THE THURSDAY BEFORE the official last practice on friday, the team got ready for the team party, showering in the locker rooms and changing into nicer clothes.

seonghwa was still oblivious that chaerim found out about the party, even when she, too, was freshening up and fixing her hair in front of her locker. she had even changed into a decent outfit — a skirt, a pretty blouse, and tall brown boots — not something you just put on to go home and chill.

but he would find out soon enough. chaerim was the one to knock on his front door with wooyoung, yeosang, and san behind her. she couldn't wait to see the look on his face.

seonghwa opened the door and sighed, "you."

"me!" she grinned and walked past him before he could say any more, making sure to bump his shoulder oh-so kindly. yeowoosan gave seonghwa awkward smiles and broken eye-contact as they slipped in after her.

she grabbed a seat on the couch and her friends followed suit. seonghwa groaned, "that was my seat, kim!"

"mine now. haha!" her voice was teasing, making seonghwa angrier by the second.

"can you two stop fighting for like one second? here, just take mine." groaned hongjoong, who stood up from his seat which was conveniently right next to chaerim. he made a face at the rest of the room, saying 'can you believe those two?'

"no way i'm sitting by her," said seonghwa.

but hongjoong shook his head at this, gripping seonghwa's shoulders and forcing him into the seat. "don't be dramatic. it's a seat, hwa." i guess he was the only member on the team that could talk to seonghwa like that (without getting berated) because of his age.

their skin was burning at the contact of each other's thighs and knees, but they couldn't move since the couch was so crowded.

"scoot over," said chaerim lowly, and seonghwa growled back, "can't. you scoot over."

"aww this is so cute, look!! chaerim and seonghwa are warming up to each other," teased san.

they both looked away from each other and muttered, "no we're not."

"take a picture! this is a huge moment!" suggested yunho, and of course wooyoung whipped out his phone. after a flash, they were officially posted on woo's snapchat story for all to see.

while everyone else was laughing about the picture and talking about it, seonghwa and chaerim felt like they were alone, only with each other. the burning turned into incinerating into absolute singeing and scorching — but neither moved, maybe out of stubbornness or something else.

"this is a lot different than our constant fighting," she said, "we're tolerating each other."

"yeah, tolerating." he emphasized, acting all tough, yet his cheeks were flushed red, "i still don't like you."

she tilted her head slightly, and sarcastically teased, "sure you don't."

he didn't respond, but kept the eye contact with her. goosebumps slowly began to appear on his skin.

chaerim stood up and walked off, hoping to find the kitchen. seonghwa let out a breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding. a few seconds later, he popped up too and followed her.

she was innocently grabbing a sprite from the fridge when seonghwa barged in. he looked determined and didn't spare any small talk before pinning her against the cold, silver fridge, hands on either side of her head.

he leaned forward and stared her down, and chaerim just wanted to know what he was thinking. she knew she had struck a nerve with him, and she was proud.

and if chaerim wasn't his arch nemesis, she'd say this moment felt a bit romantic. i mean, if you squinted, it was something out of a movie, like he was going to lean in and kiss her. her heart pounded against her chest, and she wondered if he could hear it, being so close to her.

his breath grazed over her face. her eyes got big. she licked her lips. she knew he was only trying to intimidate her, but why was she only getting... hot?

"i don't like you."

"stop lying, seonghwa."

"i'm not lying."

"yes, you are. just admit i'm right!"

"that doesn't even make sense!"

they sounded like kids going back and forth.

"chaerim. i hate you," he ensured her. their noses were almost touching now.

"are you sure? something's telling me that isn't true." she had lowered and softened her voice.

now, it felt like everything was in slow motion. she leaned forward ever so slightly and watched seonghwa slowly close his eyes. only for a second though, because she suddenly pushed him away and walked off, laughing maniacally. she had him right where she wanted him, huh?

so odd, thought seonghwa, why do i feel this way? and why the fuck did i close my eyes?!? for a while, he just stood there, collecting his thoughts and his composure.

when he walked back in, chaerim was on the couch again, casually watching tiktoks with the teams goalie jongho on his phone. he opted to stand up, not daring to get close to her again.

she glanced up with those pretty eyes of hers, then back down. god.

the feeling he had felt was terrifying. he at least thought he hated her. so why did he feel butterflies? no, it can't be. it's probably just a stomachache...

"alright, who wants to play a game?!" san called out, holding some sort of card game.

chaerim stood up to join him, "ooh, me!"

"i'm out. i'm just gonna watch the basketball game that's on." seonghwa took her seat on the couch, sighing deeply.

chae turned to him and giggled, "don't be scared, it's not spin the bottle! it's just a drinking game." the rest of the guys laughed.

seonghwa rolled his eyes at her to avoid having any voice cracks. this was going to be a long night.

𖥻

when it was time for the team to go home, they all exchanged their 'bye's and 'thanks for having us's with seonghwa as he held the door.

"byeee," chaerim hummed, skipping alongside wooyoung and yeosang. seonghwa quickly grabbed her arm, "i need to talk to you before you go."

she made a face, then turned to the other boys, "but they're my ride. can you just say it right here?"

seonghwa sighed, and also turned to them, "you don't mind waiting a few minutes, do you? it'll be short."

wooyoung nodded and shrugged, "sure, we'll be out in the car."

seonghwa led her inside, as she kept a skeptical look on her face. he practically dragged her by the arm back onto the couch and told her to sit.

he then searched around and brought over a piece of paper and a pen.

"what's this?"

"a contract." seonghwa said, "rules."

"rules for... what? us? being enemies?" she found it funny.

he nodded, "exactly. i don't know, i feel like this should be done so we don't cross a boundary. it's for both of our sakes."

"sure, i'll go first..." chaerim took the pen and began to write. and in the end, it was sort of silly, but it was done.

The Contract
Party A: Kim Chaerim
Party B: Park Seonghwa

Agreements:
1. No teasing each other before school starts. I'm too tired for that shit.
2. No harassing each other over text/phone. Keep all harassment in-person
3. Do not do anything to sabotage the other's schoolwork, soccer performance, or anything important like that
4. No physical touch, including hitting, biting, punching, or anything sexual.
5. No kissing. Ever. (why the fuck would we do that???)

In the event of a contract breach, the other party has full rights to ignore all about clauses without notice, at their own risk.

Signatures:
Kim Chaerim                       Park Seonghwa

chaerim stood up from the table and nodded, "pleasure doing business with you!"

"just get out of my house," groaned seonghwa.