Childhood Friends: Turning the Tables - Chapter 8.2
Eun-sae recalled the time when Yoon Tae-seung had ignored her messages. Their mothers were going out together that day, so they were given pocket money and told to order something delicious at home.
She had wanted to text him to come quickly and decide whether they should order sweet potato pizza or potato pizza, but even then, Tae-seung did not check his messages.
It was about forty minutes after she had left a missed call that he finally called back. By then, she had already ordered the potato pizza.
“Anyway, check your phone more often. Even if you’re late, at least reply.”
“…To her?”
Now that she thought about it, she realized she had never heard Tae-seung say Kim Si-hyun’s name. He always referred to her as “her.” If Si-hyun found out about that, she would be deeply hurt.
Eun-sae would not have cared so much if it were someone else, but since she knew that Kim Si-hyun liked Tae-seung, she could not help feeling more conscious of it.
“ ? It’s Kim Si-hyun. And I’m saying, don’t ignore anyone’s messages.”
Tae-seung took the hot dog stick from Eun-sae’s hand, tossed it into the trash can in front of the convenience store along with his own, and replied,
“I’ll try.”
“I hope your social skills improve.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
The half-hearted tone of his reply, utterly devoid of gratitude, was exactly like him.
It seemed he had grown taller again. The hem of his uniform pants now hung above his ankles, and his shirt sleeves were short enough to reveal his wrists.
“What’s this? Did you get hurt?”
There was a bandage wrapped around Tae-seung’s wrist. Startled, Eun-sae instinctively grabbed his forearm.
“It’s not a bandage. It’s taping.”
“Taping? What’s that? Isn’t it something you put on when you’re hurt?”
“My wrist just feels stiff. They say it’s common when you first start hitting the sandbag.”
“Really? You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
Tae-seung lightly rotated both wrists, as if to prove he was fine.
Eun-sae had worried that he might have gotten hurt after starting such a rough sport, but hearing that he hadn’t was a relief. The tension on her face softened noticeably.
“You could’ve just kept doing taekwondo. I don’t know anything about mixed martial arts. Never even seen it.”
It was still hard for her to accept that Tae-seung, who used to share every part of his daily life with her, had stepped into a world completely foreign to her. When she let that slip out, Tae-seung replied indifferently,
“Then you can come visit our gym.”
The moment she heard that, her heart sank heavily. She did not even know why. Maybe because it reminded her of the first time she had followed him to the taekwondo studio.
She remembered Tae-seung in his white, crisp uniform. He looked like a hero. She also recalled holding tightly onto the hem of his uniform because he looked so cool. He had found her annoying back then.
“Sure. I’ll visit. I want to go right now. Should we go today?”
These days, she often felt awkward and uneasy around him, but for once, her heart fluttered as if she were walking on clouds. She could not help smiling in excitement.
Just like when she first learned about taekwondo by following him, she thought she could learn mixed martial arts this time too. She might not be able to train physically, but she was confident she could pick things up by observing.
Seeing her bounce on her feet with sparkling eyes, Tae-seung let out a faint laugh.
“Aren’t you supposed to go to math academy?”
“Not today. I go tomorrow. So can I come today? You’re going to the gym, right?”
“Yeah. Do whatever you want.”
It was a good thing she had only signed up for one academy. Otherwise, she might have missed her chance to visit his gym.
***
The MMA gym had an entirely different atmosphere from the taekwondo studio full of children.
The sound of gloved fists thudding against sandbags echoed intensely. The screech of sneakers sliding on the floor never stopped.
“Alright, eat up, kids.”
The gym director placed a bowl of freshly delivered black bean noodles in front of both Eun-sae and Tae-seung. As she rubbed her wooden chopsticks together and split them perfectly in half, Eun-sae muttered to herself,
“I’m not a kid….”
“If you’re a first-year in middle school, you’re a kid. What, you think you’re an adult?”
In the middle of the table sat a plate of crispy sweet-and-sour pork. In front of the director was another bowl of noodles, but his was piled so high it looked like it might overflow.
“Is yours a double serving, Director?”
Eun-sae asked, and the director burst out laughing.
“Kid, I’m an adult, so I get to eat a double. Normally I eat three bowls before I’m full, but since this is just a snack, I’m keeping it modest. If you’re jealous, grow up fast and become an adult too.”
He laughed heartily and scooped up a huge mouthful of noodles right after.
Among all the adults Eun-sae had ever met, he had the biggest mouth.
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