Passion and Power

Chapter 37

The week following their date and night together, Hanni threw herself into training and spending time with her team. She loved getting to know the women who usually played for other teams, learning their strengths and weaknesses so that they could be stronger together. Wonyoung seemed to have moved on, clearly having lost the battle to give Hanni a hard time about Minji. Or so it seemed.

On Thursday her coach asked her to stay after practice. Hanni felt nervous, having no idea what it could be about. She wondered if her coach had caught a glimpse of the marks Minji had left on her back. When she'd begged Minji to mark her, she hadn't thought through how exposed she sometimes became in the heat of playing, when she was at an all out run down the field, or working for the ball in a tight spot with bodies slamming and jerseys getting pulled, intentionally or not.

She also had to avoid changing in the locker room and showering with the team, but she really didn't care. She loved being able to squeeze her shoulder and feel the slight sting of Minji's mark, or stopping as she got out of the shower to glance in the mirror at the reminder of their night together. The marks were slowly fading and she figured it would only be another week or so and she wouldn't need to worry about the team seeing them. And who cared anyway? Sure, they might tease her, but they'd have no way to know who had done it. All these thoughts flashed through her mind as she slowly made her way to the office.

"Have a seat, Hanni." Coach Nakamura said as she entered. Hanni could see a smirk.

"Coach, listen, I can explain..." Hanni started in.

"Hanni, relax. I'm not calling you on the carpet. Though I do wonder what you're ready to explain now that you said that..."

Hanni slammed her mouth closed and waited, determined not to get herself in trouble now that she realized she wasn't already.

"I just wanted to tell you, you're doing a fantastic job out there. You got off to a rocky start by being late on day 1, but now that we're near the end of week 2 I can tell you're working your butt off - clearly putting your heart into it. And not only your playing, but you're really helping to unite the team, bringing players from the different teams together. You're showing real leadership."

"Wow, thanks Coach!"

"But...I've noticed some tension between you and Jang." Hanni got quiet and looked at her feet.

"I thought so." Her coach eyed her closely. "Is this because of that cheap move she made on you during the final match?"

"Not really. Yeah, there's been some tension. But it's nothing I can't handle."

"Then I don't suppose this is related to her past relationship with a certain sponsor of ours?"

Hanni flashed on the image of Kazuha discovering her on her knees before Minji in the crew cabin. She decided to stay quiet.

"Listen, Hanni. I don't need to know what's going on between you and Minji. It's none of my business. What is my business is if two of my top players have beef."

"There's no beef, Coach! I promise, it's not a problem."

"Good. Because the reason I've called you in here is that I'm considering making you our team captain. But, you'd have to be captain for everyone. Not just the ones who've never fucked your girlfriend."

"Kazuha!" Hanni exclaimed, shocked at her candor.

"Well? You're not denying it."

"Coach, I promise. I can be captain for all." Hanni said, taking a deep breath and pulling herself together.

"I hope so. Captain or not, you have to be able to work with everyone out there. You can't let any past drama put you off your game."

"Absolutely not." Hanni said. "I want to give our team the best possible chance of winning. Captain or not, I'm going to do everything in my power to win."