When Fists Meet
As soon as the uncle shouted “Begin!” his voice sliced through the air and Chaeyeon’s figure vanished from my sight, leaving nothing but a blue afterimage.
It wasn’t so much disappearance as a lightning bolt ripping through the atmosphere.
The acrid smell of ozone brushed the tip of my nose and sent chills racing across my skin.
Before Jinny could even react, Chaeyeon ignored her completely and charged straight at me.
“Hey, butt-man! Put some real power into that ass!”
At Jinny’s warning I instinctively dropped into a horse stance and focused my mana downward.
All I could do was keep the mana supply steady so Jinny could run wild.
“Watch out!”
Jinny hurled herself at me, shoving me down just as Chaeyeon’s razor-sharp kick screamed toward my temple.
“Tsk.”
Chaeyeon clicked her tongue in clear disappointment and shot me a short glare.
She must have figured it out during the Arachne fight—if the summoner and mana source collapsed, the spirit would vanish too.
“Not bad,” Jinny said, dropping from the air like a meteor to block in front of me. “But things aren’t going to go your way.”
She spread both palms. Golden mana mist condensed into a translucent shield.
Clang!
The metallic ring was followed by lightning exploding from the tip of Chaeyeon’s foot and scattering in every direction across the barrier.
The moment she landed, Chaeyeon refused to stop. She danced left and right, layering pressure from every angle.
“Jinny, defense isn’t enough! Lock down her movement!”
I didn’t even have time to wipe the sweat beading on my forehead. I clenched my glute muscles and forced more mana out.
Chaeyeon refused to yield to Jinny’s endless defensive plays. She chained sharp kicks together, tightening the noose around us.
“If I neutralize the summoner, what can the summoned spirit even do?”
Chaeyeon hammered Jinny’s mana shield until cracks spiderwebbed across it.
Boom!
In that instant Jinny’s body swelled to twice its size. Massive golden hands materialized in the air.
“What can I do? Plenty.”
The giant fist Jinny swung collided head-on with Chaeyeon’s lightning-charged strike.
“We’re not just going to stand here and take it.”
BOOOOM!
The heavy impact shook the entire dojo.
Chaeyeon shattered every mana attack with lightning-wrapped kicks and pressed inward. Jinny, constantly fed mana from me, kept creating fresh golden hands to answer.
“Tch. Fighting you directly is actually pretty annoying,” Chaeyeon muttered, stepping back to glare at both of us.
Thud!
She stomped her right foot hard into the floor. Mana crackled across the mat and raced straight toward me.
Crackle!
“Wait, isn’t this floor supposed to be insulating rubber?”
I was genuinely shocked to see electricity flowing across a material that shouldn’t conduct it.
She used the lightning racing along the floor to blur Jinny’s vision, then circled into my blind spot and unleashed a devastating high roundhouse kick.
“That’s because it’s not normal electricity!”
Jinny blocked the lightning-fast strike with one of her giant mana hands.
Bang!
“It may look like electricity, but it’s an application of mana control,” Jinny said, eyeing Chaeyeon’s right leg as the girl retreated a step. “I’m dying to know what exactly is living in that leg of yours.”
Chaeyeon kicked off the floor and resumed her assault at blinding speed—left, right, above. Lightning-like strikes came from every direction, yet Jinny kept blocking them all with the steady stream of mana I fed her.
“Gangjin, shouldn’t you be giving me more mana?”
Chaeyeon looked like she was completely overwhelming Jinny with her barrage of kicks.
“Isn’t Jinny just getting hit over and over?”
The moment those words left her mouth, Jinny’s eyebrows twitched.
“I’m just getting hit?”
Chaeyeon spun through a full rotation and fired another powerful roundhouse kick. It slammed into the golden mana with a deafening crash.
Kwaaaang!
“...?”
Through the rising cloud of dust I caught Chaeyeon’s startled face.
Instead of dodging, Jinny had used an abnormally enlarged golden hand to snatch Chaeyeon’s ankle out of the air.
“Huh?”
Chaeyeon’s eyes widened in panic.
Jinny flashed a wicked little-devil grin, clearly savoring her advantage.
“Got you, you woodpecker bitch.”
The giant hand kept hold of Chaeyeon’s leg and began swinging her in a circle through the air.
One. Two. Three.
Chaeyeon’s accelerating body drew blue streaks as she spun faster and faster around the dojo.
With a final grunt like a discus thrower, Jinny hurled her into the corner.
“Kyaaak?!”
Chaeyeon flew straight toward the wall, but she twisted mid-air, planted her feet against it, and shot forward like a bullet.
The blue lightning coiling around her entire body burned far more violently than before.
“It’s not over yet!”
From the air she formed dozens of lightning orbs and rained them down on me.
I endured the burning pain in my glutes and pushed my mana output to its absolute limit.
Jinny took that power and stacked layer after layer of massive golden barriers.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang—!
Chain explosions filled the dojo. Thick dust rolled outward, and the air reeked of scorched mana.
“Huff… huff…”
When the dust finally settled, it revealed me on my knees, drenched in sweat, and Chaeyeon standing with ragged breaths.
