LOVE:ZERO

Jiyu sat back down, pressing a hand to her chest as if to steady herself. Her heart was racing at full speed.

The three minutes before the third set felt like three seconds or maybe three hours.

The third set was a fierce battle.

True to her promise, Jiyu didn’t take her eyes off Hunter.

After winning the second set, Dimitri had returned to the court with overwhelming momentum, quickly taking two games and seizing control of the match or so it seemed. But Hunter gritted his teeth and fought back, tying the score 2-2.

The match stretched past two hours as Dimitri inched ahead, only for Hunter to catch up again and again. Dimitri resorted to every dirty trick in the book, while Hunter, with laser-sharp focus, stubbornly clawed his way back, infuriatingly persistent.

The third set ended in a 6-6 tie, pushing the match into a tiebreaker.

It was a thrilling showdown, rare for a junior-level tournament. Jake, who had been shaking his legs nervously throughout, suddenly shook his head and laughed heartily, his bright white teeth flashing through his scruffy beard.

Hunter the underdog of this match was putting up an intense fight. As his dedicated coach, Jake couldn’t help but feel proud.

“To think we’ve reached a tiebreaker in Hunter’s first U18 National Tournament final… Hunter Hamilton, I’ve got to hand it to you that competitive spirit is something else. Even with Dimitri’s cheap provocations, you didn’t lose focus. With that fiery temper of yours, keeping your cool is already a win.”

He let out a tense breath, unable to hide his excitement.

Jiyu’s body trembled slightly, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst. Full-set matches weren’t common in junior tournaments.

Though she occasionally participated in academy tournaments (mostly due to her parents’ persistent nudging to prepare for varsity), her matches usually ended after two sets, with a quick 10-point “super tiebreaker” as the decider.

Even then, by the final rounds, her hands would shake so badly she could barely grip her racket. Her muscles would be wrecked, leaving her barely able to walk the next day.

“He must be exhausted, right? He played the semifinals this morning, and now a full-set final plus a tiebreaker…”

Jiyu trailed off, worried Hunter might hit his physical limit before the final point.

“Who, Hunter?”

Jake threw his head back and laughed as if she’d told a great joke.

“Olivia, don’t underestimate teenage boys. To tire them out, you’d need a best-of-five, not three and even then, you’d have to drag them through a 20-point tiebreaker. Look at him, he’s still full of energy.”

Right on cue, Hunter jumped high during his footwork warm-up.

But Jiyu couldn’t laugh.

Hunter was human he had  to be exhausted.

The headband and wristband he’d changed after the second set were already soaked dark with sweat. His chest heaved with each rapid breath. Wincing whether from sweat stinging his eyes or sheer fatigue he wiped his face with his wristband.

Jiyu deliberately avoided looking at Dimitri. Partly because she couldn’t stand his dirty plays, but also because… the last time she’d ignored Hunter’s request and glanced at Dimitri, he’d ended up winning that set.

The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She’d always thought athletes’ superstitions were silly until now.

‘Am I really Hunter’s bad luck charm?’

Superstitions were strange. Even knowing they were baseless, the what-if was hard to ignore.

“In a full-set tiebreaker, Hunter needs seven points to win, right?”

Jiyu mentally sifted through tennis rules before double-checking with Jake.

“Yep. And remember, he needs a two-point lead. If he gets to 7 and Dmitri’s at 5, it’s over. But if Dmitri reaches 6, Hunter needs 8 two points ahead.”

She nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, the match resumed and Hunter scored an ace on his first serve. Jiyu, who’d been hunched over in tension, clapped hard along with the crowd.

The tiebreaker was relentless, neither player yielding an inch. Dimitri fired back with his own ace, then followed up with unpredictable drop shots to take the lead.

‘Please. Please, Hunter…’

Jiyu wondered why she was rooting for him so desperately.

Sure, he could be infuriating even unbearable at times but they’d grown up together, family in all but blood. She’d seen every drop of sweat he’d shed to get here, every ounce of effort across those long, grueling years.

A faint smile touched her lips.

She knew exactly how Hunter saw her. On the rare occasions he was nice, it was only because he needed his “lucky charm” for tournaments.

She’d denied it for years, but now she had to admit it: even as his token good-luck charm, she’d always considered him a friend.

Her heart ached.

She truly wanted Hunter, her friend, to win.

“4–5!”

Dimitri was now one point ahead. Without thinking, Jiyu shouted:

“Come on, Hunter!”

She had no idea where that courage came from. Hunter, about to serve, glanced her way briefly.

Jake clapped and cheered too. Not to be outdone, Dimitri’s parents roared encouragement in Russian. The crowd erupted in applause.

Hunter took a deep breath, bounced the ball three times, and tossed it without hesitation.

His racket sliced through the air, grazing the ball at a perfect angle.

A kick serve landed at the corner of the court, bouncing at an unpredictable angle. Dimitri scrambled back, stretching desperately but too late. Another ace.

Jiyu shot to her feet, clapping wildly before quickly sitting back down.

Now 5–5. The next two points would decide the champion.

Dimitri, a hulking figure over six feet tall, leaped into a powerful serve, putting his full weight behind it a flat serve meant to crush with sheer force.

Hunter bent slightly, feet moving swiftly as he tracked the ball, barely managing a forehand return.

Dimitri smashed the high lob like a volleyball spike. Hunter, lightning-fast, scrambled for a backhand return.

Then Dimitri faked a hard swing only to soften his grip at the last second. The ball dropped softly near the net.

Fooled, Hunter had already sprinted toward the baseline. Skidding to a stop, he reversed direction, lunging desperately. Stretching full-length, he slid, barely flicking the ball back just before its second bounce.

Dimitri, poised for the kill, smashed a forehand before the ball even landed aiming deep toward the baseline.

“Ah…” Jiwoo sighed softly.

After weathering that brutal rally, returning this shot seemed impossible.

But then Hunter sprinted beyond the baseline. No time for a proper swing, no space to set up.

As the ball bounced, he spun mid-step, leaped, and legs spread struck the ball between them with his racket.

The crowd gasped and roared in unison. Dozens of heads swiveled, tracking the ball’s insane trajectory.

Dimitri, caught off guard, barely reacted. The ball cleared the net by a hair, grazing the sideline before rocketing out of reach.

A breathtaking point sheer grit, insane reflexes, and pure luck combined. The stands erupted in thunderous applause.