"Are you serious!?!" Chaeyoung said rather loudly, her voice echoing the room as the other students looked at them in surprise. It's currently their break, and Dahyun almost choked her sandwich because of her best friend's over-reaction.

 

Flashback to literally yesterday; the two girls were at the school gym watching a volleyball match of their school, JYP University, against SM University. It was a tight match between the two schools, especially when their competitors are one of the most feared schools just because of the tall players.

 

Dahyun and Chaeyoung are seated on the gym bleachers together with the other students watching with them. The school allowed the whole student body to watch the match and stop classes for them to support their women volleyball team.

 

The crowd watched quietly as the two teams pass the ball from one end to another—letting the players concentrate and not get distracted to any kind of cheer. When the team setter made the ball fly to the air smoothly as always, the team captain with the jersey number 37 jumped as high as she can. Her perfect posture got the whole audience—even their rival school—watch in awe. Especially that one person.

 

Jersey number 37 gave the ball a strong spike, sending it to the back just by the line of the volleyball court. It was so fast and strong, the opponent didn't even have time to react and chase the ball.

 

The team captain landed her feet on the gym's floor in sync with the ball. Silence filled the whole place, the crowd not believing what they just witnessed. It was scary, but amazing at the same time. After absorbing what just happened, the students from JYP University finally let out their loud screams and cheers while waving their props (which are those long balloons that clowns use to form balloon animals) in the air with the school band playing a quick victory cheer.

 

"Woah, she's really awesome" Chaeyoung said in amazement, earning a nod from her best friend sitting next to her.

 

"I'm definitely going to join this team just because of her" Dahyun said, which made Chaeyoung laugh and gave her best friend's lap a subtle slap.

 

"As if" she said while they watch their school's volleyball team huddle together after the successful spike that lead the team to a match point.

 

Going back to the present, Chaeyoung has her eyes wide open in disbelief with what Dahyun just said. "I thought you were kidding" she added.

 

"I wasn't!" Dahyun answered with a cute pout.

 

Dahyun did say yesterday that she was going to join their school's women volleyball team just because of the team captain. Chaeyoung just brushed off what Dahyun said, completely ignoring it especially with the fact that Dahyun is far from athletic.

 

"I know you have this long-term crush on Mina ever since we stepped into high school, but joining the volleyball team because for her!?" Chaeyoung said, giving Dahyun's forehead a quick flick with her fingers. "You're CRAZY" she emphasized. "You don't even play any sports. You at any sports"

 

Dahyun groaned in frustration. She was expecting that her best friend in the whole wide world would give her support, but she's just doing otherwise. "I'm good at WII sports" Dahyun said rather confidently.

 

"That's a freaking video game!!"

 

~

 

The last class has finally ended and their professor has dismissed the whole class. Chaeyoung tried to forget what Dahyun said during their break, but she simply can't do so because Dahyun looks obviously excited.

 

"You're ed" Chaeyoung slammed her hand on Dahyun's desk while the latter cleans up her stuff.

 

"Trust me" Dahyun said with a hint of confidence as she put her bag on her shoulder before standing up. "Why do you hate this so much?" she asked, feeling kind of offended with how her friend is acting.

 

In defeat, Chaeyoung let out a deep sigh before placing her hand on both of Dahyun's shoulder. "I'm just worried about you" she said sincerely. "I just don't want you to come to school with a black eye because you couldn't receive the ball properly" she added, half joking.

 

Dahyun let out a chuckle while taking Chaeyoung's hands off her shoulder and proceeded to put her right arm over Chaeyoung's shoulder instead.

 

"Come on, I'll be quitting after one week anyways" she said while they walk out the room. Dahyun didn't see it, but she felt that Chaeyoung rolled her eyes with that remark.

 

"Whatever, just don't show up with a huge bump on your head"

 

~~

 

The two girls separated shortly after they went to their respective lockers to fix more of their stuff. Dahyun also changed to her training clothes before heading towards the gym.

