“Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech!”

“Look at unnie getting shy!” Yongsun almost didn’t hear Wheein over the shouting crowd.

“Look at her face. He ears are turning red,” the older girl grinned affectionately.

“She’s going to be so awkward,” Hyejin conspiratorially whispered to them, excitement buzzing.

All National Team members and staff were granted two free days before they left on Friday. Unbeknownst to Moonbyul, her mother had taken the athlete’s time away from home to plan a going away party and invited Yongsun, Wheein, and Hyejin, among other family and friends. To help Park Kyungah out, the three offered to keep Byulyi occupied for the day so that the food could be prepared and guests could arrive. The story they gave the blonde was simple: they were traveling to Bucheon to spend the day with her. While they’d take the train there, they insisted that Byul would have to pick them up from the train station and show them around her hometown. Yongsun was surprised by how easy it was to get Byulyi to agree. She put up no fight. “Can’t wait,” she had said, “I’ve missed you three. There’s a lot to do here, so we’ll have fun.” Cute.

After the sightseeing and eating, Yongsun took note of the time before suggesting Moonbyul take them to her home so they could greet her mother, father, and sisters. Once she crossed the threshold, the soon-to-be-senior was bombarded with hoots and hollers from the mass of people congregated in her parents’ home. That’s how Yonsgun, Wheein, and Hyejin ended up in the corner of the Moons’ living room, giggling amongst themselves as they watched Byulyi struggle to find words for the speech that her family and friends were demanding.

“Byul-ah, say something to everyone that came here for you,” the athlete’s mother gently urged.

“Um . . . wow,” Moonbyul chuckled bashfully. “I didn’t expect this at all. Thank you everyone for coming to see me off. Each of you has supported me in some way, shape, or form, so this is as much an accomplishment for all of you as it is for me. Hoping our team can make you all proud.” The affectionate smiles at the athlete’s words evolved into entertained laughs as Byul scurried off to Yongsun in seek of refuge. It came as a surprise to the older girl, too, who was whisked away from Hyejin and Wheein, up a flight of stairs, and into a bedroom at the far end of the floor.

Yongsun took a few moments to do a quick scan of the room as Moonbyul promptly shut the door before faceplanting onto the bed at the center of the room. Trophies. Tons of trophies and medals adorned the desk and walls of the room; other than that, everything was simple and neat. The bed was made—up until the Byulyi ruined it—clothes were put away, and the periwinkle walls contributed to the space feeling a few degrees cooler than it actually was.

“Why are we up here?”

“Because I needed to get out of there. It was so embarrassing.”

“That still doesn’t explain why I’m up here.”

“You were the first one I saw, so I took you with me. You knew, didn’t you?” Byul asked. With her head still face down, the question came out muffled, but Yongsun got the gist of it.

“Obviously,” she walked over and sat precariously at the bed’s edge.

Turning to lay on her left side, Moonbyul looked up at Yongsun through her lashes as she pouted, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would we tell you? Your mom wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Now you’re scheming with my mom, huh?”

“Oh please. You’re a drama queen.”

“I’m not. She really likes you.”

“Happy to hear it. I like her, too. She’s very sweet.” It was true. Yongsun didn’t know why Park Kyungah was so kind towards her, but she decided to accept the affection and not stare a gift horse in the mouth.

“I don’t like it.”

“Now you see how I feel when my mom fawns over you. Good!”

“Whatever. Don’t sit at the edge of the bed like that. You’ll fall.” The switch in tone was surprising. Byul went from playful to commanding at the drop of a dime.

“I’m not going to fall,” Yongsun said defiantly.

“You are. Come here,” Moonbyul lightly tugged at her t-shirt.

“No.”

“Yongsun, come here,” she tried again, voice softer, but also . . . huskier? Yongsun wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

“Why do you sound like that?”

Moonbyul cleared before speaking. “Like what?”

“No, no, no,” Yongsun climbed further onto the bed to best friend, “don’t change your voice now. It was deeper before.”

