In the whole first week I was back, Ryujin never let me out of her sight, not even once. With the permission from Ji-ah, she stayed over at my apartment every single day. It was nice, it almost felt like we had been living together for years, everyday she was with me, and everyday we'd try something new.
On the first day back, we went out to get some coffee (or tea) at a local cafe. On the second day we tried to make homemade pizza, we both were covered in flour by the time the pizza was done cooking because Ryujin tried to play tricks on me which turned into me pouring the flour over her and her getting me back.
The third day was a bit calmer, we were snuggled up under a blanket watching movies all day, at one point we were joined by the rest of Itzy and we all had fun. But they had to go back to the dorm when it got dark
The forth day was one of my favourite days of that week, because I taught Ryujin how to play football properly, She was a bit clumsy at first and it was the cutest thing I had ever seen in my life. When I laughed at her cute clumsiness she tried to kick the ball at me and chased me, I ran away every time she got near me. She eventually caught me and tackled me to the ground.
"Did you think that was funny?" She said, kinda annoyed
"Yep, you're so cute when you're mad at me."
"Yah, I can never win with you! It's no fair!" Ryujin pouted
"Well it's your fault for being cute all the time."
There was a brief moment of silence and Ryujin got off of me and laid on the grass beside me, looking up at the sky
"(Y/n), can I ask you something?" Ryujin asked
"Sure, you can ask me anything."
"When my mother asked you about us having kids, the answer you gave about our future, did you mean it?" She asked softly
"Of course I meant it Ryujin, because that's how I truly feel. If we do last long enough, I would drop my career in a heartbeat to start a family with you." I said
Ryujin smiled gently
"I remember, when I was little, I'd always wonder if I'd have a family of my own. I always saw it in books or movies, and I fell in love with the idea of starting a family. I imagined what the person I fell in love with was going to look like, and now I don't need to imagine because I know."
She looked into my eyes and then back up at the clouds.
"When I was little, I never really got the idea of love. I didn't care about the couples around me because it's not what I really wanted back then. I thought the only things I needed were my family, football and music, everything else was meaningless to me. But when I saw you for the first time, I guess that all changed. When you asked me out it was probably my favourite moment in my whole life." I said
"You saying Yes was my favourite moment. Meeting you was probably the best thing to ever happen to me."
"I was just about to say the same thing."
"Oh look who it is." We heard someone say
We both sat up to see the rest of Itzy and Twice as well as Joseph, Alice, Ji-ah and Twice's manager walking towards us.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ryujin asked
"We thought about having a picnic, so we decided why not." Jihyo said
"We also decided to come and see what you guys were up to." Momo says
"Oh ok, so are you guys gonna sit down or just keep standing there?" I said
"Jeez give us a chance (Y/n)." Joseph laughed
"Sorry, I heard picnic and it made me hungry."
"Well you're in luck, because there's enough food for everyone." Alice said
The next hour was spent with everyone sitting down and enjoying their food, made by Ji-ah, Alice, and Twice's manager Na Yeon. There were conversations and laughter, I was sitting next to Joseph and decided to start a conversation with him.
"Hey, So you know when I was in Japan?"
"Yeah."
"I took a trip to Osaka."
"Did you go to speak to my parents by any chance?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"They already called me after you left, so what did you talk about anyway, they didn't tell me."
"Well that's actually what I wanted to talk about now. There's something we were talking about which I want to know."
"Sure, What is it?"
"Why do you play football?"
He looks up and puts his hand on his chin, he then looks to me
"Does there have to be a reason?" He asks
"No, I was just wondering, it's just because you play like certain players, it looked like you had a specific reason, that's why I asked."
"I see, I would ask what about you but I'm pretty sure I already know why."
"Oh really? What would that be?"
"Well first off, you want to beat your brother. And I can clearly see you want to inspire others and also win trophies obviously."
"Well, you've basically hit the nail right on the head." I laughed
"Hey! Guys!" I heard Sana call
I looked over and she was standing next to Ryujin and had the football Ryujin and I were playing with in her hands.
"What?" Jihyo asked
"Let's play a game of football to prove who is better, (Y/n) or Joseph." Sana said
Joseph and I looked at each other and we were both thinking the same thing
"But if we play, how is that fair?" Joseph said
"Oh, right."
"What if we manage the teams?" I suggested
"I'm up for that, so who's playing, who's not?" Joseph said
"Well I'm definitely out, too much running." Alice said
"Same here I'm not running around just to tire myself out." Twice's manager, Na Yeon, said
"I won't play so the teams can be even, I can also be the referee." Ji-ah said
"Alright then, team captains are Sana and Ryujin, so how do you wanna go about picking the teams?" Joseph asked
"How about where the one who has first pick, picks one, then the second picks two, then the first pick two until we get to the last person, that way it's fair." I said
"I think that's fair enough, so who's getting first pick?"
"You? My team has kick off."
