« An unexpected punch or blow. »
synopsis - boxing and wishing on flowers with her. what an amazing concept.
A/N - currently in my monthly Yeji era✨
“I wish for you to be a little more gentle on me.”
You blew on a dandelion, teasing the girl sitting next to you on this small brick wall. She scoffed at your joke, making you feel that warmth in your chest you’d grown familiar with.
Yeji. A name you’d only ever heard a couple times back in your school days had become your favorite over the last few months. She came into the boxing gym you worked at one day with her group and basically never left since.
The discipline you had mastered happened to be a great stress reliever for her as she handled and dealt with the negative sides of her career. Those you’d grown familiar with as she slowly opened up to you, but not before pushing you to your limits first.
It was fun coaching her, until she let her emotions get the best of her. It wasn’t rare for her to leave a few unwanted bruises on your limbs, for which she’d apologize countless times over a meal she’d buy you in exchange for your forgiveness.
The first of those was nothing like you’d expected. The timidity, hesitant words and awkward tension… The two of you seemed to have forgotten about their existence as you skipped forward to the delight, the confidence, and a kind of tension that threatened to burst ever since.
With every training session, the air seemed to thicken around your every move. Every punch, every kick felt like a potential trigger that the two of you danced around, waiting to see which one of you would set it off first.
The feeling was addictive. You knew nothing would happen, at least during the sessions. Yet the rush you felt playing this battleship game kept its intensity to the highest every time.
Maybe it was the competition. Maybe it was the way her eyes dared you to retaliate. Or maybe it was just that: her eyes, for which you’d eventually learned she had earned many nicknames.
Those made you smile. Just like your laughter did her as she told you about them.
“Well, now it won’t come true.” Her smile persisted, still amused by your joke.
“What, just because I said it out loud?”
“Well, I like to think it only comes true if you do.” You argued. “I mean, let’s be honest, this flower can’t do anything about you not beating me up.”
She hummed, “I doubt it.”
“Want me to make another one?”
You grabbed another dandelion from the small patch of grass behind the two of you. That made her raise an eyebrow as she wondered what kind of scheme you had come up with again.
“I’ll make another wish, a silent one, and we’ll see which one comes true.” You explained, determined to prove your theory.
In all honesty, you had no idea what you were doing. All you cared about in the moment was making her smile and hearing that sweet laugh of hers.
If there truly was any power allocated to flowers, you just hoped they’d allow you to stay by her side. That’s all you really wished for.
It was all theoretical, though, and you weren’t about to let the fate of your most wonderful encounter yet in the hands of something so delicate as a plant.
So you carried on with your life, taking her punches and even looking forward to them as you built up the courage to ask her out.
That took a while. So much so it seemed Yeji had run out of patience. The game was getting old.
So she pulled the trigger first, and finally threw the knock out punch.
A month had passed since you’d cast your wishes, and she came in for training with a tensed up face like you’d never seen before. Her stride was a bit faster, determined, and the light in her eyes seemed to be fueled by pure flames rather than the usual soft glow you’d fallen for. It all rendered her even more intimidating. A huge part of you found that attractive, but you pulled yourself together quickly as you realised you were in for a particularly demanding session.
Surprisingly, you didn’t meet the ground that day. The hits she carried to your boxing pads seemed to be powered by an unlimited source. It didn’t take a genius to tell her frustration had something to do with that, and as much as you wanted to help her, it was starting to get a little too much.
“Yeji!” You called out several times in between her punches, but in vain.
Might as well talk to a wall. You had to physically get away from her for her to snap out of it.
“What’s going on? Is everything alright?”
Obviously it wasn’t the case. You just asked in hopes for her to open up and tell you about what had her so riled up.
Usually she would do that after training, while you both took some time to breathe and hydrate. This time there was no way you could wait until then.
You watched as her hands dropped to her hips, breathing heavily from the effort she’d been putting. It looked like her body was just now catching up with the intensity of it all.
