KimKim's Kids

XVI. Realisation

The sky was bright but a little too bright for a Monday morning. Yujin groaned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She had lost track of time practicing last night and the lack of sleep was really kicking her butt now. She bounced her basketball against the pavement as she walked up the hill to school. She had a big game coming up and just couldn't stop training. After school, the only time she wouldn't be on the court was when she had the study sessions with Wonyoung. 

She smiled. Just the thought of the freshman made her feel warm. They had been hanging out a lot those past few months using the excuse of studying but they would often take a detour to wherever else they felt like going. They had gotten quite close in that time. 

Once, they went ice skating and it was Yujin's first time. She may have perfect coordination on a basketball court but definitely not on the ice rink. That day, Wonyoung held Yujin's hand for the first time so that she wouldn't fall. 

Later when Yujin did try to skate on her own and failed miserably, Wonyoung laughed every time she fell. As much as Yujin was annoyed by the fact that she was utterly terrible at ice skating, listening Wonyoung be that happy made it all feel worth it. She wouldn't admit it but that day, Yujin purposely fell a few extra times, in very comedic ways too. All just to hear that breathtaking laugh.

Wonyoung was already a very precious person to Yujin.

As if she summoned her, Yujin noticed Wonyoung's familiar back walking into the school with the other girls. She jogged up to them and threw her arm around Wonyoung's shoulders, "Hi guys,".

The group had gotten used to having Yujin around. Though their lunch schedules didn't always match with the upperclassmen, they would often find themselves hanging out for a bit before or after school. 

The older girls went off to get started on their mountain load of work. Yujin would usually walk with the freshmen since they all had classes in the same building but that particular day, Nako and Hitomi said they had something else to take care of so that left Yujin and Wonyoung by themselves. It was odd, Nako and Hitomi had a teasing smirk on their faces. 

"Shall we?" Yujin offered her arm for Wonyoung take but the girl just giggled and shook her head before lacing their fingers together instead.

The hand holding again. It had become a thing ever since the ice rink. There was no reason for them to still do it but neither minded. They liked it actually. They felt warm and comfortable around each other. And as usual, the short walk to Wonyoung's class was filled with chatter.

A few heads turned to look at them, some in admiration at their friendship while others with jealousy written all over their faces.

"Are they holding hands? Why would Yujin be around a freshman like her?" one girl whispered to her friend.

"I heard she's Yujin's tutor. Also, she's Sakura's sister so maybe Yujin just wants to get close to a senior," a boy said.

"Yujin will ditch her soon for prettier girls. She has so many people to choose from. There's no way she'll settle for that," another girl said, spitting the last word out with disgust.

Of course, neither Yujin or Wonyoung heard any of the comments. They were too busy in their own little bubble full of inside jokes and teasing. They liked their bubble more than the real world.

///~///

Ryujin and Chaeryeong had just gotten out of class and met up with Sakura and Chaeyeon in the hallway. They were on their way to the sports hall to meet up with the freshmen and Yujin before going to a bowling alley. But just then, Nako and Hitomi came running towards them.