All of us were very tired after our last match for the day. After playing 3 matches yesterday and also today, most of us were experiencing some pains in our body. Even so, we were excited since we manage to come in 1st in Group G with 5 wins and a draw. We were currently waiting for further instructions from Ms Lee.

"Girls, first of all I want to say well done for advancing to the top 16. Tomorrow, we will be going against XXX university who came in 2nd in Group H."

"Ms Lee, isn't that the team that we beat last year for the 3rd and 4th placing? We can do it again this year." Clara, our captain said.

"Even though we manage to beat them last year to clinch 3rd place, we should never underestimate our opponents. We should respect them as how we want them to respect us." Ms Lee looked at all of us. "You all should go back now and get some rest. The bus chartered by the university is already waiting outside."

All of us gathered our stuff and proceeded outside. The mens futsal team were already making their way to another bus. They will be sharing the bus with the cheerleading group assigned to them. Lucky for us, Tiffany and Seohyun were in the cheerleading group assigned to us. We went up to the bus and the girls sat beside their partners. I was making my way towards Jessica who was seated alone when Clara grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, Jae. Want to sit with me?"

"But I want to sit with Jae too." Victoria who was sitting behind Clara pouted at me, trying to show her aegyo.

I chuckled at her as my eyes glances towards Jessica who looked away and stared at the window. I turned back to look at both girls and smiled at her. "I'm sorry but there's already someone that I want to sit with."

I continued walking and sat beside Jessica. Taeyeon and Tiffany were seating in front of us while Hyoyeon and Seohyun were seated beside them on the other side. Beside us were Sooyoung and Sunny while Yuri and Yoona were behind us. Jessica was still staring out the window when I sat beside her.

"Hey, is there anything interesting to see outside?" I teased Jessica who then turned and gave me her icy stare.

"Since there's so many girls who are eager to sit with you, why bother sitting here?" Jessica folded her arms and turned back to look at the window.

I just chuckled at her and grinned dorkily. "Because I choose to sit with you. That's why I'm here." Even without her looking at me, from the reflection of the window, I saw Jessica smiling.

On the way back to our university, most of us were too tired to talk. I didn't even realise when I fell asleep until someone tapped me on my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the rest of the girls smiling at us. I then heard a 'click' sound and noticed that Taeyeon was taking a photo of me and Jessica. I realised that I was leaning my head on Jessica's shoulders while I was sleeping and she had her head against the window. I quickly straightened up and showed my fist to Taeyeon. I turned to look at Jessica and she looked so peaceful while sleeping. I tapped her shoulder and watched how she slowly stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. The rest of the girls were already making their way down the bus as the two of us also followed them.

After giving us instructions about tomorrow's reporting time, Ms Lee dismissed us. The 10 of us then decided to grab a bite at the cafetaria first since most of us were hungry.

********************************

"Why can't I just eat this once? I've already cut down on eating fast food since you didn't like it. Now I can't even eat fried food?" Hyoyeon was staring at Seohyun who had a firm look on her.

"Like I said before, all this unhealthy food is not good for you, Yeonnie. You have to cut down on it too. The best is if you totally don't eat it at all." Seohyun answered them back.

"But Hyunnie, those are my favourite food. First, you asked me to listen to all those weird nature sounds when we go on date, saying that it's therapeutic when you knew that I like loud and dance-type music. Now you even want to control what I eat. Why are you trying to change me? Aaarrrgghh.." Hyoyeon walked away from the table, leaving the rest of us dumbfounded.

Earlier on, the rest of us were eating our dinner when Hyoyeon came back with a bowl of deep fried food. The moment Hyoyeon sat down, Seohyun started to nag at her. The girls were quietly looking at each other, feeling lost as what to do. I whispered to Yuri who was seated beside me to go and look for Hyoyeon and send me a text once she found her. I then turned to look at Seohyun who had her head hung low.

