Six-and-a-half months post-injury

It’s a simple thought, really.

Seulgi just decides rather quickly that everything involving the Korean Women’s National Team – while already amazing on its own – is just that much better with Irene involved.

Especially as she stands in an empty locker room, the other girls having left the stadium long ago, leaving Seulgi alone to stare in silence up at the famed Captain’s Bulletin Board, inspecting its contents with the utmost scrutiny, a hint of nostalgia swimming in her eyes.

Her gaze soon drifts away from the picture of her and Moonbyul beaming with their arms thrown over each other’s shoulders, taken the day Seulgi had been appointed as a co-captain— Moonbyul had been utterly ecstatic, loving the idea of having a second pair of shoulders to rely on, and Seulgi had merely been glad to have her work be recognized.

Seulgi finds her eyes darting across the bulletin board, lingering on each picture of previous esteemed captains throughout the National Team history, not quite going in any particular order. Before her and Moonbyul, there had been many others: Bada, Lee Hyori, Kim BoA, and Kim Taeyeon, to name a few.

And Bae Joohyun.

Irene.

The legendary Lightning Forward who had been Seulgi’s number one role model, back during her early days of merely playing in the Under 20s team, when she was just trying to find the perfect balance between her high school life and her dream of playing soccer.

“You’re still looking at that picture?”

A light, teasing tone echoes through the vacant locker room, and Seulgi pries her gaze away from the picture of a beaming, blonde Irene on the bulletin, turning to acknowledge the real-life Irene watching Seulgi from the entrance with an interested look on her face.

Seulgi bites the inside of her cheek to keep a smile from forming, shrugging wordlessly, and Irene regards her for a moment before striding forward, making her way over to stand by Seulgi’s side. Meanwhile, Seulgi shifts again to stare at captain-Irene on the bulletin once more.

“Why look at that old thing when I’m right next to you?” Irene questions, her tone delicate but the underlying meaning seeming to weigh down on Seulgi, a stark contrast to her joking tone from earlier.

Seulgi frowns, tilting her head. “I get the feeling that you’re trying to ask me something different.”

“Do I…” Irene lifts her shoulder in a half shrug, a shade of frustration coloring her face. “I don’t know… Do I not meet your expectation of the Bae Joohyun you remember from all those years ago?”

Seulgi twists at the question. So that’s what she’s been worried about.

“Of course you don’t,” Seulgi says instead, and Irene’s face falls. “You— hey!” Seulgi chuckles, reaching out to touch Irene’s chin, gently tilting her head up to meet Seulgi’s eyes. “I wasn’t done yet, silly. Irene, how could you meet my expectations when you completely surpass them?”

Irene bows her head, and this time, Seulgi lets her, a curtain of hair falling down. “You think?”

“Of course!” Seulgi exclaims, and Irene giggles. “You’ve been coaching the team and I for two whole weeks, and I can already see the difference in our skill, and in our work ethic. You’ve been teaching us that there’s always something more to improve on, even in areas that we had never looked before. And that’s amazing, Irene!”

The worry that had been swirling in Irene’s eyes fades considerably, and the older girl’s face softens. “You really think so? I’m glad.” Irene sighs, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose before her gaze turns to the ceiling. “It’s been nothing but fun and good times ever since I started accompanying you all on these practices, and I was… well, I was wondering if I was actually doing any good.”

“Are you kidding me? In just two weeks, you’ve already changed us so much!” Seulgi laughs, and Irene feels her heart swell. “Momo and Amber are out on the field on time for practice now, and you know how they like to take their time in the locker room. SinB and Hwasa actually run sprints for you! They’re, like, the laziest forwards in the world! And don’t even get me started on Joy and Yeri. You’ve pulled off the impossible, Irene— they actually listen to you.” Seulgi runs a hand through her hair, chewing her bottom lip as she nears the end of her rant. “Hell, you’ve got me eating celery and carrot sticks during breaks. That, in itself, is a major accomplishment.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Irene’s shoulders shake with her giggles, and Seulgi’s heart throbs as she sees the older girl pull back her lips in a smile, pearly whites gleaming.

“I know I’m right,” Seulgi boasts.

Irene rolls her eyes playfully. “A bit confident there, aren’t you Miss Kang?”

“Confident enough to be able to have a you all the way back to your home, Miss Bae,” Seulgi replies smoothly, holding out her arm to Irene.

“Then let’s head out,” Irene smiles, swiftly taking up the offer and letting Seulgi lead them out of the stadium.

—

“Hey, Hyun?” Seulgi calls, sitting on the bench as Irene makes her way over to her with two ice cream cones. (It’s a Friday, and which means that the ice cream truck stops by on their usual route home. “Which means that we get ice cream every Friday,” Seulgi had insisted the week prior.)

Irene perks up at the nickname. She’d accidentally let it slip during one of their daily walks back to her place that she used to be called “Hyun” by her friends and colleagues, but after making the decision to officially go by “Irene,” the nickname sort of evaporated, along with the idea of Bae Joohyun.

Seulgi, thinking that it was cute, had decided to take up the mantle of calling Irene “Hyun,” at least in private.

“Yeah?” Irene hands Seulgi the ice cream cone. “What’s up, Seul?”

Seul and Hyun, Seulgi smiles to herself. I like that.

“You can’t let Jennie call you ‘Hyun.’” Seulgi says, the sound of her voice low and urgent, as if the subject of Irene’s nickname is of High Importance.

Irene blinks. Well, that was random.

“Why not?” She asks, and Seulgi pouts.

“Because that’s my nickname for you,” Seulgi tries to sound patient, but she can’t stop a little whine from coming through. “And while I’m fine with sharing you with the whole team, there’s some stuff that I’d prefer to keep away from the rest of them too. Including Jennie. So, therefore, no one else can call you ‘Hyun.’” Seulgi declares the decision as Final with the crossing of her arms.

Irene chuckles. “Okay, Seul. Jennie can’t call me ‘Hyun,’” she relents.

“Yes!” Seulgi cheers, earning strange looks from pedestrians passing by their bench.

“She already has another nickname for me, anyways.”

“Wait, what?”

Irene claps her hands in glee, laughing as Seulgi stares blankly at her, slack-jawed.

“Jennie calls me ‘Rene-unnie,’” Irene explains, and Seulgi immediately clenches her jaw.

“So she is making moves on you,” Seulgi says through grit teeth.

Irene looks conflicted. “I wouldn’t call it making moves...?”

“Regardless of what it is,” Seulgi sighs. “She likes you.”

“If it makes you feel any better, she started calling me that today,” Irene offers, feeling awfully guilty at the way Seulgi’s good mood had been crushed just like that. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything, but how could she hide anything from Seulgi? “You’ve been calling me ‘Hyun’ for a week now.”

“Still,” Seulgi groans, her spirits not being lifted in the slightest. “She’s catching up, and I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“I—” Irene furrows her brow, trying to process everything that had just been implied in Seulgi’s words. “Seulgi, I don’t—”

“Can we just drop the subject for now?” Seulgi interjects, suddenly getting quiet. She shoots Irene a sheepish, apologetic smile, feeling more tired than she'd been in a surprisingly lengthy amount of time (all thanks to Irene). “I have a few thoughts to sort through. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up, but I didn’t know it would lead me to feeling like this.”

Irene nods slowly, understanding the younger girl’s need to piece things together. “Okay, that sounds fine to me.”

Seulgi’s smile turns to one of relief. “Great, thanks.” And just like that, the atmosphere is brought back up. “So what did you talk about with Coach Kwon for so long that we had to stay after the other girls left?”

“New training regimens,” Irene replies with ease. “That’s all. Definitely something you and the girls should look forward too. And you could’ve left without me, y’know!”

“And eat ice cream alone?” Seulgi gasps as if the situation had been grave. “I don’t think so, Hyun! I’d look even lonelier sitting on this bench by myself!”

—

Seulgi can’t fall asleep that night.

She tosses and turns endlessly in her bed, hands fidgeting with the sheets, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, completely lost in thought, nothing but Irene and this current predicament running circles through her brain.

By the time she finally falls asleep, it’s already Saturday, 4AM, and she’s come up with countless excuses to tell Irene with the next morning (or later that day?) during the inevitable scolding that would come from showing up to practice with baggy, dark eyes (although Seulgi’s definitely functioned on less hours of sleep before).

—

“Seulgi!” Irene reprimands when Seulgi shows up at her doorstep mid-yawn. “What did I tell you about staying up late?”

“I tried to sleep!” Seulgi protests, all excuses she’d thought up fleeing the confines of her mind right as she needs them. Heol, and I put so much effort into those too…

“I did, really! I just had a lot to think about.”

Irene sighs, giving her friend yet another look over. “Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t fallen into another slump, have you?”

Seulgi shakes her head fervently, and Irene visibly relaxes at the honest refusal. “No! No, definitely not. You know that I’d—” Seulgi drops her voice low. “I’d have called you first thing if that was the case, I promise, Irene. I trust you about that kind of stuff. This was about the subject that I asked you to drop yesterday.”

Understanding washes over Irene in waves. “Ah, I see.” There’s a bit of hesitance. “Did you come to conclusions?”

