Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yongsun doesn’t know how she ended up in this situation… in her dorm, with a stranger who arrived to HER dormitory like she owns the whole place, cocky attitude, flirty smile and all those cringy-lovey words and touches with Wheein. Yongsun doesn’t know how she ended up there, and she wants this Moonbyul girl to leave.

Luckily, the girl said she’s just paying a visit.

Or so, Yongsun thought.

-Earlier that day-

Kim Yongsun, 26 years old, alumni in the Seoul National University in the International Business Master Degree, a committed student, hard worker and good daughter, she got to do a Master’s degree since she received too many recommendations from professors that ended up getting her a full scholarship, so her life became: work, study, homework, a little bit of social life, study, sleep, luckily enough she managed to have proper eating hours among her busy schedule.

“Yongsun-unnie! Have you seen my nice shirt? I can’t find it!” Wheein’s voice always made the whole apartment tremble, the artist and her high-pitched voice was one of the many talents she had, and at this point in their life, Yongsun can’t be bothered, she’s already so used to it.

Jung Wheein, 22 years old, arts student and in the peak of her artistic era, life too busy with social events and art expositions, putting it out there, the total opposite of Yongsun’s busy life of academic stuff. A free soul, carefree personality and extremely friendly person, the girl has a deep bond with Yongsun since they’ve met each other at a welcoming party 3 years ago. Yongsun is so happy she arrived to her life because otherwise Yongsun would’ve live in the library. They’ve been roommates since they’ve met once they realized their chemistry made them ooze comfort and happiness, it was only matter of time for them to live together.

Coming back to the current screaming through the apartment, Wheein only came to Yongsun in such a hurry after mumbling sentences like “Byulyi is here!” “Gotta get ready!” “She’s almost here!” all in a single breath.

“Whoa whoa, Wheein-ah! What are you saying? Who’re you talking about?”

“Byulyi is visiting Seoul and wants to meet, I know you don’t know who I’m talking about but she’s really REALLY important in my life, we’ve met since highschool and we’re just really close. I’ve already called Hyejin, she’s on her way!”

“They’re friends with Hyejin as well?” if a friend of those two is the reason for such commotion at THIS hour, they’ve certainly meant a big deal.

Stopping the chaos Wheein was making, she came to stand on front of Yongsun and grabbed her hard by the shoulders, as if this was a matter of life or death. Yongsun was so lost on this that she thought that this was for real. “Listen, long story short, we both crushed hard on Byulyi unnie when we were in highschool for a while when we first met but then we just realized that she’s got that charm with everyone that we ended up deciding we didn’t risk our friendship for a relationship and we became closer to her so we’re all like sisters and best friends and we take care of each other and she kinda grew to be a charmer and somehow a womanizer but never has a serious relationship.”

How did Wheein managed to say that in a single breath? Yongsun thought and had no idea.

“Okay,” trying to make sure she understood everything, Yongsun tried to grasp the most important things among this, “So you’re bringing a popular girl here and she’s a womanizer?”

“Yeah, pretty much. But beyond that, she’s really fun to be around, she always takes good care of us and treat us to a lot of nice food.” Of course, Wheein would highlight the food, it’s always the food that wins her heart. “And she’s also the captain of the soccer team at her home university, now that she’s graduating there’s a lot of teams recruiting her to be the start of their team; or so she told me honestly I have no idea about most of the things she says about that sport.”

Great, a soccer jock, things are just starting to pile up on this Byulyi girl Wheein fuzzes about, Yongsun thought, and a roll of eyes was the least she could do to hide her lack of excitement. The younger girl kept going at it and eventually disappeared into her own room; Yongsun stopped a yawn from being too loud to make Wheein notice she wasn’t liking her precious Byulyi already, even when Wheein was too busy to care.

Yongsun resumed her paper and hoped for the best.

Chapter Text

As if it wasn’t enough already, Hyejin stormed inside the apartment one hour later Wheein explained to Yongsun who was coming over and why it was important.

“Wheein I’m here!” No bothering to say hello to Yongsun, she came in as if it was her own house (it basically was, with them being best friends and all) “Byulyi-unnie told me she’s picking up the snacks and drinks for us and that the pizza would be arriving later.” There’s was another mention of Byulyi-unnie and food, was that even okay? Buying these two heavenly creatures with food? Yongsun said to herself.

“Yeah, I’ve read it as well on the group, I’m already done, just picking up a few stuff in my room so we can be comfy by the time we wanna sleep.”

WE wanna sleep? Yongsun’s almost sure she chocked on her own spit before talking, “Why is there a “we”?” Yongsun knew she had no business getting into this, but WELL, it was her apartment too, shouldn’t she be aware of things?

“Oh, because Hyejin is staying over and maybe Byulyi stays in the couch,” there was a rise of voice in Wheein’s tone, as if to calm Yongsun from thinking someone she doesn’t know was going to stay over. Wheein knows her so well after all.

“Oh, I see, well, I think as long as you three don’t make too much noise for me while I study, that would be pretty fine.” Chill, Yongsun, chill. It’s just a friend of theirs. She corrected herself, why was she being like this? She’s usually relaxed about anyone coming over to hang out with Wheein or Hyejin.

“What do you mean? You’re not hanging with us?” No, please, no Wheein making a puppy face followed by Hyejin’s sparkling eyes… anything but that.

She was going to reply, she was going to accept, but was interrupted by a loud noise coming from the door. “Wheein, Hyejin-ah open the door! My hands are full!” Was that the Byulyi? She barely prepared herself for that, yet the two youngsters jumped in their feet to open the door at the same time with a wide smile plastered on their faces.

“Byulyi-unnie!” the two shouted, quite ear-piercing yet you would be able to catch the excitement held for a long time in themselves. Yongsun caught a few images of the girl that arrived; a cap, bomber jacket and low drop sweatpants, quite a style. The unknown girl had long ashy blonde hair that was nicely dropping through the figure of the said-so athlete. The girl was an eye catcher.

The guest took her sweet time on taking off their shoes, the jacket and the cap while the youngsters took the snacks and drinks and hurried to organize it into the fridge and kitchen island. Then she stepped in the shared apartment to take a nice look of where one of her best friends was living, “This is a nice place Wheein.” in the midst of scanning everything, the two pair of eyes of Yongsun and Moonbyul made contact and Yongsun can swear she just got a shiver down her spine. “Hey,” a side smile by Byulyi while stretching her hand to offer it to Yongsun, meanwhile Yongsun still holding her pen and notebook in the living room table staring at the guest. “I’m Moonbyul and you must be Yongsun.”

Despite not really liking the whole situation, the bickering between Wheein and Hyejin was either done in low tone (not possible) or Yongsun just suppressed their voice to focus on what’s in front of her. Not forgetting her manners, she reached for the hand and stood up from the fluffy carpet that was nicely placed to accompany a wide, low table full of her stuff. She didn’t miss the not-so-discrete look Moonbyul did once she got a full view of Yongsun’s body and another shiver went through her spine. While, yes, Yongsun is HOT as her two loud friends would scream and she puts a lot of effort on working out to stay fit, she wasn’t really aware she could actually be AS hot.

Yongsun DID miss the shortened breathing Moonbyul was doing now, Moonbyul only heard a few things about the roommate and did saw her face on some pics on the other pair social network account but never she would’ve guessed that the person before her would be intimidating, cute and powerful just by looking at someone. The oldest girl looked somehow annoyed by having to stand up for a handshake so by instinct Byulyi just did what she does best second to playing soccer: flirting to ease the tension.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” With that being said by Byulyi, she pulled Yongsun’s hand and placed a peck of her lips on top of her hand. That’s when the party started because Wheein and Hyejin finally ended up putting everything out and attacked Moonbyul with hugs. Leaving a shocked Yongsun removing whatever was left of that girl from her hand, rubbing it on her clothes and rolling her eyes.

“Don’t bother Yongsun-unnie with your games, she’s not gonna fall for that! She’s better than any one-night fling you've had! Not to be low with the girls you've been with but don't put unnie into your list of playthings.” It looked as if Wheein knew what Yongsun was thinking because next thing she stopped hugging Moonbyul to go hug Yongsun, now that’s someone who Yongsun enjoys hugging and gladly took the younger girl into her arms, finally a small smile appearing to her face.

"Thanks for the confidence vote, Wheein." Moonbyul thought while feeling a little bit guilty about being put on the spotlight like THAT but knew Wheein was just being careful for her dearest Yongsun. “I can see that, please don’t look at me like that,” Yongsun is throwing daggers at Moonbyul with her eyes, help. “I’m just playing around with you, I would like to be friends as we have these two,” signals Hyejin with a head movement who was still attached to her and with another movement, Wheein who was cuddling right on Yongsun’s neck crook, tickling a little with her hair strands “to care for.”

Yongsun wanted to choose violence, “who does she think she is?! Coming to my house inspects everything, inspects ME and kisses my hand as if I was interested?” The thoughts were rushing and going fast; Yongsun wanted to choose violence BUT because there’s a puppy right beside her and one in front of her hugging a demon, she decided she will keep it cool yet, she’ll be taking her distance.

“We’ll see.” Just answered, not giving much of a resolution for Moonbyul to understand if they were cool or not. “Wheein, Hyejin-ah I have a paper due in a few days and it’s pretty long, I’ll be taking everything to my room and work there.” Not mentioning Moonbyul’s name, she just detached herself from Wheein and started picking up her notes, thankfully everything she needs is already on her room. Without saying much, the rest of the group just nodded and understood how Yongsun cares for her grades and projects and just let her be.

“Sure unnie, but want to join us for dinner? I’ll make sure to order your favorite.” Hyejin and Wheein complemented the sentence as usual with nods and small “yes yes” from one another. “We’ll try to keep it down for you.”

Bless Wheein and Hyejin for being so understanding with her. Meanwhile the guest remained quiet and un-moving. Yongsun sighed and nodded, signaling that yes she’ll be joining the dinner. “I’ll be wearing my headset so if you need something from me just text me, I’ll come.” Entering her sweet, nice and calm space that is her room, the trio saw the eldest girl close the door and sighed.

“Why did you do that!?” Hyejin and Wheein wasted no time in interviewing Moonbyul, who was reaching for the kitchen counter to grab a beer and open it easily, the can doing a whistling noise. “We told you before she wasn’t going to fall for it!” Moonbyul just shrugged, still a tint of a smile on her lips.

“Couldn’t keep it to myself, I think that the more you tell me not to do something makes me wanna do it more.” She wasn’t going to tell her friends that it was because Yongsun was attractive and her energy captivated her, no, of course not.

“You know I enjoy doing that sort of stuff, don’t mind me, I’ll behave though if I want to stay here longer.” She decided to drop the bomb that she’s been holding for a while. Moonbyul wasn’t there just for a visit, she was there to stay and of course she wanted to see her friends reactions in real life once she revealed the news.

“What do you mean?” the two girls watching from far slowly started to approach Byulyi. “What do you mean staying longer? You’re staying here for more than a week? Because unnie is going to kill me.” Both Hyejin and Wheein knew from what they saw that Yongsun wasn’t a fan of this unnie, they knew it just by seeing the expressions and emotion that came from Yongsun’s body language.

The smile on Moonbyul’s face became wider with satisfaction from what was going to drop. “I was hired by Seoul FC and I’m moving here!” Moonbyul didn’t meant -here- in the same apartment with Yongsun and Wheein, more like she found a room in the same building… just two places away.

To say that the scream that came from Wheein and Hyejin pierced her eardrums was little, she’s never heard someone scream that unless it was for a soccer match. Moonbyul saw it coming but jumped in surprise anyways because those two have amazing vocal cords.

“WHAT?! FOR REAL!?” and cue the frantic hugging and jumping with no coordination whatsoever that made Byulyi realize how blessed she is for having a pair like this in her life. “You’re really moving to Seoul?! That’s great news! It’s going to be so MUCH fun! And we’ll get to see you play professionally at last!” The pair couldn’t believe the news, it was so exciting for them to finally have their lifelong friend with them.

“Do you already have a place to stay? Is it close from this complex?” Hyejin asked, curious as whether they’ll need to move around the city for too long or move within their regular areas.

“Actually…” Moonbyul shortened, just to keep the element of surprise, she knew what was coming next once she revealed where her manager is moving her whole things today and tomorrow. The trio didn’t hear the closing of the door coming from Yongsun’s room, the eldest was retrieving a glass of water to keep working on her paper and got a hang of the conversation. “I’m moving two doors from here.” As if it was planned and coordinated, the reaction that came from them appeared as a small spit that ended up in frantic coughing, a beer crashing onto the floor and Yongsun who just her served glass of water dropped almost arriving to her bedroom.

“YOU’RE WHAT!?”

Ah, sweet, sweet music to my ears. Moonbyul couldn’t help but be joyful for being the reason for such chaos; she planned it for Hyejin and Wheein to react, but Yongsun’s reaction was a nice plus.

“Yep” popping the “p” as if she didn’t just dropped amazing news for the whole people in the room. “You’ll be having Moonbyul for a good while.”

“But wait, this dorm is only for students at SNU… you mean that…” Wheein was the first to tie the strings together, always a clever mind.

“Yes, I’m also starting a master’s degree in Sports and Logistics here at SNU.”

To say that the silence was even more fun than the screaming, it was amazing how that was LOUDER than any noise, she just took in the three people wide, dropped jaws and astonished eyes.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Was the last thing she heard Yongsun say before going back to her room, there was clearly some annoyance on her voice but Byulyi interpreted this as a signal that she will have to work her ways to like the elder girl; she wanted to meet the nicest side of Yongsun and go with peace for the sake of her other two friends.

“Now I’m way too shocked to even talk and that’s a first.” Said Hyejin, detaching herself from Moonbyul body to hold herself against the kitchen island, now a smile spreading across her face instead of a shock.

“Yeah, why you didn’t say anything?! How did you managed to arrange everything without letting us know?” Wheein spoke for both of them, they spoke almost everyday via chat and it was something normal for them to be on videocall once Byulyi was off her trainings and matches.

“My manager and Seoul FC did everything, I only focused on playing and applying for the Master degree, which was also very easy to do when I have a nice backup like my soccer career. I also agreed to be the image of the university for a while once the legal things with Seoul FC are official and I’m announced as their knew player.” Moonbyul did wanted to tell her friends everything, it was so hard to keep her mouth shut about these things, mostly because it meant that they could finally spend more time together in person. But Moonbyul thought that having to do this all by herself was a nice challenge and now that the truth is finally out, she feels so much better. “That’s why I think we should celebrate!” To get things back as they were before, she closed this topic before the conversation turned out to be about soccer management stuff as the pair referred.

“Yeah, you’re right,” it was the first time Hyejin spoke in a while and walked up again towards Byulyi, and playfully smacked her shoulder “You don’t keep important stuff like this from us ever again.” Like a mom talking to her kid, she poked Byulyi’s squishy cheek with a firm stare.

“Yes mom.”

And that was enough to let all differences and everything go and return to their usual dynamic.

While the trio outside Yongsun’s room returned to her celebration, the eldest mind was way too busy to process or continue with her paper. She knew she had plenty of time to finish this assignment, so she let herself lay down on her own bed to stare at the ceiling. Why did that girl had to move two doors away? That meant they would be seeing each other more frequently than Yongsun would ever dream of.

It wasn’t that much of a big deal, Yongsun knew that if she wanted to avoid Moonbyul she’ll just pretend she’s always busy with school, work or stay at the library, or whatever.

With too much on her mind, she picked up her phone and scrolled through Instagram and clicked in the heart reaction a few times when there were pictures her friends uploaded, even leaving a comment if the situation deserved it.

From: my wheein 

-unnie!!!!! The pizza just arrived and ive got ur fav right here!:D

Yongsun:

-Coming.

     She replied and it took her a few seconds to get up and put a nice, composed face to what was coming next, having to sit among the trio that probably already had a conversation ongoing, so she’ll just try to blend in to avoid any sort of interaction. Stepping out the room, with her glass of water already empty from before, she could hear Hyejin talking about her recent class that involved medical terms mixed with psychology theories, something really admirable about Hyejin is her ability to hold information and complex terms in latin that came from all her classes.

    “Ah, Yongsun-unnie! There’s your favorite sparkling drink in the fridge, I asked Byulyi-unnie to grab a few cans when she was coming here.”

     “Thanks Wheein, I’ll just eat with water.” She wasn’t going to take Byulyi. She thought about it for few seconds before adding. “And thanks for getting me my favorite drink.” She didn’t say it specifically directed to Moonbyul but she supposed it was enough for everyone to understand the message.

Without saying another word, she re-filled her glass of water and then sat down in between Hyejin and Wheein, facing front Moonbyul who already had two slices of pizza on her plate, next to a glass that had a beer almost finished. She didn’t wanted to make eye contact but it happened, Byulyi also was looking at her with a sided smile that merged into a softer look and Yongsun wasn’t fan but didn’t said or expressed a thing.

Serving herself her favorite pizza and started eating, while this whole interaction happened the other pair was quietly watching as if they were watching a dramatic movie. They all wondered who was going to break the silence, surprisingly it was Yongsun.

“Don’t stop talking because me, you can keep going Hyejin-ah I’m listening to you.”

“Yes, right. So, I was telling Byulyi how I have this class where the professor apparently doesn’t like to be corrected about pronunciation of the terms and it gets me in trouble because I always say out loud how it should be pronounced.” Thankfully the three girls directed the attention without doing much towards Hyejin.

“And did he say something about it?” Wheein always knew when and how make the perfect additions to the conversation to signal they were all paying attention. It was really hard for Yongsun and Moonbyul to concentrate on what the other was saying since they were sitting face to face and it was like a push and pull of looks.

“He only told me that if I wanted to give the class I could just step to the front and give it.”

“And you did!?”

“No, of course not. I’m aware I could give the class better, but I actually couldn’t stand up because I was having a baguette during that class and if I stood up everything would have ended up on the floor.”

Between the three girls listening on the story no one knew who chocked on her food or drinks first. Then the room was full of laughter, even Yongsun couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Hyejin’s reply.

“Thank you universe for putting Hyejin in my life” was the immediate thought of the three girls who were whipping dry the tears from their eyes. The environment was feeling a lot calmer and relaxed, not to mention that the girls are already a few drinks down.

Yongsun felt nice at last, for a moment she felt grateful for having these girls under the same roof as her; now the eye contact that she shared with Byulyi and even if she doesn’t want to admit it, was with no negative emotions, she realized that Moonbyul’s smile made her eyes almost close and make her nose scrunch up in a way she’s never noticed before on anyone.

While Moonbyul was trying very hard to ignore the glow that emanates from Yongsun when she smiles, she’s got to admit that even when she was plain serious with a disapproving expression -which was scary, by the way-, she could imagine that she’ll had a nice smile and boy, she wasn’t wrong. Seeing Yongsun smile at last (thank you Hyejin) made her realize that a peace treaty could be done between the two of them to try and be friends. Byulyi has her fingers crossed because if she wants to stay and come to these gatherings multiple times, she definitely wants to be on Yongsun’s good side.

“She would actually make a good friend.” Both of them thought to themselves while sharing a look.

Chapter Text

After the small gathering and celebration between the three friends for getting the amazing (not so much, according to Yongsun) news that Moon Byulyi was staying for a GOOD while (again, not so amazing news for Yongsun), Hyejin convinced the eldest girl to stay with them for a while and even pick that flavored drink that makes Yongsun tipsy enough to relax herself and forget about her and Byulyi’s awkward stare off they had a while ago in front of their friends.

Everyone cooperated to move things away from the living room they were currently sitting, all of them nicely spread out in the carpet to put their drinks on top of the table without the fear of someone knocking it off. After the things (pizza boxes, a few cans that Wheein, Hyejin and Moonbyul already drank) were put away they all did a mental note to take the trash after finishing everything, they relaxed once again in the same way they were sitting. The only difference is that now Yongsun grabbed a pillow to hug and to lay her chin down, while listening to the two conversations that Hyejin was having with her and Moonbyul with Wheein.

Yongsun quickly noticed the chemistry the three of them had, they were all easy going and had no filters, even when there was a disagreement, they agreed to disagree and even joked about it with huge smile, no hard feelings and even understood each other to the point where Yongsun could feel the empathy the three of them had for each other, it was calming.

Even when Yongsun wasn’t participating in talking, she was active listening all the voices, despite being almost 2 cans of booze down, she was still alert (but relaxed) enough to smile, nod and even stare at the eyes of the person who was speaking to her, it was her way of showing she was interested and paying attention to the person in front of her.

After a good while of chatting about anything, Yongsun was almost reaching the point where her tolerance would make her become more spontaneous, louder and more out-going with her thoughts. She even was thinking on saying that she wants Byulyi to stop staring at her with a cocky smile but apparently the girl read her mind and diverted her gaze towards Hyejin to call her attention and then Wheein, who was choosing what song was next from her playlist for all of them to listen.

“I don’t think I’ve ever asked you two,” Byulyi started, holding her 5^th beer from the can instead of the glass she previously had while having dinner. “How did you met her?” While Byulyi asked and pointed to Yongsun, who was too busy noticing how Wheein was having a hard time doing her hair and the eldest girl actually reached for those rebel strands that were not in their place, pinning them down with a warm and gentle touch.

After her questionm they all turned their gaze towards Yongsun, whose cheek was being hold by her hand, relaxing once again after seeing that Wheein’s strands of hair were finally under control. Moonbyul noticed how much love and adoration she held in her gaze towards her friends, they really meant the world to her, that's why she managed to make the scene of a mother would do to her child. “I’m asking because she’s a master student and you two are a few terms to finish your degree.” 

Even when Byulyi asked the question with a mocking tone at first, her second comment was with a softer voice, actually touched by the scene and a side smile and it was Hyejin who laughed at the memory and Yongsun who (already) was red on her cheeks thanks to her low tolerance to alcohol, while Wheein took the staff to smile and take a deep breath of air.

“It was an event, even when Hyejin is doing her psychology degree and I’m in the arts department, somehow, they manage to bring all students together by doing these get-togethers. We volunteered to be the organizers at a small room that the student council made available for us, we even made posters about it but overall, we got a few people interested.”

The rest of the group hearing Wheein nodded and took a zip of their drink, making it clear that they were following the storyteller. Yongsun was feeling light-headed, her blinking became a little bit slower, before Wheein could keep going, she added: “It was my first day of classes and I did my degree in other university, so I wasn’t familiar with rooms and buildings.” Wheein smile became bigger and giggled at the memory.

“Yeah, so Yongsun-unnie was so lost and didn’t knew that the first week it’s usually fine to miss some classes or be late or whatever rule professors have, but they’re not as strict as they’re the rest of the term.” Hyejin complemented with an exaggerated nod. “So even when nobody was THAT worried about arriving on time to their classes or getting there, we were allowed to have that gathering and as I said, not a lot of people attended, a few people from other degrees, economics, law, arts, all those shenanigans that people study, you know I can keep going.” Another nod perfectly coordinated.

This time Yongsun took control of the story, as if knowing it was her cue to tell what she lived on that day. “And so I was lost at campus and entered the first building I saw, asked the first person I saw on the hallway if they knew where the classroom C where.” They all giggled like little kids, Moonbyul snort being the loudest that had her earning a “shhh” from Yongsun. “Of course, I didn’t knew that at all the buildings there was a classroom C because they decided it was a good idea to put the whole alphabet instead of numbers. ANYWAYS, I was pointed towards the room and because I was so late, I didn’t think twice and stormed in.”

“I’M SO SORRY IM LATE!” Hyejin screamed, making a high pitched voice to imitate her unnie. Byulyi and Wheein laugh couldn’t be contained and slapped the floor like seals, looking at Yongsun who was as red as a tomato. “Not only she saw us passing a bag of chips between the other students but it was so funny that we all laughed and the mood became so much better.”

Yongsun couldn’t help but feel embarrassed the same way she was that day, she just face-palmed herself and laughed the shame away. “After entering the room, Wheein and Hyejin didn’t let me leave and told me that it was okay I missed the class, that it would probably be about introductions and nothing important would be said.”

“And we forced to meet other students, nobody actually believed her when she told us she was doing a master degree, lots of people asked for her phone and insta.” Yongsun became quite popular her first term in SNU, her long natural hair, light make up and squishy face made everyone want to be friends with her. “But only Hyejin and I managed to get close to her,” Wheein started getting close to Yongsun who even when they were sitting next to each other, the younger girl scooped herself and hugged Yongsun “only us two managed to get into her heart.” cheerily said by Wheein, Hyejin also made herself closer and pulled the pair towards herself.

It was a nice sight, Yongsun being squished by Wheein and Hyejin, cheek next to another while Yongsun (thanks to the alcohol) allowed herself to be doted by her favorite pair. By the moment they started rubbing their cheeks together and leaving a loud kiss into each side of Yongsun’s face, Byulyi already had her phone out and took multiple pictures for her to share later with her friends… not Yongsun, yet.

Yongsun allowed herself to feel good that night, not even caring about exchanging a few words with Byulyi that didn’t went beyond and actual conversation, just nods and short replies; but what she did allowed was to study the athlete’s face, her long locks, how her look is warm when she wants to and how her smile is contagious. Yongsun didn’t realize but Moonbyul was wearing a sports shirt under her bomber jacket that was tight to her body “maybe her training gear” she though, as it seemed as if it was an dry-fit type of clothing, adding to that, her shoulders were wide with toned arms, obviously from exercise, not to mention her long neck and an abdomen (she wasn’t looking at her abs, she side-looked and realize she had abs, okay?).

Yeah well, let Yongsun stare for a while, in her defense, she was tipsy enough to look without caring what the girls on the room would say, even when one of them shared the house with her.

Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by Byulyi, she didn’t knew if the older girl was staring or dozing off thanks to the alcohol, but she noticed. “Was she checking me out or is she tipsy enough to doze off?” Were the immediate thoughts of Moonbyul’s mind; she didn’t wanted to overthink the way Yongsun was looking at her BUT it’s usually the girls she’s about to hook up with that look at her that way.

     “Shut up Byulyi, you’re being horny on main.” Trying to turn off her thoughts related to the looks Yongsun was giving to her, she focused on the roaming hands of said girl that were trying to find her phone, all of which she couldn’t: “stop it Byulyi you’re still at it, thinking about her hands and everything.”

     Little did she knew Yongsun was having the same situation, trying to think about anything else but the toned and firm body Moon Byulyi was almost modeling in front of her, she knew it was all the alcohol doing it’s thing, putting all her barriers off and making her vulnerable. “Stop it, Kim Yongsun, you’re drunk and it’s most likely you’ll regret this tomorrow.”  

     “Hyejin-ah what time is it? I have a class at 9 am.” Yongsun was starting to stir her words into one and that was the cue for her friends to stand up.

     “Thank you universe I’m the eldest and they all have manners.” Even when Yongsun hates admitting she’s older, she likes having the advantage of being the unnie of the group. With that being said, both of the eldest girls shut their thoughts and trying to think about getting home or wherever Moon Byulyi was planning on staying. From what Yongsun heard, Moonbyul had a manager and that meant somebody to do everything for her.

     “That spoiled prick.” Okay now Yongsun was getting way too aggressive and even herself didn’t liked to be that way; with a shake of her head, she heard a low voice but clear enough to have all the alarms on her mind ringing off at the hour.

     “It’s 1:16 am.” Moonbyul was the one who answered, unlocking her phone to find the passcode to her new apartment on her chat with her manager, Seulgi. She already entered once but her mind was way too fuzzy thinking about what she saw from Yongsun, and the alcohol combined. When no answer came from Yongsun, just a loud groan and mumbling that could be translated to “I’m doomed.”

     “Unnie, you can head to bed and Byulyi-unnie you can stay if you want.” It was Wheein who took the wheel of the situation and while Hyejin was picking bottles and cans, she was in charge of making sure Yongsun was able to stand up without stumbling into something.

     “I’ll head to my new apartment, it’s already furbished, and I actually wanted to go there before going to pick all the drinks and snacks but didn’t got the chance. I’ll make sure to give you my new dorm tour when you want” Rising her shoulders, she approached Wheein who was holding sleepy Yongsun. “I can help you out getting her to bed then I’ll help you out cleaning everything.”

     With a stern look from Wheein, she mumbled to her unnie to -behave and not mess with her unnie-, Byulyi only chuckled and nodded, she already made her mind that she’ll try to get onto Yongsun’s good side, she was going to be playful and teasing like she always is but that’s going to be once she makes sure Yongsun and her are in good terms.

     Meanwhile the two were bickering back and fro, Yongsun knew that it wasn’t Wheein who was holding her anymore because she was already trying to look at the taller girl. “You know? I don’t like you.” She started walking for herself towards her room, but she still had those strong arms holding her and keeping her walking into a straight line. Yongsun will not say a thing about it because she’s pretty sure she would have slammed herself into a wall if it wasn’t for Moonbyul.

     “I know you don’t, but let’s get you to bed.”

     “I don’t wanna go to bed with you.”

     “I’m helping Wheein and Hyejin out while they clean.”

     “I can help them out too.”

     “I’m pretty sure you can’t.”

     “I can.”

     “Can not.”

     “Can”

     Moonbyul decided to drop it first and Yongsun counted that as a win, now in her room, she lifted her arm to find the light switch and turn it on, but she only felt Byulyu’s hand covering it, already turning it on. She just dropped her arm and scuffed some air out, annoyed by the other girl.

     “You know we can be good friends, right?”

     “I didn’t ask, Moonbyul.” Yongsun deadpanned, from one second to another she was feeling Byulyi’s strong hands and then she was just annoyed at her. SHe didn’t even understood why she was like that. “For being such an over-confident brat, I can tell you that.” Her inner voice answered her own thoughts.

     “Let’s not make this so hard on ourselves, I’m going to behave, I understand you’re old and more mature,” Moonbyul kept teasing by calling her old and she knew what she was doing, only to bother Yongsun, but she can’t help it! It’s part of her and it’s fun to see Yongsun reactions. “But we can also get along very well, we’re almost the same age and we have the same best friends, allow me to prove you I can be a good friend, uh?”

     It was so HARD saying no to that, Yongsun was already puffing her pillow before Byulyi got the other one and did it for her, she never stopped looking at Yongsun eyes and it was getting on her nerves. “If I say yes would she stop looking at me like that?” she thought, it was hard to not look back but that would make Yongsun feel way too shy.

     Moonbyul even helped her remove the main cover of her bed and waited for her to hop in and get comfy, she was making it so hard by being good.

     “Mh, okay, I’ll try, just don’t do that.” While signaling the whole person Byulyi was, Yongsun couldn’t really pin point what exactly was it that was bothering (and liking) her. Yongsun tried to keep it cool, to show that she wasn’t happy she had the chance to befriend the girl who bravely entered her life.  

     To say she didn’t smiled when she saw Moonbyul stand up with a jump and a big smile would be a lie; how can she be so transparent? Yongsun side smiled over her reaction and lightly pushed Byulyi away from her bed. “You’re still not getting into my bed.” She tried to take the first stop and start again with her in a playful way and mocked her, only to see the other girl rising her hands as if she wasn’t guilty of something, still wearing that overjoyed smiled.

     “Didn’t thought about it anyways, your pillows are way to stiff to hold my muscles.” Bragging her arm strength that Yongsun already noticed the moment the other girl stepped in her dorm, Byulyi lifted her arms and puffed her arm muscles out. Making her shoulders onwards so she could look broader, it was only for a second while she played with Yongsun’s emotion by attacking her weird taste in pillows.

     “Oh my- just get out!” With a snort, Byulyi opened the door and turned the light off, allowing the light from the living room to be the only thing that illuminated Yongsun’s bedroom through a small line.

     “Sleep tight, Yongsun. I’ll make sure to bother tomorrow so you don’t miss me that much.”

     “Thank you Moonbyul you too and please don’t, I won’t.” They both smiled, now this time it was an honest smile that both of them could feel it was real. Byulyi was closing the door and with one swing, opened it again to say a final thing.

     “Oh, and it’s Byulyi for you.” And closed again with a playful wink.

     Yongsun was sleepy and drunk enough to laugh out loud at the comment and after that, the group outside could only hear silence; Moonbyul released the air she didn’t knew she was holding back and supported herself on the door she just closed.

She wasn’t aware she had Wheein and Hyejin staring back at her with their eyebrows raised.

     “What?” Byulyi lifted her shoulders as if she wasn’t doing anything wrong because, in fact, she wasn’t.

     “Please be careful.” The voice of wisdom, Wheein, suggested. “I know you’ll be nice to her and playful like you’ve always been but she’s really important for us too.” Hyejin nodded in support and closed a black trash bad that was tingling with the cans and bottles that were enjoyed by the four friends. Moon Byulyi was aware of what Yongsun meant to her best friends, and of course she was going to be keeping that in mind.

     “Yeah, I will. Yeez, have some faith in me you guys.” She was a little hurt, she’s not going to lie about it, she knew she had her reputation and she’s always been open about liking girls, but she marks a huge difference between other girls and her friends. “We’re going to be good, I AM going to be nice, I AM going to be careful, I AM going to behave and we’ll both be good friends. You two have nothing to worry about; I know we started with the wrong foot, but we are honestly starting from zero and we’re both being nice.”

     There was a silence, it was obvious that Hyejin and Wheein were both thinking about it and after exchanging looks between the two of them, they both nodded, the two of them wearing a soft smile that made Byulyi feel a lot calmer.

     “Okay, we trust you. We won’t make a group chat unless she asks us to do so. That way we can know she’s having a nice time.”

     “Seems fair to me.”

     With that mutual agreement, they closed the night cleaning the rest of the apartment and taking out the trash, Yongsun was fast asleep and even when they were still joking around until 3 am, the older girl didn’t gave signals that she woke up. The trio ended up hiding in Wheein’s room talking about sweet nothings that kept them close at heart.

     “I have to get going, I know that tomorrows Friday and there must be some activities Seulgi makes me do for the soccer club and promotional pics from here.” Holding back a yawn that still came out silently, Byulyi stood up from Wheein’s desktop chair and checked her pockets to see if she wasn’t missing anything.

     “Look at you, being all famous and shining bright. We always knew you could do it, unnie.” It was Hyejin who was already hugging one of the huge pillows Wheein kept at her bed, something patterned with cat paw prints. They couldn’t keep a smile forming from their lips, it was only a few years ago they were all dreaming about being successful and studying what they liked the most.

Now Wheein is following her art studies and doing a career out of it with multiple collaborations with local professional artists while she has her own presentation; and Hyejin being enthusiastic about psychology and she’s being top of her class now, probably graduating with the suma cum laude title from all the university, they’re all doing what they’ve set as their personal goal so far, and it’s so nice to know they’re all winning.

     Byulyi can’t wait to start her life here in Seoul, her apartment is nice, she’s close to her friends, she’s close to the university she will be doing her master degree soon… she’s making more friends. What else can she ask for? She’s making decent money being already targeted as part of the Olympic team, already is in a team with a highly competitive league, doing promotional pictures for one of the highest ranked universities in the country… Byulyi is getting the life she always thought she deserved and what better to have her two best friends by her side?

     They all didn’t wanted to get emotional so Byulyi avoided going that deep onto her thoughts and shook her head to lower the intensity of the emotions she was about to feel and went in to kiss the top of Hyejin and Wheein’s head, wishing them a good night and a proper rest, telling them they’ll be seeing each other tomorrow if they didn’t had nay plan scheduled after their classes and schedules Byulyi had to tend.

     Moonbyul was in charge of turning everything off and closing the door so she could head back to her own home… “home”, what a foreign thought, to think a department that belonged to a university would be what she’s going to be calling home for a long time. But she knew, she knew it was because of the girls two doors apart her, Wheein, Hyejin and she dares to even call Yongsun into this, the master student gave her a sense of belonging in this new environment was something she’s been longing for a while.

     After turning all the lights off, she turned to Yongsun’s room and slowly opened the door, thankfully they’re properly oiled so they don’t make any sound, she took a small peak and heard a relaxed breathing, in and out; a signal that the girl was fast asleep. She closed the door with the same care she opened it and turned on her phone flash to light her way out, taking a deep breath to get used to a new routine, a new space, new hallway, new door.

     It was, literally, two doors away from them, on the same side of the building so they had a nice view of the city and part of the campus. Seulgi left all her curtains open so when she entered, even when the flash light of her phone was off, it was illuminated by the street lights. A nice living room, spacious couch that could fit 5 people, even 6 if they didn’t mind to be squeezed, but overall, spacious, plenty room for cuddles and napping. A wide flatscreen across the couch with a low table in the middle with enough space to fit multiple dishes.

     Moonbyul turned on the lights and scanned the room, a few paintings that will be replaced by ones made by Wheein, a kitchen and it’s necessary oven, stove and a fridge. Thankfully the fridge was big enough to fit all the food she’ll need for when Wheein and Hyejin come over to devour all the nice stuff. The quick scan of the kitchen was enough, she trusted Seulgi to make it a right fit for her.

Now onto the good part, she knew these apartments come with two bedrooms, she told Seulgi to put an extra bed on the other room “just in case” to which the other girl only rolled her eyes and scuffed “yeah, sure it’s just in case.” and proceeded to warn her about not attending to her schedules if went partying way too much. She approached the door and opened, it was nice, it was all very… beige and softer, too much for her liking but realized she could make some modifications adding more paintings done by Wheein and books that Hyejin could suggest to make it more homey.

The most important part was her own room and so she set her way towards the bigger door, Byulyi was excited and she knew it was because of this new chapter she was starting next to her best friends; her room was big, she didn’t took a good look at Yongsun’s room but assumed the size was the same, nice.

