Siwoo was so caught off guard that he completely forgot what he had been thinking about. At the mention of Junho’s name, his stomach clenched. He knew he had just brought the boy up himself, and that’s probably why Hyunshik made the connection, but the question still felt sudden and... uncomfortable.

"Yeah," he finally admitted. "I like him."

Hyunshik just nodded understandingly.

Before Siwoo could say anything else, the coach called them onto the court.

As he slowly made his way down with his teammates, Siwoo was relieved to see that Dohyun hadn’t been assigned to either his or the opponent’s team – probably as punishment for being late. Siwoo silently thanked the heavens. If he’d had to play on the same court as that a_hole, he might’ve actually killed him.

But more importantly, there was Junho. The team that remained on the court was the one with the beautiful boy playing in it. When he caught sight of Siwoo, he sent him a faint smile, which Siwoo immediately returned with a joyful heart.

The game began: As soon as the two jumpers tipped off the basketball, everyone broke into a frantic sprint. The moment someone got hold of the ball, an opponent would snatch it away – most often, it was Minjun, who, to Siwoo's surprise, played exceptionally well. For a while, the game didn’t seem to lean in either direction, but then came a moment when a boy from the opposing team surged forward with great momentum, dribbling the ball beside him. He was almost at the hoop, ready to take a shot, but just as he was about to do so, Hyunshik knocked it from his hands. Unfortunately, neither of them managed to keep hold of it; instead, Junho caught the ball.

Siwoo blinked rapidly – Junho was standing right in front of him at the edge of the court, and there were hardly any teammates nearby for him to pass to. He knew he should take the ball from him, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He even heard someone calling his name, yet he remained frozen.

For a fraction of a second, he and Junho locked eyes in tense silence, and Siwoo braced himself, expecting the other to aim for the hoop right over his head. But Junho did no such thing. Instead, the beautiful boy made a sudden movement, as if merely trying to step out of Siwoo’s way, and in that instant, the ball slipped from his fingers. Siwoo caught it reflexively.

"Oh, no," Junho shouted exaggeratedly. "I messed up!"

Siwoo was baffled – he had no idea why Junho had made it seem as though he had successfully blocked his attempt (when in reality, he hadn’t moved at all). But it seemed the others had fallen for it. Without hesitation, he passed the ball to a teammate, who sprinted away with it, cheering.

For a moment, Siwoo just stood there at the edge of the court, trying to make sense of the situation, though deep down, he already suspected the truth: Junho had sacrificed himself for him. The beautiful boy knew that everyone already considered him useless, so he made it look as if he had simply fumbled, protecting Siwoo’s pride in the process.

Of course, even if this thought crossed Siwoo’s mind, he dismissed it as too absurd, too unbelievable. He convinced himself that nothing had happened, that his imagination was merely playing tricks on him – after all, everything had unfolded so quickly...

And yet, the burning knot in his stomach and throat refused to go away. He didn’t even understand how that suffocating, uncomfortable feeling had taken over his entire being.