“Yup!” Seulgi chirps in reply.

Irene blinks.

“Well, are you going to tell me?”

“Hmmm,” Seulgi hums thoughtfully, tapping her chin. “Not right now. Later today. I have something to do first.”

As Irene steps out of her apartment, ready to walk to the stadium with Seulgi, she glances sideways at the tired, but eager young soccer player. What has gotten into her? What had changed literally overnight?

She tightens her lips.

Something tells me that practice is going to be interesting today.

—

“Or not,” Irene muses to herself hours later, watching the girls split themselves up into two teams, getting ready for a mock game amongst themselves. It’s almost the end of practice, and Seulgi has yet to do something. Maybe Irene was wrong.

Every practice ends with a mock game, better known as a ‘scrimmage,’ with the girls randomly dividing behind their two captains to play a match. This is Irene’s favorite part of coaching— watching the different combinations of players is simply fascinating, because while all the girls work amazingly together on the field, some just work exceptionally well together in various aspects.

For example, the quick-thinking duo of Joy and Yeri have the ability to virtually demolish opposing strikers with their dynamic. Irene’s noticed something funny about the defenders on the National Team: there’s the general consensus that Joy Is Right. Anything that Joy calls out to her defenders from her goalie box is automatically right. Yeri takes that mentality to a whole different level. Years of playing as Joy’s go-to centerback defender have caused her to gain a sort of sixth-sense when it comes to understanding Joy’s thinking— the older girl doesn’t even have to call an order out, Yeri just knows.

Seulgi and Eunae have excellent chemistry. Being a power-driven forward, Eunae knows just how to work with every single ball Seulgi can send her way from midfield— there’s a very good reason why Seulgi holds the record number of assists on the team. There’s a mutual trust there that the girls themselves acknowledge.

On the topic of trust, Jennie and Jisoo display an incredible amount of it with their teamplay, with Jennie trusting Jisoo to gain the upper-hand with her incredible speed on the defensive side; Jennie being able to strategize and think as Jisoo regains the ball from her opponents, sending it Jennie’s way to midfield as soon as it’s recovered.

The combinations are endless.

Jennie and Seulgi, though. That is a fascinating combination. Because it’s not like they don’t work well together, they do. Incredibly well, in fact— Seulgi as a right-center midfielder, and Jennie as the left-center. Seulgi focuses mainly on weaving her way towards the opponent’s goal, while Jennie figures out how to keep the ball out of their half of the field.

But when they’re on opposite teams? That is a true sight to behold, without a doubt.

Especially today, apparently.

Irene gapes at the standoff happening at centerfield as Coach Kwon throws her head back in laughter.

“Oh, Joohyun!” The older woman cracks up, clapping her hands in amusement. “You’ve really done it this time!”

“I’m still trying to figure out what I did,” is all Irene says, shaking her head in disbelief.

Forget what I thought about today being normal.

—

Seulgi and Jennie are nothing but smirks, squaring each other up in the from opposite sides of the centerline, arms crossed, heads held high, their eyes leveled, steadily assessing each other, and really, it’s a magnificent sight to behold.

Around them, their teammates shift in place excitedly. This was a confrontation that they'd been looking forward to.

“It appears we’ve come to an impasse,” Seulgi jokes lightly, her tone relaxed but her body-language saying otherwise. “You’re not exactly subtle, Jennie,” she teases.

Jennie laughs, shaking her head. “Subtlety never really was my strong point, and it surely isn’t yours either, Cap.”

“Never said it was,” Seulgi agrees easily.

Behind her, Yeri snorts, muttering, “Oh, you can say that again,” before being violently elbowed in the ribs by Wendy. She groans, clutching her rib and glaring daggers at Wendy, who grins at her cheekily.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her younger friend, Seulgi wills herself the confidence of her bravado to keep herself steady.

“So since neither of us are good at subtlety,” Seulgi continues, “How about we just address the elephant in the room?”

“More like the rabbit,” Lisa says under her breath, standing a few steps to the right of Jennie. Moments later, the tall girl pretends to gag, finding herself in Moonbyul’s chokehold.

Jennie sighs at her friend’s antics, still refusing to take her eyes off of Seulgi. “So, we both like Rene-unnie, don’t we, Cap.” It’s a statement.

Seulgi nods, suddenly looking infinitely more somber. “Looks like it.”

“And what are we going to do about it?” Jennie questions, her smirk dropping at the lingering truth.

“It’s not like she’s some bargaining piece or something to bet,” Seulgi replies, and a small smile appears as she sees Jennie fervently nodding in agreement. “And I don’t plan on going up to her and making her choose. I mean,” Seulgi pulls a disgusted face that is quickly mirrored on Jennie’s own, the younger girl showing an equal amount of distaste for that option. “That’s an awful idea.”

“Yeah,” Jennie sticks out in tongue in revulsion. “Definitely not going to happen.”

“So we go with something simple,” Seulgi offers. “Simple competition, no sabotage, a fair chance for both of us.”

Jennie regards Seulgi with interest. “That sounds reasonable. And it’s not like either of us are guaranteed a real shot with her in the first place.”

“Exactly,” Seulgi presses. “In the end, it’s still Irene’s decision. She’s not obligated to choose either of us at all.”

The younger midfielder takes her time nodding. “And everything we’ve accomplished up until now still stands.”

“Are you sure?” Seulgi looks at Jennie in shock. “Irene and I—”

“It’s unrealistic to ask you to stop walking home with Rene-unnie,” Jennie chuckles with a smile. “And I can’t ask you not to go to those check-ins. Not to mention how I doubt Irene would want to skip out on something like those Friday ice cream cones I saw on your Twitter.” If she looks bothered, Jennie doesn’t show it. “Don’t worry about me, Cap, I’m doing fine on my own; no need to create liabilities.”

“If you say so,” Seulgi agrees before quickly adding, “And by no sabotage, I also mean no sabotage from our lovely teammates, or anyone else who gets involved in whatever supposed-failproof plans we manage to concoct. Feel free to use your connections, but I don’t want to find myself locked in a bathroom or hotel room!”

“I wholeheartedly agree to this,” Jennie laughs, and shouts of a sarcastic “What? Us? Never!” arise from their teammates. “I don’t even want to know what trap Joy and Yeri could spring on me!”

Joy snaps her fingers, disappointed, and the sharp sound garners the attention of the other girls. “Damn, and I thought I could finally have some fun around here too! Not that I don’t love you, Jennie, but it’s been awhile since I’ve pulled any good pranks on this team.”

“Yeah, good is a subjective word,” Wheein interjects. “Last time you pulled a prank, Park Sooyoung, I ended up with a lizard lounging on my toothbrush in the hotel bathroom during that trip to Brazil.”

“Uh, yeah, I’d prefer to stay away from all of that,” Seulgi says awkwardly.

“And what about our scrimmages during practices?” Jennie asks, a twinkle in her eye. “I mean, if we just so happen to fall on different teams when we sort randomly, winning against your team wouldn’t count as sabotage, would it?”

“Oh, hell no,” Seulgi grins toothily. “All’s fair if we’re on separate teams.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Moonbyul cuts in, a soccer ball under her arm, walking up from behind Jennie and throwing an arm around the left-center midfielder. “Jennie, I’m making you captain for this scrimmage, so let’s crush Seulgi’s team!”

“Like that’ll happen,” Eunae says, a challenging ring to her voice. She stands at Seulgi’s side, her right hand on her hip, her left held out to Seulgi, palm up. With a hoot of excitement, Seulgi heartily brings her hand on Eunae’s, the resounding smack from their high-five emitting throughout the otherwise empty stadium.

“Let’s start!” Seulgi shouts, turning back to her half of the team, who cheer at her cry. “Let’s win this thing, guys!”

Eunae kicks off the ball from the center position, and they begin.

—

“Are you worried about the team dynamic after all of this?” Irene asks as she and Seulgi meander their way home, purposefully taking longer than usual. “Are you worried about there being any division in the team?”

The older girl isn’t surprised when Seulgi shakes her head, and she smiles. Of course not. As expected from the team captain.

“No,” Seulgi says. “I mean, obviously Jennie and I will each have our own supporters. Eunae’s already promised that I’ve got her support one hundred percent, and Joy and Yeri have pledged their allegiance – whatever that entails – so I bet that Lisa has hopped onto Jennie’s train by now, and if she hasn’t she will. Maybe even Jisoo will join her side. But in the end, this little competition has nothing to do with soccer. Jennie and I have relied on each other for years now, and she made it clear that the trust between us isn’t going to change.”

“That’s good,” Irene murmurs, a shy smile blossoming on her lips before it blooms into something bigger, and she throws her head back to laugh and gaze at the sky in wonderment.

“How did I get so lucky?” Irene asks to no one in particular, laughing at her own amazement. “I get to have two amazing soccer players fighting over me. Honestly, I’m flattered.”

“You don’t feel obligated, do you?” Seulgi asks abruptly, chewing on her bottom lip. “You don’t have to actually humor us, you know? I don’t want you to feel like you have to date one of us, or that you have to refuse anyone else that asks you out while this thing between Jennie and I is happening.”