Byulyi turned on the light and a smile appeared on her face, the bed was big, the pillows looked amazing and the whole thing together started to call Moonbyul to fall asleep soon. She saw a desk and thank you universe for giving Seulgi such a refined look, it was classy and made it a great addition the multiple medals, trophies, awards and her favorite soccer shirts all displayed on the walls. She noticed the room didn’t had a TV her but that was okay, she always uses her phone to watch stuff, next to it were her closet doors which is something she’ll have to explore later because, it’s all her clothing anyways, she knows what she owns.

The bathroom door was almost transparent, only enough to see silhouettes but not defined, “that’s cheeky” she thought; sitting down in her new bed, Byulyi gazed everything one last time before removing her jacket and cap to throw them on the floor (which she made a mental note to pick it up tomorrow before Seulgi arrives if not she’s going to be lectured)and lay down on her (very) squishy bed.

“Wow is this heaven?”

She liked to talk to herself out loud.

She stood up again and made sure everything was closed, turned down and headed once again to her bedroom, she was loving it. Undressing, she grabbed a pair of baggy shorts, pretty loose for her comfort and a random white shirt again, pretty loose. While undoing the covers of her neatly made bed, she decided she wanted to sleep close to the window, making sure her alarm was properly set at 7 am to work out until 8:30 to knock on her friend’s door to grab breakfast before Seulgi arrived at 10 to start her schedule activities.

 “That’s a nice plan, I’ll let them know I’ll go tomorrow morning.”

Unlocking her phone, she noticed she left it open in her gallery and the last pictures taken where the ones the duo where squishing Yongsun’s face, huge smiles in the three faces.

She smiled at the memories they made a few hours ago.

Selecting them with her finger, she immediately sent them to her group chat with Hyejin and Wheein, making another mental note to ask for Yongsun’s phone number in the most common, not-flirty, friendly way so she could have these pics as well.

It didn’t need a long time to get a notification from Wheein. Somehow she was still up, either checking some social media, adding cute effects to the picture or making sure Hyejin is as comfy as possible.

To: Wheeny

WhY ARE U sTILL AWAKE!?

Wheeny:

Why ARE YOU still awake unnie?

Of course she would do that, Hyejin wasn’t answering so she guessed she was already asleep, she knew the moment the girl grabbed the pillow on Wheein’s bed that it wouldn’t be that long for her to fall asleep.

From: Wheeny

You left like 30 minutes ago I though u were already snoring ;P

Moonstar

I needed to make sure my new home would fit my taste otherwise I would’ve cancelled all contracts and leave this place

From: Wheeny

Ofc you would say that, I know you loved it, Seulgi unnie arranged it for you so shut up she has an impeccable taste

Moonstar

You’ve only met seulgi, like, twice in your life, wheeny

From: Wheeny

So?

she seems to keep you under control, makes you arrive on time to appointments and managed to decorate your new apartment WHILE looking that pretty, of course I know she’s impeccable :P

Moonstar

Yeah, no

Just go to sleep, let’s meet tomorrow for breakfast, I’ll knock for a thousand times so please open ;D

From: Wheeny

U just arrived and already demanding stuff, bad unnie

But yeah imma pass out, hyejins already dreaming

Good night unnie, sleep well, love ya 

And that’s how Byulyi can tell the conversation ended, she didn’t bothered in replying once she knows Wheein is going to fall asleep in 2 seconds.

She dropped again her phone on the night table before turning to fall asleep, small scenes of what she lived today with the most important people in the world for her, plus a Yongsun who made her shake with emotion the moment both of them laid down their eyes on each other, yeah, it was a rocky start but still a smile in her face appeared while recalling the memory.

Moonbyul's sure moving to Seoul at this time and to this place was a good, nice first step. 

Chapter Text

It's not Moonbyul's favorite thing to do, but she doesn't hate mornings that much. Besides, working out so early makes her feel all good to rock the day; as her schedule said, she managed to work out her good amount of time and even practiced a few shots down the net, a few misses and most of them accurate goals. She was reaching almost the perfect muscle memory to achieve the goals she wanted to score all season and crown herself as the Goal Champion among the other clubs.

Not drowning too much into soccer theory, what was Byulyi's training uniform was now tossed off to the side to only stay in her sports bra and loose but fit shorts that were sticking to her legs from the intense season the physical conditioner was making her do for a quick adjustment to the environment and workload regarding the training. She was still due to PROPERLY meet her new team and actually join the official season announced by the Korean League Federation. She wanted to be in the most perfect shape she could ever reach and keep climbing her success from there. She was greedy with what she wanted and nothing could stop her.

"Great work, Moon, I'll make sure to text Seulgi when the meet up with the team will be so we can also make the press conference with the media to give you the jersey and everything. I bet you'll be one of the best assets of the team if you keep scoring like that, you're a beast and it's up to you and us as a club to support you in that. Again, good work." With a firm pat on her back, the physical conditioner, Wendy, started gathering her things to leave the field. 

Not even having the chance to mutter a " thanks coach" to the latter, Moonbyul was left standing there, catching her breath and a bottle of water in her hand. The sun was barely out and it was 8:30 am. She could go and wash herself but instead decided to put on her spare tank top, tie her hair up and search for the closest coffee shop. She told Wheein she was going to arrive to have breakfast together and knowing the main pair in her life, they were still at Dreamland.

"Would Yongsun be awake by now...?" 

She couldn't help but wander.

"Oh God." Go away intrusive thoughts. With another reprimand on herself, she just took a quick glimpse of the sight of what her new training grounds would be, taking in the scenery, the fresh air and the nice sunlight that was starting to be warm enough to be out in a tank top. 

She hoped she got Yongsun's order right, she didn't dare asking Wheein or Hyejin what she liked but hoped that a nice americano would suit her taste, she got extra packages of cream and sugar but it was bigger the worry the athlete had on getting her coffee taste right. After being probably the first client at a near-by coffee shop with a name so similar to other that could lead to a lawsuit due to copyright, Moonbyul was out with a paper bag that had a few sweets that she was sure were going to put Yongsun on her good side.

"Yah, you're thinking waaaaay too much about unnie, quit it!" She didn't knew how but Moonbyul CLEARLY heard Hyejin's voice in her mind. Burying that voice in her own mind, she still headed out to the buildings she was living in and hoped to properly start calling it "home".

Thankfully it didn't take her that long to arrive, a few turns and one street cross she was putting everything down but the coffee that was being held steady on her right hand and knocked the door in front of her loud enough. Moonbyul was SO HAPPY she was a high endurance athlete because the stairs they have to take on the daily were going to be too troublesome at some point. Whilst they did have elevators, Byul was better with being consistent on exercise, she was still warm from her training and it only took her around 15 minutes to complete the coffee adventure by herself and arrive to the dorms.

"But why is nobody answering?" She already picked everything up and groaned at having to put everything down again to avoid risking the coffee she ordered for the girls that lived in the dorm + Hyejin who crashed in from yesterday.

Raising her fist again and making sure to measure the proper strength to be heard all the way down the hallway, she had to stop midway.

"Because normal humans appreciate each minute we can squeeze of sleep and rest."

Oh.

It was Yongsun.

Yongsun opened the door and still looked half sleep, in the same comfy outfit she was left in her bed from last night.

She was way too mesmerizing to see that Moonbyul only looked dumb standing in the middle of the hallway with everything on the floor at her feet.

"You're not going to come in after you woke me up?"

"Ah, rough talk so early in the morning, I'm always up for a good fuzz after training."

"Well, I would if you at least helped me? I even got coffee and sweets for you girls."

Hearing a small groan coming out of Yongsun, who was barely awake and had a hard time brushing the desire to sleep more off, finally rose her gaze. Moonbyul saw her brushing once again her eyes and now the two of them were standing face to face gathering everything they could of each other. 

Moonbyul wasn't a bad sight herself, her training uniform short still on and a tank top fit enough to see her well formed abs, arms and oh boy, Yongsun realized that her legs were fit enough to crush a pumpkin with them. Definitely the baggy clothes hide the nice surprise. Meanwhile, Byul was still absorbing the sight with a side smile, messy hair bun Yongsun, husky voice and even wearing her glasses to see, it was way too cute.

"You look nice." Moonbyul meant it, she actually thought the eldest girl was radiant.

"Shut up, it's almost 9 and I was supposed to sleep until 10, you took one hours of sleep from me and still come to mock me." Yongsun lips were formed in a line, not believing what the athlete had to say. She recurred to the harsh response out of shock of seeing Moonbyul looking like that so early in the morning. 

She would never admit it outloud but the athlete was the eye candy.

"I actually mean it." Moonbyul lifted her shoulders, if she wasn't going to believe her oh well, but she was saying the truth in a not-flirty-totally-friendly-way .

"I actually think you don't." Of course wouldn't.

Deciding to go for another strategy to avoid conflict, Byul wanted to know the truth of whether her order was correct or not. "I got you coffee." and lifted the tray with 2 ice americano and 2 americanos, the rest of the sweets and cream were in another paper bag among Byuly's training bag. "And hopefully you like the sweet bread I got for us."

"But you don't even know my order?" Yongsun didn't knew if she should buy the nice act, but the presence of the other was charming enough that she rose her shoulders as well and just turn around and went to the kitchen to take out the mats to lay on the table.

"I know I don't, but yesterday I told Wheein that I was going to come and have breakfast with you guys before starting chores or meetings. Since it was late at night and was cozy in my bed, it didn't cross my mind that I actually didn't knew your order and decided to go for the most basic thing that a coffee shop has to offer and got it. It's how I drink my coffee so don't take it as an offense and I even got you an ice cold and a normal americano for you to choose." 

At this point Moonbyul was just barfing words, trying to explain herself on how she and Wheein made the improvised plan, tipsy and about to pass out of exhaustion. 

Surprisingly, Yongsun didn't even questioned more and just took the normal americano and removed the protection lid, only to take a sniff, sighing with happiness at the smell of freshly served and brewed coffee that the cup was emanating. It was a nice action, Yongsun guessed that seeing her outfit and all she still took an hour of training and work and actually made time to meet them and spend more time together, even when they did a few hours ago. 

"If I had your number I could've asked you yesterday or early today but I don't so..." Good try, Moonbyul. "I won't fall for that so easily, you've already been warned."

"Well played, but you won't get my number." "Yet" wanted to add Yongsun and took all her strength to not say so. "I like my coffee well roasted, americano with two sugar and one cream."

Two could play that game and Yongsun was all in, Moonbyul realized that even when a few hours before they agreed to be friends, she saw that the older woman was a little bit private with her things and who she let in her life and with who to take care. She knew that from how Hyejin and Wheein talked about their first time meeting each other. That was totally okay, Moonbyul didn't mind that and respected that, but she was just so interested in that calming aura and nice stories that Yongsun had she bet that having her as friend would be something to treasure.

"Got it, I'll make sure to have it already done by tomorrow."

"Bold of you to assume I would open the door for you tomorrow."

"I'll take the risk, I'll be training very early in the morning until the press conference so don't be surprised I'll crash here constantly."

Somehow she hasn't called her "unnie" or "Yongsun-unnie" today and it was probably because the other two were still sleeping, or so she thought.

There was some noises coming from a room and it wasn't long until two sleepy Hyejin and Wheein peeked out, messy hair and them already changed into shirts that once belonged to Moonbyul during her younger soccer days at her High School club, the two of them with the number 22 on the back and MOON in capital letters. The athlete didn't knew they still kept those and so a warm smiled appeared on her face, this didn't went without notice for Yongsun who's expression also softened, as if their kids just walked in what was about to come a heated discussion. 

"Oii, my sleepy girls." Byulyi's voice was in a total different tone that Yongsun ever heard, as if she was talking to babies. It wasn't nothing weird for the just-awakened pair as they lifted their arms in unison to catch Byulyi in their arms, in which the latter happily stepped in and held their heads now with both her hands free to move. "I got you coffee and some sweet bakery for us to have breakfast."

It was Hyejin's turn to speak, same as Yongsun when she woke up, her voice was raspy and eyes were mid-lid open, "why are you so active at 9 am? You had like 100 beers yesterday and slept way more later than all of us." And it's true, the athlete only got like 3 hours of sleep due to the excitement of arriving to the big city to officially play for a pro-club.

"Oh, it's because I had to train and you know that exercise activates me, even if I don't sleep at all." That's when realization sinked in for the younger pair and felt her unnie drenched in her own sweat. Enough for them to wake up at it's fullest; of course Byulyi already knew they would be grossed out and it was just so easy to take the chance and prank them, mostly because it was so early in the morning and it was obvious that the pair was way too sleepy to realize a thing. 

"BYULYI UNNIE THAT'S GROSS!"

Moonbyul couldn't hold her laughter any longer and with great gusto her smile and loud laugh could be heard in the whole apartment, "it was kinda funny actually" Yongsun mentally admitted, she won't inflate the athlete's ego by saying that directly to her but held a hand to her face to avoid any sounds from going out, also amused. After what was probably a full minute of laughter and self, loud pats to her legs from having so much fun, Byul actually managed to mutter:

"I'm glad to see you're fully awake, and good morning to you two!" 

She had to wipe away a few tears and the pain of her tummy from laughing that hard was finally going away.

"Byulyi-unnie you know how much we love but please go shower."

“And I will once I have my breakfast with you guys.”

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down once again, she just turned around to meet Yongsun eyes, “and hopefully know what sort of sweet stuff you like.”

That definitely came out with a double intention and the younger pair realized, only to take a quick look between themselves and then to their oldest unnie who was now crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, all in a perfect, sassy motion. 

They knew their unnies spoke and made an agreement of trying to be friends but it’s just a tense thing to see that they expected Yongsun-unnie to explode and just leave the room, but instead they only head a small chuckle.

“I bet you wish, if you keep offering food I’ll make sure you get me lots of sweets from bakeries until I decide to tell you my favorite.” It had no point of battling it, not for the sake of a nice dynamic that was starting to develop among the four of them. Yongsun wouldn’t want to be the culprit of messing that up so she just went with the flow, plus, what she can admit is that she feels good (who wouldn’t?) having the athlete's attention and effort to try to befriend her; which would be a lie because Yongsun already considers her a nice acquaintance.

“I wouldn’t mind getting all the flavors of everything if I get to know you better.” The wink that followed sealed the deal and decided to drop it for today’s breakfast, “only during breakfast, once I’m out of shower I’ll pester her again until I have a group chat of the four of us.” The immediate reaction was priceless, it was as if Moonbyul knew (which, she did) what sort of comments and faces she was going to get from the other three girls.

“Jesus fuck, unnie! It’s way too early for you being greasy, and not with unnie, it’s so weird!” a collective shiver went down the spine of the three girls and Yongsun was actually left speechless, Moonbyul took note of that and immediately said:

“Hey, sorry Yongsun, I’m joking. I can actually just ask Wheein or Hyejin what you prefer and that’s also okay. You know I’m just messing around a little.” 

Byulyi definitely didn’t want to mess things up, not when she just arrived and was interested in having stability in her life with people that are worth it, and these three girls are.

She was still testing the grounds so she now saw that being too greasy was still a little bit off limits (for now) in front of other people, because it seems that when it’s only the two of them they can bicker like it’s fun. Noting everything down and hoping the mood didn’t die, she just tried to keep herself steady by taking the big paper bag from the table and hand it over to Hyejin. 

“You don’t want to have your favorite?”

And that worked wonders, it’s always food that saves the moment, the day, her life. 

“DON’T TELL ME YOU GOT THE ‘JUST BAKED’ ECLAIRS?!” It was Hyejin’s reaction who made Wheein break from her staring trance and reach for the paper bag that was in her bestfriend’s hands, face in awe due to the happiness that engulfed her. 

“Only for you two, babies. Got the first batch of the day.”

The high pitched shrieks broke Yongsun from her trance as well, the red from her cheeks barely going down from remembering the athlete's words. It irked her that this was her reaction but she couldn’t control it, it’s not like everyone’s used to having someone talking to you like that very early in the morning, is it!? And clearly not someone who you just met yesterday and clearly had a lot of tension going on? 

Her reaction is normal, right?

Skipping to the pair once again who immediately went to sit at the table and quickly kissing the not so sweaty cheek of Byulyi, started her usual chatter, enjoying their breakfast.

It was Hyejin and Wheein on one side, sharing the same plate and each with their coffees, talking and living in their own bubble while on the other side of the table it was Yongsun and Byulyi, they weren’t sitting that far from each other but if any of them wanted, they could bump their shoulders together and brush their legs at the same time. 

While Yongsun decided to go for a simple croissant with butter, Byulyi didn’t grab a thing, just sipped her coffee and stared at the pair in front of them.

“It never ceases to amaze me how they can talk that much to each other despite being attached to each other 24/7, they’re literally why I believe in soulmates.” 

“They always surprise me as well. It’s barely past 10 am and they’re just talking as if they haven’t seen each other in years.”

That was enough for Yongsun and Moonbyul to stop talking and leave quite an awkward silence between them.

“I know I already said it,” Byulyi’s voice was almost like a shush, something that could only be heard among them over the conversation Hyejin and Wheein were having at an unnatural voice level, “but I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to step over your line.”

Well, it’s nice to know that she’s brave enough to apologize for thinking she went over her boundaries. All that to get Yongsun’s phone number.

“It’s okay, you can be more direct and ask me for my number next time if any of Hyejin or Wheein doesn’t reply?” It was a quick solution and Yongsun wasn’t losing anything just by giving her number to Byulyi, which truth be told, she did want to give it to her. “Took me by surprise, that’s all. I do have to make an effort myself to make friends as well.”

And with a smile that had Yongsun show her cheek dimples, it was now Moonbyul’s turn to be left speechless at how bold the older girl could be without noticing. Moonbyul’s cheeks were now tainted a light shade of red.

“That would be awesome, yeah…” totally unaware they were being stared down by the younger pair, Moonbyul took her phone out and unlocked it at top speed to allow Yongsun to register her number. “Can I have your number? You know, so I can ask what kind of breakfast you’ll want next time I drop by?”

It was so natural how they felt in a separate bubble, another world within themselves. They both realize this happened but none of them wanted or was capable of acknowledging it, after all, they just met and they’re just barely starting to be friends.

Wheein being as observative as usual, she decided that the looks her unnies were sharing were a bit too much and so she thought it was time to knock it off.

Don’t get her wrong, the loves her unnies with all her life, all her might and all her body was ever able to give and show them, but among that she was aware of how hurt they could get; she wouldn’t want to see her two favorite people in the world (BESIDES from Hyejin, of course) hurt each other. Or at least until she knows it’s something serious and not just some physical attraction thing, because she’s aware that somehow they’re just the type for one another, but they had to wait.

Obviously, Wheein’s most mature way of breaking the tension bubble that was starting to build between her unnies was to kick Moonbyul.

“Ouch! What was that for?!” Yongsun already put her phone in the athlete’s number and muttered something about “send me a message and let me know it’s you” to which Byulyi replied seconds later with “don’t worry I will” with THAT particular side smile she does, ignoring the fact that Wheein just kicked her.

“Sorry unnie! I was playing footsie with Hyejin and got it wrong!” Wheein knew that putting Hyejin into this would be the safest option, Hyejin would back her up without batting an eye and so she delivered.

“Yeah, the coffee it’s making an effect and it’s putting us in that energy loop it usually makes us fall into.”

Nor Hyejin or Wheein dared to say something else, but they both realized the interaction that happened before them, Yongsun and Byulyi unnie were allowed to be friends, yes, but what was something to look out for (according to them) was that it doesn’t develop into something more, mostly because if something happens (following Moonbyul’s trajectory of being overly flirty with ladies and using her charm as an athlete to get girls), that would be quite a shock for their newborn dynamic of 4.

“So, even when I’m really glad and happy to see you so early in the morning, I gotta go, shower and then follow my schedule before Seulgi comes after me.”

At the mention of leaving to keep working, the three girls kinda boomed out, almost an immediate pout appearing into Wheein’s face; Moonbyul took that into notice and approached her and hugged her by the side, almost squishing her face into her own abs.

“Don’t worry I can still crash out at night if you want?, if you crave something for dinner you can just let me know either the three of you so I can pick it up on my way here. There might be a few restaurants from where I’m going to have my press conference.”

She only got nods in response, sighing she picked up her things and went to the door, putting her shoes on. She didn’t hear Yongsun silently approaching her, so when the older girl spoke, she just jumped in her own place, karate hands ready to go.

“If you see a tteokbokki place, you can bring some?”

“Don’t scare me like that! You could have just texted me that.” 

“I know.” 

“Okay, multiple tteok orders for you. Either way I’ll let you know when I’m done with soccer stuff to come over.”

“Sure.”

It was a brief moment, not forgetting the heaviness of the air that both of them breathed while sharing their numbers with each other. Again, they both stood still staring at each other.

Until an annoying vibration startled them off. It was Moonbyul’s phone.

“Yeez, it’s Seulgi, gotta go.” Taking one last look at Yongsun she headed out in quite a hurry, the day only started for her and she can’t be late to her press conference and presentation to the whole team. 

After a moment, only silence was heard in the shared apartment.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

It was Wheein who was standing now next to Yongsun, if she eldest was quiet, Wheein was a ninja. She, of course, startled Yongsun and had her screaming. 

“Ah! Don’t go around scaring people like that!”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Wheein wasn’t replying to any other thing, she needed answers and wanted to have things clear.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean with ‘what do I mean’? You clearly know what I’m talking about.”

“I actually don’t.”

“You. Byulyi unnie. Throwing heart eyes at each other.”

“It definitely didn’t go like that.”

“It must definitely did. I saw it and it’s like we couldn’t enter your perfect pink bubble.”

“Oh you mean like you and Hyejin?” Here we go, Yongsun started walking back to the table where Hyejin was sitting, scrolling through her phone but still with a peeled ear to the conversation. 

There’s no reason for Yongsun to be defensive,she has no reason to think that Moonbyul is interested than her other by the fact that they’re just attractive, but overall, they don’t know each other and Yongsun won’t be interested in having a relationship when her main focus is her studies and Byulyi’s is soccer.

There’s no way for it to work.

“Yes, like me and Hyejin when we talk to each other and have fun together.”

“You just said it, we can have fun. We’ve agreed to be friends and so we’re trying. She did took me by surprise with her flirting but overall it’s just fun. We’re okay with this, we solved it. Besides, I just gave her my phone number, nothing to worry about.”

“Exactly! You gave her you phone and you never give out your information like that, it took us hours to hanging out together in a gathering for us to actually get a genuine smile from you!”

“I’m trying to expand my friend circle, you even said it yourself! it’s true that I do need more friends and she seems like someone who’s fun to hang out with.”

“Unnie, you reacted very bad to that comment when I said it a few weeks ago and the only friend you have besides us is Chorong, Bomi and Changsub and only because they go to your classes.”

“So? Friends are friends…” Yongsun was starting to lose that war and she was running out of arguments. She didn’t wanted to be questioned on what changed her behavior with the athlete but Wheein and Hyejin were right, even if Hyejin wasn’t very vocal on her worry regarding her and Byul being friends that fast, they were right.

“I know, and I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Moonbyul unnie with all my heart and with all the might my body can provide but we’re just looking out for you two. At least get to know her well and then you can let us know whether you’re actually interested in her for real.”

“Thank you for your worry, I’ll be careful, besides, it’s nothing that serious, I want to try to be more friendly this season.”

The conversation ended with a nod from all of them and the couldn’t stay awkward at each other, just smiled and hugged tightly. Picking everything up and cleaning everything in their usual harmony (consisting on Yongsun picking everything up and the youngsters playing dance music around while pretending to help), and Yongsun couldn’t mind one bit, she was just happy.

Meanwhile, in Seoul FC stadium, the star and young promise of professional soccer of South Korea was preparing to be interviewed.

After arriving to her apartment to shower under Kang Seulgi strict words, she put another casual outfit; a hoodie and any jeans with her sneakers. Nothing too lazy and nothing too formal, just cool enough for Moonbyul to check herself out in the mirror and make a grin that even she was proud. Her own moment being interrupted by once again, Kang Seulgi who was waiting for her downstairs in her car. They were just on time to follow the schedule without stress, yet, here she was, stressed.

Grabbing everything she needed and a cap to cover herself from the rays of sunlight, she exited her own room, whereas two doors from her music and laughter could be heard, the unmistakable Wheein laugh that always brighten her life and Hyejin’s shrieks that took the worries away. It didn’t matter how much she wanted to join them, but her dreams were pressuring her to go downstairs, so she did. 

“Hi unnie, sorry for making you wait.”

Launching her backpack and putting her seatbelt on, she turned to look at Seulgi, who was already starting the car once again to drive to the practice arena where her new team was waiting for her. 

“Don’t worry, I’m actually surprised we’re not late.”

“Yah, I woke up and did what you asked me to do and even got breakfast with Wheein and Hyejin.” She omitted Yongsun because she KNEW she was going to get crap about it for making others thing that she’s already flirting with someone.

“Oh yeah! I remember you told me that you had a gathering with them last night, hope you didn’t got any wasted and didn’t trained like that. You know how I feel about it.” Seulgi’s expression was warm, being happy for the athlete to see their long life friends after a while.

“I didn’t, I went back to the dorm which, by the way, you arranged very nice, and slept only to wake up right on time to meet the physical conditioner and give me a nice session of cardio with some shooting to adjust quicker to the team's way of playing.”

And so, Byulyi told her how busy her morning was, Seulgi listened with attention and replied in the perfect moments. They were friends, they were a team and even if there was a contract that tied them, they still trusted each other with their eyes closed and without blinking. Luckily for Byul it was Seulgi who saw all her potential and immediately offered to be her manager, Byuyli wasn’t able to say no, she knows Seulgi too well to see how greedy and competitive she was, she knew she would make all the right decisions in life so of course she trusted her with her career.

Once they arrived to the arena, showed their name tags to the security staff and got directions to get in the lockers, she was welcomed with a decoration very fit for a party; balloons, some streamers already popped and a few ‘hidden’ not-so-hidden cameras around the locker, she was surprised when something covered her eyes. Of course she was startled but the giggling and mumbling couldn’t be held back by the people behind her, so she only smiled and let herself be pulled around. 

There was a lot of shushing around her and Moonbyul could feel the bandana that was covering her eyes be un-tied with care, the light was a little bit stunning but overall the ecstasy of being welcomed into her new team was way more invasive.

“Surprise!” was the main shout, she could see some flashes being on to record everything with care, she was starting to register the faces of what would be her new family for the next season, all of them with huge smiles, so she followed.

The welcoming was done by nothing more than her Head Coach, Lee Hyori, a warm smile, welcoming and almost like a mother would do to her child. With open arms, Moonbyul accepted the hug that was offered to her, cheering heard all around.

“We’re very happy to have you here, Moon Byulyi, welcome to the Seoul Family!”

There weren’t any media reporters or big cameras, only cell phones recording, probably vlogs for the soccer channel or whatever media promotion they focused in doing to reach to a younger audience, so Byul realized she didn’t had to be THAT much formal and she waved happily, seeing Seulgi nodding on the back right at her, with an approving smile.

“Thank you so much! I’m very excited to be here, I barely got any sleep thinking about meeting you all.”

A loud cheer was heard from her team players. She identified a few faces from previous matches, who were once her idols or local team rivals are now her family.

“Come here, we gotta go to the field for you to do the welcome goals!”

“Oh, so that’s why I was being trained for early in the morning.”

The cheering and good energies were followed into the field, she knew this wasn’t their official stadium but the training grounds, Seulgi told her the capacity of this arena was around 10-12,000 people but their stadium could hold around 60,000 people. If that didn’t made Moonbyul shiver, nothing could ever.

“This meeting is for you to meet the team and then a press conference on live TV.”

At the moment she heard she was going to be live on TV, she quickly typed into her family chat of the hour and channel as well as the hour for Wheein and Hyejin to see, hopefully, Yongsun could watch it too. She knew she had her number but didn’t feel confident in saying that information as if she was expecting the eldest girl to watch her on live, national TV. 

Deep in thought, she didn’t saw the fans that started to arrive in the arena. She wasn’t aware that her shooting and presentation was going to be with fans so she felt a shiver go down her spine at the cheers and songs that was heard by the fan band.

“Our newest star is here now! Let’s give it all for Moon Byulyi, our new #22!” 

It was a small guy with a mic, an MC that frequented the games and was known for his playful voice and ability to make the fans go into a cheering mood. He was approaching Moonbyul with a trot, following the party and now a few media reporters.

The event was huge, they had fireworks being shot at the back of the stadium from when she entered the arena just now and a lot of streamers being thrown, it was overwhelming but she couldn’t wait to surprise everyone with all her power.

“And she’s here to do her welcome goals! As our new striker she would be able to do this easily! If you just got here make sure to get onto your seats now because our Star is about to show a bit of her talent!”

Moonbyul wasn’t nervous, even when she wasn’t in an outfit made for scoring goals or playing soccer comfortably, she still looked out to Seulgi to see that this was planned out and when she got a nod, Byulyi couldn’t hide the smirk appearing in her face, she was so ready to show her magic. The mic was starting to approach her face and so she took it into her hands, absorbing the sight of the fans with her team shirts, some of them waving flags, some of them screaming and recording. It truly was a party.

“Hey Seoul…” if people wanted a show,she will deliver. Of course she said this with her deep, husky voice that knew it would work with all the fans. “Ready to win this Championship?!” In response it was a mix of “yes” and chaotic screaming, she couldn’t ask for more.

Hyejin hopped onto the couch while screaming, “Wheein-ah hurry it’s about to start!” 

“Coming!” The other replied from the couch, with two beers and a bag of popcorn into her arms.

“Why did it took you so long?” Hyejin made grabby hands to reach for the beer and open it, enjoying the delightful sound of the can being opened.

“I was texting Yongsun unnie, she’s in her room with her headset working on papers so even if we screamed at her she wouldn’t have listened a thing. I asked if she wanted to see unnie’s presentation on live tv.”

While Wheein made herself comfortable on the couch next to Hyejin, sharing the popcorns and bumping their shoulders together whilst their legs entangled automatically between each other, Yongsun exited her room, putting her phone away and cracking her neck in a single, shift movement to relax her tensed self.

“What’s all the fuzz about? I know you said something about a presentation but I don’t think I get it.”

It was Hyejin’s turn to reply, “so, we only just learned about this, but Byulyi unnie is going to be presented with a lot of fans and is going to do some welcome goals to mark her joining to the team as striker. Apparently not even she knew, since she’s not wearing a uniform, only her usual clothes; Seulgi must have kept this as a surprise.”

“Remind me who Seulgi is…? I keep hearing her name but I have no idea who we’re talking about.” Suddenly remembering that Yongsun has only known Moonbyul for almost 3 days, it clicked on them that they had to give some context.

“Oh, so Seulgi is unnie’s manager,” that surprised Yongsun, who only opened her eyes wide. “They went to university together and it was Seulgi who proposed to Byulyi-unnie to go to the national try outs to go pro and it worked! So it was matter of time for her to be part of the success. She does pushes unnie enough to her to be on time for meetings, even to our meetings.”

“That makes more sense now.”

“Seulgi-unnie is awesome! She’s a bit of a girl crush for me, her being all bossy and stuff.”

They were missing out the whole event because the kinky talk was coming out; it was Yongsun who had to shake them off out of it before it even started.

“Kids, it’s starting.”

The MC was showing that the crowd was still arriving, the screen showed a cool-looking Moonbyul doing some juggling with the ball, having the crowd counting how many times she managed to do it without letting it touch the floor; so far, they were at 14.

Without the crowd or the staff being ready, Moonbyul threw the ball up with her feet enough for her to turn to the net and shoot the ball almost from outside the big area and the crowd ROARED. It left everyone with their jaws hanging open, the MC, the team, the crowd and even everyone at home; Seulgi was only smirking with pride. It took milliseconds for everyone to start shouting “STAR! STAR! STAR!” in a coordinated chorus.

“Would you look at that! We haven’t even started and our striker is already giving us surprises!” There’s no clear response but screaming from the crowd, a huge carnival still exploding.

“She’s AWESOME!” Hyejin screamed at the screen and jumped in her own place. The other two girls still had their mouths agape and drank a little bit of their drink at how good (they meant hot) Moonbyul looked in her element.

The rest of the event they didn’t said much, just sharing popcorn and sipping drinks while trying to imprint the sight of Byulyi doing what she does best: soccer.

She threw multiple balls from different distances and angles, the challenge being harder every time she scored a goal. Even when it was getting dark, the athlete had to remove her hoodie and was left only with a black sports tee that highlighted her arms and strong shoulders; the cap was pulled back to keep any hair from getting into her face.

So far she was doing a perfect 4 out of 5 goals, each one of them different: a chilena, penalty to the angle, olympic goal and an indirect free kick… which only lead to the hardest one, the goal from the mid field. That was probably the farthest distance Moonbyul was ever asked to shoot in the professional environment, she did has the pressure of the crowd and team watching her but oh well, it’s just the beginning of her story her, missing this wouldn’t mean missing the ones to come.

The three girls watching from their apartment untangled themselves from the comfy cuddle pile they were on, enjoying the show Moonbyul was pulling and the proud smirks that were caught right on camera, she was really a cocky person who oozed with confidence and once again, it was hot. But now they were so into the event that they were sitting in the floor, face almost sticking to the screen to capture what they were about to witness. Moonbyul scoring one of her first historic goals with the club.

“Moon Byulyi starts to prepare, takes her distance from the ball, reaches out again and places it properly.” The MC narrates what the player is literally doing and it helps to set the mood for everyone. “She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes with the distance in her mind, she knows the strength she has to put into the ball, glances one more time to the net and starts taking a few steps back…” his voice was drown by the silence, if that was even possible, everyone sitting on the edge of their sits, no breathing could be heard.

The next thing that can be seen is Moonbyul changing her whole expression, pure intensity emanating from her eyes, pure passion and pure desire to score that goal. It was possible to feel how much she wanted to be the best at what she did, she wanted to exceed and triumph with all her might.

So after that deep breath she took, the scene went back to record the distance between the ball and the net, it was around 50 meters of distance she had to think about force, angle, trajectory and more. 

“Moonbyul runs to the ball, lifts her leg, shoots and…” the chills that went through the crowd, the team and the friends Moonbyul had at home were something none could explain; the ball was shot and the hundreds (maybe thousands) of eyes followed its movement.

It was making the perfect curvature angle, it showed the perfect amount of power and finally, FINALLY… reached the net, “GOAAAAL!” 

Even a few rooms away from the girls apartment, the scream of “GOAL!” was heard, it was hard in their home, it was heard in the stadium, on the TV, it was everywhere; the ecstasy of bringing joy of people through her skills and hard work, she couldn’t control herself and jumped with excitement as she saw the ball bounce back from hitting the net perfectly, with such power that it started to return to where the rest of the team was. 

The popcorns flew away and now were all tossed on the floor and even parts of the couch, but WHO CARES!? They just witnessed Moonbyul being showered and pampered with glory and cheers; they didn’t knew a lot about soccer but the smile in Moonbyul’s face and the energetic screaming and jumping from the crowd was very much worth it.

“Who knew!? Who knew achieving 5 out of 5 goals was possible!? It was until Moon Byulyi, our Star who marks the beginning of an era, an era of championship and success for the club! Let’s see now what she has to say!”

The cameras from newspapers, blogs, sports shows, everyone was surrounding her, pushing between each other to get a glimpse of the new talent, a new promise of achieving the best for their country. 

“Byul!”

“Byulyi!”

“Moonbyul!”

They were screaming all sorts of nicknames to get her attention, Moonbyul was still in her frenzy, being patted on the back and congratulated by her Head Coach, manager, teammates and everyone involved in the team, including directors. 

Moonbyul just grabbed whichever mic she was handed over and started talking. The girls at the apartment turned even more the volume to hear what her friend had to say.

“I am honestly so happy…” she was trying to catch her breath, she was sweating and the adrenaline of the environment was starting to slow down so she was now panting a little bit, “I can’t explain what this crowd is making me feel and I couldn’t be more thankful to have such an amazing team whom I’ll be delighted to call family and make history together. This success is the effort of many people, among that: my parents, sisters, manager and my friends who I’m very sure they’re watching me right now!” After saying that, she winked and made a heart with her fingers, letting her nose squeeze along with her prettiest smile. The roar from the crowd somehow was still loud. 

Hyejin was close to tears, Wheein was happily waving at the screen and doing the finger hearts back to her unnie while Yongsun recorded and took a few pictures of the girls celebrating her success; she took a few selfies during her interview, making Yongsun look as if she’s poking Moonbyul cheek. 

“Hyejin-ah, look at her! She’s the best!”

“She is, I’m seriously so proud of her!” The emotions of the two friends was overwhelmingly joyful, Yongsun couldn’t avoid smile at that.

“You guys are so lucky to have her in your life.” The oldest unnie added, putting her phone away and starting to pick up a few popcorn scattered around, “and I hope I can be part of that soon.” she patted Hyejin on the back and kissed softly Wheein’s temple before standing up and head back to her room. Nothing much was said and the exchanged warm smiles, finally riding down the emotions from the event waiting for the athlete to come back and celebrate the night away, once again.

Chapter Text

Because Yongsun still has responsibilities as a master student, she had to go back to her room.

“You’re going back? You don’t want to be here when unnie arrives?”

