Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“And this is the second bedroom.” The woman gestures inside the last room of the flat. It is smaller than its counterpart down the hallway. Wonwoo on his own wouldn’t have a use for it, but he pretends to be interested anyway.

“Usually, we’d provide our players and staff with flats that fit their living situations, but with your late transfer, this was the only one available right now.” What a way of calling Wonwoo single. He gives her a tight-lipped smile and follows her out of the bedroom again. She chats about all kinds of different things on their way outside, explaining the neighbourhood, giving tips on which public spots to visit.

It would be a nice sentiment if Wonwoo wouldn’t play football at least 5 times a week and spent the rest of it travelling to away games.

His cheeks start to hurt from the way he desperately tries to keep a smile on his face. All he wants is to sign the lease before he starts worrying about how to get his stuff from Changwon to Seoul. Luckily, this flat has some basic furnishing already, Wonwoo isn’t too keen on visiting a furniture store over the weekend.

They finally make it back to the office building, just a couple of streets over. Wonwoo dutifully signs about twenty pages of contracts and rental agreements before he’s finally allowed to leave again.

On his way back to the hotel, he grabs something to eat. Before he left for Seoul a couple of days ago, he thought about saving the costs. Then he realised that while the flat might be furnished already, it would still be missing all the other essentials.

Wonwoo has a bunch of boxes varying from towels to bedding and cutlery in the back of his car but didn’t want to deal with it after a long day of travelling and meetings. For the next couple of weeks, he has definitely seen enough of office rooms and his own signature on papers. Who knew transferring to K League 1 would be so stressful. As soon as his head hits the pillows, he falls asleep.

ᯓ⚽︎

[READ] Jeon Wonwoo joins FC Seoul

All things pointed to another season with Gyeongnam FC for Jeon Wonwoo. Sources close to the deal told us many clubs were interested in signing the up-and-coming goalkeeper. With a spectacular performance in the quarterfinal of the AFC Cup against Gwangju FC, Jeon has put himself on the radar of the big players in K League 1. Until now Gyeongnam FC had rejected offers from both Jeonbuk and Ulsan with Jeon set to remain with the team for at least one more season.

Following the shocking departure of Seoul's starting goalkeeper Kim Wonjin, the club supposedly offered $620k, a record-breaking deal. With many having expected Kang Seongho to step up as new number one, this deal set up a different story.

Jeon Wonwoo already underwent all medical checks and will join the team’s practice starting next week. Only three weeks remain until the start of the season

Related

[WATCH] AFC Cup Quarterfinal: Jeon Wonwoo's spectacular save against Gwangju FC

[READ] Gyeongnam's Shin Junghwan set to step up as new Number 1

ᯓ⚽︎

The next day starts early in the morning. Wonwoo checks out of the hotel and makes his way over to his new flat. He deposits his bag in the master bedroom before he’s out of the door again. There is only time to grab a quick breakfast meal on the way as he drives to the training grounds.

Traffic in Seoul is worse than he could’ve imagined, but Wonwoo makes it in one piece to the facility. A staff member is already waiting for him at the entrance. Wonwoo tries to keep a neutral face while he gets shown around the sports park. He had seen a lot of it a week ago during the med check, but now he has more time to take it all in instead of rushing through everything to hit the transfer window in time.

It still feels like a dream. Two weeks ago, he was already knees deep in preparations for the next season in the second league when the offer from Seoul came. Wonwoo is surprised his old team even agreed on such a short notice, but he figures the offer was too good to decline. Now they’re less than a month out from the start of the season and Wonwoo has to get used to a whole new team structure. Great.

Wonwoo isn’t necessarily afraid of meeting new people, but he can’t stop the small buzz of anxiety underneath his skin. What if his teammates hate him? It’s unlikely. Still. Wonwoo saw the flood of comments that his transfer set off. He usually tries not dwell on it, but it was hard to miss when his name decorated the headlines for two weeks straight.

The staff member leads him through the facility to the locker rooms, where he lets Wonwoo get changed into his training gear before he leads him out to the field. His head is swimming from all the different directions and fields, and Wonwoo is sure he’s going to get lost the second he is left to his own devices.

The field is already occupied by the team doing various warm-up exercises. Wonwoo tries hard not to stare. Of course, he already played with a lot of good players in his old team, but it’s nothing compared to the elite of Korean football.

How is he supposed to catch up to that standard?

Nerves make Wonwoo’s blood feel on fire. He is so focused on what is happening on the field that he almost misses one of the trainers talking to him. He apologises with a quick bow, but the trainer just laughs and waves him off. “Eager to get going, right?”

Wonwoo nods. It’s only half the truth.

“Let me introduce you to the rest of the team, then.” The little spark of anxiety that runs through him quickly disperses when he realises that ‘getting introduced to the team’ really only means getting to know the rest of the trainer team for now.

One of the goalkeeper coaches immediately steals him away for some individual exercises. He shows Wonwoo their team specific drills and walks him through the training plan for the coming weeks. It’s mainly focused on getting Wonwoo’s level up to their standard and test his abilities past from what they have already gathered from the medical test. Time runs by quickly. Before Wonwoo realises, the session is already over, and he’s sweating from head to toe.

While both leagues are considered professional, Wonwoo can feel the difference in his and aching muscles. This really is on another level than back home.

His teammates start to collect the training equipment lying around and just when Wonwoo thinks he can blend in on the way back to the locker room, their head coach pulls him in front of the team.

“Some of you have already noticed but starting today we are joined by our new goalkeeper, everyone please welcome Jeon Wonwoo.”

Just when Wonwoo thought being part of a new a team wasn’t already stressful enough, he gets stared at by about thirty men. Bowing quickly, he mumbles a hello that is lost in the wind before it can even be heard by the players standing at the front of the half circle. He fixes his gaze in the general direction of the team, without looking at anyone in particular.

There are a few murmured hellos in return before the circle dissolves when their trainer waves them off to the locker room. Only a few players remain, watching Wonwoo over with curiosity. He simultaneously feels like a zoo exhibit animal and a piece of fresh meat. Great.

“Welcome to the team!” The team’s captain, Lee Hoseok, greets him. The small group around him lingers for a moment, waiting for Wonwoo to close the distance between them to walk to the locker room together.

“I watched your match in the Cup, those saves were incredible! No wonder they made every effort to sign you.” One of the guys – Wonwoo recognises him as national player Lee Seokmin – starts chatting as soon as Wonwoo falls into step. Wonwoo’s face heats up instantly. He was never good at taking compliments, but it’s even worse when it comes from established players like Seokmin himself.

“Thank you”, Wonwoo somehow manages to say without sounding too breathless.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Lee Seokmin.” He reaches out to one of the tall players in front of them and pulls his arm close, quite forcefully. The tall guy loses his footing momentarily and almost crashes into Seokmin before steadying himself again. “This is Kim Mingyu.”

Of course, Wonwoo recognises him as soon as he turns around. It’s hard not to when he’s adorning every second cover in the sport magazine section. A player on his path to be a world-class defender. It’s a wonder that no international team has sealed the deal yet and signed him.

“I saw your game. In the Cup”, Mingyu says and claps his back. The state of Wonwoo’s heated face might just become permanent.

Sure, playing the quarterfinal in the Cup was one of his best plays to this day, but it doesn’t change the fact that they lost in the semifinal. Even if Wonwoo enjoyed the attention on him for a while, he would’ve rather enjoyed the quiet life of somewhat anonymity.

Seokmin and Mingyu start exchanging rapid fire words, explaining everything from the training facilities down to which showers in the stadium have the best water pressure. Wonwoo tries to keep up as best as he can, smiling and nodding whenever one of them looks at him to make sure he’s still following.

“You’re not very chatty, are you?” Seokmin asks as they enter the locker rooms. Just when Wonwoo opens his mouth to answer, Mingyu butts in.

“Idiot! You barely gave him the chance to speak!”

Wonwoo guesses Mingyu hasn’t realised the irony behind interrupting him and ends up quietly laughing to himself when the two start to bicker.

His locker is located just across from Mingyu’s. He starts to dig through his bag for his towel and body wash while the two are still busy with themselves. When he looks up again, his view of Mingyu and Seokmin is blocked by a body. The toned stomach in front of him is located right at eye level, and Wonwoo has to use all his willpower to drag his eyes up to the person’s face.

Over the years, Wonwoo thought he had his gay panic tendencies under control. He had to if he wanted to survive in a room full of 20 something athletic men. Right now, however, he finds himself in a full gay panic because of the prettiest man he ever had the favour of laying his eyes on.

Hong Jisoo, starting midfielder and vice captain of FC Seoul. Wonwoo has been watching him play ever since his debut in the national team. His control over the midfield is amazing. Last year, he was even leading the list of the player with the most assists during the season.

When they had shown close-ups of his face on the TV screen, sweaty and with specks of grass stuck to it, Wonwoo thought he had looked eternal. It's nothing in comparison to seeing Jisoo standing in front of him now.

His hair is pushed back, wet from the shower. Droplets chase each other down his neck over his collarbones to places Wonwoo doesn’t dare let his eyes follow. Jisoo looks Wonwoo up and down with narrowed eyes. Wonwoo feels hot all over. Suddenly he’s glad he hasn’t taken his contact lenses out.

“You’re the new guy”, Jisoo states, before turning around and rummaging through his own locker next to Wonwoo’s. He doesn’t say anything else, but Wonwoo is desperate to keep the conversation going.

“I’m Wonwoo”, he says. Jisoo slowly looks up from his bag and turns his head back towards him. For all things worth, his face is neutral, but as the seconds tick down in silence, Wonwoo gets the weird feeling of being judged.

“I’ve heard”, he says finally, and goes back to pulling his clothes out of the bag. It’s as much of a dismissal as he could give Wonwoo without outright saying it.

Wonwoo quickly looks away, gathering his own stuff in his arms and heading for the showers. He takes his time, running hot water over his tense muscles. It wasn’t even a proper training session today, but his muscles still feel tense. He doesn’t want to imagine what the real practice sessions look like.

Would he even be able to keep up? Not for the first time in those last couple of weeks, Wonwoo feels the self-doubt nagging at the corners of his brain. Yes, he has played one of his best seasons so far last year, but a couple of good games in the second league won’t make him a great goalkeeper in the first.

All Wonwoo can do is give his best before he ends up as a bench warmer for the rest of the season. He shudders when he thinks about the small words standing in his contract. Key player.

Before he can think himself into a spiral, Wonwoo turns the water cold. It serves enough to clear his head for now. When he gets back to the locker room, he is surprised to find Mingyu and Seokmin waiting for him. They wait for him to pack up and then take him back to the parking lot.

“We have weekly get-togethers on Fridays, unless there is a match happening of course”, Seokmin says when they reach Wonwoo’s car, “you should join us, we’re doing karaoke this week!”

Wonwoo feels his face heat up at the thought of singing karaoke in front of people he knows for less than a week. “Ahh, sorry Seokmin-ssi, I still need to figure out how to get all my stuff from Changwon to Seoul. Maybe next week.”

“No worries! Mingyu and I can help you!” Seokmin says cheerfully. Next to him, Mingyu doesn’t look like he agrees to being volunteered as moving helper, yet he doesn’t veto it. “Oh, besides!” Seokmin adds. “You can call me Hyung!”

Now, Wonwoo doesn’t have the birth years of every single national player recognised, but he’s pretty sure Seokmin isn’t older than him.

“What year were you born?” he asks instead.

Seokmin’s face morphs from his big smile to confusion. “Ninety-seven, why?”

“You can call me Hyung then”, Wonwoo answers. He can’t help but laugh when he sees the look of horror on Seokmin’s face. Next to him, Mingyu bursts out laughing too, leaning heavily into Seokmin’s side and almost making them topple over.

Wonwoo quickly waves off any apologies from Seokmin, ensuring him that it really is okay and that he doesn’t mind getting mistaken for being younger. Seokmin still doesn’t look convinced when Wonwoo gets into his car so he gives him another reassuring smile. “See you guys tomorrow!”

They wave as he pulls out and don’t stop until he’s turning onto the road. Wonwoo feels a weird wave of fondness washing over him.

ᯓ⚽︎

Just as Wonwoo thought, the trainers do keep raising the level of drills they put him through. Although goalkeepers tend to train separately most of the time, Wonwoo is surprised that he hasn’t played in a single scrimmage against his teammates yet. Then again, it’s his first week, there will be more than enough opportunities for that during the rest of the season.

Apart from Seokmin and Mingyu the only other person he has regular contact with, is the reserve goalkeeper. Judging by the venomous looks he is receiving throughout practice, the guy doesn’t look too happy that they signed Wonwoo as the new number one instead of promoting him. Wonwoo tries to ignore him as much as possible without being considered rude.

At the end of the week, Seokmin and Mingyu show up in front of his door unexpectedly. Considering Seokmin volunteered both of them to be his moving helpers, it shouldn’t have been that surprising, but Wonwoo is shocked anyway.

They even brought breakfast with them, Mingyu proudly presents the plastic bags as if they were the championship trophy. They happily dig into the food before doing anything else, the moving company isn’t set to arrive for another hour anyway. After a fresh dose of coffee and the hearty breakfast, Wonwoo gives them a room tour.

There really isn’t much left to show, after both of them have already seen the kitchen and living room. Still, Seokmin dutifully compliments the flat, as bare as it still is, and marvels at the second bedroom. Wonwoo still hasn’t decided what to do with it.

Finally, the moving company arrives, unloading boxes upon boxes on the pavement. Wonwoo had spent a whole day on the phone with his eomma, coordinating which boxes will be sent to Seoul and what will be stored in his parent's garage. Now that he looks at the pile in front of him, Wonwoo wonders if any of the boxes even made it to his parent's home.

He leaves Seokmin and Mingyu alone to sort through his kitchen clutter. Meanwhile, Wonwoo starts organising the rest of the boxes by room. He stores everything he doesn’t need in the spare room for now. He’ll get to that later.

When Wonwoo returns, Mingyu and Seokmin have moved on to the living room boxes. Seokmin digs deep into one of the larger ones and suddenly lets out a gasp. He pulls out Wonwoo’s switch and holds it up triumphantly. Curiously, he looks through the casing and excitedly points at one of the games

“Oh, Hyung! We need to play, please!” Seokmin begs. Who is Wonwoo to say no to that?

Once they set the console up, they fall on the couch together, Wonwoo squished between his two teammates. Turns out, all three of them are extremely competitive, no one even giving an inch in the intense rounds that follow. Wonwoo can’t stop laughing, infected by the laughs of Seokmin and Mingyu.

His heart feels light when he says goodbye to these two. Wonwoo makes the promise to join them for their weekly get-togethers next time and finds himself actually looking forward to it.

The day turned out to not be very productive. There are still some boxes left, but at least most of the essentials are in their rightful place. Wonwoo will sort through the rest whenever he finds the time.

ᯓ⚽︎

Their first game this season starts with snowfall in the morning. Sub-zero temperatures aren’t something Wonwoo is very fond of while playing football. Or while being a bench warmer for 90 minutes, like their trainer revealed to him a couple of days ago.

They want someone who is experienced in playing for this team. Why the choice fell on the reserve keeper Kang Seongho when he hasn’t played a single match for them last season is unclear. The smug look he has been wearing since the announcement doesn’t help Wonwoo’s mood.

It’s not like Wonwoo didn’t expect it. He is the new guy from the lower league nonetheless. Still, he can’t help the bitter feeling building in his stomach since the evening before the match. He barely manages to choke down any food during breakfast, feeling nauseous just from the thought of it.

When they get on the bus, Seokmin pulls him into the seat next to him, while Mingyu settles in the row in front of them. Wonwoo makes brief eye contact with their vice captain as he walks past them, but all he gets in return is barely an acknowledgement. It bothers Wonwoo that there are two people on the team he doesn’t get along with. While he quickly realised Seongho is a lost cause, he still wants to get to know Jisoo better.

But first he needs to find a way to get Jisoo to acknowledge him past a choked out greeting.

Finally, the bus rumbles to life and takes them away from the training grounds. Their first away game takes them to Gangwon. While it isn’t their furthest away game, spending over two hours in a bus won’t make it onto Wonwoo’s top list of favourite pass times.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been kind and when they get off the bus, temperatures have dropped even more. Wonwoo keeps his chin tucked deep into his jacket as they hurry along to the changing rooms. At least it’s warm inside. He is already dreading going out again for warm-ups.

As Wonwoo steps out of the tunnel, cold air bites his face. He pulls his scarf up higher and gets moving, following Seongho and their trainer to the away side. The home fans are slowly filling in their seats. Although the fans appear to be quite calm, he tries to keep his head down to not accidentally offend someone.

The warm-up is really just that. Wonwoo moves half-heartedly, only in motion to keep his body from freezing. He passes the ball along to their trainer and Seongho until the rest of the team join the field. Seongho leaves the goal for more individual warm-ups, which leaves Wonwoo in the goal for everyone to take their shots.

It’s a disheartening task, more focused on the field players than the goalkeepers. Turning his brain off, Wonwoo tries to ignore how he is conceding over 20 goals within a couple of minutes. It’s a confidence boost for the team. At least that is what he’s telling himself as he throws the ball back to the line of players in front of him.

The time between warm up and lining up before the game is short. Wonwoo murmurs encouraging words to his teammates as he walks past them and receives a compassionate smile from Seokmin and a pat on the back from Mingyu.

Even in his winter coat and a blanket wrapped around him, Wonwoo is freezing within minutes after the start of the game. His mood only worsens when they concede their first goal after sixteen minutes.

The ground is slightly frozen and the dusting of snow makes the ball behave unpredictably. It gets past their defensive line and even though the angle isn’t best for the opposing attacker, he manages to score past Seongho.

Wonwoo sinks further down his seat. While it is an unlucky goal, it still is somewhat tolerable.

The next two goals aren’t, however.

