Chapter I

Second Place is the First Loser

Yongsun sprinted toward the penalty area, waiting for a cross from Wheein. Unfortunately, the girl clashed with Seolhyun and after a failed dribble, the defender managed to whisk away the ball to immediately launch a counterattack. She passed the ball along the touchline to Mina who sent a long pass to the center. Easily winning a header with Hyejin, Dahyun delivered the ball right under Byulyi’s feet. The striker back heeled the ball, sending it under Nayeon’s legs and ran past the dumbfounded defender. Noticing that the goalkeeper went out of the goal and towards her, she cleverly chipped the ball.

Yongsun held her breath, watching as the ball flew toward Yoona’s goal in a tall arc. The keeper chased the ball and jumping high in the air, managed to just barely tip it over the crossbar. Sighing in relief, Yongsun glanced at the scoreboard that displayed two zeros.

She hoped they could win their last match of the season, especially since it was a derby match against their sworn enemy, Seoul United, but a draw could give them the league title as well. The problem was that a draw also meant playing under pressure and stress until the final whistle.

Just three more minutes, Yongsun repeated in her mind. Just three minutes separated her team from holding their fourth Trophy.

She wiped her perspired forehead with her arm and trotted toward the penalty area where their opponents in green shirts began swarming like ants. Even their goalkeeper joined them adding to their height advantage, but Yongsun could not care less about her. All she could see was the gaudy blond hair of their striker, Moon Byul Yi. It was Yongsun’s fourth match against Byulyi, and she just could not stand the cheeky girl who, for some unknown reason, would always mock her during their matches.

“Can’t resist me, can you?” the blonde asked with a smirk as Yongsun positioned herself in front of her.

“You wish,” Yongsun muttered.

“Day and night.”

A low chuckle vibrated just behind her ear. Byulyi drastically decreased the distance between them, almost leaning onto Yongsun from behind.

“Back off!” Yongsun shoved away the girl.

Immediately, the shrill whistle resounded and she winced.

“Hey, calm down!” The referee gave her a pointed look.

Yongsun held up her hands defensively. Both players assured the woman of no ill intentions, and the game was resumed.

“It’s just a game. Don’t be so tense,” Byulyi said, her voice tinged with annoying cheerfulness.

Yongsun did the exact opposite as her fists clenched. She wondered just how long that damn corner kick would last.

“Or should I help you relax?” Byulyi murmured and discreetly pinched Yongsun’s .

Losing her temper, Yongsun elbowed hard the girl as they both jumped to the ball. Byulyi fell to the ground dramatically, clutching her ribs and groaning in pain.

The ball flew over their heads and another whistle cut through the air. Running up to Yongsun, the referee pulled out a red card in one decisive movement. However, Yongsun seemed to disregard the woman as she looked past her to Byulyi who stood up from the ground with the help from her teammates. Her face was contorted with pain as she bent, still gripping her stomach, but then she looked up at Yongsun for a brief second and a smug grin spread on her lips.

Yongsun’s teammates surrounded the referee, but their protests were drowned out as the stadium exploded into whistles and booing. Yongsun did not even bother to explain what had happened, for telling the woman that she was provoked by Byulyi would be futile anyway. She doubted anyone had noticed Byulyi’s sneaky move.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot, and the angry sounds of disapproval changed into wild clapping.

Yongsun shook her head in disbelief as the referee rushed her out of the pitch. She slowly made her way toward the touchline with her head lowered in shame. She had been leaving the pitch as a hero for the last three years; today, she was leaving it as a disgraced villain, although she knew the title belonged to someone else. Enraged by the whistles coming from the audience, she kicked one of the bottles near the bench, almost hitting a reporter. Hyojin, their coach, gave her that disappointed, sad look which tied a knot around and she could not even explain what really happened. Not that it mattered now anyway.

She quickly went to the empty locker room and stared at the little TV hanging on the wall. She prayed that Yoona would save that penalty kick, or that Byulyi would miss - but that damn blond fox never missed her shot.

The supporters’ cheers echoed hollowly in the room. She closed her eyes and swallowed her tears. It could not be true. They could not lose. Not like that.

“Seoul United clinched their first league title in their last match of the season against F.C Seoul, and Moon Byul Yi her first top scorer award.”

“They definitely should thank Kim for that. Perhaps Byulyi should ask her out for a drink.”

The commentators broke into derisive laughter.

“Damn you Byulyi, damn you…” Yongsun seeped through her gritted teeth, punching one of the metal locker. Blood stains soon adorned it, but she kept on hitting, ignoring the stinging pain in her knuckles.

“Hey, hey, stop!”

Someone’s arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the already dented locker.

Looking up, she saw Joohyun’s face.

