Two days post-injury

South Korea’s Star Center Midfielder Kang Seulgi Tears ACL In Right Knee

An MRI from yesterday afternoon confirmed that South Korean Women’s National Soccer Team center-midfielder and co-captain Kang Seulgi sustained tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (commonly referred to as the ACL) in her right knee. The starting midfielder suffered the injury late in the first half of a friendly match against direct rival team North Korea.

Kang Seulgi, who had gotten in the way of a reckless tackle from a North Korean forward, will be sidelined for the next few months in order to give her "ample time to recover,” as reported by the Women’s National Team Coach, Kwon Yuri. Seulgi, as we have been informed by the hospital, exited the surgical ward this morning, and is currently resting.

It is still unclear whether or not Kang Seulgi will be able to play in the revered FIFA World Cup, an international tournament which occurs once every four years - that is being held in ten months’ time - should South Korea qualify.

The real question here is whether or not it would be wise to have Kang Seulgi on the team, given how short on time she is in terms of her recovery period.

[+14324, -534] can’t even lead her team properly. she should just stay away from the National Team! there’s no way she’ll be anywhere near where she was before the injury by FIFA!

[+953, -643] Moonbyul is a better captain. There was no need for Seulgi to be co-captain anyway.

[+698, -132] If she broke her leg during a friendly match, imagine during an actual tournament. We’ll be down a player before the first match is over.

[+231, -81] she’s hot, but that’s all she’s good for. Overrated.

[+189, -10] stop being so harsh, guys. Seulgi might end up disappearing like Bae Joohyun.

“Kang Seulgi, what do you think you’re reading?”

Seulgi stiffens at the sharp voice slicing through the stale hospital air, and she hastily hides her phone in the white bedsheets of the hospital bed.

“Nothing.”

“Really?” Wendy raises an eyebrow and holds out her right hand. “Give.”

Uncertainty betraying her bravado, Seulgi slowly pulls her phone out from where she had shoved it, gingerly tapping at the touch screen to unlock its contents, though it didn’t really matter— Wendy knew her password anyway. Taking her time, Seulgi hands the rectangular device over to her best friend, who frowns as she scrolls through the article and its comments.

“...Seul—”

“—I know I shouldn’t have read them,” Seulgi interjects, her voice devoid of emotion. “Sorry, I just wanted to know, okay? I was curious. Don’t worry. I won’t let that stuff get to my head or anything.”

“...Good,” Wendy says quietly. “I don’t want the words of some faceless idiots influencing my best friend. You are better than them. Please believe that. You’ll be back on the soccer field with the rest of us in no time.”

Seulgi nods. “Okay.”

That’s the end of that conversation.

(Wendy leaves Seulgi’s hospital room thirty minutes later with a sigh. As she enters the elevator, she pulls out her cellphone, punching in a number. Tiredly, she holds it up to her ear, listening to the monotonous dial tone ring.

“...Hello? Wannie? Are you okay? How is she?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wendy says softly. “Seulgi… she found that article you showed me earlier— you know, the one you told me explicitly to keep away from her… and the comments.”

“Oh no…”

“God,” the left-wing defender rakes a hand back through her hair in frustration, her voice cracking as she recalls the emotionless look on Seulgi’s face. “She looked so broken, but she’s my best friend and I… I didn’t know what to tell her.”

“... Are you on your way down, Wan? It’s late. I should take you home.”

“Yeah, I’m in the elevator.” A pause. “Can I stay over your place tonight? I don’t want to go back to mine when my roommate is confined to a hospital bed.”

“Of course, Wan. Anytime.”

“...Eunji?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think will happen from here?”

“...I’m sorry, Seungwan. I don’t know. We’ll head back to the hospital first thing in the morning, okay? We’ll visit Seulgi together with the other girls.”

“Okay.”).

--

Three days post-injury

“Seulgi had ‘gotten in the way’?” Joy’s angry voice rings through the tiny room. “What bull! That North Korean forward tackled you to the ground! She aimed for you specifically! How the hell is that our Cap getting in the way?!”

“Who knows, Sooyoung.” Seulgi shrugs, looking like she got exactly zero sleep last night (which is true. She didn’t sleep a wink).

“Good thing that Eunae somewhat got revenge,” Yeri pipes up, and Joy nods in approval as Seulgi smiles softly.

“Thanks, Eunae,” Seulgi says solemnly, turning to look at the taller forward. Eunae sends a small smile her captain’s way.

“Tripping that enemy defender was totally worth the yellow card,” Eunae remarks with a shrug. “My original plan was to tackle her to the ground like a scrap match, and Krystal and Amber were all for it! But I made the mistake of telling YooA, and she made me promise not to get a red card. But, she said that I was free to trip my opponents all I wanted.”

 “I love how your version of ‘tripping an opponent’ is more like you grabbing her ankle and violently dragging her to the ground,” Seulgi jokes weakly, and the laugh that exits Eunae’s lips is gentle.

“I mean, better it me than SinB. She planned on sneaking into their locker room and stealing their change of clothes.” Eunae replies, amused. “Or Moonbyul, for that matter.”

“For the record,” SinB speaks up from her spot where she was leaning against the expansive hospital windowsill, “Moonbyul was on the bench talking about ramming her spiky cleats into their stomach. At least my version of comeuppance was less violent.”

Seulgi chuckles lowly. “The thought is nice though, SinB. Thanks for having my back.”

“Anytime, Cap,” the rookie soccer player responds evenly with a nod. She looks out the window again, out over the hospital parking lot. “By the way, I saw Wendy and Eunji on the way over here. They just parked their car.”

“Did Eunji take Wendy home?” Seulgi asks. “I know that she hates being alone.”

“I think Wendy mentioned in the groupchat that she was going to be staying over at Eunji’s place for the night,” Yeri replies, pulling out her phone and swiping open the National Team groupchat. “Ever since Eunji was called up to the National Team three months ago, they’ve gotten pretty close.”

Seulgi nods slowly, digesting the information. “That’s good. I trust Eunji.”

“Also,” Yeri continues. “Coach Kwon just sent something. She says that she’s coming to visit you in an hour or so, and she’s bringing along the physical therapist that Moonbyul recommended to you.”

Seulgi nods again. “Okay. That’s cool, I guess.”

“Are you looking forward to getting back on your legs?” Eunae asks.

“Yeah,” Seulgi tries to reply enthusiastically, and while her words sound convincing to her teammates, there’s something not right about the way her stomach pitfalls into a dark place.

--

 Coach Kwon enters the room with both Moonbyul and Solar directly behind her, and a very pretty lady trailing a bit farther back. The serious look on the coach’s face is more than enough to send all of Seulgi’s visitors (AKA the majority of the National Team) hastily exiting from the room, but not before glancing at the unfamiliar woman curiously peering over Moonbyul’s shoulder, trying to get a good look at Seulgi.

Once the room is considerably more vacant and hellos have been exchanged, the newcomer steps around Coach Kwon, walking up to Seulgi in her hospital bed, holding her hand out a kind smile on her face.

Seulgi regards her with wide eyes. This woman just exuded an aura of beauty; everything from the way her black tresses fell perfectly onto her shoulders, to how her lips quirked up at just the right angle to make the most charming smile Seulgi’s ever bore witness to. But there’s something oddly familiar about her countenance that makes Seulgi do a double take, but she still can’t recognize where she’s seen that face before.

Don’t tell me that she’s my—

“I’m Irene,” the pretty lady introduces herself. “Coach Kwon contacted me about your physical therapy.”

Seulgi swallows. “Did she?”

Irene hums, nodding.

Coach Kwon steps in. “Irene is a very capable physical therapist. She helped Byul out when she pulled her shoulder from one too many slide tackles, remember Byul?”

Moonbyul coughs at the stern side-eye from her coach. “Hah, yeah. How could I forget.”

“Irene and I are best friends,” Solar inputs. “As your surgeon, I can recommend her ten out of ten.” The brunette doctor winks. “Also, I’ve analyzed your post-surgery x-rays, and you should be able to walk without crutches again in about a month or so.”

“Thanks for all your hard work, Solar. I’m glad that it was someone I knew personally operating on me.” Seulgi says honestly. “Have I ever mentioned that I’m so glad that Byul is married to you?”

“Countless times,” Solar chuckles, and Moonbyul looks at her adoringly. “Anyway, you’re free to start your physical therapy really soon. Coach Kwon knew that you’d probably want an early start, so she called up Irene for you. She’ll be helping you get back into shape for at least the next nine months.”

