It’s been two weeks and Seungho noticed Sohyun had not been at the steps. Whenever they bumped into each other in school, she was polite and nice but he missed their interaction in the mornings.

After training, she was chatting with Saeron nearby when he decided to stop her. Saeron immediately walked ahead as Seungho approached. He noticed her face was devoid of emotion. “How’s the Statistics assignment?” he asked. She smiled, and that emotionless face brightened up. “I got a B and that’s a Top 10 in class. Thank you. Your pointers help too. I’m no longer clueless in class.” “I’m glad to hear that. I was curious whether it helped,” he explained as he gazed at her. They looked at each other in silence.

She cleared to break the silence and asked, “Anything else Captain Yoo?”. Seungho wanted to ask her to meet him at the steps the next morning but he stopped himself. Instead, he shook his head. She then waved and walked briskly ahead, not even wanting to walk with him. He stared at her retreating back in silence.

In the meantime, Sohyun was so nervous that she almost ran away from him. She had missed their morning chats; the short chats made her get over her worries faster. Also, his company was comfortable. In the last two weeks, there were two morning fights at home, Sohyun wanted to drive to school and seek Seungho. But she reminded herself that she shouldn’t depend on someone’s boyfriend, it wasn’t fair even if there were no emotional attachment. So, she drove to an empty restaurant parking lot to cry and sort out her own problem. Sitting in the car in a desolate parking lot, Sohyun missed his presence acutely. But she has to respect his relationship.

That night, Seungho joined the soccer and cheerleading team for the after training dinner. The team was surprised to see their Captain, but they welcomd him. The group chatted about their game that was coming up and discussed on strategy. The cheerleaders listened in to the conversation and gave their point of views too. Seungho occasionally sneaked a glance at Sohyun but she avoided looking at him.

When they were leaving, Seungho asked Sohyun to wait. As the rest walked to their respective cars, Seungho turned to her. “Why don’t I see you at the steps anymore? You don’t need a me time anymore?” Sohyun bit her lips thinking of an answer. She looked up to him and said, “Yeah, I’ve been too busy for a me time.” He nodded slowly. “I hope you have a me time soon,” he said softly. Sohyun blinked and just gave a forced smile before walking to her car.

That night, Yoojung and Saeron did a three-way call with her. “What was that? Is there something between you and Captain. First, he spoke to you after training, and then he suddenly turned up at dinner and again another a private conversation with you,” the girls bombarded her with questions. She denied it was anything. She truthfully told them that she had gotten Seungho’s help on Statistics which they knew she was struggling with. She explained that earlier he asked about the result of the Stats assignment.

“Are you sure?” Yoojung asked. “Even Myungsoo and the other soccer players were surprised that Captain appeared at dinners this year and then openly chatted with a cheerleader other than Suzy. Cap does not speak to cheerleaders willingly, even with Suzy its because he has to, not because he wants to.” But Sohyun was firm and reassured them.

Seungho was disappointed to see that Sohyun was not at the steps again the following morning. He sat down at the steps for a short while, thinking of the time he spent with her. She made him relax, unguarded and comfortable. He enjoyed their conversation, Sohyun was not only just a pretty face, she is witty and knowledgeable. He didn’t realize he missed bantering with a female friend until he started having these conversations with Sohyun.

Sohyun walked to the breakfast room but stopped at the entrance when she saw the whole family was there. It was quiet but the atmosphere was tensed. She was deciding whether to enter the room when she caught her brother’s eyes and he signalled for her to leave. She quickly left the house and drove to school.

At the school carpark, Sohyun was undecided whether she should go to the steps. I didn’t seek him out, he came to my sanctuary, she tried to reason with herself. She walked to the steps and sat quietly. She had wondered during the drive about the tensed atmosphere at breakfast. She decided she would find out sooner or later, so she shouldn’t worry at the moment. Hence, she sat enjoying the cool weather and breeze.

Seungho was halfway through his run when he thought he saw Sohyun at the steps. Although he has not completed his morning run, he decided to go to her. “Hey, you are here this morning. Able to squeeze a me time now?” Seungho asked. Sohyun had turned her head to look up to him. She just nodded. Seungho remained standing and jogged on the spot.

“Aren’t you going to sit?” Sohyun asked. “I will, I am trying to cool down first,” Seungho explained. Sohyun looked confused but he just winked at her. After a few minutes, he sat down.

