16 — Compromise

Cha Mia's POV:

A flash of thunder streaked overhead, its distant rumbling echoing off a moment later. The rain had yet to pour, but the signs of the incoming deluge were cracking the sky in silver rays.

Mia held her smartphone aloft, camera pointed ahead.

"Hello everyone! This is my first video, and I'm Dae Ho, an aspiring football player, and today…" Dae Ho smiled brightly in her direction. "I'll be attempting to break the world record for crossbar volleys done in one minute."

Ridiculous. Was what Mia would have said if she hadn't witnessed her little brother's football prowess beforehand, but now she genuinely believed he could do it.

"The highest count recorded so far is 7." They both had looked it up. Some guy from some country had apparently received the award for that particular record. It was a very nondescript video, but the impact had been delivered well.

Dae Ho had aligned 10 balls next to each other. She didn't know why he needed 10, when only 8 would have been fine.

'Perhaps it's for dramatic effect?'

She heaved a deep sigh. There was something wrong with her. For sure. Despite holding the camera and listening to him talk, she couldn't lock away the still-fresh memories of their morning 'activity' together.

And the fact that he was so nonchalant about it… it upset her. Mia was expecting some kind of emotional upheaval between them, not this plain indifference. As if nothing happened.

Yes, it might have been her plan, that of 'seducing' — which was not really seducing, but more like, guiding — him into performing certain actions on her lady parts. But!

… To her it was not a simple fling. It was more than that, yet she desperately buried the truth deep within her.

Dae Ho took a couple of steps back, flashed a look at the camera, and went in for the shot. The ball wasn't packed with a lot of power, just enough for it to draw a curve in the air and make a perfect beeline for the goalpost.

Mia made sure to film the trajectory.

The ball hammered the crossbar, making its alloy rattle.

"And that's one." Dae Ho announced. Again, he retreated by a couple of steps, did his preparatory jog, and slammed the ball with the laces of his boot. Just like before, the sphere flew through the air and made its rapid descent into the crossbar.

The aluminum rattled again.

"Two."

It didn't matter how many times Mia witnessed it. She'd always be amazed at how someone, Dae Ho, in this case, could so casually say that he could land the ball on a very specific, thin, hard-to-hit surface. What particular movement did he do that made that prediction come true?

It was not simply swinging your foot around, crossing your fingers, and hoping that the ball would go exactly where you intended.

She really couldn't understand where his confidence stemmed from, or his monstrous talent, for that matter.

In her opinion, anyone capable of socketing the ball into the net from that distance, was already pretty good. But no, Dae Ho went on an exaggerated streak. He did something she didn't think anyone — who wasn't blessed by lady luck — would be able to.

"Three."

"Four."

"Five. Two more to go, guys!" Dae Ho wasn't particularly talkative, unlike many other NewTubers she knew of, but what he lacked in showmanship, he made up for with unmatched skill.

Her camera precisely tracked the way the ball spun, arched, and softly tapped the crossbar, before it ricocheted off. Mia sighed, bottom lip caught between her teeth. 'What's this, Dae Ho? Who are you?'

Dae Ho, as if he sensed her thoughts, directed a meaningful look her way. Mia's heart throbbed, sending a jolt of desire through her body. Then he tore his gaze away, stomped his left foot forward, and with his right, let a missile fly off.

It was almost anti-climatic at this point. There were no errors. No unnecessary movements. Each shot was infused with the perfect level of power. The ball never looked like it'd go over the bar or below it.

Every time he battered his foot forward, Mia instinctively 'felt' — because there was no other way to describe it — what the outcome would be. Like the previous attempts, the ball would follow a pre-determined path,  slowly lose a bit of its kinetic energy when it was closing in on its target, and let gravity guide it towards the crossbar.

"Six."

"Seven."

"Eight!"

Except that Dae Ho didn't stop there. With a small smile, he let loose another rocket. The crossbar quaked under that particular powerful shot. "Nine." Without losing momentum, he immediately went for the tenth. "Aaaaand…."

The ball soared, gliding beautifully through the air like a bird. However, the aim was a bit off. The sphere ended up missing the bar by a measly few inches, and was rammed into the top left corner of the net. A gorgeous shot, no doubt, even if its purpose was left unaccomplished.

"Oh…" Dae Ho chuckled. "Disappointing."

'Disappointing?!' Mia wanted to scream. 'You just broke a fucking world record!' She breathed in and out, putting a lid on her boiling emotions.

Everything made so damn little sense as of late. Dae Ho. Her feelings. His sudden desire to improve. And his god-given talent with the ball.

Seriously, 'that' was out of nowhere!

"Thank you all for watching! Please, like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell. I'll see you again…" He paused, and Mia couldn't help but roll her eyes at his flair for the dramatic. Then a charming smile accompanied the rest of his sentence. "... in the next video!"

That was Mia's cue to stop recording. The moment she did so, Dae Ho's sunny demeanor immediately tapered off into an exhausted frown. "It's so tiring to be all smiley and cheerful. Perhaps this was a bad idea…"

Mia huffed out a sigh as she pocketed her phone. "Yeah, and I have no intention of being your tripod."

