« Go ahead, guys! I will stay a little longer. »

Yongsun kicks off the ground on her broom and quickly circles the Quidditch field with her scarlet uniform flying behind her. She takes her position in front of the three hoops as three Quaffles float in front of her, they have been bewitched to act on their own, and their only purpose is to get through one of the three hoops behind Yongsun.

It is hard enough to stop one Quaffle from going through her hoops, three is almost impossible, but Yongsun has been training herself the entire summer. This year, she wants to win the Quidditch Inter-House Cup, and she has come prepared.

« Yongsun! »

Yongsun looks at the cheerful girl waving at her from the field below her and decides to end her session there. She gets off her broom with sweat rolling down her neck from the intense effort. The three Quaffles are locked back into their box and to celebrate the end of her training she takes off her sweater.

« Yongsun! You have to dress correctly! »

It makes her laugh as the young girl tries to make her wear her sweater again. Yongsun stretches under the warm sun of September, her white skin revealing tone and lean muscles. Finally, she unties her hair and she lets out a happy sigh.

«It's too hot for September! »

Yongsun takes her sweater from the girl’s hands and hangs it on her shoulder as she takes the heavy box of balls back toward the Quidditch Tower. On her step, an embarrassed and excited girl is carrying her broom.

« You wanted to talk to me, Lily? »

Yongsun lets down the heavy box in Mr. Zelombric’s office, the flying teacher and Quidditch referee. Lily waits for her in front of Gryffindor’s changing rooms, while torturing her hands. Yongsun walks past her, enters the changing rooms, and starts to undress.

« I was wondering… if you could help me with my Charms lesson. »

Yongsun pauses for a moment. She has taken off her shoes but is still ing her trousers.

« Is it already difficult? »

Lily nods firmly.

« Ah! Teachers are mean these days. »

Yongsun takes another minute to consider Lily’s request.

« Can you wait for me to shower? I will meet you in the common room, okay? »

Lily nods hastily before exiting the changing rooms. Yongsun finishes to undress, obvious to the pair of curious looking at her through the crack of the door.

Kim Yongsun is what most girls around Hogwarts would refer to as a “girl crush”. She is handsome and cool, but pretty and sensible at the same time. Her most distinct feature is her short black hair she never takes the time to style it but always looks nice. It is also well-known around the school that she has the most amazing body of all with a perfectly drawn set of abs that she loves to flash when she is drunk. More important than her looks, Yongsun is well-respected by her peers for her excellent Quidditch skills and her obstinacy in everything she undertakes, making her a natural leader and trustworthy friend.

« Is that a snake? »

Hyejin on her cherry flavor lollipop before raising an eyebrow at the girl who just asked with the most disgusted tone about her pet snake, Layon.

« And? What about it? »

The girl becomes white as she meets eyes with Hyejin. She thinks she has been discreet enough, but Hyejin hears her perfectly, and she will let no one talk badly of her lovely pet. The girl apologizes from the tips of her lips before walking away as far as possible from Hyejin. She sits down at another table in the Great Hall, giving her back to Hyejin, scared to make eye contact with her.

It isn’t an unusual reaction. Hyejin has this effect on the youngest student, especially when she has her snake pet with her, and Byulyi is right by her side. She looks scary, unapproachable, and almost mean. A lot of adjectives that the people who know her would never use to describe her.

« You should put Layon back to his vivarium. »

Hyejin frowns, no longer interested in her History of Magic homework – not that she has ever been interested in her entire time at Hogwarts.

« Everyone let their pet run around the school. Why can’t Layon do the same? »

Byulyi looks at the peculiar blue snake lying on the table. It is a Trimeresurus Insularis, a venomous snake from the island of Komodo. Fortunately, its bites aren’t venomous enough to kill a human, but they still hurt. Byulyi knows better than anyone as she got bitten by the small guy more than once when Hyejin first got him.

Layon has now been Hyejin’s pet for two years and she keeps it in a vivarium right next to her bed. Byulyi couldn’t sleep properly for the first months but eventually warmed up to the exotic pet. Unfortunately, it isn’t everyone’s case, and it doesn’t help Hyejin’s popularity around the school.

« You know how it is. Snakes are spooky. Even if Layon is nothing but a softy, right? »

Byulyi takes Layon in her hands to pet his small head from the tip of her finger. Hyejin groans before taking her quill back in hand and focusing back on her parchment.

