Yoona had never expected to hear so many people cheering her name. They were some of the loudest she’d ever heard. She had been anticipating for this day and had wasted her time practising in order to win. She wasn’t going to admit that she was tired, even if her eyes were droopy from the lack of sleep.

To make it even worse, the bandages wrapped around her head were so tight, she thought the dizziness could actually pull her into unconsciousness. But she had to stay awake.

She had to win.

“You ready, man?” Sooyoung walked into the locker rooms, taking a seat beside her friend. “It starts in an hour.”

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Do you think the fans will still love me?”

“Anything can happen, but I know you’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of that.” Sooyoung held out a fist, receiving a fist bump from the younger girl. “Whatever it is you plan on doing, I’ll stand by you no matter what.”

They shared reassuring smiles before the coach walked in, a whistle hanging around his neck as he wore a cap firmly atop his bald head. He gave a confident smile to his team. “You ready to kick some ?”

“Yessir.” Simultaneously, they answered.

“I want a nice, clean win tonight. No screw ups, ya hear? People will be expecting a lot from us now than ever.” Yoona gulped, nervous. God, oh how she wished people would stop telling her to do everything so faultless. It seemed every time she talked to someone, they’d praise her perfection or ask for more.

She felt like a prisoner in her own body, being controlled by her peers instead of herself. If she wanted to move left, they’d tell her to move right and she’d do exactly that because it was what they wanted, and whatever they wanted, they’d get. Yoona found joy in pleasing her fans, but she had missed a certain figure amongst that crowd – the most important one.

“Let’s head out.”

Yoona stood up as the whole team followed. Unconsciously, she reached her hand up to her forehead, running her fingers along the bandage and cringing every time she pressed on it.

Soyooung laughed as she watched her friend. “Man, you’re lucky I came before you knocked yourself out. You should probably stop doing that.”

Yoona shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”

“Yours could quite possibly kill you.”

“I’m Him Yoona. I know what I’m doing.” Sooyoung rolled her eyes before patting her friend on the shoulder.

Yoona was too stubborn to see the damage she was causing to her poor head and there was no way for anyone to stop her. Well, no way for Sooyoung to stop her.

But maybe, there was someone else.

The leader huffed, hearing the cheers get louder by the second. They chanted ‘soshi sharks’ over and over again, it made Yoona shake from her temples to her ankles. Her perfect image gradually washing over her.

With a final, deep breath and a smile to her tall friend, Yoona had left.

***

Sweat trickled down her temple as Kwon Yuri looked out into the crowd. The audience was staring, smiling and applauding all at the same time. She hadn’t been this overwhelmed since she was a child and even then, that couldn’t compete to how happy she was feeling at that moment.

Her eyes roamed the sea of people, looking for a specific face. A pair of doe eyes. She didn’t know why because there was a 99% chance that person wasn’t even there to watch her perform.

Hello? She has a soccer game remember? Stop looking for her.

Yuri sighed and turned to her left, her hand clutched tightly in the dancing queen’s. The host at the end of the line was mere seconds away from announcing the winner of the competition. But why was Yuri only thinking about how wrong it would feel to win?

How since Yoona’s not here, she wasn’t allowed to win the trophy because then she’d be missing out on a great milestone the older was surpassing. She wanted Yoona to see this.

But she wasn’t here.

And she couldn’t always wait for her.

All the sounds around her had faded back into her ears, realising that her whole team was now cheering, and a few in tears. Hyoyeon – who was right in front of her – was yelling right in her face. “We won, Yul! We won!”

And a wide smile broke out on the younger’s face as she, too, jumped up and down in excitement. It was so surreal. She was on the brink of crying since this was the first time in years she’d actually tried to win something. She’d actually done something in order to progress in life and it felt like she took the biggest step known to mankind.

But why does she still feel empty? Why does she still feel like in some part of her, she was missing something? Was she really at her happiest?

“Congratulations, everyone!”

The whole team headed off backstage, talking amongst themselves as they continued cheering. All this time, Yuri had the biggest smile on her face, but she had said nothing thus far.

