Chapter Text
Zoey was not an active person.
It's not like she was actively inactive, she just…Didn't work out in an organized way. Back in highschool, she'd joined the track team with a couple girls she thought were her friends, only to drop a month later when she found out they only kept her around to make fun of her. She hadn't done much since then, but she'd figured out that she hated running so it wasn't a total loss.
There were a few failed attempts after that; a gym membership she forgot about and hoped she wasn't still paying for, a personal trainer that she ghosted, to name a few…
So what's a desk-bound music producer to do? Rot away? Atrophy? More descriptive adjectives?
No! She wouldn't. Not Choi Zoey.
She was going to be active. At least try to. But so far the website she'd found labeled "Sports Clubs in Seoul" was proving more annoying than anything. What was everyone's obsession with pickleball nowadays?!
"The new track sounds great, Zoey!" Bobby, her boss' voice came over her headphones, reminding her that she was, in fact in a 1:1.
"Yeah, yeah." She nodded absently, only half listening. Maybe she could join a swim club? She liked swimming back in Burbank, but that was only in the pool at her parent's house before the divorce. Plus, she'd have to join mid-season apparently, which would only make her feel left out. No, not swimming then.
"And I feel the need to remind you of the deadline at the end of this week, again." Bobby continued. Of course Zoey knew about the deadline. She was working on it!
"On it, on it…" Zoey nodded again. What about…Dodgeball? Ew, didn't everyone get enough of that back in Highschool? She'll avoid getting another black-eye from the THWAP of a ball to the face, thanks.
"I know, I know, you're working on it! But the stakeholder is just getting antsy because the demo has to have music." Maybe something else with a ball.
"Has to have music, right…" Zoey chewed on her eraser. What other sports had balls? Not…Balls but like, sport balls. Most sports did have both to be fair.
"And the sales projections are looking to be 3000% this quarter," Bobby continued. "Especially on Mars."
"Mhm, 3000%…" She could probably do kickball, but then that ran the same risk as dodgeball. She needed to write this stuff down, make a couple pros and cons lists of each. Where was a notebook when she needed one? She looked around her messy office. There were notebooks on her desk, but those weren't for that, and…
Zoey's brain screeched to a halt.
Wait, huh? What did he just say?
"What?" Zoey looked at her other monitor, where Bobby was fixing her with a dead-pan stare.
"You weren't listening, were you?" He asked.
Whoopsie…Caught again. Zoey shifted in her chair and smiled nervously.
He didn't sound mad at least. That was the best thing about having Bobby as a manager. He was so understanding and willing to work with her, even though she often submitted things wayyy too close to the deadline.
(Sometimes a bit after but that's irrelevant.)
"Sorry, Bobby," She tried her best puppy-dog face. That always seemed to work when this happened. And it happened more than Zoey cared to admit.
"It's fine, Zoey." He smiled warmly at her, even through the Zoom screen. "What's got you so distracted today?"
Zoey sucked in a breath. "Nothing important," She quickly minimized the tab, only to see the dreaded track she was stuck on. Reminding her that, yes, she does have a job. A job she should be focusing on, actually.
"Come on," Bobby leaned forward conspiratorially, glancing around as if he wasn't alone in his home office. "You're my last meeting of the day."
"Well…" Zoey hesitated. She really did like Bobby, but she didn't want to scare him off with a ten minute ramble about the pros and cons of Seoul Area sports.
But…He did ask…
Nonetheless, Zoey hesitated. She could feel the ramble coming on, like she was a werewolf on the full moon. He was messing with forces he didn't understand.
But he had asked! She chewed her lip nervously in thought.
She did need someone to bounce ideas off of. And Bobby was such a good listener! He always listened to her talk about the tracks she was working on, and even helped her with stubborn parts sometimes. But that was work stuff, this was just stupid Zoey stuff.
But he asked!
She willed herself to stop overthinking. It was fine. It would be fine. She would say something.
Literally anything. Before the Zoom silence killed both of them.
Finally, she settled on saying: "I was thinking about joining a sport?" She said cautiously. And that was all she would say! She needed to keep her personal life out of her work and that was final!
"A sport?" Bobby tilted his head.
Oh no, he was judging her. His quizzical stare bore right into her, creeping up her spine and settling in her stomach as dread loomed. This was stupid, she shouldn't have said anything. Now she'd be fired or worse. Who spends their time in a 1:1 looking at sports?! What was she, some kind of frat bro?!
