Chapter VII

One-on-One

“Pass the ball onto the right wing, yeah, yeah, great. Now run! Run! No! Sprint! Shoot!”

“How do you shoot?!”

“Press X!”

Byulyi pressed the button on her pad and her virtual Zinedine Zidane scored a goal for France. Dahyun, who was her coach in the arts of Pro Evolution Soccer ever since Byulyi bought a console, cheered loudly, shaking her by the shoulders.

“Oh come on!” Sooyoung whined, tossing the pad away as her England team lost. “Why do you always help her? That’s not fair.”

“Because she lets me play on her console and feeds me,” Dahyun quipped and to further prove her point, snatched a piece of pizza from the box that laid on the carpet between the two players.

“Why did I even bother asking…” Sooyoung grumbled under her breath and picked up the pad. “Anyway, up for a rematch?” She turned to Byulyi, but just then a doorbell resounded.

“More pizza?” Dahyun perked up and was about to go and answer the door when Byulyi stopped her.

“I’ll get that. Here, kick her in the meantime,” Byulyi said as she passed her pad to Dahyun.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Sooyoung protested, but Byulyi was already in the corridor.

She was curious who could it be as she had not ordered pizza (she decided that three boxes were enough for them, although both of her friends had different opinions on the matter) and it was well past nine—an odd hour for unannounced guests. Anyhow, whoever she or he was, they must have been either impatient, or pissed because they continued to ring the doorbell.

“I’m coming!” Byulyi shouted annoyed.

She opened the door and only thanks to her incredible reflexes, she managed to catch a ball that was thrown at her face.

“What the—”

In her head, she had already prepared a long- rant and was ready to spit it out until she saw who was responsible for catapulting the ball. Her eyebrows bunched together while her jaw remained in the mid-sentence position as she stared dumbfounded at Yongsun who was standing before her in her training clothes.

“You and me, one-on-one, now,” the girl spoke up.

Her demanding voice coupled with her fierce gaze stirred something inside Byulyi, shifted the rusty gears of some forgotten emotion. It was brief though, like a prick of a needle, and she instantly recovered from it, gushing with a smirk.

“Shouldn’t you ask me on a date first?” She replied, tucking the ball under her arm.

Yongsun raised her chin defiantly before answering. “If I win, you’ll stop taunting me. Plus, you’ll do your best for the team in the tournament, understood?”

Byulyi almost snorted with laughter. She swore the girl had the strangest ways to deal with conflicts. Had she like included soccer into her every aspect of life? She could imagine her room with a carpet made of fake grass, blankets with a ball pattern and all sorts of other soccer related stuff that came straight from the Extreme Makeover Home Edition. 

But putting aside Yongsun’s soccer obsession, Byulyi had to admit that she might have gone overboard in that last friendly match, especially with how she deprived their team of an easy goal by randomly passing the ball to Yongsun. The whole team was pissed at her for that. Of course, she was not one-hundred percent sure whether Yongsun would shoot off target, but she would lie if she said she had not hoped for her to fail. It was meant to be a punishment for the girl’s earlier display of bullheadedness, but it might have also been the last straw that made her snap and hence, her surprise visit. 

“And if I win?” Byulyi quirked her eyebrow.

This whole challenge thing actually sounded exciting.  

Yongsun’s lips formed a thin line. Whatever was on her mind did not seem like something easy for her to say, but eventually, she forced the words through her lips, “I’ll ask the coach to replace me in the first squad by someone else.”  

Byulyi chuckled inwardly at Yongsun’s penchant for overdramatic actions and statements.

“Nah, I don’t want that. If you want me to take up your challenge, I choose my own prize.”

“Fine. Whatever.” Yongsun waved her hand dismissively. “What’s your choice then?”

“I’ll ask you some questions, and you’ll answer them, truthfully, of course,” Byulyi proposed.

She was never one to eavesdrop on people’s conversations, but after the last match some interesting bits and pieces of Joohyun’s conversation with Yongsun had reached her ears and she decided it was a good opportunity to inquire about those.

Yongsun scowled in confusion and perhaps, suspicion.  “Okaaay… but only one.”

“Five.” Byulyi raised the bid.             

“Two.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Fine.” Byulyi smirked in satisfaction as that was the exact number she wanted. “Let me just change into more appropriate attire.” She threw the ball to Yongsun and went back to her room.