“Are you excited about the away trip?” Seungho asked. She nodded. It’s the first away trip of the season and they would be travelling to another province for the game the next day. They all had permission to miss class on Friday. “It be nice to see students from other schools, and their school premises,” Sohyun commented. “Or are you collecting more fanboys?” Seungho teased. Everytime there was a game, there would be guys from opposing team that would have a crush on her. They would ask her for her phone number, and some even approached the soccer players for it. Sohyun guffawed, “Yeah. I have to, you know to balance out the repel force from you towards the cheerleaders from the other schools.” Seungho laughed. The cheerleaders from other schools were similarly attracted to him but he always scares them with his glares.

“So Captain Yoo, how confident are you about the win tomorrow? From the discussion the other day, it seems that the opposition team is pretty strong,” Sohyun asked. Seungho was thoughtful for a moment. “They were a strong team. And it is stronger now because two of the national players joined their team this year. And our team are weakened because Minseok and Bogum are down with injuries,” he said carefully. “Oh.. What is your strategy, then?” Sohyun asked. Seungho grimaced. “I hate defensive play but in this case, where we are relatively weak as compared to the opposition team, I have to focus on containing our losses.” Sohyun nodded. “I think that is a good idea. You can also use this game to observe their style and come back with a better strategy when we next meet them on our home ground.” Seungho was pleasantly surprised at her astuteness.

“By the way, how are you and Bogum? I thought you two would hit it off,” Seungho asked. “Bogum? He is nice and pretty to look at. And can be a good friend, but not someone I would date,” Sohyun replied. “What kind of guy would you date? Me?” Seungho teased. Sohyun laughed, “you are an egomaniac Captain!”

Seungho stood up, “I have to go now. I enjoyed chatting here with you. So I hope you won’t be too busy for me time again.” Sohyun just smiled. As she looked at him walking away, she wondered if it is alright that she likes their time together.

The journey to the other university was tensed. The soccer players knew they are the underdogs. Seungho looked stress as he huddled with his team or co-captain and coach for discussion. Sohyun felt like going to him and eased the crease across his forehead. Instead, she managed to catch his eye and gave him a motivating smile.

The soccer team fought and defended hard and managed to leave the game with their heads held high. They lost by only one goal, against a clearly more skillful team. During the post game dinner, the celebration at their table was as if they’ve won the game. Everyone was in a high spirit.

That night, Seungho walked around to look out for those who beat the curfew. At the back of his mind, he hoped that Sohyun was out for a breath of fresh air. When he saw her silhouette near the edge of the jacuzzi, where it was dark and only lighted by moonlight, he smiled. He saw her seated at the edge with her feet in the water. As he sat down near her, she glanced at him. “Breaking curfew again? I don’t think the guys nor girls drank that much earlier,” he said. Sohyun remained silent. She was undecided whether she should leave. She didn’t seek out for him, and he is here again, does it still count as taking his time away from his girlfriend.

“Hey, are you ok? Or do you want me to go?” Seungho asked, concerned with her silence. She shook her head. “It’s a public area in the hotel. We can both be here,” she said softly. “Huh?” Seungho was perplexed at her response.

“I saw your strategy worked earlier. You’ve always come up with effective ones,” she said. “Thanks,” Seungho said. He looked at her and she seemed different tonight. “Is everything ok? You are subdued tonight,” he remarked. Sohyun bit her lips. “I’m actually tired, but I want fresh air. I was up quite early this morning.” They sat quietly. Seungho stared at Sohyun, who was lost in thoughts, her eyes were staring blindly at the water, her face though calm, seemed sad to him. He felt like an intruder into her moment. He stood up, “I’ll go up first. Don’t stay out too late.” Sohyun raised her head and with a weak smile, she said softly, “I’m sorry I’m not good company tonight.”

Seungho walked away and found a seat where he could observe her from a far. He wanted to ensure she is safe. There is something that seemed to have bothered her. When he looked at her, staring sadly into the water, she seemed small and fragile that he was moved and wished he could take her sadness away.

Sohyun’s thoughts were on her family. Her sister told her that her father has decided that it’s time for the brother to get married and he was assessing a couple of potential brides. She anticipated the quarrels in her house would be more frequent since father and son rarely see eye to eye on any matter and this trip away from home was a reprieve. She raised her knees up and folding her arms across the knees, she rested her head on it. She took a long slow breath, hold it in for a few seconds before releasing it. She had picked up this breathing technique when she suffered anxiety attack once when she was young and it has helped her over the years.  After a while, feeling calm, she stood up and went to her room, oblivious to Seungho who had watched her.

On Monday morning, Sohyun sat at the steps and cried. She had stayed in her room, trying to stay away from the shouts in the house that started during Sunday lunch. Her sister had joined in the arguments in support of her brother. Her mom stayed silent as she watched the verbal sparring between her husband and her two children. Even though Sohyun always felt like a third party withi