Chapter Text
Song 》》Blow》》by Jackson wang
———a few months ago———
Football was a game almost everyone played—on playgrounds, in empty streets, on finely cut grass under blinding stadium lights. A universal sport with millions of players chasing the same thing: brilliance, fame, the illusion of immortality with a ball at their feet.
Most either driven by their love for the sport ,greed or something else entirely
Instinct.the ones born for it by this primal need to play.Something innate.People like Sae
A few managed to rise above the chaos to prominence .
They became icons—polished, praised, and paraded like kings. Their goals went viral, their names echoed in stadium chants, their images splashed across billboards and jersey backs.But all that didn't matter to Sae it's not like fame was a part of what he wanted to achieve.his dream was to be a midfielder and win the world cup and Japan couldn't do that .he hated being associated with their half baked football as japan's greatest treasure
They were good. Talented, even. Some more than others.
But talent wasn’t what truly mattered.It wasn't the defining factor , they lacked other things , their philosophies and ideologies were lukewarm too .it was the reason why Japan was so stagnant
That’s what Sae had come to understand over time. Talent was only the base level of entry, the bare minimum in the world he occupied. It was predictable. Measurable. Replaceable.
Genius, though—
That was a different breed altogether.
Genius couldn’t be taught or trained. It wasn’t something you could refine with repetition or mold with discipline. It was something sharper. Rarer. It cracked open the air and made people stop breathing for half a second
But that wasn’t what truly set people apart. Talent was abundant. Coaches could train players into routine excellence. But genius? That was rare. That was lonely.
He’d seen it before—glimpses of something extraordinary. But the moments were few and far between. Distant echoes that barely stirred him anymore.
There was one memory, though, that clung stubbornly to his mind.
He had made a pass—perfect geometry born from precision ,challenge and calculation.The kind of pass that lived in the liminal space between instinct and vision, placed perfectly in front of the goal. His body aligned, nerves tight like a drawn bow, the ball slipping off his foot like silk. It spun, arced, landed in the space that begged for a goal. But no one was there.
No one else had seen it.
No one else had understood.
His teammates hadn’t seen it coming. They weren’t moving fast enough. They were still reacting while he was already two steps ahead.
It had been the first time he truly felt it—that isolating rift between himself and the rest. The game unfolded in his vision like divine choreography, but his teammates were dancers out of sync, too slow, too grounded in the ordinary. He felt that sharp, bitter edge of superiority—because how could he not, when it was all so clear to him?
He felt it then—that heavy silence where understanding should’ve been.
He felt… alone.
Until—
A figure appeared.
A kid. Sharp-eyed. A look of pure wonder on his face .
Rin.
His younger brother cut through the moment with breathtaking precision, intercepting the ball as if it had been meant for him all along.
Sae remembered how the atmosphere shifted. The sharp intake of breath. Rin’s foot met the ball with the kind of force that split the world open. A goal that felt like it shook something loose inside both of them.
That had been the first time Sae felt what it was like to see someone catch up. Even for a second.
In a single strike, the net screamed as the goal thundered back. That was the day Rin awakened. And Sae—he remembered the feeling then.
Wonder.
Recognition.
A flicker of something dangerous.
And now, years later, it returned.
Not for his brother.
For someone else.
Sae stood, sweat cooling on his neck, gaze fixed as Shidou Ryuusei’s body coiled like a spring and snapped. The forward’s foot left the earth with savage grace,like a wild animal mid-pounce, all power and instinct wrapped in chaos. his leg slicing the air as he twisted mid-flight. A bicycle kick—not just reckless bravado, but raw, explosive beauty—launched the ball like a missile straight into the top corner of the net.
The sound of impact echoed.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Sae didn’t move. didn't react. Not visibly.
But inside, something stilled. Something registered.
The tension in his spine was immediate, involuntary. That same old, treacherous sensation crept in like static under his skin. Something primal in him stilled—not because he was impressed, but because he had no choice but to be.
He’d seen flashier moves. He’d seen goals that made headlines. But this wasn’t about flair. It was about clarity. About how Shidou moved like he was born to do exactly that—break the rules of physics and ego in equal measure.
There was a split-second delay in Sae’s body, like his mind refused to file the moment away with everything else. Like it meant something.
Not admiration.
Recognition.
He’d seen world-class finishers. Trained beside the best strikers in Spain. Faced monstrous defenders. And yet, watching Shidou now—it didn’t feel like witnessing a player.
It felt like watching a wildfire tear through everything with purpose.