“It’s because I’m tired!”

“So why is your face turning pink?” Yongsun was amused. The shoe was usually on the other foot so she refused to let this opportunity to tease and poke fun at Moonbyul pass.

“I’m tired!”

“Uh uh,” she got in Byul’s face, “since when does your face get pink from being tired? Huh?”

As Yongsun playfully poked the other girl all over, teasing her as she did so, Moonbyul simply laid on her back with a guilty smile. Something was definitely up.

“Tell me why.”

“It’s because you’re pretty.”

“I can’t stand you! You always have to make a joke.”

“Who said I’m joking? You’re pretty.”

“You always start talking about how pretty I am when you’re hiding something.”

“Or, I always start talking about how pretty you are because you’re always so pretty. That’s a possibility.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Yongsun rolled her eyes. “Anyway, we should go back downstairs now.”

“No. Let’s lay down here,” Byul whined as she wrapped an arm around Yongsun’s waist and pulled the older girl onto her.

“Byul-ah, stop. We can’t stay up here,” the graduate student slapped at the forearms that held her in place.

Truthfully, Yongsun was fine with staying up there with Byulyi. Time with the athlete was always enjoyable—more than enjoyable, actually—but there was a room full of people downstairs looking forward to wishing Byul well before her travels a couple days later. They had to go.

“No one will even notice we’re gone.”

“I can’t deal with you anymore. You stay, I’m leaving.”

A loud shriek escaped her lips as Moonbyul held onto her tighter, preventing her from standing up. Because it was Byul, though, Yongsun simply laughed as she continuously tried and failed to escape. Their struggle was cut short as a knock on the door echoed through the room. Moments later, Yesol warily entered.

“Sorry to interrupt, unnie, but omma has been looking for you.”

“Ah, okay. Thanks, Yesol. Tell her I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Yongsun watched as the youngest Moon gave a quick nod before scurrying off.

“I told you we needed to get back downstairs.”

“It’s your fault. You summoned her,” Byulyi said as she disentangled herself from Yongsun. She stood up and adjusted her clothes before reaching a hand out for Yongsun to take. “Come on, let’s go.”

Hand holding. For whatever reason, Yongsun never thought twice about it with Moonbyul. This time was no different. As soon as the hand was extended to her, the graduate student grabbed a hold of it, the only thing in her mind being curiosity over whether she’d ever find someone with whom things were as easygoing as they were with Moon Byulyi.

*

From: Byul-ah

Calling in 10 minutes. 2:47 pm

The Korean Women’s National Team traveled to Japan two days after the send‑off Byul’s mother organized, exactly one week before the Olympic Opening Ceremony. The coaching staff wanted to use the time to settle in and get a couple scrimmages against local teams under their belt. After the first scrimmage, Yongsun received a sudden text from Moonbyul announcing that she’d be calling her in a few minutes. The call consisted mostly of the athlete talking through what transpired during the game. Yongsun simply listened, understanding that this was her friend’s method of processing everything. Since then, after each of their games, Byul would text her when she was to expect a call.

Accustomed to the routine by now, Yongsun found a comfortable, quiet space in her parents’ living room, turning on some music to pass the time. As promised, 10 minutes later, one of her favorite songs was interrupted by an incoming video call from Byulyi.

“Hi, ugly.”

“That’s how you’re greeting me after the game we had today? Please, go easy on me. I need support, not ridicule,” the blonde said semi-seriously as she got comfortable in an armchair unfamiliar to Yongsun.

“Where are you? The background looks different.” From what she could see, there were people buzzing around.

“The lobby of our dorm. Minyoung is in our room with someone,” Moonbyul said matter-of-factly.

“Huh?! Already? You all have only been there for a week. How is she already hooking up with someone?”

“Things work quickly here. I thought all the talk about Olympians messing around was exaggerated, but let me tell you, it is not.”

