The Iron Tiger Boxing Academy was unusually loud for a Tuesday.
The walls practically buzzed with conversation, boots scuffing the mat, and the occasional thud of leather hitting leather.
Soon Hae wiped her palms against her shorts. She had only just arrived, but the energy in the air was enough to make her heartbeat double. Something was happening.
"What's going on?" she whispered to the girl next to her in the locker room.
"You didn't hear?" the girl replied, wide-eyed. "Coach Kang is organizing a mini combat for beginners. They're going to shortlist the best ones to stay for the advanced training program."
Soon Hae's stomach flipped. A test? Already?
****
They gathered in the main training hall, rookies lined up in a ragged semi-circle. Coach Kang, a barrel-chested man with a voice that could probably knock someone over, stood in the center.
"Listen up! This is your chance to prove you're worth keeping. The rules are simple. Two rounds per match. Show me you can handle yourself, and you might get to stay. Show me nothing… and you're gone."
A nervous ripple went through the group. Soon Hae swallowed hard.
Coach began pairing people off. Soon Hae was matched with a tall, lean boy named Kang Min, who looked like he had been born in the gym.
****
The whistle blew.
Kang Min advanced immediately, his footwork sharp, his jabs precise. Soon Hae's first instinct was to retreat, but she caught herself Ming Tian's voice ringing in her head.
Control. Adjust. Don't give them the fight they expect.
She sidestepped, throwing a cautious jab. It barely grazed his guard, but it gave her a sliver of space. Kang Min came at her harder, but this time she ducked under his right hook, spinning to the side.
It wasn't pretty in fact, she nearly tripped over her own feet but the move got a surprised grunt out of him.
****
By round two, she was gasping for air, but she remembered the tape circle exercise Ming Tian had drilled into her legs. She kept moving, forcing Kang Min to chase her instead of cornering her.
And then, without thinking too much, she threw a cross.
It landed.
Not hard enough to hurt, but clean.
The bell rang.
****
When the results were read out, Soon Hae stood with her arms crossed, trying not to look like she was hoping too much.
"Kang Min, you're in," Coach Kang barked. "Soon Hae…"
She tensed.
"…you're in."
For a moment, she didn't move. She had been so ready to hear the opposite that it took a second for the words to hit her.
Then she squealed.
And in that burst of pure, unfiltered joy, she turned, saw the first familiar face in the crowd and threw her arms around him.
It was only when the crowd went a little too quiet that she realized who she had just hugged.
Han Luhan.
The Han Luhan.
Golden boy of the academy. Her crush. Ming Tian's cousin.
She froze.
He froze.
They stared at each other like two deer caught in the same headlights.
"Uh… congratulations?" he said slowly, his arms hovering awkwardly as if unsure whether to return the hug.
Her face burned hotter than the gym lights. "I... I thought you were... I mean, I didn't mean..."
" Be more careful next time...," he said, but there was a faint twitch at the corner of his lips, like he was holding back a smile.
****
Ming Tian, watching from across the hall, raised an eyebrow.
When their eyes met, Soon Hae could swear she saw the tiniest smirk under his mask.
Coach Kang clapped his hands, breaking the awkward silence. "That's enough. Those shortlisted, meet here tomorrow for advanced drills. The rest… pack up."
The rookies dispersed, leaving Soon Hae with a heart pounding from more than just the fight.
****
Back home, the warm glow of victory fizzled almost immediately.
Her stepmother was at the counter, counting the day's cash with the intensity of someone guarding a royal treasure.
"You're late," she said without looking up.
"I... I made the shortlist for the academy's advanced program," Soon Hae blurted out, unable to hold it in. "Coach Kwan said"
"That's nice," her stepmother interrupted flatly, closing the cash box. "Now, go scrub the back tables. Customers left a mess."
"But..."
"And after that, wash the rice for tomorrow, take out the trash, and clean the grill. The lunch rush was heavy today."
****
The chores piled on like bricks.
By the time Soon Hae finished the tables, her hands smelled faintly of fish sauce. By the time she cleaned the grill, her back ached.
The kitchen clock ticked past 11 p.m., but her stepmother still called from the hallway, "Don't forget to sweep the front before you go to bed."
****
She swept in silence, her mind drifting back to the moment in the academy the shock on Luhan's face, the quiet twitch of a smile, and Ming Tian's unreadable smirk from across the room.
When she finally collapsed onto her bed, the medal on her desk caught the moonlight through the window.
She reached for it, the cool metal steadying her.
Her stepmother could ignore her, pile work on her, and pretend the day's victory didn't matter.
But she knew it did.
Tomorrow, she'd step into the advanced drills.
And maybe just maybe she will prove she belonged.
---