In which she's the bowling queen.
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It was a chilly night of April.
The wind made the tree's leaves move forward and back, as well as her hair underneath her black cap, tied up in a ponytail. The girl, whose hands were hidden under the warmth of her red hoodie's pockets, walked through the very few blocks left to finally arrive to her destination. She was glad she wasn't the only person on the street, otherwise she would've chickened out and ran back straight to the protection of her bedroom.
She walked past the blank faces of strangers, regretting not having accepted her father's offer to ride her to the bowling alley. Despite having her jacket and some hot-packs on her bag, she was freezing. Her house was just four blocks away from the bowling alley, but under the current weather conditions it felt as if she had to cross the entire city just to get there.
Finally, after her second sneezing, she saw the place's shiny letters above its entry. She blew warm air onto her cold palms and entered, meeting a much darker hall. She fixed her cap and quickly removed the small tangles on her ponytail as she waited to pay for the entrance. Once she did, she walked into another room, this time meeting the large bowling alley.
The girl walked to the counter and asked the young woman for a pair of shoes after giving out her size. She took her bag off and left it on top of the counter as well as her black sneakers and waited. Once the worker came back, she left her items there, making sure to have her phone on her pocket, and saved the ticket with a 'SK9' written on it. She thanked her and went to the tracks, looking for her friends.
"Mirae!"
The girl squinted her eyes up front, trying to distinguish who had called her. Having myopia made her life incredibly complicated, especially since her glasses had been damaged few days ago. The new ones wouldn't arrive until two more days, and Mirae was getting already dizzy from squinting her eyes, trying to see what was ahead.
She saw the blurry face of Soobin, her smile quickly appearing on her face, relaxing her eyes as well. Soobin ran up to her and embraced her into a tight hug before giggling, "I love the face you do when you can't see clearly."
"Unnie, I hate you and your perfect sight."
Soobin laughed and hung her arm around her, leaning onto her due to their height difference. Mirae was the tallest between her mom and older sister, but standing next to someone outside her family, she was rather on the small side.
"Let's go, we're ordering what we're going to eat," Soobin announced and guided Mirae towards the crowded table on the alley.
Mirae tried to guess who were also there besides Soobin and her boyfriend, but the lightning and her sight were not much of help. Just when they had already arrived she saw clearly who the other companions were: the first ones who she distinguished were the ones she had classes with, being Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung, the foreign student Felix and Kim Seungmin. She saw some boys who had graduated the year before, which were Soobin's boyfriend, Woojin, Bang Chan, Lee Minho and Seo Changbin, the latter being a year ahead of her; and next to them was Yang Jeongin, a year below her, whom she was friends with since they lived in the same neighborhood and often rode the bus together.
The first one to notice the girls' arrival was Jeongin, who let out a small gasp at the sight of Mirae. "Mirae noona! I didn't know you'd come!"
She smiled at the boy and shortly bowed to the others, since she barely knew them at all. They bowed at her, except Woojin who waved her hand at her friendlily, "Haven't seen you in a while, Mirae."
Jisung, who was the one sat at the corner, moved closer to Minho to leave a space for her to seat. She softly thanked him and sat down, "I've been quite busy, oppa."
"Homework?"
She shook her head, "No, just catching up with the new season of my favorite show." Woojin's face broke in a soft chuckle and Chan next to him nodded with a smirk, relating to the feeling.
"Shall we start?" Hyunjin proposed with a soft clap, everyone nodding in agreement. "We should split into two teams, like a competition."
"The losers pay," Chan stated. "So, how are we doing the teams?"
"What about dongsaengs versus hyungs?" Seungmin asked.
"We always do that," Hyungjin chuckled, shaking his head. "Why don't we choose the team leaders and let them choose the teams?"
"That sounds good," Chan nodded and looked at everyone, "Who wants to be a leader?"
"Me," Changbin said, lifting his hand a little.
