Jae Gu and Dal Dal released each other as they looked over at Queen.
"Queen sunbae, you're here!" Jae Gu said as he immediately walked to the doorway.
Dal Dal rolled her eyes toward Queen, "Worst timing ever."
Jae Gu had wanted to give Queen a hug but she just looked too intimidating for him to attempt such a dangerous feat.
"Of course I'm here, where else would I be?" she said coolly.
"Uh right, I thought you started living in another country... but that was just a bad dream I had..." he said, feeling a little silly.
"Doesn't sound so bad to me.." Dal Dal responded in a low voice.
Moon Young chimed in "Your highness wouldn't leave us hanging like that... would you?"
"No, of course not." Queen replied. "Our company's base of operations, my family and all of my friends are here. It would be silly of me to move to another country."
"Of course, what a crazy idea." Jae Gu agreed.
"I was telling Dal Dal and Moon Young sunbae about a terrible dream I had. Dal Dal was kidnapped, you moved away, my brother and sister went to boarding school, everyone was just… drifting away from me."
After hearing Jae Gu's tone, Queen's initial coldness melted away to one of more concern.
"After we all spent so much time together, I just felt so alone when everyone was gone." Jae Gu went on. Though saying it out loud makes it sound even more ridiculous. I kind of feel stupid now."
As Jae Gu said this, Dal Dal gave him a sympathetic look.
"Anyway, I'm really glad that you're all here now." he finished, lowering his head and looking at the floor, embarrassed after telling everyone all of this.
"Don't worry about it Jae Gu!" Dal Dal smiled at him. "We're all here and we're not going anywhere. At least I'm not!"
"Me neither!" Moon Young added, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll be here." Queen added immediately after.
"Thanks sunbaes." Jae Gu said sheepishly.
"Also, this has made me do some serious thinking. You've all taken care of me so much, but I don't think I've done enough for my sunbaes."
"Nuh uh" Dal Dal started. "You work so hard every day, you shouldn't be worrying about us."
"Yes, don't worry about it Song Jae Gu." Queen added.
Lee Moon Young nodded affirmatively.
"I can do more." Jae Gu replied confidently, looking at the clock on the wall, wishing he had more time.
"I have to get to class, but I want each of you to know that if there's anything I can ever do for you, please just let me know and if I can make it happen, I will."
"Massages, I want massages." Moon Young immediately replied with a sly smirk.
Dal Dal responded to Moon Young's request with a jealous scowl.
Blushing bright red, Jae Gu was speechless for a moment. But he recovered, and as a man true to his word simply responded with "Yes, sunbae." while looking down at the ground.
Then Dal Dal gave Jae Gu a quick squeeze and said "Jae Gu, that's very sweet of you." then whispered to him "I'll tell you what I want later" with a mischievous smile.
Queen finished by saying "I would like to have a match with you Song Jae Gu." "It doesn't have to be right away…" she shrugged.
Dal Dal's eyebrows raised and Moon Young cringed a little at Queen's request.
After he picked up his jaw from the floor he just responded with "Okay sunbae, if that's what you really want." Jae Gu said as he went to leave the boxing club.
On his way out he imagined getting beaten to death by Queen in the ring.
"I'll see you later Jae Gu!" Dal Dal waved after him and he absent mindedly waved back to her.
"You better not hurt my Jae Gu." Dal Dal warned Queen while looking directly into her eyes. She then strolled out into the hallway.
"What was that all about?" Moon Young asked, detecting a dose of jealousy coming from Queen.
"Nothing, we were supposed to fight in the Wild's League anyway." she said, a little embarrassed.
Moon Young just gave her a knowing smile as she started to work on her shadowboxing.
While Queen trained with Moon Young, her thoughts were about Jae Gu and Dal Dal, the image of them holding each other stuck in her mind.
Queen was initially pretty angry when she saw them together like that. But a part of her started to wonder if the two of them together made some sense.
Queen wondered if she had been acting selfish and wasn't considering what was best for Jae Gu.
I'm not a fan of Dal Dal, but… maybe they would be a good fit for each other? Queen thought reluctantly.
"Helloooo Queen, anybody home?" Moon Young said to her, seeing a faraway look in her face.
"Oh, uh nothing, I was just thinking about something." Queen responded.
"Dal Dal and Jaegu together?" Moon Young asked her.
"How did you… know?" Queen said.
"Because your best friend knows you better than you know yourself! Look, I'm not crazy about Dal Dal, but she does seem to really care for Jae Gu." Moon Young continued.
Queen just nodded begrudgingly as they continued their training.
Jae Gu saw green-haired Lee Go Seul in the hallway on the way to his class and remembered how she had helped him out before. He went over to her and decided to extend the same invitation to her as he did his sunbaes.
"Oh. Thank you Song Jae Gu." "Well, if you really mean it, then I would like to teach you a Wushu technique." Go Seul responded.
"Uh, sure but that sounds more like you're helping me though." he said to her as she just shrugged slightly.
