WOPE Ch 13

“…Being good is a good thing.”

Junwook muttered to himself as he turned the volume up a little more.

—Player Lee Hooyoung’s momentum has been extraordinary since the first quarter today!

—His performance is almost reminiscent of the playoffs. Look at the accuracy of that Lob Pass. It looks easy when you’re watching it, but it’s actually difficult to execute. You have to be in sync with the foreign player who is dunking, and you also have to know how to float the ball with great precision.

The Big Whales were overwhelming the opposing team 8 to 22.

—Lee Hooyoung! A clean three-pointer!

The announcer’s voice pierced through the TV and spread throughout the entire house.

—Wow, is that 11 points for Lee Hooyoung in the first quarter alone? He’s scored 11 of the Big Whales’ 25 points all by himself. You know, before the game today, I asked the Big Whales’ coach how the players’ conditions were, and he said that Hooyoung was a bit off and that he would adjust his playing time today. But at this rate, the coach must have been lying to me, right?

Watching recent Big Whales games, the announcers and commentators were all busy praising Hooyoung with one mind and one voice. That’s how outstanding his performance was. The basketball community and reporters cautiously began to laud him as a potential season MVP. In truth, his stats were not quite on the level of the players who were already at the top on other teams, but he created that many impressive scenes.

The game flowed like water. In both the first and second quarters, the Big Whales led by more than 10 points. They still had to see the third and fourth quarters, but it seemed impossible for them to lose today.

Junwook stood up to grab his car keys as soon as the third quarter began. If he left now, he would probably time it just right with Hooyoung getting out of the shower. It was a reunion after a very long time. Hooyoung would probably be a bit down because of the private loan, but once they were together, everything would be resolved cleanly. Then he would have to see him smile a bit, and touch him to see if he had lost any weight.

Just as Junwook, who found himself whistling, picked up the remote to turn off the TV, Hooyoung, who had been holding the ball and driving under the basket, tumbled to the floor. It happened in an instant.

—Oh! Player Lee Hooyoung has fallen!

A silence fell over both Junwook and the basketball court on the screen.

—Ah, he got tangled up while driving in. He stepped on the opposing player’s foot… Ah, I hope this isn’t a serious injury.

Along with the commentator’s lamenting words, a close-up of Hooyoung, his eyes squeezed shut in pain, filled the screen.

🏀

Basketball is a sport that is particularly prone to injuries. This was all the more true because there is direct physical contact between players, and many of them crowd under the narrow basket to jump into the air. Injuries like torn cruciate ligaments or Achilles tendons, which require long rehabilitation, happened to one or two players every year, and bruises during games were very frequent.

Among them, the area that basketball players injured with unusual frequency was the ankle. When a defender stuck to them man-to-man, there were too many situations where their feet would overlap. It was a courtesy and a rule to provide landing space for the shooting player, but it was difficult to prevent injuries that occurred in urgent situations.

Hooyoung was also unlucky. He did not even know whose foot he had stepped on. He had been looking only at the basket and driving through when he felt his ankle twist sharply. The pain started just before his body hit the floor.

“…Ugh.”

Hooyoung clenched his teeth and curled his body. His hands grabbed his ankle. The pain that came in that instant was immense.

“Are you okay?!”

Startled players ran over and surrounded Hooyoung, and the trainer coach also rushed over in a single bound and grasped his ankle. The player whose foot had unintentionally gotten tangled also stood beside him with a worried expression. The spectators, who had been cheering enthusiastically, began to murmur.

“Let go of your hand. Let me see, tell me if it hurts.”

The trainer moved Hooyoung’s hand and lifted his ankle. The first priority was to check if Hooyoung was in a state to stand up, or if a stretcher needed to be brought in.

“How about here. Oh, here?”

Hooyoung nodded for the spots that hurt and said no, it’s okay, for the spots that were fine. It had been incredibly painful the moment it twisted, but the pain seemed to lessen a bit as time passed. He had thought it was a disaster the moment he fell, but it seemed it might not be that severe. Players who use their bodies tend to instinctively know the extent of their injuries, thinking things like, ‘I’ll be fine tomorrow, this will take a while, it might be a season-out.’

Hooyoung slowly got up, leaning on the trainer. The sound of cheers and supportive applause echoed through the arena.

“Hey Bbi-Bbi, are you okay?!”

Hojin, who had run out at some point and was now standing at the very front past the scoreboard, asked with a surprised face.

“Yeah, I think I’m okay. It doesn’t seem that serious…”

Watching the game resume, Hooyoung sat on an auxiliary seat at the very end of the bench. The trainer immediately came over, sat down, and began to check Hooyoung’s ankle by grasping it. Hojin quickly brought a towel and draped it over Hooyoung’s shoulders. Players in sleeveless and short uniforms had to wear a towel or a long-sleeved shirt on the bench without exception because their bodies must not cool down.

“Hyung, it’s throbbing a bit, but it’s not like I can’t put weight on it or can’t move it. It won’t last long, right?”

“Let’s ice it first and see if it swells. Even if there’s no pain, you’ll have to go to the hospital tomorrow and get an MRI. Wow, when you fell, I was scared to death thinking you’d get a major injury with so little of the season left! It’s a huge relief that you’re flexible, really.”

Generally, smaller players tended to be more flexible, and Hooyoung was even more flexible among them. When the body is flexible, the severity of an injury tends to be somewhat reduced. This was the reason he had put twice as much effort into stretching as others since he started playing basketball.

