"No, he wasn't with anybody." Choi Tae-Uk said as he zipped up his traveling bag in the Anyang Cheetahs locker room. "He was alone, and as I was dancing he approached me. I didn't even know he was there."

>From the bench, Lee Young-Pyo eyed his younger teammate curiously. They were the only two people left in the locker room as everyone else had already left after the match.

"So he was the one who noticed you."

Uke shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah."

"And about an hour so later, he was eating off the fork in your hand."

Uke looked a little embarrassed at this. "You make it sound like such a big deal..."

"Well, it's Kim Nam-Il we're talking about!" Young-Pyo said. "You weren't really close friends with him while we were in the national team, were you?"

Uke slung his bag over his shoulder. "No. But maybe he was just lonely...wanted some company."

"I thought night clubs were his kind of thing."

"So did I, but he said that it just wasn't working for him that particular night."

Young-Pyo reached for his own bag and followed Uke out of the locker room. They walked side-by-side towards the exit that led them to the parking lot.

"So...did you enjoy his company?"

Uke took a while to answer, staring ahead as they walked down the empty corridor. "I guess so...yeah."

"Looking forward to see him again?"

"Young-Pyo, where are you going with this?"

"I think you know."

"Look, I'm not a kid anymore, okay? I can take care of myself just fine."

Young-Pyo shook his head. "I don't doubt that the slightest bit, Uke. But this is Nam-Il we're talking about."

Uke's head turned in his direction, his eyes narrowing into slits. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well...he's a nice guy, but if you recall-"

"Okay, so we both noticed he and Ji-Sung had something going on." Uke held out a hand to stop him. "Whatever it was, it didn't last."

Young-Pyo arched an eyebrow at his teammate. "How can you be so sure?"

"Well, seeing as how they kept their distance from each other ever since Nam-Il got injured, and we never saw them close together since then..."

"Wait a minute...I didn't see that." Young-Pyo said. "You're the only one who saw that."

Uke bit his lip, seemingly a little nervous. "Well...I was just being attentive."

Young-Pyo stopped as they got to the parking lot. "Yeah, and you paid just a little more attention to him than to anybody else."

"Young-Pyo..."

"How long, Uke?"

Uke seemed caught a little off guard by the question, but Young-Pyo just looked at him inquiringly. Finally, the younger player looked up to the night sky and sighed deeply. "Five...maybe six months."

Young-Pyo drew in a long breath, then started walking again to where their cars were parked side-by-side. Uke followed him, trailing slightly behind as if waiting for the next words to come out of him.

But what could he say? If Uke had a bit of a crush on Nam-Il during their time in the national team, there was certainly nothing wrong with that. Hell, probably half the peninsula had a crush on Nam-Il right now, though a vast majority of them are of the kind that likes the toilet seat down.

And Nam-Il was the one who approached Uke, wasn't he? Meaning he noticed Uke first. Okay, knowing the way Uke danced, it was hard not to notice him from half a mile away, but still...

Imagine Uke's excitement at actually meeting Nam-Il where he'd least expected to, and being asked to join him in sitting down for a drink. Who could blame him for instantly turning the charm on?

They stopped at where their cars were, and Young-Pyo loaded his bag into his trunk. Beside him, Uke did the same thing. As he closed his trunk, Young-Pyo took a deep breath and looked over to his teammate.

"Look, Uke...you're right. You're a grown-up, you can take care of yourself. But please do be careful in this one,"

Uke closed his own trunk and looked at Young-Pyo a little hesitantly. "You don't like him, do you?

"What?" Young-Pyo looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I like him just fine, Uke. I really do. He's a nice guy, always fun to have around..."

"But?"

"But you remember this: Kim Nam-Il is his own man. You can never tell what he's going to do next, where he's going to take you, or if he's going to take you at all. He is what he is, and I don't think he's going to change for anything...or anybody."

Uke's gaze wandered as he seemed to think of this, his forehead creasing slightly. Young-Pyo watched him, saw as several emotions seem to flit over his face, one after the other. Finally, the younger man took a deep breath and looked to where his teammate stood.

"I think I'll take my chances."

Young-Pyo shrugged. "Okay. Good. Just don't say..."

"...you didn't warn me, I know." Uke said. "Hey, what's life without taking risks?"

"You're risking a whole lot here, Uke. Something you may have never risked before."

"What?"

"Your heart." Young-Pyo said matter-of-factly.

Uke shook his head and laughed a little. "You make it sound like I'm in love with him. I'm not."

"But what if it happens somewhere along the way?"

Uke set his hands on his hips. "Look, Young-Pyo...we were just enjoying each other's company, that's all. We got along really well, and I just want that to continue."

"Okay, whatever." Young-Pyo took his keys and moved to the door of his car. "You just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Promise." Uke assured him as he opened the door on the driver's side of his own car.

Once inside, Young-Pyo watched as Uke drove away, flashing his headlights as a farewell sign before heading for the exit. Leaning back against the seat, Young-Pyo exhaled deeply. He had a feeling Uke was getting himself into something that he didn't quite know how to handle.

I toss and turn in my bed, trying to find a comfortable spot for my head on the pillow. I'm tired to my bones after my first match in two months, and I can't say that I did too good a job. What can you say? I try my best to stay in shape, but the ankle meant that for a while I couldn't exercise at all. So yeah, I was a bit rusty.

Doesn't really matter. We still got one point out of that draw with Taejeon, and the door is still pretty open for us to reach the top of the standings.

Next up, the All-Stars.

I can't help but smile as I think about it. Naturally enough, my mind drifts back to Uke, and the good time I had with him last Wednesday. Who would've thought? I've always known Uke to be quite perky, always ready to cheer people up with his smile and his laughter, but I never really saw - okay, paid attention to him before.

And what's more is that for those brief hours I shared with him, I completely forgot about Ji-Sung. I completely forgot that I was supposed to be miserable and feeling sorry for myself. I actually ended up having quite a good time that night, and I have to thank Uke for it.

Okay, Nam-Il...where are you going with this? If this is just some kind of 'rebound' phase you'd better pull yourself back before you hurt someone.

I've already hurt someone. And I've hurt myself too. Don't I get to enjoy myself just a tiny bit these days?

You're talking about Uke. He's your friend, not some girl you can just pick up off the street or at the club, and ditch after you've had your fun.

Hey, I'm not going to do that to Uke. I would never, ever do that to Uke. How can you do that to something so pretty? With that body, the way the clothes cling to him in all the right places, legs encased in black vynil like a second skin...

Stop right there, you idiot. Now you're starting to sound like an undersexed soldier.

I am undersexed, mind you...but forget the soldier part. President Kim already took care of that for me about a month ago.

Damnit, I'm going insane. I wrap my pillow around my ears to block out the combating voices, but how can that work if they're all inside my head?

Uke made me feel good. I don't know how to explain it. Everything seemed so easy while I was with him. The conversation, the laughs, even though I was never close to him while we were in the national team. And yes, he's very attractive to boot. So different, so different compared to Ji-Sung.

Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?