“Alright, one-two! One-two! That’s it, straighten your waist. Extend your arms fully!”
Pro boxer Juhwan Lim raised his voice, encouraging the members in front of him.
Recently, the number of gym members had significantly increased. It was an amateur class for now, but the registrations were steadily growing.
Juhwan might have been slow, but he wasn’t foolish. The reason for the increase in members was simple. He had claimed the top spot in views on his VTube channel with a video that was doing wonderfully.
Yes, it was the video featuring Kayak. Most of the new members who joined the gym recently said they were inspired by that video to learn boxing.
In fact, about 80% of the amateur class in front of him had come to Juhwan’s gym because of Kayak’s broadcast.
“Wow, it looked easy to watch, but… it’s really tough. How did Kayak hit so fast?”
That was a murmur from a man hitting the punching bag.
This was a familiar line that came up often while teaching members.
Juhwan felt a bit pleased and answered with a smile.
“Haha, it’s not just about hitting quickly. It’s about hitting fast and strong. And doing it continuously without losing form, right in the center.”
“I saw in the video that the punching bag was shaking a lot. When I hit it a few times, I ran out of energy and couldn’t keep going. My wrist hurts too.”
“That’s normal; Kayak… feels a bit like a mutant, right? She’s one of the most talented people I’ve seen.”
Indeed, the explosive power coming from her unusually resilient and small frame was undeniable. She was a remarkable talent that could ignite Juhwan’s passion for boxing once again, making him want to nurture her.
“Well… her physique is so exceptional that she doesn’t even need to step into boxing training.”
Juhwan genuinely thought so. Whatever her body was made of, it could be deemed a masterpiece.
Just like a lion born strong doesn’t need training, Kayak doesn’t need to master the martial art of boxing either.
If she equipped herself with Juhwan’s boxing techniques on top of that physique, she could probably wipe out UFC and everything else. She would become one of the strongest humans in the world.
It could be seen as delusional, but somehow that vision felt like it wasn’t entirely off the mark.
Juhwan thought seriously about it.
*
Wherever people gather, incidents inevitably occur.
People have different appearances and inner thoughts. While their ways of thinking might align to some extent, there is no such thing as a perfectly identical person.
There are similar people and thoughts that may align to some extent, but there’s no such thing as a perfect match.
Of course, that’s just common sense. Basically, “others” means other people.
If two people looked the same and thought exactly alike, they couldn’t be called others anymore. They’d deserve titles like clone or doppelgänger.
That’s why conflicts and misunderstandings are bound to happen.
Like the saying goes, when five people gather, at least one is bound to be trash. People are all different, and many among them will engage in behavior that makes others furrow their brows.
Just like the scene unfolding right now.
A man who clearly doesn’t seem quite right approaches me, his face flushed and his eyes unfocused.
Yep, he’s drunk.
Have you ever dealt with a drunken mess? Just like people’s looks and personalities vary, their drunken habits can be wildly different too.
Some pass out anywhere, others get emotional and flip from anger to tears, and some just keep gobbling food.
The nameless guy in front of me? His drinking habit seems to involve hitting on strangers.
Not exactly a unique drinking pattern; we all know those who suddenly find courage from booze.
“Wow, you’re totally my type! Can I have your number?”
“Which one? Me or her?”
“This one! Ha ha… your eyes are really pretty.”
For a drunken guy, he’s speaking clearly and even sneaking glances at Nicang while answering her question.
Surprisingly coherent for someone who’s intoxicated. Maybe he’s using the booze as an excuse to just do whatever he wants.
Well, it doesn’t matter; my response is already decided. Since he’s hitting on me and not Nicang, the outcome is obvious.
“Sorry.”
I give him a blank stare and slightly bow my head. Truly, it’s a flawless response. I’ve become so skilled at this from repeated experiences.
At first, I used to be flustered and awkwardly smile while declining, sometimes even feeling bad for rejecting.
But now, I’ve figured out that maybe he misjudged my slight smile as an invitation, leading to a persistent follow-up even after rejection.
So now, I cut all traces of a smile and reject firmly. It’s better that way to avoid any mistaken feelings.
Yet, despite my efforts, this guy keeps sticking around.
“Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, not really…”
Oops. In times like this, I should’ve just conjured up an imaginary boyfriend to say I do. Being too honest might just cost me.
It was so predictable. Being unnecessarily honest was about to cost me.
