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“Go on, Hoseok, get out there.”
“But, appa, I don’t want to play baseball.”
Hoseok gripped the handle of his bat with his tiny hands, unknowingly making his knuckles turn white. Saying that he was nervous would be an understatement. He was terrified. He had watched people playing baseball before. He had seen the other kids sliding, nearly getting hit with the ball, and tagging each other before they could reach the bases. He had seen how easy it was to get hurt, and if there was one rule he lived by it was safety first.
Hoseok was only at the baseball field decked out in a white and navy blue striped practice uniform because his father wanted him to play the sport. If Hoseok had it his way, he would be dancing. Yet, his father wasn’t fond of his son dancing so he forced him into baseball. Hoseok overheard his father talking to his mother saying that baseball was a man’s sport, but he didn’t understand how a sport could be gender specific. Dance was a man’s sport as much as it was a woman’s sport to Hoseok. He hoped one day he could show his father that, but for now he would do this.
For now, he would play baseball.
The little brunette gasped in surprise when his father gently shoved him towards the dugout. Hoseok took a shaky step forward, looking behind him to make sure his father was still there watching him. With each step he took, he checked for his father. Once Hoseok was in the dugout, he poked his head around to check for his father but the older male was gone. Now, his father was sitting in the bleachers to watch him practice.
Hoseok looked at all the other children sitting in the dugout. Each of them were dressed similarly to him, but they were not like him. Each of them looked like they wanted to be there. They were eager to get out on the field, to find their positions and show their coaches what they could bring to the team. They were children but these kids seemed to know what they wanted to do. Hoseok had no idea what he would do for the team. He wondered if they would let him hang around as a cheerleader or something.
“You can sit next to me, if you want!”
“H-Huh?”
“Come on! Sit next to me!”
Hoseok shifted his attention to a little blonde haired boy who was grinning and patting the open spot next to him on the bench. The little brunette slowly nodded and took the seat next to the blonde. Hoseok placed the bat in between his legs, his hands still firmly grasping it like it was a lifeline. The blonde seemed to notice his intense attachment to the bat.
“Where’s your glove?”
“Don’t have one.”
“Are you a righty or a lefty?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that’s the arm you throw with,” the blonde giggled at his newfound friend, “if you’re a righty then you throw with your right hand and catch with your left. Are you a righty or a lefty?”
Hoseok gave a shy shrug to the outgoing blonde, “I guess I’m a righty, but I don’t have a glove for my left hand. I’ve got a bat, though.”
The blonde was grinning ear to ear as he looked at the bat, “Yah, you’ve got a really nice bat! Oh, I’m Park Jimin, by the way! Who are you?”
“I’m Jung Hoseok.”
“You ever play baseball before?”
“No. I’d rather dance.”
“Well, maybe you can do both!”
Hoseok furrowed his brow in confusion. He didn’t understand how he could incorporate dancing into baseball. As far as he had seen, there was no room for graceful leaps or standing still to unleashing hip-hop moves like popping. Baseball was full of quick movements, great shows of strength and coordination, and strategic thinking. Hoseok didn’t see how dance could coexist with baseball.
“What position do you want to play?”
“I don’t know the positions.”
“You look like a first baseman!”
“Thanks, I guess?”
“It’s not an insult,” Jimin threw his head back and laughed at the brunette, “I’m saying that because you’re taller than me and if you’re a dancer then that means you’re flexible. I see a lot of first basemen who have those qualities so maybe you should try that position.”
Hoseok’s grip on his bat loosened as he nodded to Jimin, “Yeah, maybe I could try it out. What about you? What position do you play?”
“Me? I’m a catcher!”
“Don’t we all catch?”
Hoseok didn’t understand why Jimin was giggling at him. The blonde shook his head with a smile, “Yeah, we all catch but the catcher is the one who sits behind home plate and catches the pitches!”
The little brunette was in awe that Jimin was a catcher. He had seen baseball on television and those pitchers sent the ball rocketing across home plate at such high speeds. He couldn’t believe that his newfound friend was quick enough to grab the ball when it was hurdling at his face. Hoseok had to admit that Jimin was not only quick, but he was also brave. Hoseok would’ve ran out of the way as soon as the ball was released from the pitcher, but Jimin would hold his ground.
“Oh, by the way,” Jimin got on the ground and dug his hands around in his baseball bag, “I’ve got an extra glove for you! My parents bought me two different size gloves so maybe my extra one will fit you. Go on and try it out!”
