Like A Fool

- Bang Yongguk -

                The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts when the young man fell to the floor, bloody and unconscious from the fight. Despite having a slightly obscured view of the fight due to the safety net hung around the football field sized arena, the crowd was satisfied and thrilled by the gory fight. All eyes were on the muscular male, running around the arena, pumping his fists in the air as a sign of victory.

                Running champion of underground fighting, Bang Yongguk, once again proved that he wasn’t one to be taken lightly with. Three years he had not lost a single challenge. Three years, aspiring fighters had trained to defeat him, not a single one succeeding. Three years, people feared him, even those who had never seen him before.

                Wiping away the blood that flowed from his nose, Yongguk exited the arena, leaving the whistles and cheers of the loud crowd. Ignoring the group that immediately the fawned over him, he forced his way out of the arena. As he drove back to his hotel, he felt a subtle ache in his side and made a mental note to tend to it later. Taking the stairs up to his room on the fourth floor, he shut the door loudly and sat down in his plush grey sofa. Sweat and grime coated his skin but he didn't seem to mind his dishevelled state as he massaged the aching spot slowly. 

                Grabbing the brown box of pills from the small oak table next to the couch, he grunted in pain. The ache was getting worse. Carelessly pouring out more pills than necessary onto his hand, he sighed loudly. The door clicked open as he threw the pills into his mouth, swallowing them dry. His subconscious mind knew very well who it was. The familiar sound of black court shoes clicking softly against the marble floor gave Yongguk a slight comfort. Her hair was tied back into the same loose bun it always was whenever she would visit him.

                No words were uttered between them as she slowly wiped his forehead with a wet cloth, cleaning away the dirt. A simple nod from her was enough to indicate that she expected Yongguk to talk.

                “Right side. An ache.” His deep voice filled the room for a brief moment as he pulled his black tank top over his head, exposing his well built upper body, the light from the small lamp on the table casting shadows over his fit abdomen. He would never tell anyone else about his injuries, his problems. It showed that he was weak. Over the years as an underground fighter, he perfected his poker face, showing absolutely no emotion when he was hurt.

                The only person who knew his pain and distress was her. She would come to him, every day without fail and attend to his injuries. He gave a lot of resistance at the beginning, refusing to expose his weaknesses. But her persistence, her perseverance, left an impression on him and such, began their relationship.

                It wasn’t romantic, although Yongguk would find himself considering it and chastise himself later for such abominable thoughts. It was clear she did not think of him that way, but Yongguk couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. Only she broke through him.

                He hissed as she pressed down lightly on the spot where the ache was. Casting him a short glance of concern, she took the brown bottle of ointment that she brought with her in a simple, white first-aid kit. Smothering her hands with ointment, she slowly applied it to his injury, taking extra care to not apply too much pressure.

                Yongguk looked at her as he stood up and she kneeled down to have better access to his injury, Yongguk wincing whenever her hands made contact with his skin. It hurt, a lot, but he was sure it wasn’t anything serious by the calm look on her face.

                That’s right, she was a professional medic. What was he? A good for nothing underground fighter who won’t be able to give her anything. Not happiness, not a stable life, not even a family.

                Which is why he should forget about it.

                “It’s a really bad bruising, you could have fractured your rib you know.” Her smooth voice filled his ears as he took in a deep breath.

                “But I didn’t.” He dismissed her simply, hoping his forced cold attitude would drive her away quickly. The less time he spends around her, the better.

                “You won’t be able to fight tomorrow.”

                “What?!” Yongguk flinched at her words and winced at the pain in his side.

                “You heard me, no fighting tomorrow. I don’t want any excuses. If you insist on fighting, tomorrow will be your last match since any punch or kick inflicted on that rib will fracture it.” She stated matter-of-factly.

                Yongguk groaned before grunting as a ‘yes’.

                “That’s a good boy.” She chuckled lightly as she patted his head.

                Yongguk hated it when she did that, but in a way he also craved it, to feel accepted and not feared. Of course, it felt good to see the fear strike in his enemies’ eyes whenever he simply just glared at them. But maybe a part in him also wanted to be loved.

                By her. Yongguk sighed at the thought.

                “I’m done. Just don’t stress your waist too hard doing who knows what and you’ll be perfectly fine by tomorrow evening.” She nodded to herself, satisfied with her work.

                Yongguk’s eyes didn’t leave her as she began packing up her supplies, whistling softly. His eyes followed the dainty curve of her nose, the way she blinked in confusion when she couldn’t find her packet of bandages made him chuckle lightly.

                “What?” She looked up at him, blinking again. He smiled his gummy smile and shook his head, the girl giving him a weird look.

                “I’m pretty sure you didn’t hit your head. What’re you smiling for?” She tilted her head at him as she closed her first-aid-kit with a small click.

                When he didn’t reply her, she scoffed lightly and walked out of the room, muttering words of how he was weird. Yongguk felt a bit elated, falling back onto the sofa and wincing when he forgot about his injury for a moment. Leaning back so his head rested on the plain, white wall, a thousand thoughts ran through his head. Of course since reality tends to hate any train of thought, his phone suddenly rang and he jolted upward, cursing under his breath at the pain that shot through his body.

                “Yoboseyo?”

                “I forgot to tell you, eat more carrots! My teacher always told me carrots helped with bruises, although I don’t know if it’s true or not. Oh and I left the ointment there, since you’re going to take a bath right? Apply it like I showed you before. Take care!” Her chipper voice rang in his ear before the monotone dial tone replaced it.

                Chuckling lightly to himself, he put down his phone and he caught sight of the bottle of ointment that she left behind. Next to it was a small red box that he had left on his dresser. Picking it up gently, he flipped open the box and smiled at the sparkling pendant. Maybe one day, he would see it hung around her neck. Placing the box down again with a slight daintiness that wouldn’t usually be seen on a fighter like him, he made his way into the bathroom.

                She had done it again. Every day he would tell himself to stop thinking about her that way, and every day she would come and ruin every resolution he had. But really, Yongguk didn’t really mind.