Handong rolled her eyes at the sight of the football team heading out of the locker room and into the field, ready for practice. Especially at the sight of one particular player. Y/N. She was the single most cocky person Hangdon had ever had the displeasure of meeting and the mere sight of her was enough for her to want to never see her again.
Unfortunately for her, her friends loved to hang out in the shadows of a cluster of trees in order to study or simply talk. And it was from her place, leaning against the base of the tree, that she had the perfect view of the football team.
Handong had had bad experiences with her high school football team. The captain, some girl named Jinny, had spent most of those four years making Gahyeon’s, Handong’s best friend, life hell. She hadn’t found out about it until almost the end of their Junior year and when she did and she went to confront the older girl, Jinny had the rest of her teammates hold her down while she repeatedly punched her.
The experience had left her with a hate for football players, particularly for Y/N who reminded her a little bit too much of Jinny. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that she had also caught Y/N’s attention as the slightly older girl would always catch her eye during practice and wink at her. It had become something of a routine for her to jog towards her group of friends after practice and ask her out, no matter how many times Handong continued to turn her down. Handong refused to be just another one of your conquests.
Her friends, especially Bora, constantly tried to convince her to give Y/N a chance but she just couldn’t stop comparing her to Jinny. The way they both held themselves as thought they were better than everyone else left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“Checking out your girlfriend again Dongie?” Bora asked, a smirk on her face. “Hey, leave her alone”, Minji scolded her. “What, I was just asking. Besides, shouldn’t you be paying attention to your own girlfriend?” she questioned, motioning towards Yoohyeon who looked like she was about to throw her book away in frustration. “Why the hell did I decide to study pre-med?” she muttered angrily.
“Believe me, we’re all wondering the same thing”, Bora teased, only for her smirk to fall a second later when two different hands met with the back of her head. “Seriously?” she muttered, rubbing the back of her head. Minji looked unaffected by her glare while Siyeon simply glared back at her. “Be nice to Yoohyeon”, she warned. Bora didn’t say anything but she visibly started sulking after Yubin’s “whipped”, was heard.
Handong shook her head, amused by her friend’s antics. Her good mood, however, evaporated a few moments later when she realized practice had ended and Y/N was making her way towards them once again. She let out an annoyed sight, wondering how long it would take for Y/N to get the message that she wasn’t interested in her.
“Hey Dong. I was wondering at what time should I stop by your dorm to pick you up for our date”, you asked her, your usual smug smirk infuriating her to no end. “First of all, only my friends call me that. And never. I am absolutely never going out with someone as annoying as you. Get that into your thick skull once and for all and leave me alone”. She responded harshly.
Handong was usually always polite while rejecting you but the heat of the sun, the headache she’d had all day and the stress of finals finally got to be too much and she snapped at you, hoping you would finally take the hint and leave her alone. You usually smiled at her while she rejected you, used to it and ready to try again during the next practice but her unusually harsh words made your smile falter, unused to such harshness from the usually kind girl.
You hesitated briefly, taking a second to collect yourself before putting back your usual smile, although a bit forced this time. “Well then. I’m sorry if I annoyed you that much. That was never my intention. I’ll leave you alone from now on”, you apologized, before turning around and leaving.
Handong felt surprised at the hurt she managed to get a glimpse of in your eyes. She felt a weird urge to call you back and apologize but she repressed it, wondering why she wasn’t more elated at hearing you say you would leave her alone from now on.
“Well damn. That hurt just by witnessing. You shot her right down”, Bora said, breaking the silence that had descended over Handong’s group. “Siyeon, if you will”, Minji said, a content smile breaking over her face as Siyeon once again slapped the back of her girlfriend’s head, ignoring the pout the older girl sent her. “You deserved it”, she said simply.
And with that, the incident that had just happened was forgotten as the girls descended into their usual bickering, with Yoohyeon threatening to hit them if they didn’t shut up and help her study and Yubin sitting in silence judging them all. Gahyeon was the only one who noticed how Handong seemed to be bothered by the events and simply grabbed her hand, sending her a small smile when the older girl looked at her questioningly. “Maybe you judged her too quickly?” she suggested, keeping her voice low so the others wouldn’t overhear. Handong shrugged her concern off. “I doubt it. It’s probably some technique she’s trying to manipulate me. You’ll see she’ll be back by next practice like nothing happened”, she promised, ignoring the guilt pooling in her stomach.
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Two days later, Handong was once again, sitting in the same spot with her friends, ignoring their rowdy bickering as she watched you playing. You seemed even more concentrated than usual and she quickly noticed the lack of flirty smiles and winks you sent her, seemingly avoiding her gaze now. She knew that she should be happy that you were apparently keen on keeping your word but she couldn’t get Gahyeon’s words out of her head. Maybe she had judged you a bit harshly.
I mean, if she really thought about it, the only things you seemed to have in common with Jinny was that you both were captains of your respective football teams and maybe she had misjudged your confidence for cockiness. And it’s not like confidence was a bad thing, she reasoned.
All this thinking was giving her a headache. She slightly hated herself for letting Gahyeon’s words get to her but now she couldn’t help but feel bad about the way she had talked to you. She’d always considered herself to be someone approachable and nice but the way she’d talked to you was in no way either of those things.