Someone pats Wonwoo’s shoulder sympathetically, but he is too busy trying to not outwardly let his emotions show on his face. He pretends not to notice the cameras not so subtly trained on his face. The press is going to have a field day with this.

On the field, Mingyu looks equal parts dejected and ready to step into the goal himself. Wonwoo can’t put it past him, not even a world-class defender can do much when the goalkeeper can’t lock down the goal.

The seconds tick by slowly. In the 80th minute, the trainer subs Seokmin off. Wonwoo’s eyes follow him as he walks past him. It’s the first time Wonwoo doesn’t see a smile on his face, and it makes his heart twist. This isn’t right.

At last, after 93 painful minutes, the final whistle blows. They lose 3:1, Jisoo’s goal in stoppage time nothing more than a consolation. The negative energy is tangible in the locker room. It’s quieter than what Wonwoo got used to in the last weeks, it just serves to make his skin crawl.

Not having played a single minute, Wonwoo is one of the first people back on the bus. One of the co-trainers looks up from where they are sitting hunched over notes of the game.

“Congrats on securing your number one spot”, he says with a grim smile. Wonwoo doesn’t know if it was meant sarcastically or not. It’s a weird thing to say, anyway. Sure, Wonwoo wasn’t happy with sitting on the bench, but he wouldn’t have wished for anyone to fail as spectacularly against a supposedly easy opponent.

He lets the comment slide and instead falls into one of the seats at the back of the bus. The rest of the team slowly shuffle into the bus. When Mingyu spots him and the back, he walks straight to the open seat next to Wonwoo and sits down with a groan. His hair is still slightly damp from the shower and his face looks twisted where he is leaning against the backrest.

Wonwoo wants to say something, but any words of affirmation he can think of don’t feel right. Seokmin sits down in the row on the other side, looking more refreshed than he did on the field, but still missing the signature smile.

To his surprise, Jisoo follows just a few minutes later. He makes Seokmin move from the window seat and sits down without acknowledging Wonwoo. Not that he would have anything to say to Wonwoo, but he is still shocked Jisoo even tolerates sitting this close to him.

“What a shit show, mh?” Mingyu says.

“Shut up! Maybe when I go to sleep, I will wake up and all of this was just a nightmare”, Seokmin groans. He shakes Jisoo’s shoulder, which earns him a glare. He ignores it. “I think Jisoo and I set a new record with how much we ran over the field.”

Seokmin pulls out his phone, presumably to look up how many kilometres the both of them actually ran in 90 minutes. Wonwoo recognises the football app he pulled up by the ugly bright green layout.

“I’m frustrated”, Mingyu says. Once again, Wonwoo doesn’t quite know how to comfort him. Such a loss is hard on everyone in the team but especially for the defence. He hopes Mingyu won’t beat himself up over it. Despite the final result, he still pulled some amazing defensive moves. Wonwoo doesn’t want to imagine how many goals they would have conceived without him.

“I’m sorry”, Wonwoo says quietly. As an attempt at comfort, maybe, or as an apology for not trying harder during their practice sessions.

Mingyu shakes his head. “Nothing you could’ve done.”

But it’s not true. Wonwoo should’ve tried harder. Should’ve fought back when they told him their decision about the starting goalkeeper for the game.

“You deserve someone who has your back behind you”, Wonwoo says firmly.

“And that someone is you?” Jisoo asks sarcastically. Wonwoo is shocked. First of all, he didn’t even realise Jisoo was listening in on their conversation. He is usually a calm person, not easily controlled by his emotions. But Jisoo’s comment makes his blood feel icy.

“I didn’t get signed to be a bench warmer”, he hisses back. Mingyu looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than between the two of them.

“Yet it was Seongho on the field instead, what does that say about you?” Jisoo tilts his head and smiles. Sweet and full of venom.

Seeing Jisoo smiling like that feels infuriating, making Wonwoo react with more emotions than he usually does. “And look where that brought us. I wouldn’t have let them score three easy goals on us.”

“Better put your money where your mouth is before trash talking others.”

Before Wonwoo can answer, Seokmin lets out a loud gasp. “Twelve kilometres?!” He looks up, and finds Wonwoo and Jisoo still glaring at each other. “Did I miss something?”

Jisoo only huffs and turns to look out of the window again. It’s a sign for Wonwoo to lean back again as well. Next to him, Mingyu watches him with his lips pressed into a thin line. The rest of the ride is quiet.

ᯓ⚽︎

[READ] Gangwon stuns clueless Seoul in season opener

After 93 minutes, Gangwon scored an amazing victory against Seoul. Just 16 minutes in, Kim Jonghyun opened the score for Gangwon, chipping the ball into the net with ease. Not even 10 minutes later, Kim Jiwoong makes it two for the team. Just before the half-time whistle, Kim Jwoong puts a third on the score.

Done with their duty for the day, Gangwon clearly held back in the second half. Even then, Seoul seemed to be out of ideas and could not get through Gangwon’s loose defence until stoppage time. With a lucky header, Hong Jisoo saved Seoul from a total embarrassment, ending the game with a final score of 3-1.

Especially goalkeeper Kang Seongho delivered a performance riddled with mistakes that led to disappointment for the team. After the record signing of goalkeeper Jeon Wonwoo, many fans are left wondering why the supposed key player only took place on the bench today.

Just a day before, Seoul’s Sporting Director said: “We want to give the team confidence for the season opener. After three seasons with the club, Kang Seongho knows the team inside out and is someone our players can fall back on in critical situations.”

It is left to see if Seoul can recover from this nightmare start.

hide comments

goldstar83 record-breaking deal for another bench warmer, we should’ve tried harder signing Lee Chan

ri_do Kang Seongho has never once shown that he has League 1 potential! Only reason he is still there is because he’s friends with the owners of the club!

ᯓ⚽︎

In the days leading up to their next match, Wonwoo throws himself into practice. No matter what their trainer said or what is written in his contract, the number one spot won’t just be served to him on a silver platter. The ache in his muscles every evening pays off when their trainer presents the starting line up on Friday and Wonwoo’s name is first on the list. He breathes out a relieved sigh and gets a pat on the shoulder from Mingyu.

It’s not something Wonwoo would celebrate, usually. After all, the match hasn’t been played yet and worst case scenario, Wonwoo ends up with a worse performance than Seongho. His stomach turns just from thinking about it.

Still, getting a spot in the starting line up calls for celebration from Mingyu and Seokmin. It’s tradition, according to them anyway. They convince Wonwoo to spend the evening at a tiny Gogigui place. The one where they went to after they played their first match in the starting line up.

Seokmin even tried convincing Jisoo to come, but the older one declined. It bothers Seokmin more than Wonwoo. He hasn’t seen the glare Jisoo sent after Wonwoo after Seokmin turned around. Wonwoo figures it wouldn’t have been an enjoyable evening company for either of them anyway.

The place they take him to is tiny, cozy in a way that Wonwoo sits squished between Mingyu and the wall, but he doesn’t mind the warmth or proximity. The meat is cheap but no less delicious and while they still pretend to look after their nutrition requirements at first, it is quickly forgotten in favour of just digging in.

It’s the third time they get together like this, fourth if you count their more or less successful helping-Wonwoo-move-in mission. Between this and seeing each other almost every day for practice, Wonwoo has started growing fond of these two. He watches fondly as the two of them bicker over the best grilling techniques and keeps loading their plates with more meat when they aren’t looking.

Wonwoo might be their senior in age, but part of him is still relieved that they took him under their wings for the first couple of weeks. He isn’t a teenager anymore. Switching classes and having to find new friends, luckily, no longer counts as his fears. Still, having them around made moving to Seoul easier.

The atmosphere is relaxed, enough that it makes Wonwoo feel carefree for the night. The more it startles him when he looks to his side and finds Mingyu sitting with his shoulders tensed. He tries to brush it off at first, a trick of the eye, maybe.

But as he keeps throwing glances at Mingyu he notices more signs. It’s subtle in the way his smile falls when he thinks no one is looking, or how he keeps shivering despite the heat radiating off the grill and his own body.

He does a good enough job at hiding it, Wonwoo doesn’t think Seokmin has noticed until now. That is why he waits until their friend leaves for the bathroom before he gently nudges Mingyu’s side. “What’s up?”

Mingyu startles. His face quickly morphs back to neutral before he puts a pleasant smile on his face. One usually reserved for media people and cameras.

“Nothing, I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m here if you want to talk”, Wonwoo reassures quietly. He isn’t pleased with Mingyu’s lack of an answer. When Seokmin returns to the table, Wonwoo mentally drops the topic for today.

To his surprise, Mingyu seems to brood over it, though. He stops taking part in the conversation to the point that both Seokmin and Wonwoo start to throw worried glances at him and between each other. Finally, after what feels like endless minutes, he lets out a deep sigh, catching both of their attention immediately.

“I’m sad, I think”, he leans his head against Wonwoo’s shoulder, “or, worried?”

Wonwoo exchanges a quick look with Seokmin, but the younger one looks just as clueless. He wraps an arm around Mingyu and pulls him closer to his side.

“What are you worried about?” Silence wraps around them for a couple of seconds. From how Mingyu is leaning against him, Wonwoo has a hard time seeing his face, but he can feel his jaw working against his shoulder.

“My… friend. He starts his service on Sunday.” Mingyu’s voice is thick, laced with something heavy. Their game is on Sunday. No matter their schedule, the possibilities of Mingyu being able to see his friend off are slim to none.

Wonwoo rubs circles into Mingyu’s side and politely pretends he doesn’t hear the quiet sniffles. The mood turns sombre as Seokmin reaches across the table to take Mingyu’s hand in his.

The evening turns quieter after that. Wonwoo and Seokmin try their best to cheer Mingyu up. At one point, Mingyu looks up apologetic. “I’m sorry, this evening was about you.”

Wonwoo shakes his head and ruffles his hair. “None of that. I would hate to celebrate something when my friends feel upset.”

A flush takes over Mingyu’s face as he wraps himself closer around Wonwoo. He would always choose comforting his friends over anything else. It is no different today. When they say their goodbyes, Mingyu even has a small smile on his face, making Wonwoo’s heart feel lighter, too.

The game on Sunday is played on home soil – Wonwoo’s first game for the team and simultaneously the first time on a field as big as Seoul’s World Cup Stadium. Wonwoo tries not to outwardly show how nervous he feels.

When he sees Mingyu at the stadium, he is glad his friend feels better again. He might not be quieter than his usual self, but Wonwoo knows he won’t give anything but his best during the game. Mingyu even gives him an encouraging smile before Wonwoo leaves the locker room for warm-ups.

The stadium isn’t sold out today, but when Wonwoo steps foot on the field for the first time and sees the sixty-thousand seats, it still makes his heart beat fast. Before he can overthink it, Wonwoo is already standing in the goal waiting for kick-off. Last week's game still has its traces woven into the team, awaking their hunger for a win.

Daegu never stood a chance, making it an impressive 5:0 win for Seoul. Satisfactory for everyone but Wonwoo. While the rest of the team wiped the floor with their opponents, Wonwoo could have as well played a few rounds of Yunnori in the goal, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. He probably touched the ball a total of three times.

Still, Wonwoo leaves the field and his first game for Seoul with a clean sheet.

He keeps it up for the next four games, resulting in three wins and one goalless draw. The hardest challenge yet comes in April in the form of Jeonbuk. They stand undefeated at the top of the table, but with a win tonight and due to Seoul’s better goal difference, they could steal the top spot. No pressure at all.

After their last practice, the trainer team sits them down to talk about tactics. It’s no different from the other matches, but Wonwoo pays extra close attention to the sheets in front of him. They’re full of different stats of Jeonbuk’s attacking players.

“Lastly, you should look out for their number 13, block him as much as you can, do not let him run away from you.” Their trainer finishes the breakdown of Jeonbuk’s expected starting line-up. Wonwoo flips through his papers until he finds the specific player. Lee Chan, a striker in his rookie season. Incredibly quick. His attacking stats are impressive. Wonwoo has the feeling he needs to pay extra attention to him during the game.

The streets on Sunday are packed, even hours before kick off. The game draws a large crowd of fans and onlookers. It’s a sold out game today. As the most spectacular game of the day, it draws a large crowd of fans and onlookers. Wonwoo’s usual commute to the stadium takes double the time, and he is suddenly glad the club requires him to be at the stadium this early.

When Wonwoo steps on the field for warm-ups, he’s greeted by deafening cheers and people calling his name. It sends a shiver down his spine. Determined not to let his clean sheet streak end here, Wonwoo makes his way toward the goal.

The game is brutal. Jeonbuk pushes hard and fast right from the start, leaving no room for error. Like their trainer predicted, Lee Chan does end up being a problem, leaving their defence in the dust with skilled dribbles and quick manoeuvres. As the last defence, Wonwoo gives his everything to block his shots. Seeing the young player get more and more frustrated somehow pushes Wonwoo even more.

During half-time, the locker room is wrapped tense in silence. Everyone tries to rest as much as possible in those fifteen minutes. Wonwoo watches Mingyu drown a whole water bottle in less than a minute and silently prays for a goal soon. Preferably on the right side.

They have to walk out too early for Wonwoo’s liking. Standing with his back turned to Jeonbuk’s away fans proves to be a whole challenge in itself. He closes his eyes for a second, all the noise slowly fading into the background. There is only the game in front of him, every scream and insult from the guest fans behind him is drowned out into nothingness.

The whistle for the start of the second half blows and the game is on again.

In the 58th minute, one of Seoul’s players finally manages to break out into a promising sprint towards their opponent’s penalty box. There is a scramble for the ball, too many players blocking Wonwoo’s view to properly make out what is happening, but then the net shakes on impact and a deafening cheer goes through the stadium.

Behind him, Jeonbuk’s fans let out defeated groans, and Wonwoo watches with satisfaction as Seokmin runs off to the side and celebrates with the rest of the team. After that, Jeonbuk only pushes back harder, throwing everything they have against the team. It gets ugly quickly, with more players on the ground than on-ball-action happening in the last fifteen minutes. Consequently, the added time puts another seven minutes on the clock.

Everything blurs together, Wonwoo desperately sends long shots away from the goal, only to have the ball back in front of him a few seconds later. He finally manages to get a breather when the ball goes out of bounds on the other side of the field. Without the time being shown on the big screen, Wonwoo doesn’t know how much of the added minutes are left, but he’s sure the resulting corner kick will be the last play of the game.

Only, the referee doesn’t blow the whistle when the ball bounces around the penalty area without hitting the net. Worse even, Jeonbuk’s number 13 is suddenly open and starts running like his life depends on it.

Everything happens too quickly. Behind him, Jeonbuk’s fans start shouting, willing their attacker forward just by their sheer voices alone. Further back, Mingyu desperately tries to catch up, but even with his longer legs, he doesn’t come close to Lee Chan.

An attacker alone in front of the goal is almost always a guaranteed goal. Unless Wonwoo chooses the right corner by some form of miracle. Sometimes it isn’t a miracle, but a small note at the bottom of a long list of attacking stats.

‘Usually places penalty shots in the bottom left corner.’

It’s a gamble more than anything. Clearly, this isn’t anywhere near a penalty situation. But with the pressure on him, Wonwoo can only hope Chan relies on muscle memory.

Time slows down. He dives for the corner, a split-second before Chan’s foot touches the ball. The power behind the shot is remarkable, but it finds its demise at Wonwoo’s fingertips. It bounces once, twice, before Wonwoo can get his limbs to move and scramble after it.

By the time Chan realises he didn’t manage to score, Wonwoo has the ball secured in his arms. His heart hammers out of his chest. Distantly, the final whistle blows, and Wonwoo drops his forehead to the ball, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

A moment later, his teammates are on top of him. Mingyu screams into his ear and someone is roughly shaking his shoulder. Wonwoo is still struggling to catch up with what just happened. Only after the majority of his team got their share of ruffling his hair and patting his shoulder, does Wonwoo slowly sit up. He did it. He kept the clean sheet.

In front of him, his teammates are celebrating, but Wonwoo’s eyes find the lonely Jeonbuk player just a few meters away. Chan sits, knees drawn to his chest and chewing on his lips, as if he hasn’t come to terms with missing the chance to score. Wonwoo gets up slowly and makes his way over to the young player.

“How did you know?” he asks, still staring at the empty goal.

“What do you mean?”

“How did you know which corner to go?” Finally, Chan looks up at him. Despite the defeat laced in his voice, he smiles.

“Intuition, I guess.” Wonwoo smirks. It doesn’t seem to satisfy Chan, but he accepts the offered hand anyway and lets Wonwoo pull him to his feet. He walks off with a wave, and Wonwoo goes to join his team’s celebrations.

On the way back to the locker rooms, someone shoulder checks him hard. Wonwoo manages to catch himself in time to see Jisoo walking past him. He glares at Wonwoo as if it wasn’t Jisoo who bumped into him.

“Guess you weren’t a complete waste of money”, he says, and walks off. Stunned, all Wonwoo could do was stare after him. There are hundreds of possible ways to compliment someone, Wonwoo would’ve even made due with a simple “thank you”, but he takes it.

Strangely, the compliment, however weird it was, almost felt better than winning the game itself.

ᯓ⚽︎

[WATCH] Lee Seokmin explains celebration after Seoul’s win against Jeonnbuk

video transcript

Lee Seokmin arrives in the mixed zone with a big smile on his face

Interviewer: Congrats on the win! You’re going into the international break as the league leader. How does it feel?

Lee Seokmin: It feels amazing, obviously! What a game! [he laughs] Everyone fought so hard.

Interviewer: You scored the winning goal today. Can you explain your celebration?

Lee Seokmin: What, this? [he waves his hand in front of his face] John Cena.

Interviewer: Why?

Lee Seokmin: [laughs] He follows me on Instagram.

ᯓ⚽︎

They manage to hold onto the top spot for the next two games before the international summer break. With about two weeks until the start of the Asian Cup, the national team gets together in Seoul to use the stadium as training grounds.

