bright lights, muffled yells, the stench of sweat. the familiar stick of the leather against big hands, the velvety robe against rough skin. broken knuckles, busted lips, black eyes. this was home--this is home. 

bright orange hair that doesn't fit in with the surroundings. a nasty scar runs down his face and a craze in his eyes wakes up my instinct.  

"hey there bobby. how's life in your prissy home of yours?" 

a sarcastic scoff pushes past my lips with no warning, unphased by his attempt at provoking. i wave him over with my hand, sending him a bright eyesmile and a chuckle erupts from my chest. he walks over, putting his gloved hands over his non-existent and flexing to intimidate me. a dirty and nasty ear shows up in my peripheral vision, and i move to whisper into it. 

"forfeit before i beat your carrot boy" i mutter, backing up and sending him a friendly smile.

the bell sings in my ears as the referee signals the start of the battle.

his face contorts in the most unpleasant way, ugly face becoming even uglier. his eyebrow twitches as he walks towards me, swinging an arm back. the crowd roars.

i quickly crack my neck, moving my head sharply in each direction before bringing my guard up right below my eyes to observe his movements. 

the slow actions, the easy to read moves, the lack of a guard. carrot boy makes it obvious that he's either a slugger or a really stupid amateur. well, the latter seems plausible with the way he acted towards me. his arm starts its journey to my face, bringing wind along with it as his torso twists in unbalance. ducking, i run towards him, head still down and guard still up. i consecutively jab at his torso, pushing him back slightly. he brings his head down to look at me and i smile up at him, sending an uppercut towards his face. 

"good night." 

---------------------------------------------

"good job last night, except your movements were flashy, it was obvious what you were going to do." mino pats me on the back, handing me a towel and a bottle of water. almost immediately he retracts, wiping his hand on his jeans as he grimaces at the amount of sweat that drenched my clothing. "what the hell how long have you been here jiwon?" 

"uhhh maybe like 7 hours now," i reply, glancing at the janky old clock hanging on the wall above the gear. the gym is dark, the only illuminated area being the center of the room where the ring was located at. the flickering old light above it dances on the scuffed up floor and the abandoned pair of gloves hanging on the ropes lining it. i can hear mino complaining quietly but my attention goes towards the chiming bell and the swinging door. 

a small frail dude walks in, awkward smile painted onto his face and his hands folded in front of him like a good little korean boy. he stares at us for a few seconds, mouth opening in closing as he scratches the back of his neck and crouches over in half a bow. i nod my head at him in acknowledgement, too sore to be able to move the rest of my body.

"um sorry for interrupting but do you know where manager park is?" he asks and i have to crane my neck to hear his quiet voice. i look back at the clock and answer without looking at him. 

"he should be here in about-" 

"hanbin!" a voice shouts. my head whips to the door for the second time and i see the familiar silhouette of the old man who ran the gym. "dear you've gotten so big i almost didn't recognize you!" mr. park says, patting "hanbin" on the back as he smiles brightly at him. hanbin beams, standing up straight and smiling back, face much more relaxed than before. 

"hi uncle park how have you been?" hanbin chimes, voice noticeably louder than it was before. 

"uncle?" mino exclaims, jogging towards the boy and reaching his hand out to shake the others. hanbin shrinks back, smile reverting to his awkward one he had plastered on when he first arrived. they strike up a conversation and the smaller starts to stand up straight again, comfortability filling his stance as he smiles at mino.

brown eyes flit over to mine as i pick up the water bottle. maintaining eye contact, i uncap the drink and chug it, observing the shy man in front of me. his eyes widen as he looks away, joining mino and mr. park's conversation once more and fiddling with his hands nervously. shrugging, i finish the water and pick up my duffle bag. the room quiets as i rise and i feel three pairs of eyes on me as i walk towards the ring to grab the tattered black gloves and shove them into my bag. 

"are you going home now jiwon?" mr. park questions, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence. 

"no i'll be back i'm just heading out to grab some lunch." i reply, slipping on my sliders and swinging the strap of the bag onto my shoulder. i pull my hood over my hair and grab a face mask from the counter, stopping by the mirror to fix my appearance and put the mask on. 

"oh by the way jiwon, this is my nephew, Kim Hanbin. he'll be joining the gym to learn how to box very soon." i stop shuffling and look over at hanbin, eyes flitting up and down his body. he looks like a teenager, he's skinny as hell and has a baby face-- not to mention he has no muscle mass what so ever. his calves look like the size of my bicep and his waist is slim and thin, like a female's. my eyes meet his once more as he stares at me anxiously, waiting me to say something, anything. 

"umkay." i mumble, pushing earbuds into my ears as familiar bars of rap come flooding into my head. i bob my head to the beat and walk towards the door, turning around to look at the newcomer once more. he looks disappointed, a small pout on his face as our stares meet for the 4th time. i stand for two seconds and turn back to the door, pushing at it to have the cool autumn air pushing past me.