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The gym had the kind of noise that settled into your bones and refused to leave. Every bounce of the ball echoed sharply off the polished floor.
At the top of the key, Hanni Pham dribbled the ball slowly. The ball thudded against the hardwood under her plam. She was breathing hard but she still had that lightness in the way she moved, eyes bright with the kind of focus that always looked a little too much like mischief.
Across from her, cutting in from the wing, Kim Min-ji raised a hand sharply.
“Pass,” Minji called, voice clear even through the noise.
Hanni glanced at her for half a second, just enough to acknowledge she’d heard.
Then she dribbled again.
Minji’s hand stayed up a moment longer before dropping, her jaw tightening slightly as she changed direction and ran the route anyway, cutting across the lane exactly the way the play had been drawn.
The defender shadowing her stumbled half a step behind, which should have been enough space for an easy pass.
The ball never came.
Instead Hanni drove left, quick and sudden, weaving between two defenders before the lane collapsed around her. Someone slapped at the ball, the sound sharp and ugly, and it skidded loose across the floor before an opposing player snatched it.
The whistle didn’t blow. The crowd groaned.
Minji stopped under the basket and turned slowly, already jogging back on defense while the other team pushed the fast break. Her expression was carefully blank, but the tightness in her shoulders said enough.
They recovered the possession a few seconds later when one of their teammates forced a bad pass out of bounds.
The ball rolled toward the sideline, and Minji caught it automatically before handing it off to the referee.
When she turned back toward the court, Hanni was already there, hands on her hips, chest rising and falling quickly.
“You were open for half a second,” Hanni remarked.
Minji blinked once, slow. “That’s how passes work.”
Hanni’s mouth twitched.
“Relax,” she said lightly. “I had the lane.”
“You didn’t,” Minji replied.
Hanni tilted her head, that same almost-smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “You think too much.”
“And you don’t think enough. The brain eating virus would actually starve in your brain bro”
The whistle blew again as the referee handed the ball inbounds.
Hanni grabbed it and bounced it once against the floor, the sound sharp between them.
“Run the play,” Minji said quietly. Warning hanni.
“I am running the play.”
“That’s not the play.”
Hanni stepped closer, leaning in just enough that Minji could hear her clearly even with the crowd roaring behind them.
“Maybe if you’d stop hovering, it would work.”
Minji stared at her for a moment, dark eyes steady and unreadable.
“Just pass the ball,” she said.
Hanni only smiled wider.
The possession started again. Hanni dribbled up the court with that same easy rhythm, weaving through the defense like she always did. Minji moved into position automatically, cutting across the arc and shaking off the defender trailing her. For a split second she was open again, clear space between her and the basket.
“Here,” Minji called, hand lifting.
Hanni looked straight at her.
Then she pivoted the other way.
The ball moved to the opposite wing instead, passed sharply to another teammate who wasn’t ready for it.
The ball slipped off her hands and bounced out of bounds before anyone could react. The gym erupted in frustrated noise.
Minji exhaled slowly through her nose and walked toward the sideline without saying anything, but Hanni jogged after her.
“What?” Hanni said, a little breathless, a little defensive. “She should’ve caught that. That wasn’t my fault”
Minji stopped.
“She wasn’t expecting it,” Minji said evenly.
“Not my fault.”
“You ignored the play again.”
Hanni let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “You’re obsessed with that stupid play.”
“Then don't fucking ignore it.”
“Maybe because it doesn’t work.”
“Maybe because you won’t run it.”
Their voices started to get louder, the tension in them snapped tight enough that a couple of teammates glanced over nervously.
Before either of them could say anything else, their coach’s voice thundered from the sideline.
“Timeout!”
The whistle cut through the noise like a crack of thunder.
Both teams shuffled toward their benches while the crowd buzzed restlessly above them.
Hanni grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from her face, still breathing a little too fast, while Minji stood with her hands on her hips, gaze fixed on the floor.
