"Hey! You guys are improving!" Soojin exclaims happily once she looks at both Jaehee and Zoa riding their skateboards. The girls have gathered up at their hideout once again, liking the safety this place holds for them by now as well as the peace and quiet they get. It's a safe place for them, a second home, a place wherein they can always go to and let out their frustrations and stress as well as relax and do lots of other things to forget about what makes them so sad and nervous or overall the hardships of life.
So it's either they crash at each other's dorms or at MonSsong's apartment or at their hideout.
At first, they thought that skateboarding could be their own club activity wherein they could start from total zero level knowledge and would reach the level or riding a skateboard properly, even doing tricks, running fast on it without falling and of course jumping which is a very hard thing to do too. It's not a club they thought they would present to the rest of the school but at first they thought that yeah... it could be a club like all others, potentially. But later on, with the rest of the stress they got from college and other clubs, they realized that it's better if skateboarding remains just for fun and as a way out to release all of their stress and it works perfectly so far.
Zoa giggles happily as she turns her head around to face Soojin, a genuinely happy smile on her lips. She extends her arms on both sides as she enjoys her ride before she slows down and hops off the skateboard.
"Really? You think so?" She asks, eyebrows flying up her forehead as her big round dark brown eyes stare deep into Soojin's, in that way of hers that always makes her look so pure yet so adorable exactly because she's so genuinely and innocently happy.
"Yeah. I think so. And I'm proud." Soojin says, forming that familiar, warm, proud smile of hers, that one that Zoa has always received throughout her life way too many times as she grew up and tried out new things that would make Soojin happy. Except for familiar though, it feels safe, because it makes her feel safe, that what she's doing is the right thing, because it's making Soojin proud.
Zoa's eyes land on Jihan then, who also looks at her with a warm, comforting smile and smiles back at her happily. They stare at each other deeply for a couple of seconds, just smiling like fools before Monday says,
"Oh for goodness sake you two are just too adorable!" To which Zoa giggles shyly before she walks towards Jihan, holding her hands as she doesn't seem to stay away for too long.
"Thanks I guess." She says before she turns her attention back to Jihan.
"Hey. I think Soojin unnie is right. I think I got this. I think I know how to stabilize myself properly and ride this skateboard." Zoa says, sounding sure and confident and enthusiastic for her new attained skills.
"I know. I saw you. You've been working hard on it, no matter how much studying or practicing on the basketball team you also have to do." Jihan says.
"Thanks. I think I can help you ride with me too. Do you want to try?" Zoa suggests and with that the two ignore the rest who keep on commenting about how cute the young couple is as Zoa and Jihan ride on Zoa's skateboard.
Zoa giggles happily as she helps Jihan stabilize herself on the skateboard before she holds her from her waist, back hugging her basically. She rests her head on Jihan's shoulder, making the girl flustered and shy but living their close proximity too much for her own sake. She pushes the skateboard slowly and Jihan lets out a scared yelp.
"We won't fall, unnie. Do you trust me?" Jihan slowly nods her head. She trusts Zoa, she trusts her with all her being, which is terrifying itself already, but still, it's scary to ride a skateboard just yet because her mind is stuck to what will happen if she falls. And if she falls she will get hurt.
"I do. But what if we fall? What if you can't prevent that from happening? What if I get hurt? Or what if you get hurt? I don't want us to get hurt."
"We won't. I'm used to falling, unnie. And if you fall, I'll be right there to catch you." Zoa says and their friends can't help but whistle loudly and cheer excitedly, proud at Zoa's pick up, flirty line that has managed to make Jihan blush furiously. And it seems like the girls' reaction only makes Jihan blush even more while Zoa smiles happily, not really feeling shy or embarrassed or humiliated by their friends.
"Where did she get that line?" Jaehee asks.
"I'm sure she's secretly taking lessons from Monday in order to know how to melt Jihyo's heart!" Soeun exclaims and Monday laughs, shaking her head and denying the rumors Soeun is just about to spread. Their friends bicker a little more and tease the couple but it all fades away in the couple's ears as Zoa leans closer to Jihan's ear and whispers softly,
"I mean it, Jihannie." to which Jihan blushes even more before she nods her head shyly, mumbling a stuttering messy,
"O-ok"
"You're becoming braver, little one. I'm proud." Monday says as she ruffles Zoa's top of her head, messing up the girl's hair a little as the younger lets out a groan. Her friends seriously won't leave her alone with her girlfriend. Not like as if she lets them as well so the annoyance is mutual she guesses.
"Braver as in what?" Jaehee asks.
"She's openly flirting with Jihan in front of us. That didn't happen before. And I can say I feel weirdly proud for being the first one along with you guys to witness this." Soeun explains what Monday meant seconds ago.
"Yeah, how did that happen?" Soojin asks, wondering.
"You guys don't judge. I feel comfortable and safe around you. I just know that it's fine." Zoa explains as she turns to look at them. Jihan just smiles shyly.
"I'm happy you feel that way and can be yourself around us." Soojin says and smiles proudly once again to their younger friend who smiles back and nods her head. She then turns to look at Jihan as she says,
"I've seen a few cute couple videos of skating together and I want to try the things they did. Now that we both know how to ride these skates just a little better."
Jihan raises her head just a little to face Zoa's eyes and once again she falls in love with their height difference, with how softly Zoa looks at her, deep in her eyes and only, of how they just stand there, one lowering her head a little and the other raising her head a little, staring deeply at each other, their stares filled with love.
"What kind of videos?" Jihan asks and Zoa mentions for Jihan to just sit down on the skateboard. They both sit on it, shoulders touching as Zoa shows the older girl a couple of videos.
"Some seem harder to do or film, but some others are very simple." Zoa says as she finally takes her head from literally being collided on Jihan's side of her head and turns to look at the girl. Jihan does the same and once they're looking back at each other's eyes Jihan can't help but blush again. Lately she finds herself falling more and more into Zoa's eyes whenever they stare at each other ⏤which is very often by the way.
"I liked the one wherein I had to sit down. It seemed easy. Though it needs lots of strength from you, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so. But we can try it." Zoa says, sounding optimistic and before Jihan knows it, she's already sitting on the skateboard, legs crossed as she holds Zoa's phone in her hands, about to film them.
Jihan swears she's an energetic person and one filled with lots of ideas of things she and her friends can do but whenever she's around Zoa she finds herself just enjoying the girl's company, so much that her brain short-circuits and can't think of anything else but the girl and how much she loves her. So she feels glad that Zoa hasn't lost her enthusiasm around her and is the one suggesting things for them to do because that way their hangouts and dates are still fun just like how they always used to be even before they caught feelings for each other. Nothing has changed and Jihan feels glad for that.
