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

quarter one: minute 4

jeno can see some of the non-starters fighting off giggles at serena's statement. when he looks to the starters, however, none of them are laughing. good. jeno's only lived with serena for a week and he's already been a victim of her vicious playing style three times. 

to be fair, however, that was only because neither of them really knew how to communicate outside of basketball. well, jeno didn't at least. what the hell was he supposed to even say? 

hey sister that's practically a stranger because we've been apart for eleven years and you're nothing like how i remember you because we were literally six and seven! what brings you back to korea? 

there was literally no good way to enter that conversation. it had been eleven years without in person interaction, six years without face to face interaction, and two years without any interaction altogether. that was a long fucking time, sure, but jeno had held grudges for much longer than that. and for what serena had done, he shouldn't have even entertained the idea of his estranged sister living in his house.

but losing to her three times in a row when they played ball one on one was enough to at least get jeno to talk to her. they'd been dancing around the topic of why they'd even lost connection in the first place, but ever since then, they'd at least formed a mutual understanding of each other. an acquaintanceship of sorts. 

it was a temporary ceasefire and neither of them had it in them to continue to fighting at school and at home. so when serena found him right before english and told him that she was finally willing about the thing, jeno had bolted right after class and sat with her at lunch.

there had been some crying, some fighting, some screaming, and even a little love. a little lot of love. the sibling love that had been hiding under layers of years of resentment and guilt had finally risen to the top. nothing had been fixed. the scars serena had left on jeno were not things that were easily forgotten.

but they were much easier to forgive. especially when he finds out the truth of the incident two years ago. after all, serena was the only female in his life; as stubborn as he was, he couldn't stay mad at her forever.

so when she essentially declares war and the non-starters are laughing, jeno can't help but feel bad for them. big bad jeno lee, the one who's entire life revolved basketball, had lost to serena three times in a row. his baby sister. and he couldn't even be mad because she was that fucking good.

"one on one, starting with you - you, the one in the black. what's your name?" the finger is pointed at minhyuk, a freshman with the ego the size of antarctica. if jeno thought him and jaemin were bad, minhyuk was basically bowser. 

minhyuk's eyebrows raise and shrugs, an easy smile on his lips. serena nods in satisfaction. jeno could practically see the wheels turning in her head and it clicks in his head: this isn't for the scouts at all. this was about the team. she was rebuilding the team; inside out. 

she was going to break down every single security they thought they had. not bad. not bad at all.

it seems like the same conclusion has been drawn by haechan because even though he's perpetually pissed by the female, he's looking at her with a newfound sense of respect. 

the shift in the air is subtle but very potent, and everyone with half a brain cell can sense it. 

"well? half court, park. move your ass," serena says, with a sense of cockiness that's reassuring. the type of easy confidence that people who are good at their craft have. the type that guarantees success before ever even dribbling the ball. 

minhyuk's eyes narrows and jeno can see another non-starter, joohyun, grip his arm, shaking his arm. both jaemin and jeno snort at that. these kids were acting up way too much. haechan's almost glad that serena's about to make an example out of this kid.