FANCY YOU

GAME OVER ↝ TAELICE

( a/n: this one is kind of tennis themed so i thought a little explanation was in order. for anyone who's not familiar with tennis, the points system goes like this: 15 - 30 - 40 - win. a fault is a serve that is long, wide, or doesn't go over the net. an ace is a serve that goes untouched by the opponent's racket and is unreturned. in tournament play, the end of the match is announced with the phrase "game, set, match" followed by the winning person's or team's name. )

ALTHOUGH TAEHYUNG LOST A BATTLE, 
HE MAKES SURE TO WIN THE WAR

•   •   •

THE FINAL BLOW WAS UNEXPECTED, like an ace shot in a tennis match that slammed past before he could even react. Match point awarded to Jeon Jungkook. It had been a simple roundhouse kick, unexpected enough that it might as well have come out of nowhere, though he knew that if he hadn't been pushed to breaking point, if he wasn't so tired and angry, and if the adrenaline had lasted just a little longer and prevented the pain from creeping through and dimming his focus, he might've anticipated it and made some attempt to block or evade. 

Now though, Taehyung was struggling to get to his knees, sprawled across the floor as everyone bustled out of the auditorium. That was it, he supposed. He was out of the martial arts tournament and consequently out of the race for the grand cash prize. So, he thought, this was what it felt like to be on the losing side. 

He hadn't experienced such a feeling in a long time, the reason being that for one thing, he was just that fucking amazing, and for another, defeat was not something that came easily to him. Even when it seemed like there was no possible hope of victory, Taehyung would inevitably discover some sign of weakness in an opponent, some small crack in their defences, something he could exploit. This time though. . . 

It didn't help that the person he lost to was someone he somewhat considered to be his rival.

As he finally managed to get to his feet, dusting himself off and biting back the anger and shame, the sound of light, quick footsteps reached his ears. He raised head, and Lalisa Manoban offered him a small smile. 

"I know this probably won't be any consolation... but I thought you did great." 

'Why should I care?' he wanted to snap. 'Do I look like I want to hear that I did great after I just fucking lost?' Instead he opted to glare at her through narrowed eyes, hoping she'd take the hint.

She didn't.

"I... um, I really enjoyed the match." she told him, trying to fill the silence. "I watched it the whole way through." 

Of course she did, she and Jeon were close. At first, Taehyung had assumed they were dating, but no, they were 'just good friends'. As if. The fond glances a sickeningly shy smiles that Jeon constantly directed at her hadn't escaped his notice. He was also aware of how the blonde-haired girl would gaze at him on occasion and how she'd blush and look away when he caught her. Even now, her cheeks were flushed slightly as she stood awkwardly waiting for a reply. 

"So glad you enjoyed it, kid." He answered, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Dunno what I'd have done if it turned out you'd been sat there bored the whole time I blocking punches with my face." 

"Kid?" she repeated, completely ignoring the rest of the swipe. Something else he hadn't expected, figuring she'd get upset and stalk off to talk to golden boy instead.