Keep Your Eye On the Ball

Matthew Kim - Baseball, Football, Psych/Sports Communication

[sgnmatthew]

sgnlara​:

Cheer Up

          “ you’re being so cheesy right now, matt. you should’ve warned me so i could’ve made some ramyun and thrown you in. ” with a pause, she narrows her eyes at him, taking another bite. “ no jokes about being hot. ” he doesn’t have to make the jokes himself considering how much people at their high school liked him but she wouldn’t past him either for the sake of a pun. 

          “ asking me for help studying? what are you studying? you’re the upperclassman, you know! ” she huffs, feigning disdain, though there’s still enough electives that they could have crossover in, right? “ so shameless. what if i no longer accept bribes for the sake of my dignity? i can’t just let anyone know my weaknesses. ”

          another bite and another macaron gone. the idea alone nearly causes her to sulk. the greatest sadness about eating a macaron, maybe even the only sad aspect in her opinion, is that now you no longer have it. talk about wanting to keep your cake and eat it too. maybe she’d ask sian for macarons after this. “ i’m glad you already know that! mm, not avoiding … just … wait, how many times do you get drunk and forget things that you thought that might be it? have you been partying that much. oh my god. ”

Her making the joke for him makes his job easier, so he just gives her a grin, but of course he can’t help himself still. “There’s no joke when it comes to my hotness, I should have to have a license or something for it,” he’s 100% kidding, he’s not that conceited, he does take pride in his looks, sure, but he’s not the kind of guy to actually go around saying stupid things like that, only just in jest here with his best friend.

“I’ve got math and stuff still!  And please, you know that you’re the brains of this operation.  With you missing, I’ve just been wandering around, left to my own devices, and that could get dangerous, you know?” he laughs more, the conversation feeling a lot more like their usual ones finally. “Am I ‘just anyone’ now?  Ouch.” He grabs his chest like his heart had been injured and falls back against the couch, chuckling.

“Of course I know that, I’ve had to imagine it happening so often!  Do you know how often other guys ask me if I was dating you?  I told them that if I even tried hitting on you, you’d probably break your kumdo stick hitting me.”  Now this, he wasn’t joking about, Lara was gorgeous, he wasn’t blind, he had thought she was even back in high school, but he knew better.  “There’s times here or there!  I don’t usually let myself get to that point, you know that, but sometimes after a big win or something, I let myself have a little extra fun.”

[sgnmatthew]

School Daze

Open to Anyone

Normally, Matthew wasn’t someone who slacked off during class, despite what people likely thought about his “dumb jock” exterior, he actually did try hard, frequently doing well in his classes.  He was never the top of the class or anything, but he was never in a situation where he was in danger of academic probation or anything, which was saying more than some athletes on campus. 

Today, however, he was slacking.  Well, maybe not exactly slacking, because it wasn’t by his choice, but he kept on drifting off to sleep.  A few late night study sessions, followed up by practices, games, two nights of partying over the previous weekend, and it lead to a tired Matthew. 

The scraping of chairs against the floor signalling students leaving the class caused him to jerk his head up off of the backpack he was using for a pillow. He had apparently slept through the whole thing.  Gathering his things, he left and spotted one of his classmates that he knew.  “Hey... so I’m kind of an idiot and fell asleep in class today, if I buy us some food, think I could copy over your notes?”

[sgnmatthew]

sgnlara​:

Cheer Up 

          “ are you out all the time? or do you mean outside because i swear you’re always at baseball practice or something like that? ” she doesn’t have much room to talk when it comes to that, considering how much energy she puts into track and kumdo these days, channeling her excess energy elsewhere,hopefully anywhere other than into over-thinking. 

          “ what are you thinking of trying to bribe me for, huh? ‘if you need anything in the future’ sounds suspicious! ” an attempt at a joke between them and yet her tone is flatter than usual, looking towards the screen when he starts to go through what’s available. at this point, she’d given up on most streaming options and settled for youtube videos, even rewatching ones she’d seen, as if needing to cling to familiarity. a part of her does need to, she thinks, so she doesn’t become overwhelmed by all the changes. the other part of her is certain that it’s too late for that anyway. 

          she doubts her focus will last so she hums in agreement, already moving onto another macaroon. plain and simple this time. vanilla. a classic if anything. “ so … did you really think i was avoiding you or is that one of the lines you took out of the jock guy pick-up guidebook or something? you and chanyeol are too alike sometimes. i swear he’s said something like that to yoohyeon too. ” another friend she hasn’t seen as much. it’s fair if he says yes, truth be told, because she can’t bring herself to go out as often as before. 

