Rival vs. Romance

Bump, Set, Kiss?

"Let's go, Soyoung!" Hoseok yelled, clapping his hands together as the volleyball team got into position after the cheer. "That's my girl!"

Soyoung didn't look back, but I knew she was smiling as she bent her knees, lowering herself into playing stance.

The audience today was louder than on most game days- there was a certain anticipation and aggressiveness to the cheering coming from the stands. I didn't expect anything less, though, because today, Daegu High faced off with Geomho River Secondary School, who was only our worst enemy.

I knew Soyoung hated them more than anyone else- especially the captain of GRSS's volleyball team, Song Jiwon, who was clad in a deep blue jersey sporting the letters GRSS, and the number 3 on the back. Her look was complete with black shorts and knee pads, wavy black hair pulled up in a high ponytail, and a focused glaze coating her dark irises.

"Service!" The referee called from her perch, motioning over the net with her hand.

I watched as one of Soyoung's teammates thew the ball up, launched herself off the ground, and smacked the ball downwards with a satisfying thump, later followed by a bump from the away court.

"Setter!" A shrill voice shouted, as the ball was soundlessly set up once again.

"MINE!" Jiwon called out, running as fast as she could in her black sneakers to get the ball, then, with all the strength in her body, pushing herself off the ground and spiking it just over the net by a few inches.

One girl on Soyoung's team ran up to dig up the ball, but it hit the net. That was when Soyoung came charging up to save the ball, diving onto the floor, arms outstretched in a second attempt to dig up the ball, and thankfully, succeeding, as the girl behind Soyoung sent the ball flying over the net once again.

"Yeah, Soyoung!" I cheered, pumping my fist into the air. "Come on!"

The rival teams rallied for a bit, the gym turning into a blur of dark blue and bright red. Red and blue figures dived and jumped, left and right, the footsteps and the sound of palms against the ball mixing in with the conflicting cheers- all I could hear anymore was my own voice chanting "Daegu High!" against "G! R! S! S!".

"They've gotten better," Namjoon noted, motioning towards the blue figures, who feinted a block, then spiked the ball over. "Especially number 3."

"They used to be worse at working as a team," I added, eyebrows furrowing. "What did she do, take them to a retreat?"

Namjoon snickered.

"Soyoung must be pretty mad," He said, as Soyoung's face contorted. It was beginning to become tough for both teams to even score a point. Their skill level was practically the same. I knew Soyoung had picked up on it, and she definitely didn't look happy. One thing she hated more than losing was a tie, and at this point in the game, a tie was more than likely.

"Obviously," I said, clapping my hands as Soyoung scored a point. "The points are tied."

I noticed how Soyoung and Jiwon were glaring at each other as they moved into positions where they had to be face to face. 

"Damn," Namjoon whistled. "Is it just me, or is Number 3 kinda hot?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I said. "She's from GRSS."

"Good thing, too," He told me, shaking his head. "Otherwise everyone would be all over her."

I squinted, trying to figure out what Namjoon had seen in her small, pale face besides anger that could possibly attract him, but I couldn't find anything. Maybe I'd just gotten so used to Soyoung's hatred towards her, that I'd ceased to notice anything good about her.