Even if he got injured during a game or training, the hospital bills were covered by the school’s basketball team, but rehabilitation was the problem. These days, even young amateurs invested heavily in rehab. Since physical condition was the most important thing to become a professional player, parents did not hesitate to spend a lot of money on rehab centers. Hooyoung, with his poor financial situation, could not even dream of such rehabilitation, so he always focused on stretching. It was the only method he could do without spending money.

“…I think this will be fine if I just rest for a day or two. If I get it taped, I can play from the next game.”

“Hey, buddy, that’s for the coach to decide.”

He knows full well that if the doctor and hyung say it’s okay, the coach will give the okay too. Hooyoung gave the trainer a resentful look for no reason and then turned his eyes to the court. The game was in full swing.

We have to win today… Hooyoung let out a deep sigh. He did not know how the time had passed from morning until now. His feet had gotten tangled, but perhaps it was also due to his body being heavy from lack of sleep. Still, it was a relief that they had led throughout the first quarter.

He had told the coach everything honestly. He had even shown him the message sent by the man. The coach’s shocked expression, one he had never seen before, was followed by silence. It was another moment where he felt ashamed of his debt. If he did not have a debt to the man, reporting the match-fixing proposal would have been an issue that ended with only praise. But because they had known each other for a long time and even had a debtor-creditor relationship, everyone was bound to feel both concern and suspicion.

That short time until the coach contacted the general manager and he received permission to play felt like absolute hell. He felt like his insides were burning up and he just wanted to burst into tears, but he tried to remain composed.

‘Don’t worry about things like that, just do what you want to do.’

He repeated only those words to himself. Because he told me not to worry and to do what I want to do. I may not have achieved my goal of doing well and then contacting him, but there was no way Junwook would be like that. Sure enough, a short while later, he received a call directly from the general manager. He told him to go out and play, that trusting the player is what the club should do. He was incredibly moved, but he could feel that Junwook was behind it.

…There really wasn’t much time left. The coach and the general manager had told him to play for now, and Junwook was a strong support, but he could not help but feel like a sinner. He had run around like a madman trying to win somehow, and now he had even gotten injured. This was just causing more harm to the team.

The camera kept taking one-shots of his pathetic figure, sitting on the bench with ice on his ankle and watching the game. Hooyoung, unaware of this, had the corners of his eyes drooping lower and his lips pouting. His shoulders were slumped as if they would almost touch the ground.

What happens now… What could Junwook be doing? It would have been better to be playing. Just sitting still, worries began to pile on top of worries again. He felt self-conscious, as if a thief was startled by his own actions, and it was hard to even look towards the coach.

“I miss you.”

Hooyoung, with unfocused, blank eyes, whispered in a small voice that no one could hear. I want to see you soon. I want to rest. Once I see him, once we meet, won’t everything else be okay? Won’t all the hard things be forgotten? Just like it had always been. Just like in America where they first met, and also in Korea where they met again.

The game was not overturned, and the Big Whales won. It was their 8th consecutive victory.

The first thing Hooyoung checked when he entered the locker room was his phone. Normally, he would have picked up his phone wondering if a message from Junwook had come today, but today, his worry about a call from the loan shark was greater. He naturally thought there would be missed calls or messages filled with curses.

“Oh…”

There was nothing. It was clean. There were no missed calls, and the last message was the one he had received before the game. This can’t be right. Hooyoung blinked his eyes. Given that man’s personality, he should be raising hell, so why… He could not understand. Surprised, he searched his name in the sports news articles, but that was clean too. Is he so angry that he hasn’t done anything yet? No way, what if he’s waiting outside with thugs?

Since Junwook was there, he was not worried about the aftermath, but the fact that it was so quiet was frightening.

“Bbi-Bbi! Good work. See you after the holiday.”

“You worked hard!”

The players began to leave the locker room one by one. Since their results were good lately, the coach was generous with holidays. After barely getting a day off each time, everyone was excited about the rare two-day holiday and disappeared one after another. It seemed few people were taking the team bus today either.

“Hey, you’re going to the dorm today, right? You have to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I have to go.”

Hooyoung vaguely answered Hojin’s question. …He said he’d come pick me up. Just as Hooyoung was looking back and forth between his phone and his ankle, his phone vibrated briefly.

[I’ve arrived in the basement here.]

Hooyoung made an expression that was somewhere between a smile and a cry. It was a complex emotion. He was happy to see him, but also worried that the loan shark might be there. What if he’s here to cause a scene? What if he runs right into Junwook? Also, although it was all over now, there was the regret that it would have been better if he had contacted him after proudly smiling as number one. While he was having all sorts of worries, the next message arrived in succession.

[I came in a different car today, so look for license plate 0829 and get in. It’s a black car. I’ll turn on the lights when I see you.]

His lips pouted on their own. It was so, so tearfully gentle.

[Don’t worry about anything else and just come out.]

How can he be like this every time? How does he know everything I’m worrying about? In the end, a single tear that he had been holding back dropped. Not wanting anyone to see, he quickly turned his back towards the lockers.

[By the way, are there partitions in this stadium’s shower room?]

You’re not supposed to laugh while crying. As Hooyoung, the corners of his mouth turned up, secretly pressed on his eyes, the locker room door opened. It was the team manager.

“Hey, Bbi-Bbi.”

“Yes, yes?”

“What, are you crying?!”

The surprised manager came closer to Hooyoung.

“No, I was just on my way back from hearing from the general manager, what are you doing crying?”

