Sinful Passion

nineteen

The familiar feeling of a basketball in Chaeyoung's hands; she didn't even have to look to know it would bounce back into her waiting grasp.  Every time it left her, she only looked forward to the next time she could hold it again. She loved running with the basketball, feeling its weight against her fingertips as she dribbled it across the court.  She felt unstoppable. The deafening cheers filling the arena always became more muffled whenever Chaeyoung became absorbed in her games. It was just her and basketball.

But Chaeyoung knew she was never alone.  She had her members with her. And she trusted them very much.  From Momo, her all-rounded center player, to Tzuyu, her incredibly tall shooting guard, to her two other first-year players, Chaeyoung believed in her team a hundred percent.  And they believed in their captain too. Chaeyoung's job was to lead them both off and on court, to assist them in making vital shots and hopefully winning all their games. And that they did.  To Chaeyoung's utter excitement and joy, everything was going according to plan. They'd beaten Hana Academy and Sehwa Girls' High School in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, and were advancing to the finals.  Of course Dahyun had to be advancing too. Just great. But Chaeyoung wasn't going to let that affect her. Not now. Not when the championship cup was just within reach. She could win this for her school, for her friends, for Mina.  She had to. And she couldn't let her complicated past with Dahyun get in the way. All her training, her after-school practices, her exhausting gym sessions, her hours worth of analysing basketball games on video tape, were going to boil down to this one match against Seoul Science High School.  Chaeyoung couldn't afford to lose now.

Just as Coach Kim advised Chaeyoung and her members, they weren't supposed to mind the university talent scouts that were standing by the sidelines, watching them with eagle eyes as they played their matches, grading their every move.  They sure stood out in their fancy suits, but Chaeyoung also knew better than to focus on them. Focus on winning the games instead. And if she played well, she'd be rewarded with scholarship offers in time to come.

Chaeyoung was immensely grateful for how things had gone so far.  She was nervous during the quarter-finals, but things got better. It was the knowledge that Mina was watching her in the crowd that gave her strength.  Chaeyoung didn't have the chance to look over to the audience much, and even when she did, she couldn't find Mina. But still, knowing that Mina was there seemed to rid her of all her fatigue, give her an extra push, and fill her with an insatiable desire for victory.  Chaeyoung made a mental note to thank Mina later.

As Chaeyoung and her teammates were in the athletes' holding area, preparing for their match against Dahyun's school, Tzuyu began telling Chaeyoung about something interesting that had happened yesterday.

"Chaeyoung unnie," Tzuyu tapped the captain on her shoulder.  Chaeyoung looked up. Her whole team was either stretching or getting changed, and the room smelled like pain-relief patches.

"Yeah?"

"Remember yesterday?  You told me to meet your mom's friend, Sana-ssi, outside because- um, because she wanted to meet me...?"

Chaeyoung blinked.  She completely forgot about that strange incident with all the tournament stuff going on.  "Oh, I remember. What happened between you and Sana unnie?"

"I actually don't know... She asked me for my number.  I freaked out so I gave it to her. She's kind of straightforward, don't you think?  I don't know what she wants from me... She's not a bad person, right?" Tzuyu asked, slightly paranoid.

Chaeyoung immediately stopped massaging her sore leg.  She wanted to laugh but she held it in. She was starting to sense what was going on, but she needed more information.