How Much Have I Held Back?!
The address Yoon Arin had sent was—unexpected.
Kang Seoyeon stopped in front of the old building and looked up at the sign.
Faded with age, yet a name she knew all too well.
It was the gym she and Yoon Arin had frequented as children.
…Of all places, here.
Her chest ached.
This was where they had grown up together. Jumping rope side by side, holding mitts for each other, sparring until their noses bled. The place that held everything from their endless fights to the times they'd finally sit down and share a cup of tteokbokki. Every memory of that era lived within these walls.
And Yoon Arin had called her here.
At this hour, the door should have been locked long ago.
But it swung open silently.
Yoon Arin must have arrived early and let herself in.
Kang Seoyeon swallowed dryly and stepped inside.
In the center of the darkened gym stood an old ring. And on it—Yoon Arin, her back turned.
"…You came?"
Yoon Arin spoke without looking back. Her voice was cold as ice.
Kang Seoyeon climbed onto the ring slowly. She had ascended and descended these ropes thousands of times since childhood.
But today, each step felt impossibly heavy.
"…Arin. That, that call earlier was…"
The moment Kang Seoyeon cautiously opened her mouth—
Yoon Arin spun around.
Smack—!
Before her words could finish forming, her cheek stung with a sharp, ringing blow.
"…!"
Kang Seoyeon clutched her numb cheek. Her mind went blank. Yoon Arin—her lifelong friend—had just slapped her.
"…You really."
Yoon Arin's eyes were bloodshot. Her voice, tightly suppressed, trembled.
"How could you? How could you do this to me? How much did I trust you… I trusted you more than anyone in the world…"
"…"
"You did that to my man and then you have the nerve to call me in the middle of the night? What kind of person are you, seriously!"
Yoon Arin's voice rose higher and higher. Her entire body shook with betrayal.
Kang Seoyeon lowered her head and took every word.
She was sorry.
She had done wrong.
That much was true. But…
"…I did call you."
Kang Seoyeon spoke quietly.
"In the middle of the night. I admit it. But I was trying to figure out how to apologize. That's all…"
"Don't make me laugh!"
Yoon Arin snarled.
"Apologize? Why would you apologize to Hyunwoo! You should apologize to me! I was right in front of you during the day! But you—behind my back, you call my man! Is that what someone who wants to apologize does?!"
At those words—
Something inside Kang Seoyeon snapped.
"…I was trying to apologize!"
For the first time, Kang Seoyeon raised her voice.
"During the day! I went up to you first, I said I was sorry! But you didn't even look at me! You pushed my hand away and just walked off!"
"T-that's…!"
"I was sorry too, more than you know! But did you even accept my apology?! You ignored me! And now you're asking why I didn't apologize?!"
All the sorrow she had been suppressing poured out like a bursting dam.
"I… I held back so much! Without knowing anything!"
Kang Seoyeon felt her eyes grow hot.
It was unfair.
It was agonizing.
She had tried so hard to suppress those feelings. Even in that moment on the ring when she'd nearly lost her mind, she had gritted her teeth and endured it, thinking of Arin.
And now Yoon Arin was treating her like nothing more than a dirty woman chasing after a man.
"…You don't know anything!"
Without meaning to, Kang Seoyeon shoved Yoon Arin hard.
"…!"
Yoon Arin lost her balance and fell to the ring floor.
Thud!
For a moment, silence reigned.
…Oh.
Kang Seoyeon felt a pang of regret.
She hadn't meant to push her.
Emotions had gotten the better of her, and she'd done it without thinking. The moment she saw Yoon Arin fallen, her heart dropped.
"A, Arin. I didn't mean to…"
But.
Yoon Arin, sitting on the floor, slowly raised her head.
Her eyes—were frozen cold.
"…You, right now."
Yoon Arin stood up, trembling.
"You hit me?"
"N-no, I didn't mean to…"
"This is really…!"
Smack—!
Yoon Arin's hand struck Kang Seoyeon's cheek again. Harder than before.
That moment, something inside Kang Seoyeon completely exploded.
Her guilt, her remorse—all of it flew away somewhere.
All that remained was—grievance and sorrow. And the inferiority she had been suppressing for so long.
Smack!
Kang Seoyeon slapped Yoon Arin's cheek right back.
"…!"
This time, Yoon Arin clutched her stinging cheek. She glared at Kang Seoyeon with eyes that couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"You just hit me?!"
"You hit me first!"
Smack! Smack!
The two of them traded slaps, alternating blows. But that lasted only a moment. The back-and-forth of open palms—suddenly turned into fists.
