Sakura was at stale despite being left by Kaeun for almost an hour. She was still sitting on the floor, the same white shirt wrapped around her figure and the water bottle on her hand and placed by the face like a compress. She sighed as the onsen water still had an effect on her.

“Maybe I’m still a bit dizzy?” Sakura asked herself.

No matter what you look like, you are who you are. No other force in the world can ever change that but yourself.

Sakura was hit with those words, even the act of being carried like a bride. Sakura also thought of the reason why she felt her heart pound again.

Could it be because of Kaeun?

it, Sakura thought. She’s a Black Angel and will always be one.

“…I need to cool my head down.” Sakura mumbled and decided to change.

+++

The night was sullen for the moon was bright. Inside a dormitory, it was like a haven where Orpheus played a melody that calmed the Underworld.

Jurina drank her usual tea and chuckled of hearing the familiar tune played with a flute. Inside a dimly-lit recreation room was the said player, Kaeun. She sat like royalty. Her eyes were shut, took breaths, and her fingers moved about the instrument. And in a living room was Sakura, head plastered with a heat pack as her body laid on the sofa.

Sakura gulped. She thought that the musical piece was lovely.

“How could a meanie play something so beautiful and calm?”

“Ah…Kaeun-nim’s flute is so nice to listen to!”

“Aish! You surprised me again, Yena!” Sakura huffed as she looked.

“What?” Yena stopped herself from spinning on her chair. “I’ve been here for a while. Didn’t you notice?”

“I didn’t.”

“Seriously?” Yena raised.

“Seriously,” Sakura answered then listened to the musical piece again. “You know, her music sounds so gentle…but it doesn’t suit her personality at all.”

Yena reacted, almost spitting her juice. She gulped it while putting her glass on the counter, shaking her head like a duck with an owl’s head. “You got the impression wrong. Even if she looks evil, Kaeun-nim’s a very nice person.”

“But aren’t you saying that because you’re seeing her through rose-colored glasses?” Sakura asked.

“That’s not true.” Yena pouted and sat adjacently, facing Sakura. “What’s more is that Kaeun-nim’s flute is meaningful.”

“What kind of meaning?”

“Kaeun-nim’s flute carries emotions that she can never express, especially the good ones,” Yena added before resting. “Think about it. Doesn’t listening to her flute pierce your heart?”

Sakura listened with Yena again and the big ducky proved her point. Kaeun’s skill was indeed a beacon of hearts.

“Hey, Yena.”

“What is it?”

“Why are you such a big fan of Kaeun-nim?”

“Such a story to tell…but here it goes.” Yena spoke as she paced. “Remember Heo Yunjin?”

“Yeah. She was the one who almost got thrown by Kaeun’s duster.” Sakura spoke. “What about her?”

“Before, Yunjin and I were delinquents in the dorm, disobeying rules here and there. Kaeun-nim would become the scary giraffe and scolded us. One time, we thought she was really evil because she almost kicked me out of the dorm for dropping my gum onto her hair.”

“Eh?!! All because of that?!”

“Yes. But another event changed my impression on her.” Yena added again. “I was bullied before for being so weak. But then, Kaeun-nim became my ally and fought my bullies off.”

“What about Yunjin?”

“She was a foreign student, almost having no friends. But Kaeun-nim saved her and talked to her parents that she’ll stay in the dorm where it’s safe. I managed to befriend her and we got along with Wonyoung and Yuri.”

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

“You better not tell anyone about this or else you’ll be dead meat.” Yena snapped.

“Okay.” Sakura could only nod.

+++

It was another day as dormers were in the shared co-cafeteria, eating meals as early as 6:30 AM but never later than 8:30 AM. Jurina was one of the early birds, eating her favorite porridge as her admirers in the dorm tried to give their own meals, even the service lady offered her another serving.

To the Red Ace, it was a matter of importance. Within the amount of attention she receives, her only sight of it was towards a cherry blossom.

“Good morning, Sakura-chan~” She greeted with such fervor.

Jurina wondered as Sakura hid on a pillar the moment she said her greetings. “Sakura-chan, what’s wrong? Is it because of what happened to you and Kaeunnie yesterday?”

