Rival vs. Romance

Transfer

Min Soyoung, a cheater.

I simply scoffed at the thought. I was beginning to warm up to Song Jiwon, but this was ridiculous. How could I believe that?  It was such a poorly structured lie, I was beginning to question it.

"Think what you want, Min Yoongi." Song Jiwon sighed, running a single hand through her hair. "At least Kang Jisu plays fair."

Her soft admittance of defeat hit me like a harsh gust of wind, nearly blowing me over, onto the ground. Her naturally upturned lips drooped ever-so-slightly, shocking me into realizing she was telling the truth.

Min Soyoung was a cheater.

I watched as she set down the burger, leaving it without a couple bites, then folded her hands in her lap expectantly. 

"You can't expect me to believe that," I said softly, after a minute of silence. 

"I don't," She replied, staring out the window to avoid eye contact. Unusual. If she wanted me to believe her, she should've been staring me down until I realized she was right. That was what Song Jiwon would do. So why wasn't she?

She sniffed, ever so slightly. I wouldn't have caught it if I wasn't listening, but I'd heard enough.

She wasn't lying.

"What did she do?" 

--- 

The walk home was a quiet one, with the snow falling softly on the concrete. Song Jiwon offered to drive me, but I declined. She looked tired after her game, and I didn't want Soyoung to see her. 

Soyoung came skipping through the door, merely minutes after I'd entered. "Hey, Yoongs!" She bubbled. I held in a scoff, but forced my hand to wave to her, and my lips to smile. 

"Where'd you go?" I asked. 

"Out with Jiwoo," She said, shedding her coat and hanging it up. I tried to resist the urge to laugh. Jiwoo was at home, face plastered in a face mask. No way in hell she'd be out with Soyoung. And Soyoung looked too dolled-up to be out with her friends. Really, it was almost insulting how dumb she thought I was.

"What'd you guys do?" I asked, as she took off her shoes. Soyoung grinned, and I noticed the shade of her cheeks. A rosy pink.

"Volleyball stuff." She answered, walking towards the staircase. "I'm going upstairs. Don't bother me." 

I didn't have the guts to say anything, though my blood was boiling. A few days ago, I'd comforted my crying sister, and listened to her go on and on about how Song Jiwon had almost ruined her. 

When I stepped back from it, I felt uneasy. 

"She's a cheater," Song Jiwon had said. And I was sure my sister was more than that, now. A liar, at that, too.

Min Soyoung.

What the hell are you up to?

---

"Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi!" Hoseok shouted, flapping his arms around on the other side of the school's hallway. "MIN YOONGI!" I winced at the screeching, but turned to him anyways.

"Jeez," I sighed to myself. "Who needs an alarm clock when you've got Jung Hoseok?"

"You're not going to believe this!" He said, jumping from foot to foot. His dark eyes were wide with pure excitement, his fingers jittery. Hoseok, being the hyper kid he was, couldn't help it. "The transferring event thingy is soon!"

My brow knit of its own volition. Hoseok was talking about the transfer event all the schools in Daegu had every year- where select students from partnered schools would transfer to the other school. When the idea was first introduced to the district, the superintendent said that it was to build a 'healthy relationship' between the schools. I had been the one to snort, and cover it up with a prompt cough during the assembly.

"I know that," I reminded Hoseok. "The transfers come on the same day every year. It's common knowledge."

"Yeah, yeah, I know!" He said, making frantic gestures with his hands. "I know that too!"

"And?" I pressed, starting to get frantic myself. "And what? Get to the point!"

"And?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, and? Oh! Right. And! And I heard from one of Soyoung's friend's other friend-"

"Hurry up," I nagged him, getting impatient. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a grinning Soyoung sneaking up behind Hoseok, and as I was about to say something, she pressed a finger to her lips. I bit back whatever I was about to say about her, and instead, gave Hoseok a urgent look.

"Okay, okay. It's about our partnered school. We're paired with-" Just as he was about to finally tell me, Soyoung decided to pop out from behind him, covering his eyes with her hands. Or, at least, she aimed to reach his eyes. Her hands were instead, over his mouth. I always knew that the short genes ran in our family, but right now, it felt like a slap in the head from whatever being was controlling the universe.

I had to say, though I cared a lot about my sister, I had the sudden urge to throw her from the referee's post in volleyball. 

"Hoseok!" She said from behind him, grinning. She lowered her hands so they were resting over his shoulders instead, but that didn't mean Hoseok would turn back to me and finish those last few syllables. "Let's go to that cafe later today."

Hoseok grinned, placing his hands over her wrists softly. "I'll pick you up from class," He said, cheekily. Soyoung laughed lightly, and I resisted the urge to cough. 

"We have the same class," She reminded him, tilting her head to the side slightly. 

"Just being a gentleman," He said, patting her head. She broke out into a grin.

"Chivalry is dead," I said, covering it up quickly with a obnoxious cough, before either one of them could say anything. Soyoung made a face at me.

"Hm?" Hoseok glanced at me.

"Nothing."

"Sure." Soyoung piped up. "I'm going to steal Hoseok, Yoongi."

"Already did," I muttered, but said: "Go ahead," over top.

So I watched them skip away like they were in a fairytale, and sighed.

"Great," I sighed. My hands sweat at my sides, and I wipe them off on my pants. "Just great."

---
a/n: finishing these drafts ayyyY
-ri