“I’m out a lot sure, but nah, not just for practice, I go out to eat with friends, go out to the bar, go on dates, just go do something,” he explains with a chuckle. “Even so, I’d go out and do something with you if it would help, you know that. You’re my best friend, I’ve got your back, you know that.”

He smiles hearing the joke, it wasn’t at her normal tone, but it was a step in the right direction, at least.  That made him feel a little more comfortable with the current situation, even if he knew something was up still.  “You never know when it could come in handy! I could need help studying, or I could try and bribe you to give me one of your cute friend’s numbers, you know... if I need something in the future!” This brings another laugh from him, especially where she refused to set him up with one of her friends, even if she knew he’d treat them well.

He looks over at her amused at her question, shaking his head.  “C’mon, Lara, you think I’d use a pickup line on you?  You’d kick my butt if I even attempted something like that,” he laughs, taking a bite out of the macaroon that he had snagged.  “For real, though, it did seem like you weren’t showing up in places I’d normally think to look for ya, you know?  So I thought maybe you were avoiding me. Who knows, maybe I did something dumb while I was drunk and you were annoyed or something, I don’t know.  Good to know that wasn’t it, at least.”

[sgndanbi]

@sgnmatthew !!

when matthew called asking for her to come down to his baseball match yesterday night, danbi had to turn him down. having to hear him whine in disappointment over the phone was painful, but it felt like it would all be worth it when she imagined how thrilled he would be when she actually turns up in the end. truth is, she had already begun to devise a plan to surprise him when she caught wind of his match last week.

making her way to the front row on the bleachers, where she could be sure that matthew would notice her, danbi finds it almost impossible to contain the excitement bubbling within her. this isn’t the first match of his that she’s been at, but that doesn’t mean she’s feeling any less of the enthusiasm she always felt at these events.

it’s one of the reasons why she became a cheerleader, that rush from watching sports players on the field. cheerleaders are utilized for sports like football and basketball, but not baseball, simply because the nature of the game doesn’t quite require cheerleaders. lucky matthew though, because he’ll always have danbi to be his personal cheerleader at his baseball matches.

when she finally catches matthew’s gaze across the field, she balls her hands into fists and raises them up at him, shaking them excitedly as if to say “fighting”, adoring gaze apparent along with a broad grin lighting up her face. it’s true, lying to matthew was worth it for this moment, when she could see the surprise and happiness on his face. she was immensely proud of her friend; she had always been and always will be, irregardless of the outcome of his matches. whether he lost or won never mattered to danbi, what matters is that he puts up a good fight on the field. and he always does.

[sgnmatthew]

sgndanbi​:

❛ personal cheerleader —

truly, danbi doesn’t doubt that matthew’s skill out on the field is anything less than exceptional, and sometimes she thinks he might just be a prodigy of some sort. still, needless to say, there are hits and then there are misses, there are wins and then there are losses — it’s just inevitable. that doesn’t mean her friend’s performance on the field is any less stunning though. “you know, just your determination alone makes you a winner.” nodding her head, her gaze is glinting with admiration as she looks over at her friend, genuinely meaning what she says.

her lips stretch into a bright grin at matthew’s approval for the arrangements she had planned for the both of them, followed by a joyous laugh at his jokes. “oh, you know, i decided to take a class on mind-reading over this semester.” returning with a quip of her own, she wiggles her eyebrows at him as she plays along. “and that’s why you’re paying tonight!” eyes twinkling with a playful spark as she says this, and although she means it as a joke, she really wouldn’t mind if he does end up doing that. who’s going to reject free food? not danbi, that’s for sure.

as the pair amble away towards the direction of the restaurant, danbi comes to realise just how long it had been since they have managed to spend time together like this. “yeah, i barely get to see you around.” she points out with a small pout, but it doesn’t take more than a second before her lips twist into a small smile. after all, she is proud that her friend is working so hard for his dreams. “but everything has been going fine, of course! nobody would dare give me a hard time. i’m a good fighter, you know?” she jokes, flexing her arms playfully and patting her non-existent biceps. “how about you though? are you keeping up with your practices and games well? not overworking yourself?” her voice is laced with concern, knowing full well that matthew can sometimes be prone to driving himself too hard.

Hearing Danbi’s supportive words make him smile, she was always so positive in doing so, that he couldn’t help but feel lighter whenever he may have been feeling weighed down before.  “Ah, maybe you should come be our coach, you take these things a lot better than he does,” he laughs, “plus you’d look way better in the uniform than he does.”  The idea that the managers of the baseball team had to wear the same uniform the players did always made him laugh.  They didn’t do that in any other sports, he wondered what it was about baseball that made them do it. He’d have to look that up sometime.