"I want to," Minho spoke.
"Please, if you choose me," Soobin pleaded to both boys, "choose Mirae as well."
The boys laughed at her words. Mirae, instead, shook her head slowly, a smirk on her lips knowing her friend's hidden intentions. Ever since middle school, Mirae had been a fan of bowling, and whenever she got the opportunity she went to the bowling alley and playing until her curfew. Soobin even called her "bowling queen", but Mirae was trying to remove that nickname from her life.
Minho and Changbin played 'rock, paper, scissors', and Changbin starter choosing his team. Mirae laughed at the betrayal look on Soobin's face when Minho chose her after Soobin had been already chosen by Changbin. Mirae ended up in Minho's team with Jeongin, Jisung and Chan. They all decided to sit according to their teams and she ended next to Jeongin and Minho.
"Since we're not even, someone from Minho's team has to repeat," Hyunjin instructed after counting everyone. He was writing down everyone's names on the screen with the help of Jeongmin.
"The best player should repeat," Jisung whispered to his own team. "Clearly not Minho hyung."
Mirae snorted at the death glare Minho gave him, but he ended up nodding. He turned to Chan and Jeongin and then to Mirae, "How well do you play?"
"Thanks for having me in consideration," Chan blurted sarcastically.
"I know a thing or two," Mirae told Minho, shrugging a little.
"Liar!" Soobin yelled. "You're the ace of the whole school!"
"Am not!" she chuckled, feeling everyone's stares on her. "I'm just better than you, unnie. And you're not in school anymore!"
Some of the boys went 'ooh' while Soobin rolled her eyes, "You're all going to see I'm not lying."
The captains went first. Minho succeeded on turning down seven pins, and Changbin threw nine. "It's okay, we just started," Mirae shrugged, trying not to smile too much. She knew she was better than some of the boys, since she had played with them sometime around the past, but wasn't sure of some other's skills.
Chan went up next and he succeeded on not tumbling down any of the pins, making everyone burst in laughter.
"We're good, we're good," Hyunjin chuckled as he went ahead and threw his ball. He easily made a strike, which caused his team to clap and cheer for him. He then pointed at Chan, "You're going down, hyung."
"We'll see about that!"
"You're next," Minho told Mirae and gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck!"
"Good luck, Mirae!" her team cheered while she chose a ball.
She ignored Soobin's words about how the match was already over and she stepped in front of the lane holding a blue ball. She took three steps, stopped at the edge of the lane and crossed her left leg behind her right one—since she was left-handed—and threw the ball. She heard the boys going 'ooh' as the ball rolled through the lane, ending in a perfect strike. Mirae smiled at the sight and turned around, quickly finding herself in a group hug.
"She's the ace!" Chan happily stated and once the group hug broke apart, he smiled at her. "I'm glad you're on my team."
"Thanks," she smiled back and sat down, digging her hands on her pockets. She moved her knees up and down, feeling the adrenaline slowly taking over her body. She saw how Felix stepped ahead and threw the ball, pinning down eight pins.
Jeongin threw his ball and pinned down only three, while Woojin on the other team tripped and failed at hitting the pins. While everyone was laughing, Woojin looked down at his feet and silently cursed at them before sitting back. The next round, both Jisung and Soobin pinned down eight pins. Mirae went ahead again, her whole team cheering behind her as she threw the ball. It went perfectly to the center, doing another strike.
"The queen is back," Soobin chanted as Seungmin stood up.
"You should teach all of us those 'things or two' that you know," Chan told her after the first round finished. Mirae just laughed.
As the rounds went by, Mirae's competitiveness increased. By the end of the third round she found herself not being able to sit down as the team's scores were too close. She cheered whenever her teammates did a high score and told them to not worry whenever they failed. But by the fifth round, her team was leading the match.
"We should rename our captain," Chan joked after Mirae threw the ball. This time she only pinned nine, since her hand was beginning to hurt. She shook it and sat down, touching carefully each one of her fingers.
