All of us stood up from the reserve bench as Sunny ran onto the pitch after being called in by Hyoyeon. Victoria and Clara were laying down on the ground as I saw Victoria holding her wrist. Ms Lee called Yuri up to the sides and I overheard what happened. It seems that when Clara did the sliding tackle, the opponent manage to avoid it but Clara ended up crashing into Victoria who fell over and in the process hitting her wrist on the ground. Ms Lee saw Sunny giving her a signal that showed a replacement was needed. Sooyoung was called up to replace Victoria who had to leave the pitch with Sunny's help. Clara stood up with no injuries on her. As everyone disperse back to their position, the referee announced that the opponent had managed to score a goal during the collision. So now the score is already 3-2 on aggregate.

I saw Ms Lee's expression and it wasn't that good. She looked at me and asked me to get ready. The match only got 10mins left to play but the opponents doesn't seem to show any form of fatigue as they tried to score another goal to level the game. When the ball when out for a throw-in, Ms Lee showed a signal to the referee that indicated she wanted to make a substitute. I was called in to replace Clara who looked so dejected as she left the pitch.

Before I entered the pitch, Ms Lee whispered in my ears. "Defensive play, use counter attack." I nodded my head as I ran to the pitch. Using hand signals, I passed on the message to the rest of the girls. The ball is now in the possession of the opponent. They kept on attacking us as they realised that Sooyoung was feeling nervous and tried to take advantage of it. There were a few times that me and Yuri had to save the ball off the line. 5 more mins to play and the opponents coach called for a time-out. As we gathered at our bench, Clara came up and apologised for her selfish act earlier that resulted in Victoria getting hurt.

As we walked back to the pitch, I patted Sooyoung on the back.  "Soo, don't be nervous. We are all here for you. Just relax and perform like you always do in practice. You'll be fine," I smiled at Sooyoung as I get into position.

The match resumed as me and Yuri tried our best to defend well. The ball is now at Yuri's leg  after Sooyoung managed to save an incoming ball form the opponent. Everyone of us had an opponent standing guard to counter, as Yuri looked around for options to pass the ball.

"Yul! Jae." I pointed towards Hyoyeon as I said it out loud causing the player that was guarding me to move towards Hyoyeon as she thought of intercepting the ball. Yuri saw what I did and with a cheeky smile she passed the ball to me. As I received the ball, I ran forward towards the defender that was guarding Yoona. I turned my body to the right but I used my left leg to kick the ball forward. With a swift movement, I turned to the left and chased after the ball. The defender who had initially turned towards my right had no time to change her direction as I surged forward with Yoona beside me. When the goalkeeper came out to counter me, I lobbed the ball over her head for Yoona to score a header. The score now is 4-2.

As we celebrated our win after the final whistle, I saw Ms Lee talking to Clara at one side. I didn't manage to continue watching as Yuri grabbed me from the back and gave me a headlock.

"Yah!! That was a nice one you pulled earlier, Jae." Yuri laughed out loud as she released her grip and hugged Yoona. "Nice header, Yoon."

"How did you know that she wanted you to pass the ball to her, Yul? Even I was confused when she shouted out her name but pointed to me." Hyoyeon asked.

"That's because we used to play that during our middle school futsal competition. It's called the PJ trick." Taeyeon replied as she walked from the bench to join us.

"PJ? As in pajamas?" Sooyoung said with a poker face.

"It stands for Park Jae actually." I replied as I rolled my eyes at her.

"Girls, there's something that I need to announce. Gather around." Ms Lee said as all of us quickly gathered near her. "First of all, I'm actually not happy with the way things turn out today. We had a 3-goals advantage in the first match but we almost lost that advantage in the 2nd match. I do not wish to see anymore of this kind of complacency in the future. Secondly, Victoria will no longer be able to participate in the competition due to the injury that she sustained earlier so Sooyoung will take over her place for the remaining matches. Lastly, Clara would like to say something to all of you."

"I would like to apologise for my selfish behaviour earlier. I underestimated our opponenet and even ignored a teammate's call during the game when she had a better chance of scoring. I showed a lack of teamwork, discipline and most importantly the lack of leadership qualities. Because of me, Victoria will not be able to participate in this competition anymore and with that sole reason in mind, I've requested to Ms Lee to drop me to the reserve bench for the rest of the competition. I can't continue playing when I'm the reason that one of us is not able to participate. With that, Ms Lee had agreed to let Hyun Jae take over my place in the first team."

The rest of us looked at each other and were shocked with all the news. Before anyone of us could say anything, Ms Lee intercepted and said that the changes are already finalised and she expect a much improved performance from all of us for tomorrow's game. She then instructed all of us to proceed to the bus now and to have plenty of rest before tomorrow's game.