Her being playful only makes him smile more, and he shakes his head quickly.  “I didn’t know that!  Now I’ve got to make sure I’m not thinking anything I don’t want you to know!” he joked, as if he was going to project images into her mind that she shouldn’t see.  “Me? Oh, alright, if I have to...” Matthew never flaunted the money he came from, that just wasn’t the kind of guy he was, but he definitely couldn’t see a better use of his parent’s money than buying himself and his friends some great food.

He knew that even if they were just joking around, he did feel bad about not being around as much.  Baseball took up a lot of his time and then once that was over, football would come.  He usually had more time during that season though, one game a week typically instead of three or four like most weeks in baseball.  “Whoa! Do you have a license for those guns?” he asks, grinning at the muscle she made.  “I’ll have my pride hurt if you come to the gym and out-lift me,” he says, playing along.  “Oh, you know me, I’m always working hard, but I’m not sure about overworking.  Then again, I’m not always the best judge of that.  I’m not hurting or over-tired or anything, drinking lots of fluids... and yes, most of that is water, despite how you’ve seen me sometimes,” he laughs more, knowing his reputation for partying.

[sgnmatthew]

sgnlara​:

Cheer Up

          obviously, she didn’t fool him but she doesn’t say it, knows it doesn’t need to be said or he wouldn’t be here in the first place. if anything, if lara could fool him, she’d be able to fool anyone else and could continue on sulking in private. as it is, she’s too easy to read, too wrapped up to even feel like trying to hide it. truthfully, she should’ve so that no one would question her or try to cheer her up as he says. make her feel better somehow? she doesn’t deserve that, none of it. matthew calling himself a crappy best friend if he can’t manage that much reminds her that if she’s not going to hide it for her own sake, she should for those that care for her. 

          “ i don’t really … want to go out. ” but that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? that beyond track practice and at least a call to one of the photography club offices to let them know she won’t be coming, she hasn’t left her room much. classes, of course. visiting sehun to make sure he isn’t worse off than she is lately, that’s about as much as she’s able to do. “we can watch a movie. ” though she’s been watching too many movies lately. studying is just as much left behind as everything else. 

          “ really? too bad, it’s the right way to bribe me too, ” lara tries joking a bit, but it somehow doesn’t feel right. crinkling her nose when he says no, turns it on her, she shrugs a shoulder and goes right for a pastel purple one, savoring the taste of one of her favorite lavender macarons with the first bite. it leaves the other flavors open for him to pick from too. she knows rose and lavender, while pretty, aren’t everyone’s taste. “ take one or i’ll feel bad eating alone. you can pick the movie too. ” it’d be nice not having to pick for now. with her state of mind, she spends too much time just scrolling through page after page til she ends up rewatching something. 

She’s still not forthcoming with what exactly is going on, which he understands.  If she wanted to talk about it, she would, but he hopes she knows that he’d never judge her, never think that her feelings are invalid, whatever she’s going through, he’s there for her, no matter what.  He doesn’t like seeing her like this and him being as protective of her as he is, he can only imagine that it has something to do with her boyfriend and that temper of his. Granted, he still didn’t know him, but what little he had seen him, ruffled him the wrong way.

“You don’t want to go out? We don’t have to.  You know me, I’m out all the time, so I’m game for just hanging out here,” he says, though a part of him wants to say no, to try and convince her that fresh air is the answer, the sun curing all that’s bothering her at the moment, but even he knows that it’s not that simple. It works for him, it might not for others. He watches her take a treat from the box and he knows he’s done at least that much right.

“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need anything in the future, then,” she chuckles, picking out a caramel flavored one while grabbing the remote, turning her system on.  He starts flipping through options on her streaming service, wondering if he should put it on something that they haven’t seen, or something they had, in case she changed her mind about talking.  “How’s this?” he said, putting it on a comedy that he knew was kind of dumb and wouldn’t take a lot to focus on, but it was funny at least.

[sgnmatthew]

what kind of cell phone do you have? :  Samsung Galaxy S10+

how often do you use your cell phone? : Quite often

what is your phone’s lock screen photo? : News photo from one of our games

what is your phone’s home screen photo? :  Picture I took at one of the Korean League games I went to last season.

how many contacts do you have in your phone? :  Uh... around 85 I think

do you customize contact names or enter as given names? if customize, what is their default ringtone? :  I do customize contact names, but don’t bother with individual ringtones..

do you have personalized ringtones for your contacts or does everyone use the default ringtone? :  Just the default.

how many alarms do you have set and why? : I set three alarms each morning, just in case I hit that snooze button, I’m a heavy sleeper.

what are your top 3 most used apps? :  Calculator, Spotify, Instagram

what are your favorite apps? :  I’ve got this great baseball game on there and I like to listen to streaming music, so Spotify and that.  Instagram is fun to keep up with too.