“Oh, I’ll come back, I wanna have most of my work done before she arrives so I can join you guys without thinking about schoolwork, it’s a celebration after all.” She shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal, the fact that she was hurrying herself to finish something in order to spend time with someone who was getting into her nerves (not really, not anymore).

She hurriedly entered her room, unlocking her cellphone and selecting a new number that was recently added to her phone, she didn’t knew what to say, or if she should say who she is or how long would it take the athlete to reply, but she didn’t care.

After selecting the pictures she took, she sent them all and wrote:

From: Kim Yongsun 

Hey, it’s Yongsun!

Was that too cheerful and over friendly? 

She erased it.

Hey! Saw your TV presentation with Wheein and Hyejin, you did amazing! :) 

What’s wrong with her? Why would she overthink sending a text?

“Well, maybe because you really wanna be friends with her?” She answered herself. 

Erased again. 

From: Kim Yongsun 

Hey, hope you have my number saved bc I definitely wont be giving it to you again

Anyways, the girls and I saw your event, apparently you’re pretty awesome at chasing a ball ;p

That was playful enough, still keeping her essence and the opening for a bickering session like they’re now getting used to do.

It wasn’t that long since the event ended, but the contact saved under Moon Byulyi was now showing online.

Crap, she thought she would have more time to send messages.

From: Moon Byulyi

Hi! Ofc i saved your number, wanted to text you earlier but didn’t came up with something clever that could make me seem interesting :( 

How was she this bold? It was so unexpected and at the same time it was refreshing.

Thanks for watching it, on the interview I also meant that you were watching it :D

And im not pretty awesome, im the BEST

Of course the athlete would say that, since the moment they met each other, Yongsun quickly saw how confident on her abilities Moonbyul was. Nothing wrong with that but she still remembers that it irks her sometimes (and attracts her, as well, but she won’t be admitting that).

From: Kim Yongsun

Thought you wanted to have these as a memory, hyejin cried and they threw the popcorn all over the floor when you scored that goal

*Kim Yongsun sent you 6 pictures*

It took Moonbyul a few moments to reply, apparently she wasn’t really done and was still busy, of course, Yongsun didn’t mind the time but it was nice to have a fast response. Taking the chance to sit down and place her headset back on again, she placed the phone on her table, next to her and the snoozing laptop who lighted up when Yongsun opened the screen again, displaying her work in progress of a paper that is due in a few days.

It took around 10 minutes for Byulyi to reply.

From: Moon Byulyi

Sorry about that, manager and head coach called me over, interviews have been non-stop

Thank you for the pictures! Those are nice and i’ll make sure to post them soon on my insta ;)

Honestly, Yongsun didn’t want to read too much between the lines, she knew Moonbyul wanted to get close to her fast for the sake of the friendship with Hyejin and Wheein and she knew she couldn’t go all in, that’s when the alarms started to ring.

From: Kim Yongsun

Don’t worry, its your big moment! I’ll be working in a paper while you’re done, wheein mentioned something about you coming over so i wanted to be done soon to hang out for a bit before going to sleep

That was fine, right?

This last message left her thinking deeply, mostly about herself and her social life. 

Because she’s always been so dedicated to her studies and occasional office work, she never paid attention to friendship besides the other made because of classes or team works; she’s been alone for a while before Hyejin and Wheein arrived.

And that just sank deep into her, she’s never actually had a confident, someone who truly knows her like the palm of her hand, it’s so weird to just get along people without actually thinking too much about appearances or popularity.

These girls gave her that, the opportunities, the freedom, the liberty of not judging anything she did or said in her life. Acting so stiff about school wasn’t seen as bad by them, she wasn’t called a nerd or any negative nicknames that could come easy for anyone that didn’t knew her, they just respected it and accepted it as part of her, because that’s just how good and pure they are. 

She had her space, she had her time and they always understood whether it was a good time or bad to interrupt her to spend time together and actually have fun; she knew they will always be down to spend time with her, even if it meant watching a movie or documentary that only Yongsun understood. They really meant everything to her.

Now with Byulyi’s arrival she was being taken out of her comfort zone, trying to behave like long time friends even if they know each other for so little, knowing it usually takes one month for her to give out her number or any sort of social media. But the fact that with Moonbyul it felt so warm and secure it surely meant that she was okay to keep that rhythm.

Well, besides the OBVIOUS tension that was felt every single tim e they were in the same room, she wasn’t getting any of her hopes up, she knows (quoting Wheein and Hyejin’s words) that Moonbyul is a player, a total flirt and someone who just messes around, so of course she won’t expose herself as deep as she confesses with the other pair.

Yongsun was trying to change into a friendlier person, into a more carefree self that could enjoy going out and party, mess around with people, flirt, have fun! 

Only because she couldn't do all of that during her high school and university life.

She wasn’t ungrateful for her education, she knew how blessed she was and how much of a privilege was being able to pay her own master studies at the best university of all South Korea, but now, after a lot of crying, stressing, sickness and situations that constantly put her mental health at the brick of suicide, she was ready to bring the balance to her busy life. 

And that’s how she finds herself right now, reflecting upon herself and finishing work that’s due in one week only to spend time with people she likes. 

She won’t risk any friendship, she knows what she wants and right now it’s not a relationship, she’s sure of that. Of course, she’s always up for a ‘ here and there’ fun, but she won’t be forcing anything at all. If Hyejin and Wheein were constantly saying that she should be careful, she might be and she might NOT be. She’s done of people telling her what to do. 

The mess she does will be her own mess to fix, and that’s okay. But still, she understood that she didn’t wanted to make it weird with the university students who adored their athlete friend.

Said athlete friend who was one step at becoming a total celebrity, if she wasn’t already. How will she manage to study in university? Would she avoid her if they see each other at campus?

There’s no reason for her to stress about that, they were still neighbors but maybe she was private on her daily life, and that was okay, yet she couldn’t help but feel sad at the possibility of being avoided at campus.

How could it be possible for her, an all-time nerd, to hang out with extremely talented people? Yet, being liked by them?

“ Oh no.” She was crying, Yongsun didn’t know when it started, but found herself crying out of pity. The older girl stared at her notebook, full of notes with the oh-so-perfect calligraphy  that made the structure of her essay and other pending works that are still yet to deliver; she hated everytime this happened, it was like starting a fountain, she had to be good, she had to be nice for when the time of leaving her room arrived.

She tried taking deep breaths, even closed the notebook and laptop in front of her to calm down and try to NOT think about all the stuff she still had to do. “Focus, focus on what’s to come…” she calmed herself, trying to soothe the anxiety that was already sitting in her stomach, climbing to her chest.

“Unnie! Byulyi unnie is on her way here! She asked me to ask you what kind of tteokbokki you want since you don’t reply!” Wheein never entered her room, never interrupted her space, just shouted and that was enough to get her out of her trance. Even when there were a few tears rolling down her cheeks, she didn’t care about whipping them off. 

“Any sort its okay, as long as she also brings fishcakes!” Yongsun shouted back, her voice breaking a little and she’s sure Wheein noticed that because after a few seconds of silence, there was a knock on the door and then it was opened. 

“I already told her, she will get it.” Her voice was down by a lot and her tone got into stability and calmness that was immediately appreciated by Yongsun, who at the moment that the door knocked, turned around and took a deep breath. “Everything okay?”

She doesn’t want to ruin the moment of happiness for her friends and the athlete, but she knows that Wheein won’t stop asking until she tells her what’s wrong. 

“It’s okay Wheein, I can tell you later, I know you’re very happy with today's event so I don’t wanna mess it up for you girls.”

It only took 1 second for Wheein to hug her from the back, going lower to hug her unnie who was sitting down; Wheein hands on her shoulders and her nose pressed against her neck, where it was warm and a little bit wet from the tears that Yongsun didn’t bothered to wipe and rolled down her cheeks.

“You know that it doesn’t matter the time and situation, we’ll always hear you out. It’s okay if something happened because you have us by your side, unnie.”

Yongsun smiled, warm and lip trembling at Wheein’s sweet words, she only nodded and motioned her hand to pull her in better to her arms, now turning around to make the hug a better fit for both.

“Thank you, Wheein-ah, I know you and Hyejin-ah have my back, I just got a little bit overwhelmed by my own thoughts.”

She shrugged at her own comment, as if it was nothing.

Wheein knew that it wasn’t just that, that there was more that Yongsun was still afraid to admit, yet she understood that nothing good would come if she pushed her unnie to tell her everything.

“I know there’s more you want to say, this is not the time but please I want you to be happy and try to enjoy yourself during this school year, we’ll go one step at a time, together.”

Yongsun squeezed Wheein into her a little bit tighter, rubbing her stained cheeks on the younger shoulder and then leaving a kiss on the side, in her cheek. 

The moment was beautifully interrupted by Hyejin who started screaming from outside of her room, voice getting louder and closer as she started to enter Yongsun’s room.

“Guys! Byulyi unnie is now messaging me because now both of you are not replying to her texts and she’s throwing a fit at-” She drowned a gasp, her face turning into a frown with a pout. “Why are you hugging without me!?”

The girls laughed at the comment and with perfect synchronization, pulled her arms out to signal Hyejin that she was very welcomed into the hug. Hyejin also saw Yongsun’s red face, puffy eyes and nose, she didn’t mentioned anything because she knows that Wheein will make sure to talk about that together later.

Hyejin’s face turned into a huge grin and jumped over Yongsun’s bed who was in the way to hurriedly collide with her friends into the hug. Making sure her face was close to Yongsun to leave a loving kiss into her cheek just like the eldest did with Wheein a moment ago. Not forgetting about Wheein, her arm tightly grabbed her by the waist with such confidence that their bodies got together like the strongest magnets ever.

It was so calm, so soothing for Yongsun to be pampered with care and love by these two, and of course Wheein and Hyejin will take all the chances in the world to let her unnie know how much they love her with physical contact because that’s how they adore to show their affection.

Such a loving moment was interrupted because now there was a violent knocking on the door, startling the three girls cramped at Yongsun’s room. The three of them peaked their head in order and looked almost like a comedy movie scene.

“Who is it!?” Only Hyejin dared to scream.

“It’s me! Who else would be!? Why is nobody replying to my messages and calls!?” Moonbyul's frustrated voice resonated in the main room, even when she was outside. All of them let out a laugh that was contagious; the moment was so epic, first act had a Yongsun crying and falling into her spiral of thoughts, second act consisted of Wheein and Hyejin doting with love her eldest unnie and third act was Moonbyul, an almost, so-close national star knocking in frustration at the lack of response. 

A best-seller comedy.

It was Yongsun who took the charge on opening the door, the youngest students falling onto her well-done bed since their legs gave up at how funny her unnie was. Taking the chance of having cried for a while, Yongsun whipped down the tears that were still left on her face, either from sadness or laughter and opened the door.

She was in a turmoil of emotions but seeing Byulyi standing there, alone, with a bunch of bags trying to balance everything on herself was quite a sight. It only made her smile; the eldest held the door for her as both shared a contagious smile, even when Byul didn’t knew what just happened, she just went with it and stepped in, taking in the view of the eldest girl being red on the cheeks (not knowing that it was because of how much she cried)

Meanwhile Yongsun was taking in the scene and marking it as one of her favorites; around 5 plastic bags hanging from her arms, having dinner, snacks and drinks all distributed on them. Moonbyul was sporting her black sports tee, all adjusted to her body so Yongsun knew that she came straight from the event.

She couldn’t believe this was the overly-talented athlete she just saw on national TV, this dorky, smiley and playful person who made her irk in frustration and happiness every time they shared a room.

“Hey you,” once the door was closed she thought about Wheein’s previous comment, “sorry for not replying, got too busy with essays and work.” Just a white lie to cover the mess she was in, to make clear that nothing was wrong and that she stopped replying to her because she got busy with school work. “It was Wheein who took me out of my workaholic trance and got carried away…” she wanted to tell the whole story of how the comedic scene happened but was silenced by the athlete.

After putting everything down, Wheein and Hyejin started to inspect what every single bag her best friend brought, only caring about the food. 

The athlete took a plastic bag and held it up in front of Yongsun.

“I got everything you asked for and got you some extra things because I’ve been told you work a lot.”

Yongsun took it and inspected the inside, quite confused at Moonbyul’s words.

It was a slightly bigger bag than the rest, it had a package which held the tteokbokki with the fishcakes in, just as she requested, a couple of cans of beer and special drinks that were sold at any convenience store and the plus was a vitamin drink, along with granola bars that had vitamins, all of them handed out to her.

Yongsun took everything with surprise, swifting her gaze between the bag and Moonbyul, clutching the bag to her chest, quite relieved to feel she was now cared for by the athlete. Said athlete who apparently didn’t know where Yongsun’s eyes were, because they were shifting between the floor, the bag and the delighted sounds the other pair (oblivious of the shared moment between their unnies) was making at the happiness at the sight of food. 

Being away from the youngsters who seemed to be in their own little world made Byul feel brave enough, not to mention the adrenaline of what just happened at the arena that won’t end anytime soon. 

“I worry about you.” Byulyi shrugged it off as if it was nothing, a shy red starting to appear on her face, looking at Yongsun for a few seconds before breaking the gaze apart.

And it sank deep. For both of them. 

Because they were always with the other girls (who they love very much), they haven’t had the chance to actually get to know each other but instead they were just feeling.

They both can admit that in a matter of hours they felt the chemistry and the connection, the problem is that they haven’t had any chance to talk it off. They care for each other a lot, somehow between the bickering and nasty discussions combined with killing glare, it shifted into a warm and fuzzy feeling.

“I worry that you don’t give yourself time to have fun, from what Wheein told me you take your studies very seriously and I respect that, but you need to live. You don’t need to be the best, you’re already very cool.” 

It’s not time to open the water gates, Yongsun started to repeat like a mantra. She didn’t knew she needed to hear all of that, all the words by Wheein, the love by Hyejin and the support by Moonbyul was the push she needed to try a new life style. 

“I try, I’ll try to hang out more. Thank you, Byulyi.” It felt so strange calling her by her name like that, but the shared, private moment provided the confidence to do so. 

Having settled an unspoken arrangement, they both smiled to each other at last, Yongsun dimples appearing and Moonbyul’s signature nose scrunch being shared at the same time, deeply engraved in each other’s mind.

“Yah unnies! Let’s celebrate!” The youngsters were already taking their cups out to pour their beer and small tequila glasses, one for each. “Our unnie is a national star!” 

Soft chuckles left Moonbyul’s mouth and Yongsun nodded to herself, she reached for Byulyi toned arm and pushed slightly, the athlete turned to see the eldest girl, a little bit surprised for the soft hand placed on her arm while the other girl signaled with her head to join them. “Go, it’s your moment.”

“What? You’re not joining us?” It was clear on Moonbyul’s face that she was sad to hear that, a visible frown appearing; Yongsun found that cute and realized that when the athlete wanted, she could be a softie. 

“I am, I’m just going to put my things in my room, but you can just join them now.” She was referring to the amount of granola bars that were given to her, she already knew she was going to stack them in her desk, having them in her eyesight to remember to eat. 

“Oh, okay,” it was clear that Byulyi was now a little bit ashamed of overreacting at what the older girl said, “sorry, thought you were leaving to work some more while we’re out here drinking tequila shots.” Rubbing her neck and turning around to see the youngsters one last time before joining them, she tenderly gazed at Yongsun's charming eyes, “Let’s talk later.”

As it’s starting to be a normal thing, Yongsun felt a slight blush appear in her face, surprised by the soccer player's boldness and seriousness at those last words, as if she also knew that they both want to start knowing each other fast.

She couldn’t bring herself to reply anything so she just nodded and brushed past Moonbyul straight into her room. Hurriedly watching herself in the mirror and arranging her hair with a comb, she placed everything Byulyi gave her into the desk and left it there. 

Music started to play in the apartment, it wasn’t the kind of volume that would irritate the neighbors but it was enough to hype the girls who were waiting for her. Making sure she had everything done, she made sure to put on her best smile, ready to spend a good night.

It seems like the other girls were already waiting for her with a tequila shot on their hands. Hyejin hands it to her and Yongsun having no other option but to take it into her hands.

“You know I can’t drink.” She smelled the alcohol that was waiting for her to drink it full. Making a wrinkled face at the strong smell of the tequila añejo. How do people drink this?

“We know, that’s why we’re giving you a shot and then lots of water.” They all knew it was a lie because they WILL get carried away with drinking and keep giving her more. 

Yet, Yongsun decided to believe them, how foolish of her.

-------------

It’s been one hour into their small, 4 people party. They’re sitting on the floor, with multiple empty cans. Moonbyul is drinking at Seulgi’s permission, who happily let her know that she won’t be having any schedule until the weekend because of how good she did at the presentation. Her arrival to the team was a full success and even the Head Coach agreed on letting the athlete rest and enjoy the attention before actually getting into the training.

Moonbyul will take the chance of having around 4 days of resting and adaptation to walk around the campus some more, identify the master’s students building, where is everything and maybe even learning Yongsun’s schedule to see if they could catch lunch together, of course this still hasn’t been discussed with the latter but she’ll make sure she gets that done today.

It’s not like she was nervous, she was thrilled to privately talk to the elder girl who seemed more open about getting to know each other. Not wanting to get ahead of herself, she quickly glanced at the wide-smile girl who was currently sitting in front of her at the small table, laughing at something Hyejin and Wheein said.

“What do you think Byulyi-unnie?” oblivious to what the conversation was about, she disconnected her attention from Yongsun and glanced to Hyejin, a smirk on her face because the youngest girl knew she totally was staring at her unnie. 

“Sorry, about what?”

“It’s a long conversation, I don’t want to repeat myself,” she started throwing a small fit, with a pout on her lips and shaking her feet, “If you would stop staring at Yongsun unnie you could be paying more attention to what we said!” 

Outed. Exposed by her best friend. Ouch.

“I was not, it’s because she’s such a messy eater that she has tteokbokki sauce on her nose that I can’t concentrate.”

And much to her fortune, Yongsun actually had sauce all over her lips and some on her nose but if Moonbyul said that she had the sauce on her lips the youngsters wouldn’t leave her alone. 

“It’s true, Yongsun unnie is messy when she gets tteokbokki.” Wheein thankfully, saved her.

Yongsun quickly blushed and grabbed a napkin to wipe everything from her face, “You could have told me sooner.” Her words sounded a little  bit dragged, the effect of the alcohol she drank so far making it notorious that she’s a little bit tipsy already, it made Moonbyul giggle at how unusual she felt to see the eldest girl being so light on her movements. 

“It’s  okay, it’s cute.” 

Realizing the words that just left her mouth, she quickly glanced at her two other friends watching her and cringing at how greasy it was, starting to make gagging sounds. 

She just laughed it off and totally saw Yongsun blushing and whining, almost reaching to slap her shoulder at how unexpected it was. Oh well, if this was going to be her reaction every time she said something flirty or greasy like that, she might as well keep going. 

“Anyways, long story short, I was saying that once you start your classes you can totally share with us your class schedule so we can arrange some gatherings here or in your apartment.”

“Oh,” she thought it was something more serious, “Of course you can, if you don’t want to be here all the time you can also crash at my apartment, I already asked for the spare room to be arranged with a double bed if you wanna come over anytime.” She said that outloud, making it clear that her friends can stay over anytime they want.

“You mean that you arranged it to sneak-in your weekend flings?”

Moonbyul knew it was a playful comment, it was how they pushed each other buttons without actually hurting each other, but since Yongsun didn’t knew her that well she was worried she might come off as a total womanizer.

“I totally do NOT. I asked Seulgi to have a spare room for you guys and if you ever have anyone over that needs a place to stay.” She tried to save it, unaware of Yongsun’s quiet glare, the eldest tried not to think too much about it and tried to go with the flow of the conversation.

“Okay, yeah, whatever you say. I’m actually glad you’re given a few days to settle in, I can wait to show you the campus!”

Before anything escalated between Wheein and Moonbyul with the pushy commentaries, Hyejin interfered with her always so beautiful charm; bragging that she’s going to be so happy to cling to Byulyi's strong arm and letting everyone in campus see her famous best friend.

“Since I’m entering mid-term, I will probably be doing a lot of essays and projects to catch up with the material. Thankfully the programme sounds pretty easy regarding topics and all that jazz; I have you two to help me out with that.” She obviously meant Hyejin and Wheein, she would’ve loved to include Yongsun as part of her tutoring or study pal but as it’s said, she already works too much.

“I’m not good enough to be included in that plan?” She was being way too quiet before interrupting the conversation, taking the other girls by surprise. The youngsters quickly glanced at Moonbyul, as if saying “You totally just screw up, unnie!”

Byul was put into the spotlight by Yongsun herself and hurriedly commented “I didn’t mean it that way, I didn’t knew if you were available considering you’re also a master student, you work yourself too much and I wouldn’t want to put more weight into your shoulders.” Grabbing her glass half-way through with beer, she sipped a long amount and never left Yongsun’s eyes, trying to prove her honesty.

“I can check some of your works before you hand them over to do corrections. That’s not a lot of work for me, I can do it.”

The other girls didn’t know if she was talking because of the alcohol or if the eldest unnie felt challenged, so they all remained in silence, but Moonbyul wasn’t done yet.

“I never said that, I thought I was proving I worry about you.” Lifting her shoulders, took another sip of her beer while feeling her eyebrows start turning into a frown.

“Well, it felt like you think I’m not able to help you out.” Yongsun wasn’t even looking at her, her second beer in her hand and taking small sips as if she wasn’t already tipsy enough. There was a lot of pride in her voice. 

“Never thought that.” Two can play that game. 

“It feels like you did.” Now it was Yongsun who was lifting her shoulders, standing up with her beer can in her hand. She struggled with her balance a little bit but no one dared to say anything about it.

“I don’t think I did and now I’m saying I didn’t mean it that way, isn’t that enough?”

Byulyi put her glass on the table, a little bit too strong, the sound startling the younger girl. That glass hitting the table certainly was the sign for the youngsters to intervene for real.

“Unnie i’m sure Byulyi-unnie is just messing around with you, she knows she can count on you any time, right unnie?”

It was Hyejin who looked with a little bit of fear in her face, knowing the eldest girl was getting her buttons pressed too strongly by the athlete. 

“Right.”

Meanwhile, Wheein was throwing daggers at Byul, the latter only rolled her eyes, annoyed but understanding all the signs and stood up, only to walk up to Yongsun, the frown in her face now gone also having in mind that she didn’t wanted to appear as rude to the girl despite the round they just had.

The master student was making herself busy with washing all the glasses that were used and already left in the sink; as if washing was the most interesting thing in the world, not bothering to look at the taller athlete looking at her.

“Hey, Yongsun, let’s talk for a bit.”

Say it was the alcohol, say it was the tension they shared, anything, but Byulyi knew they needed to share a moment alone without the gazes of their young friends.

Yongsun threw the beer away in the bin and grabbed a recently washed glass, filling it with water; taking a long sip before nodding. “Let’s go outside.” And turned around in the direction of her room.

Moonbyul just stood there, a little bit too shocked at the coldness the eldest was emanating; she turned to look at her two friends who just looked at her with grimaces in their faces. 

“What!?” She mouthed while Hyejin just lifted her shoulders, in confusion too.

“ You better fix it.” Wheein reprimanded with a sigh, after a few seconds Yongsun exited her room with a small hoodie and cellphone.

“I’ll take Moon Byulyi” She used her full name, Byulyi shivered at that. “to the convenience store, all the time we’ve met here she’s gotten stuff from other places and she needs to know where the nearest stores are.” 

The other three girls nodded in understanding, Hyejin and Wheein didn’t bother in standing up, finally getting reasonable with the fact that it’s true that they need to spend time together in order to become actual friends.

“Let’s go.”

Now Yongsun was acting all dominant and bossy, not quite a bad sight and idea in Moonbyul’s mind but in reality it was pretty intimidating.

Byulyi followed her like a puppy, taking her cap on even when it was night. It wasn’t cold but she still pulled in her oversized hoodie. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine, you can keep drinking or check out my apartment, I have the coolest massage chair,” making sure Yongsun didn’t hear her, she approached Wheein and Hyejin and murmured all that, knowing the girls still wanted to drink and have fun so she made sure they focused in something else. 

“NO WAY!” 

They both stood up and started to gather some stuff to drink and snack while the eldest pair left their apartment. Moonbyul made sure to give them the password for them to enter.

It was unusual for Moonbyul to feel intimidated at someone, specially someone who was smaller than her and with the cuteness that Yongsun has; now standing in the elevator who was playing obnoxious music, she quickly glanced at the other girl who was checking out her social media accounts. 

“We’re not going to talk?” Moonbyul initiated the conversation as the elevator doors opened, the security guard raising his head from the reception desk and nodding at them, both of them nodded back with a mumbled “ good night'' slipping their mouths. Yongsun still didn’t reply and that started to create a pool of anxiety in Moonbyul's stomach. Not even when she played soccer she would feel like this.

The cold air hit them both enough to feel the alcohol they just consumed and feel dizzy, both of them letting the air in their lungs out at the same time, they noticed that and glanced at each other with a small smile.

They started walking, Moonbyul a little bit behind Yongsun since she didn’t know where the convenience store was.

“Listen I didn’t mean-” The athlete stopped walking, she put her hands in her hoodie pocket and lowered her head, in an attempt to gather all the words she wanted to say.

It was until the girl in front of her interrupted her, “I know you didn’t, I don’t know what it is with you that you know exactly which buttons to press that get me out of my cool.”

Maybe Yongsun was already drunk because the boldness in her voice and the words shook Moonbyul and even a slight blush appeared on her face. She lifted her head, eyebrows raised in surprise and stopping right on her tracks. 

She even dropped her hands out of her pocket because of the shock.

“It’s because I didn’t knew how to get some time for us alone because at the rhythm we’re going, we will never talk, you three always make me drink too much that I pass out sleeping without noticing.”

“So, you’re not mad?” Just wanting to have the answer for the record, Moonbyul wanted to make sure she didn’t screw up that bad.

“No, I’m not!” Yongsun, pulling out her facade away, let herself emanate a huge smile, the cute dimples showing. 

“OH MY GOD, DON’T DO THAT AGAIN!” It was like breathing fresh air, Byulyi couldn’t believe she was pranked like that. “Do the girls know? They were really angry at me.”

“Oh, they totally do, I texted them when you were looking at my face smuggled in tteokbokki sauce, that’s when the whole play began.” As if she was a middle schooler, Yongsun was unable to control her high pitched giggles, finding this situation a lot funnier than it already is.

“You three are going to kill me,” Rubbing her eyes but letting a smile creep up her face was inevitable. “Did you really planned all that to have some time for us alone? You’ve just asked!”

“I know I could, but you were the one telling me to have fun, and I did!” 

Having that said, Yongsun did a twirl and resumed her walk, the convenience store appearing in the vision at the corner of the street. Moonbyul was still in awe of the magnificent person that is Yongsun and simply shook her head to leave the trance that was watching the oh-so-casual master student walk as if nothing ever happened, as if the girl didn’t took the breath away from Moon Byuli. 

“I hope you remember the path because I won’t be showing you this again!” The eldest exclaimed before entering the shop. There was a faint voice of the cashier girl at the store who welcomed them and Yongsun only nodded in return, Moonbyul did the same; she started walking comfortably through the corridors, eye-scanning the products, searching what she wanted.

“Are you looking for something specific?” Moonbyul only walked behind her, watching carefully every one of her moves with care, a small smile on her face. Meanwhile Byulyi made sure she put her facemask on and her hat lowered nicely to cover the rest of her face without bothering her vision.

Yongsun meanwhile walked with cheer, light on her feet, finally glad that she gets to spend some time with Moonbyul trying to get each other.

“I’m looking for some chips to share and another drink that it’s not beer, soju or tequila,” she then turned around to look at Byulyi with a gleam in her eyes. “We’re going to the park for a while, I wanna chat for a bit before going back, I’ve been dying to get a moment with you Miss Star for quite a while now. Besides, Hyejinnie and Wheein-ie are probably laying down about to fall asleep.”

She doesn’t know where does Yongsun got the courage to flirt like that so openly, she’s the one that flirts with other girls and makes the other shy, not the way around. Moonbyul was thankful she was wearing a facemask because if not, Yongsun would be probably messing with her for blushing that much!

With her ears burning red and her eyes wide in shock at how blunt was Yongsun expressing that she wanted to spend time with her as much as she did, she only nodded and smirked, knowing the eldest unnie wouldn’t notice. Moonbyul reached out to the display area with the snacks and just grabbed whatever chips, everything without taking her eyes from Yongsun; making it clear that she’s been wanting the same thing as her for a while. 

Moonbyul was dying to get some time alone with Yongsun.

Yongsun NOW made it clear that she wanted with the same urge some time alone with Moonbyul. 

They have the whole night, after all. 

Chapter Text

Once they finished paying off all their things, the cashier was eyeing Moonbyul with suspiciousness, almost as if she knew who she was and the massive star she’ll become but still managing to keep it professional and doing his job she took the money Moonbyul handed over to her and saw how the pair of good-looking girls exited the convenience store. They walked next to each other in silence, taking in the refreshing night that was starting to get colder.

“So, you told me you saw the event of my presentation?” Moonbyul didn’t know what to ask, now nervous of spending time with a person she was very happy to meet; she didn’t want to make it about her but there were so many questions she wanted to ask Yongsun that didn’t know where to start.

Apparently it took Yongsun by surprise, who was gazing at the stars with a small smile in her lips; being at tranquility of the night and her company, made her sight of relaxation. “Yeah, I watched it even though I know very little about soccer.” She shifted her gaze to the athlete, who was also switching back and forth between the street back to the apartment and Yongsun. They smiled at each other with a little shyness hidden in their eyes.

“What did you think?” Byulyi was anxious to know what the oldest girl thought. Yongsun noticed the unsettling voice tone that was carried in the question and immediately patted the other on the back, something clumsy to soothe the mood.

“I guess you’re good.” It was notorious that Yongsun was joking, so she slightly pushed Byul with her shoulder with a playful smile, the latter couldn’t do anything but also laugh out of nervousness. “Don’t worry, from the reaction of both the people at the event and Hyejin and Wheein back at home, I can tell you’re really good.” She wanted to add that she looked cool as well, but didn’t want to boost the other ego that much as she knew Byulyi would be unstoppable if Yongsun said that.

“Okay, I'll take that, wait until you see me play live.” It was an open invitation, Byul wanted to throw it out in the air to let the other girl know that she will eventually go to a soccer match of Moonbyul’s team. She didn’t want to let the other girl know that she was already in the process of making arrangements with Seulgi-unnie to have her three friends attending the inauguration game that is in a month.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” That was an honest reaction, Yongsun was genuinely excited. Blame it on the alcohol if you want, but Yongsun was still feeling utterly cheerful. She directed Moonbyul and herself to the nearest park with benches to their apartment building; it only took them around 3 minutes of walking and detouring until they arrived.

Yongsun picked a well lit bench, she saw Moonbyul putting the groceries bag in the middle of the bench and waited for the athlete to sit down, choosing to wait to see which side she would pick to sit down next to her. Very close to each other, legs brushing and shoulders bumping. None of them mentioned a thing, even when they were very aware they were engaging in a lightest form of physical contact.

Byul tried to ignore that, trying to put her gaze into the stars or something in the sky to avoid the gaze of the elder girl that had a blissful huge smile painting her face. She felt Yongsun shift a little bit in her place until she made an attempt to reach her drink, Moonbyul saw and reached out with more agility to grab Yongsun’s strawberry flavored drink. Even when they were a little bit tipsy, athletic Moonbyul still held more grace and precision in her movements.

Without much effort she opened the can and put it in front of Yongsun who was looking at her with disbelief. 

“What?”

“You know, sometimes you’re insufferable.” Moonbyul couldn’t help it but snort at her commentary and only nodded. “And yet, you laugh! I don’t get it how you always want to make everything a show off, it’s a little bit irritating at times.”

“It’s because it’s so fun to get a reaction from you, your face is so squishy and since you’re tiny; it’s like seeing a cute bunny being really mad.” She lifted her shoulders, as if nothing could be done to avoid that, Yongsun's face became red, being called cute bunny and being laughed at.

“It’s just that you’ve got this energy that annoys me,” they both knew they were just playing around, nothing was to be taken as offense. “I know you know what you’re doing and the fact that you play coy and do that cute scrunching with your nose when you laugh makes me more angry! It’s like you know your charms!”.

While Yongsun was throwing a small tantrum at how annoying Byulyi was, the other reached out to the grocery bag to grab one last drink, all while saying “I do know my charms.” in between her lips, loudly enough for Yongsun to hear amidst the sounds of nature that surrounded the park.

“See! You do that and I see what Hyejin and Wheein say about you, it’s hard not to believe that you can get around anything.”

“It’s because I can, I work hard, I make efforts, I get things done my way, I’m THAT good.”

It’s so annoying, really. 

It’s annoying how right she is! Yongun can’t avoid but think in the mess she’s getting into yet she kinda wants to, even when she has the two other girls asking her to be careful. She IS being careful around Moon Byulyi, but she’s tipsy and can do whatever she wants. She's a master student with the best grades in almost the whole country, let her have what and whoever she wants. 

“NOT THAT I WANT MOONBYULYI!” It was an instant correction in her mind. 

Because what she wants it’s just a messy flirting with someone who’s actually comfortable with playful flirting, some teasing here and there, with a bunch of bickering and STILL being her friend. Nothing serious that could endanger the nice chemistry between each other.

She will just do whatever she felt like to, and right now she felt like sharing a bag of one of those extra flavored chips they’ve got from the store, she opened it and put them at the center, even when they were now engaging in a war of staring, slowly starting to smile in a dorky way.

“Well, enough of that, I can already hear Wheein and Hyejin making us stop for being too greasy.” Incredibly, it was Byul who broke the staring fight when they had huge smiles plastered on their faces. Yongsun pushed slightly on Byulyi’s shoulder, both of them admitting defeat to each of their charms.

“You’re the greasy one!”

“Yes, of course!” The sarcastic tone of Moonbyul combined with a roll of eyes came with mastery. “I am actually the one to blame, don’t blame this totally cute unnie!” onto with the flirting, Yongsun took it too well and lifted her shoulders, as if it was obvious she was THE cute unnie. “Leaving these things aside, can I know why you actually became a master student? Is it really what you wanted?”

“Why did I choose International Business, you mean?” Yongsun asked and Moonbyul nodded. After stuffing a bunch of chips into her mouth, she wasn’t able to speak at all, making Byulyi laugh at the squirrel like cheeks that Yongsun had. Once the elder girl finished that big chump of chips with a sip of her drink, she addressed  the question, actually being unable to hold in a long sigh she didn’t wanted the athlete to hear.

“It was all pressure no one was putting on me, my parents have always seen me as the totally perfect, honor-roll-daughter since my elder sister focused on arts and fashion so I had to follow the path of money.”

Byulyi is sure she's heard this story multiple times from multiple people and all the times it was equally unfair. She nodded in understanding, she didn’t want to say anything to let Yongsun use the moment for herself. 

“So here I am, studying for a master's degree with topics that I can actually use once I achieve my real goal.” That sparked curiosity into Moonbyul’s self, so she dared to ask more, “Oh, what’s that? Can I know?” 

Now it’s reaching a more personal moment, Yongsun talking about her true passions, dreams and what she wants to achieve in her life is something Moonbyul will absorb like a sponge and keep it in her memory forever, like a trasure.

“I love music, I want to sing and I want to make albums.”

That’s quite a plot twist, she certainly didn’t expected shy Yongsun to have a passion for singing but once putting into perspective how hardworking she is, Moonbyul can actually see it happening. 

In the heat of the moment, Moonbyul couldn’t really hold herself back now, knowing Yongsun was being such a thrill ride, “Really? That’s awesome! Can you sing now?” Maybe Byulyi was getting too carried away, because she was almost onto Yongsun’s face, almost like begging for an answer. Maybe the conversation was going fast with their personal wishes and dreams, but the flow was only natural between each other that it didn’t seem hurried or as if they were being nosy to each other. 

“I’ve never let anyone hear me sing or know that I like to sing… Hope you’re good at keeping secrets, even from Wheein and Hyejin because it took me months to tell them.”

“I’ll keep your secret, it would be an honor to hear you sing even for a bit.” Byulyi was a little bit too overdosed with the excitement but in a moment of maturity she also added “It’s also totally okay if you don’t want to! I don’t wanna be pushy with something so important for you.” Moonbyul sat sideways to take a proper glance at Yongsun, who also sat with her legs crossed on the seat, turning to Byulyi. They were now facing each other, no longer touching each other slightly but they still felt the intimacy of the moment.

It took a few seconds for her to prepare, a few deep breaths and a few warming up with her voice consisting of multiple tones in a low voice. She cleared her throat one more time while eyeing Moonbyul, who was like a puppy about to get a treat whilst Yongsun started tapping the table to set the tempo for herself.

Byulyi instantly knew the song, it was “That XX” by G-Dragon, even when there wasn’t any music playing, the unnie was hitting every note perfectly but still making it sound like her own song; she added ad-libs here and there. Mesmerized by her voice, Moonbyul couldn’t keep her mouth shut, without exaggeration, she felt like crying. After the chorus and a high note (thanks to the alcohol in her system that made her feel confident enough to do that) she slowly ended the song and ended up covering her face in shyness.

Yongsun couldn’t believe herself, she just sang to a person she likes talking to but STILL met a few days ago as if the athlete was her bestest of friends; she could hear and feel her heartbeat in her eardrums, an adrenaline rush she has rarely felt in months… years even. She didn’t even realize the cheering and the clumsy way tipsy Byulyi was getting herself out of the seat from the bench to clap loudly until she lifted her head with a redness staining her ears and cheeks, still in disbelief that she just did that.

