Most Valuable Player || Hwang In-Yeop [ONGOING]

Chapter 1

"Here's a free hat, sticker, and complimentary Seogang pen!"

I glanced at the peppy woman's name tag. Kim Joohyun. She handed me the Seogang merchandise and a pamphlet as well. "Since you transferred a little late, there weren't many dorm rooms open.", she said. "But the school managed to fit you and a couple of others, Mis...ter Hong?" She cocked her head to the side and squinted at my school ID. Did she just call me Mister Hong?

"Um... what was your name again?" I haven't actually seen my ID card yet but judging by her confused expression, something was wrong. "...My name's Kang Nana.", I responded. The woman's smile faded as she glanced back at the school ID. "I-I'm so sorry.", she said. "For some reason, the ID they printed is for a student named Hong Youngnam..."

The woman handed me the card anyways. "You still need this to access your room, so just keep this for now.", she said. "The process to reprint your ID shouldn't take too long. Again I'm so sorry." I reassured her everything was fine. The last thing I needed to get worked up about was a card.

After registration, I lugged my suitcase and followed the concrete paths. I reached the large pillars supporting Seogang's massive library. It looks so much bigger in person. "Hey, you!" A couple of students in basketball jerseys called out to me. I planned on ignoring them after seeing the flyers but decided to make the most out of my first day. "Are you interested in joining the basketball raffle? All you have to do is write down your favorite Seogang player's name along with yours on this paper."

"We enter this in a raffle, and you'll be able to win a prize.", he continued. I had little interest in the event since I knew absolutely nothing about the sport itself, let alone the players. One of the students must've noticed my hesitation, so he wrote a name down for me. "I'll make it easier for you.", he said. "What's your name?"

"...Kang Nana." He wrote my name and showed me the paper. My heart almost stopped after seeing the other name written beside mine. Hwang In-Yeop? "Why do you look so shocked.", he chuckled. "He's the best player we have!" It can't be him...

"The winner will get to spend a day with their favorite player.", he said. "But judging by the lack of excitement and your huge suitcase, I can tell you're new." Was my distress that obvious? I refused to believe my high school bully attended this college. I shook that terrifying thought out of my head. It's not him. 

He handed me a complimentary pen and basketball sticker. "If you're curious about In-Yeop, a game's going on right now." He pointed left of the library. "Just follow this path and make a right. The winner will be announced right after the game ends!"

The chances of winning the raffle were slim. But I thanked the guys and followed their directions. I didn't care much about the prize or basketball game but more so the face of this Hwang In-Yeop. Is he really the man who bullied me? The man who turned all my friends against me? The man who rejected me... I shook my head. Snap out of it, Nana.

"I didn't come here to relive the past."

______

I entered the court as soon as the buzzer rang.

The scoreboard showed Seogang dominated the opposition. I stood by a smaller doorway watching the team celebrate their win. The crowds of females cheered and waved their custom signs in the air. This looks like a fan meet... Their screams grew louder, and I traced their eyes to the big LED screen.

"Hwang In-Yeop! Hwang In-Yeop!"

In-Yeop wiped his sweat with a towel, and dread fell over me. This CANNOT be happening. The other Seogang players dispersed, and one suddenly walked in my direction. I began panicking. W-Why is he coming towards me? We locked eyes, and he raised an eyebrow. "...Can I help you?", he asked.

"I...I-" I continued to stutter but completely lost all sense of speech when In-Yeop appeared behind him. "Yo Eunho, the girls are throwing a party tonight and-" He paused his sentence, and we met eyes for the first time in four years. Everything felt so surreal.

"Who's she?", he asked. He really doesn't remember me? I was insulted but decided to use this to my advantage. "I don't know...", replied Eunho. "She's just blocking the way." My eyes widened, and I turned around. Sure enough, the doorway I stood in front of led to the player's locker room. So that's why he came to me.

"She probably just wants an autograph.", chimed In-Yeop. He pulled sticky notes and a pen from his duffel bag. "Who should I make this out to?" In-Yeop waited for a response, but I just stood silent. I was still in a daze, so instead of replying, I just walked away.

_______

Eunho burst out laughing, and In-Yeop frowned. "What the hell is her deal?" Eunho roared in laughter and wiped away his tears. "Wow.", he chuckled. "Never thought I'd see the MVP get completely ignored like that." In-Yeop stared at the signed sticky note in awe.

"That's never happened before..."

_____

I decided to avoid any contact with In-Yeop for the rest of my college career.

"I can manage two years without seeing, speaking, and hearing him.", I muttered. "I just have to avoid any notion of basketball. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" I reached the library and spotted the same guys who entered me in the raffle. Shit.

I turned my head, but they spotted me. "Hey, you!" I reluctantly acknowledged them, and they kept congratulating me. "Nana, you won the raffle!" I what? They gave me a terribly printed voucher with In-Yeop's face on it. "You get to hang out with the MVP tomorrow. Keep this voucher to show the coordinator at the Sports Center."

My brain couldn't keep up with the series of unfortunate events, but I tried to be as polite as I could. I just need to lay down... I parted ways with the guys and headed for the dorms. I stopped by the trash cans and recycled the ripped voucher.

No voucher, no date.

I headed into Building C and immediately noticed the high amount of male students in the hallways. They all watched closely, and my intuition indicated yet another problem. These are the male dorms, yet my pamphlet says I live here... I stood in front of my designated room and closed my eyes. "Please be a female roommate.", I said. "Please be a female roommate."

I opened the door and slowly opened my shut eyes. It's... empty? Half of the room had a few things, but the bed looked completely untouched. "So you've found your room!" I screamed after Joohyun popped up behind me.

She apologized and handed me a new ID. "Sorry, I tend to be a little loud.", she said. "But good news! I managed to get a new ID printed out for you, so I'll just take Youngnam's." We traded IDs, and she clapped her hands. "Yes! Now you can enjoy the college experience."

"...Um... Does the college experience usually include living in the male dorms?"

"Unfortunately, the card mixup affected housing too..."

"...So I have a male roommate?"

Joohyun sensed my worry and patted my back. "As resident coordinator for this building, I know every student that walks in and out of here.", she continued. "Your roommate is a good kid. Plus, he barely shows up, and if he does, he leaves almost immediately."

"This is all just temporary.", she continued. "The department is trying their best to get the situation fixed ASAP." Temporary placement definitely eased my worry. Joohyun gave me her personal number in case of emergencies and flashed one more smile before leaving.

Everything will be fine since it's temporary.