Dahyun’s Japan team was winning three nil when Byulyi returned to her room.

“And? Who is it?” her friend asked, not taking her eyes off the game.

“Yongsun,” Byulyi answered offhandedly as she rummaged through her closet.

“What?!” Dahyun jumped to her feet, her pad abandoned on the floor. “What is she doing here?”

“Sweet,” Sooyoung muttered, taking advantage of Dahyun’s distraction.

“She wants to play a match with me, one-on-one,” Byulyi replied as she began changing into her training clothes.

“Wait, is it some kind of ual innuendo?” Dahyun squinted at her.

“Dahyun.” Byulyi came up to her friend and put her hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. “I really like you, but you need to stop saying this stuff, ‘kay? It’s getting annoying. And no, she really just wants to play.”

Just then Sooyoung shouted behind their backs, “Ha! I finally won!”, but both of them ignored her.

“But…” Dahyun wanted to protest; however, Byulyi’s stern look successfully silenced her and with a sour expression, she went back to Sooyoung for a rematch.

“Keep an eye on my apartment. I should come back soon,” Byulyi tossed over her shoulder as she left the room again.

~~~

Byulyi led Yongsun to a nearby pitch where the junior players usually had their matches. They spent their walk in silence, but Byulyi could feel Yongsun’s watchful gaze on her back as though the girl was afraid that she would run away from her, or better yet, drag her into the bushes to cut out her kidney. Nothing as such happened, of course.

They reached the pitch and had to climb over its fence. To Byulyi’s surprise, Yongsun did not comment on this act of transgression and actually climbed over the obstacle with ease. It definitely was not the first time she did it, Byulyi thought, rising her eyebrow at the girl. Yongsun ignored her look.

The pitch was of regular size, but the grass was beaten in some places and the goals did not have nets in them. Byulyi smiled as the sight brought back many fond memories from her teenage years.

“The one who scores the goal first, wins,” Yongsun said, putting the ball in the middle of the pitch.

Before they started, however, Byulyi did a few jumps and stretches; her opponent’s brows scrunched up in growing impatience.  

“Okay, I’m ready,” she announced and took her position in front of Yongsun.

They touched the ball simultaneously and ran to their goals. On the way back, Byulyi already knew she was faster. She reached the ball first, and rolled it up her leg to flick it with her heel over Yongsun’s head. Passing her opponent, she took the ball and instantly kicked it at the goal. Its long, curved flight ended somewhere over the goal line. It was hard to tell exactly as the nearby street lamps and the shining moon were not providing the greatest lighting.

“A bit anti-climactic victory, don’t you think?” Byulyi turned to Yongsun who was staring at her with hanging agape.

“A rainbow? Seriously? Who the hell even uses this move?” The girl asked outraged by how the things had turned out.

“Ever heard about street soccer?” Byulyi sat on the grass, stretching her legs in front of her and leaning back on her arms. “You should try it. Lots of fun.”

“Street soccer?” Yongsun looked around herself. “Excuse me, but all I can see here is a pitch with grass.”

“Oh god, you’re hilarious.” Byulyi chuckled, amused at how dead-serious the girl was about the whole thing. “You’re just butthurt that I beat you at your own game,” she said with a self-satisfied smirk. 

Something akin to a growl escaped Yongsun’s lips, and Byulyi felt again that prickly sensation somewhere within her. She didn’t like it, nor did she like the voice in her head that described that sound as…y.

“Fine. Hurry and ask your stupid questions,” the girl muttered, frustration evident in her voice.

Byulyi clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “Such a sore loser. Sit down at least.” She patted the empty space next to her.

Yongsun rolled her eyes but conceded and sat cross-legged in front of her. Byulyi tilted her head, resting it on her shoulder as she took a moment to note Yongsun’s long, brown locks mussed by the nightly breeze. It was a rare sight as she usually had them tied in a ponytail, and Byulyi decided this look suited her much more.

“Could you hurry up? I don’t have the whole night for this.”

Yongsun’s voice pulled Byulyi out of her reverie, and she felt warmth creeping onto her cheeks as she realized that she had been staring at the girl for a second longer than necessary.

“Right,” she cleared , sitting upright. “Who’s Seulgi?” she asked, and it sounded as though she was throwing Yongsun a challenge.

The girl narrowed her eyes. “Not that is any of your business, but if you have to know, she’s my… friend.”

Byulyi caught on that brief moment of hesitation, wondering just what exactly it meant. Was Yongsun lying? She could not tell, and it somehow annoyed her. The girl was like an open book to her, always wearing her emotions on her sleeve, but now, she became impenetrable, as if she was trying to hide something.  

“Just a friend?” Byulyi prompted with a sly smirk.

But the suspicious look she received from Yongsun chipped away at her confidence, and she began wondering herself just why the hell she was so damn curious about the girl’s personal life, hence she quickly added, “You know, she didn’t just catch the cameraman’s attention. I’m just making sure she’s a fair game.”

She hated that her words sounded like some lame excuse, but in all honesty, the mysterious girl was attractive, so her statement was not a complete lie.

Yongsun barked out a laugh. “Well then, you should probably ask Joohyun about it,” she replied, her words dripping bitterness.

“Joohyun?” Byulyi repeated under her breath, the corner of her lips lifting in a small smile. “So it’s her who likes Seulgi?”

“Yes,” Yongsun said with a grimace. “Now, I believe that was your third pointless question, so it means I can go.” She stood up, brushing the dirt of her shorts.  

Byulyi watched as she headed toward the direction of her forgotten ball. However, just after a few steps, she stopped and walked back to her.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead,” Byulyi said, slightly taken aback by the request.

“Why are you doing this? I mean, why do you keep taunting me? Why me? Do you really enjoy humiliating me so much?” Yongsun asked, her face an expression of resentment and defeat.

Byulyi’s lips broke into a wide grin. “Because your reactions amuse me,” she answered cheekily.

“Seriously? That’s the reason?” Yongsun asked, and when Byulyi just shrugged indifferently and did not further elaborate on her answer, she shook her head in disappointment. “You’re messed up,” she told her and stalked off.

No argument there, Byulyi thought then shouted after the girl. “Hey! Just so you know, I’ll do my best during the Cup!”

Yongsun did not turn around, and Byulyi wondered whether she believed her. Probably not, she assumed. However, she really meant it. She needed to win that tournament because the victory gave them an instant qualification for the next year’s World Cup. And by that time, she would be ready to finally confront the girl who messed her up.