"Seohyun-ah, can I ask you something?" She nodded her head to my question. "Is it true whatever that Hyo said just now? About you trying to change her?"

"It's not that I want to change her. I just want what is best for her. Is it wrong that I want her to eat only healthy food and listen to soothing sounds of the nature instead of the loud music that she listens too?"

"I'm not saying that it's wrong nor am I saying that you're right. But I can see that Hyo is trying her best to be what you want her to be. What I'm worried is do you actually love her for who she is or are you trying to make her into someone that is only ideal in your eyes? What you think is best for her might not be the best thing in her eyes. Have you tried putting yourselves in her shoes? What if Hyo stopped you from doing something that you like? Will you like it?"

Seohyun looked at me as she tried to take in whatever that I've said. "But she had never complained before until now. I thought she liked it too. Furthermore, I've done my researched on all those things and the ones I recommended to her are actually good things."

I saw how confident and firm Seohyun was as she explained whatever that she had done and shared with Hyoyeon all this while. I sighed as the rest of the girls just shook their heads.

"I thought Jessica was stubborn but you are obviously much better at that than her." I felt Jessica punching my arms as I turned around and grinned at her. I was about to speak when my phone beeped.

From Yuri:

I saw Hyoyeon walking towards the school sports hall. She must be going to the gym. I'll stay with her in the meantime.

I kept my phone and turned to look at Seohyun. "Seo, I understand that you care for Hyo but you should also stop to see if she really enjoys all those. There should always be a give and take in a relationship. Talk things out so that there is no supressed emotions in each other. I think Hyo has been supressing herself, that's why she exploded just now. Take your time to think it through about what I said. I'm going to the gym to look for her."

I ran towards the sports hall and found Hyoyeon and Yuri in the gym. Hyoyeon was running on the treadmill while Yuri was just leaning against the wall, watching her.

"Hey Hyo. Want to learn how to box?" I showed Hyoyeon the punching bag that was at the corner of the gym. "It's a good way to release your tension."

Hyoyeon slowed down her running as she looked at me punching away at the bag. As I kept jabbing and giving the bag some quick punches, Hyoyeon walked up to me and watched. Even Yuri joined her at the sides as both of them continued watching. After about 10mins, I stopped at gestured for Hyoyeon to give it a try. As Hyoyeon slowly started to gain her tempo in punching, her punches became harder as both me and Yuri noticed that she was doing it while crying.

Yuri wanted to stop her but I stopped Yuri. "It's okay. Leave her alone. Let her release all her pent-up frustration. Hopefully she'll be fine after this."

Yuri nodded her head as both of us continued watching at the sides. After about 15mins, Hyoyeon stopped and hugged the punching bag. She was no longer crying but she was panting very hard. Hyoyeon then turned around and smiled at us. "Thanks, Jae. I feel much better now."

"That's good. Do you want to talk things out or do you already know what to do?" I asked Hyoyeon as the three of us walked down from the gym.

"I think I know what to do. I've not been honest with Hyunnie about the things that she had asked me to do which makes her think that I'm fine with it. I know that if we talked things through, we can come up with a solution that is beneficial for both of us. I know that all Hyunnie wants is the best for me."

I nodded my head as Yuri patted Hyoyeon's back. We were walking out from the gym entrance when someone suddenly ran towards Hyoyeon and hugged her.

"Yeonnie, I'm sorry. I didn't intend to make you think that I was trying to change you. I thought you like all those things that I do since you didn't complain against it. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I promised. Please don't leave me." Seohyun was sobbing as she held Hyoyeon tight.

"Leave you? Who says that I'm leaving you?" Even me and Yuri were confused with Seohyun's words.

"Sica said that you'll leave me if I insist on being stubborn."

"I'm sorry if all this while I've been supressing my emotions inside instead of telling you what I really feel. From now on, I'll be more honest with you and we should talk things out to find a way that both of us are comfortable with. Do you agree?" Seohyun nodded to Hyoyeon's suggestion. "I won't leave you. I think Sica is just trying to scare you."

