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Jihyo is that type of student that doesn't care enough on her studies but can still pass at ease. All she wanna do at school is play volleyball. She's a junior in high school but she started playing when she was still on grade school. A setter.
Even as a junior, she became a regular player in no time. Her outstanding sets and amazing communication skills definitely did the work. She already made friends in the team. Im Nayeon, a wing spiker, and Yoo Jeongyeon, a middle blocker. The three of the are called 'The Unstoppable Trio'. Nayeon and Jeongyeon are both on their second year.
"—introduce yourself, dear." Jihyo looked at their teacher after daydreaming.
"Minatozaki Sana, from Japan. Nice to meet you all." Her voice is lovely and sweet.
"You can sit beside Jihyo over there. That's the only vacant seat left."
Jihyo gulped as she watched the transferee walks to her side. She couldn't take her eyes of her. Bright smile, pointy nose and beautiful smile.
"Hi!" Sana greeted her with that bright smile.
"Hello. I'm Park Jihyo." Jihyo offered her hand to the transferee. Sana accepted the handshake. "Nice to meet you, Jihyo."
The whole time their teacher is speaking, Jihyo couldn't help but to steal glances at her searmate. An unfamiliar feeling in her chest rises every time she stare at the transferee. The bell rang. Jihyo immediately stood up because she have volleyball practice.
"Uhm, Jihyo?" Her seatmate called her.
"Yeah?" She looked at Sana and her stupidly perfect face.
"I wonder if uhm..." the transferee hesitated.
"Hey, what is it?"
"I wonder if you can give me a tour around? It's okay if you don't want to!" Jihyo chuckled on how adorable Sana is.
"Sure, I have time." No, she doesn't but being a little late to her volleyball practice isn't gonna hurt.
"Really? Yaaay!! Thank you!" The latter hugged and that surprised her. She's not really good with physical touch. She looked around and she saw that their classmates are also shocked.
"Y-yeah, let's go." She mentally slapped herself for stuttering.
The went around the school, Jihyo pointing out every building and the places she usually go to. Sana enjoyed her company and is amazed with everything Jihyo said.
"Sana uhm, do you wanna go home? I still have volleyball practice." Jihyo scratch the back of her head.
"Volleyball? Can I watch?" Jihyo's eyes widened to the question.
"I might go home late tho..."
"It's okay!!" Sana smiled and just like that, Jihyo found herself agreeing.
They went to the volleyball gym after Jihyo got her gym bag in her locker. Jihyo is quite nervous because Sana will be watching her.
"Jihyo-yah! You're late!" Nayeon was the first to notice Jihyo's arrival. "Come on, warm up already. Jeongyeon is a terrible setter."
"Stop whining, Nayeon. Jihyo's gotta change first." Jeongyeon went to Jihyo to do their signature handshake. "You brought someone."
"This is Sana, my new classmate." Jihyo introduced Sana. "She wanted to watch."
"Hi!!" Sana greeted them with a huge smile.
"Im Nayeon, wing spiker." Nayeon smiled back.
"Yoo Jeongyeon, middle blocker." Jeongyeon introduced herself as well.
"She doesn't know the positions in volleyball, pabo-yah." She told the two when she noticed Sana's confused faced. "You can sit there, Sana-yah." She pointed the bench near their gym bags.
After changing, Jihyo did some warm ups and went to the practice immediately. Practice match with their own teammates. The three of them are on the same team. Their captain said that they need to practice their strategies and techniques more. If they wanna be unstoppable, they have to be unstoppable.
Sana doesn't know much about volleyball but she couldn't stop watching Jihyo and her friends. They play as if their minds are connected. Their moves matches with each other and she's amazed on how Jihyo leads the whole team.
24-22 in favors of Jihyo's team. The rotation is just right because the three of them are in front. Jihyo signaled their next strategy using her hand behind her back and the two nodded at her. They are on the receiving side. Their libero, Chaeyoung, received the serve and passed it to Jihyo. Nayeon and Jeongyeon started running at the same time to the net to fool the opponent. Jihyo then tossed it to Nayeon to spike it but she got blocked. Chaeyoung dived in to save the ball and Jihyo tossed it to Jeongyeon. She didn't get blocked but the other side's libero got it.
