coach gihun x player junho au 🏐
okay so i was watching volleyball world championships and now my brain is STUCK on a junhun volleyball au and i can't turn it off!!!! like, imagine gi-hun as the team coach. late 30s, maybe pushing 40, short hair from s2, sleeves rolled, clipboard, that tired look in his eyes like he's seen every kind of stupid serve there is TT
and he's got these weird-ass tactics that shouldn't work but do??? like he'll bench the star for an entire set just to prove a point and somehow they WIN. the other coaches hate him because they can't predict him and his players follow him bc somehow it always pays off. genius or madman?? probably both!
he's a bit burned out though... and he used to be ridiculously idealistic about the game!! he actually believed in its soul, teamwork, honesty, all that. then the press and money people got involved, and it turned into a circus. sponsorship politics, forced media smiles, higher-ups talking about branding instead of passing. he hated it, fought it, got tired. now he keeps his mouth shut mostly, still shows up, still loves the game, he just keeps it to himself now. he pretends he doesn't care anymore but when the whistle blows he's pacing the sidelines bc his heart's still in it TT
team respects gi-hun to hell and back <3 he doesn't yell much, but when he does everyone straightens up like soldiers. he's the kind of coach who says "again" and everyone dies a little inside but no one argues :)) he believes in them in this quiet way that makes them want to prove him right like YES COACH I WILL BLEED FOR THIS RECEPTION THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
jun-ho is the new outside hitter. he times the approach well, reads the block, puts the ball where it needs to go. what beats him is his own head. his older brother sits in there like a judge, and some days junho can't tell if he plays because he wants it or because he's still trying to win the same old fight. his chest tightens when coach folds his arms and says "fix the angle," and his ears heat when a steady hand lands between his shoulder blades to set him straight. he has no idea what to do with any of it, so he keeps swinging until the tape bites and his palm aches.
i want jun-ho being like "I'M NOT EVEN GAY-" and then looking at his hands shaking after gi-hun tapes his fingers for the first time and going oh. OH. and it's not tragic, it's just messy and real. lots of "IM FINE, IM FINE" followed by shower staring at tiles like a clown.
and gi-hun sees through him. he's been around long enough to know what it looks like when a man wants him. at first he kinda lets it slide and pretends it's nerves, rookie admiration, whatever makes it easier to ignore. but then jun-ho keeps hanging around after practice, dropping by the office on excuses that don't make sense, watching him like he's trying to solve something. so then he's like "kid, please. you don't know what you're thinking. GO PRACTICE YOUR RECEPTION OR I SWEAR TO GOD"
he's not playing about boundaries!!!! line is line. which makes jun-ho even worse because nothing is SEXIER than someone who won't let you be stupid!!!! the worst part is his own brain starts betrying him, telling him coach looks back, too. not in any obvious way, just in those split seconds before gi-hun remembers to hide it. a glance that stays a beat too long, the corner of his mouth that almost softens. and jun-ho K.N.O.W.S he's NOT imagining it. he's young, fine, but he's not that naive. he knows. he fucking knows!!
gi-hun knows too. he knows exactly what line not to cross, which ofc makes jun-ho want to cross it for both of them.
and ofc it's a season-long slow burn!! respect first and want second. then want wins but like… with consent and timing and the older adult in the room actually being an adult?? "i'll wait until you're sure and the season's over and then we talk like adults" thing. and salesman's in the background going BOOOO kiss already!!
bc yep ofc salesman's the opposite hitter, dae-ho's the middle blocker, wooseok's the setter and jung-bae's maybe the veteran libero?? the only one who actually argues with gi-hun and somehow gets away with it
and maybe at some point gihun realizes he's into it again. the gym's loud, jun-ho sparking it, and he thinks, DAMN, maybe i still love this game. maybe i'm not done.
i'll write it after i finish my current fic bc hoooly shit i love this too much! i can already see jun-ho losing his mind every time gi-hun joins them on court. sweatpants, or god forbid, SHORTS, stretching around his thighs, and jun-ho immediately sends the ball flying into the stands. gi-hun staring at him like ??? are you serious right now??? and jun-ho's there pretending to adjust his wrist tape like that's the issue
origamiaround
dailybridgerton
jbbartram-illu
germansingergirl
snowghoul
areudirty
blakekathryn
andulkaphoto
vaporwave
