written by Khairunnisa Han
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We dont talk to much. I was too shy to start a convo and I bet he's always been busy with his band mates. I didnt know about him, all I know is his name is Johnny, he's good looking, and he got a nice voice.
Guess I fall in love in the first sight with him.
Yea…. His name is Johnny and I find him attractive.
written by Khairunnisa Han
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I saw him once in the café. Coffee was nice and the way he sing makes my heart fluttering with warmth. I didn't know who is him, I wish I know him. I asked my friends, they said that they (he and his band mates) are just a regular band that often sing in the café.
It's simply because of his appearance I came to café more often. Just to see his face and listen to his voice. I didn't even know the song he sang, but I love his voice.
Today, I ventured myself to handed him a tissue. I wrote down a few sentences and hope he did me a favor.
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He stood up in his balcony, a little tipsy, and looked up to see the moon. It was pretty; it always been pretty. His name is Johnny Suh, and he whispered to the moon, “I miss you.” As if the moon can answer him, but it can’t. “Don’t you wanna see me?” he asked, and gets no answer as well. He knew he would never get his questions to be answered as he wanted to, but at least he tried. He tried to talk to someone, over there, watching him from nowhere.
Johnny still there, looked up on the moon. He saw a pretty face that he missed the most, though he knew it was just his hallucination. “Hey there,” he said with a little smirk. Later on, he thought that he was done, so he got up on his bed and closed his eyes.
It was midnight and cold wind blew through the bones. Johnny still can remember that night, when he met someone strange. Johnny can recall clearly his white hair and pale skin that match with the moonlight, surprisingly, he has beautiful doe eyes and pink lips. Johnny can’t get over that look. He would forever remember that.
“Who are you?” Johnny asked him. Eventhough he looks super strange, but Johnny doesn’t gave a shit. “I’ve never seen you before. You’re new here?” he added.
“Lee Taeyong,” he answered and let out a cute giggle. “I’d like to not tell you anything, and who are you?” Lee Taeyong repeated the same question.
“Johnny Suh.”
Taeyong nodded in a cute way, and Johnny doesn’t has any idea how a nod would look this cute? He then knew one thing that it looks cute because it’s Lee Taeyong. If it’s not Lee Taeyong, it would never be this cute. And it sound like nonsense, Johnny just wanted it to has some sense or else.
“What are you doing outside? In the middle of night?” Johnny asked.
Taeyong still in his giggle and he answered, “You didn’t have to know what—and why, I guess. That’s none of your business.”
That’s right.
Johnny’s head was empty, he can’t think straight. I mean, he thought about Taeyong is probably not a human. He might be a fairy, or any of that fantasy creatures that he has read in fairy tales when he was a kid. But he already knows that Taeyong wouldn’t answer his question although he wondered for everything. So he just stood up there besides Taeyong just to look upon his beautiful face.
Johnny lost his count. He didn’t remember how many night he spent with Taeyong. Just stood underneath the sky, looked up to the moon with cold wind blew between them. He really adores Taeyong’s beautiful pale skin and soft white hair. It looks so soft eventhough Johnny never had a chance to touch it. He can’t get over Taeyong’s beautiful face and cute giggles.
“Taeyong,” Johnny called him. “I thought you are not human since the first time I saw you. I mean, how come a human has a really pale skin and super white hair like yours? You must be a fairy or something that I’ve believe they were unreal. But—“
“You don’t have to know about that.”
“—you’re real and I adore you.”
Taeyong’s face turn red as soon as Johnny slip that phrase from his lips. It was the first time Johnny seen Taeyong’s skin turned red. Taeyong looks freakin live with his red face. “I told you—“
“That’s not my business. Okay. I know. I knew it.” Johnny said, and then he sighed. “I’m sorry for my nonsense logic.”
They don’t talk too much that night, unlike the other night. Although Johnny still didn’t know where was Taeyong came from. He don’t wanna think about that as Taeyong has told him countless time that that’s not his business. He just wanna take a good time to spent with a warm and light convo that can make him feel relieved from his stress.
“Thank you.” Johnny said it when they were just stood in silence. “Thank you for your existence. Never thought that I’ll need you to be part of my life before….”
Taeyong looked at him with his beautiful doe eyes. “Never thought that someone would tell me that before,” he replied with a smile—not a giggle like usual. Taeyong looked to the ground, he felt awkward to stood up beside Johnny unlike usual. He felt a little bump in his chest and guilty at the same exact time—and he didn’t know why he felt that way. “Did you wanna know something?” he asked.
