Yerin methodically tied her hair into its gameday bun, finished off by a red and gold striped ribbon tied into a bow around the base. It was finally the first game of the season, and Yerin was practically buzzing in nervousness and excitement. She’d been counting down the days since school started. She loved quidditch, the adrenaline it gave her and the thrill of flying. On top of that, Yerin had another reason to look forward to this game. SinB.

As per tradition, the first game of the season was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and Yerin was determined to wipe the floor with her opponent. She still remembered that morning a few weeks ago where SinB had glided through the air and beaten her with ease. It just made Yerin want to win more, and Yerin was competitive if not anything else.

There was also the fact that if Yerin beat SinB in quidditch, it’d also be like beating her in their flirting game as well. Thinking back on it, Yerin should’ve wagered something. Instead, the past few days, Yerin and SinB traded playful, flirtatious taunts about the game. That was how they were now, all smooth flirting until one of them inevitably said something about the other’s house causing them to fall back into fighting. Eventually, they’d get over it and start flirting again. Yerin was pretty sure this cycle wasn’t the healthiest thing to be doing, but she also enjoyed it too much to stop.

“How’re you feeling?” Sowon asked as she also finished tying up her hair, ponytail long and neat.

Yerin grinned. “Ready to kick some .”

Sowon smiled back at her before wandering off to check up on the other players. After she left, Yerin found a crumpled note in the pocket of her quidditch robes. That was weird. She usually didn’t leave anything in her pockets. Unfolding it, Yerin recognized the handwriting as SinB’s. The note told her to meet her behind the locker rooms. How had SinB even gotten the note in her robes?

Rolling her eyes, Yerin told Sowon she was going to grab some fresh air before the game and slipped away with her team none the wiser. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to meet with her competing team’s captain right before a game, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Yerin walked to the back and saw SinB in all of her quidditch glory. SinB had her hair in that high ponytail again that Yerin couldn’t help but find y. Her emerald robes suited her pale skin, there were a pair of finger gloves she wore that made her look rugged, and her shiny silver captain’s badge glinted in the sunlight. All the while, she smirked at Yerin like she knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Did you ask me here so you could beg us to go easy on you?” Yerin smirked as she walked up to her. She left barely a foot between them.

SinB shook her head smiled. She reached out and grabbed Yerin’s robes. With a gentle tug, she pulled Yerin closer. “Giving you your good luck kiss,” SinB whispered before pressing her lips to Yerin’s cheek.

When she pulled away, Yerin laughed breathlessly and quickly said, “Are you expecting one too?”

“If you think I’ll need it,” SinB replied smugly, a smile on her face as she clearly enjoyed how much she flustered Yerin.

“I think you’ll need more than a good luck kiss to win this game,” Yerin said and stepped away to put more distance between them. “Unfortunately for you, we don’t have enough time for that.”

SinB’s smile widened and she nodded. “May the best woman win then.” She gave her a mocking salute followed by a skillful wink before she walked back to her own locker room.

Yerin watched her go, not entirely sure of what just happened. She shook her head and sighed. It was probably just SinB trying to distract her from the game. This was one of the things about their game that confused her. Most of the time, SinB was cocky and snarky. She insulted just as much as she flirted, balancing them just so that they usually didn’t get too upset over the insults. Sometimes, SinB was in a bad mood and snapped at her, and Yerin fought back, the bad mood spreading to her as well. But then sometimes, sometimes SinB was soft and shy, gentle and kind. It made Yerin’s head spin. It made her feel like she didn’t really know who SinB was.

Clearly, she did. SinB was the arrogant Slytherin who liked to toy with her, but Yerin was going to show her who was really the toy. At least, that the plan, wasn’t it?

Yerin sighed again and went back to her team. If SinB had called her out there to make her confused again, she succeeded. Yerin made it back to the locker room just in time for Sowon’s usual pep talk and cheer. She whooped and hollered with the rest of her team and carefully tucked away her thoughts about SinB for later.

The game started like any other, with adrenaline rushing through Yerin’s veins and the air whipping past her as she weaved through Slytherin’s players.

Except it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been. Yerin didn’t know what SinB had been doing with her team, but it was like they had one mind. They covered each other’s blind spots, and the beaters seemed to anticipate each other’s moves. Yerin felt her frustration build as it continued to feel like Slytherin was five steps ahead.

Yerin was still able to score points, making last second decisions to throw off Slytherin. Slytherin may have precision and fluidity, but Gryffindor was still reckless and brave. Yerin threw herself into the game, clashing dangerously with other players as she forced her way to the goals. Her team followed her lead, and they managed to lessen the two hundred point gap between them.