“Hey Yul.” The dance leader stopped her, making them fall behind the rest of the group. “You okay? You’ve been spacing out.”

Yuri shook her head. “I’m fine. Everything just feels like a dream, that’s all.”

Hyoyeon gave a sad smile. “I really thought she’d be here to see you like this. I think she would be happier than you right now…”

“Yeah…maybe.”

“Hey,” Hyoyeon went in for a hug. “Don’t be so sad. We won. At least be happy about that.”

Yuri smiled. “I am, more than anything.” She returned the hug before pulling away completely.

The smile on Hyoyeon’s face had faded as she saw a tall figure making their way to Yuri. She immediately scowled. “I guess someone’s here to see you.” Yuri turned to find Taecyeon, a smile on his face and a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “I’ll be in the dressing room.” And then, her friend had left.

Taecyeon gingerly handed the flowers to the girl. “My jaw was actually touching the ground when you did your solo. You absolutely have no bones in your body!”

“Thanks, Taec.” Yuri chuckled before giving the taller boy a hug. It was warm, but it wasn’t the one she craved. They weren’t slender and comforting. They didn’t tell her she could be protected. She wanted to feel the soft skip of a beat upon her chest, telling her that she was worth someone’s time.

With Taecyeon, she could only hear it. His arms were muscular limbs that pulled her to anything but tenderness, never feeling as inviting as a certain doe’s.

Yuri was actually going crazy. She thought if she had hugged tighter, thought deeper, it would almost feel like hugging Yoona. But Yoona’s hugs were so indescribable, nothing could compare to it. Nothing could compare to Yoona.

She was crying. Kwon Yuri was crying and she felt like she had finally hit the bottom.

Yoona didn’t turn up.

Yoona didn’t care.

“Yuri, are you okay?”

“Why am I so stupid, Taec?” Yuri had let herself get stepped on by the one girl who was able to change her into someone she’d always wanted to be. People were staring, but Yuri didn’t care. Yuri didn’t want to care anymore.

“What are you going on about? You’re not stupid. You’re…” He trailed off as if something had distracted him. Yuri lifted her head to meet his eyes, looking at something other than her.

“I’m?”

He shook his head with a smile. “I am not in the position to tell you.” He let go after one more hug and walked off. He left Yuri standing there, stained cheeks and furrowed brows. She turned to realise the backstage crew weren’t staring at her either. All eyes were on someone else.

“I would’ve thought my girlfriend would be a little happier to win a trophy.”

The time it took for Yuri to turn her head was faster than a second. Her breath hitched and her eyes widened. The mix of emotions were too much to handle, keeping her frozen in place. Her fingers curled into her palms, mouth agape.

“Yoo…” She wasn’t even able to say her name.

With a charming smile and glimmering eyes, the figure made her first steps towards Yuri. In her hand, she twirled a white tulip as it rested between her thumb and index finger.

No noise could be heard. And Yuri was sure the auditorium was empty by now, excluding the staff and performers. Every pair of eyes focused on the two were in no way uncomfortable for the dancer. She wondered if it were the same for the girl now in front of her.

Judging by her blushing cheeks, it wasn’t.

They both averted their eyes to the ground, too shy to make eye contact.

“I know it’s not as much as Taecyeon’s but I hope it makes up for my selfishness.” The figure extended her arm, taking a heavy breath.

Yuri gently took it, sniffing the lone flower. And she couldn’t stop herself. In an instant, her arms were wrapped around the other girl’s, almost making her lose balance. Yuri nuzzled her nose into her neck, tears starting up again.

“Yoong…you came.”

The younger was too distracted by the people watching. Most of their mouths hung open with eyes almost wider than usual. Usually, her first instinct was to pull away. To push Yuri as far away from her as possible.

But she couldn’t hide anymore. Not in front of her girlfriend. Not in front of anyone.

Yoona smiled and had her arms encircle the older one’s waist. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“What about your game? All that practising for nothing?”

“It wouldn’t mean anything if I didn’t have you there to support me. My coach is probably going to whoop me, but to hell with him. I should’ve been choosing you from the start.”

