“THIS jerk!?” 

Seulgi’s roar echoed in the court despite the loud cheers from the crowd. Joohyun was up from her throne while the mystery girl was just on the side watching how her Seulgi-unnie fought for Joohyun’s right to date. 

“I can’t help it then.” Seulgi turned to the ring and drove towards it. “I have to do this then!”

“What?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “Is she really shooting the ball?”

“Don’t tell me she actually practised her left arm?” Hyunjin asked in bewilderment. Yujin took the opportunity to run free from the two but she was quickly followed. They were guarding her like a criminal even though her partner is on the loose. 

Seulgi then leaped, transferring the ball to her left hand to shoot. Everything felt like it was in slow motion while the professor was up in the air. With one swift move, Seulgi scooped for a lay up and then—

“ACK!”

Everyone was dumbfounded when the next thing they witnessed was Seulgi on the ground after the failed lay up hit the rim and ricocheted straight to her face. Yujin felt deja vu. A very strong one. Luckily, Seulgi managed to keep the ball to herself after it hit her face. 

“Sh*t!” She cursed loudly as she went back to her feet. “Why is my left arm so useless when it comes to shooting!?”

Seulgi tried to shoot again, this time a jump shot but it just hit the rim and bounced back at her again. This time, it didn’t hit her face as if the ball had a mind of its own. Seulgi already had her nose bleeding and she couldn’t afford another hit to the face.

The professor tried and tried. She shoots and rebounds. Shoots and rebounds again and again but she just couldn’t make the basket. The whole gym was so silent while watching her make those horrible shots. They couldn’t believe that she was the same person who was showcasing crazy handles, impossible passes and even sent the coach of the basketball team down after that crossover. 

“This is ing annoying!” Seulgi shouted while still trying to make the basket. “Get in, you annoying ball!”

The referee felt really bad witnessing Seulgi like this. She was one of the direct witnesses of Seulgi’s greatness in basketball, ranking 4th overall in the national point guard ranking. The person who used to average thirty points per game and lead her team into the championship is now struggling to make even one goal.

In her urgency, she tripped in her landing after she rebounded the ball. It was quite an awful fall that made everyone watching gasp. She didn’t let go of the ball but it was hard for her to stand back. It was the first time for the whole school to witness the easy going professor this annoyed and desperate. 

Everyone flinched when she punched the ground with her left hand due to frustration and Joohyun couldn’t handle it anymore. 

“Kang Seulgi!” She shouted. “Enough! It’s okay, Seulgi! Please stop this!”

“What do you mean stop?” Seulgi just smirked as she finally managed to go back to her feet. She wiped her forehead sweat with her left arm, revealing her bruised knuckles. “Tell me, why would I let you go out with someone else!!?”

In her anger and frustration, Seulgi threw the ball down in such a force that it bounced up so high. She was looking at Joohyun’s way with those angry eyes but then she suddenly heard cheers from the audience. The referee then blew a whistle and shouted. “19-20!!!”

“W-Wait, what?” Seulgi looked rather confused when Yujin came running at her.

“Your shot went in, Prof!” Yujin said with teary eyes, she was really close to crying. “It went in, Prof!”

“The heck.” Seulgi turned back to Joohyun, now with the usual goofy smile on her face. “Hyunie-ya! They said my shot went in! I didn’t see it but it went in! I made a shot, Hyunie-ya!”

“Seulgi-ya!” Joohyun fell to her knees in relief. She saw how the ball miraculously went in. She couldn’t stop her own tears after seeing how happy Seulgi was after making that shot. She was having mixed emotions with what she just witnessed. 

All this time she blamed herself for what happened to Seulgi. If it wasn’t because of her, Seulgi won’t be there that night of the accident. If it wasn’t for her rejection, Seulgi would’ve pursued therapy and rehabilitation. The doctor confirmed that the reason she couldn’t raise her right arm was more psychological and not physical. It’s also the possible reason why her left arm doesn’t cooperate when it comes to shooting as well.

Seulgi still had the desire to play basketball but there were things in her mind that kept her from getting back and Joohyun believes that she plays an important part to Seulgi’s trauma.

And seeing her this happy with that miraculous basket, Joohyun felt guilt and relief rushed to her at the same time, taking her away like a flash flood. The Seulgi who was once a great scorer now only relies on miracles to make a score.

The mystery girl just crossed her arms and continued to observe with that smug look on her face. It’s indeed a feat to see Seulgi like that.

“It’s not over yet.” Seulgi told Yujin. “We still have one more point left to make.”

Seulgi went back behind the arc to check the ball out. Surprisingly, Chanyeol didn’t speak a word to her that time. The guy finally focused on the ball only. Seulgi’s at her limits already. After wasting so much energy with her shoot and rebound performance earlier, she felt the trembling of her legs getting severe. 

“Prof. Kang!” Her eyes quickly darted to Yujin who was surprisingly free. Seulgi then readied herself to pass the ball to Yujin thinking that call was for a pass but it was more like a warning. The moment she let go of the ball, Hyunjin suddenly appeared and stole the ball from her and everything went fast after that. 

