The Way It Is

one

Chapter 1

The sound of the referee's whistle echoed inside the university's auditorium as he runs towards the player wearing jersey number 23.

Yiyeon sighs, "Jeno has been committing violations a lot lately." Shrugging, she continues to watch a member of the opposing team shoot from the free-throw line.

She doesn't remember when it started, or when everything went wrong. One day, she woke up, and he was gone.

If only she could turn back time.

If someone would describe who Jeno is to Yiyeon—he's spring, he's the stars in the evening, he's the scent of the grass during mornings, he's ever so loving.

Yiyeon to Jeno? Probably nothing.

Nothing at all.

"You're zoning out again," Yiyeon looked beside her, only to see Yangyang eating his second bag of potato chips today. "You want some?" She shakes her head.

"You look so stressed, and I'm not used to it. Even Yejin told me earlier that you became quiet. So go ahead, spill everything we need to know," he nudges.

"Why in the world are you here, shouldn't you be in there, playing as well?" She asked.

Yangyang shrugged, "Well my violin instructor called me earlier, and we had a meeting. That's why I was pulled out of basketball training." He said.

Yiyeon sighed, "I'm moving on peacefully, don't mind me." She said and continued drawing.

Yangyang hummed, "Ah, so it's a Jeno thing?" He asked. "Do you want to talk about it, or do you want me to stay away from your sight?"

Yiyeon sighed and looked at Jeno, who was wearing his red jersey. He was dribbling the ball, and then he passed it to Mark. "Just get lost and don't mind me, I'm waiting for Hyunjin."

"Okay. Want me to take a picture of Jeno? You can stare at it all night long. It won't disappear. Oh right, you're moving on," Yangyang stood up and ran away from Yiyeon before she could throw a crumpled piece of paper at him.

Yiyeon continued sketching on her sketch pad until she saw a pair of basketball shoes in front of her. "Done playing already?"

The boy smiled and sat beside her. Yiyeon handed him a bottle of water. "I saw Yangyang running away from you earlier. Is everything alright?"

"The typical Liu Yangyang being Liu Yangyang," she sighed and continued sketching.

Hyunjin peeped on what she was doing and smiled, "What's that?"

"A rough sketch for the illustration that is needed by the newspaper team," Yiyeon said and continued drawing.

Hyungjin nods, "Since when did a portrait of Jeno become an illustration for the newspaper team?" He said and rubbed his chin.

Yiyeon slaps his shoulder, "Idiot, it's for their sports department. Jaemin told me to do so because apparently, Jeno is the face of the basketball team."

"Then what about this face?" Hyunjin posed in front of his cousin which made her grimace. "Yah! Could you at least show some support?! You're doing such a horrible job for a cousin."