“Don’t worry,” Irene smiles gently. “I don’t feel obligated at all. Everything I do will be out of my own free will. If anything, I’m just grateful that people actually still are interested in me that way.”

“W-well, how could we not?” Seulgi stutters, taken slightly aback at Irene’s admission. “You’re the most beautiful, kind, encouraging, and hardworking person I’ve ever met, Irene. I bet the other girls think similarly too.”

And Seulgi swears her heart stops beating the moment Irene looks back at her, with the sunlight filtering just-so-perfectly through the leaves of the trees, dappling her dark brown hair with golden specks, the wind blowing ever-so-slightly, and god, she just looks so ethereal.

“Thank you, Seulgi,” Irene says with raw honesty, and Seulgi swallows, a breathless you’re welcome escaping her lips just in the nick of time.

“By the way,” the part-time coach continues, “That was a great scrimmage today. Your half of the team did great!”

“But it ended in a tie!” Seulgi groans in disparity. “A tie! How can I ever assert dominance with a tie?”

Irene’s laughter rings clear through the air, reminding Seulgi of the chiming of crystal bells.

—

And so it begins.

There's no official statement to say that it's begun, but it's more like Seulgi knows that it's begun when she and Irene enter the stadium the following Monday for practice, and there's a bouquet of roses waiting for Irene next to her usual coaching clipboard.

“Oh my god,” Seulgi murmurs as she comes out of the locker room in her practice uniform, watching Irene smile bashfully into her bouquet as she thanks Jennie. Meanwhile, Jennie is nothing but cheekily grins and red-tinted cheeks, shaking her head, and Seulgi can make out the words, it was no problem, leave her lips.

“There's your competition,” a voice says behind her, and Seulgi sighs dramatically.

“I gotta step up my game, Eunae.”

“I know you can do it,” Eunae replies, slinging her right arm over Seulgi's shoulder leisurely, her left arm curled around a soccer ball, which she pushes into Seulgi's stomach. Her captain grunts exaggeratedly, and Eunae smirks. “I've got your back. Ready to kick during practice?”

“Oh, you know I am.” Seulgi grins, lightly punching the taller girl’s arm. “I'm ready for anything the coaches throw our way.”

“Today's the pacer test!” Coach Kwon shouts out, her voice sounding much too happy for someone about to watch her soccer players run back and forth across the field in a high-tension endurance test— better known among athletes as the bane of their existence. “Get ready for the runs of your lives, ladies!”

Shrieks of terror arise from every corner of the field, and suddenly, the entire team is united in a mutual hatred for the upcoming Race to Hell.

(“I would do some sick to get out of running the pacer test,” Hwasa declares, lying down on her stomach, Wheein falling to the ground haphazardly beside her, sprawling out like a starfish in despair. “Like, really sick .”

“Would you eat the plastic turf?” Amber questions, “Because I know that I would. This stuff is made out of recycled tires, y’kno— hey! Krystal, you gotta give me a fair warning before you collapse onto me like that!”

“They can't get me if my legs don't work!” Krystal shouts, sending the nearby girls into fits of laughter.)

“Except for that!” Seulgi groans, pursing her lips and scrunching her nose in annoyance, and Eunae tips her head back in laughter. “God, I hate the pacer test!”

“Don't we all?” Wendy asks, Naeun and Eunji alongside her, Wendy’s face seemingly in a permanent grimace ever since Coach Kwon approached her about the pacer test earlier that morning. Eunji flanks her right side, looking a tad bit worried.

“Is it really that bad?” She asks. Eunji’s not new to the pacer test, per say— it’s just that she’s heard horror stories about the National Team pacer tests ever since she was in club soccer.

“No,” Eunae assures her. “I think they're over exaggerating, honestly. The pacer test isn't that bad, don't worry.”

“Says you,” Wendy replies, appearing reasonably affronted. Naeun nods vigorously in agreement. “Eunji wasn’t here for last year’s pacer test.”

“Listen Eunae, I love you,” Naeun says warily, “but we've all learned not to take your word when it comes to endurance tests.”

“This girl’s stamina is literally out of this world,” Seulgi adds with wide eyes, jutting a thumb out to point at Eunae, who snickers. “She goes on 10 kilometer runs for fun in her free time. When it comes to exercise, Eunae’s even crazier than Irene, and Irene is insane!”

“What was that, Seulgi?” Irene calls over from where she's debriefing with Coach Kwon, her voice sickeningly sweet, especially in the way that her tongue caresses over Seulgi's name.

The aforementioned girl feels a shudder run through her body.

“Nothing! Just absolutely raring to go run some laps for the pacer test!”

Irene smirks her way, and Seulgi feels her heart leap up in her chest and into .

“I should hope so.”

—

“I get the feeling–” Seulgi pants, hands on her knees as she relishes in the short, few-seconds break between the timed beeps. The pacer test is still going on, and a fair number of her members have already dropped out. Seulgi’s still going though; and for what reason— well, that’s sort of obvious. Plus, Jennie hasn’t tapped out yet. “– I get the feeling that this was the training regimen that you were talking about the other day on our way home.”

She’s met with a sly curve of Irene’s lips, and Seulgi gasps in true betrayal as another loud beep! echoes through the crowd-less stadium, and Seulgi turns on the balls of her feet to sprint to the other side of the field. She reaches the opposite white line a few split-seconds before the next beep, and then she’s sent racing back towards Irene on the other side of the field, the elder girl’s smirk still present on her face.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Seulgi shouts as she sprints. From a few feet over, Eunae and Jennie break into slightly painful snickers between their labored breathing. Irene tips her head back in laughter. “You could’ve given me a warning!”

Irene just shakes her head, dark tresses shaking from the movement, beautiful amusement dancing across her features and , this totally isn’t the time but yeah, Seulgi’s in love.

“Break your record,” Irene says instead as soon as Seulgi’s foot touches that white line. Her eyes are sparkling, and oh my god, Seulgi’s in the middle of a pacer test. “You’re five shuttle runs away from your record of 68 runs. Set a record for me, Seul.”

“Okay,” Seulgi breathes.

So she does.

(Ten minutes later and Seulgi’s set a Korean Women’s National Team record. Not Jennie, who drops out at 70 runs and stares at Seulgi in awe and admiration. Not even Eunae, who cheers the second loudest – second only to Irene – after she collapses to the ground at 75 runs.

“My lungs are burning,” Seulgi gasps, as she toes the white line at 78 runs, all but ready to collapse onto the turf in front of Irene. “Hyun, can I stop?”

The pride in Irene’s eyes can’t be topped, and she beams down at the young captain. And then she’s kneeling right next to Seulgi, pulling the slightly-taller girl into her arms. “Yes. I’m so proud of you, Seulgi!”

Relaxing into Irene’s embrace, Seulgi decides right then and there that her burning lungs and aching legs – they’re sure to be sore for days – are more than worth it.)

—

@ahnyonce: @sringles I’ve never seen you run so fast in my life

@n1kseulgifan: @ahnyonce omg what happened at practice???

@seulkangjjang: @ahnyonec haha what did our favorite bear captain do today lolol

@sringles: @ahnyonce for anyone confused, today we did a pacer test during practice and I broke a national team record *sunglasses emoji*

@ahnyonce: @sringles lmao true true but I wasn’t talking about the pacer test

@sringles: @ahnyonce ?????? What are you talking about then???

@ahnyonce: @sringles I’m talking about the way you jumped up and ran to @baerene when she called your name minutes after practice ended

@sringles: @ahnyonce @baerene ...Ahn Hyejin I hate you, and also Irene did you turn off your notifications???

“Hyun,” Seulgi mumbles through a mouthful of sushi, looking up at the older girl sitting across the restaurant table. It’s been an hour since practice let out, and Irene, out of sheer happiness, agreed to pay for a sushi dinner. “Hwasa’s teasing me again.”

“I can see that,” Irene giggles, picking her own phone up from the table and swiping at the @sringles mentioned you in a tweet! notification. “Don’t worry, Seul. I’ve got you covered.”

@baerene: @ahnyonce @sringles yup I came prepared for the flash flood this time. And Hyejin? Get ready for some wall sits and burpees tomorrow

@ahnyonce: @baerene @sringles ‘twas worth it *peace sign* *sunglasses emoji*

“Hwasa really is the definition of Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” Seulgi sighs, watching as her mentions start to get filled with screaming fans. “And here we go again.”

Much to Seulgi’s surprise, Irene shrugs, the corner of her lips upturning in a smirk. “Nothing we can’t handle, yeah?”

We. Seulgi likes the sound of that, much more than she should at this point in time, because right now, with Irene sitting across from her at their favorite sushi place, feeding Seulgi sushi with Irene’s own pair of chopsticks, it feels like Irene is hers but she’s not. Not yet, at least. The image of Jennie presenting the bouquet of flowers flashes through Seulgi’s mind. Not yet.

“Of course not,” Seulgi replies smoothly, her gaze turning endearing as she notices Irene’s puffed cheeks and focused look. The older girl notices her staring, and immediately turns her attention back to her food, blushing. “We’re a team. The best of the best.”

