Serendipity (Ryeji)

Game Night

Soon after Yiren returned with Aisha, the whistle blew, and Yeji simply observed as Chaeryeong yelled their friend's name and Ryujin's reaction to her cheer. That was before Ryujin's eyes fixated on Yeji, though. The eye contact caused the smile to fade just as quickly as it had appeared, and Yeji didn't know how to react to that. She can't figure out what she did so wrong or why Ryujin refuses to discuss it, but it really hurts to be on the receiving end. It's absolutely frustrating.

This is Yeji's first time watching Ryujin play outside of practice in an official game. From the very beginning, she focused only on her, which wasn't that hard considering Ryujin had all of her attention anyway. Her cat eyes trace Ryujin's every move, and Yeji's positive she doesn't have to be an expert to declare the pink-haired girl is playing well. She's seen many practice games while waiting after school for the latter, but there's a difference in the intensity of this match compared to the others. She's even more impressed by her skills this time around. So much that she couldn't resist cheering along.

This caught an unsuspecting Lia by surprise. "Since when are you into sports?"

"Ryujin's playing. Of course I'm going to cheer."

Lia looks like she's thinking of something, yet she never responds. She merely shrugs, resumes talking to their friend, too busy scolding Yuna about her grades and demanding she fixes them or else. From what Yeji could hear, Yuna had a 'C' in one of her classes. Everyone in their little group knew that Lia played mom and accepted nothing lower than a 'B,' a rule that excluded no one.

This particular instance was funny for Yeji, though. Yuna would often disrupt Lia to ignore her by yelling, "Let's go Shin sister!"

The youngest's words prompt Yeji to shout along. Yiren, who had switched spots with Lia so that way Lia could talk to Yuna without disrupting the others, leans closer to Yeji and whispers to where only she could hear over the surrounding noise. "You didn't cheer like that for Yeonjun."

"Yiren, stop flirting," Aisha slapped her arm, quite displeased with Yiren's actions.

"Think about it." She nudges the brunette before backing away, didn't want Aisha to whack her again. Still, the raised brows and smug look are something Yeji wishes she hadn't seen. It was just like that night at Yeonjun's basketball game a while back, but what Yiren is insinuating is something the young Hwang hasn't reached a verdict on.

During one of the timeouts the opposing team called, Yeonjun taps her shoulder. He's been trying to get her attention this entire time, except Yeji's been so focused on the game that it felt nearly impossible. "Don't shout too loud. You might lose your voice."

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"A little." He laughs, but it's a front he's put up to mask his nervousness. He recalls what someone told him, and he doesn't like that he's witnessing the signs firsthand. "It's cute how you support your friends, though."

"I guess." She didn't know how else to respond to that, so she only nods her head and keeps staring at the field.

"Do you want to hang out after this?" His eyes search hers with hope, but she already knows the answer to his question.

Regardless, whether she had plans or not, Yeji didn't feel up to hanging out with anyone after this, even if he was decent company sometimes. She remembers telling herself beforehand that spending time with Yeonjun might be a good thing. It didn't take long to realize how wrong that was because, throughout the day, she knew this wasn't the case. While with Yeonjun, Yeji couldn't forget about Ryujin no matter how hard she tried. "Sorry, but I think I'll go straight home after this."