“Oh?” Johnny gave him his shocked look. It was strange. “I still wondering, but it’s not my business. So I guess I’ll stop wondering why, although it’s never been as easy as I said it.” Johnny smiled to Taeyong. His smile looks so gentle and his honey brown eyes look so soft that Taeyong wants to hold it forever.
“You can make me choose.”
Johnny doesn’t know what was Taeyong mean by that. He took time for thinking. He literally thinks until he got what Taeyong was mean by that. So the next night he said, “You can disappear if you’re not human. It’s like I can find you anyway. I’m just a human and I can’t hide myself. If you’re disappear, it’d feels kinda sad but you can meet me anytime—you have that power if you know what I mean and I’d glad if I can meet you again one day.”
It was hurt. Both of them was hurt and they knew it through their gaze. They’ve been in their comfort zone just to stood up next to each other and talked about anything in their mind, to look to one another eyes, smiled, laughed, everything that they can share.
“It’s not like, you know,” Johnny said, “we break up or something. We’re not even dating each other. And I thought it’s not the end of our night, you can come to me anytime. I’ll welcoming you with open arms.”
“John….” Taeyong couldn’t finish his sentence. He just smiled, mostly looks like he was in pain, and that was the last smile Johnny ever seen from Taeyong.
Johnny can’t find him anywhere the next night, and so on. He keep looking and looking but he can’t find anything. It makes sense. Johnny’s thought was real, thought he can’t accept that reality. Later on, Johnny spent most of night time to stood up on his balcony and talked to the moon. Said that he missed Taeyong, asked when will Taeyong meet him, or anything he can asked for just to make it sense.
But when he opened his eyes in the morning, sun shines bright trough his windows, and he felt worse. It was about liquor he drank last night, or someone who stood up in his windows with a smile upon his face.
Johnny opened his eyes even more wide to see him clearly. “Oh shit I think I still dreaming. Wake me up, please.” He just can’t believe what he has saw that morning. “Is it you, Lee Taeyong? Or I’m dreaming? Or I think I should’ve stop drinking liquor. I have no idea. Tell me.”
“Guess who?”
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It supposed to be fantasy or (at least) that kind of genre with my own writing style and It's inspired by my fanfictions I wrote, like, years ago.
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His name is Hyuck, he said that earlier and you didn’t know why you still stuck with him now, and with a bunch of boy that wearing colorful leather jacket, also they don’t seems friendly at all. You smiled awkwardly to the crowd, Hyuck just said that you’re one of his friend that he bumped out in front of minimarket when he about to buy his drink. You waved your hand still with an awkward movement.
“You sure she’s just your friend?” Johnny, the tallest among them all asked. He doesn’t look like he’s sure about it too. “She’s quite cute, tho,” he added with a giggle.
Am I really need to be here with a bunch of boy and their weird leather jacket???
Hyuck doesn’t seem like he care at all, he just hit the tall’s arm. That’s not hurt him at all. But Hyuck smiles widely, and laugh after. Hyuck join with the boys, chatting about random topic, sometimes they’re singing random song, and some of them are smoking and blew the smoke out without hesistation.
Why am I stuck in here tho????? You don’t know. You don’t even know.
“Hyuck.” You call him, grab the edge of his jacket. “Hyuck, I wanna go home,” you said, with a super polite smile.
Hyuck tilts his head, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Please.”
“Nah,” he said, “not at this kinda time, wait a little longer. My friends aren’t bad guy I promise you.”
You know. You knew it, or you already are knew it. Because you listen to all of the chattering within these guys and you took your own conclusion that they’re not a bad guy. Even Johnny, the tallest with the scariest face, or Taeyong with his death glare—you changed your mind, he might be has that death glare, but he’s cute after all, super cute. The more you see, the more you know that they’re just a bunch of idiot. They laugh literally at everything; Mark, he even laughing when they just opened their mouth like he know what they about to say. They’re just idiots and you STILL are awkward.
“Hyuck, I wanna go home, please.”
Hyuck doesn’t seems like he wanna hear you out. His purple air waving in the air cutely, and you remembered that you just happened to meet Hyuck tonight, in front of minimarket. You just knew his name after all this time. Even when your house with his are side to side. That sounds sick.
“Hyuck.”
“What’s up Taeil Hyung?”
“I think it’s okay now. She said she wanna go home, right?” Hyuck smiles wide, nodded. “I’ll take her home and be right back.”
“As soon as possible,” Jungwoo added.
Mark raising his eyebrows up, asked, “Is it safe now? Or we should take her home together? Just to make sure that she’s safe.”
