Once the courts cleared out, Jin, Ren, and Noah grabbed a few balls and headed back out. They started off casually, rallying and chatting, letting the tension of practice fade away. But it didn't take long before someone suggested they play a few rounds of King of the Court.
The rules were simple.
One player stood on the "king side" while the others lined up on the opposite baseline. The challenger would feed the ball to the king and play out a point. If the king won, the next challenger stepped up and fed again. But if the challenger won, they took the king's place.
Naturally, Noah claimed the king position first. After all, he was the best player among them.
Ren stepped up first and fed the ball in. Before he could even take a proper ready position, Noah stepped in and blasted the ball into the far corner.
"What the hell was that? I didn't even have time to react!" Ren shouted, feigning anger.
"Sorry, I thought it'd be fun to go full power. Didn't think it'd actually go in," Noah replied, grinning.
Jin was up next. Even if it was just friendly competition, he wasn't in the mood to lose.
He fed the ball in, and the point began.
Noah immediately launched a heavy topspin forehand that forced Jin onto the defensive. Jin barely blocked it back, only for Noah to hammer another shot into the opposite corner. Jin sprinted after it and returned it again, but Noah stayed in control, dictating the rally with precise placement and relentless pace.
Jin found himself chasing shot after shot, practically running a tennis version of the pacer test.
"Man, are you trying to make me pass out?!" Jin called out between breaths.
"Just trying to win the point," Noah replied coolly.
After half a minute of constant running, Jin knew this couldn't go on. He needed to change things up. He'd go for a topspin shot. He just needed the right ball.
It came.
Noah mishit slightly, the ball floating a bit longer than usual. Jin stepped in, planted his feet, and swung with purpose.
Thunk
The ball ripped off his racquet with heavy spin, rolling like a wheel…
But it landed just wide.
"Ah, shoot. I thought I had it," Jin muttered, frustrated.
"That was the right idea!" Noah called out. "Keep going!"
They played for another hour, the sun dipping lower in the sky as the lights buzzed on overhead.
Jin continued to fight, determined to land that one clean topspin winner. Point after point, he tried to time it right with solid rotation, full extension. But each time, something went wrong. Sometimes the spin was there but the ball lacked depth. Other times, it went flying long or straight into the net.
Ren had a few surprising rallies and even managed to dethrone Noah once, proudly raising his arms in triumph. But Noah reclaimed the king spot almost immediately after.
Jin's legs were burning. His shirt clung to him with sweat. Still, he kept feeding, running, and trying.
But the topspin shot he wanted, the one that would turn the tide, never came. Not yet.
By the end of the hour, as they finally collapsed onto the benches outside the court, Jin stared up at the sky, chest heaving, arms heavy.
Noah and Ren joined Jin in his corpse cosplay, collapsing beside him on the court, chests rising and falling as they gasped for air.
The three of them lay there in silence, letting the cool evening breeze wash over their sweat-drenched bodies. It was the kind of quiet only earned after a hard, honest grind.
After a few minutes, Ren finally broke the stillness.
"Man, that was a lot of fun."
Noah and Jin weakly nodded, still too tired to fully lift their heads.
"Yeah, it really was," Noah agreed. "I feel like I improved more in this one hour than I usually do during regular practice."
"I agree," Jin said. "Maybe we should do this more often. I mean, we do have a match on Friday."
Ren and Noah both turned to look at him.
"Why don't we just do this every day?" Noah suggested. "Practice is good and all, but… this? I actually felt myself getting better."
Jin didn't even hesitate.
"Let's do it."
And just like that, the afterpractice practice club was born.
Once the boys had recovered enough, they got up, packed their things, and walked to the front of the school to wait for their respective rides.
Ren and Noah's parents arrived first, and after a few quick goodbyes, they took off, leaving Jin alone on the bench with his tennis bag at his feet.
As he sat waiting for his mom, Jin let his mind wander to what came next.
On Friday, I'll have enough gems to buy another skill, he thought, fingers absently tapping his phone. I should start filtering through the store now so I know exactly which one I want when the time comes.
I also need to decide where to put my next batch of stat points. Do I double down on Physical? Or start catching up on Technical?
He leaned back, staring up at the dusky sky.
And the system's been… weirdly quiet lately. Maybe that's a good thing. You never really know what that thing's going to throw at me next.
Eventually, his mom pulled up. Jin tossed his bag in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat.
The ride home was quiet, save for the music playing through his earbuds some new songs he'd downloaded the night before. Chill beats, low vocals, and just enough energy to match the warm buzz of post-practice exhaustion.
Dinner was light. A quick shower followed.
By the time he fell into bed, his limbs were heavy and sore in the best way possible. He stared up at the ceiling, earbuds still in, playlist rolling.
He was enjoying listening to Ado, Enhyphen, and d4vd.
His eyes fluttered shut.
DING.
Jin's eyes snapped open.
Oh no, he thought.
[New Quest Available]