Byulyi and Hyejin have known each other for years, before even getting into Hogwarts. Byulyi’s father and Hyejin’s mother both attended Hogwarts together where they became the best friends in the Slytherin Quidditch team, their friendship continued after Hogwarts, attending each other birthdays, weddings, celebrations, etc.

So it came almost naturally for their daughters to grow up together. Hyejin is the last of three daughters, but the only one who is a witch. Her two older sisters took after her father who is a Muggle. Byulyi on her end, is the only child of her family, making her crave and enjoy the feeling of community found at Hogwarts. Hyejin’s shy nature and difficult relationship with her sisters, made her seek Byulyi an older sister that could understand her and guide her in the difficult path of life.

In Hyejin’s first year, when she sat under the Sorting Hat, it took almost four good minutes for it to decide on her House. Hufflepuff was the first choice of the Hat, but Hyejin begged it to put her in Slytherin with all of her heart. All she wanted was to “be with Byulyi unnie”. Ultimately, the Sorting Hat shouted a loud Slytherin!

« I have enough of this parchment! »

Hyejin lets her quill down on the table as she massages her temples in annoyance.

Layon gets off Byulyi’s hands and crawls toward his mistress. He climbs on Hyejin’s shoulder and hides half of his body under Hyejin’s hair before resting his head around her neck – his favorite position.

« You didn’t tell me the other day. How was the party at Gryffindor’s? »

Hyejin rolls her eyes. There is only one reason Byulyi wants to know about it. One reason named Kim Yongsun. Hyejin has been painfully aware of Byulyi’s attraction to the Gryffindor for a little less than a year as she caught her friend drooling over the girl during one incident that involved Yongsun and a wet shirt.

« Wouldn’t you like to know? »

« Tell me. Please. »

Hyejin on her lollipop while petting Layon around her neck. Byulyi next to her is trying to act casual about the whole thing but is failing miserably as she groans in frustration for Hyejin to tell her.

« Apparently, she is close friends with Wheein. »

« What? Really? »

Hyejin nods. Byulyi looks at her as if she just talked Troll. It looks unreal to Hyejin that Byulyi didn’t know about this information as she believes Wheein and Byulyi to be rather close, but maybe she read their relationship wrong, and Wheein and Byulyi are not as close as she thought.

« Wheein never told me about it. »

« I thought you guys were friends? »

« We are. It is just that she never told me about it. »

Byulyi contemplates the situation for a while.

« So, does that mean she introduced you to her? »

« You can say her name, you know. And yes, but she was pretty drunk. I am almost sure she doesn’t remember me. »

Byulyi sighs disappointed. If Hyejin had managed to get closer to Yongsun during this party, then maybe she would have gotten a chance to become closer to Yongsun as well.

« Anyway. It was a good party, definitely more crowded than ours, but still good. Also… Have you seen the paper? »

Hyejin pulls out a carefully folded paper that doesn’t hold more than four pages. Yet, it is one of the most coveted things around Hogwarts as this paper is only accessible to the one who knows someone who knows someone. It is an “under-the-coat” kind of paper that doesn’t relate the same kind of information as the official Hogwarts school paper which is published every two weeks. One of Hyejin’s friends happens to know someone and always manages to get a copy for her.

Byulyi gasps when she sees the picture on the first page of the paper. Hyejin tells her to be more discreet about it as there are other students in the Great Hall with them and even professors – and they don’t want to get caught.

On the first page of the paper, a wild Yongsun is looking back at them, with her wet white top revealing her strong pair of abs and her shorts her well-toned legs. Nothing much is left to the imagination even if such a picture of Yongsun has already been published in the paper before.

Byulyi swallows away a drool as her eyes go over the athletic figure on full display. Yongsun is clearly more than tipsy in this picture, but not enough to forget to smirk at the camera making the picture even more suggestive. Hyejin snatches away the paper and puts it back in her pocket despite Byulyi’s complaints.

« I don’t really do relationships. »

Yongsun is sitting on one of the sinks in the Seventh floor’s bathrooms, which have been disused a long time ago, making them the perfect spot to hang out – and other things. With her is a girl named Victoria who has asked to meet with Yongsun there earlier in the day.