You look upon them with wide eyes and asked, “What happened?” You don’t have any idea about that. “What are you guys talking about?”
Hyuck places his hands on your shoulders, look into your eyes. “Something bad and you don’t have to know,” he said, “trust me. Trust us. You’re safe with us. Okay?”
“Okay,” you murmured. It’s not fair when you didn’t have to know anything but trust to the guys.
“I think it’s good to take her home together. Also, we can take a ride after. Who join us?” Hyuck said as if it’s nothing to be worried for, and you still don’t know what he means about.
“Seriously, what the fuck is happen? Why won’t you tell me?”
That Yuta guy giggles. “She cursed,” and he laugh after. “Just trust us, you can leave this thing to us,” he said it as he swept his tears up from laughing.
Hyuck’s hand still in your shoulder, down to your arms, he then squish your arms, but he smiles and didn’t say anything. At the end of the day, you just follow the guys around and know nothing about the safe that the guys were talking about. At least, you came back home safely.
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His name is Hyuck, he said that earlier and you didn’t know why you still stuck with him now, and with a bunch of boy that wearing colorful leather jacket, also they don’t seems friendly at all. You smiled awkwardly to the crowd, Hyuck just said that you’re one of his friend that he bumped out in front of minimarket when he about to buy his drink. You waved your hand still with an awkward movement.
“You sure she’s just your friend?” Johnny, the tallest among them all asked. He doesn’t look like he’s sure about it too. “She’s quite cute, tho,” he added with a giggle.
Am I really need to be here with a bunch of boy and their weird leather jacket???
Hyuck doesn’t seem like he care at all, he just hit the tall’s arm. That’s not hurt him at all. But Hyuck smiles widely, and laugh after. Hyuck join with the boys, chatting about random topic, sometimes they’re singing random song, and some of them are smoking and blew the smoke out without hesistation.
Why am I stuck in here tho????? You don’t know. You don’t even know.
“Hyuck.” You call him, grab the edge of his jacket. “Hyuck, I wanna go home,” you said, with a super polite smile.
Hyuck tilts his head, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Please.”
“Nah,” he said, “not at this kinda time, wait a little longer. My friends aren’t bad guy I promise you.”
You know. You knew it, or you already are knew it. Because you listen to all of the chattering within these guys and you took your own conclusion that they’re not a bad guy. Even Johnny, the tallest with the scariest face, or Taeyong with his death glare—you changed your mind, he might be has that death glare, but he’s cute after all, super cute. The more you see, the more you know that they’re just a bunch of idiot. They laugh literally at everything; Mark, he even laughing when they just opened their mouth like he know what they about to say. They’re just idiots and you STILL are awkward.
“Hyuck, I wanna go home, please.”
Hyuck doesn’t seems like he wanna hear you out. His purple air waving in the air cutely, and you remembered that you just happened to meet Hyuck tonight, in front of minimarket. You just knew his name after all this time. Even when your house with his are side to side. That sounds sick.
“Hyuck.”
“What’s up Taeil Hyung?”
“I think it’s okay now. She said she wanna go home, right?” Hyuck smiles wide, nodded. “I’ll take her home and be right back.”
“As soon as possible,” Jungwoo added.
Mark raising his eyebrows up, asked, “Is it safe now? Or we should take her home together? Just to make sure that she’s safe.”
You look upon them with wide eyes and asked, “What happened?” You don’t have any idea about that. “What are you guys talking about?”
Hyuck places his hands on your shoulders, look into your eyes. “Something bad and you don’t have to know,” he said, “trust me. Trust us. You’re safe with us. Okay?”
“Okay,” you murmured. It’s not fair when you didn’t have to know anything but trust to the guys.
“I think it’s good to take her home together. Also, we can take a ride after. Who join us?” Hyuck said as if it’s nothing to be worried for, and you still don’t know what he means about.
“Seriously, what the fuck is happen? Why won’t you tell me?”
That Yuta guy giggles. “She cursed,” and he laugh after. “Just trust us, you can leave this thing to us,” he said it as he swept his tears up from laughing.
Hyuck’s hand still in your shoulder, down to your arms, he then squish your arms, but he smiles and didn’t say anything. At the end of the day, you just follow the guys around and know nothing about the safe that the guys were talking about. At least, you came back home safely.