"But if that is your wish then I'll make sure to make some time for you. And thanks again for everything" Jae Gu told her before heading into his classroom.
Lee Go Seul just waved shyly as he left.
Jae Gu couldn't concentrate at all during class. All he could do was think about his sunbaes. He was fond of all of them, but in different ways.
Lee Go Seul is a mystery. I hardly ever see her in school and then she'll sometimes come to my aid out of nowhere. I don't know that she particularly likes me as much as she's just a very kind person.
Lee Moon Young looks out for her friends and is always there when you need her. She also kind of treats me like a kid brother.
I never know what Queen's thinking or feeling. She seems cold and distant most of the time. I'm also terrified that she could kick my head right off if I ever made her mad.
Dal Dal Choi is a different story. She's so kind, so thoughtful, and even though she is also quite deadly, for some reason I feel totally safe when I'm with her. Not only do I feel like she would never hurt me, but no one else could hurt me while she was around. The more I think about her the more I realize how special she is.
After his main classes were over, with Jae Gu not really doing any school work whatsoever, he headed toward the boxing club to get some training in before going to work.
Dal Dal Choi and Kim Joon Gu were leaving the cooking club when they saw Jae Gu in the hallway. Joon Gu smiled as Dal Dal went over to Jae Gu and put her arm around his.
"Hi Jae Gu, do you mind if I train with you today?" Dal Dal asked him sweetly.
"Uh that would be great, but I'm not a member of the Tae Kwon Do club." he responded.
"That's okay, I spoke to the principal and he said that given your circumstances with bullies, you can train at any of the clubs, as long as the president of the club is okay with it. I'm the president of the Tae Kwon Do club, so you're good to go!"
"Wow, thanks sunbae, I appreciate that." he tells her as they make their way to the Tae Kwon Do club.
After getting warmed up, Dal Dal Choi shows Jae Gu how to counter attack by pivoting and then launching a round kick. "Like this!" she says as she pivots then kicks a bag, causing the bag to explode away violently.
Impressed with the demonstration, Jae Gu then proceeds to practice the technique. Pivot, round kick, pivot round kick, over and over he practices under the expert tutelage of Dal Dal Choi until his legs are tired.
"You've got some pretty good power in your legs Jae Gu, probably from all the hard work you do." Dal Dal tells him.
Just then a familiar voice from the entrance to the club says "Hey Jae Gu, nice kick."
They look up to see Lee Go Seul at the entrance of the Tae Kwon Do Club.
"Do you mind if I come in? I wanted to teach Jae Gu something that I think would help him if ever gets surrounded." Lee Go Seul says to Dal Dal Choi.
"Well if it's to help out my Jae Gu, sure." Dal Dal responds.
Lee Go Seul walks over to Jae Gu and Dal Dal. "I want to teach you something that will work well if you have attackers on either side of you."
Lee Go Seul then walks in between several striking bags and sets her legs firmly. With blinding speed, she forcefully extends both of her arms out from her sides, causing all of the striking pads to get knocked backwards forcefully.
Jae Gu is very impressed, Dal Dal less so but still curious about the move.
Lee Go Seul then teaches Jae Gu how to do the move as Dal Dal Choi watches nearby. She has him practice the technique numerous times.
"Your technique looks good Jae Gu, try to practice this when you get a chance, it may come in handy if you ever get attacked by several people." she tells him.
"Thanks a lot, I appreciate this Go Seul." Jae Gu tells her.
Lee Go Seul smiles shyly and says "You're welcome, thank you for letting me teach it to you."
She then exits the Tae Kwon Do club just as Lee Moon Young strolls through the door.
"What was she doing here? And where have you been Jae Gu? I was waiting for you at the boxing club." Moon Young asks.
"Ah, sorry sunbae. Well, Lee Go Seul wanted to teach me a technique that might help with multiple attackers and Dal Dal asked if she could train me today." Jae Gu explained to Moon Young as Dal Dal just nodded confidently.
"You shouldn't get to train with Jae Gu so much anyway…" Dal Dal added.
"I forgot that you have been training for your rematch with Kim Hye Shin, right?" Jae Gu apologized.
Jae Gu remembered Moon Young not being satisfied with her hollow victory in the tournament to Kim Hye Shin. Especially when she found out that she had left the ring to help out her brother who was in danger.
"Hey, don't sweat it, we'll get some more practice in tomorrow huh?" she told Jae Gu as he nodded affirmatively.
"Anyway, Jae Gu, remember when you asked if there was anything you could do for your sunbaes and I said massages?" she continued.
At this Dal Dal Choi narrowed her eyes at Lee Moon Young.
"Yes, of course sunbae, are you saying you want one, right now?" Jae Gu asked.
"Yep, my body is sore and achy all over and I could really use a good massage." she told Jae Gu with a smile.
Me too Jae Gu thought, though he didn't say it out loud. "Okay sunbae…" Jae Gu said obediently.
Lee Moon Young then proceeds to plop down on the mats at the back of the club face down, waiting patiently for her massage to start.