"You like—!"

Ryujin snapped her hand up quickly to cover Hyunjin's mouth, muffling the one name that didn't need to be announced for the whole world to hear. "Shut. Up," she hissed, adding more pressure when Hyunjin attempted to speak again. 

They had been sitting by the benches taking their cleats and shinguards off after practice, the rest of their team already walking off the field, the two of them staying behind like they always did to wait for Heejin and Yeji. It'd become something of a tradition—if they could even call it that—to meet up with the other two so they could catch some dinner or some ice cream or even just head back home to relax. They'd all become some sort of ragtag type of team after Hyunjin finally had the guts to start dating Heejin. They practically became the Mystery Gang minus the Mystery Machine, a dog, mysteries to be solved, or any men—but it's the thought that counts. 

(Besides, they all claimed each of their characters; Ryujin had proudly claimed Fred, Hyunjin was more than happy to be Shaggy, Heejin had to be convinced to be Velma, and Yeji was all for being Daphne—their Scooby was Hyunjin's cat Butternut Squash. It all fit together like a puzzle.)

Except, one slip up from Ryujin and Hyunjin pounced as quick as a fox.

And with Hyunjin yelling so loud, Ryujin was worried someone would hear, especially if Heejin and Yeji were on their way. "It's not like that, you're taking things way out of proportion." Ryujin still spoke in a hushed whisper, acting as if anything louder would attract everyone's attention. "I said I like hanging out with her, not that I like-like her. You heard wrong, idiot."

It was technically the truth. Ryujin had said something along those lines but she was just trying to mediate the situation so that Hyunjin wouldn't make a bigger deal out of it. And, besides, she did like hanging out with Yeji. The girl was fun to be around and their little gang wouldn't be complete without her—or anyone for that matter. So she did not have any sort of feelings toward Yeji other than a mutual friendship. Nothing more, nothing less. 

However, when Ryujin felt something slick and wet slide across her palm, she was quick to recoil her hand away from Hyunjin's mouth—creating a noise of disgust as she wiped the saliva off on Hyunjin's practice jersey. 

"Dude! What the !"

"You like Yeji!" Hyunjin yelled out immediately, managing to dodge Ryujin's hand lunging for again. She laughed at Ryujin as she evaded her, continuing to taunt and tease, "You like her!" 

"Shut up! I don't!" Ryujin popped both her cleats off, Hyunjin already beginning to roll her black socks down to remove the shinguards. 

But Hyunjin just couldn't keep shut. "Ryujin and Yeji sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N—" Hyunjin released a terrorized scream when Ryujin lunged for her, completely barreling forward to try and trap Hyunjin beneath her, ultimately missing when she rolled away from her attack. 

The two of them were standing now, facing each other with enough space between them so that it'd stake some effort for Ryujin to try and close the gap. Hyunjin had her arm extended out, keeping the distance between them despite Ryujin wanting nothing more than wipe that aggravating, -eating grin off Hyunjin's face. 

Lifting her own hand, Ryujin pointed at Hyunjin and made herself clear, "I don't like Yeji like that."

That Cheshire grin only widened and Ryujin already knew what was coming. "First comes love!" Hyunjin shouted from the top of her lungs. But just as Ryujin broke out into a sprint, so did Hyunjin, deftly avoiding Ryujin as she continued to shout the rest of the kid's song, "Then comes marriage!" Hyunjin dashed away, laughing and continuing the song, "Then comes baby in the baby carriage!" 

Despite having just ended practice, the two sprinted around the soccer field as if they'd each just injected a gallon of Monster energy drink into their veins. Hyunjin zig-zagged her way around Ryujin, laughing and enjoying this way too much for Ryujin's own good. They ran all along the length of the soccer field, Ryujin chasing her and yelling out threats while Hyunjin just laughed or continued to taunt her. There were many times Ryujin was close to grabbing onto Hyunjin's jersey, but somehow she'd find this renewed burst of energy and increase the gap between them just enough so that all Ryujin grabbed at was air. It was frustrating, but she'd be damned if she let Hyunjin get away with it. 

