Chapter Text
I didn’t want to be dragged to a football game.
But I had no choice. Sandwiched between two of my lunch friends, I was escorted through a ticket line, across bleachers, and eventually shoved into a seat. They were chattering away, of course, but I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to them. My entire being was focused on my rumbling stomach and the promise of food after the game.
Stay strong. Pizza is coming.
One of my lunch friends, a girl by the name of Caroline, bought three tickets—one for her, one for our other friend Gina, and another for her boyfriend, Andy. A series of unfortunate events led to Gina being unable to go, and as a result, Caroline begged me to reconsider my hatred of sports and accompany her and Andy to a game. I reluctantly agreed, but I made her swear up and down to take me for pizza after. She better not break that promise, I thought.
“Look, there’s the team,” Caroline said with a giggle. “They look fine in those jerseys.”
Andy and I rolled our eyes at the same time. Our high school is selective and small—barely 40 kids per grade. Usually, the teachers have a tough time filling up extracurriculars. But our football team, which has won championships from district to national, propelled our tiny school to an unprecedented level of fame. Other schools may have a popular team, but ours is idolized. Those boys enjoy more popularity than any kid should.
“Minho!” Caroline jumped up and down and squealed when the quarterback took the field. And she wasn’t the only one. All over the stadium, groups of girls—and boys—were screaming their lungs out at Minho’s arrival. The handsome, lightly muscled boy flashed a smile at the crowd, which only caused them to grow louder. I should have brought earplugs.
If the team is idolized, Minho Lee is seen as the second coming of Christ. Everyone loves him, and since he’s the secret behind all of the team’s success, I can kind of see why. However, as someone who is not a fan of sports (or this school), I couldn’t care less about him. To me, he’s just another classmate.
The opposing team walked into the stadium—another prissy prep school from around the area. They were more than likely going to be crushed. I slouched in my seat, wondering why I attended a game if it was only going to be a foregone conclusion.
“He’s so hot, and so kind too,” Caroline gushed to her freaking boyfriend. “It’s a miracle he’s still single.”
“It’s a miracle you’re not,” I retorted from where I was scrolling through my Spotify, trying to find music loud enough to drown out these damn bastards. “They’re teenagers with acne and testing anxiety, just like the rest of us. Andy agrees, don’t you, Andy?”
Andy shrugged, an uneasy expression crossing his face. “They’re the main reason the school is afloat right now,” he said in a hushed voice. “This team gets a lot of sponsors and donations. Without them, well… we might not have an education.”
“That doesn’t mean we should treat them like gods,” I protested.
“They’re not gods, but they’re not regular high schoolers either.” Andy slapped me on the back in a friendly manner. “But hey, cheer up. Maybe you’ll enjoy the game.”
I took his advice and put the phone away. A part of the reason I agreed to join them was to get the full high school experience. Now that I was a senior, there was only a year left until college came around, and the seconds were ticking by faster than ever. Why not have as many experiences as I can? So I munched on a tasteless corndog and watched the game begin.
Minutes in and the teams were already grappling each other. My prediction was correct—the visiting team was quickly overtaken by ours, and it’s a quick, simple game, with a final score of 6–20. It’s also boring as fuck. I wish I could tell you all the brilliant plays, all the wonderful decisions made by our team that led us to victory. But I don’t have enough knowledge. I’ll need to research more when I get home.
As soon as the losing team was escorted off the premises in shame, a large, screaming crowd descended on the field and swarmed Minho. The poor boy stumbled, but caught himself and proudly stood upright, greeting everyone with a slight wave. Caroline gasped and tried to get closer, pulling me along in the process.
“I don’t have him in any of my classes. This is my chance!”
“Your chance to what? You have a boyfriend!” I resisted her tugging hand. “And what about pizza?!”
“Come on!” She gave up with a groan and rushed toward the crowd, leaving me panting and quite indignant about having to wait another moment for pizza. I stood grumpily at the edge of the field, waiting for her to finish.
One of the boys in jerseys waved at me as he walked by. Felix. My lab partner. I waved back, but he had already turned away.
I did, however, meet Minho’s gaze. It was sharp, unusual for a high school boy. I took a moment to register his face—chiseled, with brown eyes that are surprisingly large and soft. A nice sharp nose and downturned lips, giving him a bit of an RBF. I suppose he’s better looking than the average teen, but it’s the status that did it.
His attention was taken by a girl who had shoved her camera in his face, hoping to take a photo for the yearbook. I watched as he posed with an awkward peace sign, a football perched in the crook of his elbow. The girl giggled and ran away, and a boy took her place, yakking excitedly in his ear.
