my arm shakes as the impact of the bag meets my fist. i feel a bead of sweat slip down the side of my neck as i stare down the inanimate object in front of me. glancing up at the clock, i pause for a moment to catch my breath. 

30 more minutes jiwon. then you gotta go home. 

breath in, breath out. i slump into my natural boxing position, about to swing my arm back before i hear the familiar jingle at the door. i stand up straight and twist my body to see the managers nephew standing at the door. 

"um, hi. i just wanted to box a little?" he speaks, voice light and smooth, barely loud enough to hear. without acknowledging him, i turn around and continue to start boxing, arms pulling back to continuously attack the punching bag. in the corner of my eye i can see the boy shuffling around with his clothes, keeping his huge hoodie on and a pair of loose joggers as he sits down to stretch. 

left, right, left, right. my eyes stare ahead, weighed down by sweat, as i stare at the pummeled target. my hair hangs in front of my face, sweat dripping, as i remind myself to wear a headband for practice tomorrow. i continuously hit, my chest growing tighter and body getting hotter as i jab and hook and slug, the faint jingling of the chain attached to the bag growing louder and louder. a dark object edges its way into my vision from behind the punching bag, swaying awkwardly back and forth with hands held in front of him as he waited. 

i stop, groaning eternally as i stand up straight. i raise an eyebrow at the boy in question, sweeping back my hair out of my eyes, slightly grimacing at the soaking wet texture. 

"do you think you could teach me the basics of boxing?" hanbin questions, lips quirking up in a small smile as his voice quivered slightly in the air. i rub my wrists as i circle them around, stretching the tight muscles around it. 

"why should i?" i speak, voice raspy and low from disuse. hanbin freezes, smile disappearing as he looks down and scratches the back of his neck anxiously. he plays with the hem of his shirt, twirling it around his fingers as he looks back up. 

"because you're really good at boxing?" hanbin almost questions, nervous grin painted onto his mouth. awkward seeps from every corner of his body, he's fidgeting as the silence grows heavier, eyes flickering across every object in the room except for me. 

i turn back to my punching bag, jabbing at it once more, ignoring hanbin's request. he waits behind the punching bag for a few seconds before releasing a deep sigh and heading back to his corner of the room. 

a good few minutes pass before i stop my sparring session with the bag and stand up straight, unwrapping the bandages on my hands while walking towards my bag. i pull the towel out and dry my hair quickly before leaving it on the top of my head, sides dangling down to tickle the sides of my neck. i sit down on the bench, glancing over to the boy sitting in the middle of the room. he's holding his phone, tongue his lips in concentration as he watches what seems to be a video. every few seconds he pauses the video to try out a different punch with horrible form. 

is he really trying to learn how to box through youtube?

a snort of laughter escapes my mouth as i turn around and pack up the rest of my bag, towel still hanging on my head. i spare a glance at hanbin once more to find that he's staring at me, face set in a small pout as if he was wondering if i really wasn't going to help him. i walk towards the exit, smiling inwardly at the new kid's stupidity. my mouth opens to speak as i push the door open, the little jingle ringing above my head. 

"you're not gonna learn how to box through youtube, are you?" my voice rings through the empty gym, echoing along the four walls. hanbin's head jolts up from his phone, eyes wide with an unknown emotion. i shake my head at him, a small smirk plastered onto my face as i scoff, leaving the boy to himself. 

A/N: hello fellow subscribers! sorry for such the long wait, i've been so busy and thanksgiving break just started for me. i hope you're all having an amazing thanksgiving by the way, and just a notification. i don't have a lot of time to write these days so all of my stories have super slow updates. hopefully i will be able to update them during christmas break... :(( sorry for such the long waits guys, i understand this chapter is super short as well but i'm kind of on a writer's block. sorry bout that :(