The next day, the laundry shop was quiet. No morning rush, no overflowing baskets. Mrs. Kim sat at the counter sipping barley tea while Soon Hae mindlessly folded towels.
The bell over the door jingled.
"You again?" she said without looking up.
"You sound thrilled to see me," came the familiar voice.
She glanced up the laundry guy. This time, instead of gym clothes, he wore the black-and-gold Iron Tiger jacket, the academy's tiger logo blazing across the back.
Mrs. Kim beamed. "Oh, the fighter's here again."
He chuckled. "Name's Joon seok, by the way. You can stop calling me 'bell destroyer.'"
Soon Hae blinked. "Fine, Joon seok. But you'll always be a bell destroyer in my heart."
Mrs. Kim's eyes twinkled. "He's picking up the academy's laundry for the week. You should carry it out for him."
"Why me?"
"Because you've got two hands."
Grumbling, Soon Hae hoisted the neatly folded stack into his arms. As they stepped outside, Joon seok nodded toward the end of the street.
"You're going that way?"
She hesitated. "Yeah. Why?"
He shifted the laundry. "Walk with me. I'll drop these off at the gym."
---
The Iron Tiger Boxing Academy loomed larger up close, its brick walls painted with a massive mural of a roaring tiger. Inside, the air buzzed with the rhythmic thud of gloves hitting pads, the metallic squeak of jump ropes, and the barked orders of a coach.
Soon Hae's eyes darted everywhere fighters in matching gear, the Famous Five in their own corner of the ring, each moving like they were born for this.
"Drop these in the back," Joon seok told her, already stepping toward the ring.
She hesitated, clutching the laundry. "I… uh…"
Before she could retreat, a booming voice echoed across the gym.
"You! New girl!"
She froze. One of the trainers a tall man with arms like tree trunks was pointing at her.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. Get in the ring."
Her brain short-circuited. "Wait, what? No, I'm not..."
"Quick demo," he barked. "Joon-seok, you're pairing with her."
Joon seok's eyebrows shot up. "Coach, she's not—"
"Now!"
---
The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of the ring, gloves far too big for her hands, helmet sliding down over her eyes. Joon seok was across from her, looking both amused and concerned.
"This is insane," she muttered.
"Just follow my lead," he said quietly.
The coach shouted, "Light spar! Let's go!"
The bell rang.
Joon seok stepped forward slowly, keeping his hands up. Soon Hae, panic flooding her veins, swung wildly and completely missed. Her momentum spun her around, and she stumbled straight into the ropes.
The gym erupted in laughter.
Flustered, she bounced off the ropes, tried again and accidentally clipped Joon seok's chin. Not hard, but enough to make the sound pop.
The laughter stopped.
Joon seok blinked, rubbing his jaw. "Okay… not bad."
Her eyes widened. "I didn't mean..."
"Keep going," he said, grinning now.
She threw another clumsy punch. He dodged easily, but the coach's voice boomed, "Good spirit! Footwork's a disaster, though."
The bell rang again.
She yanked off the gloves, cheeks burning. "I told you I'm not a boxer."
The coach smirked. "Maybe not yet. But you've got the spirit in you."
---
Outside, Joon seok walked her back toward the laundry shop.
"You did better than I expected," he said.
"That was terrible," she groaned.
"Terrible's better than scared," he replied. "If you ever want to try again, come by."
She glanced up at the academy's mural one last time. Her heart thudded part fear, part excitement.
Maybe… just maybe… she would.
---