“THAT WAS EPIC! UNNIE HOLY SMOKES YOU’RE SO GOOD!” Moonbyul was now obnoxiously shouting into the sky, in awe of the overly talented person she had in front of her, the only thought going through Byul’s mind being OHMYGOD SHE’S SO GOOD, SHE’S AMAZING, SHE’S GREAT, SHE’S THE MOST EPIC SINGER I’VE EVER MET. OH. MY. GOD. 

“SHHH, BYULYI!” It was so chaotic, she was shouting Byulyi to be quiet while she was also screaming, they were both giggling of happiness and Yongsun couldn’t avoid but look in (a little bit)  adoration in her eyes towards the girl she had in front of her; as if the things were mutual, they both caught themselves looking at each other the same way. Heartbeat loud on their eardrums, oozing with happiness. 

It was so weird for them, they were sharing both the moment, the feeling, their gazes, the intensity of the connection; it was undeniable. They rode their cloud 9 sensation and Yongsun reached her hand out towards Byulyi, making a motion with her head to come back and sit. Byulyi instantly followed, taking for a few seconds the master student hand into hers and using it as support for her tipsy self to sit back at the same spot of the bench.

“But honestly, HONESTLY, please make music, please. You are so good, your voice is so melting and so endearing,” It was making Yongsun question again, how was Moonbyul able to say those things without a filter? “I will totally support you all the time… only if I get a sneak peak of that epic singing of yours!” She knew the athlete was kidding but still chose to playfully shove her shoulder.

“Yah!”

The mood shoot off to a laughter war, the two of them being happy at each other for being their reason for laughter, anyone can say it was because they were drunk, but…

Who cares!? Thought the pair, individually in their own excitement of seeing this side of each other, getting soaked in the emotions their heart was feeling.

The weather wasn’t helping at all, the breeze that was chilly enough was getting colder, each one of them was wearing their own respective hoodies but only Moonbyul was wearing her oversized bomber jacket from a limited edition the club launched, making her warm enough; it was hard to miss the shivers that Yongsun tried to hide from time to time. It wasn’t because of her arms that were cold, it was her legs that were only covered by thin layered leggings that Byulyi couldn't’ help to stare at which were frivolous shaking at the dropping temperature. 

The athlete stood again in the same place she was sitting and removed said jacket, not before placing her hand for a little bit too long on the singer’s knee, before removing it and placing instead the jacket “Here.” Moonbyul taking again her place at the seat in the bench.

“Thank you, Byulyi.” With no other response than a small, warm smirk, Byulyi nodded and lifted her shoulders, as if it was the most natural thing for her to do. As if it was only natural to care for Yongsun. 

The moment in silence lasted for a minute, now it was Yongsun’s moment to be curious. “Can I ask you something?” 

They were both gazing at the sky, who was clear enough for the starts to be seen despite the city lights around them.

“Anything.”

It was so weird how the mood dropped to seriousness, but it wasn’t a tense seriousness, it was the mood for something deep, it was something so personal, so intimate that only the two of them could share together.

“How did you know you wanted to pursue a soccer career?” 

That was something only Moonbyul’s family knew, Wheein and Hyejin knew but it was something natural that came along with Byulyi being herself, always competitive, intense, passionate, just like them in a different area. It was one of those times that a question really had you thinking through an answer. 

“I started playing in middle school, there was a lot of prejudice about girls that play soccer but since it was a normal thing in my family, with mom and dad being soccer fans, I ended up signing up with the boys team because I was the only girl in school that liked it. I’ve always gotten tons of support from them, no matter the situation or how many times I got picked on for being more “masculine” as they would say.”

Byulyi was narrating all of this with a nostalgic gleam in her eyes, sighing from time to time and staring at the stars for a few seconds before turning to look at Yongsun again, she ended up brushing the melancholy away with a smirk.

“Little did the bullies knew that I got into private academies in high school with many scholarship proposals for university thanks to soccer. I was, and still am unstoppable. I had a few rough times here and there, stopped playing for a few months because of some injuries in my knees but I'm back on track thanks to friends and partners.”

Yongsun noticed that Moonbyul lowered her voice at the end of the sentence, she didn’t wanted to intrude that much into Byul’s romantic life but it was hard not to, the other girl had a confident aura that it was automatically easy to assume she’s had multiple relationships, plus the fact that Wheein and Hyejin have been warning her to proceed with caution (which, honestly, feels like an exaggeration).

“And so you chose SNU?” Yongsun thought it was the proper time to ask a question. 

“It was my default option since I have my best friends here.”

“And now you’re going for a degree, plus representing the school, plus signing with a national league team PLUS getting to do ads of multiple brands?” It was a little bit overwhelming to think all of this could be done by a person, Yongsun listed all of this and was sure she was missing more things in there, too much in shock and drunk enough to make a specific list.

Moonbyul couldn't help but smile at the list. She heard the shock in Yongsun’s voice that it was hard not to raise her face in pride, not without mentioning one of her main goals: “And I’m aiming for the Olympic team, baby.” The nickname came out naturally, WAY too naturally that the both of them thought about it and decided to let them slip and cheekly bump into each other’s body, too comfortable with the warmth that plagued them in the still chilly night.

“I know I might give off an idea about myself, being so greasy and flirty like… well, this …” the athlete just rose her arms and pointed at each other, as if it was hard to properly explain with words what was happening: the warmness, the confidence, the tranquility and just the security that radiated each other presence towards each self but couldn’t exactly say a name to it was THAT something Byulyi tried to refer to. And Yongsun understood perfectly. “Truth to be told, I actually care about you, I care about what my friends might think about me, you included. Even when we’ve known each other for a few days there’s something in yourself that makes some things come easy. And I don’t know… I just felt like this was a nice moment to say that.”

A chill went through Yongsun’s spine, she couldn’t exactly pinpoint if it was the cold breeze or the words that the girl next to her said, she just knew her heart was going crazy and something told her to lay her head on Byulyi’s shoulder. 

“Don’t worry, I understand. I don’t want to have any wrong idea about you…” Somehow this was the perfect time to be sincere about how she didn’t liked her at first, and so she went on. “At first I hated you SO much, I mean, hate is a really harsh word but probably dislike is what fits the most. You just arrived and hit like a truck, being so confident with yourself, so popular, so overwhelmingly charming that… I don’t know, it shook me off for a bit. Seeing Hyejing and Wheein so comfortable with you made me jealous? I don’t think that’s the word, but anyways-" Yongsun felt a finger covering her mouth and instantly shut up, eyes widening in surprise while the girl in front of her smiled at her with warmth. 

"Don't worry, I understand what you mean. I knew about you and I wanted to show off and be annoying expecting for you to like me faster but you were also intimidating as well with your lady boss personality. It’s usually very easy for me to make friends, for people to like me so when I sensed that I wasn’t in your good list I kinda tried so hard that I made it worse." Moonbyul snorted at herself, she grasped the fact that for once, there was a woman that didn’t fall for her (as it usually happens hence Wheein and Hyejin’s warnings to Yongsun); she took it as a challenge. 

This felt weird, was it a confession? Are they declaring to each other? There's no way it could happen, Yongsun was still trying to convince herself that she didn't want anything at all. 

But being with Byulyi was like taking a break, as if time stopped to let you rest. Now that they knew each other, it just came naturally.

They were so doomed.

Both girls ended up looking at each other yet again during their chilly night, drinks almost untouched since they realized that the booze wasn't necessary anymore, they couldn't be more relaxed and at ease sharing the space together like that.

“Thank you, Byulyi.” There was so much honesty in Yongsun’s voice, she wasn’t thanking her for anything specific, she was just throwing the words out there to let the athlete know how thankful she is for the moment they’re sharing right now and for the rest.

Moonbyul pretended that the other girl words almost didn’t threw her off the bench seat, sensing that she could actually protect Yongsun from something made her incredibly confident yet shy; she pressed her elbow to the table and covered her smile with her hand, adjusting her cap to distract herself from saying something that could lead to a quarrel with the other for being “too greasy”.

“Anytime.”

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They talked about anything, they bonded over their opposite likings and laughed at the things they had in common, discovering a sense of humor between each other that had them cracking up at the cold bench. As it got colder, Yongsun scooted over the athlete little by little, thinking that if she already had a huge jacket on her legs she should at least share some of the warmth that came along. They were almost engulfed in a hug, with Byulyi’s arm about to surround her shoulders until the athlete alarm started ringing. 

“Who’s calling you at this hour?” Yongsun was surprised that if someone was calling her, it would mean that Moonbyul was about to start her routine and the athlete chose to spend the night with her talking on a cold bench. 

“Oh it’s nothing it’s my…” Moonbyul couldn’t help but snort and laugh out loud, “...my 5 am alarm.” Taking her phone in her hands, she showed the screen to Yongsun with the title “Work-out Time.”

“What!? It’s 5 am!?”

It was almost sunrise, the small tints of red could be seen far away. They didn’t felt sleepy or restless at all but Yongsun being the oldest and all that, made the cue to start picking up to go back to the apartment. 

“I’m so glad Hyejinnie and Wheeinnie will still be fast asleep, we would’ve gotten an earful from them if they saw us coming now.”

“I can only hear their high-pitched screams, saying that we’ve betrayed them by playing around only the two of us.” It was a scenario both of them can actually imagine, while picking everything up they chuckled at the scenes. They made sure nothing was being forgotten and started walking in a comfortable silence they couldn’t believe they built over a few hours, Byulyi’s hand holding the bag with the leftover drinks and snacks while Yongsun made sure to walk right next to the girl.

Both of them tried to ignore the pull in them, but one their hands brushed each other's skin the electric wave that went through their spine was enough for them to walk the rest of the way with a pool of feelings in their chests, a notorious blush on their cheeks.

Somehow they arrived to their building without saying another word of what happen or what they felt, Moonbyul followed Yongsun in and left the things in the kitchen counter, only to realize that neither Wheein or Hyejin where in there, realizing that the pair have been in Byulyi’s house since yesterday. 

“I’ll go wake them up, you can stay here and get some rest.” The athlete said and warmly stared at her unnie, unable to stop herself, she got closer and Yongsun had to look up a little bit to stare at her eyes. “I’m very happy we got to spend some time together and that we can be friends. I won’t forget how awesome of a singer you are so please expect me to tease you off for a while until I get a song!” There it was again, the pull that they felt in their chest, very strong and intense. 

“Can I hug you?”  Shit, Yongsun. She called on herself. Oh well, it’s out there now.

Even when there was a brief reaction from Moonbyul, having Yongsun staring at her so sincere and with that cute face, it was hard to hide the blush before smiling, her nose scrunching in delight. 

“You shouldn’t even ask, come here.” Extending her arms, she pulled Yongsun towards her body, it took the older girl a second to react and found herself surrounding Byulyi with her two arms by the waist, solid and strong back while Moonbyul took note of how petite Yongsun is; the athlete was almost covering her completely with her arms by hugging her by her shoulders. The hug was enough for them to feel each other's heartbeat, and they couldn’t recognize which was theirs, both were going fast and steady.

“I’m also happy we got to talk and get closer, not as in literally but, well, yeah, literally…” They laughed into each other and Yongsun made sure to squeeze her cheek into Byulyi’s shoulder, adoring how protected she felt by the other girl. 

Moonbyul also let herself enjoy the moment, she pressed her cheek against her unnies hair and closed her eyes. 

It was so weird how engulfed they were into each other and into the hug that they didn’t hear the door opening and closing, but only heard the loud gasps.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Ah, it was Hyejin and Wheein who decided that it was the perfect timing to wake up from their sleep, something they NEVER did on the weekends. Something they NEVER did when they got wasted, much less when it’s barely 6 am.

Yongsun let go of Moonbyul instantly, but Byulyi’s arm still was wrapped around her shoulder as they turned to look at the youngest pair, “Uh, we’re hugging?” As if it was nothing she said and Yongsun only turned to look at her and widened her eyes as if telling Moonbyul to ‘shut up’, to which the athlete responded with a wink and rolling her eyes at their friends who were still in shock (mostly Wheein, Hyejin was yawning and barely opening her eyes).

“I know, I know you were hugging, but WHY?” To say that Yongsun wasn’t disappointed when Moonbyul dropped her arm from her shoulders would be a lie; Wheein made a not-so-quiet gagging sound and shivered, obviously an exaggeration of the scene. “You two got closer while we weren’t here. It’s weird how one day you’re hating your guts off and the next you’re allowing physical contact with Byulyi-unnie.” 

“We already talked about that and we’re cool, we’re friends.” Moonbyul was speaking as if it was the most normal thing that could happen. 

“Byulyi-unnie your bed is really comfy, I wanna sleep more on it.” Finally Hyejin was awake, still sleepy but awake. Adorable Hyejin brushed the conversation with the commentary and it was Yongsun’s cue to leave the room into her own, not without stretching first and repressing a yawn.

“You can stay over any time Hyejinnie, I’m glad you liked it. But anyways, I gotta go, I need to work out for a bit before starting my day.” The athlete went over the sofa and grabbed her charger and patted her pockets to see if there was anything she was forgetting, but nothing else was holding her back.

“But I thought you were free for a few days?” Hyejin asked, now wide awake at the news that their friend was leaving and doing stuff.

“I am, but what kind of superstar athlete would I be if I didn’t stay in shape? I’ll call you once I’m over so we can have lunch the four of us, how does that sound?” Byulyi knew how to bribe the girls and of course it was with food. “You can stay here, rest some more and I’ll bring hangover soup for everyone.” 

Yongsun was hearing everything from her room, surprised that the younger girl was going to start her day after drinking for a while and having nothing to eat but potato chips. 

“Byul-ah.” She called from her room, being the first time she called her like that outloud, with more people in the same space. She hoped the other girls didn’t make a fuzz about it.

“ ‘Byul-ah’? What? Now you’re best friends?” Mouth agape, Wheein made sure that a “ you and I gotta talk, unnie.” was implied in her voice, of course Yongsun picked it up. She was still in her own room but the fact that Wheein was that good at communicating like that was something that amazed her. 

“I’m leaving, bye!” The safest call for Moonbyul was to leave, the sound of the door closing and locking itself was heard, no one noticed the fact that Hyejin was already in Yongsun's room cradling a pillow and fast asleep, not even bothering to ask things. She was still sure her friends would tell all the details later on.

But one thing was sure, something happened during the night while they were away, it was palpable, it was notorious and the looks her unnies gave to each other were too obvious to ignore.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was close. Byul thought to herself, making sure to go to her dorm first to grab an extra change of clothes, change into workout shoes and getting a bottle of water. She typed automatically in her phone until a dial screen was showing.

It rang a few times before the person she was calling for picked up. “My favorite manager.” 

“Very funny Byulyi, I’M your only manager.” Seulgi’s voice on the other tone sounded wide awake, almost as if she was already working out. “What do you need?”

“Just calling to see if you wanna work out with me.”

“Please tell me you weren’t awake the whole night.” Somehow Byulyi laughed at the picture of Seulgi pinching her frown in distress, as if she already knew all of Byulyi’s mischief acts.  “You already know I work out at this hour. I don’t know why you’re asking!”

“I totally was awake, haven’t slept at all and that’s why I need to tell you this! You’re one of my best friends!” 

“I’m at a nearby gym from your apartment, I’ll send you the location. They have good machines and lots of space, even a rooftop flash soccer field, it’s great.”

“Awesome! You never disappoint me Seulgi, see you in a bit!”

The call was quick, very simple and just like that when the athlete got into the nearest gym once Seulgi sent her the location; even when she was still new to the neighborhood, she had to learn to move by herself and this time it was a 5 minute walk. Soon enough, she was welcomed by a fit guy who wore a flashing smile. His hair was bleached and the tank top was sporting his muscly arms, Moonbyul quickly saw his name tag: ‘Taeyang’. 

“Hey, welcome to YG-Gym, have you been here before?”

“Actually, no. I’m new in town and I got admitted into SNU so I would like to keep coming here to check it out, one of my friends is already here and she might be working out somewhere around.”  Byulyi was instant to recognize that the guy was slightly older than her, the vibe that surrounded him was comfortable and approaching, very smart from the gym team to put him at the desk. 

“Oh! That’s great! Welcome to SNU, we might see each other around campus, I’m also a student there and the manager of this gym, we have a discount for students so if I could check out your Student ID I can get that sorted for you so we can get you a membership!”

People like Taeyang were always on Moonbyul’s good side, sunny-like personalities tend to make her feel welcome and who doesn’t love that?

She didn’t think about it twice and quickly handed over her ID from her wallet, removing her cap and glasses, just a precaution and (only to brag a little) if there’s any sports magazine nearby.

“Holy shit! You’re Moonstar! The new Seoul FC-!” 

Alarm, alarm. 

Moonbyul had to push herself over the counter to actually grab Taeyang’s arm and make him look at her, shushing him out loud, a hint of panic in her eyes.

“Yes, yes! It’s me but please don’t say it out loud, I’m still in the process of adapting here and I kinda don’t want any news spread around?” Moonbyul didn’t knew if she was overreacting or not; but apparently the guy caught it on, he eased her with a smile.

“Shoot, totally, I understand, sorry. Then, um-”

“You can call me Byul, that would be okay!”

“Yes, Byul-nim, if I could get more information so I can print your membership card for easy access anytime you want, we operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so with the card you’ll save some time than talking to me.” He didn’t sound pitiful, he was actually charming.

“Don’t worry about that, you’re pretty cool, if you work out make sure to hang out with me and my friend when we’re here.” Moonbyul wanted to thread her circle of contacts carefully and this Taeyang guy seemed trustworthy.

“Uh, sure!” Taeyang seemes notoriously surprised, he was taken aback by the athlete but decided to keep it professional. “Give me a minute while I fill your form, it takes me 3 minutes.”

“Sure thing, don’t worry! I’m going to stay here for a while.”

After saying that, Taeyang nodded and left to the side of the desk where a Desktop computer was plugged in, typing and looking at Moonbyul’s ID with focused eyes; meanwhile Moonbyul took her time to check her phone. It’s 6:50, I still can hit two hours of gym and head to a restaurant to get food. I’ll leave a message to Yongsun.

She was oblivious of everything around her, she entered her messaging app and saw the name “Kim Yongsun” almost at the top, she clicked on it and stared at her unnie’s profile picture for a second before typing.

To: Kim Yongsun   6:53 a.m.

Hey Yongsun-unnie, good morning! Hope the hangover doesn’t get to you! 😛

Anyways, i’m at the gym rn

Just wanted to know if you’re still up for having breakfast with me and the girls? 

I would really like it if i could see you there

I’ll bring korean food

Was she being too pushy? They just saw each other a few hours ago, maybe the master student didn’t want to spend more time with her? 

From: Kim Yongsun 6:54 a.m.

Hi Byulyi, korean food for breakfast sounds great!

I drank lots of water and an aspirin so the hangover spirit doesn’t get me 😀

She did NOT expect a reply from Yongsun that fast. Why was she awake?

Byulyi couldn’t help herself but smile at the message.

“Byul-ssi, your membership card has been activated, you can use it now, I’ll only need you to sign here.” It was Taeyang’s voice calling her attention, she looked up, nodded with a smile and walked over to the desktop the guy was behind. She quickly overread the document and signed the membership deal for the gym and glanced to her phone quickly to see if her unnie messaged her some more, not before asking:

To: Kim Yongsun   6:54 a.m.

Sorry i didn’t mean to wake you :( 

From: Kim Yongsun 6:55 a.m.

You didn’t

Hyejin and wheein came to cuddle in my bed after you left

I’m squished in-between

It might take me a few minutes to fall asleep again

Good luck at the gym, Byulyi!

That was enough to have Byulyi glowing in smiles, she entered the facilities looking for Seulgi until she saw her manager doing squats holding a 5kg weight in her arms. 

“Someone’s working hard.” Byulyi stood behind the girl, watching her through the mirror in front of them; with a cocky smile.

Seulgi couldn’t control the eye roll, her facial expression betraying her.

“Shut up, Byulyi, you should get going as well.”

Nothing like a good quarrel early in the morning.

“Good morning to you too, Seul-bear!” Byulyi had such a good night that she decided that pressing some buttons on Seulgi would be fun before actually starting her workout.

She saw the other girl drop the weight at once and stood up, angry, red face staring right back at her. 

“I told you not to call me like that in public!” 

“I know, I know, I’m just kidding, it’s fun to mess with you since early morning.” Raising both of her hands, she dropped the gym bag she carried with her next to Seulgi’s and went over to stretch before anything else.

“How come you’re up? I thought you decided to stay with Hyejin and Wheein to drink your guts out.”

“I did, we were together but then I was at the park until 5 am.” She really wanted to keep all the details Yongsun revealed about herself only to her, so she will only mention the essential things.

“Hyejin and Wheein at the park? Why would you leave the commodities of your own house?” Seulgi wasn’t clicking the dots together.

“I wasn’t with them, they fell asleep at my place, which by the way, excellent job decorating and arranging the whole thing.”

Interest suddenly spiked in Seulgi, and it was evident in her face as she wanted to know more, “So you’re telling me you spent the whole night at a park with someone else?”

“Yep.” Moonbyul popped the ‘P’ with a smile on her face, she sat down to stretch some more, next to a Seulgi who sat down next to her, drinking water from a bottle. 

“That’s it!? You’re only going to say “yep” and not tell me the rest of the story?”

“I was with Wheein’s roommate, Yongsun, she’s a master student.” 

“And…?”

“And we are friends, we didn’t start good and we fought a lot and we gave each other a headache all the time but now we’re good, we spent time together drinking outside and we hit it off really nice.”

“By ‘nice’ you mean that you like her?”

“I mean that I really wanna get close to her because she seems like a person who will bring a lot of joy to my life.”

“Yeah, sure, if that’s code for ‘i wanna get some with her’” 

“Why does everyone keep saying that about me? I don’t wanna get under everygirl pants! At least not under Yongsun…” Moonbyul realized what she just said. “Not that I don’t, not that I don’t find her attractive, she really is! But, I mean-”

“Byulyi, it’s okay, I can see that you care for her, even when you’re telling me that you just met.” 

Seulgi beared a warm smile, she squeezed Moonbyul’s shoulder at the sight of her friend being flustered and overwhelmed by the previous accusations.

The athlete nodded and stood up, “yeah, maybe I overreacted a little bit but anyways, I can’t wait for you to meet her.” before she walked off to a cycling machine to start her routine, putting her earphones on, she started blastic her own selection of music as Seulgi did the same with a machine opposite to her. 

They didn’t spoke about Yongsun anymore but it left Moonbyul thinking about her possible crush towards the master student.

Chapter Text

Byulyi and Seulgi already had a routine they followed every time they worked out together, Moonbyul was focused in what would be beneficial to her soccer career whilst Seulgi focused on staying toned. Nothing too over the walls for both.

Seulgi couldn’t manage to have Byulyi speak more about this “Yongsun” who had her floating around in big smiles, as her friend she didn’t want to see the athlete being heartbroken again after THAT event that left her out of the sport for many time but at the same time it did caused certain curiosity to know a little bit more who had her in this state. It was so complex because as her manager she cannot allow Byulyi to distract her from anything that could prevent her from being recruited for the National team, they did both had that as a career goal.

After each one completed their own routine, Byulyi stopped and cleaned all the sweat that was dropping down her new with a towel she packed in her gym bag, walking over Seulgi that was cooling drinking water.

“Yo’, I’m heading out, gotta grab some hangover soup for my girls.” Seulgi wanted to know if “her girls” included this mysterious Yongsun. So she decided to push some buttons.

“Oh she’s one of YOUR girls now?” She smirked while bobbing her eyebrows in a sneaky tone, Byulyi immediately catched on to that and rolled her eyes.

“It’s just a mere way of saying, we’re just friends, Seulgi, FRIENDS! Or should I bring up Irene to the conversation?”

That was playing dirty. Byulyi knew well not to mess with that and she just still said that.

The manager pushed the athlete with force that knew that could be handled easily but still let the message arrive to Byulyi.

“Okay, I stepped over, sorry. Just don’t play around saying her name, Hyejin and Wheein already think I’m toying with her.”

“Are you?”

“No!”

She could already see that Byulyi was getting too agitated for being pointed out to using Yongsun like that, which apparently, she was not.

“Okay, okay! I get it. Hope that I can meet her soon, though.” Both of them softened and lowered their voices and agreed to call it even.

“You will. She lives two doors from my apartment.” She winked at her manager.

“You sneaky fuck.”

“Yah, you selected the place! There was no way I knew she lived so close to me. It’s destiny!” She threw in one last joke before pushing Seulgi one last time as revenge from before, quickly grabbing her gym bag, dropping her towel over her shoulder and exiting the gym, not before waving Taeyang ‘goodbye’ who returned with the salute with a bow of respect, as expected from an employee (and quite a soccer fan in secret).

Seulgi also wasted no time and stood up to leave to her own place, to take care of her own things before mending to a very busy schedule that was planned for the athlete that was also her best friend. As they both exited at their own times, Byuly wasted no time to message Wheein and Hyejin in their group chat to let her know that she was walking in the street to get some food.

To: Team Caos 😛 - 8:02 a.m.

Byul: who’s awake?????????

It took 1 solid minute until she saw on top of her screen the ‘typing…’ and received signals of life.

Wheeny: me, everyone else is still out

Byul: as expected

Wheeny: u coming? Im hungry

Byul: of course you’re hungry, i'm on my way to the restaurant, should i get the usual? What does yongsun likes?

Wheeny: y ah she’s your unnie just bc you spent the whole night together doesn’t mean ur bestfriends.

Byul: im not saying that wheein, just tell me, i already arrived to the restaurant

Silence. The signals of life died out. It was 8:15 am now and Byulyi had to use her loyal resource that always worked out: bribing them with food.

Byul: i’ll bring you an extra portion of side dishes

Wheeny: fine, bring her kimchi stew, tteokbokki and two portions of rice for her along with the hangover stew.

Byul: thank u, ur the best love you <3

Putting the phone inside her pockets, she entered the restaurant and sat at a table, she was quickly to be noticed as there were very few people. She was quick to place the large order and returned to her seat, logging into the student portal of SNU, reading the multiple notifications that the platform had for her:

“Welcome to SNU, Moon Byulyi! 

We’re thrilled to have you join our student community as a master student, please find attached your time table in this message. 

All master students are invited to orientation week prior to their arrival, if you feel like attending please contact the master student representative Lee Da-hee for a campus tour or introduction activities. 

As you’ll be joining the representative soccer club plus a professional team, you’ll be allowed to take online classes without needing to justify your absence as all professors will be aware of your busy schedule that might involve your sports career,...”

Sweet, she can take online classes anytime. She’ll need to thank Seulgi for making that arrangement for her. 

“ If you ever find yourself in any situation that might require support, please contact miss Lee Da-hee and she will help you out.”

There were two attachments, one was her timetable of classes which wasn’t really busy at all, just classes on wednesday and thursday for 3 hours and the topics were actually interesting. As she entered mid-semester she’ll need to work hard to catch up, but nothing impossible. 

Next attachment was a business card with the name Da-hee on it, a picture, mail and phone. Not that it was the first thing she noticed, but she was quite pretty, definitely gonna keep her on her contacts. 

Breaking her thoughts, she was called under the name “Order #3” which was her cue to stand up and retrieve two large bags of containers that had all the food that was needed for the three beasts resting at the apartment. 

She will definitely call “Miss Lee-Dahee” to see what’s up.

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It was 8:35 am when Yongsun heard a loud knock on her door, she wanted to see who was calling, there was a weight pushing her down and when she opened her eyes she saw Hyejin’s arm and leg on top of her.
She was always a messy sleeper and Yongsun was already used to it. 

The knocking actually stopped fast as the door was opened by the owner of the empty spot next to her, Wheein. There was a conversation going on but Yongsun couldn’t hear all the way to the main door and Hyejin was making it hard for her to stand up. 

As she wiggled her way out of the younger girl that was using her as pillow, she saw herself in the mirror, wearing the same clothes as yesterday and in her chair, Byulyi’s jacket and hoodie. 

Oh God. 

The recall of everything that happened in the park hit her like a truck and she couldn’t help but blush at the bold version of herself that yesterday dared to flirt openly with the athlete.

“It was nice, though.”

OF COURSE IT WAS NICE! THEY WERE DRUNK!

“Oh my God, my head…” she wasn’t even talking but her thoughts felt like screams in her ears. 

“Yongsun-unnie! Come get hangover soup!” That was like being called by angels, she checked herself out one more time, quickly grabbing another pair of clothes to leave her room, but everything was so dizzy, that was the aftermath of letting herself drink that much even when she herself knew the limits of her body.

She regrets it. 

“I will never drink like this again.” 

She wasn’t regretting getting close to Byulyi like the way they did that night, even if the possibilities of her doing this while sober were extremely low.

“I did sang in front of her…” Another wave of regret, she was blushing but didn’t knew if it was because of the hangover or because of the embarrassment, how was she going to look at the athlete again?

“Going…” in a low voice, she made herself exit the room, looking at the floor because the light on the apartment was too blinding for her. 

“Good morning sunshines!”

The screaming was too piercing but she knew Moon Byulyi knew what she was doing, definitely pushing her buttons and going back to her usual feeling of love-hating the presence of the athlete. 

“No Byulyi, please don’t scream.”

“Oh c’mon unnie, I bought you lots of your favorites!” Finally, Yongsun dared to rise her eyes from the floor to catch a glimpse of the owner of the piercing voice.

Moonbyul changed from the clothes Yongsun saw her wearing during the night, without the fact that she left most of the warm clothes at Yongsun. Now the athlete had a towel resting on her neck, cap turned back and a sports undershirt (a little too tight on her body) with another hoodie tied on her hips. 

What was most annoying was the big smile painting Byulyi’s face, a little too charming for Yongsun’s liking. 

“Stop that, let’s eat. Wheein-ah…” she was about to call the other girl to set the table but as she turned around she saw that Wheein was already sitting watching them with an eyebrow raised.

“Set the table? Done, all while you were having that moment. Pretty weird for both of you so please never do it again, thanks!” 

Both of them didn’t say a thing and just followed the younger girl to the table. They didn’t look at each other again nor even said ‘good morning’. Moonbyul put the two bags on the table and Wheein was quick to open them, in quite a rush as she was starving.

“Are we going to eat without Hyejin?” Yongsun was the one to notice that it was only the three of them but the youngest was missing. 

“I wouldn’t wake her up if I were you.” Byulyi was the one that replied as she was grabbing a pillow to sit on, “she’ll kill you if you wake her up.” 

“You know that’s true, remember she’ll remain grumpy for hours if you do that. Her sleep is precious.”

That was true, Hyejin loved sleeping as she loved to eat, which was a lot to say. Yongsun nodded in agreement as she remembered the last time that happened and it took her multiple promises to dinner for her to be happy again. 

Without any other word, the three girls started arranging the dishes on the table to start having breakfast. Wheein thought it was a nice idea to put on the tv, any channel would be fine as long as it was background sound. Surprisingly enough, it was the sports news. 

“Seoul F.C. recently announced their new star player…”

“Look, Byulyi-unnie they’re talking about you!”

Wheein was quickly to rise in excitement, as Byulyi’s picture from the recent presentation to the fans appeared next to the announcer. Yongsun also quickly raised her eyes from the food she was happily about to have -wonderful, spicy tteokbokki for her soul- to also see the picture of the athlete in her element. 

“That is a good picture.” Yongsun thought to herself.

“That’s a good picture, unnie.” It was Hyejin, in a pure sleepy voice, yawning and scratching her cheek as she sat on the couch, in between Wheein and Yongsun sitting at the low-deck table. Byulyi was giving her back to the TV and she had to turn herself awkwardly to look at the segment about herself.  

“You’re awake Hyejin-ah, have some soup!” As usual, taking care of her youngsters, Moonbyul turned to mend the smallest of age of the group, standing up to bring a plate, chopsticks and a glass of water. 

“I thought she cared a lot about what was being said about her but she preferred to take care of Hyejin…” 

That was a bit of a shock for Yongsun, she didn’t took Byulyi as the motherly type. She knew she cared for the pair but this far? That was actually too sweet, even for Yongsun.
They all stopped caring about the segment on the TV and focused on the recently awake person, once Hyejin got everything on the table to her, all attention was back on the screen, now Byulyi included. 

“The addition to Seoul F.C., Moon Byulyi, age 25, will make her debut participation in the South Korean professional league next sunday. Fans hope to see her talent as a striker as they face Daegu F.C. at 7 pm in Seoul Stadium.”

They all turned to see the athlete, who remained silent . 

She had a match in 4 days and she haven’t said a thing about it. Not even an invitation. 

“4 days away from the match, the club had a sold out in one hour after the announcement from the main coach who called Moon Byulyi to be present at this important match. Would this be the chance for Seoul F.C. to win the Championship after a 5 year dry-out of being eliminated in the semifinals in a row? We wish for the new striker lots of success after coming back from the US.” 

Sold Out. 

Byulyi did a sold out and she hasn’t even said a thing. 

“Care to explain?”

Wheein of course, broke the silence, lowering the volume of the TV as they now skipped to basketball news. 

“C’mon Wheein, you seriously think I wouldn’t say a thing?” Byulyi had to put her chopsticks down as she was about to put a kimchi piece on her mouth. She was really hungry and really wanted to eat. Yongsun didn’t want to say a thing, she felt a little bit like an intruder, she wasn’t going to join the complaints, she wasn’t Byulyi’s close friend to be demanding something. 

“You heard the guy! Sold out!”

“Wheennie, i’m sure she has an explanation, which I would be very happy to hear.” Hyejin’s turn to talk was sweet and still felt like she was pointing an imaginary dagger towards her.

“I wanted to make sure you wanted to go!”

“Of course we wanna go! You’re our best friend!” Now it was Hyejin and Wheein against Byulyi and Yongsun couldn’t help but snort at the scene, it was like three children fighting each other.  

“I didn’t mean you two, I already know you want to go! I meant Yongsun.” 

Now all pair of eyes were directed to her and Yongsun felt on the spotlight. 

“M-me?”

“Just say yes unnie, me and Wheein wanna go to her debut!” Everytime the pair had puppy eyes it was so hard to say no. Not that she wanted to say no, she of course wanted to go and see why Byulyi caused such a ruckus on national news. 

“Okay, I’ll guess I’ll go?”

She wanted to play hard to get but Byulyi’s genuine smile was hard to ignore and even harder to say no, harder than denying those puppy eyes.

“Perfect! Because Seulgi already has all your season’s pass on the VIP zone.” Byulyi made sure to arrange that the same day she had the press conference, she didn’t know where her friendship with Yongsun was going but she still asked her manager to save one ‘just in case’. 

“I knew it! I knew you wouldn’t make us miss your debut in pro-league!” Wheein and Hyejin hugged each other and slightly pushed Byulyi across the table in annoyance, the athlete giggling at the small pretend she just pulled. 

“Now, can we PLEASE eat?” Moonbyul begged, grabbing her chopsticks again. 

In perfect chorus, the rest of the girls chanted: “Yes!” 

None of them bothered to check the clock, it was all too good and Yongsun’s hangover was gone after enjoying the food Byulyi got for them. Not to say that the moment was ruined by Moonbyul’s constantly screen showing messages on it. 

The athlete did as much to ignore it but it became impossible. Once she grabbed the phone on her hands, it started ringing. It made all the girls to look at her. 

“What, Seulgi?” at the mention of the manager, Hyejin and Wheein stood up to hear what was it about, not without doing what they do best:

“SEULGI-UNNIE THANK YOU FOR THE TICKETS!! YOU’RE THE BEST!” both screamed at the same time into Byulyi’s phone, who already saw it coming and let the girls be. Whilst this was happening, the athlete directed her eyes to Yongsun, who was now resting on the couch, scrolling down her phone, but thanks to the screamed she couldn’t avoid but turn her gaze to the trio of girls as well, matching her eyes to Byulyi’s.

The athlete winked at her.

Yongsun naturally rolled her eyes at the gesture but still mocked the other girl by sticking her tongue out that made Byul snort at how cute that was. The athlete was quick to return to the call after the pair of youngsters returned to finish what was left from Yongsun’s tteokbokki. 

“You’ve heard them, they’re very excited.” Byulyi laughed and stood up, already switching to pro-player mode. Now that the athlete was a little bit farther, Seulgi’s voice couldn’t longer be heard. “What is it?”

All eyes were on her. The athlete was strolling from one spot to another, a hand on her hip and sports shorts laying a little bit lower from her hips and undershirt lifted by the natural movements of the soccer player, it started to reveal her hip bones and toned stomach. 

Yongsun took a moment to see that scene, it was so contrasting from the usual Moonbyul she has gotten used to in a few days, the playful, bickering-fun, greasy, sweet and overly-friendly Byul.

“Yeah, I’ve seen it on the news, no I haven’t checked that group.” Her tone was serious, as if she meant business.

“Yeah Seulgi, I will.” 

Now a sigh leaving her mouth, shoulders tensing. “No, Seulgi, I won’t. I’ll see you in a bit. I’ve got some orientation thingy coming up.” 

Something else was being said on the other side of the line that made Byulyi laugh out loud.

“Keep going like that Seul-bear.” and hung up. 

Seul-bear. 

