During one of their dates, Byunghun started to notice that there was something off with Sohyun. She kept glancing down at her food, playing with her hamburger by pulling out the veggies and putting them back in. He continued to study her actions, waiting for her to say something.

In this situation, am I supposed to ask her what's wrong? he wondered. He thought about what Dasom would do, but stopped when he figured that she would probably tell the other party to get over whatever problem the other person was facing. In this case, I should do what I would do.

"Sohyun," he gently called her. She quickly looked up from her food.

"Y-Yes?" she stuttered. It had been a while since he had last heard her stutter. From the tone of her voice, he could tell that there was definitely something wrong.

"Sohyun, is something bothering you?" he asked her in a soft voice.

"Bothering me? What could there possibly be that could bother me? I've got a boyfriend who I get to spend tons of time with, good grades, and a club…" Her voice started to fade when she started to think the co-ed basketball club.

Byunghun frowned. Okay, something is definitely up.

"You seem a bit different," he said. "You kind of look pale."

Sohyun let out a fake laugh. "Do I? I don't think I look too bad…"

"Sohyun," Byunghun repeated. He gently placed his hand on the back of her hand. "Is something wrong?"

She bit her bottom lip. She stared into his eyes, trying to see if she should tell him what the problem was. Then, with a small sigh, she took a deep breath and used her other hand to cup his hand.

"Byunghun… You know that I love the basketball club so, so much, right?" Sohyun asked.

"Yeah. I know you like playing basketball again—"

"I'm also talking about being the manager for the basketball club, too," Sohyun interrupted him. "I love both basketball clubs very, very much."

"I still don't understand the situation," he told her. "What's making you so sad?"

She pressed her lips together. "W-Well… I found a few girls who, surprisingly, also likes basketball. There's just enough member to make a club for an all girl's basketball team."

Byunghun smiled. "Really? Congratulations, Sohyun! I'm really happy for you!"

"But," she said quickly, trying to get all the bad news out as fast as possible, "these girls nominated me to be the team captain. If we manage to find a teacher who will be the advisor for the club, then that means that I would have to stop being the manager and leave the co-ed basketball team." Her voice suddenly became strangely quiet. "T-That would also mean that we would see each other less and that we wouldn't be able to hang out as much…"

Byunghun paused. He hadn't given that much thought. He kept quiet for a minute, then smiled at Sohyun.

"You know what? I'll still support you," Byunghun said. "I think being the captain of the girls' team would be a great opportunity for you."

Sohyun smiled. "You think so?"

"I know so," Byunghun said.

"Thanks, Byunghun!" Sohyun said. She let out a sigh of relief. "To be honest, I thought you were going to hold me back or something."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe I was just fantasizing something? I had a feeling that there would be someone who would want to hold me back. I just didn't know who it was going to be," Sohyun said. "Now, I just need to talk to coach and get his approval."

"I'm sure he'll let you leave. After all, there's still Naeun," he pointed out.

"You're right," she said. She started giggling. "I'm really excited for this, Byunghun! I really am!"

"I'll go see you at your games if they don't clash with my schedule, okay?" he told her.

"Of course! I'll try to get you free tickets if I can," she promised.

Byunghun laughed and nodded his head as he watched her happily bite into her hamburger.

Just seeing her happy makes me happy, too, he realized. Love sure works in a weird way.

One particular day after school, when Byunghun was about to run out of the locker room, he was stopped by Daehyun and a few other basketball teammates. Byunghun looked at them, then tried the other exit, but some other guys blocked his way. Byunghun stood still and only moved his eyes.

"Um, is something up?" Byunghun asked them.

"Is it true that Sohyun is going to leave her position as the basketball manager?" Daehyun asked him.

"Oh, you guys heard?" He smiled. "Isn't it great—"

"Don't let her quit," Daehyun told him. "Tell her to stay."

Byunghun stopped smiling. "Why? We have two managers."

"Byunghun, I don't know if you have been noticing or not, but Naeun isn't the best manager around… I mean, yeah, she's cute, but she does nothing for the team," Daehyun said. "Everyone knows that Sunyoung picked her to be manager because the guys wanted a cute manager."