Hoseok’s eyes widened as Jimin held the extra glove out for him. He couldn’t believe that someone he had just met would be so willing to give up their extra glove for him. Hoseok was reluctant to grab the glove. It didn’t feel right to take something of Jimin’s so easily. His breath hitched when Jimin grabbed his hand and stuffed it into the glove. It seemed that Jimin was a little impatient, but Hoseok found that he liked that about him.
“There! A perfect fit!”
The brunette couldn’t deny it. The glove fit perfectly, just like Jimin said. It was a small light brown glove, almost tan. Hoseok moved his free hand to caress the glove, to feel the smooth leather that was sure to become rough after catching baseballs over time. He felt a small smile etching across his face as he finally started to imagine himself out there on the field with all the other kids, with Jimin.
It was because of Jimin that Hoseok gained the confidence to tell the coaches that he wanted to try to play first base. Hoseok didn’t really know what he was doing. All the coaches told him do was to stand near the bag and to put a foot on it when he was catching the ball. Just when Hoseok was about to start freaking out, Jimin was there to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Jimin was there to tell him the importance of first base and how to play the position.
Hoseok’s hands were shaking as he crouched down, imitating the other infield players. Everyone else looked like they were ready for the ball to come at them, but Hoseok looked like he was praying the ball never came towards him. Hoseok looked like he was hoping that practice would be over soon. He looked like he didn’t belong out there on the field.
Hoseok was brought out of his thoughts when one of the coaches hit a ground ball towards the shy raven-haired male playing third base. The boy trotted towards the ball and successfully scooped it up with his glove. He turned to first base, causing Hoseok to gulp in fear. With a flash of a bunny smile, the third baseman tossed the ball towards Hoseok.
The little brunette was frozen in his tracks. He knew he had to move towards the base so he could put a foot on it as he caught the ball, but he couldn’t move. The ball was coming towards him and he was far too scared to raise his arm to catch it. Since he didn’t move his hand, the ball smacked him in the chest. Seeing as how they were children, the hit didn’t hurt. Seeing as how Hoseok was dramatic, he fell to the ground.
Hoseok looked up in time to see the small platinum blonde playing second base running towards him. Hoseok’s heart fluttered in his chest as he imagined the platinum blonde to be rushing towards him like his knight in shining armor. He was about to thank the other child for coming to his rescue when the platinum blonde snatched the ball from the ground and ran towards the base. Hoseok blinked a few times as he realized what the other boy was doing.
He was completing the play and making the out.
The little brunette sighed as he sat up, tears welling in his eyes as he gazed upon the dirt he was sitting in. He could hear his father from the bleachers, screaming at him for just standing there and making the second baseman do the work. He could tell that he had disappointed his father and that hurt worse than the hit he took to the chest.
For the rest of practice, Hoseok tried his best to redeem himself. He had managed to catch the ball along the way but he would trip over his own feet or rocks on the ground when he would try to dash back to his base. A pop fly came to him at one point and instead of trying to catch it, he used his glove to cover his head. A ground ball came zipping at him and because he was too afraid to put his glove in the dirt, the ball zoomed through his legs and into the outfield for the right fielder to get.
Mistake after mistake, Hoseok felt his father’s rage. He could hear how displeased he was and he even made a comment that Hoseok was doing terribly on purpose so he wouldn’t have to play baseball anymore. Hoseok would never do something like that. He was trying his best, but it seemed that his best wasn’t good enough.
After practice, Hoseok’s father told him to walk home because he was going to talk to the coaches. No doubt his father was telling the coaches not to give up on him and to give him another chance at the next practice. Hoseok was saddened that his father didn’t bother to ask him if he was okay and if he even wanted to continue playing baseball. Hoseok grabbed his bat and began kicking a rock as he started his short walk home.
Hoseok had been kicking a rock down the sidewalk but one hard kick sent the rock tumbling into someone’s foot in front of him. Hoseok looked up, ready to apologize for kicking a rock at someone when he saw the person before him. It was the platinum blonde, the second baseman. The platinum blonde had stopped and turned around to face him. Hoseok wondered if the second baseman had always been walking in front of him and he hadn’t noticed.
“Yah, why are you kicking rocks?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you.”
“Are you kicking rocks because you suck at baseball?”
Hoseok’s face heated up in embarrassment, causing him to avoid the platinum blonde’s gaze. Hoseok tightened his grip on the bat as he replied, “You can say that I can’t play baseball but what you can’t say is that I didn’t play.”
The platinum blonde raised an eyebrow at that statement. Hoseok wasn’t wrong. He might be trash at baseball but no one out there could say that he didn’t try to play. The platinum blonde gave a faint smile as he looked at the brunette. He wasn’t much good at baseball, but he was persistent. He didn’t give up no matter how many times he failed at practice. He never let anything stop him from getting up and trying again. The platinum blonde respected him for that.