Wonwoo didn’t expect a call-up, despite what a bunch of sport magazines claimed. He joined FC Seoul five months ago, has played as a starting player for less than that. It’s not the time yet. Especially not with an international competition ahead of them.

Still, Seokmin and Mingyu insist on keeping their weekly get-together tradition and drag Wonwoo with them to meet the national team.

The bar they’re in got rented out by the full team, staff and players mingling together for some relaxation before the big tournament. Wonwoo tries to dig his heels in when Mingyu leads him to a table with Choi Seungcheol and Lee Jihoon, two players he has been admiring for a long time already. Unfortunately, Mingyu just keeps dragging him forward until it’s too late to run.

Briefly, Wonwoo fears it could get awkward. Lee Jihoon plays for Jeonbuk, and they did just steal their number one spot in the league. To his relief, Jihoon greats them with a joke and a promise of beating them in the next game, making Wonwoo breathe a little easier. Even talking to Seungcheol, feels like he is talking to a friend he has known for years, instead of talking to the captain of the national team.

Even after Mingyu leaves to take a call from his friend, their conversation doesn’t break off. When their conversation shifts to video games, Wonwoo finally relaxes fully. They even invite him to join one of their gaming sessions once the tournament is over. It reminds Wonwoo that his gaming PC is still packed in boxes somewhere in his spare bedroom. He hadn’t found the time and motivation to unpack it yet. His old laptop still does the job of sending an occasional E-mail just fine.

Everything feels too casual, not like the elite of South Korea's football is reunited here before preparing for an international tournament.

Wonwoo is glad he somehow ended up with the calmer people of the team. Easy conversation and good drinks included. It’s a stark contrast to what the rest of the team are up to. On a makeshift stage, Seokmin, accompanied by two other players, sings his heart out at the karaoke machine, much to the delight of Jihoon next to him.

“How long do you think before those two realise they’re having fun together?” Jihoon says, pointing at the two players next to Seokmin. Kwon Soonyoung and Boo Seungkwan, the most dangerous wing duo South Korea has to offer. And bitter rivals, according to Jihoon.

In front of him, Seungcheol is deep in thought, only pulling his attention back to them when Jihoon starts snapping his fingers in front of his face. “Huh?”

“Stop being lovesick and go do your captain duty”, Jihoon waves in the direction of the karaoke machine, where the duo now looks two seconds away from going at each other's throats. Seungcheol gets up with a groan and walks over to the stage. Pulling the two apart by the back of their necks, he deposits Seungkwan at a table further down and takes Soonyoung back with him to their own table.

For a moment, Soonyoung grumbles something about cheating at karaoke, but then he happily accepts the shot Jihoon pushes towards him. It’s not long before Seokmin joins them again after getting left alone at the karaoke machine. It brings a new energy to the table. Both Seokmin and Soonyoung are incredibly loud when paired together.

It quickly gets overwhelming. Wonwoo leans back, still actively trying to follow the conversation as much as possible, but the words keep blurring together. He didn’t have that much to drink, did he?

As he walks to the bar to ask for a glass of water, another player suddenly appears in front of him. Almost jumping out of his skin, all he can do is stare at Yoon Jeonghan, who lets his eyes travel over Wonwoo like he is a piece of meat. He looks even more striking than on TV. With his black bangs falling softly over his eyes and the mischievous smirk on his face, Wonwoo’s poor gay heart is running extra laps.

“So you’re the new, little goalkeeper?” Jeonghan tilts his head to the side and leans against the bar.

Wonwoo can only nod dumbly, before he stops himself and shakes his head. “I didn’t get the call-up.”

“I’m not talking about the national team”, Jeonghan waves him off, “I’m Jeonghan.”

“I know.” Jeonghan raises one of his eyebrows and levels Wonwoo with another scrutinising look. “I’m Wonwoo”, he quickly adds when breathing starts feeling too hard.

“Nice to meet you, Wonwoo-ssi”, he says before leaving Wonwoo alone again. A little helplessly, Wonwoo stares after him. What was that?

“You just got Jeonghaned.”

For the second time this evening, Wonwoo almost jumps out of his skin. He would really appreciate it if those national players could stop scaring the shit out of him. Turning around, he finds Wen Junhui, the team’s striker, leaning over in his direction. There is a wide smile on Junhui’s face, and as he leans back, Wonwoo finds one of the midfield players behind him. Xu Minghao.

Wonwoo grabs his glass of water and takes a big gulp to settle his nerves. This whole national team experience has suddenly become incredibly stressful. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, he just does that”, Junhui waves off, “Gets a kick out of it or something.” He turns around to Minghao, looking for confirmation, but the midfielder just shrugs. “Care to join us?”

Wonwoo’s eyes fall on the tabletop in front of them, a complicated looking card game laid out on top of it. “Sure.”

He loses every round against those two. Still, Wonwoo has fun and ends up staying the rest of the evening. Only when the first people slowly start shuffling out of the bar, does he find himself with his original group again for a last round of drinks. He clinks glasses with Seungcheol before downing his shot.

“You talked to Jeonghan earlier”, Seungcheol starts casually.

“Uh, yeah?”

“What did he want?”

“He just introduced himself, I think.” Wonwoo still isn’t sure if Jeonghan was actually just being nice or if he had any ulterior motives. That whole interaction still feels strange. Next to him, Seungcheol just hums in response and looks further down the tables.

Following his eyes, Wonwoo finds Jeonghan easily. His attention is caught by someone else, though. Jisoo sits opposite Jeonghan, nodding along to whatever he’s being told and then looking scandalised when Jeonghan holds his hands up as if showing the size of something.

It feels weird to see Jisoo so at ease when all Wonwoo knows from him are frowns and glares. The soft smile on his face suits him. As if sensing that someone is watching him, Jisoo looks up and sends Wonwoo a glare when he catches his eyes. Ah. Seems like it’s business as usual after all.

The evening ends quietly after Wonwoo gets back to his flat. While he enjoyed the company throughout most of the evening, he still can’t stop the strange feeling developing in his stomach. They've known each other for years already, some having played together for longer than that.

No one has treated him unkindly, but Wonwoo still felt out of place. Of course, it has always been his dream to play for the national team, but would he really be able to fit in there? Among all these elite players? Wonwoo falls asleep without an answer.

ᯓ⚽︎

[READ] National Team ready for AFC Asian Cup

The team has gathered in Seoul for some last preparations ahead of the AFC Asian Cup. Compared to the last friendly matches, the team didn’t see a lot of changes.

After his stunning debut in the pre-season, defender Chwe Hansol is set to play his first major tournament for the national team. In the midfield, Xu Minghao makes his return after recovering from a torn hamstring.

In a surprise press conference a couple of days ago, Jung Yunho announced his retirement from the national team after the cup. It fuels the speculations around FC Seoul’s goalkeeper Jeon Wonwoo after fans were left surprised over the lack of a nomination.

The national trainer declined to comment on it, stating that Jung Yunho has his fate and that he trust him to do well in his last games. Jeon Wonwoo is currently leading the top goalkeeper list in the K League 1.

The team are set to play their first game against Malaysia on Wednesday, going into the match as favourites.

Related

[WATCH] Jung Yunho announces shocking retirement

[READ] FC Seoul takes top spot in K League 1 ahead of International Break

ᯓ⚽︎

During the break, practice is reduced to three times per week. It gives Wonwoo the opportunity to finally put some work into his flat. While it came mostly furnished, it never quite felt lived in. Not that it particularly bothered Wonwoo with his tight schedule, but now that he has a little more time at hand, he feels the itch in his fingers.

The first thing he does is set up his gaming PC. Luckily, they had already built up the desk in the second bedroom when Wonwoo first moved in, but it had been catching dust in there ever since. It doesn’t take long to get everything ready to boot up and suddenly the quick check, to see if everything is working correctly, turns into a six-hour gaming session.

During the next few days, he doesn’t get anything more done, too emerged into his various games he didn’t realise had been missing from his life until now. On the weekend, however, he finds himself strolling through Seoul in search of new decorations. He comes home with a painting of a wonky cat and a bundle of tiny plants. Wonwoo decidedly doesn’t have a green thumb, but those plants are tiny and Wonwoo is weak for cute stuff. He scatters them around his flat and makes a mental note to not forget to water them.

The evenings are spent with the rest of his teammates, watching the Asian Cup and cheering on the national team. Wonwoo is glad when he finds himself getting along with them well. Especially after their game against Jeonbuk, he noticed a big shift within the team. While most interactions with his teammates were friendly, he still felt like an outsider most of the time. Maybe that is why he kept to Seokmin and Mingyu so much. The two were happy to adopt him into their friend group after all.

Now he regularly gets stopped after practice. Most of the time just to chat, but sometimes he even ends up joining his teammates for dinner.

Wonwoo might have felt like an imposter with the national team, but he finally starts feeling at home within the Seoul team. If the national team doesn’t work out in the end, at least he can establish himself here.

Unfortunately for the national team, their road ends in the Quarter Finals against Japan. Even so, Seokmin still looks cheerful when they rejoin the regular practice again four days later and tells Wonwoo everything about their time in Thailand. You’d think he went there for his summer holidays instead of taking part in a major football tournament.

Jisoo doesn’t show up all morning.

It’s a jarring moment of realisation. Usually, Wonwoo doesn’t pay much attention to the whereabouts of Hong Jisoo. Being friends with Seokmin, who is a close friend of Jisoo, generally keeps them in close vicinity to each other anyway. Wonwoo only really notices his absence with the lack of glares being sent his way.

Just like Seokmin and Mingyu, Jisoo was supposed to rejoin the team the day after they landed back in Korea. Was he sick? Did something happen to him? He usually shows up early and hasn’t missed a session ever since Wonwoo joined the team.

Wait. Wonwoo stops dead in his tracks, causing Mingyu to bump into him. Since when does he know Jisoo’s usual schedule? He didn’t realise he even paid close enough attention to gather this information.

“You good?” Mingyu puts an arm around Wonwoo’s neck. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine”, Wonwoo mutters more to himself instead of an actual answer.

Brushing the thought away, he follows Mingyu and Seokmin into the gym room. Today's training is focused on individual strength and flexibility. The three of them set their mats down in the corner of the room to start on warm up stretches.

Half twisted into a stretch, Wonwoo notices movement out of the corner of his eyes.

To put it frankly, Jisoo looks like shit when he walks into the room and straight to their little group. Dark circles underneath his eyes and hair unkempt. Wonwoo tries to figure out if he has ever seen Jisoo not put together and comes away empty. He quickly adverts his eyes, feeling like Jisoo would appreciate his staring even less than usual.

“Looks like your girlfriend kept you up all night”, Seokmin jokes. It doesn’t land, as Jisoo just silently sets up his mat next to Seokmin’s and starts stretching. Briefly, Wonwoo tries to make eye contact with Seokmin, but the younger one just stares at Jisoo with concern written all over his face. He turns to Mingyu, but his friend looks just as clueless as Wonwoo himself

“What happened?” Seokmin asks, but again Jisoo doesn’t answer. An awkward silence falls over their little group. Wonwoo tries to focus on his warm-up but ends up sending more sideways glances to Jisoo and Seokmin than doing actual stretches. Next to him, Seokmin has abandoned his warm-up altogether in favour of staring at Jisoo who is at least still pretending to do proper stretches.

When he finally does speak, Wonwoo has to strain his ears to be able to understand him. Voice quiet and hoarse. “Jihye cheated. Caught them when I got home last night.”

Wonwoo freezes. It's not a comfortable position, with his hands around his toes and his forehead almost touching his knees. But when he hears shuffling and quiet sniffles, his muscles lock in place.

The next words are hard to hear, Seokmin speaking quiet words of comfort. At least that's what Wonwoo assumes. He slowly sits back up, subtly trying to shuffle closer. It’s not that Wonwoo is particularly nosy – well, maybe a little bit nosy – but he always had the tendency to try and comfort crying people. Even if it’s just with a show of support or an awkward shoulder rub. He pulls one of his knees to his chest and twists his upper body into another stretch.

In front of him, Jisoo rubs his eyes and leans his head against Seokmin’s shoulder. “Can I crash on your couch for a while? At least until I find a new flat”, he says quietly. Seokmin hums, his eyes suddenly meeting Wonwoo’s who quickly twists the other way to not be caught staring.

“Hey Hyung”, Seokmin says, “Wonwoo-hyung has a spare bedroom, you could stay with him.”

Wonwoo twists backs around so fast that it can’t be good for his muscles. Words fail him as he can only stare at Seokmin, mouth hanging open without a sound coming out. Looking for help from Mingyu, he finds the younger one with a similarly shocked expression on his face.

To his credit, Jisoo doesn’t look as disgusted as Wonwoo would’ve guessed, but there still is a slight frown painted on his face. “Seokmin-ah, I don’t think-”

“It would be perfect! The bed is probably more comfortable than my couch, and you can have your own room!” Briefly, Wonwoo wonders when Seokmin turned into a real estate agent and why it is his flat being advertised. On the other side, Jisoo also doesn’t look convinced. Before either of them can argue further, Seokmin doubles down on his point.

“We could get your stuff after practice, and you could stay with him until you find your own place.” Seokmin looks up and right at Wonwoo. “Right, Hyung?”

Wonwoo would be an asshole if he says no now. Especially when Jisoo looks like he’s got convinced by Seokmin’s argument and is seriously considering the idea. It’s not like he needs the extra room anyway.

“Yeah, sure, you can have the spare room”, Wonwoo hears himself saying.

Following Seokmin’s suggestion, they make their way over to Jisoo’s old flat after practice concludes for the day. Standing in the middle of the flat while the other three walk through the rooms collecting Jisoo’s stuff, Wonwoo feels a little lost. He initially suggested driving ahead to his own flat, mainly to tidy it up ahead of the unexpected guests, but Mingyu argued they would need all the help they could get.

Somehow, Wonwoo doubts that this is really the case. Especially when he just awkwardly stands at the sidelines as he watches while his friends throw Jisoo’s stuff in random suitcases and boxes they borrowed from the facility room. At one point, he starts wandering through the flat.

Jisoo must have warned his ex that he would come and pick up his stuff because she is nowhere to be seen. It’s probably for the better, considering how pissed off Mingyu looked as they climbed the stairs to the flat.

The decor in the living room is minimalistic and modern but evokes a feeling of sterility and coldness in Wonwoo. He can easily make out Jisoo’s stuff, a guitar in the corner of the room, a man of the match trophy on the sideboard. They stick out like a sore thumb. He carries them back into the bedroom, handing them to Seokmin before wandering off again.

In the kitchen, he finds a charger and pockets it. If it isn’t Jisoo’s she would have to get a new one, but Wonwoo figures that’s not really his problem. When he walks back into the living room, he finds the TV remote and a plan forms in his head.

Finding a small plastic bag is easy enough, and while Mingyu starts carrying boxes downstairs, Wonwoo collects batteries out of remotes and unscrews a couple light bulbs around the house. They all land in the bag. It looks like Jisoo already went through the bathroom, but Wonwoo finds a toothbrush and puts it in the bag too before adding a flowery deodorant, too.

On his way out, he comes past a supply closet and takes a new pack of toilet paper rolls. He pulls out the laces from a pair of sneakers and puts the other pair on the highest shelf he can find. By then, the others have finished gathering Jisoo’s stuff. Wonwoo puts the bag in his car and leads them back to his flat.

Luckily, the flat isn’t as messy as Wonwoo feared. Sure, his shoes don’t stand in a neat row and his breakfast bowl is still laying in the sink, but it could be worse. The only problem are the boxes still standing in the corner of the second bedroom, but they’re small and few enough in numbers that they quickly find a space in Wonwoo’s closet.

For a brief moment, Wonwoo debates on leaving his desk and PC set up in the second bedroom, but he figures Jisoo wouldn't appreciate having Wonwoo play games in the room that is supposed to give him privacy. Realistically, it shouldn't be that long until Jisoo finds a new flat. Wonwoo should be able to survive one or two weeks without his games, but before he can think more about it, he has already started disassembling his setup and carries everything into the living room.

Within 30 minutes, his desk and PC found a new spot next to the TV. With nothing else to do, Wonwoo hovers awkwardly in the door between the hallway and the second bedroom. Jisoo and Seokmin sit on the floor in front of him, sorting through Jisoo’s stuff. On the other side of the room, Mingyu scrolls through his phone. Like Wonwoo he has nothing else to do but looks a lot less awkward about it.

After watching them for a couple of minutes, Wonwoo decides to keep his hands otherwise busy. Back in the kitchen, he sets up a pot of tea and starts tidying up around the place. There isn’t much to do besides cleaning the dishes and putting them back into the cupboard. Moving on to the living room, he straightens up the cushions and throw blanket.

By the time Wonwoo seriously starts considering getting out the duster, the other three finally come out of the bedroom. It’s getting late now, the sun already setting. While Mingyu looks fine with letting Jisoo and Wonwoo be on their own, but Seokmin keeps hovering. He hugs Jisoo tight before putting on his shoes, and then again afterwards.

“Call me, if you need anything or just want to talk”, he says firmly. For a moment, Wonwoo is slightly offended. Wouldn’t he be able to get stuff for Jisoo? On the other hand, Jisoo himself would probably prefer having anyone else but Wonwoo to talk to. It’s probably Seokmin’s way of caring for people, especially people who are as close to him as Jisoo is.

Wonwoo bites his lips and watches in silence how Seokmin and Mingyu leave his flat, but not without Seokmin turning around twice and waving. Finally, Jisoo closes the door but doesn’t move away from his spot.

“I’ll give you a room tour”, Wonwoo says quietly. When Jisoo doesn’t protest, he gestures to the two doors in the hallway. “Back there is my bedroom, this here is the bathroom. Obviously, you saw the second bedroom already.”

There really isn’t much else to show for in his flat. The open floor plan makes the tour through his kitchen and living room almost unnecessary, but Jisoo doesn’t mention it besides nodding along. His eyes dart around the flat and stop at the painting of the wonky cat.