“Oh yeah?” Yongsun grew curious. “Who are you pairing up with?” It was cute how flustered Byul got at that question.

“Come on, stop. No one. I’m not with anyone.”

“Why not? It’s a once in a lifetime experience. I think you should give it a chance. When else are you going to be surrounded by hot, fit, world-class athletes? Have people approached you?”

The younger girl grew red, but despite her embarrassment, she answered honestly, “Yeah. A couple.”

“Really?! Which sports?” Yongsun found this entertaining.

“Rhythmic Gymnastics and Archery. One was Korean, actually.”

“You should’ve hooked up with the gymnast. I’d imagine the flexibility would make for a fun time.”

“Sure. If she comes back, I’ll hook up with her and record it for you. How about that?”

“Hot.”

“You sound like Hyejin,” Byulyi whined. “Please, never do that again.”

“What? Never say ‘hot’ again,” she drawled, trying to impersonate Hyejin’s signature husky tone.

“Oh my goodness, stop! You’re saying it exactly like her.”

It filled Yongsun with glee that she could make Moonbyul laugh as hard as she was laughing right now. After the game the team had today, she needed it.

They got thrashed by Australia. And yes, it was the Olympics. They wouldn’t be able to avoid strong teams as every team was strong in their own way, but being handed Australia as an opening match was brutal. Yongsun couldn’t imagine there being much good to take away from the experience, so her goal for this call was to distract Moonbyul with as much nonsense as she could. The athlete seemed to be a masochist though, because after catching her breath from laughing, she steered the conversation to her team’s game.

“Speaking of jokes, today’s game.”

“Yeah …”

“They handed our asses to us. Whoa,” she said suddenly “, just remembered I said the same thing to you when we played them during qualifiers. Didn’t think it could’ve gotten worse than that, but it got worse,” Byul laughed bitterly. “They had their top stars this time around.”

Yongsun hated moments like this. She always tried her best to support people, but there wasn’t much to say about today’s result. The game was as bad as Moonbyul made it seem.

“What did your coach say afterwards?”

“To forget this ever happened.” Both women laughed heartily at that.

“Yeah, that would probably be for the best.”

“I think we can compete against most of the other teams in our group. If we fonish Top 4 in our pool, we’ll go through to the knockout round. It’s doable.”

“What is the team’s goal? Like, what overall result would you all achieve and say, ‘yeah, the Olympics was successful for us’?”

“That’s a good question. Hmm … I guess the knockout stages. If we make it there and lose right away, I think that’ll be considered a success.”

“It’s so weird hearing you say that losing would be considered a success.”

“I know, right? This is a completely different beast, Yong. These teams are massive. And the game is so much faster. I only played around 15 minutes today, but wow, it’s an adjustment for sure. I get why coach hasn’t played us as much.”

“What did you just say?” Yongsun asked surprised.

“Oh my gosh, shut up,” Byulyi rolled her eyes.

“The same person who called her coach, and I quote, ‘an out-of-touch lame with favorites,’ for not starting her in all the scrimmages is suddenly changing her tune?”

It was all Yongsun heard during their calls after the two scrimmages the National Team had. How Byul “should get more playing time” and how “the coach isn’t using the younger players properly”.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was wrong. Whatever. It seems like he’s trying to ease the three of us into the international game. I should’ve trusted his plan for us.”

“Admit that you have a lot to learn and improve on still.”

“I basically just said that already.”

“I don’t want ‘basically just said,’ I want you to explicitly say it. You dragged that man’s name to hell and back.”

“Are you dating him or something? Why are you so protective over him? I’m your friend. You should be defending me.”

“Yes. I’m your friend, that’s why I’m being honest with you. If you want people that always tell you you’re right, that’s what your groupies are for. Go call one of them.”

Yongsun loved Moonbyul. The athlete was hands down one of her favorite people ever, but she also got a little full of herself sometimes. It wasn’t often, but when those moments did come about, the graduate student took it upon herself to knock Byul down a few notches. Now was one of those moments.