what are your last 3 google searches or the last 3 things you’ve asked your built in AI? :  Best hangover remedies.  Remember The Hangover?  Is the Hangover on Netflix?  Guess I was kinda focused on one thing at the time. I was probably drinking when I did it.

do you delete your internet search history or use incognito mode? if so, how often, and why? : Nah, I ain’t got nothing to hide. 

do you download music or use a streaming app? if so, which one and why? : Streaming on Spotify.

what are the last 3 songs you’ve listen to on your phone? :  Joke! by CODE KUNST, Simon Dominic, and C JAMM,  Adventure Quencher by Tiger JK, She and Malibu by Zelo

what does your photo album consist of? :  Pictures from parties or the club, some baseball pics.

what is your texting style? do you reply quickly or are you a slow texter? do you send several messages at a time or paragraphs? :  I tend to reply quickly, if someone’s trying to get me, won’t keep them waiting, especially if it’s one of the ladies.  And several messages at a time.

what are the last 3 texts you’ve sent? :  “You here yet?”  “Trout is a beast”  “Did we have homework?” 

who do you text the most? :  Probably Lara and Chanyeol

what are your top 6 used emojis? : ⚾🔥🍺🍻🏋️‍♂️🥩

how often do you call others? :  Maybe one or two times a week, I usually text instead.

who where the last 3 calls made to and why? : I called... a number in my phone I didn’t remember where it came from to see who it was.  Called Chanyeol when he didn’t answer my text about a cool ghost video I saw to scare him.  Called to order a pizza.

who do you call the most? :  No one any more than another, probably.

do you have someone blocked? if so, who and why? : Nah, I ain’t got time for that.

are you apart of any group chats? with who? :  Team chats mostly

do you use the notes app? :  I always forget about it.  Should probably write myself a note.

[sgnmatthew]

sgnchanyeol​:

Arcade Olympics

           the blue was nearly washed out of his hair by now. between all the washing and lack of care he took into preserving its brightness, chanyeol is more surprised it’s not completely gone. a mere ghost of what it once was, he doesn’t find himself slowing down despite it, despite clinging to how different it was as considering this new side of him a persona. pulling at the shoulder of the muscle tank he wears, he sighs at how humid it is, following matthew without a complaint about the heat for the nth time. he’s pretty sure his co-captain is tired of his whining by now. 

          “ arcade olympics, ” he echoes, brows only slightly furrowing as he tries to keep up with the listed sequence. “ so is that the order we’re gonna play in or are we warming up? because i say air hockey first. i’ma show you how a pro plays, ” laughing, he waggles his brows. “ i play air hockey against the twins all the time. ” he normally doesn’t win but he swears he’s letting them win. arm thrown over the other’s shoulder, he chuckles, “ course we’re gonna have fun! just no talk of ghosts or i’m gonna walk out, i swear. ”

“I don’t know, man.  We’ll just go with the flow. It’s not like we have a committee or something making a schedule for us, this is just for fun and for bragging rights,” he says with a laugh, giving him a skeptical look when he talks himself up. “A pro, huh?  Alright, you’re gonna have to show me that.  I’ll believe it when I see it.”  He was sure that Chanyeol had more practice lately at air hockey than he did, it’d probably been a year or so since he’d last played.

Heading towards the table, he stopped at the token exchange to get some for the competition.  “You might beat me at air hockey, I’ll admit that, but I think I’ve got you on the punching machine.  You know, us power hitters have to represent,” he says, speaking of his batting style.  “Fine, fine, I won’t talk about ghosts.  The only ghost here is gonna be when your spirit leaves your body when you see how bad I beat you at the rest of these games.”  He pushed in the tokens to get the air flowing on the table and took his side and a paddle. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”

[sgnmatthew]

sgnlara​:

Cheer Up 

          her eyes immediately narrow when he admits to alludes to actually being there to hide from a girl. she should recognize that he’s joking by tone and gesture itself yet she’s so affected, so unlike herself in the moment, that she overlooks it. anger and irritation becomes her more quickly than before, a new trait she’d be more than happy to shed herself of. “ i’m not hiding from you, ” she grumbles, because she wouldn’t let him in otherwise. she’s just not actively seeking anyone out, other than checking on sehun from time to time but even he seems more socially apt than her lately. 

          “ what does that mean? ” now, she understands why wooyoung called her defensive in the past and it’s annoying to know he’s right to a certain extent. she used to find nothing wrong with wanting explanations, now she doesn’t want them from a particular someone that’s no longer around. he didn’t owe her any. it was her who’d dragged things on, who kept him in the shadows, and, ultimately, her who practically drove him away. it’s her own fault. again. self-loathing doesn’t begin to describe how she feels anymore. she didn’t notice the bag til he starts unpacking it and she crinkles her nose. there were only so many flavors of coffee she began to like this year after getting to know seungah and her clique. she can’t stay mad when he’s picked up on a small thing like that. 