Sakura was back to her world of edupness. Knowing that Jurina and Kaeun know a lot about each other and were best friends, it was possible that Kaeun shared details with Jurina, concluding that the White Devil knows.

Sakura had the right to be embarrassed. Hearing that Jurina found out jeopardized their relationship and making Sakura feel disappointed at herself for showing such a side to Jurina.

“What’s wrong?” Jurina asked. “You should come a eat. We have omurice for breakfast.”

Sakura would’ve gone but a hand pushed her body out.

“You’re blocking the way.” Kaeun spat as she hissed. “Get lost.”

Sakura had her time to face Kaeun, remembering the day that she was the girl and Kaeun was the witness of the said girl.

Sakura watched Kaeun walk again as she spat. “Yah! Wait! Abou-About what happened yesterday-YAH! WAIT RIGHT THERE!!”

Sakura spat like a broken record but Kaeun was still stale as she got to her seat in front of Jurina’s.

“Kaeunnie, will it be okay to leave Sakura-chan alone when she’s calling you?”

“Like I care.” Kaeun spat and drank her milk.

Sakura was still spitting at the Black Ace when she was stopped by a call. Sakura looked and was shocked to see the same girls that had put her to shame.

“Uh…excuse me…” Damin mumbled.

“Aish! Spit it out already!” Yuka nudged her.

“You three,” Sakura mumbled, anger almost uncontrolled. “G-Good morning.”

Damin, Ikumi, and Yuka were like shivering anchovies, feet waddling like of ducks. Ikumi nudged Damin to spit again and the Korean of the three didn’t have a choice.

“Actually…we want to apologize to you.” Damin started. “About the bath incident yesterday, the truth is that we did it as a prank.”

“Seriously?!” Sakura almost broke a fuse, scaring the three even more. “Why?!”

“Yesterday, we were called by Kaeun-nim. She called and escorted to the dorm’s office.” Ikumi spoke then cowered. “She found it out and…goodness, she was so scary…”

The three girls who planned a prank were dismayed of their failure, feet walking dejectedly towards their rooms.

“Even I was never carried around like that before!” Damin huffed. “This whole thing was supposed to be a punishment!”

“This is so unfair!” Ikumi whined.

“Unbelievable!” Yuka added.

“Yah.”

The three girls stopped to see Kaeun, her stature blocking their way. She had sharp senses that she asked them with fiery eyes. “What are you three talking about?”

The three were silent. Kaeun had her eyes on a piece of paper that she asked. “What is that?”

“Ah…K-Kaeun-nim, it’s-“

Kaeun snatched the paper and read the content. She then faced the three who had gone scared.

“Kang Damin, Nakano Ikumi, and Asai Yuka.” Kaeun spoke as she passed by them. “All of you will drop by the dorm office. Now.”

The three of them freaked out, only to be silenced by Kaeun’s glare. They didn’t have a choice but to obey.

“For a moment there, we thought we’ll be rusticated out of this dorm for our actions,” Yuka added. “She stared at us like she was taking our souls! It was really scary!!”

Scary doesn’t even begin to cover it, Sakura thought. She couldn’t believe she was pranked, let alone getting an apology. But worst of all, she couldn’t believe she got a bit of justice thanks to the stupid giraffe.

“But certainly, it was your fault, to begin with because you got too close to the aces,” Damin mumbled and went with Yuka.

“Don’t go around to beat us first, okay?!” Ikumi added before leaving with the two.

Sakura sighed and thought of the three as crazy girls to pull up such a prank. She couldn’t help but look at the aces’ table, especially at Kaeun.

Yena was right and Sakura wasn’t aware at all. Kaeun had a heart that Sakura wanted to thank her for her actions.

She couldn’t. Kaeun was a stupid giraffe to deserve her gratitude.

+++

Another class lecture ended with an announcement of an inter-class ball tournament for next month. Most of the class was excited about the event but not for Sakura because one, she at sports and two, it was a large risk of teaming up with Kaeun. Recalling the Black Angel’s personality, she didn’t want to involve anything with her again.

“Committee members will be from different classes and years. They have been drawn from the lottery by the faculty, with one pair assigned to one task.” Teacher Lee spoke. “And judging from the results is the member assignment, which will be done by Lee Kaeun and Miyawaki Sakura.”