“Cute”, he deadpans. Wonwoo can’t tell if it’s sarcastic or not.

“If you can’t find anything, just ask me”, Wonwoo says, ignoring the comment and concluding the tour. Once again, Jisoo only nods and then leaves for his room. That ought to be fun.

Wonwoo sinks onto the couch and turns on the TV for some background noise while scrolling on his phone. A while later, he hears the door to Jisoo’s room opening and then the bathroom door closing. The shower starts running soon after.

It’s been years since Wonwoo had a roommate, and he’s suddenly hyper aware of all the noises Jisoo makes while moving around. Not that his new roommate is particularly loud in the things he does, it’s just that every sound that Wonwoo didn’t cause himself sounds strange to his ears.

He figured he wouldn’t see Jisoo for the rest of the night, so Wonwoo is positively surprised when he suddenly sees Jisoo walking into the kitchen, studying the still slightly steaming pot of tea. Once again, Wonwoo tries not to openly stare at him, instead watching from the corner of his eyes.

“Where do you keep your mugs?” Wonwoo almost flinches, not expecting Jisoo to actually talk to him.

“Right upper cabinet.” Subtlety is forgotten as Wonwoo now watches Jisoo opening the cabinet and looking over his mugs. It’s then that he suddenly remembers the plastic bag still sitting in the hallway.

He quickly gets up and fetches it before walking back to the kitchen. Jisoo looks at him questioningly. The mug in his hands is one of Wonwoo’s favourites, a little ugly looking football mug his eomma got him after he signed his first contract with Gyeongnam.

Wonwoo blinks a couple of times, trying to word out his thoughts. He suddenly feels stupid so he ends up holding the bag out for Jisoo. “I got something for you.”

Jisoo puts the mug down, takes one look at the bag and scoffs. “What, you want me to bring your trash out?”

“No! No, this is stuff from your ex’s flat.” That seems to be reason enough for Jisoo to drop his standoffish stance and look inside the bag. Wonwoo can feel the heat rising in his cheeks and decides to keep on talking. “I got the batteries out of her remotes and the lightbulbs from the living room and there is also a pack of toilet paper – shit, why are you crying?”

Fat tears roll over Jisoo’s face as he looks through the bag. Wonwoo quickly finds a package of tissues and hands them to Jisoo. He feels helpless. On one hand, his urge to comfort is strong but on the other hand, he never knows how to deal with crying people, especially people like Jisoo.

“I’m sorry, that wasn’t a good idea. I can bring the stuff back tomorrow.” He reaches out and gently rubs Jisoo’s shoulder.

Jisoo shakes his head and pushes Wonwoo’s hand away. “You’re so stupid”, he sobs, but it’s lacking the usual bite. Wonwoo thinks he can even see the hint of a smile as Jisoo dabs the tears away.

“See you tomorrow.” With that, Jisoo grabs the mug and the plastic bag and disappears back into the second bedroom. Hopefully that means he isn’t mad.

ᯓ⚽︎

Living with a roommate again is nothing like Wonwoo would’ve expected. Living with Jisoo specifically is nothing like he would have expected. As much as Jisoo radiates confidence on the field and with the team, he acts like a skittish cat around Wonwoo. If it weren’t for the sound of closing doors or stray mugs in the kitchen sink, Wonwoo would think he doesn’t have a roommate at all.

On Thursday, Jisoo leaves the flat even before Wonwoo wakes up. It’s not like it has Wonwoo particularly worried, he likes to sleep as long as possible, getting up and ready usually ten minutes before he has to leave for practice. Maybe Jisoo has some extra vice captain duties to attend to, or maybe he found a flat and wants to tour it before practice starts. It’s none of Wonwoo’s business anyway.

What he thought would only be a couple of days of living with Jisoo turns into a full week when the weekend comes around again. It's still early in the evening when Jisoo quietly enters the flat. He freezes in the doorway when he finds Wonwoo sprawled on the couch and Wonwoo quickly looks away trying to be interested in what the hosts of the pre match report are talking about.

Unfortunately, the hosts can't keep Wonwoo's attention for long, and he finds himself watching Jisoo from the corner of his eyes. Jisoo quietly rummages through the kitchen. If Wonwoo couldn't literally see Jisoo he'd think he wasn't even there.

On the TV screen both teams start walking out on the pitch, it catches Jisoo’s attention too, if the way he pauses what he's doing is any indicator of that. Wonwoo half watches the start of the game and half watches Jisoo as the older one makes himself dinner. A bowl of cornflakes, from what Wonwoo can't tell – not that he's judging.

The game is forgotten as Jisoo puts the bowl away and leans against the island counter. Does he intend to watch the whole 90 minutes like that? Longer even, if the game goes into extra time. From own experience, Wonwoo knows the angle to watch the TV from the kitchen isn't perfect, and spending 90 minutes leaning against the counter makes his own back hurt in sympathy.

What does Jisoo have against Wonwoo's couch? There is enough space for both of them to sit comfortably. He internally freezes. Does Jisoo not want to sit close to him?

Carefully, Wonwoo scoots to the furthest corner of the couch, before staring at Jisoo again. He coughs to get his attention and watches Jisoo flinch as if he forgot Wonwoo was even there.

“Jisoo-sii”, he says, patting the couch next to him, “do you want to join me?”

A second ticks by, and then another. Jisoo stares at him and for a moment Wonwoo thinks he might decline, throw a half-hearted insult his way and leave the kitchen entirely, but then he takes his mug and walks over. Last time Wonwoo checked his couch wasn’t made out of lava, but with how Jisoo looks at it, he might have to check again.

He sinks into the furthest corner, leaving enough space for Jesus and then some between the two of them. With tense shoulders and his knees pulled up to his chest, Jisoo looks like he’d rather be anywhere else but here, yet he stubbornly keeps his eyes on the TV and ignores Wonwoo’s glances.

For 90 minutes, Wonwoo would’ve liked to say he had paid more attention to the game than he did. There were too many thoughts circling around his head to focus, most of them involving Jisoo one way or another. Almost half a year with the club and Wonwoo still hasn’t figured out why Jisoo doesn’t like him. Living together for a week has left him even more confused.

Jisoo has barely talked to Wonwoo. Not that Wonwoo expected him to chit-chat and gossip about the team, but he expected a little more than dead silence at least. Although, now that Wonwoo thinks about it, if he had to unwillingly live with someone he hates after his ex broke up with him, he wouldn’t be very talkative either.

At least Jisoo started to ease up throughout the game. With his posture now relaxed instead of tensed up, he almost looks cozy sitting on Wonwoo’s couch.

“It feels better this way”, Jisoo says, still watching the TV. Wonwoo stares, brain rebooting as it tries to make sense of the words he just said. Finally, Jisoo looks his way and points at the TV after he must have noticed Wonwoo’s confusion. “Losing against the winning team, it feels slightly better.”

On screen, the Japanese national team is celebrating their win as they’re crowned champions of the Asian Cup. Wonwoo hadn’t even noticed the game was already over.

“Makes it feel less bad somehow”, Jisoo continues, but Wonwoo gets it without him having to explain. Losing against the team standing undefeated by the end. Fewer questions about what ifs, but the bitter taste of course doesn’t go away.

Jisoo doesn’t say more as he gets up and puts his mug in the sink. It’s the football mug from Wonwoo’s eomma again. An icy feeling suddenly makes its way up Wonwoo’s throat, Jisoo is going back to his room, the door will close, and the silence will return.

He had Jisoo talking without throwing insults, and suddenly he wants to hear more. Wants to hear about Jisoo’s thoughts on the tournament, even if Seokmin already told him everything in detail.

Wonwoo jumps up, the sudden movement making Jisoo turn around from where he is standing at the sink.

“How was Thailand?”, he blurts out without thinking. Jisoo raises one eyebrow and looks at Wonwoo questioningly.

“It was shit. We lost.”

“Apart from that.”

“You want to hear about that?”, Jisoo takes a look at his watch, “Now?”

Wonwoo pulls his shoulders up in a half shrug, half nod. In front of him, Jisoo looks at him with narrowed eyes.

“I’m tired”, is all he says, “maybe tomorrow.” It’s not exactly a no, but a clear dismissal. Wonwoo deflates a little bit, but doesn’t even know why he feels disappointed. Neither of them say anything as Jisoo rinses the mug off and leaves it to dry before walking past Wonwoo.

“Good night Jisoo-sii”, Wonwoo says quietly, but it must have been loud enough for Jisoo to hear as he falters in his steps and hesitates in front of the hallway. Then he groans, turning around looking – glaring at Wonwoo, but it’s once again lagging any heat.

“Just call my hyung, this is annoying”, he says and waves Wonwoo off. He disappears down the hallway, but Wonwoo can still make out a faint good night.

ᯓ⚽︎

For every step forward they take two steps back and what felt like the start of easy conversations with Jisoo is quickly forgotten when the older one just goes back into hiding. Technically, it’s not even a proper avoidance technique but more of a succession of circumstances.

As practice picks up again, Jisoo once again leaves before Wonwoo wakes up, and doesn’t come home until the late evening. Wonwoo only knows where he is when Seokmin tells him about another failed flat viewing the next day.

Jisoo does not tell him about his time in Thailand.

It’s fine. That’s what Wonwoo tells himself anyway, but when he starts noticing the bags underneath Jisoo’s eyes that seem to get bigger by the day, he starts to worry. Even if Jisoo wants to move out as quickly as possible, it shouldn’t interfere with his sleeping rhythm. Wonwoo doesn’t mind having him as a roommate for a little while longer if that means Jisoo can give his all during practice and the games.

Wonwoo needs to find a way for Jisoo to sleep longer. Maybe if his roommate wasn’t so stressed about finding a new flat, he wouldn’t stay out so late every day. Somehow, Wonwoo doubts he is looking at flats every time he goes out. There can’t be that many empty flats in Seoul that don’t reach up to Jisoo’s standard. Otherwise, he should probably consider firing his real estate agent.

With no real plan in mind, he doesn't immediately talk to Jisoo, wary of how to approach him and disturbing the precarious peace going on between them. It isn’t until he overhears a conversation of two staff members a couple of days later that he gets more suspicious of Jisoo’s situation.

“-shows up before anyone else and then just sits around in the lobby for an hour”, one woman says as they walk past Wonwoo. She looks annoyed as she waves over to a small seating area next to the entrance.

“Oh, but the boy is so polite! Greets me every morning and even asks about my day!”, the other one replies. She sighs dreamily. “I wish my daughter would’ve married someone like him, her husband is always so secretive, they never tell me anything.”

The first woman laughs and just shakes her head. “He must have a weird secret too, I’m telling you, why else would he come here so early?”

Wonwoo doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but he feels like he can put two and two together. They must have been talking about Jisoo. No one else on the team shows up this early. So Jisoo wasn’t actually attending vice captain duties. Does that mean he is actually trying to avoid Wonwoo?

He scrunches his nose as a weird shiver runs through his body. Sure, Jisoo doesn’t owe him anything, but Wonwoo would have hoped they were at least past the avoidance part.

When he gets home later, Jisoo isn’t there, of course. Figuring he wouldn’t get back until the late evening again, Wonwoo busies himself with various chores. After he is finished, he plays a couple of half-hearted rounds of League of Legends with Jihoon before he realises his drifting thoughts keep making them lose the game, resulting in a ruined statistic. Jihoon doesn't seem to mind but tells Wonwoo to get his shit together before their next gaming session anyway.

Finally ending up on the couch, Wonwoo zips through various sports channels but stops paying attention the moment they start speculating his club's chances of winning the league and ultimately Wonwoo’s skills as a goalkeeper. He’d rather not hear about his suppose mistakes and the borderline insulting opinions of the moderators.

Just when he starts a new round of Sudoku on his phone, the keypad outside beeps. The sound of the door opening and closing makes Wonwoo jump up to his feet, phone immediately forgotten on the couch. He has about two seconds to come up with a way to start the conversation before Jisoo walks into the living area.

It comes to no surprise that Jisoo startles when he finds Wonwoo’s attention on him, but he catches himself quickly.

“Hyung”, Wonwoo starts. He only gets a noncommittal hum in return. Before he can blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, he casually leans against the counter and smiles. “I think we should share a car.”

Jisoo raises his eyebrow, looking at him questioningly. He isn’t cursing Wonwoo out or anything, which Wonwoo counts as an absolute win.

“You know, we both go to practice anyway, why take two cars if we can just share a ride?” he continues. In front of him, Jisoo still hasn’t said anything and only continues staring at Wonwoo. It makes him squirm uncomfortably, but he keeps holding Jisoo’s gaze.

“Wonwoo-yah, I don’t know if that is a good idea”, Jisoo finally says slowly, “we don’t have the same schedule and I still have to look for a place to live and besides–”

“Hyung!” Wonwoo interrupts his rambling firmly. He knows now that the first part must be a lie. Jisoo’s schedule should actually be similar to Wonwoo’s. Even if not in the shape of their training sessions, then at least in the scheduled amount of time they take. He chews on his lips, trying to form a sentence that doesn’t sound too accusing.

“Are you sleeping enough?”, he asks instead. Jisoo just turns his head to the side, as if it would hide how dark his eye bags have become. It is everything Wonwoo needs for an answer. “I know you don’t like living here, Hyung, but it is okay for me if you have to stay a while longer. Looking for a place to live shouldn’t interfere with your performance on the field.”

Jisoo doesn’t say anything for a while, but Wonwoo notices how he clenches and unclenches his fist. How he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. A shiver runs down Wonwoo’s spine, his own anxiety spiking. It shouldn’t be a big deal, sharing a flat, driving to practice together, yet it feels more significant than that.

“Fine, I guess we can drive to practice together”, Jisoo grumbles. He still isn’t looking at Wonwoo, otherwise he would have scowled at the bright smile forming on Wonwoo’s face.

Turns out, they really do have clashing schedules, but not in a way either of them thought. Half an hour before Wonwoo’s alarm goes off, Jisoo starts banging on his bedroom door.

“Wonwoo-yah, get up!” he yells. All Wonwoo does, however, is turn back around after checking the time and deciding it’s not worth it yet. Jisoo doesn’t let him get away with it for long, as he is back barely 10 minutes later, once again banging on his door.

Now Wonwoo is awake, 20 minutes earlier than usual, and drags himself past Jisoo into the bathroom. He barely notices the glare he receives in return, and instead focuses on not falling asleep standing up during his morning routine. By the time he finishes preparing his breakfast, Jisoo is standing next to his packed duffel bag, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed.

“Do you always take so long in the morning?”, he scoffs. It slides right off Wonwoo, chewing on a mouthful of rice and waving his phone at Jisoo.

“It’s barely a 30-minute drive and practice only starts in an hour”, he gestures to the chair in front of him and smiles, “you should try relaxing a little.”

Huffing and with a quiet string of nice words, Jisoo falls into the chair in front of him. Wonwoo pretends not to notice the glares Jisoo sends him whenever he scrolls on his phone instead of eating his breakfast. If he is being honest, he enjoys it a little bit, too. After testing Jisoo’s patience for another 10 minutes, he finally gives in and finishes his food.

Once in the parking garage, Wonwoo heads directly for his car and only stops when he realises Jisoo isn’t following him anymore. He stands frozen, a few steps back, staring past Wonwoo at the car behind him. Wonwoo’s old Hyundai.

“Absolutely not!” he hisses and drags Wonwoo to the other side of the garage. Admittedly, Jisoo’s car looks a lot nicer than Wonwoo’s Hyundai. He briefly wonders if it was the thin layer of dust that threw Jisoo off, or the fact that one of the elderly staff members drives the same model. It doesn’t compare to Jisoo’s sleek BMW, but Wonwoo is loyally attached to his car.

The car is low to the ground and despite the mobility training being a regular thing in his training requirement, climbing inside must be one of the most ungraceful things Wonwoo has ever done in his life. Silently cursing Jisoo, he wonders if it was a good idea to suggest carpooling. That thought only grows stronger when Jisoo starts driving like the devil is personally chasing him.

It must be payback for taking so long this morning. Wonwoo swears he is going to try harder to convince Jisoo to take the Hyundai tomorrow. The ride is shorter than what Wonwoo is used to, of course. Once Jisoo parks the car, Wonwoo has to take a couple seconds to breathe and to get his legs to stop wobbling.

“Ah, sorry Wonwoo-yah. If my driving style is too wild for you, maybe it’s better we take our separate cars to practice again”, Jisoo says apologetically. It sounds condescending in Wonwoo’s ears, making him quickly shake is head.

“Don’t worry, Hyung, I will get used to it”, Wonwoo says stubbornly. There is a barely noticeable tick in Jisoo’s jaw before he puts on a sweet smile again.

“If you say so.” It is all he says before they start walking towards the facility

They arrive earlier than Wonwoo usually does, but not early enough to be the first. Mingyu raises an eyebrow when they walk in together, looking between Jisoo and Wonwoo suspiciously. The question marks circling around his head are visible on his face.

“You arrived together”, he says to no one in particular.

“Wonwooie is conscious of our carbon footprint!” Jisoo says in a cheerful tone as he pats Wonwoo’s shoulder. Although, it’s too forceful and feels more like a slap. Wonwoo freezes and can only stare at Jisoo, who just keeps smiling sweetly and leaves them behind on his way to the locker room.

“What was that?” The confusion written all over Mingyu’s face must be mirrored on Wonwoo’s.

“I have no idea.”

After practice, Jisoo pulls him to the side before they can make their way over to the car. He pouts, an apologetic look on his face, as he puts his hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry Wonwoo-yah, something came up. I can’t drive you back home”, he says. It takes a couple seconds for Wonwoo’s brain to catch up with what he just said, but by the time he does, Jisoo is already smiling at him. “Guess you have to take the bus!”

“I can drive you, Hyung.” Wonwoo hadn’t realised Mingyu had come up next to them and had been listening in on their conversation. Something flashes over Jisoo’s face in the blink of an eye, but it’s quickly replaced by an even brighter smile.