The rally continued and it was the longest rally in that match. Jihyo knew she had to do something. Chaeyoung then received the ball again and passed it to Jihyo. She called Nayeon, indicating that she will toss it to her and to alert the opponent. The moment she touched the ball, she tossed it on the other side of the net. A setter's dump. No on expected it, even her teammates. The moment she landed, everyone went to her and cheered.
Jihyo and her unexpected plays.
Jihyo and Sana are walking to the bus station, Sana couldn't stop talking about the match she just witnessed. It wasn't her first time watching a volleyball match but Jihyo's plays made her feel like its her first time watching.
"Jihyo-yah, why didn't you tell me that you play volleyball?" Sana pouted and clings to her arm. Jihyo isn't used to skinship but she can't refuse to Sana either.
"You didn't ask, silly." Jihyo chuckled.
"You're so good and you play well. How do you do it?" Sana asked her again.
"Experience. I've been playing since grade school and won a few tournaments." Jihyo answered. Sana gasped with the new thing she found out about Jihyo.
"Can you tell me how it works?" Jihyo got a little confused with Sana's question but she figured out that the latter might not know how to ask the right question about volleyball.
"Nayeon is a wing spiker. She handles the offense of the team. I tossed the ball to her most of the time so she can spike it to the other side of the net. She knows how to control the power and timing of her spike so that it wouldn't go outside the line." Jihyo explained with actions so that Sana can understand it easily.
"Jeongyeon, on the other hand, is a middle blocker. Her height is and advantage because she's in charge of blocking the opponent's attack. Sometime I help her but she knows her timing and position so she can do it alone most of the time. She can spike the ball as well since she have a lot of power in her arm."
"Me, a setter, receives the second touch of the ball most of the time. I signal our strategy behind my back so the opponent can't see it. It's better rather than saying it out loud because I have a loud speaking voice. They say that I carry the game because I'm the one who can make the spikes possible. My tosses need to be accurate." Jihyo looked at Sana, who's listening intently.
"Do you believe that?" Sana asked.
"I may be good at my tosses but the liberos carry the game, in my opinion. You see, they are at the defense's side as well. They are in charge of making sure that the ball doesn't fall off the ground. They have to be fast, agile and have a lot of stamina. Chaeyoung is like that. If we don't receive well, I can't toss well so the libero should be able to receive it properly. That's when I believe that they carry the game. Volleyball isn't just a mid-air battle, we have to grasp the low ground as well." Jihyo smiled.
"You know so much about it, Jihyo-yah." Sana said, looking so amazed with the new knowledge she got.
"Not really, just experience. Oh here's your bus. I'll see you tomorrow, Sana-yah." Jihyo gesture the bus and Sana went inside. They waved at each other before parting ways.
It might be an interesting semester for Jihyo.
.
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Sana and family moved from Japan because her father found a new job that pays way more in Korea. She was kind of against it because she doesn't wanna leave her friends and life behind. After moving, she studied the language so that she can communicate easily. A social butterfly.
She is hesitant on talking to anyone but she felt different when she talked to Jihyo. She feels like she can easily be herself with her seatmate. It feels like as if they know each other for a long time already.
Sana loves skinship. She is clingy. Something that Jihyo isn't, but Jihyo can't refuse. She just let Sana hold her and clings onto her. They would often go to Jihyo's volleyball practice with Sana clinging on her arm. Of course, the whole team is shocked because Jihyo doesn't let them hold her like that (only Nayeon can because Jihyo found her arms warm and Jihyo likes it, secretly).
"Jihyo-yah, do you have practice today?" Sana asked her seatmate, that is now putting her things on her bag.
"No, we don't have. Rest day." Jihyo smiled at her. They are often together after they met. "Do you wanna go for some walk with ice cream? My treat."
"Ice cream!!" Sana got excited when she heard about the ice cream. She smile widely to Jihyo while nodding. The latter found it absolutely adorable.
"Let's go?" As if on cue, Sana clings onto Jihyo's arm and went on their way to get ice cream.
It was a comfortable silence between them, walking at the park with cups of ice cream in their hands. Sana talks a lot but when she's eating, she can be silent. Jihyo observed a few things about her seatmate. She often scrunch her nose when smiling, she likes Betty Boop, she also likes the Baskin-Robbins' ice cream, and her favorite color is pink. These are the things that Sana didn't tell her but she noticed.
"Yah yah yah! There's a claw machine over there!" Sana pulled Jihyo to the claw machine and looked at the latter. "Can you get me one, Jihyo-yah?"
