Content notice: Mention of alcohol in this chapter. (Are notices required for this? Let me know.)

Midnight Madness weekend at SNU was one of the most highly anticipated times of the year. It wasn’t only SNU students and staff that looked forward to it, tickets for the events were also highly coveted and sought after by young professionals and students and staff at other South Korean colleges and universities. Essentially, for anyone between the ages of 18-30, Midnight Madness was the place to be.

Seoul National University had long been regarded as an athletic powerhouse. Their sports teams were always filled to the brim with some of the nation’s most talented athletes and were always considered contenders for championships. SNU Basketball, though, was something else entirely. The men’s and women’s programs had storied histories of dominance. Only the most elite basketball players were invited for recruitment visits, but the exclusivity was not reserved only for players. Revolutionary coaches and leaders in the fields of Athletic Training, Sport Science, and Sport Psychology were headhunted and brought in to establish a culture of excellence from top to bottom. This was the original reason for the Midnight Madness hype. Each year, the SNU community would gather to witness the official introductions of the athletes that made the final rosters for the impending season.

What Midnight Madness at SNU had since evolved into was a spectacle very few thought possible in college sports. Yongsun was not familiar with it. SKKU had Midnight Madness—every school did—but it was nothing compared to SNU's. As such, when Moonbyul had asked her if she was going this year, she, of course, said yes. At SKKU, anyone that wanted to go could go; there were no tickets. Entry was free to all. She assumed it was the same here. Until Wheein and Hyejin jumped into the conversation to ask what seats her tickets were for. It was the same day that Moonbyul had opened up to her about her struggles handling the pressure that came with being “the star” of SNU’s Women’s Basketball team. Wheein and Hyejin had come over a bit later, completely unaware of the serious conversation that had transpired earlier.

“Tickets? I had to buy tickets?”

The resulting silence was deafening.

“Unnie,” Wheein looked to Moonbyul, “you didn’t get her a ticket? Midnight Madness is this weekend!”

“I didn’t know I had to buy a ticket. They didn’t sell tickets at SKKU! Anyone that wanted to go got to go,” the eldest responded frantically.

“Don’t worry about it, unnie.” Moonbyul soothingly responded to Yongsun. “That’s why I asked. I made sure to get tickets to everything for you, but I didn’t know if you had already gotten your own. The tickets for Friday should be next to Wheein and Hyejin. For the parties, your names are on the list. You should be good to go.” Yongsun visibly calmed down at hearing that.

“Byul-unnie takes care of us when it comes to anything basketball-related,” Hyejin exclaimed.

“It’s the least I could do. You both always support me and come to games and stuff,” the blonde responded bashfully, trying to downplay her actions.

“She’s being humble,” Hyejin turned to Yongsun, swiping more of the food Yongsun had ordered for her and Moonbyul. “It’s cutthroat here for those tickets. This weekend is huge. Everyone tries to get in. Things get sold out quickly.”

“Why is it so hard to get tickets for this thing? They’re just announcing the teams and moving on.”

“Ohhhh,” the maknaes spoke in unison.

“No, unnie,” Wheein started, “it’s a full weekend thing. On Friday, the festivities start at 7:30 pm. The teams do the usual entrance where the staff and players are introduced individually. At around 8:30 pm, all of the players get paired up with someone from the audience and they have to take part in a bunch of games. They give out prizes and all that. Then the action starts. There’s a concert from 9:00 pm until 11:00 pm; this year we got Loopy and some of the other SMTM rappers. After that, there’s a party at one of the clubs here to celebrate.”

“It’s like a part one,” Hyejin added.

“Yeah. Part two happens on Saturday night. The Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams host Saturday’s party together. It’s at another club around here, but it’s supposed to be massive.”

“All this for university basketball teams,” Yongsun asked astounded.

“Yup,” Moonbyul replied, slowly nodding her head, “all this for university basketball teams.”

This new information helped put Moonbyul’s concerns into context. Yongsun understood a bit more of the situation Moon Byulyi was in.

In the following days, Yongsun could feel the buzz on campus growing. People were excited about Midnight Madness. It was all everyone was talking about, even her friends.

“Yong,” Chorong called to her, “are you going to Midnight Madness?”

Yongsun had finished her work-study session and met up with Chorong. They were going to a nearby off-campus café to unwind after a long week.

“I am! Funny enough, didn’t even realize it was happening this weekend. Found out about it a couple days ago.”

“And you got tickets to everything?!”

“Uh . . . yeah.”

“How? I’ve been looking everywhere.” Yongsun wasn’t sure if she should tell the truth or try to change the subject. Chorong was not a fan of Moonbyul. She’d somehow find a way to turn the junior getting tickets for her into a negative thing.

“Byulyi got them for me. I didn’t know there were tickets for these things. Everything was free at SKKU.”

“Hmm. I see.”

“You’re not going?”

“To the parties, yeah. Couldn’t get tickets to the concert though. One of my sorority sisters may have a lead, so we’ll see.”

