Chapter 4: Getting a Little Closer

Thanks to the torture of jump rope and footwork drills, I was suffering from muscle pain.

But I couldn’t skip the boxing gym.

The anxiety squeezing my heart wouldn’t let me stay still.

Picking up a strange book and believing the world would actually fall into crisis was insane in itself.

But what could I do?

My heart kept pounding like a madman’s, I couldn’t sleep, and stress-induced tinnitus rang in my ears.

I was even afraid I might start hallucinating at this rate.

And on top of that, the very person described in the book had appeared right in front of me.

On a sweltering summer day, when the sun tilted and long shadows stretched across the ground, I dragged myself to the gym again.

“Hello……”

“You’re late.”

I greeted him in a half-dead voice, and Han Jun responded.

Was it my imagination, or did his gaze seem slightly softer when he looked at me?

I hoped so.

I wanted to get a little closer to him.

“You look cool today, too.”

I gave him a double thumbs-up.

And, as expected, I was ignored.

Han Jun turned his head and began instructing another member who had arrived earlier than me.

I was about to feel embarrassed from being so coldly dismissed when I noticed the tips of his ears were red.

So he embarrasses easily.

That realization dawned on me.

He might be blunt, but he probably wasn’t rotten to the core.

How could someone with trash character save humanity?

He must be crisp on the outside, soft on the inside.

Holding onto that hope, I regained my energy.

When I exercised diligently on my own, Han Jun would pass by and correct my posture.

His tone and expression weren’t warm, but I was gradually getting used to it.

“Your lower back shouldn’t drop like that.”

His hand brushed lightly against my side.

Startled by the sudden touch, I straightened abruptly.

“L-Like this?”

“No, that’s too straight.”

“Like this?”

“Ah, yes. That’s fine.”

He looked clearly annoyed, but the fact that he approached me without hesitation meant he no longer mistook me for a pervert or a stalker.

After exchanging a few awkward, uncomfortable words with Han Jun, the coach slithered up beside me like a snake and began whispering in my ear.

“You’re quite sociable.”

“Ugh!”

He leaned in too close, whispering, and I jumped back in shock.

What is with this boxing gym?

Why does everyone suddenly get so close?

I’m ticklish and sensitive, so I hate this kind of thing.

Scratching my ear, which tingled from the coach’s warm breath, I asked awkwardly.

“Pardon?”

Amused by my overreaction, the coach grinned.

“No, I mean Coach Han Jun. We’ve been getting complaints from members saying he looks unfriendly. It’s been a headache. You’re not a student, are you?”

“No, well. I don’t really care about stuff like that.”

Honestly, I did think he lacked manners.

But I was in the absolute weaker position here.

I needed to get close to him, so I ignored it and acted friendly.

It was the fruit of tearful patience.

Maybe that looked like sociability to the coach.

“Hm, I hope you two get along. He looks cold like that, but he’s actually soft inside. He’s just shy. There’s no one as diligent as him.”

This was the first time I’d seen a place where the owner practically asked a member to take care of a coach.

Normally I would’ve brushed it off, but I figured I might get more information about Han Jun.

“Other members don’t like him?”

“Well… we get a lot of middle-aged office workers here. They complain that a young staff member doesn’t greet them properly and act all high and mighty. But he refuses to bow his head.”

“Then why don’t you fire him?”

He corrected posture by tapping with his foot, gave half-hearted guidance before walking away with an annoyed look.

He rarely greeted members.

It wasn’t surprising that reviews weren’t great.

If members disliked him, wouldn’t it be better to let him go?

“That kid’s family situation isn’t good. And he’s too talented. I scouted him myself. It’s hard to fire him.”

So they weren’t just boss and employee.

They were personally close.

“And these days, it’s hard to find someone as hardworking as him. He comes earlier than me and even cleans.”

I knew that.

When I first came to the gym, Han Jun had been cleaning even before the coach arrived.

He didn’t look like the diligent type at all.

That contrast was appealing.

I nodded as if I understood.

“Well, I see. And he’s handsome.”

“…Student, is that your type?”

What is he talking about?

“Excuse me?”

“No, no. I don’t have prejudice about that.”

I was dumbfounded, but he waved his hands, not even trying to clear the misunderstanding.

Just as I opened my mouth to correct this ridiculous assumption—

“No, I absolutely—”

“Coach, a customer’s here.”

