Despite the fact that they have left early, they seem to be the last to arrive at the try-outs. Bomi only counts eleven people, considering herself and Eunji. She recognizes Hwasa, Moonbyul and Wheein, and she recognizes a few girls who had been on the football team last year.

In that moment, her eyes catches sight of a very tall girl but, before Bomi can utter a word, Eunji is already pulling her into the field, rushing to Oh Hayoung.

“Hayoungie!” Eunji is pinching Hayoung’s cheeks and the tall girl can’t seem to decide if she’s really happy to see them or if this was a mistake. Is clearly written on her face.

“Hayoung-ah, you showed up!” Bomi is surprised. They told Hayoung about their plan of trying out for the women’s football team, but she didn’t think Hayoung would actually show up.

Hayoung breaks free of Eunji’s good naturedly torture and her wince changes into a light sneer. “Of course, I was not going to be left out.” She smiles challengingly. “I busted my to be good enough for try-outs even while being on the beach, so I hope you fools do well.”

The three of them giggle. They have really missed each other.

Coach Kim Hyoyeon interrupts them.

“All of you, go get padded up. Just grab a helmet and some shoulder pads for now. The cheerleading coach is still giving me trouble about the locker rooms, so just put them on over your clothes."

Hyoyeon had them run laps first and do some basic exercises like jumping jacks and fire drills. After the third set of jumping jacks, Eunji throws her a look that clearly says "Thank you for making me work out all summer.' Almost all of the others were panting heavily and their bodies were slowing down. Bomi sees Coach Kim giving them an approving nod.

Next, she sets up a series of cones and have them run through it a couple of times. She, Eunji, and Wheein do the best on that one. Wheein catches Bomi's eyes and gives her a nod and a smile. The auburn-haired girl beams at her.

Seconds later, Hwasa ‘accidentally’ knocks into her so Eunji takes a step towards the girl but Bomi holds her back.

"I'll get her later."

Eunji raises an eyebrow and then smirks when she’s aware of the glint in her eyes.

After the throwing exercise, there’s a running exercise. Moonbyul would hand off the ball to one of them and the other would try to tackle them.

Bomi can technically say she’s a dancing ninja because even though the sport is crude, the footwork involved in running the football is a kind of dance. And Bomi knows how to dance.

She runs the ball first and it feels like a tango. This girl, Seulgi is her name, is always right on her heels forcing her to cut and fake.

A couple of times she has felt the other girl’s fingers brush her and she spins out of Seulgi’s grasp only to find Seulgi has recovered and is trying to pull her back in; the first time she made it without Seulgi tackling her, the second time, Seulgi finally was able to swing her to the ground just before they reach the end. Seulgi offers her a hand up with a wide smile and Bomi knows she gets it when Seulgi bows her head just barely and says, "Can I have this dance?"

It is exhilarating.

When Bomi plays the defender, it is kind of like a jive, -fast paced, the apparent ease of the back and forth hiding the deliberate steps and the fierce precision-. Seulgi is far more used to play defence than offense, so Bomi tackles her both times.

When the coach blows her whistle, she almost feels like they should bow.

They were taking a water break, when they hear the sound of a bullhorn.

"Move it, this school’s stars are coming through!"

Kwon Yuri and the entire cheerleading squad march across the field.

Eunji stiffens beside her, cursing under her breath. Bomi's stomach twists as she searches the sea of cheerleaders for her girlfriend. She spots Chorong standing next to Namjoo and Naeun.

Chorong looks displeased, pressed into a line. When her eyes meet Bomi's, her cheeks flush slightly, quirking a discrete smile. From beside Chorong, Namjoo waves cheerfully. Eunji and Bomi wave back at Namjoo, very happy to see her.

Naeun just smirks with an absolutely wicked glint in her eyes as her gaze flicks between Bomi and Chorong. Bomi wonders what possibly could have Chorong told her for her to be so amused with them.

Finally, all the cheerleaders are on their positions and start a simple routine. Coach Hyoyeon blows her whistle.

It works out so that Eunji, Bomi, Hayoung, Seulgi, and two other girls start to try to run plays against Hwasa, Wheein and Moonbyul. And it is more nerve wrecking with the cheerleaders watching. Especially for Bomi.

The first two plays go to Eunji and Seulgi. They huddle again and Hayoung nods towards Bomi.

