Staring at the mess she made, Jang Wonyoung knows that she screwed up real bad, yet again. It’s not the first time she toppled food onto her best friend’s bed, and somehow, both times included black stains that are especially difficult to get rid of.

“,” She mumbles. “How the hell am I going to fix this…”

She feels bad for doing this not just once, but twice, and she blames her useless, clumsy fingers for causing such accidents. Also, the fact that she decided to eat on Yujin’s bed instead of her own area. She truly needs to stop doing this. But she has to go for practice really soon, all she can do is take off the bedsheets before it seeps into the mattress below. As much as possible, she cleans up whatever she can, and ties the mess within a plastic bag. She takes out her phone and decides to come clean before it gets worse.

“Hello? Yujin?” Wonyoung squeaks; the victim had picked up faster than she expected.

“Um, I kind of… Spilled squid ink pasta on your bed… I’m really sorry! I threw the sheets away because I really can’t wipe them off but I promise I’ll make it to you somehow! I got to go for practice alright I’m sorry bye!”

Before she can hear the puppy’s growls, she machine-guns her apologies and hangs up straight after. At this rate, she’s going to be late for practice, and what’s worse than an angry Yujin, is her maddened cheerleading captain.

“Got to weigh the pros and cons,” Wonyoung mutters as she changes into her practice outfit.

She grabs her duffel bag and leaves the room, all the while thinking about how to make it up to her friend on the way to the sports hall.

“Oh Minju! Have you been waiting long?”

“It’s alright! My class ended not too long ago, I got here a few minutes ago.”

Shifting her tote bag on her sore shoulder, Minju replies Sakura to assure the latter. Judging from the vague knot forming on the older girl’s face, she decides not to admit she had been at the entrance of the library for almost half an hour, after all, it is Sakura who had offered her an invitation, it would make her feel bad if she knew.

Upon hearing Minju’s answer, Sakura lets out a small sigh of relief. “Great, I thought I might have gotten slightly too engrossed in my work… Let’s go! I’ll lead the way.”

The two walk towards the exit of the school with Minju tailing behind, sunset splashing onto their silhouettes.

“Are you hungry?” Sakura turns to ask after a few quiet steps, sensing that Minju is talking lesser than usual.

“Not really!” Minju shakes her head. Now that she’s reminded of a meal, she realizes she actually forgot to eat lunch. Betraying her denial, her stomach growls loudly enough for both girls to hear.

Sakura holds back a snort. “Well,” she says, “I think it’s definitely time for food.”

“I… It’s my treat then!” Minju’s face reddens. “Since we’re going to be occupying your dorm, I can’t just go empty-handed.”

“Sure, I’ll gladly take that offer,” Sakura laughs. “You look kind of sulky, but I guess it’s the hunger?”

“Sulky?” Minju her head to one side. She matches her pace to catch up to Sakura’s quicker ones so they can talk side by side.

“Yeah, you weren’t initiating any conversation at all, unlike the usual,” Sakura nods. “And I’m the quiet one.”

Huh. Minju frowns. I didn’t even realize. She decides not to dwell on it too much, instead, she directs her attention to her rumbling tummy. That’s the real issue on hand.

“Should we get delivery?” Minju suggests.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Minju glances over to meet Sakura’s intuitive eyes. She feels a telepathic connection and opens .

“Fried chicken and cola.”

“Hell yeah.”

“Girls! I want more energy in your motions! The match is arriving and we need to perfect this by then. On the beat, one more time from the top, let’s go!”

The female coach yells strictly at the group of cheerleaders, trying their best with forced wide smiles on their faces. Pursued by the most important oncoming matches of the year – the University Soccer Cup – the cheerleaders are trying their very best to perform to their utmost abilities. The USC is not just a significant event to the soccer players; the senior cheerleaders have a very high chance of getting scouted to a professional team as well. As for the juniors, it is also very important for them to do well for the routine if they want to remain in the squad.

They’ve been going at it for over an hour straight, the rigorous movements beginning to eat at some of them. Exhausted, Chaewon makes a slight mistake, twisting her body too little. As a result, she lands at the wrong time. If it weren’t for the spotters’ quick reflexes, she would have fallen and twisted her ankle. At the moment of her wrongly executed move, a harsh whistle shrills in her direction.

“Chaewon! Get your flips right! Being the flyer means all eyes are on you, if you screw it up, it’s done for! You’re not the only viable member for that spot, if you want to keep it, there’s absolutely no room for mistakes, you understand?”

Ashamed of loosening her muscles for even a split second while everyone else is working just as hard, she apologizes immediately.

“Yes! I’ll do better.”

“Not just better, you need to be at your best.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The coach sighs, though disappointed by the error, she can tell that everyone is almost at their limit, so she forgoes it with some chiding.

“Alright boys and girls. Take a break, gather in fifteen.”

As soon as the words land, everyone disperses to the benches and seats for the long-awaited rest.

Breathing a dragged-out sigh, Chaewon settles on an empty bench away from the others. She sips on her iced water, burdened by the expectations and threatening competition that lays before her. Although she loves cheerleading, it’s really taking a toll on her.

Maybe I’m not suited to be the flyer…

If it wasn’t for the fact that she was chosen just because she was a few inches shorter than Wonyoung, Chaewon is certain the other girl would win the position if it was purely based on their abilities. She stares blankly at the polished panel floor, deeply weighing her decision to relinquish her position while it’s not too late to relearn the routine, when a pair of shoes step into her view.

“Are you okay…?”

Oh, Chaewon looks towards the concerned voice.

“Wonyoung? Ah yes, I’m fine, just… Tired.” Chaewon answers half the truth.

Wonyoung simply pouts at her reply with downturned brows. “You mind if I sit here?” She gestures towards the empty space on the bench.

“It’s alright, go ahead.” Though she wants some alone time, Chaewon manages a smile.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Wonyoung opens

“You know, I think being in the position of the flyer is super difficult.”

What’s she trying to say? Chaewon quips silently as the other girl continues.

“But I also think you’re doing an extremely great job at it.”

The short-haired whips her head around. “You really mean that?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. It’s too stressful for me,” Wonyoung chuckles bitterly. “Honestly, you’ve been doing really well. You’ve already got everything down, I’m sure that tiny mistake was due to fatigue.”

“But…” Chaewon shifts her gaze downwards to her fiddling thumbs, speechless at Wonyoung’s honest compliments. “I let my guard down, I loosened when everyone else was trying their best. I could’ve injured myself and the others too.”

“What’s done is done,” Wonyoung assures. “We understand.”

Chaewon feels light tapping on her shoulders, and she looks towards the direction in which Wonyoung is pointing at. She finds the rest of the squad gathered together, and when they notice her gaze, some make thumbs-up signs at her, and a guy even shouted, “We got your back!”

“They know you should get some alone time, so we didn’t want to bother you,” Wonyoung grins. “Though you should know that we’re all working towards the same goal.”

“I– I don’t know what to say, thank you…” Chaewon swears she almost tears up at the warm gestures of her teammates. She even doubted Wonyoung’s intentions! What a crappy person she is.

“I– I don’t know what to say, thank you…”

“Alright, round up!” Nayeon’s clear voice interrupts the genuine moment.

The two girls look in their captain’s direction, then back at each other. They get up on their feet at the same time, a slight bounce in Chaewon’s feet.

“Shall we get back on track?” Wonyoung asks.

“Let’s go.”

Minju steps into the room, curious eyes wandering around after Sakura unlocks her door.

“Welcome to my humble