“So, I got you this drink.” Jaeho appeared before Sowon with a can of juice in his hands. He leaned over her lunch table to offer it to her.

Carefully, She took the cool drink. “…What for?”

“For that scratch.” He pointed towards her neck and she touched the small injury. “As an apology.”

Sowon chuckled at his antics. “It was only an accident. I didn’t hold it against you.”

“Yeah, but I still feel bad.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Placing his tray of food down, he took the seat across from her And soon, joining him was the rest of the Judo team.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Sangbae smiled at her while getting started on his food.

Sowon shakes her head. “But, those seats are usually taken.”

“We’ll stay here just for today. Whoever they are, they’ll understand.” Daewon dismissively reasoned. 

“Then starting tomorrow, you can just sit with us.” Heojun stated.

“Yeah, we need to spend every second together. It’ll improve the teamwork.” Juhyeon shared.

Seeing how everyone had put their two cents in, everyone looked over to Jonghwa who had just taken his seat to also join them. And catching everyone’s stares, he tried to make an effort to add. 

“Take this time to tell us if there is anything troubling you.”

“That’s the first time you have said something nice.” Sangbae pointed out and the others were quick to agree.

Sowon also noticed. 

Gone were the snide remarks and little glares. Now that the misunderstanding is clarified, it seems change is happening and for the better too.

Surrounded by a brighter atmosphere, Sowon went back to her food with a smile of content upon her lips. 

***

“Hey.”

“Hey –“ Looking up, Sowon realized something wasn’t right. Jonghwa being here in front of her wasn’t right. “Jonghwa?”

“There’s no practice today.”

“Really? No one told me about it.” She didn’t hide her confusion from the boy in front of her. Did she miss the announcement?

“I’m telling you right now.” He said instead. “So we’re free to do whatever we want.”

When did they get on such friendly terms? Jonghwa would have never reminded her so kindly…in fact, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to even be at her locker. Did Jonghwa appreciate her explanation to this extent?

Although figuring that out did require her attention, there was something else she needed to deal with at the current moment.

“What am I supposed to do today then?” She mumbled quietly to herself. Her schedule has been set around being the manager for the Judo tea