Sakura cursed the heavens for a dire twist of fate. She thought about it too much that she didn’t manage to listen to the other assignments, the prize of the winning team, and of the fact that committee members can play in case of member shortage.

Teacher Lee dismissed the class and left. Some students left yet some stayed to discuss a lot of matters regarding the event.

“Keep your head up, Sakura-chan,” Yunjin spoke then raised. “You seem down. What happened?”

“I can’t believed I got partnered with that stupid giraffe.” Sakura huffed.

“But aren’t you happy that you can get together with Kaeun-nim, THE Black Ace?” Wonyoung made a comment. “You guys even kissed-“

“That’s not true.” Sakura huffed again.

“Sakura.” Miru called as Yuri and Yena were with her. “Let’s go and have lunch now.”

Sakura nodded as Yunjin and Wonyoung also joined them.

+++

The six friends got back to their room, stomachs all full. They also got to their seats and discussed things.

“You and Kaeun-nim will be assigned of the member selection, right?” Yuri asked.

“Yeah. Why?” Sakura asked back.

“I suggest we do our own meeting in the dorm.” Yena raised. “We can talk about it properly if we sit down and discuss during the weekend.”

“Nice.” Yunjin raised a thumb. “But we must ask Akimoto-san first.”

“I’ll do it. That way, Miru can get inside.”

“Neat! So it’s settled then?” Wonyoung asked.

Everyone nodded and were about to talk something else when a classmate came and kicked Sakura’s seat.

“It’s time for the committee members to have their meeting.” Kaeun snapped. “Get your ready in ten seconds!”

“Aish-if you keep this attitude of yours, everyone won’t want to get along with you during the game!!” Sakura huffed like a raging puppy as Kaeun went out  again.

The others were shocked, even Yena chuckled to how Sakura had the guts to talk back to Kaeun. Eventually, their reactions stopped as Kaeun heard her.

“I won’t be participating, idiot.” Kaeun huffed then left.

“Sad. Kaeun-nim’s actually a basketball pro.” Yunjin sighed. “And to be honest, our class doesn’t have a nice lineup for basketball. It would be bad if it were the case that the other classes are better.”

“Eh?! Really?! That stupid giraffe can play?!”

“What was that?” They all gasped as Kaeun returned.

“Nothing. I’m coming.” Sakura huffed as she bids goodbye and went with Kaeun.

+++

The meeting came to place as the pairs of committee members were grouped by year. Twenty four pairs were in member assignment, with the pairs being assigned for their respective years and classes.

“For the member assignment, each pair will be given a pamphlet.” Teacher Lee said as she handed out the papers. “Everything must be filled in. This will be collected by the end of the week. No delays or else your set of teams won’t be allowed to participate.”

Her last stop was at Kaeun and Sakura and she felt the tension. Kaeun sighed and accepted the pamphlet while Sakura had the inner urge to kick Kaeun’s .

Sakura thought that it was impossible to work as one pair with Kaeun because of their clashing personalities. She had an imaginary thought of Jurina being her partner. If it was the case in the real world, it would be easy for them to work together.

But she was unlucky. Being paired up with the Black Ace was no choice for her.

+++

It was the weekend. As proposed by Yena, the friends wanted to gather and discuss the member assignments for the ball tournament. For now, Sakura was cleaning the courtyard with Yunjin and Yena. Sakura did the last sweep when her phone buzzed. She took it from her pocket and got a message.

Mirurun: I’m here.

Sakura looked to greet Miru. Yunjin and Yena to call Wonyoung and Yuri as Sakura waved at Miru. “Mirurun! Come quickly!”

“No rush, Kkura.” Miru chuckled and drew forward.

The work was finished and they all friends got inside. As part of the policy, visitors needed to login. Yuri and Wonyoung almost fought getting a pen for their visitor but Miru brought her own pen and signed her name with ease.

“It’s finished now, Akimoto-san.”

Sayaka got back to their attention and greeted the visitor with a motherly figure. She managed to stop to get a good look at Miru and smiled. “Oh my! Are you Sakura’s best friend?”