~~~

It was barely eight o’clock, but the hotel’s lobby was teeming with people. The porters were running with luggage in every direction, and the queue to the check-out desk seemed to be endless.

“I don’t get it,” Byulyi muttered, affected by the restless atmosphere. “We are the hosts, shouldn’t we get the whole hotel to our own? And do we really need to be so early here?”

Her questions were left unanswered, adding to her annoyance. She glanced at Dahyun who was tiptoeing and craning her neck as she looked around the place.

Byulyi arched her eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“I heard the Japanese team is also staying at this hotel,” Dahyun replied, not ceasing her search.

“Really? Can you see Mina anywhere?” Byulyi mimicked her friend’s actions.

“Mina? Ah, yeah, I suppose she’s somewhere here as well,” Dahyun said, and it became obvious to Byulyi that she was not searching for their teammate.

“She’s looking for Momo,” Sooyoung offered as a way of explaining Dahyun’s strange behavior, but her statement only further confused Byulyi.

“Who the hell is Momo?”

“You seriously don’t know who is Hirai Momo?” Sooyoung looked at her in disbelief. “For ’s sake Byul, you’re taking part in the Asia Cup tournament and you don’t even know the players against whom you’re going to play? I really can’t tell whether you’re joking right now, or you are honestly so damn ignorant.”

Byulyi’s brows furrowed in indignation. “What that supposed to mean? I don’t need to know the players from the other teams. All I need to do is to score goals.”

Sooyoung shook her head. “Yeah, whatever. Anyway, Momo is a striker in the Japanese team, and arguably their best player. I played against her when I was in Japan. Her shots are almost always impossible to defend,” she said, making a wry face.

“Then she’s your problem not mine,” Byulyi summed up with a shrug.

“Did you mention that she’s drop-dead gorgeous?” Dahyun chimed in a little too late, after she finally stopped acting like a meerkat on a patrol.

Byulyi grinned because that one comment actually explained everything.