There was madness in it, yes. Recklessness. But more than that—there was something different.Like Shidou knew what he wanted, and his body simply obeyed, no matter how impossible the motion. There was no hesitation in his strike. No gap between intention and execution. That kind of confidence couldn’t be faked.
It made something flicker inside Sae again.
Everyone around him erupted in praise. Coaches shouting. Cameras flashing. Teammates losing their minds. But Sae just stared, his mouth a thin line, his fingers curling into the fabric of his jersey.
It wasn’t jealousy.
It wasn’t admiration, either.
It was something far more dangerous.
Interest.
Shidou Ryuusei jogged back with his usual cocky swagger, golden hair matted with sweat, a grin that screamed try and stop me. He didn’t even look at Sae—but Sae’s eyes didn’t leave him.
Not yet.
“Two goals in just a few minutes,” someone muttered nearby. “He’s on fire.”
Sae didn’t respond. He was thinking. Calculating.
That feeling again—like standing on a cliff’s edge and realizing the wind behind you isn’t pushing you off.
It’s inviting you to jump.
——————————
The final whistle cleaved the heavy air in two.
It was over.
The weight of defeat settled like a thick mist over the stadium, heavy and suffocating.
Sae walked off the pitch without a glance back, his steps unhurried, his face unreadable as ever. Around him, teammates were muttering under their breath, kicking the turf, wiping sweat and shame from their faces.
He didn't care much for it , he'd already done what he came here to do .
nothing more ,nothing less
Sae barely blinked as the stadium buzzed around him — half fury, half awe. None of it mattered. He wiped the sweat from his temple with the back of his hand, already turning toward the tunnel without waiting for the others.
Around him, frustration buzzed off his teammates like static, but he tuned it out easily, stepping off the field with that same glacial indifference he always wore.
He had bigger things to think about than their bruised egos.
The world outside his focused mind barely existed—
until a loud, familiar voice shattered it.
The sound of heavy, eager footsteps broke through the fading noise behind him.
sing-songed, a voice sticky-sweet and impossible to ignore. "Looks like someone owns me their number~"
That chaotic, laughing tone could belong to no one else.
Shidou Ryuusei
Sae didn’t even glance back.His footsteps remained steady, unaffected, even as he tossed a careless reply behind him, voice razor-flat almost bored "At least let me shower first."
The loud bark of laughter that followed chased him down the tunnel like a persistent stray dog that was far too pleased with itself.
Sae rolled his eyes inwardly,he sighed through his nose, not slowing, not stopping.
Sae’s jaw tightened the smallest amount.
---
The locker room was a graveyard of disappointment.
Benches scraped harshly against the tiles.
Water roared from open showers.
Someone cursed under their breath and slammed a locker hard enough to rattle the walls.
Sae ignored it all.
With the mechanical efficiency of someone brushing dust off a sleeve, he peeled off his jersey, then his sweat-slick shorts, tossing them into the laundry bin without a glance. The scalding heat of the showers welcomed him, slamming into his skin like punishment. He stood there for a long moment, head bowed, letting the water roar around him, drowning out the world.
The cold air against his heated skin was grounding.
Necessary.
The showers steamed up fast, scalding water pelting down in a soothing, numbing rhythm.
He tilted his head back, letting it pound against his hair and skin.
Under the spray, he finally allowed himself a breath —
long, slow, almost human.
Sae ran a hand through his hair letting damp hair fall messily around his face, his every movement precise, methodical — the barest release of tension after a game that hadn't mattered from the start.
Of course that demon had managed to score 2 goals ,and a so called potential one for a last minute pass from Sae in the final minutes of the game
He could've said no, that it didn't count.He should have shut Shidou down when he first opened his idiotic mouth.
But for some strange reason he let him.
And now Sae owed him a number.
He should have told him to get lost.
But somewhere in him , there was a thread of curiosity tugging at him.
Chaos had always been an interesting kind of energy.
———————
The locker room was a ghost town by the time Sae finished washing off the game’s sweat and dirt.
His teammates had scattered fast, leaving only the sharp scent of disinfectant, wet tile, and anger lingering in the air.
Sae emerged from the showers, a towel slung low around his hips, water beading and sliding over pale skin,still dripping down the planes of his back. His hair dripped into his eyes, heavy and dark, but he didn't bother brushing it away as he moved through the rows of lockers, silent as a ghost.
the locker room was almost deserted.
Good.
Sae preferred silence.
He was halfway into reaching for his clean clothes when he felt it.
A breath — warm, humid — ghosting over the damp curve of his shoulder.