“What do you mean?” Yuri pulled back, about to lose contact with the deer to look her in the eyes, but at the moment she’d moved away – at the slightest second – Yoona’s lips came crashing onto hers.

Gasps were heard from all directions as whispers commenced. Neither of the two paying attention.

They parted, breathless. Yuri was stunned as Yoona was confident. “You-”

“I kissed you.” Yoona cut in. “In front of all these people. Because I fear that one day, you’ll get tired and leave. And I don’t want you to leave.” The younger held both of Yuri’s hands in hers, taking a deep breath.

“I’m not good with words and I’ve said that a billion times before but you’re so good with your actions and everything you do tells me that you care about me and want what’s best for me.” Tears laid at the corner of Yoona’s eyelids, struggling to speak. “But you have no idea that what’s best for me this whole time wasn’t a stupid football game or hiding what we have.”

Yuri nodded, wanting her to continue. She always did enjoy Yoona’s sudden speeches.

“And it makes no sense to think that my career is a priority when at night, I go to sleep thinking about you. I wake up thinking about you. I go through the day thinking about you. You drive me insane, Kwon Yuri.”

If Yoona wasn’t holding onto her girlfriend’s hands, she would’ve been ruffling her hair by now.

“The fact is, I can’t go a day without kissing you because the flavour you leave after it, has suddenly become my favourite. A damn ball won’t ever be able to give me that much pleasure. God damn it, Yuri I-”

Yoona took a look around the room, everyone hanging onto each word. It seemed like they were all leaning in, anticipating for what she had to say next. Turning back, Yoona looked into the older one’s eyes, seeing the world and much more. It was so captivating, Yoona had almost lost the words she was moments away from voicing. She smiled, opening to speak.

“I’m completely, hopelessly in love with you and I will spend every minute of the rest of my life proving to you how much you mean to me.”

The sides of Yuri’s mouth tugged upwards. In situations like these, Yuri would sink into a giggling mess and that’s exactly what she was doing. And it would only happen around Yoona, causing the latter to laugh too.

The world around them didn’t exist. The world in front of them did. Yoona grabbed a hold of Yuri’s cheeks, bringing their faces dangerously close. She whispered,

“I love you, Kwon Yuri.”

The shorter one would’ve never expected those words to flow so smoothly out of Yoona’s mouth. She paused, biting her lip.

“I love you most, Im Yoona.”

They had once again come together for a kiss. Yuri pressed their foreheads a little too hard together, having Yoona accidently bite the girl’s bottom lip as she winced at the pain on her head.

“Ah! Crap!” Yoona moved away, nursing her head.

“Oh my goodness. Are you okay?” She asked, avoiding her cut lip. It was then did she realise Yoona had bandages wrapped around her head. “Wait, what the hell happened?”

By now, everyone was just watching for the heck of it. A few had become alert to Yoona’s pain, not sure if they should help or not. By the looks of it, Yuri had it covered.

“I’m fine, I just-”

Yuri grabbed a hold of the younger’s face, inspecting the covering. “You were doing that head thing again, weren’t you? Are you mental?”

“I’m still alive though, aren’t I?” Yoona gave her the cutest puppy eyes and smallest pout, winning over the older girl’s heart instantly. The latter shook her head with a smile before laying a soft kiss upon her girlfriend’s forehead.

“You’re lucky you are.”

***

Yoona parked her car in the school parking lot and sat, staring at her fingers curled around the steering wheel. The moment she felt a gentle hand upon her thigh, she instantly smiled.

She placed her own hand on top of Yuri’s before turning to look at the girl.

"Yoong, don’t be scared. All your wrongs make you so right, and I'm so glad you did this for me.” She gave her hand a soft squeeze, believing every word. “I could never ask for more. I promise i'll protect you." Yuri sealed it with a kiss too quick for her lover to comprehend. All too soon, both girls exited the car, ready to face judgement hand in hand.

They walked up to the main building, Yuri's grip tightening as she felt Yoona tense at the attention they received. It wasn't long before they had stepped through the door, stopping as everyone in the hall averted their eyes to them.

God, the silence was deafening. Yoona didn't know what else to do but just stand there, eyeing everyone as she gulped.