“Ah! Our friends are so considerate, right?” He sing songs before squeezing Wonwoo’s shoulder in a form of goodbye. Wiggling his fingers at Mingyu he disappears towards the car, leaving Wonwoo a little frazzled. He almost misses the way Mingyu glares after Jisoo.

Wonwoo’s head is spinning, trying to figure out what exactly just happened – has been happening all morning, to be precise. Has Jisoo always been acting that strange? Maybe he only started noticing now that he got a little closer to him. When he turns a questioning look towards Mingyu the younger one just waves him off.

Before Mingyu drops him off at his flat, he levels Wonwoo with a stern look. “You need to ask him why he was acting like that”, he says, but doesn’t clarify what he means when Wonwoo asks.

Instead, Wonwoo is left pondering all throughout the evening until the keypad finally beeps, announcing Jisoo’s return. Late again. So much for Wonwoo’s plan.

“Hi Hyung”, Wonwoo says when Jisoo walks into the kitchen. He does not expect Jisoo to startle as badly as he does, almost dropping the plastic bags in his hands. For a moment, he fumbles with his stuff before he finally places everything safely on the kitchen counter. The glare he sends Wonwoo is icy, but quickly flashes into something Wonwoo can’t recognise before Jisoo schools his face back to neutral.

“You scared me”, Jisoo says conversationally. It sounds a little too cheerful compared to his usual mood. Had he finally found a flat? Wonwoo watches as Jisoo busies himself in the kitchen until he realises Jisoo is carefully avoiding eye contact. So he is still acting strange.

“Is everything alright?” Wonwoo asks. He only receives one of Jisoo’s smiles and a shrug of his shoulders.

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Mingyu was worried. You’ve been acting strange all morning.” Straight to the point. Wonwoo wouldn’t know how else to get to the bottom of this. Once again, Jisoo freezes for a split second before he resumes unpacking the plastic bags. It’s various packages of kimchi and a few bundles of fresh vegetables.

“Mingyu worries too much sometimes”, Jisoo mumbles quietly to himself. Wonwoo almost doesn't catch it.

Silence falls over them again. Tense and unpleasant. Wonwoo shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Technically, Jisoo hasn't answered his questions. His whole attitude feels more dismissive if anything, and Wonwoo has the feeling pushing for more would only make him close up completely.

“Alright”, he says instead, “good night then, I'll see you tomorrow morning.”

Before Wonwoo can leave the kitchen, Jisoo lets out a deep sigh. “Wonwoo-yah.” His face looks partly tired, partly annoyed. It makes Wonwoo chew his lips anxiously.

“Look, you don't have to get up early just for that. I've told you before, our schedules just don't align.”

It's a lie, Wonwoo figured as much since overhearing the conversation of the two staff members. For the sake of keeping the peace, Wonwoo just gives Jisoo a small smile that he hopes comes across as reassuring.

“It's fine, Hyung, I don't mind waking up a little earlier.” Jisoo doesn't answer for a bit, and Wonwoo decides to leave him be for now. He still goes to bed with a weird feeling in his stomach.

The next morning, Wonwoo wakes up to a peacefully quiet flat. Too quiet, as he quickly realises. There is no one banging on his door for him to wake up, and no other sounds coming from the flat either. Did Jisoo leave already? To think, Wonwoo had set his alarm 15 earlier than usual to not upset Jisoo as much as yesterday.

A shiver runs from his shoulders all the way to his toes.

It shouldn’t be a big deal, Jisoo did say their schedules wouldn’t align enough to make carpooling a thing. Yet here Wonwoo is, foolishly thinking he could make it work. How long has it been since Jisoo left? Had he even tried waking Wonwoo up, or did he just leave, hoping he wouldn’t notice?

One option seems a lot more likely than the other, and it’s simultaneously the one Wonwoo likes the least. An icy feeling makes his way through his veins.

Usually, Wonwoo isn’t one to enrage quickly, but now that the dots are connecting in his head, a wave of emotions washes over him. Anger, betrayal, but most of all Wonwoo feels stupid. It’s clear now, Jisoo must have been trying to get Wonwoo to end their carpooling arrangement by acting as strange as he did. And when that didn’t work, he just left.

Hurrying through his morning routine, Wonwoo gets to the training grounds in record time. Jisoo’s car is the only other car he finds, and Wonwoo parks right next to him, maybe a little closer than necessary. Not that he’s being petty, but Jisoo will live even if he has to squeeze into his car at the end of the day.

He finds Jisoo in the lobby. Right where the staff members said he would be. There are no Vice-Captain duties to attend to, at least not from what Wonwoo can tell, judging by the fact Jisoo is sitting there, half dozed off. Jisoo hasn’t even noticed Wonwoo yet.

“Hyung!”, he calls firmly, only a little satisfied with how violently Jisoo flinches up into a sitting position. He looks uneasy when he realises it’s Wonwoo standing in front of him, chewing on his lips and turning his eyes away, looking at the small table in front of him instead.

“Ah Wonwoo-yah, I didn’t expect you here so early.” Jisoo’s attempt at small talk falls short when Wonwoo lets himself fall into the opposite armchair with a huff and a glare.

“I thought we’d come here together”, Wonwoo says. He carefully schools his face into a neutral expression, trying not to show how hurt he actually feels. Apparently, he doesn’t do a good job with how Jisoo’s eyes snap back to him and just as quickly turn to look away again. “I even woke up early so I wouldn’t stress you out.”

“Wonwoo”, Jisoo starts but doesn’t say anything after. His eyes fly all over the place, trying to linger on Wonwoo, but not able to hold his gaze for long. “You weren’t awake when I left, I assumed you didn’t want to.”

It falls flat with how obvious of an excuse that is. Somehow it hurts more than Jisoo is still trying to deny it. “Did you even try to wake me?

Silence stretches on. Jisoo stares at his feet. From what Wonwoo can tell, with guilt written all over his face. “I’m sorry, Wonwoo-yah”, he says quietly.

Wonwoo sighs and rubs his face. The apology doesn’t feel satisfactory, he doubts Jisoo even realises why he is so upset about it in the first place. The words bubble out of him before Wonwoo can stop them.

“Honestly Jisoo, I know you don’t like me a lot and this living arrangement might not be ideal. But I worry about you and that you stress yourself out trying to look for a new flat. So please try and work with me here.”

Jisoo looks taken aback. Whether that comes from the lack of honorifics or trying to process what he just said, Wonwoo doesn’t know. He crosses his arms, lets out another huff and looks away from Jisoo.

It takes a couple of minutes for Jisoo to answer. Wonwoo figures he needs to let it sink in and is happy to give him all the time in the world if that means they finally get over whatever is between them. There is shuffling on the other side, and when Wonwoo looks up, Jisoo sits down on the armrest of his chair.

“I didn’t know that this is what you were thinking”, Jisoo says carefully, “and I’m sorry I acted like an asshole when all you wanted to do was help.”

Wonwoo raises an eyebrow and stays silent. It has the desired effect when Jisoo starts squirming where he is sitting and lets out a sigh.

“I didn’t want to upset you. I think I’ve been too focused on my own misery to realise what is happening around me…”, he trails off towards the end. Wonwoo watches him for a few seconds, but when Jisoo starts chewing his lips anxiously, he gently nudges his side.

“I forgive you.” Wonwoo has never been resentful, always more focused on trying to get along with everyone as best as he can. When Jisoo smiles relieved, he is sure it will work out in the end.

“Let’s start over, okay?” Jisoo holds out a hand for Wonwoo to shake.

“So, we’ll share the car tomorrow?” Wonwoo asks. Jisoo nods slowly. A thought runs through his head, making him smirk. “Even if it’s my car?”

“Don’t push it”, Jisoo glares but starts smiling, too when Wonwoo finally returns his handshake.

For the rest of the week, Wonwoo wakes up to Jisoo banging on his door, urging him to get up even if it’s still enough time to do his entire morning routine twice. True to his word, Jisoo drives them to practice, not putting a step closer to Wonwoo’s car than necessary. To Wonwoo’s surprise, Jisoo even drives calmly now, instead of trying to set a new record between their flat and the training grounds.

Satisfied, Wonwoo also realises, Jisoo driving home after practice also means he stops staying out until late into the evenings. When Jisoo’s eye bags slowly start disappearing over the next week, Wonwoo gives himself an imaginary pat on the shoulder. Looks like the plan worked.

ᯓ⚽︎

It’s the Friday before their next home game. Usually, Wonwoo would spend it with Seokmin and Mingyu for their weekly get-togethers, but Seokmin’s family came to watch the game, and he took them out for a fancy dinner. This leaves Mingyu and Wonwoo alone and with neither of them up for any wild activities they meet up in Wonwoo’s flat.

Equipped with take out food and Mario Kart loaded up on the big screen, Wonwoo is ready for some quality time with his friend. If it weren’t for his roommate.

Jisoo shows up half an hour after Mingyu arrives at the flat. Coming from yet another failed flat viewing, Wonwoo immediately notices that his mood isn’t the best. He declines their offer of ordering takeout for him too and instead heads straight to the shower.

Half an hour later, he is sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, stealing Mingyu’s food, while the younger one is too busy trying not to lose against Wonwoo on Rainbow Road. Mingyu ordered way too much anyway.

“I just think my standards are way too high”, Jisoo says conversationally. He doesn’t receive an answer, Wonwoo too busy with outdriving a blue shell, Mingyu struggling in 10th position.

“You know, Wonwoo-yah, it’s all your fault anyway”, he continues, Wonwoo humming without even listening properly, “if your stupid apartment wasn’t in such a convenient location I would have found one ages ago. Everything I looked at was either too far away from the training grounds or there was literally nothing around.”

When he doesn’t receive an answer, he pinches Wonwoo’s toe underneath the table.

“Yah! Hyung!” Wonwoo yells and watches in despair as his Yoshi falls into the endless space. Next to him, Mingyu lets out a triumphant shout as he crosses the finish line first. Meanwhile, Wonwoo ends up coming through in 8th, thanks to Jisoo.

“Unfair”, he mumbles under his breath. Jisoo only smiles sweetly.

Mingyu pokes through his tteokbokki and frowns when he realises how little of it is left. “Have you asked management if they have any open units?”

“Apparently they have one or two close to the stadium, but they're really small, and I don't want to drive an hour to practice every day.” Jisoo shrugs and then, as if he suddenly remembered something, narrows his eyes at Wonwoo. “They said these units here are usually reserved for staff, so how did you manage to get one?”

Wonwoo quickly looks away. Mentioning that it was part of his contract negotiations might not be the smartest decision. He doesn't want to brag in front of Jisoo, especially now, with that fragile not quite friendship they have going on. The club threw everything in the ring to make sure to sign him before anyone else could. They offered the flat as an added bonus and Wonwoo agreed easily, not too keen on spending ages trying to find one.

“Luck, I guess”, he shrugs.

Jisoo's narrowed eyes make it look like he doesn't believe him, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he lets himself fall back on the carpet and lets out the longest sigh Wonwoo has ever heard. “Maybe we just have to be forever roommates, Wonwoo-yah.”

Wonwoo chokes on his food. It's not like he particularly has anything against living with Jisoo, especially now that the mood between them stopped being so icy, but living together forever? That feels like a considerably long time.

Considering Jisoo barely said a word to him just a few weeks ago, Wonwoo has a hard time imagining he wants to spend that much time with Wonwoo either. After recovering from choking on his food, Wonwoo stares at Jisoo, but quickly looks away when he realises one corner of his shirt rode up and exposes the bare skin on his stomach. Now, this is absolutely the wrong train of thought to take.

“I'm sure you'll find a flat soon, Hyung”, he mumbles.

Somehow, they get Jisoo to join them for a couple of rounds. He wrinkles his nose as he inspects the tiny controller and then proceeds to drive the most atrocious rounds of Mario Kart, Wonwoo has ever seen.

Not long after, Jisoo says goodnight and disappears into his room, only to come out thirty minutes later to complain about the level of noise. Instead of going back to bed, he joins them to play another couple of rounds, suspiciously more skilled than half an hour before.

Wonwoo has a hard time making sense of Jisoo's actions, especially when it comes to his supposed sleeping pattern and noise complaints.

Just a couple of days ago, Jisoo came out of his room, complaining about the noise Wonwoo made while gaming. Meanwhile, Wonwoo had only played Minecraft, in single-player nonetheless. Just like today, instead of sleeping, Jisoo had sat on the desk and talked Wonwoo’s ear off about the new grass at the training grounds.

Apparently the greenkeeper must have messed up somehow because there is a stain on his training shorts that not even the nice ajumma working in equipment management can get out. According to Jisoo, anyway. Wonwoo doesn't know how much of that is actually true. He had listened patiently, all while trying to get a panda back to his base.

In the end, Jisoo had even let Wonwoo show him around the base before calling the game silly and going back to sleep. Being left more confused than before, Wonwoo still dares to count it as a win. At least Jisoo is voluntarily speaking to Wonwoo.

Jisoo stays with them until Mingyu decides to call it quits and leaves to go home. When Wonwoo comes back from seeing Mingyu out of the door, he finds his roommate fast asleep on the couch. An involuntary smile makes its way to his face as he fetches a blanket and spreads it out over Jisoo's sleeping form.

ᯓ⚽︎

Arguably, no game played in the First League should be considered an easy game. Even less so when that game is a derby. Up until this point, Suwon hasn't played their best season, only standing at a midfield rank in the league. That doesn't mean they won't give it their all when they go up against Seoul.

Wonwoo isn't nervous. He is terrified. Derbies have their own rules, no matter who is supposed to be the favourite on paper. Currently, they might be leading the league, but Suwon won't go down without a fight.

He tries not to let it show as he jogs on the field for warm up. It's grounding, going through the stretches, then the blocking exercises. Bottom left, middle, top corner and then the same on the other side. When he leaves the field, he takes a deep breath. There is nothing to be worried about.

A weird buzzing feeling settles in Wonwoo’s veins as he takes his place in line behind their captain. He follows Hoseok out on the field and lines up beside him to greet the opposing team. Then the whistle blows and when the game starts. The buzz won’t leave his body, but Wonwoo can’t lose time trying to think about it now. Everything is fine.

Wonwoo loses his clean sheet streak within the first ten minutes.

It’s a shit show, to be completely honest. Watching Sunwon’s attacking players pull their defence line out just to suddenly switch up and have a free path towards the goal, there is only so much Wonwoo can do. A wall is practically useless when the gate stands wide open.

His limbs feel frozen as he sits on the bench during half-time. Two goals feel like an abundance compared to every game Wonwoo played in the first half of the season. He barely follows the angry rant of their trainer, only stares at his hands and relives the feeling of the ball slipping through his fingers.

It’s only thanks to muscle memory that he finds his way out of the locker room and back through the tunnel. Just before he can enter the field, a hand around his wrist pulls him back harshly. For a few seconds, Wonwoo loses his orientation until the hand moves to his shoulder, steadying him and pulling him down at the same time.

In front of him stands Jisoo. His eyes look icy as he levels Wonwoo with a fierce look.

“Don’t you dare start spiralling now!” he hisses and jabs his finger into Wonwoo’s chest until Wonwoo is sure it will leave a bruise. “Get your head in the game.”

He releases his iron grip on Wonwoo’s shoulders and walks back towards the field, but not without giving Wonwoo a light push in the same direction. Strangely, it does clear Wonwoo’s head and a new determination wraps around his heart. Two measly goals won’t ruin his whole career, and they won’t ruin this game either.

Wonwoo walks onto the field with his shoulders squared, and his head held high. It helps that his defence line walked out with the same fighting spirit. He nods when Mingyu turns around, and the younger one gives him a thumbs up in return.

It only gets marginally easier from there on out. Sunwon presses forward with everything they have, but Seoul's defensive line stands more solid now. Yet they're still two goals down. With only 20 minutes remaining, it should be possible to draw. If only there was an opening.

It comes a few moments later. Wonwoo catches the ball just before it can reach the back of the goal. He makes brief eye contact with Jisoo standing just behind the centre line. Standing wide and open. Wonwoo sends the ball long without thinking. There is not a lot he can do from his place in the goal but watch Jisoo make a run for it.

One well calculated touch puts the ball right in front of Jisoo’s feet, and all he has to do is chip the ball over the other goalkeeper. It bounces once, twice and finally lands in the back of the net. 2-1, one more to go to pull even. Wonwoo releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding and uses that short moment to take a sip from his water bottle. When he looks up again, Jisoo sends him a salute and bright smile.

Now with the follow-up goal in hand, Seoul pushes hard for the draw. There is no way they will lose this now. Finally, in the 89th minute, they pull even. Relief takes a weight off of Wonwoo’s shoulders, and they easily manage to hold the draw for the last six minutes of added time.

Wonwoo accepts the shoulder pats from his teammates, and dutifully thanks the other team for a good game. Before he can join his teammates for the final lap around the field to say goodbye to the fans, one of the press officials approaches him.

“They requested you for the interviews”, he says and points towards the reporters before continuing on his path to fetch the next player.

Wonwoo drags his feet walking to the press area. The reporter smiles as he approaches, but it’s far from making Wonwoo feel warm. Shark-like. She places Wonwoo in front of the camera and even before it’s rolling, Wonwoo has a hunch about what is going to happen.

“Jeon Wonwoo-ssi, what a game that was! Had us sitting at the edge of our seats.” Wonwoo doesn’t say anything, patiently waiting for her to get to the actual questions. An awkward silence stretches on for a few seconds, and her smile looks almost strained.

“This game saw you concede for the first time this season, can you tell us what happened in the first half?”

“It’s unfortunate, of course, especially the first goal. That the first corner of the game immediately results in a goal left us all a little speechless, especially as a goalkeeper, I should’ve known better.”

“So, you’re taking the fall for this?”

“Of course, I am. It is my job to prevent the goals.” The reporter seems to be a little taken aback by his honesty as she scrambles for her composure.

