Narrator's POV

A week had passed since that incident and Heejin hadn't heard from Hyunjin since then. Each time her phone pinged with a notification, somewhere in Heejin's heart there was a faint glow of hope that it was Hyunjin. But, to no avail, it never was.

To be brutally honest, Heejin didn't have the time to be fixated on Hyunjin. Ever since she won her match, held the party, and gained Dispatch's attention, even people who didn't follow boxing started to recognize her. With the newfound popularity she gained, Heejin was getting all kinds of advertisements and variety show offers. 2 days ago, Heejin's manager informed her that she was scheduled for an ad shoot for athletic wear tomorrow and was to be appearing on Running Man the following day. All of that, on top of her studies, both physically and cognitively depleted Heejin.

The only "break' Heejin had in her itinerary was coaching younger boxing hopefuls. On the weekends Heejin loved working with the kids that she had taken under her wing. Since Heejin herself was still relatively young, most of the younger kids called her eonnie or noona rather than Jeon-ssaem. Accordingly, Heejin spoiled them as if they were all her younger siblings. All 11 of them.

However, today, the 11 merry children would welcome a new member into the den, making 12.

A little girl, possibly pushing 4 foot 8, pulled open the doors to the gym. Everything was new and exciting for the young girl. Her excitement was expressed in every ounce of her body, from her electric blue athletic clothes to the bubbly hop in her step as she paced around. Eager to learn, the young girl named Chanmi walked up to the counter. However, she was too short. Even on her tippy-toes, she couldn't reach the bell on the counter. Luckily, Heejin was out and about the gym at this time, rounding up her students and preparing to start the lesson when she saw Chanmi.

"Hey there! You're the girl from the other day at the vet clinic, right?"

"OMG yay! I get to see you again! Hi Ms. Heejin! That's me alright! My name is Chanmi. Sorry I was so excited last time that I forgot to introduce myself!"

"That's ok. Nice to meet you Chanmi! Also, no need for formality. Feel free to call me Heejin eonnie or just eonnie, ok? I see you have some wraps and headgear with you. Do you know how to use and wear any of it yet?"

"Um, this is embarrassing but not really..."

"That's ok. I just finished rounding up the other 11 students. most of them should be changing and getting their equipment right now. Since you don't know how to wear some of your stuff yet, want me to help you get dressed? Is that ok?"

"Yep! Thank you!"

"No problem. Follow me. The changing rooms are over here."

After helping Chanmi wrap her hands and fit into her headgear, Heejin walked with Chanmi, hand in hand, to the training room. Heejin's usual students were all congregated in a circle, talking amongst themselves. As soon as they saw Heejin with a new member of the family in tow, their backs straightened and they lined up in set order. Making their way to the front of the room, 11 curious gazes traced their way over Chanmi. 

"Alright, family. Before we start, take note. I want to remind you all that we sadly won't be having class tomorrow. Your parents should have gotten an email, but I wanted to tell you guys just in case. Something came up in my schedule so I can't be with you guys tomorrow, I'm sorry. I'll be sure to make it up to you guys next week, ok? Ok, official planning stuff aside, today we have a new member joining us! Can you introduce yourself to the others, please?'

"Hi! My name is Chanmi. I'm 10 years old and hope to become close friends with all of you!"

Some kids responded by saying hi back, while others simply smiled and waved. 

"Ok! So guys, all of you have once been the new student to this class right? So please make Chanmi feel welcome! Please understand if I spend more time with her today since she is just starting out. Ok. Introductions aside, shall we start with our usual warm-ups? Let's start with 2 laps around the room to let out some initial excitement. Then we'll move onto a 20-second set of boxing bounces, jumping jacks, and squats. Sound good? Let's go! I'll be doing these right alongside you guys!"

...

Heejin's POV

Chanmi's first lesson was better than I expected. While she didn't have the nest stamina, that can be improved upon. What I liked the most about Chanmi was her work ethic. From her focus and range of questions during the lesson, one could easily tell that Chanmi was heavily invested in this issue. It was now half an hour after the lesson had ended. All of the other kids beside Chanmi had been picked up by their parents already. Only Chanmi and I were left waiting in the lobby.

"Heejin eonnie, I saw on the news the other day that you're dating another eonnie. Is this true?"

"Haha, no. That eonnie and I are just friends. Why do you ask?"

"Oh I was just curious. I have an oppa your age, maybe a bit older. In all of the dramas, I see dating looks so cool and perfect! I wanna grow up and find my soulmate!"

"Hahaha, what they don't tell you is that there are other things you have to do as an adult. For example, you know those complex papers that your eomma and appa have to fill out? You have to fill out ~paperwork~!"

"Ewww, hehehe. I don't like paperwork!  I do have another question though."

"Sure. Ask away."

"Why did the article mention you and another girl instead of a boy? My eomma and appa and oppa say that the LGBT people are bad people who do naughty things, but I think you are pretty cool!"

"Oh um...well what do you think about it?"