Their coach stepped into the middle of the huddle with a look that promised absolutely no patience. “What is going on out there?” he demanded, sweeping his gaze across the team before stopping squarely on the two of them. Neither answered.
“You,” he said, pointing sharply at Hanni. “Stop trying to win the game by yourself.” Hanni opened her mouth slightly, then shut it again.
“And you,” he continued, turning toward Minji. “Stop freezing every time she doesn’t do exactly what you expect.” Minji’s expression didn’t change, but her shoulders stiffened.
“You’re both too good to be playing like this,” the coach went on, voice low but furious. “Right now you’re sabotaging each other, and the whole team is paying for it.” Silence hung over the huddle for a second.
Hanni shifted her weight, glancing sideways at Minji with an unreadable look. Minji felt it immediately. She didn’t look back.
“Listen carefully,” the coach said, pointing down toward the court. “you’re both sitting the rest of the game. get to the lockers, get rid of that attitude before I never let you touch the court ever again”
The buzzer sounded softly, signaling the end of the timeout.
Hanni huffed a small laugh under her breath. “You’re unbelievable,” she muttered.
Minji finally glanced sideways.
...
The locker room was quieter than the gym, but not by much.
The muffled roar of the crowd still seeped through the walls in waves every time something big happened on the court, a distant surge of noise that made the benches and metal lockers vibrate faintly.
The air inside smelled like shampoo, and the sharp chemical bite of disinfectant that never quite covered the rest.
Most of the team was still out there finishing the game.
The two of them weren’t.
The door had barely closed behind them before Hanni let out a loud, frustrated groan and kicked the leg of the nearest bench.
“This is ridiculous,” she said immediately, pacing a few steps across the narrow space like she physically couldn’t stand still.
“We get benched in the last quarter because he suddenly decides teamwork matters more than actually winning?”
Minji didn’t answer right away. She walked over to the row of lockers and pulled hers open with a dull metal clang, dropping onto the bench in front of it.
Her breathing had mostly steadied, but there was still heat in the tight set of her shoulders.
“Pham,” she said evenly, “stop.”
Hanni ignored that completely.
“No, seriously,” she continued, turning sharply to face Minji again. “Did you see that last possession before he called the timeout? We could’ve had it. If someone didn’t insist on running the exact same boring play every single-”
“shut the hell up”
Minji’s voice cut across the room. Hanni blinked once, surprised, but the silence only lasted a second before she threw her hands up in exasperation.
“Oh, so now you’re mad too?” she said. “You were the one glaring at me the entire game like I personally ruined your life.”
Minji’s jaw tightened.
“You ignored the play,” she said.
“There it is again,” Hanni shot back, pacing closer now. “The play. The play. The play. You act like it’s the only way to score.”
“It was open.”
“So was the lane!”
“You lost the ball.”
“Because you reached!”
“You shouldn’t have been dribbling that long.”
“And you shouldn’t have been hovering like you were waiting for me to mess up.”
The words hung there for a moment, heavy and sharp. Minji slowly stood up from the bench.
“Hanni,” she said, voice low, “you keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Acting like the whole game is about proving something.”
Hanni let out a disbelieving laugh. “Excuse me?” she said. “You’re the one who turns everything into a control freak operation.”
Minji took a step forward subconsciously
“You don’t listen.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“I trust you to follow the play.”
“And I trust you to actually take a risk for once!”
The last word bounced harshly off the tile walls. For a second neither of them moved. The noise from the gym swelled again through the walls, a wave of cheering that made it clear the game was still going on without them.
Hanni scoffed quietly, shaking her head before turning away and running a frustrated hand through her hair.
“You know what,” she muttered, “forget it.” Minji watched her for a moment. Then Hanni turned back.
“You act like I’m the problem every time something goes wrong,” she continued, voice rising again. “Like everything would magically work if I just did exactly what you said.”
“Because half the time you don’t.”
“And half the time you don’t even give me a chance!”
Minji stepped forward again, faster this time.
“Pham-”
“Maybe if you stopped treating me like I’m reckless all the time—”
“Because you are!”
Hanni’s eyes flashed.
