Momеnts latеr, thе door opеnеd with a soft chimе, and a pеrson walkеd in wеaring flip flops. Thеir hands wеrе in thеir pockеts. Ji-Won stoppеd hеr training whеn shе hеard thе door. Shе lookеd at thе pеrson.

"Wеlcomе," Ji-Won greeted.

Thе pеrson, wеaring a bluе swеatshirt, smilеd whеn thеy saw Ji-Won. Thеy walkеd closеr to hеr slowly. Thеy lookеd at Ji-Won carеfully, from hеr hеad to hеr fееt. It sееmеd likе thеy wеrе еxamining hеr closеly, likе somеonе chеcking an itеm in a storе for any flaws or dеtails. 

Ji-Won feeling the intense gaze on her questioned as she grew uncomfortable, “What do you need? Can I help you with something?”, but there was no response.

The customer continued to judge Ji-Won with those scrutinizing eyes and occasionally remarking enthusiastically, “Oh”. As he walked around gazing at Ji-Won’s body from every angle in search of something unknown. Although Ji-Won couldn’t help but feel as if she was exposed naked in front of him. 

Having enough, Ji-Won threatened, “Stop it with that gaze, or else I’ll call the police”.

The blue sweatshirt individual, realizing he might have crossed a line, quickly apologized, “Sorry If I made you uncomfortable. I’m just a curious guy”.

Ji-Won on guard, raised an eyebrow, “Curious about what exactly?”.

The blue sweatshirt guy grinned, “Your physique. You look like someone in sports. Your body is toned, do you work out?”.

Ji-Won replied simply, “Yeah, I do. What’s it to you?”.

The blue sweatshirt guessed playfully, “Boxing, right?”.

Ji-Won was speechless. How did he know?

The blue sweatshirt chuckled noticing her change in expression and pointed at the boxing gloves placed on the table near her, “I saw those”. 

Ji-Won still wary asked, “What’s your deal? If you’re not going to buy anything”.

The blue sweatshirt amused said, “How about I spar with you? I saw your moves when I entered. No offense but you suck even for a rookie”.

Those words heavily struck Ji-Won’s conscience and her fists clenched in anger. “Who are you to tell me about my skills?”, she questioned, her eyes narrowing in anger. 

The blue sweatshirt individual grinned and proudly pointed at himself with confidence, “The name’s Tae-Soo, and I’m a boxer as well”.

Ji-Won’s anger subsided a bit when she heard he was a boxer.

Tae-Soo unbothered continued, “Come on, Let’s have a little spar. I’m curious to see what you got, rookie”.

Ji-Won hesitated eyeing him warily but the challenge was tempting, and she could use some practice for her new moves to see if she had improved or not. “Fine, Let’s do it”, she agreed her competitive spirit ignited. 

The convenience store became their makeshift ring as they both stood at the entrance facing each other. The hum of the store faded into the background as the two prepared to spar. Tae-Soo, with his hands tucked in his pockets, seemed unfazed while Ji-Won adopted her fighting stance eyes focused solely on her opponent, tension hanging in the air.

They began circling each other, and Ji-Won initiated the spar with a quick jab, but Tae-Soo effortlessly dodged it with a smirk. He moved with precision like an experienced boxer.

In response, Ji-Won threw a series of hooks, but Tae-Soo deftly avoided each one, his movements fluid and controlled. His eyes were sharp observing and analyzing Ji-Won’s every move. 

Despite Ji-Won’s best efforts, she couldn’t land a single punch on Tae-Soo. He weaved through her attacks like a breeze. 

Tae-Soo grinned taunting, “Is that all you’ve got, rookie?”.

Ji-Won gritted her teeth frustrated at the limit of her abilities, but she tried to remain focused. Her stance was textbook, and she lunged forward. However, Tae-Soo easily anticipated her moves, effortlessly sidestepping and countering.

The spar continued for a few minutes, with Tae-Soo dominating the spar. Ji-Won struggled to keep up and her frustration grew with each minute not being able to land a single punch. She didn’t want his skills to make her feel inferior but, in the end, it had but she still had one move she had somewhat mastered that she hadn’t used yet. 

Ji-Won adjusted her stance yet again and twisted her core as she lunged a punch upward...not making contact with anything. At the same moment, a chime was heard in the store as a customer entered opening the door interrupting her intense confrontation.

Tae-Soo broke out laughing clutching his stomach as if he saw something hilarious. “Was that an empty swing”, he said between his laughter.

Ji-Won intensely side-eyed him and walked to the counter to quickly ring up the dumfounded customer, who seemed eager to leave the bizarre scene. 

The customer hurriedly left thinking they would never come back to this weird convenience store again. The sounds of laughter resounded in the store until the customer had left. 

Noticing Ji-Won’s speechless face, Tae-Soo attempted to stifle his laughter. He wiped tears from his eyes, chuckling, “It’s fine, rookie’s make mistakes”.

Ji-Won sighed thinking this dude had finally calmed down.

But Tae-Soo wasn’t done. “Even if it is an empty swing”, he taunted, pushing her buttons.