The manager, who had completely misunderstood, patted Hooyoung’s back.

“What kind of man cries over something like this! Don’t worry, no, it’s not something not to worry about, but since you told us everything, it’s okay. We’re getting a lot of love from our parent company these days. It seems they’re going to check into it on their end and respond together. So it’s okay, man! Stop it, stop!”

“The, what’s the procedure…?”

“They said once a report comes in, it’s reported to the Korean Basketball League, and then it goes to the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. I didn’t hear the details either. Ah, you, don’t worry about other things and hurry up, wash up, and come out. You have to take the bus.”

“…Hyung.”

Hooyoung timidly glanced at the manager’s face. In fact, he was supposed to take the team bus back to the dorm today. He had to go to the hospital tomorrow with the manager and the trainer. The manager and trainer were coming in on their day off because of his injury.

“Can I leave separately today?”

“Huh? Hey, where do you think you’re going when you have to go to the hospital tomorrow? You can’t use your ankle a lot, man.”

“A friend said he’s coming to pick me up… I won’t use my ankle much. I’ll be back at the dorm tonight or early tomorrow morning. Please? I really won’t even walk, I’ll just stay still.”

As Hooyoung pleaded with a pitiful face, the manager scratched the back of his neck, looking troubled. Normally, it would have been an issue he would have let him do as he pleased, but because of what happened today and his injury, he seemed bothered by it.

“Bbi-Bbi.”

“Yes?”

“The friend who came to pick you up, he’s not a strange person, is he?”

Come to think of it, the manager hyung had seen the loan shark before. Hooyoung bit his lower lip hard and shook his head.

“No. Really, really not. Hyung, I can say for sure. It’s not him.”

“Alright. Ah, don’t look like you’re about to cry!”

The manager patted Hooyoung’s back again.

“Then you have to be back at the dorm before you go to the hospital tomorrow, got it?”

“Yes. I’ll contact you as soon as I get there.”

Having barely gotten permission, Hooyoung hurriedly showered and came out. He re-secured the icing on his ankle tightly and shook out his clothes before putting them on. He neatly packed the things from his locker into his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Junwook was here. It had been a really long time. He did not know he would be calling him in tears, and he did not know they would meet in a parking garage like this, but meeting was still meeting.

As he took one step, then another, trying not to put pressure on his injured ankle, he kept getting choked up. The excitement of seeing Junwook, the guilt of receiving help, the resentment of his debt-ridden situation, the anger towards the loan shark who proposed the match-fixing, and on top of that, the annoyance of having gotten injured. They endlessly surged up and pricked at his heart.

I shouldn’t cry. At the very least, I want to keep my promise to meet him with a smile, but that’s not easy. As Hooyoung went down to the underground parking lot to find the car, he was barely holding back the stinging in his nose, just thinking, I have to smile.

The parking lot, with most of the cars already gone, was quiet. His worries were unfounded; the loan shark’s flashy car was nowhere to be seen.

“0829, 0829…”

As he was looking around to find the car number Junwook had told him, the sound of a car door opening came from behind.

“Hooyoung-ah.”

It was Junwook’s voice. He had not heard it for over a month, but upon hearing it, every cell in his body remembered. Hooyoung slowly turned around.

“Why are you crying. Are you a crybaby?”

Junwook was looking at him with the car door open. Nothing had changed. He was the same as a month ago, as two months ago, and as two years ago. He was smiling, looking just as handsome. Unable to hold it in any longer, Hooyoung shed thick tears. The moment he saw Junwook, everything became sorrowful.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t run.”

Hooyoung ran. He completely forgot about his injured ankle. His mind was filled only with the thought of hugging him quickly. It was a parking garage, so there might be other people, but he did not care who saw.

“I said don’t run.”

No sooner had Junwook’s words ended than Hooyoung rushed at him. Thud, the sound of them colliding was loud, but neither of them cared. The force with which Junwook hugged him was stronger than the force with which Hooyoung had collided.

“…Really, really.”

Hic. Hooyoung cried without holding back. There was no longer any reason to hold back. He had held it in in the locker room, in front of the coach, and on the court, but here, he did not have to.

“Yes, really.”

“This wasn’t how I meant to call you…”

Junwook moved his face this way and that to see Hooyoung’s face, but each time, Hooyoung grabbed his waist and buried himself deeper.

“I was going to contact you if I just had a little more, just a few more days, then…”

The area near Junwook’s collarbone grew damp.

“Lift your face.”

Junwook tried to lift his head, stroking his ear, but Hooyoung resisted with strength. It was obvious his face would be a mess from the tears.

“…I don’t want to.”

“Why.”

No matter how long it had been, he did not want to show him a tear-stained face. It was natural. Because he was in front of the person he liked.

“…Because I’m ugly.”

What? Hearing that small voice that was barely audible, Junwook laughed. Hooyoung hugged his laughing, shaking body even tighter, clinging to him.

“I like you even if you’re ugly, so show me.”

Because I like you. At those words, his heart pounded and his body lost its strength. He could not avoid the hand that was lifting his face.

“Thank you for calling me today.”

Junwook wiped the tears from both of Hooyoung’s cheeks with both of his hands. It was incredibly gentle, as if telling him not to be hurt.

“If I had heard about it from someone else instead of you after you held it in, I would have been really angry.”

He could feel the sincerity. He was truly grateful that he had told him directly, that he had called him right away. He likes me. He could tell. Junwook likes me.

