chapter five!
GAUCHE
Mina peeked an eye in before slowly stepping in and closing the door without a sound. She didn't want to distract nor catch unwanted attention around peopleㅡ plus, the fear of getting hit by a stray ball really seeped in her skin.
"Whoo!"
She couldn't help but turn her head to the team playing. Two players, one with shaved hair and the other was the orange haired one she saw before, high-fived each other excitedly. Mina smiled a bit at them. She was a bit jealous to see the teamwork that did occur in teams. They looked close and chummy with each other that she couldn't help but feel that way.
"Get used to it already, Kageyama!"
Her ears perked at the name? Kageyama? She searched around until the raven haired boy awkwardly shared a high-five with the baldy earlier. Mina's lips parted, itching to call his name out to return it when someone had tapped her shoulder.
"Lee-san?"
The girl turned her head to see her Literature teacher, Takeda giving her a smile, although he was confused why she would be here. "Is there something you wanted to ask me regarding class?"
Though she barely understood it when he used words that she couldn't easily comprehend, she shook her head. "Ukai Jii-san called."
"Eh? Ukai-kun?" Takeda was a bit confused. "You know him?"
She nodded. "I need talk to him."
"O-Oh, of course! He's right over there," He pointed towards the bench where Ukai was sitting with a raven haired girl in glasses. "Follow me."
And she did, but barely paid attention to where Ukai was. Kageyama was literally standing by a distance from her, setting up the ball for his teammates. Oh, how she wanted to give it to him already, but she didn't have any courage to call him out in front of everyone. That would be a bit embarrassing.
"Oh, Mina-chan," Once she reached him, Ukai immediately stood up and sighed in relief. "What a relief. Here, Takinoue's bound to be waiting at the store. Mind giving it to him for me?"
While she took the item, Takeda took this as a chance to examine their relationship. "Ukai-kun, you know Lee-san?"
"Ah? Yeah," The blonde haired male scratched the back of his neck. "Her mom's letting her study here so she's living with me at the moment."
Takeda's lips parted, nodding as he finally understood. Mina was a bit awkward and glanced around when she locked eyes with the girl in glasses. While she was flustered and bowed her head, the latter smiled gently and gave her a reciprocated nod as well. What a beauty, Mina thought. She might as well just have signed a contract with an entertainment company and walked down the path to stardom.
"Alright, fifteen minute break!" Ukai blew his whistle, signaling for the players to rest.
Oh, god. This was her chance.
Mina gulped, hearing the players chatter and walking towards them while the raven haired girl handed them drinks and towels. She took a peek and saw Kageyama bantering with the orange haired shorty again, but didn't seem like it was serious enough to be stopped. The girl hoped her stare would be strong enough to be noticed, but he was oblivious to it!
Kageyama-san, please! She prayed silently.
"Oh, aren't you the Korean girl?"
The girl jumped and turned to see a boy with grey hair smiling politely at her. Does everyone just refer to her as Korean girl now? It seemed awfully redundant to hear it now. Mina hoped they could've at least remembered her name to spare some time on introduction, but she knew most of them were just fascinated to see a person from another country.
"I am Lee Mina," She gave him a set of her own polite smile as well. "Nice to meet you, uh..."
"Sugawara Koushi, third year and vice-captain of the volleyball team," He greeted. "Nice to meet you as well, Lee-san. What brings you here?"
She bit her lips. "Uhㅡ"
"Mina-chan, hurry home!" Ukai chided, seeing as she was still idling around in the gym. Him yelling her name seemed to have caught the others' attention and brought it to her.
"H-Hai!" She jerked before nodding, her cheeks tinting a blushing hue. Now everyone was looking! Mina glanced to see Kageyama staring at her in mild surprise. This worked out to be a bit in her favour at least.
Without any hesitation, she immediately jogged to Kageyama and grabbed his wrist. "Please follow me!"
____
That was the second time she did that.
"O-Oi, slow down!"
And she did. Mina huffed a slight bit before letting go of his wrist, turning to the boy with an embarrassed look. Get it together, Lee Mina! She cursed in her mind. How surprised must Kageyama have been when she suddenly pulled him out of the gymnasium.
"Sorry, I justㅡ h-here, please take it," She handed him the paper bag sheepishly. "I not mean to do justㅡ ermㅡ crap, what's the word again?" A slip of her tongue and Mina unconsciously mumbled the last part in Korean. What was it in Japanese? Pull out? Drag him away? Take him out?
Kageyama licked his lips, not knowing how to assess the situation properly but grabbed the paper bag with a mumbled thanks anyway. He took a peek in the bag to see a carton of milk on top of his uniform. He blinked. "A-Ano, there's a milk in here..."
She nodded. "Please take it. For, um, yesterdayㅡ ah, compensation!" Mina perked up as she remembered the word, earning a surprised look from the latter. She was too proud of herself remembering the name to even notice Kageyama awkwardly shuffling about.
"Oh, but can I ask you something?" Kageyama nodded, urging her to continue. "You did not tell me what class you in. Senpai, maybe..?"
Hah? The boy's brows furrowed in confusion, looking like he was scowling at her. What did she mean byㅡ oh. "I'm not a senior. 1st year, class 3."
Her lips parted in surprise. All this time, she was wrong to think that Kageyama was a senior. She couldn't help it! His scowl and intimidating aura made her think that he was one of those senpais who ruthlessly boss around their kouhais. "Not one? But, I thoughtㅡ you look kind of old!"
A tick mark appeared on the boy's forehead as he scowled at her words. "Hah? I don't even look that old!"
Wait, she worded it wrong. Mina held up her hand frantically and shook her head. "N-No, not what I meant! What I try saying isㅡ argh, this is so annoying! I mean the way you carry yourself! Your aura just makes me think that you're my senpai!" And she blew a fuse, finally giving up and ended speaking in Korean.
"... Hah?"