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THE NEXT DAY, Y/N L/N WAS ON A WARPATH, and it showed. She didn't just ignore people—she erased them from existence in her mind. Her stormy mood, courtesy of last night's whirlwind of emotions, consumed her entirely. Anger boiled in her veins—anger at Kwon for being... well, Kwon. But more than that, she was furious at herself for feeling that way, especially after learning about his life. She knew it wasn't fair, and she didn't own him. Yet the thought of him with Yoo-mi, of all people, drove her insane. That girl was a manipulative bitch, a horrible human and a victim-playing bully!

By the time chemistry rolled around, y/n's teeth were working overtime on a piece of gum as she glared daggers at them. Kwon and Yoo-mi sat together, her hand brushing his cheek in that insufferably smug way as she shot the girl a side-eye for reasons unknown. y/n's jaw tightened with each glance in their direction. Her breaking point came when the teacher began dozing off during the lecture. With surgical precision, she launched a spit wad that hit his temple. The startled teacher woke with a loud snort, eliciting a few stifled chuckles from classmates. y/n didn't care—her focus was entirely on not leaping over desks and launching herself at Yoo-mi.

For the rest of the day, she let out her frustrations on the mat. At the dojang, her strikes echoed in the air, vicious and unrelenting. She pounded the punching bag until her knuckles cracked, elbowed the wooden dummy with enough force to splinter the varnish, and even practiced Wing Chun forms she typically avoided like the plague. Sweat poured down her face, but she didn't stop. Violence felt like the only outlet that wouldn't land her in detention—or worse.

"Yo, what's got her so riled up?" Yoon muttered to Kwon when the group of boys who huddled near the side took a small break for water after Sensei Kim left the room to attend to a call. As they watched the destruction unfold, some of them were captivated by her deadly moves, while some rattled by her sudden aggression.

"How the hell should I know? Probably her period or something," Kwon replied with a dismissive shrug. His tone was sharp, masking the fact that he'd spent an hour waiting for the girl in the library, only for her to ghost him. Not that he was texting her back either. If she was pissed, so was he, and he was certain the fault lay entirely with her this time.

"Yeah, no. My girlfriend said assuming that stuff is disrespectful," Lee chimed in, his eyes wide as y/n drove her knee into the bag with ferocity.

"Then what's her problem?" Park frowned. "She's about to murder that dummy. Look at her—elbows, knees, freaking shoulders? She's like a berserker."

"Who knows?" Kwon leaned back against the wall, folding his arms. His indifferent mask slipped for a moment as his gaze flickered toward y/n. Her fists slammed into the bag again, leaving visible dents in the padding. Her knuckles were raw and bleeding now, but she didn't seem to notice or care.

"Maybe it's you," Lee said with a sly smirk, earning a glare from Kwon.

"Shut up," Kwon snapped, though his jaw tightened.

Meanwhile, y/n gritted her teeth as she struck the Wing Chun dummy. Each impact resonated through her, a cathartic release of her inner chaos. Kwon is an idiot. Yoo-mi's a bitch. I'm fine. Totally fine. Amazing in fact. I should appreciate myself more because clearly no one else does! She told herself the lies repeatedly, but her strikes betrayed her. (The lie in question being no one appreciates her.)

She turned, sweat dripping from her forehead, her chest heaving. The boys quickly looked away, pretending not to have been caught staring.

"Get back to work!" she barked, her voice sharp enough to make even Kwon raise an eyebrow.

As they scrambled to comply, Kwon smirked faintly. "She's nuts."

"Yeah," Park muttered, still staring at her. "But scary as hell."

Kwon said nothing, watching as y/n returned to her relentless assault, her rage pouring out with every strike. Whatever was eating her alive, it was clear she wasn't done yet.

Kim Da-eun stepped into the dojang, her phone slipping back into her pocket as she finished her call. She wore a faint, satisfied smirk, the news of their latest recruit still fresh in her mind. It was a solid win, but she kept the details to herself. Kreese's warning echoed in her head—"Don't let l/n find out about her yet. She knows her, and it'll mess with her focus." Da-eun didn't fully understand the connection, but she trusted Kreese's judgment. If the news would be a distraction, it could wait until the last possible moment.

Her sharp eyes scanned the room. On one side, y/n was relentlessly attacking a wooden Wing Chun dummy, her knuckles bruised and busted. On the opposite end, Kwon was throwing brutal punches into a punching bag, his movements hard, fast, and frustrated. Their backs were turned to each other, but Da-eun noticed the same restless energy burning through them both. Something was off.