 

Now that she's at the gym—which is not a foreign place for her thanks to the matches that they watched throughout the years—she suddenly felt a twirl in her stomach. She swore she wasn't feeling nervous hours ago, even when she was changing into her training clothes. Dahyun didn't know why she's feeling like this in all of the sudden, she even felt nauseous when she saw the women's volleyball team already practicing in the middle of the gym.

 

She looked around for the person that she's been looking forward to meet, and after a few searches later, she finally found the said person.

 

There she is, jersey number 37 with the text "MYOUI" written on top of the huge number print. She was standing cooly with her arm pressing a ball against her waist as she talked to who seems to be the team coach.

 

Dahyun wasn't aware that she has been staring for quite a while, she was only brought back to reality when Mina turned around and their eyes automatically met.

 

It was a weird but quick eye contact, they didn't even smile to each other and Dahyun just froze in place, but once again brought back to reality with the help of the team coach.

 

"Newbies, come over here!" the coach shouted, which made Dahyun jump a little due to the loud manly voice. She may or may not have noticed it, but the team captain giggled with the sight of the shocked stranger.

 

The coach introduced himself and the team captain to the new trainees. Dahyun was with three other students, all three of them from different classes but are familiar with each other since they are all on the same year.

 

Dahyun was on her third year, and Mina was on her graduating year. Dahyun wanted to join the team for fun, and mainly because she wanted to be closer to her long time crush right before she graduates. Yes, it sounds stupid—confirmed by Chaeyoung herself—but Dahyun was really determined to do something that she knows she isn't good at just because of her crush. It's crazy and Dahyun is obviously out of her mind for doing this. "I'm just going to shoot my shot" Dahyun said earlier when she was with Chaeyoung at the lockers area. 

 

Back to the present, all the girls in the gym started to do their warm up before actually getting contact with the ball. They did a few intense stretches which was no big deal to Dahyun thanks to her flexibility. The existing girls on the team together with the new trainees were impressed of how Dahyun doesn't seem to tire out even if they did hard stretches. The coach keeps on giving Dahyun compliments that she just accepted shyly.

 

After a long session of stretching and a few laps of jogging around the gym, the girls finally started to play with a ball. The girls of the team guided the new recruits and showed them how to position their hands, arms and bodies correctly. It was the usual training session that you would see on volleyball teams, the inly difference is that one newbie was completely distracted by their team captain.

 

I mean, who wouldn't be distracted by someone who looks so breathtaking with her long black hair tied in a ponytail and how she moves so effortlessly in sync with the ball. It was as if the person was connected to the inanimate object.

 

Dahyun was getting TOO distracted especially when she's thinking of ways on how to approach the said person. They are currently practicing ball receiving, and Dahyun seems to be enemies with the ball. Instead of hitting the ball with her wrist, the ball keeps on getting in contact with Dahyun's upper arm area close to her face. There are a few times that the ball almost hit her pale face. Chaeyoung might be right, Dahyun might indeed come to school with a bruise mark on her eye, and it's all the ball's fault.

 

Days pass by and the training continues. Dahyun is still struggling to receive the ball while the others are already getting the hang of it. The coach decided to pay attention to Dahyun's receiving struggles and proceed to ball service temporarily since it's also one of the most important thing on volleyball. The new recruits are doing a great job on serving. The ball doesn't move fast and high, but it was fine for the rest of the team since it's understandable that the newbies still needs to work on their arm strength.

 

Dahyun wasn't really having a hard time on serving since all she has to do is throw the ball in the air and give it one big and strong slap to send it to the other side. Apparently, her only problem is receiving the ball.

 

The first week of training has finished and they are finally on the second week. The newbies are slowly getting closer to the other girls, but they are still shy when it comes to the team captain.

 

Mina was indeed someone that they look up to especially when they finally experienced how hard it is to actually play this sport. They found her gameplay much more impressing now that they are familiar with the game's mechanics, which made Dahyun feel like complete crap due to her careless receives.

 

"Take a break for now, Dahyun" their coach said while patting the small girl's shoulder.

