Boundaries

Shan and Hongjie woke up at the same time. Their tournament schedule was a bit different from the usual season, but they still went to the gym. Surprisingly, they weren't there alone, but a few other players were there. Few Koreans, few Chinese, few Europeans, and at least one from all other regions.

"Back?" The Korean asked, seeing Shan's workout. Shan nodded and inside he laughed. It was in English and it was so cute of him to try to speak in English, but he saw his struggle. 

"I have back problems from playing, so I need to strengthen my back muscles according to the doctor," he said back in Korean and saw the surprised face of the Korean one. Wooyoung, the team captain, came to them and waved at Shan.

"Nice to see you back. Are you going to lose this time even before reaching us, or defeat us like before?" That stung. Hongjie immediately came closer to Shan, not knowing what they were talking about, but backed away once Shan shook his head.