“Whatever, Yong.”

“Admit that you have a lot to learn and improve on still, and that you don’t know everything.”

Exasperatedly, Byul recited, “I still have a lot to learn and improve on. I don’t know everything.”

“Was that so hard,” she chirpily asked.

“You like kicking me when I’m down.”

“No. I don’t. You were acting childish about the whole playing time thing. No one was out to get you. In fact, they were trying to protect you, but you got a big head and started acting like those big shot athletes you claim you don’t want to be like. I get it, it’s the Olympics, you want to play. But also, it’s the Olympics. You’re going against elite athletes. Maybe take the opportunity to learn and become a better player.”

She didn’t answer right away, but after processing Yongsun’s words, Moonbyul seemed sincere when she did respond.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just don’t be an moving forward. Actually, that may be too difficult for you at times. From now on, take a moment to consider not being an . You’ll probably still end up being one.”

Yongsun laughed at her own joke, expecting Byulyi to join in. The intense stare she got in return was not what the older girl expected.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” It was making her uncomfortable.

“Nothing,” Moonbyul smiled softly. “I’m just lucky to have you.”

“Why are you being so soft?” Yongsun whined.

“I can’t show appreciation for my friend?”

“And why are you calling me your friend like that? Stop being weird, Byul-ah. Seriously.”

“How am I being weird?” She asked quizzically. “You’re my friend, so I called you my friend. What’s so wrong with that?”

“It’s the way you said it. You said it in a weird way.”

“Now you’re the one being weird.”

“I’m not,” Yongsun defended herself. There was something weird about how Byul said it. She’d bet her life on it. It was weird.

“Is that my Byulyi?!”

“Omma, seriousl–“

“Hi, Auntie!”

“Hi, Byulyi,” Yongsun’s mom beamed into the camera from over her daughter’s shoulder. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. Trying to feel better after that big loss today, but Yongsun is only making things worse.”

“Yongsun,” Lee Soyoung slapped her youngest on the shoulder, “I told you to not stress her out! She has a lot on her plate already. Byul-ah, I apologize for my daughter being difficult.”

“It’s okay, Auntie. It’s not your fault she’s like that.”

Moonbyul was enjoying this a little too much for Yongsun’s taste. The way her mother coddled the athlete was disgusting. There were elements of Soyoung hamming it up just to bother Yongsun, but the graduate student knew that her mom meant a lot of what she said to and about Byulyi most of the time.

“Thank you for that, Byul-ah. How are you feeling after today’s game?”

Members of the Kim family usually watched Olympic events here and there, but this time around, it was a family event. Yongsun’s parents—mostly her mom—made her create a calendar of Women’s Basketball games so that they could all plan around watching Moonbyul play. As preposterous as she thought the idea to be at first, sitting around the television talking and laughing with her parents and Yonghee was healing for her. The South Korean loss today was disappointing, but quality time with the whole family was rare, so she was grateful. In a way, she had Byul to thank for that.

“Oh!” The athlete’s face contorted in surprise, “you watched the game, Auntie?”

“Of course I did. The whole family did. What did you call it, Yongsun? Watch party? We had a watch party. We’re going to do it for all of your games, so always remember you have us cheering for you!”

Her mother said it with so much enthusiasm and love, Yongsun wasn’t sure how Byul would respond. Eyes trained curiously on the screen, Yongsun read her friend’s expression—she was pensive. Realizing that her mom’s words seemed to have resonated deeply with the younger girl, Yongsun stepped in.

“Okay, omma, she has to get off the phone soon, stop talking her ear off,” she tried to joke.

“Ah, okay. Bye, Byul-ah! Make sure to eat your meals and get some sleep.”

“I’ll try, Auntie. Thank you for always supporting me,” she said solemnly. “I’ll make sure we win the next game for you.”

“Aigo, you are so charming! Such a sweet girl.” Yongsun was fairly certain she saw her mother blush.