Nine months. Seulgi forces enthusiasm. “Okay. Great.”

Though her faux zeal manages to escape under the radar of Moonbyul, Solar, and Coach Kwon, Irene locks onto the tiredness lurking ominously in Seulgi gaze. Those aren’t the eyes of the great captain of the National Team that Irene has heard nothing but praise for, and it’s startlingly familiar.

“Well,” Irene says, a slight smirk gracing her lips. “Technically, we can’t start your PT until next week, so until then, I’m going to keep visiting you to try and boost that morale.”

Seulgi laughs nervously. “Who said that my morale needs any boosting?”

“Your new physical therapist.” That smirk grows larger, and Irene’s eyes seem to glow, some previously hidden passion emerging that had previously gone unnoticed. “And I’ll start by telling you this: I promise you. I will have you fixed up months before the World Cup, and months before those initial nine months are up. And you are going to get back on that playing field even faster and stronger than you were before.”

Seulgi doubts that. She doubts, doubts, doubts. Because she hasn’t heard of a recovery story that’s ever lasted anything less than a year, and Seulgi doesn’t have a year. She has a mere ten months until the FIFA World Cup, and the task in front of her is impossible. So she doubts, doubts, doubts.

(But from the look in Irene’s eyes, and the way that Moonbyul and Coach Kwon gaze at her with such reassurance, Seulgi almost believes.)

--

Four days post-injury

“You were serious about continuously visiting me?” Seulgi questions at ten o’clock the next morning, dubiously observing Irene sitting on the edge of her bed, a sports magazine in the older girl’s hands.

Despite her injury, practices persisted for her other teammates, and after a quick visit from Wendy, Joy, and Yeri to deliver her breakfast (“Hospital food is ,” Seulgi had deadpanned the day before), they had to leave to catch up with the others.

“Yes,” Irene answers with a shrug. “I’ve literally got nothing better to do, so here I am.”

“Don’t you have any other patients?” Seulgi asks, and raises en eyebrow when Irene shrugs again.

“I’m not the type to take on more than one patient at a time,” Irene explains upon Seulgi’s suspicious look. “I’ve learned over the years that personal connection helps a lot in recovery periods, so that’s my policy. I have a firm belief in being in the right place at the right time.”

“So, if, say, a big sports star is looking for you to be their therapist, but you’ve already got one patient who is of lesser stardom,” Seulgi theorizes. “You’d deny the sports star and keep on training your original patient, correct?”

Irene nods. “Correct. If I already have a patient, I think of it as the world telling me that I probably wasn’t meant to help that big sports star in the first place. Somebody else can probably do it better than me. Everyone is different, after all. Some people need a different style of training.”

“...And you think that your style can help me best?”

“Precisely,” Irene says with nothing but certitude. “I think you’ll be my best case yet, Kang Seulgi.”

Seulgi has never wanted to have faith so badly.

--

“Your teammates miss you already,” Irene smirks, thirty minutes later, reclined in a comfy chair by Seulgi’s side, phone in hand. “Unfortunately, I follow a lot of your teammates on Twitter, and my timeline is being blown up with their tweets.”

“...I’m almost scared to look,” Seulgi confesses. She pauses, thinking of the consequences. Yeah, definitely better to check her notifications. “Irene-ssi, can you hand me my phone?”

“It’s just Irene,” the physical therapist reminds Seulgi gently, but hands the bedridden girl her phone over nonetheless. “And I think you’ll have a good laugh.”

“Oh no,” Seulgi chuckles, tapping out her passcode and almost reluctantly opening up her twitter. She’s been smart enough to filter her notifications so that she only gets them from her teammates, but 50+ notifications… I’m actually feeling frightened.

@myemim: @sringles yo Seul unnie look check out what Momo unnie can do

@sringles: @myemim why did you take a video of Momo shoving 18 marshmallows into

@myemim: @sringles cuz we’re bored and we miss you and Momo wanted to do the chubby bunny challenge

@momoring: @sringles @ myemim Seulgi unnieeeeee I miss our dance battlessssss

@sringles: @momoring @myemim I do too Momo! We’ll have a rematch sometime soon ;)

“You dance?” Irene inquires, not even looking up from her own phone.

“Yeah,” Seulgi replies. “At least, I did. Momo and I liked to play around in the locker rooms before games.”

Irene smiles. “I would love to see that.”

Okay, so Seulgi decides that maybe Irene should stick around.

--

Five days post-injury

“I can’t do this,” Seulgi groans, plopping back down onto the bed, her new crutches clanging to the ground. “My leg is killing me! It hurts so much, it— ARGH.” She grits her teeth as a spike of pain shoots up the side of her right leg.

“Hey!” Irene rushes to her side, holding Seulgi an arm’s length away. “Yes, you can, Kang Seulgi. You are the world’s best center midfielder. You can do something as simple as learn to walk with crutches.”

“I can’t even lead my team properly!” Seulgi shoots back, the words from that article ringing through her head like a metal gong. “My favorite soccer player broke her leg, and then she never came back to the National Team! Maybe I shouldn’t even bother trying to recover! Maybe my teammates are better without me there anyway!”

The sad look in Irene’s eyes is too much to handle, and Seulgi quickly turns away, looking down at the off-shade white bedsheets clenched between her fists. The silence is overwhelming.

“...Is that what you think?” Irene whispers, her words deafening in the quiet room. “Your teammates wouldn’t like you thinking that way.”

“Isn’t that the truth though?” Seulgi replies with bitterness laced within her admission. “My teammates might think otherwise, but the rest of Korea seems to disagree.”

“Then why don’t you prove them wrong?”

Seulgi’s retort of it doesn’t matter dies on her tongue at that.

“What’s stopping you?” Irene presses. She’s already pushed a button. Might as well go all the way.

“...I don’t know.” It’s the first honest answer that Seulgi’s given Irene all week. “I don’t know… I just— the media doesn’t seem to think that I’ll make it to the World Cup; that I won’t have enough time. Meanwhile, my teammates think that I can pull off some miracle. And I… I haven’t found the drive to do any of it. Not when it seems like time itself is against me.”

More silence.

“Seul,” Irene says a moment later, a hint of wistfulness sneaking into her tone. “I have something that I want to show you, and things I want to tell you. But I can’t show you from here in this hospital, and I can’t take you in a wheelchair. I need you to work on using your crutches. Can you do that for me?”

Seulgi stares at Irene speechlessly, the throbbing in her right leg echoing throughout her body, but the resounding weight of Irene’s words slicing through the pain. And there’s nothing but Irene, and for one reason or another, she’s all the motivation Seulgi needs..

“...I might be able to do that.”

--

Six days post-injury

“We walk all the way outside to the hospital garden only for you to use your phone!” Irene complains, careening her head back as she reclines on the wooden bench. “This was supposed to be about you getting fresh air, Kang Seulgi!”

“It’s not like I’m not breathing in the oxygen of the outdoors, and I haven’t gotten to check my stuff yet!” Seulgi protests defensively, motioning to her gray crutches in annoyance. “I spent all of yesterday afternoon trying to stand and hop around on my crutches, and all of this morning becoming more mobile with them. Plus, I still have to go hobble all the way back up to my hospital room! It was stressful and strenuous, Irene! At least give me this!”

Irene grumbles but doesn’t retort, muttering something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like what, so your phone is more entertaining than me?

Seulgi rolls her eyes at the childish older woman, tapping open Twitter.

@ofcwendy: tbt the time when @sringles and i went cliff diving

@sringles: @ofcwendy that was fun lol

@ofcwendy: @sringles for you and not so much for me :/ sometimes i have phantom pains on my from the impact against the water

@sringles: @ofcwendy you should go cliff diving with @artisteunji sometime

@ofcwendy: @sringles WHAT ON EARTH DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?????

@naeunnie: @sringles @ofcwendy i wish you were here seul, wendy’s face is so red ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

@artisteunji: @sringles @naeunnie @ofcwendy awwww but she’s so cute <3

@ofcwendy: @artsisteunji @sringles @naeunnie EUNJI YOU DIDN’T NEED TO TWEET A PICTURE OF ME

At Seulgi’s laugh, Irene leans over, peeking over Seulgi’s shoulder and down at her phone.

“Wendy sure is a character,” she giggles, and Seulgi hums in agreement. “You two are best friends, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I’m a fan of our Women’s National Team,” Irene says it like talking with a National Team player casually in the garden of a hospital is the most normal thing in the world. “I’ve watched the interviews and behind the scenes videos on YouTube.”