After a few moments of walking in uncomfortable silence, Yongsun decided to take the plunge and address her friend’s obvious dislike for the basketball player.

“You still don’t like her?”

“It’s less about whether I like her or not and more about not trusting her.”

“She’s a really nice person, Rong-ie.”

“You haven’t seen her in her environment yet, have you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you seen her around other girls?”

“No,” Yongsun reluctantly replied. “Other than Hyejin and Wheein, haven’t seen her with anyone else.”

“I’ve already told you what I heard from my sorority sisters. She’s very smooth, very charming, and loves pretty girls. She’s a flirt.”

“Even if she is, that doesn’t necessarily make her a bad person.”

“Look,” Chorong raised her hands in defense, “you know her better than I do. I just know what I’ve heard from multiple people. Maybe she’s changed, I don’t know, but for now, I still don’t trust her, especially with you.”

They were clearly not going to come to an agreement at this moment, and Yongsun preferred to spend the time she had with her friend discussing less contentious things, so she left things at that.

“I almost forgot!” Chorong suddenly added as they reached they café. She held the door open for Yongsun and waited until they were seated before continuing, “Jinyoung is coming this weekend.” Yongsun was unsure of what to do with that information, but the expectant look on Chorong’s face urged her to say something.

“Oh. Cool?” She truly had no idea what Chorong wanted from her, which Chorong gathered as she rolled her eyes and added more information.

“He’s been asking about you.”

Jung Jinyoung was a member of Chorong and Changsub’s “‘91 Club”. As with the Cs, he attended SNU for all of his undergraduate career before deciding to continue on in pursuit of his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Acting from Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts). He was currently in year two of a three-year program. While Acting was his focus, he also composed music. Of all ’91 Club members, Jinyoung was the one that Yongsun had seen the least due to his busy schedule. Clearly though, she thought, if he was asking about her, their limited interactions left an impact on him.

“Oh yeah?” she followed up to Chorong’s revelation.

“Yeah. I was surprised, too. The two of you haven’t seen each other very often and I know he’s super committed to his acting and music, but yeah, he’s been asking about you. And he doesn’t usually ask about girls. He’s very shy when it comes to dating.”

“He’s shy? That’s surprising,” she skeptically responded.

“Why? Because he’s handsome? I can confirm that he’s very shy. We were surprised that he started talking to you so easily, which,” she began her chin, “makes sense in the grand scheme of things. I should’ve put it together sooner!” The last part was more to herself than Yongsun.

“What has he been asking?” Yongsun decided to refocus. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. He was handsome. Very. But, again, they had spoken only a handful of times, and dating was nowhere near the front of her mind. Getting her bearings remained her primary focus.

“I guess it’s been more of him bringing you up in conversations that had nothing to do with you. However, Changsub did tell me that he wasn’t sure if he was going to come out this weekend, but then he asked if you were going and Changsub told him you’d most likely be there, so he changed his mind and said he’d come to the parties,” Chorong smirked, wagging her eyebrows.

“You seem a little too happy about this development.”

“I think it’s cute. He hasn’t had a crush in forever and the two of you would look good together.”

“Chorooooong,” Yongsun whined, not caring about a few of the patrons sitting around them that turned to cross their eyes at all the noise she was making, “I don’t like being set up.”

“You’re not being set up. He might, maybe, most likely have a crush on you. No big deal. You’re already going to the parties and the two of you would talk there anyway, so it’s not like anything is drastically different. Just act regular. He probably won’t even ask you out. I’m telling you, he’s horrible at this stuff.”

“I can’t stand you.”

“You love me, hush.”

They talked about a bunch of other things before leaving an hour or so later. Yongsun had to meet up with Wheein and Hyejin before Midnight Madness, and Chorong had to see if she could get those concert tickets. As of now, meeting up at the party was the plan.

*

“Woah! Yongsun-unnie, you’re hot. I’m suddenly even more skeptical than I was before that you’ve never dated anyone.”

The maknaes had insisted that the three of them get ready together. Moonbyul was off doing basketball things with her team ahead of all the festivities, so they took advantage of some rare alone time with Yongsun; their Byul-unnie seriously did not let Yongsun out of her sight. Seeing as she’d never experienced an SNU Midnight Madness weekend before, they appointed themselves as her mentors. The first step, they’d decided, was her hair and makeup, which Hyejin took the lead on. As she appraised herself in the hand mirror handed to her, Yongsun was speechless.

In nothing more than a white bra and black spandex shorts, the raven‑haired sophomore stood towering over a seated Yongsun, reveling in her work with a proud smile on her face. She had truly outdone herself this time.

“Okay, okay,” Wheein declared, sitting up from her sprawled position on Moonbyul’s bed, “time to show us what you’re wearing tonight!” She stood up and joined Hyejin behind Yongsun, handing her bestie a freshly poured glass of wine.

Since Moonbyul couldn’t join them in preparing for the night, she offered them her room. In actuality, Wheein and Hyejin had guilt tripped her into it, but nonetheless, the fact remained that her room was Midnight Madness headquarters for Wheein, Hyejin, and Yongsun. Speaking of the latter, she finally stood up and grabbed a plastic bag full of . . . something, before scurrying into the bathroom.

