chapter 1.2

Mark doesn't even seem to notice the bitter chemical taste of the mouth guard after he found out who is coming to the game today.

"Dude, are you sure?," he asks again, wide eyes gawking at his friends as they snicker at him.

Grabbing a hold of the younger boy's neck in a headlock, Ten aggressively ruffles his ashy blonde hair, "Yes I'm sure, fatass. Yuna said she got y/n to come and they're on their way now so don't embarrass yourself out there, Lee two".

You see, Mark's friend group in the hockey team has the very unlikely coincidence that A) they are all incredibly handsome and B) their last names are all Lee. So naturally, and not really by their choice, they became known famously on campus as "The Lee's".

And in order to tell them apart during practice, their coaches took the liberty of also giving them numbers. So since Mark is the second oldest out of the group, he naturally became "Lee two".

Haechan and Jeno join in on the fun, enjoying how the junior was visibly embarrassed about his crush.

"SIMP," Haechan yells out, gaining a few laughs from other members of the team as they gear up for the game. Jeno flashes his famous eye smile and gives the boy a firm high five for his bravery.

"Dude, shut up!," Mark cries, grabbing the sophomore boy by the shoulders and wrestling him to the ground.

Mark had made the mistake of admitting his crush to Haechan and even though he made the younger boy promise to never tell other people, lo and behold, half the team knew by the next day and the poor Canadian boy has not heard the end of it since.

Part of the reason they tease him so much is because, well, he's Mark Lee, the nicest boy on campus and it's so entertaining to push his buttons. But mainly, they couldn't understand why he doesn't have the courage to do anything about it. After all, he is arguably one of the most popular boys-if not the most popular boy-on campus.

The ladies, gents, and gender non-conforming folk alike are all over him 24/7 like love-struck bees to a flower. He's good-natured, intelligent, good-looking, even humble. No matter gay, straight, bi, or vegan- anyone who's ever met the Canadian international student falls inevitably into his charms.

The sophomore cries out and flails his arms to protect himself, but the tomato red cheeks of the attacker indicate that he isn't letting it go quite yet.

Haechan's body hits the lockers with a loud 'thud' as Mark gives him one final revengeful shove.

"Ow!," the younger boy shrieks dramatically in feigned (real) pain, holding his shoulder and making an exaggerated crying expression. This draws more laughter from the other players and even the coaches.

"Alright settle down boys!," the head coach orders, bringing out his clipboard to go over the game plan.

"Let's go," Ten says, calmly yanking Mark and Haechan off of the floor and throwing an arm over each beaten-up boy.

Grabbing their helmets and sticks from their lockers, the boys quickly gather around Coach Kim to hear who will be on the starting line-up for the first home game of the season.

"Listen up, boys. Just like we practiced, okay? You're a tough group of hockey players and if you play like we practiced these last three weeks, those Gorillas don't have a chance out there. This is the first game of the season and we gotta prove that we're not here to lose. I'm going to read off the list of starters today, so if you hear your name called, you better get your ass out to warm up immediately, no messing around. Am I clear?"

The boys in the locker room affirm the question in unison, eager and nervous to hear their name be called to be a starter.

"Ten Lee"

The boys around him immediately begin hyping him up, slapping his shoulders and shoving him in congratulations.

Last season, Ten suffered from a major injury, a torn ACL, and had to spend most of it in physical therapy, trying his best to get back on the ice before his last year on the team was up. It killed him to have to sit in the benches and watch his team practice without him and honestly, he could never admit how depressed it really made him. He began giving up on ever recovering and started skipping practice when it had gotten too hard for him to bear.

It wasn't until he met Yuna, who brought him to his feet and encouraged him to not give up the sport he loved, that his mental health started getting better and his passion for hockey started burning up again. Anyone who went to the university gym at all would see him working his hardest on the weights and cardio machines alike. After months and months of training and recovery over the summer, Ten Lee is better than ever and the team came together and agreed that the left wingman deserved to be elected senior captain of the Gators. So to hear his name be called for the starting line-up that day, it feels like everything is finally working out again.