"She was still being stubborn earlier after Jae left so I said that you'll leave her if she continues that way. She panicked and ran all the way here, making the rest of us ran after her." Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Says the one who is also stubborn." I meronged at Jessica as she glared at me. I quickly ran away after that, laughing away.

"Yah!! Park Hyun Jae!! You better stop running away. You're lucky I'm already tired of running." Jessica continued nagging as the rest of the girls just giggled at her.

********************************

The girls were seated at the corner, all with their heads hung low. We had just finished our first match against XXX university. All of us were clearly upset since we lost the match with a score of 2-1. If we want to advance to the quarterfinals, we need to at least score 2 goals in the next match against them in 2hrs time. That is provided they didn't score against us.

"I'm sorry everyone. If I didn't give away that penalty in the last 5 mins, we would have a bigger chance to advance." Hyoyeon said as she continued to apologise.

"It's okay, Hyo. Look girls. Even though we lost the first match, we still have the 2nd match to battle it out. Are you girls going to just give up now?" All of us looked up to Ms Lee who was speaking to us with a confident tone. "No matter what happen out there later, I want you girls to have no regrets when you leave the pitch. So go and grabbed something to eat and rest in this 2hrs before the real battle begin. Hwaiting!!!" The rest of us joined her and together we cheered each other on.

We were gathered at the stadium's cafetaria to grab some lunch. The cheerleaders team had joined us too. We were eating quietly when Taecyeon appeared at the side with two of his team members.

"What do we have here? Ooouhhh.. It's our womens team. You guys still have the appetite to eat after losing the match earlier? Tsk tsk tsk.. Well I guess poor people are always like that. When there is free food around, they will be the first to grab it."

I slammed my fist on the table and stood up. Gritting my teeth, I stared hard at him. "The one that is rich is your family, not you. Without them, you're nothing. Did your dad sponsored the food that we are eating right now? I don't think he did. So I don't see the need for you to be of any concern here with the free food that we are eating since it doesn't come from you."

Everyone had their jaws dropped as it was the 1st time that they saw my outburst. Taecyeon was loss for words as he couldn't think of anything to reply back to me. He ended up just pointing his fingers at me before walking away. As I sat down, the rest of the girls clapped and cheered me on.

"We need someone like Jae to stand up for the poorer students like us. Even though we are not as rich as some students, we shouldn't be looked down at. Right, Jae?" Victoria said as she smiled at me. I nodded at her and smiled.

"But Jae is not... Arrgghh.." Taeyeon couldn't complete her sentence as I kicked her leg.

"Wae, Taetae? Gwenchana? What happened?" Tiffany turned to look at Taeyeon who was holding her leg.

"I hit my knee at the table." Taeyeon replied as she quickly pretend to rub her knees and glared at me.

"Why do you keep hitting your knee at the table, Taetae? Can you be more careful?"

"I can. If Jae stopped eating with us." Taeyeon pouted as I just meronged at her.

********************************

30mins before the start of our next match, the girls were gathered at the side while we wait for Ms Lee to give us any further instructions. Ms Lee came soon and informed that we'll stick with the same starting line-up as the first match. When she was about to explain the strategy that the girls have to use, Hyoyeon raised up her hand.

"Ms Lee, can I suggest for Jae to replace me in this match? I.. I.. I'm not confident of doing well later." Hyoyeon looked down as she tried to avoid the eye contact of everyone.

"I don't agree. I'm sorry, Ms Lee. But if I was to replace Hyoyeon for this reason, then I won't agree." I then turned to look at Hyo. "What's wrong with you, Hyo? Did you train so hard over the past few weeks just to give up so easily after a small setback? Ms Lee already said. This battle is far from over. We still got 40 minutes to try to emerge a winner and I won't allow you to back down so easily. None of us here will allow you to do so. If you think that it was your fault that we lost the 1st match, then redeem yourself. Go out there and prove to us that you're really sorry." I stared at Hyoyeon who had looked up to face me. She nodded her head and hugged me.