"Great," she muttered under her breath, glancing at the dummy y/n was savaging. The poor training tool was taking a beating that it clearly wasn't designed for. The girl slammed her fists into it again, followed by a shoulder strike that almost tipped it over.

"Alright, that's enough," Sensei Kim called, her voice cutting through the dojang like a whip. "Save some for the tournament, l/n. Whatever's got you all... the bride... channel it properly. Don't waste it on something that can't hit back."

Her tone was neutral, but there was a sinister edge to it—a backhanded compliment buried beneath the critique. 

"She's married?" Lee whispered, confused. 

"No, idiot. It's from Sensei's favorite movie," answered Park.

The girl however didn't stop. Instead, she struck the dummy's face with her nails, dragging them down and leaving a subtle, jagged scratch across the painted surface just like a cat. "Maybe if you gave us something worth hitting, I wouldn't have to waste my time," she snapped, her words dripping with venom.

Da-eun's eyes narrowed, her smile fading into a cold, calculating glare. For a brief moment, she saw something in y/n—a willingness to fight dirty, to break the rules when it served her purpose. It was primal and unrefined, but it held potential.

"Alright," Kim said, her tone chillingly calm. "You want something worth hitting? Let's see what you've got." She turned to the rest of the team, her voice rising. "Park, Lee, Yoon, Kwon. Get over here."

The boys exchanged wary glances but obeyed, gathering near the center of the mat. Sensei pointed at y/n. "You're in the middle. Sixty seconds. Park and Lee will come at you first. No points. No rules. Your job is simple—make them taste the mat. For every one of them that falls, you get an extra fifteen seconds. But if you hit the ground, you're doing push-ups. On your knuckles. One push-up for every second left on the clock."

Y/n wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, her lips pursed. "Fine," she said without hesitation. "Let's do this."

The boys looked between each other, unsure whether to be impressed or terrified. "Is she serious?" Yoon whispered to Kwon.

"She's crazy," Kwon muttered, folding his arms. "But whatever. Her funeral."

Sensei Kim clapped her hands. "Positions!"

Y/n stepped into the center of the mat, her stance alert and ready. Park and Lee moved to opposite sides, circling her like wolves closing in on prey.

"Begin!" Da-eun commanded.

Park lunged first, aiming low for her legs, but she was quicker. She jumped, her body twisting in the air, and landed hard on his extended leg with a calculated stomp. The sickening sound of his scream filled the room as his leg twisted at an uncomfortable angle—not enough to cause permanent damage, but enough to send a surge of pain through him. Before he could recover, y/n lifted her leg high and delivered a brutal kick to his face. Park collapsed to the mat, groaning in defeat.

"Out!" Da-eun called, her voice sharp with approval.

The second Park rolled off the mat, Yoon stepped in, his size and confidence palpable as he squared up against her. But before he could make a move, Lee seized the opportunity, charging at y/n from behind. His foot connected with her back, and she stumbled forward, nearly losing her footing. A collective chuckle rippled through the room, but the girl recovered almost instantly.

Spinning around with the fury of a storm, she locked eyes with Lee and launched herself at him, her body a blur of controlled rage. She tackled him to the ground with a feral growl, straddling him as her fist rained down on his face. Lee struggled beneath her, but her strike was powerful, her knuckles already experienced and injured from the earlier training.

"Lee, you're done!" Sensei declared as Lee's hands dropped in surrender, his face battered and bruised. "That's fifteen more, l/n."

Yoon hesitated for a moment, his jaw tightening as he watched her rise. But there was no time for second thoughts—Kwon was already stepping onto the mat, his expression unreadable as he joined the fight.

"Two on one now, with only 36 seconds to go..." Kim announced, her smirk widening. "This should be interesting."

Yoon made the first move, charging straight at her, but y/n sidestepped with a fluid motion, her eyes darting to Kwon, who was circling to her left. Yoon swung again, and this time, she caught his wrist mid-air, twisting it sharply. He winced but didn't back down, using his free hand to aim a jab at her ribs. She dodged, using the momentum to shove him toward Kwon.

"Focus, Yoon," Kwon muttered as he steadied his teammate.

"Shut up and fight!" y/n snapped, her voice dripping with venom.

Kwon smirked faintly, but his eyes were calculating. "As you wish."

He lunged, his strikes precise and fast. y/n blocked two, dodged a third, and countered with a kick aimed at his midsection. He caught her leg, but before he could exploit it, she spun her body, using the trapped leg as leverage to drive her elbow into his shoulder. Kwon staggered, releasing her, just as Yoon charged at her again with unrelenting force, his eyes blazing with determination. 

