Archive of Our Own

“This is once a year?”

Gi-hun sits in front of the television, head craned up in a slouch as his hands anxiously rub over his bent knees. You push the soban closer to Gi-hun with a soft grunt and glance back at the television to follow his line of sight.

You’re glad it hasn’t started yet. You still need to set down all the breakfast you made.

“Mhm,” You hum excitedly, quickly pushing yourself up to stand and grab for the plates. With a hard drop on the wood, you hand Gi-hun his utensils and move to grab a few more things to set up the table with. You’d purposefully made a wide variety breakfast to follow the traditional portion sizes of an average game day event. “And they have a special show in the middle.”

“Okay…” Gi-hun hadn’t been too enthused about the whole thing when you’d told him about it. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t disappoint you a little. The idea of there being an ‘end-all’ game of the season sounded fun only when you were explaining it to him. “You said it was how long?”

“Four hours.”

That’s what Gi-hun didn’t like.

It also didn’t help that it was eight-something in the morning on a Monday. Gi-hun sometimes didn’t wake up until eleven. When you had woken up to your alarm, he had practically caged you down with his limbs and whined obnoxiously about how it was too early to be up. Maybe for him, but you were too excited to partake in the festivities.

However, in an effort to get him excitable, you’d mentioned the prospect of being able to bet on a potential winner.

It’d been a long time since Gi-hun threw some money into anything so carelessly. You’d instantly regretted mentioning it at all. Bringing him back to his old ways was not something you really wanted to do. Plus, you had a feeling it would only rile up Gi-hun negatively if the game started off horribly.

“Sometimes they make come-backs in the second half,” You’d told him. “They can even go into overtime.”

“Overtime?”

You’d also forgotten Gi-hun didn’t grow up with American football. Nor did he care for sports at all. So you’d have to explain all the logistics in real-time.

You’d come back from your visit home the previous night to an extremely clingy Gi-hun. He’d asked you tons of questions and gotten excited over all the gifts you’d brought him back. Many kisses and embraces were shared. Not once did you leave his sight, nor his touch.

Gi-hun was also very adamant about calling and texting you, albeit slowly. But he’d send you many pictures out by himself doing things you’d typically do together. It was usually captioned with a ‘Wish you were here ♡’ or ‘When will you be home?’ even after you’d given him the same answer a thousand times. Though it took some getting used to, it felt nice to know that you were wanted. Reassurance for Gi-hun meant everything and who were you to deprive him of it?

You also tried not to be so obvious when it came to contacting Gi-hun. You refrained from mentioning him too much. He was only a friend you’d see a few times a week and no, he was not in his fifties.

A potential boyfriend?, your parents had excitedly asked?

You have no idea, you wanted to say.

It would have been nice to stay for the big event if classes didn’t start up the day of. The time zone was something you checked over constantly the days following up. Your sleep schedule was still something you needed to fix, anyway. How inconvenient was it that you both had to wake up early for this?

But not just Gi-hun’s money was on the line.

When you finally sit down to enjoy your meal beside him, Gi-him scoots in close and intertwines your arms together before pressing a kiss onto your cheek. You grin and press one back and exchange a brief peck on the lips.

The physical affection shared between you both had only grown the coming weeks before you’d left. When coming back, Gi-hun’s need to show his admiration for you only amplified. It was like he needed to remind you how much he missed your presence. You figure this is what happens when someone is so emotionally and physically deprived for several years. You’d learned to accept it.

Your eyes flit over to the time and you grab for the remote to turn it up. Gi-hun wastes no time digging into his food. You can’t help but be a little too nervous to eat as excitedly.

“So, how does this work?” Gi-hun asks around a mouthful of food.

“They’re about to flip a coin,” You start, heart thumping anxiously as the teams pick their call of the coin toss. “So now the game starts…” You murmur, utensils in hand but not one bite taken from the food.

“So they just have to make touch-downs, right?” Gi-hun swallows hard and grabs for some food to feed it to you himself. You open your mouth without much acknowledgment and nod. “Which team did we bet on again?”

“The one that didn’t play the last two Super Bowls.”

“What?!” Gi-hun exclaims, grabbing for your arm and giving you a small shake. You look at him with slight terror. It’s a little too late to run back your admission. “A losing team?!”

“They made it to the Super Bowl they’re not a losing team!” It’s a defensive answer. Either of them could win. “They have to beat all the other teams in the playoffs to even make it there!”

“But they have a lower chance!”

“That’s not—“ You huff and gently lay a hand on his shoulder. To ease his concerned expression you run your hand over the back of his head and gently rub. “It’s one game. Some American sports have playoffs best out of five or seven. The team that won the last two years isn’t guaranteed a winning spot. They could play real bad in this one.”

“But the odds—“

“How about we just watch, yeah? They just did the kick-off.”

With a murmur under his breath Gi-hun stuffs his face with more food. You chew and swallow quickly as the teams line up in their respective yardage, you lean into Gi-hun’s side to get his attention.

“You see how they’re set up?” Gi-hun hums. “So one team has a defensive line up and the other is offensive…” You lay a hand right over the back of his neck, excitement etched over your face as you point.