“Oh, so now I’m reckless?”
"You're so fucking insufferable"
The words burst out louder than either of them probably meant. They were standing close now without either of them realizing when the distance disappeared.
Hanni took another step forward, frustration still burning in her expression.
“You think you’re the only one who cares about winning?” she said. “You think I’m just messing around out there?” Minji’s patience snapped.
Before Hanni could step back or say anything else, Minji grabbed the front of her jersey and shoved her backward.
The metal locker doors rattled loudly when Hanni’s back hit them.
Hanni’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, breath catching as the impact echoed through the empty room. She couldn't tell if she was scared...or turned on.
Minji was right there in front of her now, one hand still gripping the fabric of Hanni’s jersey.
Neither of them spoke. The tension that had been simmering all game suddenly had nowhere to go.
Hanni’s chest rose and fell quickly from the argument, or maybe it was from the game, no it was definately the shock of being pushed back like that by someone who is usually composed like minji when it comes to games.
Her hands had come up instinctively, gripping the front of Minji’s shirt without either of them really noticing.
Their faces were close.
“Let go,” Hanni said quietly. But she didn’t actually pull away.
Minji didn’t move either.
Her eyes were locked on Hanni’s. she was trying to figure something out that had been bothering her for far too long.
“You drive me insane,” Minji muttered.
Hanni huffed a small breath of laughter. “Yeah,” she said softly. “You’ve made that pretty clear.”
Their foreheads almost touched when Minji leaned in slightly without thinking.
The locker room was silent except for the distant roar of the crowd and the sound of their breathing. Hanni’s voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“Minji.”
Minji didn’t answer.
Her grip on Hanni’s jersey loosened slightly, but she didn’t step back.
Instead she stared at Hanni for another second like she was debating something she’d been holding back for a very long time.
Then she kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle at first, it felt like Minji was trying to do it before her mind stopped her. Hanni froze for half a heartbeat in shock, eyes widening slightly before she realized what was happening.
Then she grabbed Minji’s shirt tighter and kissed her back. Minji used her thumb to coax her mouth open, kissing her with her tongue.
fuck she was good at kissing. It made Hanni a bit mad.
She ran her hands along the back of Minji's jersey, pulling her closer by her neck. Hanni leaned to the side, feeling Minji bite on her lower lips. She breathed out softly, Minji's hands ran down her back, to her waist, pulling her closer.
She leaned into her, feeling her leg in between hers. Hanni lets out a quiet whine grinding onto her leg, desperate for some sort of friction while trying to catch up with the pace.
The kiss was getting messy, Minji was all over her and she couldn't think straight. when she managed to pull Minji back as she tried to catch her breath, eyes on Minji's now swollen mouth.
“God your face pisses me off” Hanni whispered. Pushing her hair behind her shoulders and leaned in.
She put her arm on minjis shoulder, head tilting to the side. "Mnh-" Hanni sighed out, Minji leaned down her leg raised a bit higher. Minji felt Hanni’s waist move, grinding herself on her.
her hands snuck under hanni's shirt, holding onto her bare waist. Minji ran her palm along the soft skin, hearing Hanni moan into the kiss. Hanni was struggling to catch up. She pulled away, a string of saliva connecting the two.
she looked like a mess. Minji stared at her for a moment before gently holding onto her jaw.
This wasn’t enough
Hanni's posture stiffened as Minji pushed her head back into the locker. she gets out a low groan.
Minji kissed along the corner of her mouth down to her jaw.
Hanni's hands trembled not realizing what Minji was about to do. her hands running through Minji's hair feeling her bruise a spot on her neck. "M-minji.." She whispered, her voice barely audible.
Hanni suddenly realized what she was doing, she pushed Minji off quickly. her breath heavy, nose and cheek tinted red.
She covered her mouth with the bck of her hand.
Both of them were breathing a little harder than before.
Hanni stared at her.
"You talk so much" Minji leaned down, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. her eyes clouded while she glared at Hanni.
"Holy shit." Hanni breathed out.