Starting Today, It's Day One?
Quite a long time had passed, and December had arrived. Jaehyuk, Jeonghan, and Jihun, now on winter break, were working out together at the gym. During the session, Jihun noticed Jeonghan sparring with Director Yu Seonwoo in what looked like an unusual martial art.
Whoa...? They're sparring with sticks?
Jeonghan and Seonwoo, each gripping a stick in their right hand, swung them at high speed in a fluid exchange. Watching them, Jaehyuk muttered, "That's Kali Arnis. A Filipino martial art."
"Kali... whatsit?"
"It's a thing. It's been showing up in a lot of action movies lately. You saw The Uncle Next Door, right? It's one of the martial arts Yun Bin used in it."
Jaehyuk watched Jeonghan sparring with Seonwoo and thought, For someone with Jeonghan's outstanding weapon skills, it's one of the most fitting styles. But why is he suddenly learning it...?
After the sparring session ended, Jaehyuk asked Jeonghan, "So why are you suddenly learning Kali Arnis?"
"Huh? How did you know that's what I was doing?"
"I... I've seen it before somewhere."
In his previous life, during his infiltration of the Gangryonghoe, Jaehyuk had learned Kali Arnis from Shin Taebum. That was how he had instantly recognized the martial art Jeonghan was practicing with Seonwoo.
"But why Kali Arnis...?"
"Oh, I'm thinking of applying to become a Special Forces NCO, and I figured it would help to learn it in advance."
"Special Forces NCO? You're trying to become a soldier? Out of nowhere??"
"Yeah. After thinking it over all this time, I feel like the military might actually suit me. Why?"
"It's nothing... If that's what you want to do, then do it. It's not like I have any right to stop you."
At that moment, Jihun asked Seonwoo, "Director, did you learn that Kali... whatsit before?"
"Yeah. I didn't just train in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu, you know. As you already know, Jihun, my cousin is the head of security for your father's company."
"Ah... you mean Uncle Dongseok?"
Dongseok...? The head of Kang Jiyong's security detail...? Could he be talking about Yu Dongseok?
The name Yu Dongseok, Kang Jiyong's bodyguard chief, flashed through Jaehyuk's mind. In his previous life, Jaehyuk hadn't encountered Dongseok often. But because of his overwhelming presence and his exploits during the gang wars, he was one of the figures who had left a strong impression alongside Shin Taebum.
"I learned various martial arts from the people working under Dongseok. The Kali Arnis we just did, Jeet Kune Do, Sambo, Wushu Sanda, Kudo, and more..."
"Wow... you've learned a lot. What was the strongest one?"
Jihun's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he asked the question. Seonwoo smiled softly and replied, "The strongest martial art? There is no such thing. What matters isn't which style is stronger—it's which person is stronger."
Then Seonwoo turned to Jeonghan. "Take ten minutes to rest, then we'll spar again. I'll point out what needs work."
"Yes, sir."
While Jeonghan was resting, Jaehyuk lowered his voice and asked Jihun, "So how are things with Suyeon?"
"Well... honestly... the vibe isn't bad? But... it doesn't feel right to confess yet. I don't even know how she feels about me."
Jaehyuk pressed him. "How do you know the vibe isn't bad?"
"She smiles with her eyes at me sometimes, and sometimes when I hold her hand she doesn't pull away... Oh, and when we were eating chicken together she gave me the drumstick."
"......For real? You're not messing with me??"
"Yeah. It's true."
Jaehyuk let out a deep sigh and stared at Jihun in disbelief. "Jihun... don't you hear all the time that you're complete garbage at reading the room??"
"Huh? Why?"
"It's not just 'not bad'—she's obviously into you, you thick-headed idiot. At this point just confess already."
"But what if she rejects me..."
"Look. I guarantee you—if Suyeon turns down your confession, you have my permission to punch me as hard as you want. Normally I'd tell you to be careful and think it through before confessing, but in this case she's practically handing it to you on a silver platter. The eye smiles? Giving you the drumstick? If she really did those things, it means she likes you."
At Jaehyuk's words, Jihun fell silent for a moment as if thinking it over, then answered, "All right. I'll give it a shot."
"Good. Good luck."
A few days later, Jihun and Suyeon were playing games together at the PC bang like always.
"Yes! Grandmaster achieved!"
Suyeon cheered when she saw her rank had gone up after the match. Jihun watched in awe and congratulated her.
"Whoa... you actually hit Grandmaster? Congrats."
"Next I need to challenge for Challenger."
"At this rate aren't you going to become a pro gamer, Suyeon?"
"Hmm... pro gamer, huh...? Should I try it?"
"If you want to, then go for it."
As he spoke, Jihun smiled brightly at her. Suyeon returned the smile with a cute eye-smile of her own.
"Want to play Guardians this time?"
"Sure. Just one more round though."
Several hours later, after they had finished gaming, Suyeon and Jihun were walking slowly together down a street lit by streetlamps beneath the night sky.
"Suyeon, anything interesting happen lately?"
"Hm? No, nothing much."
"If anything does come up, tell me. I'll take care of it all."