Zoa stands behind her, her hands resting on the girl's shoulders and once she counts on three, and makes sure Jihan is stabilized well enough in order not to fall, she pushes the skateboard with her other foot. Then she places it back on the skateboard and for a couple of feet away they ride the skateboard together, giggling and smiling at the camera before the skateboard slows down and completely stops. Zoa leans closer to Jihan and kisses her cheek before she waves at the camera, still giggling. Jihan ends the video and remains frozen for a couple of seconds, still not used to Zoa's kisses even if they're just on the cheek for now. Her cheek gets numb as she still feels Zoa's plump lips lingering on her skin, her whole body shuddering at the mere affection and the mere thought of how much a simple kiss on the cheek is affecting her makes Jihan's heart beat rapidly and her head to turn into panic mode. Is it ok for someone to have so much control over your emotions? For Jihan, it's ok as long as it's Zoa. Because she trusts her and knows that the girl won't ever hurt her, though it still remains a little scary.
She touches her cheek with her fingers as she smiles shyly, her cheeks already having turned red out of shyness.
"This was fun. And you didn't fall, see?" Zoa exclaims excitedly and Jihan nods her head.
"Yeah. Can we stay like this for a little bit more?" She asks Zoa as she rests her head on the girl's chest, liking being back hugged as they sit on the skateboard. Zoa giggles.
"Of course. Just don't sleep on me." Zoa jokes.
"Why not? You're very comfortable. More than my actual pillow is." Zoa laughs at that.
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"I... don't know honestly. It's just my way of telling you that I liked being hugged by you." Jihan confesses and although she's shy doing this ⏤especially in front of their friends⏤ she wants to do it because Zoa is usually the most expressive one between the two of them and keeps commenting on the things she likes overall but also the things she loves about Jihan and their relationship so Jihan feels like she should give all that that she's receiving back to the girl because she deserves it but because she also wants to try it and do it herself as well. It feels nice telling Zoa what she likes about her anyway. Just as nice as it feels when Zoa tells her what she likes about her.
Zoa just giggles before she hugs Jihan closer.
"I like it too." She says and kisses Jihan's cheek again, making the girl gasp and blush madly as she shudders again. And... there it is! The rushing heartbeat, her nerves popping up and blood rushing everywhere all over her body making her feel numb, shaky, weak and nervous. She believes she's starting to get used to the fluttering feeling and all these effects Zoa has on her but then again even if she does, she will never be fully prepared for it or used to it no matter how often it happens or how well she knows how it feels.
======================================================
Being eager to be with Jihan is an understatement. At this point, Soojin doesn't even question the girl when she suddenly stands up from her seat, abandons her books and notes and rushes off the room. She doesn't question it when the girl wakes up in the middle of the night mumbling Jihan's name over and over just because she had yet again another intense dream about her, doesn't question when the girl returns back home late and talks to her for hours even later about her date with Jihan. It's everything about Jihan and Soojin doesn't need to question about this to know. It's visible in every single action Zoa does, but also in her every move, facial expression and even the smallest of smile or her eyes that are shining brighter than the sun at this point. Zoa has always been a happy and optimistic person and Soojin has always been by her side to see all sides of her as well as the growth in the girl and her feelings and happiness but this happy side of her Soojin has to admit that she's never seen before.
She's happy and proud of this new change in Zoa because it's a good change and no matter how much Jihan affects the girl, she doesn't need to worry because Jihan is a friend of hers and she knows Jihan, and Jihan doesn't plan on hurting the girl ever.
So she doesn't even question it when Zoa announces that she's going to pick up Jihan from her drama club because Zoa always goes where Jihan is. And right now, Jihan is at the amphitheater, practicing along with Jaehee and Jungwon.
Zoa has heard Jihan talking about the drama club a lot of times. She's heard Jihan referring to the kids there, about some girls and boys that seemed to be close to her and kind of her friend group along with Jaehee of course. She's also heard Jihan talking time and time again about how lame the drama club is, about how many random kids have signed up there, thinking way too full of themselves and believing that they actually got this and can become actual actors and actresses. She's also heard many funny stories of the filming or the plots and acting of a lot of kids and how Jihan would just get bored most of the time or would end up film all the behind the scenes instead of the actual scenes, would cut and crop them and merge them into one clip that she would keep forever in order to laugh by herself or just to blackmail the kids whenever they would annoy her.
Zoa knew where the drama club has always been held at, and there were lots of times that she was actually free and available and could just go along with Jihan and observe how this whole thing works, as a guest, but she's always been shy and wanted to leave the girl in peace to do her own thing while she could use that free tike of hers to study or practice more for the upcoming basketball games.
This time however Zoa has been too bored to study and couldn't focus at all and all she's been thinking about was Jihan and Jihan again so she decided to pay the girl a visit instead of thinking about her by herself and feeling lonely.
She slowly opens the door of the big amphitheater, takes a slow, hesitant step inside and closes the door as quietly as she opened it, not wanting to interrupt. Most kids didn't pay her attention while if any actually did, they didn't say anything and simply ignored her. After all, it's not the first time an outsider would just pay them a visit and observe their practices.
Zoa turns around once again, facing the stage wherein a couple of kids have been on it, practicing some kind of a play that Zoa isn't sure of, before her eyes land on the front row of the countless chairs in the room. The front row has been almost filled, with students paying attention to the play or practicing their own roles by reading their scripts while in the middle of the front row seemed to be some kind of a director —other than Jungwon and Jihan who have been mostly in charge of the filming parts— who lead the whole play and corrected the kids on their acting skills or their lines of they would forget them.
She scans the room a little bit more, in search of Jihan before her eyes land on two chairs at the back of the stage which has been occupied with a familiar guy that Zoa could identify as Jungwon, a very friendly guy from the little she's interacted with him around campus because of Jihan, and next to him the other chair has been occupied with, well of course Jihan.
The two have leaned close to each other, their shoulders touching, as they've been observing closely Jungwon's camera and they've been giggling every now and then. Zoa guesses that they've been possibly filming another behind the scenes tape wherein Jihan would use for her collection by how they two would laugh and high five every now and then.
She decides that going to Jihan would be a little odd, awkward and inevitable because she would end up interrupting the play, most possibly, by passing by the stage so she takes a seat at the fourth row which is empty because most students have been sitting at the first and second row while the third row has been filled with their belongings.
She sits down quietly and observes Jihan for a few long minutes, waiting for her to notice her which doesn't seem to happen anytime soon as the girl has been too deep in her spying mode. She takes a look at the play and realizes that it's a very bad version of Romeo and Juliet and rolls her eyes immediately, losing her interest immediately. Not only is it a very famous and basic play but also the kids' acting skills are awful and ruin the whole play.
She takes her phone in her hands and texts Jihan, deciding that it would be fun to surprise her like that instead.
Zoa: hey ;)
She places her phone back on her knees as she looks back at Jihan, wanting to observe the girl's reactions upon seeing her text. Personally, when she sees Jihan's texts she always smiles brightly like a fool, her heart warms up and beat faster than usual while she feels way too giddy, excited and eager to reply and usually she replies immediately to the girl's texts. Now, however, she wonders how Jihan looks behind her own screen as it hasn't been a sight that she's seen that often before. She knows that Jihan loves her and she also knows that Jihan replies immediately to her texts too because she's witnessed it by always receiving a reply immediately right after she texts the girl but she's still curious to see how the girl reacts and if she gets as giddy as she does.