It’s a very vague idea of the lineups for the teams, but Gi-hun seems to be understanding it somewhat. There’d be no way for him to grasp what you’re talking about until he’s seen it all himself. So you refrain from over explaining anything to him in fear it’ll only make him more wired up.

“You see how they’re getting closer to the end zone?”

“That’s our team, right?”

“Mhm,” You plant a soft kiss onto the high of his cheek and Gi-hun shifts around excitedly. “Do you want me to tell you why there was a flag?”

“Flag…”

“Flag on the play.”

“What play?” Gi-hun’s eyes flicker between the television and you. “Like the game?”

It’s extremely endearing to see him this confused. You almost want to squeeze Gi-hun into a hug and affectionately coo at him. Instead, you explain the reasoning behind jumping over the line of scrimmage. Gi-hun hums and nods excitedly in understanding.

“They’re allowed to catch the ball from the other team?”

“That’s an interception, yes.”

Gi-hun furrows his brows, back resting against the couch as he crosses his arms. You can tell he’s getting sleepy again. Though it was obvious from the way his head had been hanging a bit from dozing off while sitting up. He was only resting his eyes, Gi-hun had said.

“But—that’s not cheating?”

“It was a bad throw. It’s the quarterback’s fault.”

“Quarterback…who’s the one that runs again?”

“Running back.”

You’re glad he seems to be understanding the general the concept of the game fairly quickly. Gi-hun knows when to cheer and always turns to you if he needs clarification on anything. It’s just the little things that seem to be throwing him off.

But within the first forty-five minutes, he’s not as enthused as before. He’s sitting there, empty plates stacked in front of you both as he watches with tired eyes. The yawning every few minutes doesn’t help.

To be fair, you’d been keeping him up all night because you couldn’t sleep yourself. Gi-hun’s sleep schedule wasn’t ever any better even before you had come back. He was always one to stay up until late hours of the night. Gi-hun was usually too excited to enjoy your company anyway, even if his eyes were falling heavy with sleep.

“Why don’t they just throw the ball? They keep running into the other team.” Gi-hun yawns, rubbing his eyes. You’re starting to feel like the sleepiness is rubbing off on you the way you’re lazily sat against the couch yourself.

“They’re doing it to avoid a bad throw or an interception. If the other team’s defense play is too good they won’t be able to get the yardage.”

“Okay…” You can tell he doesn’t understand from how apprehensive he sounds.

“The ten yards, remember?”

“Yes! Yes…” Gi-hun nods curtly, his bangs falling into his eyes. “The…rounds?”

“It’s for a first down. Out of four—”

“—First down! Yes.” Gi-hun remains silent for a while. You don’t have to look up to know he’s dozing off again.

You don’t blame him for his boredom, though. The game isn’t too exciting by any means even if your team is wining off the bat. They’re already several points ahead fairly early into the game.

“—Nachos, burgers, beer, hotdogs…”

“That sounds horrible. All that in one sitting?”

“Well everything’s smaller. But I agree, it’s pretty heavy.” Gi-hun lets out an exaggerated huff.

“The nachos would upset my stomach…”

“Well, it’s not something you’d eat at eight in the morning anyway.” You tease.

At some point, Gi-hun had taken it upon himself to wash the dishes. You’d moved to the couch then, eyeing the time. You didn’t have class until later in the afternoon, but it was still the first day of classes anyway. It was relieving to know you’d already had your things packed up.

You almost felt bad that your day would be spent in front of the television instead of giving all your attention to Gi-hun like he clearly had wanted. Out of sheer boredom he’d began to just wrap himself around you, soft kisses being splayed over your cheeks and arms squeezing you into his chest.

“Watch the game.” You’d murmur. Gi-hun would only smack his lips and whine about how it didn’t matter because you yourself had explained it was only the first half. But that didn’t equal full victory even if they were doing well, you’d explained.

“Jagiya,” Gi-hun calls from the sink. You don’t take your eyes off the screen even as you acknowledge him. “Why don’t we just watch it when it’s almost over?”

“The half-time show,” You say, completely distracted by a call on the last play of the bottom of the second quarter. “You’re gonna watch with me, right?”

You crane your neck to look at him then. Gi-hun hesitates before answering as he sets down the last of the dishes.

“I will!”

But Gi-hun takes his sweet time setting you both up with tea. Even as you rush him to sit down, his attention isn’t fully on the screen. He’s using an index finger to text someone back, lifting it to even show you what was sent to him in a laugh.

“Gi-hun, please can you—?”

“Okay, okay!” Gi-hun finally sets his phone down and rests back on the couch. As music flows through the room, Gi-hun only shifts around restlessly and blinks. He doesn’t have much commentary other than him asking, “That’s the American flag, right?” You’d nodded, explaining who the artist was to begin with. The thought of even having to tell him about the feud between the artist on screen and another popular artist in your country makes your head hurt a little. You’re sure it’d go in one ear and out the other.

At some point you let out a soft gasp in amusement, a small giggle leaving your lips. Gi-hun raises his head from where he had been looking at his phone. You’d given up trying to get him to pay attention to anything at this point.