 

While catching her breath, Dahyun nodded in defeat and started to head towards the bleachers where their bags are placed. She grabbed a towel from her own bag and wiped it across her face, sighing with the sight of how good the other newbies are doing.

 

"Hey" a voice was suddenly heard from the side. Dahyun looked at the voice's direction and was immediately surprised. "Here." Mina said while handing over an unopened bottle of water which Dahyun accepted in an instant.

 

Dahyun opened the bottle and drank its contents while the team captain sat down just a few inches next to her.

 

"Are you okay?" Mina asked, her voice showing obvious concern.

 

Dahyun couldn't answer because she felt so nervous in all of the sudden. She never really talked to her crush, and she was caught off guard when Mina was the one who approached her. "Yeah" she answered in a whispering tone.

 

"I know receiving is hard, but I believe that you'll get a hang of it sooner or later" Mina encouraged, giving Dahyun's heart a soft little pinch. "I've seen how you serve the ball, and it's impressive. Also, I noticed that you don't really get exhausted when we're stretching." Mina added, Dahyun just looked away quietly since she already feels her face heating up with the sudden shower of compliments. "You're actually amazing, I wasn't like you when I first joined this team" she added, Dahyun finally looked at the girl beside her who was also looking afar.

 

She noticed how drenched in sweat Mina was, and was confused of why she didn't seem sweaty when she first approached her...or maybe she barely noticed it because she was too focused on her beauty.

 

Dahyun also noticed that Mina has a lot of moles scattered on her face like a constellation. She never expected that she'd be this close with her crush. Heck, she was already planning to quit on this second week because she has already seen her crush up close.

 

But not like this. She did not expect the compliments, the encouragement, and especially the fact the Mina was the one who approached her.

 

"You're going to be an amazing player" Mina said before turning her face towards Dahyun, their eyes meeting for the second time ever.

 

Dahyun was speechless and frozen in place. She felt her heart twitch, and she doesn't exactly know why she felt that way.

 

Perhaps she felt bad for joining this team just for fun when the rest of the girls are doing their best to be part of the team, or perhaps she wants to pursue this sport thanks to Mina's heartwarming words.

 

A loud voice was heard, ruining the moment of the two girls. It was their coach, and he was asking Mina to be a substitute to one of the players.

 

"Okay!" Mina shouted back. "I'll be going now. Good luck" she told Dahyun before pushing herself to stand up.

 

Mina was about to run towards the rest of the girls, but was stopped when Dahyun called her. "Wait!" Mina turned around and tilted her head.

 

"Can you...uhm....teach me sometime?" Dahyun asked shyly, her face turning a soft pink which Mina finds cute.

 

"Sure" Mina answered after flashing her beautiful smile and finally continuing her steps towards the rest of the team, leaving a fluttered Dahyun alone.

 

~~

 

"So, how's training?" Chaeyoung asked before giving her homemade kimbap a big bite. It's their lunch break and the two girls are sitting on the rooftop with their own homemade lunches.

 

Dahyun took a bite of her own lunch which was a bibimbap and offered a few servings to her best friend before telling how her first one and a half week went. She also mentioned that Dahyun was having special training sessions from the Myoui Mina herself before and after their actual team training.

 

For the countless time, Chaeyoung almost choked on her food. Luckily, she was quick enough to grab her water bottle to chug down her clogged throat. "Really!?" Chaeyoung asked in surprise after wiping the top of her lips with the back of her hand. Dahyun smiled widely before nodding. "Look at you and your special training sessions with your crush" Chaeyoung teased, emphasizing the words 'special training sessions'.

 

"Shut up" Dahyun said, trying her best to hide her blush. "Actually...." she added, making Chaeyoung feel curious because of how serious Dahyun suddenly sound. "I'm starting to adore her even more. I mean, not in a crush way, but more of an idolizing way" she continued, Chaeyoung listened attentively. "She's not just an amazing athlete, but she's also beautiful inside. She has a great personality and she has been helping me a lot. It actually made me feel like I want to stay on the team until we graduate."