Jihan keeps giggling with Jungwon until her phone vibrates on her pocket and she slowly drags herself further from Jungwon as she takes her phone out from her pocket. Zoa smiles to herself as she sees the girl slowly fishing for her phone and unlocking it and once she does, Zoa can't help the giddiness that fills her chest and heart and whole being actually as Jihan's lips slowly curved up in a happy grin. She doesn't need to look at her phone to know that Jihan has read her text because she just knows that Jihan always reads her texts immediately, but also because she sees the girl properly holding the phone in her hands and preparing her thumbs to type a reply. Seconds later her own phone in her hands vibrates and she smiles at herself as she looks at it.
Jihan: hi! What's that winky face for?
She muffles her mouth in order to prevent a giggle from escaping her lips and making a sound which would betray that she's in the room as well but then again there's so much noise coming from all those students who practice their roles so she doubts that she would ever be heard but still, she wants to be sure that her surprise would be the best one and work out the way she wants to.
Zoa: just because X-P
say, what are you up to unnie?
She raises her head again to look back at Jihan and once again thanks herself for not being that visible by sitting st the fourth row as lots of students are on the stage and also the front and second row so they're all enough to prevent Jihan from seeing her clearly —if she tried to, at least.
She sees Jihan's eyes sticking on her phone as she lowers her head, focusing on her phone and only and even when Jungwon nudges her and giggles at something she only forms a smile as she keeps on typing her own reply, another, warmer and happier smile than the one Jungwon could put on, formed on her lips as she types her next reply on the person she most loves.
Jihan: I'm in the drama club. Bored out of my mind. >.<
Zoa giggles mutely before she types her next reply quickly.
Zoa: I know a girl who can keep you busy and make you less bored ;)
She smiles smugly at herself before she stares at Jihan intensely, wondering how the girl would react now. She sees Jihan blushing and licking her lips as her fingers hover over her phone for a few seconds, trying hard to collect herself and her thoughts.
Jihan: really? Who's that? Nana?
Zoa bites her lips, knowing that Jihan is just teasing her exactly because she's teasing her too. She knows Jihan is using her weakness, is using the person whom has hurt Zoa before and has made her have so many conflicted feelings because honestly Zoa doesn't hate Nana, but she surely feels weird around her.
Zoa: no unnie. You're supposed to reply that it's me, but I guess you're no fun. I'm leaving -_-
Jihan frowns and Zoa smiles a little upon seeing the girl's troubled face.
Jihan: Alright, I take it back, I'm sorry. Please don't leave the chat, I'm bored.
Zoa giggles mutely once again.
She decides to send a photo next, making sure that the light of the room would be visible along with the background, the walls of the amphitheater as well as the chairs around her. She smiles, satisfied with the photo she's taken before she sends it and smiles brightly upon seeing Jihan also smiling over her phone, forming that shy smile of hers, her dimples showing up and being visible even from seats away, over at Zoa's seat.
Jihan: You look adorable.
Zoa smiles, realizing that Jihan hasn't realized anything yet so she decides to finally give the girl a hint as she texts back with a,
Zoa: so do you, Jihannie.
At that, Jihan furrows her eyebrows, pauses for a couple of seconds before she replies back
Jihan: I didn't send a photo though.
Zoa: You don't have to. I just know that you are.
Jihan smiles at herself.
Jihan: How though? I could be wearing a trash bag for all you know.
Zoa giggles mutely at herself at that before she decides to stare a little at Jihan, deciding go torture her a little by not replying immediately because once she does, she will reveal that she's at the drama club too. She observes Jihan's outfit a little in order to describe it well at her following reply as well as the girl's troubled expressions as she stares at her phone, waiting for a reply that takes a while to come. Zoa sees Jihan sighing and pouting at herself before she places her phone on her knees and looks back at Jungwon, deciding that she should entertain herself with something else since Zoa seems to have disappeared from the chat. Zoa smiles brightly at herself before she finally types down her reply.
Zoa: you're not. In fact, you're wearing a plaid skirt, with a furry tight blouse along with a red scarf and a plaid blazer. And you look really adorable in these.
At that Jihan furrows her eyebrows before she parts her lips shocked and finally raises her eyes and scans the room. The exact next second her phone vibrates again and she sees a new text from Zoa, specifically a photo, a photo of herself being taken from somewhere further away and she immediately raises her head to stare around the amphitheater before her eyes finally land on Zoa's, finally spotting her behind all those students, seats and backpacks. Her jaw drops, she parts her lips in shock as her eyes widen and eyebrows fly up her forehead. Zoa just smiles brightly at her and waves her hand slightly before she takes her phone back in her hands and texts Jihan again.
Zoa: hi. Again.
Jihan looks at her phone and slowly her shocked expressions fade away, replaced with her usual happy and light expressions.
Jihan: hey. Again.
Zoa giggles and raises her eyebrows shyly as she looks at Jihan who looks at her back.
Zoa: surprise?
Jihan giggles. She stands up from her seat and excuses herself to Jungwon who questions it for a little but doesn't get a reply anyway. She walks from behind the stage and around it before she finally reaches Zoa's spot and sits next to her. Zoa smiles brightly as she looks at Jihan walking towards her, Jihan standing next to her, Jihan looking at her and Jihan sitting next to her. Basically at Jihan's every single move, stare and expressions as she feels herself lovestruck all over again, falling and falling all over again.
"What are you doing here?" Jihan asks in a low voice in order not to be heard as she places her right hand on Zoa's left thigh, squeezing it softly. It's the first time she's doing such a thing and she's not sure where it came from but as soon as she realizes she stares at Zoa a little longer, wondering if it made the girl uncomfortable. She swears it wasn't her intention to make the girl uncomfortable, she just felt like doing it because she felt way too giddy and excited and happy knowing that the girl has come over. She felt comfortable by doing this.
Fortunately for her it seems like Zoa likes it because she places her hand on top of Jihan's, tangling their fingers as she smiles.
"I came to see you. Is it that bad?" Jihan shakes her head immediately.
"No. It's not. I loved your surprise, in fact." Zoa smiles even more at that as she nods her head.
"Good. Because I missed you and really wanted to see you." She confesses once again, the confessions always slipping past her lips so easily because it's just always so easy to say the truth for her. It has never been an issue before or a topic to debate and doubt.
She stares deeply into Jihan's eyes, loving how they shine just like how they always do. This time however she's sure she notices Jihan's light expressions fading away as a familiar nervousness replaces it instead and soon the girl's eyes can't seem to focus on Zoa's eyes for too long.
"Really?" Jihan asks slowly, her voice barely audible and sound small and unstable and Zoa notices for the second time that Jihan's eyes change their focus and land somewhere else. Somewhere lower.
She tries to mirror Jihan's eyes direction and lowers her own eyes before they land on Jihan's lips as she tries to understand what the girl has been staring at. Jihan's round pink and soft lips look really beautiful and for some odd reason Zoa wants to stare at them longer. Jihan is beautiful as a whole person so of course her lips would be beautiful too and they would be a part that Zoa would want to stare a lot too, it's only understandable.