"Hah. I want you there for motivation."

She crossed her arms, one eyebrow raised.

"Having a pretty girl nearby when I'm playing makes me want to give my 100% to impress them. It's a natural male instinct. So? Were you impressed?"

Mia snorted and averted her gaze. "It was a passable performance." She couldn't hold that haughty mask for long. A chuckle eventually burst through the cracks, and a smile overthrew the frown on her face. "Nevermind. You're really… something else."

Dae Ho laughed. "I bet you're feeling all gooey and warm inside." He said as he hastened to retrieve the balls and stuff them inside the mesh bag they came with.

Mia rolled her eyes, deciding not to deign a response to that particular comeback. She clicked her tongue. 'He's gotten so cocky…'

An earthy smell lingered on her nose. She looked up, where a pageant of clouds converged into dark swirls. A blue streak could be seen cleaving through the bulk.

Then the distant roar followed.

"Dae Ho…"

"Yes! Yes! I'm done!" He pulled the laces of the bag, and slung the strap over his shoulder. "Wouldn't want you to get wet, right?"

"..."

'That was really uncalled for…'

…

Mia shuddered as a vein of lightning split the clouds in twain. Fortunately, she was in the safety of her home, watching the raging weather from behind a window. The rain came in a relentless wave, drowning the world in cold needles and sharp winds.

"I like it."

A voice spoke up.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow in response. "What do you mean?"

"The weather." Dae Ho specified, which, frankly, still left a few questions unanswered. They were both in his room, and while Mia was staring out the window, he was transferring the video file from her smartphone to her laptop. "It's relaxing, isn't it? Just you. A mug of hot chocolate. And the soothing sound of mother nature weeping."

Mia walked up to his bed, sat on it, and hung one leg over the other. Her perfect, dainty foot dangled up and down. "Why do you have to be so dramatic?" Despite the bite in her tone, her lips curled up in genuine amusement.

'There is truly no trace of his old self left…'

He sighed. "It's because I'm surrounded by women."

'This bastard…'

The smile immediately fell down. "Dae… Ho…"

His chair creaked as he turned around to look at her. He flashed her a smile, which didn't look apologetic in the slightest. "You know I'm messing around with you, right?"

"..."

"Right…?"

"..."

"Right." Dae Ho turned back around and continued fiddling with the touchpad. "The video came out really well. It just needs a bit of editing, and it'll be ready to be uploaded. Ain't that cause for celebration, sis?"

"Is that video really important?" Mia said, softly. She retreated further into his bed to lay face down, in a fashion that could have been considered innocently erotic.

Her legs swung back and forth in the air, and because she was currently clothed in 'only' an oversized brown sweater over her underwear, her alluring mounds curved up like soft hills.

'Why isn't he staring at me more?'

"Well…" Dae Ho briefly glanced back at her. "... it is. It's for our channel, after all."

"Our?"

"Yes, our." He affirmed. "This channel is as mine as it is yours."

"Hmm…" She tucked her mouth within her arms, hiding a smile. "Have you come up with a name?"

Dae Ho nodded. "Yep. I was thinking about DaemiaTV. Do you like it?"

"That's actually good." Mia smirked, half of her face hidden behind a veil of silky hair. "To think you'd include my name as well."

"You're touched, right? No way you aren't." He chuckled.

"Of course." She said without thinking. "If you come here, I'll show you how touched I am."

"..."

Mia froze. Even her legs stopped swinging.

'Ugh… stupid mouth…'

This time Dae Ho turned around and fully faced her, an amused smirk on his face. "You can't help it, right?"

"W-What?"

'Please, don't make this any more embarrassing!'

"You want another massage?"

Mia's heart knocked furiously against her chest.

'No way. No way. NO WAY!'

"What are you saying?!" Mia hissed. "I… I didn't mean it like… that..."

"Is that so?" Dae Ho hummed, spinning his chair around as he stared at her. "Then, should we just ignore the elephant in the room and pretend everything's fine?"

"But everything's fine!" Mia snapped, not liking the way she sounded hurt.

"Say that one more time, but look at me when you do."

Mia groaned, hiding the rest of her face in her arms. "What do you want me to say, Dae Ho?"

For a while, he didn't say anything.

Then…

"It was a mistake, wasn't it?"

Her heart thumped again, but for a different reason.

She peeked out of her crossed arms and glared at him. "Don't you dare say that. I'm not cheap. I wouldn't do it with just anyone..."

Dae Ho's chair creaked in relief once it was freed of his weight. She stared as he sidled over to her. "We're stuck in quite a mess, aren't we?"

Mia didn't even bother to deny it anymore. She just sighed. "We damn are…"

"Then." He tilted his head, eyes boring into hers. "What do you suggest we do?"

'What do we do…? Why are you asking me, you fool?'

Really, she was the last person in the world who could possibly have an answer to that. But if she left it to Dae Ho, chances were that he'd just ignore whatever tension was between them.

Therefore…

"Dae Ho…" Mia heaved a deep breath. A rush of heat came over to her cheeks. It was hard to say it. What she wanted. What she wanted but had to give up on. "... let's do it… one last time…"

It was the compromise of an addict.