“Who’s your favorite player?” Seulgi tries to ask nonchalantly, and Irene smirks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” the therapist says with a Cheshire Cat grin. “Are you sure you want me to tell you?”

“Well fine,”Seulgi huffs, turning back to her phone, mumbling just don’t tell me then, under her breath, and Irene laughs, loud and clear, the sound resounding through the air and rising up into the clear, midday sky.

--

One week post-injury

Saturday morning comes, and Seulgi feels like utter .

Sure, she’s finally being dismissed from her claustrophobia-inducing hospital room, but her leg is still sore, and there’s a sickening feeling pooling in the base of her stomach.

It had been hell enough to try to learn to navigate using her crutches, and she had hardly even been putting weight on her leg. How the hell was she supposed to learn how to walk when simply flexing her muscles made her ache for hours?

She shouldn’t be surprised that it’s Irene who volunteered to pick her up. Her teammates still have Saturday morning practice, and there’s no one else really available (well, Solar had volunteered, but Irene stepped in, saying that Solar might be needed in an emergency.)

The weight of it all doesn’t really sink in until Seulgi’s exited the passenger seat of Irene’s car, showing the older girl the way into her apartment building, and they have to actually wait for the elevator. For the past few years, ever since she and Wendy had moved in, Seulgi and her roommate would race up the stairs each day without fail.

She can’t do that anymore. She has barely done anything today and she’s already tired.

The mere thought of never feeling the satisfying burn of taut muscle from a good run leaves Seulgi fighting back tears in the elevator, her sweating hands clenches around the handles of her crutches.

Irene doesn’t say anything about the tears, but she definitely notices, and the older girl steps closer to Seulgi, who’s huddled in the corner of the elevator, and simply presses against her, the lengths of their bodies touching.

“You’re feeling tired,” she says instead, and Seulgi hiccups but nods into her shoulder. “We’ll get you upstairs, and you can take a nap on an actual bed.”

“Will you stay?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

A pause, then another wet bob of Seulgi’s head.

“Then I’ll stay.” The elevator dings open, and Irene gently ushers Seulgi out. “I’ll wake you up when it gets dark. I have somewhere I want to bring you.”

--

“What are we doing here, Irene?” Seulgi asks slowly, looking at the towering soccer stadium looming over them.

“We’re going inside, and I’m going to show you something,” Irene says simply, glancing over her shoulder to the stiff girl grasping onto her crutches for dear life. She bites her lip and shakes her head slightly at the sad sight before beginning to walk towards the stadium, gesturing for Seulgi to make haste and follow.

“Isn’t this place locked?” Seulgi questions hesitantly, a feeling of dread washing over her as she and Irene approach the gates. “Don’t you have to have to be a staff member or captain to enter? And I didn’t bring my key— oh.”

The soccer player is rendered speechless as she watches Irene produce a small key from her pocket; the same type of special key that Seulgi had been given on the day she’d been appointed as team co-captain.

Seulgi’s eyes widen.

“That’s—”

“Shhh!”

Seulgi clamps shut as Irene raises a finger to her lips, winking at the younger girl playfully.

“I’ll explain a bit later okay? Let’s head in.”

--

Seulgi finds herself sitting alone in the middle of the soccer field, being illuminated solely by two stadium lights that Irene had . Meanwhile, the older girl seems to have disappeared into the locker rooms as Seulgi continues to ponder the meaning of Irene’s key.

Seulgi frowns, her mind drifting off into the depths of space as she stares at her crutches sprawled unceremoniously beside her. Irene had a key to this place. Irene had the exact same key as her. So either Irene was a staff member, or—

“Seulgi! Seulgi, watch me!”

Seulgi snaps up, staring in awe as Irene races towards the soccer ball she had set down on the left-most corner of the field, kicking it with just the perfect amount of spin that the ball arches horizontally in a half-circle, bending beautifully in midair and sailing straight into the back of the goal directly to the right of Irene.

“Whoa…” Seulgi breathes, the sound airier than she had intended. The goal that Irene had just scored had been done with a level of technique and flow that Seulgi had never bore witness to before, even amongst her most skilled teammates. The precision in that single kick looked effortless, which was amazing in itself; Irene didn't even look like she was trying.

“Did you just—” Seulgi sputters as Irene comes near with a smirk on her face. “And with your left foot?”

“Remember when I told you that I used to play soccer too?” Irene says, reaching out to help Seulgi stand with her crutches. “Fun fact: I had worked so hard on improving my ability to dribble and score with both of my feet that it got to the point where I know longer could tell which of my feet was my dominant.”

It takes a moment for Seulgi to digest the meaning of Irene's words.

“You weren't just some recreational, high school varsity team soccer player, were you.” It's a statement.

Irene laughs, leading them into the locker rooms. “No, I wasn't.”

“Irene, how do you have a key to this place?”

“I was the captain of the Women’s National Team, though not for a long time.”

Though Seulgi had her suspicions, it doesn't make the revelation any less shocking. Her physical therapist had been the captain of the National Team, just like Seulgi. Yet how the hell had Seulgi not known about this beforehand? She'd stared at that bulletin board of all the past captains for hours, looking for something that she couldn't find, and she'd never even seen an “Irene” anywhere on that board.

But this time, when Irene tugs Seulgi over to the bulletin, the therapist is pointing at a “Bae Joohyun,” and right above that bronze plaque is a picture of a younger, beaming, blonde-haired Irene, two signed soccer balls tucked under each arm.

“You—” Seulgi inhales sharply. The date of the photo is marked 7 years ago, and Irene is twenty-eight years old according to her Twitter page, which meant that—

“You were the captain of the National Team at twenty-one-years old,” Seulgi breathes. “You were the youngest captain in our country's history. Bae Irene, my physical therapist, is Bae Joohyun, the legendary Lightning Forward. Y-you…” Seulgi finds herself shaking her head in disbelief. “I can't believe it. No one knew where you went, where you disappeared to. But here you are. You've been right in front of me this whole time.” She turns back to Irene, shock evident. “How did I not see it?”

Irene chuckles. “Well, it's not like I kept my appearance the same after I left. My blonde hair had been my signature, and that had been the first to go. My name was the second.”

“I dyed my hair blonde back then too, back when I was still in the Under 20s team,” Seulgi blurts out, her face turning a shade of red at Irene's surprised expression. “I— can you blame me? Joohyun was— you were the nation’s sports idol back then. You won us the FIFA World Cup with that amazing three-point hat trick during the final game almost eight years ago! Eighteen-year-old Seulgi was, um—”

“Infatuated?” Irene supplies, her tone teasing.

“I—” Seulgi feels her stomach turn to mush at the adoration in Irene's gaze, and has no choice but to bite her lip and nod wordlessly.

It's worth it though, for Seulgi to watch her pretty, passionate physical therapist throw her head back in laughter, Irene's nose scrunching up in the most adorable (and admittedly rabbit-like) way.

“Seulgi, you're so cute!” Irene giggles, and Seulgi flushes.

“So why did you leave?” Seulgi asks, in a genuine attempt to change the subject.

And she almost wishes that she didn't ask, because the laughter dies out of Irene's face, and the light seems to drain from her bright, bright eyes.

“I-I'm sorry! You don't have to tell me—”

“No, silly,” Irene interjects, a shadow of a smile on her lips. “That's the very reason why I brought you here. Because I have some explaining to do. Seulgi, do you remember the last game that I — that Bae Joohyun — ever played?”

“Of course,” Seulgi whispers, wracking her brain for the memory. It all makes sense now. “I had been at that game, in the stands. You… you were shoved into the metal of the goalpost… the other team, they…” Seulgi can’t bring herself to complete the sentence, but she remembers. She remembers the piercing scream that echoed throughout the stadium, silencing the crowds and sending shivers down the backs of every single person in the arena.

“They broke my leg,” Irene finishes, and there’s an unreadable look in her eyes. “They shattered it.” She shudders. “And I was lucky that it was only my leg, and not… anything more important.”

Seulgi finds herself inching closer to the older girl as goosebumps rise on the surface or her skin.

“After that, well,” Irene frowns, leaning back onto a wall and staring up blankly at the ceiling. “At first, I wanted to get back into soccer, I really did. But… the media thought otherwise. It was my fault that our team lost that match and we ended up in last place during the Olympics that year.” The dry laugh that leaves Irene’s lips is so un-Irene that it makes Seulgi furrow her brow. “You have no idea how mad sports media was. And what kind of captain was I? I couldn’t even lead my team properly.”