“At the start of the season, a lot of people questioned the decision around signing you as a goalkeeper, would you say their doubts have been confirmed?”

All Wonwoo can do is stare. Blinking, once, twice, but the reporter in front of him doesn't change. The question keeps ringing in his ears, replaying over and over, but at the same failing to make any sense. “I’m sorry, what?”

“The first game after the break ended in a draw, now this one did too, in addition to ending Seoul’s streak of not conceding a single goal since the start of the season. It’s a clear downward trend, considering you have also lost the number one spot to Jeonbuk again. Any comments?”

Before Wonwoo can answer, a body collides into his side. He has about half a second to recognise Jisoo and wrap an arm around his waist to save them both from falling. Jisoo makes a show out of hugging Wonwoo before slowly turning around to the camera.

“You were probably asking about that crazy assist”, he says. The smile on his face looks bright, but Wonwoo knows now it is far from Jisoo’s real one.

“Actually–”

“What an amazing pass that was! Right in front of my feet! Did all the work for me, I only had to chip it in!” He laughs. Fake again, not that the report would notice. “It gave us the push we needed to turn the game around, what a game, huh?”

Jisoo doesn’t leave room for the reporter to say anything else before pulling Wonwoo along back to the field. He drops Wonwoo’s hand almost immediately, and Wonwoo must still feel dazed with how cold he suddenly feels. It’s the end of summer, Wonwoo’s blood shouldn’t feel like ice in his veins.

Having missed most of the lap around the field, Wonwoo dutifully waves and bows to the fans right next to the player tunnel before leaving the field. Back in the locker room, he finds Jisoo again. He hesitates for a second before approaching him.

“Thank you for saving me from that reporter”, he says quietly. Jisoo doesn’t even look at him when he waves him off, and is instead rummaging through his bag.

“Don’t stress it. I recognised her from last time when she asked Seokmin if he considers two goalless games the end of his career. She’s all in for the drama.”

Somehow, it makes Wonwoo feel better for a little moment. It only lasts until he is standing underneath the shower spray, warm water hitting his face and washing away at his tense muscles. Finally, the daze slowly disappears. The buzz that has been running through his body subsides slowly, leaving Wonwoo drained and tired. With the world not wrapped up in candyfloss anymore, the realisation of everything sets in.

In his youth, Wonwoo learned to turn his brain off whenever he had to focus. Anything not related to whatever it was that he was doing got blurred around the edges, reduced to a small footnote in the corner of his brain. No matter if it came to exams in school or the football games later in his life. It’s like a switch, suddenly the world turns quiet.

Wonwoo doesn’t know why it didn’t work this time around, why his anxiety got the better of him in the first half. Had he been flying too close to the sun, blocking every goal in the first half of the season, that conceding after ten minutes ripped him out so violently?

Technically, Wonwoo knows that there is nothing he can do now, they still managed to turn the game around and even if they lost the first place in the table, the season is far from over. Still, he can’t stop the anxiety from slowly tickling into his brain. Thick like honey, it oozes through every crack until Wonwoo feels cold despite the warm water raining down on him.

It was only one game, everyone can have a bad day sometimes, but what if that reporter was right. What if it really is the start of a downward trend, and it will be Wonwoo’s fault that they end up losing the league.

He goes through the steps of drying himself off and getting dressed, almost mechanically. His autopilot brings him on the bus and to a seat, but Wonwoo wouldn’t be able to recall any of this. Only when Jisoo falls into the seat next to him do all those circling thoughts come to an abrupt halt.

“Don’t tell me you’re still spiralling”, Jisoo says. He takes one look at Wonwoo before his eyebrows furrow in concern. Before Wonwoo can answer, Jisoo grabs his face quite forcefully, squishing his cheeks in the process. The resulting eye contact makes Wonwoo squirm in his seat. One or two seconds, Jisoo stares at Wonwoo’s face so intensely, he thinks he’s going to vanish any second. Then Jisoo raises his fist and gently knocks against Wonwoo’s forehead.

“Where did that arrogant goalkeeper go?” Not expecting that, Wonwoo ends up sputtering, pulling back from Jisoo’s grip that became loose around his face.

“Arrogant?!” He coughs, trying and failing to hide his shock.

“Of course”, Jisoo shrugs, “don’t tell me you don’t notice how cocky you are on the field.” When all Wonwoo can do is stare at Jisoo in shock, the older one lets out a long sigh.

“It’s so annoying~ you walk around the goal like you’re daring them to try and score a goal on you, and then you go into a one on one dribbling against them like it’s nothing. You must be responsible for at least half of the gray hairs on our trainer’s head.” He shakes his head and levels Wonwoo with a glare, but his eyes quickly turn soft and a small smile wraps around his lips. “You’re actually a good player, Wonwoo-yah, don’t let some stupid reporter tell you otherwise.”

For the first time this evening, warmth spreads through Wonwoo’s body and the last bit of tension bleeds out of his muscles. His lungs feel lighter, and it becomes easier to breathe again. Returning Jisoo’s smile, he leans forward and rests his forehead on Jisoo’s shoulder for a few seconds. “Thank you, Hyung.”

Jisoo doesn’t answer and instead pushes Wonwoo back into an upwards position again, not without ruffling up his hair. When Wonwoo looks up, he sees Seokmin falling into the row in front of them. Right behind him is Mingyu but unlike Seokmin who didn’t spare a second glance towards Wonwoo and Jisoo he stands frozen in shock. Only when one of their teammates pokes his ribs does he find his bearings again and falls into the seat next to Seokmin. He immediately turns around, levelling Wonwoo with a look that asks a thousand questions that Wonwoo can’t answer.

He wouldn’t even know where to begin if he is being honest. A weird sort of friendship started between him and Jisoo over the last few days. Not a lot of Jisoo’s demeanour changed, he’s still banging on Wonwoo’s door whenever he thinks he takes too long to wake up. He still wraps compliments up in insults, but something in the way he delivers it has changed.

Despite the mean nature some of his words have, his voice is now soft and accompanied by a cheeky smirk. Sometimes Wonwoo feels like Jisoo is annoying him just for the sake of starting a conversation. Wonwoo would be lying if he says he wouldn’t indulge him and take the bait most of the time.

He looks back at Mingyu, trying to put all his telepathic communication skills into delivering the words, “let’s talk later.” It must work, judging by the way Mingyu slowly turns around again and starts wrapping Seokmin up in a quiet conversation. Either that, or Mingyu thought Wonwoo has been stared at enough for today.

Wonwoo sinks back into the seat and closes his eyes. It takes less than an hour to get back to the training grounds, but Wonwoo uses that time to rest. He feels groggy when the trainer staff ushers them off the bus. It’s a good thing Jisoo is driving them home, with how Wonwoo feels like falling asleep standing up now that all the adrenaline has left his body.

Even during games going into extra time, Wonwoo hasn’t felt this tired. Maybe that is why he must imagine Jisoo squeezing his arm before they part ways in the hallway. “I’m not worried about losing the league because we have you in the back.” There is no way he would say that.

ᯓ⚽︎

Hong 🔛🔝 @7_lucky_stars

His smile is everything!!

[GIF of the postmatch interview. Hong Jisoo jumps into the frame, slinging an arm around goalkeeper Jeon Wonwoo and smiling at the camera]

Hannie @5times97

“his smile is everything” bro is about to kill that reporter

jeonhong truther @dribbleking18

him being overprotective of that little goalkeeper, why is that kinda… 👀

ᯓ⚽︎

Wonwoo doesn’t talk to Mingyu, at least not for another week. There is a game on Wednesday, and another one on Saturday, so practice has been busy, focusing on the perfect balance between recovery and preparations. They win both, keeping a comfortable second place in the league and advancing into the next round of the cup.

Despite what some reporter might have said, their almost defeat only spurts them on further. The stone weighing on Wonwoo’s heart starts to feel lighter again.

After that exhausting week, Wonwoo finds himself on clean-up duty together with Mingyu. While there wasn’t any bad blood between them, Wonwoo could still feel the awkward air surrounding them as they collect various cones off the ground. Mingyu keeps throwing him glances, almost as if checking that all of Wonwoo’s limbs are still attached to his body.

They drop the training equipment off, but before Mingyu can walk away, Wonwoo grabs his arm and stops him. “Spit it out.”

Mingyu winces and grits his teeth before leading them to a bench next to the field. Even then, it takes him a few moments to get out any words, fiddling with his fingers instead of looking at Wonwoo. “Jisoo is straight.”

The words hang in the air between them. All Wonwoo can do is stare at Mingyu trying to make sense of the words. Even after repeating them in his head a couple of times, they still don't make sense. It isn't Jisoo's apparent heterosexuality, but more about why Mingyu felt the need to tell him.

Especially since Mingyu looks like he wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. It's not like he spilled a big secret, either. Wonwoo knew he used to have a girlfriend, and Jisoo hasn't given him any hints that would have Wonwoo question his sexuality. Why would he?

“And?”, he gently prompts Mingyu to continue. Maybe there was still some context he has been missing the whole time. Mingyu just looks pained.

“And you like him. I just don't want you to get your heart broken”, he finally spits out. For the second time in less than five minutes, Wonwoo is rendered speechless. His mouth falls open in an attempt at defence, but no words come out. Next to him, Mingyu twitches, ears starting to take on a red colour.

Wonwoo coughs. “What makes you think that?”

The flush spreads from Mingyu’s ears to his face and down his neck. He tries to look everywhere but at Wonwoo himself before mumbling something incomprehensible. Only when Wonwoo nudges his side does he turn to face him again. “You said it yourself”, he repeats, looking in disbelief over how Wonwoo could have forgotten such an important detail.

Wonwoo has to rake his brain for that particular conversation. He finds it in the form of one of their weekly get-togethers, just before the international break. They sat over grilled meat and one too many bottles of Soju which ended in them finding a “Rank The AFC Cup Players” website. Of course, drunk as they were, it ended in a fuck–marry–kill game except without the prospect of marrying or killing.

Somehow, Jisoo ended up in the top spot for Wonwoo’s ranking. In hindsight, it wasn’t all that surprising, considering Wonwoo had an eye on him ever since he debuted in the national team. Nothing was ever supposed to come out of it. In life, Wonwoo has been blessed with a lot of attractive friends, but he never harboured any feelings for them. It’s no different for Jisoo.

“That silly ranking? Really?” Mingyu ducks his head and shrugs. By now, his face is so flushed, Wonwoo almost starts worrying about his health. “I don't have any feelings for Jisoo.”

With furrowed brows, Mingyu doesn't look convinced, but he accepts Wonwoo's side hug and lets himself get pulled off the bench. Most players have already left by the time they make it back to the locker room. Only a handful of players are still mingling.

Upon arrival, Mingyu immediately gets pulled into a conversation by Seokmin and Dongho, one of their centre backs. Something about needing a bear costume for a birthday party. Intrigued, Wonwoo lingers for a few seconds until he catches Jisoo’s eyes across the room. The older one just points his thumb in the direction of the shower before focusing back on his phone.

He has spent enough time with Jisoo by now that Wonwoo knows he wants to leave. The water feels hot on Wonwoo’s sore muscles. He lets himself indulge in it for just a few moments but begins washing down quickly when he remembers Jisoo waiting for him.

Mingyu is still caught up in the conversation about bear costumes when Wonwoo steps out of the shower. A cough has Wonwoo whip his head around, finding Jisoo with his bag already slung over his shoulder. Impatience is written all over his face. He quickly throws his own stuff in his bag and with a hurried goodbye to his teammates follows Jisoo out of the door.

“Took you long enough”, Jisoo complains. With long strides, he makes his way over the parking lot to his car. Despite being taller, Wonwoo struggles keeping up. “I need to quickly drop you off at the flat, and then I have another meeting with the real estate agent.”

He falls into the driver seat and groans when he sees the time on the dashboard. “God, I’m already late.”

The car roars to life as Jisoo puts his food down and Wonwoo grips the safety handle tighter. Jisoo takes the corner dangerously fast, tires squealing. “Hyung, don’t worry, I can accompany you”, Wonwoo chokes out.

That does slow Jisoo down. He gives Wonwoo a sceptical look before focusing back on the road. “You sure?”

“I have nothing else to do.” Wonwoo shrugs. He tries not to visibly relax when Jisoo slows down to the speed limit again. Instead of taking the usual road left, Jisoo goes straight. It doesn’t take long until he parks the car in front of a small residential building.

The agent greets Jisoo with a bright smile and leads him into the building, ignoring Wonwoo completely. It doesn’t bother him, this is for Jisoo anyway. He follows them silently to the 2nd floor.

It’s a nice little flat, as far as Wonwoo can tell. Tall windows line the wall of the living room, letting in a lot of natural light. A small hallway leads the way to two bedrooms. Shockingly similar to Wonwoo’s own flat, now that he thinks about it. He doesn’t mention it, only watches Jisoo as he walks through the rooms. Watches how the frown on his face deepens with every praise the agent sings.

By the time the tour concludes back in the living room, a matching frown made its way to the agent's face. His cheerful voice doesn’t match the rest of his posture. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure.” Jisoo hesitates. His eyes wander back over the kitchen layout, to the windows of the living room. He doesn’t see how the agent rolls his eyes at him. Wonwoo does. The glare he sends his way goes ignored.

“Mr. Hong”, the agent sighs, “I’ve told you last time already, if you keep comparing everything to your current flat, maybe it’s best to stay there.”

Jisoo can only stare at the agent, but he won’t let Jisoo get another word in as he guides them out of the flat. The door falls close with more force than necessary, echoing through the otherwise quiet hallway. Stomping footsteps retreat down the steps, but Jisoo stays frozen in place.

“Come on, Hyung.” Wonwoo gently nudges Jisoo's side, which finally gets him to move. Downstairs, the agent gives them a last glance before driving off, leaving them alone in front of the building.

“Do you want me to drive?” Wonwoo asks tentatively. This time Jisoo laughs, sending a playful glare Wonwoo’s way.

“Finally got the taste for nice cars, then?” He jiggles his keys in front of Wonwoo’s face for a second. “Not a chance.”

The drive back is quiet. Jisoo doesn’t spare a second glance at Wonwoo. He keeps chewing his lips and his fingers grip the steering wheel a little too tight. Was he mad about having to keep living in Wonwoo’s flat?

He waits until they’re seated on the couch. Jisoo with a cup of tea, still using Wonwoo’s favourite mug.

“Hyung”, Wonwoo starts carefully, “I don’t mind if you want to live here permanently.”

Jisoo chokes on his tea. He quickly shakes his head and places the mug on the coffee table. “No, don’t worry, I will find something soon.”

Refusing to look in Wonwoo’s direction, Jisoo fiddles with the corner of one of the throw pillows. There is a lot of information that Wonwoo is missing. It’s a sudden realisation that washes over Wonwoo like a cold ocean wave.

He gets along with Jisoo. Usually knows when Jisoo is acting up for Wonwoo’s attention and when he is actually mad about something. The last few weeks made him think he can look past the facade on Jisoo’s face, but right now he is stuck.

“Really? What was wrong with the one today?” Wonwoo tilts his head, trying to catch Jisoo’s eyes but is only being met with avoidance.

“I don’t know, okay? You and your stupid apartment made me picky.” He tries to wave it off, but Wonwoo keeps digging.

“It was basically a carbon copy of my flat. And it is close to the training grounds.” Instead of answering, Jisoo huffs and wraps his arms around his chest. “How many flats have you declined anyway? You’ve been out every day for a month, surely one of them must have been the one?”

Silence falls over the living room. Thick and heavy. Just when Wonwoo thought he had to give up the argument, Jisoo stretches out his legs, nudging Wonwoo’s thighs with his toes. He still won’t look at Wonwoo, mumbling quiet words towards his knees. “I didn’t even look at that many. A handful. I just didn’t want to spend any more time here than necessary.”

A bang of hurt rushes through Wonwoo, leaving a lingering feeling of coldness. Technically, it isn’t new information. Wonwoo has figured out Jisoo tried to avoid him back before they started talking regularly. It hits differently now that it’s out in the open. Hearing Jisoo say it and leaving no doubt.

Does Jisoo still feel that way? Had Wonwoo made him uncomfortable by forcing him to carpool and spend more time together? Now it’s his turn to wrap his arms around his knees and avoid eye contact. “Oh.”

There is some shuffling on the other side of the couch and then a body leaning into him. It’s something Jisoo has started doing recently. Initiating physical contact, fleeting touches and brief hugs. It does help in chasing the cold in Wonwoo’s blood away.

“Not anymore, pabo~”, Jisoo says gently, “Maybe that’s the reason I don’t like any of the places. Maybe I don’t want to live alone.”

Jisoo’s breath tickles his neck and sends goosebumps down his spine. Silence wraps around them again, but less heavy than before. It takes a couple of seconds before Wonwoo lets his head fall against Jisoo’s. “I like having you as a roommate, Hyung”, he whispers.

A huff of air tickles Wonwoo’s neck, making him squirm away. Finally, he meets Jisoo’s eyes, and the older man smiles softly at him.

“So, I will tell my agent I’m done looking for apartments and have this old guy forever be mad at me for wasting his time? And we’ll upgrade to full-time roommates?”

“I mean, you probably need to talk to the club, I’m sure they need some insurance stuff when you live here permanently but otherwise…” Wonwoo shrugs, trying to ignore the bubbly feeling spreading through his body.

They shake hands on it like it is an elementary school deal for trading Pokémon cards. Wonwoo can’t help but giggle at that thought, and it is soon answered by Jisoo’s own giggles.

Full-time roommates. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Nothing changes. Not really. Jisoo continues to drive them to practice every day, while Wonwoo still unsuccessfully tries to get Jisoo to step foot into his car. It doesn't work, but Wonwoo doesn't mind.

If he's honest with himself, it's mostly to see Jisoo's disgusted face whenever Wonwoo suggests “taking the shitbox”. According to Jisoo a wise man once said if you don’t arrive in style you might as well not arrive at all. Wonwoo is pretty sure that man is called Yoon Jeonghan and from all the stories he has heard, he’s not sure if he should believe anything he says.