Hyejin pulled Wheein back to Moonbyul’s bed as she slightly slurred, “What time is it, Wheeinie?” Talon-clad fingers made a home for themselves on the back of the short-haired one’s neck as Hyejin pressed her nose into her friend’s neck.

“I can’t believe this! You’re drunk already? This isn’t even your second full glass of wine, Hyejin.” Wheein grabbed the glass from the younger one. “I’m cutting you off until after the concert. When did you become such a lightweight? I’m disappointed.”

“I’m not a lightweight,” she whined before letting out a soft giggle.

Before Wheein could roll her eyes at that, Yongsun emerged from the bathroom. Once again, everyone in the room was speechless.

“You were lying when you said you haven’t dated anyone. I am convinced,” Hyejin dramatically shared, flopping back onto the bed.

“Ignore her. She’s drunk. But she’s not wrong. You’re seriously beautiful, unnie. Look at your body!”

The growing blush on her face was concealed some by the makeup Hyejin had applied, but the way she sheepishly hid her face behind her hands conveyed to Wheein that she was indeed embarrassed.

“You’re definitely getting laid tonight, unnie,” Hyejin boisterously commented, using her elbows to hold her up.

“Hyejin! You can’t just say that.”

“What? We’re friends, friends can talk like that, right, Yongsun-unnie? Besides, it’s not like I’m lying. People are going to be lined up trying to get with her tonight.”

“I doubt Byul-unnie would let that happen.”

“Wait, what? Why wouldn’t she let that happen?” Yongsun was confused as to why Wheein was bringing Moonbyul up.

“She gets super protective of us at parties and other big events where everyone is pretty much a show. It’s almost funny how she goes into bodyguard mode.”

“Yeah, when she’s not dealing with all the girls that are throwing themselves at her, she’s dragging us away from all of the guys and girls trying to get closer to us. She’s going to have her work cut out for her tonight with you looking like this.” Hyejin’s words sounded anything but concerned for Moonbyul’s plight.

Yongsun’s lips were blood red, soft eye makeup accentuating her deep dark brown eyes. Her hair had been parted in the middle, soft waves cascading down. If that alone didn’t turn heads, her dress absolutely would. It was a black bodycon with a scoop neckline and narrow shoulder straps. Stopping mid-shin, the dress clung to every curve and revealed her relatively well-toned back as the cut of the dress behind was dangerously low.

“You can’t wear that, though, unnie,” Wheein unexpectedly declared.

“Why can’t she wear it?” Hyejin jumped to Yongsun’s defense.

“She can wear it to the party, but not the concert.” Directing her attention to the graduate student again, Wheein further explained, “The team introductions and the concert are fun, yes, but if you’re going to make a statement like that, you have to save it for the party. Wear something more casual to the events before the party.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Yongsun was relieved. She had purchased the dress online about a week after moving back to Seoul. Her time in college during her undergraduate years wasn’t full of spontaneous adventurous nights or parties every weekend, and she had always secretly regretted that. Graduate school was meant to be more rigorous academically, but she was determined this time around to live a little and have nights out on the town. At the time, she wasn’t sure if she’d even become close enough friends with people at SNU to do all of this socializing, but she figured it’d serve her well to be prepared in case she did make friends. That preparation included purchasing a few “going out” outfits, this dress included. As things would have it, she did end up making great friends, and here she was getting ready for one of the city’s biggest social weekends. Her preparation paid off.

“I said it so of course it makes sense,” Wheein cheekily answered.

“Anyway,” Hyejin rolled her eyes at Wheein’s antics, “hair and makeup are done. Outfit is decided on. There’s one last step before you’re ready.”

With a sudden burst of energy and clear-headedness, Hyejin leapt off of the bed and inched closer to Yongsun, like a predator approaching its prey.

“You have to take a shot with us.”

“Absolutely not. And you’re already drunk, you don’t need more alcohol.”

The youngest turned to her same-aged friend for help. “Wheein-ah,” she huffed, “tell her she has to take a shot with us.”

“It’s the rules, unnie.” Wheein was already up filling several shot glasses with the alcohol of choice for the night. She had long forgotten that she cut Hyejin off from drinking only moment earlier.

“You two know I’m not good at drinking!” It was Yongsun’s turn to whine.

Ignoring her pleas, Wheein grabbed one of her hands and placed a full shot glass in it. “You’ll be fine. It’ll wear off by the time the concert starts, if not sooner.”

“Plus, it’ll help make everything before the concert more enjoyable.” Hyejin went to grab her own shot glass, ready to get this over with.

“True,” Wheein agreed. “You’ll see, the introductions and games are cool, but they’re much more fun with a little bit of alcohol.”

“We played games last year to pass the time! One was ‘rate the players,” Hyejin started.

“And the coaches! Hyejin likes older partners, so she insisted that we include the coaches in the game.”

