I looked at everyone's concern eyes and smiled as I took a deep breathe. "I understand all of your concerns. No matter what, I'll still have to face her sooner or later. But don't worry.I'll be fine. I promise all of you that I won't let anything distract me from my game."

"Are you sure, Jae?" Taeyeon asked with a worried tone.

"Aye, aye captain." I replied as I gave a salute pose to her, as everyone broke into a smile but I noticed that Jessica wasn't smiling the usual way. "Sicababy, gwenchana?"

"We'll talk in private later, okay." Jessica leaned forward to whisper in my ears as I nodded my head.

"Yah!! What are the two of you whispering about?" Hyoyeon asked as everyone looked at us with anticipating eyes.

"Are you sure you want to know what I whispered to my Jaegi?" Jessica replied with an aegyo voice, causing the girls to cringe and shook their heads immediately.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already 8pm. Taeyeon noticed my actions and suggested for everyone to return to our dorms to get some rest. We continued chatting and joking around as we walked to our dorms. I followed Jessica right up to her room as she closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Okay, spill." She said as she looked at me with a serious expression but I could see concern in her eyes.

I smiled at her before walking towards her bed. Sitting down, I patted the empty space beside me as a gesture to ask Jessica to sit down. The moment I felt her body beside me, I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned my head on her shoulders. I can sense that my actions shocked her when I felt her tensing up.

Jessica's POV:

I was shocked when Jae suddenly wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head on my shoulders. I've never seen her reacted so clingy to me before. 'Is she really okay?' I thought as I patted her head slowly.

"Jaegi, gwenchana? Don't hide your feelings from me. You've promised remember?" I said as Jae nodded and lifted her head. She was now resting her chin on my shoulders as she gave me a grin. "Wae?"

"Anni.. I'm just feeling extremely happy at the moment. The fact that you could realise that I was not totally fine when we were at the cafetaria earlier and also took the initiative to talk to me in private, it made me feel very thankful to have you in my life. You seem to have matured a bit. If it was how you were before, you would have asked me to say it out there and then." Jae explained her actions.

"I just felt that you needed some privacy to express your feelings. Furthermore, you won't want the rest of the girls to worry so much about you especially during this period. That's just how the way you are." I said as I received another grin from the cute girl beside me. "So tell me how you really feel at the moment. About the possibility of meeting Uee tomorrow."

"I.... I'm scared. Nervous and unsure. I used to feel a lot of anger when I think back about the past but after hearing her side of the story from Taeng, I just feel that she's a victim of circumstances."Jae said before she threw herself to the bed.

Turning my head to look at her from above, I lied down on my bed sideways as I arched my elbow so that my hand can support my head. "Maybe both of you can try to restart a new friendship instead? Forget about the past." I her arm slowly as she closed her eyes slowly.

"I'm not sure about that but I guess it's a good suggestion. Gomawo, Sicababy. I love you." Jae said to me with her closed eyes as I rested my head on her chest.

"Nado, Jaegi. Saranghae." I replied as I closed my eyes too.

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

"Did everyone have a good rest last night?" Ms Lee asked as our bus made a move to the Futsal stadium.

"Yes." Everyone answered at the same time with an excited tone.

"Especially Jae!!!" Hyoyeon, who was seating in front of me, shouted as our cliques of friends laughed at us while Ms Lee and the rest of the girls had a confused expression.

"How come?" Ms Lee asked but before Hyoyeon could answer her, I quickly stood up and covered from behind.

"She slept peacefully behind closed doors yesterday." Taeyeon replied instead as more giggles were heard.

"But she was not in her own room." Sooyoung continued the story.

"And it was not on her own bed." Yuri added on as sounds of excitement filled the bus.

"Yah!! That's enough." I said as I gritted my teeth at the 4 of them who had a cheeky look on their faces. 

"Well, as long as she didn't participate in any strenuous exercise last night, I'm fine with it." Ms Lee said in a teasing tone as hell broke loose in the bus with everyone laughing at her statement.

Closing my eyes and biting my lips, I sat down in my seat with my cheeks turning red as the teasings continued. Jessica who was sitting beside me could only cover her blushing face.

"It's all your fault." Jessica whispered at me as she punched me softly on my shoulders when all the teasing had stopped.

"My fault? You were the one who locked the door and fell asleep on my chest. I couldn't move at all and ended up sleeping too." I looked at her straight in the eyes and we ended up giggling to each other.

"Yah, lovebirds. Stop giggling to each other. You're making me lose my appetite." Sooyoung said as she munched on a sandwich which Sunny had prepared for her.

"As if that will ever happen." I said as I meronged at Sooyoung who were seated beside me but on the other side of the bus.