 

Chaeyoung blinked with how serious Dahyun was. She never seen her best friend like this before, ever. She has known Dahyun for years, and she has never been this determined over something before, especially with something new. 

 

Silence filled the air for a few seconds before Chaeyoung started to burst into laughter. Dahyun was genuinely confused of her best friend's reaction. "Bro, you're down bad for real" Chaeyoung teased, earning a playful but strong push from the later. "Whoa whoa there, your hand feels heavy." Chaeyoung said while brushing the shoulder that Dahyun just pushed, acting as if it was painful. "Chill man, I'm not a ball" she teased once again.

 

The teasing continued until the last period, Chaeyoung just couldn't belive that Dahyun would actually love the sport because of her crush. And since the two are so close, they are not used to showing how they truly feel for each other. Deep inside, Chaeyoung was actually feeling proud and excited at the same time. Proud that Dahyun found a skill hidden within her, and excited of seeing her play for the first time.

 

~

 

The special training sessions of Dahyun and Mina continues for almost a month, and Dahyun has finally felt comfortable on receiving the ball. Though there are times when she still messes up, she surely became better than when she first started—all thanks to Mina.

 

The two girls got closer, they even walk home together. Sometimes, they even pay a quick stop on a convenience store nearby for ice cream. They talked a lot and got to know each other more. All those moments made Dahyun fall in love with the team captain and the sport itself. She tries her best to conceal her feelings towards Mina, feeling afraid to ruin the bond that they have created.

 

 

Months passed and the school's annual sports festival just started. It was an event where each year competes with one another. All the athletes aren't allowed to play with their existing sport teams, which means that Mina and Dahyun aren't allowed to play on the same team. Instead, they will be playing against each other.

 

"Good luck bro" Chaeyoung said, giving her best friend a fist bump right before she enters the court. The other students who didn't participate on any sports are allowed to watch the matches of the different sports. This is the very first time that Chaeyoung would see Dahyun play, and she's excited and became more supportive as ever. She even brought a cardboard cut out of Dahyun's face without her knowledge.

 

The games were determined by who wins the round. The first game was between the freshmen and the sophomores, which was won by the sophomores by a huge gap. After that, it will be a match between the sophomores and the juniors. The match was finished rather quicker than expected, all thanks to Dahyun and her fellow athletes on the team.

 

And finally, it's the match between the juniors and the seniors—which obviously means that Dahyun will play against Mina and the rest of the graduating students. But before the match even started, the two girls had a small talk just by the net.

 

"Hey" Mina said when they finally met. "I've watched your previous matches, you're surprisingly scary not gonna lie" Mina said with a soft chuckle as she ties her hair in a ponytail, not knowing the effect that it was doing on the junior player.

 

"Not as scary as you are, captain" Dahyun teased, earning an eyeroll from the latter who didn't even try to hide a defeated smile.

 

"Go easy on me, okay?" Mina said before reaching her hand under the net for a hand shake which Dahyun gladly took.

 

"Don't spike on my face, captain" Dahyun joked, which made Mina shove her hand back playfully. The two girls laughed together before going in to position.

 

The long awaited match has finally started, and the gym has started to fill with students who has been waiting to see the player with the number 37 on her jersey.

 

Mina is the one who'll be making the first serve of the game, and Dahyun had direct eye contact with her across the court.

 

Dahyun showed her cute puppy dog eyes, actually asking Mina to go easy on the first serve. On the other hand, Mina gave the latter a playful wink right before throwing the ball in the air and giving it a hard slap, catching Dahyun and the rest of her team off guard.

 

Dahyun was stunned, not only because of how strong Mina's serve was, but also because of the wink that she just did.

 

The crowd let out an amused "OOOOO" with how Mina started the game, and Dahyun decided to get serious.

 

"It's on now" she mouthed over to Mina who instantly understood what she just said.