She looks back at Jihan's eyes again, deciding that she likes looking at Jihan's eyes just a little bit more than her lips because the girl's eyes are filled with emotions, emotions Zoa can now understand, now that she knows. Jihan's eyes are filled with love and care for her, and Zoa can tell that now too.
But once she looks at Jihan's eyes she realizes that Jihan is still staring at her lips. She wonders why... or what Jihan is thinking, what she's feeling, why is she doing this... or has she just daydreamed and forgot that she has been staring? Honestly, Zoa doesn't mind whatever the reasons are because it's Jihan and she feels comfortable around her. And she trusts her.
"Yes, really." She replies and forms a happy smile as she nods her head. She looks deep into Jihan's glistening eyes as she smiles happily. She notices Jihan's eyes still staring at her lips and somehow her heart warms up knowing that somehow, a part of her, specifically her lips, have Jihan's attention. It makes her feel flustered somehow.
"And instead of receiving a warm hug I saw you giggling with Jungwon and then getting interrogated for wanting to see my own girlfriend." She says playfully. Jihan gasps as it seems enough to bring her back from her daze.
"Wow! You're more confident to call me your girlfriend now. I'm pretty sure you were hesitant the other day." Jihan decides to be playful too. Zoa giggles.
"You're right. But that was Juyeon sunbaenim and you know how awkward and nervous he makes me feel. I'm not that shy around all these nameless students." Zoa says and Jihan nods her head.
"What was that about Jungwon though? Are you jealous?" Jihan teases her girlfriend and Zoa laughs softly.
"I know he's your friend. So no. But you were paying him too much attention and didn't seem to pay me any or notice me or ever just allow yourself to wander your eyes around the room. Something! I feel forgotten." Zoa says, pours and crosses her arms to her chest, pretending to be sulky but ends up being too cute for that. Jihan smiles shyly as she side hugs her.
"I'm sorry. I noticed you now though. And hugged you too, just like how you wanted." Zoa chuckles happily, hugging Jihan back as she hums softly into the hug, nodding her head. She just loves Jihan's hugs too much.
"Thank you unnie."
[...]
Deja vu. The phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before. An illusion of memory whereby—despite a strong sense of recollection—the time, place, and context of the "previous" experience are uncertain or impossible.
That's what Zoa feels when she enters her dorm room after her little hang out on Jihan's drama club practice. With the only difference that she's indeed experienced that before. She's indeed returned back to her dorm and has found Monday lying on her bed and throwing a tennis ball on the wall across from her looking bored out of her mind, Soeun lying on Soojin's bed and playing games on her phone and Soojin sitting at her desk and arranging it properly as they all seemed to be waiting for her.
Zoa has seen that scene unfolding in front of her before, so it's not a deja vu at this point because it's the truth, she's experienced that before too. And last time they had all gathered in her dorm room, looking oh so serious and waiting for her and only, without Jihan or Jaehee around it was when they told Zoa about her feelings.
Suddenly Zoa's stomach tightens as she gulps nervously. She wants to hope that it's just a bad feeling that she's getting and that they're not here to just announce her some odd news they've found out about her again. Although this is a traumatic memory for her ⏤almost at this point⏤ she has to admit that their words has helped her out see the truth about her feelings for Jihan and without them she wouldn't have been able to notice it and would have suffered for too long. So she has to thank them no matter how much it has shocked her.
"Hi, unnies." She greets them slowly as she closes the door behind her, still standing by it though, not sure if she should stay. It depends on what they have to tell her because by the look on their faces Zoa can tell that they indeed want to tell her something.
"Hey little one." Monday greets her as she waves her hand at her before she decides to throw her tennis ball towards the younger one just to test her reflexes. Zoa is fast to catch the ball as expected coming from a hard working athlete.
"Time for a hang out?" She asks as she looks at the ball in her hands, deciding to lie to herself for the few more seconds that she can in order to calm down a little.
"Yeah. We wanted to catch up, ya know." Soeun says casually, her eyes never leaving her phone's screen. Soojin turns her chair around as her hands rest on her knees and she clears her throat a little, the leadership within her taking charge and leading the situation as someone indeed has to do it and start the topic. The other two of course would have kept tossing it to one another until they would just tell Zoa what they really wanted, straight and clear and... very blatant...
"How's Jihan?" Soojin asks Zoa who smiles just by the mention of the other girl's name. Her lips automatically curving up in a happy grin as her eyes light up, a vivid memory of Jihan's frame from earlier coming on the forefront of her mind just by the mention of the girl's name as it's just an automatic and natural reaction for the human brain to think of an image according to what they hear.
"Good." She replies slowly, shortly and a little hesitant however, not sure where this conversation is going to go later on. She doesn't have a good feeling about this and she's not sure if she wants to find out or want to know just by the mention of Jihan's name in it. Jihan is her safe place and she can't bear hearing anything bad about her or anything related to her that could somehow harm Jihan or Zoa or their feelings, their relationship, this thing overall.
"Why do you ask? You don't text her?" She asks Soojin instead, deciding that if she gets this defensive mode and asks questions herself it would be easier to toss the topic back and forth and avoid it at the very end. Soojin smiles softly.
"I do. So? Did she like your surprise?" Zoa purses her lips, wondering if she's told Soojin that she was trying to surprise Jihan earlier but ends up shrugging her shoulders as she can't seem to remember.
"Yes. A lot." She replies and forms a happy, dumb grin again.
"Really? I'm glad. I hope you didn't distract her with your presence there though."
"No, I didn't. She came to talk to me a little but then she returned back to her spot and practiced like usual. Why?"
"If that's so then that's good... Because she's told us that you keep distracting her lately. Not on purpose though." Soojin says and forms a shy smile at the end. Zoa tilts her head to the side confused and surprised by the new information she's just gotten. She takes off her shoes in a hurry, not really looking at where she's tossing them as she walks up messily and takes a seat on her own desk's chair, staring at Soojin in confusion.
"I do?" She only asks amused at the end, wanting to get confirmation before continuing her questions.
"Yes." Soojin replies shortly and nods her head. Zoa looks at Soeun and Monday who also look at her by now and unlike Soojin they have naughty smirks on their lips before Monday exclaims,
"You naughty girl." and teases Zoa as she sticks her tongue out at her. Zoa gasps.
"I'm not doing it on purpose though! I mean, what am I even doing that could possibly distract her!?" Zoa exclaims confused. Soojin only smiles while Soeun chuckles.
"You're not doing anything. She just keeps thinking about you." Soeun confesses. Zoa parts her lips, surprise written all over her face before she ends up looking at her knees shyly.
"I... uh..." She can't seem to be able to think of a proper reply so she ends up shutting her lips as she sighs heavily through her nostrils, giving up on trying to defend herself because even if she tries, they all know that she also has Jihan on her mind all the time so it's pointless trying it out.
"Yeah..." Monday adds as she clears her throat in a knowing way as she and Soeun exchange glances. Zoa narrows her eyes as she looks at them suspiciously.
"You know, you guys are in love and it's only normal for you both to think of each other a lot." Soojin starts off, liking how she's gotten Zoa's interest immediately instead of making the girl angry just like how she's done the previous time. This is a good sign.
