Just when Choi Ji Hoon stood awkwardly to take her home anyways, he saw Jung Il Hoon wagging his finger and stopped.
He was even saying something. The blatant words his lips conveyed were clear.
‘If you run, you’ll die.’
* * *
After he’d seen Lee Hye Yeon off, Choi Ji Hoon approached Jung Il Hoon, his shoulders cringing and his eyes trembling. Without a doubt, he was the picture of a prisoner.
“It’s hot. Let’s walk a little.”
“Yes, hyung.”
They headed towards a nearby park.
For Choi Ji Hoon, it was an incredible relief that they didn’t ascend into the back mountains.
‘At the very least, it’s better that I was caught by Jung Il Hoon and not someone else.’
He was the first instructor and had a strong sense of responsibility. Since he himself was courting someone, he was unusually considerate.
Fish were swimming peacefully in the clear, park lake.
‘I’m jealous of you guys.’
At this moment, even Choi Ji Hoon was jealous of the fish.
Jung Il Hoon moaned loudly with a drawn face, “Do you… like Hye Yeon?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Choi Ji Hoon didn’t make any excuses.
They might not be in a dating relationship, but he was certain that the feeling of love had blossomed in his heart.
“So that’s how it is.”
Jang Il Hoon didn’t speak for a long time.
Choi Ji Hoon’s body, which had been trembling like a leaf, gradually relaxed.
‘I survived.’
He hadn’t been thoughtlessly beaten. So with the optimistic hope that he would make it to the other side safely, he tried carefully moving forward.
After a moment of silence, Choi Ji Hoon gallantly straightened his chest.
“As long as Hye Yeon likes me, I want to try being in a honest, serious relationship with her.”
“In the end, you…”
“I’m sorry. Hyung-nim.”
“It’s fine. What reason is there to be sorry to me. Love is a matter for those involved. And if it doesn’t come to dating?”
“I’m in love with her.”
Choi Ji Hoon explained how some expressions of Lee Hye Yeon were so beautiful to him.
It was an explanation that spanned a long 10 minutes. He even spoke honestly of the empty feelings he’d felt while meeting other girls.
“I’m still young, but I think she’s a girl who’d be hard to find again in my whole life. More than anything… Even now, it’s like I can still hear her voice. I think of her when I sleep, too.”
Choi Ji Hoon realized something as he spoke.
Lee Hye Yeon was different from other girls. He realized that if he lost her, she was a precious person he would never be able to meet again, and also just how enthralled he was with her.
Jung Il Hoon clapped his shoulder with a thickset hand.
“Alright. It’s fine if you’re that determined. A man doesn’t have to talk pathetically about this and that.”
“Are you giving me your permission?”
“What do you mean, permission. I told you that love is fine if those involved like each other.”
“Thank you very much. Hyung-nim!”
“Ah, but you know…”
Jung Il Hoon spoke genially, “Come to the dojo starting from tomorrow.”
“What?”
“If you’re a man, you should pay a little attention to your muscle fitness too. Do you think a flaccid body will do.”
“It’s not flaccid…”
It was a body trained with basketball, soccer, swimming and all sorts of sports.
Jung Il Hoon shouted sharply, “It’s weak! With that level of fitness, could you win against about 3,000 thugs if they lunged at you while in the middle of a date?”
“3… 3,000 of them?”
“No matter the situation, you have to be able to protect your girlfriend. Even if a war broke out, a drought struck, a flood happened, earthquake, even if a tsunami were to rise, you have to save your girlfriend. Are you prepared for that much?”
“N-not yet.”
“I shall raise that kind of strength and courage in you. It’s too bad all I can do for you is this kind of small help.”
“Thank you very much.”
“If if they find out the truth that you like Hye Yeon, then even the students will diligently come to help you like it’s their own business. You’ll have no lack of sparring opponents, so come early at dawn. That way, you can receive the teachings from at least one more person.”
Sparring with the instructors and their 500 trainees!
Choi Ji Hoon’s face drained of color.
He thought he might understand the meaning of what it was to come to the dojo.
“Surely your feelings of liking Hye Yeon isn’t fake, right?”
“It’s real.”
“It’s fine if you want to run away. You can run away. That means you don’t have to come out to the dojo.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Since we can just go catch you.”