Jihyo just found herself agreeing and now she's trying to get the Shiba Inu plushy. She was never a fan of claw machines and she thinks it is rigged. After a few tries, she got the plushy. It was over 10$ but who cares? The smile of her seat mate while hugging the plushy is totally worth it (and the kiss on her cheek).
Like usual, Jihyo accompanied Sana in her usual bus stop and waited for Sana to ride the bus. But Sana has been thinking something the moment they reached the bus stop.
"Jihyo-yah." Sana called her seatmate, which she responded with a hum. "I was wondering if you wanna go to my house and have dinner with my family? Mom wanted to meet you." And that caught Jihyo's attention.
"Huh? Right now?" Jihyo doesn't know how to react. Aside from Nayeon's and Jeongyeon's parent, she never met someone else's parent. It's freaking her out.
"Only if you want to." Sana assured her. She can refuse and Sana will understand but the hoping look on her face is making Jihyo think otherwise.
"I'll just text my mom that I will be going home late." Jihyo answered and that made Sana jump in joy. Definitely worth it. Jihyo thought.
Upon arriving at the Minatozaki residence, Jihyo couldn't help but to be nervous. I have nothing to be nervous about but why do I feel like I'm gonna ask for Sana's hand in marriage later. Jihyo thought.
"Jihyo-yah, why so tensed?" Of course, Sana noticed her.
"I don't know, Sha." Sana smiled with the nickname. It was a nickname that Jihyo doesn't use often but it really makes Sana giddy.
"Hyo, it's fine! They like you already!" Sana held Jihyo's hand to ease her nervousness. Jihyo thought her heart is now beating for a different reason rather than being nervous. That familiar unfamiliar feeling when she's with Sana.
They went inside the house and the first thing you'll notice is the big portrait of their family. Mr. and Mrs. Minatozaki and their gorgeous daughter, Sana Minatozaki.
The dinner went well and the Minatozaki's loved Jihyo, telling her that she should come more often. I guess I was nervous for nothing. Jihyo thought.
.
.
"Do you like her, Jih?" Nayeon bluntly asked. Hello, a no filter friend.
"I don't know, Nay. We're both girls." Jihyo, totally clueless about liking someone. It's her first.
"So? Jeongyeon like someone named Mina and she has been taking out Mina on some lunch dates. Meanwhile, I've been going out with Momo as well, she confessed the other day." Nayeon nonchalantly told the clueless setter.
"How come I don't know this?" Jihyo felt betrayed with what she just heard.
"Duh? You've been hanging out with Sana all the time. Before practice, after practice, rest days, lunch breaks and just anytime you are free." Jihyo's face reddened because she couldn't deny it to the spiker. "See? Your reaction just speaks that you like her."
"Jih likes who?" Jeongyeon arrived at the gym.
"Sana, apparently." Jihyo answered before Nayeon can embarrass her even more.
"Damn, Jih. What a catch." Jeongyeon chuckled and went to the dugout to change clothes.
"You should tell her." Nayeon said after biting her last piece of cookie, which no one knows where she got it.
"I don't even know if she likes me back." Jihyo whined.
"Well, at least you tried, right?"
With that, Jihyo considered the thought. Of course, it bothered her mind but she does think that Nayeon may be right.
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Senior year.
Jihyo smiled upon seeing her latest trophy. Her last tournament in highschool. Her last game. She became the captain after Nayeon and Jeongyeon graduated. She could've been the captain in her second year but she refused and just gave it to the two. A little gift for their last year, she thought.
She looked away at the trophy display and as she have thought of another thing. She remembers a certain memory in her head. With the thought of, maybe its the way she walk or the way she talks or maybe just because she's simply Minatozaki Sana.
She chuckled. Three years? Almost.
Even until now, she can still say the same. Still uncertain
on what made her fall for thee Minatozaki Sana.
The way she walks? The way her hips sways with every step she does.
The way she talks? The way she animatedly talks about everything and anything that came into her mind.
Just because she's Minatozaki Sana? The only person that made Jihyo likes skinship or just Sana's clingy self.
Because up until now, she's head over heels with the Japanese.
"Babeee!" A lively voice called her. "I can't believe we're graduating already! It seems like yesterday I was just watching you practice!"
"Me too, Sha. Me too." Jihyo kissed the cheeks of her lover, Sana.
Time really flies by fast.