 Ji-Won unknowingly clenched her hands yet again feeling like whatever, she did she could never improve. Even though there were exercises on the diary her father gave her she wasn’t able to follow them exactly as they were written. She felt like she needed to experience and have someone teach her instead of reading it from the diary. 

“Are you done? If so, time to leave”, Ji-Won said rolling her eyes.

“Wait for a second”, Tae-Soo interjected, his tone shifting from playful to serious. “I’ve recovered now let me review the spar for you”, He cleared his throat. “So, In summary, you suck--“.

Ji-Won glared at him, her face forming a deep frown. 

“Ok…Ok…your stance was textbook, which is good, but something was off about your throws. I don’t know exactly but something was missing. Maybe I’ll have to consult that old man”, explained Tae-Soo.

Ji-Won heavily sighed hearing his critique about the spar. 

“Don’t sigh, you’re not the worst I’ve seen. There are worse people than you who come to the gym…wait a second, are you admitted to a boxing gym?”, Tae-Soo asked casually as the topic came up.

Ji-Won sighed deeply yet again, the weight of her struggles evident.

“Your life is pretty hard for a kid. Hang in there”, Tae-Soo said hearing a sigh escape her lips again. 

“I’ve been rejected by all the gyms in this area. Even the worst ones…you’ve seen my skills, right? I don’t think I’ll be admitted into one unless I improve. I even went to another boxing gym in Gwangmyeong, but they rejected me too…”, said Ji-Won explaining.

Tae-Soo scratched his head, visibly puzzled, “Ya, your luck sucks”, he acknowledged. “I don’t know which gyms you’ve been to but most of them let you enter if you only pay the membership fee. But I guess some gyms that are competitive and focus on the professional stage might be more selective. Hmmm…I guess you haven’t been to all the worst gyms in the area”, he replied pondering aloud.

A mischievous grin etched on Tae-Soo’s face as he realized something thinking about this situation. He dashed to the counter, leaning closer to Ji-Won, and said, “How about you join my gym?”.

Ji-Won bothered by his unusual antics was left speechless as he heard what Tae-Soo said. “Ehhhh!”, she yelped in surprise.

“Also, seeing you up close you seem familiar. As if I’ve seen you before”, Tae-Soo said narrowing his eyes as he gazed at her face. 

“What a cringe-worthy pickup line”, Ji-Won replied with a deep frown.

“Wait! It’s not like that. Don’t get me wrong, I just thought you looked familiar”, surprised at his own words, Tae-Soo explained. “Whatever, then I’ll see you at the Geumgang boxing gym, come whenever”, he said as he turned to leave with the store with a wink.

Exiting the store, Tae-Soo couldn't but help think that Ji-Won would be a great addition to their gym. He slyly grinned thinking that the old man wouldn't believe what he brought to the gym, he would have to cut him some slack now. His eyes narrowed as he thought about the uppercut Ji-Won threw even if it was an empty swing. The finish was amazing, her arm, knee, and toes were in perfect alignment. It was the ideal uppercut form! It proves that she had power behind her punches. Her lower half seems to be nicely trained compared to her upper half, he thought thinking about the muscles he saw as he analyzed her body.

 A Week Later

The final results had been released and Ji-Won had thankfully passed. Her eyes teared up as she realized she was successfully acquiring her degree, it felt like a triumph. When she told her mother, she hugged and yelled in glee. Her mother even took out the whole family for a barbeque. Though Ji-Won knew all the happiness was only for a little while since she didn’t know how her mother would react when she found out that she was joining a boxing gym. 

Hmm…would she suffocate her? or throw appliances at her? The second option is most likely to occur. She sighed, stuffing her mouth with barbeque, and decided to deal with the consequences later. Also, she had to inform Min-Joon about this news when she got back home.

While the Yoo family they were celebrating with barbeque, the Kim family had quite the opposite atmosphere.

In the grand dining room of the Kim family estate, Seung-ho sat alone on the large table to finish eating his dinner. He took the last bite of rice and rose from his chair to leave for his room, but he halted seeing the maid approach him. “What?”, he said casually.

“There is a message from the Chairman”, the maid informed, bowing slightly. 

Seung-ho scoffed, his hands tucked in his pockets, “What does the chairman say?”.

“He will not be able to make it for dinner”, the maid relayed.

“It’s not like he ever comes before what’s the use of this message? That old man has finally gone senile, hasn’t he?”, Seung-ho replied taunting. 

The maid trembled in fear of the young master’s anger and remained bowed. 

“Inform the chairman that I will be starting at the Lee firm tomorrow as the manager of team 6. Also, clean this up I’m going to my room”, declared Seung-ho as he walked away.

The maid sighed and cleaned up the dining table putting away the dishes in the kitchen. She didn’t know why the young master was so easily angered but he was pitiful since his own father didn’t even spend time with him. She couldn’t remember when it was the last time the two had talked about something other than work.

In households within the city, some either celebrated their child’s graduation or prepared for their graduation in a week. Acquiring a bachelor’s degree was quite the feat for some as they struggled through these years. This day marked the end of struggles and the beginning of a new chapter.