"Hand off to you, okay?"

Bomi nods.

They run the play. Bomi just barely slips past Hwasa and only stops running when Hyoyeon blows the whistle. As they are lining back up, Hwasa glares at her.

The next play, Hwasa jumps the snap. Bomi doesn’t even have the ball when Hwasa crashes into her. She isn’t going to lie, it hurt a little bit as she was caught completely off guard.

Hyoyeon blows the whistle and pulls Hwasa off her and Bomi stands up slowly. She is vaguely aware of Hyoyeon yelling and Eunji asking her if she was okay, but she’s looking towards the stands, half expecting Chorong to be on the field by now. She notices that the only reason she isn’t is because Namjoo had practically wrapped her whole body around Chorong to hold her in place. Naeun appears to be whispering frantically in Chorong's ear, her hand on Chorong's arm. The black-haired girl had turned that funny shade of purple again. Finally she notices Bomi is looking at her and she relaxes, but barely.

Hayoung chuckles impressed. "Damn. She’s no longer the ‘Chorong that lived’ but the ‘Chorong that rages’. Maybe we should just let her charge the field once.”

Seulgi smiles at Bomi. "You okay? That was a massive hit."

"Yeah, thanks.” The auburn-haired girl hesitates. “Can I ask for something?"

Seulgi nods.

"I'd like it if Hayoung and I could change positions for a while. You hand it off to her and I'll do the blocking." Bomi turns to Hayoung, "You, run towards Hwasa and make sure nobody else tackles you."

"Sure, can I ask why?

Bomi smirks, "I just want the excuse to block her for you."

Eunji chuckles darkly. "Hell yeah. Don't break any of her bones."

When Seulgi gives Hayoung the football, she follows her closely, but hangs back just enough so Bomi has room to move and the other team don’t see her as a threat. Hayoung dodges one person and Hwasa approaches from the right. When Hwasa lunges forward, arms outstretched, Bomi surges forward and slams into her with the force of a freight train. She may or may not have used a slightly modified taekwondo technique to maximize the force of the tackle. They hit the ground with a bone jarring thud, bouncing a little and sliding.

Everyone freezes.

Bomi recovers, moving quickly on her feet in case Hwasa lashes out. Hwasa groans but forces herself to her feet, swearing. The dancer is proud of herself.

The rest of the try-out goes by quickly, Bomi avoiding looking at the stands. Coach Hyoyeon calls them in for a final huddle.

"Alright, you guys. Huddle it up. I want to thank you for showing up today. It showed me that you're really dedicated to making into the team. A couple of you definitely made it. The rest of you will need to come back for the second try-out so I can see how you compare to the others. But if it's a close call, I'll pick you because you made more effort." She looks over them carefully. "Wheein, Moonbyul, you'll be maintaining your positions from last year. Hwasa, you're in, but you'd better watch that attitude of yours because I don't need it and I won't tolerate it. Seulgi, Hayoung, welcome to the team. Eunji, unless someone shows up throwing like Favre or Elway, you're going to be my quarterback. And, last but not least, Bomi, congratulations. You're my new running back."

Bomi can’t help but to jump up and down excitedly in victory. Eunji throws her arm around Bomi’s shoulder and brings Hayoung to the hug, whooping.

The singer is exploding with energy, she seems to bounce step by step.

"We freaking did it. is going to go down this year!" Eunji looks so happy for the first time in months, it almost brings tears to Bomi’s eyes.

Bomi and Hayoung are smiling widely.

“Congratulations! You guys were great on the field.” Chorong’s gleeful voice reaches the girls.

They turn around to be faced with three very familiar girls. Chorong's cheeks are flushed slightly but she’s smiling broadly at them waiting for her turn to join the celebration.

Namjoo runs to congratulate Hayoung with a bear hug, kissing her with a loud ‘bop’. “That was so hot!”

"That was really good, I’m glad you all made it.” Naeun smiles, changing her gaze from the couple to Bomi. “Chorong went crazy in the bleachers though. I didn’t think we were going to be able to hold her."

The black-haired girl blushes and leans into Naeun, hitting her in the shoulder softly. The taller girl just laughs at Chorong’s embarrassment.

Finally, chattering loudly between the six of them, all together after many weeks, is how Bomi defines a perfect summer day.