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Bukan rahasia lagi kalau semua mata tertuju padanya, seolah-olah dia artis ibu kota, atau selebgram ternama dengan biaya endorse selangit. Namun dia manusia biasa, tiada beda—mungkin, beda. Sedikit, sedikit banyak berbeda. Wajahnya yang rupawan, rambutnya yang baru selesai di-bleach bersinar ditimpa sinar mentari, seolah dia diciptakan ketika dunia sedang bahagia, Ibu Pertiwi tertawa, mentari bersinar terik namun lembut, seolah pada hari dia terlahir banyak bintang berjatuhan untuk mengabulkan doa orang-orang. Mungkin salah satunya, doa ibunya, dan dia terlahir seolah begitu sempurna.
Tapi tidak ada yang sempurna bukan? Dia masihlah manusia biasa. Terkadang tersandung batu kecil, hampir terperosok masuk ke dalam parit yang hitam dan bau, dia tersenyum dengan mata yang hampir menghilang membentuk bulan sabit yang cantik. Oh bagaimana menjadi kekasihnya? Bukankah itu terdengar sebagai sebuah keinginan yang rakus, maruk—bagaimana mengatakannya dengan baik? Tapi pada akhirnya, aku tetap hanya akan mengaguminya dari kejauhan.
Namanya Jeno dan tiada seorang pun yang menganggapnya jelek. Bahkan laki-laki lainnya mengakui bahwa Jeno serupawan itu. Mungkin laki-laki juga cemburu akannya. Dia berada di fakultas yang berbeda, FMIPA, Fisika. Cocok sekali dengannya, dari segala aspek. Mungkin karena itu Jeno yang tidak perlu usaha untuk menjadi sempurna dengan apa pun yang dilakukannya. Tapi Jeno juga manusia, dia pasti punya kekurangan.
Memikirkan kekurangan apa yang dimiliki Jeno, hasilnya tidak ditemukan, bahkan ketika mencoba dibayangkan, sama sekali tidak terbayang. Tidak sampai aku tidak sengaja menabrak tubuhnya di depan gedung fakultasnya. Ah, jalan ini, aku harus lewat ini untuk sampai fakultasku tapi ini terlalu berlebihan.
“Maaf,” kataku sambil menunduk dalam-dalam. Mungkin ucapanku tak terdengar. Tidak, aku tidak peduli. Aku malu dan Jeno berada sedekat ini.
Tapi Jeno membungkuk, berusaha untuk melihat wajahku, diriku, dari atas sampai bawah. “Sorry,” katanya pelan, “gua jalannya meleng. Ada yang sakit enggak?”
Aku memberanikan diri untuk mendongak, oh tidak. Jeno, begitu dekat, begitu … sempurna. Ini tidak adil. Tidak adil untuk menciptakan Jeno seperti ini. Tidak adil kalau dia terlihat jauh lebih indah ketika sedekat ini. Bahkan ketika hanya kaus yang melekat di tubuhnya, dia tetap terlihat bagus.
“Ada yang sakit enggak?”
Aku menggeleng untuk menjawab.
“Sekali lagi, maaf ya. Oh, gua buru-buru dikit lagi telat masuk kelas. Lu mending buru-buru juga deh, nanti kalo telat ribet. Anyway, nama gua Jeno. Lu siapa?”
Tidak mungkin. Aku menjawab dengan pelan, mungkin hampir tidak terdengar. Tapi Jeno mengangguk dan tersenyum dengan mata bulan sabitnya yang indah. “Oh,” jawabnya sambil mengangguk kecil. “Okay, see you later.”
See you later? Aku tidak salah dengar kan?
112 First Day of Summer Camp
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Summer Camp or hell's gate, in a nutshell.
Waktunya Jung Yunho untuk berdiri di pinggir lapangan, melipat tangannya, dan melihat semua anggota klub berlatih sesuai bidangnya dengan keras; melatih yang ingin mereka kuasai untuk menjadi senjata baru, atau mengasah lagi kemampuan mereka yang sudah ada. Sementara Park Jeongsu akan datang dengan segelas minuman dingin yang dibelinya di kafe yang sedikit jauh dari sekolah, tapi dia hanya membeli untuk dirinya sendiri dan tidak untuk Jung Yunho—dan betapa menyedihkannya itu terdengar.
Yunho dengan seragamnya, lengkap dengan topi dan kacamata hitam, terlihat keren dan rupawan untuk ukuran bapak-bapak setengah baya yang belum juga dikaruniai anak. Sementara Jeongsu masih setia dengan kemeja yang dipakainya untuk mengajar, hanya saja dia menambahkan topi dan kacamata hitam juga; keren kan? Oh tentu saja.
“Jadi, gimana?” tanya Jeongsu di tengah-tengah minumannya yang menyegarkan. “Hari ini tiba-tiba mereka latihan yang berat lho. Apalagi yang masih kelas 1, kaget kali.”