Yerin caught the quaffle from her teammate and made haste to the goals. She bucked around on her broom as she jerkily avoided Slytherin’s chasers. She was so focused on getting the goals that she almost didn’t notice a bludger headed her way. Yerin flipped over her broom, flying upside down and felt the bludger skim her as it flew. She righted herself and kept flying. She managed to score and sighed in relief.

It was then that she caught sight of SinB giving signals to her team. Was that how her team seemed to know what was going on at all times? It made sense. SinB’s job was to find the snitch, but if it hadn’t shown up yet, she was in the perfect position to watch everything.

Suddenly, SinB caught Yerin’s eye and winked. In a blink of an eye, she sped off. She saw the snitch. While that didn’t bode well for her team, that also meant Slytherin didn’t have SinB guiding them. She glanced around her and realized while Slytherin was still playing with ruthless efficiency, it wasn’t as smooth as before.

This was their chance.

“Let’s go!” Yerin yelled to her team. She got nods from everyone and quickly snatched the quaffle from one of Slytherin’s chasers. While Sowon was captain, Yerin also had a fair say since she was able to talk to the team during the game. They trusted her. “Score as much as you can before the snitch is caught.” Her teammates’ eyes widened, and they took off after her.

The snitch was only one hundred-fifty points. If they could surpass Slytherin’s points through sheer force of will and goals, SinB catching the snitch wouldn’t even matter. And yes, while Yerin thought Gryffindor’s seeker was skilled, she’d seen SinB fly. There was no way SinB wouldn’t be the one catching it.

Yerin’s breathing grew ragged as she forced herself to fly faster, score more. She watched as their scores slowly grew closer, until she wanted to holler when Gryffindor’s numbers were higher than Slytherin’s. Yerin had the quaffle and dodged a well-aimed bludger. She flew off course and hurled the quaffle at her teammate. Slytherin was smart to target her, but her teammates were also very good at the game.

She glanced at the scores again and watched as Gryffindor’s increased by ten once more. But then she heard a cheer from the stands. Yerin looked around and found SinB waving around the snitch victoriously. She glanced back at the score and cursed. They’d only lost by one hundred points.

After Gryffindor trudged back into the locker room, Sowon tried to cheer them and said, “I don’t care if we lost. You guys played an amazing game out there. Slytherin’s team was like a machine out there, and we still gave them a run for their money. Next time, we destroy the team and show them who’s boss.” The team gave a weak cheer of agreement, and Sowon sighed and dismissed them.

Yerin avoided Sowon, knowing how badly both of them had wanted to win, given their respective interests in Slytherin. She left without even showering, desperate to hide in her room and eat at least three of the dumb chocolate bars she bought for SinB. However, Yerin walked through the courtyard to find SinB waiting for her.

SinB was back in her school robes, but her skin was still flushed and her hair was still in its ponytail, though it was messy from playing. She wore a broad grin, bright and excited from winning. Yerin couldn’t decide if she wanted to slap or kiss her, but she knew she wanted to just run away.

Yerin reluctantly walked up to her, unintentionally glaring at her.

“Looks like you were the one who needed more than a good luck kiss,” SinB teased as she playfully punched Yerin’s shoulder. “But you were a monster out there, making all those scores.”

“You’re the monster here,” Yerin said flatly.

Confusion marred SinB’s pretty features. “What do you mean?”

“Was that your plan all along?” Yerin asked harshly. She was just so mad. Mad at herself for losing the game for her team. Mad at Sowon for not training them harder. Mad at her team for not scoring enough. Mad at SinB for doing whatever she did to her. Mad at herself for not being able to figure SinB out. “Did you call me out there before the game to screw with me?”

“If a kiss is all it takes to mess you up, you aren’t as good of a quidditch player as they say you are,” SinB snapped.

“Who are you?” Yerin shouted. “Why are you so two-faced? One second you’re smiling at me and telling me I’m pretty. The next second you’re all cold and telling me I have a superiority complex!”

“Why can’t I be both?” SinB exclaimed back, and Yerin couldn’t tell if she was imagining the anguish in her voice. “Why can’t I be human and have multiple parts to who I am? You’re exactly the same way. One second you’re flirting with me, looking at me like I’m a person with feelings. The next second you’re telling me to rot in hell for being a Slytherin and you mean it.”

“Don’t pin this on me!”

“Stop acting like you haven’t done anything wrong!”

They stared at each other, panting and furious.

SinB scoffed and shook her head. “You know what, forget it. I should’ve known better than to get involved with a Gryffindor. You say Slytherins all the same? Well, so are you. All of you are such self-righteous bastards.” SinB tossed something at Yerin’s feet and said darkly, “Good game.”

After SinB walked away, Yerin picked up what SinB had thrown. A chocolate bar. Just like what she’d been giving SinB. Just like what Yerin had wanted. She closed her fist around it and wanted to scream.