Her heart thumped loudly in an asymphonic beat in her chest, her ears felt hot and her teeth were on the verge of chattering as the rejection washed over her like a wave. She sunk slightly in her seat, wishing the leather would swallow her whole.
"Oh!" He smiled suddenly, leaning forward more until his face took up more of the frame. "I know a sport!"
Zoey froze. Sunlight peaked through the mire of the wave she was underneath. He was listening? And engaging with her? He didn't think she was weird?
"You do?" She asked.
Whatever answer she was expecting, she really didn't expect that.
Zoey sat back up in her chair, her curiousity piqued. Bobby knew a sport? He didn't exactly look like a sporty guy, but looks could be deceiving. And she had never seen him in-person. Maybe he was secretly 6'2 and built like a football player.
"Yeah!" She heard frantic clacking as he typed something on his keyboard, a ping coming up on her screen as soon as he was done. "I used to do sports management, believe it or not." He put his hand on his chest as he humble-bragged, making Zoey snort. "There's a fencing club in Seoul that's run by this awesome lady, Kim Celine. One of the students won the Olympics a couple years back, real prestigious stuff but they're always looking for beginners!"
"Fencing?" Zoey wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that the thing with like, the masks and swords and stuff?"
It did sound cool. She'd look so badass in that outfit. And she'd get to hit people. She liked hitting people. Not enough to do boxing, that was a failed endeavor for another day but…Hitting people with a sword? That sounded fun, actually. A smile spread across her face at the thought.
"Yeah!" Bobby nodded enthusiastically. "Promise me you'll check it out? As long as it doesn't mess with your deadline!" He pointed at her sternly.
Zoey grinned back at him. "I will!" Warm excitement bloomed in her chest, burning away the rejection with it's beams of light. She waved goodbye as Bobby ended the meeting, scooting away from her desk and checking the message Bobby had sent her on her phone. It was an address, and a link to a website.
Fencing, huh? It was worth a shot. Zoey would try anything once. And if Bobby knew the owner, they had to be cool.
⚔︎____⚔︎____⚔︎
Zoey pulled out her phone again and septuple checked the address. This was it.
….
She octuple checked, just in case, looking between her cracked screen and the building.
It was a nondescript brick thing, tucked away in a corner on a side-street she'd never have thought to go down.
(She had, embarrassingly, passed it a few times trying to find it.)
Was this it…? She didn't see a sign anywhere, or even a door? What kind of business didn't even have a sign? Or any indication for new students? Bobby said that they were always looking for beginners, but nothing about this dank alley really screamed 'Welcome Beginners!' to her.
Bobby said that he was letting them know she was coming, but…Oh no. What if there was someone waiting for her before but since she was late because she couldn't find the place…!
Fresh stinging fear lapped at her feet, threatening to splash up at her again before she could get away.
This was stupid. She was stupid.
Zoey's eyes burned and she clenched her fists. The fear ebbed, only to come back like a tidal-wave, bringing with it doubt and shame and panic. Her breathing quickened, heart rate picking up to a new BPM.
She should just go home and sign up for a Pickleball league like a normal person. Clearly this was some kind of old business or Bobby was playing some kind of cruel prank on her, and she was being an idiot and—
Wait. There! Almost hidden in the shadow of an awning that she thought might have been blue at some point in it's life, was a door! With a paper sign on the front!
Zoey scrambled over and very nearly hollered with joy. Eureka!
The sign confirmed her hopes. This was it! She wasn't stupid! Take that, rejection sensitive dysphoria! Honmoon Fencing Club, bam!
Zoey yanked the door open, the old hinges screaming in protest as she moved it probably a little too fast in her haste. But in her defense, she was already late, and she didn't need to waste more time standing outside the door like some kind of weirdo.
And the room was empty. No one was here. Oh god did she get the time wrong?! Did she completely miss the entire class?!
She looked around frantically. The room itself was clean and well-lit by florescent lights. The walls were a concrete brick painted a pristine white—which combined with the smell in the air made her think it was fresh. The floors were a kind of old looking linoleum that was only slightly peeling. The far side of the room was broken up by a few lanes marked by purple tape that spanned the length of the floor, and some kind of timer machines next to them. It looked like a converted Dance Studio, especially with the wall of mirrors to the far side that Zoey's harried face was reflected in.
And…No one. Oh god. This was it. The worst case scenario! Either she was super early or super late, and either would lead to her being embarrassed in front of everyone—GAH if there even was an everyone! Zoey ran her hand over her face and groaned loudly. This was a disaster.
"Oh," Someone's voice broke Zoey's spiral.
