Episode 8: The Carrot and Stick
Choi Seung-tae glanced at Dohyun as he put on his gear.
‘Skinny body, looks like a total rookie. Why am I even being told to spar with him?’
From Seung-tae’s perspective, as someone who had been learning boxing for over two years, he couldn’t understand what the coach was thinking.
Boxing was never an easy sport. You needed stamina, technique, and grit just to step into the ring.
‘He must just want to test the waters.’
Seung-tae had a certain pride in the two years of boxing he’d done.
Determined to show off his skills in front of everyone at the gym today, he was brimming with confidence.
After gearing up, he stepped into the ring and began warming up lightly. However, as he watched his opponent putting on his equipment, he felt something odd.
‘What the…? His movements seem… familiar.’
The way Dohyun wrapped his bandages and put on his gloves wasn’t clumsy at all.
The impression of him being an ordinary guy began to change bit by bit.
‘Why am I getting nervous?’
Taking a deep breath, Seung-tae took his stance. The coach’s signal rang out.
“Ready—begin!”
Seung-tae immediately threw a light jab.
It was a probing attack to gauge his opponent’s level.
Whoosh—
The empty sound of air being cut.
‘What the—?’
In that split second, Dohyun twisted his body slightly, dodging the punch from a very short distance.
Seung-tae was stunned but forced himself to stay calm.
‘Was it a coincidence? Or is he just quick? Well, there are naturally gifted people out there.’
Beginners usually froze up when hit by a jab, unsure of how to react.
But this guy maintained his footwork effortlessly, keeping a safe distance.
‘Looks like I’ll have to get serious.’
This time, Seung-tae quickly moved his feet, changing angles as he approached.
Using an upper-body feint to disrupt Dohyun’s timing, he aimed for a straight punch.
But at that moment—
Thud!
Before his attack landed, his opponent’s counterpunch hit him squarely.
‘What just happened?’
The shock of getting hit clean on the face made his head ring.
‘I… got hit? Me?’
Trying to regain his composure, he lifted his head, only to see Dohyun smirking.
That smirk… it wasn’t just excitement.
No, it was a crazed, almost maniacal expression of joy.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
Seung-tae’s frustration boiled over. Getting hit by a novice? His pride was in shambles.
‘Fine, then. Let’s see how you handle this.’
Realizing his opponent was no amateur, he decided to go all out.
Gritting his teeth, he charged forward, putting all his strength into a series of hooks.
But then—
Thud—!
A massive impact sent his vision flashing white.
That was it.
He found himself lying flat on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
His breathing was heavy, and his head was pounding.
‘I… lost?’
The coach’s voice faintly reached his ears.
“Seung-tae, you okay?”
How could he be okay? Seung-tae turned his head with effort.
Dohyun was still standing in the ring, wearing that crazed grin.
The coach folded his arms, nodding in admiration.
“That guy’s the real deal.”
At that moment, Seung-tae realized this wasn’t just a simple defeat.
‘Damn it… I should’ve stayed out of this. What am I, a punching bag?’
Slowly getting to his feet, he hung his head.
‘What a monster… that guy.’
*
When I returned home after finishing my workout, I found Kim Harin standing idly in front of the door.
Her arms were crossed, and her lips were sticking out as if they were about to touch the floor.
‘Ah, here we go again.’
To be fair, I couldn’t blame her entirely.
These days, my routine consisted of going to school, quickly changing clothes, heading straight to the PC café with Lee Jinyoung, and then going to the gym for a workout.
From Harin’s perspective, I didn’t spend any time with her and didn’t seem to care about her, so it was understandable for her to sulk.
Of course, I was deliberately avoiding her.
“Oppa.” [TLN: Changing brother to Oppa]
Her icy tone made me freeze.
“…What?”
“You’re late again today.”
“I was just working out.”
“You’re always working out. You’re barely ever home.”
Harin furrowed her brows slightly, glaring at me.
As I stood there watching her, I couldn’t tell if she was sulking or just disappointed, but her face was so adorable it confused me.
No, am I the weird one for thinking this crazy woman is cute?
Harin had always been like this, even in games. She had a bit of a childish side and acted like she wanted her older brother to take care of her.
The problem was that sometimes, she took that attitude way too far.
‘I just hope she’s not a yandere.’
With that thought, I took off my shoes and went inside.
After dropping my bag in my room, I headed to the kitchen. Dinner was already set on the table.
“Wow, it’s a feast again today.”
I picked up a bowl of rice and tried one of the side dishes.
“This is delicious. Did you make it yourself?”
“If I don’t cook, Oppa would probably starve to death.”
“It’s amazing. This is the best rolled omelet I’ve ever had.”
The compliment seemed to work, and her pouty expression softened slightly.
Among all the heroines, Harin was the easiest to increase favorability with. Since I’d been all stick and no carrot lately, it was time to change tactics.
“Well… how about we watch a movie together? It’s been a while.”
