Yeji decided to bring an extra packed lunch for her special someone, Chaeryeong.

'It's not bad to push my luck today, right?' Yeji thought to herself, feeling a surge of optimism. 

Maybe it's because of the previous walk with Chaeryeong after school that gave her the courage to try harder.

Yeji shouldn't be surprised when she went to the younger's classroom to find Chaeryeong with Lia. The two left the classroom, side by side. She saw the spark in Chaeryeong's eyes when speaking to the most popular cheerleader in the school.

Yeji released the air she didn't know she was holding in her lungs until now. Like a defeated loser, she turned around, thinking of going back to her classroom until Ryujin came to mind. 

 

'Maybe the other loser wanted some lunch?'

 

She didn't know why her feet brought her to the rooftop, but she had a strong feeling that Ryujin would be there, and she's right.

There was Ryujin, taking a nap and using her arm as a pillow in the corner. She tossed the packed lunch at Ryujin's stomach, causing the younger girl to wake up. She sat up, and Yeji sat beside her, leaning her back against the cold wall.

"What's this for?" Ryujin queried, pointing to the packed lunch dropped on her lap.

"Just eat it,"

"Don't tell me you are going to play girlfriend now?" Ryujin chuckled, teasing the now irritated Yeji.

"That was supposed to be for her," she said as a rebuttal to the younger's remarks.

"Oh, so it's a secondhand food... Well, I don't care as long as it can fill my tummy." Ryujin removed the lid of the container and devoured the food.

Yeji just stared at Ryujin, eating gluttonously as if she hadn't eaten for days.

"You surprisingly do eat a lot for someone with your physique," Yeji commented; she didn't fail to notice the sculpted body of the rookie ace player. Ryujin doesn't seem to hear Yeji because she was too focused on eating.

"You give up too easily," Ryujin exclaimed out of nowhere while giving the container back to Yeji and fixing her uniform.

"What?"

"I said you give up too easily with Chaeryeong."

"I-I don't. What do you want me to do? Pull her away from Lia and force her to eat with me?" Yeji questioned defensively.

"Yeah, go try that so that Chaeryeong will avoid you forever and think you're a creep." Ryujin jested. Yeji is unamused by the answer and stood up, trying to walk away from the laughing Ryujin.

"Wait, why are you so bad-tempered today? You're no fun," Ryujin stood up, grabbing Yeji's arm stopping her tracks.

Yeji was surprised when Ryujin wrapped her arms around her waist, giving her a back hug, and planting her chin snuggly on Yeji's shoulder. 
 

Maybe this was one of Ryujin's ways to pacify her, Yeji's not complaining.
 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, and Yeji felt as if it lasted for hours. The familiar warmth slowly replaced the irritation she felt.

"Don't spoil me too much, Ryujin." she said under her breath, which the short-haired girl didn't seem to catch.

Ryujin released the hug and pecked her cheek before pulling away. "Let's go; you're going to be late," Ryujin said while walking towards the exit.

Yeji stood still watching the disappearing figure of Ryujin as she held her cheek. She felt warm on the very spot that Ryujin planted a kiss, she hates to admit it, but she already misses the contact.


 

~


 

Lia listened eagerly to Chaeryeong's stories as if they were the most exciting things in the world. And it makes the latter giddy knowing that Lia was giving her the attention she craved. It's like a dream come true for Chaeryeong; spending time with Lia is her favourite part of the day.

"How was your sleepover with your friend last night?" Chaeryeong spilled the question, running out of topics to talk about.

"Oh, it was fun. We did a lot of catching up," Lia said, giving a warm smile and reaching for the younger's hand—she knew that was Chaeryeong's weakness.

"That's great," the captain replied and felt her heart racing at the sudden contact of their hands. Lia held her hand and squeezed them tightly. "Why are you still nervous around me? We've already been spending a lot of time together." Lia curiously asked.

"I think anyone would be this nervous if they are talking to the Choi Lia." Chaeryeong managed to say despite the butterflies in her stomach.

She's different around Lia. To her, Lia was the most perfect person to have ever existed, Lia is kind, friendly, smart, athletic, and everybody loves her. She felt special that the older is giving her the attention that everybody wanted. Maybe she's special to Lia too. 


 

~


 

Sounds of squeaking rubber shoes echoed in the vast indoor court in the afternoon's practice. The freshmen are doing relay dribbling while the sophomores and juniors are practicing their mid-ranged jumper.

Yeji helped retrieve the ball back to the basketball racks while the players are busy doing their drills. She noticed Chaeryeong was beaming, and she knew exactly the reason why.
 

Lia.
 

In an instant, her eyes wandered, looking for the other presence she usually sought. She believed that Ryujin was just practicing a while ago, but now she's nowhere to be found. She scanned the entire gymnasium and noticed that Lia isn't around as well.

Yeji lets out a sigh and shook her head in disappointment, 'Why can't she do that after practice?' 


 

~


 

"What did you want to talk about, Ryujin?" Lia spoke first to ask, noticing the younger's loss for words.

