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Gong Jun had a perfect plan in mind.
He would join the basketball team, get closer to his crush and they would become the most sickening sweet couple on court.
Sadly, reality decided to ruin his plans. Their high school basketball club was highly regarded and as someone who didn’t know anything about the sport, he was only let into the third string, far away from his crush who was in the first string and being a starter at that. He couldn’t even practice at the same part of the gym his crush was playing at.
Thus he had to go with another plan. He just needed to get promoted to the first string as well.
That’s how Gong Jun found himself standing in the gym alone, basketballs scattered all over the place, as he tried for another shot. He spread his fingers apart, the weight of the ball resting comfortably in his hands. His eyes were focused on the rim, raising his arms and lowering his stance, ready to make the shot. He pushed his feet off the ground and released the ball, aiming at his target. But as soon as the ball left his hand, he knew it was going to miss. The trajectory wasn’t right and he could only watch how the ball bounced off the board, not even hitting the rim.
He couldn’t help but sigh as he moved from his position to collect all the balls lying around. It has been about a month since he joined the basketball club, but he didn’t seem to make much progress though he has stayed later than anyone else to practice. He cursed his limbs for not coordinating. What use was it to be as tall as him when he still couldn’t make the shots reliably?
Gong Jun picked up one ball and glared at it for not cooperating with him. The worst thing was, after joining the club and trying the sport, he actually understood why his crush loved the sport so much and while he still saw it as the easiest way to get close to his crush, he genuinely wanted to get good at it, to feel the rush the players were feeling on the field. To cry and cheer with the team. But that wasn’t possible with his not even passable talent for the sport.
He tried to aim the ball into the ball cart but even missed that, making him sigh.
“You add too much force to your balance hand,” he suddenly heard a voice behind him say. A voice he could recognise anywhere. He slowly turned around to see Zhang Zhehan, the ace and pride of their basketball team, giving him a kind smile, his eyes crinkling into beautiful crescents.
“I forgot something, so I went to ask for the keys from our teacher,” he said as he walked towards him with his hands folded behind his head. “Turns out there has been someone very hardworking who has been staying later than anyone to practice, so I thought I’d drop by to have a proper look at this workaholic.”
“Zhang Zhehan?” Gong Jun said lamely, not believing his eyes. He certainly didn’t expect them to be able to have a conversation so soon and his heart was beating out of his chest, making him nervous as hell. “You know my name?”, Zhehan tilted his head, his eyes widening a bit in surprise. “Who doesn’t know you? You’re quite famous for getting into the first string as a first year and becoming a starter at that!” Gong Jun rambled. He couldn’t say that he knew his name because he searched for him after seeing him play his heart out in middle school against his school team that he was forced to watch since his friend was on the team.
“And you?” “Me? I’m in the third-” “I don’t mean that,” Zhehan chuckled a bit. “I was asking for your name. “Oh,” Gong Jun answered lamely, his ears burning in embarrassment. Why couldn’t he behave normally around his crush. “Gong Jun,” he answered. “I thought you’d want to know how good I actually am, so-”, he hurried to explain, but got cut off by Zhehan. ”Who cares about being in third or first string?” Zhehan asked with a laugh.
“Some people wouldn’t want to hang out with guys that are much worse than them,” Gong Jun muttered, regretting the words the moment they left his mouth. Though many have looked down at him for his more than subpar skills, he knew that Zhehan wasn’t like that. Why would he ever insinuate it? He trained his eyes to the ground, avoiding Zhehan’s gaze. Just how much did he want to ruin his chance?
“Hey,” Zhehan made him look up with his soft voice. “I really mean it when I say I don’t care in what string you are.” Zhehan said as he stepped closer to him.
“You love basketball enough to stay longer than anyone else to practice, making you more amazing than a lot of guys I know, even in the first string. And besides,” Zhehan wagged his finger at him. “Anyone who loves basketball can only be a good guy in my books!” He said with a huge grin on his face, making Gong Jun’s ears redden, not knowing how to respond.
