Love At Physical Therapy

It's Just A Game

"Come on Jihyo! Look alive out there!" Jeongyeon yelled from the dugout.

It was strange to not be out on the field with her team. But Jeongyeon still had three weeks left of therapy, so she had no choice but to cheer them on from the sidelines.

They were in the top of the ninth inning and SeoulMix was up by one run. They had two outs, but with a runner at second and the Velvets star player up next, anything could happen. Jeongyeon watched anxiously as Kang Seulgi stepped up to the plate.

Tzuyu, their pitcher, had been going strong for the last three innings, striking out players left and right, but Jeongyeon could see her energy waning. Seulgi was a smart player; she'd take advantage of that.

"Let's go Yoda! Fighting!" Jeongyeon yelled.

Tzuyu winded up for her first pitch and let the ball fly. Strike one.

"Come on. Just two more Tzu," Jeongyeon said to herself. Her other teammates in the dugout carried on shouting encouragement to their pitcher.

Tzuyu shook her head at Ryujin, their catcher, indicating she wanted to go with a different pitch. She then nodded and winded up once again and threw a curveball.

A loud *ping* echoed across the diamond as Seulgi's bat connected with the ball. Jeongyeon and her teammates watched with bated breath as the ball flew high. It kept going until it went right into the stands and the crowd went wild.

Seulgi had just hit a home run, giving the Velvets a 5-3 lead.

Coach Park signaled for a time out and walked to the pitcher's mound. The infield gathered around Tzuyu and their coach. Jeongyeon knew Tzuyu would probably be pulled from the game. She was wearing herself out so it was time for their other pitcher to sub in.

"Yeji, get ready," Jeongyeon called to their second roster pitcher.

Sure enough, Tzuyu began walking off the pitcher's mound, headed back towards the dugout. Coach Park signaled for Yeji to sub in.

"Yuna, pass me a pocari sweat."

"Here you go unnie," Yuna said as she handed over the bottle.

"Thanks." Jeongyeon passed it off to Tzuyu as soon as she stepped into the dugout.

"You did good Tzu," Jeongyeon said.

"Thanks unnie," Tzuyu answered half heartedly. She collapsed onto the bench and took a big gulp of the sports drink. Jeongyeon sat next to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You helped us keep the lead for three innings straight. You were great out there."

"I still gave up a home run though," Tzuyu said.

"Only because it was Seulgi. She's their star player for a reason. So stop being so hard on yourself. Now focus. We need to make sure Jihyo and Dahyun aren't messing around out there," Jeongyeon said.

Tzuyu perked up at that and immediately went to stand with their teammates at the dugout railing.

"Look at Dahyun, unnie, she's focused," Tzuyu said, nodding in approval.

"Yep. Her and Jihyo are dialed in."

"Come on Yeji! Show them what you got!" Yuna yelled as the next Velvet member came up to bat.

Yeji threw a fastball and Jeongyeon's heart dropped when another *ping* reached her ears. But that quickly turned into excitement when she realized it was a high flying ball heading straight for the waiting glove of Park Jihyo. The outfielder caught it easily, ending the top of the ninth.