"I thought Sohyun was cute."

"Byunghun, I'm being serious."

"You're right, sorry." Byunghun cleared his throat. "Sohyun is cute. Thanks for correcting me."

"No, that's not it," Daehyun said. "If Sohyun leaves, then the locker room is going to stink up and the guys are going trash this place."

"Then just be a bit tidier—"

"No, Byunghun. You don't understand. The whole reason why we find managers is to have them look after us when we practice. The only reason why we do so well is because we can focus on basketball, not cleaning up."

It took a while for Byunghun to understand why the boys were so fearful of Sohyun leaving. He definitely understood that if Sohyun was gone, then the boys would have to clean or they would have to get Naeun to clean. However, what he had forgotten was that cleaning up was normal for him. When Sunyoung was the manager, he had actually spent his extra time helping her clean the floor or take the sweaty towels out to be cleaned. Even when Sohyun became the manager, he had helped her clean the court.

But these boys never cleaned anything when they came into the team. The only thing these boys held her basketballs and water bottles, and they never cleaned or threw those away themselves.

"We're just asking you to talk it over with Sohyun. You know, tell her to think about it carefully. If you have to, tell her that you don't want her to leave," Daehyun said.

Byunghun blinked his eyes. "But I want Sohyun to do whatever she wants."

"Byungun, think about the team," Daehyun said seriously. "Please?"

Oh man, Byunghun thought. Teammates versus girlfriend. Oh boy.

"I'll… I'll think about it," Byunghun muttered. 

The boys smiled and cheered, thinking that they successfully convinced Byunghun to talk to Sohyun. However, Byunghun remained silent with an awkward expression on his face. 

I'm not feeling so good, he thought to himself. He took a deep breath and turned around. If there's anyone that I should talk to about this, then it's definitely those guys…

The next day, Byunghun gathered his five friends to the cafeteria, where he started to explain his situation. As he talked, some of the members made a small frown, while Dasom almost glared at him with a frown.

"Byunghun, I'm so disappointed that you hesitated," Dasom snapped at him after he had explained the entire story. "You should obviously be siding with Sohyun!"

"But he has a team," Eunji said. "He can't abandon his teammates."

"But it's the team's fault for hiring someone like Naeun. A cute manager? I mean, I'm all for cute people, but at least do your job, you know?" Dasom said.

"Says the person who always looks cute, but doesn't do anything," a voice behind the group said. Everyone turned around, then Dasom scowled when she saw Myungsoo and Baekhyun.

"Go away, Kim Myungsoo!" Dasom told him. "You, too, Baekhyun! Leave now!"

"A smell a topic of love," Baekhyun said. "What are you guys talking about?"

"I said go away! This is my friend and I'm the one who's going to help him out!" Dasom shouted.

"Why listen to her when you can listen to an expert?" asked Baekhyun. He placed his arm around Byunghun. "What's up, buddy?"

"Teammate or girlfriend. Who would you pick?" Byunghun asked.

"Oh, that sounds tough," Baekhyun muttered.

"That's like choosing your friend or your girlfriend," Myungsoo commented.

"I've been with the basketball team since my first year in high school, but I've only been dating my girlfriend for a few weeks," Byunghun explained.

"Then shouldn't you side with the team?" Baekhyun asked.

"Byunghun, I would always recommend you to listen to whatever Baekhyun says because he's the love expert, but for this one, I wouldn't listen to a thing he's saying," Dasom warned him.

"Why not?" Byunghun asked.

"Don't take sides on whoever you've been with the longest," she told him. "Time is just number. What's important is the feelings that you carry for the person. Take Myungsoo, for instance. We knew each other for years, but look at the memories we made."

"Ouch. That kind of hurts," Myungsoo mumbled.

"Dasom is right," Taemin told him. "It's the moments you cherish with the person that you should consider. Consider on how your decision would affect each party, short-term and long-term."

"It's the moments spent together that counts," Jieun added.

"That's what I just said," Taemin said.

"That's what I just said," Dasom stated.

Eunji looked at Byunghun. "Don't think too much about what we're saying, okay? This is your decision, after all."