Ryujin anticipated Hyunjin's next move, having learned from years and years of not only playing alongside her in soccer but also just being insane enough to stick with the knucklehead all throughout her childhood. It was a move Hyunjin always liked to pull during games—even when they would play tag as children back then. She'd do this mini sidestep toward one direction, positioning her body facing that direction in order to trick whoever she was up against, only to pull the rug right from under them as she'd spin her body one-hundred-eighty degrees around behind them. It was like she'd run them in circles; running around and behind her opponent to confuse them only to run free with a significant lead again. 

Hyunjin made up the move herself. Always worked like a charm, and if she had a ball to her feet, she'd always add a little flair to it to make it work. 

But Ryujin knew Hyunjin better than she knew herself. 

And she saw the move coming from a mile away. 

She saw the way Hyunjin was positioning her body and waited until Hyunjin spun her body around before she stuck her leg out, successfully tripping Hyunjin and sending her sprawling onto the grass. 

(In any soccer game, that would've been an automatic red card. But this wasn't any soccer game; this was war.)

Before Hyunjin could attempt to pick herself back up, Ryujin dove on top of her, laughing in triumph while Hyunjin laughed in glee and amusement. Both of them were out of breath, chests heaving, wearing sweat-soaked clothes but that didn't stop them from trying to surpass the other in a display of strength. They were competitive to no end. Not a day went by that they didn't challenge each other to something. It's what kept their friendship alive so often. 

Sometimes Ryujin would win, sometimes Hyunjin would win, sometimes they'd even end up in a draw. 

But not this time; Ryujin absolutely could not let Hyunjin win. 

She had the upper hand; she had Hyunjin down and everything. There was no way she was gonna lose. 

"You guys join the wrestling team now?"

Ryujin froze, instantly recognizing the voice behind her. 

(Maybe Ryujin felt her heart speed up but she immediately dismissed it for the fact she just ran around the entire soccer field chasing Hyunjin and then tackled her to the ground.)

However, in her brief moment of weakness, Hyunjin was able to duck forward and shove Ryujin off of her, pushing her hard enough that she landed with a thud on her back and all the air rushed out of her lungs. "Ha!" Hyunjin cheered, jumping up to her feet quickly only to stand over Ryujin in victory. "I win!" 

Scowling and glaring at her friend, Ryujin weakly wheezed out a, " you," before promptly flipping her off. Hyunjin only laughed but still offered her hand down for her to take, which she did, silently appreciating the help as she stood back up on her feet. 

Huffing out a breath—and instantly regretting it when she felt a dull pain in her chest—Ryujin began patting herself off and getting rid of any dirt or grass that clung to her body. 

"Be nice, Hyun." Hearing Heejin scold Hyunjin made Ryujin snicker but she didn't dare look up to expose her expression. 

"What— I helped her up!"

"You pushed her over!"

"She tackled me!" 

The couple continued to bicker, continually going back and forth as Ryujin felt content and amused to just sit by and listen as she picked at her clothes. 

But then a hand gently grabbed onto her elbow, and when she looked up, she saw Yeji with an equally amused expression as she tugged Ryujin away with one hand as she held her longboard with it tucked under her arm. "C'mon, let's leave Shaggy and Velma to work themselves out."

Ryujin turned back to look at Hyunjn and Heejin, looking to see if they noticed them discreetly sneaking away, but they were so caught up in their own world they didn't even notice their sudden absence. So she nodded and let herself be dragged away from Yeji, watching the small smile on her face grow into a grin. 

(And maybe Ryujin really enjoyed seeing her grin like that because it made her nose scrunch up and her eyes squint in a manner that sent Ryujin's mind into overdrive. But it wasn't that deep; she just liked Yeji's smile just as much as the next person.)

To really just sprinkle salt into the wound, Ryujin left her duffle bag with all her soccer gear by Hyunjin's bag, forcing her to take it back to their apartment so that she wouldn't have to lug it around while she hung out with Yeji. A little bit of payback for teasing her so much; Ryujin only thought it was fair. And she knew Hyunjin wouldn't just leave it behind—even if she wanted to, Heejin would be there to make sure she did. 

They began walking off the field, repeatedly turning around to see if either of them would at least notice them leaving but they were still stuck in their own little world, Ryujin wouldn't even be surprised if they could make it all the way back to the apartment complex without either of them knowing they had left. 

"They really don't know we're leaving, huh?" Yeji asked, shifting her hold on her longboard so that she was practically hugging it to her chest. 

