Chapter 21
The mother with the massive pectoralis major and gluteus maximus, and the daughter with the pathetic pectoralis minor and gluteus minimus—we all filed back into the room from the hallway. Jihye handed Minji a short wooden stick, the very one she had used to train on Juho last time, and began her lecture.
"Since you have such a small build, Minji, a surprise attack is always your best bet," Jihye said. "But there will still be times when you have to face someone head-on. And unless your opponent is a complete idiot, they'll be armed. If you're dealing with someone holding a dagger, your best shield is actually a chair." Jihye pulled out a dining chair from the table and hoisted it up.
"You grab the backrest and the seat with both hands like this, pointing the legs of the chair toward them. In this position, it's incredibly hard for someone with a short-range dagger to get past your guard. Your best move is to keep them at bay while slowly backing away." Setting the chair down, Jihye pulled a jacket out of Minji's closet.
"If there's no chair around, you wrap a jacket around your left hand and forearm like this," she continued. "Then you use your right hand to grab or strike. This is actually a very viable tactic. If your opponent knows how to strike or grapple, fighting them in an open space is tough even if you have a dagger. But in a tight, walled-in space? If you can corner them, they're as good as dead." Minji stood directly in front of her, clutching the wooden dagger in her right hand.
"Don't square up like that. Put your right foot forward," Jihye corrected. "Then bounce back and forth quickly, like a boxing step. Don't think about deep, heavy thrusts. Think of the blade like a jab—fast, shallow slashes that cut and retreat. If you nick a major blood vessel, like the sides of the neck or the inner thigh, they'll lose focus in seconds, pass out in thirty, and bleed to death in a few minutes. The carotid artery in the neck is faster than the femoral artery—it'll knock them out in about five seconds—but since you're short, Minji, you should aim for the inner thigh."
"If Minji only goes for the inner thigh, won't the opponent catch on and guard against it?" I asked, watching with interest.
"There are plenty of other targets," Jihye replied smoothly. "If they duck or lower their head, go for the sides of the neck. If they reach out to grab her, stab under the armpit. If their back is turned or she manages to get behind them, slice the back of the knee. If they grab her collar, slash the artery on the inside of the wrist. And if they bend over and the neck is hard to reach, she can flip the knife into a reverse grip and drive it straight down into the hollow above the collarbone."
Minji suddenly lunged at Jihye, attempting a thrust. I thought she didn't have any questions because she didn't care, but she had actually been paying close attention. Instead of aiming for the obvious inner thigh, she went straight for the back of Jihye's lead left knee. Jihye slipped to the right, thrusting her left hand right in front of Minji's eyes to startle her, and instantly chopped down on Minji's right wrist with the edge of her right hand, sending the wooden stick clattering to the floor.
"When you're holding a knife, the absolute most dangerous opponents are the ones who distract you like that to strike or grab your wrist," Jihye lectured, picking up the stick. "Usually, it's their lead left hand doing the distracting, so keep your eyes on it. You also have to watch your legs. They might throw a high kick or a back kick from your blind spot—attacks you can't easily block with a blade—or they might try to shoot in for a takedown."
Jihye pressed the stick back into Minji's hand and suddenly tapped her outer thigh with a light low kick. "But if you focus too much on one thing, you'll get hit from a completely different angle like this. Honestly, don't worry about takedowns unless you're fighting some guy with cauliflower ears from judo or wrestling. Barely anyone is going to throw kicks in a real fight anyway. Most bastards will just swing their fists or try to headbutt you. When they do, watch their shoulders, not their eyes. A lot of guys try to feint with their eyes, so looking at their face won't help you."
Jihye pulled her arm back in a massive, exaggerated arc and swung a wild punch. "Unless they've got a lot of training, ordinary people always telegraph their strikes by shifting their shoulders first. In boxing, even if it sacrifices a bit of raw power, fighters don't cock their arms back or bob their shoulders up and down. They anchor their lead foot and throw the punch using nothing but the rotational force of their back leg, hips, and torso. They do that so the opponent doesn't see the punch coming."
Jihye flicked a lightning-fast left jab that lightly tapped Minji's cheek, then threw a follow-up right straight, stopping it a hair's breadth from Minji's nose. "You throw a light, non-telegraphed jab to scramble their focus, then follow up with a straight, also completely hidden. After that, you just pour on the strikes without stopping until they drop. Of course, in your case, you're holding a dagger. Even a strike with the force of a light jab will completely neutralize them."
Jihye was surprisingly good at explaining the theory. It actually made her look like a completely different person. As they continued to spar lightly, Minji suddenly slipped her left hand into her pocket, whipped something out, and threw it right at Jihye's face. Jihye instinctively slipped her head to the left to dodge, which forced all her weight onto her lead left leg. Minji didn't miss the opening. She lunged, latching onto Jihye's loaded left leg. Jihye tried to yank her leg back, but with her weight fully committed, she was a split second too slow. Thwack! Minji successfully poked the outside of Jihye's thigh with the wooden stick. Jihye, Yejeong, and I all stared in mild shock. Jihye let out a dry, slightly begrudging chuckle.
"Not bad," Jihye admitted, rubbing her thigh. "Unlike bare-handed fighting, a single stab to a vital spot with a blade is game over. If this had been a real knife instead of a wooden stick, I'd already be limping and desperately trying to figure out how to escape. All you'd have to do is keep your distance, drag out the time, and wait for another opening. I'd eventually bleed out and die, meaning you'd win."
Yejeong, who had been watching Minji's training with wide eyes, spoke up. "Son-in-law Park, do you think I could join in on the exercise too?"
"I'm not teaching an old lady," Jihye shot back coldly.