Irene nods, still bashfully avoiding Seulgi’s gaze, pursing her lips and pushing back a strand of hair to prevent a smile from breaking out too soon. “The very best.” She halts, pondering her words with a thoughtful finger to her chin. “Well, maybe second best to Wendy and Eunji.”

A Cheshire Cat grin spreads across Seulgi’s face, and she wags her chopsticks in admission. “You’ve got me there, Hyun.”

—

Irene doesn’t know what to find more fascinating— Jennie and her bold statements, or Seulgi and her hidden suavity. It’s an absolute treat to observe the two midfielders, so alike yet so different in their methods and ideas.

After the bouquet of roses, Jennie took her out to dinner the following night. Irene had initially been worried, but to her pleasant surprise, she found that she could converse well with Jennie, who, behind all the flirty remarks, is actually a very thoughtful person. The highlight of the night probably had to have been the shy way that the younger midfielder had revealed her admiration for not only Irene, but Seulgi as well.

“She’s a full year older than me,” Jennie had said, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. “By the time I got into university, Seulgi had already made a name for herself in collegiate soccer. The first time my team played against hers, I was blown away. She inspired me to work harder to get to her level. Jisoo was by my side through that whole time.”

(She also noticed Jennie’s tendency to mention Jisoo— not that she commented on that.)

Meanwhile, life went on with Seulgi. During the day, Irene wouldn’t really notice any changes, but at night, as she lay in bed, reviewing everything that happened, she came to realize that Seulgi was all about the small moments.

Showing up at her doorstep like any other morning, nothing extra in hand. She hadn’t even noticed that Seulgi would stop them by a coffee shop to buy Irene her favorite coffee. When Seulgi had suggested that they take a detour on one of their walks home, Irene hadn’t even thought twice when the taller girl had lead them to the arcade. But in the end, it was Irene who left with both a teddy bear and a plush rabbit in her arms that Seulgi had won from a claw machine (she’d somehow managed to snag both toys from a single game. Irene had commented on Seulgi’s impeccable luck, while Seulgi had insisted on it being purely skill).

But perhaps during practice was where Seulgi thrived. A small, you look beautiful today here, and a soft thank you for everything you’ve done for me, there, and Irene would sent into a stuttering mess, when she’d be forced to retreat behind her long curtains of hair.

—

A few days later and Saturday comes around again, and Seulgi and Irene enter the stadium together. Irene bids her a temporary goodbye, off to the main office to discuss today’s game with Coach Kwon, and Seulgi heads over to the locker rooms, intending on getting a bit of extra practice in before the official thing.

Usually, most players don’t arrive to a game until about two hours before kickoff, with captains typically being the exception. Their game is scheduled for six o’clock in the afternoon. Meanwhile, it’s only six in the morning. Knowing her teammates, most are still asleep right now.

She really should’ve been caught off guard to find another person already on the field, shooting hasty goal after goal into an open net.

To her credit, Seulgi predicted that something like this would happen. She’s a team captain, after all. It’s only her place to be able to recognize the best chemistry between players, and with recent events, it was only a matter of time.

So really, she’s not shocked to see Kim Jisoo on the turf at this early hour, a look of raw frustration coating her usually tranquil features, teeth grit and eyes narrowed.

The younger girl doesn’t seem to notice Seulgi’s approach, and she jumps slightly when Seulgi finally speaks up after a minute of silent observation.

“You’re not putting enough spin on the ball,” Seulgi instructs, her voice ringing clear through the empty stadium. “The goalkeeper has a bigger chance of letting in balls that bend around them.”

Jisoo gasps, whirling around to face Seulgi with wide eyes, the ball at her feet suddenly forgotten.

“Seulgi,” she says, breathing heavily, and the captain spies the beads of sweat on her forehead. “I didn’t notice you here.”

Seulgi nods, a soft look in her eye that makes Jisoo clench her fists tight.

“I just arrived.”

“Is Coach Irene here too?”

So formal, Seulgi thinks to herself. Coach Irene. To the other girls, it’s just Irene, or even Bae Joohyun when they’re up for teasing her. Yet Jisoo has always kept up this boundary between her and the pseudo-coach, drawing a clear line that no one else has seemed to recognize.

But Seulgi has. “She is. We came together. She’s talking with Coach Kwon right now.”

She receives a tight-lipped nod from Jisoo. “I see.”

And then she’s observing the way that Jisoo looks back over her shoulder, at the open goal with soccer balls messily laying around. She’s a defender. She can shoot goals just as well as any other National Team defender. But Jisoo is not messy. Her set pieces are supposed to be clean and precise— almost guaranteed goals. The balls that she just shot though. They were anything but clean and precise. And Seulgi knows. This is the messiest that Jisoo has been in years.

And she doesn’t realize that she’s hyperventilating until she recognizes that Seulgi’s arms are around her, pulling her into a hug, and the captain is whispering in her ear, “Jisoo, breathe with me. Breathe with me. Ready? In, and out. Again. In, and out.”

Five minutes later, and Jisoo finally comes to her senses.

“I’m okay,” the defender whispers, though her words come out shaky and her fists are clenched yet again.

Seulgi stares at her sadly. She’s no stranger to frustration and anger; she’d literally just been there herself. And Irene was there during Seulgi’s panic attacks, so there’s no reason why Seulgi can’t be there for Jisoo’s.

“What’s got you so tense?” Seulgi murmurs, fully knowing the reason why.

The dam breaks, and silent tears trail down the stressed girl’s cheeks.

“What does she have?” Jisoo whimpers, staring down at her feet helplessly. “What does she have that I don’t?”

—

“How long?” Seulgi asks a newly consoled Jisoo as they recline in the locker room, lying down on the wooden benches leisurely, being the only players present.

“Since the start of college. We played together,” Jisoo replies, staring up at the ceiling. She’s feeling better now, like a little bit of weight has been lifted off her shoulders after spilling some of her bottled up emotions to her captain. Sure, there’s definitely still pressure there, but even Seulgi can’t help her with that. But for now, it’s enough. “So, four years now?”

Seulgi whistles, raising a hand and holding up four fingers. “Wow. That’s a long time.”

“I was afraid back then,” Jisoo continues, “and I’m still afraid now— of ruining what we have. I’ve loved Jennie for so long, and sure, she’s looked at other people before, but this is the first time she’s gone chasing like a lovesick puppy after someone so desperately.”

“So this is new for her,” Seulgi concludes.

Jisoo smiles weakly. “You couldn’t tell, right? I couldn’t either. I had to ask her yesterday if she had been lying to me about never having pursued anyone.” She sighs, pushing her hair back, and Seulgi can’t help but notice that little similarity between Jisoo and Irene. “Jennie’s unexpectedly smooth, isn’t she? That’s because when she sets her mind to something, she’s going to follow through all the way, to the very best of her ability. You don’t necessarily see it coming, but Jennie can do it.”

“I see,” Seulgi trails off, and the two girls dwindle into silence for a moment before Seulgi opens again, finding it best to drop the topic for now. It’s clear that Jisoo’s emotionally tired out for today. “So, you ready for today’s game?”

“So long as I’m defending rather than shooting goals,” Jisoo replies, her smile waning, looking even more tired. She shrugs her shoulders as Seulgi casts her another worried glance. “Don’t worry about me, Cap. I’m not usually like this, I promise. Today was just a blip. I’ll be in tip-top shape for today’s game against Australia, I swear.” She pauses. “But can I ask you something? This is the last that I want to say about... this little love web of ours.”

Seulgi nods quickly. “Of course. I’m your captain, Jisoo. I’m here for you.”

“Do think it’s too late to befriend Irene?” Jisoo asks, shoving herself up from the wooden bench. She stares down at her hands, as if disappointed in herself for not asking earlier. “I don’t hate her, not even close. It might seem like I do now, but it’s because I’m... jealous. And I don’t want to be. I see how well she treats Jennie, and I see how she makes you smile, and I want to be friends with her too.” She turns to face Seulgi, who adorns a pleasantly surprised expression. “I think I’d feel better if I became friends with her.”

“I don’t think it would ever be too late,” Seulgi says gently. The captain walks over to Jisoo and rests a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You were having some trouble with your shots on goal earlier, right? I bet that Irene could help you with that. I know you were having a rough time because, y’know, emotions and all, but I really think that Irene could help you out a bunch in the long run.”

“That would be great,” Jisoo breaks out into a soft smile, allowing Seulgi to pull her up and lead her out of the locker room, across the turf, and towards the offices, where Irene is waiting.

—

Seulgi leaves the stadium around eleven-thirty to grab Irene, Jisoo, and Coach Kwon lunch. At noon, she enters through the glass doors once more, producing her silver captain’s key from her pocket and letting herself in. She notes the increased amount of staff that now busy in and out around the stadium, meaning that preparations for today’s game are already well under way.

She’s never thought that she’d ever have to force Jisoo into halting her practice, but that’s just what Seulgi does, tugging the younger girl towards the benches, Irene in tow with mirth on her face. Meanwhile, Jisoo whines.