“Okay, bye, mom!”

“You see how she treats her mother, Byulyi? Can you believe it?”

“I’ll teach her some manners, Auntie.”

Soyoung finally left and Yongsun couldn’t be more disturbed with Moonbyul’s last words.

“Can you not flirt with my mother, please?”

“Are you jealous?”

The older girl became a stammering, stuttering mess at that question. “Jea–, jealous?! You’re sick.”

“It’s okay if you are. Understandable, even.” Byul’s moment of sincerity was over. The cocky, smooth talker had returned.

“Please. You’d flirt with a plastic bag. Your sweet talk isn’t special.”

“Don’t say that,” Moonbyul said, voice low in tone, yet soft on the ears. It drew Yongsun in. “It’s special whenever I say things to you. My words to you are always sincere.”

It wasn’t only what was being said that affected her, it was also the intensity of Byul’s gaze and the depth of her voice that left Yongsun flustered and at a loss for words. Trying and failing to formulate a response, she sat there dumbly until a piercing laugh cut through the tension.

“You should’ve seen your face!” Moonbyul guffawed. “I wish I took a picture. You were so stunned.”

“Shut up,” Yongsun said with cheeks pink from embarrassment.

This was apparently the funniest thing Byulyi had experiences all day, because the athlete continued laughing uncontrollably as Yongsun sat there with her frustration mounting.

In time, the two ended their call, but a hint of bitterness remained. The graduate student took the rest of the day reflecting on why it was Byul’s joke bothered her as much as it did. Try as she might, Yongsun couldn’t figure out if it was because the athlete was, once again, having fun at her expense, or because part of her hoped the younger girl was being truthful in saying what she said.

*

Today was one of the first decisions about her romantic life that Yongsun was making on her own. No help from anyone else. She couldn’t talk to Chorong about it. Eric would probably tell her not to go through with it. Didn’t want to stress Wheein and Hyejin out with it. And Byul would most likely be too wrapped up in rejoicing over the news to offer any useful advice.

She was breaking up with Jinyoung. She had to.

If asked, Yongsun would happily admit that she knew nothing about relationships. It was possible, then, that she was being naïve and falling prey to the inaccurate portrayals of “ideal relationships” found in fairytales and romantic comedies when it came to what she was looking for in a partner: someone she could be herself with, someone that made every moment fun—even if doing nothing special, someone that understood and was patient with her, someone open to new experiences, someone that didn’t take themselves too seriously, someone that never stopped offering their help and support because they knew that she needed it even though she was allergic to asking for either.

Again, it was possible that this checklist of hers was unreasonable and unrealistic, but it’s what she currently believed she wanted and needed. After five months of dating officially, Yongsun had no idea if her relationship with Jinyoung offered most of what it was she thought she was looking for because things had barely improved since she shared some of her frustrations with Chorong some months ago. They barely saw each other and, at this point, were together in name only. She found him attractive and kind, but attractive and kind did not a sustainable relationship make.

Taking a deep breath, Yongsun steadied herself for Jinyoung’s arrival—he’d texted her that he was entering the café soon. None of her thoughts were written down or memorized. She was certain this was going to be disastrous.

The bell above the café door chimed for the umpteenth time and Jinyoung walked in. He looked good, he always did, and Yongsun’s heart broke the tiniest bit when he looked around, spotted her, then sported the warmest smile. She felt ty.

“Hey, babe,” Jinyoung leaned down to kiss her chastely. He’d taken recently to calling her that pet name.

“Hi. How are you,” she asked as he settled into the seat across from her.

“I’m better now that I’m here with you. How are you?” If the ground could swallow her up right now, that would be perfect.

“I’m fine. Honestly, a little nervous.”

“That doesn’t sound great.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled.

“Before we get into what it is you wanted to discuss, I’m going to order. What would you like?”

“I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

She needed to get it together. Quickly.