“Moon Byulyi!”

She heard Boa shout her name and saw her beckoning at her. A little confused, she came up to the check-in desk where some of their teammates were already standing, including Yongsun who was donning her trademark displeased expression.

“What’s up coach?” she asked, fixing the strap of her duffle bag on her shoulder.

“You’re sharing a room with Yongsun,” the woman stated and signed the guestbook.

Byulyi snorted amused, but quickly realized that neither Boa nor Yongsun were laughing.

“Wait, you’re serious?” She looked at her coach incredulously, not knowing how to respond.

Yongsun, however, had some pretty strong opinions on the matter and was not afraid to share them with everyone.

“Coach, seriously, don’t treat us like some high school students on a school trip. It’s getting ridiculous.”

Byulyi had to agree with her. Their coach’s idea was not exactly thrilling to her. Like she once stated, Yongsun was okay in small doses and so, sharing with her a room for over three weeks was a straight up golden shot. However, Boa was unrelenting. 

“It’s funny that you mention high school students because that’s exactly how you acted during the last match,” their coach retorted without missing a beat. “Now, I believe you were supposed to work out your issues, so there should be no problem for you to share a room, right? If you didn’t, however, isn’t this the best opportunity to do so?”

Yongsun crossed arms at her chest, letting out a loud huff, while Byulyi caught the key card which the coach tossed to her.  

“Stop wasting everyone’s time and get going. I’ll see you at the training.”

After Boa’s final words, Yongsun flung her duffle bag over her shoulder and stormed off. Joohyun, who like the rest of their teammates was visibly uncomfortable by the whole situation, went after her friend.   

Byulyi sighed and looked at the key card in her palm, trying to convince herself that maybe in the end, sharing a room with Yongsun would not be that bad.

~~~

Byulyi was wrong. It was bad, or even worse than bad, and she knew it the moment Yongsun began listing a set of rules and dividing their room into ‘her’ half and ‘Byulyi’s’ half as if it was some battle zone.

“The bathroom is on my side, does this mean you can’t use it?” Byulyi noted dully, after listening to Yongsun’s lecture and seeing her demonstration of where the ‘borders’ were running.

Yongsun frowned at her. “Of course I can use it. The rules don’t apply to the bathroom and the balcony.”

Byulyi squeezed the bridge of her nose as she gathered her thoughts and arguments so that she could reason with the girl. In the end, she decided that the straightforward approach would be the best.

“Look, if you haven’t noticed, I also don’t like the idea of being stuck with you here, so how about we make this as simple and easy as possible, hm?”

“What do you mean?” Yongsun looked at her warily.

“What I mean is that we don’t need any stupid ‘borders’ or ‘rules’. It’s not like I’m gonna steal your stuff or something. And besides, we can spent most of our time in our friends’ rooms, right? I don’t think Boa will bother to check on us whether we actually stay in the same room.”  

Yongsun’s forehead wrinkled in thought.

“Fair enough, let’s do it your way.”

Byulyi sighed in relief, thankful that the girl had gave in. Frankly, she did not expect Yongsun to agree with her so easily, but that last part about staying in different rooms seemed to have persuaded her, since she left the room without a word the moment they reached a compromise.   

Lying down on her bed, Byulyi decided to visit her friends after the training and take a nap in the meantime. She did not get much sleep last night, being haunted by some unpleasant dreams, and she needed to be well-rested for the training, or Yongsun was going to strangle her in her sleep.

~~~

Byulyi signed a ball with a red sharpie then kicked it onto the stands where a crowd of supporters gathered to watch their training. Flashes of the cameras followed, and the whole team bowed and waved to the fans and to the reporters before running off to start their training.

Byulyi was slightly surprised that she had not noticed Seulgi on the stands but she did not give it a much thought and focused on the exercises. She could later question Yongsun about it, though she doubted the girl would be willing to talk to her.

The training was pretty uneventful as Byulyi decided to be on her best behavior and did not pester Yongsun. It seemed to have a positive effect on the grumpy kitten as she toned down on her not-so-subtle sideway glances and in general, seemed more relaxed. Byulyi even caught her once on smiling at something that Joohyun said and decided that the girl should smile more.

