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Ah, I’m going to leave the roster if it ain’t getting any better. The thoughts of leaving has lingered a lot more than Seonghyeon could even imagine. He was stressed out, the ladder was not getting any higher. They kept on losing, and losing again; maybe taking the offer from other roster might be a better choice.
Talking to his head coach seemed hard, perhaps the downside for being too close with the head coach made him a little resistant to actually say he was going to end the contract by the end of this year. Well, it is making sense, anyway. Plus his agency told him there are several calls from other better position teams that want him to join. “Woobeom hyung, I think I need a word with—” the moment he entered his head coach’s room, he noticed another foreign presence there.
A face that somewhat awfully familiar yet unfamiliar for him, “Oh, here's our jungler UmTi, Um Seonghyeon.” Woobeom’s voice got inside his ears. The mentioned person blinked, twice, tauting his eyebrows together. “And, Morgan. Park Gitae, or Ruhan, now, right?” the guy that already starring at him nodded his head, smiling.
“Hello, nice to meet you.” He greeted, “Morgan, Park Ruhan. Previously in Hanhwa Esports, Top lane.” Ruhan pulled out his hand for a handshake. “Please take care of me well.”
Which Seonghyeon hesitatedly received the handshake, “UmTi, Um Seonghyeon. Nice to meet you too.” The greeting was pretty awkward, there were several questions inside his head like first, the name ‘Morgan’ itself is roaring all across the region saying he's a good top laner despite him being a rather new to pro. Has pretty smile and personality, really is humble and friendly.
Well, Seonghyeon agreed at most parts. He almost got starstruck by the moment he saw Ruhan turned his head to greet him, almost left his mouth hanging looking at the pretty boy. Second, he must know by now that Brion is not really doing that well, why did he move here? Betting on luck? Most probably.
The first week of training with Ruhan as their new top lane was rough, there were almost non synergy between all five of them that left Woobeom frustrated. That, included Seonghyeon. He got mad not only at the team synergy, but also at himself. At times, he knows he put the blame for himself for too much that he ended up swallowing all of the criticisms for him only. Instead of making the whole atmosphere worse, he got up and excused himself to go out for some fresh air.
He let his head hung low, bending his whole body to rest his head on his crossed arms on his thighs. He sighed deeply, thinking his mind out how to make the teamwork actually works. As the roster team members are changing, he knows for sure some adjustments need to be made. The players are all good, really. Individually aces their lanes. But the game is not an individual game, it is a team game. Thus it is obvious, they need to find the core issue that made the whole synergy messy and fix that up. “You know, you're not as bad as what people said.”
Seonghyeon could hear a voice right above him that made him lifted his head to take a look at who was talking. The sun was still shining bright behind the guy with a cream flannel jacket, radiating soft orange surrounding him. Am I dead or what? Why there's an angel right in front of me? “Or maybe it is just your default face that made people think that way? I don't know.” the person continued, taking his seat right next to Seonghyeon. “I can sit here, right?”
“You already are sitting there.” Ruhan chuckled at the flat remarks. By the edge of Seonghyeon’s eyes, he could see Ruhan leaning his back to the backrest of the park's bench. “Why are you here, though?” Seonghyeon slowly got back to the proper position, joining Ruhan to lean his back.
“To watch the sunset,” they fell into silence watching the sun got slowly disappearing. Ruhan got up suddenly, made a little jump to stand, “Do you want to buy ice cream? I want to buy one,” the November winter breeze might not be suitable for ice cream, their coach team might scold them for it.
Seonghyeon agreed anyway, standing up to tower almost one head above Ruhan as Ruhan led the way. Tightening his jacket at times and put his hands on the pockets to keep it warmer. He did jump a little, at times, making his hair bounced. “Careful on your way, Ruhan. You might trip.” Ruhan brushed it off with a giggle without looking at the older on his back.
At times, Seonghyeon could see Ruhan shivering due to the cold. Is the jacket too thin for him? Why did he even wear that jacket if he ended up feeling cold? Seonghyeon let out the hotpack he’s been holding inside his pants’s pocket since the time he stepped out the company. He walked a bit faster to match Ruhan’s pace, he was only walking two to three steps in front of him anyway and placed the hotpack on Ruhan’s cheek. “Here,” Ruhan looked up confusedly, “You look cold, the hotpack is still warm. Just got it out of the plastic like the moment I stepped out from the office.”