One wouldn’t have cute nicknames with their manager, or is it just Yongsun’s thoughts?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After putting everything away and taking out the trash that was made from the huge feast Byulyi provided to the hungover trio of girls, the athlete decided that it was time to leave, much to her disappointment, but she still needed to shower after doing SNU stuff. As expected, it was a quick walk to her apartment and after lazily throwing her gym bag on her bed and gym towel to the laundry basket, she entered the shower without much haste. 

She was actually looking forward starting classes, her mind traveling again to the message sent by SNU early in the morning which included calling miss Lee Da-hee to see what orientation would be needed. Byulyi certainly was looking forward to that. It was weird to have orientation mid-week and having a match ahead, but she still wanted to check.

It would be okay to have more friends on campus, right?
It would be okay to meet more people, she was new to the city after living outside the country for a while and she was going to need someone to support her in anything school related, right?

Her friends can’t call her off because she wants to meet more people, plus, she’s a grown up woman, she doesn’t need to feel guilty for wanting to meet people. It’s been a while since her last break up and she knows for sure she won’t let herself love like that again… right?

She felt like she was giving this whole situation too much relevancy. Yes, she needed to focus in her career but she also wanted to have a small moment to be normal: meeting people, going out, doing… stuff. Whatever that means. 

Hot water running on her back, she felt rested enough to exit the shower and put on some casual clothes, some joggers, normal plain t-shirt and her usual jacket, and a cap… just in case. She took a moment to herself and laid down on her bed, checking her clock to see it was only 11 am, plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day. 

“Okay, let’s see what’s up ‘miss Lee-Dahee’...” whilst mumbling to herself, she typed down the number that was sent to her and quickly saw that the number was available to chat. 

Online. She saved the number with the ‘nim’ on it, after all she didn’t knew if the girl was older or younger.

Moonbyul - 11:03 a.m. 

Hello! Is this Lee Da-hee nim number? I’m Moon Byulyi, recently joined SNU for a masters, I was given this number by the university?

Aaaaaand… sent. 

Byulyi threw her arms to the sides and expected for an answer, what she didn’t expect was a fast reply.

From: Lee Dahee-nim - 11:04 a.m. 

Hi! Yes this is me! Nice to ‘meet’ you Byulyi-nim, i’m the master students representative, I’m in charge of showing new students around the campus and inform them of other activities!

She quickly unlocked her phone, on the side she saw the Insta notification and reminded herself to see it later as well as other messages that she still had to reply, she couldn’t see who is it. 

Moonbyul- 11:04 a.m. 

Sweet! So, I actually haven’t been to campus, I just arrived and haven’t had the chance to properly walk around, do you mean you can show me around?

From: Lee Dahee-nim - 11:05 a.m. 

Yes, that’s basically my job, is there any chance you can come to the campus right now? I’m currently finishing one of my classes and I have free time before my next class. 

Moonbyul - 11:05 a.m. 

Sure, i live near by it would take me like 10 minutes to arrive, is that okay???

From: Lee Dahee-nim - 11:06 a.m. 

That can work fine Moon-nim 🙂

Moonbyul - 11:06 a.m. 

Okay, omw 😎

I’ll text you when i arrive 😀

That was an odd interaction but Byulyi won’t question it any further, most importantly, she had to get going. She stood up with a bit of laziness still remaining in her body. She still had pending messages and hadn’t seen who was being so persistent on that.

Oh. Oh. 

It was Yongsun. 

In one swift movement she unlocked the phone once again while grabbing all necessary things like her wallet and keys and a crossbody bag just in case, outfit complete. She eyed the screen of her phone to find multiple messages from Yongsun, she was curious; putting on her sneakers quickly, she exited her home. 

She still had Yongsun under ‘Kim Yongsun’ and Byulyi thought that was way too formal for them now. She changed her contact name to just ‘Yongsun 🐰’ the bunny added certain friendliness that reminded her of the night they spent together at the park, quite unforgettable for Byulyi and she hoped that it was the same for the older girl (if only she knew how Yongsun handled it). 

From: Yongsun 🐰 - 11:21 a.m. 

Hi byulyi

Thank you for the food, it was great, it did cured me from the hangover

And for the season pass, you didn’t had to get me one though

We’ll go to this sundays match 🙂 

Moonbyul - 11:21 a.m. 

No prob😎 glad to know u enjoyed it

I got u one bc i want you to go, hopefully you’ll learn one thing or another about soccer and it’s wonders😀

Don’t think too much about it, its my pleasure 😉

I rlly want you to go 🥺

With hyejin and wheein, of course

The older girl saw the messages but still didn’t reply, she was online but wasn’t typing a reply. Was Byulyi stepping over?

Was it too soon with the emojis? 

“Nah, they’re just emojis…” 

She unconsciously stood still outside Yongsun's apartment, looking at the door for a few seconds before returning to her screen. 

Moonbyul - 11:25 a.m. 

Thank you for last night, yongsun

Im heading out 

Hope to see you later?

That was an open invitation to do whatever, she knows she can’t keep Yongsun awake too much time, she already has classes whilst Byulyi was given a free week to rest after her arrival. She was supposed to start all academic and sport activities on monday, so she didn’t had the worry of waking up early, doing homework or projects like Yongsun has. 

The fact that Byulyi had a free week from school didn’t meant relaxation, she had to concentrate for the upcoming match and she’s sure that on friday (2 days from now) she’ll need to wake early and do a lot of training with the team, until late night. She needed to know all the strategies, way of playing of all her teammates, be familiar with them in order to gain comfort on the field. 

Byulyi’s sure Seulgi will be breathing down her neck in a few hours, so she will enjoy that Seulgi-freedom as much as possible.
Don’t get her wrong, she’s one of her best friends but when she’s on manager mode she can be quite intense and sometimes Byulyi doesn’t want to match that rythm yet. 

From: Yongsun 🐰 - 11:26 a.m. 

Thank you byulyi be careful out

I gotta do a few essays but sure we can hang out for a bit once you come back

Let me know 

Perfect. She’ll see Yongsun again. 

Content enough, she put back in her phone on her cross body bag and exited the building, heading to SNU campus in a quick stride.

It actually took her less than 10 minutes to arrive and it was an easy access to the campus with her ID that was scanned through the gates, “that’s fancy security for a university.” but what can she expect? It’s the top university in all the country, lots of important people get out of this school. 

And she’ll be the sports image of it. 

That filled her with enormous pride, she was really going far from what she would ever dreamt. She gazed at the flags tied on the light poles, the face of a guy who was probably the star of another sport flashing a smile.

Wait.

Taeyang?!

“He’s the face of the university and works at a gym?” That was an odd thing to do for the star face of the university, but who was Byulyi to judge? She will ask the guy when she sees him at the gym. They might surely bond over that and it would be nice to have a ‘gym-bro’. 

She did not saw a girl approaching her, a backpack hanging on her shoulder and a casual outfit with jeans that toned her long legs. 

“Hi! You’re Moon Byulyi-nim, right?” 

Byulyi was taken off guard so she slightly jumped at the voice behind her. She turned around to see a girl slightly shorter than her, almost her same height even. Long hair, beautiful white skin and cute smile. 

“Yes, it’s me. You’re Dahee-nim?” at the nod from the other girl, they bowed to each other and smiled at each other. Byulyi took the opportunity to remove her cap and put it backwards, a slight way of showing she was a tad bit nervous, why? She didn’t know. She meets new people all the time but the girl has an intimidating aura besides her cute and mature look.

She didn’t expect to be actually found by the girl, she was thinking of letting the other girl know she was around. 

“How did you know it was me?” 

“Don’t worry, you look a little bit lost seeing everything around you, I was told you’re an athlete and you have the fit to be one, so I’m only guessing, soccer?”

That was actually surprising. Byulyi didn’t knew she looked lost but was just wondering around “How did you know?”

“Your legs scream ‘soccer-rising star’.”

It was rare to meet someone so direct but it was fun, Byulyi had to admit it was endearing, even. 

“You’re right, I am a star. And, I wasn’t lost, for the record.” It was Byulyi’s turn to take control of the conversation. “I was just contemplating the campus.” She joked, and the other girl laughed at the lie. “The fact that you scared me means nothing! Because I was fully prepared for that.”

“Sure thing, super-star. Wanna get going? I’m supposed to show you around and let you know where all the facilities that you have access as a master student are.”
Dahee was quite a leader, she was approachable and that’s probably why she was chosen to be the guide for students. 

“Wait, before going should I call you Dahee, unnie, or…?” In an attempt to figure out the girl's age she preferred to ask in a more subtle way. 

“I’m older than you, don’t worry. But still we’re both master students so you can call me by my name, if you don’t mind me calling you by yours.”

Again, in a moment of boldness from the other girl, Byulyi only nodded “Moonbyul, or Byulyi it’s okay, I can also work ‘super-star’ ‘soccer-god’ or any deviation that might come from that.” With a wink, Moonbyul started to walk to Dahee and the tour started, not without a slight push on the shoulder from Dahee to the athlete, who playfully laughed and kept walking to start the tour. 

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It was around 1 pm when Yongsun finished her essay, decided to take a break and head out the kitchen to grab a snack. She might head out to SNU to grab lunch, after all, it was free for students and it was actually good. 

“Wheein-ah, I’m heading out to campus. Wanna come?” She spoke out loud at not finding her friend nor in the kitchen or the living room where she frequently is. If she’s in her room it means she might be working in a piece. Yongsun knows well not to bother her that much if she’s in an ‘artistic mood’, she still knocked slightly on the door of the youngster. 

It took a few moments to get a response but eventually Wheein opened the door, an apron full of stains and a few stains on her own face and hands. 

“Yes unnie?” She was wearing her headset so probably that’s why she wasn’t replying.

“I finished my essay and i’m heading out to campus to grab lunch there. Wanna come?”

“Mmm, sure! I didn’t even think about eating but now that you mention it I need to grab something to continue my piece.”

“Great, I’ll just grab my wallet and we can head out.”

That was all the conversation, Wheein left her door open and she only removed her apron and washed her hands, she didn’t changed from her clothes: baggy pants, oversized shirt to match with a pair of sneakers. All the outfit being very Wheein. Meanwhile Yongsun showered just after Moonbyul left their dorm and changed into casual clothes: pair of jeans, white t-shirt and, very bravely grabbed Moonbyuls bomber jacket to match. 

She hoped Wheein won’t notice about the fact she’s wearing Byulyi’s clothes, was it too bold? Moonbyul wouldn’t mind, right? She still needs to wash it after all so she can return it to its owner. Yongsun left her room and saw the younger girl already at the door.

“Oh, new jacket?”

“Y-yeah, got it recently.”

She felt so bad for lying but she was sure she would be hearing quite an earful from Wheein if she knew. 

“Ready unnie?” Yongsun nodded and so they went to campus, same as Byulyi, they only had a 10 minute walk.

“You think Hyejin is here?” Wheein was the one that broke the silence as they were approaching the main gates. Wheein was almost sure her best friend was on campus right now so it would be nice if they got together to grab lunch. Whilst Wheein was thinking about that, Yongsun got a message as she felt her phone vibrate on her pocket. 

“She probably is,” Yongsun unlocked her phone, only to see that it was Chorong and Changsub groupchat, probably full of spam from Changsub about random stuff and then Chorong complaining to stop. “She has a full day of class on wednesdays. Try calling her, maybe she’ll reply.”

While Wheein was calling her best friend, who apparently answered after a few seconds of ringing, Yongsun let the youngest girls to do her lunch arrangements together. 

To: 91 Club 🧓 - 1:24 p.m.

Changsub: is anyone on campus?????

Rongie: im omw, why?

Changsub: pretty sure I just saw someone famous

Rongie: omg who? An idol? An actress?

Rongie: ????????????????????? answer

Rongie: ?? changsub

Changsub: an athlete

Rongie: ah

Rongie: not interested, jocks are always trouble

Changsub: yongsun??? Where u at??? 

Yongsub was being careful on following Wheein, who was still talking to Hyejin on the phone about something else, laughing out loud at Hyejin said on the other side of the line, she already knew they were heading to the cafeteria so they’ll meet there. She looked around for a moment to see if she could see what sort of famous person there would be, not that she knew many related to sports, but still. 

Yongsun: im here

Yongsun: just arrived to the campus, with wheein

Yongsun: who did you saw changsub?

Yongsun: im about to arrive to the cafeteria to have lunch

Yongsun: anyone wanna join?

Changsub: going, see u there

Changsub: also guessing chorong will join

Rongie: will do

Yongsun: i’ll grab a big table then

“Wheein.” Yongsun called.

They arrived to the cafeteria and started looking for a table. When Wheein was about to grab a small table, she responded to her unnie.

“Mmh?”

“Do you mind if my friends join us?” She knew Wheein was going to be okay with it, she still needed to ask. She pointed to a bigger table where multiple people could fit on it.

Wheein nodded happily. “You know I don’t mind, I love Chorong unnie and Changsub oppa is pretty funny. Plus, the more the merrier.” 

Yongsun didn’t have many friends, she’s always been quite cautelous with her relations and with whom she decided to hang out. Besides classmates for group projects and whatnot, she only frequented this group and Wheein and Hyejin. 

Yongsun couldn’t afford to be heartbroken, she couldn’t afford to waste time on people who wanted to take advantage of her, she decided to protect herself this way. Even when her parents were pushy to her to be in a relationship, have a boyfriend and go on dates, she wasn’t even looking out for that. 

Until Byulyi. 

Byulyi who appeared to enjoy playful flirting and skinship with no filter. Even when she had been warned on no to play with fire (a.k.a Moon Byulyi) by Wheein and Hyejin, she did feel nice, but nothing else. It was obvious that they were both attractive, attracted to one another even, but they just met and Yongsun was very aware of that.

As Chorong said, she’s not quite a fan of jocks. She tried to avoid spotlights as much as possible and athletes lived for that in their own field. Of course she didn’t reject the idea of being friends with Byulyi, putting everything aside. 

She was so deep into her thoughts that didn’t even notice that Hyejin, Chorong and Changsub were walking together towards the table they were in, Yongsun was so happy that Hyejin had no problem talking to anyone, she always had something to share.

“Hello everyone!” Changsub screamed. The few people in the cafeteria turned to see him and most of the students in there, laughed at the random act. 

Chorong cringed and Yongsun snorted at the guy “Shh, Changsub, why you gotta do this.” quickly taking a seat, Chorong covered herself in embarrassment.

Wheein and Hyejin were already laughing at the whole dynamic, taking a seat next to each other, leaving Yongsun to sit in between Changsub and Chorong. There were still a few chairs available that were used as a place to put all of Hyejin, Changsub and Chorong backpacks. 

“Girls, did you hear there's a famous athlete on campus?” Changsub was quick to throw the question, like a mom about to throw gossip with her friends in a gathering. Hyejin and Wheein looked at each other, wondering if he was talking about Byulyi. But decided to play dumb.

“Really? Who? Which sport?” It was Wheein who decided to play the prank on Changsub, while Hyejin, under the table, texted her Byulyi unnie to come to the cafeteria of the campus if she was free.

It didn’t take long for Byulyi to reply that she’ll get there in a few, that she still was ‘busy with orientation’. Hyejin didn’t want to ask what that means, which probably would be code to something. She pushed Wheein with her elbow to let her know that their plan is going smoothly.

“She’s a soccer player, I’ve been following her for a few months when Seoul F.C. announced they were making her pro.”

Yongsun’s smile turned into a flat line. “Oh god, he means Byulyi. And Chorong will hate her.” 

Shit. 

“Her name is Moon Byulyi, she’s the promise of South Korea’s national soccer team.” 

Shit. 

“A soccer player?” Chorong asked with a bit of disgust in her voice, not quite excited about it. “Why is she here at SNU?”

“I’ve heard the school made her the new face, she’ll also be playing for both the representative and the pro team, plus doing a master’s degree. It’s amazing how much she’s doing while having a whole career and pursuing the Olympics.”

“C’mon Changsub, don’t idolize someone you don’t know.”

Yongsun was starting to laugh nervously, trying to avoid Chorong saying something that could offend Hyejin and Wheein for talking about Byulyi. Yongsun also didn’t want to hear someone messing with Byulyi, she cared for her. 

“I think she’s nice.” Yongsun mentioned, as if it was nothing. 

“Uh? You know her?!” Both Chorong and Changsub asked, in surprise. 

“Something like that?” She didn’t want to say that they were friends, that she spent a whole amazing night with her at the park knowing each other, or that she lived two doors away from her. It was something that only she and Byulyi knew and wanted to keep it that way. Not even Hyejin or Wheein were going to know about that. 

Very close to this scene happening, Byulyi was pretty close to the cafeteria, accompanied by a Dahee who was still laughing at something the athlete said, they were getting a few looks from the students that were around. Someone like Dahee was definitely an eye candy whilst Byulyi had a confident aura that made her attractive to the eye, strong body, fit legs and features that were quite impossible to forget. 

Quite a hot couple. 

Dahee calmed down after Byulyi’s joke, somehow they ended bumping each others shoulders a lot and Byulyi enjoyed the elder presence, she was actually funny which was something one couldn’t imagine after seeing her so calm and mature. “So Byulyi, I actually have to go-” Dahee stopped on her tracks to stop in front of the cafeteria main entrance.

“Don’t worry, my friends are here having lunch. Wanna say hi before leaving?” Byulyi's side smiled at her, pointing at the place. She wanted Dahee to accept. 

It wasn’t difficult to do that, the elder girl nodded with a smile and a sigh. “Okay but only a wave and then I’ll leave, my class starts in 10 minutes!”

Happy with the answer, Byulyi opened the door for her and smoothly let Dahee enter the place whilst scanning the place for her friends. It wasn’t hard to spot them, multiple people sitting with Hyejin and Wheein, who didn’t mention that Yongsun was already there. Byulyi smiled widely at the sight of her.

“BYULYI-UNNIE!”

Hyejin and Wheein were now the ones shouting, standing up and running to the athlete, always so happy to see each other, Moonbyul also met them midway and hugged the girls with emotion. 

“We saw each other a few hours ago, though.” Byulyi responded with a smile.

Everyone was now looking, the other students, Chorong, Changsub, Dahee and Yongsun, who couldn’t help but smile at the sight. 

When they stopped hugging, Byulyi called Dahee over and the elder walked gracefully to the table along with Byulyi and the youngsters.

Yongsun didn’t saw Dahee-unnie, why was she with Byulyi?

“Hey guys!” it was Dahee’s the one who saluted with familiarity, being all master students, it was a small population so they all knew each other, even if their master were not related. Yongsun couldn’t help

For you see, Changsub has been crushing on Dahee for months, just as everyone on the whole university. But this unnie doesn’t even bat an eyelash to him. It was a double shock for Changsub, poor guy. 

“Hello Dahee-nim!” he obnoxiously stood up and bowed to her, she nodded to him and waved to Chorong and Yongsun who returned the wave with a smile; Byulyi decided to catch up, placing a hand on Dahee’s back, too boldly for everyone at the table to see.  

“Hello Moonbyulyi-nim!” He bowed again and Byulyi did the same in respect, she didn’t know who that was but if he was in the same table as her friends, he might become a frequent presence in their group. As well as the other girl, who was looking with narrowed eyes at her, she was scary and intimidating but still bowed to her with respect.

“I only wanted to say hello to Byulyi’s friend, I’m glad to see that she’ll be in perfect hands. I was showing her around the campus and inviting her to the monthly students meeting.” Dahee was talking to Yongsun and Chorong, mildly ignoring Changsub gaze that skipped from Dahee to Byulyi, still in shock. Both girls nodded without much reaction.

Byulyi added almost instantly, “Which you know I’ll be attending.” 

“I hope so! I plan these meetings with much effort, the more the merrier, you can actually join us if you want!” She turned over to invite Hyejin and Wheein, who happily nodded. Of course they’ll go, there’s most likely there’s going to be food and boost, and it’s for free. “Okay so now, I actually have to go, my class is about to start, bye everyone!” She started to walk towards the door. “I won’t miss your match on sunday Byulyi!” she lastly screamed and left, with a Moonbyul smiling dumbly at the door from where Dahee just left. 

“Stop that, unnie. It’s weird.” Hyejin exposed her in front of everyone, Byulyi just turned and pinched her sides softly.

“Shut up.”

“Okay so I’m starving! Let’s eat!” Wheein grabbed Byulyi by the shoulders and led her to the table once again, taking a seat next to Yongsun. Byulyi couldn’t help but see that she was wearing her jacket and cockily smiled. She will mention something later, not in front of the other people who she just met as she would probably put her in an awkward spot.

Yongsun returned the look and warmly smiled at the athlete’s presence. She understood why Byulyi was gazing her, she was wearing her jacket. Shit.

She won’t stop hearing about that once they get to the apartment, she’s already hearing Byulyi’s mockingly remarks about it but now she had something else in her hands: “So, Changsub was telling us that there’s a famous athlete new to campus, any idea who is it?” Yongsun wanted to be playful, pushing Moonbyul softly with her shoulder, the athlete only smiled and pushed her back, they were quite close. 

For the younger girls, it was very weird to see Yongsun initiating physical contact, she usually enjoys it but only if someone starts it. That made everyone turn around with surprise. 

Moonbyul playfully followed along “I wonder who it might be.”

“Byul-ah,” she doesn’t really call her like that out loud in front of other people but she was again feeling bold. Enjoying the fact that she had basically all of the people she cared about reunited in one table. “They are my friends, Changsub and Chorong, we’re all in the same master. Chorong and I know each other since our uni days in here, so please be nice.” That last sentenced felt like a threat. She didn’t needed to be told, that girl looked scary and Byulyi didn’t wanted to be on her wrong side, that’s for sure. 

“It’s very nice to meet you, I just arrived a few days ago and this unnie has been kind enough to make me feel welcome along with these two brats.” Moonbyul dared to call Hyejin and Wheein like that as they were standing up to grab their lunch and they comically turned around to stick their tongue out to her unnie, which returned the gesture. 

Chorong was first to open her mouth. “I-” but Changsub was faster.

“It’s great to meet you! I’m a huge soccer fan and I’ve been a fan of Seoul F.C. for a while now! I’m Changsub but no need to call me ‘oppa’ we can be friends and you con totally call me Changsub, I’m a huge fan!” They did stretched each other’s hand, Changsub being a little bit over the top but making everyone in the table laugh.

Chorong snorted and corrected “You already said that.” 

Moonbyul turned her gaze to the serious girl, Chorong wasn’t still so sure on how to feel about meeting Byulyi. 

“Nice to meet you, Byul-ssi.”

Okay so they’ll keep the honorifics, that’s fine with Byul, honestly, anything to avoid making the other girl mad. 

“You too, Chorong-ssi.”

Oh Chorong. Yongsun couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at the interaction. They were so awkward in their own way that Byulyi only could ask for help with her eyes.

Yongsun’s friends were a handful, Byulyi thought, but she was fully committed to stay in her life so she will cope with everything that might be put in front of her. Thankfully she was saved by Hyejin and Wheein joining with their food tray. 

“Who’s next?” They asked, and Yongsun stood up along Changsub and Chorong. Byulyi remained seated. “You’re not going to eat?”

“I can go after everyone, don’t worry.” She smiled at everyone and swiftly removed her jacket to relax on her seat. Wheein and Hyejin already used to seeing the athlete’s fit body, it was only the other master students who gasped at the sight and Yongsun heard it.

“Let’s go guys I’m hungry!”

She pushed Chorong from the shoulders and grabbed Changsub who was about to give a thumbs up to Byulyi.

Everytime Yongsun saw Byulyi’s body it was like turning on an oven next to her and she didn’t want anyone to notice that.
Little did she knew that the jeans she was currently wearing also made Byulyi look as they were leaving. Having the same sensation as her friend.

Chapter Text

Lunch went by quickly, Yongsun and Byulyi didn't spoke as much as they preferred to hear everything Hyejin and Wheein had to say about their classes and projects. There was a certain look from Changsub in awe and sometimes from Chorong that felt like daggers everytime Byulyi approached Yongsun to say something in a mumble. 

Yongsun knew she was walking on thin ice, she had some explanation to do to her friends because she actually tells them everything and this would not go unnoticed, they weren't an authority but they did had a pretty nice bond and what Yongsun wanted to avoid was to break that bond. Either way, don't think they're toxic or something like that, they just care for each other as they've seen each other in good moments and low moments; they're the closest family Yongsun has here, besides Wheein and Hyejin. 

"Are we still hanging out later?" It was a soft mumble on her ear that made her squirm a little bit. 

She pushed the athlete a little bit, afraid that Wheein and Hyejin would stop to tell their story in order to complain about her Byulyi-unnie distracting everyone with her physical contact with Yongsun. 

"Yes, shhh. I want to hear what the kids are saying.” She mumbled in between her teeth, eyes not leaving the comical gesture Hyejin is doing meanwhile, it made everyone laugh.  

In an attempt to get a proper answer from Yongsun, Byulyi carefully placed her hand on her tight, and it worked because the girl turned around to look at her. “What Byulyi?” it was getting on Yongsun’s nerves.

"Can we actually see each other later?” She removed her hand from Yongsun tight, the spot on her leg feeling like a burn after the presence of the strong hand was gone. 

Byulyi saw Yongsun roll her eyes, showing slight annoyance but still side smiling at the athlete. “Yes, now shhh.”

With a winning smile from Byulyi, the athlete gave back Yongsun’s personal space and quickly glanced at her phone. The elder girl is thankful for not being put on a spot in front of her friends after that interaction with the athlete. 

After stacking up all the trays on the table, Byulyi stood up and walked a few steps apart from the table, apparently taking a call. It seemed important as the athlete's facial expressions changed to a more serious one. 

“You need to tell me a lot of details, Yongsunnie…” It was Chorong’s voice on her ear, this time. Wheein being quick as she is, overheard everything. 

“Unnie, no need to push Yongsun-unnie to tell you stuff, Byulyi-unnie just arrived a few days ago to our apartment and Yongsun unnie was forced to share a space with her…”.

Yongsun wanted to interrupt the girl. “Wheein, stop.”

“Don’t worry, they bicker a lot, unnie actually didn’t even like Byulyi-unn-!”

“THANK YOU WHEEIN!” She had to quickly cover the girl's mouth in an attempt to stop her from saying something that would make Yongsun self aware or that she mentions that she spent a whole night out with the athlete.

“I’ll explain it later Chorongie, I will, no worries.”

With narrowed eyes, Chorong nodded and turned around to see the athlete that was still on a call. 

“I gotta admit, she’s hot.” She deadpanned. Yongsun didn’t expect a comment like that from the slightly older girl, so she just screamed and laughed out loud, while pushing the girl slightly from her chair.

“CHORONG!” 

“What? I don’t like jocks but she has a nice body. I can recognize that. It would be nice if her personality wasn’t like she’s the center of the world or that all the girls are dying to have some with her.”

This is what she expected from Chorong, that spark of disliking related to sport people. Changsub was too busy in his phone to be engaged in the conversation, probably posting about being friends with soccer super star Moon Byulyi, bragging to his other friends and family; he couldn’t care less about Chorong disliking Byulyi, he was too excited.

The group didn’t noticed the athlete coming back to sit, a long sigh escaping her lips.

“What is it?” Hyejin asked, happily snacking a few chips as dessert. Byulyi took the seat next to Yongsun again and it made everyone look to see her. 

“I have a few appointments coming up, supposed to meet some university people and the soccer team on which i’ll be playing during the week then a meeting with my coach from Seoul F.C. to learn the tactics and practice a bit on my shots at the stadium.” 

Everyone was looking with attention, hearing the busy schedule that was planned for the girl in front of her. Even for someone as intense as Yongsun, she had to admit that it might be a little too much for someone to do in just one day.

“So, I gotta go. Seulgi is waiting for me already in the office.” It was quick to announce, Moonbyul  grabbed her crossbody bag and pulled it to her side, she quickly hugged each Wheein and Hyejin and returned her look at Yongsun, who was attentive to the acts of the athlete. “I’ll text you and drop by later, Yong.” followed by a wink and a small ruffle on her hair that made Yongsun squeeze her eyes shut. 

“Yah!”

It made Byulyi laugh and before leaving, she bowed to Chorong and Changsub who both nodded in respect, Changsub also waving at the sight of the athlete leaving. 

The table was quiet after that.

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Byulyi quickly arrived at the main office where Seulgi was standing outside, texting on her phone. Probably leaving some messages to Irene. 

For you see, Seulgi tries to keep herself as busy as possible and pushes Byulyi as much as possible to ignore something, something that hurts her to think. Byul did feel bad for her and knew that bringing her name in a conversation would mean scratching an open wound on Seulgi’s heart.

Irene has been in a coma for almost a year now. Seulgi has been living in torture for one year. 

Irene’s family decided to mover her to the other side of Korea, to have better medical opportunities and care, it’s been 6 months since Seulgi saw her. The girl has been in love with her for most of her life and it was on the day that they were FINALLY going to have their first date, a truck crashed against Irene’s car that left the girl half of her body stuck in between her car and the truck, luckily, she survived. 

It was on her way to the hospital that Seulgi got the call from Irene’s mom. To say that Seulgi had to be put in jail for committing multiple driving laws was an understatement but when she arrived at the hospital and saw the whole family in a shocking state of tranquility made her go crazy.

“HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM?!” It was hard for Seulgi not to scream but she was directing her voice to the parents, who have thankfully welcomed Seulgi to her family after her daughter introduced her as her friend the first moment they meet at high school. “SHE’S YOUR KID, SHE’S THERE! SHE CAN DIE!”

“Seulgi-yah, you didn’t see the scene of the crash.” The father started, he took the girl by the shoulders and sat her down, much against her will. “We’re so thankful she survived that, any state she ends up in, knowing that she’s alive and she survived is enough for us.” It was too much of a shock for Seulgi to understand the elder’s words. 

“She was about to arrive…” the tears were non-stop now, her head was spinning and her sight was cloudy. “It was supposed to be our day. It took me so much to ask her for a date.” In an attempt to calm down, she closed her eyes shut and hugged herself. 

It was now Irene’s mom who was sitting next to her, warmly patting the girl back. The lady was trying very hard to hide her tears by squeezing her mouth shut, but it was hard to do at the sight of one of the nicest girl she’s ever met in such a state. 

“Why did it took you so long? I thought you were already here.” Seulgi stopped what she was doing and said hello to the athlete by hitting their first together. 

“Sorry, I was saying goodbye to my friends at the cafeteria. I had to eat something as well.” Ready for a bicker session, Byulyi defended herself against Seulgi who was a lot calmer than usual. 

“Okay, don’t worry about it, they’re already waiting for you, they will present you the agenda for the year and with the benefits you’ll get as their image and addition to the rep. Team.” Byulyi saw the girl come closer to her and she did the same. “Don’t worry it’s a bunch of old guys that are soccer groupies, it’ll probably be done quickly since after that you’ll start the photoshoot at the soccer court of the university.” Seulgi easily dismissed with a smile and pushed Byulyi inside, the athlete letting herself move around.

She figured that the lack of reaction from Seulgi must mean something and that there was something behind her behavior.

“Hey Seulgi, are you okay?”

It did seem to throw her off by the sudden interest. Her manager smiled but still a hint of sadness was present. Byulyi knew there was something.

“We can talk later Byulyi, I’m okay.” She knew better than to push her manager, if the pressured her to spill everything it would be worse and would lead to Seulgi to rise an emotional barrier. “Just get over today and maybe we can talk later at night.”

With a nod, the athlete softly patted her manager back and went inside the room where the administrative body of SNU was waiting for her. Leaving her manager outside for a minute.

“Family of Bae Irene?”

The voice of the doctor echoed through the waiting room, piercing Seulgi’s soul as the image in front of her was a doctor painted with blood… Irene’s blood. Seulgi felt herself sick but made the effort to approach as well as her parents got closer with lots of worry starting to grow in their guts.

“Miss Bae was very lucky to leave the crash scene alive, the rescuing team did a wonderful retrieving her body from in between the vehicles. I made sure no longer neurological effects were to affect her mobility, but for that to happen we had to induce a coma…”

“What do you mean?” It was Mr. Bae who dared to interrupt, waiting for a clearer explanation and for the doctor to hurry what was the state of her daughter.

Seeing the desperation from the family, the two parents and the young girl that showed pure desperation in her red eyes, face painted with tears.

“Miss Irene will remain in a coma, we don’t know how long and we don’t know when she will wake up. It was the risk we had to take in order to save her from major neurological damages that would lead to mobility and speaking problems, probably ruining her life a lot more than the crash already did.”

What?

“We’re sorry you have to go through that, please understand that it was a necessary risk we had to take to save her way of living as she knows it. You can come see her now actually. Follow me.”

The three people nodded in agreement, shocked by the news. 

Seulgi was moving almost automatically, following her lover's parents but feeling like her soul was escaping in front of her. 

What is she going to do?

She had all this love to give, she was so ready to love Irene, she was so excited to share all the life they had together ahead with her. 

Irene finally realized that she loved her as well since they met each other. They were both longing for each other for so long, it was like her dream was finally coming true.

And a fucking accident took her.

They arrived to the intensive care wing, almost at the beginning of the wing, they stopped. Divided by a huge glass, they would see Irene in a state no one ever wishes to see a loved one. 

She had most of her body covered in casts, her legs were covered but it was notorious the damage.

“She has her legs shattered, we managed to put everything back together and hope for a 6 month recovery, she still needs to work on her walking if she spends more than 3 months in a coma. She had broken ribs and a punctured lung, which was also worked on and it’s stable, she will be having ugly bruises for quite some time but nothing that can be covered.”

The doctor talks as if Irene was going to wake up soon, it did easen the weight on the family but still they knew those words were holding a promise that is not definitive. 

“Her arms were perfectly fine, luckily no damage on that or its tissue was lost, she has some broken fingers but nothing too ugly as well. For her face, well, I had to shave her in order to operate on her nervous system, which is our main worry at this moment. We’re monitoring her very closely to see neurological movement and we’re hoping for a one-year recovery.”

He was very wrong, he was speaking in the case scenario where she would wake up in the same week of the accident, but it’s been one year since she was put in a coma. 

Today was her accident anniversary.
And she’s not even next to her.

It’s been tormenting her all week.

She’s being busy with work and can’t even put time aside for Irene.

Life sucks. 

She couldn’t care that much for what Byulyi is going through right now, she’s in well hands and all those people are willing to offer everything to keep her at SNU, she can handle a bunch of old people while she sulks for not being next to her loved one.

Meanwhile, Byulyi didn’t even had time to look back to see if Seulgi was following her inside as she immediately got jumped in by some cameras, and hands waiting to be saluted and those who weren’t waiting, were clapping.

“We’re so happy to have you here, our Moon Byulyi, a student of SNU!” The director cheerily took the athlete’s hands and presented her to the team of teachers and other workers who smiled and clapped at her. She was feeling so awkward but it was something that had to be done. 

She had to repeat her own mantra in order to go through this event.

“I wanted to become a star, I wanted to become a soccer player, I want this.”

And so on. Poor Byulyi. 

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The meeting ended after 1 hour of Seulgi wonderfully negotiating a few other terms that would bring Byulyi and Seulgi benefits such as sponsorships from important brands, deals, royalties, and so on. Things that Byulyi didn’t understand but nodded as she was happy to keep playing soccer whenever they asked her. 

When the group of administrators of SNU finally let them go, the athlete and her manager exited the meeting room both with a smile and a bow, which was kindly returned by everyone. They now had to head to the soccer courts for a photoshoot and her presentation to the representative team of the university.

While they were walking in a calm manner to the court, Seulgi noticed Byulyi giving her side-eye looks.

“What Byulyi?” She deadpanned, waiting for the athlete to make a dumb request.

“I know what day it is today, are you sure you don’t want a break?” Byulyi tied the dots in the midst of hearing the direction, saying a bunch of stuff that totally was meant for Seulgi to understand. She felt a wave of sadness and worry because of her friend, who is pretty protective of Irene in any way. She couldn’t even imagine what it must feel like to see your lover go through that, much less after both of her friends longed for each other for so long. She was there in the first row, cheering for both of them to chin up and say what they felt for each other, she still remembers how she felt when she got the call from Seulgi that day.

Byulyi was still living in the US, she was still in the university soccer club protecting her scholarship and being called by other teams to join them, she still wasn’t sure if she wanted to go pro or doing something related to sports and logistics. Byulyi was exiting the soccer field with her backpack on her shoulders, saying goodbye to all her teammates who were still chatting and decompressing from a long session of training. 

She wasn’t even planning on calling her but she got a feeling that told her to check her phone. And it rang when she did that. Quite a coincidence.

It was Seulgi, it was weird that she was calling when they’re constantly okay with chatting but Byulyi knew that she and Irene were on their first date.

“Don’t tell me the date has already ended?” She was quick to answer, voice rising in excitement to hear all the gossip that is about to come from both of her friends. She wasn’t getting a reply, she could only hear an agitated breathing. “Hello? Seulgi?”

“Irene.” Hearing her voice breaking, the athlete immediately knew something happened. 

“Seulgi? What happened? Talk to me.”

The athlete made her strides quicker, in an attempt to arrive faster to the second-hand car she bought with the prices they’ve gotten from the universities tournament. She didn’t leave her friend alone as she dropped herself on the driver seat.

“Please tell me what happened, Seulgi. I’m starting to worry.” In fear of her friend leaving the line after hearing the damaging sound of her best friend whispering her loved one's name in such a chattering tone, she pushed Seulgi for answers.

On the other side of the line, Byulyi could hear the effort it was taking Seulgi to catch her breath after whispering: “Byulyi, I’m losing her.”