“Oh yeah, and the coaches. We also made bets on different things, like which players are going to get the loudest cheers.”

“Byul-unnie.”

“Which player’s partner is going to shamelessly flirt with their basketball player the most.”

“Byul-unnie’s.”

“And, vice versa, which basketball player is going to shamelessly flirt with their partner the most.”

“Byul-unnie.”

“So,” Yongsun started, “basically, the two of you spend that part of the night rating attractiveness of players and coaches, and keeping track of how greasy Byulyi is?”

The other two took a couple seconds to think it over and … “Yeah, that sounds about right, actually,” Hyejin concluded. “It’s much more fun than it sounds.”

“If you say so, because it doesn’t sound fun at all.”

“And that’s why you have to take a shot with us, Yongsun-unnie,” Wheein brought it all back full circle. “It doesn’t sound fun, but with some alcohol, it becomes one of the best parts of the night.”

Yongsun contemplatively stared at the shot glass in her hand. She knew she was going to take it, and so did Wheein and Hyejin.

“Fine,” she grumbled.

By 7:15 pm, the three had departed University Village and were on their way to the athletic complex with two shots in their systems. Yongsun complained about the first, but it took very little coaxing to get her to down the second. With the alcohol flowing through them, they felt great. What was normally an eight-minute walk stretched into fifteen minutes as they frequently stopped to laugh about nothing at all.

Their ‘Family and Friends’ tickets allowed them to join a shorter line, which was a sign of luck on their side. The regular lines were at least a twenty-minute wait; Wheein, Hyejin, and Yongsun got in in five. Just as they were about to enter the building, Wheein suddenly turned to her unnie.

“I think you’re going to have a great time tonight! On top of everything else, it’s really funny to watch Byul-unnie flirting with people that actually enjoy her flirting. It’s like an alternate universe.”

Ever since meeting Moon Byulyi, people would joke nonstop about how much of a ladykiller she was, how irresistible other women found her, how easy it was for her to make people fall for her and, yeah, Yongsun found Byulyi charming and considerate and sweet, but a heartthrob? She couldn’t imagine it. It just didn’t seem realistic. So, even though most people wouldn’t be, Yongsun was oddly excited to see this other side of her best friend. She wanted—no, she needed—to see what all the fuss was about.

Ever since opening up to Yongsun about her insecurities regarding basketball, Moonbyul had been out of it. The things that normally sent a jolt of excitement through her body—an empty gym, the sound of a perfect jump shot zipping through the net, placing the ball in a spot only one of her teammates could reach—did nothing for her.

On a typical day off of practice, she’d be holed up on the courts all day taking thousands of shots and sharpening her handles. This time around, she hadn’t set foot there since hastily leaving after Wednesday’s practice. What she needed was some time to clear her head, time to process all her feelings and thoughts. What she got instead was a weekend jam-packed with basketball and parties and basketball-related parties. ‘Irritated’ didn’t even begin to explain how she felt at the moment.

*

Her partner for the Midnight Madness contests was some girl Moonbyul had never seen before and whose name she couldn’t remember. What Moonbyul would never be able to forget, though, was this girl’s shameless flirting. The entire time they were near each other, the girl was doing something to get Moonbyul’s attention—grabbing onto her biceps, holding her hand, intentionally screwing up at the competitions so that the junior would have to help her. At first, the blonde thought it was the girl’s nerves over being in front of so many people—there were thousands in the audience cheering the contestants on. Moonbyul quickly realized, though, that it was not the girl’s nerves. She just wanted to get closer to her.

Not wanting to ruin the mood, Moonbyul stayed quiet. She said nothing about the touching or the intentional sabotage. She said nothing about anything, really. If it wasn’t the announcer or one of her teammates addressing her directly, she just “hmm’d” and “ahh’d” her way through the evening. The sooner this was over, the sooner she could get out of there.

*

To: Yongdunnie

Where are you? 12:06 am

Are you here yet? 12:15 am

You have your wristband, right? I put your name on the list. Come to VIP. 12:20 am

Seriously? 12:23 am

The party at the club started at 12:00 am. Wheein, Hyejin, and Yongsun knew this, so Moonbyul couldn’t understand why almost half an hour had passed with no word from any of them. Swallowing her frustration, she picked up her phone once again, squinting a bit as her eyes adjusted to the screen’s brightness. Just as she finished sending a message in their group chat that she knew conveyed her irritation, Heeyeon commanded her attention.

“Come on, sourpuss. Get up. The girls are upset.” Other than the restrooms, the VIP section was the only place in this club where conversations could be held at normal volumes. Located in the rear of the club, there were no speakers in the VIP area, so although the music from the dance floor could be heard there, it didn’t overpower the interactions taking place.

Moonbyul raised an eyebrow at her teammate’s comment. The club was dark, so she doubted Heeyeon saw it, but she did it anyway. “What girls?”

“All the girls that came here tonight looking to get your attention. I did a quick walk-around and actually overheard some of them complaining that you’ve been secluded in the VIP section all night.”