She wondered if the hand holding gave away their relationship or maybe people just thought they were friends. But some students didn't even think they had known each other in the first place. From the corner of her eye, Yoona saw them whisper and heard their murmurs.

"Oh my god, wait are they dating?"

"2 girls dating is a thing now, apparently…"

"Maybe they're just friends."

"Oh gross…"

"Yoona could do so much better though…like…with a guy, at least."

And Yoona knew they were wrong. So so wrong. She couldn't find someone better because the hand that was still grasped in hers belonged to the only person who ended that scale of better. There was no one else able to make her feel happier than she already was.

It amazed Yoona how far she had come. It amazed her how she didn't run from their words. She knew she'd be losing fans and support, but the only one she'll ever need was Yuri.

She turned to the older, gazing at her complexion. The latter stood tall and proud, glowing over the rest of the school like an angel in disguise. She wasn't scared nor was she embarrassed. She embraced the looks of disapproval and used it against her enemies.

And then, Yoona found herself smiling out of pure felicity. There was no turning back. Instead of pushing the older one away, she had pulled her in, crashing their lips with intense passion nobody could feel but themselves.

'Oh my gods' were thrown but never caught. A few protests were made but never listened to. Because when Yoona was kissing Yuri, nothing else mattered to her. Nothing else could save her. Except for Yuri.

From across the hall, stood 2 girls with wide smiles plastered on their faces. The shorter turned and high fived the other figure.

"Are you going to beat me up now?"

"I'll postpone it."

***

Her team had lost, she’d heard from Sooyoung. Within a week, word had gotten around about Yoona and Yuri dating and people had blamed the loss on them. Yoona had found out that her and Yuri being gay wasn’t something people wanted to get involved with, so blaming and judging seemed to satisfy a few. Even though she did have fans that supported her, the majority didn’t.

It was okay though because at the end of the day, the younger would relish in Yuri’s kisses as she whispered reassuring words to get her through the week. Yuri would tell her how much she loved her and how much their friends loved her and how much her parents loved her. That she didn’t need everyone’s approval to feel whole. She didn’t need to be perfect for anyone.

It took Yoona a long time to realise that she wasn’t the meaning of perfect. She was the meaning of Im Yoona. And to Yuri, those were the closest words to define perfection.

“This is ridiculous! The team didn’t need me there to win, sir!”

“Yoona, I let you off the hook for our first loss. I will not keep you after the second just so you can cost us our third.”

The young deer nearly growled at her coach. They were in the middle of a heated argument after the older man had requested for her during lunch. Apparently, he didn’t take the whole ‘ditch soccer for Yuri’ plan too well, taking out his anger on the team. If Yoona had been there, she would’ve kicked him in the crotch.

The man was also not a supporter of Yoona’s uality, weighing in on his decision to kick her out of the team.

He shook his head in disappointment. “It’s a shame you act like this. A great soccer player with a tainted mind. I’m sorry, Yoona.”

“Are you kidding me? I can’t believe this! Just because I left before a game to see my girlfriend? You act like I’m the only one on the team! The girls had it covered!”

“Obviously not if we didn’t win.”

Yoona scowled. “Maybe that’s because you’re a crappy coach.” And before she knew it, large hands were gripping her collar as menacing eyes looked deep into hers. Not once had she ever thought her own soccer coach would be harassing her like this.

Yoona was stunned.

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to? It’s bad enough knowing I was teaching a dyke. I don’t need to hear any of your ty insults, ya hear?” Yoona didn’t back down. The urge to punch the man in the face only grew.

After a long moment of staring and glaring, Yoona’s former coach had pushed her away. “Get out of my sight. You’ve disgusted me enough.” He walked off right after, not sparing the younger another glance.

Yoona felt like the biggest piece of . But did she regret coming out? Hell no. This was just the beginning of her new life. She needed new options to get to her goal as the nation’s best football player.

She needed to prove him wrong.

***

Yoona had woken up to find Yuri gazing at her, a silly smile on her face. “Good morning, you.” The older said.

Yoona rubbed at her eyes, pulling the blanket up to her chin to cover her bare body. She gave a lazy smile. “Morning. How long have you been staring at me?”