“I’m really a nice person. How about we take it slow and get to know each other, maybe start by just contacting each other?”
Isn’t it a bit off to declare oneself a ‘nice person’? At least he should’ve brought a friend to at least give me a facelift!
Just the other day, I had met a duo like that. One was getting the number while the other played the wingman role.
The friend next to him could talk so well it was like I was listening to a podcast. Of course, they didn’t hand over the number, but still.
Anyway, coming back, I shook my head while looking at the man desperately trying to pitch himself to me.
“I’m not really in the mood to date anyone right now.”
“No, I’m not saying to date right now! Just, at least contact me—”
“Ugh….”
Curse words were bubbling up. Honestly, after saying that much, wouldn’t it be reasonable for him to take a hint?
Should I just bluntly say, “You’re not my type, so scram!” to get him to back off?
I was enjoying a nice time drinking with Nicang, and here comes this fool crashing the vibe. What a mess!
However, I didn’t need to resort to harsh words. As I furrowed my brows and muttered, Nicang stepped in first.
“Hey, he said he’s not interested, so it’s not cool to keep pushing. Please go away. If you don’t leave, I’ll call the guard.”
Wait, is there really a guard in a bar? I guess in a popular place like this, it’s not that surprising to have such things happen.
Sure, having a guard in situations like this would be convenient to shake off unwanted cling-ons.
But the guy’s reaction was completely unexpected.
As soon as Nicang mentioned calling the guard, his face turned as red as a dragon that had been poked, and he raised his voice significantly.
“Guard? Guard? Go ahead, call them! Who do you think you are to call for a guard? What a joke!”
What happened next was even more ridiculous.
Is he so worked up by Nicang’s remark that he slammed our table with a thud?
Instead of being scared or angry, I was just dumbfounded.
Seriously, I didn’t openly tell him to get lost, I politely asked him to leave. Is that something to be insulted over?
Honestly, seeing him act like that made it seem like he wasn’t just drunk; he seriously wasn’t playing around. As the commotion started, other tables were sneaking glances over at us, wondering what was going on.
“What are you doing! Hey! Someone get this guy out—”
“Y-you bitch!”
The man didn’t stop there. If he had just stayed quiet at this point, we could have easily moved past this.
There was a scene.
While it was certainly problematic to slam the table, from my perspective having seen all sorts of human oddities, it was something that could be easily overlooked.
However, his subsequent actions clearly crossed the line.
Even if he was drunk and rational thought was out the window, being intoxicated couldn’t serve as a get-out-of-jail-free card for everything.
Nicang called for the guard while looking around the bar. The man, for his part, raised his hand and swung it at her.
It was a situation so dire that Nicang could have gotten seriously hurt.
For some reason, the movements of that man, the fleeting moment, and the way he screamed and clenched his teeth while swinging his hand all seemed to be captured vividly like a slow-motion video.
“Eek!”
Before I knew it, I found myself gripping the man’s wrist tightly.
Nicang, with her head hung low, was screaming and looking at me blankly as a bonus.
“Ugh, let go of this….”
The man, with a face full of pain, moaned as my grip held his wrist.
Maybe wanting to escape, he tried to hit me with his other hand that wasn’t caught, so I grabbed that hand with my left as well.
Then, to subdue him further, I tightened my grip, causing the man to drop to his knees and sit down. I had managed to handle the situation in a pinch, but was this really the right thing to do?
It seemed that my training in self-defense along with boxing at Juhwan Lim’s gym had paid off.
Though I hadn’t used any of the techniques I had diligently learned, like joint locks or throws, good is still good, right?
That’s when the guard arrived. One of the onlookers must have brought him as he rushed over.
“Over here! Over here! A guy is causing a ruckus by slamming tables, uh…?”
“Is this the man? You can let go now. We’ll take it from here.”
The guard who had hurriedly arrived had a slightly bewildered look before snapping back to reality. I handed over the drunken troublemaker to the guard.
“Let go! What did I do wrong? Ugh!”
“Wow, what strength… Just stay still! Get a grip on him!”
As he continued grunting and cursing, he raised his voice only after being released from my grip.
Then, two guard-like figures escorted him away as if they were taking a criminal, arms crossed on either side.
I plopped down in my seat and spoke to Nicang, who looked dazed.
“Ugh, I regrettably ran into a weird person and it totally ruined my mood. Right?”
“Uh? Yes, yes… He really was a strange person.”
Nicang merely nodded slowly with a blank expression.
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