Yunho menggeleng dan berkata, “Lihat aja. Mereka seneng kok. Selama mereka seneng, saya rasa enggak masalah latihan seberat ini. Manajer semuanya juga seneng; mereka lagi di dapur bikin sesuatu.”
“Oh ya? Banyak alumni yang ngirim support buat mereka juga sih. Terus, kalo strategi tahun ini, gimana?” Jeongsu bertanya lagi. “Sedikit diganti kan? Itu juga setelah kita tau ternyata anak kelas 1 yang itu—duh siapa namanya ya?—ternyata punya sesuatu. Oh, namanya Park Jisung bukan sih? Iya. Park Jisung.”
Lipatan tangan Yunho terlepas, dia memutar bola matanya, sekalian memutar otaknya. “Mungkin sedikit berubah. Tapi masih harus dipikirin dulu. Di ujung summer camp juga nanti bakal ada latih tanding. Jadi, nanti diterapin dulu di sana. Saya harus bikin beberapa plan untuk beberapa kemungkinan. Akan saya lakukan apa pun asal anak-anak bisa maju ke nasional.”
Perasaan mereka sama. Bahkan dengan Yunho sekali pun, mereka masih sama. Bahkan tanpa mereka membuat percakapan yang signifikan, mereka masih sama. Keinginan hakiki mereka, nasional.
Dari jauh terdengar teriakan-teriakan. Sang kapten membantu mengarahkan. Juga ikut berjuang bersama teman-temannya dalam latihan batting. Suaranya terdengar penuh dengan rasa bangga dan sirat akan perjuangan. Sementara yang berada di bullpen juga bersama-sama.
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Ketika hari mulai gelap dan saat semua anggota sedang terduduk di atas tanah karena kelelahan, Hara datang di tengah-tengah mereka dengan senyuman lebar dan dia bertepuk tangan untuk memanggil perhatian. “Minna! Otsukaresama!” Hara berteriak dalam bahasanya, namun dalam hal yang sederhana ini semuanya mengerti bahwa Hara mengucapkan terima kasih atas kerja keras mereka. “Hari ini alumni kita dateng, ngasih banyak support, ada makanan, uang, dan lain-lain. Nah karena ada makanan, jadi kalian harus makan dulu sebelum istirahat atau latihan individu. Manajer-manajer udah siapin semuanya. Jadi, ayo!”
Anak-anak laki-laki itu berbaris, secara bergantian mengambil makanan mereka dan tak henti-hentinya mengucapkan pada semua manajer karena telah menyiapkan makan malam mereka. Oh, termasuk makan malam Pelatih Jung dan Pembina Park, tentu saja tidak boleh terlewatkan.
“Alumni mana yang ke sini?” tanya Johnny, langsung di hadapan Hara. Masih berdiri, sehingga dia harus menunduk.
Sementara Hara, terpaksa mendongak untuk menatap wajah Johnny. “Park Chanyeol dan kumpulannya. Temen baik lu kan?” Hara bertanya lagi dan Johnny enggan menjawab kecuali hanya berlalu.
Lalu di sebelah sana, Yuuta, memandangi keduanya dengan tatapan yang aneh.
“Kak Yuuta belom ambil makan lho,” ujar seseorang, membuyarkan lamunan Yuuta yang sesaat.
Yuuta lantas tersenyum dan menjawab, “Oh, Karen. Iya, dikit lagi gua ambil. Sankyuu udah ngingetin.” Yuuta lantas pergi, mengambil makanan.
111 Sesaat Setelah Latih Tanding
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Ditulis dalam bentuk dialog
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Johnny: Sor—
Mark: Dude, you dont have to say sorry. Thats not your fault. No one's fault.
Ten: Dont you dare to say sorry or I'll—huft. We're all just fucked up. Kita enggak expect latih tanding hasilnya begini.
Doyoung: Its ok. Bener kata Mark, no one's fault. Jadi enggak ada satu pun orang yang pantes untuk bilang maaf.
Taeyong: Dari perspektif mana pun, kita semua masih kurang latihan. Jadi gimana caranya aja kita ngejar ketertinggalan tim kita. Apa yang harus diubah; entah itu strategi pitching atau justru clean up yang harus diganti.
Taeil: Mungkin emang strategi kira kurang bagus. Apalagi tim yang latih tanding bareng kita itu salah satu tim kuat. Seenggaknya, kita harus terima kasih karena mereka masih mau main sama kita.