“Not long. About a few minutes?”

“Great. I’m dating a creep.” Yuri playfully hit her exposed shoulder before letting out a cute giggle. The one Yoona always liked. She combed her fingers through her deer’s hair, strands falling away from her face. She did this every time she woke up beside her.

“I’m glad you don’t bang your head anymore.”

“You said you didn’t want me to, and whatever Yuri wants, Yuri gets.”

“Damn straight.” Yuri leaned in and gave a kiss to her girlfriend’s healed forehead.

The latter took her phone to check the time, realising she had woken up late for her morning routine. She barely did it now seeing as she was kicked out of the team. Yuri couldn’t say she didn’t like it, because every time the younger slept over, she’d spend more time with Yuri in bed than outside exercising.

But even though Yoona tried to keep her sadness hidden to not worry Yuri, the older girl could still tell how she felt.

Yuri nuzzled up against Yoona, both their blankets coming into contact. “You know there’s a football club down the road from my place?”

“And how did you know that?”

“I went searching. You should apply. You’ll be the best one there.”

Yoona smiled at her girlfriend’s concern. “I’ll take a look.” Just then, her father had called from the living room, earning a groan from Yoona.

“I’ll be back.” Yuri reluctantly left the room, leaving Yoona with her thoughts. It still bugged her that she was kicked out of the team for not only (not) being the reason behind their loss, but also for being who she was. Her coach hated her guts now. His mood changed 180 degrees the moment he found out about her uality.

She thought if she hadn’t come out, she would still be in the team, but where she was now was better than anything. She could walk the halls holding Yuri’s hand and no one ever bothered. She could park her car in the school parking lot and open doors for Yuri without getting anxious of how people viewed her.

She’s gained new fans and closeted students started looking up to her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t lose any support. She lost more than she gained. But Yuri always took her mind off it.

Yuri was always there to save her.

Yoona suddenly jolted up from the bed as she heard crashing plates from inside the kitchen. She wanted to go check what happened, but Yuri didn’t like it when she left the room. She had tried to once after hearing her girlfriend’s father yell incoherently. But Yuri had already returned before Yoona could step out the door.

It was briefly quiet, making Yoona wonder of their whereabouts.

She wrapped the blanket around her body and stepped off the bed. She stood and waited before Yuri came rushing into the room.

“Hey, are you okay?” Her question was ignored as the older went to her closet, grabbing a bag and stuffing a few clothes in. “Yul?”

Yoona made her way to the girl, peeking over her shoulder. “Are you packing? Where are you going?

Still no answer, Yoona was starting to get more frustrated than worried. She clicked her tongue and turned her girlfriend around, not ready to be faced with tear stained skin and bruised cheeks. She was still crying, but she looked more annoyed than anything.

Yoona’s hand jerked out from beneath the blanket, running her fingers over her girlfriend’s face. “Yuri…”

The said girl sniffed before facing the ground, refusing to let Yoona examine her wounds. “I want to go to my mum’s.” She requested before turning around to continue packing.

“O-Of course.”

Soon after Yuri had finished and Yoona had put on some clothes, they were on their way to Yuri’s mum. Nobody spoke, making it a little awkward in the car. Yoona didn’t want to ask what had happened with her father but she had a hunch.

Slowly, her hand reached over to hold Yuri’s. She didn’t mean to scare her but as her fingers brushed the back of Yuri’s hand, the latter had pulled back.

“I-I’m sorry.” Yoona turned her attention back to the road, feeling like an idiot for even trying. She didn’t know what she’d done wrong, but it didn’t matter once she felt Yuri initiate the hand hold instead.

“It’s…okay. I’m a little jumpy.”

Yoona nodded and stopped herself from saying anything else. Instead, her mind was set on getting Yuri home.

…

__________

I’m sorry it started out all nice and sweet, but got pretty bad in the end and I’m also sorry for holding this off :-((((

I’m almost at 200 subs and I know that’s probably not a lot but I’m so happy people actually find this fic interesting like thank youuuu sosososo much!! You all keep me going :’)))

Thanks for reading!! :*