“Joohyun…I…she…” Yongsun failed to find proper words that would describe what happened and what she felt. Tears gushed to her eyes and she hugged her friend seeking comfort in her arms.

~~~

Victory was never a matter of life and death to Byulyi. To be honest, she never cared for the titles or trophies because they only gathered dust and stood uselessly on the shelves. If her team lost that last match, she would have been hardly bothered by that. Perhaps she would put up an act before her friends, pretending to be saddened by the loss, but other than, she would have just shrugged it off—unlike Kim Yongsun who was probably shedding floods of tears right now over losing her precious league title and that stupid top scorer award; Byulyi could never comprehend such serious treatment of a mere game and was glad to bring Yongsun down a peg.

Because Byulyi played soccer simply for the fun and thrill of it, and she treated victory as an additional bonus, for victory meant double fun. It meant partying at the most prestigious club in Seoul, with the VIP section being reserved only for their team. Plus, it had that sweet, alluring taste of champagne which Byulyi loved to savor.

“Okay, quiet everyone!” Dahyun shouted over the deep, staccato bass. The laughter and conversations subsided, allowing her to speak. “I’d like to propose a toast to our top scorer, MoonStar!” She raised her glass ceremoniously, winking at Byulyi.

Slouching on the leather couch, Byulyi just rolled her eyes.

“C’mon Byul, don’t give me that look. We all know it’s thanks to you.”

“Dahyun is right,” Taeyeon, the team’s captain, cut in. “We were always second until you joined us this season.”

“Statistics don’t lie, Byulyi,” Seohyun added. “For example, during the previous season we—”
Taeyeon interrupted her speech by planting a chaste kiss on her lips. “We get it, Hyunnie. No need to go into details.”

The coach’s assistant flushed deep red at the publicly displayed affection, eliciting amused giggles from the girls.

“Anyway, to Byulyi.” Sooyoung picked up the dropped topic and the glasses clinked in midair.

“So, what did you do to her, huh?” Taeyeon asked with a playful smirk.

Byulyi’s shoulders lifted in a lazy shrug. “Not much to be honest…”

“I know what she did.” Tiffany’s cheerful voice suggested she was at the limit of her alcohol tolerance. “Cupped a feeeeel.”

The girls broke into a teasing howl.

Byulyi waved her hand in a silent negation as were filled with champagne. “Just pinched her lightly,” she explained, after swallowing the tingly bubbles.

“So basically you provoked her,” Sooyoung stated, seemingly not sharing her friends’ enthusiasm.

“Hey, last time we played against them, Yongsun scored a goal from an offside. Let’s just assume that karma got her.” Taeyeon leant comfortably against the couch, draping her arm over Seohyun’s shoulder.

“Right…karma…” Sooyoung muttered under her breath and chugged her drink.

“Just tell me one thing Byulyi.” Tiffany scooted closer to the blonde girl, looking at her through her squinted eyes. “Why the hell you left the States and the best women soccer league to play here, huh?”

Byulyi spun her glass slowly, creating a small whirlpool at its bottom. She wished it could in some of the emotions the question evoked.

“There was a stronger competition out there, hence, most of the time I sat on the bench. Here, it’s easier. I play in the first squad and I have more fun,” she replied and downed her drink.

“Tsh…” Sooyoung clucked her tongue. “As expected of you, maximum fun at minimum effort.”

“Exactly,” Byulyi admitted cheekily much to everyone’s amusement.

“Anyway, the season is over and Korea has new champions. I can finally stop chasing the ball and start chasing…” Dahyun made a dramatic pause and wiggled her eyebrows. “Skirts…” She jumped off her seat and rushed to the dance floor.

Again, gales of laughter spread throughout the VIP section.

“You could use that,” Byulyi said to Sooyoung who was staring absentmindedly at her empty glass, her short, chestnut hair partially covering her eyes.

“Huh?”

“You know, find someone for yourself,” Byulyi offered. She could see that something was troubling the goalkeeper and she knew it had a lot to do with their bolder than ever captain and her girlfriend.

“Nah, I’m fine,” Sooyoung waved her off.

“Maybe she has some sweetheart in Japan whom she misses,” Tiffany chirped.

“You kidding? Soo was diligently working on her skills in Japan. She didn’t have time for girls, right Soo?” Byulyi nudged her rib gently.

“Yeah…” Sooyoung smiled halfheartedly and returned her gaze to her empty glass as if it was some interesting specimen.

There was a moment of tense, awkward silence until Taeyeon decided to get up from the couch. “Let’s dance,” she said flatly, grabbing Seohyun’s palm.

“Ah, but…”

It seemed like Seohyun wanted to protest, but she quickly gave up and followed her girlfriend onto the dance floor.

“I’ll get us some more drinks,” Sooyoung proposed after the couple left.

She was about to get up when Tiffany stopped her. “Soo, enough of that drinking. Get your onto the dance floor,” the midfielder scolded and grabbed the goalkeeper’s palms, dragging her toward the dancing crowd.

Sooyoung looked behind her shoulder at Byulyi. “Help me,” she mouthed.

But Byulyi just gave her a thumb up. “Good choice!”

“Same goes for you missy,” Wendy said, grinning at Byulyi like a cat, or rather a lion with a red mane. She leapt to her feet, but lost her balance and almost fell down. Luckily, Byulyi’s reflexes were still intact and she grabbed the girl’s arm, holding her up.

“Woah, careful there.”

“Off to the dance floooor!” Wendy announced in a tipsy drawl, ignoring Byulyi’s concerns.

Byulyi’s lips broke into a grin. She downed the rest of the champagne straight from the bottle and hooked Wendy’s arm over her shoulder to steady the girl.

“Off to the dance floor!”

