The noise in the bus had finally gone down once the initial excitement had passed. The school soccer team were headed towards the fated match against 'Oneus Academy'.

It had been half an hour since they left their school and the entire team had been in high spirits since the moment they stepped foot on the bus.

With around 45 minutes still left to reach their destination, the team had decided to catch some last minute, much needed sleep or scroll through their phones.

Wooyoung, who was sitting beside Mingi, received a text from San and had immediately answered back.

San: Heyy! Good luck for the game today. I'll be cheering you on :)

Wooyoung smiled to himself as he read the message unaware of another pair of eyes looking at the text too.

"You're a goner Captain." Mingi teased the younger, snorting.

"Shut it." Wooyoung warned. "or I'll bench you."

"You wouldn't dare." Mingi retaliated, but went back to going through his own phone, leaving Wooyoung to focus on San again.

Wooyoung: Can't wait to see you there too.

San: Just to give you a heads up, i might run just a little late. Miss Ailee's been holding me up for some stuff for the festival :(  but i'll be there as soon as i get done with it

Wooyoung: No it's fine! I don't want to force you to attend this game. i get it if you can't make it :/

San: Who said anything about not coming?! I'll just be a little late. I promise I'll be there :)

Wooyoung: ok :)

Wooyoung felt a bit relieved, because even if he refused to admit it out loud, he really wanted San to be there, just be present to support him. It soothed his frantic nerves.

Looking around after finally shutting off his phone, Wooyoung noticed how silent the bus was and decided to catch some shut eye for himself too.

~

"Alright team, we either win today, or we lose, but what's important is you all play safely and fairly." Wooyoung gave his regular pep talk when only a few minutes remained till the match started.

The team, who stood huddled in a circle gave a loud cheer at that, and Wooyoung couldn't help the swell of pride in his chest at his team members enthusiasm. The encouraging look from Seonghwa prompting him.

"Now lets go out there and show them what this team is capable of!" Wooyoung broke away from the circle, making the others move back as they prepared themselves to move to the open field just beyond the shut doors.

Lead by Wooyoung and Seonghwa, the team made their way onto the soccer field, greeted by the loud cheers of the people who had come to support them.

Wooyoung briefly glanced towards the bleachers trying to spot any familiar faces, his eyes landing on Yeosang and Yunho who sat together cheering as well. He inwardly frowned when he couldn't spot a certain blonde but quickly pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on the game.

Wooyoung looked around making eye contact with all his teammates, sending each a meaningful glance before the referee blew his whistle. Wooyoung focused on the game.

~

So far the game had been going fine. Both teams were tied at 2-2 with only a few minutes left till half time. Wooyoung raced forward when he saw the ball had reached Mingi. He was about to yell his name to get him to pass the ball, when an opposing player tackled Mingi who went crashing down.

"Fuck." Wooyoung muttered, running over to Mingi when the referee blew the whistle, calling out a foul.

While making his way there, he noticed Yunho from the bleachers looking outraged and about ready to start a fight with someone, but was held back by Yeosang.

Reaching Mingi, he quickly asked the player if he was fine, the older immediately reassured the younger, insisting he wanted to continue playing. Wooyoung smiled nodding.

A few minutes in and the whistle for half time blew.

Making his way off the field, Wooyoung glanced towards the bleachers again, hoping to see San sitting with Yunho and Yeosang, but was a bit disappointed to see just only the latter.

Wooyoung didn't want to admit it, but the blonde's absence was really taking a toll on his focus on the game, and he couldn't help the tinge of irritation that started to rise in the soccer player.

Shaking his head, trying to clear his head of all these imposing negative thoughts, Wooyoung made his way over to the rest of the team going over last minute plans and changes.

Once second half started, Wooyoung willed himself to concentrate and forget all thoughts of a certain male with a dimpled smile but his focus kept deteriorating as the game went on.

With ten minutes left on the clock and another tied score of 3-3, both teams were starting to give their all. Hongjoong passed Wooyoung the ball who, in his distracted stance, didn't notice the move, the ball rolling past him and out of the line.

Wooyoung let out a huff of irritation at himself, turning to where the ball was when he froze.

In his distracted state, he had failed to notice a blonde male, sitting amongst the crowd now, cheering for them loudly with Yunho and Yeosang.

Making eye contact with San, Wooyoung couldn't help the rush of relief he felt upon laying eyes on the older, all doubt and irritation fading as soon as it arrived. The older was looking at him fiercely, as if scolding him for how ridiculously he was playing and Wooyoung gulped, trying to compose himself again.

With a new found determination, Wooyoung turned back to the field, with only one goal in mind.

The game started again, and Wooyoung played much better than how he had the entire game. The rest of his teammates, noticing this change, rushed forward, all feeling boosted after watching their captain play with newfound energy.

2 minutes left, and Wooyoung's team scored the winning goal.

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd, drowning out the players own excited shouts.

The players excitedly made their way out of the field, exhilaration coursing through their bodies. Wooyoung happily looked around at all the smiling faces, smiling himself at receiving the proud look from Seonghwa.

Looking off to the side, Wooyoung saw Mingi hugging Yunho, Yeosang standing at the side smiling at the pair while congratulating Jongho and Hongjoong.

Wooyoung turned to make his way towards Seonghwa when he felt himself being tackled into a hug.

"You guys won!" an oh so familiar, excited voice exclaimed, as Wooyoung turned to see a smiling San looking at him proudly.

Wooyoung smiled back excitedly returning the hug, holding the blonde close.

"All because of you." Wooyoung said, softly.

"Huh?" came San's confused voice as he moved back to look at the younger.

"Nothing." Wooyoung muttered, pulling the blonde back to him, holding him closer.