“I don’t wanna eat yet,” Jisoo huffs indignantly, crossing her arms and pouting at the older girls. “Irene was finally getting around to teaching me how to bend balls like Christen Press and David Beckham!”

“Not to be rude, but you’re not even a forward,” Seulgi jokes, pulling out two sandwiches from the paper bag in her grip and handing them out to her friends. “But then again, when is it not good to know how to bend balls at unreal angles?”

“You never know when it’ll come in handy,” Irene shoots a wink that’s more directed at Jisoo than Seulgi, but the captain can’t help the warm feeling that buzzes in the pit of her stomach and she sees the way that Irene and Jisoo both rock their heads back and laugh together. They’ve come a long way since six AM. She’d never had a doubt that the two girls could get along, but it’s wonderful that they’ve come together so swimmingly.

Jisoo hums in contentment, resting her head on Irene’s shoulder. “Irene understands me on a spiritual level,” she singsongs, and somehow, Seulgi gets the feeling that she missed a lot in the half-hour she was gone.

Judging by the scarily-identical knowing looks the two girls share, Seulgi knows that her hypothesis is correct.

Seulgi blinks. Now that she thinks of it, Jisoo and Irene do look frightening related. They could probably pass as siblings, for all Seulgi can tell, and the captain briefly wonders if there are any theories online about Jisoo being Bae Joohyun’s little sister. I wouldn’t be surprised, she thinks warily, her mind drifting to the many theory threads she’s accidentally stumbled upon on Twitter, most of them having to with whom she’s allegedly dating.

“Seul?”

Seulgi snaps out of her daze, blinking to focus on Irene. “Oh, hm?”

“Your phone has been buzzing,” Irene smirks slightly, and Seulgi rolls her eyes good-naturedly as Jisoo giggles. “Either someone’s calling you, or a teammate is sliding into your Twitter mentions yet again.”

“Oh, ha ha,” Seulgi retorts, halfway through the act of sticking out her tongue when she stops in her tracks, frowning at all the Twitter notifications that pop up the second she unlocks her phone. “Wait, you might be right... oh my goodness, I really can’t take Yooa’s Twitter handle seriously.”

“Please don’t tell me that she came up with it herself,” Irene states, raising an eyebrow as she opens Twitter in turn.

It’s Jisoo who answers, her face contorting into something wickedly amused. “You can thank Eunae for that one. Let’s just say that you should never try playing pranks on Eunae, because you never know how hard she can strike back. Yooa has to last another month before she can change it. Doesn’t help that they’re roommates.”

Irene gapes at her, horrified. “What on earth did Yooa do to her that warranted a Twitter handle called selfinsertfanfics?”

Seulgi scratches her head, a sheepish smile quirking at the corners of her lips. “Well, Yooa didn’t really do anything to Eunae—”

“Wait, do you know, Cap?” Jisoo interrupts. The defender leans in at the prospect of juicy gossip. “Eunae said that Yooa pulled a prank, but that doesn’t seem like Yooa. Did Eunae tell you?”

“Nope!” Seulgi says hastily, chuckling almost nervously. Irene narrows her eyes suspiciously as Jisoo returns to pouting, especially when the captain abruptly changes direction. “Anyways, time to see what Yooa wants...”

@selfinsertfanfics: @sringles UNNIE I NEED HELP

@selfinsertfanfics: @sringles UNNIE PLEASE

@selfinsertfanfics: @sringles SEULGI UNNIE SHES GOING TO KILL MEASNJKFDJLMWJLIAKS

@DEunA: @selfinsertfanfics @sringles shhhhh no need to go running to Seulgi...

@sringles: @DEunA @sringles ...Eunae-ah, do I want to know

@DEunA: @sringles @selfinsertfanfics ;))) I think you already know, as much as I hate to admit it

@sringle: @DEunA @selfinsertfanfics ohhhhhhh yeah I know ;) Yooa, you have to be more careful these days

@selfinsertfanfics: @DEunA @sringles HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT SHE WAS WITHASKJH#&(*8#FLSKJEOIFUL;’{_…]<{¥£]

@sringles: @DEunA @selfinsertfanfics ;) ;) ;) ;)

“Is Yooa okay?” Irene asks in concern, peering over Seulgi’s shoulder, her small hands curling around Seulgi’s bicep in a loose but natural hold. Jisoo, having moved to sit on Seulgi’s other side, getting interested in Seulgi’s phone as well, spies the subtle motion and smiles to herself.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Seulgi chuckles, locking her phone and patting Irene’s head. The older girl blushes. “It’s cute that you care though, Hyun.”

“I just want to know what you mean by those winky faces,” Jisoo exclaims, scrunching her nose. “Yooa, Eunae, and apparently you too, have been hiding something for the past month!”

“Don’t worry about it,” the captain reassures the girls in front of her, unconsciously wrapping an arm around Irene, who leans into the hold (Jisoo grins at this). “You girls will be in the loop soon enough.”

Irene sighs, a small smile on her lips. She relaxes and lets herself lean on Seulgi completely, who makes no motion to acknowledge the added weight. “Whatever you say, Seul.”

—

The game begins at six o’clock sharp, and the crowd is roaring as Lisa kicks off the ball from center-field with a swift pass to Momo, and together with Jennie, they race down the field, doing all that they can to dodge the Australian defenders charging at them.

On the sidelines, Seulgi watches the her teammates in pride. The ball goes out of bounds on an Australian player, and Jennie shoots Seulgi a happy thumbs up as she jogs to the sidelines to throw it back in. Seulgi nods in return, watching in apt concentration when Jennie throws an expert ball to Yuju, running a high mid-defense.

A few seconds and pass over to Jisoo later, and the right-defender has already managed to slip the ball back up to Jennie.

The first goal of the game is a rowdy one, scored by Lisa, with a timely assist from Jennie. The entire team whoops and cheers on their feet as the two credited players laugh and share a hug, the rest of the team jumping onto their backs in celebration. Then Jennie breaks away from the pile with a clap on the back from Moonbyul, only to tackle Jisoo into a hasty hug, and the defender laughs, hugging Jennie back just as hard.

Seulgi chuckles as Jennie pulls away to point blatantly in Irene’s direction, who stands, grinning, on the bench next to Coach Kwon. The former-player quickly hides behind her clipboard when the cameras in the stadium catch wind of Jennie’s small stunt, focusing in on Irene on the big screen momentarily. The crowd screams as Coach Kwon guffaws and slaps Irene on the back, causing the smaller girl to yelp and drop her pen, and Seulgi smirks at her.

So that’s what she’s planned for today.

—

The first half ends in a tie, 1-1 for both teams.

They’re on a short break right before the second half when Seulgi pulls a baffled Irene into an isolated corner, away from the cameras and her teasing teammates. She just can’t resist a beautiful Irene, looking breathless under the stadium lights, her hair mussed by all the activity, not even caring about the flyaways, her cheeks flushed by the rush of adrenaline. In the back of her mind, Seulgi ponders on whether or not Irene would be okay with being stolen away. (Eventually, Seulgi just settles on vowing to bring Irene back onto the soccer field, because she guarantees that the older girl would look breathtaking in a new soccer uniform).

“Everything I do on this field today,” Seulgi murmurs into her ear, and a shiver runs down Irene’s spine. “Everything that brings us that much closer to victory. It’s all for you, okay?”

Irene nods, wordlessly cradling Seulgi’s hands in her own.

The older girl bites her lip bashfully, mulling over her words.

“Will you score for me?”

“Do you want me to score for you?”

“I think I’d like that.”

“Then I’ll score for you. Just wait for me.”

—

Eunae claps Seulgi on her back as they head onto the field. “Ready, Cap?”

“You know it.”

Seulgi’s in full captain mode as she scans over her members on the field, holding Seulgi’s gaze ferociously. They’re out here to win— each and every one of them. She takes mental count of her players: Lisa was swapped for Eunae, and Momo out for Hwasa. Jisoo was subbed for Wendy, and Jennie left the field for Seulgi to enter. That leaves room for two more subs (only if necessary), and Yooa, Krystal, Yeri, Yuju, Moonbyul, Eunji, and Tzuyu are still ready to play another 45 minutes of the second half.

Moonbyul hands off her captain armband to Seulgi as she and Eunae walk past her.

“I can see those gears churning,” Moonbyul smirks, cocking her head. “You worry about your frontline. You can trust me with our brick wall. We’ve got you covered, Seul.”

“I know you do,” Seulgi chuckles, though the gratefulness in her tone shines through the bravado. “Our very best Department of Defense can handle everything. Let’s catch ‘em off guard.”

—

The whistle blows, and the ball is in Yooa’s possession after a swift steal from an opposing Australian forward. The nimble girl twists around the legs of her opposition, her head up and looking for an opening. She finds it in an uncovered Krystal, waving her right arm in the air like a beacon, and with a swift kick, passes the ball over to her teammate.

“Crap,” Krystal mutters as an Australian player spots her, the other woman dashing over to try and steal the ball back to gain possession. With a grunt, Krystal butts shoulders with the offender, the right side of her body shifting to take more of her weight— not enough to knock the Australian player down (that would probably gain her a yellow card, which is something that Krystal’s team seriously does not need), but just enough to throw her off.