Breaking up was the right thing to do. Their schedules were not syncing up and, beyond not seeing each other, Yongsun felt that she and Jinyoung were better suited as friends. He was kind and caring and considerate, but there was no spark—their relationship had plateaued. Despite all of this being objectively true, her heart dropped into her stomach at the thought of ending things. Maybe she needed to mind her business from now on and avoid entering relationships altogether. This was too stressful.

“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Jinyoung asked as he found his seat with an iced coffee in hand. It was now or never. There was no point in dragging this out.

“Us,” Yongsun answered truthfully. She couldn’t see Jinyoung’s expression because her gaze was set on the table, but his voice seemed to convey surprise at her response.

“What about us?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Wanted to hear your thoughts, I guess.”

“Uh . . . my thoughts are I like you and, yeah, I wish we saw each other more, but there isn’t much we can do about that. We’re trying our best. I mean . . . what are your thoughts?”

She knew her face was turning red; she could feel it. Her heart started beating faster and felt like it was closing up.

“I don’t know,” she replied noncommittally.

Jinyoung put his drink down and examined her for a bit before speaking. “I’ll go get you some water.”

He knew. Yongsun knew that he knew what she wanted to say. And he was still thoughtful enough to get her water and make sure she was okay. She didn’t exactly expect him to tell her to choke, but she didn’t expect this level of kindness still.

“Here you go,” Jinyoung placed a full glass of water in front of her. Yongsun stared at it for a few moments before taking a small sip.

A few more moments of silence passed between the two before Jinyoung leaned forward and took both of her hands in his atop the table.

“I would hope that you’d feel comfortable enough with me to be honest, Yongsun. I may not like what you have to say, but I’m not going to think any less of you for it.”

At that, she looked up and held his gaze. The gentle squeeze of her hands and the small nod that he gave provided her with the confidence she needed to say what she needed.

“I think we should break up,” she squeaked out.

More silence. An uncomfortable one this time.

“Can we talk through this, or is the decision already made?”

“I just don’t think it’s working.”

“Is there something I could be doing better? I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but if it’s something I’m doing wrong, I’d fix it. I really would.” Yongsun heard the slight desperation in his voice. He didn’t want them to be over. This was the worst.

“You’ve been perfect, you really have, Jinyoung. I can’t thank you enough for your patience with me at every step of the way. Even before we started seeing each other, you were patient when you didn’t have to be. It’s just that . . . we don’t see each other and that’s not something we can easily fix. I also don’t think it’s something we should want to fix. You’re working hard to make a name for yourself as a composer and an actor and scaling back right now shouldn’t be something on your mind. I wouldn’t want you to feel that you’d have to choose between me and your career, but that’s where it feels like things would go if we stay together.”

“It wouldn’t have to be like that.”

“It would. It’s already challenging finding time to see each other and the time we already have isn’t enough for me. Maybe it’s me being selfish, but I want to be around my partner as often as I can without feeling like a burden. If we spent more time together, I’d feel like I was keeping you from your work and that wouldn’t be ideal either. But it’s not all on you. I’m getting busier, too. It’s just hard all around.”

“You’ve thought this all out, haven’t you,” he tried to joke. Bless his heart.

“I care about you and want the best for you. This relationship doesn’t feel like it’s the best for you or for me. Not right now, at least.”

“Well. This isn’t fun,” Jinyoung sighed heavily.

“I’m really sorry.”

“I know. I feel like a ty boyfrie– uh, ex-boyfriend, knowing that you’ve probably been stressing over this on your own for who knows how long.”

“It couldn’t be helped. You know I stress over everything on my own for who knows how long. I’m hard-headed.”

“Didn’t want to be the one to say it,” he teased.

“Is it selfish of me to ask that we stay friends?”

“It is, yeah.”

Yongsun sat speechless. It was a fair response from him. Not ideal, but fair.

“Your face,” he laughed out loud. “I’d love to stay friends. If you hadn’t brought it up, I would have.”