          “ was that to bribe me if i didn’t let you in? ” because, admittedly, the macarons would be enough as she takes a seat when the familiar logo catches her eye, opening the box first to see the flavors inside. “ since you went to all this trouble, i suppose i could let you take the first one. ” 

He’s never really seen her like this and they’ve known each other since high school, sure between the time he graduated and when she joined the university, they had time apart from each other, but still, he felt he knew her pretty well and this wasn’t Lara, at least not the one he knew normally.  “You could’ve fooled me,” he states, looking over at her, it’s accompanied by that grin of his, never a hint of hostility or resentment in his tone.  He doesn’t have time for that in his life. 

“It means that something’s up with my best friend and I’m concerned, that’s all.  Like I said though, if you’re not up for sharing, I’ll give you that much, but I at least want to attempt to make you feel better somehow.  I feel like a crappy best friend if I don’t do that much at least, you know?” He really didn’t like being out of sync with Lara like this, they were seeming to be on the wrong page lately.  He’s not about to pry, that isn’t his nature, but he wants to get his point across that no matter what he was there for her.  “So we can talk, chill, go get something to eat, go watch a movie, stay here watch a movie, whatever you want to do, my schedule is clear for you, if you want, I mean, I’m not gonna force you or whatever.  Anything we do is on me, alright?”

He laughs at the slight accusation, but makes a gesture with his hands of uncertainty.  “I was more of a Lara care package than a bribe, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so they could have been used for that,” she opens the box and he declines.  “No ma’am.  You first, this is for you, I insist.”

[sgnmatthew]

sgnjongin​:

 | lets talk about dokkaebi the jellicle cat

jongin and his feline counterpart have a mixed sort of frenemy relationship, the kind that includes arguments and scratches and hisses while also tossing in minor purring and cuddles and dokki kneading his legs whenever he sits down on the chair instead of the couch for some reason. he holds a certain amount of affection for the cat, but he’s not entirely sure dokki feels the same way, occasionally shredding up his clothes simply because it’s there and playing favorites with his guests just to make him jealous. jongin has the strong suspicion that dokkaebi only tolerates him at best.

he sighs at his intruder, rubbing a hand over his messy hair, his fingers threading through all its strange, dark angles, tugging at the loose knots. “it’s no problem, i don’t really mind you being here.” at least not as much as he minds the way dokkaebi curls up and cuddles against matthew’s lap, his angry yellow eyes fixed on jongin like some sort of provocation. jongin turns and steps into his kitchenette, tugging the fridge open and ignoring the ungrateful pet. “was he yowling like a monster again? you know some cats would just leave on their own and then come back on their own? not dokki, no, he’s too pampered for that. he’d take five steps out into the hallway and then remember his toys aren’t all out there.” he shakes his head. “did you feed him? did you eat anything? i can make breakfast.”

Matthew was definitely obsessed with his new furry friend, whom he was currently scratching behind his ear.  The cat had a very unique look to him, one that only made him more interesting to the baseball player. The two of them had become fast buds during their time together, which only made Matthew happier that he had decided to take it upon himself to make sure the cat was doing okay when he saw that furry face out in the hall.

“Alright, cool, man. You might want to tell your buddies to close the door next time they head out, don’t want this little guy to escape, do we?” he asks, now grinning as the cat was leaning into his hand, despite keeping his eyes on Jongin.  “He was talking a bit, yeah. He wanted it known he was around,” he chuckled. “Hey, I’d spoil him too if he were mine, this guy’s awesome.”  He honestly did think that, he wouldn’t mind having a cat like this one in the slightest.  “Yeah, I gave him some dry food, didn’t see anything else and I didn’t want to go digging around.  I’m up for eating if you are, but don’t feel like you need to. I just wanted to make sure Dokki didn’t run away on you.”

[sgnmatthew]

Arcade Olympics

@sgnchanyeol

Leading the way into the arcade, Matthew was already looking forward to a friendly competition of playing some video games against his friend and teammate, Chanyeol.  It had been a long time since he’d gotten a chance to just chill at a place like this. They’d been spending so much time with baseball lately it was going to be a nice change of pace.  

“Alright, so,” he began, turning to face the other guy.  “Arcade Olympics.  We’ve got everything we need.  For martial arts, there’s the fighting games, got the pop a shot for basketball,” he grins, pointing around as they walk.  “The punching machine for boxing, air hockey for... hockey.  Well, we can play anything really, but that was my idea so far, man.  Either way, let’s have some fun, alright?”