“I’m Min Yoongi.”
“I’m Jung Hoseok.”
“You’re not very good at baseball.”
“You’re not very good at making friends.”
Hoseok looked up just in time to see a precious gummy smile plastered on Yoongi’s face. The little brunette couldn’t help but return a heart shaped smile at the other male. Anyone else would’ve thought that Yoongi was being mean by constantly picking at how Hoseok wasn’t good at baseball, but the brunette wasn’t like anyone else. To him, Yoongi was brutally honest and there was always room for honesty in this world.
Yoongi shook his head, his gummy smile still resting peacefully on his face, “How about we help each other out, then?”
“I’m not sure how I could help you,” Hoseok’s grip kept changing from becoming tight to loose, “you could help me with baseball but I don’t think I can help you make friends. I’m sure you’ve already got a lot.”
“I don’t have any friends.”
“Not even one?”
Hoseok’s eyes widened as he watched the other male shake his head sadly. Hoseok couldn’t believe that Yoongi didn’t have one friend. Everyone had someone at their age, but Yoongi didn’t have anyone. Now that Hoseok thought about it, he hadn’t seen Yoongi talking to anyone during their breaks at practice. He didn’t even talk to the other child he was throwing with when they were warming up.
The little brunette wondered if he and Yoongi could truly help one another. Yoongi could help form him into the baseball player his father wanted him to be and he could help the second baseman make friends. Hoseok didn’t think that it was a very fair agreement, but maybe Yoongi thought it was fair. Maybe Yoongi thought that making friends was just as important as becoming good at baseball.
Hoseok moved his glove so that it was stuffed under his arm. He smiled as he held out his newly freed hand, patiently waiting for Yoongi to take it so they could shake hands. When Yoongi got the message, he reached out and took the smaller hand. A gummy smile rivaled a heart shaped smile.
“Well, now you’ve got one friend.”
“Strike three! You’re out!”
Yoongi cursed under his breath as he watched Jin strike out looking again. He shook his head when Jin turned to the umpire and started arguing that the ball was too far outside, and thus out of his strike zone. Eventually, Namjoon walked out and dragged Jin off so they could start the next inning. Jin continued to complain to the brunette the entire time, saying that the umpire wasn’t calling the game fair. Namjoon was nodding but everyone could tell he wasn’t listening.
Jin pulled off his helmet and tossed it to the ground. He looked to Yoongi as he pulled off his batting gloves, “You saw it, too! You saw that pitch was way outside! That should’ve been a ball!”
“I saw you strike out looking.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side!”
Yoongi rolled his eyes at the older male and fished around in his bag for his glove so he could take the field with his teammates. The platinum blonde was thankful to run onto the field because it meant that he wouldn’t have to hear Jin complain any longer. As he ran out of the dugout, he released a lovesick sigh as his eyes found the pretty first baseman warming up the infield.
Hoseok could say that he wasn’t a ball player, but Yoongi transformed him into one of the best first basemen Korea had ever seen. After the day they became friends, Yoongi made it his mission to make everyone regret doubting Hoseok and his skills. He went from being a joke on the field to the best damn infielder on the team. He went from striking out without even swinging to getting a hit every time he went up to bat.
Yet, for all that Yoongi had done to make Hoseok a great ball player, he could tell that the brunette wasn’t happy. There was no spark when he played, as if he was just going through the motions. It was like he was playing because it was all muscle memory, not because he genuinely enjoyed it. If someone looked deep into Hoseok’s eyes when he was playing they would see that there was no light, no sparkle. His eyes were focused on the game but his heart lied elsewhere.
Yoongi had always known that Hoseok belonged on a stage dancing for hundreds of people, or he was meant to choregraph some of the greatest dances for idols. Yoongi had always known that the dirt field dimmed Hoseok’s shine. Yoongi had always known that Hoseok was never playing baseball because he enjoyed it, rather he was playing to satisfy his father. Yoongi thought that by high school his father would’ve been able to see how unhappy Hoseok was, but he was wrong.
“Yah, get to your base, hyung!”
“I thought I was the captain, Hobi!”
“Even a captain needs someone to keep them in line,” Hoseok had a cheeky smile on his face as Yoongi passed by, “and it looks like the person who will have to keep you in line is me.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Yoongi didn’t have to be standing close to Hoseok to know that he was blushing at those words. To avoid Yoongi, the little brunette threw the ball on the ground, mimicking a ground ball heading towards the short stop. Jin quickly fielded the ball, but not before he made the same joke he always did about how Yoongi should be the team’s short stop because he’s short.