“Well then they should come to VIP.”

“Don’t be an . You know the security guard only lets in people with wristbands.”

Moonbyul shrugged and went back to checking her phone, “I can’t help them then.”

If Heeyeon said she hadn’t noticed Moonbyul’s irritability all night, she’d be lying. At first, she thought maybe the point guard had had a fight with Yongsun—she was always impossible to be around when that happened—but Byulyi had told her things were fine with the graduate student, so she was stumped as to what could be causing such a significant change in Moonbyul’s attitude. She slapped one of the blonde’s thighs, urging her to move over on the leather couch. Heeyeon laid her head on Byul’s left shoulder as she watched her friend aimlessly scroll through Instagram.

“Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on?”

“After I deal with it, yeah.”

“Are you going to talk to anyone about what’s going on while it’s going on?”

“I already do.” Heeyeon knew she meant Yongsun. She had to have meant Yongsun, and although she was slightly offended that Moonbyul didn’t feel comfortable enough opening up to her about whatever it was that was plaguing her, she was glad that she had someone she could talk things through with.

“Okay.” They spent a few moments saying nothing before Heeyeon sighed heavily. “You don’t have to stay, you know. There are enough basketball players here to satisfy all the thirsty partygoers. You’ve officially been relieved of your duties.”

The blonde giggled. “Duties. Sounds like ‘doodies’.”

“You are so stupid. What are you, seven?” Heeyeon rolled her eyes. Raising her head, she stood up while asking, “Where’s Yongsun-unnie, Wheein, and Hyejin?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Moonbyul grumpily responded.

Saving Heeyeon from another bout of Byulyi’s sourness, two of the three aforementioned women rushed into the VIP section.

“Unnie! We are so sorry!” Wheein exclaimed. Hyejin made a beeline for her, sitting in the spot on the couch recently vacated by Heeyeon. She grabbed Moonbyul’s baseball cap-covered head, pulling it to her chest.

“We are so sorry, unnie. Don’t worry, we’re here now and we’re all going to have a great time, okay?”

“Good,” Heeyeon started, “she was grumpy before you showed up. I have to go take care of some of my other friends, but watch over this one. She’s been out of it all day.” At that, she turned to leave and saw Yongsun a few meters away. She was in a conversation with one of the members of the Men’s Basketball team and, judging by the glances she kept sending in her friends’ direction, was completely uninterested.

Deciding to do one last good deed before heading out, she stomped over, pulling the grad student away from him.

“Never going to happen, Minsoo.” He was actually a very nice guy, so she knew he wouldn’t take her intrusion to heart. When met with his bashful smile, she was relieved to have been correct in her assessment of him.

“Come on, Heeyeon, why you gotta embarrass me like that in front of this beautiful woman?” It wasn’t lip service. He rubbed the back of neck as he spoke, signaling to both women that he was, in fact, embarrassed.

Sympathetically rubbing his back, she countered, “If you think about it, I’m saving you the embarrassment. Imagine if you’d continued talking her ear off. How embarrassing would it have been to have done all that talking and then found out she wasn’t into you?”

“Okay, okay. I get it. Still,” he gave Yongsun his attention, “it was a pleasure talking to you, Yongsun-ssi.”

“More like talking at her,” Heeyeon faux-mumbled. Minsoo rolled his eyes before softly chuckling.

“Thank you, Heeyeon,” he sarcastically replied. “Yongsun-ssi, I hope this won’t be the last time we talk.”

Yongsun wasn’t quite sure what to say to that. As soon as she’d walked in, he’d commandeered her attention, striking up a conversation. He hadn’t been rude by any means, she just wasn’t prepared to talk to anyone other than her friends tonight, especially not as soon as she arrived. His exchange with Heeyeon demonstrated that he was harmless though, maybe even a little bit charming? As such, she didn’t want to be rude.

“It was fun listening to you talk at me,” she jested. He and Heeyeon laughed at that.

“Oh, you have jokes, huh? That’s fair. I’ll let you go enjoy the rest of your night.”

After he had gone off to rejoin a group of his teammates, some of whom took the opportunity to crack some jokes at his expense—they’d been carefully watching his exchange with Yongsun—Heeyeon walked her over to where Hyejin, Wheein, and Moonbyul were congregated.

“She’s in a bad mood. Can you watch over her a little more than usual, please, unnie? I know tonight’s about having fun and all that, so I feel bad asking you, but I wouldn’t ask of she wasn’t in a really sour mood.”

“It’s fine,” Yongsun assured her, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you! I gotta go now. I’ll catch you all later.” Before turning to leave for real this time, she made sure to get in one more comment. “You look hot by the way, unnie. Really hot.”

Yongsun blushed a bit before finally going to reunite with her friends.

*

Wheein and Hyejin had instantly lifted Moonbyul’s spirits. They told her the hilarious story of why it took them so long to arrive—it wasn’t them being fashionably late; they had left University Village for the club when Yongsun said she forgot her phone in Moonbyul’s room, so they had to go back to get it, only to later realize it had been in her bag all along. After that elicited a small smile from her, they decided to shower her in physical affection until, as Hyejin had said, she was “appropriately happy again.”

