"Hah!" "Haah!" "Hyah!"
The clamor of voices reverberated outside a spacious training hall. Children and a few adults were diligently practicing martial arts. They lined up in neat rows and columns. The female instructor, dressed in a white martial arts uniform with a black belt, paced between them, her whistle swinging from her neck as she barked instructions. When she spotted a student faltering, she approached her.
"Ms. Dora! Tighten your fist a little more, make it stronger!" she instructed, adjusting the girl's grip while scanning the room for other mistakes. Hearing her, the student tightened her fist obediently, still looking very cute, causing the teacher to grin.
"Straighten your waist more!" The instructor circled behind her, correcting her posture with a firm touch.
The student listened to her and glanced at her fellow trainee. Unfortunately, she didn't glance back at her as she hoped for, which put a gloomy expression on her face. Rather, her friend was too absorbed in her training, focused as if she was preparing for a championship.
"Yeah! That's the spirit! Right! That's it!" The instructor's eyes landed on Ma Ri, who was executing each move with precision.
"See that? Do it like her! I bet she could knock out a grown man with a single punch!" she praised her best student in the class. Her voice filled with admiration for Ma Ri, the star pupil. All of the eyes were stuck on her, making her blushed.
"No, Ms. Jihan! How can you praise me in front of these children? Moreover, I couldn't get a black belt yet so…I don't think I'm that good." Ma Ri halted her movements while responding shyly.
"No! You're great!" Dora beamed at her.
"See, you should learn from her," the teacher urged, turning back to Dora. "You look so tiny and cute that anyone would think you're a kid!" The teacher shouted, acting cold though she couldn't resist her cuteness.
"What do you mean by tiny? I'm average!" She responded with a rigid voice to declare she wasn't any elf.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" the teacher clapped, calling the students back to focus, though her smirk betrayed her amusement. Dora pouted, casting a sulky glance at Ma Ri, who giggled quietly.
After the session ended, the students went home as the kids' guardians were waiting for them. As for the grown ups, only Ma Ri and Dora stayed as they were close with Eun Jiwoo, the trainer. They changed their clothes as they were ready to go home.
"You're not looking great. Are you okay?" Ma Ri asked, concern etched on her face as she tucked a stray strand of Dora's hair behind her ear.
"I'm fine! It's just exhausting. The children are too much to handle sometimes," Dora replied, leaning back on her hands.
"What do you expect from elementary school students?" Jiwoo interjected, walking in with drinks.
"They're little devils." She grinned.
"I thought they were angels!" Ma Ri teased. She pressed her lips to suppress her laugh.
"No, no! You got me wrong! They aren't any devil," Dora retorted, defending the kids with a grin.
"You have a bunch of kids as students too? So, how can you say something so mean? They are a handful sometimes, but they're really innocent and cute. I like spending time with the little kids. I get to teach them so many things. When they learn something new, they'd make a face with sparkling eyes that'd melt your heart fully. I'm not saying I regret working in a kindergarten, rather I'm enjoying teaching children. But you know it can be exhausting now and then." She took a bottle of lemon soda and gulped it down to quench her thirst. Meanwhile her two listeners listened attentively as she was expressing everything in a cute way.
"Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend your little angels." Jiwoo chuckled, handing Ma Ri a can of soda.
As they relaxed, Dora turned to Ma Ri, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "So, I heard you're going back to EFP?"
"Hm?" Ma Ri paused while she was going to drink from the can.
"Is it true?" Dora repeated as her curiosity deepened.
"Uhm! But, where did you hear that?" She was shocked as she never mentioned it to her friends.
"You know, I'm good at collecting information." She threw a proud smile.
"What are you? CBI?" Ms. Jiwoo smirked jokingly.
"Oh! I was about to say that!" Ma Ri also laughed. In reply, Dora smirked in a funny way, putting her hand on her forehead just like a soldier while saluting.
"Yes, Sergeant! Superintendent Bora reporting!" She acted silly which made the other laugh.
After their laughter died down, the mood shifted.
"Oh, right! Didn't you say you needed to go on a date a while ago? What happened?" Dora asked again. Curiosity gouged her eyes out.