Another advantage of living with Jisoo is that he can fall back on someone whenever the games don’t go to plan. Maybe it’s an exaggeration, conceding a goal and still winning is in no way bad at all. It still gives them three additional points and ultimately no one will question the score afterwards. No one except Wonwoo.

At some point, after losing that clean sheet streak, Wonwoo starts feeling anxious after games. Especially those in which he ends up having to fish the ball out of the net behind him.

It’s the natural order of things, no goalkeeper is invincible, not even Wonwoo. While they end up winning the next three games, all three also end with at least one goal on the opponents side. During practice one day, their trainer waves it off as a minor crisis, happy as long as the offence does their job correctly. Jisoo watches it all with narrowed eyes.

Despite their strict nutrient plans not calling for a cheat on a Wednesday, Jisoo takes him out to a gogigui place after that. He orders what feels like half of the menu. How on earth is he going to explain that to their nutritionist?

With expert ease, Jisoo puts the meat on the small grill in front of them. Wonwoo watches as he goes on mixing up different kinds of sauce, setting the small bowls in a row on the table. The meat smells nice, having taken on a perfect brown colour and leaving Wonwoo’s mouth watering. As Jisoo starts piling meat onto his own plate, Wonwoo picks up his chopsticks, but before he can take a piece, Jisoo snatches them out of his hands.

Confused, Wonwoo watches as Jisoo deposits them out of reach. Then he takes a piece of pork, dips it into a sauce and holds it out for Wonwoo to take. But before Wonwoo’s mouth can actually reach the chopsticks, Jisoo pulls them back and gives him a glare. “Say ‘I’m a good goalkeeper’ first.”

All Wonwoo can do is stare. Is he serious? Jisoo’s stern look doesn’t really leave room for discussion. With a deep sigh, Wonwoo repeats the words. “I’m a good goalkeeper.”

They leave a slightly bitter taste on his tongue, but it’s worth it to see Jisoo’s smile, and the meat really does taste delicious. He makes Wonwoo repeat the phrase for every new dish he holds out to try, ignoring Wonwoo’s eye roll in favour of smiling sweetly.

Only that there is nothing sweet about his smile. Wonwoo feels like he is part of some weird experiment. Did Jeonghan suggest that? He realises now why the public calls them evil twins.

It’s a nice evening either way, and Wonwoo goes home satisfied and with a full stomach. He doesn’t realise the extent of Jisoo’s plan until the older one starts sneaking his favourite candy into their training. Whenever Wonwoo makes a safe Jisoo particularly liked or when he does anything, really, Jisoo slips him a small piece.

It takes two days, and the swooping feeling in his stomach when Jisoo approaches him after one of their practice games, for Wonwoo to stop dead in his tracks. “Are you pavloving me?”

“Pfff – what? That would be crazy”, Jisoo waves him off but eyes him suspiciously. “Does it work?”

Wonwoo can only shake his head in disbelief. Not a single ball makes it past him in the next game.

ᯓ⚽︎

After months, the season has finally reached its hot phase. They manage to secure a place in the cup final against Ulsan HD, but with that match being scheduled only after the league concludes, it is as far off their minds as it can be.

They head into the final round with 1 point behind Jeonbuk. Only five matches to go. As luck would have it, or maybe the draw isn’t as random as the league officials proclaim, they’re set to play Jeonbuk on the last match day. Finally, after a close to flawless season from both teams, they’re set to face each other one last time.

Every point counts now. They can’t afford to lose or even draw a single match. No pressure at all.

Wonwoo feels calm. No anxiety, no nervousness, just pure determination to lock the goal down. He can see it in his teammates too, for every goal that falls through, they score two more on the other end.

The day of the match against Jeonbuk sneaks up on them quietly. Or, as quietly as it can be, when this match was all everyone could talk about since the schedule got announced. Still, the morning starts quietly.

Wonwoo wakes up before his alarm. The sky in front of his window has barely begun to change colours. It’s too early to be awake, yet the moment Wonwoo opens his eyes, he knows he won’t get anymore sleep.

A while later, after tossing and turning, Wonwoo gets up and quietly makes his way to the kitchen. He is surprised to find the light already switched on. Just when he thought they forgot to turn it off last night, he finds Jisoo sitting at the kitchen counter.

His shoulders are pulled up, hands wrapped around Wonwoo’s mug. He looks smaller like this, far away, as he didn’t even notice Wonwoo making his way to the kitchen at first. Only when Wonwoo falls into the seat next to him does he look up. A tired smile making its way to his lips.

“Can’t sleep?” Jisoo asks. When he only receives a noncommittal shrug as an answer, he leans his head on Wonwoo’s shoulder. It must be uncomfortable, leaning over on the not so stable bar stools, but Jisoo holds that position for long enough that Wonwoo is afraid he fell asleep.

After a few moments of silence, Jisoo lifts his head again, rubbing circles into the back of his neck. Wonwoo can only watch him, following the movement of his fingers with his eyes. “Are you nervous?”

Jisoo hums. He rests his head on his hands and looks at Wonwoo curiously. “No”, he finally says, “with you in the back, all we have to do is score one goal. Should be doable in 90 minutes.”

The smile on Jisoo’s face looks easy, like he is talking about something as simple as a Sunday morning stroll. Still, he is right. It’s Wonwoo’s job to lock down the home goal, if all he has to do is that, he can trust the offence team to score one on the other side.

Wonwoo returns Jisoo’s smile, if not a little shaky.

It’s still early when they make their way over to the stadium. The team usually meets up a couple of hours before the gates open for the fans and the press to avoid traffic, but the streets around the stadium are already bustling with people anyway. Wonwoo’s heart starts beating fast as soon as he spots the first waving flags.

When they arrive at the stadium, they’re met with the same aerie quiet from earlier this morning. Of course, sound from outside still filters through, shoes scrapping on the floor as people walk by, murmured hellos. But no one dares to voice what everyone is thinking.

One point. It’s in their hands to win the league. Everyone knows what they have to do, but no one wants to be the one to jinx it. The grim determination is written on everyone’s face.

Time runs slowly and way too fast at the same time. Before he knows it, Wonwoo is stepping foot onto the field for warm-ups. It’s different out here, the stadium is packed full of cheering fans, even with 40 minutes to go until kick off. Unlike the players, the fans already dare to dream of winning on home soil. Wonwoo can’t disappoint them.

He takes a deep breath and focuses on his warm-up stretches.

Five minutes before kick off, everyone starts gathering in the player tunnel. Wonwoo lines up behind Hoseok, mind pleasantly blank. Next to him, Lee Jihoon takes his place at the front of the line of Jeonbuk players. He greets Wonwoo with a soft smile but doesn’t say anything more. Wonwoo doesn’t need him to.

They had stayed in contact after Wonwoo met the rest of the national team back in spring, and occasionally played online games together. With both Jeonbuk and Seoul being on a path to win the league, it became more difficult to meet up online. The last match they played was almost two months ago. They’ve both been busy.

But while Jihoon stays quiet, focusing on the game directly ahead of them, a certain young striker has other plans. Chan walks up to Wonwoo, the grim look on his face only betrayed by the twitch of the corner of his lips.

“This time I’ll manage to score a goal on you!” He says, hands on his hips.

“Looking forward to it”, Wonwoo answers with a smile. Just as Chan is about to say something else, Jihoon flicks his ear and shakes his head.

“Save the smack talk for after we win this game.” There is a fond smile playing around his lips as Chan grumbles something incomprehensible and joins the back of the line without turning around.

Finally, the referees lead the way outside. Wonwoo closes his eyes as he steps over the sideline. They wave at the fans before the line of Jeonbuk players walk past them for the pre match greetings. Chan gives Wonwoo a determined glare as he walks past him, and Wonwoo can’t help but quietly laugh to himself.

They get into one last circle, a promise of not walking away as first losers, before everyone gets into their position. Wonwoo doesn’t make it far before he gets stopped by a firm hand on his arm. Jisoo pulls him into a firm hug, going up on his toes, which has Wonwoo instinctively wrap an arm around his waist.

“You better lock down that goal or else…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, only giving Wonwoo that typical dangerous smile of his. By now, Wonwoo knows how Jisoo’s threats sound like, and this is far from one. He doesn’t call him out on it, though. Instead, he gives Jisoo a two finger salute and a small bow. On the way to his goal, Wonwoo walks past Mingyu and Seokmin and exchanges encouraging shoulder pats.

When he takes his position as the last defence, everything goes quiet. The drums of the fans behind them fade into nothingness, the fan chants nothing more than a background murmur.

All Wonwoo hears is the first whistle. With a laser focus, he follows every movement of the ball and the attacking players. For the first 20 minutes, no one makes it even close to the penalty box. With Seoul pressing high and blocking every attack in the midfield already, the defence line only needs to pick up a couple strays along the way.

Despite their overwhelming ball possession and high attacking line, they don’t manage to score. It is almost as if Jeonbuk is holding out, waiting and watching. Wonwoo realises too late that they’re gambling on Seoul running out of stamina before the end of the first half.

The next time the ball flies out of bounds, Wonwoo waves Mingyu closer. “They’re trying to run us dry, we need to pull back”, Wonwoo hisses as he sets the ball down in front of him. Mingyu stares at him like he has gone crazy, but there is no time to argue unless they want to risk catching a yellow card for time play. Wonwoo sends the ball far down the field again.

On the sidelines, their trainer must have come to the same conclusion, having pulled Jisoo towards the sidelines for a brief moment. Even after Jisoo runs off again, he keeps gesturing wildly. Wonwoo gives Mingyu a look that hopefully conveys a ‘you need to tell the others’. Luckily, Mingyu understands and quickly starts relaying the message forward.

The game notably slows down for a moment in which Seoul’s players start to reserve their energy, while their opponents look clueless about what just caused the sudden shift. Less pressing also means more attacks coming through from the midfield. Wonwoo is kept busy, but none of the shots carry any real danger.

After 45 minutes, the referee blows the whistle to an unsatisfactory 0:0. They make their way back to the locker room, where they find their trainer pacing restlessly. A couple flipchart papers have been carelessly thrown to the ground. Wonwoo is careful not to step on them as he takes a seat on the bench.

Jisoo slumps down next to him, more exhausted than he should be after the first half. Silently, Wonwoo offers his shoulder, which Jisoo accepts gratefully. With Jisoo’s cheek squished against his shoulder, Wonwoo suddenly finds it harder to focus on the tactical briefing.

Words wash over him, but everything blurs together in a static noise. Only when their trainer suddenly turns to him, levelling Wonwoo with a stern look, does he flinch out of his trance.

“– and Wonwoo, keep doing what you’re doing

“Yes, sir!” He sits up straighter, accidentally shaking off Jisoo in the process. The older one doesn’t seem to mind a lot. He quietly gets up and starts following their teammates out on the field again.

Wonwoo hurries to follow him, catching Jisoo’s arm just before they reach the stairs. “I’m keeping my promise, what about yours?” For a moment, Jisoo looks at him questioningly. Eyebrows furrowed and head tilted sideways.

“One goal in 90 minutes, remember? You have 45 minutes left.”

A small smile makes its way to Jisoo's lips. He reaches out towards Wonwoo's hand, linking their pinkies together. “Promise.”

Wonwoo feels his face flush, but there is no time to dwell on it. They hurry out on the field, not exactly late yet, but enough to make the referee scowl. The game resumes as soon as they take their positions.

It's fast. Jeonbuk are throwing themselves into the game now, after their stamina eating tactic didn't work out. They manage one attack that flies high over the goal before Seoul figures them out and starts their own attack.

The constant back and forth keeps Wonwoo busy but nothing on the score changes for the next fifteen minutes. A draw wouldn't be unfavourable for Jeonbuk. It's clear in the way they play, relaxed and calm after a failed attack. In contrast to that, Wonwoo can see his teammates slowly getting rushed again, frustration clear on their faces.

He tries everything to help, blocking the ball far out of the box and sending it back to their teammates. Wonwoo can tell that everyone is holding their breath as he fakes out Jeonbuk's attackers. Jisoo called it arrogant once, Wonwoo calls it taking the necessary risks to get that one goal they need.

After the next attack, Wonwoo takes a moment to observe. Ball in front of him, his eyes flick from the defence line to their attackers further back. Just as he decides to send the ball long towards the back, he sees Chan making a run towards him. A desperate attempt to catch him off guard and steal the ball for a quick goal. Wonwoo lets him for a second before casually picking up the ball again just before Chan can reach it.

“Don't even think about it”, he says, and passes the ball to Mingyu.

Chan groans in response and jogs back to his position, but Wonwoo only focuses on his teammates. Mingyu has passed the ball on quickly towards their wing player, who easily makes it far up the field. With a skilled fake out, he cuts to the inside, past Jeonbuk’s defender and passes the ball to the middle.

Hoseok stretches wide but misses the ball by millimetres. A missed opportunity until out of nowhere Jisoo slides past him. With his legs stretched out, he snatches the ball before any of the defenders can get to it. He stumbles as he gets up but takes less than a second to aim and shoot.

The ball curves beautifully past Jeonbuk’s goalkeeper. Wonwoo sinks to the ground and allows himself to take a relieved breath. On the other end of the field, his teammates are piled high on top of what Wonwoo assumes is Jisoo’s body. He can only share their happiness for so long until reality sets back in.

With a little less than 20 minutes to go, and the grim look on the faces of the Jeonbuk’s players, Wonwoo knows. These next minutes are going to be hell.

Reality is worse than what Wonwoo imagined. After the kick-off, Jeonbuk started pressing high and fast to make the score even again. There are too many shots on goal for Wonwoo to keep count, some flying high over their heads, but most of them coming dangerously close.

For every ball he sends wide down the field, two more attacks are fired at him not even seconds later. With 10 minutes to go, their trainer pulls Seokmin off to sub in another defence player. Right now, no one thinks about scoring another goal. The only thing that matters is keeping it clean in the back and walking out as winners.

Time ticks by slowly, the burn in Wonwoo’s arms and legs getting worse with every minute. His hands feel like static, a numb tingle spreading all the way up to his fingers. They cannot lose this today. Wonwoo won’t let them.

He barely registers the referee assistant holding up the sign marking the added time. The red numbers blink up in his peripheral vision for a moment, and in the next he jumps up to redirect the ball over the net.

The resulting corner gives him a second to catch his breath. While the referee argues with Jihoon who wants to play it quickly, Wonwoo notices movement from the other side of the field. Jeonbuk’s goalkeeper jogs down the field in a desperate attempt to make the playing field even on their attacking side.

Wonwoo’s penalty box is getting crowded.

Finally, the referee steps back to let Jihoon take the shot. There are almost too many players for Wonwoo to make out what is happening as the ball comes flying. Someone jumps up, the ball bounces off of multiple heads, Wonwoo can’t tell who is attacking and who is defending. Then it gets closer, Wonwoo jumps, but so does the attacker right in front of him.

A sharp pain starting from his eyebrow rushes through his body, but all Wonwoo can focus on is the ball in his hands. He pulls it close to his chest as he stumbles back on the ground.

Wonwoo makes contact with the ground briefly but scrambles to get back up quickly. The goal is empty, as far as he is aware. Maybe the goalkeeper has already started sprinting back, there is no way he can tell as he blindly kicks the ball as far away as possible.

His aim is terrible. The ball flies out of bounds somewhere around the midline. From somewhere on his left, the referee blows the whistle for a throw-in and Wonwoo mentally prepares for the next attack when Mingyu barrels into him screaming.

He squeezes all the air out of Wonwoo’s lungs, stumbling over his words, but they’re too far away for Wonwoo to understand anyway. All he can do is stare up at the score board that now displays a League Champion graphic. Huh.

Turns out, the referee didn’t whistle for a throw-in, but the end of the game instead. Wonwoo finds it hard to believe. It doesn’t feel different, his muscles still tense and his mind barely starting to slow down. Only when he notices the screaming fans behind him, his own teammates celebrating while Jeonbuk’s players look devastated at the same time, does he begin to realise.

They did it.

Wonwoo holds onto Mingyu’s arms tightly, afraid the scene in front of him might change if he blinks. But it doesn’t change, the fans get louder behind them and on the field Wonwoo’s eyes meet Jisoo’s. In the blink of an eye, Jisoo starts running, and all Wonwoo can do is catch him as he jumps right into his arms.

“We did it! We did it!” Tears leave a wet spot on Wonwoo’s jersey, but he holds Jisoo tight and lets the older one wrap his legs around his waist. He only has a few seconds to adjust before someone yells, “incoming!” and Wonwoo has to catch Seokmin in his arms as well. Mingyu took a step back when Seokmin started running, but is now back full force, wrapping his arms around all three of them.

Holding two grown men in his arms isn’t the ideal job for Wonwoo’s tired muscles, but he couldn’t care less right now. At least, Seokmin quickly wiggles himself out of Wonwoo’s arms and drags Mingyu off to celebrate with their teammates. Only Jisoo stays wrapped around Wonwoo’s torso and doesn’t make any move to get down.

Wonwoo doesn’t really mind, only wraps his arms tighter around him in return.

Finally, Jisoo lifts his head off Wonwoo’s shoulder. His hands cup Wonwoo’s face, just holding him for a couple of seconds. He softly brushes a finger over Wonwoo’s eyebrow, sending a jolt of pain through his body and making him hiss.

“You’re bleeding”, Jisoo chuckles wetly.

“It’s nothing”, he whispers, but Jisoo quickly shakes his head. The grip of Jisoo’s legs around his waist loosens, and for a moment Wonwoo finds himself not wanting to let go. But his tired muscles betray him, making it easy for Jisoo to slip out of his grip.

Jisoo takes his wrist and determinedly starts pulling Wonwoo towards their medical team. One of the physicians gasps as soon as she sees them making their way towards them. She immediately pulls Wonwoo to sit on the bench in front of her and starts dabbing away the blood from his face.

