Sinful Passion

seventeen

By the time Mina woke up the next morning, Chaeyoung had already left the house for the inter-high.  Mina was disappointed, to say the least. She wouldn't get to see Chaeyoung for hours, and she didn't get to wish her luck in person before the younger left.

Mina checked her phone, and there was a message from Chaeyoung.

[Chaeng, 06:17] Good morning Minari ^_^ I left already to go meet Coach and my members... I'll see you later!  I love you

Mina smiled.  She quickly typed up a reply.

[Mina, 08:31] Sorry I couldn't talk to you :( please be safe!  Yes, I'll see you later with Sana unnie too. I love you and good luck!!

Mina quickly got ready for the eventful day ahead.  The plan was to pick Sana up from her place, and go to the Jamsil Sports Complex where the games were going to be held.  Including Chaeyoung's school, a total of eight teams had qualified for this Seoul prefectural (high school girls' division).  The games would span over two days. The winning teams of the quarter-finals would progress to the semi-finals, and then those of the semi-finals to the finals.  The finals were going to be held on the second day. Mina really hoped Chaeyoung's team would win. It meant a lot to her.

As expected, Changmin said he wasn't available to make it to the competition.  He didn't even bother telling Chaeyoung himself; he made Mina do it. By this point, Chaeyoung wasn't even surprised or angry anymore.  She was used to the disappointment of not having her dad around for anything important. It made Mina absolutely heartbroken, especially since she knew Chaeyoung had been living like this for the longest time.  But the difference now, was that Chaeyoung had Mina. And Sana made time to come too, which definitely helped.

Mina drove to Sana's house and picked her up, before they began making their way over to the sports complex.

Sana glanced to her side and noticed that Mina was quieter and paler than usual.  She was also gripping her steering wheel with more force than was necessary. Sana suppressed a laugh.

"I bet you're more nervous than Chaeyoung," she teased Mina.

"Shut up," Mina retorted weakly, too anxious to banter with Sana like she normally did.

Sana decided to lay off Mina for once.  "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure Chaeyoung will be fine.  I have a good feeling about today, especially since you're going to be there to support her.  I'm sure she'll get lots of strength from you."

Mina nodded, thankful for Sana's kind words.  Sana proceeded to tell Mina that she actually took two days off work instead of just one, because she assumed that Chaeyoung's team was going to win all their matches and advance to the finals with no problem.  So Sana wanted to make sure she was free for the second day of the tournament. Mina started getting jittery again, but she appreciated Sana's faith and support in Chaeyoung.

They arrived at the sports complex.  Finding parking was a nightmare for Mina, since the coaches, teachers, parents, and schoolmates from the different schools were all crowding up the parking lots.  Not to mention, there were lots of buses which had been used to transport the competitors themselves. But Mina eventually found a lot, and entered the large stadium with Sana.

The audience stands were slowly starting to fill up as people streamed in through the front doors.  The seats were separated into sections, each one housing supporters of different schools. Mina spotted the one for Chaeyoung's school, Hanlim Multi Art School, and started walking over there to find hers and Sana's seats.  The courts were huge and shiny, reflecting the overhead lights. Some workers were busy running around them, waxing the floors to perfection and getting them ready for the first game. There were some students in basketball jerseys scattered around randomly, stretching and doing warmup drills.  They were dressed in two opposing uniforms, probably the first two teams to play against each other. But it wasn't Chaeyoung's uniform. Mina looked away.