Broken but not Forgotten

Chapter 3- Finding My Way Back To You

Sooho placed the cue ball on the left side of the railing, slightly adrift from the head string, and attempted a precise break. Jin huffs in frustration as he watches Sooho go again. As Wednesday was a slow day, they had decided to take a break and engage in a brief game. 

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Jin inquires while he is preparing to take his shot, trepidatiously glancing at the group of kids playing adjacent to him. 

They were an intriguing group, to put it mildly. A fusion of street fighters, nerds, and a dork. Brains, brawn, and bravery were a deadly combination. Out of all the gangs of kids who entered, this group would be the one to avoid engaging in a fight with. It appears that Jin was aware of this as well. 

"Ask away." He replies with a smirk, as he took another two balls. Jin acknowledges Sooho's ring with a nod, then turns nervously towards the group once more. It seems like he was unsure if he should ask the question in front of others. 

"What's your partner like?" Jin asks hesitantly, but he seems genuinely curious. 

"Wondering who could put up with me?" He jokes with Jin, who nods. 

"He is different from me, but we work together to balance each other out. Like a Ying and Yang." He explains to Jin, who appears moderately perplexed by this. The majority of people believe that couples need to share the same traits to be successful, but he would quickly become irritated with someone similar to himself. No, his cutie was the perfect match.

Due to their occasional glances at him, Sooho could tell that the others were attentive to the conversation, but they appeared unbothered by him being gay. It is likely that they are just nosy.

It's been a quiet couple of weeks without the first fight. He was grateful that it would not begin with this group. As Sooho was contemplating this, leaning over to take his turn, he heard footsteps approaching. Not knowing who was coming at his back, but telling from the stomp that it was not likely friendly, he whips around, balancing himself on the pool table while twirling his cue stick. There was a group of five boys, with the ring leader being the typical thug. He could only see one to be slightly concerned about as he looked over each one to see how they held themselves. Some training, but not at his level. 

He smiles confidently and thought, "Let's do this."

The leader snarls, "What the hell were you thinking flirting with my girlfriend?" 

Sooho pretends to be surprised while looking at Jin. "Do you not know better than to flirt with other people's girlfriends?" His exclamation is mocking. 

Knowing very well, it's more likely that he did it than Jin. Although, to his credit, he was acting in a friendly manner due to his job. 

"Which one?" inquires a sarcastic Jin to the leader. 

The punk is evidently not amused by their actions and emitted a yell as he proceeds towards Sooho.

When fighting, timing is everything. Sooho has it and these guys didn't. He maneuvers to the side while pushing his opponent into the table and striking him with the pool stick in the ass. As he rotates, he trips the next one with the stick and guts another with the blunt end of the pole stick. He persists in swiftly eliminating them without inflicting any serious harm, despite continuing to sweep until all of them were on the ground. 

When he hears people clapping, he looks up to see Jenny watching and showing her approval, while Jin stares at him in both admiration and shock. 

"I was going to help you, but it looks like you didn't need it." Jin's statement causes Sooho to snort. He then pokes a couple of boys, telling them to carry their friends out and not to come back. "Don't bring my name up to any adults that ask questions, or I won't take it easy on you next time."

Turning his attention to the group that was playing the game alongside him and Jin, he notices that he accidentally messed up their ball alignment during the fight. 

"Oh, that was me, huh?" He asks while removing the money to reimburse them for the game from his wallet.

 Sooho hands it towards the nearest kid, a boy with a dark complexion and reddish-brown hair that went to his chin. It seemed wrong to call the freakishly tall boy a kid. Sooho was not short, and this boy was taller than him. This alone would cause pause; however, he was also muscular. 

"Woah, you're tall. I'll join you for pool, but basket ball is out of the question. It's not fun when the person simply stands there and dunks it in." He says teasingly, adding in a sad shake of his head that made the other boy laugh. 

The boy sincerely thanks Sooho for the money and introduces himself as Hoomin. The realization that this group of kids were Shieun's friends makes Sooho's eyes widen. He quickly covers his surprise and acts completely ignorant as he is introduced and finally able to put faces to the names. 

Gogo was introduced, a lean boy of average height with a horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose that sat under sharp eyes. The most noticeable thing was that he almost hums with intensity. There were two taller boys just behind him, who are introduced as Juyang and Gayool. Juyang was the person with copper hair, a friendly smile, and waves enthusiastically at Sooho. The other individual possesses short, green hair and a few minor burn marks on his forehead. Who awkwardly bows his head in greeting. The last one was a short and serious boy named Juntae, who pushed his glasses up and proceeded to kick his friend's asses in pool. 

Sooho introduces himself as Stephen and goes to introduce Jin, but he is already acquainted with them due to school. There was a little unease there due to Jin apparently getting on the wrong side of their friend Gray, but there now appears to be a truce. Jin and Juntae indicated that there was a miscommunication. Sooho was grateful for this because he was starting to consider Jin a friend and if he wasn't mistaken, Gray was his Shieun. He could even guess where the nickname came from, thanks to his sunny personality.