However, Boa had to ruin this peaceful atmosphere by dividing their team into two opposite ones for a quick match at the end of the training. As expected, Byulyi and Yongsun were put in the same team. There were no protests, no objections, but at the same time, the mood shifted drastically; the conversations died down and the smiles faded.

Not letting herself be bothered by her teammates looks, Byulyi just played her game. And everything would be fine if not for the glaringly obvious lack of communication between her and Yongsun. Their passes to each other were ill-timed and their attacks ended either with off-target shots, or with the loss of the ball because they kept misreading each other’s intentions. What followed was an exchange of looks of pretense, wry faces and hands thrown in resignation. Meanwhile, Boa would just shake her head in disappointment as she observed them from the sidelines, her instructions shouted to them not making much difference.   

“She will forget about giving us that second chance if we keep playing like this,” Yongsun muttered under her breath, but made sure Byulyi could actually hear it as they ambled to their half of the pitch after another failed attack.

And yet again, Byulyi had to agree with the girl. They hard. But what was even worse to Byulyi was that she did not derive any enjoyment or excitement from this game, something that had never happened to her before. It was a ty feeling.

“Any ideas?” she asked, sounding awfully hopeless.

 Yongusn’s teeth clamped on her bottom lip and after a moment of thinking, she replied, “I’ll cover your back, trying to draw the defenders onto me, and you just shoot.”

“Too predictable,” Byulyi commented and ignoring Yongsun’s offended look continued, “cover my back and be ready to shoot after Hyejin’s low cross.”

She had no idea whether her plan would work, but they did not have anything to lose anyway.

Yongsun arched her eyebrow, but gave a small nod of approval.

Soon they got their chance as Hyejin sent another one of her low crosses into the penalty area. It was meant to land right under Byulyi’s feet and Jungyeon together with Hara were ready to block the blonde striker, but instead of taking the ball, she spread apart her legs and the ball was delivered to Yongsun who was behind her back. With a one touch shot, Yongsun sent the ball right into Yoona’s goal.

Byulyi’s lips broke into a grin. She came up to Yongsun, who had an expression of disbelief painted on her face.

“Nice shot,” she said and patted her on her shoulder.

Yongsun replied back with a short ‘thanks’. Byulyi noted the small smile that tugged at her lips.

Definitely should smile more.   