“Smile. You should smile since we’ve met.”

At those words, Hooyoung immediately smiled beautifully. He forgot about his swollen eyes and the tear-stained cheeks and smiled brightly. It was the happy smile that made his eyes disappear completely, the one Junwook had fallen for at first sight.

After finishing their rather dramatic reunion, Junwook got Hooyoung into the car. Junwook had to pat Hooyoung, who kept trying not to be separated, on the butt and urge him to get in quickly.

“It’s a good thing no one’s here, we almost let everyone see Lee Hooyoung bawling his eyes out.”

Junwook, sitting in the driver’s seat, reached out his right arm, brushed the hair stuck to Hooyoung’s forehead, and chuckled. Hooyoung’s face looked like he had been sobbing, even from 100 meters away. Now, it was not just his eyes that were swollen, but it seemed like his entire face was puffy.

“Really, this is a shocking level of cuteness that I’d hate to show to others.”

“…That means I’m ugly, right.”

Hooyoung tried to lower the sun visor in front of him to look in the mirror, but Junwook stopped him.

“I told you you’re not ugly.”

“But you keep laughing.”

The car slowly exited the parking garage. His eyelids stung, so Hooyoung rubbed his eyes. It tingled a little.

“It’ll get more swollen if you keep touching it.”

“Okay. Ah, but…”

Suddenly, he remembered his promise with the trainer. Hooyoung then realized that he had injured his ankle.

“But?”

“I have to go to the hospital tomorrow, so I have to go back to the dorm.”

Hooyoung said carefully, sneaking a glance at Junwook. If it were up to him, he would want to follow Junwook too, but to go to the hospital tomorrow morning, it was better to go to the dorm tonight.

“When are you going to the hospital? With whom?”

“In the morning. I’m going with the trainer hyung and the manager hyung. It’s a two-day break, but the hyungs are coming in because of me.”

“Hmm…”

Junwook thought for a moment.

“Still, let’s go to Seoul for now and then head over to the dorm early in the morning.”

“Are you going to go with me? Tomorrow’s a weekday, isn’t it?”

He, who had more games on weekends, was used to resting on weekdays, but Junwook was someone who went to work on weekdays.

“How could I miss a two-day break after we’ve met after so long? I can handle urgent work from home.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to go now?”

Driving in the morning will be tiring. Although Seoul is closer from here.

“I have something to take care of here. We can go tomorrow morning after that.”

Hooyoung decided to follow without saying more. If Junwook said it was okay, then everything was fine with him too.

“You can sleep a little until we get there.”

“I’m okay.”

He had barely slept for days, and his body, which had also suffered an injury, was extremely tired, but sleep did not come. His head fully understood that he could relax now, but his body still seemed to be alert with tension. At this rate, if he fell asleep once, he would probably sleep for a whole day. It seemed better to get plenty of rest after going to the hospital tomorrow. It was a two-day break, after all. He would be with Junwook.

“…There was no contact after the game was over.”

“Hm?”

Then he remembered. He had been so caught up in meeting again that he had forgotten the most important thing.

“He contacted me right before the game. He said let’s practice with something weak, and to somehow just lose the first quarter. But I didn’t do it. So I naturally thought he would raise hell after the game. But there was no contact…”

Junwook had told him not to worry about anything and to just come out, as if he knew everything. Now he became curious about what had happened.

“There will be no more contact from him in the future.”

“…My debt was transferred to that person.”

“Yes, I confirmed it.”

When did he do all that? Hooyoung’s eyes widened as he looked at Junwook, who was driving. Then he quickly turned his head away again. The sight of him turning the steering wheel with one hand suddenly, so suddenly, caught his eye. This was not the time for this, but he did not want to be caught with his heart pounding.

“Why do you look at me and then turn your head like that? Am I ugly?”

“No?!”

Ah… I overdid it. By speaking so loudly, it felt like he had completely revealed his opposite feelings. Junwook, who laughed softly, reached out his right hand and touched the back of Hooyoung’s head.

“Cute.”

Hooyoung closed his mouth. He felt like he could not quite control his feelings.

“The club will notify the association tomorrow. That Korea Sports Promotion Foundation? Once it’s handed over to them, it will be officially investigated, so it might get troublesome, but it’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll make sure there’s no noisy business.”

“The debt…”

“That too. Let’s talk about it when we get home.”

Hooyoung nodded slightly. The scenery outside the window felt like it was passing through the coldest time of the year. People were walking with padded jackets and even scarves wrapped tightly around their necks. As an indoor sports athlete, he did not have many memories of winter. After turning pro, he had not even felt when winter came and went last year and this year, and as an amateur, he would go to the warm south for winter training.

It’s strange. Hooyoung, who was doodling with his finger on the window that was slowly fogging up, whispered very softly.

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing.”

The day he had ignored the incoming calls and came to Korea, and the day they had met again at the event, flashed through his mind. If he told his past self that he would meet this person later, and that this person would even pay off his debt, would he believe it? There is no way he would believe it. It was that much of an unimaginable, absurd thing.

Hooyoung carefully looked at Junwook again. Junwook, focused on driving, only lifted his head and mouthed ‘What?’.

“It’s nothing.”

Hooyoung quickly shook his head and looked out the window again. I really thought he was a person from a different world. …Has my world been turned upside down?

It had been a while since he had been to Junwook’s apartment in Samseong-dong. While Hooyoung carefully sat on the sofa, Junwook also put down the bag he was carrying. When they got out of the car, Junwook saw his limping ankle and offered to carry his bag for him.

