Am I dreaming?

She was not dreaming. She could feel pain when she sneakily pinched herself under the table.

She was not dreaming. Byulyi looked around with confusing eyes. She was no longer at the boxing club but in a small gukbap restaurant. Her eyebrows knitted, and her triangle mouth slightly opened as she was thinking hard, trying to recall what had happened.  She went to the boxing club to give the beaded bag to Yongsun. Yongsun asked her to go out for a meal and she agreed. That was the reason why she was here.

That’s all.

No, Byulyi shook her head. She felt like she missed something important.

Yongsun…. Solar…

Yongsun is Solar!!!!!

Byulyi widened her eyes and mouth in frightening. H-How.. How could it happen?

“What’s wrong?”

Her body slightly jerked up as her soul finally came back.

“It doesn't fit your taste?” The person sitting opposite her asked with a concerned look.

 “Ah, no.” Byulyi shook her head violently and picked up her spoon. She was completely spaced out that she didn’t even realize the food had arrived for a while.

“I like it.” She claimed as she scooped a spoonful of soup into . Satisfied with her answer, the older woman continued eating in silence. It must be Solar’s favorite food – she noted it in her mind. She had learned another thing about her idol today.

The moment Byulyi swallowed down her first bite, she could hear the sound of metal hitting the bottom of the bowl. She did not have time to surprise when the owner, a middle-aged woman, brought another bowl of gukbap to their table, placing it in front of the professional boxer.

She can eat two?

Byulyi watched the boxer devouring her second bowl of gukbap like her first meal of the day with amused eyes. The amount of food in one bowl was not little, even quite big to Byulyi. She felt like it could keep her full until tomorrow’s lunch if she finished the whole bowl. But Solar was different, she was a boxer. She must have burned out a lot of calories through training that she had to eat much to stay strong and healthy – Byulyi convinced herself.

  Byulyi did not know why, but seeing Solar eating deliciously made her feel happy and full. She wanted to keep looking at that scene, but she knew staring at someone while they were eating was rude. So she only stole a glance at the older woman frequently. Byulyi was enjoying their comforting silence until she realized the boxer had finished half of her second bowl.

It meant her time with Solar almost ran out.

  No, I can’t keep being silent like this!!

When would she be able to have another chance like this?  She could not waste it.

She needed to find a subject to talk with Solar, and if possible, leaving a good impression on the boxer. Byulyi pondered, trying to use her social skills for 27 years of living to come up with a suitable thing to say. But when their eyes accidentally met when both of them reached out for a piece of radish, her heartbeat raced and her mind became blank in a blink of an eyes.  Byulyi suddenly stood up, so fast that the chair she was sitting on was pushed back, making a shrill noise on the ground.

“Solar-nim. I'm really your big fan!!!” She confessed with all her soul.

“Oh,” the boxer said with a poker face.  “Thank you.”

It took her only a few seconds to be hit hard by reality. Byulyi felt her cheeks burning red. She could even hear a small laugh from the owner from distance. Luckily it was still early for dining time that there were only two of them and the owner at that time. Byulyi sat down quietly with her head down. She wished that she could hide under the table now, and better, digging a hole and jumping in.

Why did I do such an embarrassing thing like this? Byulyi cursed her dumb self. Solar must have considered her as a weird person because of it.

“S-Solar-nim.” She stuttered after an awkward silence, trying to say something to save her imagine.

“Call me Yongsun.” The boxer said without looking at her. Byulyi felt like a loser. Even a piece of sundae looked more attractive in Solar’s eyes than her.

“Yongsun-unnie,” Byulyi blurted out. She was used to chanting “Solar-unnie,” “Solar-unnie” each time she watched the boxer fighting on TV. “No, I mean Yongsun-ssi.” She quickly changed it back to the formal way.

“Am I unnie?” The boxer’s hand movement suddenly stopped.

“Y-Yes. You're one year older than me.”  Her body tensed up at the older woman’s question. “Unnie was born in 1991. February 21st, Zodiac sign Pisces.” That was TMI.

“You seem to know about me well.” The boxer looked at her with curious eyes.

Of course I do

“Kim Solar - a two-weight world champion, having held the WBA female super-flyweight title since 2014 and previously the WBA female flyweight title from 2008 to 2013. You entered the amateur ranks in 2007, winning 5 domestic titles before turning professional in 2008. Till now, you have competed in 15 fights in total with 14 wins and only 1 draw.” Byulyi said as if she was reading from a book. Her history teacher in high school would be surprised if he was here – she had given him much headache back then as she often got confused between the year when World War I occurred and the year of World War II.

Byulyi finished with a proud smile, but her smile soon faded when she saw the boxer’s unreadable expression. What did I do? Did I scare her? What will she think about me? A crazy fan?  

Byulyi lowered her head with a sad face. She had ruined her chance to make a good impression.