I slipped the suggestion in casually to shift the mood.
Harin’s eyes lit up slightly.
“Really? With you?”
“Yeah, with me.”
After finishing dinner, we sat on the living room sofa and started a movie.
It was a cliché-ridden disaster film.
The male lead was struggling to protect his family, the usual trope.
The protagonist was kind and selfless, which meant he constantly agonized over his choices, even in life-threatening situations.
And then… that scene appeared.
The male lead’s wife and younger sibling fell into the water simultaneously.
A despairing scenario where he could save only one.
“Oppa.”
Suddenly, Harin called me.
“…Yeah?”
A bad feeling crept up my spine.
Please, don’t ask the question I’m thinking of…
“Who would you save first, Oppa?”
‘…Shit.’
My mind went blank in an instant.
No matter how I answered, I was doomed.
If I said I’d save the wife, the sibling would die. If I said I’d save the sibling, the wife would die. In other words, it boiled down to: Me or her?
Harin was already staring straight at me.
“Who would it be, Oppa?”
Her eyes shimmered with a vulnerable, pleading look.
‘This is a trap. A perfect trap.’
I coughed awkwardly and averted my gaze.
“Well, wouldn’t it depend on the situation? Like, who’s closer when they fall into the water…”
“……”
The air grew unbearably heavy.
Harin’s smile faded into a grayish hue.
Ah, this was definitely a death flag.
Beads of sweat formed on my skin, something that hadn’t happened even after endless jump rope drills.
I bit my lip and wiped the sweat away.
Harin continued to stare at me. Her gaze grew darker, exuding a dangerous aura.
Damn it, can’t you soften your eyes a bit?
I swallowed hard and reluctantly opened my mouth.
“Well… of course, it’s you, Harin.”
For a moment, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Really?”
“Y-yeah…”
I stammered, trying to brush it off casually, but Harin’s face lit up like a blooming flower.
“Hehe… hehe…”
She threw herself onto the sofa and clung to my arm.
“I’m so touched. Then you’ll protect me for the rest of your life, right?”
‘For the rest of my life?’
I had a feeling I’d said something terribly wrong, but it was too late to take it back.
‘Whatever. I’m running away as soon as I graduate from the academy.’
“Yeah… sure.”
Harin’s cheeks flushed red as she smiled brightly.
She looked adorable, but at the same time, a shiver ran down my spine.
‘Managing favorability is such a pain…’
One wrong word, and it’s a straight shot to the death flag.
I sighed and turned my eyes back to the movie screen.
*
The next morning.
As I opened the classroom door, a familiar voice greeted me.
“Dohyun, hey.”
It was Lee Jinyoung, as lively as ever. But today, his energy seemed lower than usual.
I glanced at him briefly.
‘Is this because of yesterday’s sparring match?’
It wouldn’t be surprising. Despite starting boxing later than him, I had beaten an intermediate-level opponent during sparring. That kind of shock would bring anyone down.
It was probably giving him a major case of reality check.
I patted his shoulder a couple of times.
“You okay?”
Jinyoung smiled awkwardly.
“Yeah… I’m fine.”
“Honestly, I think you’ve got talent for boxing.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Watching you practice yesterday, you were pretty good.”
As if his earlier gloom had never existed, Jinyoung’s face lit up.
What a simple guy.
From the other side of the room, I could hear a group of girls laughing and chatting.
“They say if you confess under the cherry blossom tree at the school gate, you’ll be together forever!”
“Whoa, really?”
“I heard one of the seniors who graduated actually got married because of it!”
“Kyaa~ so romantic.”
Before I knew it, Jinyoung had slipped into the group of girls, looking excited.
“Hey, did you guys hear about the shrine?”
“You mean that creepy story about the shrine? The one where strange sounds happen at night?”
“Yeah, someone even said they heard crying when they walked by at night!”
“Kyaa, so scary…!”
The girls huddled together, whispering as if they were telling ghost stories.
I leaned against the window, quietly listening to their conversation.
“But aren’t you a scaredy-cat?”
“Me, a scaredy-cat? Are you doubting my manliness?”
“Please. We all saw you pretending to sleep when Choi Kihoon’s gang came by last time.”
“….”
Clearly triggered, Jinyoung yelled in frustration.
“Fine then! Let’s do a courage test for our class! I’ll prove I’m a real man.”
“Really? That sounds scary…”
“What’s scary about it? We’ll all go together.”
Jinyoung suddenly whipped his head toward me.
“Dohyun! You’re doing it too, right?”
“No.”
Jinyoung pouted at my answer.
I had no intention of participating in such childish nonsense.
“Scared?”
Jinyoung smirked, deliberately provoking me.
“No, I’m just not interested.”
“Scared?”
“No.”
“Scared? Scaredy-cat.”
This little punk.
In the end, I snapped.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
Jinyoung grinned as if he’d been waiting for this.
I let out a long sigh.