make; He had underestimated his opponent.
Don't get me wrong, Hyunjin was really, really good at seeking. He had a keen eye, and was amazing on a broom, especially for someone that didn't grow up using one. As much as this made him one of the better players at Hogwarts, it was also the cause of his downfall. Hyunjin was good, and he knew it, which led to him being quite cocky at times- or rather, cocky at the wrong times.
When Hyunjin faced his new rival for the first time, his initial thought had been that someone so cute couldn't possibly pose a threat. He smirked at Seungmin, internally snickered at what an easy match this was going to be-
Then proceeded to practically let Seungmin completely wipe the floor with him. Hyunjin may have been talented, but he wasn't invincible.
As a very smug Seungmin and a very shocked Hyunjin both landed back on hard ground, Seungmin had uttered those fateful words to Hyunjin- 'better luck next time, Hwang,'- then ran off to go and celebrate his win with his team.
Hyunjin left the field that day with a number of realisations. The first was that Kim Seungmin was not to be underestimated. The second was that Seungmin must hate him- Hyunjin had practically mocked him before they even started, so he was sure Seungmin must feel some kind of animosity towards him- although, rightfully so.
And the third?
Hyunjin had a crush.
Considering his second realisation, Hyunjin knew Seungmin was probably the last person he should have a crush on, but it's not like he could control his feelings. As established beforehand, Hyunjin had already found Seungmin cute, but when Seungmin was on the playing field he became dangerous, and suddenly all his soft features morphed into something else. His face had darkened, and his eyes became hooded as he scanned for the snitch- Seungmin was quite honestly gorgeous, and Hyunjin couldn't get the boy out of his head.
Hyunjin hadn't underestimated Seungmin after that, but it was still difficult to beat the fellow seeker. Maybe it had something to do with the way Hyunjin constantly found himself distracted; he tried his best to focus on the game, yet he still found his attention slipping every once in a while to catch a glimpse of Seungmin, wind in his hair and jaw clenched in a way that made his features look even sharper. 'Merlin', Hyunjin would think, 'I'm whipped.'
Quidditch games were Hyunjin's only chance to interact with Seungmin. In any other situation Hyunjin would be glad for the time to talk, however the situation was that they were rivals, and words between them were quite often unkind. Due to this, Hyunjin found it difficult to enjoy the Slytherin/Ravenclaw games as much as he used to, as all they did was serve him a cruel reminder of his unrequited feelings.
But now wasn't the time to think about said feelings. Hyunjin forced his expression into a scowl as he locked eyes with Seungmin, the both of them crossing the field to shake hands. It was standard- shaking hands before a match- and Hyunjin couldn't say he hated the tradition, considering it meant he got to hold Seungmin's hand for one or two seconds.
Hyunjin shook himself as that thought flitted across his mind- Merlin, he really was in too deep.
The exhilaration of taking flight was something that Hyunjin would always love. There was something about the breeze that made him feel at home, confident even- the cool air on his face relaxed him, reminded him that he was in a familiar position, he was good at this, he could do this.
"May the best man win, Hwang," Seungmin smirked, flying in circles around Hyunjin with minimum effort. Hyunjin matched his expression, turning to lock eyes with him.
"May the best man win," he comfirmed.
And then they were off.
A few minutes into the game, and the scores were looking even. Both teams started off struggling to score goals, but that's not a problem in quidditch- if the scores are equal, the snitch will be an easy decider as to which team should win, so Hyunjin wasn't worried. He just watched, waiting for the snitch to enter his vision.
But then, things changed for the worse.
The Slytherin team seemed to have come up with a particularly clever tactic- it was common to have the beaters defending the chasers, not taking notice of which way they were sending the bludgers, but the Slytherin beaters were instead focused on taking out as many Ravenclaws as possible. The chasers had changed their formation- it was confusing, and the Ravenclaw team couldn't quite figure out what they were doing, which meant they couldn't predict the Slytherins next moves. This meant that, despite the lack of defense from their own beaters, the beaters on Hyunjin's team weren't able to disrupt their course. Seungmin was weaving in and out, looking for the snitch as well as trying to get in the way of the opposition. The numerous distractions did slow Hyunjin's team down a little, but not nearly enough to be a huge problem. Hyunjin's team was, of course, equally as capable.
No, it seemed that the Slytherins had a secret weapon this time- their new keeper was ruthless. She had been introduced at the start of the game, though Hyunjin had been far too distracted to completely catch her name- Hyejoo, maybe?- but Hyunjin was beginning to realise he should have payed closer attention because she wasn't letting anything through.
The game soon tipped in Slytherins favour, rather drastically, too. Hyunjin knew he didn't have much time to catch the snitch before it couldn't help them at all.
And then, he spotted it- a glint of gold in the corner of his vision, fluttering and darting about manically. He was so close, he only had to move a little more-
Slytherin scored another goal.