The hairs at the nape of his neck prickled.
a voice, low and molten, practically a whisper: "Y'know, you look better all wet like this , lashes ."
The words were almost a purr, sliding into his ear like smoke.
Sae didn’t startle. He never did.
But he felt it — that low, electric prickle against his skin, sparking across his nerves.
.sharp, involuntary.
Instead, he turned his head slowly, eyelids heavy, gaze sharp — meeting pink blazing pools just inches from his own.
Shidou leaned lazily against the locker beside him, towel hanging indecently low, droplets of water tracing slow, sinful lines down his torso. His grin was a slash of heat across his face, cocky and unrepentant.
The cold of Sae's presence clashed against the feverish heat radiating off Shidou like steam.
Shidou.Still damp from his own shower, hair a wild, dripping mess, and grinning like he’d just gotten away with murder.
Too close.
As usual.
Sae’s gaze flickered, clinical, unimpressed.
He arched an eyebrow then spoke, voice dry as dust.
"You’re like a cockroach," he murmured, his voice low, bored. "Persistent. And impossible to get rid off."
Shidou only laughed.not offended in the slightest — stepping closer, unconcerned.
Close enough Sae could smell the heat of his skin — soap, sweat, something wild beneath it.
Leaning one shoulder lazily against the locker next to Sae’s.
"And yet..." Shidou murmured, grin stretching wolf-wide, "you still haven't kicked me out."
He turned back to his locker,Sae gave a noncommittal shrug, speaking over his shoulder, tone like a blade sheathed in velvet
"Maybe I'm hoping you'll get bored and leave on your own."
Shidou's grin widened, sharp and wolfish.shaking his phone in his hand as if he'd just won the lottery
"Fat chance, Sae-chan.”
No shame,nor hesitation.
“Subtle as ever,” he said flatly.
Shidou leaned against the locker beside his, completely relaxed, arms crossed over his chest. Water still dripping , eyes glowing with that familiar wicked glint.
“Don’t need to be subtle when the prize is already mine.” He grinned. “Hat trick, remember? You owe me.”
Sae gave him a look — half-bored. “You’re talking about a number, not a lap dance.”
“Damn,” Shidou clicked his tongue. “Was kinda hoping for both.”
“You know,” Sae said, unbothered as he pulled out his bag“you’re very confident for someone who thinks ‘flirting’ means violating every social boundary.”
Shidou shrugged, unapologetic. “Boundaries are hot. Especially when you break ‘em.”
“Is that supposed to impress me?”
“Does it?” Shidou’s voice dipped just slightly, his smirk daring.
Sae didn’t answer.
Simply sighing and grabbed his phone from his locker, unlocking it with a flick of his thumb. Without looking at Shidou, he held it out — an almost lazy offer.
"Put your number in," he said flatly, "before I start regretting this and change my mind ."
Shidou's fingers brushed deliberately against his as he took the phone — a slow drag of skin on skin, charged and shameless.
Sae didn't flinch, though a muscle ticked at his jaw.
Shidou whispered low under his breath.
"Damn, you're makin’ me feel special."
"Don't.”
The locker room was hot and humid, filled with the distant sounds of running showers and slamming doors.
But here, between them — the air felt different.
Tighter.
He could feel Shidou's gaze raking over him — sharp, almost hungry.
As Shidou typed, agonizingly slow, Sae put on his clothes , the movements economical, detached. But he felt the stare burning into the curve of his spine, trailing over bare, damp skin—a hot, almost physical weight — but ignored it with practiced ease.
—it was unashamed, bold — and it should have irritated him.
Maybe it did.
Maybe it didn’t.
Either way, his face betrayed nothing.
Sae has never been one to get embarrassed easily especially over something like this , it was one of the many things that surprised a lot of people .
Except.
He caught Shidou watching in the reflection of the metal locker — eyes half-lidded, mouth crooked into something between a smirk and something darker.
Sae paused, catching the look in Shidou’s eyes— uncomfortably close.
He instinctively leaned back, a faint crease forming between his brows. The lack of distance was irritating.
Shidou had no concept of boundaries, and Sae had little patience for people who didn’t understand the value of space—especially his.
"Does he even realize how that looks?" Sae thought dryly.
Or maybe he did.
And that was the point.
