Training for Combat

The dull thud echoed through the gym, but this time it wasn't nearly as loud. The sandbag standing in front of Mina remained intact, swaying gently on its chain.

"That wasn't bad at all."

"That's a relief... but is it really okay to go through sandbags like this?"

Mina gave an awkward smile as she glanced toward the corner of the green mesh fence, where a pile of sandbags was stacked. At a glance, there were at least thirty of them, yet only two or three still held their original shape. The rest had been torn in half, and the worst ones had lost all recognizable form.

"I'll be covering the costs anyway."

"Still, this is just a test. Aren't we using too many?"

Seok-jun had offered to pay for all the expenses from her adaptation training and testing, but she couldn't help feeling a little worried.

"Proper preparation is crucial in real combat. Focusing only on the actual fights while skimping on practice costs is putting the cart before the horse."

Hearing his firm response brought back memories of her school days.

"Pfft. Being around you, Seok-jun, somehow reminds me of my university days."

"I don't recall ever graduating from the Hunter Department."

"Ahaha! No, I just mean your words sound a lot like what my instructor used to say."

In the Hunter Department, they spent ridiculous amounts of money on things like this. When one student had asked why they were learning all this when most of them would only ever reach B-rank anyway, their instructor had snapped back:

The memory of their instructor's fierce expression still lingered vividly in Mina's mind. For a moment, Seok-jun's face had overlapped with it.

"Sounds like you went to a good school."

"Hehe, is that you bragging about yourself?"

At her question, Seok-jun let out a small laugh and brushed it off.

"It's just been a while since I've heard that kind of talk."

He gave the sandbag a couple of light taps, as if urging her to continue the training.

"The internal condition looks good too. This level of control seems perfect for subduing people."

"But I'm still not confident..."

She had succeeded in controlling her power this time, but it was only her first success.

"Just keep practicing. At this rate, we'll have fewer sandbags to replace too."

"Hey! Are you making fun of me?"

Mina grumbled, but she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠continued striking the sandbag according to his instructions, trying to hold onto the sensation she'd felt when she succeeded.

-Crunch!

"Ah."

"I'll bring a new one."

Of course there were still failures, but whenever that happened, Seok-jun quickly replaced the sandbag. The only problem was that whenever he stepped away, even briefly, the stares she'd been trying to ignore came poking at her cheeks again.

Seok-jun told me not to pay them any mind, but...

When she glanced around, she noticed quite a few people watching her from both near and far, their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes subtly fixed on the fence where she was training. Those stares had started the moment she'd first burst a sandbag.

At first she'd felt so embarrassed that she'd considered leaving, but—

We paid to use this place, and we haven't broken any rules.

This facility existed for exactly this purpose, so they might as well enjoy the service they were entitled to.

It's foolish to let other people's gazes distract you when you should be focusing on yourself.

With that mindset, she'd kept training. As a result, the number of onlookers had only grown, but at least they weren't interfering with her practice.

"Why does it feel like there are so many more people today?"

It was one of those training days with him. They'd come to the gym as usual for their session, but an unusually large crowd filled her vision.

"Maybe because it's the weekend."

"Y-yeah, that must be it, right?"

It would make sense if more people were using the gym because it was the weekend, but both of them sensed that something felt off.

"There are so many empty spots though?"

"Hmm."

Indeed, if they'd come just to use the facility, there were noticeably many empty training fences. That wasn't the only suspicious thing. Some people weren't even entering the fenced areas—they were just peeking in from outside. And then there were the whispers.

"Hey, hey, over there!"

"Whoa, it's real?"

"I told you I saw her!"

She could feel some of them spotting the pair and circling around while murmuring among themselves. People who had been occupying the spectator seats were now subtly moving down to claim fences, yet somehow the crowd seemed even larger despite so few ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠actually training. It was a bizarre situation.

"They're probably just students, right?"

Most gym users were students, so she'd tried to brush it off, but these days students grew up so fast it was hard to tell. Some of them looked too mature to be students—maybe she was just imagining it?

"Not all of them are students."

"Then adults?"

