And so the tournament began. I sat down with Kris and Daehyun and watched as started fighting. The fights at the beginning were mediocre and boring but, soon enough, it was our turn. I watched as both Kris and Daehyun went and beat their opponents down without breaking a sweat. Pretty soon it was my turn to go up, and I took my opponent down with a single roundhouse kick to the face. The fights continued like this until the numbers really started to dwindle down. The three of us had worked up a bit of a sweat after so many fights, and the battles were getting steadily more difficult. Woosuk and Jonghyo had lost a little while ago, but I hadn’t paid much attention to who they were fighting. Suddenly Daehyun stood up and nudged me. I looked up at him. “It’s our turn.” He said simply, and turned away and walked to the center of the field. He had just barely beaten Kris a couple matches earlier, so we were the last fight. Now that everyone else was disqualified, they were all watching our fight with great interest. I stood and followed Daehyun out onto the field. When I arrived at the spot for our fight, Daehyun suddenly turned to me. “I really don’t want to fight you, DoYeon.” He said, so that only I could hear him. I leaned in towards him. “You’d better fight me seriously. What will Himchan think if he sees you going easy on me? I won’t forgive you if you let me win.” With that, I turned around and walked to my starting place and got into my stance. He sighed and got into his own stance, unwillingly. Himchan blew his whistle to signal the start of the fight. I could see the reluctance in Daehyun’s eyes, and it set me off. I did a quick step behind side kick right into his chest. He just barely blocked my foot, his eyes wide in surprise. “Fight.” I growled, and he finally got the message.  He threw a hook punch at my face, but I ducked in and threw my arm up into his bicep, blocking the swing and hurting his arm in the process. I grabbed his wrist with the arm that was blocking him, and pulled my other arm in to throw my elbow at his jaw, but he suddenly slammed his head into the side of mine. Startled, I quickly let go of him and stumbled back, looking at him incredulously. “You want me to fight? Then I’ll fight.” He said, smirking. I smirked back, and got back into my stance. Daehyun then rapidly threw out punch after punch, which I blocked; some with difficulty. We fought fairly evenly for about 15 minutes before I decided to put an end to it. When I saw an opening, I blocked one of his hands, and threw an uppercut into his stomach, causing him to bend over coughing. I took this chance and swung my leg around in a roundhouse kick to his head; not with my full power, of course. I kicked him with just enough strength to knock him over, while still making it seem like a fatal blow. He collapsed, sprawled on the ground, trying to catch his breath. I watched as Sora appeared out of nowhere and ran over to him. “Are you okay?” She asked, kneeling down next to him and feeling his head for injuries. He suddenly groaned loudly, his face crumpling up in pain. “What’s wrong?!” Sora asked, alarmed. “I...I think I’m not long for this world.” Daehyun choked out before suddenly having a coughing fit. Sora’s face was suddenly rid of all worry, and she dropped his head back down – causing him to flinch from the pain – and stood up, crossing her arms. “Get the hell up.” She said, kicking him in his side and walking away. Daehyun looked at me and laughed, shrugging. “It’s how she shows her love.” I laughed and helped him up as Himchan began making his way over to us. When he reached us, he stuck his hand out at me, smiling slightly. I hesitantly shook his hand. “Congratulations.” He said. “You’ve just beaten the leading fighter of this school. Normally, you would take over his position as lead fighter, but I have a special job for you.” He then turned to look at Daehyun. “Congrats. You get to keep your title this time.” He then looked back at me and smirked, crossing his arms. “Now for you, you get a job even more prestigious than lead fighter.” “And what’s that?” I asked, curious. “You’re going to be my new bodyguard.” I stared at him, dumbfounded. “Excuse me?” He chuckled. “My last bodyguard was recently expelled, and I’m in need of a new one. You just so happen to be perfect for the job.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was about to protest, when Himchan interrupted me. “You are not allowed to refuse. You are now in charge of my safety and protection. Congratulations.” He then turned and walked away, leaving me speechless. Daehyun and Kris came over to me and patted me on the back, while I stood there blankly staring ahead. “Well, looks like you’ve got an interesting year ahead of you.” Kris said before laughing and walking off. “Sorry about this. We’ll help you out however we can.” Daehyun said, before catching up with Kris. I suddenly smacked my forehead. “What are you doing?” I spun around to see Sora and Hyesu standing there. “Oh,” I said, embarrassed. “Nothing. What’s up?” they glanced at each other. “We heard what Himchan said.” Hyesu began. “You’re going to have to be so careful to not let him know about you.” I smiled. “I at least have confidence in that. I’m just wondering how I’m supposed to protect a guy that I want to kill.” They laughed and agreed, and then we headed home; my mind still trying to process what had just happened.