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

After 30mins of warming up, all of us walked back to our reserve bench. I was surprised to see Jessica seated at the cheerleaders bench beside Tiffany. She was usually seated at the audience stand during our previous matches. The cheerleaders bench was just beside our reserve bench.

"Sica? How come you are here?"

"Sunny told me that you'll be playing today so I asked Tiffany if I could sit with her for today. The view here is much clearer compared to the audience seats. Furthermore, Tiffany said that I'm still part of the cheerleaders team so she doesn't see any problem with it."

I nodded at her and smiled. Ms Lee called us to one side for a short briefing before the match. All of us were reminded to remain focus throughout the game. Today, the last 4 teams will be competing. Today's winner will be able to advance to the final match tomorrow while the losing team would be competing later for the 3rd and 4th placing later on. Clara then wished us good luck and reminded us about the pain that the team had to go through last year when they lost at this stage and missed out on the finals.

Taeyeon called me, Yuri, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung to the side of the pitch. As we put our arms on each other shoulders to form a circle, Taeyeon began her speech.

"Today will be the first time that all 5 of us will be playing together but I have confidence in each and every one of you. We've been working hard to come this far. Even though only me and Yuri was part of the team that played at this stage last year, let me tell you guys one thing that I've learnt from it. Play the game like it is the finals and worked together as a team. So Hwaiting!!"

As we entered the pitch, I heard someone called my name. I turned around to see Jessica waving at me and shouting the word 'Hwaiting.' I smiled and waved back at her. As all 5 of us get into position, I breathed in, looked up and closed my eyes for a second. 'Omma, look after me okay.' I opened my eyes and smiled as the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

Both team were playing very well as they tried to find a goal but at the end of the match, the score remains as 0-0. Ms Lee acknowledged that all of us had worked hard and were discipline in the match but she also said that our opponents were also doing well on their part. Ms Lee said that since it's already the semi-finals, every team would be working twice as hard to reach the finals. She then told us that the next match will start in two hours time.

All of us including the cheerleading team then proceed to the cafetaria. I wasn't in the mood to eat or even talk to anyone as I just sat down at the couch behind the dining table alone. I leaned my head back and looked up to the ceiling as I closed my eyes.

"Hey Taeng, is Jae okay? Why does she look so serious suddenly?" Jessica asked.

"She's thinking of a strategy. She's always like that during a competition. Let her be. Better don't disturb her if you want to stay alive." Taeyeon replied as she laughed out loud at her own remarks.

I was trying to visualise the formations and strategies that could be of use to help us for the next match when an irritating voice disturbed my train of thoughts. The mens futsal team had just walked in and Taecyeon were standing beside the girl's dining table.

"A draw? Is that all that you girls are capable of? Look at how easy my team secured a 2 goal advantage in the first match. Seems like even your captain has abandoned all of you. Do you think this midget can bring the team to the finals? She don't even.... Arrghh!!"

The girls watched as a flying shoe hit Taecyeon on his right cheek. They turned to look at the direction that the shoe came from and saw me walking towards Taecyeon who was holding on to his right cheek.

"Mianhae. I forgot to tie my shoes tightly and it went flying when I walked just now." I took my shoe and walked out of the cafetaria, leaving all of them dumbfounded with their jaws dropped.

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

I've been playing with the ball for 30mins since I left the cafetaria just now. I was too focus that I didn't notice another person standing at the side of the pitch. It's only when I heard my name being called that I looked up to see Jessica walking towards the reserve bench and taking a seat. I jogged towards her and sat down.

"I've never seen this side of you before, Jae. So serious and frowning away. You didn't eat anything earlier so I grabbed this for you so please eat it." Jessica took out a sandwich and gave it to me. I took it and said thanks as I slowly ate it. Jessica looked at me and smiled. "Frowning really doesn't suit you."

I turned to look at her and sighed. "Mianhae. I'm always like this when I'm stressed out. Anyway, thanks for the sandwich."

"It's okay. I understand. But I still think you look better when you smile." Jessica pouted.

Seeing her pouting face, I couldn't help but to smile at her. "Do you know that you look really cute when you pout?" I saw Jessica blushing at my comment as she looked down immediately. Before I could continue teasing her, the rest of the girls arrived. Soon after , Ms Lee came and we had another discussion before the game starts in 15mins time.

As the game intensified, all the players started to play with a sense of urgency. We are left with just 10mins to go and the match still remains as 0-0. I gave a signal to Ms Lee to call for a time out and she did so. As the 5 of us gathered near our bench, it was obvious that all of us were worn out. I looked at Taeyeon as she was panting hard.

