Passion and Power

Chapter 45

Hanni jolted at the sound of her coach's voice, pulling her hand out of her bikini bottoms and scrambling to her feet.

"Hi Coach!" She said, wrapping her towel around her and trying to sound nonchalant. "I was just, um..."

"Please don't finish that sentence." Kazuha broke in. Out of the corner of her eye Hanni noticed Ava moving on down the beach away from them.

"Was that Ava?" She asked, hoping to change the subject.

Now it seemed to be Kazuha's turn to feel awkward.

"Yeah, um...we were talking about strategies for tomorrow's game."

Hanni couldn't help but beam, knowing Ava had a crush on their coach and how happy she would be to have a chance to walk with her on the beach. Of course, Hanni had interrupted that as well. At least it seemed to be deflecting some of the heat off of her indiscretion.

"That's great! Ava is really nice. And she's amazing on the field and also...very smart..." Hanni realized she was rambling. "Oh, also very beauti..."

"Hanni! Enough." Kazuha interrupted. "Stop trying to change the subject."

"Sorry, Coach." She got quiet and waited for Kazuha's tirade of anger.

"What you did today, Hanni, coming out at the presser...that was really...brave. Unfortunately it's only going to increase the interest and media pressure on you. You have got to be very careful when you're out in public. It's a miracle you don't have paparazzi following you now."

"Oh, they did follow me from the hotel. But, I ditched them." Hanni grinned, remembering her maneuvers to get away from the cameras.

"Maybe so, but you have to be more careful. Are we clear?"

"Of course! No problem, Coach."

"You're team captain, star player, and just come out as queer! The stakes are high, Hanni. Not just for your sponsorship opportunities, but for the team's. And not to put too fine a point on it, since you've just come out publicly, you are also representing our community."

"Got it! Promise, I'll be more careful. I just...it's hard being away from Minji, I just..."

"I don't want details, Hanni. Talk to your sister or Yunjin if you need to. I'm having enough trouble with the latest mental image burned on my brain."

"Maybe you should catch up with Ava. That could take your mind off things." Hanni smirked.

"Hanni, listen. Yes, we were walking together on the beach. But we were talking about game strategies. There's nothing going on there. As her coach, nothing can go on there."

"You mean, not during the tournament. But after, who's to say..."

"Hanni! Move on."

"10-4, Coach!"

Hanni decided it was a good time for a jog on the beach and took off.

***

Minji sat at the head of KCorp's very long conference table, taking a moment to look each of the Board members in the eye. She took a deep breath before launching into her presentation, carefully demonstrating each damning piece of evidence on the development of what would potentially be the most deadly biological weapon yet seen by the world. She showed the research on how deadly the created virus could be. While she avoided looking at her brother and mother directly, she could feel them seething as she spoke. Just as she'd hoped, they clearly hadn't seen this coming.

Outwardly Minji remained calm, though her pulse was racing. She was trying to push Taehyung into revealing his hand without directly accusing him, but she would do that if necessary.