"Unless they're particularly delinquent teenagers, you wouldn't smell this much cigarette smoke or men's cologne, would you?"

When she sniffed the air at his words, she immediately understood.

"...You're right. It is different."

She'd noticed the scent was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off from the beginning but had assumed it was just because of the larger crowd. But this was far too strong, a chaotic mix of odors that didn't belong in a place like this gym.

"Why though?"

"I have a pretty good idea."

"What is it?"

"We'll find out once we step inside the fence."

Still puzzled, Mina followed him into the training area as usual. That's when it happened.

-Clang!

Clink!

-Ching!

-Clang!

As if they'd been waiting for it, the people who had been wandering around began entering the neighboring fences. Those who were a bit late rushed into other empty ones. Some even stood just outside the fence staring in, or peeked from farther away.

"Huh?"

"Looks like things have gotten a bit troublesome."

When Mina looked at Seok-jun with trembling eyes, wondering what on earth was going on, his expression suggested he'd expected this. At this point, even she couldn't help but catch on.

After all, most of the people around them were men.

"Wait, you don't mean..."

"It's better if you don't say it out loud. These people don't seem to realize how awkward they're being."

Before she could even finish speaking, Seok-jun raised a finger to his lips, silencing her. The realization that her suspicion was true left her speechless.

"N-no way. All these people came here... to see me?"

She whispered, afraid her words might carry. Even now, the people occupying the nearby fences were pretending to focus on their own training while sneaking glances their way. Those who hadn't managed to claim a fence were aimlessly wandering around the area, acting like they weren't watching. At this point, pretending not to notice was harder than anything.

"It seems one of your photos got posted on some SNS site."

"But still, this many people..."

"It's actually pretty common. Same principle as hiring a pretty part-timer at a café to boost sales."

I made quite a nice profit from it myself back then.

"Wait, what? But wasn't your café unmanned?"

"I used to hire people at first."

Even though it was tucked away in a corner, just having a pretty part-timer had drawn huge crowds.

"The problem was that it created too many things I had to help with, which started interfering with my real work. So I converted it into an unmanned café."

"Then what happened to that part-timer...?"

"I introduced her to the owner of a nearby PC bang. Thanks to that, his business did well too."

"In any business, a good face is important. Though I didn't mean for this to happen, right now that role seems to have fallen to you, Mina."

"Oh my god."

Mina felt like she'd just discovered a dark side of the world in a completely unexpected place.

"Even so... all these people came because of me?"

"I think the fact that you're beautiful plays a part, but men are such pitiful creatures, you see."

She was happy to hear Seok-jun's compliment, but she still couldn't understand it. Out of all these people, not a single one had actually come up to talk to her.

"Lee Mina?"

"Eh."

Just like now. While she stood frozen in the unexpected situation, she heard her name called in a familiar male voice. When she turned around—

"Ah!"

Blond hair and striking red eyes.

"...Who was it again?"

"Ugh, you don't remember?"

"It's not that I don't remember, but..."

The impact of Su-ji chasing after her and grinding her teeth had been so strong that this person's presence had been completely overshadowed.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Y-yeah, we're former classmates... sort of."

When Seok-jun looked over with a somewhat intrigued expression, the man spoke up as if slightly offended.

"Hey, it's me, Seong-gyu. I was the class president in high school."

"Oh... what brings you here?"

She wondered if he'd come to train like them, but now that she remembered his name, she also recalled that he was an A-rank hunter just like her. Shouldn't he usually be out hunting gates or working for some company?

"Well, haven't you seen this?"

Seong-gyu held up his smartphone from beyond the fence.

The screen showed a photo of her and Seok-jun standing together, along with a video clip of their first sparring match that had been uploaded to some community forum.

"No way. People saw this and...?"

"Yeah. I came because I thought it might be you."

She was at a loss for words and closed her mouth. Seok-jun spoke up instead.

"Shall we start the training now?"

"Ah, right."

Recalling Seok-jun's earlier advice, Mina decided it was better not to pay them any attention.

"Hey, who the hell are you?"

If Seong-gyu hadn't spoken to him—

This feels like déjà vu...