Her Captain, The Gamemaster

Twice Is Coincidence

I push the famous duo out of my head as I hear footsteps coming back into the gym. I look up to see Soo-ah with the new team. 'Li-ah, the fuck you doing in here?'

I blinked and stood up, walking to her.

'Sorry for bothering you,' I mumbled and bowed to the team we would be versing.

'No problem, you weren't a bother. We just weren't ready to reveal our tricks yet,' the girl with the captain patch laughed.

Me and Soo-ah walk out and I continue my thinking.

I could see myself playing with Jiyeon. Her body levels were ace material and her foot composition looked flexible enough to hit a over toss from the back row.

My thinking was cut off when Soo-ah cleared her throat. 'Where were you? We were looking for you,'

I was sleepy.

She scoffed lightly and dragged me to the buffet table where she stuffed a random snack into my mouth.

Milk bread.

I munch on the loaf without holding it with my hands and Soo-ah looked disgusted. 'There were offers for you on the mainland and back in Guangzhou. Also many in the entertainment industry in Korea as well as sports scholarships in America,'

I nod and waited for the answer to the question I've been pondering.

And China?

She nodded. 'Yeah,' she sent telepathically.

We walk around a bit in silence and we spot our frantic coach waving us over with the rest of the team. We heard over there and we see a bunch of familiar logos on their clothing. I spot the colours of the Polish flag and several name tags with famous names on it.

'The stars of tonight have arrived!' said an man with a thick European accent.

The two of us bow and begin to introduce ourselves.

'Jung Soo-ah, vice captain of Takeshima volleyball team, class 3-7. Nice to meet you,'

There were several mutters of approval and then they turn to me.

'Tang Liling, captain,' I state, not meeting anyone's eyes and then there was a silence and Soo-ah nudged me.

Then there was a voice.

'Well, I suppose I should've know that you would be different,'

I look up, letting my eyes reach their full length and looked at the person who spoke. After all, few people could stand my full gaze.

For a small girl, I had really big, dark black eyes. And when they went to full size, it can be quite shocking.

(anyone who says anything negative abt their eyes will have to endure my love)

However, the owner of the voice didn't even flinch and I immediately recognize her.

My large eyes, widen. (went from 。to O real quick)

'Lang Ping,' I breathed out, almost silently.

The said woman grinned. 'The one and only,' she said in Chinese.

I then bowed again, re-introducing myself in Chinese. 'Tang Liling, captain of Takeshima volleyball team, class 3-7. An honour to meet you,'

My coach rolled her eyes at me, letting a smile onto her face. 'Seems like our captain already decided on the best offer,'

'I'll assume that the young miss is taken but if you ever decide to change teams, you know who to call,' the European man handed me a business card and several others did the same, handing me several envelopes of offers and business cards.

I had no more space in my arms as they were filled up with envelopes and business cards so I took off my white and gold sandals and used my right foot to unzip the bag, not dropping a single one on my way. I then dropped them all inside my sports bag, cramming them in.

They smiled at me and the famous coach motioned for me to follow her, which I do in anticipation, pausing the song playing in my ear, 'Way Back Home,' by SHAUN.

'I've been wanting to meet you for a while,' she began as we stepped outside into the empty corridor which I was thankful for.

I remain silent, half in shock, half in wanting to hear what she wanted to say.

'The best players always have this strange aura around them. Have you noticed?' she asked.

'A scent,' I reply.

'Precisely. You are, without a single doubt, a fierce player yourself,'

I hum in agreement. I thought me being good was obvious?

'I overheard rumors about a volleyball genius about 4 years ago. A really strong libero in XinShan's capital. But when I went there to find the said libero, they had already graduated,'

We walk down the corridor, sitting on a bench outside the fifth gym.

'Then two years later, I heard about that libero again. The rumor held no connection to the previous one. The precious one was unnamed and mysterious. The second one, however, spoke about a gamemaster. Someone who controlled the flow of the game. An all-rounder with dark eyes that knew her opponents better than themselves. Like an open book,'

'I never heard of such rumors,'

'They call you many names; the Captain, the Libero Ace, the Gamemaster. So I searched up the name of the girl featured in the magazine and I watched your national wins. I then understood why they call you that. Your infulence as a libero controls everything,'

I shrug.

'I've had an eye on you for about a year. Few people make it through the trials and even fewer people get scouted. But you're different,'

'Really?' 

At this point, I almost wanted to laugh.

'You have no scent. Yet you radiate an unforgettable aura. I don't know where it comes from but many things are clear,'

'Such as?'

My tone is light but heavy.

'You've practiced hard as a kid so you don't have anything you can't do as a teenager,'

I think back to the days I practiced for hours and hours, bruising and scratching myself as I dived continuously. Even back then, I was silent and foreboding.

'You've also never played to your full potential,'

Maybe because everyone is so bad, I don't need to.

'You think before you act 24/7 to the point that it's become second-nature to you,'

People who act before they think are dumb...

'Your game instincts have meshed with your amazing hearing skills, your ridiculous observance of people and your perfect memory,'

Everyone knows it's better to be better.

'And you're an outcast from the world,'

Maybe...

'You're no prodigy, Ms Tang...,'

At this, I almost wanted to cry and laugh.

'I know,'

I bowed my head.

'But you may be something even better,'

Author's Note:

idk what to say but here is an early update 😍😍😍

also 100 reads? 🤯🤯🤯

thxx.