Yoongi didn’t think that life could get any better than this, than playing baseball with his best friends. On first base was Hoseok, the boy he wanted to call his lover. Playing short stop was his Jin hyung. On third base was Jungkook, the maknae of their group. Standing proud on the pitcher’s mound was Taehyung while Jimin was squatting behind home plate, waiting to catch the ball. In center field with a view of everything and everyone was Namjoon. Six friends filled the infield while their leader watched them from the center of the outfield.
The platinum blonde smiled as he fielded the practice ground ball and fired it back to Hoseok. The little brunette was about to toss the ball to Jin when the umpire alerted everyone that the warm up was over and it was time to start. Everyone took their positions, crouching down with their gloves hanging between their legs, waiting like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.
Everyone’s eyes were on Taehyung as he wound up and threw the pitch. Taehyung was an intimidating pitcher, some would say that he was destined to go pro one day. There weren’t too many players on rivalling high school teams that could hit his pitches. The speed of his pitches were lethal, especially for someone as young as Taehyung. He was only a sophomore, so that meant that he was only going to get better as time went on.
Yoongi wondered if he was considered a second basemen good enough to play professionally. All his life he had been training and playing on travel teams so that he could be seen the way people see Taehyung. He had heard people talking about him before. They had said that he was a quick thinker and that his speed when completing plays was commendable. Yet, he hadn’t heard anyone say that he was good enough to be a professional baseball player and that’s the kind of compliment he was yearning for.
The sound of a ball making contact with a metal bat broke Yoongi out of his thoughts. His eyes narrowed at the ball that had been bunted, rolling a few feet in front of Jimin. Hoseok was about to make a run for the ball but Jimin gave him a look that told him to stay by his base. The little brunette rushed to his base and placed his right foot on the corner of it. He held his glove out, waiting for Jimin to fire the ball to him.
Yoongi had to admit that it was rather bold of the other team to bunt when they didn’t have anyone on first base. It all made sense why the team bunted as soon as they saw the batter start to run. Everyone’s eyes widened when they realized that the batter was faster than they looked. This was the type of speed where someone could bunt and make it to first base before the catcher got a chance to throw the ball.
“Move, Jimin!”
Jimin hustled to the ball and snatched it from the dirt with his bare hand. There wasn’t time to make an accurate throw to first. There was only time to field the ball and send it to first base. As soon as the ball left Jimin’s hand he was praying that Hoseok would be able to catch it in time to get the runner out.
Hoseok could already tell that Jimin’s throw would be too short. He started to lower himself but even that wouldn’t be good enough. Hoseok could see the batter approaching first base at the same time the ball was about to hit the dirt. Hoseok quickly glanced to his father in the bleachers. There was a look in his eyes that Hoseok had seen too many times. This was a look of disappointment. He didn’t think that Hoseok was going to make the catch.
Hoseok wanted to prove his father wrong.
Everyone gasped as they saw Hoseok drop into the splits, getting low enough to make the catch while his left foot was still touching first base. No one said a word as the runner stepped onto first base, looking to the umpire to exclaim the verdict. A beautiful heart shaped smile spread across Hoseok’s face when he heard the umpire’s ruling of the play.
“You’re out!”
The people in the bleachers were on their feet cheering after they heard that the batter was out. There were people applauding him while there were others who were screaming at the top of their lungs, telling him that he was amazing. There were a few people who were doing wolf whistles, but he chose to ignore them because the only person he wanted whistling at him was the grumpy second baseman.
Hoseok could feel Yoongi’s hands on him, assisting him back onto his feet, but all the brunette could focus on was his father. Hoseok’s smile started to dim as he saw his father crossing his arms, shaking his head disapprovingly. Hoseok hung his head. It seemed that even when he made the play, he was still in the wrong. He knew his father didn’t approve of him doing the splits during a baseball game. His father didn’t like how he had incorporated dance into baseball.
“Yah, don’t worry about him, Hobi.”
“All I’ve wanted to do is make him proud.”
“I know you want to make your father proud,” Yoongi used his free hand to brush some of the dirt off Hoseok’s uniform, “but you’ve been trying for years and nothing’s ever been good enough for him. Maybe it’s time you stop thinking about him and start thinking about you.”
“You say that like it’s easy, Yoon.”
The platinum blonde shrugged and started to walk backwards towards his position, “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
Yoongi’s words refused to leave Hoseok’s mind for the rest of the game. All he could think about was how he was playing a sport he didn’t love because he thought it was what his father wanted. All he could think about was how he was doing something for someone else, not for himself. All his life he had played baseball, knowing that his heart wasn’t in it. All his life he had to hide the part of him that loved to dance, but he didn’t want to hide anymore.
