AFTER SCHOOL [yeonbin fanfic]

Chapter-32

For the last three weeks or so, Soobin practiced day and night. I was shocked to see him swim for almost 10 hours a day and yet he was always smiling as if he wasn't a bit tired. And the way he improved so much in so little time was incredible. He had cut down almost 15 secs from his fastest record, which meant there was a big chance of him qualifying.

We were walking side by side to the stadium where the competition will take place. He told me that he had just one event for the day if he made it to the cut, which I was sure he would ace.

I reached out for his hand and squeezed it gently, "Nervous?"

He shook his head and smiled, "Very"

"Relax, you will do great. You practiced so hard"

"What if I don't?"

"So what? Participation is a big thing. None of your teammates got selected, did they?"

He grinned at me and we continued walking. After a short walk, we met Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai waiting for us.

"Finally guys! What took you so long?"

"We missed the bus, Beomgyu. Is coach here?"

"Coach is waiting for you inside, Soob. Hurry up"

Soobin looked at me once and I gave him a reassuring smile before he disappeared behind the huge glass doors.

.

The four of us took seats in the first row, right at the front. The stadium was packed with people who were present to support their athletes. A huge screen was hanging over the raised platform and a ton of men were running from one place to another. This competition was going to be huge.

"Look! There is your boyfriend waving at you!" Kai pointed towards the pavilion, where Soobin and his coach were standing.

"Shut up, Kai" I glared at him before directing my attention towards Soobin and waved back. He looked nervous and I could see his hands trembling. I wanted to run up to him and assure him that everything was gonna be alright but suddenly, a loud voice spoke from the podium, catching everyone's attention.

"Good morning everyone. The first Qualification round for boys, age category 18, for butterfly will begin shortly. Good luck to all the swimmers"

.

12 tall boys stood on their respective diving boards. I spotted Soobin among them, fixing his goggles frantically. He looked extremely nervous. His coach was standing with him, patting his back.

"This is bad. Soob won't be able to do well judging by his expression," Beomgyu pointed towards his face and I noticed he was white as if drained of blood.

"Hopefully he doesn't pee his pants" Kai added.

I had to do something. It doesn't matter if he doesn't make it to the cut because all that matters is that he gave his best at the end of the day, but right now, he clearly wasn't in the right shape to even perform half as good as he generally does. I saw him tremble and mutter something under his breath. Okay, I know what will help him. Hopefully, my plan works.

I stood up on my spot, adrenaline rushing through my body at an alarming rate, and screamed at the top of my lungs, "CHOI SOOBIN"

He looked up at the place where the four of us were seated, looking confused.

"What the heck are you doing, Yeonjun hyung. Everyone is staring" Taehyun muttered, trying to pull me back but I didn't listen. All that mattered was that Soobin gets his confidence back.

"CHOI SOOBIN, IF YOU WIN" he stared at me, mouth open wide, anticipating my next sentence. "IF YOU WIN, I WILL KISS YOU"

Silence. Almost all heads were looking at me. My friends pulled me back to my seat and after a second, after that sudden rush of adrenaline had died down, I finally realized what I had just said. Shit, did I actually say that? What was I thinking? I wish the ground would open up and swallow me up whole. But before I could wish that, the first whistle blew, signaling the swimmers to mount their respective boards. I forced myself to look up and my eyes landed on that one particular pair of dark eyes that were glinting mischievously. Soobin smirked at me once, before wearing his goggles and focusing his attention on his race. I felt like I melted on the spot and my brain refused to pay attention to anything that was happening around me. 

.

I have no memory of Beomgyu dragging me out of the stadium, where we met with his coach or Kai making fun of me for the stunt that I had pulled thirty minutes prior. I do not recall walking to the bus stop with everyone or how I ended up in front of a pizza place with my friends. All I could think about was what I did back at the swimming gym. Just thinking about it was making my face heat up.

"Are we going in or not?" I almost bumped myself at the tall boy who was standing right behind me, hands in his pockets. I looked around but everyone else had already gone in, leaving the two of us here. Damn it.

"Oh, hey Soobin. didn't see you standing there"

"Maybe if you hadn't ignored me all through the bus ride, you would've acknowledged me," he said raising his eyebrows.

That's true. I couldn't bear to look at him and that's why I sat with Kai at the very back.

"I didn't mean to"

"Sure," he said sarcastically.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Congratulations"

"For what? For placing 7th?"

"No, for going up by three places. I am so proud of you"

"Thanks, I guess." Before he could open the glass doors, I held him back and made him look at me again.

"What?"

"Whether you won or not, I think you deserve this"

I stood on my tiptoes and brought my hands up to hold his face. Soobin reddened and instantly closed his eyes. I chuckled slightly at his reaction and placed my lips close to his cheek and pecked lightly before dashing inside, blushing profusely. 

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Sorry for the late update. I lost the original draft and that's why it took me 2 days to recall everything I had planned. 

I hope you like it<3