The Way It Is

forty

I'm sorry to keep you waiting.

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Chapter 40

Yiyeon stood in front of the volleyball court's entrance. They could hear noises inside, which means the warm-ups probably started already.

"Sorry I took so long!" Renjun said, panting. "I had to make sure that our classroom was cleaned. It sucks being today's class representative," he sighed, but then he noticed Yiyeon's silence. "Everything alright?"

She nodded, "It feels nostalgic," Yiyeon smiled as she held onto the doorknob. "Let's go."

She pushed the doors opened and saw that both the girls' and the boys' teams were already doing drills. Some were stretching, while some were busy organizing the scoreboard.

Yiyeon looked around and wondered when was the last time she came to this place.

"Yiyeon?" The mentioned girl looked in the direction where she heard the voice. There, she saw her former teammates. "Yiyeon-unnie!" They yelled in glee as Yiyeon ran towards them. On the other hand, Renjun went to the boys' side to talk to his acquaintances.

Their setter, which is now the team captain, Seo Jihye, was the first one to greet Yiyeon with a hug. "I never thought I'd see you again inside the court," she smiled.

Yiyeon shook her head while laughing as she showed her press ID. "I'm here with Renjun to cover your match," she said. "But if you need another hand, I'd be happy to help." She smiled.

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Jihye chuckled. "Come with me, and I'll introduce you to some new members."

Yiyeon swung her arm around Jihye's shoulder as they ran towards where the others were.

"Attention," Jihye said as she blew her whistle. "Here with me is a former team player, Hwang Yiyeon." She smiled.

Yiyeon bowed as she introduced herself, "Hello! I'm Hwang Yiyeon, a second year! I used to play as one of the middle blockers in middle school."

Greetings of "hi's" and "hello's" were exchanged as the new players were introduced to her. 

"It's nice to meet you, Yiyeon-sunbae!" One of the members smiled as she extended her hand.

Yiyeon rolled her eyes, "Cut the crap, Kaori!" She said as she engulfed her former teammate in a hug. "It's been a while. How are you doing, Kao-chan?"

Himekawa Kaori is a Japanese-Korean regular player who plays the same position as Yiyeon. 

"I've been doing good," she smiled. "Now, the vice-captain, because I idolize you."