BASKETBALL, STRESS RELIEVER

"So that is why you two are always with each other huh?"

Heiran sat down in the middle of this whole indoor court of Young Jae inside their house. She tried shooting the ball from half court and missed one out of five. It is indeed hard to impress Young Jae but considering the factor that Heiran is so messed up, her record isn't that bad. She has been throwing tantrums around the area. In her mind, she keeps on worrying about Ruel but he is indeed dumb in letting them control him.

"We tried to be closer just to cover up his relationship with that Chinese woman on the other city who happened to be two years older than Ruel and is also older than me. I know this is going to happen but I didn't expect Ruel would be so afraid not to follow his parents. I thought he is collecting his strength day by day."

"Heiran, you are an intellectual person and you can't expect people to be just like you. I mean obviously Ruel's younger than you and he is the softest man I've met in life. I thought it'll be Dongyul since he's flirting with me a lot. But when I met Ruel, I know he's a pure creature from the heavens. And sometimes his emotions get in the way."

"Exactly. Seriously that woman doesn't care about him. She never even asked if Ruel has already gone home after she drove him away from their place."

"Wait, last time... I'm pretty sure someone's following Ruel when we met at the mall."

Heiran stared directly at Young Jae's face. Because he is standing in front of her and he is sitting on the floor, she can clearly see Young Jae's sharp jawline. His details are so specific and extra, as if God spent more time to carefully craft him, he meticulously made him perfect. And his height, why is he a giant?

On the other hand, Young Jae is trying to remember the night Ruel and him met. He is sure someone's following the latter but his stalker's details aren't really obvious. It is clear that he is trying hard to conceal his identity. Young Jae even mentioned it to Ruel and the latter just laughed and proceeded with the topic about Heiran and her feature story.

"If someone's stalking him that night, maybe it is either his dad or his mom. Maybe that's the night when he got caught."

"Is he allowed to go to school?"

"I think he is. But he can't use his phone."

"About the woman, do you think she's a gold digger?"

"I never had the chance to meet her so I have no idea. But she isn't in love with my best friend, that's for sure."

"Right now, what do you think could help Ruel?"

"I don't know. I want him to be free from his parents but I don't want him to end up with that girl."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"What?"

"Do you think we should test the water? I mean, let's go to the next city and look after that girl. If Ruel is grounded for a week and he'll fly to Australia the next week, that means that girl can do whatever she wants for two weeks. We'll spy on her for Ruel."

"I can do that but not with you. You're a busy person and my parents will hate me if they see me hanging out with a famous varsity of this city."

"Speaking of being a varsity, you made it through half court for four times. You're good at dribbling and everything about your skills is fine. Why didn't you try out this year?"

Heiran sighed and stretched her legs straight on the floor. In front of him is Young Jae who soon knelt down just to stay in tuned with her story telling. Something happened of course, back then, an injury changed her life.

"I got injured. Well it's not like I can't play anymore. It's just my parents don't want to. It's with my patellar tendon."

"If so, then your parents might just be protecting you."

"They said it's a shame for a player to stoop down just because of an injury. So instead of saying anything to my school and my teammates, they just pulled me out of there and transferred me here."

"Wait, so they're thinking about?"

"My career was on its peak that time and it brings them honor. They like it. So after I got injured, they call it a shame on their name."

"Anyone can be injured. What's with your parents?"

Young Jae handed her a bottle of water. He is concerned about her. It may be is a long time since she last played the game she dreamed of playing. You can see at the very moment she grabbed the ball from earlier that she still wants to be in the league.

"Do you want to come here and play with me?"

"Basketball for me is my escape from this world, even before the injury. I have to keep up my good grades especially my excellency in journalism. When I play, I get to unleash all off my disappointment in life and I think it's cool. So when I got injured, I thought writing would save me but it isn't enough."

"So you still want to play?"

"I can't just run to someone else's house if I'm tired of my life."

"Heiran..."

He paused for a minute and looked at Heiran's meek face. She is tired, both of them are. If you are being someone's puppet, it'll easily be a burden for you to catch up. You'll end up being tired; maybe from chasing other people's requirements, trying to meet someone else's satisfaction.

"If there is a place called rest, it is here. Maybe for me it isn't since I've been wanting to leave this court but maybe it is for you."

"Since you are helping me a lot, how can I help you in return?"

"I read a lot. I want to make my own poems, probably my own book. Will you help me place my plots with words?"

"I can do that. But we have to keep our friendship a secret or else my father will despise me for the rest of his life."

"So you are calling me a friend now?"

"This isn't what lovers do right?"

And Young Jae's face reddened with what she asked. He doesn't know why Heiran asked that thing but she has a point. Lovers do more than just helping each other achieve what they really want in life. And they are not doing anything but help each other escape their realities.

"Why is your face turning red? Is it with what I said?"

"Don't ask."

Young Jae stood up and avoided Heiran's stares. How can this girl focus her eyes on him without even flinching? He is hearing her chuckles before she drank the water he gave her a while ago.

"Are you wearing contacts when you play?", Heiran asked all of a sudden.

"I do. My vision's so blurry so I need to."

"A lot of girls admire you when you're in game. For me, without the contacts..."

"Are you saying I only look good with my contacts?"

"You suddenly showed up behind me last Tuesday when I was about to find those women who stole my entry. You were wearing your glasses, you look formal and you look ravishing. Since you chose my outfit last week, can I decide your clothes this coming Tuesday too?"

The man is speechless. How is she not embarrassed of what she's saying? Is she also like this with Ruel? Is that why that guy has a good sense of fashion? And did Heiran really mention that he looks better with his glasses on rather than his contacts? Why is she flattering him up to this extent?

In the end, he had no choice but to give in to Heiran's idea. Well, he trusts her enough since Heiran really excels with fashion. In fact, she is good in everything that she is doing. With that, Young Jae knows he is in good hands.