"Cool, Alright then."
Ryujin and Sana both took off their jackets to reveal their shirts, Ryujin was wearing the Spurs shirt I gave her and Sana was wearing the Atlanta shirt she received from Joseph for her birthday.
Itzy and Twice then lined up in a row while I was standing with Ryujin and Joseph was standing with Sana.
"So what would your ideal team be?" Ryujin whispers
"Tzuyu in goal, Jihyo and Nayeon in defence, Mina, Momo and Yeji in midfield and you up top." I whispered back
"So all you have to do is pick that team then right?"
"Yep, but there's always the possibility Joseph wants the same players."
"Ok I'm picking, my first pick is Tzuyu." Joseph said
Tzuyu walked over to stand next to Sana
"Oh no, what now."
"Well we need a new keeper, I have to choose between the joint second tallest people, Jeongyeon and Yuna." I whispered
"Can we pick Yuna?" Ryujin asks
"Sure."
"Yay!"
"Ok my first pick is Yuna, my second pick is Momo."
Yuna and Momo both walked over and stood next to Ryujin
"It looks like we had the same plan." Joseph smiles
"I seems that way doesn't it." I laughed
"Ok, my second and third picks are Mina and Jihyo."
"Third! You pick me third!?" Jihyo walks over and twists Joseph's ear
"Ow ow ow ow ow." He says
"Ok, my picks next, Yeji and Nayeon please." I said
"Hmm, my second midfield option has been taken, shoot, I'll go with Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung." Joseph says, really focused
'Picking Jeongyeon means he wants her to be a CDM, who can drop back into the defence any time, I need to watch out for her.' I thought
"My last two picks will be, Lia......."
I needed to think, who should my last option be, Chaeryoung or Dahyun. Dahyun has her hand raised up high into the air and was desperate to be picked, I guess that is the type of enthusiasm this team needed.
"......And I'll go with Dahyun too."
"In that case Chaeryoung is on my team."
"Ok we have ten minutes to prepare tactics and then we'll play." I said
"Good luck, you're gonna need it." Joseph says competitively
"Oh, I see, that's how you're gonna play it, you better be ready to lose." I laughed
The teams:
Our team walked into our half of the pitch where we all stood.
"Ok, everyone should sit down, we need you to conserve all your energy." I said
Everyone then sat down in a circle, but I stayed standing.
"Ok everyone, on a scale of 1-10 how much do you want to win this game?" I asked
"10!" All of them said
"Alright then, I'll tell you guys the tactics. First off, Yuna is in goal."
"In goal? So I can pick the ball up right?" Yuna asks
"Only in the box that the goal is in, the big box not the little one. Your job is to make sure that the ball doesn't go into our goal" I explained
"Got it!"
"Next up, in defence are Nayeon and Dahyun, your job is to make sure no one can get to Yuna, you have to protect her."
"Easy!" Nayeon said
"Don't be too sure, you always need to watch out for the other team. Anyway moving on, our midfield will consist of Momo on the left, Lia in the middle and Yeji on the right. You guys are responsible for passing to Ryujin to see if she can score or you can score yourselves depending on the situation."
"Ok!"
"And Ryujin, your job is to score goals, but if you feel there is a better chance of the team scoring if there is someone else on the team near the goal with you, then don't hesitate to pass to them."
"I won't let you down!" Ryujin cheered enthusiastically
"You couldn't let me down of you tried, now everyone I want you guys to warm up, run one lap around our half of the pitch and then come back for stretches."
Meanwhile
On the sidelines Alice had a video camera in her hands, Na Yeon looked over at her confused
"What are you doing?" She asked
"I'm gonna film this, it's Joseph's first managerial role, so if he wins then we can watch it and be happy about him doing a good job, and if Joseph loses, then I have this so he don't forget."
"You're evil." Na Yeon laughs
"They're really going all out for this huh?" Alice said
"Yeah, look at them, both teams are even discussing tactics." Na Yeon said
"It's almost like a JYP Football Championship."
"Wait, That gives me an idea."
Na Yeon then goes to leave
"Where are you going?" Alice asks
"I'm going to get something, I'll be back soon!"
With Team (Y/n)
Yeji was currently watching something on her phone just before the match was going to start.
"Hey Yuna, What's Yeji doing?" I asked
"I don't know, Probably fangirling over some basketball player that she likes." Yuna replied
"A basketball player?" I ask
"Yeah, I don't know anything else so don't ask me, anyway the match is about to start right? We should get ready."
"Yep, let's do it!"
A/n: Another day, another chapter done! This is to everyone when I say please stay safe, wash your hands and take care of others!
On a more positive note, @QucHa5 has just started a story of their own, go check it out! And don't forget to read One Last Chance... Take It! by Aky0nBLAP and The Game by kpoper_writer17
Also this is very important, stream Sweet Night by V! And check out MCND please, they are a very underrated rookie group!
Thanks for reading!