School life had gone peachier ever since three students from Hanlim became exchange students at SOPA. Some wondered which three of their own students were exchanged, some became admirers of them, and the rest didn’t care.

Such was the case for Eunbi and Yujin. Eunbi didn’t eat her words as Chaewon and her friend Choi Yena, became part of their class. Their other friend, Kang Hyewon, was in Minju and Wonyoung’s class. Both pairs of friends shared the same sentiments in their class because the three Hanlim students became popular, with admirers giving gifts and taking pictures and with haters getting mad at them in silence.

In Class – A, Hyewon didn’t give a damn about her fans but when it comes to be given food, she would perk up and thank them for the gifts. It became a mental note for the fans to give food next time. It became a mental note to the haters about food poisoning. And in the case of Minju and Wonyoung, it became a mental note that Hyewon had a 4D personality.

“She eats a lot yet she doesn’t get fat.” Wonyoung whispered. “How to be her?”

“Eunbi and Yujin shared about their class. Choi Yena was an annoying duck while Chaewon was the normal one.” Minju whispered back.

“At least they’re not in this class.” Wonyoung mumbled then harrumphed.

Just then, a pack of snacks was tossed to them. The duo perked up and Hyewon was already at a seat in front of them. She faced the duo and lent a hand. “Kang Hyewon. Pleasure to meet you.”

Minju shook first, followed by Wonyoung. The fans were envious for the duo because Hyewon did the initiative to make friends with them.

“I heard you know Chaewon.” Hyewon pointed at Minju. “How did you two know each other?”

Wonyoung excused herself from the conversation, shocking Hyewon and worrying Minju. 

“I’m sorry about Wonyoung.” Minju spoke and indulged on the snacks. “Thanks for these.”

“You’re welcome. I understand Wonyoung’s plights. It’s never nice when recently had a break-up.”

Minju almost spits her chips. Hyewon would’ve rushed to give her water but Minju gulped the contents and added. “Wait. You know about Chaewon and Wonyoung’s past relationship?”

“Of course. What kind of a best friend am I if I don’t know?” Hyewon spoke. “Yena and I know. That break-up really saddened Chaewon, which is why she always has a blank expression.”

“That’s sad.” Minju spoke. “To answer your question, I see her a lot. When I returned from the Philippines after a year, we bumped into each other. We see each other after that – a different kind of seeing each other!”

Hyewon nodded, getting some chips from Minju’s pack. “Anyway, nice meeting you and Wonyoung. You should hang out with us. Chaewon would love to see you.”

Minju’s heartbeat came because of that last sentence. Hyewon would’ve returned from her seat when Minju asked. “What do you mean, she would love to see me?”

“She hasn’t smiled ever since the breakup. But when you came in the picture, she smiles again.”

Hyewon slumped on her seat as she played games in her Switch. Minju was frozen but she got up and decided to check on Wonyoung.

+++

“Gaming club~” Yena quacked as she saw the poster. “We should join~”

Hyewon perked up with that idea. Chaewon scratched her head, saying. “I’m not a gamer like you two.”

“Come on, Ssamu. It’s going to be fun.” Yena draped an arm around her shoulder. “If anyone hates you for being a er, you have us to protect you.”

“Besides, we’ll teach you.” Hyewon patted her back. “Consider this as our bond.”

Chaewon’s heart went soft for her 99z duo. They were always there for her – whether she offered to have dinner with them or she had a stomachache that they would rush and take care of her. They also helped her with a recent break-up so when they offered letting her join the gaming club, she accepted the offer.

“Registration starts today!” Yena said as she read the poster. “Let’s go so we can have first dibs!”

The three went to the auditorium and a number of students got before them. Nonetheless, they lined up and waited for their turn. Chaewon looked around until she stopped to see a familiar person.

“Woah! Minju’s part of the club?” Hyewon reacted.

“Isn’t she your classmate, Kwangbae?” Yena got her turn to ask.

Chaewon shushed them and tried to get Minju’s attention. Luckily, Minju saw her and waved back. Hyewon and Yena even waved back like idiots.

