One month later…

Sung Bok Dojang

Putting the right leg gently in the floor, Rin stood up from the bed and began to gradually put more strength on the left leg to walk with Rosie’s help. One step after another.

“Let go of me. I want to try walking on my own.” Rin said breathlessly.

Rosie released her grip unwillingly and watched Rin walked back and fro in the room.

“See! I can walk now.” Rin forced a smile across her face, bearing all the pain to herself.

“That’s good, senpai!” Rosie nodded with teary eyes. She quickly ran over to help Rin. “But you better don’t walk so much. Jaejoong sunbae said…”

“What are you doing?” A stern voice asked.

The two girls turned their heads around to see Jaejoong staring angrily at them.

“Jaejoong sunbae…” Rosie stuttered and quickly helped Rin back to her bed.
Jaejoong had instructed her to look after Rin and not to let her exert too much force on her injured leg.

“Oppa, it’s okay. I have been lying too long on the bed.”

“I will help you with your physiotherapy. There is no need for you to rush.” Jaejoong said and sat down on her bed, rolling up the right side of her pants.

He removed the bandage on her right knee and saw that it was still a little swollen.

The scar from the surgery has lightened bit Jaejoong still felt guilty for what happened to Rin.

His mother had given him a bottle of medicated oil and instructed him to apply it for Rin everyday. It was said that it would help in blood circulation. Jaejoong unscrewed the bottle cap and applied some of the oils onto Rin’s right knee before rubbing it gently.

Seeing the scar on Rin’s knee, Rosie lowered her head and bit her lips. Although one month had passed, she could never forget that horrifying scene that very night…

She had forgotten how Kris, Dongwook and Jaejoong rushed to the hospital. She could only remember herself crying at the emergency ward and in the end; it was Rin who was comforting her.

After diagnosis, the doctor said that most of Rin’s injuries were external injuries and they would recover some time. It was only her knee injury that required 3 months to recover because her cruciate ligament was injured.

Seeing Jaejoong applying the medicated oil silently for Rin and Rin’s wet t-shirt, Rosie felt extremely upset and started tearing quietly at the side. Rin needed three months to be able to walk normally but the selection round for IYTT would take place in less than one month time.

“I’ll go out for a walk.” Rosie told the two and left the house quickly.

Rin looked worriedly at Rosie’s diminishing back view. She knew her friend hasn’t been able to sleep well ever since that incident.

“You should take your time.” Jaejoong said. “Even if you were to miss this tournament, there’s still the Olympics two years later. You should focus on recuperating so that you could walk longer and further in your Taekwondo route.” And then he started wrapping the bandage back on her knee.

“I really feel better!” Rin replied. “My knee isn’t that painful anymore. Omonim’s medicated oil is very effective…”

Jaejoong looked up at her sternly, causing her to go silent immediately. “From now onwards, you should only undergo physiotherapy in the hospital or with my help. You hear me?” Jaejoong said, massaging her right leg gently.

“Yes, sir.”

---

The setting sun has coloured the sky red.

Rosie was walking at the courtyard dejectedly.

Ever since Rin got injured, the atmosphere in the dojang was exceptionally low. They were pinning all their hopes on Rin to do them proud at IYTT but now, Rin has problem walking properly.

The evening training was about to start but she didn’t feel like going.

In order to take care of Rin, Jaejoong had already told Kris to take over the daily trainings. She didn’t want to go for the evening training because she didn’t want to face the others and Kris.

“Yah! Why are you in a daze?” A lazy voice asked.

Rosie turned around to see Kris walking towards her. She wanted to run away but Kris grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her. “Yah! Where is your manner?”

Rosie shot her boyfriend a look and gave him a bow. “Kris sunbae.”

“What happened to you? Why are you avoiding me like plague?”

Rosie lowered her head and sighed.

“Are you going to break up with me? That’s why you are avoiding me right?”

Rosie looked back at him with widened eyes.

“Stupid girl!” Kris knuckled her head hardly. “Even so, you shouldn’t avoid me as well! I am still your senior!”

“Aniya!” Rosie rubbed her head with a pout. “I like you! I like you! I like you! I just couldn’t face all of you after senpai’s accident. I want to punish myself!”

“Silly girl!” Kris pulled her in for a hug. “Nobody is blaming you so why are you blaming yourself?”

---

At night, when Rin finally heard Rosie’s light snoring sound, she got up from her bed and change into her Taekwondo robe. Once done, she grabbed her clutches and left her room discreetly.

The door of the training hall slid open and a familiar smell entered Rin’s nose. She stood at the door for a while. It has been two months since she last visited the training hall.

She went to switch on the lift and left her clutches at the side before walking to the centre of the mat slowly.

Taking in a deep breath, she began to adjust her position to balance her weight on both legs. There was a stinging pain at her right knee.

Bearing the pain in her right knee, she clenched her fist, raised her right leg up and threw her leg out.

“Ahhhh...” The tearing pain caused her to break out into cold sweat. Her vision went black for a second. It took her a while to get back up to her feet. She didn’t dare to use her right leg at the moment. Instead, she used it as a support and kicked her left leg out.

Breathe out.

Although the right leg still felt painful, it wasn’t as painful as the earlier one.

She has less than one month to train for IYTT selection round. How was it possible for her to participate when her right leg was still in such condition? She was worried but she didn’t dare to show it in front of others, including Jaejoong.

Rosie was already feeling so guilty; Jaejoong has yet to be fully recovered and now he has to spend time on her physiotherapy. Dongwook has also taken day offs so that he could accompany her while she was doing physiotherapy in the hospital.

Her parents had dropped by everyday to visit her and Jiwon even wanted her to move into her house so that she could take care of her but Rin rejected her mother’s offer. All of Sung Bok’s disciples were looking for all sorts of methods to cure her injury.

She felt very grateful and it was because of this, she felt even more stressful. She didn’t know how to repay their gratitudes. She just wanted her leg to recover as quickly as possible so that she could participate in the selection round for IYTT.

Pushing all the worries aside, Rin got back up to her feet and began to think of strategies that would not put too much stress on her injury.

“I can only use my left leg to attack.” Rin thought and began to train on her left leg.

“Haaa!” She threw a vertical kick out with her left leg when an acute pain shot from her right knee up to her head.

Her vision went black again and fell back down to the mat, panting.

“Direct attacking is impossible for now so I guess I can only