"She thinks of your dates, of your hugs, and she gets really distracted whenever you're around. It's like you power off her whole brain ⏤her words, not mine." Soeun says this time, before Soojin continues.
"You know what distracts her the most about you?" Zoa scratches her scalp before she shrugs her shoulders.
"I don't know." She replies in a small voice.
"It's what she likes the most about you." Monday says in order to give a hint to Zoa.
"My eyes? She keeps saying that she likes them I mean." Zoa replies, unsure.
"How can she not see it?" Soeun asks Soojin as she turns to look at the older girl before she turns to look at the younger one.
"Why aren't you sure? Where's your confidence huh? You know Jihan likes your eyes, she's said so way too many times, even we know that."
"Alright. What can I do about that though? A plastic surgery so my eyes won't distract her anymore?" Zoa asks cluelessly. Soeun laughs while Monday only smiles sympathetically.
"No, idiot. We never said it's bad that you're distracting her. In fact, it's a good thing that you have so much power over her. It should make you happy and confident. She likes you idiot, wake up!" Monday says and Zoa smiles shyly, resting her head on her palms as in to hide her cheeks that have heated up by now.
"Except for your eyes that it's surely her weakness she's been finding herself staring at your lips a lot too lately. Have you noticed?" Soojin finally says, trying to make Zoa focus back on their topic before Soeun and Monday would end up distracting her.
"Oh!" Zoa exclaims slowly as her eyes focus on her feet, seeming to try hard to think of it.
"She hasn't. I can tell." Soeun says before she adds,
"It's harder than we thought. She's too oblivious, I'm sorry but we have to tell her."
"Shut up." Monday whispers-shouts to her.
"She's right though." She adds.
"I know. Let me try though and if I don't get anything you can go ahead and do it the hard way." Soojin whispers back to them.
"I have." Zoa ends up saying, catching the three bickering girls off guard.
"Is it bad?" She asks hesitant.
"I thought it wasn't. I noticed, but as long as it's not a bad thing I don't mind. It doesn't bother me. So is it bad? If it is, then I should tell her to stop it." Soeun laughs again while Monday giggles, trying hard not to laugh.
"No. It's not a bad thing." Soojin says, smiling.
"Then why are they laughing?"
"Because you think that the fact that she wants to kiss you is a bad thing!" Soeun exclaims between her laughter and she and Monday ends up laughing even harder.
"I'm sorry, I told her." She adds to Soojin before she returns back to laughing. Meanwhile Zoa's eyes widen as her jaw drops surprised by what she's just heard. Soojin sighs, giving up on trying.
"She what!?" Zoa exclaims shocked before her hands immediately slap her lips as if that way she would protect them from being kissed by Jihan who's not even in the room by the way.
"Is it true?" Zoa asks Soojin slowly and hesitantly, never taking her hands off of her lips.
"Yes Zo. Jihan wants to kiss you. She wasn't sure how to tell you herself, she's tried making a move, but you wouldn't catch on it so she went to us earlier and told us to talk to you about it. She only told us to talk to you about the possibility of a kiss but I'm done trying to set this easily on you as I'm a person who always prefers the whole truth so it's better that way. Yes it surely is embarrassing for her but what matters is the result she's going to get from this conversation."
"I don't get how wanting to kiss me would make her distracted or keep staring at my lips tough." Zoa ends up saying before Soojin folds her arms to her chest and looks at the girl in her scolding way saying softly though,
"Do you forget how you were when you dreamt of kissing her before?" Zoa lowers her head shyly before she lets out a shy,
"Oh..." Then her eyes widen as she gasps and stares at Soojin in shock again as if it just hit her.
"Oh!" She exclaims again louder this time.
"We just told you in order for you to be aware of it, not to pressure you to try kissing her or anything. Just so you know how she feels, what she's thinking and that she's ready for that step in your relationship. If you aren't yet, it's ok. Take your time. But you should tell her so she knows and will wait with you too." Soojin explains and Zoa slowly nods her head though her eyes are still wide, her lips are still parted in shock and her hands are still covering her whole jaw and mouth as she still keeps on staring at the carpet in a shock daze, trying to comprehend what has just happened and what she's just heard.
Is she ready to kiss Jihan too? Jihan wants to kiss her? Her!? Oh goodness her heart is surely beating louder than usual and she feels too flustered and shy just by the mere thought of Jihan wanting something like that from her. Who is she kidding? She loves Jihan too much for her own good. But a kiss? Zoa has only dreamt of it before but thinking about it now makes her way too nervous as her heart beats way too fast for her own good. And thinking about it and doing it are two different things so she's sure she's going to be even more nervous if she ever tries doing it. Heck just the mere thought of being this close with Jihan makes her nervous. Moreover trying to kiss her.
"And... she's freaked out again." Soeun announces.
"No. No I'm fine. I'm just... very shy. Can I think about it? I surely want it but I'm not sure if I can do it." Zoa explains slowly as she tangles her fingers and traps them between her knees, her cheeks actually turning red which is a very, very, very rare thing to happen which indeed shows just how shy and flustered she is.
"Aww! She's blushing! Please! They're just too cute! Just how much more can I ship this!?" Soeun exclaims as she fakes crying.
"Too adorable I'm gonna puke." Monday says deadpan and pretends wanting to puke.
"Yeah, of course you can think about it and take your time." Soojin reassures the girl as she mentions for her to ignore the other two who are overreacting as always. Zoa just nods her head as she stares at Soojin shyly, feeling really troubled at the new information she just got. What is she going to do now?
======================================================
Time flies way too fast for us to realize sometimes. Sometimes it flies so fast that it's frustrating, especially when you realize that you couldn't do the things you wanted to, the way you wanted to and when you wanted to exactly because time flew way too fast and you didn't get the time you wanted to in order to be able to do everything. Time sometimes feels too short for you to do all the many things you want so you have to stick with the most important ones.
It's especially frustrating when time flies for those people who are very organizing and have everything planned because that's when they feel the weakest, that's when they feel like they can't control everything anymore —which is the truth by the way.
That's exactly how Zoa has been feeling the past few days. Except for stressed out because the first official game for the college championship is in a week, she also feels very weak and lost because she's losing the control over the things she wants to do. The only thing she's been doing is practicing over and over again and again every single day for hours until she would feel too drained and tired. It's the only thing she's been doing, the hang outs with her friends have gotten less and less to the point that she's stopped seeing them out of campus and out of class hours or during breaks and lunch. She's been practicing so much that it's the only thing she's dreaming of whenever she goes to bed and sleeps at night. She's been practicing so much that she's not seeing her unnies out of class hours or lunch as well, she's been practicing so much that...
...She's not even seeing Jihan anymore...
And that's the hard part because being away from your loved ones is always hard and hurts a lot and no matter how Zoa is seeing her around campus or having lunches with her together, it's just not the same as going out for dates or crashing at each other's dorm rooms or hanging out at their hideout. Then again, Zoa is at the same time glad that she's not meeting up as much with Jihan because there's still the whole 'kiss' topic on the very front of her head, hovering there nonstop and bugging her. Whenever she sees Jihan, in fact, it pops up and makes her so nervous that she almost runs away. She surely acts way too nervously and way too out of character but she can't help herself. So, unfortunately for her, she hasn't had the time to deal with that topic and meeting up with Jihan has ended up being awkward, except for short and rare at this point because of her practices that is.