The athlete was confused and the anxiety kept growing as she wasn’t getting the details of the situation. Plus the fact that she was on the other side of the world, it’s not like she can drive up to Seulgi’s and be by her side.

The next information felt like a bucket of cold water because Seulgi got the courage she needed to dump all the information of Irene’s state: “She’s in a coma Byulyi, they don’t know when she’s going to wake up. Her legs are shattered, she has broken ribs and had a punctured lung, they had to open her head to save her mobility and talking, but… but…” It took Byulyi everything not to vomit at the shocking news. She was sweating and it wasn’t from the training session she finished, they were talking about their best friend, one part of their group of three. 

Byuli was also losing Irene. 

“God. How? When did this happened? Why?” It was now Byulyi’s turn to panic. She tried too hard not to but the fear in her voice could be felt, even being kilometers away from each other and Seulgi joined her in her panic. 

“I don’t know what to do. I’m with her parents, I’m outside her hospital room. I can’t go in. I can’t see her like this.” She can’t escape, Seulgi won’t escape but the terror was drowning her and pushing her down. 

As she was saying this, Seulgi’s legs decided to betray her and she didn’t had the power nor the control of her own body to hold herself. She was now on the floor, knees trembling and lungs crashing at the shock; she was having a full panic attack and was collapsing. She can’t put herself to stand up and see her loved Irene in that bed. She just couldn’t even think of herself moving on from this. She just can’t-

“Seulgi, we gotta be strong together.” Byulyi’s voice was like a distant echo.

“Seulgi, we need to try for her. She’ll wake up and she needs to see us being great.”

Byulyi was right, it was always Irene who pushed the pair to take risks and have fun by doing what they loved.

Byulyi’s voice was trembling, Seulgi knew the other was crying and was trying very hard not to let it show “I know this is so hard for you. I know for sure that you and I depended too much on Irene and it’ll be only the two of us for a while. We need to support each other.” Moonbyul finally sobbed, letting her tears escape with no limit and her cries of pain echoed in her car and through the phone.

Seulgi knew she was right, Seulgi knew Byulyi was dealing with this as well and she’s going through the same shock she just did. 

But it was just so hard to see herself standing up from this. Was she ever going to make it through this? 

“I’m okay Byulyi, really. I’m allowing you 2 beers tonight at your apartment for today and you buy dinner. You have training with the pro team tomorrow to mark the start of what we’ve waited for too long to have.”

They were always waiting for good news everytime they woke up. Everyday that went by had them hanging in expectation to get a text from her friend, a call by their parents, anything. Any signal that showed that Irene was back.

“It’s okay, I actually need to text Yongsun to tell her what time i’m dropping by, so.”

“Be careful Byulyi.”

Both knew what that meant, it meant not to let herself be hurt by others. Especially when it comes to having feelings for someone. They didn’t hate love, they didn’t disliked it either, they just had to protect each other. 

“Your session is about to start, hurry up.” Seulgi decided to avoid any other conversation that might arise because they didn't even realize the field was in front of them. There was already the photography team waiting for them and at the sight of the strong figure from the athlete entering the field, she was welcomed by who will be her occasional, on-the-week team. She received a few pats on the back with high fives, that made her mind ease off from Irene and luckily, not dig too deeply into depth about the depression that carries thinking about her best friend. 

One week later, Seulgi was almost basically living in Irene’s room, with visits from her own parents, Irene’s parents who were as heartbroken as she was but were more hurt to see Seulgi at the current state. In a thin condition, cheekbones almost showing, eyebags too notorious to know that she was too depressed to eat or drink anything for herself. Seulgi wouldn’t even let Irene’s hand go (the one that didn’t have fingers broken) and sometimes when the nurses required to check her stats. 

The best news among the horrible situation was that she was stable, she was out of danger and didn’t show any risk of crashing or her own body collapsing. It was just a matter of Irene's own will to wake up.

Byulyi lived in a constant state of worry, not only for Irene, but for Seulgi’s who stopped with her replies, didn’t upload anything to her socials, she just vanished. She was as lonely and depressed as Seulgi.

Seulgi went back to that day, she goes back to that moment, to those crushing feelings and all the time she wanted it to be her, she wanted to take all of Irene’s pain away and be her the one that is in a coma and take everything that will follow for they all know it’s going to be a tortuous process of recovery. Byulyi moved her contacts as much as possible to be able to leave for a weekend. 

It was one month later that Seulgi wasn’t replying that there was a sudden presence that made her cry her guts out. It was like breathing a breeze of fresh air.

For Byulyi finally showed up to be on their side. 

It was finally the three of them back together again.

Those two days gave Byulyi the strength she needed to make up her mind and ask Seulgi to be her manager as she wanted to go pro and she could only achieve her dream by having Seulgi on her side. 

Byulyi stood next to Seulgi and next to Irene by trying to bring her up with multiple things, the steady beeping of Irene’s machine always in the background. They watched each other’s videos, showed them to Irene who always showed no answer. They talked to her, they sang to her, they kissed her hands, they volunteered on anything that her body needed such as dry cleaning, changing waste bags, healing her scars, anything that would make them be close to her and make Irene feel that she was loved, cared and they were longing for her comeback.

They really want Irene to wake up.

The flashing was a little bit too much for Byulyi but she had to get used to it. She was used to being taken photos but the professional flashes were a bit tad much.

The perk of it all was that she was now changed into a uniform, sporting the #10 to mark her as the main striker, she was asked to do some videos of her mastering the ball, which were nothing to worry about, being done in the first three tries as the photographer each time came up with something more specific. 

Luckily all the other players were also in the photosession, their first match of the season will be on monday, just after her debut as a professional player and she was asked to make a small introduction but then go back to the bench to rest and learn from her university teammates.

All her teammates were also very athletic, they had all nice bodies and what was very interesting is that she was the only master student, so all of them would call her ‘unnie’; a thing that she loved, of course.

She will actually bond later with her uni team as Seulgi pushed her as soon as they finished to Seoul F.C. field, where the meeting with coach Hyori will take place; learning the tactical part was key to her debut and she wanted to understand all plays, they exited the campus towards Seulgi’s car and gracefully entered the highway towards where the pro-field was. 

Seulgi made it clear that she didn’t want to speak any longer about Irene’s situation and turned the radio on, deciding to leave Byulyi a moment to be on her phone meanwhile. The athlete took the chance to check all her messages, there were multiple from Wheein and Hyejin, from Dahee, Yongsun and some others from the chat she shared with the players of Seoul F.C.

She replied to them all with little interest, groupchats with multiple memes, small conversations. A few messages from Dahee saying that she is excited to see her face all around the campus to hear all the girls squirming for her, she also mentioned that she already made a watch party with her friends to see the soccer match. 

Dahee was something else, Byulyi can’t exactly pinpoint what was it about her; she was aware that it was Dahee’s job to make students feel welcome so she wasn’t going to consider her a friend so soon and she was going to be careful with what information she shares with Dahee. 

Byulyi will allow her to have fun and do meaningless flirting with her if it came up, as long as none of them catched any feelings and were okay with it, Byulyi will continue to frequent Dahee. 

Meanwhile there was Yongsun. Yongsun and a few text messages that she was eager to reply. 

“Please, Byulyi-unnie, don’t do anything that might hurt you two, Yongsun-unnie is one of our best friends and probably one of the most amazing people you’ll ever meet. Don’t cross lines if you’re not serious about it.”

Wheein’s warnings constantly went off in her head, her wise little voice echoing in her mind. 

Pff, she wasn’t going to do anything. They were just trying to be friends.

From: Yongsun   3:54 p.m.

Good luck on today's activities

Let me know when you’ll come so I can call Wheein over, she's working on her a rt projects so she might not reply.

From: Moonbyul 4:21 p.m.

Thnx, i'm done with meetings in uni and with the photoshoot with the uni team

Omw to seoul fc to have small practice session

I might have to cancel, seulgi is coming over to my house to have dinner

Sorry 🙁

Was it too much by telling Yongsun that Seulgi was coming over? Would she think that she had something else going on with her?

She did took some time to reply and she felt a little bit guilty for having to cancel. 

From: Yongsun   4:25 p.m.

Its okay

The ‘ typing…’ from Yongsun didn’t stopped, Byulyi was waiting for a solid minute waiting for her to sent the message. 

From: Yongsun   4:27 p.m.

You two can come over to have dinner. I was planning on ordering pizza either way, if you’re up for it…

Oh.

She did not expect Yongsun to invite them over either way. She turned around to see her manager, still concentrated on her driving and making the proper movements needed to avoid traffic. 

“You wanna have pizza for dinner?”

She decided not to mention that dinner will happen in Yongsun’s house. Leaving an element of surprise just to see a genuine reaction. Maybe distracting her from Irene’s situation for a moment would be helpful. 

“You couldn’t think of something more creative for dinner?”

“C’mon, i’m about to start my pro-season, let me have a few slices, I’ll train an extra hour tomorrow to compensate for it, what do you say?”

She knew Seulgi wanted pizza, she doesn’t say no to pizza. No one ever says no to pizza.

“Fine.”

In a serious manner, she turned her gaze to see the athlete smiling and she couldn’t avoid but do the same. “You brat.”

She finally gave Yongsun an answer. Only to see that she did took some time to reply and left her on seen. 

Shit.

From: Yongsun   4:30 p.m.

It’s okay if you want it to be only you two, we can still hang out other day. I understand 🙂

From: Moonbyul  4:35 p.m.

Sorry for the seen Yongsun

We would love to have pizza at your place

Should we bring anything?

Can’t wait to see you.

Yongsun was back at her apartment when she got the messages from Byulyi. She blushed but convinced herself that it wasn’t a big deal to receive Moon Byulyi’s flirting words, so she took them jokingly.

From: Yongsun   4:37 p.m.

Bring whatever you want to drink or snacks if u want, let me know if Seulgi likes something specific so I can have it ready.

She ignored the last message and hugged a pillow that was close to her in the sofa on the living room. 

From: Moonbyul  4:38 p.m.

You don’t wanna know if I want something specific? 🥺

From: Yongsun   4:38 p.m.

Actually, nope 😛

Just let me know when you’re coming

From: Moonbyul  4:39 p.m.

So mean!

😭

Okay fine, probs we’ll arrive at 8, still got to change my clothes

Maybe Yongsun was busy, it was a little bit confusing interacting with her in person and having her all giggly and cute whilst on the phone she was serious. Maybe she was like the old people who had trouble typing on their phone screens?

She’ll ask her later, because when they’re together it’s so good, it’s like they’re magnets. It takes Byulyi so hard not to hug her, to touch her back, wanting to feel her hand against her. It’s just so hard not liking Yongsun. 

Because besides being physically attractive, Byulyi feels like she’s seen a side of Yongsun that she doesn’t reveal to anyone, and it’s so charming and addicting. She is trying so hard to ignore it, she will keep ignoring it until those feelings disappear.

It’s the best for everyone. For a relationship of Byulyi and Yongsun feels prohibited, they cannot endanger their friendship with Hyejin and Wheein, she can’t put Yongsun through the life of being the partner of an athlete on the rise. What if she’s sent to another team? What if she’s sent to another country? What if she can’t handle being away that long? 

She’s day-dreaming scenarios that hurt her but still it feels like a nice fantasy to have, Yongsun and her together. 

 “We’re here Byulyi, on the back I have a gym back-pack for you to change into your new uniform and start the try-outs with coach Hyori, she’s already waiting in the field with a few teammates. Besides that I already put your ID card with an all-access of the stadium.”

Seulgi swiftly parked as she broke Byulyi’s daydreaming moment. Thanks Seulgi.

“‘Kay Seulgi, are you leaving?” She removed her seatbelt and exited the car while the back door of the car that Seulgi bought with the generosity of SNU’s sponsorship and scholarship. Byulyi knew that Seulgi’s dream was to open her own sport agency to give opportunities to athlete’s which no one wanted to support but had raw talent; Seulgi was amazing at identifying the talent of athletes on all sports, when Irene’s accident happened, after a month of much convincing from Byulyi to start moving on, she dedicated her full thesis from university to learn everything about all sports and she eventually developed business skills that led her to be the highest score on a thesis of all degrees in university, quite an impressive work. 

“I’m going to the media room to work on some contracts with other brands that Seoul F.C., I’m looking to squeeze those capitalists to the last bit to benefit you.”

Yeez, she always said manager Seulgi was scary but this particularly was intimidating. 

“Okay, you do that and eat them off. I’ll text you when I’m done and hit the showers so we can head back.” Byulyi nodded in her direction and Seulgi returned the gesture, as she was about to close the door, she was called.

“Byul-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“Show them what you’re made of. I know you won't let us down.” Byul knew who she was referring to, she knew she meant Irene as well. It filled her with pride and a hit of adrenaline that made her smile. 

“You got it boss.” She said as she started to head towards the field were she was being expected.

Those words were all that Byulyi needed. She’ll show them good. 

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“Alright ladies. We’ll call that a wrap, hit the showers and I’ll see you tomorrow for more. Let’s all give it up again for our newest member Byulyi, hoping she’ll be ready to score some goals on sunday.”

After a round of clapping, a few pats on the back and some others as playful smacks on the back of her head, she bowed to everyone; she would say it was a successful training, Byulyi tried her best to memorize all plays, understand the way her other teammates played, the codes coach Hyori screamed and their plays… It was definitely a challenge because this was now the pro-league and it showed. 

She stood next coach Hyori and waited for everyone to leave to be only the two of them, a few meters away she could see Seulgi watching the interaction whilst being on a phone call, probably one of those dirty capitalist she was referring to earlier; she waved at her and Seulgi returned the gesture, meaning that the call was going well, she felt like a child waving at a parents at an event.

“Well done kid, you’ve got raw talent in your bones.” She received a pat on the back and Byulyi slightly bowed at the compliment. “For Sunday we expect you to only play half of the match so don’t over do it and don’t sweat it too much, you’ll join eventually to play the full time. Plus, we need to make emotions with our fans, they expect great things from you.”

Byulyi was retrieving all this information with utmost interest, tomorrow she’ll train more with the team early in the morning, from 9 to 1, hopefully she can invite her teammates to lunch, while she needed to understand their plays, she also needs to be familiar with them in order for to be more comfortable at the field.

“After sunday, we’ll be leaving next week on friday to Ulsan, I’m pretty sure your manager is aware of everything so just pay attention to her and be ready for the trip.” 

Byulyi nodded, making mental notes to ask Seulgi to send her all this information written on her chat so she can be more aware of it, after a friendly pat on her back again, coach Hyori exited the field as well, not after mentioning Byulyi where the showers were. Great, she needed one. 

She was pretty sure Seulgi also setted up a camera to record all her plays and shots for her to analyze later in the commodity of her own room, whenever she got the chance. It was pretty helpful for Byulyi to understand her mistakes, what should be improved and what she should stop doing. It’s also a great tactic to understand plays and see her teammates' weaknesses and strengths.

While walking and realizing she was before the showers, she quickly texted Seulgi to let her know she would take 20 minutes and she’ll be ready to go back to her apartment… or to Yongsun’s because that’s where the pizza will be; she also remembered to text the student before leaving, it as 7:27 pm.

She didn’t realized that she spent  that many hours training but it’s the great part of doing what you love. 

From: Moonbyul  7:27 p.m.

About to hit the showers and go back to your house, we’ll make a quick stop at the store to get snacks

Are Wheein and Hyejin joining?

Before getting a reply, she quickly stepped in the showers that were now empty, pretty sure all her teammates already left, she stepped in the hot water. 

From: Yongsun   7:28 p.m.

I asked them if they wanted to join and both of them are busy with projects, but i’ll save some slices for them either way

Pizza should arrive soon, hurry up or it’ll get cold

For Byulyi’s happiness, when she was already wrapped up in a towel, dressing up, she saw Yongsun’s messages; she happily put on the clothes Seulgi packed for her, hitting right in the spot of her dressing style, loose cargo pants, oversized t-shirt with her always so necessary cap. As the cherry on top, a pair of her favorite sneakers. 

Before replying to Yongsun, she exited the locker room to see that Seulgi was already out waiting for her, a big backpack on one of her shoulders and another gym bag on the other side, still typing on her phone. 

“Ready!” She happily jumped in front of her to scare her, it slightly worked because her manager gasped and then proceeded to push her in revenge. “Ouch, my arm! You can’t hurt your precious athlete, this arm is going to be millions in the future!”

“Your legs are the ones that worry me, you need them to work, you dumbass.” Seulgi deadpanned and Byulyi snorted at the reprimand, deciding to help her out with the backpack that appeared to be heavy, plus her own gym bag. It can help as work out from the field to the car. She can’t wait to see Yongsun and see Seulgi’s reaction. 

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The ride went by quietly, Byulyi’s music echoing in the car while the athlete enjoyed the fresh air that was coming in from the night scenery of the city, it was nice and refreshing to know that she was now over with her busy schedule and she could finish her day with a someone she was eager to see.

After 20 long minutes, they arrived at the apartment complex and entered the building, Byulyi still carrying bags on her shoulders that had all her clothes used for the day. While waiting at the elevator door, Seulgi looked at her with suspicion.

“Did you already order the pizza?” Byulyi knew that the latter was already starting to suspect things, so she crossed her arms and started tapping the floor. Seeing Byulyi’s nervous laugh, the athlete couldn’t longer face to hold the lie any longer.

“Oh, about that…”

“What, Byulyi?”

“Yongsun is already waiting for us at her apartment. Same floor as me.” She lifted her shoulders as if nothing else could be done, Byulyi tried smiling as cutely as possible to avoid Seulgi from killing her with her eyes.

“You’re unbelievable! Does she already know I'm coming?”

“Actually, she was the one that suggested that we go to her house instead of mine.” There was a loud beep that came from the elevator, indicating that it was safe to go in and up. Byulyi was actually having the time of her life, she can’t wait to have fun with these two. 

As they went in, Byulyi pressed the button and they went up, excited for what was about to come. “I don’t trust you at all, Moon Byulyi.” 

“C’mon, you’re going to adore her. She’s great.”

Why did Byulyi feel so excited about this introduction? Yongsun was only her friend, they just met. It wasn’t like a big deal…

From: Moonbyul  8:02 p.m.

We’re at the elevator now, coming up!

From: Yongsun   8:02 p.m.

Okay, I actually just got the pizza, nice timing.

Byulyi put her phone back in her pocket, still feeling the gaze of her manager killing her with the eyes; when they arrived at their destined floor they walked a few steps before stopping in front of her door. 

“Really? She lives two doors from you?” It was like a very loud hush, Byulyi just makes a loud ‘shhh’ and knocks the door; they waited a solid minute before being received by Yongsun, who was sporting comfortable jean shorts and an oversized t-shirt, just like Byulyi was, carefully tucked in it, highlighting her slim figure and the shorts revealing her toned legs. Long, loose ash blonde hair and a smile.

Shit. “She’s beautiful.” Byulyi's side smiled at the sight and allowed herself to take in the view that was casual, domestic Yongsun. Next to her a snort was heard from her manager and pushed her aside to greet Yongsun, not before whispering in her ear.

“Just friends? My ass. You’re so fucked Byulyi.” It was the only thing Seulgi properly mouthed while they entered Yongsun’s apartment and Byulyi let the door close behind her. 

“Great, this is going to be epic.” was the last of Moonbyul’s thoughts before the night properly started.

Chapter Text

She was quite nervous, inviting new friends over to her house that were out of her usual group was something that she hasn’t done in a long time… since university years, even.  She wanted to have everything ready and usually Wheein is the one that eases off all the nerves she has but the younger girl is locked in her room in an intense painting and crafting session for her subjects.

Yongsun knew well not to bother an artist in the process of creating a masterpiece.

She has never felt that she needed to make other friendships, to include someone else in her life because she was fine with the friends she has right now, but a certain athlete came in without much time to make a decision on whether Yongsun was going to befriend her or not. 

And here they are.

Yongsun is waiting for her to arrive. Prepared drinks to “hang out”.

From a week to another, her life changed quite a lot. Because again, she doesn’t consider herself interesting and she already made the paces with that. She’s aware that being not-interesting is fine for her too.  Even when she was younger that she signed up for multiple singing contest most of the feedback wasn’t even on her voice, her voice has always been perfect, all the tones hit in a way is rare to see; “ your voice is amazing, but overall, you’re not interesting” “maybe try to be more extroverted” “try to wear a smile more often to be approachable”. 

Critics like that still echoed in her mind at times, but she knew well but to listen to that or worry too much about something she doesn’t mind changing. 

She wasn’t looking for relationships, she wanted to be good at school, to have a good job, to be healthy and not to worry about money, think what you want, but Yongsun didn’t have time to play with friends or focus on socializing. It was confusing, even for her; she adored her friends and spent time with them, going out, living with them but going through all that process again to meet someone? No thanks. 

Yongsun spends so much time focusing on other things that she barely knows herself, besides from singing and working, there’s little things she knows she can indulge in. That’s why having Byulyi and feeling strong stuff both hatred at the beginning and slowly opening up to her, is quite new. Because you see, she has dated before, she has been mildly interested in guys in her university years but nothing too serious.

She didn’t even know if she was heterosexual.  And she was beginning to question it thanks to Byulyi. 

Not even before when she met her current friends, who are always quite open with physical contact, love expressions and such as kissing on the cheeks (and she’s been certain that while being drunk she has pecked on the lips both Hyejin and Wheein) nothing made her question whether she was attracted to women, to guys, to none, or to everyone. 

Until Byulyi.

Dear lord, Moon Byulyi.

Questioning herself was very new, she wasn’t someone to doubt herself and she’s pretty sure she was supposed to have this enlightenment moment in high school or by the first years of university… not doing her master’s degree and planning her future in the most serious way possible.  Having the athlete being openly and worldly interested in her was new; she was famous and Yongsun was a common girl. Moonbyul was getting places and Yongsun was happy where she was and working little by little to do the best.

Moonbyul was getting attention (and liked it) and Yongsun was pleased not to be noticed. 

Moonbyul was ultimately hot and sporty whilst Yongsun was, okay , she guesses. 

She wanted to get the high rush of emotions down, she wanted all the new emotions to settle down and get the idea that nothing would ever happen between the two of them. Nothing could EVER happen between the two of them. It’s all platonic. A mere, situationship where both of them were introduced to each other (forced, but still, Yongsun still thinks that Moonbyul is too cocky for her own good) and played a game of push and pull of attraction. 

It’s all platonic until Byulyi always arrives and gives her looks with those sweet eyes and slightly brushes her hip or her hand. 

“Don’t ever get your hopes up, Yongsun, she’s off your league and it won’t work between the two of them.”

Besides, how would Yongsun be brave enough to say something? She was barely able to express her feelings to the guys she used to date before. If something ever happens between Yongsun and Byulyi, it wouldn't go far. 

From her friends point of view, she was a fuck-girl… a girl who fucks other girls. So, how would virgin Yongsun open herself to someone who seems to have all the experience in the world? You heard right, Yongsun was a virgin, never went beyond kissing… never allowed others to touch her on any other parts. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to do anything. And that’s where one of her small insecurities rose, she knew she had a nice body, she knew she had what it takes to charm others, she just wasn’t prepared to go beyond anything. 

Yongsun was happy with that, she wasn’t sure how others would react. Chorong is the only one that knows this, and it was after running from the guy she was dating back then that seeked advice on her friend and she didn’t felt ashamed nor did Chorong make her feel embarrassed at that. She only felt safe with her since it’s the only person in the world that knows this. 

Not having sex wouldn’t define her, it shouldn’t. But why does it ever feel like it’s a sin? It’s ironic. 

Yongsun was motivated to do great, lowkey thanks to Byulyi, because her passion and the dedication she had to soccer is quite contagious. That’s why, without telling anyone, she applied for a job with her department dean and will be interviewed soon to be her assistant and logistics manager. She didn’t want to say it yet until it was something secure and she would be able to brag about it, because the pay was good and she had the chance to be remote from the Dean, meaning that she’ll had time to work on her master’s work and attend other things. 

The knock on the door was enough to bring her out of her trance, she quickly walked to the door to see that it was the delivery man, kindly waiting to hand over the food. She didn’t waste any more time and opened the door and vaguely thanked the delivery guy who also thanked her. 

She crossed her fullbody mirror to look at herself, she was going to be introduced to a new person and wanted to make a nice impression, it was Byulyi’s manager after all. From what she has heard, Hyejin and Wheein loved her and oftenly begged to see their unnie. 
“She must be nice if those two ask for her that often.”

Because Yongsun knew that the duo only seeked to meet people if they were worth it. Probably managing the athlete's busy schedule and strong personality was enough for Yongsun to like her.
Being bold enough, she changed into her jean shorts and a loose hoodie, comfy but not too casual, she liked to see it that way. 

Once she was laying the pizza down on her living room table, she quickly texted the athlete to let her know that the pizza had just arrived. In a very timed moment, she saw that Byulyi told her that they were already on their way up. She blushed at the idea of seeing the athlete again.  She hurried over to take out some beers, water and dishes for the pizza; as another knock on the door was made, she saw herself in the reflection of her refrigerator, fixed her bangs to the side and walked over. 

Yongsun was surprised by the pair of Byulyi and Seulgi, playfully (and quite roughly) elbowing each other and whispering things while Byulyi shushed hurriedly. She was surprised to see that the other girl was nothing she imagined: fit, casual but nothing too informal, tired eyes and long hair tied in a high ponytail. She seemed to have the same style as Byulyi and age like Byulyi, is she really the manager? She imagined someone older.

To be the same age and have the athlete under her is quite impressive. 

“Hi, come on in!” She moved aside to let the girls enter her home and heard another whisper that couldn’t be understood but did saw that Byulyi laughed and pushed the girl only to stop in front of Yongsun. 

“Hey.” said Byulyi comically and waited for Yongsun to close the door, she did felt the gaze of the athlete running through her body up and down, making her think that wearing the shorts was a good idea. As she thought, she enjoyed the idea of being desired or at least, causing a reaction on the athlete. She turned around with a soft smile, hiding mischievousness in it, they held the look for a few seconds before hugging each other automatically, Yongsun comfortably sliding her arms around Byulyi’s toned body, whilst she felt the athlete surround her petite body and gently squeezing her.

It was nice, Byulyi smelled nice. Everything felt nice.

“Can I just make myself comfortable while you two do that?” Seulgi’s voice was heard far from them but enough to know that she was watching them.

Shit. 

Yongsun blushed and Byulyi sighed at having the moment interrupted.

“Thanks Seulgi, always a charmer.” she let go of Yongsun and the host immediately walked over to Seulgi.

“Sorry about that,” she needed to change the topic before the questions arrived. “Byulyi told me that you would drink a few beers then water, so I got some for you.” Hurriedly, took one from the table and handed it over to Seulgi before she even got the chance to say something or pick what she would drink.

Without much option, she took it and opened in a single movement “Uh-yeah, sure thanks! Moonbyul will have none, only water because she has a schedule tomorrow, I’ll drink her portion.” She playfully smiled at Yongsun, and winked at her. Yongsun snorted at the athlete being limited by her manager, like a mom towards her child, it appears that their dynamic is playful and strong. 

“Hey! You said I could get pizza and beer if I did extra hours of gym and tactic work on the field!” 

“I didn’t agree to beer.”

“Damn, well, maybe I can have a couple and I’ll still wake up early to do gym and tactics?”

“No.”

“C’mon Seulgi!”

“Said no.”

“Please Seulgi-bear!” Yongsun felt like she was in the middle of a couple discussion, Moonbyul was even giving Seulgi’s puppy eyes, that’s new. From what Wheein and Hyejin mentioned, they have been school friends since their early days and it’s obvious that they’re close to each other, who knows how much they know about each other and what kind of things they’ve been through…

Anyways. Yongsun didn’t mean to intrude and hopefully she could discover new things about new people little by little. The curiosity was killing her but she didn’t want to ask too much.

…

But why would she call her Seulgi-bear? That’s way too much of a couple nickname. 

Is it that they were together before?

Yongsun had no idea what about and why she was overthinking. 

“Yongsun!”

It was Byulyi calling her name. She turned to see what was happening from the kitchen counter, right, she was grabbing things that were needed to have the pizza together with them. 

“Y-yeah?”

“It would be okay if I had a couple of beers along with the pizza, right? Tell Seulgi that I’ll do good.”

Right while she was returning, she made eye contact with Seulgi who was now right next to Byulyi, pulling her from the shirt and keeping her from grabbing a can of beer, and who at the second their eyes met, she started shaking her head negatively, along with a mischievous smile. 

Oh, there was a plan. 

“Uh…” She was still gazing at Seulgi who now winked at her. She got it. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if you’ll have to train that hard tomorrow.”

“Aw, c’mon Yongsun, be on my side!” 

Moonbyul proceeded to pout, fucking pout at Yongsun. She didn’t think she would ever live to see the athlete try to be cute at anyone. 

“I should not be giving the last say on this!”

“You should, it’s your house.” Seulgi commented, giving her full power of the situation, she let go of Moonbyul who instead of going to the beer, immediately went to where Yongsun was standing and grabbed both of her hands.

Big, strong hands that carefully caged Yongsun’s soft and tiny hands.

“Pleeeeease?”

Oh c’mon. There’s no way Yongsun could ever deny that.

“You’ll have to listen to Seulgi-ssi carefully though.” Before even finishing the sentence, Moonbyul was already nodding.

“I always-” 

It was Seulgi who swiftly interrupted “You do not.” Yongsun sensed the cue to a new bickering session between the friends. 

“Okay okay, you two, grab that beer and let’s have pizza, it’s getting cold and I’m hungry.” Yongsun decided to mediate the situation and end it once and for all. 

The two girls said no more but smiled at each other, taking a seat after Yongsun, who was already opening the pizza box and placing the plates in front of each. Moonbyul carefully sat next to her host, happy and smiling like a puppy next to her owner. 

Seulgi thought it was quite a view, “I knew she was acting kinda whipped for this girl, but seeing her like this will give me lots of reasons to tease her.”  All while Moonbyul looked at Yongsun with adoration, asking if she needed something else while grabbing Yongsun's hip carefully, caressing the master student. "She's so fucked if they're acting this domestic with each other already." Seulgi kept watching the interaction with much intrigue and when her eyes met with Moonbyul, the athlete rolled her eyes, because she knew her manager won't stop messing with her now, but having Yongsun next to her feels worth it. 

And so on, dinner went by, a few beers were drunk and lots of pizza was eaten. They mostly talked about how Byulyi was in high school, how chaotic was hearing from her from the US all the way back to Korea and managing their time zones to catch up weekly, all whilst Moonbyul bragged about Yongsun’s amazing ability to sing, while being a top student. And n ot so late, around 10pm, everything was already clean, courtesy of Seulgi who thought it was rude to leave a mess on Yongsun’s house. Seulgi knew that she would continue to see Yongsun and gracefully, shared her cellphone with the older girl. “Just in case.” mentioned by sending a quick “hi :)” to her. 

“I’m very happy I got the chance to meet you, sorry for all the inconveniences my athlete has made you go through.” Seulgi bowed before she did a fist bump with Moonbyul, who was lying quite comfortably on the couch in Yongsun’s living room, with no intention to leave. “I want to hear from you very early in the morning and to see that you’re making up for those beers.” 

“Aye boss. I’ll wake you up with my calls even." She waived her off with little interest in what her manager was saying but deep inside knew she meant business. 

When the pair of girls heard the door close, they both released the air in their lungs they didn’t knew they were holding in and looked at each other, laughing at the comical coordination. Once they were coming down their cloud, Yongsun sat down next to Moonbyul, but none of them said anything.

They were sitting in the same couch but far from each other, as if they were strangers.

Byulyi broke the silence, all that while moving herself a little bit closer to the master student. Their tights barely touched, and it was a warm and electric contact that none of them dared to say a thing about it. “Did you had fun?”

“I did, Seulgi is very nice. I can see why Hyejin and Wheein adore her so much.” Yongsun warmly smiled at the athlete and mentally gave thanks to the manager that kindly took out the trash on her way out, saying that “it was nothing, it’s a small gesture after being such a nice host.” 

“Yeah, we’ve known each other for quite a while. It’s us and Irene but, uh, yeah…” Moonbyul also smiled at her and brushed the topic off by standing up. “She’s quite lovable but I adore to mess with her, I know which buttons to push.”

There was something in there, Yongsun noticed but she thought that it was nor the time or place to ask questions… and it’s not like Moonbyul has to give her answers anyways. 

Yongsun decided to remain seated, watching the athlete stretch her back with a smile, there was a glimpse of her toned abs while she was stretching and the master student took all of her will not to look but did anyways. That’s why she knew she was toned . 

“I-i liked her, you can tell her she's very welcome at my house at any other time.” 

She figured that mentioning the manager will make the image of Byulyi’s torso go away.

“Wheein will love that… talking about her, where is she?” The athlete looked around as if she had never been to the apartment and then headed straight to the artist room. 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Yongsun held back her panic, because she previously had interrupted Wheein while in a painting session of a big piece and it did not end well, both of them remember very well and a huge stain in the wall was still a nice proof on how to not mess with her process. 

“Wha- why?”

“If she’s painting you better not disturb her, I don’t know how she was when you were younger but if it’s a piece for a final, she’s incredibly focused and probably stressed. I tried to force her to eat and interrupted her painting session and she threw brushes at me and in the process a bottle of acrylic paint stained her favorite carpet so…”

Moonbyul dead-panned “Shit.”  And Yongsun was quick to giggle.

“Yep” The master student popped the ‘p’ and instead stood up, walking straight to Byulyi. Moonbyul was nervous. And it was strange for her to be. She was Moon Byulyi, the confident athlete, used to crowds, pressure, and attention, but Yongsun’s presence made her pulse quicken. Maybe it was the way Yongsun looked tonight—her casual outfit of jean shorts and a loose hoodie was simple, yet Yongsun made it look exquisite . Moonbyul had a hard time not letting her eyes wander, especially when Yongsun’s legs caught the soft light of the room. It was becoming harder to pretend that she wasn’t falling for her.

But that was the dilemma, wasn’t it? They had become friends even after Yongsun being so negative at the beginning towards her and Moonbyul didn’t want to risk spoiling what they already had. What if Yongsun didn’t feel the same? Or worse, what if she did, and things went wrong? Or even worse, what if she wasn’t even into girls? She hated how her usual confidence seemed to falter around Yongsun.

Yongsun, meanwhile, was fighting her own battle. She couldn’t deny that every time Moonbyul smiled at her or looked at her in that way, she felt a spark she hadn’t experienced before. She was drawn to Moonbyul’s energy, her warmth, her charm. It was different, intense. But Yongsun wasn’t sure if she was ready to take it a step further. They had become such good friends, and she valued that connection. Ignoring the fact that at the beginning she despised her to bits. Was it worth risking that friendship for something that might not work out? She didn’t want to ruin whatever they already had.

Maybe the athlete wasn’t taking it as seriously as Yongsun was. Maybe Moonbyul was seeing this as a play-around thing. 

As they stood there, just inches apart, Moonbyul suddenly reached out, wrapping her arms around Yongsun in a warm hug. Yongsun felt her heart pound in her chest, but she relaxed into the embrace, sliding her arms around Moonbyul’s waist and holding her close. It felt right—safe and comforting. For a moment, she let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, they could figure it out together.

Moonbyul’s chin rested on Yongsun’s shoulder, and she breathed in her scent. She didn’t want to let go, and Yongsun didn’t either.

They held on, both silently wishing that this closeness could last a little longer.

Chapter Text

Moonbyul's hand hesitated on the door handle, the chill of the night pressing against her as she turned back to Yongsun one last time. The dinner had gone well, almost too well. The conversation flowed like the river outside Yongsun's apartment, easy and natural. They avoided acknowledging the pull they both felt, each one of them having their own insecurities, mainly: was it right to be together? The question hung between them, Yongsun hesitant of the huge career the athlete had ahead of her whilst Moonbyul wondered if she would be enough for Yongsun and if the master student was willing to have a partner whose life would be of much traveling and attention. They were both equally scared.

Moonbyul wanted to stay, but the way Yongsun’s eyes flickered, unsure and torn, held her back. If they crossed that line, there would be no going back. She stepped forward, hugging Yongsun tightly, feeling the warmth of her embrace, the comfort that made her feel more at home than she had in years. For a moment, they stayed like that, the world narrowing to just the space between them, breaths mingling along the silence of the hallway.

But in the end, Moonbyul pulled back, ignoring the pull that told her to stay, to close that distance for good. "Goodnight, Yongsun." she said softly, voice laced with a longing she couldn't hide. 

"’Night, Byul," Yongsun whispered back, the sadness lingering in her eyes as she watched Moonbyul walk away. The athlete still turned around back again and waved with a soft smile adorning her face, she skipped a few doors and quickly got in, making Yongsun smile the same way.

By the time Moonbyul entered her home, it was past midnight, but her mind refused to settle. She lays in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the evening in her mind. The way Yongsun’s laughter had filled the room, the way their hands brushed over the table, and that moment at the door, all of it circled in her thoughts until sleep finally took over. She also thought on how much shit she was going to get from Seulgi for the way she was acting, it’s been a long long time since Moonbyul crushed on anyone and it showed, but after the warnings from Hyejin and Wheein, there was some sort of insecurity that there might be a mess up in the group if Yongsun and Moonbyul got together.  

Because there is no way Moonbyul is going to risk her treasured friendship with Wheein and Hyejin for a relationship, even if it’s Yongsun. Right now Moonbyul was sure they were better off as friends and drifting off to the idea that they could be something else, something deep and something incredible, was so tempting but definitely out of range. 