"Almost everybody my age and younger doesn't seem to have problems with it. My teacher told me that years ago, it was really bad, and these LGBT people were hurt by other people. I'm confused, because my family and some other families say one thing, while many people at school and other places say different things. For once, I think my parents are wrong. Nobody deserves to be hurt by another just for loving someone. "

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you think that way. I sincerely hope that your family's opinions can change, but I doubt that that would happen. I just want to say, in life, as you grow up you will have to make your own judgments and create your own values. Some may be the same as your family while others may be different. It's important to remember that you are your own person."

Thunk. The heavy thud of a car door closing was heard, followed by the crisp chime of the bell on the gym's door, and finally ending with a man's deep voice whispering 'I'll call you later babe. Bye.'  Taking my gaze off of Chanmi, my eyes instead meet with those of ... Hansol. 

"Oh hey! Heejin, right? It's me, Hansol, from the other night with Haseul?"

"Oh yeah! Small world."

"What a coincidence that you are teaching my younger sister MMA! Would you like to grab some coffee? We didn't get to properly get to know each other the other day. I'm sure Chanmi wouldn't mind spending some extra time with you either."

Spending extra time with Hansol was the last thing I wanted to do, but with some puppy eyes and pleading from Chanmi, here I am, at some random cafe, sitting across from him with a cappuccino in hand.

"So, how are you and Ms. Hyunjin?"

"Wait, oppa are you dating a new girl now? I thought you were dating Macy?"

"Oh, not anymore. I broke up with Macy around 2 months ago, Chanmi. To answer your question Ms. Heejin, I think we are doing quite well. We are taking it slow, but this past week has been great. What about you? I'm so sorry that dispatch would ruin your reputation so much by saying that you were dating another woman. I saw that your entertainment company came out and said that you were just close friends."

"My love life has been doing just fine. I've been single but I don't mind too much. Dispatch was wrong this time. Sooyoung and I are just friends. We've just known each other for forever. An-"

"Phew, that's a relief. However, I find it difficult to believe that you are completely fine without the benefits that a relationship provides. You should really find yourself a nice man to take care of you. Man can take care and please their women better than another woman or tranny creature - whatever you call them - can. Well, not that you would need to be taken care of that much. I'm sure that with a body like that you would have no issues breaking both hearts and bones. People who say they are 'aromantic' or 'aual' are in my opinion just lying to compensa-"

"ORDER OF COFFEE AND CAKE TO GO FOR LEE HANSOL!"

"Sorry, I'll be back in a minute or two. In the meantime, enjoy yourselves!"

Thank goodness Hansol left for a moment. I don't know how much longer I could have contained my anger. Hyunjin is dating a bigoted and rude ! How could he just say all of those things out in public, much less in front of his 10 year old sister?! Who talks about pleasing women in front of their younger sister who is not yet of age?!

Looking over to Chanmi, she's currently so tired from training that she has fallen asleep in the booth. As I scoot over to the outer edge of the booth to see what's taking Hansol so long, his phone pings and 3 text notifications show up on his lock screen. The IDs don't have names, just hearts of different colors and what seems to be a rating out of 10. This better not be what I think it is. I swear to God this better not be what I think it is. As the screen fades, I redirect my attention to the front counter, where Hansol is. Despite having 3 new text messages from a '9/10 hot', '5/10 rich', and '10/10 eager', he's still flirting with the barista. He really isn't a good person. However, right now I don't know Hyunjin well enough to just waltz on over, and I don't have physical evidence yet. If she really likes him as much as I am afraid she does, she'll probably be blinded by love. I can't text her either unless she texts me, because she never gave me her number. Hmmm...I know just how to get in contact with Hyunjin. With this method, I'll kill 2 birds with one stone! Oh , he's starting to turn back. Gotta reposition myself.

Pulling out my phone, I make a note to myself:

• Meet with Hyunjin to talk about Hansol
• Find concrete evidence about Hansol
• Initiate plan Heekki for meeting with Hyunjin

"Hey I'm back and - uh oh! It looks like the princess fell asleep again. I'm guessing that the MMA lesson was quite the workout? Has it ever made your other students fall asleep before?"

"Whenever a new student starts out I tone it down a lot. She was very enthusiastic and used lots of energy for the sets and reps today. Many students, when starting out, feel tired afterward. In her case, I do think she overworked herself a bit. Here's an energy drink for her. You should probably take her home right now, change her clothes. and give her something to eat. I wouldn't want her to become injured because of me."

"Oh um, of course. Sorry but I guess we have to cut our meeting short again. We'll just have to meet up again sometime. Can I have your number? When my parent aren't home I usually take care of Chanmi, so I'll mostly be contacting you for updates on her lessons... and maybe I'll occasionally spam you with friendly messages since we are friends now."

"...Sure, why not. Here, give me your phone and I'll input it."

"Ok, give me a minute. I've got some trash to clear up out of my phone......there! Here you go."

"......there you go. Well, you should get going and let Chanmi rest. Have a nice evening."

"You too! I'll call you. Bye!"

Why the hell did I give him my number? Ugh, I can't block it either or else he'll know and probably ask Chanmi or something. . This won't end well.