Y/n, still recovering from the expenditure of her energy rounds prior, used her surroundings and Yoon's momentum to her advantage. As the boy swung a wide punch, she sidestepped, grabbed his arm, and pivoted, shoving him directly into Kwon, who had been maneuvering for an opening. Kwon stumbled, his balance disrupted, and with a swift kick to his legs, y/n sent him crashing onto the mat.

"Kwon, out!" Da-eun's announced, her surprise barely concealed. Kwon stared up at the ceiling, his fists clenched. He wasn't sure whether to be furious at the girl's tactics or relieved that he didn't have to keep fighting.

"That was... unexpected," Kim mumbled, impressed by her student's strategic thinking. "Quick and ruthless. I like it."

But y/n wasn't out of the woods yet. Yoon stood across from her, his fists up, ready for their one-on-one.

The room tensed as they faced off. Yoon was larger, stronger, and well-rested. y/n, on the other hand, was worn down, her knuckles twitching slightly.

Yoon lunged at her with a calculated strike aimed at her torso, but she dodged, countering with a sharp elbow to his ribs. He grunted, recovering quickly, and retaliated with a sweeping kick. y/n jumped back, narrowly avoiding it, and immediately went for a low strike to his knee. Yoon absorbed the blow and stepped forward, his fists swinging with relentless precision.

Their movements were brutal, fast, and unrelenting—each fighting as though the room wasn't filled with classmates but a battleground. y/n managed to land a solid punch to Yoon's jaw, snapping his head to the side.

"Nice hit," he scoffed, smirking through the pain. "But it'll take more than that."

"Don't tempt me," she shot back, her voice dripping with resolution.

The fight continued to escalate, each blow heavier than the last. Yoon landed a crushing punch to y/n's shoulder, momentarily forcing her back. She recovered quickly, charging forward with a flying knee aimed at his chest. Yoon blocked it with both arms, catching her leg and using her momentum to spin her into a grapple.

Pinned, y/n fought back viciously, her fists slamming against his grip, but Yoon didn't relent. With a final burst of strength, he twisted her off-balance and drove her onto the mat with a loud thud. The air rushed out of her lungs, and Yoon immediately stepped back, raising his hands in victory.

"Knockout!" Da-eun barked, stepping forward. "Match over. Yoon wins."

Y/n groaned, rubbing her head as Yoon offered her a hand. "You okay?" he asked, his voice softening.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, smacking his hand away but letting him pull her up.

Yoon chuckled, patting her shoulder. "That was good, y/n'n. You've come a long way since I started training you. You should be proud."

"Proud?" she muttered, brushing dust off her uniform. "I lost."

"You fought harder than anyone expected," Yoon said, his tone firm. "Including me. You've got grit, and that's worth more than a win."

As y/n sank to the floor, exhausted, Lee tossed her a water bottle. "Here," he said, avoiding her sharp glare. "You've earned it."

Before she could twist the cap, Da-eun's voice cut through the room like a blade. "Not so fast."

Y/n froze, her eyes narrowing as the older woman stepped closer, her arms crossed. "Four push-ups. Knuckles. Now."

The girl's jaw tightened, but she didn't argue, recalling the rules. Dropping into position, she began. The first push-up sent a jolt of pain through her battered knuckles, and by the second, her arms were trembling.

"Struggling already?" Da-eun taunted, a smirk playing on her lips. "You've got two more. Don't tell me you're giving up."

"I don't give up," y/n growled through gritted teeth, forcing her body into the third push-up. Her knuckles bled onto the floor, leaving small crimson smudges.

"Good," Kim replied coldly. "Because if you did, you'd have no place here."

Y/n pushed herself up for the fourth and final time, collapsing onto the mat as soon as she was done. Her chest heaved, and her knuckles throbbed, but she didn't say a word.

Da-eun crouched beside her, her expression unreadable. "You are a good fighter, even by my standards..." she said finally. "But your arrogance will destroy you if you're not careful. Learn to control it, or you'll never last."

Y/n didn't reply, her focus on steadying her breath.

"Dismissed," Sensei barked, standing tall as the rest of the class began to gather their things.

As the girl sat on the mat, Lee leaned down to retrieve the discarded water bottle. "You're insane, you know that?" he said, shaking his head. "But that was impressive. Even for you."

Yoon clapped her on the back before heading out. "You did good today, y/n. Don't beat yourself up too much." 

"Yeah yeah, whatever..."

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