"Thanks Jae. I"ll prove it to everyone here."

The 2nd match started soon and like what Ms Lee predicted, the opposing team was playing very defensively. It was difficult for our team to penetrate their defence and Taeyeon was getting frustrated since the ball was not getting through to her. First 20mins passed by and it was already half time. The score remains as 0-0 and if this stays the same, XXX university will go through to the next round.

Ms Lee gathered us during the 15mins break and she was also not sure of what to do. I went up to her and asked Ms Lee's permision to give suggestions for the team. Since the opposing team is playing defensively, it means that they have no intention of attacking us. So I suggested that we exchange Hyoyeon's position with Taeyeon's. Hyoyeon will be the new pivot. With Hyoyeon speed and stamina, she can use it to run around the pitch, drawing the players along with her and allowing Taeyeon space to shot. Ms Lee agreed with my suggestion so when the match resumed, the girls were standing in their new positions.

Just like what I predicted, Hyoyeon was able to cause confusion among the players, making two players having to follow her around. With an extra player on Hyoyeon, Taeyeon was given a bit more freedom to roam around and after 9 mins, Taeyeon managed to score a goal, levelling the score to 2-2 on aggregate. Just then, the coach of the opposing team called for a time-out as the players all went to gather at their own side of the pitch.

"Ms Lee, I think they are going to change tactic and start to attack soon since the score has level. Should we stick to this position or we resume our original position?" Taeyeon asked as she grabbed a bottle of water to drink.

Ms Lee turned to look at me, asking if I have any suggestions. "Since the opposing team is very good at attacking, why don't we use the 2-1-1 formation? Clara and Yuri will act as the defensive/winger position. Hyoyeon will play as the defensive/attacking position while Taeyeon will be the pivot. When they attack us, Hyoyeon will help to defend and when we attack, Hyoyeon will help Taeyeon out."

Ms Lee thought for a while and agreed to try it out. The match continued soon as both team were trying their best to get the winning goal. The oppposing team were really good at attacking but lucky for us, Yuri and Clara did well to prevent them from scoring.There was only 2 mins left to the game. The ball is now in Yuri's position as she looked around for options. She saw that Taeyeon was being guarded by two players while Hyoyeon had one player on her. Yuri passed the ball to Hyoyeon who quickly ran around with the ball. One of the player that was initially guarding Taeyeon ran to help her team mate to counter Hyoyeon. When Hyoyeon realised it, she quickly passed the ball to Taeyeon causing the two players that were guarding her to panic. In their confusion, Hyoyeon ran forward quickly without any players on her.

"Taeng!!! Over here."

Taeyeon heard Hyoyeon's voice and quickly released the ball towards Hyoyeon's direction. Seeing the ball moving towards her, with a one-touch volley, Hyoyeon kicked the ball into the net. The referee blew the whistle to indicate it as a goal as the girls celebrated it. When they were told to get back to their position to restart the match, they quickly did so. The opposing team was getting distraughted as the match resume but before they could launch another attack, the referee blew his whistle twice to indicate the end of the match.

The rest of us on the bench ran towards the 5 girls as we hugged each other. After a while, the girls were still jumping around with each other as I stood to one side and just watched them. Ms Lee walked up to me and and stood beside me.

"Thanks Jae. Your strategy helped us a lot today. Good job." Ms Lee patted my back and I bowed slightly at her.

"I'm just trying to maximise their strength to the fullest. Since I always train with them, I roughly know what's their strength and weaknesses. It's not only me who had helped but the players did themselves proud with their fighting spirit especially Hyoyeon. I'm glad she didn't give up."