Ruhan grinned sheepishly, getting his hand on Seonghyeon that covered the hotpack. The short encounter between their hands before Seonghyeon let go of the hotpack did leave frictions all across his body, what is this even? It was just a mere brush! Yet the fact that Ruhan’s palm could not even cover all of Seonghyeon’s hand left him stunned; flustered. His ears felt warm despite the low temperature.
They continued walking side by side to the convenience store as silenced covering the whole five minutes walks, it was pretty comfortable anyway. Seonghyeon himself was feeling really tired to make a conversation, and Ruhan in anyhow understood it. “What do you want?” they stood by in front of the ice cream refrigerators. “Don’t buy the big one, it's winter you might catch a flu, Ruhan.”
“Then,” after giving it some thoughts, Ruhan opened the refrigerator to take one that can be split into two, “This would do?” Seonghyeon nodded and closed the refrigerator.
“Anything else you want to buy?” with his hand holding the ice cream, Ruhan hummed in another thoughts. Walking in front of Seonghyeon on the narrow alley of snacks, “Anything that warms you, perhaps.”
“You can warm me,” Ruhan jokingly answered, turning his head a little and showed off his neat row of teeth. Then went back to the front, leaving Seonghyeon stunned with one of his eyebrows raised. “Just kidding, do you want to have sweet potato? It looks delish.”
“Whatever you want,” despite Ruhan was the one who asked him to go buy ice cream, Seonghyeon ended up paying anyway. Said, it was a little welcoming gift or such.
Once they stepped out of the convinient store, Ruhan opened the ice cream and carefully split it into a perfect 50:50 then gave one to Seonghyeon. They walked back to the initial bench side by side with their mouth busy eating the ice cream.
It might look really weird to see someone digesting cold food in the middle of winter, but really, it was not that bad. It did not get to the point where they both shivers in and out despite the constant white smoke due to the temperature difference of their body and surrounding. The five minutes walk covered with silence, enjoying the ice cream with their other hands were inside the pockets. Suddenly, Ruhan’s phone vibrated. Turning their focus right on the device, “Woobeom hyung calls.”
“Just answer it,” Ruhan nodded, answering the phone on Seonghyeon’s side while both of them slowly sitting down on the bench. They talked briefly, anyway. Seonghyeon could catch some worries heard from Woobeom, he apologized in his heart for leaving his phone. Just a bit lucky for finding some cash inside his pocket so he could pay for their snacks. “Did he tell us to go back?”
Ruhan shook his head, shoving his phone back to his pocket. “No, the practice dismissed early today. Just don't get back too late, he said. He was worried that you couldn't be reached.”
“I left the phone at the practice room, I just remember.”
“No wonder,” they fell in another silence though the ice cream has finished. At night like this, Seonghyeon hopes he could see the stars brightly far on the sky. So he leaned his back, heads up and closed his eyes. It's been a rather rough week for him yet he knows it is not only him who felt this tired. He sighed, “Do you feel better?”
Seonghyeon hummed, he felt neither good or bad but definitely a lot better than before. He does not know whether it was because of Ruhan, or he just finally had the times and break that he needed; or even a combination of both. He suddenly felt warmth on his cheek, opening his eyes halfly to see Ruhan sit sideways. Crossing his legs on the bench while looking at him like a curious little child, holding the now a little colder sweet potato they bought. “We still have sweet potato,” Seonghyeon finally let out a chuckle, the first one of the day if he remembered correctly. “Do you want to eat it now?”
So he sit back up properly, following how Ruhan seated. Crossing his legs and sit right in front of Ruhan that their knees touched, watching how Ruhan carefully unwrapped the voil out of the sweet potato. “It's still pretty hot, careful to open the skin.” Ruhan nodded, yet still automatically retreated his fingers out of the sweet potato due to the sudden heat that creeped on the moment he tried to peal it.
Seonghyeon laughed at that instead, “I told you.” and took Ruhan’s hands away from the sweet potato as he watched how pout appeared on Ruhan’s lips. Seonghyeon really could not help but chucked, again, ruffling Ruhan’s hair so suddenly before taking turn at pealing the sweet potato and snatched it in a half. “Here, careful.”
He feels easy, with Ruhan he feels easy. At least for now, he found a reason to stay here.[]