"Okay, listen up girls. There seem to be some heavy traffic today so most probably we will reach the stadium by 10.45am, leaving us just enough time to warm-up before starting our game at 11am sharp. Our match will be the very first match of the day so other teams will be there to watch us. I will give my instruction right now. We will be going against Daegu University which all of you should be aware by now. They beat Chungmuro team which to my opinion is a good team. Since it's already the quarterfinals, the pressure will be much higher but you've all been doing great so far so keep up the good work. I will not be doing much substitution during matches starting from now on, unless it's really necessary so as to maintain the momentum of the game. We have lesser matches to play so I expect all players to be able to maintain their stamina for longer period on court." Ms Lee paused as she looked at everyone who was giving her their full attention.

"Starting line-up against Daegu University are Sooyoung, Min, Hyoyeon, Yuri and Taeyeon. Playing a 2-1-1 formation, Min and Yuri will play at the back with Hyoyeon supporting Taeyeon upfront. Hyo, you will take up both defensive and attacking roles and interchange when need be." Ms Lee pointed to Hyoyeon who nodded her head. 

As Ms Lee continued to explain to us about our strategies, the bus had drove in to the stadium parking lot and within 10mins, we were already warming up for our match. 

Daegu team was really organised as they seem to be very good at maintaining possession of the ball. They would always attack and defend as a team. Their stamina were also very good although they're not as fast as Chungmuro team. The only problem was their finishing touches. 

"We are lucky that they seem to be clueless in front of goal. If not, we could have been down by 2 or 3 goals at the moment." Yoona who was sitting beside me commented as I agreed with her.

"They're good when they're on the move to attack but the moment Hyo, Min and Yul were able to close all the gaps to shoot and block their players, they became clueless until they lose the ball." I said with my eyes still focused on the game. The current score was still at 0-0 when I felt Jessica tapping my thighs.

"I'm not sure how Uee looked like but I noticed there's a pretty girl who has been watching you for the past 10mins from the Busan team bench." Jessica leaned in to whisper to me.

"But there's already a beautiful girl beside me for the past 10mins so it doesn't matter." I said with a grin as Jessica bite her lips while I stuck my tongue at her.

"Don't you want to see if it's really her?" Jessica asked as I shook my head and focused my attention back to the court.

"I've got a match to monitor." I said as I saw Ms Lee gesturing to me to come forward. "I'll be back soon." I pinched Jessica's cheeks softly before walking up to Ms Lee.

"What do you think, Jae? The score is still 0-0 and we're left with 5mins before the break." Ms Lee asked as both of us continued watching the match.

"Daegu team attack and defend well as a team but their ball distribution is concentrated only through the middle. Maybe we can use the flanks to try and exploit them." I said as Ms Lee gave me the drawing board for me to draw out the strategies. "When the ball is in our possession, we will swap to a 1-2-1 formation with wingers running down the flanks. Taeyeon might be small but she's quick on her feet. She will be able to play a one-two passes with both wingers to create confusion among the opponents."

"Yuri and Hyoyeon will play well as wingers but I'm afraid that Min is still inexperience to defend by herself in case the opponent counter attacks." Ms Lee commented as both of us frowned.

Just then, the whistle was blown signalling the end of the first half as the score remains at 0-0. All the players exited the court while the cheerleaders started to enter. I was still standing at the side with a frown while biting my thumb when a hand grabbed and removed it away from my mouth. Looking up, I saw Jessica smiling at me.

"Stop frowning. You know I don't like it when you frown, right?" She said as I started to grin at her.

"But you still love me right?" I said as she rolled her eyes at me.

"Of course." She stucked her tongue out before quickly walking away to join the rest of the cheerleaders.

Ms Lee was explaining about the strategies to the rest of the team when I joined them at the bench. To improvise on the strategy that I had given her, Ms Lee told Yuri and Hyoyeon to track back to help out in defence everytime the ball is in the opponent's possession. After all instructions were fully explained, the girls rested for the remaining 10mins as the cheerleading team walked back to the bench.

There was a definite change in the flow of the game with the new formation. Daegu team had to rearranged their style of play when our team kept going down the flanks to attack. With Taeyeon being at the center and distributing the ball from left to right between both wingers, the opponent team were left confused at times. It was during one of the confusion that we managed to score a goal.

Taeyeon had passed the ball to Yuri on the left side who then surged forward with the ball. When she lobbed the ball to the center, Taeyeon was there to receive the ball but she didn't have a clear shot at goal since there were 2 opponents guarding her. Taeyeon then  flicked the ball to Hyoyeon on the right side who then returned a perfect cross back to Taeyeon who headed the ball. The scoreline remains at 1-0 until the end of match since we didn't have much opportunity to attack again as Hyoyeon and Yuri had to keep tracking back to help Min with the defence.

