Ariana
The sound of sighs, shouts and sneakers screeching through the open court echoes through the grounds like a heartbeat.
Fast. Sharp. Alive.
The basketball practice match is already halfway through when Anna and I take our seats in the gallery. Below us, bodies move in controlled chaos. The air smells like sweat and varnished wood.
And at the center of it all—
Song Kye Yon.
He doesn't need to shout to command the court. A glance, a hand signal, a slight shift in stance— and his team adjusts around him like gravity exists only for him. The captain for a reason!
And there the girls crowd the court. All shouting and jumping to cheer the boys or… you can say to get the attention of the boys. I spot Tiara, Sumi and others of our class too. A very frequent scene to witness.
"KYE YON!"
"Captain, look here!"
"Aww you play so good!"
I cringe a little and take a glance at Anna. She doesn't even blink. This girl!
She's seated beside me, legs crossed, a thick computer science book open on her lap. Completely detached from the noise, from the cheers, from him. Her fingers turn each page calmly, like she's in a library and not in the middle of chaos.
I don't know how she does that.
Then I see Nathan. It takes me a second to recognize him. Different jersey, unfamiliar formation, but once I do, I can't look away. He moves with a kind of quiet calculation. Not flashy like Kye Yon.
It's his first match here. And he's holding his ground tight. A clean pass. A sudden pivot. A perfect shot. The net swishes. The crowd reacts a beat late and then cheers erupt, louder than before.
I glance sideways at Anna again. Still reading!
On the court, Kye Yon raises a hand, signaling a brief pause. Nathan nods to the other players. And when his eyes meet with the captain's? Both of them silently acknowledge each other. It's like some memories are unfolding in their minds.
When the match finally ends, the ground buzzes in the aftermath. Players disperse. The crowd thins. But when Kye Yon turns away, the girls erupt again. Bolder this time. Someone throws a compliment at Kye Yon, someone even at Nathan. Someone else blows a kiss at both of them!
Nathan, still standing there, looks almost amused.
"Nathan is also getting quite famous among the girls," I murmur without realizing I've spoken.
Anna hums absentmindedly. "Hmm." She still hasn't looked up.
***
A few minutes later, Nathan climbs the gallery steps two at a time and drops down beside us like he was never the celebrity a minute ago! Before either of us can react, he grabs Anna's water bottle, twists the cap open, and drinks like he's been stranded in a desert.
"Hey—" Anna starts. But too late. The bottle is empty now.
"Rude," she says flatly.
Nathan wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "I just played my first match." He pants a little. "You were emotionally unsupportive and that's rude."
"I was studying," she scoffs. "Which you interrupted."
He grins. "Worth it." And then throws the bottle at Sam's head who was standing just down the gallery. He looks up and squints at us.
I laugh despite myself.
Nathan leans back, resting his elbows on the step behind us. "So, that girl Diana. She's from a top government family you say?"
Anna shuts her book with a decisive thud. "Yes. Kim Dae Su's daughter. They've personally invited dad too. But I'm not going."
"Hey, you should go! I heard the Imperial family of Japan is also coming!" I said.
Nathan groans. "Seriously?" Then knocks Anna on the forehead. "Then you're definitely coming!"
"And why would I hear you?" Anna punches on his forearm.
"By the way," Suddenly he grins, "Kye Yon is a good player. Don't you think that Anna?"
She glares at him. "I didn't see him play."
"Oh then you should! And even our birthday girl, Diana, she blew me a kiss." He tries to laugh but stops himself.
"Yeah, very emotionally supportive of her."
I burst out laughing at Anna's reply. Nathan leans back more and stares at me.
"You look good while laughing."
My laughter stills. My heartbeat softens just the way Nathan's eyes soften when I look at him. And despite myself, I notice that change in his eyes. And when my attention falls onto Anna I find her looking at him, amused and then she grins after turning her face to me and throws me a I-knew-it look. I roll my eyes.
###
Anna
I excused myself from the court gallery and came to the library instead. It would be weird to say, but I do love the smell of the old woods and papers of this place.
The soft click of my sneakers echoes upon the floor as I walk through the corridors.
It's been a few days since I've started to notice the slight changes in both Nathan and Ari's behavior. They're both being more emotionally clumsy each day passing by. And I find it amusing to watch! Yesterday I told mum about it and she was so thrilled, it took me a full ten minutes to make her believe it didn't need any celebration to do!
Mum says she wants to see Nathan dating someone. And so do I. But that guy is like a nutshell! I even imagined him wearing monk clothes someday; until he started to soften toward Ari. I believe it's a sign of progress.
"Heard you topped the test again, amore."
A deep voice cuts through my senses. I don't even need to look to know who it is.
"That's been happening since we were kids." I reply nonchalantly while searching for a book on the shelves.
He chuckles, "You must be worried for my mental health. Repeatedly losing can cause some trauma, you know."
"Oh please, amore. I guess you are the one worried about me. That's why you keep standing in second place. After me."
He doesn't say anything for a minute and a minute is so long for him to fire back another sarcastic remark at me that I actually start to worry. And when I look at my side and up on his face, I find a smirk playing on his lips.
"What?.... Oh." I bite the inside of my cheeks. Embarrassed at what I just called him. Amore— that's something he's been calling me since he knew I hated it. I've never heard my name coming out of his mouth after he started calling me that, after a fight in our elementary school.
In other circumstances, this nickname might appear as an endearing lover's call. But for our case? It's like venom rolling out of the tongue.
"Yeah, 'Oh'."
I ignore his dry remark and try to get the book stuffed in the upper row of shelves.
Gosh this is too high.
I tip-toe over to get it. Still too high. And this man is silently watching me struggling with the height difference instead of helping!
A devil as always.
"Uh.. a bit more.. yeah!.... Huh?"
As soon as the book was caught in my hands, the ground beneath me seemed like it was slipping away. Is it some kind of physics law? Why am I floating?
No. I'm falling.
Shit
I accept the natural law and let my body fall as it was doing without panicking or uselessly grabbing anything for support. But—
"…You might not be wrong," Kye Yon's breathing ghosts over my face. "I might be worried about you. Amore."
My body stiffens. Did he just save me from falling down? I stare at his face which is inches away from mine. Then I sense that I'm actually held by him. His hands are gripping my waist.
"You jerk!" And I stand straight without wasting a single microsecond. "It's your fault I was about to fall down! You could've given me the book instead!"
"I could've." His lips curve upward. "But I was waiting for you to fall actually. Then decided, that'd be something very rude to do with my enemy. So saved ya." He shrugs like it's nothing.
I grit my teeth. "My mood always gets ruined when I see your face," Then turn around and walk toward the exit. "Work on that!"
I hear his laughter from behind before I dash downstairs.