off the ice | l.mh

chapter 1.2

Mark doesn't even seem to notice the bitter chemical taste of the mouth guard after he found out who is coming to the game today.

"Dude, are you sure?," he asks again, wide eyes gawking at his friends as they snicker at him.

Grabbing a hold of the younger boy's neck in a headlock, Ten aggressively ruffles his ashy blonde hair, "Yes I'm sure, fatass. Yuna said she got y/n to come and they're on their way now so don't embarrass yourself out there, Lee two".

You see, Mark's friend group in the hockey team has the very unlikely coincidence that A) they are all incredibly handsome and B) their last names are all Lee. So naturally, and not really by their choice, they became known famously on campus as "The Lee's".

And in order to tell them apart during practice, their coaches took the liberty of also giving them numbers. So since Mark is the second oldest out of the group, he naturally became "Lee two".

Haechan and Jeno join in on the fun, enjoying how the junior was visibly embarrassed about his crush.

"SIMP," Haechan yells out, gaining a few laughs from other members of the team as they gear up for the game. Jeno flashes his famous eye smile and gives the boy a firm high five for his bravery.

"Dude, shut up!," Mark cries, grabbing the sophomore boy by the shoulders and wrestling him to the ground.

Mark had made the mistake of admitting his crush to Haechan and even though he made the younger boy promise to never tell other people, lo and behold, half the team knew by the next day and the poor Canadian boy has not heard the end of it since.

Part of the reason they tease him so much is because, well, he's Mark Lee, the nicest boy on campus and it's so entertaining to push his buttons. But mainly, they couldn't understand why he doesn't have the courage to do anything about it. After all, he is arguably one of the most popular boys-if not the most popular boy-on campus.

The ladies, gents, and gender non-conforming folk alike are all over him 24/7 like love-struck bees to a flower. He's good-natured, intelligent, good-looking, even humble. No matter gay, straight, bi, or vegan- anyone who's ever met the Canadian international student falls inevitably into his charms.

The sophomore cries out and flails his arms to protect himself, but the tomato red cheeks of the attacker indicate that he isn't letting it go quite yet.

Haechan's body hits the lockers with a loud 'thud' as Mark gives him one final revengeful shove.

"Ow!," the younger boy shrieks dramatically in feigned (real) pain, holding his shoulder and making an exaggerated crying expression. This draws more laughter from the other players and even the coaches.

"Alright settle down boys!," the head coach orders, bringing out his clipboard to go over the game plan.

"Let's go," Ten says, calmly yanking Mark and Haechan off of the floor and throwing an arm over each beaten-up boy.

Grabbing their helmets and sticks from their lockers, the boys quickly gather around Coach Kim to hear who will be on the starting line-up for the first home game of the season.

"Listen up, boys. Just like we practiced, okay? You're a tough group of hockey players and if you play like we practiced these last three weeks, those Gorillas don't have a chance out there. This is the first game of the season and we gotta prove that we're not here to lose. I'm going to read off the list of starters today, so if you hear your name called, you better get your ass out to warm up immediately, no messing around. Am I clear?"

The boys in the locker room affirm the question in unison, eager and nervous to hear their name be called to be a starter.

"Ten Lee"