Hoseok could feel people patting him on the back after the game, telling him that he had done a great job. He could feel all the hands on him, but all he could think about was how he was going to finally tell his father that he wanted to dance. He knew he was going to disappoint his father, but he had disappointed that man all his life so he figured it wouldn’t hurt to do it one more time.
Hoseok had been disappointing his father for so long and he had focused on that so he didn’t realize he was disappointing himself, too. He had pushed down a part of himself in order to gain the approval of his father and he didn’t want to do that anymore. He didn’t want to live his life pretending to be someone he’s not for a man who would never be satisfied with who he is. He wanted to live his life as Jung Hoseok, the boy who loved to dance to the songs on the radio and the music in his soul.
Yoongi watched from afar as Hoseok talked to his father. He wanted to be at Hoseok’s side as he told his father he wanted to stop playing baseball and that he wanted to dance. There were moments where Hoseok’s father screamed at him and there were times where the older male would rub his temples in frustration, but then something surprising happened. Hoseok’s father stepped forward and placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. Yoongi had a feeling that Hoseok’s father was making a deal with him, most likely one where Hoseok would finish out his high school baseball career and then he was free to dance in college.
“Yah, Yoongi hyung, we need to talk.”
“Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Busy stalking Hoseok and his father?”
“Way to make me sound creepy, Joon.”
Yoongi tore his eyes away from the sight of Hoseok and his father so he could give Namjoon his full attention. He was grumbling under his breath that Namjoon better have a good reason for pulling him away from Hoseok’s big moment with his father, but the brunette merely rolled his eyes at the platinum blonde.
“There’s some college recruiters asking about you,” Yoongi’s eyes widened as he soaked in every word Namjoon had to say, “they said you have some real potential as a baseball player. They’d like to meet you, hyung.”
This was what he was waiting for. This was Yoongi getting his foot in the door. He knew that the first step towards becoming a professional baseball player was playing in college. If he could get into a college that had a really good baseball team then he could get noticed by professional baseball recruiters. This was the moment he was waiting for, and it was finally here. There was an opportunity to do what he loved professionally, and he wasn’t going to waste it.
Yoongi turned away from Namjoon, causing the younger male to tilt his head in confusion, “Hyung, what are you doing? What are you looking at?”
Namjoon had no idea what Yoongi was doing. He had just received the news he had been dying to hear for so long. Namjoon knew that Yoongi had worked hard to get to this point, so it was odd how he was turning away from this moment. That’s when Namjoon realized that Yoongi was looking at Hoseok.
“I’m looking at my future.”
There was only one thing that could make Yoongi’s life better, and that was to be a professional baseball player. He was currently in his senior year in college with a track record in baseball that screamed future professional ball player. He had been the captain of the baseball team for two years now, he had the best batting average, and had started in every game since he was a freshman. While these were all major accomplishments, they were nothing compared to the triumph of asking Hoseok to be his boyfriend when they graduated high school.
Much had changed since they graduated high school and entered college. Yoongi, Hoseok, and Taehyung attended the same college while their other friends went down their own paths. The only ones who continued to play baseball after college were Yoongi, Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jungkook.
After high school, Hoseok asked Jimin to attend a dance class with him so he wouldn’t have to go alone. It was in that dance class that Jimin fell in love. After that class, Hoseok and Jimin were always in the dance studio together. Jimin had always been fond of baseball, but he was never in love with it. With dance, Jimin felt like he finally found the missing piece of himself.
Jin didn’t want to play baseball anymore, but he wasn’t ready to completely let it go. Instead of playing for the team in college, he became the team’s manager. Namjoon wouldn’t say it out loud, but everyone knew that he followed Jin to college. Namjoon always attended the baseball games for their college but his eyes would never be on the game, rather they would be on the team manager sitting pretty in the dugout.
Jimin went on to create a dance team at the college he and Jungkook went to. Jimin would go to all of Jungkook’s baseball games and cheer on the third baseman while Jungkook would return the favor by supporting the dancer when he did halftime shows at football and basketball games. If Jungkook had it his way, he would beg for a halftime in baseball so he could watch the blonde dance at his games.
Taehyung was a wild card. He could’ve gone to the some of the most elite colleges or he could’ve gone professional right out of high school, but he didn’t do either of those. Instead, he chose to go to college with Yoongi and Hoseok so he could have a familiar face on the field and in the stands. Taehyung was someone who knew he had potential, but that potential could not be unlocked alone. He needed his friends beside him to become the best version of himself.
