Game Changer | Petalz 🌸🍃

Chapter XXV

It hurts; Sakura doesn't want to admit it, but it does.

And it's not just a momentary sting of disappointment. It's far worse than that. It's as though a piece of her spirit has been carved out of her chest, leaving this gaping hole that now throbs with dull pain.

It reminds her of how she felt when she stayed at the hospital after her injury. An emptiness that, against all logic, seems to possess a tangible quality to it. Weight that slowly crushes her from the inside. Even her steps, as they walk towards the train station, are more sluggish than usual.

They, of course, didn't go to the pub to celebrate, as both Yunjin and Kazuha felt conflicted about the news. Yunjin hasn't decided which team to join, and she told Coach she would tell him tomorrow.

Sakura supposes she'll want to talk it through with Chaewon. She doesn't understand her hesitation, though. You go with the better team, obviously; what's there to think about?

But what irks her even more is the fact that Kazuha also told Coach she would give him her answer tomorrow. She doesn't seem to be happy at all with her achievement, which makes it even harder for Sakura to be happy for her as well.

"I can reject it, right?" Kazuha says, breaking the suffocating silence that has lasted between them since Coach's announcement.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sakura mutters into her scarf. The frigid December wind prickles her cheeks, threatening the arrival of snow. "Why would you do that?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because I want to do it together with you."

Sakura scoffs, the sound muffled by her scarf.

It doesn't matter what any of them want. It doesn't even seem to matter how well they play together. And now she's just left feeling stupid for thinking that this time it would work and for believing all the promises they made. In the end, they amounted to nothing.

She's stuck in the same place as she was before. Despite all her best efforts, somehow she's still unable to achieve the one thing she wants the most, and she's slowly growing tired of the constant failures.

She sighs, words escaping her lips in puffs of smoky, white clouds. "You know we won't play together forever, right?"

Soon Kazuha will get an offer from a better team, some prestigious club from overseas. With her talent, and now also with the international attention on her, it's just a natural course of events.

"Don't say that," Kazuha protests as her steps come to a sudden halt.

With another drawn-out sigh, Sakura stops and turns around to face her. She's met with a look as though she has just uttered the most offensive statement imaginable. Kazuha's eyebrows furrow, her lips purse, and she drops her gaze to the ground.

"Zuha, look at me," Sakura says, but Kazuha only clenches her fists. It's like disobeying Sakura's words costs her every ounce of her willpower. "Haachan, please?" Sakura takes her hands into her own, surprised to find them warm despite the frigid weather.

Kazuha lifts her eyes, her scowl appearing as intimidating as that of a puppy's. All it does is just make Sakura smile.

"You're gonna go there, and you'll win that match, okay?" she tells her in a tone that's gentle yet, at the same time, leaves no space for arguments.

Snow begins to fall from the sky, and Kazuha's face softens to a sad pout. "Will you come and cheer for me?" she asks, running her thumbs along Sakura's cold knuckles.

"Of course I will." Sakura brushes snowflakes from Kazuha's hair before reaching for the hood of her jacket to pull it over her head.

"Promise?" Kazuha asks, lifting her pinky.