Boa announced the end of the match. Their team lost three to one. Byulyi, however, could not careless about it because in the end, it was a fun match to play.                                                                                                                                

~~~

After the training, Byulyi went to visit her friends but it was a brief visit as it turned out that Sooyoung was teaching Dahyun Japanese, per the striker’s request, and Byulyi had no interest in that. She then returned to her room surprised to find Yongsun there as well. She thought the girl would be at her friends’ room, but instead she found her lying on her bed and watching something on her laptop. 

Not having many ideas about what to do, Byulyi decided to take a quick shower and simply go to sleep earlier. After she left the bathroom, she sat down on her bed and observed Yongsun. A chuckle escaped her lips as she noticed the F.C Seoul stickers that adorned the black computer.

“What’s so funny?” Yongsun intoned in a monotonous voice, not taking eyes off her laptop.

“Nothing,” Byulyi answered then after a second added to keep the conversation going, “The training was fun today.”

The statement piqued Yongsun’s interest as she glanced at Byulyi with a raised eyebrow. 

“We lost,” she said a matter-of-factly.

“Well, yeah, but it was still fun,” Byulyi said with a grin.

 Yongsun made a decidedly unimpressed grimace and turned her attention back to her laptop.  

 “What are you watching?” she asked as she lay down onto her stomach and crawled to the edge of her bed to steal a glance at Yongsun’s laptop.

“The recent matches of the Chinese Taipei team.”

There was a hint of irritation in Yongsun’s voice, but it did not discourage Byulyi from asking further questions. What happened at the end of their training gave her some hope that perhaps, the two of them could get along together somehow and would not have to spend three weeks in awkward silence.

“Oh, we’re playing the inauguration match against them, right?” Byulyi asked excitedly.

Yongsun gave her the ‘what the hell is wrong with you’ look, similar to the one she got from Sooyoung earlier that day. Byulyi just shrugged. She checked the schedule but it was not like she learned it by heart or something.

“Why are you watching it?”

Yongsun hit the space bar and sighed. “I’m analyzing their games.”

“What for? Haven’t we analyzed them with Boa already?”  

Her teammate looked at her as though she was asking those questions only to annoy her while she was honestly just curious. She herself did not enjoy watching soccer. Playing was fun, but watching was plain boring and she would never spendp her free time on it.

“Yes, but I’m just running through it again, paying particular attention to positioning of their defenders.”

Byulyi nodded, making an ‘o’ shape as though it all made sense to her, while the truth was she had to stop herself from making some snarky comment about Yongsun’s overzealousness. She decided on a different approach this time as she rolled off her bed and laid down on her stomach next to Yongsun, bumping her shoulder on accident.

“What the hell?” The girl stared at her wide eyed but did not budge from her position.

“Quit giving me this look. It was cute seeing it once in a while, but now it’s getting boring,” Byulyi said and hit the space bar resuming the game. “We can run through it together. Maybe we’ll come up with some strategy on how to play like teammates and not like random strangers who suddenly found themselves in the middle of a soccer field.”

That last comment made Yongsun snort with a quiet chuckle. A small smile spread over Byulyi’s face as she heard it. There were no more protests and they continued to watch the match.

“They have only three defenders?” Byulyi frowned.

“Yeah, they have a very aggressive playstyle that focuses on creating the best attack opportunities for Tzuyu who finishes them off with almost mathematical precision. However, you should know it because Boa had already mentioned that.” Yongsun slanted her a knowing look.

Byulyi remembered the name but it was because she sat next to Dahyun and apparently, Tzuyu was another beauty goddess according to her friend. After watching her now, she had to agree with her teammate.

“Well, good for us. Less defenders, less hassle.”

Yongsun did not seem to be convinced by Byulyi’s words, but she did not question them either, turning her attention back to the screen. They settled into comfortable silence but Byulyi quickly lost her interest in the game and ended up gazing at Yongsun.

It struck her, not for the first time, but with much more clarity than ever, that the girl was really attractive. She had a cute, small nose, pouty lips (she ignored the word ‘kissable’ that popped up in her mind) and squishy, round cheeks. And Byulyi came to a startling realization that their shoulders were almost touching and that she could actually feel the heat radiating from the other girl’s body.

A wave of heat spread throughout Byulyi’s body, its center in the pit of her stomach. She needed to get away, real fast.

Jumping off the bed, she stretched her arms above her head and forced a yawn.

“I’m tired, gonna go to sleep,” she said in a perfectly casual manner.

Yongsun looked up at her with her big, brown eyes, giving her a small nod.

“We haven’t come up with any ideas for the tomorrow’s match though,” she remarked, moving to sit on the edge of her bed.

“Right,” Byulyi muttered, running fingers through her hair. “How do you do it with Joohyun then?” She asked and when she noticed Yongsun’s flustered expression and her pink cheeks, she realized what exactly she had said and the possible connotations of her words.

“I mean how do you play with her.” For some reason that did not sound any better, and Byulyi began to find it quite hilarious, cheeks stretching into a grin that she barely contained.

Yongsun’s eyes turned to slits but she still gave Byulyi her answer. “Well, for one, I trust her. I know that when I see an opportunity she notices it as well; that she knows my next move and will react accordingly to it.”

“In other words, you trust your instincts,” Byulyi concluded. “It’s the same for me and Dahyun. So maybe that’s all we need to do? Just trust our instincts.”

“And hope for the best?” Yongsun quirked her eyebrow.

Byulyi nodded, smiling. “Yeah, basically. I mean I really want to win this tournament. So if there’s an opportunity to score, you can trust me that I’ll do my best not to waste it. Oh, and you should probably know that I like to surprise my opponents with some unconventional play style.” She winked at the girl.      

Yongusn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got to know it at first hand,” she mumbled with a hint of a smile playing on her lips.  

And Byulyi felt excitement surge up inside her. Tomorrow’s match would be fun. She was sure of it.

TBC

A/N: I’m so sorry that I kept you waiting so long guys >< To be honest, this chapter turned out to be a lot more challenging to write than I’d expected. That’s why, it took me so much time to write it as I really didn’t want to rush it or half- it just for the sake of a quicker update. For some reason, it’s way easier for me to write things from Yongsun’s perspective xD Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy it ^^ And as always, thank you for your comments and support! <3