Foreword:

So sorry about the late chapter guys! I spent the last three days paddling 102Km's in crazy heat on a huge river, and then my entire group caught Covid. I also had a ton of schoolwork (lameee) so I couldn't make time to write ;-; So sorry. Hope you enjoy this chapter! 

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Yujins POV

Yujin wakes up the next morning in a pool of sweat. Loud beeping from her alarm clock fills her room. Groaning, Yujin hits the off button and moves her head to examine the time. A bright red "6:30 am" glares back at her. 

Right... it's Monday. The first day of actual Uni. But her training regime with the Lions has already gone on for over two months, every weekday, morning, and night. In that time, Yujin swiftly rose amongst the ranks and solidified herself as that seasons "Star Player" through boundless motivation and hard work. A valuable title she could not afford to lose, especially considering their upcoming Semi Finals game. She had to be there for her team, to prove she was worth being their best player. 

Slowly, she makes her way out of bed and feels cold shivers run down her body. Dragging her feet towards her bathroom, she examines herself in the mirror. Dark circles marked the underside of her eyes, and her face felt perpetually flushed. Yujin lifted her hand to her forehead before concluding, albeit reluctantly, that she had come down with a fever.

"I wonder what it was..." she mumbled. "Was it the food? Someone must have been sick at that party, right? Or.." She touched her lips.

Her mind clipped back to Wonyoung on the beach the night before. Yujins face felt a million times hotter, but her mind swam, unable to pinpoint her feelings. Happyness, guilt, and confusion washed over her tenfold, causing Yujin to lean over her sink in exhaustion. 

Her head hung there for a second, thinking about Wonyoung. Thinking about seeing her again. Seeing her smile. About holding her hand while walking down a beach back home- 

Yujin forcefully pushed herself upwards away from the sink. She urged any energy left in her body to rejuvenate her for training that morning, telling herself she could opt to rest later. After all, she'd be seen as a weak star player if she couldn't turn up to practice because of some silly cold, even worse to solidify taking breaks as a habit so close to such an important game. She'd just wear a mask to make sure it didn't spread. Putting on any clothes she could find, she hurriedly completed her morning regime. She told herself she wanted to keep her mind off the fever, but Yujin felt a tug in her stomach every time she mumbled this string of excuses as if the back of her mind recognized a guilty conscious.  

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Yujin arrived at the football pitch looking like a wreck. Opening the door to the locker room, Yujin dutifully put away her duffle bag into her cubby before making sure the coast was clear. Ungracefully slumping down onto the metal benches, Yujins body lay upright against one of the bars, feeling the cool metal against her face.

Her mind begged for sleep, but Yujin was determined to stay awake. She decided to plan the day's training in her head. They'd do simple drills for the first half-hour before going on water break. She'd walk over to the benches and grab her water and towel. Looking up, she'd be able to see a small crowd of students pilling onto campus. As she stared off into the distance, she spotted a familiar face. A dreamy-looking girl in a trendy blazer with a smile plastered on her face. Wonyoung! Yujin called. A cool breeze washed over her as she waved at the girl. Wonyoungs face stared vividly back, her features becoming more lifelike by the second-

Yujin was suddenly jolted awake as someone grabbed her shoulder. She inhaled sharply as she quickly adjusted her position. ! How long have I been out? Yujin thought, alert. She looked around and made eye contact with Yena. 

"Hey, Yujin, and you alright? You like pretty sick, my dude." Yena frowned. The more she seized up Yujins appearance, the less joking her tone become.

"Seriously, you good? I'll tell coach to let you sit this practice out-" 

Yujins eyes widened, suddenly feeling exposed. "No! I mean no... Thanks, Unnie, but I'm fine. Really." Yujin shook her head and did the best smile she could muster.

Yena stared at her with a concerned face. But before she could open again, Yujin cut her off with a brisk farewell.

"Welp, time to get going. Practice is uh.. practice is going to start soon. I'll see you on the pitch Unnie" 

Yujin wobbled on her feet as she approached the exit. She felt the eyes of several other team members on her back. Yujin gritted her teeth. They could not think she was weak, no matter what. Being weak was for babies, not for Star Players. Her mind spun as adrenaline and anger seeped through her veins. I must not be weak. I will not give up. I will prove to them all that I can do this.

--

Despite her best attempts, Yujin felt horrible as they were halfway through training. Thinking a bit of fresh air would clear her up, Yujin had pushed through practice. But on the contrary, she was now stumbling in the heat, beads of sweat tumbling down her face as she tried to stand up straight. Yujin was sure her under eyes were terribly dark, as indicated by a few concerned querries from her teammates. Yujin assured them she was fine and ushered them back to practice.

A bright red whistle pierced the air. The Coach has made them split off into two teams as a mock-up for a real game before the Semi-Finals, their most important competition to date. This fact was doubly emphasized by how hard their Coach had been pushing them lately.

Yujin lined up next to Yena, as their Coach counted them down. 

Yujin took a deep breath, prepping herself. She felt her hands on the ground, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration.

The coach's whistle blows shrilly as Yena kicks off the ball.

Yujin pushed off from the ground, begging for any energy to power her miserable physical state. The ball suddenly flew in her direction as her teammates coordinated with the impeccable skill to her position. Maneuvering amongst the other team like a well-oiled machine, she aims for a touchdown. Seeing the final stretch in sight, Yujin pumped her legs, determined to make the 100m. But even as she was doing so, she was aware she was pushing it. Her body felt degraded, and her mind fuzzier by the second. Keeping her eyes on the finish line, she urged herself to continue.

Just 50 more meters.

40.

30.

20.

10...!

Suddenly, Yujin felt her feverish state overwhelm her entire body. This abrupt loss of control sent the ground flying from under her feet, and she slammed into her opponent's side. Feeling herself land awkwardly on her ankle and arm, a sharp pain shot up her ribs as she tumbled on the ground. She lay there, beaten and dirty as her teammates rushed to see if she was alright. 

Trying to sit up, Yujin pushed with both her arms before falling back down into the grass again.

As she thudded to the ground, a sudden rush of pain came from the right side of her body. A labored groan left as she examined the damage the best she could from her sitting position. A swollen and angry-looking ankle glared back at her, while her arm lay uncomfortably at her side. Her breathing was painfully labored.

"Yujin!" Yena spoke frantically. "Are you alright? You fell really hard!"

Feeling feverishly faint, Yujins eyes drifted away from Yena as she saw her Coach running in with a team of medics. With them, a stretcher. The Coach hurriedly discussed with them as they examined her condition.

"We can't have her sit out for the Semi-Finals. She's our best player. We need to get her to the hospital ASAP."

The medics frowned, but ultimately seemed to reach an agreement before nodding and prepping the stretcher.

Yujins ears were filled with white noise as her body was loaded onto the stretcher after the medical team took 10 minutes to patch her up the best they could. She heard the distant wailing sirens of an ambulance progressively getting louder.

At this time a small crowd had gathered around the field due to the rising commotion. Several groups were murmuring as they came to see what was happening. Yujin examined them in dismay. Another disappointed face to see how she had let the team down.

From a distance, Yujin saw the crowd break as a frantic-looking girl pushed through to make her way to the front. Although her mind was out of it, Yujins eyes adjusted and were grimly met with a teary-eyed Wonyoung. Her eyebrows were upturned and her eyes full of worry. 

"Yujin!"

Yujins heard her name ring across the field before her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and her body slumped unconscious onto the stretcher as paramedics dragged her away into the flashing ambulance.