“You ready?” Caroline called. From what I can see, Minho spoke all of two words to her before her face turned as red as a boiled lobster. “We can go to the pizza place just off the highway.”
I perked up. “Okay!” I bounded happily over to where she and Andy twined fingers, her Minho addiction momentarily forgotten.
“My car is this way,” Andy said. The three of us ambled through the artificial grass of the football field, squinting in the bright stadium lights. Caroline’s brown hair bobbed next to Andy’s bright-red mane, and I almost lost them in the crowd. But thankfully, I knew where his car was, and slid into the backseat while Caroline took shotgun.
“I can’t wait until the next game,” she said dreamily, and I wished I could share her sentiments. It would have been nice for my first (and last) high school football game to be a fun one. Unfortunately, it’s not my thing.
“To pizza!” Andy started the car and backed out haphazardly. I guess I still have time to get my license before the school runs out of parking passes. I leaned my head against the window, watching the building get smaller and smaller the further we drove away. It was surprisingly pretty. Like it belonged in a high school movie.
Four years here, and I haven’t once had a movie-like experience. But I suppose it isn’t over yet.
***
The pizza place was not crowded, and the three of us grabbed a booth along the far left wall. The floors were checkered black and white, and both the tables and chairs gleamed a bright red. A balding waiter came to take our orders, and returned with two waters and a sweet tea.
“Stop ordering expensive things,” Andy complained.
Caroline rolled her eyes and shot me a knowing look, sipping her tea. I smiled back, glad to have a moment just between myself and my friends.
When the waiter returned to take our orders, the bell above the door tinkled, signaling the arrival of a large group of teenage boys. Further appraisal proved that it wasn’t just any group, but members of our own football team. Caroline’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
“We chose the right pizza place,” she whispered to Andy, her grin wide.
I groaned. “We chose the wrong pizza place.”
“Come on.” She glared at me reproachfully. “Show a little bit of school spirit.”
“You don’t give two shits about school spirit.” I noted with satisfaction that Andy also looked a bit annoyed. “I bet if the school caught fire tomorrow, you’d celebrate with the rest of us.”
She huffed. “I was a water girl for the football team for two years. They’re fantastic people, and I’m sick of you hating on them just because they’re popular. Like—” She vaguely gestured in the direction of a boy with wavy hair and a large smile. His nose was a bit large for his face, but it looked distinguished on him, for some reason. “That’s Chan. He’s the center of the offensive line. His name is actually Christopher Bang, but we call him Chan because it’s his Korean name, and it sounds cuter.”
I was about to say something sassy, but I held my tongue, with difficulty.
“He’s one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, and really funny too. I sat next to him in physics last year, and he was just so awesome and helpful.” Caroline sighed dreamily, but a quick nudge from her boyfriend brought her back to reality. “Oh, right.
“Next to him is Changbin. He’s the offensive guard.” Changbin was short and stocky, with beefy arms and a shock of iridescent black hair. “Super loud and a bit of a class clown.”
“Sounds like a real charmer.”
“He is.” Oblivious to my sarcasm, Caroline prattled on. “He’s definitely the strongest on the team, and he benches a lot of weight. Really nice, obviously, and he’s one of the few who stay behind and clean the weight room after they’re finished using it. Basically the perfect guy.
“And next to him is Jisung, one of the offensive tackles. He’s a bit short for the job, but his footwork is incredible. Easily one of the top players. He’s a bit shy when you first meet him, but when he opens up to you, it can get really crazy, really fast.” Despite myself, Caroline’s enthusiasm had an effect on me. I was almost interested in this group of guys and their talents. Jisung also sported black hair, and his face had a squirrely quality.
“And then we get to Hyunjin.” She’s in raptures at this point. “He’s the most beautiful human being you’ll ever see in your life. Other than Minho, of course. But Hyunjin is a close second.” Her rant was interrupted by the arrival of the pizza, and Andy took the opportunity to steer her off course.
“You should eat, Carol.”
“I’m almost done.” She waved him away with a practiced ease, and I wondered how many times she had given this speech before. “Do you see Hyunjin? He’s right there, hanging off the edge of the seat.”
Hyunjin was tall. And surprisingly, she’s right—he was good-looking. Like, almost unfairly good looking. We’re talking plump lips and cat-like eyes, which nearly disappeared when he laughed at a teammate’s joke. “He’s the wide receiver,” Caroline added, and I tore my gaze away, embarrassed to be caught lacking.
“He’s alright, I guess,” I muttered.
“Just alright? Well, maybe you’ll like the tight end, Felix. He’s also quite pretty.” She motioned to the small, freckled boy.
“I know Felix.” I was pleased to share this. “He’s my lab partner.”