“Okay, okay,” the athlete gasped between laughs as the younger two continued to hug and kiss her, “I’m good. I’m happy again. You can stop.”

“I’m shocked. Since when do you ask girls to stop kissing and hugging you. Impossible. This isn’t our Byul-unnie,” Wheein replied. As such, she continued making a show out of loving Moonbyul. Hyejin, however, stopped her actions so that she could laugh out loud.

“Actually, Wheeinie, since today. Did you see her face throughout the games earlier? Unnie, why was that girl acting like that? We were betting on how long until you said something to her.”

“I won the bet, by the way. I said that you wouldn’t say anything because you hate confrontation. I was right!” Moonbyul couldn’t even be upset, Wheein looked so cute clapping excitedly like that. And she wasn’t wrong. The junior worked hard to avoid confrontational situations.

“What did you win?”

“Yongsun-unnie and Hyejin have to buy my drinks for the entire weekend.”

“Sounds like you didn’t win much,” Moonbyul added, “there’s an open bar in VIP tonight and tomorrow.”

Hyejin folded her hands in prayer. “I just want to say thank you so much. Not only to God, but to Jesus.”

They laughed heartily at that.

“Seriously though, unnie. What was that girl’s problem? All of us were so angry watching her all over you like that. If I see her on the street-”

“If you see her on the street what, Hyejin? What would you actually do?” Wheein asked skeptically.

“I’d stare at her aggressively.” The three laughed again. “No joke though, Yongsun-unnie was very upset. And we all pregamed before that, so her lips were very loose. She was not happy.”

Speaking of. “Where is unnie anyway?” Moonbyul asked.

“She’s over there,” Wheein pointed to near the VIP entrance where a group of men’s basketball players were gathered. “Minsoo-oppa greeted us when we walked in and then asked for an introduction to Yongsun-unnie, so we introduced them and left. He only had eyes for her anyway.”

“Mmm,” Moonbyul acknowledged what Wheein had said while turning her attention to Yongsun and Minsoo. He was a nice enough guy, a senior on the Men’s Basketball Team studying Architectural Engineering. Still, she knew what this weekend was about—a bit of basketball, but mostly having fun and maybe finding a few new people to hook up with. She’d be damned if she let anyone try that with Yongsun. After seeing the graduate student with Wheein and Hyejin earlier that night, some of her teammates had approached Moonbyul asking for more information on Yongsun. She sternly and seriously let the entire team know that none of them were allowed to try any funny business with her. It seemed she’d have to fend off the men’s team, too.

“Look at her, Wheein, she’s going into ‘overprotective mode’.”

“You can relax. Heeyeon-unnie is already breaking them up.”

“You two are being dramatic. I wasn’t going to do anything. Just wanted to make sure she was safe. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Her response was unconvincing and all three of them knew it.

A few moments later, Yongsun made her way over to them and both Wheein and Hyejin held their breath and kept their eyes on Moonbyul. They needed to witness her reaction to Yongsun’s outfit. The blonde was relatively conservative when it came to clothing, so her thoughts on the skintight dress and exposed back would surely be comical. With a bit of confusion and a hint of alarm, though, they looked to each other when instead of shock and surprise on Moonbyul’s face, they saw . . . a few things that should not have been there. They noticed the way her breathing picked up as she watched Yongsun approach. They caught the way her eyes took a bit too long as they scanned Yongsun from head to toe. And it definitely did not go unnoticed how quickly she stood up to greet the graduate student, pulling her in for a hug with hands that lingered on Yongsun’s waist.

“She has to be kidding me,” Hyejin rolled her eyes in disbelief.

“You know they’re weird like that,” Wheein tried to justify the scene that had just unfolded in front of them. “I don’t think it is what it looks like.”

“Oh? You don’t think that it looks like Byul-unnie’s enjoying that outfit a bit too much? Because that’s what it looks like to me.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, Hyejinnie.”

Readjusting themselves, Moonbyul casually slung her left arm around Yongsun’s shoulders, while the latter s her right arm around Byulyi’s back and placed her left hand on the athlete’s well-toned stomach. Turning to address Wheein and Hyejin who were aggressively whispering to each other, Yongsun called out to them.

“Thank you two for leaving me to fend for myself back there, by the way.”

“Unnie, he clearly didn’t want to talk to us, and we were watching you from afar to make sure nothing happened,” Wheein defended their actions.

“Yeah,” Hyejin began talking, sending a sharp look Moonbyul’s way, “some of us were watching more intently than others.”

Attempting to redirect the conversation, Wheein spoke up again. “Anyway. Good news, unnie. You don’t have to buy my drinks this weekend. There’s an open bar in VIP!”

“You sound a bit too excited about that Wheeinie,” Yongsun giggled.

“You can never be too excited about free drinks. Speaking of, we’re going to get some now and then scope out the dance floor. Do either of you want anything?”

