Ronnie stared at the huge tarpaulin before her.

“PoongJin High?” She mouthed, Mark nodded beside her.

“We’re going against them this week. Will you watch the game?” Mark nudged her, she grinned.

“Maybe, I can.” She grinned at him.

“Heol, did you eat something bad? Cafeteria food finally damaged that brain of yours?”

She chuckled and just looped her arm around his. She felt him tense slightly.

“You said it yourself, it’s a championship game, bub.”

Mark nodded and slowly pulled his arm away from her. Ronnie blinked at him.

“I have a meeting with the team, see you later.” Mark said before rushing to the stairs.

“Then, do I go home alone? He’s going to nag me again,” She muttered darkly before heading out of the main building.

“Hey,” Ronnie said as she joined the two cousins in the kiosk, she dropped her backpack on the table and sat down. Nanhee blinked as she plopped down right beside Jeno.

“Okay, so Mark and I had plans to grab something to eat before his practice starts,”

“But he disappeared on me.” She said darkly as she took out her textbooks, Nanhee grinned.

“He’s probably unsure.” Nanhee shrugged.

“Unsure of what? What he wants to eat?” She said dryly, then her eyes landed on Jeno.

“And you!” She slapped his arm, Jeno blinked at her, confused.

“He said he had a meeting with the team, why are you here?” She asked him.

“There’s no meeting, agasshi, we have another practice tonight. What else could we possibly talk about now?”

Ronnie scratched the back of her head.

“But, where did he go?” Jeno asked her, Ronnie shrugged.

“But, you two, you’re very comfortable around each other.” Nanhee commented, Jeno’s eyes widened.

“Noona~”

“Why not? Just because I told him I couldn’t go with him to that acquaintance party doesn’t mean we’re not friends anymore.” Ri In mused, Nanhee paused and looked at her cousin.

“You’re not going?” Nanhee asked.

“I can’t. Mark’s parents are coming over, they want to surprise him, and they asked me to help them.” She grinned.

“Oh..that’s..that’s great, Ri In.” Nanhee nodded, Jeno just looked away.

“Cobalt!” Ronnie suddenly yelled, Mark flinched in surprise. The two were on their way to the ballet studio.

“Another shade of..blue?”

“No, I’m going to name the puppy Cobalt. It’s badass, huh?”

Mark just nodded.

“Ya, but you,” Ronnie tugged on the sleeve of his coat and held onto it.

“You shouldn’t be over practicing yourself, I heard that you practice tonight. They just let you go home to grab dinner and rest for a bit.” She frowned as she faced him, Mark gently pulled his arm away fromher.

“Yeah, I do have practice tonight. So, take a cab home, okay?”

Ronnie looked at her empty hand, her forehead creased.

“Or you can call me~”

“No. It’s fine. I’ll take a cab. We have this recital to practice for anyway. See you later.” She nodded, Mark patted her hand before walking away.

She watched as he crossed the street again and got inside his car.

“Why is he being so sensitive? Did I do something wrong?” She mumbled to herself before going inside the building.

“Maybe he’s just tensed with the game coming up.” She stated to herself before heading towards the women’s locker room.

Ronnie frowned as she looked at the schedule; she stepped out of the ladies’ locker room and headed out of the building.

“It’s the same day as the game.” She mumbled as she stepped out, she looked around her briefly. She puffed her cheeks and started to walk towards the bus stop, and then her lips quirked up as she saw noticed the bus fast approaching.

She quickly got inside the vehicle and took a seat.

Mark grew confused as he looked at the empty house, Ronnie should have been home by now. But the house across his was dark.

He walked towards his car and tried calling her, still no response.

“Pick up the phone, Ronnie.” He sighed as he got in the car and sped away from their property. A few minutes later, he arrived at their school; he slid down and marched towards the open field where he could see some of his teammates already stretching.

He checked his phone again as he noticed that it was already dark outside.

“Just where did she~”

“Hi!” Someone suddenly jumped on his back, Mark almost choked but he held onto her thighs.

“Ya, Cheon Ri In!” He barked, she chuckled.

“I’ve been trying to call you, why didn’t you come home? I~”

Ronnie mimicked him mockingly and just gestured for him to walk; Mark sighed and just followed suit.

“How was practice? You said your left foot bothered you.” Mark asked her, she shrugged and just leaned her chin on his shoulder.

“It’s not that bad,” She said, Mark tensed slightly as her ear brushed against his cheek briefly.

“But I wish I could eat grilled lobsters without feeling guilty.”

Mark chuckled, they reached the field and he let her down.

“Are you going to watch us practice?” He asked her.

“No, I just,” She started to produce something from her backpack.

“I know, you probably didn’t get yourself a proper dinner so,” She handed him a paper bag.

“I got you lots of kimbap and some sandwiches. See you later.” Ronnie grinned before turning away from him, Mark smiled before calling her.

“Ronnie, wait.”

She stopped and glanced at him.

“Thank you, Ron.”

“Don’t get injured.” She winked before walking towards the gate.

Mark nodded and watched as she walked away from the campus.

Ronnie watched as the already full bus drove away, she checked the time on her phone.

“I might as well walk.” She stated as she crossed the street.

She put on her earphones as she made her way towards the familiar roads.

“Hey, Hana High student?” A masculine voice made her turn, she found three boys around her age wearing somewhat familiar uniforms staring at her with smirks on their faces.

“Yes?”

They chuckled when they saw her face.

“Aren’t you the one who’s always hanging around that team captain?”

Ronnie paused, it was then she noticed the seal on their uniforms.

Poongjin High

They started to walk towards her, Ronnie’s brows met briefly as she stepped back, but one of the lads yanked her back by the strap of her backpack.

“Let go!”

“This serves as a warning,” The male said lowly as he grabbed her by the collar of her jacket.

“We take these games seriously, so, tell your friends to back off. Poongjin will remain as champion this year.” He spat before pushing her down.

They all laughed as she slid down on the damp concrete floor and skinned her knee.

Ronnie watched as the students walked away from her.

“Whoa, I aspire to reach that level of pettiness before I graduate.” She said dryly before pulling herself up. She stared at the blood on her knee and shook her head.

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