by the sidelines • haechan

twenty nine

It was like we've been doing this for weeks. Not in a negative way, but everyone instantly put on their guards the moment Coach Lee dismissed us for a break. Also, with the usual prompt that we were going into the sparring session.

Luckily, I wasn't the first one on the mats again, which gave me time to stretch away from the lethargy from my body. I could tell our coach was pushing us harder this time because he made us do more physical training today, which explains why half the class was close to passing out.

Apparently, it didn't affect Youn. She seemed as energetic as usual, jumping up and down in the corner despite not being her turn yet.

To make matters worse, time seemed to fly by quickly as matches continued to progress with heated exchanges, players falling in and out of the mats and suddenly, it was my turn.

I trudged up to the mats to a new set of opponents, and guess who one of them was.

"Finally getting to spar with you, can't wait," Youn's voice was filled with a mixture of intimidation and sarcasm, although I don't know which one was less frightening.

"Joonbi." But at least she wasn't my first opponent. I faced a shorter but rather toned girl named Im Junhee, and recalling what happened the last time with Soobin, I was genuinely worried. "Sijak!"

Junhee attacked first with a check-kick, before closing in as she landed. My fists were clenched tightly against her chest as I struggled to push her away, but it only caused her to bulldoze me even harder. Just as I managed to create a space between us, her foot came squeezing through the gap and tapped my padding. Right after that, she immediately closed back in and put her arms over mine, preventing me from escaping. It all happened in a blink of an eye that I hardly believed it even happened.

Ah yes, a short-distance fighter. This was a perfect technique for shorter players because their only disadvantage would be their opponent's longer legs. Take that away and the field would be more balanced. But that doesn't mean taller players can't use it too.

I gently pushed her until her arms eased up a little, before using that opportunity to swap the positions of our arms and press hers down, giving me an allowance to swing my foot up to her head. The satisfaction I haven't felt for a long time filled in me as my sole contacted her headgear fully, sending a few cheers coming my way. Finally.

However, Junhee wasn't fazed and stuck herself to me again, and we were back to the same position from before. I tried pivoting her to get her grip off me, but she probably learnt my tactic by now and forced herself still. Ugh, this was one problem I hated to face during competitions; being constrained.

I tried another approach this time, lifting her arms up with mine and connecting my sole to the side of her padding, but the impact probably wasn't enough to score points. Nonetheless, I continued doing that in hopes it might, while she on the other hand went with her first method. But it wasn't long until the whistle called for a switch in players.

"Change over!" We peeled ourselves off each other, panting as we exchanged bows before taking our next spots. Oh no.

"So now we meet," Youn grinned through her mouth guard as I nervously fist-bumped her. I was dreading for this moment to come, because not only did I knew how powerful she was, but I haven't observed her well enough to at least know her techniques. But I shouldn't let this fear of unpredictability hinder me further.

"Let's make this memorable."

There wasn't enough time for me to compose myself when the command was shouted, and there was definitely not enough time to prepare for that kick that came swinging right towards me.