The bus engine rumbles and the amusement park Yooyeon just spent the day at grows smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. She does a quick last minute head count and retreats back to her seat next to Yubin.

 

“What a day!” The younger girl exclaims. “I wonder how the show will turn out. Do you think the fans will vote Seoyeon as the most promising member to win first place this time?”

 

Yooyeon chuckles. “Definitely.” 

 

After a bit of talking, Yooyeon leans her head back and stares out the window, contemplating and contemplating. Her fingers hover over her phone screen. 

 

She types a message.

 

congrats on the win, you deserved it.

 

A response comes almost instantly.

 

means a lot coming from you.

 

Yooyeon sighs, clicking her phone off and closing her eyes for the rest of the ride home. 

 

 

Flashback

 

The cameras stop rolling and there’s a chorus of good jobs and cheers going around the crew staff and the girls. A few of them gather around Yooyeon to congratulate her on the shocking twist of her victory.

 

But her gaze wanders. 

 

In all the chaos, Yooyeon spots Seoyeon slipping inside the building they were shooting next to. She makes up excuses in her mind, like, “she probably has to record some sort of commentary” or “maybe she’s heading to the bathroom”. 

 

Nakyoung senses Yooyeon’s hesitance and regards her with a quick, knowing look. “I don’t think she’s mad.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Maybe just upset? You should go talk to her.”

 

This was why Yooyeon chose to steal badges from Nakyoung. Stealing from Seoyeon would have felt like rubbing salt into a wound. “Yeah. Maybe.” 

 

They never end up talking about it.

 

 

Yooyeon collapses onto her bed the second they return to the dorms. Some of the others were still bursting with energy, immediately heading to the kitchen to eat or the living room to hang out and chat.

 

She buries her head under her pillow, but it doesn’t help so much with the noise. After a brief struggle, Yooyeon gives up. She stares blankly at the top bunk. 

 

With more voices joining the mix of noise outside her room, Yooyeon could only assume that some of the others had come over to their dorm to hang out.

 

A soft knock on her door jolts her awake from her half slumber. “Who is it?”

 

“It’s me.”

 

Seoyeon.

 

Yooyeon fidgets under her covers. Was she in the right mind for the conversation that was about to happen? “Come in.” She had hoped that the pounding in her chest would settle, but it intensifies at the sight of the younger girl. 

 

The door cracks open and Seoyeon pops her head in. “I’m sorry, were you trying to sleep? I can come back later.”

 

“I said you can come in.”Seoyeon’s lips form a tight line. She steps inside, the atmosphere turning awkward as soon as she shuts the door behind her. Yooyeon pats the empty space next to her on the bed. “Come sit down.”

 

Despite the long stretch of silence, it never felt suffocating between them. Yooyeon just wasn’t sure how to navigate the conversation that had loomed above them since they shot season one of Badge War. 

 

“Seoyeon—“

 

“We don’t have to talk about it.” She dismisses with a wave. “We know it was never actually that serious.” Her face scrunches up in a way that shows otherwise.

 

Yooyeon stayed quiet, tracing patterns onto her blanket to keep herself from blurting out something she would regret. She comes up with a normal response after a minute. “Right.” 

 

Were they still talking about the competition? 

 

“How come you were barely trying this season?”

 

The blunt question threw Yooyeon off.“What?” 

 

Seoyeon abruptly stands, moving towards Yooyeon’s desk, which wasn’t that far of a distance from the bed since the room was so small. She was facing away from her. 

 

Yooyeon whips her blanket off and sits up. “You didn’t think I was trying?” 

 

“You definitely weren’t trying your hardest.” Seoyeon says quietly. “Otherwise it would’ve been you and me on that ride together.” 

 

Bringing her knees up to her chest, Yooyeon wills her uncontrollable heart to simmer down. “Winning once was enough. Besides, my mom told me to not to go overboard. And I know she would’ve given me a lecture if I had gone for first again—“

 

“Winning would’ve felt better if it was against you.” 

 

Yooyeon lets out a dry chuckle. “Oh, so you did want revenge?” She loosens her grip around her knees and leans back on the bed. Seoyeon stiffens. “I’m right, aren’t I?” 

 

Turning around, Seoyeon immediately regrets it. Her gaze drops down automatically, not so subtly checking Yooyeon out. She can already see the smug smirk forming on the older girl’s face. 

 

It was a mistake coming into Yooyeon’s room. It was a mistake bringing this up. It was all a mistake. 

 

“We don’t have to talk about this.” Seoyeon reiterates her earlier words to avoid answering that question, but they seemed useless now considering. 

 

Yooyeon slowly rises from the bed, moving to stand right in front of Seoyeon. “Aren’t you happy that you won fair and square this time?” 

 

In one swift move, Yooyeon leans impossibly closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Did you really want to battle things out with me again?” She scans Seoyeon’s face, gaze lingering on her lips. 

 

All Seoyeon could do was nod, frozen in place and drowning in Yooyeon’s intense stare. 

 

Yooyeon leans even closer and Seoyeon holds her breath, eyes fluttering shut. 

 

“You’re right. If I was trying my hardest, I would’ve beat you. Again.”