Wham!
Yoon Arin's fist landed squarely on Kang Seoyeon's face.
The two girls who had been slapping each other in a fit of emotion were gone.
All that remained were two fighters who had spent their entire lives competing on this ring.
"…!"
Kang Seoyeon's head snapped back. The taste of blood filled her mouth. But she didn't retreat. Instead, she gritted her teeth and fired back.
Crack!
Kang Seoyeon's counter landed on Yoon Arin's temple.
Now, words were unnecessary. The two of them began pouring out their accumulated feelings in the only way they knew how.
With their fists.
With their entire bodies.
Wham! Crack! Wham!
Fists flew without mercy.
Yoon Arin was, as always, strong. Her fists, driven by betrayal, were far more vicious than usual. She controlled distance with jabs, drove in with straights. Her orthodox, flawless striking pressed Kang Seoyeon back.
But Kang Seoyeon was no pushover either.
Even while taking hits, she drove inward, looking for her signature counters.
Hit and strike. Hit again and strike again. Neither retreated a single step as they pounded each other.
"You idiot! You don't know anything! You know nothing!"
Kang Seoyeon snarled, throwing a punch.
"How much I've… how much I've held back! Thinking only of you, how much I've…!"
"Held back what? You ended up doing all that to my man!"
Yoon Arin threw her own fist without yielding.
"I trusted you! I really trusted you! But how could you do this to me! How could you!"
Wham! Crack! Wham! Crack!!
Along with their fists, their innermost feelings burst out.
Words they had never been able to say.
Emotions they had swallowed down, over and over.
They poured out mercilessly, carried on their punches.
How long did they fight like that?
Amid the chaos of flying fists and tangled bodies—Kang Seoyeon suddenly felt something unfamiliar.
She could read Yoon Arin's movements.
…Huh?
It was the first time.
Despite having been inseparable their whole lives, she had always been a half-beat behind in reacting to those movements. But now, they appeared with uncanny clarity. Before Yoon Arin even threw a punch, its trajectory was already drawn in her vision.
And then she realized.
It was Kang Hyunwoo.
That fight with him.
The vast gap that had stood like a wall no matter how many times she tried to close it.
While being beaten to the brink of death, Kang Seoyeon had been learning without realizing it.
How a true powerhouse moved.
What it meant to read an opponent's intentions. That hellish match had—made Kang Seoyeon grow by a full head.
With that realization—
Kang Seoyeon slipped Yoon Arin's punch for the first time.
"…!"
Yoon Arin's eyes wavered. Kang Seoyeon, who had always floundered beneath her, had read her attack for the first time.
From there, the real bloodbath began.
Yoon Arin gritted her teeth too. She cast aside her carelessness and drew on all the skill of her undefeated champion self. She measured distance with jabs, drove in with straights. That relentless, no-frills pressure pushed Kang Seoyeon toward the corner.
Crack! Wham!
Kang Seoyeon took those punches straight on.
Her temple split open. Her lip tore. Yoon Arin was still stronger. Growing by a head didn't mean that gap would reverse overnight.
But.
Kang Seoyeon didn't retreat. Even while getting hit, she drove inward. What she did best. That vicious counter—striking while taking damage. And this time, she added the "reading" she had learned from Kang Hyunwoo.
Boom—!
Kang Seoyeon's counter grazed Yoon Arin's jaw.
"…!"
For the first time, Yoon Arin staggered. Kang Seoyeon's punch had landed properly.
…Why is this happening.
Confusion flickered in Yoon Arin's eyes.
Kang Seoyeon had never been this strong.
Always one step behind.
No matter how hard she struggled, she always ended up kneeling beneath Yoon Arin.
But today was different. She didn't crumble when hit, and even when she slipped, she drove back in. As if she were a different person entirely.
The two of them traded punches without retreating a single step.
Blood flew. Sweat flew. Their faces swelled and became a mess. And yet, neither fell. A bloodbath between lifelong rivals, each staking their entire pride.
But as time passed—the scales began to tip, little by little.
Kang Seoyeon grew more accurate with every hit she took. She read Yoon Arin's habits, her rhythm, her next move—one by one. Meanwhile, Yoon Arin grew increasingly anxious. Her usual attacks were being slipped, and she was taking counters she never used to.
Her orthodox movements were being read completely by Kang Seoyeon.
Crack! Wham! Crack!
Kang Seoyeon's counters landed on Yoon Arin, one after another.
Yoon Arin's body was pushed back step by step. Her footwork faltered. Her guard collapsed.
The Queen—was, for the first time, on the defensive against Kang Seoyeon.