Han Jun suddenly approached and interrupted.

The coach left without clearing up the misunderstanding.

And judging by the way Han Jun glanced at me with a strange expression, he must have heard part of our conversation.

No.

It’s not like that!

Don’t look at me like that!

“That’s not it. I think there’s some misunderstanding.”

“Ah, okay.”

“W-Wait… hey! Just a second!”

True to his near-zero sociability, Han Jun didn’t listen and walked off to do his job.

Damn it.

Whether misunderstandings piled up between us or not, I went to the gym the next day, and the day after that, without missing a single day.

Seeing each other so often naturally built familiarity.

To be honest, it was thanks to my persistent efforts.

Like a model student asked to befriend a troubled kid, I greeted him warmly every day and smiled through his rude remarks.

Sometimes I complimented him.

I even praised his boxing skills.

After two weeks passed—

“Hyung, you’ve got no talent for boxing.”

We dropped formal speech.

Even though Han Jun was two years younger than me, the moment I suggested we speak casually, he immediately did.

He was consistent.

Consistently honest.

Consistently blunt.

“I’m just learning as a hobby.”

“Even hobbies need some basic talent to be fun. You’re just uncoordinated. You’d probably be better at something like jiu-jitsu.”

His assessment was painfully accurate.

I was tall but clumsy with my body.

Boxing wasn’t about strength alone.

Speed, instinct, flexibility mattered.

I lacked all of that.

Maybe I’d stand out more in judo or jiu-jitsu.

Honestly, it was embarrassing.

Two weeks in and I was still stuck on basic posture.

“No, the coach should teach better. Why blame the student?”

“…Want to spar?”

This guy.

I teased him a little and he immediately bristled.

“Why would you say something so scary?”

“I told you not to hunch your back. Keep your guard up.”

Aside from dropping honorifics, there was another big change.

Before, he would tap my foot or the back of my hand to correct me.

Now, he adjusted my posture by directly touching and pressing my body.

And every time he did, I wriggled like an earthworm.

“Ugh—!”

It’s not because I’m a pervert.

I’m just extremely ticklish.

“D-Don’t touch me. I’ll report you for harassment.”

“…Ha.”

Han Jun sighed in irritation.

Embarrassed, I shut my mouth and stared straight ahead.

With how ticklish I am, how could I ever do judo or jiu-jitsu?

Those sports require rolling around on the ground with strangers.

Not that I had any intention of doing combat sports seriously anyway.

“Hyung, you’re weird.”

“What did I do?”

“You come to the gym more diligently than anyone. But when you’re here, you slack off. Sometimes it feels like you want to try hard, but then I watch you and… it’s not it.”

Sharp bastard.

I came diligently, but my goal wasn’t the sport itself.

It must show.

Han Jun, on the other hand, was passionate about training.

He even worked out alone at dawn before the gym opened.

That oddly moved me.

I’d approached him with ulterior motives.

But little by little, I found myself genuinely liking him.

He was a decent person.

“In that case, want to grab a drink?”

“…What?”

My abrupt suggestion made him blink.

After a long silence, he shook his head.

“No. I don’t drink.”

Such an unnecessarily upright guy.

Others often found that attitude unpleasant.

It felt like he was drawing a line.

But I had observed him closely.

He wasn’t rejecting me.

He simply didn’t drink.

“Then have cola. I’ll pay.”

“…What are we eating?”

“Pork belly.”

“Okay.”

He nodded immediately.

So he likes meat.

Is this what it feels like to tame a wary kitten?

I’d never schemed this much just to get close to someone.

It was exhausting.

But not entirely unpleasant.

There was a strange sense of accomplishment.

After we finished working out, it was around the time office workers were getting off work.

Dusk settled, and the sky burned with reddish sunset hues.

It felt endlessly peaceful.

So peaceful that I almost doubted the world could really end.

I had taken a quick shower, so my hair was still wet.

It was cooler now, but summer was still summer.

Only when a light breeze blew did it feel refreshing.

“You should dry your hair properly.”

Han Jun clicked his tongue at my damp hair.

He’s oddly attentive.

“It’s still summer. It feels cool.”

He said he needed to return to finish closing up, but he followed me out in his tracksuit.

Despite having turned me down earlier, he looked unusually relaxed.

He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes—usually sharp and intense—were softer.

It felt unfamiliar.