“Yes. The two of us are in the same class.” Miru bowed. “Nice to meet you, Akimoto-san. Thank you also for letting me visit.”

“No problem. Take your time in staying here, okay?”

“Yes!” Miru nodded.

“I could never refuse Sakura’s permission. She had been really helpful in keeping the dorm clean.” Sayaka shared to the three. “Yunjin and Yena joined in, sometimes Wonyoung and Yuri but Sakura-chan’s quite the cleaning veteran.”

Sakura smiled but deep down, she was fazed with herself. Being a cleaning veteran was never her desire. She had to do so thanks to the stupid dorm leader of a giraffe.

“Seriously?” Miru wondered.

“Yeah.” Sakura nodded.

“But don’t fret. I won’t need your help for today so please have fun.”

“Yes!” The six bowed.

“To the living room!” Yena pointed out and they followed.

+++

“Okay. So Yunjin and Yena will be on the basketball team while Wonyoung and Yuri will be in the cheerleading squad.”

“Nice.” Yunjin gave a thumbs-up. “What about you, Miru-san?”

“Put me in basketball.”

Miru wondered as their eyes gawked at her.

“What? Just because I look like a dark horse who at sports?” Miru chuckled. “I play, okay?”

“Okay.” Sakura nodded and wrote her name. “Maybe I’ll try to join.”

“Can the members be repeated?” Wonyoung asked.

“Yes. But it will only be tolerated to one event to give chances to everyone. So each student can only join two events.” Sakura said. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll also write mine in the cheerleading team.”

“Nice!” Yena clapped and wondered about the many vacant slots. “What’s with the empty slots?”

“Remember the meeting we had after Kaeun-nim and Kkura arrived from theirs?” Miru spoke as the others nodded. “Majority of the class lets the two decide the assignments.”

“Such pain in the asses, really…” Sakura mumbled. “But we have a week so we’ll take it slowly.”

“Meeting adjourned.” Yunjin spoke. “Who wants ice cream?”

Most of them raised their hands. Yunjin wondered about Sakura and Miru.

“We’ll pass. I shall tour Miru around.”

Yunjin nodded as the dorks ran towards the canteen. Sakura and Miru chuckled for them as they walked around. Sakura showed the places until they got to her bedroom. Miru got in first and wowed while Sakura decided to prepare them tea.

“Wow. It must be nice staying here.” Miru said as she looked at the window. “I must say, this dorm’s pretty neat.”

“Yeah. But it’s more fun to live with family.” Sakura commented and got two cups. “Have some oolong tea, Mirurun.”

Miru got to the bed and said thanks before drinking.

“Where are your parents, Kkura?”

“They’re in Beijing.”

“I see. So that’s why you transferred to a school with a dorm.” Miru spoke then stopped to point at something. “Is that yours?”

Sakura almost spits her tea. She got up quickly and was on defense mode, blocking the sight with her arms. “This is a shirt that I borrowed from someone. I had to wash it before I return it.”

“Is that Jurina’s?”

“Huh?”

“Because usually, Jurina wears reds and whites, mostly whites.” Miru added. “I’m curious if anything happened to you and Jurina.”

How could Sakura forget that she was allegedly that Red Ace’s girlfriend? Yet, how could she also forget that the owner of that shirt and the one who saved her was the Black Ace?

“Uhh…Mirurun, I have something to discuss with you.” Sakura spoke while holding her arms.

“What is it?” Miru asked.

Sakura would’ve said something when a resonation surrounded the area.

Miyawaki Sakura from Class A, please proceed to the dorm’s office now.

“You heard?” Wonyoung arrived at their room. “You’ve been called by Boss Kirin.”

“I could tell from the voice.” Sakura mumbled. “Ha! As if I want to come.”

Come!!!

“Aish-“

“It’s fine, Sakura-san. I’ll keep Miru company.” Wonyoung pulled the other girl out. “You should go.”

“We’ll talk later.” Miru spoke.

Sakura nodded as Miru went with Wonyoung. Sakura sighed and went back to get the pamphlet and the shirt she borrowed. Looking at the cloth, it was crumpled but washed. And looking at her face in the mirror, she had no makeup.

