ᵈʳᵃᵐᵃ | The color that doesn't exist

Your friend Jinho plays on the university basketball team. He's always dragging you to his games.

"Come on, cheer us on! Our captain's completely lost his mind; he almost started a fight over some rag once."

Jinho told the story in the cafeteria. You nodded, chewed a bun, and didn't really listen.

---

The next day, you trudged to the gym. You were late. Practice had already ended, but Jinho had asked you to bring him his knee pad; he'd forgotten it in his locker. You were walking down the hallway, staring at your phone, and as you turned a corner, you bumped into someone very tall.

Someone else's coffee cup flew out of your hands and landed right on your T-shirt. Coffee on you. You're covered in coffee. Both of you are wet.

"You...".

He began, and you looked up. Two-tone hair, red and black. Piercings. A heavy gaze. The captain. The very one.

"Watch where you're going..."

He muttered, shaking the drops off his sweatshirt.

"...Because of you, now the whole training session is wasted."

You wanted to apologize, but it came out awkward:

"I didn't see, there's a door... and..."

He didn’t listen to the end, turned around and left.

---

From that day on, he disliked you. You came to games with Jinho, and Hyuntae always found a reason to make a jab:

"This guy again? Maybe he'll watch his step?"

After that, he stopped looking at you altogether. You tried to ask Jinho what the story was with that wristband, but he just shrugged:

"Someone said it was from his ex. But it's best not to bother him. He already broke someone's nose over that piece of crap."

You thought about it. Maybe it really wasn't worth it.

A week later, you were waiting for Jinho again after practice while he changed. The others had left. You were sitting in the stands when you heard footsteps. Hyuntae emerged from the locker room and headed toward the center of the court. He didn't see you; you were sitting high up in the shadows. He stood at the free throw line, tossed the ball, and caught it. Then he raised his wristband to his lips and kissed it slowly, almost tenderly. And he said quietly, into the void:

"See? I'm still here. I'm playing."

You froze. There was something in his voice you didn't expect to hear from someone who had just yelled at everyone. Pain.