“Are you kidding me?” Seulgi exclaims, shock evident. “You were only captain for one year, but you won us the FIFA World Cup! That’s the biggest soccer tournament in the world! How could people dismiss that because of one incident that wasn’t even your fault? They broke your leg!”

“And why should you be getting hunted down by the media because someone else shoved you to the ground, forcing you to tear your ACL?” Irene shoots back, and Seulgi flinches, taken aback. “You are going through the same exact treatment as I did, Seulgi, and you’re reacting to it the same way I did as well.

“You’re allowing them to get into your head, Seul,” Irene says, staring Seulgi in the eye. “You’re allowing them to get ahold of you. I could’ve returned to soccer if I’d worked hard enough, but I kept pushing it off because a part of me didn’t want to. I didn’t want to face all the negative comments. Because of me, my National Team fell apart. Moonbyul was a member, did you know?”

Seulgi nods. “I think I remember that.”

“She’s the only one left,” Irene sighs. “Moonbyul is the only one who managed to last. Everyone else was replaced a few months after, when they just didn’t have the heart or the drive to improve. A new generation of soccer players emerged, and by the time I had finally recovered and found the time to sort out my feelings, two whole years had gone by, and the team didn’t need me anymore. So I never went back, and I think... that’s my biggest regret in life.”

“Damn,” Seulgi murmurs, fixated on the ground. “I didn’t know you went through all of that…”

Irene shrugs, a soft smile spreading. “It’s fine, Seul. You weren’t supposed to— nobody was. But I’m telling you all of this now because I don’t want you making the same mistake I did. Seulgi, soccer is your passion; I can see it on your face. You can’t let people who are hidden behind a technological screen get in the way with that. You can’t let them scare you.”

“...will you help me, Irene?” Seulgi’s voice is scarce and hesitant. She’s scared, and it would be so, so easy to just give up. To walk away from it all. To never have to face such judgement ever again. But what would that make Seulgi in Irene’s point of view?

A coward. And Kang Seulgi is not a coward.

“Of course I will,” Irene says immediately, moving so that she can stand directly in front of Seulgi. “I’ll be with the whole way. We’ll walk the road to your recovery together.”

And that’s what Seulgi had been missing.

You are better than them, Wendy had said, and she had been right; Seulgi is definitely better than those faceless idiots behind a screen. But as much as she loves Wendy, words are only words. Sure, they’re nice to hear, but that’s not what Seulgi needs. She didn’t need to hear what she already knew, she needed someone who could help her prove it.

And Irene is that person. Irene is putting her unconditional trust in Seulgi, just like so many others, but only Irene has the tools and gifts to rough it out with her. Wendy might be Seulgi’s best friend, but Irene is the single person who can weather the storm.

Irene is different.

“... I’m going to win you the Olympics,” Seulgi says, a hard, yet admirable edge to her tone. “I’m going to get my legs back, and then I’m going to lead my team to first place in FIFA. And right after that, I’m taking over the Olympics for you, Irene.”

The oh that falls from Irene’s lips is too soft. And the look that settles in Irene’s eyes is too soft. And the way a hint of pink dusts onto Irene’s cheeks is too soft. Seulgi wouldn’t mind drowning in all of that softness.

“Then we start for real tomorrow,” Irene says warmly. “We’ll start from the beginning, and you’ll be back on that playing field before you know it.”

--

“So we’ll start slow and gain momentum, okay?” Irene says to Seulgi early the next morning. “Just some simple leg lifts, quad sits, and knee extensions today. Does that sound good?”

“As long as it’ll help me recover faster, I’m all for it,” Seulgi replies earnestly, kneading the yoga mat clutched in her right hand, and Irene can’t stop the smile from spreading at that.

“I’m loving this new, revitalized Seulgi,” the therapist comments, and Seulgi beams. “Now, I want you to tell me when you feel too tired, or your knee hurts too much, alright? Pushing yourself is fine, but pushing too hard might hinder your recovery instead of improve it. I don’t want you to hurt yourself even more.”

“Will do,” Seulgi promises, allowing Irene to help lower herself into a sitting position on the ground.

“Great!” Irene claps enthusiastically. “Let’s begin!”

--

Seulgi doesn’t have her legs back yet— not entirely. But after a hard day full of stretches and leg lifts, and heel slides and hamstring stretches, just seeing the glowing way that Irene regards her in all of her sweaty glory makes Seulgi feel like she’s soaring.

--

“You know,” Seulgi remarks a week later, sprawled out on the ground a few days later, breathing heavily after doing yet another set of leg lifts. “I think my teammates are rather lucky to be out there on the playing field, running laps, because there is absolutely no way that they would rather be doing this!”

Irene giggles at her patient’s distress. “Well, good thing it’s only you, right?”

“Yeah,” Seulgi groans, closing her eyes. “Good thing.”

“So I’m guessing you’d rather just lie on the ground instead of use your phone?”

Seulgi sits up straight at that, stretching out an eager hand at Irene and making grabby motions.

“Nope! I’m up! Phone please?”

Shaking her head, Irene smiles but carefully passes Seulgi her phone, and the soccer player immediately goes back to lying down on the ground, her phone held above her face.

“Seulgi!” Irene exclaims with a frown, hands on her hips.

“Fine, I’ll sit up.” Pouting, Seulgi pushes herself into a sitting position again, pulling herself over to sit next to where Irene is standing against her office wall. The older girl slides down the wall and makes herself comfortable, allowing their arms to brush against each other.

@DEunA: @sringles remember how you texted me congratulations for scoring a goal at the game against Sweden yesterday?

@sringles: @DEunA yah ofc it was a masterpiece of a goal. Why?

@DEunA: so @jendeukkie hugged me right after the goal and just saying, she’s not good at victory hugs

@sringles: @DEunA see!!! You can’t replace me as the best victory hugger

@jendeukkie: @DEunA @sringles Excuse me??? Wow Eunae I’m hurt TT

@DEunA: @jendeukkie @sringles but you’re even better at rapping jennie, so it’s okay! Let’s have a rap battle soon!

@jendeukkie: @DEunA @sringles Yes!!!!! And hah! Take that Cap! Jisoo loves my hugs anyways

@sringles: @jendeukkie @DEunA wahhhhh no more victory hugs for you, Kim Jennie

@jendeukkie: @sringles @DEunA Wait! Cap! I’m sorry! Nooooo i want the victory hugsssss

“And this is why people keep speculating about your relationships with your teammates,” Irene concludes, observing how Seulgi grins and taps out a tweet in response.

Seulgi snorts. “According to rumors, I’ve dated over half of the team at this point.”

“Let’s count,” Irene suggests, holding out a hand to count on her fingers. “So there’s Eunae, obviously. And then Wendy, and YooA, and Krystal… oh, and Moonbyul too, especially before she and Solar got married—”

“There were still rumors even when Moonbyul was parading around with her big diamond engagement ring and Solar on her right arm!” Seulgi moans in frustration. “Honestly, you’d think the media would have a bit more restraint.” She pauses, a contemplative look on her face. “Hey, Irene? What about you? Did you find anyone in the seven years since your injury?”

“Nope,” Irene admonishes, popping the ‘p’. “No one caught my attention.”

She says nothing more, and Seulgi shrugs, more than happy to drop the subject. She doesn’t know why she asked anyway.

--

One month post-injury

“Irene, look! I’m walking without my crutches!” Seulgi shouts excitedly, waving her arms animatedly through the air as she shakily but steadily makes her way across the office’s wooden floor to where Irene is waiting for her with open arms.

“You made it!” Irene cheers, pulling Seulgi into an embrace when the soccer player draws near. “You really did it! See, I told you that Solar wasn’t kidding when she said that you’d be back on your own two feet within a month!”

Seulgi flushes at the contact, not usually being big on skinship, but she doesn’t draw away because truthfully, a hug is just what she needs at a time like this.

“I didn’t give Solar enough credit,” she admits bashfully. “She’s an amazing surgeon. It’s just, uh, sometimes easy to forget that little fact when she’s joking around with Byul.”

Irene giggles, nudging Seulgi comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I completely understand. I still do a double-take everytime I run into Solar wearing her doctor’s coat at the hospital.”

Seulgi sighs happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet and cracking her knuckles. “I’m just so happy that I can walk again!”

