She

Chapter 5

On the glossy hardwood floor, Yeji felt like a completely different person. 

Unlike Yeji's somewhat awkward and rather reserved persona in her daily life, she was poles apart on the court.

Her presence was incredible, a charismatic aura radiated from wherever she set her foot on. 

Not to mention the intimidation factor that came from her sharp feline eyes that felt like it could cut through steel. 

The way she carried herself as captain could easily convince anyone why she was fit to lead her team. 

Her words were spoken in an authoritative tone while still carrying a great deal of respect to whoever she was talking to, as she guided her team through their practice, not leaving any of her teammates behind, giving advice to those who asked for it. 

Yeji was doing much of the work for her coach, who was extremely pleased with what she saw from the athlete she had appointed as captain.

With Yeji leading the way, practice went by without a hitch. 

They were able to get important drills to practice the fundamentals while also establish a few basic play patterns before ending the practice with a quick 5 on 5 followed by a group huddle to discuss further what they could improve on. 

The coach gave a few words of advice while praising everyone for a solid first practice, both pleased and surprised at how well the team was coming together with Yeji's help. 

Before the huddle was broken, Yeji had something she wanted to share with the team, and although everyone was exhausted from practice, they were all ears knowing full well that whatever came from Yeji's mouth had to be important.

"I did some research for our upcoming game next week Thursday," Yeji calmly spoke as Yuna turned to look at her girlfriend Ryujin, a surprised and impressed look on her face while Ryujin responded with a proud smile. 

This was the first time Yuna had ever seen Yeji's basketball persona. 

The year Yuna entered high school was also the year Yeji had left, and while Yuna had heard a lot regarding Yeji as captain, she was still incredibly amazed at how capable Yeji was showing herself to be and how different her character was off the court.

"They're incredibly tall, averaging about Yuna's height, and if my research is correct, they were ranked in the top 10 last year," Yeji continued while the expression of her fellow teammates grew from exhaustion and into anxiousness.

"They don't have one player that stands out from the rest and they're all fundamentally solid, if anything they remind me of a well-oiled car. No obvious flaws and smooth executions, able to get the job done."

The others began to wonder where Yeji was leading with this, because it felt like the team was slowly being discouraged by their leader.

"Which gets me to my next point. This is only a suggestion and would of course require the coach's approval, but I recommend we prepare a small-ball line up against them."

The coach perked her eyebrows at the sudden suggestion made by her team captain as the other players, including Yuna and Ryujin, gave a questioning look, not 100% convinced that making a such a big change with only one week before their game.

Yeji, noticing the doubt from others, gave a light smile in an attempt to ease the anxiousness in the air.

"It's not as drastic as it sounds. I understand the time constraints, which is why I'm only suggesting the starting 5 to learn this and as the year progresses, we'll slowly incorporate everyone else as well," Yeji explained, hoping the team would be open to her thoughts.