"Technically you're the one to influence the decision," Junhee corrected. She glanced at him. "Choose carefully, okay?"

Byunghun nodded and sighed. He got up from his seat and walked away from the table without a word. His friends stared at him, wondering where he was going, but didn't ask when they saw his half-determined expression. It seemed like regardless of what anyone told him, he had already made up his mind with the idea that he was going to hurt one party or the other.

The boy walked out of the cafeteria, then took out his phone. He pressed a certain contact number and rested his phone against his ears.

"Hello?" he asked after the ringing had stopped. "Sohyun? Hey, it's me. Listen, we have to talk…"

A few days later, Byunghun found himself practicing shooting hoops at the school's gym with the rest of the basketball members. The sound of the coach's whistle echoed throughout the gym. The boys turned their heads and dropped the balls as they jogged their way to the coach. Once the group had gathered, they were surprised to see Naeun and Sohyun standing next to the coach.

"I've got some good and bad news for you guys," the coach started. He took a deep breath. "For now, the good news: the managers will continue to work hard—" The boys smiled. "—for the next two weeks."

Mutters and whispers echoed amongst the boys. They all glanced at Byunghun, who continued to look at the coach.

"Sohyun is leaving for another club, but Naeun will be working extra harder with another manager!" the coach continued.

"What the hell, Byunghun?" Daehyun whispered. "Didn't you say anything?"

"I only told Sohyun what the guys wanted her to do," Byunghun told him. "I didn't do anything else. The decision to leave is up to her, after all."

"The guys are going to kill you for this," Daehyun murmured.

"A fellow second-year has offered to stand up and help out Naeun with the workload," the coach informed them. "Everyone, please welcome Jung Eunji with a round of applause!"

Daehyun and Byunghun widened their eyes as they saw Eunji step up to the center. Eunji smiled at everyone and slightly waved her hands at them. Daehyun looked at Byunghun.

"Dude. Why is she here?" Daehyun asked him.

"I don't know," Byunghun said. "I never heard about this."

"I personally asked Eunji a few days ago to help us out," the manager explained. "She always came to our games, and I felt like she was already familiar with most of the basketball club's routine. For the remainder of the two weeks, Sohyun will be training Eunji and explaining her to basic jobs as the basketball club's manager."

"I'm looking forward to working with everyone," Eunji said, bowing at them.

"Any questions, comments, or concerns?" the manager asked. Daehyun raised his hand. "Yes, Daehyun?"

"What about the cooking club?" Daehyun asked her.

Eunji smiled. "I'm still part of it. Being the manager here is more like a voluntary service."

Byunghun raised his hands.

"Yes, Byunghun?" the coach asked.

"Can we get someone else?" Byunghun blurted. "It feels weird to have someone I know be the manager here."

"You can get used to it," the coach told him. "Alright, you are all dismissed for today!"

The coach blew his whistle and the boys dispersed. Byunghun was about to go up to Eunji and ask her for the details, but Daehyun had already pulled her to the side and started a private conversation with her. He frowned until he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his girlfriend looking at him.

"Are you mad?" Sohyun asked.

"About what?" Byunghun asked.

"About me leaving," she said.

"Why would I be mad?"

"It looks like a lot of the basketball members were mad at you," Sohyun said. She bit her bottom lip. "I really hope that you're not hated. Teamwork is important, after all."

Byunghun smirked and patted her head. "Don't worry. If they are mad, then they'll get over it. I'm sure that Eunji's a really good manager. Also, I think that she's going to start yelling at Naeun if Naeun doesn't do her part as manager."

"Well, that's good," Sohyun commented. She glanced at Eunji. "She'll be a good manager. I can see it already." She look back at Byunghun. "Thanks for letting me leave this club to join another club."

"What are you talking about? That's always your choice. You don't have to thank me for such a thing," Byunghun said. Before he could say anything else, Sohyun tip-toed and pecked his cheek. Byunghun's eyes widened as he looked down at her and noticed her pink cheeks.

"I-I'll see you later!" Sohyun stuttered shyly. She quickly ran away from the scene, leaving Byunghun speechless on the outside, but light and fuzzy in the inside.