[Re-cap]

I've been gone for a fat month and a bit... well. I’m back and better than ever for the last chapter! Here’s a little recap to jog your memory:

Wonyoung meets Yujin through an accidental encounter while both are living in America. Yujin is a star university football player, and Wonyoung is a famous Korean actress on an indefinite hiatus.

They hit it off right away, and Wonyoung starts to realize the reason she left acting was that she had become uncomfortable with how her identity contrasted with the roles she was being forced to play as she got older.

Yujin has her own share of unresolved problems, too. Yujin always felt the burden of having to support her family, so she always strives to be successful no matter what. One day, she pushes herself too hard one day and twists her ankle. She has to sit out of the semi finals and feels guilty for letting her team down. But Wonyoung assures her that things breaks are ok, as this is an important lesson Wonyoung herself recently learnt.

Yujin learns that she’ll be able to make the Finals, and rejoices.

They go on their first date together, but just as they are about to end a perfect day, Korean paparazzi have finally caught up to Wonyoung and an insider for a tabloid magazine hastily captures her and Yujin kissing.

What will happen next? Final chapter, lets find out :)

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Wonyoung is awoken by an extremely persistent phone call. She rolls to her side and glances at the caller ID. Her mind quickly loses any morning fog as she registers the situation. Her manager was calling. But why? And for what? Furrowing her eyebrows, she tentatively answers.

“Hello?”

Her manager's voice loudly flurried through the room.

“Wonyoung, is this you?!”

Wonyoung phone receives a heart-dropping ping of a message as she continues to listen to her manager with growing dread.

The manager tells her the news, almost sounding flabbergasted by what was coming out of her own mouth, as if she herself could not believe it. 

Wonyoung finds out that overnight, a blurry picture of her and Yujin from the date the day before had surfaced in every single tabloid paper in Korea.

The image had raged virally over Naver forums, and people were debating whether or not it was actually Wonyoung, even going as for to speculate the identity of the other girl.

Opening her messages with shaking hands, Wonyoung breathes a sigh of relief to see it is indeed very blurred.

Wonyoung manager interrupts her thoughts “Wonyoung, I need to know. Is this you?!”

Despite all the confidence Wonyoung has built up about herself and her identity over the time she’s been in America, she can’t answer. She doesn’t WANT to answer. She can confront herself, but not the whole world.

She stalls for time, the call going back and forth for nearly half an hour. Over that time, she learns that many famous directors who were potentially interested in working with her were demanding to know if this image is real. Her manager furiously explains to Wonyoung that if it is her, her career would be ruined. 

Wonyoung can practically feel her manager's intensity running through the screen, and it makes her want to scream from stress.

Her manager keeps drilling her through the phone, but stops and heaves a deep annoyed sigh, and explains that she has a meeting regarding the photo she can’t avoid, and that she had expected to have an answer by now. 

She hangs up, and Wonyoung immediately shuts down her phone. Properly. She could never stand when the whole world gossiped about her. It hurt her so much and she just… shut down.

That day, Wonyoung stopped going outside, plagued by the fear of being hunted by reporters and fans for answers. No one would be able to contact her. She didn’t go to her university classes, instead independently studied on her own. Locking her doors, Wonyoung fearfully shrunk back into her apartment, wondering just what she’d managed to get herself into.

Yujin POV

Yujin hadn’t bothered Wonyoung for the first few days. She was focusing on resting and healing her injuries, and didn’t pay much mind to Wonyoung ceasing to contact Yujin like before. She was probably busy, after all. However, Yujin had tried calling her several times over the past week, only to meet the all too familiar “Caller Unavailable”. Yujin grew increasingly worried by the weekend since Wonyoung hadn’t even come around to visit.

Still, she had recovered from her injuries at record speed, leaving her able to walk around on her own. Her training would commence towards the end of the week, and she was feeling more hopeful than ever. So, she finally went to Wonyoungs apartment. As she entered the floor, one of the neighbours approached her. “Do you know what happened to that young Korean girl? I’ve seen deliveries being made, but I haven’t seen her step foot outside of her place in over a week… oh dear, I hope she’s ok. Can you check on her for me?”

Yujin frowns, suddenly feeling worried. “Yes, of course…” Yujin trails off and hurriedly approaches Wonyoung door. She gives three quick but urgent raps on the door. After a moment, she knocks again, more persistently. I’ll wait out here all day if I have to. Yujin thinks to herself. “Wonyoung, it’s me! Are you ok? Open up!”