"Taeng, will you be okay? You seem like you are at your limit." Taeyeon has never been the one who had a lot of stamina. Usually, she will be the one scoring goals in the first half so that she can be subsitute in the 2nd half. But since there was still no goals yet in the match, she had to continue pushing on since Taeyeon was the main goalscorer of our team.

"What if I said, I'm worn-out? I really want to be substituted but who's going to get the goal then?" Taeyeon asked as she drank a bottle of water.

"Ms Lee, can you please substitute Taeyeon with Yoona later?" Everyone looked at me with a shocked face. "Trust me. You need to rest Taeyeon now for the finals tomorrow because I'm going to make sure that we'll be there." Ms Lee nodded her head as the 5 of us went back to the pitch.

2mins later, Taeyeon was substituted with Yoona. When Yoona ran on to the pitch, I used hand signals to inform the girls to switch into the 2-1-1 formation. Yuri and Hyoyeon will be at the back, I'll be at the centre and Yoona will be the pivot. As the refereee blew the whistle to resume the match, the possession belonged to the opponents. With only 8 mins left, they were making a rush in the attack as I helped out Yuri and Hyoyeon to defend.

Yuri managed to steal the ball away from them as I glanced at the time which showed that there were 4 more mins.

"Yul, Hyo. One-two." It was a term that we created during practiced whereby the mentioned players will play a one-touch passing with each other. As Yuri and Hyoyeon started to play the passing game with one another, I glanced again at the time. 2 more mins.

"Yul!!! Now!!" Yuri heard my command and lobbed the ball over to my direction. The ball landed nicely on to my chest as I tried to block the opponent that was standing behind me, trying to steal the ball away. I faked my move to the left before swiftly turning to my right causing the opponent to trip as she tried to follow my body movement. Seeing that her team mate was down, the next oponent was then stuck between me and Yoona.

I continued dribbling forward causing the opponent to chase after me instead, leaving Yoona unattended. When the goalkeeper saw me coming, she rushed out to try and stop me too. That is when I decided to do a backpass to Yoona who was waiting diagonally from my position. She easily tapped the approaching ball into an open goal post. I turned to look at the time and that was when the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.

"Yeah!!!!" All the girls rushed in and hug Yoona as she had scored the winning goal. I was too exhausted to join in the celebration as I walked back to the reserve bench and grabbed my towel to wipe my sweat. I just watched how the girls celebrated in the middle of the pitch, along with the cheerleaders. Ms Lee came up to me and patted my shoulders after complimenting me about a job well done. She then walked away to the opponents side to shake hands with their coach.

Suddenly, someone hugged me from the back, causing me to freeze in my spot. The person must have realised that her action has made me frozen when I heard the familiar giggle coming from behind me. "Sica?" I felt her nodding her head and then my heart beat became faster. I guessed she must have felt it when she let go of me and stood in front of me.

"Jae, are you okay? Why is your heart beating very fast?" She asked me as she flicked her hair to the back.

I was so mesmerised by her that I just stood there without saying a word as my heart beat became much faster. It's only when she grabbed my shoulders that I came back to reality. I suddenly became embarassed by my own reaction as I scratched the nape of my neck and smiled dorkily. "I'm fine. It must be the after effect of all that running."

Jessica nodded her head and smiled at me. "You were great out there. Congratulations for getting to the finals."

Ms Lee walked back to us and called the rest of the girls to gather around. As we sat down on the floor, Jessica joined the rest of the cheerleaders at the sides.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the team for making it through to the finals. Tomorrow will be a big day for all of us as it's the first time that the women futsal team had reached the finals. Secondly, the pressure will be greater for us tomorrow as it seems that the mens team had lost with a score of 2-3 on aggregrate and they will be competing later for the 3rd and 4th placing later on. Does anyone wants to stay behind to watch their match?" Ms Lee looked around and no one answered her. "In that case, please proceed to the bus and as always, please get plenty of rest for tomorrow's match."

It was really noisy in the bus as the girls were really excited about the finals today. I noticed that Clara was quiet as she looked out of the window. I stood up from my seat besides Jessica and went to sit beside Clara. She was shocked to see me there as she tried to put on a smile.

"You don't have to smile if you don't want to. I can understand. Gwenchana?"

"Mianhae, Jae. I didn't mean to dampen the happy atmosphere in here. I'm just reflecting on my mistake. If I didn't let myself became too arrogant yesterday, I could still participate in tomorrow's finals but if I had played today, our team might not even go to the finals. You really played well just now. Thanks to you, we were able to get that winning goal."

"That's where you're wrong. It's not just because of me. It's a team effort. Everyone played their part which lead to the goal. This is a team game. I won't be able to do it by myself."

"But Jae, you single-handedly caused a lot of problems for the opponents."

"Anni... Like I said, it's a team game. No matter how big or small your contributions to the team, they all matters."

