In which Sojung is a fantastic bowler and she knows it

The corner of her lips twitched up into a smirk as she watched the ball crash into the pins, knocking over every last one of them.

“Strike!” Yuna cheered and the slender figure walked confidently back to the seats. “Nothing new but I’m still surprised as usual.”

“Of course, you’re friends with one of the best bowlers. You should expect nothing less.” Sojung grinned and sat down, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest as she watched Yuna grab a ball from the rack. Sojung followed her friend’s movement with her eyes, observing her posture, her approach and most importantly, her release.

They watched as the obnoxiously neon pink ball rolled down the alley only to mow over 4 pins.

“Good posture but bad release. Don’t tilt your wrist, keep it straight or the ball will curve off course.” Sojung said as Yuna waited for her ball to return.

“Got it, sunbaenim.” She teased as she readied herself for her second throw. True to the girl’s words, with a proper release, the ball slid perfectly down the alley and crashed through the remaining pins.

“Woah, now that’s magic!” Yuna exclaimed.

“It’s all in the hands.” Sojung smiled and stood up. She lifted her 11lbs ball effortlessly from the rack and raised it to her chest. Her eyes narrowed at the end of the alley where the pins were in position and ready to take another ruthless hit from her. With long strides and a strong approach, she gracefully sent the ball hurtling down the lane.

“Double! Unnie, you’re really the best” Yuna clapped and Sojung flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Sojung’s performance was consistent. With deadly accuracy, she bowled like the true professional she is. Even when she bowled a split, both pins that are on either end of the alley still managed to get knocked over. Sojung calls it skill but to Yuna, her unnie is a bowling goddess.

She’s fantastic and she knows it. She could at least try to be humble about it but there’s just something about showing everyone just how good she is that overpowers her modesty. Having people watch her bowl and to see them in awe after witnessing yet another strike was addictive. She’s cocky and won’t hesitate to flaunt her skills no matter what others say. A complete , that’s what she is. But does she care? Of course not.

Sharp gaze, slightly furrowed brows on a straight face. Probably the worst opponent you could ever face in your life. With such a slim figure, one wouldn’t expect to see so much force exerted in her throw. Everything about her seems like a surprise waiting to be unveiled. Her cold appearance and god-tiered skill have earned her quite a reputation at the bowling alley. Every other time she drops by, someone would initiate a match, only to be utterly destroyed by the ace. Never once has she lost a match.

Until today that is.

“Why don’t you join the national team? I mean, you’re so good.” Yuna said as they watched the other bowlers play. They were currently taking a break while snacking on the food they bought from the small cafe.

“I’d just keep it as a hobby. National teams have to train every day or something and I’m not up for that. I want my quality rest time.” Sojung replied simply.

“Hey.” A smooth voice said as the person sat down beside Sojung. Both girls turned to look at the sudden presence. It was a girl, a short girl. Her frame was petite and her face was round. Straight eyebrows above her big innocent eyes, cute round nose, pink-tinted lips and... is that a slight double chin?

“Who are you?” Sojung asked, raising an eyebrow at the sudden intrusion. “Is she your friend?” She turned to Yuna who shook her head.

“Never seen her before,” Yuna said. The way she joined them seemed so natural that even they were confused. Her actions were as though she was a friend of theirs that met them for a game.

“Me? I’m no one important. I just wanted to join you guys for a game. Are you playing? Oh, you’re eating. It’s okay, I can wait. I have nothing to do today anyway.” The girl rambled and giggled to herself as she made herself comfortable in her seat. Sojung and Yuna could only stare in disbelief at the girl.

“Are you insane? Who on earth joins a stranger for a game and acts as if they’re friends?” Sojung frowned but the girl didn’t even bat an eyelid to the rude attitude of the taller girl. “Are you sure you want to join us? Kids should probably go mini bowling.”

“I’m a matured 21-year-old adult thank you very much. I’m just fun-sized.” The girl said with a smile. Sojung scoffed in contempt. This is the first time she met someone as thick-skinned as herself.