Today however, it seems like a very important day. An important day for everyone and for many and various reasons. Today is going to be a significant day, one that will go down in history, one that will stigmatize everyone's life once and for all, forever.
It didn't look like it would end up like that, like... such a terrible and significant day that would stigmatize many people's lives in the very beginning of it. At first, it looked like one of all those days. For Zoa, specifically, it looked like one of the many days she's had recently, one of those that she had to practice all day. She's gone to her classes earlier this morning, and once she was done, she's headed at the basketball court to start practicing like how she always does the past few days and then she was planning to head to the campus' cafeteria to get some lunch. That was the plan at first, and that has always been the plan all along all those days. Only today... things seem to evolve differently.
First thing first, when Zoa arrived at the gym she quickly realized that she hadn't been alone.
"I believe you confused the dates. The game is next week Jiwoo. Not today." Zoa says to her best friend deadpan before she closes her locker after having changed into her basketball uniform.
"Potato tomato." Jiwoo replies and folds her arms on her chest. Zoa gives her a deadpan glare for a second before she fishes for a hair tie in order to tie her hair in her gym's backpack that she's left on the bench in front of the gym's locker.
"It's not the same thing." Zoa says as she places her tie between her teeth and then starts to comb her hair with her hands in order to make a rough ponytail that would make her life easier only for now that she needs to train hard, that is.
"I know, genius. But we wanted to be there for your last few practices in order to cheer you up. You seem really tired and stressed out lately so..." Zoa knits her eyebrows as she glances back to Jiwoo, mumbling through gritted teeth because of the hair tie trapped in between them,
"We?"
"Yes. The unnies came too, of course." Jiwoo says before she moves aside a little and soon Zoa's eyes land on the familiar group of her older friends who are standing by the gym's restrooms' door with smiles on their faces. Zoa's eyes then land on her girlfriend, somehow spotting her in milliseconds in the group and somehow immediately separating her from the rest of the group, her friends' faces fading away as she can only focus on Jihan. She forms a small, shy smile before she remembers the whole 'kiss' topic and immediately freezes. She rushes to tie her hair in a messy ponytail before she zips her backpack and hands it on Jiwoo mumbling,
"Keep an eye on my backpack." She then lets out a heavy sigh as she heads towards the door, not really facing any of the girls or her girlfriend before she lets out louder than earlier,
"Why are you all here? It's just practice!" She then stops on her tracks as she finally reaches the door and realizes that she has to pass past Jihan. Her friends have already moved a little further, putting the slightest of effort to make a way for her while Jihan refuses to let Zoa leave the room without getting a proper greeting from the younger one. Zoa sighs heavily as she's standing right in front of Jihan, the close proximity making her way too nervous. The height difference doesn't help at all as well because as Zoa lowers her head to avoid looking at her friends she ends up looking at Jihan's lips. And by raising her eyes to look elsewhere she ends up looking at Jihan's eyes. She's not sure why she's avoiding Jihan, but right now she feels too drained, stressed and nervous and badly needs to just practice alone. She takes a step on her left, attempting to pass by Jihan who only mirrors her actions. She then takes a step on her right again but Jihan does the same as well and they only keep on bumping on each other.
"What do you want unnie?" She lets out tiredly.
"A smile?" Jihan says softly before she reaches out to hold Zoa's hands. Zoa faces her and forms a forced, small smile before she asks,
"Can I go now? I really need to practice." Jihan lets out a short, dry laughter before she nods her head.
"Yeah. You can go." She replies shortly as she moves aside and bites her lips, trying hard to control her own emotions. Zoa heads towards the basketball court, starting to exercise immediately while the rest of the girls head to the bleachers and start cheering on her in order to give her some encouragement. The warm up doesn't take long and soon Zoa takes a ball as she starts to practice alone, shooting and shooting, again and again in order to master her moves, shoots and score. She hasn't been practicing for that long ⏤around half an hour⏤ before she sees another figure entering the court.
"I thought I would find you alone but having your best friends and girlfriends here watching us makes the whole thing even more interesting." Younghoon says as he walks closer to Zoa.
"Hello, sunbaenim." Zoa greets him as she bows, always keeping her manners no matter how complicated her relationship with this specific person is.
"I knew I would find you here. You always practice. Every single day. What a good girl that you are!" He exclaims sarcastically at the end before he laughs. Zoa ignores him, deciding not to reply to him so he continues.
"I was looking for you, in fact."
"Me? Why would you be looking for me sunbaenim?" She asks him surprised as she pauses on her steps, catching the ball in her hands and pausing her practice as she turns to look at him. He laughs.
"We can't keep doing this. I don't like you, and you know that. This basketball team can't have us both. I can't allow it. I can't bear it. So here is what I propose. An one on one game, you and me, right now. Let's clear this up. Whoever wins gets to stay in the team while the one who loses has to leave the team and the other's life once and for all, forever and leave the other alone. What do you think?" He says. Zoa stares at him shocked and confused, trying hard to comprehend what he has just said. He chuckles.
"Why do you hesitate? I know how much you hate my guts as well. I'm literally doing you a favor." She shakes her head before she lets out,
"I'm just trying to find out what's hidden behind your words and suggestion, your real purposes." He laughs as he shakes his head with a grin on his lips.
"Right. I'm usually a sly fox and always have a hidden ace up my sleeve. Forgot. I assure you, log. There's no other purpose. I just hate you and want you out of my team before the championship begins." He clarifies at the end, sounding cold and harsh as his expressions change from light, sarcastic and teasing ones to serious and cold ones. Zoa has no reason not to believe him as these are his usual words anyways. Now he truly sounds real and this suggestion truly sounds so much like him.
"It doesn't have to be this way." She says, not really wanting to play a game against him that could determine who stays and who leaves the team. She's not a bad person no matter how much he's making her life miserable.
"Oh please! Don't act so innocent to me! I've had enough of your bullshit, you're no saint no matter what you're trying to convince everyone!" He says harshly. Jiwoo clenches her fists from the bleachers as she stands up about to yell at him, already having gotten mad but Soojin is fast enough to keep her down on her seat as Soeun shuts her lips with her hands.
"I don't want to do it this way though."
"Oh so you're willing to leave the team then? Without a fight?" He asks with a sarcastic smile on his lips.
"No." She replies deadpan.
"No one has to leave the team. We can just try to look at the bigger picture and try to cooperate for the sake of the team." She explains but he only laughs sarcastically.
"I'm never going to team up with you! For the team's sake or not I'm not doing this! I hate you and I especially hate you exactly because all you care is this shitty team's sake! You don't belong in this team! Basketball teams like ours don't need a freshman girl like you in them!"
"She's told me before that things have been very tough with Younghoon but I've never expected it to be this rough." Jihan mumbles to her friends who agree along with her.