“Krystal!” Seulgi yells, dashing down the field and successfully losing the three defenders who had tagged teamed up to keep the center-midfielder occupied. “Krys, behind you— !”

“Dammit!” Krystal curses, crashing down on her side when the foot of an opposing player tangles it’s way between her feet. A whistle is blown and a yellow card raised, and Krystal groans beneath the weight.

“, I’m sorry,” the Australian player mutters, not meeting Krystal’s eyes as she helps the tripped girl stand. Seeing the Korean player’s knees about to buckle, she lunges forward, catching Krystal just in time. “I didn’t mean to... .”

“Look, don’t mention it,” Krystal grunts. She turns to look at the bench where an agitated Amber is gripping the edge of the bannister, fire in her eyes. Ugh. She’s not looking forward to dealing with that. She’s relieved when Seulgi materializes at her side, but rolls her eyes at the concern written all over the Captain’s face. “I’m fine, Seul, don’t worry.”

“You always say that,” Seulgi replies with an eye roll of her own. “I’ve known you for my whole life, Krys. Like I’m about to start believing you now. You hurt your left ankle?”

“It’s just a sprain,” But at Seulgi’s reprimanding look, Krystal sighs. “I’ll make my way over to the bench, then. Who will you send in? There’s not much time to think it over.”

Seulgi looks at Irene, who has already left her perch on the bleachers to talk to the players on the bench, the urgency in her defensive body language clear as day. For a brief second, they meet each other’s eyes, and Irene gives a curt nod.

Wheein sprints out to the field to take Krystal’s place less than a minute later, and they keep playing.

—

Thirty-five minutes into the second half, neither team has managed to score, and Seulgi takes deep breaths to keep herself calm and collected. Another ball has just been kicked out pot bounds – on Korea this time– and they’re waiting for the Australian forward to throw it back in. To the right of Seulgi, Hwasa stomps her foot in annoyance, clearly frustrated at the lack of clear openings to shoot on goal.

“They sent out all of their defenders for the second half,” the Korean forward grumbles to Seulgi, who nods in acknowledgement. “Like, literally all six of them. What even is this formation? There’s six defenders, three midfielders, and one forward!”

“I realized,” Seulgi sighs as the negotiating with the referee on how far down the field the ball can be thrown in continues on. “They’re trying to wear us down.”

“It’s not working,” Hwasa grunts. “I’m not tired, just frustrated.”

“I feel,” Eunae chimes in, jogging up to Seulgi and Hwasa. “We’ve gotta score.”

“Moonbyul has the back line in top shape though,” Seulgi notes, nodding to where the blonde-haired defender engages into yet another argument about how the opposing forward is trying to steal distance, Eunji right behind her, ready to fight if necessary. “They haven’t let in any balls come relatively close to the goal, so Tzuyu hasn’t had any action in a while... she looks pretty bored. Our midfield has been hitting the defensive line too. The three of us are playing too defensive, so we should put a stop to that. We can’t win defense against defense. This has to end fast.”

Hwasa and Eunae exchange looks. “We can do that.”

“Great!” Seulgi claps her hands together in excitement, grinning wickedly. “Let’s have some fun, Lightning forward style.”

—

It’s just the turn-around that the team needs.

“We’re passing up, girls!” Seulgi shouts, blazing up the field with Eunae and Hwasa flanking her. “Up, up, up! We’re gonna get us some goals!”

She’s met with loud cheers from both her girls and the home crowd, and the ball makes it to Seulgi’s feet in a record time. They’ve got ten minutes to win this, and Seulgi refuses to only win by a single point. They split, Eunae tearing left and Hwasa tearing down a hard right, while Seulgi keeps charging through the middle.

With a swift pass to Wheein, the two midfielders weave between players, never losing speed, simply getting faster as Seulgi finds herself increasing the distance between her and the defending Australians.

Wheein often says that she doesn’t like being small, but she’s not complaining as she ducks beneath the outstretched arms attempting to stop her in her tracks, sending the ball through an open pair of leg to Seulgi. It’s with her impeccable accuracy that the captain sends a ball arching over the field, finding its way to Hwasa, who hastily touches it down before tapping up to a wide open Eunae.

One curving touch to bend the ball around the goalkeeper, and it’s in.

The crowd goes wild, and Seulgi jumps onto Eunae’s back as Hwasa and a Wheein tackle the Eunae to the ground, making them all fall. And their players are swarming them, shaking Eunae’s shoulders. Seulgi vaguely registers Wendy’s striking falsetto shrieking in glee. (And to her credit, Yeri whoops and dashes down the field to leap into Tzuyu’s arms, not wanting the tall goalkeeper to feel left out of the celebration.)

“Keep it up, girls!” Seulgi shouts as they break. She meets Irene’s proud gaze in the stands, and she’s reminded of the day she walked across that office space, into Irene’s arms. How time has flown. “Eight minutes, girls! And we are not winning by one point alone!”

(Yeri scores her first ever goal while on the National Team three minutes later. Seulgi picks her up and spins her around before shoving the youngest player towards the bench, where Joy is waiting. Yeri might wipe her tears on Joy’s uniform, but if the older girl notices, she doesn’t say anything, opting to just hug Yeri instead.

“Did you see me?” Yeri asks breathlessly, having to crane her neck up to look Joy in the eye.

“I only saw you,” Joy says fondly, smoothing back Yeri’s sweaty bangs and squeezing Yeri tight. She presses an open-mouthed kiss into Yeri’s hair. “Go back in there and kill ‘em.”)

—

Seulgi doesn’t even need the remaining five minutes to score a goal.

She does it within the next thirty seconds after kickoff, stealing the ball, passing to Hwasa, and tearing down the center of the field with Eunae clearing the way in front of her. With a shout from Hwasa, the ball gets sent careening over the heads of the other players.

“Seulgi!” Eunae yells, and all other sound drowns out.

It’s all Seulgi. Seulgi and the ball that Eunae just headed over to her... but there’s also Irene.

Irene in the stands, up on her feet, her hands fiercely clutching her clipboard, her eyes just blazing.

“I believe in you.”

Seulgi believes, believes, believes.

The ball is too high to bring it down in time— it’s hard to judge the impact of headers though, so Seulgi isn’t complaining. There’s rules against using your hands, but no rules against Seulgi leaving the ground.

A high jump (one with enough height that the commentators would be talking about it even after the game ended).

A swift kick (“You looked like a ninja,” Chungha would tell her later. “Did I look cool?” Seulgi would ask. “Meh,” SinB would say.).

An attempt to block from the goalie. Miss.

It’s in.

The stadium erupts with noise.

(They all dogpile onto her— of course they do. Seulgi was bracing herself for it, gazing up at Irene and her beautiful smile and wind-swept hair and wishing that Irene were on the field next to her.

—

“This was only a friendly game,” Jennie laughs, reclining back on the lockers, “but somehow, it seems like we won something larger.”

“I like it,” Seulgi grins. “I’m not complaining.”

“Neither am I,” Jennie replies. There’s nothing else behind it, just a statement.

Someone won something today. Some people won more than one thing.

—

“I scored for you,” Seulgi says, nothing but smiles and teeth as she and Irene walk back to Irene’s place from the stadium. She’s tired, and still a bit sweaty, but then again, she wants nothing more than time with Irene.

“You did,” Irene smiles, bumping their shoulders playfully. “It was a stunner of a goal. Keep this up, and you’ll have no problem during the World Cup.”

“I can’t wait for the qualifiers,” the captain says giddily. “We’re gonna burn our way through those next week.”

“I’m looking forward to it too,” Irene replies, just as enthusiastic.

“I’m still planning on taking over the Olympic for you,” Seulgi reminds her casually. “Right after we win this World Cup. I’m not going back on that promise.”

“And I believe in you,” the older girl says steadily, and Seulgi’s heart tightens at the weight of the words. She doesn’t need anything else. Just Irene’s unwavering belief.

“Thank you, Hyun.”

—

One week later (Seven months post-injury)

“I can’t believe we’re getting a new member right before the World Cup,” Yeri whines, pouting petulantly as she clings to Joy’s larger frame. “We just crushed our way through the qualifiers, but does it not seem, I dunno, a bit short noticed?”

“We need someone to fill in for Krystal. You’re just annoyed that you’re not going to be the baby member anymore,” Jisoo jokes, scrunching her nose in amusement when Yeri puffs out her cheeks. “Oh, come on, Yeri! You’re a sunbaenim to a ton of older teammates anyways! How different can this be?”

“The difference is that I was Somi’s captain on the under-20s team,” Yeri huffs, her hands into the fabric of Joy’s practice uniform. “I’m not ready for this! I’m only nineteen, and I’m feeling the aging process! Being the youngest member is the only thing that’s keeping me feeling young these days!”

Irene and Jisoo share a look, raising eyebrows at Yeri’s dramatization.

“... Right,” Irene says uneasily, inwardly wincing as she remembers that she’s twenty-eight now. And this kid is worrying about growing old...

“Don’t worry, Yerim,” Joy coos, spinning around to drape her arms around Yeri, who basically sinks into Joy’s embrace. “You’re still my baby.”

