Chapter Five.

It was the best opportunity that had ever been presented to Yujin thus far, so she took it.

“Sunbae!” Yujin called out before the older girl left the room to follow the others along to go home.

There was a pause and a hum of acknowledgment as the latter turned around, “Yes?”

Yujin had never had a conversation one-on-one with Chaewon before, and now that it was happening she found it to be more difficult than anticipated. Why did she even have the urge to talk to the older girl anyway? She should’ve at least planned something before calling the older girl out like this.

“I, uh…” when under pressure, Yujin was the type to dive straight in. She couldn’t quite handle the stress of making white lies unless she had planned a head of time – and this, was not planned at all. “What event are you guys going to participate in?” Yujin asked. They had just wrapped up a meeting for the upcoming sports’ carnival, so it made sense.  

The question was harmless and innocent – a little too much for Chaewon’s liking. So, she stood there watching Yujin fidget and noticed how the younger would avoid eye contact. “You’re participating in basketball?” Chaewon simply asked back.

“Uh, I guess…”

Chaewon closed the door for privacy – she deemed it necessary judging by how nervous Yujin seemed. She walked towards the taller girl so that she could lower her voice and still be heard, “You guess?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re the captain.”

Yujin shrugged, “We could choose not to still.”

“People are looking forward to you playing,” Chaewon reasoned, “You should.”

“Will you?” Yujin shot up and mustered the courage to look Chaewon in the eye for the first time today. It would never usually be an issue for Yujin, but Wonyoung had told her before that Chaewon wasn’t quite like everyone else – it takes longer to “get” her.

Chaewon hummed, contemplating.

“I don’t want to compete with you,” and maybe that was the most honest confession Yujin had ever made in her life.

“I wasn’t planning to,” Chaewon replied simply.

“But you are,” Yujin was about to lose her cool. Just thinking about it all, made her head spin. Why couldn’t it go back to the old times, before Chaewon ever made it into the picture. Why did she have to wait? Wonyoung was right. There was no such thing as ‘good timing’.

“I think,” Chaewon began, “We’re talking about different things now.”

Yujin managed to crack into a smile, “Will you guys participate in the relay like always then?”

“It doesn’t really matter what I participate in,” Chaewon took another step closer, “You know that. Don’t you?”

Yujin hated that Chaewon was right. She hated that it always felt like she was at a disadvantage. And, maybe the threat was becoming more and more imminent so, in turn, she was becoming more and more desperate.

“It’d help…” Yujin whispered weakly, “If you did relay.”

Chaewon smiled, as they both heard the door knob turn. She took one last stride towards Yujin, and reached her hands out to fix the younger girl’s tie (only the two of them knew that there was nothing to fix).

“Unnie,” a familiar voice called, “Why are you taking so long? Yena unnie is waiting.”

Yujin looked pass Chaewon and saw Minjoo by the door. She flashed a smile, as Chaewon tightened the knot of her tie.

“Oh, Yujin?” Minjoo walked in, “Wonyoung is waiting for you too.”

Yujin was good at admitting things; she would never shy away from it, especially not to herself. And right now, she had to admit that it hurt knowing that the first person on Minjoo’s mind entering this room was Chaewon. It hurt that the hint of worry that was evident in Minjoo’s voice when calling out to Chaewon, subsided ever so slightly when she greeted her. No one else would’ve noticed, but Yujin always did. Minjoo’s little habits and tones, she recognised all of it and it was obvious in that moment that Yujin was second. It was easy to see, and it was also easy for Yujin to admit that she hated it.

Chaewon gave Yujin a firm pat on the shoulder, “Be careful. Our schools are strict about uniform.”

Yujin nodded, “Sorry…”

The older girl simply nodded before turning around and making her way towards the door where Minjoo stood, “Sorry. I was just fixing Yujin’s tie.”

Minjoo nodded slowly, sensing some tension in the room but she let it go – people tended to react that way around Chaewon, Yujin was probably no different. “They’re all waiting downstairs,” she informed.

“Let’s go then,” Chaewon held the door in Minjoo’s place, ushering the younger to exit first. She turned back to Yujin and signalled her to come along too, “Wonyoung is waiting.”

Yujin slowly made her way towa