Bestfriend | Ran Takahashi

I Miss Her

Ran's POV...

Practice ended early that day, so I had time to go to the village and freshen up before heading to Aya's match. I honestly can't wait to see her play. I know she'll do well and help the team win.

As I was heading to the bus, I heard someone call my name. I turned around and saw a girl waving at me. Eh? She walked up to me and said in perfect Japanese, "You don't remember me?"

"Sorry, but I don't"

"Park Ae-Ri, you used to live next door to me before moving to Kyoto"

I tried to remember. I honestly don't remember much back then, but I do remember living next door to a Korean family with a daughter.

"You're... pigtail girl" I said, remembering this little girl with pigtails that followed me everywhere back then. She grew up nice. Not going to lie, she is pretty.

"Yes! You remembered"

"Small world, what are you here for?" I asked.

"Archery," she replied.

"That's great"

"We should catch up, aren't you the rising star of the Team Japan volleyball?" she said, hooking her arm on my arm as she started walking, taking me with her.

"I don't think so? I just play my best"

"No such thing, everyone's like talking about you"

"Never thought I'd see you here" I told her.

"I knew I'd see you here, I saw the VNL and I knew you'd be here, it was just the matter of finding you"

"Why did you want to find me?"

"I know it's going to sound stupid..." she started.. at this point we were at the Olympic logo.

"But I have a crush on you, ever since we were little" she confessed.

Wait, what? That was a long time ago and it's not like we saw each other everyday. This is the first time I'm seeing her after a decade.. and more.

"I know, I know... as stupid as it sounds, but when I saw you on the VNL competition, my heart just pounded hard in my chest.." she tried explaining.

I was about to say that I already have a girlfriend, but she keeps cutting me off.

"Give me a chance, let's spend today getting to know each other. You don't seem like you're busy" she said.

We talked about a lot of things, like why and when she moved to Korea (apparently they were in Japan for her dad's job and had to move back after it was done, she was 10 when they moved back), what made her want to do archery etc. She's interesting. Very outgoing and very straightforward. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. We both went to the dining hall, I waited for her to get her food. She was trying to fix her hair and missed a few strands. I instinctively tucked it behind her ear. She smiled and thanked me. I also decided to just get my food then.

While we were eating, I felt my phone vibrate. I checked and saw a message from Aya. Shit. I completely forgot about her match. Fuck. She asked if I was busy. I debated whether to tell her that I'm with some girl from my childhood who happens to be an Olympian for S.Korea... well.. I mean, would she believe that though? If I was her, I wouldn't. So, going against my instinct and lack of better judgment, I told her I was having dinner with Ishikawa-san.

After dinner, I decided to drop her off at her building, I'm done dealing with her for the day and I needed to talk to Aya. While we were walking, Ae-Ri tripped on something and grabbed my hand.