Yoongi was currently in his senior year in college and he had yet to be approached by any professional baseball scouts. He had witnessed Taehyung gaining interest over the years and he was happy for his friend, but he wondered when it would be his turn. Hell, he wondered if he would get a turn.
Yoongi was always playing his heart out, and everyone could see that. He worked harder than anyone on the team. He worked on his agility after practices so that he would be faster when it came to stealing bases. He lifted more because he wanted to have zero difficulty sending the ball to the bases or hitting the ball out of the park. He spent more time on the treadmill, setting the speed higher each time so he could improve how fast he ran around the bases.
It would be fair to say that Yoongi was exhausted after his extra practices, but it would also be fair to say that he didn’t mind it when Hoseok was always there to take care of him when he returned to the dorm. Yoongi was dragging his feet, hoping the sound would echo down the hall and carry out to his room so Hoseok would hear that he was back, and that it was another rough self-practice.
He could the faint sound of voices talking to one another. It was Hoseok and Taehyung. The two of them were talking about something in Yoongi and Hoseok’s shared room. Any other day, Yoongi would’ve patiently waited for Hoseok or Taehyung to hear him, but today he dropped his bag as loud as he could. The sound of his metal bat making contact with the floor through the bag seemed to alert the two males, seeing as how they stopped talking. Yoongi knew that was a rather rude thing to do, but he had a long day and he needed Hoseok. He would apologize to them for his behavior later.
Yoongi smiled when he saw Hoseok rushing out of the room, rushing to him. He opened his arms and Hoseok launched himself into them, nuzzling his face into that porcelain neck. Yoongi wrapped his arms around his lover’s waist. His lover. Yoongi would never get used to saying that Hoseok was his lover. He would never understand how he had managed to snag someone like Hoseok.
“Long day, huh?”
“I think Jimin was right.”
“About what?”
“I’m turning into a grandpa.”
Hoseok giggled into Yoongi’s chest, causing his breath to tickle the older male. Hoseok removed his head from Yoongi and smiled, “Your joints might be feeling like a grandpa’s but it’s worth it, Yoon. All your hard work will pay off.”
Yoongi released a long sigh, which surprised Hoseok. If Hoseok had said those words any other day, the older male would’ve smiled and agreed. Yoongi would been the arrogant son of a bitch that he is and say that he knows it’ll all pay off and that he’ll have professional baseball scouts lining up at the games asking for him soon. Yet, Yoongi didn’t do any of that. Instead, his exaggerated sigh made it sound like he was giving up.
Something Hoseok loved about Yoongi was how stubborn he was when it came to the things that he loved, and he loved baseball. Hoseok knew that Yoongi was doing more than what was necessary but he was doing it to stand out. He was doing it so that he could be noticed scouts or people who had connections to scouts. He was putting in the work so that he could get the results he was looking for, but it seemed like he was silently saying that the work wasn’t worth it anymore because there were no results.
“Are you tired, hyung?”
“Tired of having nothing to show.”
The little brunette walked Yoongi over to the dorm’s living room, gently setting his tired body on the couch. Hoseok tilted his head in confusion as he joined his lover, “It sounds like you’re giving up, but the Yoongi I know wouldn’t do that so easily.”
“I don’t want to give up,” Yoongi rubbed his face with his hands, absentmindedly showing how exhausted he looked, “but I’ve gotten nothing in return. I put in all this work, and for what?”
“So you can win games.”
“That’s not good enough anymore.”
“So, you’re just going to quit?”
Well, when Hoseok said it like that it left a sour taste in Yoongi’s mouth. The platinum blonde threw his head back and groaned, “I’d finish out the rest of the season but I don’t think I’d try to keep playing once it’s done. I wouldn’t try to find an adult league or something like that.”
Hoseok didn’t like how defeated Yoongi was sounding. His shoulders sagged as he asked, “You wouldn’t even try to see if you could try out for some major league team or something like that?”
“I think I’m done, Hobi.”
“Don’t say that.”
Yoongi sat up and shifted his attention to Hoseok, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Yoongi felt tears sting at his eyes at Hoseok’s words, “For as long as I’ve known Min Yoongi, he’s never given up. He’s dealt with bullshit umpires, injuries that threatened to stop him from playing ever again, and dipshit players… and not once did he quit.”
“Min Yoongi looked at me and saw someone,” a stray tear rolled down Hoseok’s cheek but he refused to stop to wipe it away, “he looked at me, a scared little kid who had no business playing baseball, and turned me into a damn good first baseman. Min Yoongi didn’t give up on me, so I’m not giving up on him.”
