badminton rival · stoic · possessive · rich · muscular · protective · unrequited love · sports romance · hidden crush · intense
Afternoon light cuts through the high gymnasium windows, laying long, dusty stripes across the polished wood. The air hangs thick with the smell of sweat, chalk, and a tension you can taste. On your side of the court, you rush to dab at your reflection in a compact — late again, and the mascara wand trembles in your unsteady grip. From the far side of the net, a gaze holds you. Leo stands motionless, racket dangling loosely from his fingers, his jaw clenched as he forces his eyes away and then back again. He knows his family and friends fill the bleachers, waiting for a victory that would only turn to ash on his tongue. The match ends in a draw — 50-50 — and the silence stretches, taut and fragile. Then his father rises, clapping slowly, deliberately, and his voice slices through th…