13
𝙧𝙤𝙝 𝙝𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙖

"you smell really nice."

"yOu smEll rEaLly nICe."

"YOU SMELL REALLY NICE—"

"HYEONA WATCH OUT!!!!" someone suddenly screamed.

i suddenly felt something hit my head. like, REALLY FUCKING HARD. i stumbled around a little bit, finally coming back to my senses. "agh...OW!"

"hyeona, what the hell are you doing??" coach kim, aka our chiller coach asked. "why are you so out of it today???"

i shook my head and slapped my cheek. "thanks. wait—i mean, sorry. fuck." i slapped myself again.

"hyeona!!" yuhwa whined. "you made us lose a point. what are you dreaming about this time??"

"nothing!! i'm not dreaming!!" i lied. "gosh, i'm fine."

"you just took one of hwanhee's spikes to the head. are you sure you're fine??"

"agh. thank god it was her and not yuhwa—"

"yah! my spikes are cool too!" hwanhee yelled from the other court.

"exactly. they're even cooler than yuhwa's because my head didn't get knocked off." i said.

"LISTEN HERE GIRLS." coach han yelled and clapped twice to get our attentions. "OUR MATCH IS IN TWO DAYS. YOU ALL HAVE TO FILL IN THE HOLES AND PERFECT YOURSELVES. ALSO, THIS IS SECOND TO DETERMINING IF WE'LL GO TO NATIONALS OR NOT."

then, coach kim, cleared her throat and continued calmly, "in addition, you all have to be in perfect condition before it. don't eat too much or too less, and save your energy and ice your arms and legs. please get some sleep too." she looked at me and coughed loudly, "hYeOnA."

"i would if i could!" i said back.

"SURE, AND YOU CAN EASILY. STOP WORKING FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS!" coach han commanded.

"but—"

"NO BUTS!" literally everyone, in the gym, yelled at me. i glared at them all but there was too many.

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"so you have a match in the next two days?" joohyuk asked me, when we were on our way to the store.

i yawned and nodded. "everyone's telling me to sleep, sleEp, sLeEp—"

"well there's a reason." he said.

"i don't need sleep. sleep is for the weak." i said.

"you could've just told me to take the shift over!"

"how could i do that to you?" i cooed, but then cleared my throat. "you'd probably end up burning down the store my accident, so no thanks."

"come onnnn hyeona."

"noooooo joohyuk." i mocked. "come on, let's walk faster. i feel like seeing granny earlier today."

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𝙣𝙖𝙢 𝙟𝙤𝙤𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙠

i smiled, seeing her happily skip into the store like a little child.

"granny yang—" she suddenly stopped in the middle of the door, making me crash into that little body of hers.

"why'd you stop—"

hyeona bolted forwards, getting on her knees and shaking the body laying on the ground. "j-j-joohyuk call 911!" she yelled.

i fumbled around for my cell phone in my pocket and hurriedly typed the number. "someone's d-dying!!!" i yelled in the phone, my brain blanking out due to me panicking.

"what's the address?"

i quickly told the dispatcher the address and told them about granny yang's condition. i had no clue what happened, but it must've been something dangerous.

i knelt down, shocked to see granny yang in such a weak state. she wasn't even moving, but her chest was rising and dropping—very lightly.

"hang in there." hyeona prayed, grabbing her hands. i didn't even need to look at her to know she was crying. i didn't even want to. i'd break my heart too much to see her crying.

"h-hyeona, are you okay?" i asked. it was such a stupid question to ask, but i didn't know what else to say.

"g-granny yang isn't. where is the ambulance? why aren't they coming?!they have to hurry!!! what if—what if—" her voice was wavering, and she was breathing heavily.

i bit my lip and looked at her with worry. i didn't know what else to do, so i got closer and wrapped my arms around her trembling body, hugging her as close as i could to me.

• • •