“And soon, you’ll be running,” Irene replies encouragingly, and Seulgi nods in agreement. “We’ve just got to keep working. Today, let’s just take an easy stroll through the park and get you used to those legs of yours again. I can teach you some leg strengthening exercises tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Seulgi exclaims, a little too excited at the prospect of an easier day, especially considering the amount of exertion Irene had been putting her through prior. “Should I bring my crutches in case, or…?”

Irene tilts her head. “Do you think you’ll need them?”

“... Nah,” Seulgi is quick to shake her head. “I think I can make it without them, and I don’t want to be dependent on them anymore. Besides, if I need help, you’ll be there, right?”

“Exactly,” Irene smiles. “Shall we head out?”

“Mmhm! Let’s go!”

--

Even with her legs back, things don’t exactly get easier; Irene makes sure of that. There’s always some new exercise to keep Seulgi on her toes. But if there is something, there’s Irene.

Irene in all of her compassionate, caring glory, who doesn’t mind driving all the way to Seulgi and Wendy’s shared apartment, plucking out the spare key from under the welcome mat, and coaxing Seulgi out of bed on those days when the young soccer player seems to just hit a slump.

Irene, who pushes Seulgi to try harder; who doesn’t feel ashamed to remind Seulgi of her promise of taking over the Olympics for Irene.

Irene, who Seulgi finds herself growing closer and closer to each and every day.

Seulgi wonders how she’d ever manage without someone like Irene.

--

Two months post-injury

“Irene, smile!”

Irene blinks, mouth full of ice cream, as Seulgi’s phone light flashes and a click is heard from the thin device.

“Seul, did you just take a picture of me?”

“Yup!” Seulgi beams, her own ice cream cone in one hand, and opening up her phone’s gallery with the other in order to examine the picture she’d just taken of the physical therapist. “Yup,” she says again, “This picture is definitely going on Twitter.”

“What?!” Irene squeaks, nearly dropping her ice cream. Thankfully, she balances herself out in the nick of time, biting her lip as she looks at Seulgi bashfully. “I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Seulgi puffs out her cheeks, looking ever-so-distant from the charismatic, terrifying captain of the National Team the world had gotten to know. “It’s my first official break from a packed schedule of recovery training! And this is the first time I’ve seen you outside of either professional clothes or exercise wear! I mean, c’mon, Irene! You’re wearing an off-shoulder dress and sandals and you look beautiful!”

Irene blushes. “Thanks Seul…”

“And if you’re worried about people seeing your face and recognizing you, don’t worry!” Seulgi continues rambling, trying to get her mind off her slight slip of tongue. “It’s a close up! I only got the top half of your face in the picture anyway, see? The rest is being covered up by your ice cream cone.”

Irene has to admit that Seulgi’s correct. That, and she’s also a strikingly good photographer. But to the average person glancing at the photo, Irene looks just like any other Korean girl.

“Okay,” the therapist relents with a sigh that quickly turns into an affectionate giggle as Seulgi fist pumps eagerly.

“Yes!” Seulgi cheers. “Can I tag you?”

“I-I suppose so?” Irene tilts her head adorably, and Seulgi wants to swoon. “What are you going to caption it as?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

@sringles: It’s so tasty~ Come and chase me~ with the one and only @baerene <3

“Seulgi!” Irene hits her shoulder with a yelp. “What even is that caption? And was the heart really necessary?"

“Yes,” Seulgi tells her, dead serious for a split second before dropping the act and winking at the older girl. “‘Cause you’re my favorite physical therapist ever.”

“I’m your only physical therapist,” Irene replies.

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Seulgi chuckles, and thirty seconds later, the floodgates are wide open. The two girls watch in awe as replies crash into Seulgi’s Twitter timeline faster than they can read them. Inside her pocket, Irene’s phone begins to buzz uncontrollably.

“Shoot,” Irene frowns, pulling out the device and hastily opening her settings. “I forgot to turn off notifications… better do that before the app crashes…”

Seulgi bursts out laughing, scrolling through all of the comments. “While you’re on there, you should totally check out some of these replies. People are going out of their minds!”

@immoonstar: @sringles @baerene oh, so is THIS why you two didn’t want to hang out with Solar and I today???

@sringles: @immoonstar @baerene Ice cream, Byul!!! ICE. CREAM.

@parksootan: @sringles @baerene Seul, how on earth are you so lucky

@sringles: @parksootan @baerene Joy, I tore my ACL

@baerene: @sringles @parksootan you got to meet me, Seul, so I guess you’re the luckiest person on earth now

@parksootan: @baerene @sringles she’s witty too! Ooooh Seul I wanna meet Irene!!!!

@sringles: @parksootan @baerene uhhhh maybe some other day

“Aw, Seul, you should introduce us,” Irene says teasingly, taking a quick from her ice cream before it gets the chance to melt. “I want to become acquainted with Joy too!”

Seulgi groans. “Yeah, right. I get the feeling that when that day comes, I might not survive to see the next morning. Anyways, there’s a whole lot of fans freaking out right now, thinking I’m on a date, and I feel like teasing them a little, so come and help me.”

--                                                             

Near three months post-injury

“I’m so proud of you,” Irene says out of nowhere one night, as they’re putting away the yoga mats in the PT gym area.

“I- what?” Seulgi does a double take.

Irene smiles gently. “You’ve come so far in only three months, Seul. You were so scared and hesitant in the beginning, but look at you now! You’re walking, running, and even doing yoga with me now. Your muscle and flexibility has come back, and you’re almost ready to go back to kicking soccer balls.” It’s stunning, actually, how warm Irene’s gaze is.

“I’m just so, so proud.”

Seulgi scratches the back of her neck sheepishly. “It definitely has been easy… and I still fall into slumps every once in a while.”

“But you’ve never let them keep you down,” Irene reminds her. “Even if it comes to the point where I have to come get you, you’re still right here, with me, at the end of the day”

“All thanks to you,” Seulgi says softly, her tone featherlight. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Irene.”

“We’re doing this together,” Irene replies, and Seulgi nods.

“Right. Together. I don’t think I ever told you this, Irene, but I really, really liked the sound of that. Especially the first time you made that promise to me.”

No more doubting.

--

Three-and-a-half months post-injury

“I can’t believe I never asked you this,” Seulgi says, picking at the salad in front of her half-heartedly as she tries to distract her therapist momentarily. Irene had insisted that she eat healthy, and she’d just finished her sandwich, but now it was onto the salad and Seulgi despises vegetables. “But how did Moonbyul find you after you sort of faded from the soccer world?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Irene muses, placing a thoughtful finger on her chin. “Moonbyul was the one who recommended me, right? I completely forgot about that.”

“She had your card and gave it to me,” Seulgi recalls before pausing. “Well, she gave it to me, and I handed it off to Coach Kwon.”

“Let’s see,” Irene begins. “For starters, Solar and I have been best friends for years now. Naturally, I’m one of the first people she tells whenever she gets into a relationship. Two years ago, Solar called me up and asked if I could come out for dinner to meet her new girlfriend— Solar would not shut up about how great the first date had been, by the way. But for some reason, I’d never caught onto her new flame’s name.”

Seulgi snickers. “Oh no.”

“And so I show up to dinner and what’s this?” The therapist chuckles. “Sitting right next to my best friend is Moon Byulyi, my old teammate from the National Team! I think she recognized me immediately. Back when I’d been captain, Byul and I had been pretty good friends, given how we’d been the only two members close in age.” Irene rakes a hand through her hair, a grin splitting her face. “I’d left the restaurant with Byul’s number in my phone after she demanded my card and stated that if she ever got into trouble, she’d come to me for physical therapy.”

“And she kept that card in her bag for two whole years?” Seulgi questions, frowning but finally taking a bite of the leafy veggies when Irene raises an eyebrow and gestures to the salad. “Even after you treated her shoulder?”

“She probably just forgot about it, knowing her,” Irene giggles. “Byul’s not exactly the best at remembering things.”

“I’m right here, y’know,” Moonbyul interrupts from her spot across the cafe table, throwing a glare Irene’s way and tossing a french fry at Seulgi. It lands in her salad, and Seulgi’s about to pick it up and eat it when Irene reaches over and plucks it out, popping it into her own mouth instead. The action leaves Seulgi pouting as Moonbyul crosses her arms. “I invited you guys here to eat, and I came out to have a good time, but I’m feeling really attacked right now.”

“It’s not like Joohyun is wrong,” Solar laughs heartily, patting Moonbyul’s shoulder in a comforting manner. “Do you want me to count how many times I’ve had to bring your lunch to practice because you forgot it back at the apartment? And how many times did I open your cannister of food to see it devoid of all things green?”