“What’s in here that makes it so heavy? Do athletes usually carry this much stuff around?”

“Indoor athletes have to carry their shoes, the basketball shoes we wear during games. And we also have to prepare our own shower supplies.”

After finishing his sentence, Hooyoung thought he had made a mistake even as he said it. As expected, Junwook did not miss it and asked. He had come to sit next to him at some point and put an arm around his shoulders, which was not just an arm around the shoulders but practically an embrace.

“So, were there partitions in the shower room at the stadium today, or not?”

As if he had a specific purpose, Junwook half-lifted Hooyoung and sat him on his lap. Hooyoung’s toes wiggled inside his socks. It had been a long time since he had touched Junwook. The arm wrapped around his waist and the breath brushing against his ear were familiar, but he got goosebumps. He kept wanting to shrink his body.

“Why aren’t you telling me quickly? I guess there weren’t any.”

At times like this, it’s better to just face him and hug him. To move because of his ankle, he had to move his butt. Moving his butt on top of Junwook’s thighs was a little, a little dangerous.

“There weren’t.”

Hooyoung carefully nodded his head. The only stadiums with partitions were the Big Whales’ home stadium, which had undergone major construction recently because of Junwook, and two other newly built ones.

“If I tell you not to shower after the game…”

“But nobody cares. Everyone is so used to it that they go in and wash up in almost 5 minutes and come out!”

Junwook’s eyes narrowed.

“What good is that. The important thing is that other people see your stuff.”

“…Nobody looks.”

“How can they not look. Two round butts will be floating around.”

One of the hands that was on his waist moved down and cupped his butt. The movement of it gently caressing him was light but sufficiently sensual. Hooyoung quietly swallowed his saliva. He thought he heard a gulping sound, but he tried hard to ignore it.

“I should tell the club to make a suggestion after this season is over. The human rights of the players are important.”

Hooyoung smiled slightly. It was fun how he came up with a plausible excuse. There were many things to talk about now that they were home, but being so close to him kept making him have other thoughts. Even through the thick winter training pants, he could feel Junwook’s hand and thighs too well.

“My thighs are no joke right now from being poked with needles so much.”

Ah, that’s too sexy. Hooyoung’s face began to flush. The rock-hard thigh touching his bottom seemed to be moving.

“Want to open it up and check?”

Junwook carefully turned only Hooyoung’s body to face him, then took his hand and slid it onto his lower half. Hooyoung looked back and forth, once at Junwook’s face, and once at the place where his hand was.

“You’re the one who has to keep using it.”

…It is true that I’m the one who uses it. Hooyoung, swayed by the strange logic, slowly closed his eyes at the force pulling on the nape of his neck. Not today. Let’s do the urgent stuff first…

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

“Aah!”

Hooyoung, who was so startled that his shoulders flinched, pushed Junwook’s shoulder hard and fell away.

“Oh, so, someone must be here!”

He quickly moved his butt to get off Junwook’s thighs. He lost his balance and almost got thrown onto the sofa, but Junwook grabbed his forearm, allowing him to barely sit up.

“…So unhelpful. They should have come a little earlier, or just come late altogether.”

Junwook stood up with a face that looked extremely annoyed about something. From the sound of it, it seemed someone was scheduled to come. Hooyoung, who was needlessly scratching his neck and collarbone, fixed his clothes even though nothing was out of place. He also fanned himself a few times by waving his hands. It was suddenly so hot.

The person who entered after opening the front door was the secretary he had seen before, named Suhwan, and a man he was seeing for the first time. Following behind them was Junwook, his face completely contorted.

“Hello, Player Lee Hooyoung.”

“Hello.”

Suhwan stopped Hooyoung, who was trying to stand up and greet them. Suhwan had a neat impression today as well, and the unknown man in a suit behind him somehow felt cold and level-headed. It might have been because of the bulging briefcase he was holding.

“This is the company lawyer.”

Hooyoung and the man ended their greetings with a brief nod.

“Let’s get this over with quickly. It’s late.”

Hooyoung saw Suhwan give a slight glare at Junwook, who came and sat next to him, but pretended he did not see it.

“He wasn’t an unreasonable opponent. We came to a good conclusion without much difficulty. Also, the president there? The big brother? Anyway, that person was already extremely angry with a sense of betrayal. Lawyer?”

The lawyer took out a few stacks of paper from his thick briefcase and placed one in front of Hooyoung and one in front of Junwook. Hooyoung remembered the documents the loan shark had presented at the barbecue restaurant a few days ago. Papers on which his debt, which he did not even know when or how it was transferred, was written.

“The document in front of Player Lee Hooyoung states that the creditor has changed again. Back to the original loan company he owed money to.”

“Ah.”

Can it be changed so easily like that? No, would the loan shark have agreed to transfer my debt back?

“Then did the original company here give the money back to that man?”

It seems unlikely he would have gotten it back easily. That loan shark clearly looked like he was planning to make a fortune off of me.

“I am not sure what happened with the money. It does not matter to us as long as this document is in proper order.”

“Whether he got his money back from that man or not isn’t very important.”

The lawyer and Suhwan said one after another. Hooyoung’s gaze was busy following this person and that person.

“That bastard, no, that man and the new company he set up will probably be taken over by the original president anyway. Phew, it was my first time seeing big brothers like that, and they were no joke. Scary. He seemed to be middle-aged, but he was so cranky.”

“The site?”