Sae slipped a shirt over his head, letting the loose fabric swallow his frame ,then reaching for his jacket . The subtle dampness of his skin made the material cling, sending a chill racing over his nerves. he hated not drying of properly and knew it would bother him for the rest of the day but he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible to avoid the paparazzi and those crazy fans
When he turned back for his phone, Shidou handed it over with a lazy grin, thumb lingering against Sae’s palm a second too long. Sae snatched it back with an eye roll that bordered on real irritation.
“You earned it. Just don’t use it to text me at 2 a.m.”
Shidou let out a low whistle.Eyes sultry and inviting yet somehow briming with danger “No promises under lashes senior—that match was just foreplay .”
Sae rolled his eyes, brushing past him. “Gross.”
"You’re worse than a disease," he muttered, pocketing the phone.
"And yet," Shidou said brightly, "you just infected yourself."
Sae shook his head, tugging on his jacket further .letting the fabric fall over damp hair. "Tch don't be delusional.”
"You’re lucky," Shidou said, voice low and teasing, "most people would kill to get me naked in a locker room." that infuriating grin stretching his mouth.
Sae made a sound in the back of his throat, too disdainful to be a laugh. He turned back to his locker, going through his things with deliberate slowness, the smooth, effortless motion of someone entirely unbothered.
Sae gave him a dead-eyed stare, "I’d kill to not hear your voice."
Shidou only grinned, sharp and wicked.
"Bet you’d rather be killing me in bed, Sae-chan."
Sae exhaled slowly through his nose, turning away as if bored — though the tips of his ears felt oddly warm.
He was reaching for his bag when he felt it —
Shidou’s hand, bold and reckless, grazing the bare sliver of skin between jacket and waistband as if testing the limits of his patience.
Before the touch could settle, Sae moved.
Fast as a viper, he snatched Shidou’s wrist, twisting it effortlessly behind his back. The slam of Shidou’s body against the locker door echoed sharply in the empty room.
Sae leaned in just enough that his voice brushed Shidou's ear, low and freezing.
"Hands off, devil.”
For a heartbeat, everything hung suspended — Sae pressed in close, his breath calm and measured against the wild, frantic energy humming through Shidou’s trapped frame, golden wet hair dripping onto the metal, laughter bubbling up from deep in his throat.
"Damn," Shidou said, voice low ,breathless and gleeful, "you're fucking hot when you’re rough, Sae-chan.Kinky."
Sae leaned in just enough for his breath to ghost against the back of Shidou’s ear, his voice slicing through the space between them “try that again and I can't guarantee you'll leave with your arm still attached”
"You like me too much to do that,lashes" Shidou called after him, bright and unbothered.
Shidou shuddered — whether from laughter or thrill, it was impossible to tell.
“Don't be so sure.”
"You like it rough, Sae-chan," Shidou breathed, voice a low, delighted rasp. "Knew it."
Sae pulls his arm back a fraction harder — making Shidou wince with that grin still on his face — before releasing him with a rough shove.
Shidou stumbled a step, laughing under his breath, the sound bright and wild against the sterile locker room air.
Sae then started moisturising clearly over their interaction
"Tch— you’re no fun, lashes"
shidou groaned with exaggeration
"You're lucky I'm feeling generous today."
Shidou turned to face him, rubbing his wrist, grinning like Sae had just given him a love letter instead of a warning.
"Damn right I’m lucky," Shidou said, flashing his teeth.
"I got your number, didn’t I?"
Sae rolled his eyes faintly, already walking away, towel now draped over his shoulder.
"Don’t make me block you.”
Shidou grinned like a demon set loose “ I love when you’re mean.”
Sae didn’t look back as he walked away.
“I’m not mean,” he muttered. “I’m just not interested in getting rabies.”
But if he were being honest—just with himself—he could still feel the warmth of that whisper behind his ear.
And shidou pressed against him half naked on this godforsaken Locker room
"Its no fun being emotionally constipated.You should let me corrupt you properly sometime " he said, grinning wickedly over his shoulder.
Sae didn’t dignify that with a reply.
He just slung his bag over one shoulder and simply walked out, not looking back.
hoodie clinging to his still-damp skin.
He didn't have time for that demon antics
If he felt the weight of Shidou’s gaze burning into his back, he ignored it.
If a corner of his mouth almost twitched — an almost-smile, dry and reluctant — he pretended it didn't happen.
He had given Shidou his number.
And somehow, Sae knew —
this was going to be a headache he'd regret.
If his heart thudded faster than usual against his ribs —
if the ghost of Shidou’s laugh clung to the edges of his mind —
if his skin still prickled where Shidou had touched —
He blamed it on the heat
told himself it was adrenaline.
Not shidou
Anything but shidou