My legs trembled from squeezing out every drop of mana. Chaeyeon’s legs were shaking too, probably from lightning overload.
“Enough! Both of you worked hard.”
The uncle’s deep voice brought the spar to a close. “For the sake of your safety, we’ll stop here.”
He approached slowly and looked at us with clear pride.
“Excellent. Gangjin demonstrated the stability to keep supplying mana no matter how much pressure he was under as a summoner.”
The uncle gave me an encouraging smile, then raised a thumb toward Chaeyeon.
“And Chaeyeon proved cool-headed tactics that target the enemy’s main body, backed by solid physical ability to support her mana control.”
At his praise Chaeyeon swept damp hair off her forehead and offered me her hand.
“You were seriously amazing.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled myself up. Her palm was slick with sweat—probably from how tense the fight had been.
“I didn’t expect you and Jinny to have such good synergy.”
I smiled awkwardly and glanced over at Jinny. She had returned to her normal size and was now sprawled dramatically across the dojo floor.
“I’m starving…”
She forced the pitiful words out in a trembling voice.
Gurgle—!
A thunderous rumble echoed from her stomach.
“Hahaha! Looks like Jinny really burned through a lot of energy.”
I was still wondering whether spirits could even get hungry when another growl joined in.
Gurgle.
The uncle and I turned at the same time. Chaeyeon’s face had gone slightly red. She stared at the floor and mumbled.
“It’s… dinner time, isn’t it?”
“Perfect! You all worked hard today. Let’s have a good meal!”
The uncle fetched a portable gas stove and a large griddle from the storage room in the corner.
“Dad, are we really allowed to grill meat here?” Chaeyeon asked with wide eyes.
He answered with a wink. “Eating well is part of training too. We throw meat parties here sometimes.”
Soon newspapers were layered across the mats and beautiful pink strips of samgyeopsal sizzled on the griddle.
Sizzle—
The rich aroma of melting fat filled the entire dojo.
Jinny had recovered in record time. She opened a few windows for ventilation, then floated around the grill, swallowing audibly.
“Ooh… That smell! The stimulating fragrance of protein!”
“Wait, Jinny. Pork has to be cooked thoroughly.”
I gripped the tongs and flipped the meat with serious focus.
Beside me Chaeyeon washed lettuce and perilla leaves while the uncle brought out a whole block of well-fermented kimchi and set it on the lower part of the grill.
“Gangjin, you’re really good at grilling. You could work part-time at a barbecue place.”
Chaeyeon laughed playfully as she scooped ssamjang onto her plate.
“At my house I was usually the one in charge of the meat.”
Of course, after the announcement that I was S-class, Mom and Dad had taken over grilling duty for me…
“Here.”
I placed a perfectly cooked piece on Chaeyeon’s plate. She stacked two more slices, garlic, and a generous dollop of ssamjang onto a lettuce leaf, opened her mouth wide, and shoved the whole thing in.
With bulging cheeks she gave me a thumbs-up.
“Wow… This is insanely good. I think I’m happier right now than I was during the fight.”
Jinny materialized a tiny fork with her mana, snatched a piece of meat the uncle offered, and popped it into her mouth in mid-air.
“Mmm! This chewiness! This rich juice that’s even thicker than mana!”
“Hehe, eat as much as you want, Jinny,” the uncle said, pouring us ice-cold cola with a warm smile. “It’s my first time seeing a spirit enjoy samgyeopsal this much.”
The sound of meat sizzling mixed with our laughter, filling the dojo with warmth.
“Gangjin. Chaeyeon.”
When the meal was at its peak the uncle spoke in a serious tone.
“The coordination you two showed today was truly excellent.”
He looked back and forth between us, then closed his eyes for a moment.
“But real combat is nothing like mock battles.”
He opened his eyes again, wearing a dependable smile.
“The real thing will be far harsher and more cruel. Remember the strength you gained from today’s meat.”
He placed a hand on each of our shoulders and gave them a gentle pat.
“While you’re living your school lives, trust each other and endure together.”
“Yes!” we answered at the same time.
Seeing the grease on the corner of Chaeyeon’s mouth made me smile without thinking. She looked at me and smiled brightly in return.
“Gangjin, after midterms are over, want to grab lunch with me?”
Lunch? We usually ate at school on weekdays… so she meant on the weekend?
“I’ll buy.”
“Oh, for real? I’m going to order something expensive, you know.”
At my teasing she let out a small laugh.
“Of course. Just don’t get hurt.”
After we finished the samgyeopsal party and cleaned everything up neatly, I left the dojo.
Chaeyeon and the uncle turned off the lights, locked the door, and came out to say goodbye.
“Are you really sure I don’t need to drive you home?”
The uncle pressed the button on his car key, unlocking the doors.
“Yes. I’ll walk with Jinny, get some digestion in, and chat on the way.”
He nodded. “Go safely. See you next time, Gangjin.”
Chaeyeon waved too. “See you at school.”
I said my goodbyes and started walking down the night road that had already grown dark.
The moonlight in the sky was unusually bright.
Jinny, with a full belly, sat on my shoulder humming a pleasant tune.
Before the big residue cleanup operation began, it felt like I had grown a little closer to Chaeyeon through that mock battle.