The way Jihun said it made him look incredibly reliable to Suyeon. Maybe it was because he was thirty-two centimeters taller than her and had been training for years, giving him a physique that dwarfed other students his age. Or maybe it was the unshakable certainty that he would protect her to the very end.
"Uh... yeah... thanks."
As she spoke, Suyeon's ears turned slightly red, but Jihun didn't notice.
He gets even more dependable when he says stuff like that. How can someone be both as cute as a golden retriever and as strong as a rottweiler at the same time??
Suyeon casually slipped her hand into Jihun's. He flinched internally with excitement but didn't let it show on the outside.
Whoa...? She's holding my hand again?! Wait, does this mean... is this a confession setup...?
Jihun's heart began to race faster as he held her small, soft hand again. A tingling sensation spread through his entire body.
It's so small and soft and precious... like a baby's hand. I want to stay like this forever.
The same feelings were running through Suyeon's mind.
His hand is seriously huge... and so warm... I want to keep holding it.
While they were both feeling that flutter of excitement, Jihun asked her, "Suyeon... what's your ideal type?"
"Me? I... um..."
Instead of answering right away, Suyeon slightly turned her head to look at Jihun's face. His cheeks were flushed as he held her hand. Seeing that, she made up her mind.
That's it. Today's the day. No more putting it off—I'm confessing right now!
With that thought, Suyeon answered him. "Someone taller than me, good at sports, good at games, and somehow really dependable... that kind of guy?"
She watched his reaction. His face had turned even redder than before.
"Uh... really...?"
Hearing her words, Jihun took a slow breath, trying to calm his heart that was racing from the excitement of being with her.
Stay calm, Kang Jihun!! Don't mess up because you're too excited—stay calm!!
This is it!! Let's do it now!!
At the exact same moment, they both started to speak.
"Um..."
They spoke in perfect unison, then both froze in embarrassment and told the other to go first.
"You first."
"No, you first, oppa..."
Jihun, his face bright red, took one more deep breath and poured out his true feelings.
"Suyeon. I... I like you."
At his confession, Suyeon's face flushed deeply. She couldn't bring herself to answer right away and simply hung her head, staring at the ground.
Did I fail...?
Jihun waited in nervous silence. Then Suyeon spoke in a tiny voice, breaking the quiet.
"......Me too..."
"What?!"
"I like you too... Jihun oppa..."
Jihun lowered his body so their eyes were level, looked at her, and gave her a bright smile.
"Then starting today, it's day one, right?"
"Yeah... it is."
Though her voice was small and shy, Suyeon was smiling radiantly at him. Her expression looked happier than when she had climbed in rank earlier that day—happier than she had ever looked before.
"Oh? It's snowing."
"That's right, they did say it would snow today."
"......The mood is perfect."
Maybe it was the romantic, heart-fluttering atmosphere of white snow falling around them. Suyeon suddenly pulled Jihun into a tight hug. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, blinking rapidly, before he gently patted her back with his large hand.
"Yeah. It's really nice."
"Um... can you... say it again?"
At a café, Jeonghan stared blankly at Jihun and Suyeon, who were sitting across from him holding hands. Jaehyuk, seated beside Jeonghan, was staring at the pair with the same dumbfounded expression.
"So... you two... are..."
"Dating. I'm going out with Jihun oppa."
Suyeon answered with a bright smile, then linked her arm with Jihun's and pressed close to his side. Jaehyuk nodded.
"So it finally happened. Congratulations."
Jeonghan turned to Jaehyuk with a look of profound betrayal. "Finally? You knew about this?"
"It was pretty obvious from the way Jihun was acting. And Suyeon wasn't exactly hiding it either."
Jihun smiled at both of them. "And you know how I confessed while it was snowing? It was straight out of a drama."
"It really was romantic."
When Suyeon added that with a grin, Jeonghan let out a long sigh.
"Haa... seriously..."
It wasn't that Jeonghan didn't trust Jihun. He was worried that if—if by some tiny chance—things went wrong between Suyeon and Jihun, it would make things awkward with his friend.
"......Oppa."
When Jeonghan remained seated with that worried expression, Suyeon called out to him. He looked at her with the same concern in his eyes.
"Are you worried that if I fight with Jihun oppa and we break up, it'll be bad?"
"......Yeah. Then I'd lose a friend."
"Don't worry about that. I'm going to treat Jihun oppa really well. If I had any thoughts of breaking up, I wouldn't have accepted his confession in the first place."
"That's right. I will never break up with Suyeon, so you can drop that worry. I'll only ever look at her for the rest of my life, and I'll make sure she never has a reason to cry."
"Sigh..."
In the end, Jeonghan let out a helpless sigh, then gave them a bittersweet smile.
"All right. If you two like each other that much... I don't have any right to say anything about it."
To cheer Jeonghan up, Jaehyuk teased him playfully. "Then if Jihun and Suyeon get married... Jeonghan, you'd be Jihun's brother-in-law?? Hey Kang Jihun, call him brother-in-law right now."
"Shut up."
Jeonghan reached over and lightly smacked Jaehyuk on the mouth with the back of his right hand. Since it wasn't hard, Jaehyuk kept grinning. And despite everything, the corners of Jeonghan's mouth were curved in a small smile as well.