“It’s okay, you can join us. But do you know how to bowl?” Yuna intervened before a fight could break out. The shorter girl was completely relaxed but Sojung looked ready to pounce on her.

“Of course I do! Why else would I even want to join the legendary bowler called Kim Sojung?” She replied and took both girls by surprise.

“You know her?”

“Everyone knows the resident ace. Would be strange if I didn’t know, no?”

“Who are you? I'm pretty sure I don’t know any midgets.” Sojung leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at the girl who seemed oblivious to the danger. Either that or she couldn’t care less.

“Like I said, I’m no one important. I just want to have a match with you, Kim Sojung-ssi.” She said with a wide smile. Suddenly, she jumped up from her seat and clapped her hands. “I guess you’re done eating? Let’s play then.”

With that, she sauntered off to get a suitable bowling ball and a wrist guard.

“The hell does she think she is.” The eldest grumbled. “Talking to me as if she’s the boss. I'm pretty sure I’m older than her.”

“Relax unnie. All she wants is a match. You can just prove to her who’s the real boss here.” Yuna said, trying to mediate the situation. “She’ll just be another addition to the list of people you trashed.”

“Shall we? You can go ahead, I need to size my opponent up first.” The girl said when she returned with a bowling ball in hand. She was so much shorter than the duo that they had to look down to talk to her. And the fact that she was hugging the ball made her look like a high school kid.

“Are you sure you’re 21? I think I need some ID.” Sojung sniggered and the girl placed her ball harshly on the rack, causing some of the bowlers in the next lane to look over.

“Bowl with your hands, not your mouth. Are you gonna trash talk me to make me feel bad or are you going to physically show me that I’m bad?” She challenged boldly as she put her wrist guard on. Sojung felt her eye twitch but she had to keep her cool. Without another word, she grabbed her ball and readied herself for the first bowl. Clearing her head of all thoughts, she focused on the white pins and approached the foul line with sturdy steps. The ball skidded down the lubricated lane and crashed through the pins.

“Not bad, not bad.” The girl said and clapped. Sojung felt smug but also irritated at how the girl seemed to dismiss her perfect strike like it was supposed to happen. “What? Did you expect a bigger reaction?” She asked as if reading the taller girl’s mind.

“No. Go ahead, kid.” Sojung smirked. The shorter girl raised her ball to her chest and confidently approached the foul line. With a swing of her arm, the ball was sent on its way down the lane and straight... into the gutter. Sojung didn’t bother holding herself back and laughed at the girl as she walked back to retrieve her ball.

“You sure you’re in the right place, kid? There’s a mini bowl at the end over there.” Sojung sneered but Eunha didn’t seem to mind. She simply picked up her ball once again and went on her second throw. This time, she knocked over 7 pins. Not too bad.

“I’m just warming up.” She shrugged and sat down. “Is she always like this? Arrogant and.. y?” She asked Yuna.

“Well... yeah. I don’t particularly like it but she’s a nice person if she isn’t showing off.”

“I see...” she nodded.

“Are you really sure you can beat her?” Yuna asked and the shorter girl looked at her with a confused expression. Then, she let out a chuckle.

“I’m not here to win actually. Honestly, I’ve seen her around many times. I’m a regular here just that you both never really see me. I just want to make her.. a better person. Kinda.”

“But why?” Yuna asked. There were so many questions in her head that she didn’t know where to start.

“Just... for fun.” She smiled. “Eunha.” The girl extended a hand.

“Yuna.” The girl nodded and grabbed the girl’s small hand.

“Making friends?”

“Why not? I love friends.” Eunha said and stood up. Sojung had bowled a double. Pretty impressive. The game progressed pretty quickly and Sojung was the winner.

“Best of 2? I’m feeling generous so I shall give you another chance to save yourself.” Sojung offered with a smirk.

“You sure?”

“Yep.”