[sgnmatthew]

sgndanbi​:

❛ personal cheerleader —

bursting out in a fit of hearty laughter at her friend’s statement, danbi playfully bumps her shoulder against matthew’s. “please, matthew kim losing a game? i don’t think that would happen anytime soon. maybe when the sun stops shining, huh?” 

then, feigning disgust at matthew’s unabashed portrayal of self-confidence, danbi playfully gags and mimes the action of puking. “yeah, i’m sure dripping in stinking sweat is a definite way to get into ladies’ pants.” she scrunches her nose up, but her lips are turned up in an impish smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement. despite the pretense though, she does see his confidence as a favourable trait of his. matthew knows what his charm is, and he sure as hell plays it to his advantage. 

“i’m planning for you to treat me, so don’t expect me to be gone!” she calls out in response to his withdrawing figure, laughing as she makes her way over to sit down on a bench and wait for matthew to finish washing up. 

when he’s finally out, she springs up from her seat and shuffles over to his side. “we’re going with a good ol’ korean barbeque night! let’s go to that one along iseul shopping street, it’s good and has student prices. plus, the ahjumma there loves me and always gives me a ton of free food, so you can thank me later!” she says, shooting him a wide grin, before walking out of the stadium towards the exit nearest to iseul shopping street.

“I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but it does happen from time to time. Try not to think any less of me, okay?” he laughs a bit, shaking his head.  “If the sun stops shining, we’ve got lights on the field, I’ll still hit that ball a mile.” 

Once they’re reunited and heading out of the park, hearing the plan for the next part of the day brings a smile to his face.  “How’d you know I wanted that?  Have you developed psychic powers or something?  What number am I thinking of?” he asks, sticking by her side.  “Great company and free food? I will definitely be in your debt, Danbi,” he chuckles, quite excited about the possibility of some extra food. 

“So other than becoming psychic and learning to tell little white lies, what’ve you been up to today?  Classes going alright?  No one’s giving you a hard time, right?” he asks as they cross the street, always wanting to make sure that she’s doing well.  “I’ve been so focused on practices and games lately that it feels like I’ve barely had any time to hang out with people.”

[sgnmatthew]

Cheer Up

sgnlara​:

   she felt as if she couldn’t explain it to anyone, not without admitting what she’d done, how guilty she felt over a fake relationship. or so, she says anyway. it was meant to be a contractual deal only and she thought she wanted them to be friends. now that she thinks they are, that he trusts her for whatever reason she no longer deserves, she wonders if she’d been better off not getting to know him, not growing attached, not wanting to see beyond the oh sehun facade and actually care for just sehun. the sentiment made her think of romeo and juliet and what a tragedy it was, that she’d betrayed him but hadn’t said a word.

   with everything else going on, she started to feel hollow, is zoning out yet again by the time someone comes to her dorm and curiosity gets the better of her. hope does too and the vicious cycle begins because that hope makes her feel guilty all over again. it’s not who she hopes for and the guilt is twice-fold when she finds out it’s matt, who she should be happy to see too. “ what? ” the joke settles on her slowly and she adjusts the loose shirt she wears, eyeing him when he says he has to do something. what would he have to do in her dorm room? but still she lets him by, tilts her head as permission as she leans against the door, pushing it back and wide open, only closing it once he’s inside. “ so what’s this special task or whatever? i swear if you’re hiding from some girl … ”

Seeing that his joke crashed and burned,  Matthew is a bit more relieved when she steps aside for her to let him in, stepping in facing her so she can’t see what he has behind his back just yet.  She really doesn’t seem herself, there’s something missing in the way she looks at him or speaks to him and he doesn’t like it.  With what little he knew about him, which wasn’t much, and wasn’t good, he would put money on the idea that it likely had something to do with that boyfriend of hers.  That being said, Matthew isn’t going to come out and say that, he doubts that would end up good for him.

“Now that you mention it...,” he jokes, before shaking his head.  “I am here because of a girl, but I think she’s hiding from me instead of me hiding from her,” he says as he takes a seat in the living area, reaching into the bag as he continues, “I can tell you haven’t been yourself lately, I don’t know what’s going on and I also know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but you know I’ve got your back either way, even if you do decide you want to,”   He places a couple cans of coffee flavors he knows she likes, cooled in his fridge if she wanted to drink one now, and pulls out a box, setting them all in front of her.  The box has enough room for several items in it, but judging from the cover, stamped with the logo of her favorite place to get macarons from, it’s not much of a mystery.  “Now come on, dig in and lets have some best friend time, huh?” 

