Love, Betray & Crash (Jeonghan)

𝔸𝕔𝕥 𝕆𝕟𝕖: 𝕊𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕖 𝟚

When Emily reached her room and opened the door, Minseo was already sitting inside on her desk and when she opened the door wider, she saw Yejune lying down on her bed. 

When Yejune saw Emily she immediately got up into a sitting position, ready to get up from her bed. 

"It's okay," Emily said, "You can sit there."

Yejune gives her an awkward smile and the room elopes into a stiff silence. It was very clear that whatever the two had been talking about before Emily came in has been abruptly interrupted in. 

"You're back," Minseo said with a small smile and Emily just give her a small nod. After removing her shoes in the entryway, she walked over to her desk and put down her bag on top. Opening it, she dumps today's running leggings and shirt in her laundry basket and empties out everything unnecessary while re-packing it for tomorrow. 

Minseo and Yejune have started to talk again but Emily has shut them out and is not really paying attention to their conversation. She is too busy preparing for bed and preparing for tomorrow's training. 

Unzipping her jacket, she shrugs it off and just leaves it hanging on the chair of her desk. What's the point in bothering to hang it up in her wardrobe when she is going to use it again tomorrow morning. 

Emily likes Minseo, even though they are most certainly friends. Swimming teams normally don't have captains, but if they were to ever have one, Minseo will easily be the captain.The elder woman has always been kind and sweet, helping out when Emily requires it or making sure everyone on the team is being safe and healthy. She likes that Minseo knows to mind her business but yet creates enough small talk not to overwhelm the other person. Minseo is that one person that everyone likes regardless of their age, gender or occupation because of how calm and collected they are. In many ways Minseo reminded Emily of Jia, perhaps just a bit more mature. Out of everyone on the team, Minseo is really the only one who doesn't treat Emily like an outsider, since everyone else still views her as an American. 

However Emily is also smart enough to know that Minseo keeps her at a safe length. Compared to how friendly she is with the rest of the team, Minseo engages with Emily at a minimum and in a way only when she has to or when she needs to. And the reason is as clear as day. 

It is undeniable, although no one says it, that Minseo has peaked in her career or has went past her peak, whereas Emily has yet to reach her peak. Minseo still fishes out excellent timings and records but there are not improving at the rate Emily is. 

Minseo used to be more friendly with Emily but after Emily beat her twice at an international competition, proceeding on also creating a national record, Minseo began to slowly keep her distance. Though Emily can't help but feel a bit angry at that. Yejune has a better performance record than Emily, has beaten Minseo more and yet she treats Yejune like a sibling. She finds that unfair. 

Emily has no doubt Minseo views her more as a threat than a friend.

"Emily?" 

"Hmm?" Emily broke away from her thoughts and turned around in a daze. 

"I've been calling you for a while," Minseo states, looking over her shoulder at her. 

"o...oh," Emily mutters, "Sorry. I didn't realize."

"Clearly," Yejune says quietly. 

"What were you saying?" Emily asks. 

"I was saying, aren't you also going back next week?" Minseo asks. 

"Next week?"

"Yeah. To university. Your new academic year is also starting, isn't it?" Minseo asked.