The situation was so confusing it made her dizzy.

She didn’t know how many times the idea circled in her mind, it made her turn around in her bed and try multiple poses that could help her sleep, but nothing seemed to help. In resignation, she grabbed her charging phone and quickly searched for her recent chats, almost immediately typing into her conversation with Yongsun.

“I can’t sleep.” Moonbyul said as if she was debating whether to text her or not. 

In the end, she sighed and didn’t. 

But still didn’t get a blink of sleep, her mind in a huge spiral of thoughts, filled with the images of Yongsun smiling, them having a good time but the scenario of her getting in trouble with her most treasured friends… a total nightmare.

Her alarm went off at 5 am, and she groaned, rolling over and staring at her phone screen with bleary eyes. With a sigh, she called Seulgi, who didn’t answer at first. It took three more calls before Seulgi's sleepy voice finally answered. "Byul? It’s so early."

“Training, remember? Unless you still drank in your home, you forget that I actually promised about waking up early to make up for the pizza and beers.” Moonbyul said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. She just got a ‘shut up’ in reply that was enough for both of them to sit in the edge of their respective beds. “Get up and get ready. We need to work on those tactics today.”

Seulgi groaned again but agreed. Moonbyul hung up, got out of bed, and headed for the shower. The cold water woke her up instantly, and by the time she stepped out, she was wide awake. Pulling on her training gear, she grabbed her gym bag just as Seulgi arrived at her door, looking half-asleep.

“Let’s go,” Moonbyul said, and they headed out to the stadium, the city still quiet under the early morning sky.

The stadium was empty when they arrived, and the two of them set up cones and markers, planning their drills and tactics. The gym facilities were theirs to use, and they made the most of the time, running drills and lifting weights until the sun rose higher in the sky. 

The practice was enough for her to clear her mind and push the situation with Yongsun aside. She will still cherish and see her as someone that has reached her heart in a lightning speed that not even the athlete can even understand, and she knew it was a both sided thing. Right now, Moonbyul doesn’t feel she’s doing something wrong, they’re just two friends who hug each other occasionally, have a blast together, and enjoy their company… just like friends do, right? 

By the time practice finished, Moonbyul checked her watch. It was almost 8 am—just enough time to get to her class. Surprisingly enough, by the time she was exiting the showers, her coach just arrived, still looking dizzy from sleep. 

“Morning, coach!” She welcomed and scared the older lady, who was surprised by the cheerly energy from her rising star. 

“Jesus, Moon. Why are you so happy this early in the morning?” Grabbing a mug to get herself a coffee from the lobby they were both in, barely ready to start the day. 

“Woke up at 5 to start practice, me and Seulgi worked on some physical and tactical plays that could help me get ready for the next match.” It wasn’t a lie, she was sleep deprived but still soccer was enough motivation for her to wake up.

While getting a groan from her coach, she pulled out her phone, and after a moment’s hesitation, she messaged Yongsun. 

From: Byul

Morning. Hope you slept well!🌜

As i promised, i woke up at 5 and just finished practice with Seulgi, see that I can keep up with my word? 🫡

She was proud of herself, she indeed kept herself true to her words and of course she was going to brag about it. 

She heard her coach groan and a couple of teammates arrived through the lobby, all of them equally cheering as Moonbyul was. Ready for their practice. 

She waved ‘hi’ and a few hand shakes from elderly personnel who belonged to the team as well when she got an almost instant reply.

From: Yong

Hi Byulyi, I did! It took me some time but I got a nice sleep. 

Thank you for keeping your promise, I knew I did good by trusting you.

✌️

Yongsun’s typing was so hard to figure out, she always texted so formally so getting an emoji response from her was enough for Byulyi to smile and snort. She started typing her response that she didn’t even see Seulgi next to her, watching her and rolling her eyes. 

“Seriously? Finish getting ready, your class is about to start. You can flirt later.”

Moonbyul smiled and laughed as she headed off with her backpack and gym bag, being tailed by Seulgi. Seulgi arranged her schedule with her coach that told her to be ready at 4 pm to practice more with her teammates after class, to which Byulyi and Seulgi both nodded and bowed. 

Her session was good, she scored most of the hard goals in the angle she was requested but in the locker room (which was empty) she showered, whilst the steam washed away the tiredness and the lingering tension from the night before. 

Now sporting her casual clothes, she wore a fresh hoodie, shorts, and her sneakers, ready to head to class. She didn’t forget to put one of her sponsor's colognes in her bag, and she applied it with a small grin once she reached the car as she remembers how Yongsun had complimented it once, that night they spent together at the park. 

From: Moonbyul

Have u had breakfast? Im heading out to SNU right now, want me to get you something? 

Moonbyul knew that was risky to ask, mostly because her class starts in 20 minutes but because she was going to get a bunch from Seulgi for being late to anything, gosh she hated being late to anything. 

She waited for a reply whilst Seulgi got out of the private parking in the stadium, setting in the GPS for the quickest way to get to SNU.

From: Yong

It’s okay! Wheein woke up early as well and made some french toast for the two of us, so i’m good!

Thank you! 

Your class starts 8:30 right? 

Mine does as well. 

It was hard figuring out what Yongsun wanted, Moonbyul struggled on whether she should invite her to have lunch together or just make a comment on it, but before she started spiraling on it, Yongsun took the initiative… something Byul wasn’t expecting her to.

From: Yong to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Hi girls! I was speaking to Moonbyul and both of our classes end at 10, is anyone else available for lunch?

Always so smart, Kim Yongsun. 

From: Byul to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Me!

From: Yong to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Someone besides Byulyi -.-

She laughed at the quick remark from the oldest student, getting two texts almost at the same time from Hyejin and Wheein.

From: Wheepup to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Me!!! I’ll have lunch with you guys, im pretty sure hyejin is also free at that time if not she’ll skip her class to have lunch

From: Yong to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Hyejin NO

From: Hyejinnie to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Thank you wheein, yes im also free

Lets gooooo dumb squad

See you at the cafeteria whoever arrives first please pick a comfy table

From: Wheepup to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Hyejin your classroom is closest to the building, YOU pick a comfy table

From: Hyejinnie to Dumb Squad at SNU 

Tru

I will

From: Byul to Dumb Squad at SNU 

See you guys in a bit!

She locked her phone as she saw the main buildings of SNU within her sight, having Seulgi pulling in at the student drop off, she grabbed the backpack with all her materials to take notes from the backseat in a swift movement and waved ‘goodbye’ to her manager. 

“Byulyi,” she heard her name being called as she was about to close the door and turned to see Seulgi. “You have practice later on with Seoul F.C. and an hour practice with the school team as well at 2pm, so make sure you have a good lunch before heading to both things.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. All my stuff is already in my lockers as you mentioned and with my student ID I’ll be able to enter the dressing rooms. Thanks.” Seulgi smiled at her friend, remembering her schedule and nodded. 

“Well done, see you later, text me if anything happens. I’ll be in meetings and let you know if we can sign something juicy for us.”

Byulyi nodded as well and fist bumped Seulgi “Sure thing boss! I’ll have lunch with the girls so I'm pretty sure I’ll be good for both practices.”

“Does ‘the girls’ include Yongsun?” Seulgi waved her eyebrows and Moonbyul knew what she was doing. With a snort, she rolled her eyes and looked back at her once again, stepping out from the car range for it to maneuver.

“You’re stopping traffic, Seulgibear.” In a hurry, Seulgi looked behind her to see that indeed she had a line behind her. 

Luckily, that was enough for the conversation to end. “Crap. See you later Byul-ah.”

And her manager left. 

As she started walking, she realized that there were many students watching the interaction in curiosity. She didn’t want any gossip to start during the first months so she wanted to be everything very lowkey besides the fact that she was now a professional soccer player… and that she earned tons of money because of that… and that her face was in all the promos of the university and… yeah. 

She’ll just have to be careful.

Yongsun was done with her class, and figured that Byulyi was as well. The master student knew that their class buildings were close to each other but not a few steps close. 

There was a visible group of students surrounding a figure, a fit figure who was sporting a cap and too much of a casual outfit, it had to be Moonbyul. Yongsun couldn’t help it but snort until she and the athlete made eye contact. Her eyes were begging for salvation. 

Yongsun got a bit closer and laughed at the commentaries, which most of it were of the students asking Byulyi to follow them back on Insta to brag about it to others, to which Byulyi kindly enough, replied that she’ll give follow back to everyone once she’s done with today’s schedule, which, Yongsun kinda knew it as already packed. 

Pretending she was late for something, Moonbyul eyed Yongsun again who waved to her from the back of the group of fans that was surrounding her. 

“ Oh!” She waved and everyone else paused their ruckus, turning around to see who she was waving to. “Unnie! Let’s go to our next class, hurry! I’m sorry guys, I hope I can meet you all at the next match soon, both from the SNU Team and at Seoul F.C. stadium.” Moonbyul promised without knowing that she won’t be able to remember a single face of the people that surrounded her. 

She still waved goodbye to everyone and trotted towards Yongsun who saw the interaction with a soft smile, she waved to the athlete and was welcomed with a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders to which she stiffed… She was comfortable showing affection to the athlete when they were alone or at least with Hyejin’s and Wheein’s presence but not in front of other students who were already taking out their phones to snap pictures of the two of them. 

It seemed dangerous but she didn’t remove herself from the interaction. She saw Moonbyul lean in to whisper something and she did the same, paying attention. 

“Sorry, just pretend we’re late. Thank you.” It was enough for Yongsun to nod and get into her act. 

“Hurry up Moonbyul-ssi!” She added the honorifics to make it seem that they do not know each other at all. 

Yep, classmates, just. classmates. 

The idea of them only meeting at classes flashed through Moonbyul’s mind and she felt shivers down her spine, she HATED the thought of them only seeing each other in that scenario. 

“Yeah, sorry! I’ll have to explain to the professor what happened!” Somehow, Yongsun ended up so immersed in her role that her voice tone even changed. 

And so they started running, the cafeteria was a few minutes away but they just wanted to escape that hoard of people at the moment. 

None of them realized their hands holding, nor that they were loving the moment too much and couldn’t contain their laughter. Yongsun was so thankful she was wearing a comfortable pair of shoes to run the way they sprinted away, once they reached the cafeteria at a decent distance to not be spotted by other people (specifically from Hyejin and Wheein who would make a huge fuzz if they saw the pair holding hands). 

They were catching their breaths, Yongsun wearing a huge smile and Byulyi looking if there’s no one within her eye-reach, thankfully no one was entering or exiting the cafeteria. She was very conscious about them holding hands, like an injection of adrenaline just from the feeling of Yongsun’s skin against hers. Yongsun still seemed oblivious, riding down the moment and steadying herself.

Byulyi did not let go and instead she secured Yongsun's tiny and soft hand within her strong hand, allowing herself to smile at what just happened. 

As Yongsun finally calmed down, she gazed at the athlete, who after that sprint was unhinged (but of course, she’s a professional after all!), and smiled. 

“That was perfect Yongsun, I owe you one.” At the comment, Yongsun took the chance to playfully push Moonbyul with her free hand, without letting her go with the other one. 

“You bet you do! That was so funny. Wait till I tell Hyejin and Wh-” Panic settled in Byul at the names of her bestfriends. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Yong.” That confused Yongsun. 

“Why not?” The soccer player knew that it was dangerous terrain to where she was about to go. She took in some bravery and softly took Yongsun’s other hand. 

“I think they’ll make a huge fuzz about this.” Yongsun was still looking at her in confusion, Moonbyul could only gaze back and forth between their hands and the master student's eyes, hoping she would get what she meant. 

The surprise in her eyes made it clear that she got it now. “Oh… oh! You mean this.” Blushing, Yongsun tried to pull away her hands softly but was stopped by Byulyi’s grip. She couldn’t meet the athlete’s gaze, she was behaving like a middle schooler with a crush. 

“I don’t mind. I like it.” What does Moonbyul mean that she ‘likes’ it? How is she even able to say things like that outloud? 

“I-uh, I…” Yongsun was still struggling to make words, she didn’t wanted to offend Byulyi by saying that it’s wrong for them to be together but more that it’s complicated for both of them. She likes it as well, but she doesn’t know where it’s going and it’s scary. 

“It’s okay if you don’t.”

She felt the soccer player release both her hands and saw that she was still smiling at her, smiling in a way so fond that it made Yongsun’s heart throb in tenderness. 

Gosh, Yongsun wanted to scream so bad, she wanted to say that she likes it as well but why wasn’t she brave enough to do so? 

Is it really that bad to be with Byulyi? Would they really be in that much trouble?
It’s a conversation that they’ll have to have… but how would it be possible to do so if Yongsun doesn’t know what Moonbyul wants? What if she’s misunderstanding everything? 

Moonbyul, somehow not offended, smiled and ruffled Yongsun’s perfect hair and carefully bumped her shoulder with her. “C’mon Yong, Hyejin and Wheein must be waiting for us, probably already on their second round of food.”

It was surprising. 

How Moon Byulyi faced a situation like this, she expected some sort of reaction that showed lack of maturity but no. 

Because for Moonbyul, she couldn’t imagine a world where she doesn’t have Yongsun by her side, as friend, as lover, as anything, as long as it's next to her. 

“Yong, you coming?”

The warmth of Byulyi’s hands was still lingering in her body. She was unable to think of other things. 

“Ye-yeah… going.” She started walking and the athlete took the lead, eyeing the cafeteria while walking with such tranquility that was unreal; both hands in her pockets, loosely putting one foot in front of the other. Little does Yongsun know that Moonbyul’s hands were cramping inside her pockets, fists closed as she tried to consume as much as possible the sensation of Yongsun’s delicate hands between hers. A blush hiding within the shade her cap was able to give to her face, trying to get her thoughts together far from the fact that she almost blurted impossible scenarios. 

It was impossible to be together… but she was still allowed to dream. 

As Moonbyul arrived first to the door, she held it open for Yongsun to enter, to which she shyly whispered a ‘thank you’ to the athlete as she entered first. Their friends spotted them and were quick to call for their attention screaming and waving “UNNIES!” to which everyone turned to see what was going on.

Yongsun looked up as she saw the reaction from the students around them. There were whispers, some glances exchanged, and even a few excited squeals. Moonbyul had just entered behind her and her presence was impossible to ignore. Yongsun had never quite gotten used to the attention that came with Moonbyul’s status as an athlete, but it was hard to deny that she understood the reaction. 

The pair made their way over, ignoring the stares and whispers (the athlete being the only one used to it). Byulyi dropped her bag unceremoniously on the table, not caring where it landed, and was quick to pull out Yongsun’s chair for her to sit, only to do the same with her own chair once the older student sat down.  The cafeteria seemed to hold its breath, and Yongsun could feel the eyes on them, but all she focused on was the familiar scent of Moonbyul’s cologne next to her. Hyejin and Wheein both were still frozen, holding their breaths but with a smile creeping in their faces, as if one of them was about to snort and laugh out loud. The people inside the cafeteria eventually all returned to what they were doing.

“Good morning you two,” Moonbyul replied, her voice too calm. She looked at the duo sitting in front of them, who were still laughing and trying to hold it down. “What?”

“Why is everyone so dramatic about this?” Wheein exclaimed, a little bit too loudly. Moonbyul shrugged and relaxed in her seat, she turned her gaze to see Yongsun who was looking at her phone as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Hyejin was eyeing in silence and softly bumped her boot with Yongsun’s shoes, it was visible that Yongsun was uncomfortable at what just happened.

“Hey Yong, you okay?” It was not only Hyejin who realized, but Moonbyul did as well. Hyejin eyed the interaction and the clear worry in Moonbyul’s eyes. The older student nodded and smiled at the three girls. 

“Did you guys already order?” Yongsun cut out the topic before it escalated, she didn’t want to be the center of attention nor worried about her friends.

Wheein was the one that replied, a little bit oblivious of Yongsun’s shaken state of mind. “No, unnie we were wait-” as she was saying that, Hyejin stood up, smiling warmly at her unnie.

“We can go us two unnie, and Byulyi-unnie and Wheeinie can clear out the table for us.” 

As they took each order for lunch, Yongsun saw Moonbyul take out her wallet and hand over a card to Hyejin, who smiled mischievously at having such power in her hands. 

“Just don’t over do it, Hyejinnie.” Moonbyul knew that she was going to do it but it didn’t hurt to say it anyway.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Hyejin said, waving her hand in dismiss, they all knew that the pair was going to return with lots of food. “Let’s go unnie! We have the power of the card!” 

As the four of them laughed, Hyejin and Yongsun left to make the order whilst Wheein and Mooonbyul saw them walking off. As they approached, the warm scent of freshly baked bread and spices started filling the air. Hyejin stole a quick glance at Yongsun, who seemed distracted, her fingers lightly tapping against her arm as they waited in line.

"So..." Hyejin started, rocking on her heels, catching Yongsun’s attention who looked at her with a small smile lingering in her lips. "You and Byulyi-unnie seem close now."

Yongsun blinked, caught off guard. "Huh? What do you mean?" She opted for playing dumb about it, because definitely, texting each other non-stop meant close. She does consider Byulyi as a close friend now, considering that she’s not one to seek friendship or any sort of relationship with any person. 

Hyejin raised a brow, smirking slightly. "Oh, come on, unnie. You used to hate her. You wouldn’t even let Wheein talk about her without getting annoyed. And now? You arrived together. You care about each other. You’re laughing together. Seems like a big change."

Yongsun shifted her weight, glancing toward where Moonbyul and Wheein sat at the table. "I don’t hate her," she admitted, sighing. "I guess I never really did. I just… misunderstood her. And maybe I was being stubborn."

Hyejin hummed knowingly. "So, you like her now?"

"That’s not—" Yongsun let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "She’s my friend. That’s all. She’s... easy to be around."

Hyejin gave her a teasing look but didn’t push further as they stepped up to order.

Still, Yongsun couldn’t shake the lingering thought. What would be so great about dating her anyways? Why would someone like Moonbyul—charming, talented, and always so sure of herself—ever look at someone like her? Sure, they had become closer, but that didn’t mean there was anything more to it. Right?

Meanwhile, back at the table, Wheein twirled a straw between her fingers, eyeing Moonbyul curiously. The older girl was leaning back, arms crossed, looking oddly content despite being interrogated silently.

"So," Wheein finally said, "why did you guys arrive together?"

Moonbyul turned to her with a lazy grin. "Why not?" She started to push Wheein’s buttons, knowing well what was coming next.

Wheein narrowed her eyes. "Unnie, I know you. I know how you look at Yongsun-unnie. And I also know how she used to look at you. So, what changed?"

Moonbyul exhaled, tilting her head as she considered her words. "Nothing changed. We just… get along now. We understand each other better. That’s all."

"You sure about that?" Wheein pressed, leaning forward. "Because if you’re planning something—"

Moonbyul held up her hands. "Relax, Wheein-ah. There’s nothing going on. I’m not making a move on your unnie. We’re just friends." Byulyi made sure to make things clear, even if she, deep inside of her thought, creates wonderful scenarios where they’re together. 

Wheein studied her for a moment longer before sighing. "Fine. But don’t even think about making a move on her. Yongsun-unnie is too precious to Hyejin and me. We won’t let you mess with her and it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I don’t want to lose you or lose Yongsun unnie, you two are the entire world to us."

Moonbyul’s expression softened at the words. "I wouldn’t, Wheein-ah, don’t worry."

Just as she said that, Hyejin and Yongsun returned, their arms full of food, as expected. They set the trays down, and the four of them began eating together, chatting about trivial things—classes, upcoming assignments, and random gossip from campus (mostly about Moonbyul groupies and fans who tried to be close to her and how Byulyi gracefully shut everyone off). Throughout the meal, Moonbyul kept subtly bumping into Yongsun, whether it was a casual nudge when reaching for something or brushing their shoulders together. Each time, Yongsun would glance at her, sometimes rolling her eyes, sometimes suppressing a small smile. 

Hyejin and Wheein exchanged suspicious glances but said nothing, observing the growing familiarity between them. There was nothing wrong with them interacting, but there was something odd. 

This was when Yongsun’s mind started spiraling again, wondering if she was misunderstanding everything. She knew that she wouldn’t expose Hyejin or Wheein to breaking a friendship so precious like the one they have with Byulyi, but all the ‘what if’s’ were consuming. 

As they finished their meal, Yongsun stretched and sighed. "I should head to the library. I need to work on a paper and finish some homework." Hyejin and Wheein nodded, also grabbing their stuff together as they had class to attend as well. 

Moonbyul perked up immediately. "I’ll go with you. I need to stop by before heading to the SNU soccer court to train. We have a small practice match tomorrow morning."

Wheein and Hyejin exchanged another look. "Uh-huh," Hyejin muttered under her breath, watching the easy way Moonbyul invited herself along. With Yongsun nodding, the 4 girls parted ways in pairs. Hyejin and Wheein were still stealing glances at the pair who were heading in the opposite direction from them. 

As Yongsun and Moonbyul walked side by side toward the library, Byulyi tried hard not to think about how their hands had held onto each other just an hour before. The memory was still fresh, and it took effort not to glance down at Yongsun’s hand beside her. Bracing herself, she decided to be brave. "You know, you should come watch the match tomorrow."

Yongsun turned to her, slightly surprised. "Really? I mean, it’s just a friendly match, right?"

Moonbyul nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Yeah, but people still get excited about it. There’ll be a big crowd—both universities’ students are coming to see it. And besides," she gave her a charismatic smile, one that no one can decline, "I can promise you good seats and cold drinks. Plus a few goals from me."

Yongsun snorted and then chuckled. "You make it sound like a VIP event and so sure of yourself."

"For you? It is." Moonbyul smirked, but there was a hint of nervousness beneath her playful tone. “I know my worth, Yong, and if it’s a friendly match, I’ll still get voiced by the coach on how to intimidate other players with image and my actual skills.”

Yongsun bit her lip, considering attending as they reached the library entrance. "Alright. I’ll think about it." Moonbyul considered that as a victory, she knew she could convince Yong to go. She added a mental note to herself to text Seulgi about getting good, field-level seats for Yongsun and other two for Wheein and Hyejin in case they have enough will to wake up early. 

Moonbyul stopped at the entrance. “You’ll text me anyways, right? I’m seeing you later, right?” Yongsun turned to face her, confused. She didn’t understand what Byulyi meant, as she stopped right at the entrance door. “This is your stop, miss Yongsun.” “ Shit, am I being too pushy?” Moonbyul thought, in worry.  

“Why? I thought you were coming in?”

Moonbyul hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. "I just wanted to walk with you. Hyejin and Wheein were acting weird at lunch."

Yongsun let out a breath, nodding. "Yeah, they were." Byulyi chuckled at the confirmation and was slightly glad that she was not the only one that was interrogated by one of them. She didn’t explain more about Wheein’s earlier interrogation. Instead, she grinned. 

Taking one last look at Byulyi, Yongsun doubted herself on what she should do next; a hug? Take her hand? What would be something that is normal for friends to do? “I’ll text you then.” and simply, waived goodbye. 

At the sight of Yongsun being awkward, Moonbyul didn’t hesitate to reach over and warmly hug her with a smile, she couldn’t believe how Yong could be so obvious and cute, and so, strong arms covered her slim figure and she could feel Yongsun returning the hug in a slight state of surprise, but returned it nevertheless.

The hug lasted a few seconds before Yong separated from Byulyi, who playfully winked at her. "I’ll see you tomorrow then. Don’t be late for my VIP match." She’ll text Yong all the details in a minute, a 9 am soccer match meant for her to wake up at 6 am and start training at 7 am… meaning that she’ll have to be in a full-focus state, she of course wants to see Yong before locking in. 

Yongsun shyly nodded and turned around, only to see that there weren’t students around to gossip about their moment together. As Moonbyul walked away, Yongsun lingered at the door, watching her go, her heart feeling lighter—and a little more confused.

It was a Friday, so SNU was very calm with few students. Yongsun was so thankful that she could have a nice seat at the library and enough space to gather up enough books for all her assignments. It was around 1:30 pm and there were little to none students. Once Moonbyul left and Yongsun got into the library, she immediately got a text from the athlete to which the master student sighed in disbelief and smiled. 

From: Moonbyul  12:54 p.m.

Match is at 10am! Already requested your seat 😎 full VIP experience, remember? 

So Hyejin and Wheein are not going? 

Is she the only one invited? 

The girls are going to go crazy.

From: Yongsun 12:58 p.m.

Are Hyejin and Wheein also going? 

From: Moonbyul  12:59 p.m.

Yong 😂

Try to wake them up early on a saturday, as if you already don’t know how they adore their sleeping hours hahaha

You can ask them but I’m sure they’ll just sleep it off. The important one is on sunday at 7 pm, remember? I got you a Season Pass and everything 😌

From: Yongsun 1:01 p.m.

I’ll still ask them anyway…

She didn’t mean to make it seem that she didn’t want to go alone. Spending time alone with Byulyi would be great, she could eye her without a worry but she fears that Hyejin and Wheein would make a huge fuzz of it. 

Byulyi hasn’t even seen the message, has she got mad a Yongsun? 

“She must be training, don’t get so full of yourself Yongsun.” She reminded herself. 

It was now 1:20 pm and Yongsun was deep in her homework. By that time she thought that Moonbyul was already at SNU field, practicing with the team she had barely interacted with. She was introduced to the sports media and by important people at the city but she hasn’t even met who would be her teammates. 

It’s going to be a mess to split her duties as pro player and university player… she trusts Seulgi to have her schedule well arranged. 

The dressing room was pretty wide and clean, she got to her locker and started changing, removing her loose t-shirt she was sporting, until she heard a few gasps. She turned around to see a few girls, already in their SNU uniform and she totally didn’t mind being in a sports bra and her casual baggy shorts, Moonbyul knew well she had a nice physique. 

“Oh, hi! Sorry I didn’t say hello, guess I was already into training mood?” Trying to break the ice with her teammates, they only waved and nodded. They left immediately with small ‘goodbyes’. “I guess I’ll see you at the field?” she answered to herself, making sure she was the only one at the dressing room, she finished putting all her gear on. 

Moonbyul did not checked her phone one last time.

Adjusting the strap of her cleats and jogging onto the field, Byulyi rolled her shoulders as she prepared for the intense training session ahead. Around her, the university players were already warming up, stretching and passing the ball among themselves.

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

"Alright, everyone, bring it in!" the coach called, standing near the center of the field.

The team gathered, forming a loose circle as the coach glanced over them before setting his gaze on Moonbyul. "I don’t think I need to introduce her, but since this is an official practice for tomorrow's match, let’s welcome Moon Byulyi. She’s joining us for the short season, so make sure to keep up. You might learn a thing or two from a pro."

Some of the players nodded, a few exchanged looks, and a couple of them whispered among themselves. Moonbyul could feel the mixture of curiosity, intimidation, and admiration in their expressions. She had been in their shoes before—playing alongside someone who had already reached the professional level was both exciting and nerve-wracking.

Moonbyul grinned, giving them a small nod. To which all of the students returned. "I’m looking forward to playing with you guys. Don’t go easy on me."

"We won’t," one of the players muttered, determination flashing in his eyes. A few others chuckled, the tension starting to ease.

"Good. Now, let’s get to work," the coach said before gesturing toward the field. "Warm-ups first. Ten laps around the field. Move it!"

The group immediately took off, their cleats hitting the grass in rhythmic steps. Moonbyul set a steady pace, running alongside her temporary teammates. Some tried to keep up with her speed, pushing themselves harder, while others stayed at their own comfortable rhythm. As they rounded the field, she felt herself getting into the groove, her body adjusting to the familiar routine of a rigorous training session.

After warm-ups, the drills began. Short passes, long passes, possession exercises—Moonbyul worked seamlessly with the team, showing her skill but also making sure to involve the others. A few times, she could tell they were hesitant around her, almost as if they didn’t want to make a mistake in front of a pro.

"Relax, guys," she said after receiving a hesitant pass from one of the midfielders. "It’s just practice. We mess up here so we don’t mess up in the real games."

That seemed to help, and soon the tension broke. More communication flowed between the players, their movements becoming more fluid. The coach observed from the sidelines, occasionally shouting instructions.

"Move faster, Baek! You’re giving them too much time!"

"Better positioning, Park! Anticipate the pass!"

"Byulyi, take the shot!"

Hearing her cue, Moonbyul didn’t hesitate. She controlled the ball at the edge of the box, took a quick touch to the right, and sent a powerful strike toward the top left corner. The goalkeeper dove but barely managed to graze the ball as it hit the net. A few of the players whistled, clearly impressed.

"Damn," one of them muttered. "That’s why she’s pro."

Moonbyul laughed, jogging back to her position. "That’s why we practice. You’ll be making shots like that too."

After the intense drills, the coach clapped his hands. "Alright, let’s do some team-building activities before we wrap up."

The players exchanged glances, and a few of them groaned playfully. Team-building exercises weren’t always the most thrilling part of practice, but they were necessary.

Moonbyul didn’t realize that one hour and half had gone by, only 30 minutes of practice left; so she had to give it all in. She remembered Seulgi’s voice echoing in the back of her mind, remembering that after this, she’ll have to eat on her way to Seoul F.C. to prepare for her debut match on sunday. Thankfully it’s all just medical check-ups and cardio training for her endurance building. She heard a whistle that took her out of her agenda checking. 

One of the activities involved a passing challenge where they had to communicate without words. Another had them blindfolded while trying to navigate small obstacles using only their teammates’ directions. Byulyi watched as the team slowly loosened up, even laughing at some of the chaotic mistakes.

Eventually, one of the players nudged her. "You’re actually kinda chill. Thought you’d be all serious and intense." She was the same size as Byulyi, messy hair, quite tomboy-ish features as well. 

Moonbyul raised a brow. "I can be. But what’s the point if we’re not having fun, too?" 

The player grinned. "Fair enough." The girl extended her hand to introduce herself. “Youngji. Defender.” Byulyi took it and shook it with strength. 

“Moon Byulyi.” As they both cleared out their identity (not like Moonbyul needed to) they were called by the coach to do the activity. 

By the time the session wrapped up, the air around them was different—less stiff, more relaxed. Moonbyul stretched her arms, feeling the good burn of an intense workout. She had come here to train, but she had also earned the respect of her temporary teammates in the process.

Just as she was about to head toward the locker room, the coach called her over.

"Byulyi, a word?"

She jogged over, wiping some sweat from her brow. "Yeah, Coach?"

He crossed his arms, a small smirk on his face. "I’m naming you team captain for the season."

Moonbyul blinked, momentarily caught off guard. "What?"

"I know you won’t be here for long, we were already notified that you will be here only for the semester season and if we make it, on the road for the championship, but I want you to push these girls to take every shot they can, to believe in themselves. Your experience is invaluable. This team needs someone like you leading them."

She felt the weight of the responsibility settle on her shoulders. Being team captain meant more than just playing well—it meant inspiring her teammates, making sure they grew as a unit. But she didn’t back down from challenges.

She exhaled. "I’ll do my best."

The coach clapped her shoulder. "That’s all I ask."

As she trotted to the dressing room, she switched out her jersey, replacing it with a training version of Seoul F.C.—something only players were allowed to wear. As she slung her bag over her shoulder, a few teammates approached her, offering smiles and waves.

"Hey, uh, Moon Byulyi-ssi!"

She glanced up. "Yeah?"

One of them, a shorter midfielder with an excited glint in her eyes, hesitated before grinning. "We just wanted to say… we really admire you. It’s been amazing playing with you today. We look forward to tomorrow's match!"

A few of the others nodded in agreement.

Moonbyul smirked. "Thanks. I admire you guys too. Keep working hard, and I’m sure you’ll go far. Let’s play like our life depends on it tomorrow even if it’s a friendly one."

They beamed at her response, giving her a few more words of encouragement before letting her head out.

As she walked, she pulled out her phone and opened her messages. Yongsun had texted her earlier, and she quickly typed a response. While tapping, she spotted Seulgi parked in the field parking lot, already waiting for her. She waved at the athlete and Byul nodded in acknowledgement, quick walking towards the car. 

From: Moonbyul 3:05 p.m

Hey! Sorry I didn’t replied earlier, training started as soon as I arrived!

Meet my new teammates as well

Byulyi knew she doesn’t have to tell Yongsun everything she did, she is very much aware that there’s no need for her to share details on her life but somehow she felt the need to share it with her. 

The response came almost immediately, the athlete wondered how the master student was doing with her homework. From what she has seen, she stresses a lot about her studies. 

From: Yongsun 3:06 p.m.

I figured you started practice. 

Good luck.

💪

Of course it took Byulyi like one second to beam at her screen, she arrived at the van and fist bumped Seulgi, who smirked at the athlete who was quick to toss her bag to the back seat and return to her phone screen. 

Seulgi didn’t say anything as she knew who she was talking to, only stretched herself to reach for a plastic bag that had Byulyi’s lunch. She didn’t hesitate and only placed the order onto Byulyi’s lap, who paid zero attention still. 

From: Moonbyul 3:06 p.m

Heading to Seoul F.C. now. Seulgi said yesterday that it’s a few med tests and endurance building so I think i’ll be free early today

From: Yongsun 3:08 p.m.

You’re not going to eat anything? 

From: Moonbyul 3:08 p.m

Seulgi already handed me over a plentiful meal 😋

She hesitated for a moment before adding another line.

From: Moonbyul 3:08 p.m

Did you eat already?

She hit send and exhaled. She took a look at Seulgi who was still smirking at her. 

“What?” Exclaimed Byulyi and looked at her in confusion.

“Nothing.” With a smirk still wearing on Seulgi’s face, she exited the parking lot and went ahead to drive to Seoul F.C. Stadium, which was a 30 minute drive. “I got you salad and pasta, your new nutritionist made sure to send it to me for you to have before the med testing and endurance trial. It's important that you get enough calories to burn them and stay in your perfect fit.”

Nodding, Moonbyul went ahead and started unpacking her bountiful meal. Getting a notification, she immediately placed everything gracefully on her lap and snapped a picture. 

From: Yongsun 3:08 p.m.

I’m about to. I bumped into my friend Changsub here and we’re heading to a nearby restaurant. Chorong will join later as well.

It didn’t took much later than a minute for them to arrive to the restaurant before she typed again. 

From: Yongsun 3:08 p.m.

We’re arriving at the restaurant now.

From: Moonbyul 3:09 p.m

Moonbyul sent a picture. 

From the restaurant, as Changsub got in charge of asking for a table, Yongsun was glued to her phone screen, she only heard Changsub leading her with his voice to a comfortable ground-level table, so she took a seat after removing her shoes.

As she downloaded the picture she saw the athlete’s portion of food. Pure carbs and green. She smiled to herself and started typing an answer.

“Chorong! Over here!”

She heard Changsub obnoxiously call Chorong over. Chorong hurried over and shushed the guy. 

“Changsub, I can hear you no need to scream!” As they all laughed, Yongsun scooted over so her friend could sit next to her. “Hi Yongsun!” She cheerfully saluted Yongsun, which was a little bit weird. Why is everyone acting weird lately? 

“Hi Rongie.” She welcomed as well but not in the high-pitched tone Chorong did earlier. She remembered she was about to reply so as soon as she unlocked her phone, Chorong butted in. 

“Oh so now you send each other pics of what you’re doing?”

It took Yongsun by surprise, she was waiting for a witty remark from her but not an irritated one. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Maybe it was because she was hungry or because she was stressed with her homework, but Yongsun started to feel defensive about whatever was going on with her friendship with Byulyi. 

As Chorong was about to reply, the waitress arrived with a pad, ready to take their order. They both stopped and thankfully, Changsub was there to order for them, too tense to interrupt both girls. He already knew what each liked and it didn’t took much effort to place the order. 

“Are you sure that you’re just friends?” Chorong questioned as soon as the lady left with all the menus. Yongsun rolled her eyes and looked at her. 

“Rongie.”

She was pushing her buttons. Yongsun hasn’t replied to Byulyi yet. 

“Yonggie.” Chorong was extremely smart, she knew how to get answers. “I’m only looking out for you, okay? You haven’t heard what I have.”

As if that was enough to bring Yongsun down, she again rolled her eyes and went back to her phone to quickly type.

From: Yongsun 3:21 p.m.

That looks nice, a bit too plain but nice.

Rongie is here, I’ll text you later Byulyi. 

Tell me when you arrive at your training so I don’t bother you. 

“Yongsun, for real. Please be careful.”

“Chorong, please stop now. I know what you’ve heard about Byulyi but please don’t make me take a decision based on your opinion, that’s not right.” Yongsun in all her serenity and patience tried so hard to have Chorong off her. It was thankfully Changsub who sensed the growing tension that broke them off. 

“Food’s coming!” and it worked. 

Yongsun eyed her screen one last time and smiled, the text washing away all the tension between her and her friends. 

From: Moonbyul 3:22 p.m

Just arrived to the stadium!

I'll text you all the gossip from the field

Yong, you never, ever bother me, don’t say (write?) that again 🐰 

I really really like talking (writing?) to you 

Chapter Text

Yongsun took a slow sip of her iced tea, eyes shifting to Chorong, who sat next to her with arms crossed, the very image of suspicion. The restaurant bustled with energy, the late lunch rush filling every available table. Changsub, sitting in front of the girls, appeared far more interested in his plate of stew than in the ongoing inquisition, but that didn’t stop him from interfering now and then with well-timed quips.