 

The game proceeded intensely. They keep on having a match point, but each team keeps on catching up—almost showing that this game will not come to an end. The other players are starting to get tired, but not the two girls who are having a quiet battle of their own.

 

The juniors' coach called for a time out so that the team could have a quick pause to breathe. 

 

Mina walked over the net and called Dahyun to come closer. With a bottle of water in her hand, Dahyun approached her rival.

 

"I said go easy on me" Mina said, catching her breath.

 

Dahyun smiled while taking a sip from her water bottle. "I am" she said while closing the cap. "It's you who's not going easy" she added.

 

Mina rolled her eyes once again, and all Dahyun could ever do is laugh to hide her admiration on Mina's beauty upclose. 

 

"Let's just end this, our teammates seem so worn out" Mina said while looking to the direction of her teammates and proceeded to look back at Dahyun who agreed. "Don't hate me if you lose" she joked.

 

"Likewise" Dahyun joked back, just in time for the referee to call the time out off.

 

The game resumed.

 

It's Dahyun's turn to serve this time, and she looked over to her captain before she proceeded—who just gave her a smirk. Dahyun let her tongue out playfully before tossing the ball up in the air and giving it a slap that isn't too hard.

 

The ball went over the net smoothly, and was received by the opponent with no trouble.

 

Being the setter, Dahyun got to position right by the net. "Tzuyu!" she shouted. Tzuyu ran towards the net and did a very high jump in sync with the ball that Dahyun tossed effortlessly in the air before giving it a hard spike.

 

The seniors were surprised of the sudden team work. One of the players did a dive on the floor to receive the ball, but unfortunately, it was sent outside the court—giving the juniors the match point.

 

It's finally the last round, and all that the juniors need to do is score this final round to call the end of the game.

 

Dahyun is serving once again, and she looked over at the opposing side once again and had the last eye contact with Mina who nodded once and showed a proud smile, signalling for Dahyun to end the match.

 

Of course, Dahyun smiled back after getting the signal. She then took a few steps back, took a deep breath, and then ran a few steps forward before throwing the ball for a jump serve. It's the most powerful serve that Dahyun has ever done, and the school's women volleyball team that was scattered on the audience was beyond shocked with what they just witnessed, including their team captain.

 

The opponent tried to receive the powerful serve, but eventually failed for one of the players sent the ball outside.

 

With that, the juniors ended the match with a satisfying victory all thanks to the competitive Dahyun and their cooperative teammates. The junior girls huddled together and had a quick group hug, congratulating each other for their achievement.

 

"That was awesome!" one of the players said excitedly. 

 

Dahyun looked over to the audience on the bench to look for Chaeyoung, and she was surprised when she saw a cardboard cutout of her face. "I'm going to kill you later" she mouthed to her best friend who couldn't stop jumping while waving the said cutout.

 

Dahyun let out a soft laugh while shaking her head with the sight of her supportive best friend. Then, she noticed that Chaeyoung was pointing over to something. Dahyun looked to the direction where Chaeyoung was pointing, and saw that Mina was waiting for her on one side of the court.

 

"Congrats everyone!" Dahyun said for the last time before leaving her teammates behind and proceeded to walk towards their captain.

 

It seems like Mina couldn't take her smile off her face. "That was a great game" Mina said, handing over a bottle of energy drink for Dahyun who gladly accepted the offer.

 

"Thanks" the younger girl said before opening the bottle.

 

"Not bad for your first real game" Mina added with a proud smile, Dahyun just smiled back.

 

Comfortable silence consumed the two girls as they watch the junior's representative recieve the award on the middle of the gym.

 

"You know, you should be the one accepting the award" Mina said, which was true. Dahyun shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of the energy drink that their captain gave.

 

Dahyun looked at Mina on a rather exaggerating way which startled the latter a bit. "Ice cream?" she said with her cute smile, sweat dripping down her head.

 

Mina took the towel that was dangling on her shoulder and used it to wipe Dahyun's forehead, making the latter let out a visible blush which made the captain chuckle. "Sounds good, future captain."