shot clock || na jaemin (the court series #1)

quarter 1: minute 2

a/n: before i get hated on, this chapter is largely technical stuff and world-building so pls don't hate me :(( let me know which parts of the fic you enjoy and which parts are like meh so that i can get better and create better works :))

(also huge huge thank you to @seung-ie for your sweet words) (this chapter's for you bb)

________________________________________________________________________________

practice was chilly after the introduction. jaemin would glance over once in a while, only to see serena completely ignore her father, who was trying to strike up a conversation every so often. it strikes a chord in jaemin, dragging at the pits of his empathy.

here was a man that he respected, and even revered, and his own daughter wasn't even looking his way. he could feel himself get more and more frustrated with her apathy the more he watched, physically having to cool himself down with some water before he could get back onto the court. and if jaemin was struggling, jeno was scathing. 

jeno was barely present, his headspace clearly messed up. it was evident to everyone that this situation was neither formerly discussed with him, nor was it a pleasant one he would choose to be in. jaemin had no idea what the story was behind coach's daughter or even jeno's entire family, but he had no intentions of pressing on it.

"na! get your head in the game or i take your ass out of it!" jaemin is whipped out of his reverie at the furious shouts of his coach. no sooner does coach lee yell at him, jaemin is back and focused. he stalks towards the ball currently in haechan's hands, not unlike a panther to its prey. he sidesteps jisung, swiping the ball out of haechan's grip and passing it over to renjun, who easily goes for a lay-up, effectively bringing them to the end of their scrimmage. 

coach lee claps his hands, gesturing for all the boys to make their way over to the bleachers. serena's got the pen she had been scribbling with between her teeth, looking up every so often as if to ensure she had written down the correct information. 

"alright, before we run laps, soo - serena's got a little bit of feedback she'd like to share as the team manager. serena?" serena dips her head slightly in the barest of acknowledgements and steps forward, clipboard now tucked under her arm. she looks a couple players in the eyes - jaemin, haechan, jeno, renjun and jisung - before sighing and shaking her head. 

"to be honest, i had heard a lot of really great things about sm's basketball team," she begins in a somewhat impressed tone. her eyes shine with cold intelligence, and for the first time in a very long time, the entire team is on edge. "but this does not even come close to my expectations."

even coach lee is shocked at that, the entire team looking at her with gaping mouths. jeno is practically shaking with anger at this point, and jaemin has half a mind to just let him go off. this new girl, jeno's sister or not, is a fucking bitch. she's team manager out of the kindness of coach's heart for his daughter and she has the nerve to insult their team?

"i know what you're all thinking. why does this girl think that she can tell us, blah blah blah. save it. zip it. i don't want to hear it. keep your toxic masculinity to yourself. i don't know what coach lee has been telling you but this team is not good enough. there are so many players on this team who are so much better than the mediocre playing i have been seeing so far," serena says, unbridled discontent dripping from her voice. 

"number twelve, who was it? right, park jisung," serena continues, flipping through the papers attached to the clipboard. "i saw some solid defense out there but it was too little too late. your screens need to be much tighter and more practical. you're trying to get every single movement to be perfect and in that, you're wasting time and energy and losing the game."