“Now that we got it out of the way that I’d like to hang out with you, how about we play some one on one?” “What?” Gong Jun answered dumbfoundedly. What was Zhehan suggesting? “Since I’m already here I might as well play a bit. And besides, I can be the judge of how good you are then,” Zhehan said as he picked up another stray ball and passed it to him. “I can also only play defense if you want to.” Gong Jun instinctively caught the ball and stared at Zhehan, who only gave him an encouraging nod.
Gong Jun gripped the ball in his hand tightly. This was his chance to play with his crush, he was not going to let this go. But wouldn’t he just embarrass himself in front of a prodigy like him? “Hey,” Zhehan’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. “This is only for fun, you don’t have to be so tense about it. And if you feel uncomfortable with playing with me, you can just say it, I won’t be offended, promise.” Gong Jun never doubted Zhehan’s intentions, especially not once he heard the earnest tone in his voice.
Making up his mind, he started to dribble the ball lightly, getting into a relaxed position. Seeing his reaction, Zhehan grinned at him and did the same, his eyes focusing on his every move. Gong Jun closed his eyes to relax his nerves and once he opened them again, determination was blazing in them. He dribbled towards Zhehan as fast as he could, trying to dribble around him to get to the hoop. But as he expected, Zhehan quickly stole the ball when he was within his reach.
“One more time!” Gong Jun said, frustrated that the ball got stolen so quickly. “That’s the spirit!” Zhehan said as he passed the ball back to him. Gong Jun caught it and dribbled towards Zhehan again, this time trying to fake going right before he ducked to the left with the ball. “A fake, huh?” Zhehan said amusedly as he tapped the ball for a steal, the ball landing a few meters away from them. Gong Jun stared at Zhehan who easily squashed his attempts without even breaking a sweat, but still had a huge smile on his face that was not condescending.
In fact it was the opposite. He had a radiant smile on his face that looked at him expectantly, making him want to try again. “Amazing,” the words left his mouth before he realised it. “You’re amazing, Zhehan. Can you let me try again?” Zhehan looked at him in surprise, but the fond expression returned to his face quickly as he nodded. “How many times you want.”
.
.
.
Gong Jun collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as he dried his sweat with his shirt. He didn’t know how much time had passed since he started playing with Zhehan but he didn’t get through even once. Zhehan has also switched to offense once in a while and despite Gong Jun seeing some of his feints, his body wasn’t able to match Zhehan’s speed.
“You’re getting better with every try!” Gong Jun turned his head sideways to see Zhehan sit down next to him, wiping away the bit of sweat that was forming. “You even saw through some of my feints! You’ll be promoted in no time, I tell you.” “Do you really think I can do it?” Gong Jun asked in a small voice. Because somewhere in his heart, he didn’t believe he could do it. “My shooting accuracy is terrible.”
“Basketball isn’t all about shooting contrary to popular belief. I for one think you will probably make a good point guard[1]. You have a good eye for your surroundings and with you being able to predict my movements, outsmarting your opponents to support your team doesn’t seem that farfetched to me.” Gong Jun paused at his words. It never crossed his mind that he should aim for anything than being a shooter. “I didn’t think about that,” he admitted, earning himself a light whack on the shoulder. “Vying for my position on the team?” “I would never!” Gong Jun said with a small laugh.
“But doing that would be even harder,” Gong Jun thought about it aloud. “I would need someone to practice with for that.” ”If it’s a proper partner you need, I can help you.” “What?” Gong Jun sat up abruptly, not believing his ears. “You need a partner right? And I had a lot of fun playing with you today, so I wouldn’t mind dropping by more often,” Zhehan’s eyes crinkled into the gorgeous smile that made Gong Jun’s heart race. “Let’s train together so that we can stand on the court together someday, JunJun!” Zhehan extended his fist to him, looking at him expectantly. “Who are you calling JunJun here,” Gong Jun said embarrassed .Having his crush call his name so affectionately did things to his heart that shouldn’t be healthy.
“If we become training partners, we might as well become closer now. You can call me HanHan too,” Zhehan offered. “And are you going to let your new partner wait so long for a fist bump? My arm is going to fall off at this rate.” Zhehan complained teasingly, making Gong Jun smile. He shyly bumped his fist with Zhehan’s. “Thank you for your help. I look forward to playing with you more, HanHan.”