The pizza in Andy’s hand paused halfway to his mouth. Caroline’s jaw went completely slack, and I instinctively glanced down at myself, in case I spilled sauce. “What?”
“Felix is your lab partner? Why didn’t you tell me?” she hissed.
“I didn’t think you needed to know.” The pizza on my plate was halfway gone. I had been absentmindedly eating while she was talking. My gaze lingered on Felix. His dyed blond locks looked white under the lamp that hung over his table, and his nose scrunched up when Changbin tried to offer him a slice of mushroom pizza. I sat, transfixed, for far too long.
“Ah.” Caroline smirked. “So you do like a member of the football team.”
“Felix is different,” I retorted. “He’s sweet, and without him, AP Chem would be a boring place.” It’s a little bit more than that—I’d never met a boy like him before, one who baked brownies and had an Australian accent and kissed his mother. It was refreshing. And rare, especially for a teenager.
“You should ask him out,” Andy suggested. He was silent for most of the dinner, but this made him perk up. “I think you two would be a good match.”
“Maybe,” I replied, knowing full well that this crush was going to remain a crush. Asking someone out? As a senior? College was nine months away.
“Those are Seungmin and Jeongin. They’re the running back and halfback, respectively.” Caroline saw my pensive silence as an opening for her to continue. “They’re practically attached at the hip, and you rarely see one without the other. Jeongin is actually a junior. Isn’t it crazy? A junior on the varsity football team. And he’s already one of the most talented players there.”
“Should you be thirsting over a junior?” I joked. Seungmin had a face that somehow managed to be both soft and severe. Jeongin, on the other hand, had fox-like eyes and porcelain skin. Both of them were striking.
“I’m not thirsting.” Caroline lightly smacked my arm. “And don’t devour your pizza like that! You’re going to get acne.”
“I don’t care.” All of the pizza disappeared, safely stored in my stomach. I patted my belly in satisfaction. “Thanks for your little speech, Carol. I can now safely say that those are gods, not humans, and I should bring an offering to their shrine every morning—”
“Shush. I haven’t even talked about Minho yet.” And at that moment, I knew who the real prize was. The look in her eyes could only be described as worship.
“He’s the quarterback, of course. And incredibly stoic—I’ve only seen him smile once.” Her voice dropped to a low murmur. “I swear, it was like seeing the sun come out from behind a cloud. He’s perfect. And I bet every damn girl and boy in this school would give their right leg for him to date them.”
“Except you, right, Carol?” Andy laughed nervously.
She didn’t respond, which I found somewhat disturbing. “I think you’re the only person I know who has no interest in him.”
“Well, there’s Andy,” I began.
“That’s different. Andy and I are a thing. Nothing and no one is going to change that.” Her pinky finger looped around his, and his gaze softened, a hint of relief flashing across his features. “But every single person I know wants him, except you.”
“You know what?” I stood. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Oh— oh, okay.” Both Caroline and Andy blinked in surprise. I didn’t pay them any mind, dodging one table, then two, and then another. The team sat right next to where the bathroom was, so I planned to keep my head held high and ignore them completely as I passed them. Unfortunately, a single dropped napkin ruined my plans.
My foot caught on the thin piece of paper, and although I flailed my arms wildly, I couldn’t regain my balance and dropped to the floor in a heap. “Ow,” I groaned. I heard snickers, hoots, and a whispered “are you okay?” that sounded like it came from Felix. “I’m fine,” I snapped between clenched teeth. “Who dropped the fucking napkin?”
“Me.” Hyunjin shrugged. “It's not my fault you’re clumsy.”
At those words, I really wanted to insult him. I wanted to punch the lights out of that pretty face of his and show him exactly who he messed with. But instead, I forced a grin on my face. I saluted the bastard. And then I bowed to the whole team.
Chan and Jeongin chuckled quietly. Felix looked worried, and one stare—Minho’s—showed nothing at all. He didn’t react to either my unfortunate napkin run-in or my attempt to make light of the situation. He did seem… interested, though. There was a gleam in his eye I hadn’t seen earlier, when we locked eyes on the football field. It was like he was seeing me for the first time.
“Watch your step,” he told me, not unkindly.
“Sure,” I shot back. “There might be more napkins in my path.” I glared at Hyunjin. “I won’t forget this, by the way.” That earned a cackle from Changbin. “You watch your step, too,” I said to Minho, before completely turning my back on him and continuing to the bathroom.
I locked myself in a stall for what had to be ten full minutes.
What was I thinking?
Caroline and Andy weren’t going to let me live this down. You watch your step too? Did I really just say that to the king of the school? I didn’t want to date him, but I didn’t want him to hate me, either!
Senior year was already gearing up to be one of my worst. And it just started.