…This can't be happening.
Yoon Arin couldn't believe it.
It was Kang Seoyeon. The Kang Seoyeon who had always been beneath her. Right now, she was the one pressing the attack.
When had she become this strong? What had happened?
But before she could even process those questions, Kang Seoyeon came in with a final gambit.
She deliberately left an opening, baiting Yoon Arin's punch.
Anxious, Yoon Arin threw a confident straight into the gap.
But—that was exactly what Kang Seoyeon had been aiming for.
…Just like Kang Hyunwoo.
Kang Seoyeon slipped the punch slightly. Then she drove a full-powered counter into Yoon Arin's now-exposed face.
Boom—!
"Kuh…!"
It was a clean hit. Yoon Arin's head snapped back. Blood sprayed from her mouth, tracing a red arc under the lights. Bright crimson blood streamed down her nose and mouth.
"…Ah."
Yoon Arin's eyes lost focus and clouded over. Her legs went weak, and her body swayed violently. The solid center that had earned her the name Queen—was, for the first time in her life, completely crumbling before Kang Seoyeon.
Kang Seoyeon didn't miss that moment she had never seen before. She grabbed the staggering Yoon Arin by the waist and slammed her down onto the ring floor.
Thud!
Yoon Arin was pinned to the ground. And Kang Seoyeon climbed on top of her. She pressed down on both shoulders, completely immobilizing her.
.
.
.
.
.
Silence fell.
Only ragged breathing echoed through the empty gym.
Yoon Arin, pinned to the floor—stared blankly up at Kang Seoyeon.
What her eyes held was not anger or grievance. It was pure shock.
I… lost to Kang Seoyeon…?
It was unbelievable.
Something that had never happened, not once, in her entire life.
They had fought hundreds of times, and Kang Seoyeon had always been beneath her.
Yoon Arin was the standard, and Kang Seoyeon was always her shadow.
But now, that Kang Seoyeon—was pinning her down.
The hound that had always been considered one step below her had finally hunted down the woman called the Queen of the ring.
Kang Seoyeon looked down at Yoon Arin, breathing heavily.
They were both battered beyond recognition.
Kang Seoyeon was in no better shape. Her face was covered in blood, and her ribs were so bruised she could barely feel them.
Her entire body had been pounded to the point that just standing made her legs tremble. She had taken a beating that nearly killed her even while pressing Yoon Arin back.
And yet, for the first time, Kang Seoyeon was on top of Yoon Arin.
With a battered body, with a battered heart, she pressed down hard on the ruined chest of the woman she had spent her whole life looking up to.
And then—
All the resentment she had been suppressing burst out.
"…Do you know? How much I held back."
Tears fell from Kang Seoyeon's eyes, dripping down onto Yoon Arin's cheek.
"I spent my whole life living beneath you. No matter what I did, I was always second. I heard it so many times—'Yoon Arin is just so much better.' I heard it until I was sick of it. But I held back. Because you're my friend. My most precious friend in the world."
"…Kang Seoyeon."
"But that man… the first person I've ever liked in my life… I wanted him too. Just this one time, I wanted to win!"
Kang Seoyeon sobbed while pinning Yoon Arin down.
"But you… you said even that wasn't allowed. Like we weren't that close, you just treated me like a dirty woman! Me, your lifelong friend!"
Yoon Arin couldn't say a word. She could only stare blankly up at Kang Seoyeon, who was wailing above her.
After a long while of sobbing, Kang Seoyeon slowly—raised herself up.
She wiped her tears and looked down at Yoon Arin. Her eyes were different from before. Not eyes soaked in sorrow—but the eyes of a fighter, resolved.
"…Let's fight on the ring."
"…What?"
"Not this kind of brawl. A proper match. A formal bout."
Kang Seoyeon extended her hand toward Yoon Arin. It wasn't a hand of reconciliation. It was a declaration of war.
"If I win, Kang Hyunwoo is mine. If you win… then I'll give up cleanly. So don't run away."
Yoon Arin, lying on the floor, looked up at that hand. Then—instead of taking Kang Seoyeon's hand, she raised herself up on her own. And she met Kang Seoyeon's gaze with eyes as cold as ice.
"…Fine."
Yoon Arin's voice settled into a chilling calm.
"Let's see it on the ring. But remember this, Kang Seoyeon. There will be no mercy then. You're no longer… my friend. You're just an opponent I need to break."
Their gazes clashed in the air, taut with tension.
On the ring where they had laughed and grown up together as children—
two childhood friends who had spent their whole lives side by side now stood facing each other as rivals.