As the morning progressed, Seungwan’s body quickly adjusted to its old routine. She couldn’t quite dive like she used to but she wrote it off as a lack of practice and shifted her focus instead on passing the ball accurately and precisely. What she lacked in the height department she more than made up for in defensive skills, which was something she wanted the assistant coaches to see.

She and Seulgi rotated throughout several stations, each with a dedicated staff member who observed the action and diligently took down notes on each girl’s performance. Since Seungwan had experience as a libero and Seulgi as the defensive specialist the two of them excelled in the stations that dealt with ball control and defensive maneuvers. Their teamwork was tight, something the coaches were quick to pick up on.

They weren’t the only ones that noticed either. As the two of them rotated to the setting station Seungwan once again found herself facing Bae Joohyun. She quickly made an about face but was stopped midway through her escape attempt by Seulgi. “Why is she here?”

Seulgi grabbed her best friend by the shoulders and forcibly spun her back around, “Who are you and what have you done with my strong, confident, super greasy best friend?”

Seungwan sighed inwardly. Where has she gone indeed? “I’m at a total loss here, Seul. This morning I wasn’t even looking forward to these tryouts and now I’m working my off to try and get a spot, just so I can what, impress a girl I don’t even know?”

They joined the line and waited for their turn in front of the net. Seungwan shook her head. She wouldn’t let Joohyun get in her head. So what if she was gorgeous? So what if Seungwan fell a little bit in love with the way Joohyun smiled at them? It didn’t mean anything, they didn’t know each other and she needed to stop freaking out and imagining Joohyun beckoning her over to—

“Dude, it’s your turn!” Seungwan hadn’t even realized the line had kept moving forward until Seulgi unceremoniously shoved her onto the court and across from Bae Joohyun, who had swapped in for the other staff member!

Great, now she was being forced to set to one of the league’s best players. Seungwan took a deep breath in, forcing herself to settle down and focus on the task in front of her. There would be time to deal with her monumental gay panic after the drill.

Joohyun’s eyes were similarly focused as she watched Seungwan effortlessly return the ball as it floated over the net. With a practiced air, Seungwan projected a near-perfect pass to Joohyun, who caught the ball in her hands, looking impressed.  

Joohyun shot her that damn smile again, only this time she said, “Great job, Seungwan!”

Seungwan’s returning smile was awkward as all hell and she all but dashed off the court, both embarrassed that she couldn’t hold any kind of conversation with Joohyun and basking in the praise she had received from the older girl. “Oh my god, she knows my name…”

“What are you panicking about?” Seulgi asked after she had finished her set to Joohyun. “That was great!”

“She knows my name,” Seungwan repeated. “How does she know my name?”

Seulgi tilted her head in a very puppy-like fashion, confused by her best friend’s behavior. Seungwan had never been this thrown by a girl before, and Seulgi had seen her worm her way into many a girl’s heart throughout high school. Seungwan was like a magnet, attracting women left and right. It was honestly kind of cute to see the tables being turned.

“She must have seen your name on the sign-in roster,” Seulgi said offhandedly, trying to calm Seungwan down.

That seemed to do the trick, with Seungwan accepting her reasoning with a muttered, “Maybe…”

Seulgi clapped her on the back, “Think of it this way, if you’ve already got the attention of Joohyun it means you’ve likely impressed the coaches too! You’re as good as on the team!”

Seungwan was still caught in her own world, her brows furrowed in concentration. Seulgi sighed, gently grabbing Seungwan by the arm and leading them in the direction of the next station. That was Seungwan’s one fault, really. She had a tendency to overthink things. Seulgi could only hope her best friend managed to keep it together for the rest of the morning.

Her wish came true, as Seungwan doubled down and finished the first day of tryouts with flying colors. Seulgi hadn’t heard what Joohyun had said to Seungwan but it seemed to have given her friend a jolt of confidence. And to both of their surprise, they made it onto the callback list for the next day.

Seungwan was definitely in a better mood as she and Seulgi walked out of the gymnasium and back to their dorms, clothes soaked in sweat and satisfied grins on their faces. Aside from that brief one sided interaction she had with Joohyun she’d managed to avoid the other girl for the rest of the day, slowly but surely banishing their exchange to the back of her mind.

She was rather surprised to hear that both of them had made the cut and were officially being asked back for the second round of tryouts the following afternoon. It was a nice feeling, and Seungwan was happy that she’d be able to spend more time with Seulgi again. It almost felt like the old days.

Of course that moment was shattered when Joohyun walked past them on her way out, having changed back into her everyday wear. Her hair was down now and Seungwan wondered how she managed to look even better with it down than up.

“Hey guys, great job today, I was impressed. Keep it up at tomorrow’s tryout and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other this upcoming season!” Joohyun’s eyes crinkled up into little half-moons as she passed by. Seungwan caught the slightest scent of her perfume, light and floral just like she expected.

Once again at a loss for words, Seungwan tugged on Seulgi’s sleeve and her friend immediately responded, “Thanks so much! We’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Looking forward to it,” Joohyun seemed to address her statement purely to Seungwan, who reacted with an instinctive finger gun gesture before bolting.

She heard Seulgi briefly apologize to Joohyun before her friend chased after her. God, was she so enamored with this girl she didn’t even know that she’d forgotten how to speak entirely? Seulgi finally caught up with her, looking peeved that Seungwan had made her run after a morning already filled with exercise.

Now utterly mortified, she whispered to Seulgi, “Oh my god I’m such an idiot.”

“Dude chill out, I’m sure it’s fine,” Seulgi placated. “You totally made a good impression on Joohyun with your volleyball skills I’m sure she’ll overlook your horrible social skills.”

Seungwan casually flipped her off, already dreading tomorrow’s callbacks.