They are standing outside the back of the gym, where only a few students can see them.

"Well- um, I know I'm being too direct but, are you perhaps dating anyone right now?" Ryujin nervously managed to say.

Lia was taken aback by such a straightforward question. She has known Ryujin since Middle school. They were not friends or anything, but they weren't strangers either, and she was not oblivious to the fact that Ryujin had taken an interest in her; she just didn't know the extent of Ryujin's feelings towards her.

"No. Is that the only thing you wanted to ask?" Lia perked.

"How do you feel about Chaeryeong?" Another straightforward question catching Lia off-guard.

 

'This girl is different.' Lia thought. 

 

"Well, she's a friend, a good friend," Lia answered nonchalantly.

"Can I be your good friend too?" Ryujin requested as if pleading for her to say yes.

 

"Sure."


 

~


 

Lia and Ryujin entered the gym together and went back to their respective places.

Chaeryeong noticed the two, and Yeji was glaring at Ryujin as she approached her.

"I know you're doing your best with Lia, but couldn't you have done that after the practice?" Yeji nagged. Ryujin scratched the back of her neck, hearing the rants of their manager.

"Alright, alright." she complied and started running to the court to do the drills.

"Ryujin, do you have a minute?" Chaeryeong jogged up to Ryujin.

Ryujin knew Chaeryeong wanted to ask about Lia, she doesn't want to talk to Chaeryeong, but she might as well get it over with, "What do you want?"

Chaeryeong took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say. "What do you think about Yeji?" she managed to ask. She wanted to know what Ryujin felt about Yeji because she's worried about her. She doesn't trust Ryujin being around her friend, especially after seeing her and Lia together.

Ryujin clicked her tongue. She can already predict the flow of their conversation; it pissed her off.

"That's none of your concern," she retorted.

"It is my concern because she's like family to me, you hang out with her, and then you hang out with Lia the next second. I just don't want her to get hurt." Chaeryeong reasoned.

Ryujin smirked at the older's remarks as she thinks, 'You're the one who's hurting her.'

"Are you concerned about Yeji or Lia? Don't worry, I'll make both of them happy." Ryujin said and left the court, walking towards the bench.

Chaeryeong froze at Ryujin's question; who was she concerned about? She had no answer.

And now Ryujin doesn't want to participate in the activity anymore. She slumped her body against the wall feeling the coldness hit her back. She slept during the entire duration of practice. 


 

~


 

Ryujin was woken up by a cold bottle touching her cheek, making her wince. Yeji was sitting beside her, and it seems that everyone else already left the gymnasium.

"You did your best sleeping," Yeji said. "Next time, please do your best during practice."

"Can you do your best to stop nagging me too?" Ryujin claps back.

"Why are you feeling down? Is this because of your talk with Lia?"

"No, nothing really happened. I just don't feel well today." Ryujin lied, not wanting to talk about anything right now.

Yeji gave her a concerned look. The latter reached her hand out and placed it on Ryujin's forehead. Their faces are only a few inches away from each other's, and she can feel hot Yeji's breath against her.

Yeji's gaze dropped and landed on the younger's lips. Realizing the distance between them, Yeji initiated the contact, gently pressing her lips against Ryujin's.

For the first time, she didn't think about Chaeryeong while kissing Ryujin.

In a spur of the moment, she just wanted to kiss the latter.

Ryujin kissed back; it was soft and gentle.

The pair didn't seem to notice the gymnasium's door open and hear the creak echo through the court.

"I'm sorry for interrupting. I just left my uniform here."

Ryujin and Yeji pull away from each other quickly as soon as they heard the voice. 

 

It was Lia's.

 

The latter ran towards the other side of the court, grabbing the paper bag with her uniform. Ryujin's heart is racing; Lia just saw her making out with Yeji after asking her to be 'good friends.' Ryujin knows Lia was looking her way, but Ryujin couldn't bring herself to meet her gaze. She felt humiliated.

'So, these two have this kind of relationship.' Lia thought to herself, that sure piqued her interest.

Yeji felt her heart in ; she couldn't believe that Lia caught them. The latter didn't say anything, but Yeji knew this was not a good situation for Ryujin.

Yeji followed Lia with her eyes, and for a moment, their eyes met. Lia gave her a look she couldn't describe, and she felt uncomfortable.
 

'She glared at me.'


 

~


 

The two decided to go home after Lia left the gym.

The sky was painted in red and orange and was already beginning to dim. Ryujin was silent, and Yeji blames herself for not controlling her urge to kiss her out in the open.

"Stop overthinking," Ryujin says, breaking the silence. "It's not like Lia likes me anyway. I think it's better that she saw us."

Yeji looked at the younger one and saw how genuine her expressions were. She didn't know what to say to Ryujin's statement.

Hearing no response, Ryujin speaks again, "We don't need to hide anyway; let them think what they want." 

Yeji heaved a sigh and just looked forward, she still couldn't process exactly what Ryujin meant.