𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟 𖥻! seonghwa

( 1 ) the new girl

CHAERIM WALKED ALONGSIDE the boys soccer coach for their first day of practice, heart threatening to leap out of her chest with every step — but knowing how tough she is, she'd never show her fear.

this was a huge step forward for her. chaerim was such a skilled soccer player that she was moved up to the boys team, giving her opportunities to play harder, more competitive games — on girl's team at her school, it seemed no on took the sport as seriously as chaerim, and it was no doubt that chaerim was much more talented than the average player.

"you ready for your first day?" asked coach joon, patting her back as if she was one of the boys already.

she nodded once, "always ready."

they approached the center of the emerald green field, entering a circle of boys in exercise clothes. at the hub of it all was the team captain, park seonghwa, leading stretches.

coach joon told him to pause for an announcement. chaerim had all attention on her, and needless to point out, the guys were trying extra hard to look cool.

"boys," exclaimed coach, "you might be familiar with this little lady here, kim chaerim. she's gonna join our team this year. treat her well and try to keep up with her, okay boys?"

chaerim smirked slightly as her new coach pat her arm tenderly. some of the boys gasped, some even clapped because the pretty soccer star of kq high was now their teammate.

but seonghwa was a lot less fond of her than them, laughing at how stupid it all sounded to him.

seonghwa stepped in front of his coach to make sure he was seen well, "you're kidding, right coach? she's a girl..."

"she is. and i'd say she's more talented than anyone at this school besides you. times are changing! what does gender doesn't matter when it comes to skill?"

seonghwa threw chaerim a judgmental glare, "well, we don't need two strikers. i'm already one!"

"it could be good to have two play at once. besides, she can play any position. anything else, hwa?" it was clear that coach joon was getting tired of this useless argument. chaerim was too, already going and migrating herself with the boys and joining their stretches.

seonghwa just sighed out heavily, "i feel like this isn't a good idea."

"well, i do. maybe if you weren't so focused on being her competition and saw her as an advantage to the team, you'd understand. now get back to work." coach joon said, heading over to the benches to sit.

seonghwa resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and yelled, "okay boys, lunges!"

𖥻

"god, what an ass." muttered chaerim as she grabbed a drink of water. she had managed to meet some acquaintances already: san, yeosang, and wooyoung.

"it is kind of big, isn't it?" san hummed pleasantly, as wooyoung smacked his arm, "idiot."

yeosang shrugged, "he's not usually like this. actually, i'd tell anyone that he's super nice. i don't know what's wrong with him."

"he definitely just feels threatened by how good you are, chaerim. don't worry about him," wooyoung encouraged, and she nodded.

"how long have you been playing soccer, chaerim?" asked san, curious as a cat.

"ever since elementary school! it's always been my passion. i want to play professionally in the future." she said.

yeosang gasped, "wow, same with seonghwa! you two are similar, even if he kinda hates your guts already."

speaking of the devil, seonghwa was coming in hot from 3 o'clock after practicing a few corner kicks.

"you've been on break long enough, chaerim. back on the field!" he demanded from her, stopping a few yards away.

she was a resilient girl, so she wasn't just gonna let seonghwa say whatever he wanted about her even if he was her captain.

chaerim scoffed, crossing her arms, "what about the other guys? just me? way to be a fair captain, park!" her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"don't question me on your first day like you have any ounce of right. it's not like you deserve a spot on this team anyway." seonghwa spat, then turned away, leaving chaerim a grumpy mess.

wooyoung ran over to grab chaerim's arm from running after him and doing something she probably — definitely shouldn't, "hey, easy. just let him finish out his tantrum."

"this is so weird of him," sighed yeosang, "you've really never talked to him before today, chaerim? never fought or anything?"

"no, but i guess we knew of each other. i was the girls soccer captain, so sometimes we'd cross paths. that's it." she explained.

"wow. i'd think you two were lifelong enemies already!" san giggled.

chaerim shrugged, "it looks like we're starting to become that since he wants to be so stubborn. i can see right through him."

"you can?" asked yeowoosan harmoniously.

"mhm," chaerim tilted her head each way, eliciting small, satisfying cracks, "he's insecure about himself, so he's trying to discourage me. he knows my skills, and that's why i'm not scared of him."

"you're so right," wooyoung agreed, having thought similarly earlier. he was friends with seonghwa for a long time, so he was putting the pieces together.

chaerim turned towards the high and mighty captain with squinted eyes, "well, i'll give him something to be scared of."