Ryujin shook her head, leading Yeji through the soccer field toward the bleachers. "Yeah, they'll be like that for a while if we're lucky." If she was being honest with herself, Ryujin was looking forward to hanging out only with Yeji. She liked the other two just as much, mind you, but some one-on-one time with Yeji could be fun. 

Yeji laughed, causing an involuntary smile to form on Ryujin's face. But just as they were about to pass the bleachers and walk past the athletic building, their peace was disturbed with a loud, "Hey!" from the behind them. 

They were so close. 

Sighing, Ryujin turned around to see Hyunjin struggling to lug both duffle bags as she ran toward them, Heejin behind her walking at a leisurely pace with her longboard dragging behind her. "Man," Ryujin huffed under her breath. "I really thought they'd be out here all night." 

Yeji laughed again and Ryujin watched as she leaned against one of the beams supporting the bleachers. "Me too." 

Ryujin had a brief moment where all she could do was admire Yeji. She wasn't even doing anything special, but Ryujin couldn't take her eyes off her. Ryujin wasn't that much of an idiot; Yeji was gorgeous. Anyone could see that. So it only felt natural that her mind reacted accordingly when she saw someone attractive, the same went for Yeji. It was nothing more than a chemical reaction in her brain, all those neurons sending red, blaring signals whenever she saw a pretty girl. 

Yeah, that's all it was. 

"You s were about to leave us!" Ryujin snapped her head over to Hyunjin, her eyes widening when she saw her duffle bag being thrown right toward her head. She hastily ducked, feeling the air whisk by her harshly as her duffle flew over her head and landed with a dull thud behind her. 

"What the !" Ryujin whipped her head back around, glaring at Hyunjin who only returned the glare right back at her. "What is wrong with you!"

Strolling nonchalantly up to them, Heejin simply brought her hand up to flick Hyunjin's forehead, mumbling a quiet, "We just talked about this," as Hyunjin flinched and rubbed the sore spot. 

Glancing toward Yeji who hadn't moved from her spot next to the bleachers, Ryujin caught her muffling her laughter with a hand covering , her eyes disappearing behind her cheeks. 

(Whether she was laughing at Ryujin's dismay or Hyunjin's psychopathic tendencies, Ryujin couldn't help but think she'd love to be the reason why Yeji smiled. Even if it meant almost getting killed in the process.) 

 "C'mon," Hyunjin called out, and as Ryujin briefly turned toward her, she saw her extending her arms upward in a stretch and releasing a loud yawn. "Let's go home, I'm beat." 

Ryujin just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be snarky toward her friend, "Yeah, beating people up really tires you out." She walked toward her duffle, bending over to pick it up and slinging the strap over her shoulder with a huff. 

"Man, you're just pressed because I won earlier," she heard Hyunjin comment from behind her. And while it dug slightly under her skin, Yeji came up beside her and bumped her shoulder with her own, looking over at Ryujin with a soft smile while mouthing 'Ignore her'. 

And maybe Ryujin felt compelled enough to not get into it with Hyunjin because she was just as tired too. Yeah, that was it. 

Adjusting the strap on her shoulder, Ryujin mumbled, "Whatever, let's just get out of here." 

No one else seemed to object as they all followed Ryujin away from the soccer field and toward the town. The sun had already set, the waning moon not quite at its peak but slowly creeping its way up to the top. With it still being early in the spring and with the sun gone, it left brisk breezes that still chilled her to the bone and made her wish she had remembered to bring her jacket. But it wasn't too bad and she wouldn't be cold for long, the walk to their apartment complex was a rather short one. 

Only five minutes into the walk and suddenly an arm was thrown over her shoulders, nearly making her tumble over with her duffle and almost tipping her over. So when she turned to Hyunjin to give her a piece of her mind, she was shut up when she saw the suspicious grin on her face. 

Scowling and leading them over to the sidewalk, Ryujin tried shrugging her arm off but to no avail. "What?" she grumbled, irritated at the fact that Hyunjin acted like a parasite clinging to her body. 

But then Hyunjin stopped her in her tracks and dropped her arm from her shoulders, turning around to the other two who had been chatting behind them quietly. "Ladies," she announced theatrically, making Ryujin roll her eyes as she watched Hyunjin dramatically bow in front of them while also motioning toward their longboards. "If you could oh so kindly lend us your valiant steeds so that you could make this trip a li