Moonbyul groans, slumping down in her seat. “Yong, there’s really no need for you to keep giving me broccoli for lunch. I always eat it at home during dinner, and I’m very healthy so—”

“Like that’s gonna stop me from sneaking them into your rice,” Solar retorts, rolling her eyes and sharing a look with Irene. “Honestly, you’d think Byul would be grateful for the added nutrients.”

“At least Moonbyul eats vegetables at all,” Irene replies, side-eyeing Seulgi, who shrinks in place. “I’ve had to force them into Seulgi’s diet, and she only relented after I promised her that carrots, lettuce, and the like would only help her recover faster. Honestly, I don’t know how you managed beforehand, Seul!”

Seulgi feebly opens to protest, only to close it over another forkful of her salad when Irene holds up a finger that says all resistance is futile.

“Has Irene ever cooked for you, Seulgi?” Solar asks, and Seulgi shakes her head as she takes a sip of her diet soda (the only relatively unhealthy part of her meal). “You should ask her to! Irene’s a really good cook - much better than me, that’s for sure - I’m positive that you wouldn’t mind eating vegetables if you ate them as part of Irene’s cooking. She’s even gotten Moonbyul to enjoy her tomato soup.”

Seulgi swallows her drink before responding hesitantly. “You think?” She glances at Irene, who’s been staring pensively at Seulgi for the past minute. “Would you be willing?”

Irene shrugs with a small smile. “It’s worth a try. Anything to get you to eat your veggies more often.” Anything for you.

The words are unspoken, but Seulgi’s almost convinced that she can hear the silent sentence hanging in the air between them, lingering right next to Irene’s warm gaze that Seulgi just wants to fall into. Yeah, she’d definitely eat her vegetables for Irene.

--

Four months post-injury

“You guys look like you’ve been doing well,” Seulgi says to Moonbyul one afternoon, resting on one of the metal sidelined benches of the National Stadium. She’d gotten bored, having no physical therapy due to Irene having to attend some convention, and Seulgi had decided to go pay her teammates a surprise visit. “Everyone’s looking amazing. Our team seems to be better than ever.”

“We are,” Moonbyul says simply, smiling proudly. She turns to look at the younger co-captain, a bright spark in her gaze. “We all fell into a slump towards the end of the season. Losing you, our backbone, was a bit too much to handle at the time. But as soon as training for the new round of World Cup qualifiers began, we were on fire! I’ve never seen a group of more hardworking girls,” Moonbyul laughs, and Seulgi smiles, glad that her older friend feels this way.

But it’s when Moonbyul’s eyes narrow, staring at the very same turf where Seulgi had been shoved down to the ground, tearing her ACL, just mere months before.

“We’re going to avenge you, Cap,” Moonbyul murmurs, nothing but raw conviction in her voice.

Seulgi smiles. Leave it to Moonbyul to always have her back. Ever since Moonbyul had been Seulgi’s captain when they were together in the National Under 20s team, Seulgi had always been looking up to the older girl. To have gotten to the point where she could be a co-captain with Moonbyul had been a dream come true. And now, to be considered one of Moonbyul’s closest friends? Simply surreal.

“Don’t call me ‘Cap,’” Seulgi says, her silent way of thanking her trusted teammate. “You’re always gonna be my captain, Byul.”

“And you’re just as much a leader on this team as me,” Moonbyul replies nonchalantly, getting up from the metal bench and nudging a ball to her feet. “I’m gonna practice taking more shots on goal, and— oh! Look, Eunae’s taking a break. Hey, D.ana! Keep Seul company for a while, ‘kay?”

“Sounds good, Byul!” Eunae calls back to the older co-captain, striding away from the other girls practicing and sidling up to Seulgi with a smile.

“It’s great to see you here, Cap,” Eunae grins, walking up to the bench that Seulgi had been sitting on and clasping a hand onto Seulgi’s shoulder. She steps back and gives her captain a quick glance over, whistling. “A few months really makes a difference! You’re already walking without any problems, and working up that muscle. I’m impressed. So I’m guessing that the PT is going well?”

“You have no idea,” Seulgi chuckles lowly, shaking her head. “Not going to lie, I think that Irene’s pushing me harder than any of my previous coaches have pushed me before.”

“But it looks like it’s really paying off though,” Eunae notes. “You don’t look too far off from where you were before.”

“It definitely is, though I’m still working on building my stamina back up,” Seulgi agrees. She scratches her head sheepishly, looking almost guilty. “Actually, Irene had made me promises that she could get me back out on the playing field before the national season started, and in my frustration, I had been incredibly skeptical and close-minded. But she’s brought out the best in me and more, so I suppose that I owe her an apology.”

“That sounds like the Seulgi I know,” the forward teases, and Seulgi pouts, crossing her arms.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Seulgi asks accusingly, and Eunae laughs, patting Seulgi’s back.

“Nothing, Seul, I’m just playing,” Eunae says, something lighthearted and jesting in her tone, and Seulgi resists the urge to roll her eyes. “But really, I can’t wait to have you back on the field. You know more than anyone that I trust every single one of our girls with my life, but you and I have, uh, kinda—”

“Become a damn good team?” Seulgi quips helpfully, and Eunae chuckles but nods.

“Yeah, we’re a pretty good pair, aren’t we,” Eunae admits, and Seulgi grins.

“On the turf, at least,” Seulgi jokes.

Eunae snorts. “Oh, yeah. As soon as you’re out of your uniform and that lucky number 10 is off your back, you’re absolutely intolerable. You’re lucky that Irene tolerates you at all. She deserves some sort of award or something.”

“Shut up!” Seulgi shoves her friend. “Irene loves me!”

“Oh, I’m sure that she does.”

“Is that sarcasm I hear, Jo Eunae?”

“Nope. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Cap.”

--

Five months post-injury

“It’s been five months since your injury, weeks since you’ve fallen into any slumps. It’s also a Saturday, and one of our official break days, and yet I’m still over at your apartment at ten o’clock in the morning, making you and Wendy breakfast,” Irene chides, casually flipping over a chocolate chip pancake.

“Your pancakes are amazing though,” is Seulgi’s muffled reply from where she’s buried her head in a cushion on the living room sofa. “Even better than Wendy’s!” She giggles. “I like how you add those large chocolate chips to make them look like soccer balls.”

“Your artistic flavor to the pancakes is amazing, and we’re eternally grateful,” Wendy chimes in from where she’s setting up four plates the table. “Seulgi, can you get over here and put out the drinks?”

Seulgi groans but forces herself to get up. “Fine.”

“You two deserve an award for putting up with Seulgi for such long periods of time,” Eunji remarks, walking into the kitchen and setting a bowl of assorted fruits into the center of the table. “How do you do it? It’s amazing.”

“Wendy’s more skilled than me,” Irene says. “You’ve known each other for ten years now?” She clicks her tongue. “Teach me your ways, Wendy! I’ve resulted to outright bribery at this point.”

“It’s true,” Seulgi admits shamelessly with a smirk. She takes a seat at the table. “We go out for dinner once a week now. But seriously Eunji, if you knew the horrors that Irene puts me through on a daily basis, you’d want to take up bribery too.”

“That makes me curious,” Eunji grins, sitting across from Seulgi and propping her head up on her elbow. “What have you been doing recently?”

“Hour-long wall sits,” Seulgi deadpans, and Eunji stiffens, a shiver running down her spine. “My thighs have never burned so much.”

Wendy’s mouth goes slack, and she whirls around to stare the angelic girl piling up pancakes in pure disbelief. She opens and closes like a fish, trying to find the words to express her astonishment. Unfortunately, everything Wendy’s trying to convey out loud gets lost the moment Irene turns to her with a sly smile and winks.

Well, the left-wing defender supposes to herself, I guess there has to be some reason why Seulgi’s been recovering at a frightening rate. I just didn’t know that it would be this… harsh?

“So how are you and Eunji doing?” Irene asks casually— too casually.

Wendy freezes.

Eunji chokes on her juice.

Seulgi barks out a laugh upon seeing the expressions on her teammates’ faces, holding a fist out to Irene, which the older girl happily bumps in return.

“W-what are you talking about?” Eunji stammers, shooting glances at Wendy, who is rendered speechless once more.

Seulgi shares a knowing look with Irene. “Well, for one, ever since Eunji got called up to the National Team you guys have gotten suspiciously close. Number two, Wendy, you kept going over to Eunji’s place after I got injured. Three, Eunji, you—”

Two sighs of relief can be heard as Seulgi is cut off by the sound of her phone ringing, and Irene pulls a face at the interruption. Seulgi on her tirades is always amusing.