Yujin heart picks up as she hears shuffling on the other side of the door.

The door cracks open and Wonyoung peeks out from the corner.

“Yujin… what are you doing here?”

“Wonyoung, I’m worried about you. What’s going on?” She pauses, and her face grows sadder “Are you… avoiding me?”

Wonyoung feels her heart break. Unable to take it anymore, she opens the door. “Just… come inside. I’ll explain everything to you, I promise.”

Wonyoung looked like an absolute mess. She had bags under her eyes, she smelt like instant ramen, and her apartment was extremely dimly lit, making Yujin feel like she’d been holled up for a week.

Facing Yujin, Wonyoung chews her bottom lip and looks at the ground. “Yujin… let me tell you everything.”

She fills Yujin in on the situation, tears leaving her eyes which Yujin brushes away from her face.

“I haven’t been avoiding you, Yujin… But I knew if your identity was found out, it would mean nothing good for you. It was never my intention to hurt you… but here I am.” She says bitterly.

Yujin blinks. She’s shocked by the news for sure, but she downs hesitate to say “There’s nothing you could have done to change what happened, Wonyoung. None of this is your fault. I’m just worried about your happiness, which-“ she gestures around the dark messy room “-you’re obviously not, because you’ve spent so much time worrying about public opinion.”

She embraces Wonyoung, and Wonyoung hugs her like she would disappear if she let go. They sway in her living room for a while, saying nothing, but just enjoying each other's presence.

Yujin pulls away after a while and faces Wonyoung. “Wonyoung, I have some good news…” A small smile breaks on her face. “I know this is sudden, but we’re going to play in the finals. I was just-“ She pauses “I was just wondering if you wanted to come along.” Yujin looks down, feeling nervous about her next sentence “I reserved tickets for you, right in the front. It’s a big deal for me, so I was hoping you’d be able to make it…” She looks Wonyoung in the eyes hopefully. Wonyoung feels her heartbeat pick up. The game is in a massive stadium, and if she shows her face, people will totally know what’s going on. It wouldn’t take long for them to identify Yujin, either. Wonyoung feels the hole in her heart deepen.

Wonyoung stumbles on her words “Yujin, I-“

Yujin softly cuts her off “Wonyoung, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. But I’d love to see you there, so much. I don’t care what people think about us!” She pauses “But it’s an understandably a totally different situation for you, I know” Wonyoung can’t make herself meet Yujin's eyes. She was so understanding, but here Wonyoung was, being more afraid than ever. “The game is in a week and a half. Here.” Yujin reaches into her pocket and pulls out a ticket. She gently places it into Wonyoung hand. “I hope to see you then.”

She takes one last look into Wonyoungs eyes “See you, Wonyoung.” She leans in a gives her one last gentle kiss on the lips before turning around and wordlessly leaving the apartment.

Wonyoung is left frozen. She realizes the implications fo Yujins final words, however brief. Yujin is giving her space but if Wonyoung chooses to keep avoiding her, this is the final goodbye, however gentle. But this could also be her chance to redeem herself. Wonyoung knows that Yujin still cares for her and is willing to wait, as indicated by the ticket. She had one chance.

The choice instantly makes itself clear to Wonyoung. But first, she had to clean up her act. 

One and a half weeks later [Night of the Big Game]

Yujin nervously waits in the changing room before the team is due to go out onto the field. She half mindedly taps her leg against the wooden bench. The team is busy preparing, loud chants and laughter fill the room. But Yujin doesn’t reciprocate the cheery mood, instead sits isolated in the corner of the room. Yujin notices a figure joking with a handful of their other teammates. She catches her eye, realizing it was Yena. Yena exuses herself from the group before making her way over to Yujin and sitting down next to her.

“Nervous?”

Yujin just nods, too anxious to string together a response.

“Look Yujin, real talk right now. Y’know, experienced adult friend to an overgrown bean stalk baby.”

Yujin chuckles humorlessly.

“I know today’s the day of the big game… but I can tell something else is bothering you. Is this about your Girlfriend?”

Yujin stiffens in her seat. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say girlfriend…” she trails off

“Look, either way,” says Yena “You obviously have a lot of unresolved feelings, whatever those may be. Don’t get me wrong, she seems like a really nice girl, but keep in mind that-” She pauses for emphasis “-she really might not be here tonight.” Yujin feels her spirits sink even further. Yena obviously notices but continues on firmly. “Yujin, I know that this is getting you down. But your loyalty also lies in other places, like football. Don’t let your heart kick you to the ground and spoil all the hard training which has gone into tonight. Whatever choices she makes, respect it, but don’t guilt yourself over a decision that wasn’t yours. You left the doors open, but it’s now up to her to pick one.”

