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Chapter 42

The minute the 3 had entered, all eyes and attention turned towards them, like bugs attracted to light, and while thousands upon thousands among the crowd gazed with much awe and admiration, the same couldn't be said for the players on the court.

Instead, they were met with glares that could kill, like they were prey being put in a field full of predators, each of them with the intent to hunt, for every player and coach knew that they were the team to beat.

It was just as the coach had said. 

Everyone was gunning after them.

But that didn't intimidate Yeji, Ryujin or Yuna. Not even one bit.

Going into this, they knew they had huge targets on their backs, but instead of being unnerved by it, the three oddly relished in it, their competitiveness almost savouring the way other players glared at them as they headed to the remaining open spot left, where they lined up in 2 lines behind the pole which had their university name written on it, much like the other teams were doing.

And as soon as the participants were finally all settled down, the tournament host came up onto the stage that had been prepared to for the opening ceremony.

"Welcome everyone ... to the 17th annual Winter C.U.P tournament!" the host announced loudly into his mic, as the crowd cheered and roared in response, everyone excited and almost impatient to witness what spectacles were in store for them this year.

"Did you spot her?" Ryujin muttered as she stood behind Yeji.

"...Yeah," Yeji reluctantly answered. 

"... You're okay, right?" the blonde haired girl replied, sensing that there was a bit of disturbance within the silver haired girl's voice.

"I'll be okay. Thank you, Ryujin," Yeji responded with the calmest tone she had, hoping it would be enough to ease the younger girl.

"We from the College Basketball Committee would like to sincerely thank each and everyone of you for coming and waiting patiently. We'll start the first 4 games of today shortly, which will be followed by tomorrow's set of 4 games to conclude the first round of the tournament," the host continued. "But before that, I would like each team captain to step forward to lead everyone in the Athlete's Oath."

And with that, 16 team captains stepped forward, including the likes of Yeji, Karina, Rose, HaSeul, and Hyojung, and many others, which also included the girl who Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Jisu were wary of.

As soon as Yeji took a step forward, looking to her left, 3 spaces down, was the girl who was once their high school captain before Yeji took over the position, staring right back at Yeji with eyes that did not lose in terms of the fire within them.

And while Yeji certainly looked unhappy to see her once more, the other girl did not seem to share the same disdain. Instead, there was a grin that accompanied the girl's fierce eyes, as if to say she had been waiting for this day to see Yeji once more.

But the silver haired girl did her best to not let it get to her, instead returning her focus onto the black leather booklet that a staff had just handed to her, before the 16 team captains simultaneously lifted their right hand upwards in a 90-degree angle as they began to read aloud the Athlete's Oath.

However, with each word that came from the Oath, Ryujin couldn't help but grit her teeth in annoyance, much to the notice of her girlfriend who stood beside her, and after the reading was completed, Yuna leaned over, hoping to figure out why her unnies seemed to be so on edge ever since they had walked into the court.

"Babe ... is everything okay?"

"... Everything's okay, Yuna-ya," Ryujin answered. "It's just ... there's someone me and Yeji know ... and we're not very happy about it," the shorter girl continued as she glared in the direction of where the girl stood, smugly holding onto the leather booklet that had the Oath written inside of it, as if it meant a lot to her when Ryujin knew all too well that the girl embodied none of the sportsmanship characters the it represented.