If Yoongi had an engagement ring with him at the moment he would’ve surely dropped down on one knee and asked Hoseok to marry him. Hoseok might have been crying but there was a fire in his eyes, one that was normally only seen when he was dancing. That fire in his eyes was there for him, for Yoongi.
“So, you’re not giving up on baseball,” Hoseok finally brushed the tear from his face, now was not the time for tears, “not when you’re this close to catching someone’s attention and making your dream come true. Why would you want to throw all this away?”
“It just… it just got too hard.”
“It’s supposed to be hard,” Hoseok grabbed Yoongi’s hand and squeezed it, “if it wasn’t hard then everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.”
Yoongi returned the squeeze, wordlessly thanking his lover for not giving up on him like he had given up on himself. Hoseok was right. Baseball was hard and it was supposed to be that way or else everyone would do it. Yoongi stuck with it because he liked it and he liked how hard it was. He liked the challenge that came with baseball because if he didn’t then he would’ve quit a long time ago. There was a reason why he stayed when everyone else quit, and there was a reason he was going to stay now when he almost convinced himself to leave.
Baseball is hard, but Min Yoongi doesn’t quit.
Taehyung smiled as he listened to his hyungs talking in the living room. He had heard every word they said. His heart broke when he heard Yoongi talk about quitting, but the pieces were picked up and put back together when Hoseok reminded him of why he started playing and why he would continue to play. Hoseok didn’t realize how much he had reminded Yoongi of the little platinum blonde who had high hopes and big dreams to play professional baseball.
A boxy smile etched itself across his face when he heard the sound of Hoseok squealing, a clear sign that Yoongi was peppering the younger male’s face in kisses. Taehyung was happy that Yoongi had remembered who he was and the type of baseball player he was. If Yoongi decided to quit, then the letter he was holding in his hands would’ve been meaningless. Taehyung looked down at the letter sent from a recruiter for a professional baseball team.
A letter addressed to Min Yoongi.
“Come on, hyung, we have to get out there!”
“Aish, just give me a minute!”
Taehyung rolled his eyes and made an attempt to snatch Yoongi’s phone, only for the platinum blonde to see this coming and move his phone out of the way to avoid capture. Yoongi snickered when Taehyung threw his head back and groaned. While Taehyung was showing that he was annoyed with the older male, Yoongi took it as he was giving up.
The younger male reluctantly sat down next to the older male and leaned over so he could watch the video. Taehyung cocked an eyebrow, “You’re refusing to warm up for our professional baseball game because you want to watch your boyfriend dance?”
“Jimin and Jungkook are there, too.”
“Something tells me you’re not looking at them.”
Yoongi shrugged, silently telling the other male that he was right. Taehyung shook his head with a smile but continued to watch the video instead of nagging Yoongi to get up so they could warm up. They had been playing on this team for the past few years so everyone knew by now that Yoongi and Taehyung were inseparable. Their team also knew that Yoongi was absolutely infatuated with one Jung Hoseok, which caused him to be late for warm ups because his lover would sometimes post dance videos before games. This meant that Yoongi needed to watch Hoseok’s video before the game or he wouldn’t be able to perform at his best.
Sometimes, Yoongi looked back on the day he almost gave up on this, on baseball. He couldn’t believe that he was so close to giving up on baseball because he wasn’t seeing any results. What he realized was he wasn’t seeing results as fast as he would’ve wanted. He was becoming impatient and that was clouding his judgement. He felt lucky that he had Hoseok there to talk him down from jumping off the ledge, from giving up on his future before it had a chance to begin.
Yoongi and Taehyung had managed to create a name for themselves in professional baseball in the few years that they had been playing on their team. Taehyung was well-known for having the fastest pitches anyone had ever seen. People often stood at home plate in disbelief, simply watching the ball if they were fortunate enough to make contact on one of Taehyung’s pitches. It spoke volumes to how good someone was as a batter if they could hit one of Taehyung’s pitches.
Yoongi was given the fame and appreciation that he always wanted. He was finally living the life that he always dreamed of since he was a child. Everyone knew and feared Yoongi on the field and in the batter’s box. Yoongi was stone cold on the field, using more force than necessary when tagging base runners. His eyes bore holes into the pitchers when he entered the batter’s box, daring them to throw a curveball to him. Yoongi was intimidating to all baseball players.
All but one retired baseball player.
The platinum blonde peeled his eyes away from his phone when he managed to hear a voice that would always sound like the sweetest melody to him. He could hear hundreds of people talking, cheering, and screaming, but there was one voice he would always be able to pick out of a crowd. It would always be Hoseok that he would be able to hear. It was always Hoseok’s voice that he heard, and it was always the little brunette that he looked for in the stands.
