Second Overtime | JENSOO & CHAELISA

Chapter XXXIV

Jisoo had spent the last forty minutes standing in the hallway outside the gym, trying to decide whether she was brave enough to apologize.

It was ridiculous, honestly. She had faced championship games, hostile crowds, physical therapy that made her want to bite through a towel, and Coach Minzy in one of her deeply terrifying silent moods. She had survived Irene's disappointment, which, in Jisoo's opinion, should have counted as an extreme sport. She had even apologized to Kai earlier that day without spontaneously combusting, though the whole thing had been stiff and awkward and deeply unpleasant.

But somehow, waiting for Lisa felt worse.

The gym doors were closed, but they didn't hide the sound of practice. Sneakers squeaked against hardwood. A whistle blew. Someone shouted for a pass. Seulgi's voice rose above everyone else's, loud and dramatic, followed by Jeongyeon yelling something back that made half the team laugh. 

Jisoo leaned against the opposite wall, arms folded, one foot tucked carefully behind the other so she wouldn't put too much weight on her knee. The trainer had wrapped it again before she left school. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, which was apparently supposed to make her feel lucky.

Mostly, it made her feel stupid.

Coach Minzy had been clear. No practice. No going to the gym. No sneaking in shots after everyone left. No anything until her knee calmed down and her doctor gave an actual opinion. So here she was, outside, waiting like a criminal, hoping for a pardon.

She looked down at her shoes and let out a breath.

The worst part was that she knew Lisa was still mad. Not the funny kind of mad where Lisa rolled her eyes, called her dramatic, then stole fries off her plate five minutes later. This was different. This was their first real fight, the kind that left bruises no one could see. 

Jisoo still remembered Lisa's face in the gym, the way her voice had cracked when she'd said Jisoo was destroying herself, the way she'd walked away after Jisoo told her no one asked her to care.

Even thinking about it made Jisoo want to crawl out of her own skin.

She'd said plenty of stupid things in her life. Half of them were probably to Irene. A good portion were to Jin. Some were to Coach Minzy, though she'd learned to regret those quickly. But saying that to Lisa, that was different. Because Lisa cared too much. That was the whole problem. Lisa had always cared too much, cared loudly and annoyingly and stubbornly, with her whole body thrown into it like she was trying to win a fight against the universe on Jisoo's behalf. And Jisoo had punished her for it.

She pressed the heel of her hand against her eye for one second, then dropped it. "No crying in hallways," she muttered to herself. "That's pathetic."

A passing freshman glanced at her. Jisoo stared back. The freshman immediately looked away and sped up.

"Great," Jisoo whispered. "Now I'm scaring children."

The gym doors swung open, and the noise spilled into the hallway all at once, sneakers, laughter, the clatter of equipment being packed away. The bench players came out first, flushed and sweaty, bags slung over their shoulders. A few of the rookies slowed when they spotted Jisoo leaning against the wall.

"Captain!" one of them said, brightening. "You're here."

Jisoo straightened, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Yeah."

"Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"No." She pulled a face. "Coach says if I breathe too close to a basketball, she'll bench me for life."