—

The crowd roars as the Lions enter the field. Yujin feels all her problems momentarily leave her, basking in the energy of the moment.

Before the team gathers in position, Yujin finds herself unconsciously scanning the crowd. She mentally slaps herself. No, not now. Focus. She scolds herself. But despite her pep talk, Yujin feels a sense of hope when she briefly catches a glance at a girl with black hair, before losing her in the crowd once again. Maybe… she lets her mind grasp onto the hope, and refuses to let go. The world starts to hum around her. It’s game time. The shrill scream of the whistle kicks off the game.

—

The game starts off smoothly. But towards halftime, they start losing their tact. Their coach pulls them to the side in a group huddle.

“Listen up! If we want to win this thing, we’ve got to change our game plan. Eunchae, I want you defending the flank. Yena, I want you on number 5. And Yujin” he makes eye contact “I want you to score us as many touchdowns as possible. It doesn’t matter how you do it. The rest of the team is here to support you. But you’re the only one who can get around the final line of defence as well as you did in the first quarter. It’s up to you. You’ve got this!” The team roars in approval.

The halftime siren rings again, signalling the start of the next quarter. They break their team huddle and once again take their position on the field.

—

Things were not looking upwards for the Lions. The game had been extremely tight, especially in the last quarter. They were now tied neck to neck with the opposite team. With only a minute to go, tensions were high. The team was relying on Yujin, but this time, she knew she was ready.

The referee kicked off the ball, and the final minute ensued. Her team gain possession of the ball and coordinates with near-perfect precision, making their way up the field. But the other team's defence was strong. Yena found herself being knocked suddenly by a speedy defender, making the ball fly from her hands. There was a gasp from the crowd, as it looked like the Lions were about to lose their possession of the game. But Yujin dove and caught the ball, earning a cheer from the crowd.

Yujin roles up, and she sees a clear path. Near impossible odds, but it would put them one point above a tie-breaker and bring the game home. Yujin feels her energy explode, knowing this is her only chance to grasp them one final point.

“Run!!!” Yells Yena.

The crowd roars and surges with her as she tears through the field from one side to another.

Near impossible odds. But somehow she finds herself running through the opponent's defence and dodging their attacks.

Yujin reaches the last 50 meters. The last stretch. The crowd roars in anticipation.

The clock ticks down as Yujin races against time.

10

9

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6

5

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3

2

1…!

Yujin slams the ball into the grass and the crowd erupts in cheers.

Her teammates stream over to her and lift her in the air. “YUJIN! YUJIN! YUJIN!”

Yujin laughs with pure euphoria. She had done done it! They had had won!

Yena suddenly signals the team to disperse, and Yujin nervously her eyebrows as she sees them all break into a knowing grin. They slap her on the sides as Yena walks up to her “I think there’s someone here to see you”

Yena points in the direction of the front row seats. She sees Wonyoung in her team scarf waving a mini flag and yelling loudly, grinning like crazy. Yujin is nearly brought to tears with joy.

Seeing Wonyoung so open and just, free, made Yujin's heart swell with happiness. Without missing a second, she ran over to the front of the seats where Wonyoung was sitting.

“What are you doing here?” She yells above the spectators. It doesn’t pass Yujin by that anyone within a 200-meter proximity had their phones videoing the pair. All eyes in the stadium were focused on them as the big screen TV camera started to roll their interaction in real-time after Yujin's legendary touchdown.

Wonyoung smiled like she’d never been happier “I told my manager! I told them everything! I don’t care anymore! Ahn Yujin-“ she grabs her face with all the happiness in the world “I love you!” 

And with that she gives Yujin the biggest kiss on the lips in front of thousands of spectators, now having totally disregarded public opinion.

“You make me happy Yujin. I want that to be my life. Our life.” she grins at Yujin who looks like she’s on cloud nine.

Yujin says the words she’s wanted to say to Wonyoung since the moment they met.

“I love you too,” says Yujin as she picks Wonyoung up off the ground and crashes their faces together for a kiss in the middle of the field. She feels Wonyoung smile, and Yujin instantly knew that she had found the girl for her.

The crowd roars and applause fills the field, the happy couple captured for millions of people to see. But who were they to care? They were happy and in love, and that’s all that matters in the end. 

Fin.