At Junwook’s mention of the betting site, Hooyoung’s face grew tense.

“It has been shut down. It had only been a few days since the site opened, so there wasn’t much data. First, the capital inflow was too minimal, and since settlements had not yet been made, it is unlikely to have a major impact. The key issue in sports match-fixing is usually whether money was received or not. Now that Player Lee Hooyoung’s debt no longer belongs to this man, and since he has never received any money, there is nothing to get caught on.”

Hooyoung let out a small sigh of relief. So it can turn out like this. I really didn’t have to worry.

“Um, is there a chance this man might try to harm me, or come to the club?”

He had come to my school and my house. He had yelled at my grandfather, smashed my grandmother’s belongings, and grabbed my wrist, trying to cut it.

“…Hmm, he probably won’t be in the right state of mind for that.”

I don’t know if it’s his mind or his body. Suhwan, who muttered something incomprehensible, shivered behind Hooyoung. It seemed he had seen something tremendous.

“The document in front of the Director is a document stating that this debt will be repaid in a lump sum.”

At the lawyer’s words, Hooyoung’s eyes were fixed on that document. A lump sum repayment. They were words he thought he would hear at least around the time he retired. If he played basketball hard and hit the FA jackpot once or twice. In about 10, 15 years.

“This is not the only way to eliminate Player Lee Hooyoung’s debt. If we put all our efforts into finding loopholes and clinging to them, it might take a while, but it’s worth a try in court…”

“No, that’s enough. Let’s not do anything that takes a long time and is complicated.”

Junwook cut the lawyer off. Suhwan looked at the lawyer and shrugged his shoulders as if to say, ‘I knew it’.

“What can you do?”

Hooyoung, not knowing any better, asked, but the quick-witted lawyer just smiled a good-natured smile and took a pen out of his bag.

“It’s fine, let’s do this. Don’t worry about it.”

Junwook gently patted the back of Hooyoung’s head and took the pen.

“If you sign here, the deposit will be made tomorrow.”

Junwook’s hand, holding the pen, quickly scribbled on the paper. It was a concise movement that took less than a second.

Hooyoung just watched blankly. The debt was gone. It was a burden that had been on his shoulders for a very long time. It was a pity that he could not repay it with his own hands and had to lean on Junwook, but still, still, an end was an end. He thought he would be bawling his eyes out at a moment like this that he had only imagined, but surprisingly, no tears came out.

Junwook saw Hooyoung’s hand scratching and pulling at the seam of the sofa’s edge, and just patted his head a few more times.

Even after Suhwan and the lawyer left, Hooyoung sat still on the sofa and looked at the document for a long time. It was unbelievable.

“Are you going to keep looking at it?”

Junwook, who had seen them off and come back in, asked, but Hooyoung did not hear. He was just bewildered. We lived so frugally with my grandparents because of this. It had ended absurdly quickly. It was over as soon as Junwook signed his name with a flick of the wrist.

“…I want to brag.”

“To whom.”

Junwook, who was resting his head on his arm draped over the back of the sofa, asked Hooyoung, who was talking to himself.

“To my grandmother.”

“You can go and brag.”

Hooyoung held the document up high and then held it up to the light as if inspecting a counterfeit bill. Though it was just a document densely printed with black text. He could go and brag, but still, his grandmother would not be able to hear it directly. That part was a little.

“…Uh, excuse me.”

Hooyoung, who had been scrutinizing the document for a while, frowning and then pursing his lips, turned his head and called out to Junwook.

“Is there nothing other than ‘excuse me’?”

“…Then, Director.”

“I told you I don’t like Director or CEO.”

Hooyoung met Junwook’s eyes and, for a moment, set aside what he was originally going to say to ponder about the form of address. Hmm, Junwook-hyung? …That’s really rude. Then, Junwook-ssi? Hooyoung gave Junwook an awkward smile. Goosebumps rose all over his body.

“What’s with that expression?”

“There’s nothing suitable to call you.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing? There are plenty of things like ‘yeobo’ or ‘jagi’.”

Yeobo? Jagi? For a moment, Hooyoung’s eyes, nose, and mouth moved on their own without him being conscious of it. A dumbfounded expression that clearly said ‘what are you talking about’ was revealed.

“Why, what.”

When Junwook shamelessly asked back without even blinking, the even more flustered Hooyoung could not make a sound and just moved his lips, gaping.

“Um, uh, that’s a bit…”

“Is it something to be so serious about?”

It’s not that I’m being serious. Hooyoung needlessly scratched his thigh with his hand. It’s because it’s something he cannot imagine. Calling him yeobo or jagi, ugh.

“So why. You called me.”

Ah. Hooyoung quickly came to his senses, turned his body towards Junwook, and bowed his head deeply.

“Thank you.”

“Well, look at you.”

“I’ll work really, really hard and pay you back.”

Agh. Junwook’s eyes widened as he fell back against the sofa backrest.

“Are you going to be like this after even calling me so well?”

Hooyoung gave an embarrassed laugh. He knew what Junwook was talking about, and he had also asked him to wait, but now that the debt was actually gone, he felt that way. Even if you like someone, paying back such a large amount of money in one go must not be an easy thing.

“It would have been better if I had done well, gotten to first place, and then contacted you.”

A small part of his heart still felt a little bit of regret.

“You’re tied for first place right now. It’s perfect if you just think of it as being exactly one week earlier.”

That’s right. He’s right, but still. No matter how rich he is, how can 2.5 billion won be easy.