"No wonder Taeyeon and Yuri always speak highly of you. Even the rest of the girls looked up to you. You really got a great leadership quality in you. I've realised my mistake so please win the final match tomorrow and make all of us proud. Even though this is my last year in school and I won't be participating in the finals, the memories from all of these will be greatly treasured."

I saw her dejected eyes as she looked away. I stood up and called Taeyeon to follow me as we walked to the front where Ms Lee was seated. I took a seat beside her while Taeyeon sat at the seat beside me, on the other side.

"Ms Lee and Taeng, can I request something?" Both of them looked at each other before they nodded their heads. "Can you allow Clara to take part in the final match tomorrow? "This will be her last year in the university. Imagine the regret that she is going through right now as she reflects on her mistake. Not being able to play in the final match when she's the team captain."

"Ms Lee, as the vice captain, I agree with whatever that Jae said. If I was in Clara's position, I'll never be able to forgive myself for whatever happened. You always say that we should never leave the pitch with any regrets and I think Clara already has enough regrets especially with whatever happened to Victoria, her best friend. At least, let her redeem herself."

Ms Lee looked at the both of us and said that she would have to think about it first. Both of us nodded our heads and when back to our seats. As I sat down, I saw Jessica giving me the icy glare.

"Where did you go? And why did you take so long to come back?" Jessica asked as she folded her arms.

"Wae? Did you miss me so much until you have to stare at me?" I grinned dorkily as I . I caught her blushing as Jessica rolled her eyes at me and turned her body away. I just chuckled at her reaction as I noticed that the bus had almost reached our dorm entrance.

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

The silence in the bus was a far cry from how it was the past few days. All the players were lost in their own thoughts as we make our way to the stadium. I had my eyes close while listening to my mp3 when I felt someone tapping my shoulders. I turned to my side and saw Sooyoung smiling nervously at me. I removed my headphone when I saw that she wanted to say something.

"Jae, aren't you nervous? How can you look so calm?"

"It's not only me. Look at Taeyeon and Yuri first."

Sooyoung turned to look at Yuri before she looked at Taeyeon. She noticed that the two of them also had their eyes close while listening to their mp3 but the expression on their face showed calmness and no sign of anxiety. Sooyoung then turned back to look at me with a confused look.

"Soo, why don't you put on my headphone and listen to it? Actually all 3 of us are listening to the same song on repeat mode right now." I passed my headphone to her and let her listen to the song.

I watched as Sooyoung slowly closed her eyes and her facial expression changed to show a calm and relax state. While Sooyoung was listening to the song, I turned to look at Jessica who was fast asleep beside me. I smiled at her peaceful face. 'Like an angel' was what went through my mind as I continue to stare at her until the bus slowly comes to a stop. The rest of the girls noticed it too as they straighten themselves up and prepare to go down. I tapped Jessica on her shoulders as she shake her head and put out her hand to ask for 5 more mins.

"All team players please gather in front of the bus." Ms Lee said as she walked down from the bus. I tried to wake Jessica up again but it seems that she's not moving at all.

"Jae, why don't you go down first. I'll wake Jessi up. No worries." Tiffany said as I nodded my head.

When I reached the front of the bus, everyone was already there. Ms Lee then asked us to follow her as we walked towards the changing room. Since today was the finals for the Inter-University Futsal Competition, everything was done in a slightly grand manner. Once we reache dthe changing room, we were told to change into our kit and gather in front of Ms Lee later.

"Today will be a day that will stay as a precious memory in your life. No matter how the game will end later, I just want to say that I'm very proud of all of you to have made it so far. All of you had worked very hard for the past few months and the discipline that all of you showed has been commendable. I've always said this and I'll say it again today. Never leave the pitch with regrets. Whether the precious memory will bring you joy or sadness will depend solely on yourself. So go out there and create the precious memory the way you want it to be."

As Ms Lee put out her hand at the centre, all of us took turn to put our hands on top of each other's hand. "Hwaiting!!"

The cheerleaders had just finished their performance as we walked out towards the pitch with our opponents beside us. Taeyeon had informed me last night that our opponents were the defending champion of the competition. We had lost to them in the semi-final last year. I looked around the stadium and saw that there were a lot of students form our university that had came down to support us. I was looking around when Sunny tapped me from behind.

"She's sitting wth Tiffany and the rest of the cheerleaders. Over there." Sunny pointed me to where Jessica was seated as I saw Jessica waving excitedly at me. I waved back at Jessica before sheepishly smiled at Sunny who was grinning at me.

As I stepped on to the pitch and went to my position, I looked up to the ceiling and closed my eyes. 'Omma, give me strength to do well okay.' I smiled as I heard the whistle blown to signal the start of the match.