Sakura shrugged it off because Kaeun wouldn’t care and she was only visiting the dorm office for important matters. She got the stuff again and went to the dorm’s office.

+++

Sakura was damned of her situation. Here she was in the dorm office as an article of clothing hit her face.

“You can have that.” Kaeun mumbled. “It’s not like I’m going to accept that.”

“Eh?!” Sakura reacted. “But why?”

“I’m very particular.” Kaeun added. “You didn’t iron it and you didn’t fold it nicely.”

Sakura felt annoyed. She had the urge to return the action but with Kaeun’s attitude, she didn’t stand a chance.

“Okay. Enough with this shirt.” Sakura huffed, trying to motivate herself. “What do you want from me? Why did you make an announcement?”

“Where’s the members’ list?” Kaeun asked as she lent a hand. “I need it.”

“Huh?” Sakura reacted again. “Well, I haven’t finished it…”

“You do realize that we need to submit it on Monday, right?” Kaeun spat and Sakura felt weak to her knees.

“But it’s the weekend-“

“Excuses, excuses…” Kaeun mumbled. “Do you even have one for yourself?”

Sakura clutched a fist. As much as Kaeun had a point, it was a team effort. She couldn’t do it alone.

“If you have to complain about it to me, then why didn’t you start it yourself?” Sakura spat, making Kaeun look intently at her. “You do realize that you’re also a committee member, right?”

“Yah.” Kaeun spat.

Sakura huffed and looked away. “You’re the one who kept the pamphlet anyway so you have more responsibility.”

“Enough.” Kaeun kicked her table, making Sakura scared again. “I called you here so that we can work and finish it tonight. So stop saying and help me.”

“You should’ve said it straight to me. Jeez…” Sakura sighed and decided to help.

+++

Minutes ticked as Kaeun and Sakura worked with their tasks as the committee. Sakura was at the coffee table checking the lists, especially with the empty slots. Kaeun was at a workstation, making extra pamphlets in case of mistakes.

Aish…she has a computer! Why didn’t she start this ?! Sakura thought. I have a greater sense of defeat here.

“I’m finished with the pamphlet.” Kaeun spoke.

“That was quick!” Sakura commented. “I’m still finalizing the list for the basketball team because we’re short on members.”

“Show it to me.”

Sakura handed Kaeun the list and with a single glance, she made her decision. “You putting Yena and Yunjin make a good choice. Miru’s a mysterious one but we’ll see during the dry-run. Put Ahn Yujin and Lee Sian, also Wonyoung.”

“But Wonyoung’s for the cheerleading team.” Sakura added.

“Also put her there together with Takahashi Juri. They’ll make good point guards.” Kaeun spoke.

Sakura took note, all the while she wondered of Kaeun for she had suddenly changed her tone. For someone who doesn’t give a damn about anyone in the class, Kaeun somehow knew their good and bad points like a surveilling reader. The thought made Sakura impressed.

“Rewrite everything.” Kaeun spat as she threw the list directly on Sakura’s face. “We still have one vacant slot for basketball.”

, Sakura thought. Kaeun has returned to her usual self. Nonetheless, she obeyed.

“If you’re planning to get nosy about this then why don’t you participate in this?” Sakura began as she rewrote. “The cheerleading team can actually be filled up with unlimited members but in retrospect, I don’t think a woman like you would go around and root for anyone.”

“You don’t get it.” Kaeun spoke. “The class is scared of me. With a conflict like that, I can’t play with them in a match.”

“What?” Sakura reacted but didn’t get Kaeun’s attention.

It was sad to hear in one point of view but it was unreasonable to why Kaeun cannot interact with others. At least that’s what Sakura thought.

“Then…” She began as Kaeun got up to stretch. “…it’s not too late to participate and gain familiarity within our class.”

“Why do you say that?” Kaeun raised.

“Because from what I see, your only friend is the Red Ace.”

Kaeun stopped to glare at Sakura but the cherry blossom didn’t mind.

“There was one time Jurina-san talked to me. She gave me a drink while I weeded the courtyard. Jurina-san was worried about you that she apologized for your misdeeds.” Sakura began. “What I’m saying is that you can’t rely on Jurina-san all the time.”