After practice ended, she watched from her spot as you picked up your gym bag, slung it over your shoulder and, for the first time in the year since Handong had started college and started coming to that spot with her friends, you walked the opposite way, completely ignoring the other girl. Handong questioned why she wanted you to turn back around so much, as she stared at your retreating form.
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It was almost two weeks later and Handong was once more watching you retreat longingly when her friends finally had enough. “Oh my god Dongie. Just go ask her out or apologize or something”, Bora said, exasperatedly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but for once, I agree with Bora. Just admit you feel bad and go talk to her”, Yoohyeon pitched in.
Handong turned to look at them quizzically. “What are you talking about? Why would I ask her out when I finally got her to stop asking me out?” All her friends shared exasperated looks with each other, much to Handong’s annoyance. “Because you like her and you’re just either too oblivious to realize it or too stubborn to do anything about it”, Yubin stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Handong started to refute their accusations when realization washed over her like a cold wave. Huh, maybe that explained why she hadn’t been able to get you out of her mind, she reasoned, shocked she hadn’t realized the truth before. She guessed that this was why people said there was a thin line between hate and love. Not that she loved you or anything, she told herself. Not yet, at least.
Now that she had finally realized her feelings, all that was left to do was to try to fix things with you. She only hoped she wasn’t too late. She waited for practice to finish but quickly packed up her things once she saw you start to leave. She slung her bag over her back, leaving with a quick “see you later” to her friends, all who had similar smirks once they saw her running towards you.
“They grow up so fast”, Bora said, mock wiping a nonexistent tear from the corner of her eye. She wasn’t even surprised this time by the quick slap to the back of her head. “At this rate, I’ll soon be as dumb as Yoohyeon”, she complained to Siyeon who looked unapologetically back at her. She was met by a heavy book thrown at her legs by said girl, only to regret it moments later when Bora lunged at her and grabbed her neck and started shaking her, both girls girlfriends, Minji and Siyeon, giving up on them and leaving them to their struggle as they turned back to look at how Handong was doing, along with Yubin and Gahyeon. They were relieved to see that she had caught up to you in the distance and wondered what you were talking about.
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Meanwhile, while Bora and Yoohyeon were fighting, Handong ran after you, trying to catch up with you. “Hey Y/N”, she shouted, trying to get your attention. You quickly stopped at hearing her voice, turning to look at her, confused by the approaching figure. You dimly wondered if you had done anything else to offend her.
You had done your best to comply with her wishes, leaving her alone. When you’d first laid eyes on her almost one year ago you were convinced that you simply had to get to know the other girl. That first time you’d approached her after practice and asked her out, you had genuinely been surprised at her rejection but had reasoned that maybe she was shy or just playing hard to get and you were sure that if you kept trying you would get her to change your mind. Especially considering that you’d noticed the way her eyes seemed glued to you during practice.
You kept your proposals to only twice a week after practice, as to not overwhelm her, and were always met with the same, short but polite decline, stating that she needed to focus on her studies. It soon became something of a tradition and you made the stupid mistake of thinking that the younger girl had come to enjoy it as much as you.
When she’d let her true feelings out, however, a few weeks ago, you’d felt horribly embarrassed at the fact that you’d apparently been nothing more than a huge annoyance to her and you’d quickly apologized, feeling ashamed of your actions. Which is why you were understandably confused at Handong’s approaching figure.
You stood there, waiting for her. A few seconds later, she finally stood before you, panting a little from the running. “What’s wrong?” you asked her, slightly worried. “What? Why would something be wrong?” she questioned. You shrugged your shoulders, your confusion increasing. “I don’t see why else you would be talking to me. Especially since I’m such an annoyance”, you said, reminding her of the words she herself had called you.
Handong visibly winced at hearing her own words. “About that, actually…” she said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. “I wanted to apologize. I never should have spoken to you in that way”, she said. You shook your head at her words. “Nonsense, I’m happy you finally let me know how you felt. I really am sorry I bothered you so much. It really wasn’t my intention.” Handong shook your apology away. “It’s fine, you weren’t a bother.”
You were still a bit confused about what prompted Handong to approach you after weeks had gone by without any contact but you were glad to fix things between the both of you, having felt awkward about the incident since it happened. “I’m glad to hear that. Well… if that’s all…” you said, making a move to walk away.
“Wait”, Handong called, making you stop in your tracks once more. “Ask me again” she said. “What?”, you asked. She couldn’t possibly be talking about what you were thinking about. Could she? “Ask me again”, she repeated, taking a step closer to you, confidence radiating from her suddenly. She looked so attractive, looking at you like that and you suddenly remembered why you had been so taken with her. And why you still were.
“Are you serious? You’re not just joking around?” you asked, cautious of putting your heart on the line only to be rejected again. You weren’t sure you could take the heartbreak again. “Ask me”, she said, voice sterner this time.
“Will you go out with me?” you asked for the hundredth time. And for the first time, Handong nodded yes, hope immediately blooming in your chest. “Wait, you’re serious?” Handong laughed at how unconfident you suddenly were, so unlike the cocky image she previously had had of you. “Yes really”, she assured you. “Pick me up at seven” she told you, turning around and walking back to her friends without another word, a newfound confidence in her strides.
You stared at her retreating form wordlessly before you finally comprehended her words. “Oh fuck” you said, as you realized you had been asking her out for more than a year now and yet had absolutely nothing planned for where to take her. You quickly turned around, already googling romantic restaurants nearby.