Throughout the whole process, Jisoo stays with him, watching the celebration on the field and rubbing circles on Wonwoo’s wrist. Wonwoo is far past the age where he needs his hand held at the doctors, but he appreciates the gesture anyway.

As soon as the physician puts a plaster over the cut and clears him as good to go, Jisoo takes him back to the field towards their teammates. Wonwoo hugs so many people he lost count. Staff, teammates, teary-eyed faces that all blur together.

Most Jeonbuk players have silently left the field already, leaving Wonwoo to stare in surprise when Chan suddenly appears in front of him. There are dried tear streaks on his face, but he still puts on a brave face in front of them.

“Congrats”, he mumbles. The words almost get drowned out by the surrounding noise. Wonwoo has to lean forward to not miss anything Chan says.

“Thank you, you fought hard.” He gives Chan a soft smile that gets returned, even if it looks pained.

Chan twists his fingers into his jersey, avoiding eye contact. “I was wondering if, uh–” he sends a quick sideways glance towards Jisoo then back to Wonwoo before staring at his feet again. “I was wondering if you wanted to trade shirts?”

“Oh? Really?” Wonwoo almost stumbles over his words, stunned by the question. No one has ever asked him for a jersey swap. When Chan nods eagerly, he quickly scrambles to pull his jersey over his head, handing it to the younger one.

Chan in return takes off his own jersey and hands it over. He pulls Wonwoo's jersey over his head, not minding the sweat that must cling to it, and beams back up at him. The jersey properly drowns his body, reaching to his mid-thighs. Wonwoo doesn't even try to put on Chan's jersey, the small size of it already clear just from holding it in his hands.

“Woah! Long sleeves are so cool! I feel so warm.” He swings his body from left to right, the sleeves of Wonwoo's jersey flapping in the air. Wonwoo can't help but watch him with a fond smile.

Finally, Chan looks up again, the look on his face now less pained than before. “I can't wait to see you in the national team soon!”

Wonwoo sputters, anything he tries to say getting caught in a cough. Luckily, Jisoo finally decides to be part of the conversation. He gently pats Wonwoo's back before turning towards Chan. “You too, I'm sure you'll get the call soon.”

Now it's Chan's turn to be shocked, a deep flush spreading over his cheeks. He finds his words faster than Wonwoo again.

“We’ll stir up the next World Cup.” Chan nods self-assured. He leaves before any of them can reply, and Wonwoo is left stunned.

Only now does he start to feel the cold on his skin, despite still wearing his compression shirt. He shivers, which in return catches the attention of Jisoo. Wonwoo thinks he is imagining Jisoo's eyes travelling over his body for a few seconds. “Come on, we'll get you a blanket.”

The championship celebration party starts immediately after they lift the trophy into the air. First in the stadium under a confetti rain and the cheering voices of their fans. Then outside on a makeshift stage in front of even more fans and spectators.

In the evening, the club rented out a bar big enough to fit the whole team. It’s a two-story location with a bistro on the first floor and the actual bar upstairs looking more like a nightclub.

Wonwoo gets robbed into karaoke with Seokmin after a couple shots of Soju and actually manages to get the high score. Hopefully the resulting video on Jisoo’s phone won’t be blackmail worthy.

The hours pass without Wonwoo noticing it until he finds himself outside on the balcony. A pleasant shiver runs over his skin, the cold wind a stark contrast to the sticky air inside. He leans his back against the railing, letting his head fall back and staring at the starless sky. His blood buzzes through his veins.

“Welcome to the outside world.” Wonwoo flinches. He hadn’t noticed another person when he stepped onto the balcony. He whips his head around towards the person standing just a few steps away. It’s Mingyu.

His friend is leaning against the railing, looking towards the streets down below. There is a cigarette in his hand that he crushes into an ashtray next to him before turning towards Wonwoo. Throughout the season, Wonwoo has seen Mingyu smoke twice. And only in stress situations.

He knows Mingyu knows better than ruining his career with smoker lunge, which makes the situation more confusing. Shouldn’t he be happy?

Wonwoo frowns, pointing at the ashtray. “What happened?”

“I’m happy, but–” Mingyu sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“But?”

Silence falls between them. Wrapping around the air and leaving a bitter feeling in Wonwoo’s stomach. Mingyu chews on his lips and starts picking at the cuticles of his nails.

“I’ve got a contract offer”, he finally spits out, “in Europe.”

Relief and a bucket of ice water are dumped over Wonwoo’s body at the same time. Relief because nothing bad happened. Shock because he knows what the next words out of Mingyu’s mouth will be.

“And I think I’ll say yes.”

It’s a no-brainer, really. Wonwoo can guess what they’re paying. Apart from that, the prestige that any of the European leagues carry is undeniable. Everyone knows the names of the big clubs and their stars. He can see Mingyu fitting right in among the names of Real Madrid and Manchester United.

“That’s amazing, Mingyu. I’m happy for you.” He pulls Mingyu into a hug, feeling his shoulders sack in relief. Not soon after, his tall frame starts shaking with quiet sobs. Wonwoo, entirely overwhelmed by crying people once again, gently rubs circles into his back.

“I’m happy, I really am”, Mingyu sobs, “but we just won, and now I’m leaving, it doesn’t feel right.”

“It’s okay, this is just how it goes. They’re all going to be happy for you.” Wonwoo would be lying if seeing his friend move to the other side of the world wouldn’t make him sad, but he doesn’t need to tell Mingyu that.

Slowly, Mingyu pulls away and rubs over his eyes. “There is also–” he catches himself. Hesitating. Mingyu’s mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. He sinks back into Wonwoo’s hold, face buried into his shoulder, making his next words hard to understand.

“My friend– boyfriend, we barely see each other as it is. Moving to Europe would make it impossible.”

Wonwoo freezes for a second. Then understanding washes over him. He has never mentioned anything close to a lover, not explicitly, at least. Unless– “Your friend? The one in the military?”

There is a barely noticeable nod against his shoulder, and Wonwoo wraps his arms tighter around Mingyu’s body.

“Have you told him?” Wonwoo says softly, “Don’t you think he wouldn’t want you to take on this challenge?” Mingyu doesn’t answer, but his sniffling slowly subsides. A couple of minutes later, Wonwoo even manages to get him into the bathroom without any of their teammates noticing.

He gently wipes the tears and snot off of Mingyu’s face and pats some water on his heated cheeks. Mingyu just endures it, watching his movement with hunched shoulders and pouty lips. Wonwoo finally understands the puppy agenda that his fans have going on. Although, he would prefer a happier puppy sitting in front of him.

“So, where are you going then? Which club won the race to sign you?” Wonwoo asks once no tear tracks are left on Mingyu’s face.

Mingyu blushes, as he always does when anyone mentions the number of clubs trying to sign him. “Germany, I’m going to play for Bayern Munich.”

“Congrats! That’s massive!” He pulls Mingyu into another hug and is relieved when he finds Mingyu’s posture relaxed this time as he returns it.

With a fresh face and a less heavy heart, Wonwoo is happy to see Mingyu enjoying himself for the rest of the evening. He might be a little quieter than usual, but smiles whenever someone talks to him and accepts various shot offers.

When they get home that night, sleep comes easily.

ᯓ⚽︎

[READ] FC Seoul crowned as K League 1 Champions!

FC Seoul secures the League Title after a 1:0 win against rivals Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Going into the last match of the season, just one point separated the two teams. Set up in front of the sold out World Cup Stadium, it promised to be a high intensity match.

Seoul got the better start, pressing high in the early minutes of the first half. But having the point advantage, Jeonbuk stood solid as they waited out their opponent's attacks. The game significantly slowed down about 25 minutes into the first half. Both teams looked rather clueless as there was no getting through to either defence line.

Finally, the action returned in the second half. Jeonbuk pressed high right from the get-go but appeared calmer in their approach than the Seoul team. Despite some initial mistakes in the build-up play, Seoul regularly appeared in their opponents' penalty area. In the 72nd minute, Hong Jisoo scored the opening goal.

The following minutes were shaped by Jeonbuk's high pressing as they pushed for the equaliser. Seoul managed to hold onto the advantage until the end of the game.

With a total of 35 shots on goal, 20 of which were on target, Jeonbuk gave everything but couldn't get through Seoul's last defence, Jeon Wonwoo. Another top class performance that contributed to winning the golden glove award for an outstanding season. But Jeon Wonwoo wasn't the only one that got to enjoy winning a trophy.

FC Seoul’s captain Lee Hoseok won both MVP and the Top Scorer award. On the other side, Jeonbuk's Lee Chan was awarded the Young Player of the Year trophy.

[Image attached: Lee Hoseok smiles wide holding both trophies. Next to him, Jeon Wonwoo looks in disbelief over the trophy in his hand. On the right, Lee Chan holds his trophy with a tight-lipped smile.]

Crowned as League Champions, Seoul's team can't quite rest yet. In just two weeks, they will face Ulsan HD in the FA Cup final. Seoul will go into the game as the clear favourite. Can they secure the Double?

Related

[WATCH] FC Seoul’s Championship Celebrations

[READ] Kim Mingyu signs with Bayern Munich

ᯓ⚽︎

The day of the cup final approaches way too fast. Just yesterday they lifted the trophy in the air and suddenly it’s two weeks later and the team is ready to take on the double.

Last week, Mingyu told Seokmin and Jisoo of his transfer after the game but kept it quiet in front of the rest of his teammates, too afraid of causing any distractions. They took it as well as Wonwoo expected, Seokmin close to tears didn’t leave Mingyu’s side for a whole day and even Jisoo who acted happy in front of Mingyu left practice with a sad face that day.

Even that feels far away now and after two weeks of preparations, suddenly all of Wonwoo’s notifications are flooded with ‘Match day!’ and 'Good Luck!’ messages.

Wonwoo would be lying if he said he is relaxed, but he does feel more confident than he did before their match against Jeonbuk. They did it once, they can do it again.

It starts similarly like their last game, with a goalless draw until half-time. But unlike against Jeonbuk, neither team managed to score a goal until full-time. And nothing in the 30 minutes of extra time, either. Wonwoo would have preferred anything over a penalty shoot out. Still, he strides into the goal, shoulders squared and head held high.

The problem with penalties is luck. As the striker walks up to the penalty point, they look small, far away, impossible not to block their shot. Yet it is the opposite for them. So close to the goal, there is no way they can miss the shot.

Wonwoo dives to the right corner only once this time, leaving him frustrated as he watches Seokmin take on the spot. With a 4:3 for Ulsan, Seokmin needs to score for the shoot out to continue. His friend takes a deep breath, then fires the ball into the bottom left corner. Right into the hands of Ulsan’s keeper.

Cheers erupt around them, but for once they don’t come from their own fans. Having stood right next to the goal, Wonwoo is the first one to reach Seokmin who still stands frozen on the penalty spot. He pulls him into a firm hug that soon gets joined by more of their teammates.

The silence surrounding them despite noise in the stadium speaks volumes. They don’t stay long after dutifully collecting their silver medals and congratulating Ulsan’s players.

Seokmin cries on their way back home, none of them have shown any anger, but he has always been the hardest on himself. Next to him, Mingyu cries because it was his last game for the club before moving to Germany. And Wonwoo?

Wonwoo doesn’t cry, but when Jisoo stands in the hallway with packed suitcases two days later, it hits him like a freight train. The season is over. Jisoo is flying to Los Angeles, visiting his family for Christmas. Wonwoo has his own plans of driving back to Changwon, but everything suddenly happened too fast.

No practice for a couple of weeks, no more League matches until February. Watching Jisoo climb into the taxi that’s taking him to the airport feels like someone violently ripped him out of his routine.

On Friday, he meets up with Seokmin and Mingyu for one of their last get-togethers. Mingyu wouldn’t leave until the start of January, but with the holidays approaching, neither of them knows if they would manage to meet up before that.

Not feeling like going out, they meet up at Wonwoo’s flat for take out. The mood is sombre with the recent loss and Mingyu’s looming departure, Mario Kart laying forgotten on the coffee table next to various bags of food. Seokmin hasn’t left Mingyu’s side once, staying wrapped around his body all throughout the evening.

The two of them have been together since their youth team days, and had their professional and national debut at the same time. Wonwoo doesn't want to imagine how either of them will feel with half a world apart.

They end up deciding on a movie that neither of them pay attention to. At one point, Wonwoo gets absorbed into the pile, buried beneath blankets and snacks. It's too cosy to move, which makes saying goodbye even harder. When they leave around midnight, Wonwoo is left feeling weirdly alone in an empty flat.

His favourite mug is standing next to the kitchen sink, catching dust after standing unused for a couple of days. Wonwoo puts it in the cupboard and goes to sleep.

On the next day, Wonwoo makes the drive down to Changwon. For how often he had to do it for the contract negotiations at the beginning of the year, he can't say he missed it. He did, however, miss seeing his family, and with the way his eomma is refusing to break their hug, Wonwoo can tell the feeling is mutual.

He spends the first couple of days just trying to calm down. The end of a season has always left him restless, craving the routine of a constant mix between practices and match days.

Jogging up the streets he used to take to school, taking in the surrounding scenery, finally lets Wonwoo calm down. It's not spring. It's quieter than he remembers it.

Dead leaves litter the ground, bare trees and biting winds making everyone rather spend their time inside than going out. That doesn't mean there isn't a feeling of nostalgia growing in his chest. Wonwoo meets up with old teammates and friends, spending enough time with them that the aching feeling in his chest turns into a dull background throb.

By the time Christmas rolls around, everything feels close to normal again. His family was never big on celebrating Christmas. Still, his eomma used the opportunity to celebrate the end of the season and their first place in the league. She doesn’t say it, but Wonwoo can tell she is trying to make up for missing their last game.

Wonwoo lets her, knowing that any kind of pushback would just lead to her going even more overboard. That is how he ends up in the kitchen, dutifully chopping away at various vegetables. His eomma scurries around the kitchen, trying not to burn one of the many dishes she is preparing.

It’s entirely too much considering it’s only for his parents, brother and grandparents, but Wonwoo doesn’t dare to tell her that.

His mother nods approvingly at the broth simmering on the stove before she starts slicing the meat. “You know, I really thought you wouldn’t come for Christmas this year”, she says conversationally.

“Why is that?” Wonwoo frowns as he reaches for the next carrot from the pile. He has been at it for at least 10 minutes now, but the pile won’t shrink.

“Ah, you know! I thought you would be spending it with your boyfriend, doing all of these fun couple activities. I bet Seoul has a lot to offer on that part.” She chuckles to herself and shakes her head as if she just made a great joke. It only serves to confuse Wonwoo.

He narrows his eyes and throws her a sideway glance. “Boyfriend?”

“Of course! But I suppose it makes sense that he flew home to see his family. They’re much more passionate in America when it comes to celebrating Christmas, aren’t they?”

Wonwoo freezes. The dots rapidly connect in his head. She must be talking about Jisoo, but why does she assume they’re boyfriends? Did she misunderstand when Wonwoo told her they would be roommates a couple of months ago? That must be it.

“Jisoo is not my boyfriend, eomma. He’s just my roommate”, he says patiently before resuming chopping the carrots.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry!” She pinches his cheek lovingly. Then, just when Wonwoo thought that was all, she laughs. “I must have assumed, you talk a lot about him. It’s just like with your crush on your old team captain, what was his name again? Minhyun?”

She is still chuckling as she turns around to check on the pots on the stove again. It is a passing comment with probably no further relevance for his eomma, but it makes the hairs on Wonwoo’s neck stand. Why would she mention his high school crush now? What does that have to do with Jisoo?

He can’t ponder further over this because his eomma suddenly lets out a shriek and rushes over with a towel. Wonwoo can only catch a glimpse of the cut in his finger before she wraps the towel around it and brings him over to the dining table. He watches as his eomma washes the blood off the carrots but fails to make it make sense in his head.

Every action suddenly feels like it’s wrapped in cotton. He looks at his eomma and distantly hears her fussing and the comments of how Wonwoo is just as clumsy in the kitchen as his father. Yet her words don’t register in his head. His brain is spinning up another storm, trying to process her previous words.

Why would she bring up Wonwoo’s high school crush? What does Minhyun have to do with Jisoo when they both don’t compare at all? It’s similar to Mingyu a while ago. Why did they both assume he likes Jisoo?

There is more to having a crush than just spending time together. Back as a teenager, Wonwoo read up on these things, trying to figure out how to pursue the Minhyun situation until he realised it was more admiration than any fluttery feelings.

Crushes are supposed to make you have butterflies dancing in your stomach. Miss the other person, even if you know you will see them again. Wonwoo tries to remember when he last felt something similar.

There was that rush in his stomach after winning against Jeonbuk. He remembers Jisoo in his arms and how the smile didn’t leave his face. But those weren’t butterflies. It was the adrenaline of the game, the happiness about winning the league and being able to celebrate it with his friends.

Wonwoo tries to think further. There must be a reason people make that assumption. Especially people that are close to him. What do they see that Wonwoo can’t?

Of course, he misses Jisoo. They have been living together for months now, there have only been rare moments where Wonwoo was truly alone. But he misses Seokmin too, and Mingyu, who will leave for Europe soon. There is no difference between them or–

Wonwoo stills. The finger still wrapped around in the towel sends a dull throb of hurt through his body. It’s weirdly familiar in a way.

Familiar, just like when he turns around to see Jisoo’s reaction but finds no one there.

Familiar, just like how he couldn’t touch his favourite mug for a few days after Jisoo left. Because it wasn’t Wonwoo’s favourite mug anymore. Now there is someone else who uses it so regularly that seeing it alone just feels wrong.

He misses Jisoo, but not in the way he misses Mingyu and Seokmin.

It doesn’t feel like following a senior student around trying to get his attention by asking him about dribbling tips, even though he is a goalkeeper. There are no butterflies in his stomach but something else instead. Something warm.

Something–

Oh.

Oh.

ᯓ⚽︎