Sakura looked up and Kaeun had a distressed look. It was a first for Sakura that she had the urge to chant towards the Black Ace. “Oh my…don’t tell me that you’re afraid to call upon everyone other than the Red Ace-“

She was stopped as Kaeun quickly pinned her to the wall, especially her wrists.

“Quit your blabbering.” Kaeun hissed.

“I told you that I won’t be intimated towards the likes of you!” Sakura hissed back.

Kaeun grabbed Sakura’s chin as the other hand pinned her wrist tight. “Oh, yeah?”

Sakura was shocked as Kaeun stole a kiss on her lips again. Sakura freaked out but her conscience rooted her to her place.

Why is this happening?!!

The kiss was broken and Sakura became the raging puppy again. “WHAT THE ARE YOU DOING?!”

“You…” Kaeun wiped her lips. “…you didn’t manage to cry this time.”

Sakura fumed and slammed the pamphlet on the table. “Listen up! No matter what you do to me after this whole ordeal, I’m still going to write your name as a participant! Also…” She snapped harder. “….don’t tell that all this time that you like you can’t even dribble! Because if that were the case, I’m putting you in the cheerleading team!!”

“Then…” Kaeun began. “…if I win, what would you do?”

“What else should I do?” Sakura still snapped. “I’ll do anything what you say. Duh.”

Kaeun smirked and pushed Sakura towards the exit. “Your work here is done. Just make sure you won’t forget your word.”

Kaeun closed the door in front of the Sakura and she blew up. She rushed towards the sink to gargle and get rid of the Black Angel’s remnants.

Sakura thought Kaeun was one hell of a stupid giraffe. Letting her participate was not much of an option. To her, it’s not like anything will change if Kaeun will participate.

There’s no way they could win anyway.

+++

It was the dry-run for the inter-class ball tournament. Most of the classes have gone towards the gym as they start to practice, with basketball as the first sport. For now, Class A were the first to practice.

Miru and Sakura were doing stretches when they were called by Yena. The interesting part was that she dragged Yujin with her.

“Come and practice with us!” Yena added as Yujin spun the ball. “The ball’s waiting for you.”

The other two chuckled as Miru added. “You guys are dummies.”

The two decided to do duels: Yena against Sakura and Yujin against Miru. The two pairs did them simultaneously after getting another ball and aimed to score ten points first. Within the duels, Yena and Miru won for the pairs.

“What happened, Yujin-ah?” Yena panted. “You got two left feet?”

“You fool. Never underestimate Miru-san.” Yujin panted. “She’s good.”

Yena proposed another duel with Miru, winner against winner. Sakura and Yujin decided to watch a duck fight against a leopard and like the battle within the food chain, Miru was a predator to Yena, scoring a nine against Yena’s three.

“Shoot…” Yena huffed. “I’ll get the next point this time.”

“Bring it one, ducky.” Miru smirked.

“Do your best, Mirurun!” Sakura cheered.

Miru dribbled and Yena’s eyes peer like a single camera. Miru ended up playing tricks towards Yena’s defenses as she got in and did the last shot.

“Yes, you did it!” Sakura ran towards Miru and gave her a high-five.

“Told you I was good.” Miru added.

“This …” Yena huffed and collapsed.

“You’re too weak.” Miru spat.

“Get a hold of yourself, you ducky.” Yujin huffed. “I can’t believe you lost to her with a huge difference.”

“No other girl can beat me.” Miru winked.

“I agree. Mirurun’s the best.” Sakura assured them.

Their little duel was disrupted as squeals surrounded the gym. All of them paid attention as Yena and Yujin joined in cheers. Miru wowed as Sakura cursed at the heavens again.

In luck, Kaeun arrived to practice.

“Aigoo…the real practice begins.”

“Kaeun-nim, glad you can join us!” Yena greeted then bowed. “Want to practice with us?”

Kaeun was silent, eyes wide and mind almost confused. Nonetheless, she nodded and joined with them, shocking Sakura.

“I want to join.” Miru stretched and did a little jog in place. “Let’s go, Kkura.”

“I’ll join the cheerleading team this time. I need a break.” Sakura insisted.