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Irene laughs nervously, nudging Jisoo to her feet. The defender willingly stands, pretending to cough when she and Irene make way to flee the locker room. However, before they can reach the entrance, the door swings open and Seulgi walks in, Moonbyul and their newest addition in tow.

“Oh!” Seulgi brightens at the sight of the elder girl. “Hyun! You’re here! Hi, Jisoo!” She smiles at the girl who recently dyed her hair a dark violet color. “It’s still early, so I’d been wondering if any of the other girls were in or not.”

(“Gotta look eye-catching at the World Cup!” Jisoo had said. “In an entire stadium full of international soccer players, I want the crowd to remember who I am.”

Seulgi got the feeling that Jisoo was also trying to catch the attention of a different certain someone as well.)

“Our newest call up is here,” Seulgi continues, motioning to the girl bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet behind her. “I think some people already know her. So this is—”

“Somi!” Yeri screams dashing past the older girls to tackle Somi into a hug. “SomSom I’ve missed you!”

Seulgi smirks as Moonbyul clucks her tongue in amusement, alternating between glancing at an equally confused Jisoo and Irene, and the fast chattering, newly reunited young duo.

Joy materializes at Seulgi’s side, tsking disapprovingly. She crosses her arms, and Seulgi can basically see the goalkeeper turn green with jealousy at the sheer excitement on Yeri’s face. “And to think that Yeri was just complaining about bringing Somi in so close to the World Cup, too.”

“I think she just wanted your attention,” Seulgi says with a shrug. “It’s not uncommon.”

“Just like how you start sulking when Irene neglects you for too long?” Jisoo prods, a mischievous spark in her eye, and she elbows a giggling Irene.

Seulgi starts choking over nothing, bumping a fist against her chest to calm herself down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

—

Jennie doesn’t know when she started caring so much about who Jisoo talks to at practice on a daily basis. All she knows is that she’s waving a hello to Irene when Jisoo and Seulgi exit the locker room right after the part-time coach, all giggles and jokingly pushing each other around, and Jennie feels something odd churning in her stomach.

“You’re kinda slow, Seul,” Jisoo is saying, playfully punching the captain in the stomach. Seulgi doubles over dramatically, clutching the hurt area and groaning. The older girl curls up on the turf, grabbing at Jisoo’s ankle and tugging.

“You , Jichu,” Seulgi gasps, pretending to gag and Jisoo hunches over laughing, the defender pulling her ankle out of Seulgi’s grasp.

“Maybe Irene can give you physical therapy again,” Jisoo shoots back and laughs again as a lightbulb flicks on in Seulgi’s brain, and Seulgi begins groaning louder.

Meanwhile, Jennie can’t ever the fact that Seulgi just called Jisoo “Jichu,” because isn’t that my special nickname for Jisoo?

“Are you okay, Jennie?” Irene voices from her right, and Jennie snaps out of her daze.

“I, uh,” the New Zealand-Korean turns to face the older girl, only to be taken aback when she finds nothing but gentle understanding swimming in Irene’s kind orbs. It’s familiar, but not, all at once. How has Jennie never seen the similarities between Jisoo and Irene before? I suppose I have a type— wait.

“I’m good,” Jennie quickly reassures Irene, but not before chancing another glance to Seulgi and Jisoo, who have resulted to passing a soccer ball between the two of them, chatting casually as they warm up for practice.

“Is it bad that I sometimes feel jealous of Jisoo?” Irene asks out of nowhere. “She makes friends so easily. She’s so easy to love. But at the same time, I don’t think I’d mind if she were my little sister. It’s also easy to laugh, you know? When you’re around Jisoo, everything feels really light.”

“I know what you mean,” Jennie finds herself saying without thinking. “I don’t think that I could’ve gotten so far in the soccer world without her.”

“Whoever Jisoo ends up with,” Irene says quietly. “Is going to be very, very lucky.”

Jennie feels like she’s just been run over with a steamroller.

Because somehow, it’s never occurred to her that Jisoo will belong to somebody else one day; that Jisoo’s role is not singularly to be Jennie’s absolute best friend and number one supporter. One day, there will be someone else who will share an apartment with Jisoo, and it won’t be Jennie.

She feels sick.

If she’s slightly more distracted during practice today, nobody says anything.

(Except for Jisoo, who brushes up to Jennie during a water break and rubs away the goosebumps that dot Jennie’s bare skin. Jennie leans into Jisoo, who smiles softly and asks if Jennie wants to go home early. Jennie shakes her head. She’s okay. Jisoo makes things okay.)

—

Irene starts doubting herself at 9PM that night, after Seulgi took her out to dinner and walked her home.

She’s logged onto Twitter, and the first thing she notices is how she’s absolutely barraged with pictures of Seulgi and Eunae together from last weekend’s World Cup qualifiers when she goes into the #KorWNT tag.

@Seulnaeshipper23: look at my ship!!!!! Seulnae have the very best victory hugs!!! Can’t beat this duo #Seulnae #KorWNT

@seulgiseunae: #Seulnae are going to lead us to the finals at the World Cup!!!! #KorWNT

@eunaes_23: You’d be insane to think that Seulnae aren’t dating!!!! Look at those *heart eyes emoji* anjdsjjnijfnd #KorWNT

@kangshibe: okay but y’all know how Eunae’s nickname is D.ana, right? So why aren’t y’all calling this ship Diggy?????? #Seulnae #KorWNT *picture of a growling Shiba Inu*

She sighs, swiftly leaving her account, double pressing the home screen button, and outright shutting down the Twitter app.

There’s... absolutely no way that Seulgi and Eunae are actually dating, right? Sure, they’re arguably the duo with the best chemistry on the Korean National Team (although recently, there have been other combos that have been coming scarily close to taking that spot— notably Wendy and Eunji). Besides, Seulgi’s said on multiple occasions that she and Eunae are “victory hug buddies.”

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other girls on the National Team that weren’t once (or still are) interested in the charming captain. Seulgi has hinted that she and Krystal were a thing for a short period of time, way back in the day. YooA’s blatant affection for Seulgi is painfully obvious— though she insists that it’s only a starstruck crush on the older girl. The same can be said for Somi, who, according to Moonbyul, “got all googly-eyed when Seulgi first walked into the room.”

And then there are the other rumors. Because apparently, the fans don’t stick to ships within the soccer team. And Irene, unfortunately being an adult in the world of technology, has stumbled upon more of those than she can count. Seulgi’s been linked to people all over the entertainment industry— from actress Gong Seungyeon (“Irene, she’s just a close unnie”), to singer Im Nayeon (“Did you know she played soccer back in high school?”), to the model Yura (“Okay, she just so happens to be my friend Mijoo’s older sister”) to even Chinese model Jieqong (“We met once at an ESPN party because we both modeled for their magazine!”)

And who even is Irene anymore? Bae Joohyun? No, it can’t be. Bae Joohyun, the Lightning Forward, the soccer star, disappeared from the world, never to be seen again. All she is, is Irene, the reputable-enough physical therapist. So what if athletes from all over Korea want her services? She’s nothing compared to all those other girls.

“Why would she choose me?” Irene murmurs, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

She’s interrupted in her musings by the sound of her doorbell ringing.

—

“I can’t believe you brought me carrot cake this late at night,” Irene exclaims, cutting herself a slice after she hands Seulgi her plate. “How did you even know I was up?”

“I just got the feeling,” Seulgi chuckles, picking up her fork. A sound of contentment rumbles in as the sweet taste of carrot cake overflows her senses. She’d never found the appeal in the dessert until Irene introduced it to her on one of their café afternoons. After that first bite, Seulgi understood why it was Irene’s favorite food.

“I was lounging on the couch, my laptop open with the intention of catching up on some Netflix, when I suddenly had this feeling, y’know? Like you were sulking or something. So I sprang up – and nearly gave Wendy a heart attack, by the way – yelled an incoherent sentence about how I wanted to buy some carrot cake for you, and sprinted out the door.”

Irene shakes her head, though the smile on her face betrays her. “I can’t believe you, Kang Seulgi. And you left Wendy all alone?”

Seulgi waves her off. “Ah, she was FaceTiming Eunji anyways! But I was right, wasn’t I?” Seulgi’s never looked more like a baby bear as she grins cheekily at Irene. “You were sulking before I got here.”

A constrained sound escapes Irene’s lips, but she doesn’t deny the younger girl.

“What were you thinking about?” Seulgi presses. “What’s going on in Bae Joohyun’s brain?”

“... Have you checked the Korean Women’s National Team tag on Twitter recently?”

Seulgi slowly nods, and a whole second later, understanding washes over her features in waves. “Oh. You saw all the tweets speculating about ‘Seulnae’ or something, right?” She rolls her eyes, making air-quotes with her index and middle finger around the ship name. “Eunae and I have been talking a lot about that stuff too. We’re probably gonna end up cutting down on the hugs,” she chuckles, her hair falling down into her face as she shakes her head.

“You two...” Irene bites her lip. “You guys aren’t a thing, are you?”