“Do I look that incompetent? Do I not look like a man who can just spend that much?”

When Junwook joked around, Hooyoung finally let out a small laugh.

“I, if I work hard in my athletic career, I can earn this much. If I hit the FA jackpot, it’s completely possible, and even before that, if I just keep doing as I am now, I can raise my salary to the 300 million won range in my 4th or 5th year. I’ll save as much as I can…”

Junwook listened with a ‘yeah yeah, you just keep talking’ attitude, then grabbed Hooyoung’s wrist and pulled him sharply. Hooyoung’s eyes widened as he was pulled without any resistance. No, no matter how much of a height difference there is, he’s still an athlete, isn’t it too easy for him to be pulled?

“What.”

Hooyoung shook his head to say it was nothing.

“So you’re going to give me every penny you earn?”

“Yes.”

Junwook grinned. Ah, it’s too close right now. Hooyoung tried to inch backwards, but Junwook’s arm wrapped around his back did not allow it easily.

“Yeah, well, when you get married, you manage money together anyway. Give it to me, I’ll grow it well for you.”

“Why, why is marriage coming up…”

What kind of nonsense is this? Even as he said that, Hooyoung was slowly turning red from his neck to the tips of his ears. He could not even look at Junwook properly.

“Are you not going to get married? After eating and running in America, are you going to eat and throw me away here? Wow, Hooyoung, I didn’t see you like that…”

“No, that’s not what I meant… Eat and throw, how could I, that’s absolutely not it!”

“So you’re saying you want to get married? Ahh, you secretly wanted to do that?”

Ugh. Hooyoung shivered and ducked his head low. They were so close that if he lowered his head, it would be right on Junwook’s shoulder. Junwook laughed and held Hooyoung as if to catch him.

“Look at him hugging me because he likes it.”

Hooyoung bumped Junwook with his head once, thud. It should have hurt, but Junwook just giggled.

“Ah, cute.”

His heart was uncomfortable yet light. Perhaps this discomfort would also slowly disappear as he spent more time with Junwook. Hooyoung moved his body slightly and fully embraced Junwook. It was certain that he liked it very much. He really, really liked Junwook.

“And acting all cute.”

Hooyoung rubbed his head against Junwook’s shoulder.

“…It’s not like that.”

“Yes, it is.”

Junwook’s hand stopped Hooyoung’s head from trying to lift up and held him even tighter.

“Ah, what a shame.”

“Why.”

“It’s too late. We have to sleep if we want to leave early in the morning.”

Hooyoung fidgeted and pulled his face out of Junwook’s embrace to look at the time. It was already past midnight. As Junwook said, it was right to go to sleep soon if they wanted to leave for the dorm early in the morning.

“…Shall we do it, just once?”

Junwook’s body shook with a stifled laugh. Hooyoung, who was leaning against him, shook along with him.

“Do what? What are we doing?”

“…That.”

“What is ‘that’?”

So mean. Hooyoung gave Junwook, who was constantly teasing him, a slight glare and then pulled away from his embrace as if to say, ‘forget it if you don’t want to’. Hooyoung crawled away on the sofa to escape, and Junwook grabbed him and teased him, telling him to keep talking.

“Let’s just sleep for today.”

Hooyoung stared blankly at the hand reaching out to him.

“…I’m heavy. Wouldn’t it be better to just give me a piggyback ride?”

“Why not just let me carry you? It’d be embarrassing if I offered a piggyback ride here and showed you my back, right?”

“I’m really heavy.”

Even as he said that, Hooyoung’s arms were faithfully wrapping around Junwook’s neck and his legs were wrapping around his waist. The bedroom in this house was on the second floor, so it would have taken a while for him to get up there on his own anyway. Fortunately, Junwook did not seem to be struggling much and did not even seem out of breath. When a relatively small guard fell on the court, taller players would sometimes give them a piggyback ride or help them up, so it was fascinating to see Junwook do it. Does he work out hard? Is it natural strength?

“Should we do it after you go to the hospital tomorrow? You have two days off, so we can do it to our heart’s content tomorrow. How about it?”

The suggestion to have sex sounded like he was saying, ‘let’s eat ice cream tomorrow’. Hooyoung, with his face resting on Junwook’s shoulder, smiled where he could not be seen.

“I wonder what position we should do so that you don’t have to put pressure on your sore ankle.”

“…Don’t say it so seriously.”

Junwook moved the hand that was supporting him and groped Hooyoung’s butt all over. It tickled, and when he moved, he felt it even more, so Hooyoung had quite a hard time until they reached the bedroom.

“Hey, you have to be serious about sex.”

A plush bed touched Hooyoung’s back. He thought he might be able to do it once, but as soon as the soft bedding touched him, he felt himself drifting off to sleep. Maybe it was because his mind was at ease. His eyes slowly closed.

“You said we should do it once.”

Junwook gently touched Hooyoung’s nose with his finger, but his eyes, already half-closed, showed no signs of opening.

“Mmm, just, tomorrow…”

He heard laughter from beside him, but his mind refused to clear up, so Hooyoung just closed his eyes. Still, in the moment between being awake and asleep, he could feel the cozy blanket covering him and the wide embrace that held him. I have to go and brag to my grandmother, even if she can’t hear me. And I have to play basketball really hard too. Hooyoung fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

The next day, the two of them, who had started moving at dawn, arrived at the dorm on time. Hooyoung, who had snuck into his room without being seen, went to the hospital with the trainer and manager. Fortunately, the injury was not serious enough to require rest, so everyone was relieved. The manager quickly reported the results to the coach and the general manager.

