After Minju was revealed, the entire baseball team went up meet and introduce themselves to Minju. Sakura gushed over the new player, claiming she’s one of the prettiest girls she’s met. Chaeyeon huffed beside her and greeted the new member, jealous that she was a new object of Sakura’s affection. Sakura noticed and teased the other girl over her reaction, telling her she has no reason to be jealous. Eunbi greeted Minju next. “Nice to see you again, Minju!” she said, pulling the younger girl into a tight hug. How the hell do they know each other? Yujin wondered, raising an eyebrow at the pair. Eunbi gave the other girl one last smile before allowing the rest of her teammates introduce themselves. One by one, the entire team told Minju their name and exchanged small pleasantries all while Yujin stood in the back, a sour look on her face. The girls cleared out and the only one left was Yujin. The two girls stood a few feet apart, staring each other down.

“Why are you here?” Yujin sneered. The light chatter of the room halted, a surprised look on everyone’s face.

“Yujin! That’s no way to talk to someone!” Chaeyeon said, her tone similar to that of a mother scolding her young child. Eunbi placed a hand on Chaeyeon’s shoulder and shook her head no, nonverbally telling her to avoid getting involved.

“I moved, so I was transferred here. Our new house is way cheaper than our old house.” Minju responded, mimicking Yujin’s hostile tone.

“You calling our area cheap?” Yujin asked, her voice raising slightly. Her muscles tensed and she puffed up her chest, ready to fight the other girl for insinuating that they live in a cheap place. Yujin felt a light tug on her sleeve, indicating for her to calm down. She would have ignored it if she didn’t notice that it was Hitomi. Everyone has a soft spot for her and Yujin didn’t want to see her upset so she complied and relaxed, backing off. Hitomi released her hold after Yujin calmed down. Minju needs to thank Hitomi for saving her life. Yujin thought.  

“Ahn Yujin! Respect your teammates!” Coach scolded the tall girl as she pointed at Minju. “Go practice girls.” Yujin sighed, gathering her gear before heading to the field. “Except Yujin and Minju. You two come into my office.” The two girls begrudgingly followed, and sat down in their coach’s office. Minju sat with her back straight, hands folded in her lap while Yujin leaned back in her chair, as she crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.Yujin gut clenched after seeing Coach’s serious face. She had a bad feeling about this. Their coach followed them into the room and took the seat across from the girls. She cleared before speaking. “Yujin, you have one of the best throwing arms I’ve seen in awhile.”

Yujin filled with pride, her eyes glowing from the praise. She shot a cheeky smile Minju’s way before turning back to the coach. “Thank you! That means a lot, Coach.” After receiving praise, Yujin sat up straight and uncrossed her arms. She leaned forward, letting Coach know she has her full attention now.

Coach turned her head towards Minju and continued to speak. “Minju, you too are an amazing pitcher. I haven’t seen you in action yet but from the videos of past games I’ve watched, you have a lot of talent.”

Minju whipped her head towards Yujin and gave the girl her own mocking smile. Yujin clenched her teeth, going back to the slouched position she was in earlier. “Thank you.” Minju gave coach a small smile and bowed politely.

“You girls are both amazingly talented pitchers. Hell, maybe you’re the best we’ve had on this team judging from your past performances.” Their coach sighed, her face suddenly becoming very serious. “Yujin, I know what I’m going to say next is going to make you upset, but please hear me out first.” Yujin knew it. Her bad feelings were never wrong. “I would like for you two to share the pitching position. Whoever isn’t pitching, will play left fielder.”

“What?” The two girls exclaimed simultaneously. Yujin stood up from her chair so quickly that she knocked it back causing a loud bang. “You can’t be serious.” Yujin said. “This must be a prank…” She began looking around the rooms for any hidden cameras or people. “Yena, come out! This prank isn’t funny.” Yujin reeked of desperation, hoping she wasn’t serious.

“Yujin, calm down. I’m serious.” Coach said. Yujin sighed, picking her chair back up and sitting back down. “It would be a waste to not utilize both of you where you are best. And to get the most out of both of you, you both will be pitchers.” Yujin and Minju both nodded, accepting their fates. “And because you both will be pitchers, I need you working together. No more of this rival .” Their coach’s scolding fell on deaf ears as the two girls both rolled their eyes. “From now on, I want both of you to warm up and practice together.”

“But I warm up with Yena.” Yujin interjected.

Coach shook her head and nodded towards the window. “Not anymore.” They could see Yena helping Yuri stretch, talking and laughing together.

Yujin let out a small whine. “Traitor,” She mumbled under her breath.

“Now go. Go outside to practice.” Coach shooed them off and dove into the stack of paperwork resting on her desk. The two girls attempted to leave the office at the same time, bumping shoulders at the door.

“Ahn Yujin, haven’t you ever heard of ‘ladies first’?” Minju sneered as she attempted to push past Yujin.

“I have, which means I should go first.” Yujin said, pushing her shoulder back into Minju as she tried to go through the door.

“No you dog! It means I get to go first.”

Yujin’s nose flared. “Who are you calling a dog?”

“Enough!” Their coach yelled from behind them. “If you don’t leave my room in five seconds, you’re both kicked off the team.” The coach’s change from an annoyed tone to a quiet, calming voice sent a chill down the girls’ spines. They furiously nodded their heads and rushed out of the office, not caring about who left first.

The two pitchers strolled over to the field together, not exchanging a single word nor glance and keeping a sizeable distance between them. Their teammates were all done stretching and have moved on to practicing with each other. Yujin sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.” The two girls began stretching separately. Yujin glanced over at her partner as she was stretching her upper arms, the hem of her shirt riding up and revealing a small portion of her stomach. Yujin’s face flushed, embarrassed that she even paid attention to it. Get ahold of yourself. Don’t be weird, Yujin. She lightly slapped her cheeks to get herself to focus. Cheeks still pink, Yujin snuck another glance at Minju. The other girl was still stretching, this time trying to reach her toes but failing by an inch. A sly smile came across her face as she approached the other girl’s bac