“Oh my goodness! My heart stopped. Don’t play like that,” she smacked one of his hands resting on the table.

“Go easy on me. I just got broken up with.”

“What a . Who would break up with you?”

“No, she was great.” His small smile urged Yongsun to head to his side of the table and hug him. Hopefully, she thought, all her gratitude and appreciation could be felt.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jinyoung patted her on the back. “I’ll drop you home and we can discuss who gets which friends in the divorce.”

She wasn’t sure what she did to deserve being treated this well, but she was sure that never again did she want to go through something as tense and stressful as a breakup. She’d imagine that finding the person she’d marry one day would require her to go through several more relationships, all of which would come with breakups and varying degrees of heartbreak. Being single forever was looking more and more like the way to go.

*

Wheein changed the name of the group chat from “Faves 😍” to “Byulyi & Her Fan Club”

Hyejinie

You know Byul-unnie’s going to see this, right? 3:01 pm

Wheeinie

I can’t wait for her reaction. 3:02 pm

Yongsun

I didn’t sign up for any fan club 🤔 3:04 pm

Hyejinie

You’re the president of the fan club, unnie. 3:04 pm

Yongsun

Since when?! 3:05 pm

Wheeinie

Since you’re always the one making sure we’re

watching her Olympic games. 3:05 pm

Yongsun

It’s not her Olympic games, it’s your nation’s Olympic games. 3:06 pm

Hyejinie

Unnie, here is the message from two days ago that you sent to me and Wheein separately. Word for word:

“Are you watching Byul’s game? You better be watching and cheering for her!”

Yongsun

Thank you, Sherlock Holmes. 3:10 pm

Wheeinie

It’s okay, unnie. Nothing to be ashamed of. 3:11 pm

Hyejinie

Byul-unnie’s on fire today! She just hit another shot.

What got into her? 3:13 pm

You all, she’s trending on Twitter!

This is unreal. 3:16 pm

 Yongsun

😳

What does it say? 3:17 pm

Hyejinie

Well, not her name, but “blonde Korean” 😂

It’s mostly everyone asking who the “blonde Korean” is. 3:20 pm

Wheeinie

Still cool! I’ll take a screenshot. 3:21 pm

Yongsun

I’m going to check, too. 3:21 pm

Ew. It’s mostly people thirsting over her.

They’re not even talking about her athletic ability 🙄 3:27 pm

Hyejinie

Let people have nice things, unnie. 3:28 pm

Wheeinie

Good thing I got that picture.

She’s not trending anymore 😢 3:31 pm

Yongsun

All good things must come to an end. 3:32 pm

Hyejinie

You’re just happy that people aren’t “thirsting”

over her as much anymore. 3:33 pm

Yongsun

😇 3:33 pm

*

Yongsun, Wheein, and Hyejin exchanged more messages throughout the game. It was, without question, Byul’s best game thus far. After losing handily in their first game against Australia, the Korean Women’s National Team bounced back with an impressive victory against Puerto Rico. They were now in the midst of a competitive game against Canada, holding on to a slim lead over the North American team. The standout, though, was Moonbyul.

As Hyejin asked earlier, Yongsun wasn’t sure what had led to such an impressive performance, but she was proud of her best friend for showcasing her abilities on such a grand stage. With the comments she read on Twitter etched in her mind, though, Yongsun was unable to fully focus on the rest of the game. The comments left a bad taste in —they mostly consisted of people objectifying Byul. She was much more than that.

Yongsun’s parents and sister spoke amongst themselves as the graduate student focused solely on the television screen until the game ended. Once it did, her cell phone buzzed next to her, flashing a notification for a text message from Hyejin:

Hyejinie to “Byulyi & Her Fan Club”

Byul-unnie’s Instagram is even funnier! 3:45 pm

Mistake number one was believing that there would be anything even remotely humorous on Moonbyul’s page. All Yongsun found were more thirst comments underneath the athlete’s photos. There weren’t that many, but there were enough to annoy her. These people had no shame it seemed, perfectly comfortable asking invasive questions out in the open like they did.

