The Angel Next Door (Rosé X Female Reader)

44: Eyes On You

I looked at Jennie, who seemed disinterested in the outcome, with a sour expression, and was met with more cackling laughter.

"Come on now, this is your chance," Jennie urged.

"It's not. Why don't you give it a try then, and see how it goes?"

"Huh? No way, I'm not that good."

"Well then, where do you get off telling me what to do?"

I playfully grabbed Jennie under the chin and squeezed her cheeks with my fingers, warning her not to casually demand things that she couldn't do herself.

"Sorry, sorry!" Jennie laughed it off and then looked over to the other side of the net. "But she is looking over here, though."

"Huh?" I couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation in my chest.

I followed Jennie's gaze and saw Rosé, waiting her turn to play badminton, looking in my direction. Staring, to be more accurate. She was definitely staring at me.

She was probably just killing time by looking around, but I suddenly started feeling uncomfortable now that I knew I was being watched. I pursed my lips awkwardly.

Jennie mumbled, "Better try your best," like she was glad it wasn't her problem, and pulled me along with her after the gym teacher's whistle sounded.

For the practice game in the second half, the class was divided into two teams to play against two different teams from another class. Jennie and I were playing in the second round, so to avoid getting in the way of the rest of the players, we climbed up onto the stage at the end of the gym and took a seat.

The two of us were watching the imposing figure of Jisoo, who was on the team playing the first game. She was putting on a good show.

"How is Jisoo keeping up against the actual basketball club...?" I wondered aloud.

Some of the players on the opposing team were in the basketball club, but Jisoo played well enough to put them on equal footing. Even though Jisoo was an experienced athlete, at the end of the day, she could not match them point for point. If it had just been a matter of speed, the track star might have had an advantage, but when it came to agility, handling, and the coordination required to shoot the ball, the members of the basketball club were able to show off their specialized skills.

I had expected the basketball club to have a clear advantage and for my classmates to be entirely shut out, but Jisoo quickly disproved that prediction by continuing to score points.

"Well, Jisoo's the product of an athletic family, after all," Jennie said. "She just chose the track club because she enjoys running, but she can excel in just about any sport at a high level."

"How is she so strong?"

"Apparently, her mother was a sports trainer or something like that. Jisoo mentioned that her older sisters are also pursuing related occupations."

"So she's the result of a gifted upbringing." I marveled at Jisoo's natural talent and the influence of her athletic family.

"Whoa! Watch Jisoo, everyone!"

"Block her, block her!"

"Don't let her get anywhere!"

"Are we sure she doesn't have some awful grudge against us?"

"If she finds a good opening, this is really gonna look bad for the basketball club!"

I was half-listening to the cries of the opposing team. I could also hear both the girls and boys cheering Jisoo on from across the partition. They seemed to have started their own tournament of badminton on the other side of the gym, and everyone who wasn't actively playing had come up to the net to watch the game.