"Alright. If it has to be this way, so be it. But just so you know, you're making a mistake. Because the team will end up with one less member in a week right before the championship starts and they will all surely start to panic. Yunho sunbaenim will surely have to find somebody to replace the missing one and if he doesn't do that on time our college's team will be eliminated from the championship." She explains to him, making sure to sound serious but also to never say who will specifically lose this game even if she believes it will be her. She doesn't want to show him that she's not confident at all because that's the very first weakness for somebody and that's sure;y the very first cause in someone's loss.
"I know. But I prefer not going to the championship this year rather than going with you. If I end up doing that just so you know I will surely knock you off for the rest of the championship, I'm not kidding." He threatens her as he grits his teeth. He surely hates her and he shows it once again in his most obvious and blatant way. Monday glares at him, badly wanting to punch him but deciding to keep her silence, Soeun keeps cursing him in a low voice, Soojin tries to hold Jiwoo still who keeps on wanting to hop off her seat and go straight to him and punch him while Jihan only stares at Zoa, worried out of her mind.
"Fine then. An one on one?" She asks to make sure. He nods his head.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"With one basket?"
"Are you dumb, log? We're playing an one on one, don't you know how to play this game?" She grits her teeth as she lets out a heavy breath from her nostrils before she nods her head.
"I know." She then turns to face her friends before she calls out for Monday.
"We need a referee in order to start the timer and make sure no one's cheating as well." Younghoon rolls his eyes before he exclaims,
"Sure! Of course there's going to be no cheating! What does she even know about basketball!?"
"She trained me for years, she knows very well." Zoa replies seriously as she glares at him before she mentions for Monday to come towards them. Monday sighs as she walks towards them. She takes the ball from Zoa's hands and the two position themselves in the middle of the one side of the court. She then throws the ball in the air as she starts the timer and walks quickly out of the court. She makes sure to keep her eyes wide and stare at them very carefully, not wanting her friend to ever lose this game because of her own mistakes.
The game is surely a very tough one as they're both very good players so both scoring and blocking seem to be very hard things to do for the both of them. The score keeps rising equally from both sides and Zoa's friends have all been staring at the two playing very nervously, not knowing what will happen and how this game would end.
"Is your girlfriend watching this?" Younghoon exclaims to Zoa as he laughs when he shoots a 3-points shot and successfully scores. Zoa's eyes widen as she stares at him in shock though it shouldn't be shocking that he knows. Jihan told Juyeon about it so it's out ever since as he would surely have told his friends, including Younghoon, who would have of course tried to mock Zoa about it behind her back or in front of her too, just like how he's doing now.
"I'm going to end you. You're out of this team once and for all!" He exclaims loudly. Zoa takes a deep, tired breath, sweat dripping all over her skin as her muscles are aching. It's surely a very tough and rough game not just because they're both good players but because Younghoon is making sure to use all of his strength against Zoa's frame which tends to be terrifying at times. She doesn't give up however. It's not over until she says so.
Time flies fast and the game is about to be over. Younghoon is leading the score by one point and as Zoa tries to aim an alley-oop he screams at the top of his lungs as he sees how the time is almost about to end, the game is about to end, and he's about to lose. He quickly jumps in front of her, trying hard to block her shot.
And that's when it happens. He jumps on top of her so hard, knocking off her frame as they both end up falling on the court with Younghoon on top of her, having kicked her hard on her leg right before they fall. Of course on purpose. He quickly turns to look at the basket to make sure he blocked her from shooting and only ends up screaming even more as he sees the ball landing in the ring.
The winner has been decided. Zoa has won by one and only point at the very end of the game but it doesn't even seem like a win for her as she feels defeated, being thrown on the court like a piece of paper. Younghoon screams again in rage as he doesn't want to accept the truth and right before she knows it, right before she could catch her breath and stop the world from literally spinning over and over, having been knocked out very hard, he walks towards her madly and kicks her hard on her leg. She groans in pain. Everything happens too fast. She feels pain all over her leg and for a second her vision blurs and darkens and right before he's about to punch her Monday is fast enough to hold him away from her before the rest of the girls who have been cheering for their friend rush towards them to stop the fight.
"Are you out of your mind!? You literally pushed her on purpose, now you're kicking her leg on purpose and was about to punch her right on her face!? That's a literal and intentional foul! Basketball players aren't supposed to hit people on purpose!" Monday yells at him while Soojin is trying her hardest to keep Jiwoo from punching him. Soeun is refusing to help her no matter the older's cries because she exclaims that,
"She has every right to punch this guy, he literally hit Zoa on purpose!" And while everyone is focused on trying to end the fight, Jihan has rushed on Zoa's side, trying to check if her girlfriend is alright.
"Zoa? Zoa!" Jihan tries to call out for her girlfriend, tries to see if the girl is alright, tries to somehow check up on her, but Zoa doesn't respond. All she sees is dark, her ears are ringing, her head is throbbing and she's pretty sure her body feels numb. She starts to feel dizzy and weak, so weak that she ends up passing out.
[...]
White. White lights are the first thing her eyes can capture before she has to blink hard as the too intense light makes them ache and teary. The moment she blinks hard though her head aches in pain. She lets out a hoarse groan before she opens her eyes again upon feeling a hand on top of hers, holding hers tightly and squeezing it. She glances at her hand before her eyes wander towards the person who's holding her hand and her eyes light up with surprise as soon as she spots Jihan. Then her eyes capture her friends, a doctor, some of her teammates and Yunho. She blinks a few times before she finally asks,
"Why are you all here?"
"You passed out earlier. We had to bring you here." Soojin explains. Zoa looks at her for a few seconds before she slowly nods her head then looks back at all the people surrounding the bed she's lying down in the infirmary room.
"I never knew I would be this popular for just passing out though." Zoa says and Soeun giggles before Soojin nudges her as in to scold her for laughing at a wrong timing.
"We all got worried." Monday explains. Soojin nods her head before she asks the doctor to explain to Zoa a little about her injuries. Fortunately for her she only got a swollen ankle and so the doctor suggests she should rest for the following week and barely walk around, so of course no practicing or anything of the sort, until the day of the championship that is. Then the doctor explained a few more things to Soojin as in on how or when Zoa needs to take some suppressants in order to relieve some of the pain while Zoa's teammates gave her some flowers, talked to her a little and wished to her to recover quickly.
"Recover soon please. I don't think we will be able to make it without you." Yunjin says and Zoa nods her head weakly as she smiles at them. They bid her goodbye and promise to pay her a visit at her dorm room one of the following days. Then Yunho stops by her bed as he forms a small light smile.
"Hey." He greets her.
"Hi, oppa." She greets him a little shyly. She's always adored him and respected him a lot because he has been the very first one to believe in her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Now that I'm awake... my ankle surely hurts a lot. But other than that I think I'm fine." She says.
"That's a relief. Listen, I want you to listen to what Dr. Jung says. Please do rest a lot. Your health comes first. Not the game. So if your ankle is still swollen next week it's totally fine if you don't play. All I care about right now is your health because I care about you. Not the game. And I'm saying this because I know how you tend to stress out about games." He says and they both giggle slightly at the end.