"Good job, girls." Ms Lee said as she patted the back of Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Min, Yuri and Taeyeon. "Our next match will be at 1pm which is 1hr from now. Rest and drink lots of water. Get something to eat if you're hungry or you can stay here too but stay away from the court since the next match is about to start between Yonsei University and Busan University." 

The moment Ms Lee finished talking, a group of girls came up to us to take over the sidelines and that was where I froze when I heard someone calling my name. 

"Hyun Jae?"

I could literally feel a lump stuck in my throat as I slowly turned towards the direction of the voice as I noticed Taeyeon's and Yuri's shocked expression. Uee stood in front of me in her Busan University cheerleading outfit with an awkward smile. No one said anything until I felt someone placing one hand on my back with another on my arm.

"Jaegi?" I turned to look at Jessica who looked at me worriedly as she turned to look at Uee. "Hi. You are?"

Jessica asked as she held out her hand for a handshake. I noticed Uee hesitating before returning the handshake.

"My name is Kim Yu Jin but I think Jae will remember me as Uee." She replied with a slight nod.

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

Uee's POV

I've been feeling nervous since last night. The minute I found out that all remaining 8 teams will be gathered in Hall 2, my heart kept beating fast. The possibility of seeing Jae again brought a smile on my face but when I remembered the scene that I saw on the first day of the tournament, my smile faded. 'Who was that girl beside her and why did Jae behave so intimate with her?' From what she was wearing, it was obvious that she's a cheerleader for SM university. I felt envy seeing how Jae pinched her cheeks and the look that they shared between them. At the back of my head, my mind kept saying that both of them were in a relationship but my heart didn't want to accept it without any concrete proof.

From a distance, I saw Jae looking very focused to the court. 'You never change, Jae.' I thought to myself as I remembeed how Jae was in the past, still having the serious and focus expression on her everytime there's a futsal match. I was about to smile to myself when I saw the same girl as before, leaning in and whispering to Jae. I saw how Jae grinned before sticking her tongue at the girl. Both of them continued talking as I saw Jae shaking her head as she pinched the girl's cheeks again before walking up to stand beside an older lady whom I presumed was her coach.

There were two futsal courts in Hall 2 as the 2nd match between XXX University and Handong University began just when Jae's team were having their half-time break. My team match will be played on the same court which Jae's team was currently using as we will take over them once their match ended.

25mins later, we were told to get ready to shift to the side of the court as the match between SM team and Daegu team ended. From a distance, I saw Jae passing around the bottles of water to her teammates as I stood a few metres away from her.

"Hyun Jae?" I held in my breathe after I called out her name.

I saw the shocked expression on Taeyeon's and Yuri's expression since they were facing me but Jae had her back towards me. I watched as Jae slowly turned around and with an awkward smile, both of us were just looking at each other in silence. I was about to say something when a girl walked up to Jae and placed her hand on Jae's arm.

"Jaegi?" That was what I heard her calling Jae before she turned and held our her hand after greeting me.

I didn't really want to shake her hand but I didn't want to look rude so I returned her handshake and introduced myself. She didn't looked like someone who have heard my name for the first time as I saw her nodding her head.

"Nice to meet you, Uee. I've heard a lot about you from Jae. I'm Jessica by the way." 

'She knew about me? They've talked about me before? What had Jae told her about me?' I was curious to know and was about to ask her but I saw Jae putting her hand on Jessica's hand.

"My girlfriend." 

The only two words that Jae had spoken to me but it was the most painful words that I've ever heard as I looked into Jae's eyes. 

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

"Nice to meet you Uee. I've heard a lot about you from Jae. I'm Jessica by the way."

I heard Jessica introducing herself as I kept staring at Uee. I saw Uee frowned a little as she returned the handshake but before she could say anything, I placed my hand on top of Jessica's hand that was on my arm.

"My girlfriend." I said as I felt Jessica turning to look at me as I noticed a slight change in Uee's expression.

"Jaegi." I heard Jessica's whispering voice as she gripped my hand, a sign that she was not happy with my actions.

"Hi Uee. Fany told me that she saw you yesterday. We didn't expect to see you so soon though." Taeyeon came up to my side and chuckled awkwardly. "You remember Yuri, right?" 

Taeyeon then pointed to Yuri who was behind us as the rest of the girls approached us. Uee nodded her head and smiled as everyone started to introduced themselves to Uee. I just stood quietly beside Jessica as I watched the whole process. Uee was about to say something when we heard her teammates calling her. She then excused herself as the rest of us walked away to a corner of the hall where Hyomin, Min, Hara and the other cheerleaders were waiting for us.

"Who was that?" Hara asked the minute we sat down as she pointed towards Uee who were already seated among her Busan team cheerleaders. "She's pretty."

All of us looked at her before breaking into a laugh while Hara just grinned and scratched her head.