[sgnmatthew]

sgnyoohyeon​:

❝ — ace detectives , ★°。

she’s glad that matthew’s there with her on this night, because she definitely wouldn’t have been able to walk back to safety after something like that, even if she did see the cat walk out of the building. (besides, there’s no way to fully confirm the feline was the cause of the noise anyway.) if matthew hadn’t been there, she’d likely had to have called or messaged hoetaek again, and while she’s well aware that he never minds going to pick her up when she’s spooked, she still feels like a burden when she does, and he deserves a night off once in a while.

it doesn’t take too long to get to matthew’s dorm, and for that she is thankful as well. for the entire time that they had been walking, there was a sense of foreboding that still hung over them even though she had been able to return her heartbeat to its regular rhythm. once they’re within the safety of his dorm, though, all of that sheds off, and she heaves a heavy sigh of relief, even throwing her hands up, reveling in that freeing feeling. taking his advice, she makes herself comfortable on his couch, listening to her choices and grinning to herself. “oh, man, can we have soju?” she asks, feeling like they both really need it after what they’d just experienced.

when he makes his way to her with the pack of cookies, she eagerly takes them into her hands, picking one out and taking a bite, reveling in the sweet taste. she feels even better, beaming up at him in thanks. “you know, maybe we can give the ghosts a break for a little bit….” she says with a weak laugh, picking up the remote control to turn on the television, flipping through to see if she can find something she likes, ultimately settling on a comedy film. it’s a pretty old movie, maybe ten years old or so, but it’s a classic, and that in itself is a comfort. still, she’s a sucker for the supernatural, so she suggests, “maybe we can get back to the ghost stuff later.”

He’s actually a little relieved that she wanted to drink some soju, because he wanted to do so ater their little excursion, but he didn’t exactly want to do it on his own. That would be less fun and might make him look like he was a bit more frazzled than he really wanted to let on in front of her, anyway.  He grabbed a couple glasses and the bottle of soju that he had, coming right over.  “We definitely can.”

Joining her on the couch finally, he opened up the bottle and began to pour her her drink first, getting everything all set for them to settle in and settle down.  “Bottoms up,” he laughs, quickly downing what was in his glass before refilling it.  “Yeah, I don’t mind giving up on the ghosts for a bit. We’ll let the spirits rest,” he chuckled, snagging a cookie from the pack before hopping back up to his feet to get the popcorn from the microwave, placing it in a bowl for them to share.

“Oh cool, I like this movie,” he said, sitting down again, putting the bowl between them, grabbing a few kernals.  “Sounds good to me, I’m always up for that stuff... except just then at the building,” he laughs shaking his head, still not believing they both chickened out so easily.  “So what’s new with you, huh?  Feels like it’s been a while since we hung out.”  He was always busy with getting ready for sports, classes, and everything else lately that it really did seem like he hadn’t seen his friends as much as he’d like.

[sgnmatthew]

sgnyooa​:

⤿ gg bro

— [ ♡ ] she’s not one to doubt herself, no. for the most part, yooa carries herself with an air of self confidence. it is slightly amusing to have the younger male encourage her and spew comments about how she needs to believe in herself. she does– she believes in her abilities to do complex physics problems or talk about the sciences on earth. she also believes in the fact that she’s terrible at games. example number 987654321? what just happened moments ago.  

her expression is sullen (pouty) as she addresses matthew. she was kind of feeling positive by his talk earlier but then she ends up screwing it up for the both of them. but she does not want to plague him with negative thoughts and make it so he has to spend the rest of the night consoling her over losing a game of jenga. ❝ hmm. yeah maybe it’s just not my game. ❞ 

she returns to her seat on the sofa, lips pursed together as she thinks about his question.she doesn’t really trust herself to play anything else. with video games, her fingers never seem to press the controls fast enough, and she’s always been unlucky at board games. ❝ um… i’ll let you decide what game to play next. i’m your partner for the night so i’ll stick by your side wherever you want to go. ❞  

He’s still not sure how the tower had managed to tip itself over, everything she did seemed like it should have worked.  Someone could probably do the same exact thing a hundred times and have it work ninty-nine of them, but she happened to be that one that didn’t make it.  It happens, he supposes, everyone has an off day or an off game every once in a while, he was sure they could find a game they could both play that she’d be fine with.

“Alright, let’s see what we’ve got...” he scans around the room and decides to take a look at some of the other games in the next room over.  Parties like this typically had a few games going at once, and he spotted one that they could try out.  “Do you drink?  They’ve got a pong game going over here that it looks like they’re almost done with.  Even if you don’t, we can play and I’ll just drink the ones for you if you want.”

Either way, they’d have to wait until the end of the other game, so he leaned against the wall nearby and looked down, giving her a smile. “Did you come here alone? I’m not taking you away from someone, am I?” he asks, genuinely asking, not trying to hit on her or anything.  He was curious about her, he thinks he’d seen her around campus before, but he would definitely remember if they had a class together.