He abruptly stood up, catching Taehyung off guard. The younger male watched as Yoongi walked over to his baseball bag and swapped his phone for his glove. Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh at his friend. He didn’t need to look in the stands to know that Hoseok had arrived, meaning Yoongi wanted to show off during warm ups because he knew his lover wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off him. Everyone knew that Hoseok had a muscle kink, and their uniforms showed off their muscular arms perfectly.
Another reason why Yoongi was so memorable in their league was for the fact that he was an openly gay baseball player. There had been plenty of gay baseball players before him, but never had they been open about their love life and their experience with their sexuality in baseball. Not everyone was kind to Yoongi when he mentioned that he was gay. There were still homophobic people in the league who were put off by his sexual preference, and that hurt him.
Yoongi didn’t like how people were more focused on his preference of a lover rather than his skill as a baseball player. He didn’t like the looks he would receive from people in the beginning, back when his sexuality was the only thing he was known for. Yoongi had to work three times as hard to show the people that it wasn’t his sexuality that defined him when he stepped onto the field. It was his ability to play the beautiful sport of baseball.
In the past few years, people had started to come around to Yoongi and his relationship with Hoseok. Now, the media couldn’t get enough of how Hoseok would attend every single game, whether it was home or away, with his best friend, Jimin. The media adored the way Yoongi would run up to Hoseok in the front row and ask him where he wanted him to hit the ball this time. The media that was once against him was now his biggest fan and supporter of his sexuality and relationship.
Yoongi and Taehyung smiled when they noticed that Hoseok didn’t just come with Jimin to the game this time. Hoseok brought along all of their friends. Hoseok was sitting in the middle with Jimin to his right and Jungkook to his left. On Jungkook’s side was Jin while Namjoon was sitting next to Jimin. Hoseok stood up in the stands and waved to the last two of his friends to keep playing baseball.
The two males on the field would never get used to this, to playing professional baseball. They would never get used to the overwhelming feeling of joy they got when they stepped onto the field. Taehyung would never stop giving a boxy grin every time he struck someone out. Yoongi would never stop looking for Hoseok after he successfully fielded the ball and got someone out. They would never get used to hearing their friends cheering for them louder than anyone else in the entire stadium.
Yoongi and Taehyung breezed through their warm ups with the team and returned to the dug out to hit first. Yoongi was the lead batter since he was the shortest on the team, so that meant his strike zone was the smallest. Taehyung was telling Yoongi about the pitcher they were facing as he placed the helmet on his hyung’s head. Yoongi always said that he could put his helmet on by himself, but he knew Taehyung was doing it to make sure he was safe so he allowed it.
“Get out there and get a hit, hyung!”
Yoongi smiled and nodded to his friend, playfully punching him in the arm for added effect. Yoongi grabbed his bat and walked out of the dugout. He could tell that the pitcher still had a few more warm up pitches to throw so that meant he had time to approach the stands, and his number one fan.
Yoongi gave a gummy smile as he closed in on where Hoseok and Jimin were sitting, although the platinum blonde ignored Jimin’s entire existence. Jimin crossed his arms and huffed, “Yah, you never pay attention to me when you come over here, hyung!”
“Am I dating you? No.”
“Am I your friend? Yes.”
“I could easily hit you with my bat.”
“I don’t even know why I come to your games.”
The platinum blonde rolled his eyes and leaned over the stands so he could wrap an arm around Jimin for an awkward hug. He was smirking as he whispered in Jimin’s ear, “You’re a pain in my ass but I appreciate you. Now, make sure no one flirts with my oblivious ass boyfriend.”
“You got it, hyung!”
Hoseok cooed at the show of affection between his best friend and his boyfriend, even though he had no idea what Jimin was agreeing to. Yoongi pulled away from the blonde and focused his attention on the beautiful brunette. He reached for Hoseok’s hand, who was more than willing to meet him halfway, just as they had always done for each other as they ventured through life.
Yoongi could hear cameras snapping pictures of him as he brought Hoseok’s hand in so he could kiss the back of it. Hoseok fell against Jimin, making sure to be extra dramatic with his swoon. Yoongi shook his head at his lover. Another thing he would never get used to is the effect he had on Hoseok, and the effect the little brunette had on him.
When Hoseok regained his composure, Yoongi shot him a look that he had seen one too many times. There was a cocky smirk on Yoongi’s face as he hoisted his bat to rest against his shoulder.
“Where should I hit the ball this time, baby?”
“You already know where, Yoon.”
“Out of the park, it is.”