“She was waving at me, idiots.” Chaewon hissed.

The trio got their turn and Chaewon was lucky to have Minju settle her registration. Minju would ask questions about gaming – from knowledge of games to gaming experience. Chaewon would scratch her head and answered honestly.

“Don’t worry. I was just like you when it was first time I registered for this club.” Minju assured her. “We have workshops for beginners to learn anything they want to know about gaming. You’ll also be given a chance to compete in interschool e-game tournaments for the experience.”

Chaewon was nervous. She wanted to join thanks to her friends and not to actually engage. But there was something in Minju that made her want to try.

“I feel a little nervous but I’ll try it out.” She spoke, feeling awkward.

Minju smiled as she wrote stuff down. Chaewon felt a tingle on her chest somehow.

“Alright! Welcome to the club!” Minju handed out her gamer’s ID. “Meetings are ever Wednesday.”

“Thanks.” Chaewon bowed as she received her ID.

Hyewon and Yena were by Chaewon’s sides, cooing at their friend as they bid farewell to Minju. Minju waved back with a beating heart. She returned to entertain other students who want to join yet her inner conscience was cheering.

Minju never thought Chaewon would join but if this was fate’s way for her to get close to the girl, she was grabbing the chance.

+++

Wednesdays were supposed to be Chaewon’s relaxing days but here she was, joining a game of PUBG with Hyewon and Yena. The duo were very skilled whereas Chaewon just went with the flow. She would get cusses here and there and she would cuss back, hoping to get an exception because she was still new.

The game ended and Chaewon as at the losing streak. Hyewon won as usual while Yena was next in rank.

“I at this.” Chaewon sighed. “What would Minju think about this?”

“Not bad for a start, Ssamu.” Hyewon patted her back. “To the least you got some training from us.”

Yena quacked about the time and the trio had to rush to the computer laboratory. As they arrived, the rest of the members were already on their seats. 

“Just in time. We’ll be starting our orientations.” Minju spoke. “Hey, Hyewon and Yena. Hey, Chaewon.”

Chaewon greeted back as Hyewon and Yena waved then cooed while going to their seats. The orientation started and was really smooth. The newbies were eager to listen and jot down important details, even Chaewon became attentive because Minju was talking.

“If there are any questions, you can inquire through our FAQ website,” said the gaming club’s president Jung Chaeyeon. “I handle for the old members while Minju handles for the new members. Recruitment is still ongoing so if you have shy friends that want to join, inform them.”

Everyone nodded. Chaeyeon then proposed a friendly game of Counter Strike as a preliminary activity for the club. There will three segments – easy, average, and difficult – and the old and new members will choose where to settle.

“We have exchange students from Hanlim as our members?” Chaeyeon asked as she checked the list.

Hyewon, Chaewon, and Yena raised their hands lightly. The rest of the students wowed, leaving Chaeyeon to propose something. “You’ll be a group, competing with our lineup. SOPA vs Hanlim.”

Everyone cheered. Hyewon was up for the challenge, Yena was neutral, and Chaewon was nervous.

“I’ll be part of the competing team, Pres.” Minju raised. “Doyeon and Yoojung can join me.”

“Granted.” Chaeyeon accepted the idea. “Please proceed to computers 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13.”

Doyeon, Yoojung, and Minju faced Hyewon, Yena, and Chaewon as Chaeyeon started their servers. Her vice-president and secretary started the remaining three servers and the gaming fest began.
Chaeyeon watched the SOPA vs Hanlim game and made observations. Doyeon and Hyewon were neck to neck, Yena and Yoojung were in the middle, while Chaewon was getting herself killed by Minju many times.

“Pres, the Difficult server has quite the talents.”

“You think, Kyulkyung?” Chaeyeon checked. “Wow. They would be fit to compete in tournaments.”

“Average server has some potential too.” 

“We got an oddball, Mina.” Chaeyeon checked. “What about the Easy server?”

The trio checked and it was the friendliest game they’ve seen. They thought it was very wholesome despite their y skills.