“Then I shall accept your generous offer.” Eunha smiled and stepped up to the rack. She took her ball and raised it to her chest, ready to start off the next game. She took a deep breath before throwing the ball which hit the sweet spot just between the first and third pin, sending them all crashing down.

“Strike 1. Your move.” She winked and took a seat. Sojung was stunned. This was the first strike the girl had bowled since the start of her challenge. She kept her cool and walked ahead. It was an easy first move to score another strike as well. The match progressed but Eunha bowled as if she was possessed. Her sloppy throws were long gone and all she was scoring now was strike after strike.

This flustered Sojung who wasn’t expecting the girl to ever be this good and accurate. She didn’t like how the attention was now on the shorter girl as the other bowlers slowly took notice of the new dark horse in the alley. At the rate that the shorter girl was going, she would easily turn the tables and defeat Sojung. Defeat wasn’t in her dictionary and so the inkling feeling of her eventual loss did not sit well with her. However, the more she panicked, the worst her performance became.

Eunha was on fire but Sojung was now beginning to bowl with desperation rather than skill. Her accuracy was greatly reduced to the point where she could no longer score even spars by the 5th move. The best she had was 9 pins.

The match was concluded after Sojung’’s final ball rolled down the lane. A bitter loss of 320 to 343. Flabberghasted bowlers who had been watching the magical turn of events clapped and Eunha bowed playfull before walking back to the seats to remove her wrist guard.

“How on earth did you do that?” Sojung seethed as she stood in front of the girl who was completely calm.

“Do what?”

“That! Turning the tables and winning! Who the heck are you? Were you pretending to be a bowler to play with me the entire time?” Sojung scowled and Yuna held on to her friend’s arm. She was afraid that the girl might lash out at Eunha.

"Maybe it's my magic bowling ball. Or maybe my magic touch?" The girl laughed. “But really though, my uncle owns this place so I’ve been bowling since I was a kid. So technically yes I did mini bowl before. But that’s not the point. I’ve been watching you play for quite some time and I must say, I was impressed and captivated by your skill and beauty. Your slender figure and serious face. The only thing I disliked about you was your attitude. It made me not want to approach you as much as I wanted to be friends but today, I decide to fire my shot.” Eunha explained as she stood up. Sojung stared blankly at her as she tried to process what the girl had just said.

“I wanted to show you that one shouldn’t get too cocky. I didn’t mean to anger or humiliate you but it seems like I already had so I’ll apologize for that.” She said and bowed deeply to Sojung who was taken aback.

“But why?”

“Why what?”

“Why me? Like, what attracted or even made you want to talk to me if you seemed to dislike my ty attitude so much?” Sojung cocked an eyebrow.

“I already told you. Your beautiful face, attractive stern expression, long graceful limbs. Even your shampoo cf worthy hair. So… Basically, everything about you attracted me.” Eunha smiled as she handed the taller girl a card.

“What’s this?”

“If you looked at it you would know.” Eunha laughed. Sojung felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she looked down at the card. It was the girl’s ID.

“Jung Eun-Bi. Born 30 May 1997. What’s this for?”

“You asked for some ID earlier so here it is. You know, you ask an awful lot of questions. Maybe I should hold a press conference just for you.” Eunha chuckled as she kept her ID back in her wallet. Then, she extended her hand towards Sojung who looked at her with a questioning gaze.

“Friends? I think now that I’ve taught you a lesson, we’ll click better.” Eunha smiled. Seeing that Sojung was still in shock, she reached out to take the girl’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “I’m hungry. Dinner is on me.” She said and linked her arm with Yuna who seemed very happy. Sojung could only watch in utter shock and disbelief as the pair walked towards the counter to return their shoes.

“Come on unnie! Don’t leave me hangin’!” Eunha turned around and yelled.

“What kinda… Weird species of human is she?” Sojung blinked before gathering her belongings and joining the pair.

[A/N] With the encouragements of a certain group of buddies (Y'all know who you are xD), I decided to upload this on AFF to share the image of cocky Sojung. Enjoy the iness of our legendary bowler~