~~~

Yongsun dropped her duffle bag to the floor before plopping onto her bed. Though she was all sweaty, she did not bother to kick off her sneakers nor get changed and just lay there dully. However crappy she smelled was nothing compared to how she felt at the moment; she felt like crap. Although coach Hyojin was considerate enough to not yell at her and even throw an after party to celebrate the fact that their team came in second, Yongsun could still not forgive herself. After all, second place is the first loser. Not only did she fail her team and herself, she also failed her mother who had always put all her hope in her.

How could she have been so careless and stupid? Having a short temper was never Yongsun’s strong point and she hated the stealthy blonde-haired striker for using it against her, but she hated herself even more for succumbing to her own weakness. If only she had controlled her temper for just three more minutes, then her team could have won the league title, and she, her top scorer award.

The gloomy thoughts made her bury herself deeper into the sheet. She would have slept her sorrow away if the stupid doorbell did not buzz. What the heck? Who could be visiting at this time of the day? Probably those annoying solicitors or girl scouts.

“Go away,” she grunted loudly, as if whoever was at the door would be able to hear her.

When the bell did not stop ringing, she groaned and kicked off the sheet. Fine! If they wanted to be her punching bags, then she would satisfy them. Nodding at the thought, she swiftly shot up from her bed and marched toward the front door. As soon as she got there, she swung the door open angrily.

“Who—” Her face immediately softened at the sight of the unexpected guest. “Joohyun?”

The girl smiled warmly as she held up her hands, showing two bags of take-out food. “Could I come in?”

“Sure! But wow…I thought you’re at the party?”

“We cannot party without you.” Joonhyun gave a casual shrug before walking past her, into the dining room.

Yongsun flushed at the possible implication of those words. “Thanks. You actually don’t have to…” She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly, but then something suddenly struck her. “Wait…did you say we?”

She did not have to wait for Joohyun for her answer.

“Surprise!” A short duo suddenly appeared and jumped at her.

“Why are you guys here?” she asked, a bit startled.

“How could we party when you’re hiding here in your emo corner?” Wheein teased as she walked inside and placed two packs of beers on the table.

Hyejin nodded agreeably. “Yeah. Besides, I don’t think anyone of us has the spirit to celebrate anyway.”

Yongsun’s face reflexively drooped down at the comment. “Sorry guys…”

“For what?”

She closed the door after them then sighed. “For letting you guys down. I…”

“It’s not entirely your fault.” Hyejin waved her hand dismissively. When Yongsun still appeared self-blaming, she walked over and put her arms around the taller girl’s shoulder. “Although you can be hot-tempered, impatient, impulsive, and violent sometimes, we know you’re smart enough to not blow crucial moments—especially not when it comes to soccer. Something must have happened, right?”

Those words were like the trigger that ignited Yongsun’s firework-like rage. “It’s that striker!”

“Moon Byul Yi?”

“The one and only one.”

“Ugh. Stupid blonde,” Hyejin grouched.

“So what did she do again this time?” Joohyun asked as she leaned against the fridge with folded arms.

“She—” Yongsun bit her tongue; “molested me” was what she wanted to say but decided against it. “She harassed me!”

Wheein frowned and shook her head in dissatisfaction. “Seriously, what’s wrong with that girl? And why is it always you?”

“Beats me.”

“Man, we’d have won!” Hyejin groaned as she punched her fist into the air.

“Cheer up, guys!” Joohyun clapped her hands in an encouraging manner. “Let’s get over it and just have fun, okay?”

The other three looked at each other. Although they were still unhappy, they reluctantly followed Joohyun into the dining room. As they started to eat, Yongsun’s cell phone rang.

“Oh my God!” The striker appeared as if she had just experienced a traumatic shock as she stared at the caller ID. After a while, she looked helplessly at her teammates. “It’s my mom!”

