Passion and Power

Chapter 19

Hanni POV

As Hanni made her way through the crowd she couldn't wait to get her hands on Minji. To hold her, and take in her scent and celebrate. To tell her there was nothing they couldn't do together. At the same time, it occurred to her that she was already going against her promise to Minji that they "lay low" in Busan. Her brain tried to reason with her heart, but she'd expended so much energy in the match, she couldn't fight back against her body's desires. She could see the same resignation in Minji's eyes as she turned to look at her.

As Hanni reached the edge of the crowd she was just feet from Minji. Out of nowhere she caught a glimpse of Yunjin running towards her, right before she tackled Hanni from the side. Hanni found herself in a daze as Yunjin screamed and congratulated her on winning tournament MVP. Yunjin was practically sitting on her chest, and even though Hanni could have lifted her off, she realized Yunjin had just saved her from herself. Saved her the embarrassment of lunging at Minji, right after she had so clearly promised not to do anything like that publicly. So, instead of removing Yunjin, Hanni looked over at Minji, and watched as Haerin took her elbow and began pulling her towards the exit. Hanni looked at Minji and winked, then watched as Minji touched her fingers to her lips and tipped them towards Hanni. Then she turned and took Haerin's arm and they walked off the field.

Hanni was so filled with emotion. Despite her desire to celebrate with Minji, she knew it wasn't the right time, in front of so many cameras and reporters. Instead, she threw herself fully into the team's celebration. She squeezed Yunjin tight and maneuvered to wrestle her off so she could stand up again and get back into the mix.

After much celebrating and media interviews on the field the team made their way to the locker room, where the bubbly was flowing. There was a lot of toasting, drinking, and even singing before they all made it to the showers and into their party clothes. The night had only begun.

***

Minji POV

Once again Minji was relieved, yet disappointed that she didn't get to see Hanni after the game. With her whole body and soul she was waiting to receive Hanni once she made it through the crowd. But as she watched her get playfully tackled and knocked off her course, Minji knew it was for the best, and made her exit with Haerin. She reminded herself that she was a grown woman and could control her body's drives.

Haerin had received a text from Danielle that she was in the locker room, treating a member of the team that had sprained their ankle near the end of the match. Danielle couldn't get away for a while, so both women were ready to get back to their hotel and decompress. They were thrilled but also exhausted from the intensity of the extra-long match. Minji and Haerin took their time getting ready, knowing that it would be quite a while before the team had finished interviews and getting ready for the after party.

Before the trip, Minji had arranged for the team to have an open bar at 'The Hold Up' which was a bar owned by Wonyoung Jang. After their difficult breakup it took a long time but eventually they had become friends again, sometimes even with benefits, depending on their situations. Minji also wanted her money to go to a woman and queer-owned business. Despite her irritation with Wonyoung's behavior towards Hanni during the game, she was excited about the party and about being back in the bar where she'd had many good times. After all she'd done to help the Spirit that year, Minji felt she deserved it. She wondered if Wonyoung might be too disappointed with the game to show her face, and she wouldn't be there. Then again, knowing her ex and how many hot women would be there that night, it seemed very unlikely that Wonyoung wouldn't show, regardless of her team's loss.

When they arrived at the bar, Minji saw Wonyoung already holding court behind the bar. Clearly she had moved on from the loss, or was taking a break from grieving it, unwilling to miss out on what would be a phenomenal party. All Minji wanted to do at that moment was walk straight to Wonyoung and rip her a new one for what she'd done to Hanni during the game. But Minji knew that it would not help her 'lay low' regarding her relationship with Hanni. Instead, she decided to avoid Wonyoung for the time being and get herself calmed down. She noticed Kazuha sitting at a table and waving at her to come join. As she got close she noticed Kazuha was sitting with the team owner, Sakura Miyawaki, a woman Minji had always admired. Minji led Haerin over to the table.