Cheers filled the whole hall again. Seulgi’s peripheral vision then noticed the change in the scoreboard that made her take a better look. It’s 21-20.

Hyunjin literally left Yujin even though they were on the defensive mode. Yujin tried to go after the guy but her legs were not moving at all. Her last call to Seulgi was a warning but everything went so fast. Hyunjin stole the ball, quickly passed it to Chanyeol who made the shot from behind the arc. And just like that 29 consecutive shots he made last time, that final shot served as his 30th that he wasn’t able to make because of Seulgi’s interference. 

“Nice game, Prof. Kang.” Chanyeol came towards her, the guy was chasing for his breath. “It was really a good game. I hope to play with you again in the future.”

The guy then saw how Seulgi gritted her teeth and felt the intensity of her anger. He then realised how she was serious about this match. All this time, he thought she was just messing around to make a scene because he had this image of Seulgi for being an attention hogger. 

Seulgi took a deep breath and reached out to Chanyeol’s handshake offer. She once again showed her seriousness with how strong her grip was. “Thank you for the game.”

With her legs still shaking, Seulgi went towards Yujin who was being consoled by Hyunjin. The girl was as frustrated as she was but couldn’t hide her tears. Seulgi also shook hands with the ace player who gave her a very respectful bow. She then helped Yujin straighten up her back and gave her a hug.

“Sorry, pup. I was useless.” Seulgi whispered, bitterness was in her tone no matter how hard she tried to appear cheerful. “You really did well. Thank you for doing the match with me.”

Seulgi then cupped her student’s face and gently wiped her tears. “Stop crying like this. I’m the one who bet something, you know?” 

Yujin just nodded and tried to walk with Seulgi towards the middle but the two were already limping because of fatigue. The two were then surprised when Seungwan and Jimin suddenly appeared and guided them towards the centre. 

The student knew that she should be happy after being this close with her crush but she didn’t feel any spark of happiness at all. Her eyes looked for Minjoo and found the other girl still at the opponent’s bench giving her that smile she never asked for. 

After the final bows, the crowd cheered as Chanyeol raised his fist for victory. The cheers for both teams were really loud. Despite the poor shooting form, Seulgi gained more fans because of the game while Yujin’s fansclub was most probably in the middle of its establishment. The match felt more exciting than a championship game, it’s more dramatic at the end too.

The mentor-mentee duo were then escorted out of the court to get some proper rest. Seulgi took another look at Joohyun who wasn’t allowed to go down even though she already told the students that she has to go to Seulgi. The ex-point guard just gave her that apologetic smile before finally going to the lockers. 

“Oh no, Seulgi-unnie must be really sad.” 

Joohyun turned to the mysterious girl who just waved her hand at her. 

“Guess I’ll get to comfort her before you even come.”

“Wait—” But before Joohyun could even go after the girl, she was escorted to the court and had her raise Chanyeol’s hand for victory. She knew she missed another golden opportunity to take the lead in Seulgi’s heart. 

Her fears would be proven valid when she was finally able to go and meet Seulgi at the locker room. She found Seungwan marching out in annoyance towards the opposite way. Minjeong came out of the locker soon after with that shocked look on her face, her eyes fixed to one place. She then hurriedly followed the musical actress.

Next was Jimin who quickly shut the door after coming out. She looked rather horrified. 

“Oh no! I forgot Yujinie inside!” She did little jogs in her place as she started panicking. She bit her thumb nail while trying to figure out whether to get inside and drag Yujin outside or just continue running away. 

“J-Jimin-ssi?” Joohyun called, which made the panicking Jimin flinch. “What’s happening? Is there something wrong?”

“P-Professor Bae!” Jimin hurriedly went towards the said professor. “I think Professor Kang’s real fiancée came! It seemed like she’s not in a very good mood after Professor Kang fought for you.”

“H-Huh?” Joohyun’s eyes squinted in confusion. “What do you mean? Real fiancée? Is this a woman wearing a leather jacket?”

Jimin nodded very quickly. “Yes, yes! She suddenly entered the locker room!”

Joohyun remembered how the said girl in the leather jacket asked her about being Seulgi’s wife. She knew that the said girl is also not informed about the real identity of the person Seulgi is going to marry but the possibility that it is her is there. Especially that she’s one of Seulgi’s exes and the writer even confirmed to Yujin that she’s included in the list of the possible brides. 

“She suddenly barged in the room?” Joohyun wanted to clarify what she just heard and Jimin answered her with repeated nods. “But why are you guys looking so shocked? Director Son even marched out of the room…”

“I-It’s because…” Jimin hesitated to answer but she knew she had to say it. If not, Joohyun would just clarify things herself. “I-It’s because… She just came in and kissed Professor Kang!”

“What!?” Joohyun’s eyes widened in horror. She barged in the locker room and found the said woman sitting at Seulgi’s lap. She still had her arms wrapped around Seulgi’s neck and was eyeing Seulgi with those bewitching eyes. 

Knowing that intruders came inside, the said woman turned towards the door, her lips. She gave Joohyun that challenging, smug smile before leaning her head towards Seulgi’s. 

“Hi, Professor Bae Joohyun~” the woman greeted