“What do you want?” Seulgi says irritably into the receiver end of her phone. “I— okay SinB, I’m sorry! No but really, what do you want.”

“Check your Twitter. This is an S.O.S. from Tzuyu, Chungha, and I.” And SinB hangs up.

“I… okay?” Seulgi stares at her call log in befuddlement.

“What was that about?” Irene asks.

“She just said to check Twitter?” Seulgi upturns her lips. “Something about an S.O.S. and— Oh my god.”

@lilshinb: @sringles save us look at all these *shivers* people with significant others

@sringles: @lilshinb yikes sorry lil sis, sorry i’m not there. I suggest leaving the poolside and beelining for the TV room. Safer there.

@chewytzu: @sringles @lilshinb tysm Cap u r our true savior

@wdykchungha: @chewytzu @sringles @lilshinb TT we miss you Seulgiiiiiiii

“They’re at Moonbyul and Solar’s mansion!” Irene cracks up. “And look, a bunch of your teammates are there!”

“With all of their wives and girlfriends,” Wendy laughs. “And this is why Seulgi and I opted out of going. These types of meetings are just a lot of arguments over which significant other is better than the other.”

“Is it really that bad?” Eunji inquires. Being relatively new to the team, she’s never attended one of the gatherings at Moonbyul and Solar’s, but she knew better when Wendy had interjected during the invitation, proclaiming that Eunji was going to have breakfast with her instead.

“It gets pretty scary,” Seulgi cautions, tsking her tongue. “Man, SinB, Tzuyu, and Chungha. Poor rookies. They didn’t know any better. The poor girls.”

“You better get back to the team to protect them then,” Irene smiles broadly.

“I can’t let my girls down,” Seulgi sighs dramatically, slumping in her seat and bringing her arms behind her head. “I’ve gotta keep going. So, how many wall sits tomorrow?”

“Five sets.”

“I better be getting sushi for this, Irene.”

“You better be thankful for that high metabolism of yours.”

--

Six months post-injury

“Let’s go!” Seulgi yells exuberantly, watching the soccer ball she just sent midair arch down in a spiral, sailing straight over Joy’s head, the tall goalie attempting to leap up and grab it, only for the ball to slip through her hands and hit the back of the net with a thud.

Meanwhile, Joy barks out a laugh, falling to her knees and resting her giant goalie gloves on the ground aimlessly.

“You really haven’t lost your touch even after six months of not even physically touching a soccer ball,” Joy chuckles, peering up at Seulgi in slightly disbelief, but really, she should’ve known better because this is Seulgi she’s talking about. “You’re really cool, Cap.”

Seulgi beams. Nothing like shooting goals pre-soccer practice. She and Irene had headed over to the stadium first thing in the morning, Irene having the intention of updating Coach Kwon on Seulgi’s status, and Seulgi simply wanting to kick soccer balls around. As usual, there were a few girls who had shown up before practice officially began, including Joy and Yeri, who had happily jumped onto Seulgi when they found out that she’s recovered enough to be able to take their weight.

“Looking sharp, Seulgi!” Jennie, Seulgi’s fellow center-midfielder calls from where she and Jisoo, a defender, just exited the locker room. The slightly younger midfielder pinches her thumb and index fingers together, signalling an ok sign Seulgi’s way, and the captain quickly sends a thumbs up back at her.

Ever since Seulgi had gotten injured, Jennie had filled in Seulgi’s center-field position during games, and though obviously not as accustomed to the left side of the field as Seulgi, Jennie had done a pretty good job. Thankfully, Yeri had experience playing as a midfielder, so the youngest girl played on the right, next to Jennie, instead of in her typical defender position directly in front of Joy. The position swap had been a liability, but the girls had been eager to find some way to help Seulgi, even if it was simply substituting positions.

“You’re basically ready to reclaim your left center-field spot, aren’t you, Cap?” Jennie calls, grinning when Seulgi nods. The New-Zealander has missed her right side of the soccer field.

“All thanks to Irene,” Seulgi declares proudly, crossing her arms and beaming. “She’s a real miracle worker.”

“We keep hearing so much about this Irene,” Yeri notes, heading over to Seulgi from the sidelines, Jennie, Jisoo, and Eunae in tow. The youngest member of the National Team jumps up and down excitedly. “We only got to see her that first day in the hospital! Well, and half of her face from your tweets. I wanna meet her!”

“Same, Yeri,” Eunae laughs. “With the way that Seulgi describes her, Irene must be a guardian angel.”

“Is that really what she says? Seul, I didn’t know that you had such a high opinion of me!”

With a gasp, the girls on the field all snap their attention to the beautiful therapist striding onto the turf, tailed by Coach Kwon, Moonbyul, and Wendy.

“I think you might need to see Solar to get your hearing checked, Irene,” Seulgi jokes, picking up the soccer ball that Joy had sent back at her. “I don’t know what Eunae’s talking about.”

“Sure, Kang Seulgi,” Irene says sarcastically, flicking her long, black tresses over her shoulder for good measure. She catches Seulgi’s eye, and the two girls break out laughing.

Meanwhile, her teammates share curious looks before huddling closer, eager to learn about their co-captain’s friendship with her therapist. Seulgi can almost feel their urge to question and interrogate crackle like lightning through the air, bringing an amused smile to her lips. However, she bites back a comment and instead focuses her attention on Irene in front of her.

“So?” Seulgi asks breathlessly. “Am I healthy enough to get back to playing?”

Irene snickers at the way Seulgi shifts from one foot to the other in anxiousness, and the older girl meets the eyes of Coach Kwon, nodding at the National Team Coach.

“Yes, I think so.”

“YES!” Seulgi shouts pumping her fist into the air jovially, followed by the cheers of her fellow present teammates. Spinning around Seulgi laughs, spreading her arms out wide, “I’m back guys! I’m back, and you guys are doing great, so we’ll totally destroy those upcoming World Cup qualifiers like— wait.”

There’s an abrupt wave of silence that crashes over the celebration the moment Seulgi abruptly controls herself, a frown on her face.

“Hold up a second.”

Irene steps closer, concern etched in the way her forehead creases. “Seul? Is something wrong?”

“Does this mean that I won’t be seeing you anymore?” Seulgi’s words are awfully timid, like she doesn’t want to know the answer. Around her, Seulgi’s teammates watch on in rapt silence, and Seulgi thinks that it would be rather nice for the ground to swallow her up whole just about now, especially with the way that Moonbyul is smirking at her from behind Irene’s back.

A warm sort of surprise washes over Irene, from the tips of her ears to the bottom of her toes. And Seulgi looks adorable, scruffing the toe of her new cleats (Irene had given them to Seulgi herself as a gift for all of the younger girl’s hard work) into the turf floor, peeking at Irene hesitantly through her eyelashes.

“Well,” Irene says carefully. “There’s always the weekly check-ins. I still need to see how you’re doing occasionally.”

This only serves to deepen Seulgi’s frown.

“Only once a week?”

Irene giggles at the sad-puppy expression. “Or more than that, if you’d like. Seul, I’m technically assigned to you for at least nine months, meaning that you have three more to go. Everything is up to you. If you want to meet up more often, then we can.”

“I don’t want to take you away from any other potential jobs though,” Seulgi mumbles, looking down at the trodden turf beneath her feet. “I don’t want you wasting any more time with me.”

(From where she’s standing, Wendy feels her heart swell at the sight of her best friend acting like a schoolgirl with a crush on the popular senior. Too. Cute.)

Irene puffs her cheeks in mild frustration. “You’re acting like I don’t want you around.”

“I-I,” Seulgi stammers, and giggles arise from the crowd of female soccer players around them. “I- Do you want me around?”

Irene shrugs, pink tinging her cheek. “I never said that I didn’t. I mean, I’m sure that I can find something productive for you to do.”

Shockingly enough, it’s Coach Kwon who interrupts next.

“How about you take a little break from your job as a physical therapist?”

Cocking her head in confusion, Irene regards Coach Kwon with interest. “A break?”

“A pseudo-break,” The older woman chuckles before further explaining. “Not from working or anything, just from being a therapist. Instead, you could coach Seulgi in soccer. Heck, you could co-coach the other girls too, with me. It can be unofficial stuff so you don’t have to get involved with the logistics of the League — y’know, our little secret — and I’d love for some help with these rascals.”