« What does that mean? »

Yongsun swings her legs in the air, her height often keeping the floor out of her reach when she sits down, not that it bothers her very much. She has lived this situation many times with different girls – and boys –, and she doesn’t feel the guilt of putting boundaries in her relationships anymore.

Victoria is pretty, with long dark hair, pretty dark mysterious eyes, and lips to kill for. Yongsun got to kiss her more times than she thought possible after Gryffindor’s party, but she never promised more than that to the girl.

« I just don’t want to be in a relationship with you. »

« Then, why did you kiss me? »

« I didn’t. You did. »

Yongsun jumps from the sink.

« I liked it so I kissed you back. But I never promised anything else, Victoria. »

Yongsun gives her a sorry smile, before turning toward the mirror to adjust her scarlet and gold tie. As she does so, she sees Victoria approaching her and putting her hands on her hips, before starting to kiss her neck. Yongsun groans in pleasure as her neck has always been particularly sensitive.

She even turns around to lock lips with Victoria, letting the girl take control of the kiss. She enjoys a little too much the attention she is given, almost forgetting the purpose of their discussion. Victoria wants them to date each other. Something Yongsun doesn’t want at all.

This attitude of hers toward dating isn’t a new thing. Yongsun has always refused every single person who has ever asked her out. And when they asked for a reason, she only ever responded that she wasn’t interested in dating for now. And Victoria's hot kisses on her neck won’t change that.

« I really like what we are doing right now, but it won’t change my mind. »

Victoria stops kissing her neck and takes a step back from Yongsun. It is a shame that a girl as pretty as Victoria has fallen for her when she could have almost anyone she wants, but Yongsun isn’t going to apologize, and she prefers to leave the room before the girl starts to cry in her arms.

« How do you feel about this season? »

Wheein looks at Byulyi attentively, as she herself has been waiting for the beginning of the Quidditch season since the training started again. Unfortunately, Byulyi’s answer is just a shrug, making Wheein frown.

« Really? Just a shrug? »

Byulyi leans back in the bleachers, her eyes not leaving the Gryffindor’s team currently training on the field. Neither Wheein nor Byulyi are technically allowed to watch Gryffindor’s training since they are both part of the Quidditch team of their respective house, but no one has complained about it so far.

« Hyejin told me you have been training all week long. I thought you would be a bit more enthusiastic about the beginning of the season. »

« Hyejin? Hyejin told you that? »

Wheein nods.

« I didn’t know you guys were friends, now. »

Byulyi had stopped believing in the two ever-growing closer a long time ago. But it seems that her prayers have been answered; better late than never.

« We share three classes together this year. So, we have been studying together. »

Byulyi nods longly at the information. It explains Hyejin not being around the common room so often those last days. It is good that Hyejin is opening up to new people – even if Wheein isn’t that much of a stranger to begin with. Still, it is nice. And Byulyi knows Wheein, so she knows the girl is a good person, which is a good thing for Hyejin.

Wheein thinks it is weird that despite her close relationship with Byulyi, Hyejin never really showed must interest in her. Often leaving the conversation before Wheein could ask her anything as if she was scared of her. Wheein never really understood why Hyejin acted so weirdly with her, but she is glad that the girl finally accepted her invitations and even started to sit with her during classes.

« You also went to a party together. »

« Oh, yeah that was like two weeks ago. We weren’t even that close yet, but Hyejin agreed to come. I think it broke the ice between us, even if I don’t know why she has always been so cold to me. »

Byulyi would have told Wheein that Hyejin has just always been very impressed with her rather than cold to her, but her focus is on the party that happened weeks ago. A party she didn’t get to go to but she would have loved to attend.

« Anyway, now I am almost positive that we are friends. »

« Good. Hyejin needs good people around her. »

« Hum… Thank you, I guess. »

Wheein sighs, her friend has been acting weird ever since they sat down in the bleachers, but she can't tell why and she is almost sure Byulyi wouldn’t tell her even if she asked.

« So… What are your thoughts on Gryffindor’s next Captain? Do you think it will be Yongsun? »

Gryffindor’s last Captain had graduated last year, leaving the team with a major seat to fill. Yongsun seems to be one of the options to take on the role as the girl has been with the Quidditch team for quite a while, and has been in charge of the training with their ex-Captain last year. Still, the decision remains to the Head of House, Mrs. Vera, who will announce the name of the Captain at the beginning of the Quidditch season.

« I think she has all of her chances. It would be nice if it was her. »