Miru nodded and join with the rest to practice. Yena decided the groups and as a fan, she teamed up with Kaeun. Sakura got to sit with Yuri and they watched.

Sakura would’ve thought that it was a normal practice, just like everyone else thought. But as Kaeun got the ball, she was really quick to make a shot. Some wondered to why Kaeun joined but the admirers and the practicing members thought she was amazing. Sakura couldn’t believe that Kaeun wasn’t bluffing, that she was really a good player.

The last point was on the line as Kaeun faced Miru. Kaeun would’ve passed in one go but Miru had a quick defense. Kaeun used it as an advantage to wear out the other player and it worked as her team got the last shot and won.

“She’s fast!” Yujin gasped.

“Game over!!” Yena yelled and laughed.

Kaeun went to the benches to rest as Miru was still on the floor. Sakura rushed to help her out as Kaeun’s team members went near the Black Ace as they were impressed of her, especially Yujin and Yena.

“You were really great, Kaeun-nim.” Yena commented.

“Please defend Class A’s pride.” All of them bowed.

“Hey. Even though you were going up against a fellow girl, you didn’t have to go that hard!” Sakura spat.

Yujin and Yena had playful reactions when Kaeun coughed, shutting them up.

“Yena.” Kaeun called with fiery eyes.

“Uhh…I’m sorry, Kaeun-nim.” Yena bowed. “Did I do something to upset you again?”

Sakura gulped and was reminded of what Yena shared to her. She grew worried about the ducky, fearing of what Kaeun was capable of doing.

“If there’s a case of a jump ball, I’m going to pass it to you.” Kaeun answered. “Your stature is fit for the center but you’re a fast runner.”

“What?”

“Just run straight into the opponent ring.”

Yena gasped but nodded. Kaeun didn’t end there but advised everyone in the basketball team of what they’ll do. She even drew near towards Miru and Sakura and gave them advices during the game despite looking like a demon.

Miru nodded. Sakura hesitated because one, Kaeun’s a Black Angel and two, she was never the woman to act like that. The members were exactly from the pamphlet they submitted and they got advices that motivated the team as an addition.

Sakura couldn’t help but focus her gaze at Kaeun.

Wait a minute. Why’s my heart beating?

“So today’s the practice for Class A, huh?”

They stopped to see Class B getting inside. And as Sakura would know, it was the class Jurina was in. And on cue was another dose of squeals and came the presence of the Red Ace.

“Jurina-san!” Sakura greeted.

“Hey, Sakura-chan.” Jurina waved back then looked at practicing team. “Woah. I’ve never seen Kaeunnie participate before. Did you drag her into this?”

“Well, I have my ways.” Sakura grinned and dribbled. “You’ll also play for basketball, right?”

“Yes.” Jurina nodded. “If our classes keep winning the matches, we might actually compete against each other in the finals.”

“That would be great. So please do your best.” Sakura spoke, getting a nod and a smile from Jurina.

Kaeun witnessed them after doing a shot. She might not look like she cared but seeing Sakura and Jurina together looked unpleasant. Sian made a pass to her yet Kaeun was in her anger zone. With that, she kicked the ball towards Sakura.

“Look out!” Sian gasped and warned.

Jurina had quick eyes and caught the ball while protecting Sakura. She looked at the cherry blossom and asked. “You okay, Sakura-chan? Are you hurt?”

Sakura shook her head and felt the heaven in her head. She adored Jurina’s actions, even the admirers thought she was a white knight in glamorous armor.

“Yah.” The moment was disrupted as Kaeun spat. “Quit slacking off and start practicing.”

“Yah. I’m just getting started for a second go.” Sakura huffed.

Jurina had to excuse herself to practice with her team. Sakura huffed and joined hers while spitting at Kaeun. “Could it be that you kicked the ball?! What a jerk! What could’ve happened if Jurina-san got hurt!”

“Excuse me, Kaeun-nim.” Yena went to the Black Ace again. “What should we practice next?”

Kaeun gave a glare and it shocked the team. “A hundred double dribbles for each of you. Now scram.”

They gulped and did the task. Sakura sighed of the predicament and joined them.

her beating heart a while ago. Kaeun was still the stupid giraffe to her.