Chapter 2
‘Father…?’
‘Igeon, your talent for taekwondo is inherited from your father. Please don’t give that up.’
‘Father….’
‘Please answer my question honestly. Do you want to do taekwondo?’
To his father’s question, Seo Igeon nodded without hesitation. Once, twice, more than ten times he nodded and hugged his father tightly. That night, his father took Seo Igeon’s hand, went to the gym, bowed his head in apology to Instructor Jin, and asked him to take good care of his child. That’s how Seo Igeon started taekwondo again, and now he was dreaming of a future where he would become a national representative like his father had dreamed and compete in the Olympics.
And that dream was progressing well. Although Han Taekyung had emerged as a variable, that man wasn’t an obstacle to his dream; they were just heading in the same direction. Since they didn’t select just one person for the national team, there was nothing to worry about. It was just annoying to constantly hear his name and be compared to him as naturally as breathing.
“Hmm….”
After coming home, showering, and finishing his school homework, he lay down on his bed. After hesitating whether to look or not, Seo Igeon thought it wouldn’t be bad to prepare for when they would meet at the national team selection, so he searched for his videos on YouTube.
It was a video of the 68kg weight class finals at a taekwondo competition in England six months ago, and the opponent was the junior champion from Uzbekistan. The next moment, seeing Han Taekyung clearly captured on camera, Seo Igeon let out a breath as if in disbelief.
“He really is handsome.”
He really didn’t want to say this because it made him cringe, but he had to honestly acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged. Sure enough, the comments section was filled with endless cringeworthy and childish remarks, starting with ‘Han Taekyung’s face is national representative material!’ that he could barely bring himself to read.
After the introduction of the players was over, Seo Igeon quickly focused on the YouTube screen.
The match that ended in less than five minutes was, of course, Han Taekyung’s victory. He bowed politely, smiled once at the camera, and then shared the joy of victory with his coach. Of course, since Seo Igeon was watching the video already knowing that Han Taekyung had won, he lightly skipped that part and began analyzing his fighting style. He was cleaner and faster than expected. If Seo Igeon’s style was characterized by heavy, solid kicks, Han Taekyung’s style featured attacks that seemed to slice through like a sharp knife.
‘If you and Han Taekyung fight, it would be like a spear against a shield?’
After watching this match, he understood why Instructor Jin had said that. He wanted to face him once. How would he move against him? What form would he show and what attacks would he make? If you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it.
“Hmm… I guess I’ll see him at the selection tournament.”
Igeon turned off his phone, warm from use, and lay sprawled on his bed thinking. And that night, Igeon was only able to fall asleep at four in the morning after searching for Han Taekyung’s match videos.
â—†
“Wow~ I’m screwed.”
Igeon sighed looking at his report card. Though he had given up on studying, his grades were so terrible that it seemed like too much.
“Igeon. How about you?”
Kim Gyeongsu, a friend sitting in front of Seo Igeon who had been sighing continuously, turned around with desperate eyes.
‘Ah, there were exactly ten more guys behind me, and this guy is one of them.’
Seo Igeon patted the shoulder of his friend who would get beaten at home today.
“I failed too, but it looks like you failed as well.”
“Ha, it’s a total disaster. I think I’m really going to get it today… Did my dad already check the report card?”
Since the grades could be checked directly on the school app, he probably already had. Knowing full well that all of Gyeongsu’s siblings except him were gifted students, Igeon couldn’t help but feel sorry for his friend who had no choice but to care about grades.
“I guess I’ll just have to grovel today.”
“Hang in there.”
“No, how about I just stay with you today and not go home?”
“Hey, are you trying to ruin someone’s life? I could die if your dad gets involved, so don’t say that. Just go home quickly and beg for forgiveness.”
“Can’t they just admit I’m not smart and give up on me now…?”
Leaving behind the whining Gyeongsu, Seo Igeon put his report card in his bag. It didn’t matter what his grades were anyway. He didn’t need to go to a regular university. His only goal was Korea National Sport University, and that school wasn’t a place you could enter with academic grades.
The national team selection was the gateway from being a junior national representative to becoming a senior national representative. Passing through that gateway would qualify him to enter Korea National Sport University. Igeon was living today diligently to pass through that gateway and get one step closer to his dream.
“Sob… Igeon, can’t you just stay with me today?”
“No. I have practice today.”