"Um…what should I say…it went well!" She smiled, closing her eyes.
"Huh?"
"What?" Both of them were taken aback as they never expected the positive answer. But, one of them was shocked as well as disheartened after hearing Ma Ri's positive reply.
"So... you two hit it off?" Dora asked, faking a smile beneath her heavy sigh. A lump formed in her throat as she was holding herself back.
"Congrats! So, who is the lucky guy that made our Merry's stone heart melt, hm?" Jiwoo started teasing her.
"He is the CEO of EcoFusion, and this is the reason I'm going back to work there." Ma Ri replied, acting as if she was shy, actually hesitating whether she should tell them the truth.
"Ah! Isn't he the one who came back from the US some days ago?" Dora asked. She was curious although she couldn't match her eyes with Ma Ri.
"Yeah, him." Ma Ri took another sip from the can, trying to keep her composure.
"Well, good for you!" Jiwoo raised her can in a toast. Both of the others also raised their drinks to follow the suit.
But Ma Ri's smile faded as her gaze drifted into the distance.
"Actually..." she began.
"Hm?" Jiwoo asked curiously as she could sense Ma Ri was hesitating.
"He agreed to help my dad…and…" she finally blurted out.
"What?" Both Jiwoo and Dora looked at her with their wide eyes.
"Doesn't that mean he's forcing you into marriage? What if he's a jerk? What if he'd abuse you under the guise of helping your father? What if…" Dora started yapping as she was worried as well as unhappy after hearing the news.
"Chill! I'm a strong lady! You don't have to worry about it! Moreover, he also needs m…" as Ma Ri was going to tell the truth, her phone started ringing. She took out her phone from her purse and picked it up as it was her mother who called her.
"Oh, Mom? What? Brother's home? Already? Okay, okay, I'll be there soon!" She quickly ended the call and stood up.
"Sorry, ladies, I gotta go." Ma Ri hurried out, leaving her friends exchanging worried glances.
"Why did she panic when she heard her brother was home?" Jiwoo asked curiously.
"Her brother's... not exactly easygoing," Dora replied, her expression darkening.
"I bet there is nobody who'd not be wary of him." Dora replied.
"She's just being cautious." Her expression was still gloomy.
"Ah! Poor girl! Anyways, let's go take a walk. I'll drop you home after you refresh your mind, how does that sound?" she looked at Dora, trying to touch her, but restrained herself.
"Yeah, that sounds nice," Dora agreed, though her attempt at a smile was half-hearted as she had a lot going on in her head.
______________________________
Jiang leaned against his chair in his office. He shut his eyes as they were bothering, from the strain of staring at the computer screen for too long. At that time, Ryu Gil peeked at him from the entrance. He had some files on his hand. Seeing Jiang's still figure, he assumed his boss had dozed off. He tiptoed inside and slowly closed the door as if he was sneaking in as a spy.
He came to Jiang's desk, trying to put the files on the table silently. He wanted to steal just a glance, but failed as he was captivated by Jiang's sleeping, peaceful face. He kept gazing at him and gulped. He knew he should leave right then, but he edged closer. As he was leaning in, he could feel his heart pounding. He moved his face very near and closed his eyes when suddenly he heard Jiang's voice,
"What are you doing?"
Jiang's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Ryu Gil froze and jolted back while panicking. His heart raced at its top speed as he stammered.
"Um…" he gulped out of fear.
"I-I just... the papers... your signature..." His voice trembled as fear overwhelmed him.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Jiang's eyes were wide open. He glared at him with icy intensity. He stood up and advanced toward the terrified assistant while Ryu Gil stumbled backward in retreat. He didn't know why he was shaking so much. Would his mask be revealed? Did Jiang get his motives? He couldn't understand. Neither could he stare at his eyes to read his face. While stepping back, he got stuck because of the wall.
Cornered against the wall, he couldn't meet Jiang's gaze. His knees shook as his breath hitched. Jiang's hand slammed against the wall beside him, trapping him like a little hamster in its cottage. Ryu Gil's pulse raced as his mind a whirl of dread and confusion.