Moonbyul spoke for the both of them. “We’re good, but thank you.”

“I’m sure you are,” Hyejin muttered. As they walked past their unnies, she whispered to the athlete, “Get it together.”

*

More athletes had left the general area and finally made their way into VIP, bringing friends and romantic prospects with them. The VIP area was big enough to accommodate both teams and their guests, but Moonbyul wanted a few minutes away from the crowded couches, so she and Yongsun stood by the balustrade that ran along the perimeter of the VIP section. They were granted a view of the club’s general area and dance floor. As they took in the clouds spewing from the fog machines, the strobe lights illuminating the establishment, and the sea of bodies grinding, drinking, and chatting, Yongsun leaned over to speak into Moonbyul’s ear.

“You haven’t left VIP all night. Hiding away?”

“Yeah, I’m scarred after the experience with my partner earlier.”

“You’re joking, but you’re not joking,” Yongsun laughed.

“You know me well, unnie.”

“That girl made me so angry.”

“Wheein and Hyejin told me,” Moonbyul chuckled.

“At first I thought it was part of your flirting thing, but then you were just standing there, not reacting, so I figured you were uncomfortable. I’m laughing now, but I was seriously so upset at that.”

Moonbyul shrugged it off. “Stuff like that happens sometimes.”

“Well, it shouldn’t.” She waited a moment before broaching a topic that wasn’t exactly party material. “Heeyeon mentioned earlier that you were in a bad mood. What happened?” Moonbyul figured they might as well talk about it and get it over with.

“Same thing we talked about on Wednesday. I guess I’m not fully over it.” She felt Yongsun’s eyes on her. Growing insecure under such a strong gaze she shared a solution she had been considering. “I think I’m going to talk to our Sport Psychologist about it. Other than our team meetings with her, I’ve never spoken to her, but I guess that’s what she’s there for.”

“You all have a Sport Psychologist? I was so nervous talking through that with you and this whole time you’ve had a professional that could have given you actual good advice.”

“I was making you earn my friendship.” She squealed as Yongsun started hitting her shoulder.

After they both calmed down, Yongsun felt guilty for having monopolized the popular athlete’s time for most of the party thus far, so she made sure to give Moonbyul an out. “Don’t feel obligated to stay here talking to me. I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”

The two of them weren’t accustomed to consistently hanging out with each other in front of this many people. The Commons was typically empty by the time they went there for dinner. Other than that, the largest audience they had was when they spent time with Wheein, Hyejin, and sometimes Heeyeon. Yongsun could feel the stares on them, could sense the curiosity of those around them. She didn’t want to be seen as the reason that Moonbyul started acting out of character and avoiding other women.

“You’re not getting in the way of anything.” Offering a sincere smile, she solemnly stared into Yongsun’s eyes. “I promise.”

Yongsun nodded in understanding before turning back to look out at the crowd. A hip-hop song came and went before either of them spoke again.

“This outfit,” Moonbyul started.

“Here we go! I was wondering when you were going to say something. Surprised it took you about an hour into the party to mention it,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Raising her hands in defense, Moonbyul responded, “I didn’t even say anything yet!”

“Okay, so say what you want to say.”

“I wasn’t even going to say anything bad, just that I didn’t expect an outfit like this. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s nice. You look good. Was just surprised is all.” She said the last part while looking back at the crowd, nervous about meeting Yongsun’s gaze.

“Well, we never go anywhere that requires us to dress up, so how would you know what I look like when I go out?” She had expected Byulyi to be more judgmental and wasn’t prepared for the relatively kind words.

“Then we’ll start going out,” the blonde answered resolutely, still looking out at the crowd. Turning slightly, she caught the small smile growing on Yongsun’s face, which caused her to smile, too.

“Okay. You look good, too, by the way.”

They were so awkward at complimenting each other, and Moonbyul had no explanation as to why that was. Taking a moment to look over her own outfit, she couldn’t tell if Yongsun was being serious or just giving her a compliment because she had given one first. The outfit was simple: mid-wash denim jeans cuffed at the bottom, black loafers with tassels on them, a white button-up shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and a black Gucci cap. Byulyi decided to take the compliment as a genuine one and thanked Yongsun accordingly.

“If we’re talking about a revealing outfit, though, we absolutely have to discuss what’s going on with you and this shirt. Three buttons undone?”

“Yeah, I decided to get wild tonight.”

Moments later, Heeyeon called Moonbyul over to the couches that most of their team had gathered around. Wheein and Hyejin had returned to VIP a couple times since earlier, but were now back in the general area. She wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Yongsun on her own normally, but looking the way she looked tonight, there was no way in hell Moonbyul was letting the graduate out of her sight. She motioned for the brunette to walk in front of her and towards Heeyeon.

In the end, Heeyeon didn’t have anything urgent to say, she just wanted Moonbyul back with the group, and—despite her roommate’s protests—wanted to properly introduce Yongsun to everyone. Byulyi and Yongsun were able to find seats and get comfortable though.

