Chapter 9 — Bridge Yard Beats

Two weeks before leaving to attend the regional Olympic qualifiers, Tram officially returned to the training center after a long period of treatment and recovery from a knee injury. Although she still cannot return to play, coach Kiet asked her to take on the role of temporary coaching assistant, helping to monitor and record the entire team's training sessions.

Tram's return brings complicated emotions to both Vy and Long. On one hand, they are happy because their sister and former partner can walk normally again. On the other hand, Tram's presence also unintentionally evoked memories of the difficult period when the team lost this important pillar.

"Miss Tram, you are much better now," Vy said when she met Tram again at the training ground, unable to hide her sincere joy.

"Yes, I feel much better now," Tram replied, although her eyes flashed with something indescribable as she watched Vy and Long practice together. The chemistry she had built with Long for three years now seemed to have been completely replaced.

In the following days, Tram observed the training sessions from the sidelines, taking careful notes at Coach Kiet's request. But the more she observed, the more clearly she realized the special chemistry between Vy and Long — not only on the field, but also in the way they looked at each other, and the way they communicated outside of practice.

One afternoon, when she happened to witness Long gently adjusting Vy's racket holding position, his hand gently resting on her hand for a moment that lasted longer than necessary, Tram clearly felt a vague feeling of discomfort rising in her heart, although she could not determine exactly what it was.

That night, Tram sat alone in her room, her mind full of chaotic thoughts. She recalled the three years with Long on the field, the tireless efforts to build one of the team's most promising couples, all of which now seem to have collapsed after just one unfortunate injury.

"Am I jealous?" she asked herself, looking into the mirror, trying to clearly analyze the complex emotions swirling in her heart. "Or am I simply scared that my career may be over forever?"

That fear became even clearer when a few days later, the doctor announced the latest test results - although Tram's knee had recovered significantly, the possibility of returning to top competition was still very slim, and even when able to compete again, her performance certainly would not be the same as before.

That news was like a strong blow to Tram's already fragile spirit. At the age of twenty-seven, with the serious injury she just experienced, she understands better than anyone that the door to her professional career is gradually closing, while the person who was once her closest partner is shining brightly with someone else.

"Are you okay?" Vy asked when she happened to meet Tram in the dressing room and noticed her unusually gloomy expression.

"I'm fine," Tram replied, trying to give a forced smile. "Just a little tired after physical therapy."

Vy did not completely believe that explanation, but she also did not want to ask further, respecting the private space that Tram seemed to need. "If you need anything, just tell me," she said before leaving, unaware of the complicated emotions that were silently forming in the heart of the sister she always valued.

In the days that followed, Tram began to pay closer attention to the relationship between Vy and Long, the small observations gradually accumulating into a clearer picture in her mind - the way they always found excuses to be close to each other outside of practice, the meaningful exchanges of glances, the care that went beyond the framework of a normal team relationship.

A vague insecurity began to creep into Tram's heart — not just the fear of losing her place on the team, but also a much more complicated feeling that she wasn't ready to face, related to the ex-partner she spent three years of her youth with.

One evening, while sitting alone in the common room, Tram happened to meet an old friend - Dieu Anh, a former athlete who retired early due to a similar injury a few years ago, and is currently working in the federation's communications department. Dieu Anh stopped by the center to interview some athletes for a special column.

"Long time no see," Dieu Anh said, sitting down next to Tram with a friendly smile. "I heard you just had a pretty serious injury. Are you okay?"

"It's okay," Tram replied, trying to keep her voice calm even though her heart was still chaotic. "But perhaps, my playing career is about to end."

Dieu Anh was silent for a moment, his eyes full of understanding of someone who had experienced exactly the same situation. "I know that feeling better than anyone," she said, her voice gentle. "The day I had to retire, I felt like the whole world collapsed. But you know, that wasn't the end, it was just another door opening."

"I don't know what else I can do besides badminton," Tram confessed, her voice filled with confusion. "I spent my entire youth on it, now when I have to leave, I feel completely lost."

"I also thought so," Dieu Anh replied, smiling understandingly. "But I realize that the skills you learn from sports — discipline, teamwork, the ability to analyze tactics — can be applied to many other fields. My job in the communications department now also requires a deep understanding of badminton that only people who have played professionally can have."

The conversation with Dieu Anh partly helped Tram see the problem from a more positive perspective, but the deep insecurity in her heart has not completely disappeared. She thanked Dieu Anh and promised to seriously think about other career options in the future, but at the same time, a part of her still couldn't completely let go of the desire to return to the field, to be an important part of the team like before.

A few days later, during a training session, Tram overheard a conversation between two young athletes discussing the Vy - Long couple, not knowing she was standing nearby recording training data.

"Do you think they're dating?" one person asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Sure," replied the other. "You can tell right away by looking at the way they look at each other. I think Ms. Tram must be very upset to see that her old position now belongs to someone else, both on the field and maybe even in real life."

That unintentional comment was like a needle piercing the anxiety that Tram was still trying to suppress, making the feeling of insecurity in her heart become clearer and more tormenting than ever.

That night, Tram couldn't sleep, negative thoughts kept circling in her head. She reopened old videos saved on her phone - the moments when she and Long celebrated victories together, the hard training sessions over three long years to build one of the team's most promising couples.

"All those efforts, what does it mean now?" she wondered, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes as she looked back at those beautiful memories, which are now just the past that she can't go back to.

She texted another close friend on the team, talking about the confusing emotions that were tugging at her heart, not hesitating to express her resentment when she saw that her position seemed to have been completely replaced, both in the team and in the heart of her former teammate.

"I really don't know what to do anymore," she texted, her fingers shaking on the bright phone screen in the middle of the night. "Watching them happy together, I was both happy for Long and felt like I was being left behind, becoming a redundant person in the very story that I was once an important part of."

That friend comforted her with a few words back and forth, advising Tram to frankly share her feelings instead of keeping them to herself, but that sincere advice still didn't seem to be weighty enough to ease the growing insecurity in Tram's mind. She turned off her phone and lay silently in the darkness of the room, her heart filled with a loneliness and loss that she had never experienced before, even during the most painful days when she had just suffered a severe injury.

That insecurity, if not resolved properly and promptly, will soon lead Tram to rash decisions that she will later deeply regret, an expensive lesson that she will remember for the rest of her life.