“Pick it up,” Joohyun said.

“But I can’t talk to her. At least not now…”

“You can’t avoid talking to her forever either.”

“Joohyun has a point,” Wheein concurred. “She must’ve watched the game and known the result already anyway.”

Yongsun buried her into her palms depressingly as she listened to the unceasing phone ring. “What to do, what to do?”

“Just pick up and pretend there’s bad reception,” Hyejin suggested.

“Good idea!” Yongsun perked up and then immediately followed the proposed scheme. “Hello? Hi, Mom!”

“Yongsun honey, how are you feeling?”

“Me? I…uh...What did you say?”

“I said—”

“I cannot hear you. The reception is so bad right now. It must be the storm.”

“Really? But I checked the weather this morning and they said it’s a good day over there in Seoul.”

“Oh...w—well, you know we can never trust the weatherman,” she stammered out an excuse and then looked at her friends for assistance.

Immediately, Wheein and Hyejin moved closer and signaled Yongsun to turn on the speaker. When the girl did as told, the duo began to make dramatic noises.

“Ah, you hear that? I think I’ll lose signal anytime…Mom, I’ll call you back later okay? Bye!” She hastily powered off her phone before exhaling a sharp sigh of relief. “Finally. God, I can’t believe I had to lie to my mom.”

Wheein rubbed her back in comfort. “You were just desperate and didn’t want her to worry.”

“I wouldn’t have to be if not for Moon Byulyi!”

“That’s it! We should do something!” Hyejin declared firmly.

“Relax, guys. It’s over. What do you still want to do?”

Hyejin looked at Joohyun then suddenly her face became unusually pleasant. “You’re the one who should relax, Joohyunnie. I meant to say we who should buy more foods since these aren’t enough.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh. You know how Yongsun is when she’s mad. Who’s going with me?”

Getting the drift, Wheein raised her hand to volunteer. Then she turned to Yongsun and nudged her. “And Yongddonie, you need a breath of fresh air, too.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“Wait, so what about me?” Joohyun asked.

“Could you watch the house for me while we’re away?” Yongsun grabbed the key from the coffee table and threw it over for Joohyun to catch. Then she and the mischievous duo immediately fled off, leaving the other girl behind, pondering about the suspicious behaviors.

~~~

Byulyi splashed cold water onto her face then looked into the mirror above the sink. She groaned at the blurred image as she ran fingers through her hair. Her eyes were red and glassy as if she had cried the whole night, and only the untouched mascara indicated that was not the case. It was just the amount of consumed alcohol reflecting in them. Her white shirt was completely creased and stained with drops of champagne that had spilled from , its collar decorated with pink smudges of lipstick.

She thought that Wendy must have left it during that last ballad song to which they danced. The girl turned excessively touchy-feely then and became a reason for their early departure from the club. Because Byulyi was well aware that fun could be also accompanied by drama and she had learnt when to stop the former to avoid the latter. For example, when your fellow teammate wanted from you something more than just a dance, however her half-conscious state allowed you to suspect that the next morning you both would regret it.

“You okay?” Sooyoung entered the toilet and patted sympathetically her shoulder.

“Yeah…” Byulyi said, though her disheveled state told a different story.

Sooyoung chuckled at her wasted friend. Just then Taeyeon left the cubicle and wobbled toward the sink, but due to her swaying vision, she bumped right into Sooyoung.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and pulled away from the girl.

“Ah, it’s okay,” Sooyoung replied, though Taeyeon was already by the sink rinsing .

“Ready?” Byulyi asked.

The girls nodded and they left. Outside the toilet, Seohyun was waiting for them. Byulyi took out from her jacket the keys to her car and handed them to her.

“Just be gentle with my baby,” Byulyi warned.

“Of course.” Seohyun giggled at the affectionate tone of Byulyi’s words.

They left the club and as soon as they found themselves on the street, Byulyi began singing at the top of her lungs.

“Lovey-dovey dovey!”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Sooyoung followed suit.

“Shhh!”

The duo fell silent as Taeyeon looked over her shoulder and shushed them. But as soon as she turned around, they exchanged amused glances and burst into chuckles. Finally, they reached the parking lot and spotted the white BMW. However, to Byulyi’s confusion, instead of entering the car, her friends stopped and stared at it almost as if it was a spaceship or something.

“What’s wrong--” Voice died in when she noticed that the car’s tires were slashed. “Who did this?” She whispered shakily, before falling onto her knees and breaking into a howl. “WHO DID THIS TO MY BABY?!”

TBC

A/N: The thrid part of this chapter was written by my friend long time ago when this sotry was supposed to be a collab so credits to her for that part :) Also, thank you for the comments and subscriptions! :D