"I wouldn't learn from you even if you begged me," Yejeong huffed. It was hilarious watching her get so childishly jealous of a girl literally half her age. As the patriarch of this household, I suppose it was my duty to keep the peace.
"Alright, both of you stop bickering and get along," I commanded. "How about you two give each other a nice, warm hug?" Jihye grimaced at the order, but Yejeong put on a warm, motherly smile and wrapped her arms around the girl. Jihye squirmed in disgust, but she ultimately gave in and hugged her back. Ah, seeing my women bonding like this really warmed my heart.
"Minji, now that the dagger training is done, let's finish up with some light weightlifting and cardio." A crowbar was actually pretty well-balanced and decent for working out, but looking at Minji's spindly little arms and legs, lifting any heavy tool seemed like a stretch for her.
"First, I'll teach you how to do bodyweight squats. I learned the proper form from YouTube back when I had a three-month gym membership," I said. "Mother-in-law, you stand next to Minji and do them too." I lined the two of them up side-by-side in front of me.
"Spread your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width," I instructed. "Keep your back straight, bend your knees, and slowly lower your hips. Extend your arms forward to keep your balance." Minji lowered herself with ease, her light frame making it look effortless. Mother-in-law, however, was clearly struggling.
"Son-in-law Park, am I doing this right? My ankles feel so stiff..."
"That happens when your ankles aren't flexible enough," I explained. "Make sure to stretch them every day. For now, just go down as far as you comfortably can. Keep your big toes firmly planted on the floor, and push through the ground to bring yourself back up." Minji rose effortlessly, while Mother-in-law groaned as she forced herself back up. Is it because her tits and ass are so massive? Carrying all that extra weight must make it twice as hard.
"Alright, just three more!" I called out, before immediately adding, "Just one more!" I deployed the devilish trick of personal trainers that I'd once seen at the gym. Just one more! "Haaah... haaah..." Mother-in-law was already gasping for breath, her face flushed, while Minji barely seemed winded.
"Minji, next up is push-ups. Let's see you do them with perfect form. Jihye, show her how it's done." When Jihye had first showed up at the start of the outbreak and pointed a Taser at me, I'd written her off as a useless, incompetent female cop. But watching her drop and crank out push-ups with textbook military precision—the exact standard I'd seen at the NCO training academy—I had to give her credit. Honestly, since I'd dropped out of the academy halfway through, I probably couldn't even do them that perfectly myself.
"See that? Your turn, Minji." Minji got down on the floor and assumed the position. But the moment she tried to lower herself, her entire posture collapsed, her belly hitting the floor first.
"Yeah, those twig arms of yours aren't going to cut it," I chuckled. "Since you're officially an Otoke starting today, just drop your knees to the floor and do modified push-ups." Minji didn't know the exact definition of the slang, but she clearly sensed it was an insult and glared at me. What are you gonna do about it, huh? Lol. Though, remembering how she'd managed to stab Jihye's thigh with that wooden dagger earlier, I realized I should probably start keeping a slight eye on her.
While Minji struggled through her modified push-ups, I sat down next to Mother-in-law, who was resting on the floor, completely exhausted from the squats. I began massaging her pectoralis major, quadriceps, and gluteus maximus to help loosen them up. I'd learned the updated anatomical terms from fitness YouTube—apparently, they call them the 'large chest muscle,' 'four-headed thigh muscle,' and 'large butt muscle' now. Honestly, those names suited Yejeong to a T. If that's the case, I guess Minji is the 'small chest muscle' and 'small butt muscle'? Lmao. Mother-in-law beamed, thoroughly enjoying the "filial" massage from her devoted, son-like son-in-law.
"Once you're done, we'll finish up with ten rounds of cardio on the stairs," I announced, grabbing my Hwando as I headed out. It felt wrong to send Mother-in-law out empty-handed, so I handed her a fire axe. She clutched it and beamed like a little kid receiving a Christmas present, shooting a smug look at Jihye. Jihye's face instantly soured. Not to be outdone, Jihye grabbed a nearby sledgehammer and marched out after us. Ah, I should make her do dumbbell curls with that sledgehammer later. Gotta build up those biceps. I'll make her do it after cardio. Come to think of it, I forgot to make them do sit-ups.
Minji reached into my coat and pulled out the dagger on her own. I hadn't actually planned on doing dagger thrusting drills today, but since she'd taken the initiative, I grabbed the heart-patterned cushion and followed her out.
Pant... pant... gasp... Minji was surprisingly fast at running. I guess having a light body had its perks. Thud! Thud-thud! Oh, look at that. She could actually pull off consecutive thrusts on the cushion now. She was putting Jihye's advice into practice—throwing a jab-straight one-two and then relentlessly driving the blade in until the target dropped. Though, for some reason, she kept her eyes locked dead on mine the entire time she was stabbing the cushion, which felt a bit... unsettling. Well, my heart probably just fluttered because my beloved wife was gazing at me with eyes full of pure affection.
After wrapping up the workout, I dragged Minji into the bathroom with me. Since it was my first time washing her, she seemed absolutely thrilled—starting from the moment I began stripping her clothes off. I pinned down the squirming girl, peeling off her T-shirt and pants, followed by her bra and panties. Holding her wriggling, petite body, I thoroughly scrubbed her down, making sure to clean her groin, her armpits, and every other crevice. When we were finished, she pouted her lips as if begging for a kiss, so I gave her a quick peck. She seemed delighted, scurrying off to the corner of the room with loud, stomping footsteps.
While Jihye took her turn in the shower, Mother-in-law began washing our sweat-soaked clothes and the bed sheets. We hadn't been able to do any laundry lately because we couldn't access the water from the rooftop tank, so the pile had really built up.