“Sorry…” She finally said once she found a somewhat normal breathing pattern.
She meant it. And if you doubted it, she made sure to erase it with a cup of coffee, although deep down, she knew you’d forgiven her before she had even apologized.
If she were honest, she’d admit she needed the ritual more than you cared about it.
She needed that time with you, so she made sure to drag it out a little longer than usual.
She didn’t speak much, which you found odd but could understand. Whatever happened must have been bad enough. So you simply stayed by her side as she lead you to the nearby park, finding that same brick wall from a month ago and taking a seat there.
The silence of it all was unusual. Everything was out of place that evening, nothing felt familiar except the feelings you had for her.
The air was heavy around you, and you sought refuge from it in the countless passersby. You watched them all, one by one, as they walked past you and Yeji, like they’d be any help to whatever was happening.
You felt the temperature drop slowly as time passed. The goosebumps you felt underneath your jacket reminded you of Yeji’s lighter attire and you looked at her for the first time in a while.
It looked like she hadn’t moved an inch, still staring at her visibly untouched cup of coffee. That latte surely had turned into an iced coffee by now.
The sight tugged on your heart, and your lips frowned before you grabbed your sleeve to take your jacket off.
You stopped in your tracks, and before you could protest, she muttered a few words you had trouble making out in the middle of the distant children’s joyful screams.
Your breath caught in your throat. A feeling which you only got from her trained right hook once.
Your ribs felt it for a week, but you knew it would be nothing compared to this one.
She finally looked up from her cup to meet your eyes. You swore she was annoyed for a second there, but her gaze looked clouded. Foggy even, the vibrant colors had faded to leave room to eventual tears.
You didn’t have time to do anything about that either as she suddenly grabbed your arms, wrapping them around her herself.
Some other day, the move would have made you laugh, but that day you did as you were told.
You held onto her, a little tighter than she had prompted you, with an arm around her shoulders, her head resting on yours, and your free hand caressing her cheek soothingly.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” You asked softly before feeling her shake her head.
“I just want you to hold me.” She said, snuggling closer into you. “Everyday from now on.”
You smiled. Maybe her words should have come as a surprise. Maybe your heart should have been racing. Maybe you should have even gotten startled out of the position you were in.
But it just didn’t happen.
If anything you felt giddy. You couldn’t help the smile tugging at your lips. Her words simply made you happy, but they also reminded you of something…
Your silence eventually caught her attention, though, and she lifted her head from your shoulder to face you.
Relief washed over her, kicking every worry of hers out the way as soon as she saw how happy you were. The sight pulled the first genuine smile out of her that day.
“Are you not gonna say anything?” She chuckled softly.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m just happy.” You told truthfully.
You held back on the memory though, debating in whether or not you should say it. You really wanted to tell her, though, and she noticed your internal struggling.
“Are you sure?” She smiled, holding back a laugh.
Surely, it doesn’t count as jinxing if it already happened, right?
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“What is it?” She asked cautiously.
You leaned in to whisper in her ear, smile still prominent and eager to let her in on your little secret.
She pulled away almost immediately, finding your eyes in order to tell whether or not she’d heard you right.
“Remember the dandelions? I guess you were right.” You admitted. “It only comes true if you don’t say it out loud.”
“Did you actually?” She laughed, but not in the way she usually did with you, which was more often teasing than anything. This time it sounded a lot more shy.
“You’re in my arms and harsher on me than ever.” You pointed out. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s cute.” She smiled, cupping your cheeks. “I’m sorry about earlier. If it makes it any better, I like you a lot.”
“Don’t worry about it.” You brushed off. “I like you a lot too, so maybe that’s why it came true.”
Her nose scrunched up at your words, “You know, I don’t really believe in wishing on flowers.”
“Should I wish on birthday candles next time? Let’s test things out.” You joked, making her playfully roll her eyes.
“Only if you wish for me again.”