"Yah, Hara. Don't tell me you are into girls too?" Hyoyeon asked as everyone looked at her.

"Mwo? I only said that she's pretty. That's all." Hara tried to defend herself as we continued teasing her while I just sat there and smiled until someone slapped me softly on my shoulder.

"Why did you have do that?" Jessica, who took a seat opposite me, asked with a pout.

"Do what?" I said with a confused expression.

"Do you have to introduce me to her in that way?" Jessica asked as she folded her arms as I sighed and it was my turn to pout. "I'm not angry, Jaegi. I just thought that it was not the right time to tell her about it yet."

"I'm sorry. I just felt the urge to state out our relationship status to her clearly. I didn't like the way she looked at you." I explained as I remembered how Uee looked at Jessica earlier. As if Jessica was a hindrance to her.

"Ouuhhh... my baby is trying to be protective of me." Jessica said as she pinched my cheeks. "Gwenchana? You've been quiet since just now."

I was about to answer her when Taeyeon and Yuri squated over to my side. Taeyeon on my right and Yuri on my left as both of them tilted their heads and stared at me.

"Gwenchana?" Both of them asked me at the same time as they wriggled their eyebrows at me while grinning dorkily.

"Yah!! Stop giving me those creepy looks." I said as I pushed their faces away which were just a few centimeters away from mine. "I'm fine. I'm just having a little headache."

I moved away from them and sat beside Jessica before lying down with my head on her lap. Jessica started to my hair softly as Taeyeon and Yuri continued to grin at me.

"So what do you think? After not seeing her for so long and suddenly she came up to you, you must have been shocked. Even though you already knew that you might meet her today." Taeyon asked. "She became prettier, right?"

"She's hot. Especially in that outfit." Yuri said as she chuckled and was about to give Taeyeon a high-five when she froze.

Tiffany and Yoona were standing behind them with their arms folded, glaring at them. Within minutes, we could hear the sound of pain coming from Taeyeon and Yuri who had their ears pulled by their girlfriends.

"Getting prettier is she, Kim Taeyeon?" Tiffany asked as Taeyeon winced in pain.

"Hot in that outfit. Am I right, Kwon Yuri?" Yoona said as she twisted Yuri's left ear.

"Fany, Yoona. Punish them somewhere else. I need to rest. Thanks." I said with a smirk as Yoona and Tiffany nodded their head and pulled their girlfriends away. Taeyeon and Yuri had a helpless expression on them as I waved them goodbye.

Jessica pinched my right ear to grab my attention as I pouted before she continued my hair. "How can you bully your friends like that? They were just concerned about you."

"It's not my fault. They were the one who said it with their own mouth." I said as I grinned and closed my eyes.

"But don't you agree with them? I myself find Uee pretty." I heard Jessica sighed as I opened my eyes again and looked at her. "Why do I have to compete with so many pretty girls? Ailee, Uee.."

"You don't have to compete with them. You're not pretty." I said as I closed my eyes and heard Jessica's gasp. "Because you're like an angel. Your beauty is incomparable. My beautiful angel." I opened my right eye to take a peek at Jessica's reaction and smiled when I saw her blushing. 

"You and your cheesiness." Jessica said as she smacked my shoulder lightly before giggling to herself.

"I love you, Jung Sooyeon. Just remember that." I said before closing my eyes to continue my rest.

The return match with Daegu university was about to start as I stood in front of the ball with Hyomin beside me. Along with Sooyoung as the goalkeeper and YoonYul as the defenders, I'll be playing behind Hyomin who will be the pivot. Ms Lee anticipated that Daegu team would be going all out to score since they're trailing us by a goal on aggregate. For them to win, they need at least 2 goals to advance.

But we didn't give them the chance. After just 5mins into play, I created a goal scoring chance for Yuri who had surged forward to help me during one of our counter attack moves. Yuri didn't waste the opportunity to put her name on the scoresheet. Daegu team seemed to have looked dejected with our goal and I had a feeling that they had given up when I scored another goal at the 15mins mark. The first half ended with our team leading by 2 goals.

In the second half, Daegu team put up a fight and managed to score a goal within the first 10mins but we continued to defend well especially with YoonYul at the back. I managed to score another goal 2mins before the game ended. If the scoreline remains at 3-1, our team would advance to the semi-finals with an aggregate of 4-1.

When the whisle was blown to signal the end of the match, we hugged each other and walked back to the sideline where Ms Lee was waiting to congratulate us. I saw Jessica smiling at me from one of the benches while showing me a thumbs up. I was about to smile back at her when I saw Uee approaching and tapping her shoulders.

At that moment, I wanted to run to Jessica's side but Ms Lee had told the team to gather for a while as she wanted to inform us about the semifin and some minor things. I couldn't really focused on what Ms Lee was talking as I kept glancing to the two girls who were talking at the corner.