Dawn was beginning to break, yet the entire house remained sunk in deep sleep, ruled by silence and darkness. Only a thin beam of light leaked through the gap beneath the second-floor bathroom door, slicing through the stillness of the world.
Nau Rin stood before the mirror, inspecting her own body. After a night spent in constant pain, this was her quiet self-examination. The bone along her cheek was slightly red and swollen, and a dark bruise had surfaced on her shoulder. As she took in the redness and bruising scattered across her body, she released a slow, heavy sigh. The damage was far worse than she had expected.
She slipped silently into her room, locked the door, and took an elastic bandage from a drawer. Sitting on the bed, she carefully wrapped her shoulder; compared to before, her arm began to move with a little more ease. She knew perfectly well that she had stood no chance against Sonbae. She had never once thought she could win—but it seemed he had seen something else in her. What surprised her most was that she had seemingly shown some emotion without even realizing it.
Lost in thought, she barely noticed that it was already time to leave for school. She put on her uniform neatly, then chose the largest pair of glasses with the thickest frames and slipped them on. Letting her hair fall forward to conceal her face as much as possible, she took one last look in the mirror.
The redness on her cheek was impossible to completely hide—but behind her hair, it seemed just manageable.
By the time she stepped out the front door, dark clouds had already gathered in the sky, and the morning fog had yet to fully lift. The air was damp and cool. Looks like rain, she murmured to herself as she walked toward the bus stop, when her friends came running up from behind.
Nau Rin and Taehyun walked on the left, while Seohun and Minho took the right.
Minho peered out from the very edge and asked,
Minho peered out from the very edge and asked,
"Hey, aren't your glasses all fogged up? Can you even see anything?"
Nau Rin glanced at him gave a small shake of her head, and replied,
"I can't see anything at all."
Minho shook his head in disbelief.
"At least wipe them. How are you even walking if you can't see the road?"
"No matter how much I wipe them, it doesn't help. And besides, it's a straight sidewalk," Nau Rin replied, pulling a small handkerchief from her pocket and polishing her lenses.
Taehyun suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "The bus is coming!"
They all broke into a run and managed to climb on just in time, heading straight for the very back seats.
Nau Rin glanced at them, then gestured toward Minho.
"Move over."
"Just sit in the middle. Why do you always insist on sitting there?" Minho complained.
"I can't sit in the middle. It feels too cramped," Nau Rin replied softly.
Taehyun nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let her sit there."
With that, they settled into place at the back of the bus.
Nau Rin sat gazing out the window, watching the scenery drift by. Then Minho suddenly cried out beside her, "Look at this!" and pulled a neatly folded pink letter from his bag.
Nau Rin glanced at it.
"What's that?" she asked.
As if he'd been waiting for the question, Minho broke into a full grin and said proudly, "A love letter! A girl gave it to me yesterday."
Taehyun looked at the letter and exclaimed, "Whoa, is that really a love letter?"
Minho handed it to him. "Why don't you open it?"
After reading it, Taehyun said, "Congratulations—your first one, right?" and shook Minho's hand. Minho laughed.
"Thanks, but this is just the beginning."
Meanwhile, Seohun, who had been quietly watching, turned the letter over and asked briefly, "So are you going to date her?"
Curiosity got the better of Nau Rin.
"Let me see it too," she said, taking the letter from Seohun.
Minho rubbed his chin, putting on a thoughtful expression.
"I'm thinking about it…"
"But aren't you a little too young to be dating?" She added.
Minho rolled his eyes.
"You're the childish one. And I'm older than you, you know."
"It's only a one-year difference—what does that matter?" Nau Rin said, wrinkling her nose.
"Of course it matters. When you were still forming in your mom's belly, I'd already been born, looking around and thinking, 'So this is the world,' okay?" Minho said theatrically.
"Tsk, how dramatic. Are you bragging about being old now?" Nau Rin mocked.
"Hey! Who are you calling old?!" Minho protested.
As their argument showed signs of escalating, Taehyun cut in, "That's enough—people are staring," reminding them to keep it down. The two of them glanced around and lowered their voices.
But Minho wasn't about to let it go. Elbowing Nau Rin lightly, he tossed out a bombshell:
"Say whatever you want about me—Seohun's already dated someone."
Nau Rin's mouth fell open.
"What?" she exclaimed, and Taehyun nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah, it's true."
"He even gets letters all the time," Minho added.
Still not quite believing it, Nau Rin turned to look at Seohun. Seohun spoke calmly,
"It only lasted a week. Too much trouble," he said with a shrug.
Nau Rin covered her eyes.
"No way… How did I end up being the only one who didn't know?" she complained.
Minho gave her a shove on the back.
"This is your stop—hurry up and get off!"
She shot them a look, then hurried off the bus.
When classes ended and she reached the school gate, the drizzle outside had already grown heavier. Rain was rare this time of spring, so most students had come without umbrellas and now stood clustered under the entrance, sighing in frustration.
Nau Rin called Taehyun, but Minho was the one who picked up.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's raining," Nau Rin said.
"And?"
"I don't have an umbrella."
"So what am I supposed to do about it?"
"Do you guys have one?"
"Seohun brought one, just in case. By the way, why are you still standing there talking? Run!"
"Run where?"
"To the convenience store—umbrellas are selling out fast!"
"Oh—right. I didn't think of that," Nau Rin exclaimed, hanging up and sprinting toward the nearest store as fast as she could.
When she rushed inside, only a single umbrella remained on the shelf. Several other students came panting in right behind her, and Nau Rin grabbed the umbrella first. The others were left empty-handed, sending her jealous, resentful looks as she passed.
She got a little wet running through the rain to and from the store, but not enough to feel chilled or soaked through. Beneath the umbrella she'd managed to secure on her own, she listened to the steady patter of rain and walked home calmly.
She shook off the umbrella and propped it against the wall at the entrance before heading inside. After a brief moment of quiet rest, she grabbed it once more, stepped out into the damp air, and unfurled it as she made her way to training.
When she entered the gym, all eyes were on her. Nau Rin didn't pay it any attention. 'They're just staring because of the last practice. It'll die down soon', she thought as she changed her clothes and headed to the coach's office.
She knocked lightly.
"Come in," came the voice.
Nau Rin slowly opened the door. The coach looked at her sharply.
"What are you here for?" he asked.
"To train… and also to tell you that I want to compete in the national championship," Nau Rin said directly.
The coach stood up, came over, and suddenly pressed his hand onto her bruised shoulder. A sharp pain shot from her shoulder through her whole body, and Nau Rin couldn't help but grit her teeth.
"You think you can train like this? Go home!" the coach said firmly.
"But coach…" she began, but he cut her off.
"Go home. And don't come back until you're fully healed."
Nau Rin asked, "Then what about the tournament?"
The coach, sounding frustrated, replied indifferently, "Do as you like."
Hearing the permission, Nau Rin said, "Thank you."
The coach added, "But I won't be able to train you. There are plenty of other students who need my attention this year."
Nau Rin didn't take offense; she simply accepted it and replied calmly, "That's fine."
As she turned to leave, the coach called after her,
"You're just here to learn. There's no need to push yourself into a tournament. Besides, women's boxing—especially for teenagers—is often canceled. The match could even be called off the day before."
Holding the door handle, Nau Rin said, "Even so, I'll train hard," and stepped out of the office.