Hooyoung, who had been engrossed in his phone the entire time he was at the hospital, eventually got an earful from the trainer and the manager.

“Bbi-Bbi, you’re really strange these days. Normally when you get hurt, you’re the kid who asks a hundred different questions like, ‘How many weeks will this take?’, ‘How carefully do I have to play?’, ‘It’s not going to last long, is it?’, ‘Is it okay to take this much pain medication?’, but today you’re just looking at your phone.”

“The doctor said it was okay. Of course I’m worried, but I’m relieved that I can at least play…”

Hooyoung replied with an awkward laugh. It was not anything else, but Junwook had said he had already arrived in front of the dorm, so his mind was racing and he had no time to worry about his ankle. He was so engrossed in his feelings of affection that he himself found it amazing.

“Be honest. You’re dating someone, aren’t you.”

“Wow, I was thinking the same thing! He’s always on his phone these days unless he’s training or playing a game!”

“No, that’s not it?!”

Hooyoung was startled and denied it, but neither of them looked convinced.

“What do you mean, no. Your seniors all did that before announcing their marriages, man.”

“I’m going to start spreading rumors tomorrow.”

Ah, hyung, don’t do that. While trying to stop them, Hooyoung’s eyes were busy darting around, checking to see where Junwook was in the parking lot. His heart started to race. He had been seeing him, sleeping in his arms, and even rode in the car with him in the morning since last night, but he missed him even in the short time he was at the hospital.

“Oh, right. Hooyoung-ah, you’ll probably have to find a place to live after this season.”

“What?”

Hooyoung, who had been shaking his leg and waiting for the car to stop, looked at the manager hyung with a face like he had been hit by a bomb.

Not long ago, Hooyoung finally got a junior. However, there was a reason he had not been a hot topic within the team. He was busy raising his performance which had dropped after a trade, but they also failed to recruit any good rookies because they drew a low pick in the draft lottery. The lower the previous year’s performance, the higher the probability of getting a good pick in the draft lottery, but the Big Whales, despite finishing 8th, were not called until they were 7th in the lottery, far behind. Some even said it was all because of the general manager’s bad luck. Anyway, thanks to that, Hooyoung was still the youngest in the lineup.

“One of the rookies wants to live in the dorm. Jonghyuk.”

“Ah…”

Hooyoung nodded his head. The rule was to provide dorms only to rookies who had difficulty finding a place right away, so once a player had been on the team for a few years, they had to find their own place to live. It was a matter of course, but it was still disappointing to hear that he had to move out. It was less about being disappointed with the club and more about the sadness of having to leave a place he had grown fond of.

“Or should I talk to the general manager? Ask for a little more time?”

“It’s okay. I’ll move out after the season ends. I was supposed to move out anyway, but they were letting it slide.”

Hooyoung forced a smile and got out of the car.

“Even if your ankle is okay, don’t use it too much!”

“Okay!”

Hooyoung waved his hand and answered loudly to the trainer who was nagging at him with the window rolled down. The house was an issue, but for now, something else was more urgent. I’ll have to think about the house after this season is over.

As soon as the car disappeared, a black sedan that had been at the end of the parking lot moved. Hooyoung quickly opened the door and jumped into the car.

“Did you wait long?”

“No. Watching Lee Hooyoung from here was quite enjoyable. What did they say about your ankle at the hospital?”

“They said the ligaments and bones weren’t injured. They said there’s a small bone bruise on the bone, and that I can play while managing it.”

Everything was working out smoothly. The debt problem was solved, the swelling in his ankle had gone down, and it was not a major injury.

“That’s a relief. You don’t have to sit out.”

“Yes. I’m going to work really hard. I really want to win the championship now.”

As his face, with his lips firmly shut, overflowed with fighting spirit, Junwook turned the car towards the training center and glanced at Hooyoung.

“Even if you don’t win the championship, being number one in the regular season is good enough.”

The regular season and the playoffs were different. Many people were picking the currently successful Big Whales as the number one team in the regular season, but there were also many who questioned whether they would be able to succeed in the playoffs for that reason. The Big Whales were a young team centered around Hooyoung, who was in his second year, and the majority of analyses predicted that they were highly likely to fail due to a lack of experience, as the key players had not played in the playoffs much.

“Still. I really want to be number one in the regular season and win the integrated championship too.”

Junwook had created an environment where he could just focus on playing basketball well. He could not repay the money right away, and it was clear that Junwook would dislike it even if he saved up his salary and gave it to him, so playing basketball well was the answer.

“…Looks like you’re going to be going to practice on your days off too.”

Hooyoung turned to look at Junwook with a guilty face. How did he know? It was better to rest today and tomorrow because of his ankle, but he was planning to increase his holiday practices starting next week.

“Hooyoung-ah.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s see if you can still say that after you go home and see my thighs that you poked with needles.”

“…Thighs are thighs, and basketball is basketball.”

Junwook reached out and stroked Hooyoung’s cheek.

“So let’s see if that’s possible.”

Hooyoung laughed awkwardly and Junwook laughed coolly. It was a pleasant holiday.

They did not say things like ‘let’s be real lovers now’, but both of them instinctively felt that they had tacitly entered the path of a relationship. It was a natural result, since a real relationship would start as soon as Hooyoung contacted him. However, the fact that the loan shark had intervened and sped up the timing had caused a small, slight side effect.