Yuuta: Semuanya, semuanya udah kerja keras. Daripada maaf, gua lebih suka bilang terima kasih ke kalian. You are all did great, cuman enggak sadar aja.
Winwin: Menang tuh bukan segalanya kok. Ini baru latih tanding. Kita masih harus kerja keras lagi buat turnamen benerannya.
Johnny: I knew it. Kalian pasti bakal bilang begitu. Gua bukannya nyalahin diri gua sendiri. Tapi lebih dari itu, posisi gua—
Jaehyun: Iya. Lu ACE-nya. Terus kenapa? Win or lose, itu bukan tanggung jawablu sebagai ACE. Tugaslu sebagai ACE tuh simple, lakuin aja pitching terbaiklu dan beres. Masalah kalah menang itu belakangan. Dan karena itu kita percaya sama lu, ACE.
Kun: Performa lu hari ini bagus John. Lebih bagus dari biasanya, dari yang gua amati dari jauh. Mungkin Jungwoo sebagai battery-lu selama pertandingan punya pendapat lain. Itu cukup. Tinggal ditambah lagi aja. Kita tahu, tahu banget, kalo lu bisa diandelin.
Jungwoo: Hari ini Bang John lebih baik dari biasanya. Gua juga bisa ngerasain semangat dari setiap pitching. Enggak ada yang salah. Emang batter lawan aja yang keren-keren.
Coach: Bagus. Bagus kalau kalian bisa paham kelemahan dan kelebihan masing-masing. Bisa tahu mana yang kurang dan harus ditingkatkan. Itu aja, udah bagus. Hari ini, kita kalah. Tapi itu bukan masalah yang besar. Perlu diingat tadi itu latih tanding dan memang kita melawan tim yang kuat, jadi kalau kalah ya wajar. Tapi ketika turnamen nanti, enggak ada kata wajar. Kita bisa untuk pergi ke nasional, seperti apa yang kalian impikan.
Pak Pembina: Seperti pesan dari Pak Kepsek—ekhem—God's plan is always the best—
Hendery: Pak, kita udah tau isinya apaan. Hehehehehehehe….
Pak Pembina: Ya udah saya enggak jadi ngomong kalo gitu. Ada lagi yang mau ngomong kah?
Jeno: Coach! Pak Pem! Lee Jeno izin untuk bicara.
Coach dan Pak Pembina: Iya?
Jeno: Sebelumnya, maaf untuk Bang John yang udah kerja keras….
Johnny: Huh???
Jeno: Tapi Jisung, dia bisa knuckleball. Bukannya kita bisa coba itu ya?
Johnny: Ah—
Coach: Mungkin. Jadi Johnny bisa fokus buat ngembangin slider. Tapi siapa pun itu enggak ada salahnya untuk berlatih apa yang mereka mau. Untuk menang, sepertinya kalian semua harus turun ke lapangan. Kita akan coba berbagai macam cara untuk menang.
Semua (kecuali Pak Pem): Yes Coach!
Pak Pembina: Sekarang waktunya pulang. Jangan lupa mandi, makan yang banyak, dan tetap terhidrasi. Jangan lupa, sedikit lagi kita akan adakan summer camp dan untuk siapa pun yang nilainya belum mumpuni alias remedial, enggak bisa ikut summer camp. Kalian siswa, hidup kalian bukan soal lapangan doang, tapi pelajaran juga. Enggak masalah nilainya enggak bagus, asal sudah sampai KKM, cukup. Paham?
Semua (kecuali Coach): Paham Pak!
108 Latih Tanding
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Sebelum memasuki Part 108, aku ingin membagikan posisi masing-masing anggota dalam tim. Sebelumnya di atas sudah aku kasih link wikipedia yang menjelaskan peran posisi-posisinya.
Pitcher 1. Johnny Suh 2. Lucas Wong 3. Hendery Huang 4. Park Jisung
Catcher 1. Kim Jungwoo 2. Lee Jeno
Shortstop 1. Ten Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul 2. Huang Renjun
First Baseman 1. Kim Doyoung 2. Zhong Chenle
Second Baseman 1. Lee Taeyong 2. Liu Yangyang
Third Baseman 1. Dong Sicheng 3. Lee Haechan
Left Fielder 1. Moon Taeil 2. Na Jaemin
Center Fielder 1. Nakamoto Yuta 2. Xiao Dejun
Right Fielder 1. Jung Jaehyun 2. Mark Lee
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Lets Go! Part 108 Latih Tanding
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“Untuk clean up latih tanding ini: Ten, Yuta, Doyoung, Taeyong, dan Sicheng. Pitcher yang akan turun Johnny dan Lucas, tapi Hendery dan Jisung juga harus bersiap-siap.” Jung Yunho memberikan arahan di depan ruangan, dan anak-anak mendengarkannya dengan seksama.