[sgnmatthew]

sgnsejeong​:

Oops

     if sejeong is to be completely honest, she doesn’t even think about her bag and all her belongings as matthew helps her into a standing position. whoa, she thinks dizzily, the world spinning around her, the world is not standing still. she’s vaguely nauseous from the world spinning and she mutters quietly, “i think i need… a moment…” 

     the world stabilizes a bit after a minute or two of standing there, and she leans into matthew without even realizing it. he’s sturdy where the ground isn’t, and her head is firmly of the belief that she’s walking on something as unstable as water, which doesn’t really help her nausea. it takes her a few moments to realize that matthew is talking to her, and she lifts her head up to look at him. 

     goodness. had he always been so tall? sejeong feels like she’s looking up into the sky, trying to find his face. that really isn’t helping her head at all, and she blinks at him several times before she realizes what the question had been. “oh… my dorm…” she hesitates and the building name is escaping her frantic grasps for it, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “l… lim… gong hall,” she finally says after a long pause. “i live in gong hall. i think i… need to sleep…”

“Yeah, of course, take your time, we’ll go as slow as you need to,” he’s concerned and thinks that maybe they should go get her some medical assistance, but he was going to leave that up to her decision.  He’d make sure she got anything she needed to feel better.

He notices she’s not answering at first and he really thinks maybe this isn’t a good idea.  If she has a concussion, she’d be better off going to the medical facility instead of back to her room.  When she insists on going there, he’s wondering if he should agree or not.

“Wait... you’re feeling sleepy?  Okay, no, we can’t go back to your dorm, not yet.  Let’s get you to the clinic instead.  You might have a concussion and you’re not really supposed to go to sleep if you have one of those until you’re checked out, so, we’ll go there first and then to your dorm, okay?” he says, steering them toward the direction of the infirmary.

[sgnmatthew]

Cheer Up

@sgnlara

Even though he’s been very much preoccupied by baseball and of course, his classes, there was something, or rather, someone, who had been missing more and more in Matthew’s day-to-day life that was weighing him down a bit.  That being said, even during the times he did see her, she didn’t seem herself.  Blaming himself for not making the move to get her up and out of her room lately, Matthew knew he had to do something to cheer Lara up... even if he didn’t exactly know what was making her down.

Standing in front of her dorm door, he knocks with one hand, holding his other behind him, holding a bunch of ‘cheer up Lara’ items as a surprise for his best friend.  Once the door is opened, he gave her his best grin and raised his eyebrows in a feigned surprise.  “Lara? What are you doing here? Isn’t this my room?” he jokes, before chuckling a little bit. “Can I come in? I gotta do something.”

[sgndanbi]

❛ personal cheerleader —

[sgnmatthew]

sgndanbi‌:

a sheepish grin stretches across her face as matthew points out the white lie she had told him the night before. “i told a little lie… but only because i wanted to surprise you!” she throws her arms around her best friend in a tight hug, only to pull away after a short while. 

“you’re sweaty.” she jokes, her nose scrunched as she playfully pinches it and waves a hand in the air, as if to fan away the smell of his sweat. bursting out in laughter right after her little act, she hooks an arm around his. “just kidding, i don’t mind the sweat.” 

danbi nods fervently in response to matthew’s question. “you know i love every one of your games! if i didn’t, i wouldn’t be worthy of that title.” her wide grin bears witness to just how much she enjoyed watching his game, she always does. “hurry and go take a shower, or change your clothes, or whatever! we’re going to celebrate your win!” she says this in a singsong voice, as she moves behind matthew and puts her hands on his shoulder, pushing him in the direction towards where the rest of his team are stood.

“Well, you succeeded!  I thought for sure that I was going to be without you today, I was getting ready to lose!” he jokes, as he’s sure that she knows him too well to know that he’d go into a game expecting defeat.  He returns the hug, giving her a little pat on the back, appreciative of her support.

He laughs at her little protest and nods.  “I was working hard out there!  It can’t be helped!”  he laughs some more as she hooks right onto his arm after. “It’s a manly scent, makes me more attractive to the ladies~” he is obviously joking at this point, just having fun with Danbi as usual.

“That’s very true, plus ‘my biggest fan’ has a better ring to it than ‘my sometimes enthusiastic fan’, doesn’t it?” he laughs some more, only to raise an eyebrow at her starting to push him.  “Okay, okay, I’ll be right back, unless this is another white lie and you’ll be gone when I get back!” he jokes over his shoulder before heading to the locker room.

A short time later he comes out, freshly showered and changed into his normal clothes, spotting Danbi and coming over to her.  “So where are you taking me?”