Seulgi’s eyes widen. “Of course not!” She frowns. “There’s no way I’d be pursuing you if I wasn’t... I get the feeling that you understand that, but you just want the confirmation?” Seulgi says gently, a soft smile spreading on her lips at the older girl’s red cheeks. “It’s fine, Hyun! I understand.”

“Not just that,” Irene murmurs, staring down at her half-eaten cake. “I don’t... it’s not that I don’t like Jennie, because I do. It’s just clear that I don’t like her in a romantic sense. I think that Jennie’s chasing after the wrong person too.”

“Jennie has...” Seulgi pauses, mulling over her next words. “She’s been too busy looking forward. She didn’t realize that she person she’s really been searching for has been right next to her this whole time.” She places her fork down.

Irene stays quiet, her lips still pursed around her fork. Slowly, she pulls it out, finally looking up to catch Seulgi’s knowing gaze.

“Back before this whole thing with Jennie started,” Irene begins carefully, feeling slightly encouraged when Seulgi nods her way, still smiling. “You asked me to wait a little. Now it’s my turn. Can you wait for me, Seulgi? Just a little longer.”

And Irene didn’t realize that she was reaching out for Seulgi until the other girl reaches across the table and intertwines their fingers. Irene stares at their locked fingers through hooded eyes. The weight on her chest feels... lighter. Liberating. Holding Seulgi’s hand feels liberating, and Irene doesn’t want to let go.

“Of course I can wait for you, Hyun,” Seulgi says, shooting Irene her best Seulgi Eye-Smile— the very same eye smile that Irene first saw the day Seulgi could finally walk again; the day Irene knew in the back of her mind that she wouldn't mind seeing that smile every day of the week. “Any waiting that I do for you... I know that it’ll be worth it in the end.”

Yes. This is the right choice.

“Thank you, Seulgi.”

—

Irene’s searching for her clipboard underneath a pile of papers the next day when there’s a tap on her shoulder. She whirls around in the rolling desk chair to see a hand extending her clipboard to her.

“Oh!” She smiles, taking the clipboard from the hand, and then following the arm up to its owner. “Thank you, Eunae! I’ve been looking for this everywhere!”

“No problem,” The tall forward replies graciously, becoming shy as Irene beams at her. “Um, so I was talking to Seulgi earlier, and she might have mentioned some things...”

Irene regards Eunae in amusement. Clearly, she’s not worried about any threat Eunae might have once posed— the girl has made it obvious that she and Seulgi are sisters at best. Last night was just Irene succumbing to her own insecurities. Still, she looks at Eunae imploringly.

“So,” Eunae continues slowly. “I just uh, thought that you should know that there’s no need to worry whatsoever, since I already have a girlfriend.”

“I— wait, what?” Irene’s eyes go wide, and her eyebrows raise to the top of her head. “You have a girlfriend? How— I— how on earth did we all not know?”

Eunae flushes red, finding the tips of her cleats startlingly interesting. “I’ve been keeping it super, super on the down-low. Her name’s Nahyun, and she’s studying to be a lawyer. We met back in college when we were hanging out in the library, but after we graduated we didn’t really see much of each other. A few months ago, we reconnected at a reunion party and we’ve been together ever since.”

Irene nods, taking a moment to process this information. “Well congrats, Eunae! I’m glad you found someone to connect with! Sorry, I’m just a little bit shocked,” she and Eunae share a laugh. “Wait, does this somehow have to do with why YooA’s Twitter handle is selfinsertfanfics?”

Eunae chuckles, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah, it does. But I think that’s a story for another day.”

—

After practice, it’s Jennie who found Irene first, quietly asking if she could steal some of Irene’s time and steal her away for a few minutes. Irene had nodded wordlessly, and now here they stand, at the top of the bleachers, away from any listening ears.

“I think you know why I asked to talk to you up here,” Jennie says after a moment of silence. A tired smile skips across her features, and Irene returns it with a small smile of her own.

“I definitely have my assumptions,” Irene confirms.

“Seulgi will take good care of you,” is what Jennie says, and Irene is stunned into speechlessness at the blunt plainness of the statement. Yet somehow, it sounds right for both of them.

Irene nods through hooded eyes, thinking back to the way Seulgi held her hand last night. That had felt right too.

“I know she will,” Irene replies softly. “But Jennie, you don’t have to be alone.”

“I know that too,” Jennie admits. “I did some thinking, and I guess I came to the conclusion that I’ve been chasing the wrong rabbit this whole time.”

“But you know who the right one is now,” Irene says gently, her voice tender. “And that’s what matters.”

“What if it’s too late?” Jennie sounds afraid to ask the question. “What if Jisoo can’t see me like that anymore?”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Irene tells her. “Especially since she’s been looking at you and only you this whole time.”

—

“Jisoo’s still in the locker room. I was just in there with her,” Seulgi informs Jennie with a knowing pat on the back after Irene and her fellow midfielder made their way back down to the turf. Jennie whispers a quiet thank you, and Seulgi shakes her head softly.

“Just make her happy, and that’s enough thanks for me.”

Seulgi waves Jennie off as the other midfielder slips into the locker room, and no second later, when it’s just her and Irene alone in the field, she finds herself getting tackled to the ground, completely caught off guard when a smaller body rams into her own.

Seulgi throws her head back, laughing, as Irene pins her down in the grass.

“You’ve been spending too much time with other girls, Kang Seulgi,” Irene says, scrunching up her nose in distaste. “Should I be concerned?”

“I didn’t know that you were the jealous type,” Seulgi replies teasingly, eyes crinkling into little crescent moons. “Not gonna like, it’s kinda hot.”

“You’re mine now,” Irene states, like it’s no big deal and Seulgi’s heart totally isn’t swelling to twice the size. “All mine.”

“All yours,” Seulgi repeats, like Irene hasn’t owned her entire being since the day she told Seulgi I think you’ll be my best case yet (and she’d been right). “But you’ve been talking a lot with Jennie recently. Should I be concerned?”

“Of course not! I belong to you too,” Irene continues, not moving an inch off of Seulgi despite the pink hue staining her cheeks. “Just to make that clear. Because this a two-way street, and stuff... yada yada yada, I think we’ve been around each other long enough to avoid the rest of the speech.”

“You belong to me,” Seulgi reiterates happily, because Seulgi likes simple very much. And Irene is simple. And so by the mathematical transitive property, Seulgi likes Irene. Very, very, very much. (Irene makes her do things that she would otherwise never do— like eat celery and carrot sticks during practice, and relate something like falling in love to mathematics.)

“You’re all changed, yeah?” Irene comments, noting how Seulgi’s wearing her casual clothes. “Let’s go get ice cream?”

“Yes!” Seulgi fist pumps as Irene reluctantly moves off of her. “Wait,” Seulgi’s attention is temporarily diverted, observing the way that the locker room door opens, and Jisoo and Jennie exit, laughing and joking together as they usually do— except they’re holding hands.

Seulgi bites back a smile, trying to contain herself as she and Irene meet eyes. “Can we invite them?”

Irene laughs, the sound filling the empty stadium and rising up into the clouds.

“Of course we can.”

—

@lalimario: @rosepasta @jfkryst @llamamber we cute #doubledates #chaelisa #kryber

@korwntfan45: @lalimario @rosepasta @jfkryst @llamamber OMG THEY’RE ADORABLE

“No one gave me the memo that it was National Double Date day,” Irene comments, casually tapping the heart icon underneath the posted selca of the two couples grinning up at the camera, slices of pizza in their hands. She her head as a her phone dings, and a new post pops up on her timeline. “Oh my god…”

@parksootan: @myemim @ofcwendy @artisteunji we cuter #doubledates #joyri #wenji

@hangulwoso: @parksootan @myemim @ofcwendy @artisteunji LMAO MAKNAES REIGN SUPREME AND #WENJI IS SAILINGGGG

“We’re being outdone,” Jisoo complains, begrudging running her thumb over the heart icon in turn. “I can’t be the only one who thinks we can do better.”

Jennie laughs, nudging Jisoo with her elbow. “Oh, please. We could could create plenty of havoc if we wanted to.”

“Why don’t we?” Seulgi asks innocently, shrugging her shoulders and pulling out her phone. She beckons all the girls closer. “Get in guys, we’ve got a mission to accomplish. Make sure your notifications are off.”

@sringles: @baerene @jendeukkie @jichuchu we da cutest #doubledates #seulrene #jensoo

@korwnt_seulgi: @sringles @baerene @jendeukkie @jichuchu WAIT A SECOND SEULGI IS TAKEN AND JENSOO IS REAL??????

@jendeukkie: @korwnt_seulgi yup.

@seulgijennie: @sringles @baerene @jendeukkie @jichuchu HOLD UP SEULGI IS DATING THAT CUTE GIRL WHO’S BEEN AT ALL THE GAMES RECENTLY

@baerene: @seulgijennie I’m a part-time coach, and that is correct

@jisoofan2: @sringles @baerene @jendeukkie @jichuchu THEYRE SO CUTE TOGETHER OMG #SEULRENE AND #JENSOO RISE

@myemim: @sringles @baerene @jendeukkie @jichuchu congrats guys you broke the internet

@jichuchu: @myemim *sunglasses emoji*