Yuri and Jessica were engaged in a cold war ever since the incident happened. Yuri was trying her best to avoid Jessica at all costs. Jessica, on the other hand, did not bother to approach Yuri for an explanation, or to clear things up. Though Yuri was the skilled one, she came out of the fight with more cuts and bruises. Every time Jessica sees Yuri in school, she would be worried for the latter. Unknowingly, she was more worried for Yuri than Taecyeon, and something tugged at her heart every time she sees her. Maybe she felt bad, maybe it was because she was her childhood ‘protector’. Or maybe, she was finally falling for her.

--

“Hey Jess, you’re going to the game later right?”

“Do I have a need to?”

“Aw c’mon, it’ll be fun! It’d been long since we’ve met Jiyong oppa too!” Tiffany whined, tugging on Jessica’s arm.

“Unnie, we’re all going anyway. Plus, it’s to support the other unnies too.” Seohyun added.

Jessica reluctantly agreed after much pleading from Seohyun and Tiffany, sighing inwardly.

--

It was game day for the basketballers, and to Yuri’s relief, most of her cuts and bruises had healed. Firstly, she did not have to explain to her brother the origins of them. Secondly, she would be able to play more comfortably without them.

The whole team were a bunch of nerves before the game, as it was their first game of the season. The whole stadium was filled, the students excited to see their ‘idols’ on court. They were also interested in the clash between the Kwon siblings. Yuri’s older brother, Kwon Jiyoung, also known as GD, was the captain of their opposing team. Both siblings were equally talented in the sport, and the sibling relationship between them made many people envious too.

“Oppa!” Yuri broke into a smile as soon as she saw her brother walking into the stadium.

Chuckling, Jiyong spread out his arms, catching Yuri in his arms. ‘Awww’s resounded through the stadium, and many took out their phones to capture the precious moment.

“How’s my little girl?” Jiyong ruffled Yuri’s hair.

“Oppa! I’m only a year younger than you. Besides, I’m already 22. I’m not little anymore.” Yuri rebutted.

The Kwons started their little banter then, while Yuri brought Jiyong and his team to their locker room and showed them their bench. The siblings only separated and stopped their little catch up when Yuri’s coach blew the whistle, signalling them to start warming up.

“Come home and visit more often, lil’ sis!” Jiyong shouted as Yuri ran off.

--

The starting 5 for SMU were Taeyeon, Yuri, Lay, Sooyoung and Kris. On the other hand, the starting 5 for YGU were Jiyoung, Seunghyun, Daesung, Taeyang and Seungri.

"Phewwt!" The referee blew the whistle and threw the ball up into the air.

 Both Seunghyun and Kris jumped at the same time but since Kris had a bigger height advantage, he managed to reach the ball easily. He tipped the ball towards Taeyeon, and Yuri's team immediately got into an early offence position. With just one pass, they managed to get a fast break attempt. The game immediately became advantageous for SMU, the players being quicker and having better teamwork.

 Soon, the first 10 minutes were over and the score was 15-6, with SMU winning. 

 The second quarter started almost immediately, and the players from YGU started to buck up a little. By the end of the first half, YGU managed to close the gap to 24-20. SMU was underperforming in that quarter, and YGU took advantage of their turnovers.

 The third quarter started with Taeyang putting his plan into action. He was trying to hit and foul Yuri as much as possible without being caught by the referee. Since the referee did not say anything, Yuri couldn't do much, but she still tried her best to convert as many points and take as many rebounds as she could. Despite the interference, she still managed to score some points and help her team. The score was now 46-30. 

Yuri was trying to hide her limp while walking out of the court at the end of the quarter. During one of the fast breaks, Taeyang managed to push her slightly, causing her to be off-balanced and land wrongly. This caused her to strain her ankle slightly. The only person who noticed was the culprit himself, smirking at his own achievement. He knew where to attack her now. 

For the last quarter, Taeyeon and Yoona showed off their amazing chemistry with each other on court. Yuri wasn’t playing and was taking a rest. Taeyang kept glancing towards SMU’s bench, hoping that their coach would substitute Yuri in. The goddess of luck was on his side, as SMU made some mistakes, causing the opponents to catch up. Looking at the sidelines worriedly, Yuri decided to ask her coach to substitute her back in to play for the remaining time left. Leaving Taeyeon and Yoona, he substituted Yuri, Sooyoung and Amber in. The five had especially great teamwork with each other and they easily surpassed the other team with their bond. Despite being girls, they made up for their lack of strength compared to the guys using their skills.

 It was down to the last few seconds and Soshi was winning 66-44. Taeyang, unhappy with the great point difference was angry and charged towards Yuri at the last second. Besides, he needed to complete the deal he made with Taecyeon. Yuri was in the midst of shooting a 3-point and Taeyang knew of the best method to injure her. Since he knew about her ankle, he decided to use it against her. Pretending to box Yuri out, he stuck out his foot at the last moment, making her land unevenly.

 "Ow!" Yuri shouted as her ankle twisted.

The ball went into the net when the buzzer rang. The referee did not catch Taeyang’s deliberate foul, hence, it was not a foul in. Clenching her teeth, she grabbed onto her ankle, trying to reduce the pain. Taeyeon immediately ran over to check on her.

--

Jessica directed her attention away from her phone and back onto the court as soon as she heard a familiar voice shout out in pain. When she saw Yuri sprawled on the floor clutching her ankle, her heart started thumping quickly and her palms started sweating. She was not only shocked but extremely worried about her. She couldn’t help but keep thinking if she was okay.

“…sica! Jessica!” Tiffany shook her out of her trance.

Looking around, she saw teachers clearing the students out of the hall, and bringing over the stretcher. Tiffany was trying to explain to her that Taeyeon got special permission from the teachers for them to stay in the stadium and wait while Yuri was being checked on. However, Tiffany’s words just went through her right ear and out of the left, while she stared at Yuri being carried onto the stretcher and into the locker rooms. She just nodded aimlessly to what Tiffany said.

 “I’ll… I’ll go get a drink first. I think she’ll take quite long. Do you want anything?” Jessica stood up and asked.

--

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jiyong grabbed Taeyang’s jersey and pushed him up against the wall.

Once Yuri was brought into the locker room, Jiyong forced Taeyang out of the stadium with him.

“It was an accident! I didn’t mean it!”

“Accident my foot Dong Taeyang! I saw it with my own eyes. You can fool the referee, but you can’t fool me.” Jiyong glared, extremely furious. “Tell me why you did it. Or else you’re out of the team.”

“…”

“You’re out. Don’t bother coming for anymore trainings and matches. The team will be better off without someone as dirty as you. I clearly emphasised that we should play fair.” Jiyong let go of his jersey and walked away.

“Ok Taecyeon asked me to do it.”

Jiyong stopped in his tracks and turned around immediately. Taeyang took it as a sign to continue.

“He met up with me a few days before the game. He told me to injure your sister. Even better if I could bench her for a few matches. In return he gave me a few hundred thousand won. The reason why, he didn’t tell me.”

After listening to his explanation, Jiyong walked back into the stadium to check on Yuri. Unfortunately, the place he chose to confront Taeyang was right beside the vending machine. In one corner, Jessica was leaning against the wall, listening to everything they said.

A/N: Sorry guys, this chapter is a day late :-( On a side note, Happy Chinese New Year everyone!