"I'm sorry." Zoa only mumbles as she looks at her hands once she remembers why she's brought in the infirmary in the first place.
"What are you sorry for?" He asks.
"I shouldn't have acted this dumbly and played that stupid match with Younghoon sunbaenim." She confesses.
"It wasn't a dumb option." She stares at him deadpan and he chuckles before he shakes his head.
"Alright, fine. It was. But it wasn't your option. He told you the options you had. It was either play this match or literally fighting with him in the championship which of course would have led you to more injuries and embarrassment to the whole team and our college's name of course. You did nothing wrong. The stupid, careless and selfish one has always been Younghoon and no matter how many times I've talked to him or scolded him he just refused to listen. If anything, I have to admit that I'm glad and relieved that you won the game. We finally got rid of him." He says and Zoa's eyes light up in surprise.
"I won?" She asks in disbelief.
"Right. You passed out right when you just won." Jihan butts in their conversation as she's still sitting next to Zoa's bed, holding her hand as she observes the two talking.
"I won?" Zoa asks again, still not able to believe it and both Yunho and Jihan nod their heads with smiles on their lips.
"At least I didn't get injured for nothing. That's a battle scar." She says and Jihan laughs.
"I think Soojin is right when she scolds you for hanging out too much with Monday unnie. You're starting to pick up on her sense of humor." Jihan says and Zoa giggles softly.
"She's the best at making jokes. She's my role model." Jihan just smiles proudly, agreeing with Zoa's words.
"What are you going to do with Younghoon sunbaenim's removal though? Don't you have to replace him?" Zoa asks as she turns to look at Yunho wh nods his head.
"You don't have to worry about that though. I still have the previous list of the students that has signed up at the very beginning so I know where to start looking for at first. It won't be that hard as the first time. For now, all you need to focus is getting well, ok?" Zoa nods her head before she forms a smile at him. He bids the couple goodbye before he also takes his leave and soon Zoa's unnies along with Jiwoo prepare Zoa's belongings so they would help Zoa return back to her dorm room once she would feel better and ready to stand up.
"Yunho sunbaenim is a very good leader. Your teammates as well. They all immediately got worried about you and rushed to see how you were doing." Jihan says.
"Yeah. How did they get to know though?"
"Jiwoo texted them. She thought that they should know." Zoa slowly nods her head.
"I wouldn't call you just popular actually. I would also call you pretty elusive Miss Jo. It feels hard reaching out for you when you have so many people around you caring for you." Jihan says in a light playful tone at the end. Zoa giggles.
"Is it bad?"
"What is?"
"Having way too many people around me." Jihan shakes her head.
"Of course not! In fact, I'm glad you do. It feels nice being loved and cared for just how much as you love and care for others. So I'm happy and glad you get to experience that." Zoa smiles brightly at Jihan's words as she stares deeply into Jihan's eyes for a few long seconds as the two hold hands and Zoa just feels... too happy to have Jihan around. She feels happy and giddy and enthusiastic and... totally so NOT nervous like how she did before. She realizes that...
"I missed you." She lets out softly, sounding sentimental and genuine, because she means it and feels this so much. She truly missed being around Jihan and hanging out with Jihan a lot and she feels like it's her fault they haven't been hanging out at all lately because of her practices but also because of her nervousness that has kept them apart and had created a huge gap between them.
"I've always been around here though." Jihan says, forming a small, warm smile, one of those that Zoa has always fallen in love with because those smiles are just so real and hold so much love within them.
"Yeah but... we haven't been really alone lately." Zoa confesses, not sounding shy or anything. Sometimes she sounds a little shy when she says the truth but she has never hid it no matter how shy or embarrassed or hesitant she might feel. This time however she's sure she feels confident and so not shy no matter how they're surrounded by their friends still.
"You still aren't. We're here too." Jaehee reminds them and Jihan giggles shyly as her cheeks get just a little bit rosy, that familiar color they always get whenever she's shy, which happens a lot often whenever she's around Zoa.
"Then I guess we really have to be at some point soon. I'll get to rest for a whole week. I believe it's enough of free time for me to see my girlfriend, right unnies?" She says as she looks back at her unnies, making sure the last statement is loud and clear as it sounds more like 'you'll leave me alone with Jihan throughout this week whether you want it or not' rather than what she actually said.
"Yeah! It surely is." Soojin says and the other girls just simply cough or laugh nervously, trying to pretend that they didn't hear what Zoa has just said or didn't understand what she actually meant.
"And you won't just burge in my room to interrupt me while I spend my time with Jihannie, right unnies?"
"Uhm... yeah! Sure! We surely won't!" Soeun says, forming a wide awkward smile.
"We surely weren't planning to. What does it even make you think of that?" Monday asks, also pretending to be clueless.
"Cut out the crap unnies!" Zoa says and sticks out her tongue at them. Meanwhile Jihan has been blushing so madly to the point that she looks more red than an actual tomato does.
"Jihan can surely get some advice from Soojin on how to take care of you. It would help out Soojin as well and that way it would be more convenient for everyone. Soojin won't have to take that much care of you so that way she will be able to meet up with Soeun more, Jihan will always be in your room and Monday will be in mine. That's perfect actually. I'll get Monday all to myself in our dorm room Jihan, you hear this?" Jaehee says and Soeun and Monday laugh loudly while Soojin's eyes widen as she gasps embarrassed while Jihan blushes even more, letting out a shy yelp. Zoa just smiles, totally agreeing with Jaehee's words and not really getting why the other two are laughing at her shamelessness or bluntness.
"Just don't make out in my bed!" Jihan lets out along a shy squeal and Monday and Soeun laugh harder at her words.
"Yeah alright we won't use your bed. Mine is fluffier anyway."
"Wow, Monday she wants you to be comfortable. Your girlfriend takes very good care of you." Soeun teases Monday who hits her on her shoulder as the two laugh.
"Shut up, I'm the one taking care of her. She just wants to make sure the bed she's gonna be laying in is gonna be extra fluffy!"
"Oh so that's why she always grumbles whenever she gets home? Because your bed isn't as fluffy as hers?" Soeun asks and Monday nods her head and the two laugh again, only them understanding their own jokes.
"I don't really get their jokes, or actually pretend like I don't because I don't think I want to, but as long as they laugh it's ok." Jaehee says and shrugs her shoulders with a smile.
"I believe it's time we help Zoa get back to her dorm room before you two start making way worse jokes. We're still in the infirmary wherein anyone can hear you, ya know." Soojin reminds them as she hands Zoa's backpacks filled with her clothes and training clothes from earlier to Soeun while she tries helping Zoa stand up along with Monday and Jihan's help.
"I highly believe I should piggyback her." Monday suggests but only receives glares.
"Why not?"
"Monday. I'm not going to talk about this. This is stupid. We're not kids to do these things you know."
"I'm doing it."
"No you're not!"
"And she's going to use the crunches for all those stairs?"
"There are elevators!"
"I'm piggybacking her."
"Monday!" Soojin scolds her but it's too late. Monday has already piggybacked Zoa and has started rushing towards the girl's dorm room with Zoa laughing loudly from her back as she keeps screaming,
"Unnie!"
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