“Good sportsmanship, though.” Mina spoke. 

They returned to the SOPA vs Hanlim game and it was an intense gameplay. The scores were neck to neck but of course, there can only be one winner. And it was SOPA because Chaewon bombed the wrong area, causing her team to be killed.

Chaewon rubbed her face in shame, mumbling her apology to her friends. Hyewon and Yena eased her as cheers from the students came and went because of their games. 

“This is our first game. It’s not so bad.” Yena added. “You almost had the enemy despite being a beginner.”

The SOPA trio congratulated them for a good game, with Minju having a longer shake towards Chaewon.

“Sorry to kick your in the game, Chaewon.”

“It’s okay.” Chaewon chuckled. “You’re really good.”

“Technically, I’m the weakest player in the old lineup so we’re even.”

“Good game, everybody!” Chaeyeon applauded for the games and everyone followed. “Next week, we’ll be learning about the different interschool e-game tournaments so stay tuned.”

Everyone had the chance to get to know each other as they exited the laboratory. The Hanlim trio were greeted by the members and even added them to their Discord servers. After that, the trio cheered for a wonderful day.

Almost.

“That was an experience.” Chaewon huffed. “I got killed a lot and I placed the bomb on the wrong place…”

“Don’t get that in your head.” Hyewon scuffled her hair. “We have the weekends to study and play games.”

“Chaewon.”

They looked back and there was a smiling Minju. Hyewon and Yena greeted her, smirked at each other, and pushed Chaewon before running away. Chaewon couldn’t believe them yet Minju was there.

“You have quite the friends, Chaewon.” Minju giggled.

“Tell me about it.” Chaewon chuckled. “You called?”

Minju took time to answer. She was embarrassed herself because she was trying to ask her crush out to dinner. Despite saying that Chaewon was off-limits because she was Wonyoung’s ex, she wanted to break that for once.

“Min?”

Minju and Chaewon looked to see Wonyoung. She had a torn look; her best friend and ex were seen together, after all. Nonetheless, Chaewon greeted Wonyoung and patted Minju’s back, giving the latter quick heartbeats.

“We’re going for some tteokbokki, Won.” Chaewon spoke. “Do you want to come with us?”

Wonyoung didn’t say anything and walked away. Chaewon scoffed lightly then patted Minju’s back, saying. “Was that you wanted to ask?”

“You read my mind…” Minju mumbled, heart still pounding.

“Let’s go.” Chaewon pulled her lightly.

The contact made Minju blush lightly. Seeing Chaewon’s smile made it worst. She was just as torn as her best friend but this was a chance to settle.

She couldn’t help but fall for her even more.

+++

“Heaven.” Minju mumbled as she chewed a freshly cooked fish cake.

“Have some more, dears.” The owner smiled. “It’s been a while seeing you two.”

Chaewon and Minju chuckled and continued to eat. This time, Minju treated Chaewon an extra serving. After eating, they walked together and they could call the world small because they lived in the same neighborhood.

“No wonder we see each other a lot.” Chaewon spoke. “We moved recently.”

“I see. I lived here since forever. Although I was in the Philippines last year because of English lessons.” Minju shared.

They stopped at a simple white house. Minju stops to wave at Chaewon yet the latter smiled and said, “Good night, Minju.”

Minju’s goodnight faded with the wind as she watched Chaewon walk back to her home. Minju got inside her home, rushed to her room, and closed the door while she touched her heart.

She liked Chaewon but she loved her best friend Wonyoung. She couldn’t just get in Chaewon’s zone. She was off-limits.

“She’s off-limits…” Minju mumbled as she crouched by the door and a tear dropped.

+++

Chaewon got to her home and for the first time, she was happy. She got to her room, only to stop when she got a phone call. 

It was from Wonyoung.

Chaewon felt stupid for keeping the number. They broke up already. There was no reason for her to keep her number. 

Chaewon hung up and reverted her thoughts to when she and Minju had their night together. She changed and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

Will there ever be potential for them to be each other’s future girlfriends?