*

It had been some time since Yongsun had leaned over and told Moonbyul that she’d be right back. The blonde was starting to worry. She walked up to Wheein, interrupting a conversation the second-year was having with a girl on the baseball team.

“Hey, have you seen Yongsun-unnie?”

“No, why?”

Moonbyul sighed heavily. “She left about 30 minutes ago, saying that she’d be right back and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Hmm. Hyejin-ah!” The girl was on her way back from the bar. “Have you seen Yongsun-unnie? She’s been gone for about half an hour.”

“Ah, yes. I was coming back from the general area a while ago and ran into her. She was talking to some guy.”

“Some guy? What guy?” Moonbyul asked.

“If I knew which guy, unnie, I would have said his name.” Seeing that the athlete wasn’t in the mood for her snark, she continued, “But they were with Chorong-unnie and Changsub-oppa. I’m sure he’s one of their same-age friends. Don’t worry about it.”

She wasn’t exactly sure how she was supposed to not worry that Yongsun was talking to some guy that may or may not be one of her friends. If she was going to meet a friend, she would have said so.

“By the way, are you ready to go, unnie? Hyejin and I are tired.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Moonbyul answered distractedly. “I’m going to find unnie. We’ll meet you two by the exit.”

Byulyi walked to the couch where her team was to say her goodbyes.

“You’re leaving already?” Heeyeon whined.

“Yeah.”

“With Yongsun-unnie?” She waggled her eyebrows. Heeyeon was drunk.

“And Wheein and Hyejin,” her roommate responded disinterestedly.

“Boo. You’re no fun. Leave the kitchen light on for me, okay?”

“Got it.” She bid her farewells to her other teammates before standing near the balustrade to scan the general area for Yongsun. A few minutes later, she spotted her by one of the bars on the side of the club. Leaving VIP, she skillfully navigated through the crowd, avoiding conversations with random people looking to get her attention, and walking with purpose towards her unnie.

*

Hyejin was not wrong. Changsub and Chorong were part of the little group she found Yongsun in. As she approached, she saw the graduate student laughing genuinely at something some guy was saying to her. He was handsome, well-groomed. The scene fanned her ire. Moonbyul approached Yongsun from behind.

“Are you ready to go?”

Yongsun clutched her chest, completely taken by surprise at Moonbyul’s sudden presence in her ear. “Already,” she asked, heartrate gradually slowing down.

“Yeah.” The conversation was short. To the point. She wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries, opting to skip acknowledgement of any of the others around them, including the guy whose conversation with Yongsun she had interrupted.

She saw Yongsun look back and forth between her and the guy, who stood there with confusion etched on his face.

“Are you ready or not?” She spoke with a clipped tone.

“Uh . . . yeah. Jinyoung, this is Moon Byulyi. Byulyi, this is Jung Jinyoung.”

Moonbyul quickly appraised him before giving a slight nod of acknowledgement. “Cool. Can we go?” She knew she was being rude, but she was more than annoyed with Yongsun at the moment. The aforementioned seemed to be equally annoyed with her because she rolled her eyes, turning away as she did so.

“Whatever. Let me say bye to Chorong, Changsub, and Hodong, then we can go,” she commanded, already walking in the direction of the others, who were standing not too far away.

Her patience wearing thin, Moonbyul sighed loudly and dramatically. “Can you make it quick, please? Wheein and Hyejin are waiting on us.”

She hated fighting with Yongsun, she really did, so despite feeling in the right, she waited patiently for the brunette to return before reaching to carry her unnie’s purse for her. Once again, she let Yongsun walk in front of her, quickly placing her right hand at the small of the graduate student’s back, rubbing her thumb back and forth. Such an intimate gesture was new territory for the two, but Moonbyul wanted to let the older woman know she wasn’t completely upset with her. This was an olive branch of sorts.

Taking precaution against any roaming hands on Yongsun’s , Byul moved her right hand from her friend’s lower back to her right hip and grabbed the left hip with her left hand, forming a protective barrier between Yongsun and any of the hormone-filled and -fueled partygoers.

They made their way to the exit, where they reconnected with Hyejin and Wheein. All four retrieved their outerwear from the coat check before heading outside to hail a cab. As the youngest two prattled on and on about various things that had happened that night, their unnies remained uncharacteristically quiet, but they were both thinking the same thing: they needed to have a serious conversation about tonight.

Note: Lmao! This chapter is long as hell. Apologies for taking so long with this update. I tried hard to get another chapter out last week, but between real-life responsibilities and a little bit of writer’s block, I couldn’t get it done. I’m still on time for this week’s update though! Not feeling super confident about this one, but it got the job done. Everything that needed to happen, happened, so I won’t stress over it too much.

Thank you to every single one of you. Whether you’ve subscribed to this story or are just casually passing by and reading this: THANK YOU. Reading all of your comments, I was touched. Seriously, the comments are so thoughtful and encouraging, they urge me to write more and push me to TRY to deliver quality content.  Truly hoping you all are still enjoying this story. See you next chapter!