“Alright, spill now,” Chorong demanded, re-starting with the topic about Byulyi. She leaned forward with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on with you and Moonbyul? Considering you're avoiding the topic. ”

Yongsun sighed, stirring her drink with the straw. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?” Chorong echoed, unimpressed. “I’m not dumb, Yonggie. I heard that you two walked together from class and to the cafeteria and THEN to the library.” Chorong she waved her hands vaguely, “You don’t do that, not even with me or Changsub.” The latter nodded, not even knowing what the inquiry was about, mouth full with food. “You always say you want to walk on your own to think about your schoolwork. But you’re allowing her to walk with you everywhere. There’s something there.” 

Chorong knew her too well, she knew all of Yongsun’s nicks and things that she liked and tended to avoid. Rongie knew all her routines and somehow she heard about them earlier. 

“First of all, how do you know that?” 

“I have my ways and of course everyone was going to gossip about the girl 'super pro-athlete' Moonbyulyi arrived and left with. Everyone said she only had eyes for you.”

Yongsun blushed slightly at that, her blood rushing to her ears. 

“Ronggie, there is nothing,” Yongsun repeated, firmer this time. “You don’t need to watch over me that much, I know what I'm doing.” Changsub nodded, in agreement, turning his eyes from Yongsun to Chorong as if he was watching a tennis match. Chorong, however, was relentless.

“Yongsun, come on,” she pressed, voice dropping slightly. “I’m not trying to be difficult, I just… You know how people feel about her and about all those rumours.”

And there it was. The ‘it’s how people feel about her’ and all sorts of things about reputation. 

The thing that had been nagging at Yongsun since the moment she let herself get closer to Byulyi. It wasn’t just about what Chorong thought—it was about everyone. Her friends. Her classmates. Everyone. Every single one of them carried an opinion about Byulyi, and most of them weren’t good, even Hyejin and Wheein mentioned things about how she could play around the heart of a woman at occasions. It didn’t matter that Moonbyul had never done anything to her personally. 

She started to feel some sort of curiosity about it, why is that not even her closest friends want them to be together. The weight of their disapproval sat heavy on her chest, like a chain she hadn’t asked to wear.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Yongsun muttered. “She’s not—she’s not what you all think she is.”

Chorong exhaled through her nose, leaning back into her seat. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Changsub, ever the peacekeeper, placed a hand on his heart dramatically.

“Ah, friendship—where unsolicited advice flows like wine.”

Chorong shot a glance at him and then proceeded to ignore him. “I just think you should be careful.”

Yongsun clenched her jaw. “I know. I’m aware, everyone has been telling me that.” 

Chorong took her hand and slightly smiled at her, Yongsun couldn’t keep herself mad at her best friend and smiled as well, only to then swat her free hand and stick her tongue out. “Yah! Yongsun-ah!” in return she was pushed over a little bit and the three friends laughed the tension out. 

The conversation shifted after that, thankfully, moving to lighter topics. By the time they finished their food, the tension had lessened, and Yongsun felt like she could finally breathe again. She tapped her fingers against the rim of her glass, hesitating before speaking.

“By the way,” she said “Moonbyul has a match this weekend. One on saturday and then her big debut on Sunday at Seoul F.C., she asked me to go watch her play.” Chorong reacted by facepalming her face, earning a snort by Yongsun who lifted her shoulders. Chorong just has to face it at some point as Yongsun wasn’t going to stop meeting the athlete.

Changsub perked up immediately. “Did you seriously get tickets for the Sunday match?! They’re sold-out since she was announced as their new player.” To which Yongsun could only nod, almost too proudly.

Yongsun chuckled. “She got me a season pass.” Almost cartoony, Changsub's face looked like it was going to blow up. Those tickets were crazy expensive (Yongsun took the liberty to search for a price on getting one of those plus actual good seats, that was a mental note to also thank Byulyi for that later).

Chorong just sighed, shaking her head. “Unbelievable. You see why I nag you that much? You just met her!”

Yongsun could only look at her, begging for a stop. “Rongie, please, stop. It’s okay, I’m going with Hyejin and Wheein, and for some reason they’re also very against us being friends as well.”

“Fine! But only because those two are sane enough to look after you.”

Rolling her eyes for the gods-know-how-many-times, she nodded and finished her meal, which was, at this point, plain cold.

The sound of cleats striking the turf echoed through the empty training field of the Seoul F.C. stadium as Moonbyul and her teammates pushed through the last leg of their endurance drill. Sweat dripped down her temple, her muscles burning, but she didn’t slow down. Not yet. She is very much aware that all this continuous training, the shuttle runs and the ladder drills were only designed to improve all her footwork, recovery time and stamina. All of it crucial to make sure she’s able to keep up with the demands of a full 90 minute match. 

They’re making her train in the direct sun and not in their indoor gym since that will be the weather and time for her soccer match both tomorrow and sunday, she needs to make sure she can handle the sun, the weather and little to no-air ventilation. She doesn’t know if it was on purpose but who in their sane mind would schedule a match at 4 pm? That’s why people get heat strokes. 

Coach Hyori watched from the sidelines, arms crossed, nodding approvingly. “Good,” she called out to Moonbyul once she trotted across her. “Keep that pace.” Thankfully Byulyi was quite strong in mind, if she flickered just a bit, the heat would get her in a minute. Gritting her teeth, the athlete focused on her breathing. 

“Inhale, exhale. Don’t think about anything else. Just move.” And it was her constant mantra.

When she finally finished, she bent over slightly, hands on her knees, catching her breath. Hyori tossed her a bottle of water, which she caught effortlessly as she approached her coach. The rest of her teammates got called over by the second trainer and suggested a quick match to cool off.
Moonbyul was not required as she had a match tomorrow which was equal to season training tomorrow, coach Hyori made sure to ask Seulgi to supervise her match (to which Seulgi is glad to)

“Sunday’s going to be a full house,” Hyori said casually, watching her reaction. “Your debut match. No pressure.”

Moonbyul scoffed, wiping sweat from her brow. “Wouldn’t be fun if it were easy.”

Hyori smirked. “That’s more like it.” 

They ran through strategy for another twenty minutes, going over formations, potential weak spots, and what Moonbyul should expect from their opponents. She heard that talk all on her own, fully focused on what was about to come both tomorrow and on sunday. With a nod and a strong, firm palm in her back from her coach, she was dismissed to rest and focus for the day. It was 5 pm now. 

It wasn’t until she was walking back to the locker room that she allowed herself to think about Yongsun again. She started wondering what the master student was on and about. 

She knew Yongsun was going to go to both matches, somehow the one at SNU made her feel excited. It was just a friendly match, something easy to start the tournament but that didn’t mean she’ll go easy on other university students. But her debut match on sunday… that made her extremely nervous. Besides having the pressure from the media and all important people in the soccer area (plus, really nice sponsors) she’ll have Wheein, Hyejin AND Yongsun.

Having the master student over to finally see what was so big about her made her feel small. She is aware that having insecurities being a soccer player is a big no, is a big impossible. Wherever she’s feeling low she has her friends and Seulgi to cheer her up, even visiting Irene makes her feel better. 

There was something else about Yongsun that made her feel like she can be sad and insecure about stuff, like a normal person, like a normal university student. She gets teased and then supported by Yong and that makes her feel light in her heart.  Just the thought of her being there made something warm settle in her chest. She found herself wanting to see the elder student again, a familiar kind of anticipation growing within her.

Thinking of a good excuse to meet up with her, Moonbyul pulled out her phone and started typing, her conversation with Yongsun being in first place, almost as if it’s pinned in her chat app. She was thankful that the other players weren’t in the locker room yet. She knew Seulgi was waiting for her outside, already in the van in the parking lot. Instead of showering at the locker room, she would rather shower at her own house, she’s always more comfortable like that. 

She hasn’t received any text from her manager asking her to hurry, so Byulyi took the chance to lean against her locker, phone in hand and thumb hovering the keyboard, thinking of a smart way to initiate a conversation. 

From: Moonbyul - 5:20 pm. 

I'm done!!! 🥳 How was your food? 

It took a few seconds for Yongsun’s status to go from ‘Offline’ to ‘Online’, the athlete smiled. 

From: Yongsun - 5:21 pm. 

We’re still at the restaurant because Changsub decided he wanted to have dessert and we can’t ditch him, he’ll cry otherwise 🥱

How was practice?

That gave her enough time to craft a smart reply, an invitation to spend some time together before she has to sleep early. 

From: Moonbyul - 5:22 pm. 

I totally get Changsub-oppa, I’ll get sad if you ever ditch me if i’m having dessert 😝

It was good, trained outside with the sun to make sure i’m used to what’s expecting me tomorrow and sunday 🌞

Coach released me early because I don’t need any more training since tomorrow’s match counts as training for sunday so all things are free for me today

From: Yongsun - 5:23 pm. 

I’m pretty sure that as a pro athlete you’re not allowed to have dessert but considering you have pizza and beer, I don’t know if i can call you a pro Moonbyul-ssi 🧐

Playful and teasing Yongsun is always a delight for Byulyi, it gives her the opportunity to flirt with her, which Byulyi adores because the master students get flustered and doesn't know what to do everytime a flirty comment comes from the athlete.

From: Moonbyul - 5:24 pm. 

I was totally going to invite you over to have late dinner and give you a crash course on soccer, but since you’re being mean…

From: Yongsun - 5:24 pm. 

I don’t need a crash course. I already know plenty.

Moonbyul wasn’t expecting a ‘yes’ so fast. This was all according to her plan. She hoped Seulgi wouldn’t call her because then everything would be hurried and she won’t be able to invite Yongsun over. 

From: Moonbyul - 5:25 pm. 

Your teachers are Wheein-ah and Hyejinnie, I don’t think that even counts as soccer knowledge, they only cheer whenever I have the ball 😂

From: Yongsun - 5:25 pm. 

I’ll tell them you said that. 

Rongie is mad at me because I’m texting you, we’re leaving now. Heading back to my apartment to finish my work. 

From: Moonbyul - 5:26 pm. 

Don’t tell them I said that!!!

Is Chorong-unnie ever going to say hi or smth at me? I think she hates me 🥲

From: Yongsun - 5:26 pm. 

I don’t think she ever will, she doesn’t like you

That left Moonbyul thinking, she’s aware that she doesn’t need to fit everyone’s expectations, but isn’t it worth it to show that she’s someone safe for Yong? 

She looked down to her phone again and saw the typing bubble appear, then disappear, then appeared again. Yong wanted to say something but didn’t know how. 

From: Yongsun - 5:27 pm. 

It doesn’t matter anyway if she doesn’t likes you, I like you. 

Moonbyul is not able to see herself but beamed, she guessed she must have looked really stupid and thankfully no one was around to see her. She understood that for Yongsun to be admitting that must be something really hard and it took her many tries to admit it. Byulyi carefully tapped an answer.

From: Moonbyul - 5:27 pm. 

I like you too, Yong. 

Not emojis, no exclamation points, she thought that it was serious enough to make Yongsun see that she was for real. 

From: Yongsun - 5:28 pm. 

Don’t get your hopes up, Moon.

Or else I won’t be able to stand up for you against my friends. 

The athlete snorted and there was no way she could feel this happiness. She just finished a training session that is supposed to leave her exhausted, moody and with no strength left, but she was talking to someone that was making her get enough energy to still go ahead and seek for her. 

Taking the response as a win, she was interrupted by a call, Seulgi’s name flashing across the screen. 

“Hey!” She answered maybe a little too cheerfully.

Seulgi took a second to reply, maybe estranged by the response “Hey… why are you so up-up?” 

“Why not?”

“You’ll tell me later, I suppose, I’m waiting for you at the parking lot, are you done?”

“Ah, yes, I haven’t showered but I want to cool off at my apartment, so, I’ll shower there.” She wasn’t going to tell Seulgi that she spent all those minutes texting Yongsun and smiling like an idiot. 

“Fine. Just come so I can drive you.” She sounded a little bit too serious, Byulyi was already thinking about not making any witty remarks so she didn't push Seulgi’s buttons. 

From: Moonbyul- 5:34 pm. 

Aye aye miss captain Yongsun, i’ll do my best for you🫡

Heading home now, I know you already had a late meal but can you come over and make me some company while I have my dinner? 🥹

Grabbing all her stuff, she made sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. She exited the locker room, waved goodbye to the rest of the team and headed towards Seulgi. She didn’t wanted to see Yongsun’s answer yet, there’s still a 30 minute drive at least if there’s no traffic to get to her home and probably by the time she’s done it’ll be 7 pm, a nice time to have dinner and spend the rest of the night chatting with Yongsun… a perfect day to initiate her important weekend. 

Opening the door, she repeated the routine, she first bumped Seulgi, tossed her bag of things on the backseat and made herself comfortable, she was still sporting the Seoul F.C. training outfit and she was almost damp in sweat. 

As they took off, Seulgi appeared to be more quiet than usual, there was something off. It appeared that it will be a long way home, and not only because of the traffic.

“Is everything okay? You’re awfully quiet and way too serious, even for you.” Asking wouldn’t hurt anyone but it did appear that it was troubling Seulgi on whether to tell or not the athlete. “Seulgi?”

At a red light, she turned to look the athlete, who was still sporting a worried look about her friend. 

“I got a call from the doctors today.” Irene, she meant a call that it was related to Irene. 

“O…kay?” Moonbyul was waiting for whatever was about to come, when it came to Irene they both were very cautious with their reactions, they both never knew what could happen. 

“Yeah and, uh, they confirmed that there has been more brain activity, we already knew that she wasn’t... brain dead," very heavy words were used and Byulyi tried to remain at peace during the conversation. "but these past months were a little too quiet that they were already starting to make studies to see if she wasn’t turning um… brain dead.” Seulgi hated to explain it, she hated every part of explaining what was happening to her beloved Irene.

She only felt Moonbyul’s strong hand squeezing her shoulder in support.

“But she’s not, right? Brain activity is good, right?” Their hearts were pounding “What else did they say?”

“I… i don’t know,” Seulgi admitted, “They wouldn’t say much beyond that. They think that it’s a positive change, but they can’t tell me what it means yet.” 

Byulyi’s hand squeezed her shoulder again. “If they think it’s positive, we’ll keep that, okay?” Seulgi nodded, a knot passing through her throat. A little bit too shaken to say the following.

“Yeah, something about her being reactive to friendly voices, you might want to give her a visit soon…” Byulyi’s eyes widened, if Seulgi knew that she was reactive, it meant that she visited her recently. 

“How was it? How did you feel?” Seulgi smiled tenderly, softly at the thought of Irene’s brain activity peaking at the sound of Seulgi’s voice and sweet caresses in her arm. 

“I only spoke with her briefly, I always get there when they’re about to do her exercises but it was incredible… how even in a coma she gets to make me happy with her little signs.”

Moonbyul took a breath, the tenderness in which Seulgi spoke about Irene was something to yearn and admire. Both of them have been too strong and there was nothing else to do but to comply.

“I’ll go after tomorrow’s match. Is it okay if Yong comes with me?” Seulgi knew that the athlete didn’t mean harm, she knew that the only reason why Moonbyul doesn’t go that often is because she lacks emotional strength when it comes to Irene, she totally becomes a vulnerable girl who is seeing one of her best friends in a coma, it’s always a shocking scene, to see someone so perfect connected to machines and many parts of her body in harm.

Seulgi nodded, to ease the tension that herself builded, she added. “Already making introductions? She must be something else, huh?” It was the only moment she turned to see the athlete, who didn’t take it defensively as per usual, but instead, a slight blush in her face appeared.

“She is. She’s really important, which is weird since we’ve known each other for so little but I don’t know what is it that…” She didn’t got the chance to finish her sentence as Seulgi took the liberty to do so.

“It makes you want to spend every minute of the day with her?” 

Moonbyul turned to see her, now fully blushing. 

“I didn’t-I don’t-, I mean-, I-” 

“It’s okay Byulyi, just be careful with your heart and with her heart.”

“I know.”

A quiet understanding passed between them. 

“You’ll keep me updated, right?” Moonbyul asked. 

“I always do. You’re the first person I tell everything.”

Moonbyul took a breath, forcing some lightness into her tone. “In the meantime,” in an attempt to lessen all remains of tension and anticipation, she added “I promised Yongsun a field level seat. Think you can see if SNU can have that for me? Plus access to the drinks?” Maybe the drinks were a bit too much, she’ll have to beg Seulgi tomorrow morning to buy all the things she likes and keep it in the player’s cooler. 

Seulgi let out a short laugh. “You’re so whipped and she’s not even your girlfriend.”

“Shut up, you’ll be worse if it were Irene.” Byulyi cared about details, she cared about showing how much she cares for the people that are important to her, it didn’t hurt to go the extra mile to show Yongsun that she truly cares. 

“Except that she IS my girlfriend and we plan on getting married.” Seulgi batted. Byulyi couldn’t go against that so instead she opted to look at her phone, her mind racing on thinking about Yongsun. What is she up to now? She grabbed her phone again to see among the many notifications, a message from the master student. 

From: Yongsun - 5:45 pm. 

I’m home now. 

Is this one of your evil plans to make me sit and study soccer?

Yongsun took her time to reply, probably the amount of time it took her to walk from the restaurant to the apartment complex in which they lived. Byulyi smiled and replied. 

From: Moonbyul- 5:56 pm. 

Welcome back Yonggg

C’mon, I will order korean food, Wheein told me it’s your favorite type. And i’m in the mood for a kimchi stew to relax after a tiring day.

I DO want you to learn to watch soccer, you’ll get a front seat tomorrow!!!!

Besides looking pretty, you need to know what’s going on 😀

From: Yongsun - 5:57 pm. 

Fine. Let me know when you arrive.

With a relieved sigh, the athlete finally relaxed, Yongsun accepted her invitation, Irene is hopefully getting better and she’ll get to see her tomorrow. The sun was beginning to set, she was ready for the weekend matches, she didn’t need to worry about anything, she knew her worth and her coach was right, she needed to rest.

The duo kept their way to Byulyi’s apartment and in another 20 minutes of heavy traffic, athlete Moon Byulyi was dropped off. She eagerly left the van, grabbed her things and Seulgi reminded her of what time she’ll pick her up to warm up at the field. If the match starts at 10 am, she’ll have to be there at 8 am to have breakfast and warm-up. 

She waved goodbye to Seulgi, thanked for the ride and assured her that she’ll be downstairs ready to humiliate the other team with her goals. Seulgi could only smile at her friend’s determination. 

As Moonbyul entered the building, she greeted with a bow the elderly security guard who nodded at her, with no notion of who she was, and she thanked him for that. As she got to the elevator, she turned around to check herself out in the mirror, a low ponytail with an Adidas hairband making sure her baby hairs couldn’t get in the way, her Seoul F.C. training jersey and shorts with her long socks covering her knees, she smiled at herself and at her own body, feeling quite comfortable in her skin. As a beeping sound was heard from the elevator, she turned around only to walk to what is Yongsun and Wheein apartment. 

She knocked on the door three times, a small ‘going!’ was heard and whilst Moonbyul bounced slightly on her heels, the door swung open and was met with the sight of Yongsun in loose pants and a fitted tank top, revealing a comfy style yet effortlessly stunning at the eyes of Byulyi. 

The soccer player slowly waved and grinned. “Hey.” 

Yongsun barely had the time to return the smile before Moonbyul stepped in and wrapped her in a hug. 

“Ah! Wait!” Yongsun squealed, trying to squirm away. “You’re all sweaty!”

Byulyi laughed and still didn’t let go immediately, enjoying the way Yongsun squirmed in her arms for a second before releasing her from her grip. 

“Sorry,” she said, not feeling sorry at all. “Where’s Wheeiny?” From the door hallway, she tried to peek inside the girls apartment, not a sight of the youngster around. 

“She’s painting, working in another part of her collection.” Yong answered whilst smoothing out her clothes, still taken by surprise by the hug. 

Moonbyul internally sighed in relief, for as she adores Wheein, she didn’t wanted to be watched like a hawk hunting its prey everytime she talked to Yongsun or looked at her.

“Oh, okay.” Thank god. She thought. “We can still order something for her to have whenever she comes out of her room.” As Yongsun nodded, she turned around to look if she was supposed to take anything with her.

Both girls already knew Wheein’s order, if not, she usually eats whatever she finds in the fridge.

“You don’t need to bring anything with you, I’ll order the food and pay.”

Yongsun hesitated for a second but then nodded, a shy smile appearing in her lips. “Okay.” Following Byulyi out of her apartment, she didn’t bother to tell Wheein where she was going, the young artist wasn’t going to come out until very VERY late at night so Yongsun figured it wasn’t necessary. She was still nervous as she has never been to Byulyi’s apartment before. 

She’ve heard good things about the apartment, about how Seulgi’s made sure to decorate it, how the kids love the massage chair in Byulyi’s living room but nothing else, she felt like a total intruder and right now she was questioning what took over her to accept going to the athlete’s. 

Their walk was quiet, it was only a few steps and doors away. Neither of them were able to mutter a thing. Once they reached Byulyi’s apartment door, the soccer player glanced at Yongsun before unlocking it with the 4-digit code and pushed it open, lights in the hallway turning on automatically. 

“Welcome to my humble home,” she said, stepping inside first to remove her sneakers, “I honestly don’t spend here a lot of time, so it’s all very… dull to my taste.” Yongsun followed in, looking around, there were a few portraits hanging through the hallway and she could see that the space was extremely neat and organized but it was still missing the homey sensation her own apartment has. 

“It’s…” Yongsun said as she removed her shoes as well, taking in the living room with said massage chair and very modern furniture, quite opposite to what she would think Moonbyul has. 

“It’s extremely Seulgi coded. She picked everything for me and my only request was to hang my pictures around, besides Wheein’s paintings in my room.” As she shrugged with her shoulders, she carefully pushed Yongsun in by holding her on her middle back, the master student walked deeper and looked around a bit more. She took note that she should gift Byulyi something to make it feel more homey.

“You can make yourself comfortable and order whatever you want for dinner, you already know my order! I’ll go take a shower and then soccer 101.” Yongsun looked at the athlete who smiled at her and the master student shyly nodded. She hurried to sit down and settle in the newly bought couch, still very self aware that she is now standing in Moon Byulyi’s living room… alone, with her, while the girl takes a shower. 

Yongsun’s mind was racing a little bit too fast and she better made herself busy by calling the restaurant, making sure she orders plenty of food for both her, Byulyi and the hungry youngsters that are Hyejin and Wheein. Once that was scratched down, she just left her phone on the table and stood up again, trying to take in as much as possible, there was a faint sound of the shower being on in the next room, she assumed that the door that was -almost- closed was Byulyi’s room and it took everything in her mind not to open wide it to peek at the athlete’s room. 

Would it be as empty as the living room?

She assumed that the athlete would have it more personalized or more cozy with small trinkets or mementos from her career or previous clubs, but until now, she wasn’t brave enough to peek, even when the faint steam from the shower was coming out of it. She did not realized that over 15 minutes were gone by, enough time for the athlete to shower, change and get comfortable.

Yongsun felt a little ridiculous, but the curiosity burned in her. “Yong?”

A startled squeak escaped her lips as she spun around. Byulyi stood in her doorway, fresh from the shower. Sporting a loose tank top, a pair of shorts-so loose they almost covered her knees, hung lazily from her hips; a towel resting on her shoulder and her damp hair dripped slightly into the fabric.

Yongsun pressed a hand to her chest, exhaling sharply. “You scared me.” Byulyi chuckled, rubbing the towel through her hair.

“Sorry, you were staring at my door as if it owed you money, thinking of breaking in?” Yongsun scoffed, a slight smile appearing on her lips, crossing her arms.

“I was just wondering what kind of room you have.” and it made Byulyi smirk. 

“Nosy.” Yongsun rolled her eyes but didn’t deny any of it, making Byulyi smile genuinely. The athlete ran the towel over her hair and headed towards the couch. “C’mon, sit. Have you ordered the food?” With a nod from Yongsun, Byulyi patted the place next to her, to which the master student moved over to sit in said place. “Let’s get you into my world.”

“Right.” With a slight tone of fear, Yongsun was intimidated as she has heard Changsub talk about it, she has heard her dad talk about it and she can’t quite get it. 

“So,” Byulyi started, leaning back on her own couch, looking at her. “What do you actually know about soccer?”

There was a long moment of Youngsun doubting whether she should speak or not. “You guys chase the ball and score goals?” She knew a bit more, but the dramatic groaned Byulyi let out was too comical. “You’re a striker and you’re famous.” As if trying to be cute, she lifts her shoulders and she indeed was cute, too cute for Byulyi’s liking.

“We have a long way to go.”

Yongsun grinned, “I know there’s a goalkeeper too!” and nudged Byulyi playfully, it made the athlete laugh. 

“That’s not making it any easier for you Yong,” with a shift in her face, a little bit more serious, Yongsun could see that it was truly her passion. “It’s not just about running after the ball, it’s about positioning, control, endurance and a lot of teamwork and communication. It’s important for us to know when to push forward and when to hold back.” While Byulyi said that, Yong paid attention to her eyes, the gleam they had and how the soccer player was quite expressive with her hands to explain each and every single detail. 

“Sounds exhausting.” Yongsun added, and eyed Byulyi, who was now a little bit closer to her, their legs almost touching each other. 

“It is,” the athlete admitted, almost as if it was something to feel guilty but then her face started to glow. “But it’s also a huge rush, it’s like, every decision I make on the field has an impact on everything else, on the team, on the fans, everything. One mistake as well and the whole team has to adjust while one perfect pass and you change the whole game.” Byulyi sighed in excitement and Yongsun watched her as she spoke, there was a lot of passion in her voice, in her body language, it was almost mesmerizing and the athlete even mentioned everything with certain reverence for the sport. “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.”

“It’s okay, it’s nice to see you being so passionate about something, I don’t think I have something like that.” Yongsun was passionate about… well, singing? But it wasn’t like she could do it publicly, or she had a passion like art just as Wheein does or Hyejin when it came to understanding people and creating a meaningful dialogue between people… Yongsun didn’t have that. 

It made her feel like she was missing out big time and usually, it wouldn’t bother her, she was fine having a boring routine, she was fine being an extremely standard-not-special worker. It was fine. 

It was all fine until Byulyi. 

It came again, the feeling that meeting the athlete was making her question things she was already familiar with, Moon Byulyi was able to create a mess in her life in such little time and right now, Yongsun was allowing it even when she adored being in control. She allowed it because the athlete was refreshing, it was like breathing perfectly clean air, it was like being in the countryside and seeing all the stars in the sky without the city lights… 

It wasn't until the athlete's arrival that she wants to live now. She wants to explore, she wants to have passions, she wants to enjoy herself and, yes, at age 26, she was willing to expand her boundaries just a little bit more than she would usually allow.

“-Yong?”

Apparently Byulyi had been trying to get her attention for a moment but the master student was too immersed into her own realization that she just came back to the actual scene: Byulyi waving her hand in front of her, a little bit of worry in her face could be spotted as well. 

With a brief shake of her head, she warmly smiled, a little bit in shock due the recent realization. “Sorry, I started to think.” She lifted her shoulders and saw Moonbyul playfully smile at her.

“Sounds dangerous.” and she sticked out her tongue in mockery, visualizing the upcoming push from Yongsun.

And so it came, “Yah!” As there was a hand rising against her to slap her arm, there was a god of timing that saw for Moonbyul’s sake. Both of them couldn’t help it but laugh at the ‘ding dong’ that was heard, it was comical. 

“Food’s here.” Yongsun announced and Byulyi took a moment before standing up and grabbing up her wallet that was thrown in the kitchen counter at her arrival. 

“Coming!” The athlete shouted and hurried to put on her Adidas slippers. “Soccer lesson will wait, food first.” As the soccer player opened the door, the delivery guy was swift to deliver and to charge Moonbyul for the plentiful dinner they ordered. 

Yongsun smiled and she got up to prepare everything in the low table in front of them, while on the back of her mind, her thoughts were still lingering in what Byulyi said and what it mean for her. 

She hurried over to the floor whilst Moonbyul placed the plastic bag in front of her, the athlete went back to the counter to toss her wallet and quickly washed her hands, Yongsun was already sitting on the floor and made an effort to take everything out, carefully taking out the kimchi stew Byulyi ordered and her own order (a simple order of tteokboki that she adores); Byulyi was back and sat next to her.  “Ready? I have a few hours left to lesson you before I hit the sack, I wanna make the most of it with you.” Yongsun turned around to see the athlete, who was enchanted smelling the delicious kimchi stew in front of her, it was hard not to smile at the soccer player who was now enjoying her dinner.

“Don’t worry, I’m a good student.”

They didn’t really talk much while they were having dinner, both of them were starving and while they did exchange happy, glee smiles at each other every time they took a bite out of their order, they ate in silence, thinking about their legs bumping into each other. 

“This restaurant you ordered from is pretty good, you’ll have to send me their number!” Byulyi said as she finished up her plate of kimchi stew, drinking the last bit of precious stew that was in her bowl; she reclined on her own hands, exposing a bit of her toned abdomen that was still flat, it was impressive how much she ate and her physique was still intact, Yong on the other hand was full and whilst she wouldn’t say she had abs, she was toned from previous time of pilates she did during vacations. She still eyed the peek of skin that Byulyi shown and quickly directed her eyes to the TV, as she finished her dish as well, she put everything away and Moonbyul was quick to take that as the cue to start soccer lesson. 

Yongsun was a little bit intimidated by what was about to come.

Watching the athlete grab the remote and switch the TV channel, she immediately pulled up a recorded match, something european. The screen showed a game in full motion and Yongsun was indeed overwhelmed by the number of players darting across the field, the ball moving so quickly it was hard to keep track. 

“Alright!” The athlete made herself comfortable by extending her legs under the table, “Lesson one: positioning. You see this?” As she rewinded the play and paused, she pointed to the screen, Yongsun didn’t know what she was supposed to see. With a timid nod, Byulyi continued. “In this play, the defense is setting up a high line, which means, they push forward in order to make the offense feel pressured.”

Yongsun squinted, her brows started to furrow slightly as she tried to follow. “...okay…” Byulyi then let the play roll for a few seconds before making a pause again. “Now, right there, the forward player is making a run behind the defenders, that’s my position, remember? I’m a striker so what I’m supposed to do is that, when my team starts to push, I try to fool the defense to reach the net as much as I can before receiving the ball.” Byulyi was trying to be clear, Yongsun could see that she was trying so the master student tried as well. “When the forward does that, the rest of the team has to time it perfectly so they don’t get caught offside.”

As she tried to make sense of it, she tilted her head in curiosity. “Offside?”

Byulyi smirked, she already anticipated Yong’s confusion with that word. “Offside happens when an attacking player is ahead of the last defender before the ball is passed to them. Basically, I can’t just wait near the goal waiting for a shot, all of it has to be timed so you don’t go ahead of the defender unless the ball is already in the air, that’s when I need to sprint as much as I can to overrun the defender and have an advantage.” Yongsun now pursed her lips up, she thinks she got it.

“So it’s like, sneaking past without getting caught but not too much?”

“A little bit like controlled chaos, it’s all about timing.” She resumed the play, letting it run full speed. As the forward player from the TV timed their movement perfectly, he slipped past the defenders and received a pass at just the right moment before shooting the ball into the net, fooling the goalkeeper. 

Yongsun let out an impressed breath. “Oh.” 

Byulyi turned to her, face expectant. “See it now?” Yongsun smiled nervously and turned to her, it was really cute and Moonbyul laughed at her, her hand reaching out to rub her back, as if she was trying to encourage her. Yongsun relied a bit on the touch. 

“Kind of?”

Moonbyul nodded and rewinded the play again, “it’s okay, we can see it again.”

And again.

And again. 

The athlete was a bit relentless, she kept breaking down the movements, the positions, the small tactical details that Yong wouldn’t have noticed on her own. Everytime she pointed out something new, making Yongsun hum in thought to which in each replay, she found herself actually understanding more. 

They were now sitting closer, after Moonbyul initiated contact and Yongsun leaned against the strong hand that rested on her back, the pair slowly had their tights pressed together as they leaned in the table to focus on the screen, Yongsun holding her hand in her hands to see closer everything Byulyi pointed out and the soccer player sneaked from time to time her hand around her waist to give it a small rub in a form of congratulation everytime Yongsun murmured something correct. 

Yongsun wasn’t sure how they end up like this everytime, how their bodies seem to naturally gravitate toward each other, but their hands, however, remained busy, Byulyi was gesturing animatedly with the remote and she tried to ignore the cheeky hand that squeezed Yongsun’s body closer to Byulyi. Putting aside the heat that came with their interaction, she was starting to pick up on this soccer thing. 

“Wait,” she said suddenly and it made Byulyi pause the video, expecting another question. “Right there. THe defender hesitated for a second and that’s why the forward had space to run.” The athlete blinked and her face split into a huge grin. 

“Yes! Exactly! That tiny moment of doubt gave the offense more advantage. See? You get it perfectly!” A rush of warmth spread across each other, Yongsun excited at Byulyi’s acknowledgement and Byulyi by seeing Yongsun actually understanding her favorite thing ever. It was the kind of joy that was pure and unfiltered, the kind that made Byulyi’s face light up and her dimple deepening as she beamed at her. 

Then came a hug, a really nice hug that had Byulyi leaving the controller on the table and pressing Yongsun tight against her own body. The master student didn’t hesitate to return the hug with equal eagerness, a smile now showing in her face. “I didn’t think I’d actually learn anything,” she admitted, laughing softly in between Byulyi’s arms. 

Without releasing Yongsun, Byulyi nudged her lightly. “You underestimate yourself, you’re so smart and you catched up on this quicker than I thought.” And that made Yongsun’s stomach flutter a bit and she tried to quickly refocus on the game. 

“Show me another one, let’s see if I can do it on my own!” Now hyped up, Byulyi happily obliged and released her from their hug, but still with her arm surrounding her shoulders; Yongsun was quick to reposition herself to lean against the athlete, her hands still in her lap but head almost leaning against Byulyi’s neck. They locked eyes and they gazed at each other, a bit in awe of having just shared that moment that felt a little bit too intimate. 

Being so close was dizzying, they felt high on drugs whilst none of them would mention a thing, their hearts raced equally as fast, Yongsun was starting to blush and feeling self conscious so thoughts of nervousness started to crumble her confidence. Somehow Byulyi noted that, so instead of saying anything, she moved her hand to slowly caress the back of Yongsun’s neck and smiled warmly at her. 

Byulyi leaned a bit and bumped her forehead against Yongsun’s, closing her eyes and taking in Yongsun’s sweet smell whilst the master student would only wave her eyes to the athlete’s nose and lips. 

Whatever just happened would remain something they won’t talk about, probably, they weren’t against it, they adored sharing moments but there was no way Yongsun would say that nor Byulyi would open up on that, whatever silent agreement they had on that, they will keep on respecting it. Byulyi’s knee pressed a bit closer to Yongsun tight and somehow they overcame the shyness by smiling at each other and turning to see the screen in sync. 

“Just focus Byulyi, you did NOT were about to kiss her, you did NOT just have that thought.”

Yongsun indeed kept getting it right, all by herself managed to point each detail by herself and Byulyi could only keep congratulating her with a proud smile. Their voices blended with the sound of soccer plays that eventually were changed into brief sounds from Yongsun and Moonbyul  as they got more into the match. 

The match ended and time went by, at some point, Byulyi reached for her phone and checked the time. Her eyes widened slightly. 

She was supposed to be in bed an hour ago.

She glanced at Yongsun who was still watching the screen intently, reading the subtitles from the post-match interview the reporters did to the players, as they interviewed the MVP of the match… no way in hell she was bringing up the time. 

If Seulgi heard anything of this, she’d never see an end of it. Sleep was sacred for athletes, for her, it was a non-negotiable part of training and if Seulgi knew that Byulyi spend the past two hours explaining offside traps and doing Soccer 101 with Yongsun instead of resting she will be scolded by her like an overbearing coach. 

She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, her thoughts immediately drifting to something else that she discussed with Seulgi a few hours ago. 

After tomorrow’s match she would go and see Irene. 

Her throat felt dry just thinking about it. She was anxious about the news Seulgi shared with her and she wanted to be positive about her friend waking up soon. 

She hasn’t told Yongsun yet but she had been hoping (expecting, even) that she would come with her. It wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to face alone, she knew that Seulgi went to see her at least 3 times a month and sometimes even stays at the hospital to watch over her (how does she manage to do so it’s a mystery as Irene is staying in a hospital that is at least at a 2 hour bullet train ride). This situation meant that she was going to let Yongsun see her in a very different state, she won’t be pro-soccer player Moon Byulyi, she was going to be vulnerable, sensitive and probably a bit too overwhelmed with it, she would show a side of herself that had been long buried under the sharp-edged confidence that everyone expects from her. 

Only a few people know about that, Seulgi, Irene, Hyejinnie and Wheein… not even her parents are allowed to see her sad and a sobbing mess. Not even past girlfriends were deep into her life to know about Irene. 

She swirled the idea around her head a bit more, she chewed the thought, her eyes flickering between the TV and Yongsun’s profile. 

How was she supposed to bring it up? She’ll have to tell Yongsun all the story and she knows that she can’t tell it without feeling her heart squeezing in sadness and crying. Even maybe an anxiety attack creeping in.

She just had Yongsun to do a Soccer 101-three hour lesson and now she will tell all of Irene’s story as well… 

And she’s one hour and thirty minutes late for bed.

And she has a match tomorrow and her debut match the day after tomorrow. 

Shit.