YongSun stared down the line across the net, which had been her only real opponent this match. Her breath was steady in, out. The ball went up, her hand went down. Satisfied as always with the firm contact and beautiful movement on her serve, she allowed herself a small grin.

Music. She hummed, too, on her game for her own good. Today was going to be perfect. How disappointing is that going to feel? She found herself thinking, and she breezed through another service and yet another uncontested point.  Too easy of a game is as unsatisfying as calculus. YongSun snapped back out of her rhythm by the sweat beading on her brow into her eyes. Feeling the world around her for the first time in what felt like ages, her eyes flicked to the scoreboard. 9-1 already? Her eyes drifted to her team, Byul had stopped sweating entirely and was staring off into the stands as if she were looking for a place to sit down. Hyejin's eyes were curiously focussed on the ceiling, the boredom of nothing to do, giving her only screws to count instead of hits. Whee-in was the only one making any eye contact at all with those big, dumb, round puppy eyes YongSun always tried to hate. 

"Please give us something to do," the diminutive young woman pleaded silently to her captain.   

"Fine, heads up," YongSun cocked her head and relented in a whisper. 

Setting her opponents up with the easiest lob they'd seen all year was a little insulting to the girls on the other side of the net. Still, they didn't matter honestly, They never had a chance. She rolled her eyes. As the first actual volley of the game started, Hyejin waited for a beat, and a beat more…too long. Kids, I swear YongSun tutted to herself, she knew exactly what the youngest was doing. YongSun would've done the same a couple of years ago, of course. Finally, Hyejin's entire body came to life all at once. She dove with probably too much flourish to dig the ball just off the ground, straight towards Whee-in with more force than their opponents would manage all day. Accustomed to both the challenge and Hyejin's dramatics, Whee-in was in perfect position, ready to float the ball up watching and waiting as it delicately sat in place. Byul came down with such force and aggression, charging the net and doing nothing short of brutalizing the ball only for it to land with a thundering boom, near-unchallenged by the scrubs on the other end. YongSun enjoyed the display enough, her team would get to play with their food a bit today. The referee blew their whistle, signifying the final timeout either team would get for the remainder of the game. 

YongSun wiped the sweat on her brow with her shoulder and motioned for everyone to move closer. She leaned toward to Byul on her left to create a tighter circle in their huddle, regrouping her teammates.

"Byul, I need you to be more aggressive. Hyejin, you already missed an easy serve. Wheein-ah-"

"Unnie, look at the score. We only need another point, and there's no way they're going to catch up."

YongSun glanced at the scoreboard again. She'd made a habit of not obsessing over the score. She found it distracted her from being able to lead her team; she had enough distractions to deal with. It was hard to not look during games like this one.

"Right. My point still stands. You three can't get sloppy just because it's an easy win. It's an insult to your ability. We worked too hard to let sloppy mistakes slow us down." YongSun stood up straighter and placed her hand in the center. After a quick cheer, she patted Byul's back and reminded her to be more aggressive and moved to the back of the court. It was her serve, and she could quickly ace and end the game, but it didn't mean her team could lose focus for even a moment.

She bounced the ball a few times before readying herself, gazing across the opposing team to find the weak point. She adjusted to aim directly in her target's corner. With a slight flourish, she threw the ball upward, its narrow arc slowing as she focused on its descent. She leaped gracefully before swinging her arm with incredible power, making contact and with the ball and rocketing it across the net. As she landed, she called for Hyejin and Byul to be ready and lowered herself to prepare for a return. She heard the sound of a body hitting the court with a squeak followed by the trill of a whistle. They'd done it. The order of the day was never in question, only the timing. Mercifully, the final point was nailed down with a little too much force for a clean 22-1 sweep, and the girls took pride in their day's work. The shouts of their side of the bleachers rung out before their opponents had registered that they'd lost. The girls shouted and jumped to each other, hugging each other and hopping in a small circle together.

The weight of what was riding on this particular match fell off her shoulders instantly. The elation of yet another win for their small and relatively unknown school could be added to their record. A qualifying match, no less. As the high of the win settled to a buzz, they made their way to the net, offering congratulations and praise for their opponents. YongSun was competitive, but she wasn't a sore winner. She shook the opposing team's hands and smiled warmly, thanking them for an excellent match. She watched as Hyejin and Wheein each hugged a girl from under the net with a smile. She noticed Byul walk over to help the girl who'd missed the winning score off the floor.

"You played really well, don't let it eat at you. You're a great player and really tall, you blocked me a few times. I look forward to playing against you again." She said softly before hugging the other girl with a warm smile. YongSun rolled her eyes and scoffed when she caught the blush on the other girl's cheeks. There was no end to girls in the Byul Fanclub. Byul jogged over and draped a sweaty arm over YongSun's shoulders. She lowered her hand to give YongSun's bottom a few little pats. How anyone could be charmed by anyone so greasy, she never understood. Still, she hugged Byul closer and returned the gesture, in their small post-victory ritual.

"We did it, unnie, aren't you happy?" She said with a bright smile. Hyejin and Whee-in were doing their usual victory dance near their coach.

"Of course I am." she retorted playfully.

"Then why does your face look like someone kicked your dog?"

"It does not!" YongSun whined. Byul only chuckled before jogging ahead to join Hyejin and Whee-in. YongSun sighed and watched her members for a moment before smiling brightly and joining them, dancing in a silly way that contradicted her athleticism on the court just moments before. 

A well-dressed woman with a smile and glint in her large eyes approached from the bleachers, stopping to greet their coach before making her way to the shouting and laughing girls, smiling more brightly.

"Congratulations on your win, your matches are always so exciting to watch, I was on the edge of my seat." YongSun smiled and extended her hand.

"Thank you, we made sure to do our best so we won't disappoint our fans."

"Well, you certainly succeeded. I'm Park Bom, President of the Collegiate Volleyball Association. I wanted to be sure I didn't miss your qualifying match. I needed to see for myself before the seeds were announced."

"Park Bom-ssi, we haven't won. Yet.." Whee-in smirked, catching another smile from Park Bom.

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