Ms Lee nodded her head and excused herself to find out about our next schedule since we are through to the quarterfinals. I felt someone tapped me on my shoulder and turned around to see a smiling ice princess.

"I saw what you did in the 2nd half of the game. You looked very professional when you were telling them about the strategy. But I really wished I could see you play too." Pouting her lips, she tilted her head to one side.

I looked at her and suddenly I felt my heart beating faster than usual. I didn't even realise that I was staring at her until a ball hit my head. I turned around, rubbing my head and saw the rest of the girls grinning at me.

"How long do the two of you plan to stare at each? Until tomorrow? The bus is waiting for us." Sooyoung teased us.

I felt my cheeks burning hot as I glanced to Jessica who were looking down. I grabbed her hand and dragged her along as we ran after the girls who were already walking towards the bus. When we almost reached the bus, Jessica suddenly stopped causing me to stopped too. I turned around and saw her looking at our entwined hands. I quickly let it go and apologised. I then asked her to walk ahead of me to board the bus.

********************************

Jessica's POV:

How in the world did I get caught staring at her? I didn't even realise I was doing it. All I did was to tell her that she looked professional earlier and when she turned and looked at me, I just froze at her eye-contact. I actually felt that she looked so cool and charismatic earlier but all I could say was professional. When Sooyoung teased us, I can feel myself blushing so that's why I was looking down but I didn't expect Jae to grab my hand as we ran towards the bus. I stopped because I was actually tired from the running but I think Jae misunderstood it and let go of my hand. She even apologised to me. Why did I feel upset when she let go of my hand? Do friends feel this way towards each other?

********************************

On Thursday, the stadium became less cowded as there were only 8 teams left in the competition. This time round, the girls played much better from yesterday as they won the first match 3-0 with two goals from Taeyeon and also a goal from Hyoyeon. I can see that Hyoyeon is gaining a lot of confidence ever since she scored the winning goal from yesterday and I'm happy for her.

"That was an easy game, don't you girls think so?" Clara said as she smirked at all of us.

"Remember Clara. Never underestimate your opponents." Ms Lee warned her as Clara looked down. "I'm going off to check the time for your next match so you girls rest for a while, okay." Ms Lee walked away as we all sat down to rest.

"What's wrong with my remarks? Why can't we be proud if we are obviously better than them?" Clara sighed angrily.

"Ms Lee does have a point. She doesn't want us to lose focus and take things for granted. If we want the opponents to respect us, we have to respect them too." Taeyeon replied.

"Whatever." Clara answered as she stood up and walked towards the Ladies.

Ms Lee came back and informed us that our next match will be in an hour's time. She told us to get some rest and if we really feel hungry, we should eat something light since we don't have a long break.

As the next match started, all the players stood in their positions. In the second match, Yoona had replaced Taeyeon as the pivot. When the referee blew the whistle to commence the game, the opponents started out well, playing match better than the 1st match. They were more organised and they played with a greater passion as our players were taken aback by their enthusiasm. The girls were a bit disoriented and during a confusion, the opponents manage to score a goal after 15mins. Soon it was already half-time.

During the half-time, Ms Lee was clearly unhappy at how things are going on. Everyone were reprimanded and told to keep their focus on the game. I noticed that Clara was not paying attention to Ms Lee as she just looked away. Once the match resumed, everyone played slightly better but the opponents seem to found a new confidence in themselves after the goal as they kept attacking us.

The ball was now in Clara's position as our team were planning on an attack. She dribbled the ball forward and drifted to the centre from the side.

"Clara!! Over here. Clara!!" I saw Yoona shouting for the ball as Clara chose to ignore her.

As she dribbled forward, two opponent came up to her and one of them stole the ball away from her. The player ran forward quickly as our girls failed to react to the counter attack and Clara tried to do a sliding tackle on the player.

"Aaarrrrgghhhhh..." A familiar voice echoed throughout the hall as the referee blew the whistle.