"Mark Lee"

The cheering continues as the junior captain's name was called, to no one's surprise. Mark is an incredibly talented hockey player and he's been on the ice ever since he was a little boy growing up in Toronto, Canada. Moving to Seoul for college two years ago, he made friends quickly by joining the Gators and has impressed the coaches greatly with his ability to play centre forward. Combining hard work and diligence with his kind disposition, he was a sure pick for the junior captain position, soon to fill Ten's spot when he graduates next year. He's always focused at every game and takes them as seriously as anything, so why is he so distracted right now?

Cracking a small smile towards his cheering teammates, his mind wanders back to what Ten told him earlier: you're coming to today's game.

His heart skips a beat at the thought of your face in the stands. Even cheering? No, Mark knows you hate hockey and he found that out the hard way last year.

His heart drops more and more at each realization that you're definitely just coming because of Yuna. His attention snaps back to the coach's rumbling voice.

"Yangyang Liu"

Yangyang is an international student from Germany and the best goalie the team has ever seen. The Gators were always known for being strong on offence, but were lacking in defense in previous years. When the German boy showed up for tryouts in the fall, the coaches and staff were secretly celebrating in the stands as he blocked every slap shot puck whizzing towards him with ease. Everyone agreed he was a shoo in for varsity and he now proudly wears #24 on the ice. Despite only being a sophomore, Yangyang, nicknamed "the sheep", is an incredibly valuable asset to the team.

"Jeno Lee"

Ah, Jeno. Sweet, Jeno. Jeno Lee may wear #23, but he's the #1 sophomore heartthrob on campus without a doubt. Showing incredible athletic ability, he unforeseeably made the varsity team in his freshman year and was the first Gator in decades to do so. Popular, kind, but quiet, Jeno could attract quite the crowd at any location no matter how little he actually did. People swarm to fawn over the slope of his nose, the length of his soft eyelashes, and the contrasting bulk of his impressive biceps. Known to his teammates and coaches as "Lee three", Jeno is their local gym rat and dependable right defenseman.

"Haechan Lee"

Haechan is a true marvel and it's a miracle he hasn't died yet from the way he played. Sporting #66 as an homage to his birthday, this right wingman has shockingly little athletic ability, yet still made it onto the varsity team his sophomore year for being one of the fastest skaters in Gator history. The opposing defense never has a chance in stopping the brunette boy as he blurs past in the blink of an eye, sinking the puck in the net before anyone could say "damn". Clever, charming, and confident, he is the youngest of the "Lees", "Lee four".

"Sicheng Dong"

"AYYY!," the team goes wild as the last player is called, slapping him up and down in good-natured male-type support. Sicheng, known affectionately as "Winwin" for the 4 game win streak that he seemingly brought upon joining the team midway through the last season. Everyone adores the quiet left defenseman for his cold front but adorable personality. Transferring from Beijing University, he isn't very familiar with the Korean language yet, but that has never hindered his performance on the ice.

Sometimes looking at his cute face and endearing pointy-toothed grin, it's easy to forget he's a beast who was scouted out, and highly paid too for that matter, from a foreign country.

"That is all. Everyone get out on the ice and warm up. If your name wasn't called, be ready on the bench and pay attention to the players on the ice, learn from their plays. Gators on three: one, two, three!"

The boys raise their sticks in the air and shout their cheer, some excited to finally go out on the ice and some disappointed to miss out on starting the first home game of the season.

The starting players skate out into the rink while the others headed for the benches. The fans who are already there cheer as the starters skate around the ice, passing pucks around and doing drills to get ready.

Looking through the metal grid of his helmet, Mark Lee inhales slowly, trying to focus his busy mind on the important game that starts in just 10 minutes.

Passing the puck back and forth with Jeno, his mind keeps going back to the possibility of you being in the stands today. Suddenly, he feels self conscious- are you here already? Could you be watching him right now?

Just as his imagination starts to get the best of him, the buzzer sound, harsh sound warning the crowd of the proximal start of the game.

"Get it the fuck together you piece of shit," the junior captain curses to himself, aware of how flustered he is and how that doesn't bode well for his playing performance. This is an important game for the team and he needs to focus or he'd be letting everyone down.

Allowing himself to survey the growing crowd quickly and search for the familiar face his heart has in mind, his mind flickers back to the first time he ever saw you.