Jeongin noticed her actions and he quickly grabbed her hand, "Did you hurt yourself noona?"
"Don't worry," she smiled at him, "I'll be fine."
"Take it easy," he said and went to take his turn. This time he pinned down nine, which made everyone cheer loudly for him, since he was the least experienced in bowling. He shyly covered his mouth and sat back down.
On the next round, when Soobin succeeded at making a perfect strike, she pointed at Mirae while grinning, "I'll beat you up, kid."
Mirae stood up and walked up to her, hearing the other boy's teasing. "I will be expecting that moment, unnie." Then she grabbed a ball and scored a strike. She turned back to Soobin and winked at her as she walked back to her spot, the boys laughing crazily.
"This is going better than I imagined," Jisung said, moving his knee up and down in expectation.
"It's all thanks to Mirae," Minho chuckled. "Otherwise we'd be losing lamely."
"It's not just me. Everyone's doing great," Mirae shook her head lightly, smiling a bit. She <couldn't deny she liked being complimented by her skills.
Chan snorted and pointed at the track while Changbin was throwing the ball. "Did you saw how miserably I failed at the beginning?"
"Yeah, but you also scored a strike," she snapped back with a grin. "We're a good team, oppa. We just have to have a little faith in all of us."
-
In the end, the match finished with a score of 225 to 263, the victory belonging to Minho's team. Mirae laughed as the other four boys on her team jumped around cheering while the other team just stared with the most inexpressive look they could manage. Chan suddenly grabbed her and made her join the little jumping circle.
Once they calmed down, they all decided to take their victory. They argued where they should eat, and agreed on just hamburgers. While the boys recovered their own shoes, Soobin walked up to Mirae with a smile on her lips.
"How did it felt going back to the golden days?"
She giggled and nodded with a bright smile, "Great. I felt really happy."
"How's your hand?" she asked, her smile fading away.
Mirae had fractured her hand years ago when she had accidentally grabbed the bowling ball badly, twisting her index, medium finger and thumb. She had also damaged her hand's ligament, which had resulted on her wearing a cast for three and a half months. The worst part was that it had happened while she was on winter vacation, so she wasn't able to play with the snow that year.
"It hurts a little, but it'll be fine," she said, shaking her hand a little.
"Be careful," Soobin warned her, "I don't want to see you wearing some type of cast."
"Don't worry, unnie, I'm all good," she assured her as she gave the worker behind the counter the ticket, soon after recovering her bag and her shoes. She delivered the bowling shoes and placed hers back on.
She stood and told Soobin she was going to wait outside before heading out. The cold air of the night met her whole body, Mirae involuntarily shivering a little. She stocked her hands inside her pockets and breathed in the cold air, feeling her lungs filling in. She heard some steps behind her and familiar voices and when she turned around she saw some of the boys heading out.
"Mirae," Chan called her. "We're heading to the restaurant. Do you want to come or you're going to wait Soobin?"
She looked at the entrance of the bowling alley and shrugged, smiling at him. "I'll join you. If she's with Woojin oppa, she's probably going to ignore me."
Chan chuckled and she walked next to him and Hyunjin. The latter smiled at her, "Mirae, I never imagined you'd have such amazing skills at bowling." He raised her hand and high-fived her, Mirae chuckling softly.
"I'm not that good, though," she shrugged. "I just have good aim."
"That's exactly what's amazing."
She laughed softly at his words before turning her attention to the street. She admired the amount of lights on the small locals and buildings, the quick but steady pace of people around her and the sound of her shoes as she walked down the street onto the fast-food restaurant. She admired how the boy's jackets moved back because of the wind, finding it somehow pleasant.
They soon arrived to the hamburger's place and went to sit down, joining two tables into one. She sat next to Jeongin and Chan, across Jisung and Changbin. Minho sat next to Chan and next to Changbin was Hyunjin.