Are you single?

Do you like girls?

Your eyes shine like the stars at night.

Please me.

It was gross.

Yongsun to “Byulyi & Her Fan Club”

Hyejin, please. It’s disgusting. 3:58 pm

Wheeinie

What’s wrong with you, unnie?

It’s funny! Lighten up. 4:00 pm

Try as she might, Yongsun couldn’t find the humor in any of these comments. They weren’t drastically different from the usual comments SNU students left, but they annoyed her much more.

A few hours later, it hit her.

In fairness, it was a throwaway comment from Yonghee that made things click.

Dinner had just ended. Yongsun and Yonghee helped to clean the kitchen up before both headed to their bedrooms. Just as Yongsun turned to enter her room, Yonghee called her attention back to the hallway.

“Is Byulyi single?”

“Why are you asking? You going to date her?”

“If I was going to date her, I’d already be dating her. She’s hot. In a cute way. But yeah, a friend of a friend asked. They found out she’s friends with my sister—you—and asked a friend of mine to find out for them if she was available.”

“Wait, huh?”

“You’re smart, Yongsun. Act like it. Your friend’s hot. Someone I kind of know wants to try getting closer to her. Is she single or not?”

Yongsun didn’t need this right now. The day had been full of overzealous strangers clamoring after her best friend and she didn’t like it. Now her sister was interrogating her about Byul’s love life to help one of those overzealous strangers get closer to her best friend. No. She needed her bed, not this nonsense.

“Ew.”

“Okay,” Yonghee rolled her eyes and turned to head to her own room. “Don’t have the time for you being this difficult. I’ll just tell her she’s not single.”

Finally in the comfort of her own room, Yongsun played the conversation she had just had with Yonghee back in her head, three words standing out.

“Your friend’s hot.”

A few weeks ago, Yongsun would have heard those words and thought nothing of it. Moonbyul was hot. That was objectively true. The athlete was good looking and charming. Both things that contributed to her being “hot” and “attractive”.

It wasn’t a few weeks ago, though. It was now, and now, the idea of Byulyi being “hot” formed butterflies in her stomach and made her heart race faster, even if only slightly. The idea of Byulyi being “hot” made her protective of the younger girl. Yongsun didn’t necessarily want to keep that “hotness” to herself, but she also didn’t much like the idea of others having access to Byul either.

Yeah. Yongsun could always admit that Byul was attractive. That was never an issue. But there was a difference between acknowledging that the blonde was attractive and being attracted to her. The “-ed”. Those two letters made a world of difference, and it was possible that they were making a huge difference now, because Yongsun started to consider that she might be attracted Moonbyul. More accurately, Yongsun was attracted to Moonbyul and wasn’t exactly sure what to do with this revelation.

From: Byul-ah

So many interviews after today’s game!

Anyway, calling my favorite girl in 5 😊 7:15 pm

Not one break. Yongsun couldn’t catch not one damn break today.

Note: Funny story, I was writing this chapter and stopped to wonder, “Is this too soon? Feeling like Yongsun’s feelings developed too quickly and suddenly.” Then I remembered this is Chapter 22 lmao. Bless all your hearts for reading this for as long as you have been. It’s taken a while. Now the fun begins. Don’t quote me on that though. [ETA: It was just funny to me that I was writing about her feelings at all. The comments thus far have been hilarious because the next couple chapters are set/planned out and, well . . . you'll see. Will simply say: trust the process. Because this is a process.]

There was an uncharacteristic wave of subscribers after this past update. Did something happen? Was this story posted somewhere? It’s a reach, but that was one of the only reasons I could think of for so many people engaging with this story so suddenly. Regardless, if you’re new to this story, welcome. If you’re not new to this story, thank you for staying! Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, subscribing, and upvoting. The support is heartwarming.