Chapter 1

The sound of the referee's whistle echoed inside the university's auditorium as he runs towards the player wearing jersey number 23.

Yiyeon sighs, "Jeno has been committing violations a lot lately." Shrugging, she continues to watch a member of the opposing team shoot from the free-throw line.

She doesn't remember when it started, or when everything went wrong. One day, she woke up, and he was gone.

If only she could turn back time.

If someone would describe who Jeno is to Yiyeon—he's spring, he's the stars in the evening, he's the scent of the grass during mornings, he's ever so loving.

Yiyeon to Jeno? Probably nothing.

Nothing at all.

"You're zoning out again," Yiyeon looked beside her, only to see Yangyang eating his second bag of potato chips today. "You want some?" She shakes her head.

"You look so stressed, and I'm not used to it. Even Yejin told me earlier that you became quiet. So go ahead, spill everything we need to know," he nudges.

"Why in the world are you here, shouldn't you be in there, playing as well?" She asked.

Yangyang shrugged, "Well my violin instructor called me earlier, and we had a meeting. That's why I was pulled out of basketball training." He said.

Yiyeon sighed, "I'm moving on peacefully, don't mind me." She said and continued drawing.

Yangyang hummed, "Ah, so it's a Jeno thing?" He asked. "Do you want to talk about it, or do you want me to stay away from your sight?"

Yiyeon sighed and looked at Jeno, who was wearing his red jersey. He was dribbling the ball, and then he passed it to Mark. "Just get lost and don't mind me, I'm waiting for Hyunjin."

"Okay. Want me to take a picture of Jeno? You can stare at it all night long. It won't disappear. Oh right, you're moving on," Yangyang stood up and ran away from Yiyeon before she could throw a crumpled piece of paper at him.

Yiyeon continued sketching on her sketch pad until she saw a pair of basketball shoes in front of her. "Done playing already?"

The boy smiled and sat beside her. Yiyeon handed him a bottle of water. "I saw Yangyang running away from you earlier. Is everything alright?"

"The typical Liu Yangyang being Liu Yangyang," she sighed and continued sketching.

Hyunjin peeped on what she was doing and smiled, "What's that?"

"A rough sketch for the illustration that is needed by the newspaper team," Yiyeon said and continued drawing.

Hyungjin nods, "Since when did a portrait of Jeno become an illustration for the newspaper team?" He said and rubbed his chin.

Yiyeon slaps his shoulder, "Idiot, it's for their sports department. Jaemin told me to do so because apparently, Jeno is the face of the basketball team."

"Then what about this face?" Hyunjin posed in front of his cousin which made her grimace. "Yah! Could you at least show some support?! You're doing such a horrible job for a cousin."

"Since when did being your cousin become my job?!" Yiyeon raised a brow and packed her things.

Hyunjin scoffed, "All you see is Jeno," he said which made Yiyeon throw a piece of her eraser at him. "Aish! Get lost!"

She went to the library to sketch to Jaemin, who was also the newspaper team's head.

"Well, that was quick," Jaemin chuckled the moment she saw the sketch Yiyeon gave him. "You do know that our doors are open all year round, right? You can join us anytime."

Yiyeon shook her head, "Maybe not now. I want to focus on my studies."

"Too bad, then," Jaemin sighed. "I guess we won't be able to find someone as creative as you."

She chuckled, "You guys can call me when you need help anytime if you want." She said, which made Jaemin smile. "It's the least I could offer. I'm truly sorry, Jaemin."

"Really?! That's good then!" Jaemin smiled and placed her work inside the folder that was on the table. "You can go to Jeno now. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

Yiyeon was taken aback, "I think you get it all wrong..." she said and pressed her lips into a thin line.

The brown-haired boy raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"We... Jeno and I... aren't dating—not anymore," she said and looked down.

Jaemin's eyes widened and bowed repeatedly, "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" He said. "I-I thought... you guys..."

Yiyeon just nodded and sighed, "I thought so, too. Everything happened quickly." She said and picked her things up. "I'll get going now, Jaemin-ah."

"Yiyeon-noona?" The girl looked back only to see Chenle, one of Jeno and Yangyang's teammates-slash-best friend, looking at her confusedly. "Why are you still here?"

She smiled, "I just gave something to Jaemin, that's why." She said which made Chenle nod. "Have you seen my cousin?" She asked.

The boy nodded, "He was packing his things earlier. He'd probably be on his way to where your car is parked right now." He said and smiled. "I'll get going, noona! I still need to go and get my Statistics handout."

"Take care, Lele!"

She can't help but think about everything that happened while walking.

How she met Jeno, how she fell in love with him, and how they fell apart.

"Yiyeon-ah, why do you always frown?" Jeno raised a brow. "You're not like the girls who want to date me. I mean, they always try to make themselves presentable for me to notice them but you, my girlfriend, are really different."

Yiyeon snorted, "If you want them then go and date them instead," she said and stood up.

She was about to go somewhere else but Jeno stopped her from doing so. "Where do you think you're going?!" He asked, wide-eyed.

"I don't know. It seems like the person I'm with likes someone else's company," she rolled her eyes.

"There you go again," Jeno pulled his hair out of frustration. He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, "I just said those because I want to see you smile more often. In our 7 months of dating, I think I only saw you smile once."

Yiyeon took a deep breath, "Because smiling is somehow associated with happiness."

"And what is happiness supposed to do with this?" he raised a brow.

"I'm scared to be happy," Yiyeon said, looking at him in the eyes. "Because every happiness is associated with sadness, and every time I become happy, it gets taken away after..."

"Why do you think of that?" Jeno asked worriedly. "You do know that I'm always with you, right? So don't worry, okay? Just focus on now and let's be happy. You and I. Together."

Yiyeon didn't notice that she was already at the parking lot. Hyunjin wasn't there yet. Maybe their coach talked to him for a while.

She heard footsteps approaching her.

"Hyunjin-ah, what took you so long?"

She can't wait to tell him the news that she'll be helping the newspaper team even if she wasn't an official member.

"Hyunjin?"

She looked around and saw someone else.

Things be damned, it was Jeno.

And he was with someone else.

Too much for being happy this day.

- tbc.