Memang tidak semua dimainkan di awal. Namun itu tidak menjamin semuanya tidak bermain. Mereka hanya menunggu waktu, barangkali nanti nama mereka disebutkan.
Pertandingan itu dimulai. Untuk saat ini, lemparan yang sedang dilatih sama sekali tidak dikeluarkan. Johnny dan Lucas hanya mengandalkan lemparan yang memang mereka kuasai. Sementara Hendery dan Jisung pergi ke bullpen di pinggir lapangan bersama dengan Jeno untuk melemaskan bahu mereka. “Kita bakal main emangnya Bang?” tanya Jisung, entah kepada Jeno atau Hendery.
Hendery tersenyum dan menjawab, “Iya kali. Tapi hari ini performa Bang John lagi bagus.”
“Sebenernya ya, mungkin aja kalian gak diterjunin ke lapangan. Kalian di sini cuma buat bikin lawan panas aja. Paham enggak?” Jeno menyahuti, dengan logikanya, dan Jisung ber-oh-ria. “Mikirin masuk lapangannya nanti aja dulu. Latihan dulu yang bener. Jisung, kemaren lu mau bilang apa? Keknya enggak jadi bilang gitu?”
“Oh.” Jisung terdiam sebentar sambil memegangi bolanya. “Sebenernya enggak enak Bang, soalnya Bang John lagi latihan itu. Aku bisa knuckleball, ya abisnya, yang bagus itu doang. Yang lainnya bisa, tapi kan masih ada Bang John, Bang Lucas, sama Bang Hendery yang lebih bagus. Gitu.”
Hendery terperanjat kaget. Bahkan Jeno sampai melepas penutup wajahnya. “Dek, disimpen knuckleball-nya, abis latih tanding ini, kita bilang sama Coach.”
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-o-
Di sisi lain, para manajer menyiapkan botol-botol berisi minuman energi, menyimpannya dalam es supaya dingin. Lalu mereka membawa boks-boks besar itu untuk para pemain yang berlatih tanding hari ini.
“Karen,” panggil Hara, “nanti buat catetan skor lu yang bawa ya. Gua tadi ngobrol sama Kun, baiknya adek kelas belajar soal catetan skor juga. Jadi kalo gua dan yang lain lulus, lu udah bisa. Xia udah ngerti dan nanti untuk tahunnya gantian Xia yang bertanggung jawab. Je juga bakal tetep bantu. Tapi diutamain lu, Karen, soalnya lu nanti kan bakal ada adek kelas, dan seterusnya.”
Karen mengangguk-angguk meskipun tidak paham seutuhnya dengan apa yang dijabarkan oleh Hara.
“Hari ini….” Hara masih melanjutkan kalimatnya. “Ayo kira dukung tim semampu kita. Kalah atau menang, ini masih latih tanding. Kita masih bisa memperbaiki diri. Bukan cuma pemain, kita, manajer, juga harus kerja keras.”
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Latihan sore itu selesai. Pembina Park Jeongsu mengumumkan bahwa selepas weekend mereka akan melakukan latih tanding dengan beberapa sekolah sebelum akhirnya menjalani masa-masa summer camp. Pelatih Jung Yunho juga menambahkan apa-apa saja yang kurang dari mereka sebagai regular line-up untuk Inter High musim panas ini.
Anak-anak berbalik, menyelesaikan latihannya dengan pendinginan. Pergi ke ruang klub mereka, membuka seragam yang penuh keringat sambil mengeluhkan tentang latihan mereka sendiri-sendiri. Lucas misalnya, mengeluhkan bahwa dia belum cukup baik untuk crossfire, atau Hendery yang masih mengeluhkan kalau dia hanya bisa straightball, tentunya juga Johnny yang masih belum menguasai knuckleball. Yuta juga misalnya, masih berlatih untuk berlari lebih baik lagi, karena itu diperlukan kalau mereka ingin kembali ke home base. Jungwoo dan Jeno juga, sibuk berdiskusi mengenai kode-kode lemparan yang akan mereka gunakan untuk pitcher, dibantu juga oleh Kun. Semuanya, memiliki masalahnya masing-masing.
Tapi, dari semua keluhan itu, Ten, masih mengeluhkan latihan pagi yang dilewati oleh Johnny begitu saja. “Lu. Latihan yang serius dong.” Ten berujar, mendongak melihat wajah Johnny. “Lu itu ya. Ya ampun. Beneran.” Ten tidak mampu melanjutkan kata-katanya.
