"you should go," his mother had all but pleaded with him, her worry always a little too obvious despite how she tries to cover it up with sweetness. "you're still young, you should be going out and having fun at these things. go."
how could he say no? truthfully, seohan doesn't remember the last time he's done something purely for fun's sake. he's not sure he even remembers how. and surely the injury complicates things; while he's back on his feet for the most part, it still hurts. he's off crutches, but his knee is wrapped in a rather intense-looking brace to try to minimize the pain he's in from being upright for too long. and honestly? attempting to play skee-ball like this is probably a really bad idea, but at the time it seemed better than climbing onto one of the rather rickety looking carnival rides.
seohan's balance might be off, but he manages to sink the ball in the 20-point center spot. good, but he'd feel better if he could hit a 50. he would say that he's not after the high score, but one does not become a professional athlete without an innate competitive streak. maybe there's a part of him that would like to see the number he can rack up on display for any other players and passerbys.
he's winding back, judging the aim and power it'd take to get a 50-pointer, when he's suddenly startled by a vaguely familiar voice. seohan releases by mistake, arm still strong enough to have a decent roll up the machine. he scowls when the ball bounces against the board and rolls into the 5-point hole at the bottom of the largest circle; how disappointing. it's only then that he glances back at the speaker.
a boy, he realizes, who he thinks that he's seen before but can't immediately remember where. young, pretty, confident, seohan sizes him up quickly, determining his purpose here. a fan? an old friend he forgot about? he's not sure immediately, but then it dawns on him with the way he emphasizes his interest in his arms; he's flirting. the audacity of it floors him, mouth half-open with a thought never vocalized dead in his throat. he's glad for the dim lighting; he's sure that his face must be burning right now. all he can think is how did he know?
"uh," seohan looks at the skee-ball track, then back at the young man. he shouldn't be so nervous. "i guess. i'm kinda banned from leg day for a while so. arms get extra attention, i guess." oh, he's so awkward. he knows this guy isn't really interested in his workout routine. seohan just doesn't really know what to say otherwise; he's never told anyone about that. he turns and throws the ball up the ramp. he secures 10 points this time; still not great.
seohan hesitates, squirms even, and garam can't help but smirk; his lips curling into a devilish grin as his scorpio stare sinks into the man before him. pupils dilate with immense attraction, and he can't help but laugh to himself; inaudible. while he would never want to push seohan in a direction he may not want to go in, his reaction gives garam a glimmer of hope that he can make something happen. he senses a certain spark, if you will, especially when instead of fleeing out of discomfort, the taller of them entertains the conversation.
sure, he's awkward, but that's expected. no one else around these parts is as bold as garam is. no one else dares to reveal their true individualityβtheir deepest flaws, oddities, and quirksβand he's more than positive that seohan falls into that category. looking at him, and how perfect he is visually, there's no doubt in garam's mind that there's more to him than meets the eye, more to him that no one else in this world knows, and god, he wants to be the one to learn all of his secrets; to learn what lies beyond that flawless exterior.
he yearns to be the one to crack him open, as if kim seohan is pandora's box. garam won't rest until he's successfully done so. he's decided that right here and now. nothing will stand in his way.
"well, the extra attention is definitely paying off," he responds, not at all ashamed of how brazen his compliments are. remaining quiet, he watches as seohan swiftly launches another ball up the lane, and as it sinks into a ten-point slot, garam grims. "you're so graceful when you throw the ball. that only furthers my suspicion that you're in sports. is that true?" he asks, glancing down to get a clearer view of the other's knee brace. "you've got a brace on, too. my guess is that that is why you're skulking around daehan and gaenari. let me know if i'm warm."
before continuing any further, he decides to be a little cheeky. stepping closer to him, he brushes past seohan as he grabs one of the skee-balls, then positions himself in front of the lane before them; his backside ghosting over his senior's center in their new position. carefully, he attempts to secure a higher score than seohan just had, but completely fails; the pesky sphere rolling to the pitiful ten-point goal at the bottom of the machine.
"boo! that sucked," he mellifluously whines, then turns around to meet seohan's eyes. "was my form bad? you should help me. maybe the two of us together can earn fifty, or even a hundred, points." he's curious to know how much he should taunt and tease, but decides not to alter his approach for the time being. the apple of his eye hasn't given him much to work with as far as his comfort level is concerned, so garam figures that starting strong and toning down, if needed, is the easiest way to gauge how seohan feels.
"so? what do you say?"