At the end of school, he detached himself from Gyeongsu, who followed him to the school gate, clinging and whining, and headed to the gym. Since it was a 20-minute run to the gym, Seo Igeon adjusted his bag to prevent it from bouncing and retied his shoelaces to prepare for the run. Then he counted down silently to himself.
3, 2, 1…
As soon as it hit 0, Igeon sprinted forward with all his might, running toward his goal regardless of whether people were looking at him or not. And when he arrived at the gym, Instructor Jin welcomed the sweaty Igeon cheerfully.
“It’s finally announced!”
“What?”
“The selection tournament!”
He thought it was perfect timing. Seo Igeon’s heart started beating harder and faster.
â—†
“Seo Igeon! Pass!!”
He threw the basketball forcefully toward a friend waving from a distance. The friend who received the pass casually scored a goal and shouted ‘Nice!’ The basketball match that had started during lunch break with drinks at stake was won by Seo Igeon’s team, and while his teammates were enjoying their leisure on the bench waiting for the losers to bring drinks as befitting winners, Seo Igeon himself had taken out his phone and was reading something with a serious face.
“What are you doing?”
Gyeongsu asked Igeon while wiping off his sweat.
“Nothing.”
“Your face doesn’t look like it’s nothing. What is it?”
Gyeongsu stretched his neck like a turtle and examined Igeon’s phone screen. Contrary to his expectation that he would be watching a YouTube video at most, Gyeongsu saw dense text and looked at Igeon with narrowed eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re studying right now?”
“What? Seo Igeon is studying??”
The rest of the friends who were lying down in the shade also got up abruptly at the unbelievable news.
“No! You guys. I just have something I need to read.”
“So what is it?”
“Tsk.”
Though reluctant, knowing his friends would persistently dig if he tried to brush it off, Igeon clicked his tongue and confessed.
“There’s a written exam in this year’s selection tournament.”
“Selection tournament… for the national team?”
“Yeah.”
“Was there always a written exam?”
“No, there wasn’t. They say it starts from this year. If your school grades are good, it’s fine, but my grades aren’t that great so I have to take the exam…”
“Wow… what? So if you fail the exam, you can’t do it? The great Seo Igeon?”
“Yes! So let me look at this.”
Igeon was really at a loss. Of course, Instructor Jin, who was the first to hear this news, also had a very perplexed expression. He knew Seo Igeon’s grades better than anyone. He also protested the most about why a written exam that had never existed before was suddenly introduced. However, the Taekwondo Association was firm. This time, no matter what, they had to take the exam, and only those who scored above 60 points would be given the qualification to compete in the selection tournament. Instructor Jin tore at his hair and wailed that they should just do a tournament instead.
‘No, Instructor, I’m not that stupid.’
‘If you had any conscience, you couldn’t say that to me.’
The instructor said through gritted teeth while looking at Igeon, and he couldn’t retort anything to that. But what could he do? He had been running solely for that one goal all this time, and now he couldn’t give up because of a written exam, so he had to study. Fortunately, there were subjects and test scopes set by the association, so it seemed like he could somehow study within that range.
“When is the exam?”
“About two weeks left.”
“Wow, do you think you can make it?”
“I have to.”
What else can I do if I don’t? I have no choice. At Seo Igeon’s determined words, all his friends patted his shoulders and encouraged him. Among them, a tactless comment from one friend touched a nerve with the already sensitive Seo Igeon.
“Oh~ Han Taekyung gets a free pass, huh?”
A friend who found Seo Igeon’s story interesting out of boredom seemed to have seen Han Taekyung’s name in an article about the taekwondo national team selection exam.
“What? How?”
Gyeongsu grabbed his friend’s phone with interested eyes and quickly read through the article.
“Wow, this guy is seriously amazing. How does he have a top grade in his school records too?”
“Hey, Han Taekyung is known for being good at studying. He probably has many options even without becoming a national representative.”
“He’s really annoying. Being a dominant alpha is annoying enough. I’m glad there’s no one like that around me. Really. Just thinking about being compared to someone like that… ugh~ I’d die from stress.”
Gyeongsu… are you saying this for me to hear?
“Igeon, hang in there.”
Suddenly, his friends patted Igeon’s shoulders with sympathetic faces.
“What’s with you guys? So annoying. I’ll pass too.”
“Yeah. Don’t be too disappointed, and although we’re worried because you only know taekwondo… still, there must be something else you can do. So don’t be too heartbroken. If it gets tough, make sure to tell us!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