Ruangan hening. Menunggu kalimat Ten yang berikutnya. Namun alih-alih Ten yang berbicara, seseorang menyela dan bertanya, “Emang Bang John sebenernya kemaren ke mana? Kok ngilang gitu aja? Padahal setiap latihan kan penting. Aku yakin Bang John paham itu.” Zhong Chenle, bertanya dari jauh, memandang wajah Johnny tanpa takut.
Johnny tersenyum, kecil, lalu menghela napasnya. “Mampir ke klub,” ujarnya. “Gua butuh lari dari masalah, sebentar doang. Bukan mabok, tapi nge-DJ. Kebetulan dipanggil sama Bang Yeol, ya … udah gua ikut. Gua udah janji kok sama seseorang buat enggak aneh-aneh lagi, dan gua juga enggak mau ngebuat orang itu khawatir.”
“Emangnya anak SMA boleh masuk klub ya? Kirain aku enggak boleh,” sahut Jisung, di seberang sana sambil mengancingkan seragamnya. Tidak mandi, nanti di rumah saja mandinya.
“Yang namanya Bang Yeol itu temannya Bang John, dan dia yang punya klubnya, jadi ya, freepass, right?” Mark menjawab, sambil mengelap tubuhnya dengan handuk. Sama dengan Jisung, mandinya nanti di rumah saja.
Sementara di sudut sana, Yuta tidak mengenakan kembali seragam sekolahnya. Seragamnya dimasukkan begitu saja ke dalam tas. Dia mengenakan kaus tak berlengan dan celana panjang, bersiap untuk keluar lagi. “Duluan ya,” ujarnya sambil mengambil bat kembali. “Gua mau latihan lagi sebentar sebelum pulang. Bye.”
Semua mata di sana memandang punggung Yuta yang pergi, dan Kun menghela napasnya panjang. Semua orang di sana tahu, tidak ada yang tidak tahu. Apa pun yang terjadi di antara mereka, semuanya sudah menjadi rahasia umum satu sama lain.
“Apa pun yang terjadi di antara kita,” kata Kun memecah keheningan, “waktu kita main di lapangan, harus profesional. Jangan campurin urusan pribadi sama urusan tim. Untuk musim panas tahun ini, gua yakin tujuan kita masih sama. Masih nasional. Jadi tolong, kalo emang mau main jadi nomor satu di nasional, kita semua harus profesional.”
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Hara meninggalkan ruangan mereka lebih cepat. Mereka bergantian mencuci seragam (yang tentunya dengan mesin cuci) dan hari ini bukan bagian Hara yang mencuci seragam. Dia bersyukur karena tidak harus mencium bau tak sedap yang sumbernya dari ketiak para pemain. Tapi memang tidak mungkin mereka masih bisa tetap wangi setelah latihan sebegitu beratnya.
Dia ingin segera pulang, namun kakinya berhenti begitu melihat seseorang mengayunkan bat-nya pada udara kosong, padahal jam latihan sudah lewat. Dibanding pulang, Hara memilih untuk mendatangi orang itu, dan menyapanya. “Nakamoto. Gua pikir siapa tadi. Lu ternyata.” Hara memposisikan dirinya, dia tahu Yuta sedang berlatih. “Udah selesai latihan, kenapa masih di sini?”
Yuta berhenti mengayunkan bat dan menatap Hara yang berdiri tak jauh dari tempatnya. “Menurutlu kenapa?” Yuta balik bertanya. “Gua enggak mau kalah. Terus, hari ini agak kesel aja. Makanya, gua di sini. Dibanding marah-marah, mending gua mukul sekalian latihan.”
“Naka—”
“Gua mau tanya.”
Hara diam, menanti pertanyaan yang akan diajukan oleh Yuta.
“Lu sama Johnny ada apa? Selain temen sekelas. Johnny bikin janji sama lu? Sejak kapan lu deket sama Johnny? Kenapa Johnny?”
“Banyak banget.” Itu tidak menjawab pertanyaan Yuta sama sekali, tapi Hara juga tidak terlihat seperti ingin menjawab pertanyaan. “Johnny cuma bilang kalo kita semua harus bahagia. Lagian, ini musim panas terakhir kita. Itu artinya, lu juga ada di agendanya Johnny.”
“Oh….”
“Iya.”
“Hara.”
“Ya?”
“Gua enggak mau berantem, tapi, lu ada rasa sama Johnny?”
“…”