“Oh!” Seulgi brightens. “That’s a great idea!”

“Think of it as babysitting adults with the consciences of five-year-olds,” Coach Kwon continues.

“Hey!” Wendy protests, almost half-heartedly as if she’s trying to convince herself. “We’re not that bad.”

“I, uh,” Irene stutters nervously at the sets of inquiring eyes lasering in on her small form. “Am I even qualified for that?”

“Irene,” Moonbyul laughs, emphasizing the therapist’s pseudonym. “If being the FIFA World Cup-winning captain of our nation’s Women’s National Team doesn’t make you qualified for a little unofficial co-coaching stint, I don’t know what is.”

“The youngest captain to lead a team to first place in history!” Seulgi adds, and Irene flushes, lightly shoving the slightly taller girl.

“You keep going on about that, Seul. It’s not that special, and—”

“Wait just a second!” Joy holds up a hand, eyes wide. “We,” she gestures wildly to her equally-as-confused fellow teammates, “are clearly missing something in the equation here! Explain. Now.”

“You’re not that good at math, are you, Sooyoung-ie,” Wendy teases, and Joy sticks out her tongue, crossing her arms.

Yeri simply narrows her eyes, stepping into the small clearing and walking straight up to Irene, who does nothing but smile, completely entertained as the youngest girl stalks her in circles, trying to come to reasonable conclusions.

“Captain of the National Team…” Yeri mutters under her breath. “Won the FIFA World Cup…” And then it hits. And Yeri’s jaw goes slack.

“Oh my God. You’re Bae Joohyun.”

Utter silence.

And then Chaos beholds itself onto the world—

—Otherwise known as Park Sooyoung.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

--

“You didn’t feel that you should’ve told us, your National Team teammates, that your physical therapist is the legendary forward, Bae Joohyun?” Eunae actually sounds like she’s been offended. “Seul, she was - and still is - my idol. And you told Wendy before the rest of us?” Wendy lets out a strangled sound of protest. “Sorry Wendy, I still love you though. But I feel betrayed.”

“We all feel betrayed,” Jisoo huffs, nudging Jennie’s side with the back of her hand. “Right Jennie?”

“Uh, yeah…”

Oddly enough, the midfielder looks strangely dazed, staring blankly down into nothing.

“Jennie-ssi? Are you okay?”

The simple question is enough to snap Jennie back to the present, and her eyes raise to meet Irene’s own gentle brown orbs.

Seulgi raises her eyebrows in utmost interest as she observes the way her fellow midfielder quickly gets red in embarrassment at the sudden attention. She’s certainly never seen Jennie act like this before, and judging by the affronted expression on Jisoo’s face, Jennie’s partner-in-crime never has either. Well, this is interesting.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine,” Jennie says under her breath, and Jisoo’s jaw might as well have hit the turf.

“Oooh,” Joy snickers, pulling Yeri close to her so that she can rest her chin on the smaller girl’s shoulder. Yeri, ever the quick-minded individual, lets out a short cackle as Joy smirks. “Trouble in paradise, Miss Kim Jennie?”

“Didn’t you go through a blonde-haired phase too, Jennie?” Yeri questions innocently, sneakily high-fiving Joy after delivering the line.

“I have no idea what you’re referring to,” is Jennie’s curt response, though her annoyance at the remark is clearly extended and amplified into her searing glare sent in Joy and Yeri’s direction.

And as Joy raises her arms in alleged surrender and Yeri throws up a peace sign, Irene regards the whole exchange with unabashed, warranted amusement twinkling in her eyes.

“I’m starting to second-guess this whole coaching thing,” Seulgi murmurs low into Irene’s ear as the others continue to bicker.

Irene giggles. “I thought that you wanted me here.”

“Yeah, but,” Seulgi frowns. “Now I’ll have to share you.”

Ah, there’s that warmth again. Irene feels her heart start to race, her stomach buzzing like a thousand hummingbirds have spontaneously burst into the small area, fluttering around, beating their wings at over 60 miles per hour. It only gets worse when she realizes how close Seulgi is standing behind her; she can practically feel the younger girl’s breath on her neck. And suddenly Irene’s way too aware of the casual way that Seulgi has slung an arm over her shoulder— an action that had become so familiar when they took breaks from Seulgi’s sessions.

“I don’t have to take the proposal if you don’t want me to,” Irene says lightly.

Seulgi shakes her head. “No, no you coaching us would definitely benefit the team. Plus,” Seulgi gives a small smile, “I can tell that you want to.”

“Then a compromise,” Irene reasons smoothly. “Let’s go for runs in the mornings. Just the two of us. We can meet at my place, jog to these practices, and then head home together afterwards. Maybe we can even get food or something. How does that sound?”

Seulgi has to bite her lip to stop herself from smile so hard, ecstasy nearly getting the better of her to the point where she almost forgets to nod her head.

“That sounds great. I’d love that, Irene!”

--

“We’re heading out now!” Seulgi calls, having just changed out of her sweaty practice clothes and standing by the locker room door with Irene. She’d been allowed to participate in the usual practice for the first time in months, and all of her teammates had been utterly ecstatic, especially at how Seulgi didn’t seem to be missing any of her previous skills.

Their co-captain is back and there to stay.

Irene’s split-second decision to help coach was the second fangirl-scream-inducing moment of the day.

(“They listen better to you than me,” Coach Kwon had whined, standing next to Irene on the sidelines. The new co-coach had just ordered their lineup of forwards to do a few sets of sprints. “Honestly, I’ve never seen them jump at the opportunity to run so fast. I mean, Lisa’s crazy, so I can understand that, and Eunae’s just a nice kid. But Hwasa? And SinB? Miss Bae, what on earth did you do?”

Irene throws her head back and laughs. “I may or may not be abusing this so-called ‘legendary’ status that I’ve seemed to contract, Coach Kwon.”)

Seulgi’s announcement of departure garnered a chorus of “Bye, Seulgi!” and “Have a nice day, Irene! Thanks for helping us out!”

And best of all—

“Jennie thinks you’re really pretty, Irene!!”

“Shut up, Lisa!”

“Make me!”

“I’ll call Rosé.”

Dramatic horrified gasps arise from both Lisa and her teammates, and Seulgi quietly snickers at Irene’s look of confusion. Everyone on the team knows how thoroughly whipped Lisa is for her girlfriend.

“...You wouldn’t bring my Rosie into this.”

“Try me!”

“And,” Seulgi drawls, whisking Irene out the door, “That’s our cue to leave!”

“Rosé is that soloist singer, right?” Irene questions as she and Seulgi make their way out of the stadium. “And she’s dating Lisa?”

“Yup,” Seulgi smiles lazily, leading Irene through the glass doors and inhaling satisfyingly as a soft breeze brushes over her face. “They met at a concert that the National Team had been invited to. Lisa and Rosé hit things off pretty quickly.”

“Still a secret?”

“Of course,” Seulgi answered reasonably. “As much as the rest of us hate them having to hide their relationship, this is the best path given both of their careers.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Irene hums. Absently, she peeks down at Seulgi’s leg. “How’s your knee holding up?”

“Never been better,” Seulgi says earnestly before letting the topic drop into comfortable silence. And as they stroll back to Irene’s house, Seulgi finds herself basking in the way that Irene allows their bare arms to brush and how Irene seems to step in rhythm with her; in the way that Irene subconsciously leans in towards Seulgi.

And as she reflects on the past six months, Seulgi wonders how she had ever conceived the thought that Irene could’ve merely been another pretty face pitying Seulgi in her hardship. Looking back, it seems so ridiculous now. Irene never pitied her. Irene never had any underlying intentions. What Irene had wanted was the best for Seulgi; to spare Seulgi from having to bear through more difficulties. And to think that she had never even met the older girl until her injury… it feels like a lifetime ago.

Walking out of that stadium with Irene puts a real, genuine smile on her face, as she purposely bumps Irene with her arm, and Irene giggles and shoves her back. Her dream isn’t over, she has a whole lifetime of milestones awaiting her, all thanks to the beautiful physical therapist beside her. And as Seulgi falls into step with Irene, she believes, believes, believes.

 

To be continued.

 

A/N: If you're curious about the entirety of Seulgi (and Moonbyul's) National Soccer Team, the full roster with all the members and their positions can be found here!

As always, thank you so much to much hummingbird readers for deciding to give this fic a chance, and for all the love my past fics have received! I'm always going to be ever grateful for all of the upvotes and comments and subscriptions, and even for the silent readers! You all are awesome!