Hyunjin cursed under his breath- if he caught the snitch now, Ravenclaw would lose by ten points. Hyunjin made a mental note to be merciless at their next practice, they would need it if they wanted to catch up to Slytherins level.
However, that was a problem for later, Hyunjin had to focus now.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Seungmin zooming towards him- Hyunjin had been going for the snitch afterall, Seungmin must have caught on.
He had to cause a distraction, and fast; taking a deep, shaky breath, Hyunjin dived.
Fortunately, Seungmin followed. Hyunjin reached his arm in front of him, acting as if it was just within his reach. He knew his team were now frantic, pushing extra hard to get the goals they needed before he caught the snitch.
Then, he heard what he was listening for- Ravenclaw scored a goal. The ground was getting closer now, and Hyunjin knew if he waited any longer he wouldn't make the manoeuvre.
Within seconds, Hyunjin redirecting his broom, pulling up at the very last second and shooting towards the sky. Seungmin tried to do the same, but he was too late- Hyunjin winced as the end of Seungmin's broom caught the ground, throwing him off and sending him tumbling.
Hyunjin would be lying if he said it hadn't taken everything in him to not go and see if the Slytherin was okay.
The yells of joy from the rest of his team brought him back to the game, just in time too- the Slytherin keeper's attention had faltered briefly out of concern for her teammate, allowing Minho to slip in a final goal, ensuring they would win. Even better, Hyunjin knew exactly where the snitch was.
The Ravenclaw breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Seungmin getting back onto his broom, grateful the boy was okay but also glad that there was no way he could reach Hyunjin in time. No, the snitch was right in front of him now, there was no stopping him.
Ravenclaw won.
Hyunjin barely managed to set his feet on solid ground before he was snatched up into a group hug, cheering and whooping with everyone else. He knew everyones hearts were beating just as hard as his was, as they almost hadn't made it. He felt estatic as he heard the applause and yells of congratulations from all around him, knowing that it was his team they were all applauding for. The feeling would never stop being exhilarating.
They had been halfway through their team cheer when the Slytherin team dejectedly trudged past, thumping eachother on the backs in a way that was supposed to be comforting, to say 'we did a good job, despite the outcome'. Hyunjin, admittedly, went through their cheer a little faster than usual, desperate to get Seungmin's attention before he disappeared off the pitch.
It didn't take long- Hyunjin was surprised to find Seungmin already gazing at him, a hint of a smile on his face. He opened his mouth, ready to return the words Seungmin recited every time he lost- 'better luck next time,'- though the words died on his tongue as Seungmin beat him to it.
'Well done,' Seungmin mouthed, a genuine grin on his face.
Well done? Had Hyunjin seen that right? He was sure that was what Seungmin had said, but why? Was it meant to be patronising?
In a sudden rush of bravery (he blamed it on the leftover adrenaline from the game) Hyunjin broke off from his team to approach the Slytherin. He was about halfway through the small distance when he realised what he was doing, but by then it was too late to turn around- Seungmin was standing there waiting, bemusement written on his features. Hyunjin was reminded of why he found Seungmin so cute.
"Are- Are you okay?" Hyunjin asked once he was stood in front of his crush, cringing at his less-than-eloquent stutter.
"Huh?" Seungmin replied equally as intelligently, and Hyunjin wasn't sure whether to be glad that Seungmin was just as well spoken as he was, or to slap himself for his stupid question.
"Well, you fell off your broom and I felt bad, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I guess," He mumbled, looking at the ground near Seungmin's feet and rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.
He looked up just in time to see a dimpled smile gracing Seungmin's features once again- Hyunjin would have quite liked to begin poking his cheeks right then and there. Fortunately, he was able to refrain from making an absolute fool out of himself, and remained still.
"Oh, yeah, I'm quite alright, thank you," Seungmin replied, then added thoughtfully, "That was a really clever move back there, It's amazing that you pulled it off!"
Scratch that, Hyunjin was absolutely making a fool out of himself. He gaped in a manner similar to a fish out of water, not quite registering the information. Seungmin thought he was clever? Seungmin was impressed by him? Hyunjin, quite clearly, did not know how to deal with this revelation.
Seungmin giggled at Hyunjin's astonishment before laying a hand on his shoulder. It was supposed to be a soothing gesture, but to Hyunjin it was anything but. He desperately hoped that Seungmin couldn't tell how nervous he was, though that was probably wishful thinking.
"You win this time then, Hyunjin, but you better be careful next match- you can't trick me a second time,"
Seungmin winked at Hyunjin with a playful smirk before bouncing away, skipping right up to his team and throwing his arms around two chasers. Hyunjin was left staring at his back, still trying to process everything that just happened. Due to his focused attention, he failed to notice the rest of his team gathering around him once again, causing him to shriek in a very embarrassing manner when they spoke up.
"Merlin, could you be anymore obvious, Jin?"
"Shut up, Minho," he muttered, before being swept back into the ongoing celebration.
It wasn't until much later that Hyunjin finally remembered something unusual- Seungmin had called him by his first name.