“What happened? What’s he saying?”

Never mind that Gi-hun didn’t understand English very well. The Korean subtitles were extremely rough to begin with.

“I’ll explain it to you later.” It was a lie. He’d probably forget all about it by the time it was over, anyway. Gi-hun had only rested his head on your shoulder and sighed, hands playing with your own in his lap.

With the game back on display, Gi-hun had become attentive again. The second half was more important, he remembered. Every interception earned you a jeer and an excited hug or a shake. You’d had to explain sacks and fumbles to Gi-hun and once he’d understood, he’d be excited for every one.

At some point you catch him dozing off again, head lolling to the side or jaw slack from his head being tilted back. You’d given him ten minutes of relaxation before you’d woken him up again. Gi-hun would only apologize lazily and stuff his face into your neck with soft mumbles about how he was glad your team was winning.

“You trust my bet now?” Gi-hun only laughed and wrapped his arms around your waist.

Whenever Gi-hun gets restless he tends to shift around a lot. He doesn’t know what to do with his hands and he’ll start to talk your ear off about things that have nothing to do with whatever if is you’re both occupying yourselves with. You’d let him get away with it until a flag was thrown or a commercial was on. Though they seemed to get worse each year, anyway.

At some point you let him become distracted. Gi-hun will scroll on his phone occasionally, lifting it to show you something that you only half acknowledge. As a middle-aged man, there was only so much he could share with you that wasn’t something only people his age found interesting. You figure this is what came with the territory as someone significantly younger than him.

The last quarter finally arrives and it surprises you that he’s really paying attention now. It’s almost guaranteed the team you’re rooting for will win now. This is usually the boring part in a blowout like this.

“Go! Go!” Gi-hun shouts, a fistful of your pajama shirt in his grasp. You’re grabbing at his forearm, not to pull it off, but in excitement of your own. Another touchdown is secured and you both embrace.

Gi-hun wastes no time slamming his lips to yours, hands grabbing at your hair as if you’ve just witnessed something so extravagant. But this is no revelation. You figure he’s overly excited because you’re both going to win big in your bets.

For a moment you imagine this is how he would get when he used to gamble. It’s strangely cute. Though Gi-hun was always an excitable person, you’d only ever saw him get this fiery a few times before. You don’t mind it if it means you’ll get more kisses from him.

“Why do they keep kneeling? Don’t they have to make more touchdowns so the other team can’t catch up?”

“There’s only a minute and a half left. The other team won’t be able to,” You’re both leaned into each other now. Gi-hun grazes his fingertips over your leg mindlessly. His attention is stuck on the television screen. “It’s just to run the clock. They’re about to call it.”

As the confetti fills the screen, Gi-hun stretches his arms up with a yawn and looks at the time. With a sleepy smile in your direction, he smacks his lips to yours and cradles your head in his hands.

“Thank you for inviting me to watch this…super game!”

“Super Bowl,” You correct with a small laugh. “You should be happy I don’t make you watch this every week.”

“I’d die of boredom!” Gi-hun exclaims dramatically. He pushes himself up to stand and he stretches again loudly, then ruffling up your hair affectionately.

You make quick work of getting ready for class. You’re glad your day didn’t start off with grief. It makes it a lot better to have your first day of classes running off the high of a win.

When you’re stepping out the door, Gi-hun stops you with an excited grin. You turn to face him with your own smile as he presses the gentlest kiss to your cheek.

“I left you a little something in your bag.” He bites his lip to try and suppress a grin.

“I’ll look for it after class,” You wave at him excitedly as you close the door. “Don’t forget the money, okay?”

“I won’t, jagiya!” You hear him call from behind the door.

When you pull out a small snack to eat before you walk home after class, you see a small note inside the bag. You giggle at it in amusement.

Your brows furrow for a moment before you dig into your bag to find two big bills of cash crumpled underneath your notebooks. It was very much like Gi-hun to be as careless about money placement as possible. Had you not been so organized you’re sure they would’ve fallen out.

On your way home, you buy some American pastries to enjoy for dessert for the both of you. It was a little funny you’d be using the money he gave you considering you both had placed bets. But it was very much like him to spoil you from time to time, especially if he was in a good mood. At home, Gi-hun wastes no time flaunting the money he’s already cashed from the bet, fantasizing about what you both can do with it.

In bed, he still hasn’t let up, an arm bent under the curve of your neck as he waves them around. You sleepily listen, a wide smile on your face as you indulge in his ramblings. You’re glad you chose the right day to spend the night in bed with him. Two separate beds were still settled on opposite ends of the room in the case that one didn’t want to disturb the other while they slept.

“We should watch more of that football!” Gi-hun pulls the blanket over you both to finally settle into sleep. “You can make all the bets.”

“I think once a year is fine,” You laugh softly. You’d missed his warm body wrapped around yours. “Just relax, Gi-hun. We can talk money all you want tomorrow.” With an affectionate squeeze of his arms around you, Gi-hun excitedly wiggles into a comfortable position.

The money doesn’t matter so much to you. You’re just happy to be back home with Gi-hun.