"Don't hold back, Mirae," Chan smiled as he handed her the menu. "We're not paying today."
"Hey!" Changbin and Hyunjin protested as Mirae chuckled.
The boys called the waiter and ordered their respective types of burgers and beverages. Mirae ordered a regular burger without onions and a vanilla milkshake. They had previously agreed to let the others order when they arrive since they all were hungry. Once the waiter left with their orders, the boys started talking about the bowling match.
"You know what impressed me the most?" Hyunjin spoke, "Mirae's skills."
The girl gasped and slightly blushed but laughed it off. "I'm not that good."
"Soobin noona said your nickname used to be the 'bowling queen'," Changbin raised his eyebrow, not believing her words. "I'm sure that instantly means you have mad skills at bowling."
"Well, I used to go bowling with my family and some friends every once in a while," she shrugged, "I guess it's in my family's genetics."
"Who would've thought she'd be the complete ace of the whole game?" Jisung chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I should've picked you," Changbin moaned shutting his eyes, making everyone laugh. "I was thinking of it, but Minho hyung chose you first. Ugh!"
"It was my pleasure," Minho grinned and did a mocking bow, to which Changbin just shook his head disappointedly.
"Next time I'm choosing you."
"I want to be in that team!" Jisung yelled out, raising his hand.
"Me too!" the other boys screamed and soon after they all had their hands raised, making Mirae burst in laughter.
"You know," Hyunjin said, leaning closer to the rest, "we should all go bowling again. All of us versus Mirae and see if she can beat us all."
"What?!" she jumped out, widening her eyes as the other boys laughed out. "Are you kidding me?! Actually, I was told to not go bowling again. I can't play against all of you by myself!"
"Why?" Minho asked.
"I broke a ligament here," she put her hand on the table and showed the small bump near left thumb. "And I twisted these three fingers," she said, moving the thumb, index and middle finger.
"How long ago did it happen?" Chan asked, slightly touching the bump. He wiggled his fingers and put his hand away, a small chuckle escaping her throat.
"About a year ago, I think."
"Oh, that was why you had to use that cast," Jisung gasped, nodding to himself. Changbin turned to him looking at him weirdly.
"How do you remember that?"
"We were classmates," he explained. "And there was this project we had to do, but she couldn't write so I had to do it. My hand hurt for like a day after that long ass essay."
Mirae laughed, remembering how he kept complaining about the length of the work. "We had a B because you forgot to put the most important paragraph of the essay."
"That's why you said about each one of them!"
She was about to reply to him, but in that moment the rest of the group arrived. They were eating a cone of ice cream, which outraged the boys on the table.
"Where did you get those hyung?!"
"Why didn't you bought us ice cream?!"
"How dare you, hyung?"
However, the four new arrivals just quietly sat down not giving a care. Mirae laughed out loud at the over reacted 'not-giving-a-damn' face of Felix, almost falling backwards. She screeched and grabbed Chan's and Jeongin's arms to steady herself. Once the other noticed, they all broke in fists of laughter as Mirae recovered her balance. She crossed her arms on the table and hid her face in between them as she laughed at herself, completely embarrassed.
"Are you okay noona?" Jeongin asked in between his giggles, putting a hand on her shoulder. Mirae just raised her thumb up, feeling her face heating up.
"What happened?" Soobin asked once her laughter calmed down.
Mirae sat straight and sighed, fixing her cap, "Nothing. But, hey unnie, why did you eat ice cream without me?"
"You left me behind," Soobin shrugged.
"It's not my fault you're so slow."
Soobin was about to snap back, but the waiter appeared with their servings. Mirae giggled when Soobin gasped outraged at the fact that they had already ordered their food without waiting for them. But, Mirae thought as she received her hamburger and milkshake, they went to eat ice cream without telling. It was what they deserved.
-a/n-
I hope you liked the first chapter! See you on the next update!