Competitions became painfully predictable for the next few seasons. Yeji was still a fearsome force to be reckoned with on the piste, consistently clinching either the silver or bronze medals. Chaeryeong grew into her confidence and was experiencing the mirrored situation of Yeji, except within foil’s realm. Another dark horse had joined the leagues of the whispered name, Shin Yuna — known for both her prowess with the epee, as well as the fact that she’s Ryujin’s cousin. 

 

Meanwhile, the constant championship names fell onto the shoulders of Ryujin and Lia, for sabre and foil respectively. The two of them knew of each other by this point — but yet they never had the opportunity to interact.

 

However, in the last competition for the year’s season — that opportunity finally reared its head. Ryujin had decided to drop by the venue earlier to cheer on her cousin, and to get additional warm-ups prior to her turn. Once her younger cousin caught sight of Ryujin, she started waving enthusiastically, gesturing for the sabreur to approach them. 

 

“Shinnayu! Since when did you get so tall?” Ryujin grouched as she walked over, with a mock furrow of her brows.

 

“Unnie! It’s not my fault you didn’t drink enough milk last time,” Yuna easily responded, playfully slapping the elder’s shoulders. “Anyway, why are you here so early?” 

 

Ryujin dug something out from her bag and handed it over to Yuna. “I brought some bananas for you, since knowing you, you probably didn’t have too much time to eat before your warm-ups.” Yuna gasped as she tenderly cradled the bunch of bananas and pulled Ryujin into a warm hug, being careful not to squash the fruits between them. 

 

“You’re a lifesaver unnie! I was getting a bit hungry too. Are you going to watch my bouts? I’ll watch yours later!”

 

Ryujin glanced at the digital clock on the wall before returning an affectionate smile, “Sure thing. I’m going to go warm-up first, but I’ll watch your elimination rounds, yeah?” 

 

Much like an overly excited puppy, Yuna rapidly nodded before patting Ryujin off. 

 

(As Ryujin walked out, the only thought on her head was whether she should have drank more milk or done pushups earlier in her life.)

 

---

 

The moment Ryujin stepped out of the sports hall to a more secluded area nearby, she could hear the telltale taps of the fencing heel landing against the concrete floor. It seemed that someone else had the same idea as her, doing their personal warm-ups. As Ryujin turned the corner to sate her curiosity on who the hardworking soul might be, she found herself being caught in a state of surprise, but also not so since she remembered, the other person is also a fellow champion in the sport.

 

In full glory, she could see Lia running through her footwork routine, occasionally landing lunges and other variations of explosive stretches. To be honest, it was interesting seeing her own warm-up routine being played out right in front of her — after all, there’s only so much one can do with fencing warm-ups. Ryujin hesitated for a bit before clearing , which caught the attention of Lia.

 

Lia landed a final lunge before looking over to the source of the sound with a single raised brow. Ryujin just returned with a sheepish smile, “Hey uhm… Lia, yeah? Just wanted to ask if you’re cool with me doing my warm-ups here. I’ll not get in your way though!” 

 

The foilist recovered from her lunge whilst Ryujin was talking and laughed. “I thought I was in trouble or something! Of course you can. We can even do partner drills if you’d like…?” Lia trailed off with an expectant look in her eyes, unsure of how to address the sabreur.

 

“Ryujin,” came the quick response, as the sabreur approached Lia and took on her en-garde stance opposite her. With a tilt of her head and a challenging smirk, she just asked, “What should we do?”

 

Lia readied up, and listed out a bunch of exercises, checking Ryujin’s expression constantly, ensuring that they were on the same page. With a nod and a tap of their blades, they began through the motions.

 

(Thinking back on it, it was the only time Ryujin ever found warm-ups something fun.)

 

---

 

Fencing is an individual sport. When you fence, it’s just yourself, your opponent, the piste and your blades. Yet, there are also team aspects to it, ranging from the fact that team events were a thing down to the fact that during training, everyone suffers together as a team.

 

Lia had embraced the individuality of the sport upon coming back from Canada — though not because she wanted to. She had Korean blood running through her veins, but everyone treated her like a foreigner on the team. It was not like she was outcasted, but there was just this invisible barrier that separated her from the teammates. Yet, the whispers that spread through her school team on her feats and wins confused her. 

 

For a group of people who talked a lot about her, it was weird that they’d rather do that than to talk to her personally.

 

Eventually she managed to put a name to this feeling. She was being put on a pedestal, and yet she was regarded as a competition, even within the same team! Though Lia would have no idea how to go around being nicer or telling them to be less competitive. On the piste, it was just her and the opponent. There is absolutely not a chance she would give way to the undeserving. 

 

Thankfully, Chaeryeong had offered an olive branch a few weeks after she had joined and offered to show her around the school. This led to a gradual friendship between the two foilists, yet even so there was still this invisible barrier between the two. Perhaps it was because when it came down to the core of the competition, they were always going to end up as opponents? Rather than to ponder too much on it, Lia would rather just take what she could get and relish in the terse friendship.

 

Throughout the competition season, Lia did grow slightly closer to her teammates, when they celebrated their wins together and suffered their losses as a single team, but the gap that she felt from them still sustained. 

 

(Maybe because she didn’t have losses to suffer? But that was from her own hard work — why was she feeling bad for it?) 

 

On the final day of competition for the year, and her time in high school, she decided to head to the venue earlier to have some peace of mind prior to her turn. Instead, she found herself thrown off by the presence of a single Shin Ryujin.

 

Even within her home turf of foil fencing, she knew of that name. The young prodigy that was said to have picked up the sabre and soon effortlessly climbed up the ranks within the country — later the region. Yet, as she did the partner drills with the sabreur and watched the sweat dribble down her face, she felt kinship and a sense of understanding. It was always the hard work that was put behind the scenes that were never appreciated. 

 

---

 

Minutes pass, and the duo found themselves enthusiastically tearing their masks off, panting and shaking off their legs. Lia’s eyes caught Ryujin’s, who responded with a cheeky smile in turn as she glibly said, “It’s been a while since I’ve felt so tired from just a warm-up. You sure didn’t go easy on me, huh?” She then trailed off and frowned a bit. “You didn’t, right?”

 

Lia just burst out in laughter as she shook her head. “I wish! I’m totally beat now too, which makes me feel if I might have gotten myself in trouble since the foil qualifiers are going to start soon.” She rested her hands on her waist with a loud sigh before shrugging at Ryujin, who had taken her spot squatting down across her, wiping sweat off her forehead. 

 

The sabreur stuck her tongue out at Lia as she waved her off. “What an exaggeration! You’ll be fine. I’ve watched you fence for longer than this warm-up. I’m sure you’ll do great in fact. Gold again? Not a problem.” 

 

Lia opened , about to respond to what Ryujin had said, but she was rudely cut off by the PA system.

 

Poules for the women’s foil has been posted. Please check against your name and report to your piste now.

 

The foilist then felt a firm pat on her shoulder. “Go break a leg — and hopefully not a blade!” Ryujin joked as she began heading back to the sports hall (and into the air conditioning!). “Better see you at the podium!” With just a little wave of her hand, the sabreur was gone, leaving Lia standing there, dumbfounded.

 

(Through all the jest, Lia couldn’t help but to think — damn, she’s not felt such genuineness in a while).