"Oh!" Zoey's head snapped to the source of the voice. Standing on some stairs she hadn't seen in her mad-scan for people, was a tall older woman with graying black hair. She was holding a box on one hip, and fixing Zoey with a calculated stare. She was severe looking with piercing brown eyes and arched eyebrows that said 'Mess with me, see what happens.' a real MILF.
Zoey immediately felt a shiver of mortification down her entire body, turning her face crimson. She kicked herself for staring too long.
"Ma'am!" She bowed as deep as she could, folding her hands. "I'm—"
"Choi Zoey," The woman assessed correctly.
Zoey forgot herself and straightened up. "How did—"
"Kim Celine," She answered. "Bobby told me you were coming."
"Oh, right." Zoey fiddled with her hands. Stupid, of course. She was the owner. Who else would she be?
"We thought you weren't coming," She mused, nodding and looking Zoey up and down.
"So sorry about that!" Zoey burst out. "I had some trouble finding the place, and then I couldn't find the door and then I got nervous about if I was too early or too late and—" She took a deep breath. She was rambling. Stop it! "And I'm sorry, ma'am."
Celine blinked at her in surprise. She was probably thinking something along the lines of 'wow this girl can talk!' or 'what a rude American!'. She didn't say anything. Oh no, why wasn't she saying anything?
"Perfectly alright," She said finally. "If you hurry you might be able to catch the last of the warm-up laps out the back." She gestured with her head towards another door.
Zoey nodded enthusiastically, putting her stuff—a turtle-shaped bag with a few notebooks in it and a well-loved hydroflask—down by the wall and rushed out the door.
Wait. Zoey froze on the landing just outside the door, looking out at a narrow strip of road where a few people were jogging.
Laps?
Why. Why Zoey? What did Zoey do in a past life to deserve this?
Her feet pounded the pavement, lungs burning and sweat pouring off of her in rivulets. Her vision was already bleary from sweat dripping in her eyes and was darkening at the edges. She would probably pass out. At least if that happened, she wouldn't have to run any more.
Running was the worst. Why did she need to run to swing a sword?
It was hot too. Too hot. It was the middle of June! In a famously hot and humid country! This was crazy. Everyone else was laps ahead of her. She could barely make-out the shapes of other people on the road ahead of her to indicate that, and they had already lapped her twice. How many laps was she supposed to do?! A million?!
What was the point of…of…Zoey's train of thought derailed.
It completely left the tracks.
In fact, there was never a train to begin with.
Suddenly running backwards in front of her—people could do that?—was the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. Period. Point blank. Stop.
Oh my god…Zoey was dead. She was dead and her angel was here to take her to the pearly gates. She could hear the music now…
"You've only got one lap left!" Her angel said cheerily. Through her blurry vision, Zoey thought her angel gave her a double thumbs up. Huh. Zoey didn't know angels could do that.
"You can do it, come on!" The angel said. Zoey blinked again, clearing the sweat-induced blur from her eyes.
….
Definitely an angel. No one can look like that in real life. Unless there was some kind of IRL Facetune happening. Her purple-haired angel really was the most gorgeous woman Zoey had ever laid her eyes on, perfect cheekbones, pouty lips, athletic broad shoulders. And beautiful amber brown eyes, a high-watt smile that could power Seoul for generations…
Was Zoey drooling?
Her angel sped up, and ran past her—God her ass was perfect too—and Zoey found herself chasing her, her exhaustion forgotten. She would do anything to be on the receiving end of that smile again. Including running, apparently. Who knew that was all it took to motivate her?
Sweet, sweet cold floor. How Zoey loved the sweet, amazing cold floor. And water! She brought water, thank god.
Zoey was alternating between chugging her water and flopping face-first onto the floor, her breath coming heavy. She had lost her angel in the crowd coming back in, and figured that it was a hallucination of some kind. No one was that hot and tucked away in a fencing club on some weird side road. No, hot people like that were K-Pop idols or K-Drama stars or modeling for Vogue Korea. She was just being crazy.
CLAP!
Zoey almost spat out her water at the sudden noise.
"Let's get limbered up, people!" A black-haired man with a stupid-looking haircut piped up, beckoning as he spoke. Zoey got up, trying to disguise her coughs under her breath and joined the circle he'd created.
He was plain-looking, but attractive, if you were into men who looked like they just walked off a K-Drama set. Which Zoey wasn't. She was into men and women, but she had taste at least. He had a permanent kind of smirk on his—Zoey supposed—attractive lips.
And limbered up? Who says that?
"Stretch up, Jinu," Another man, broad and tall with short magenta hair. "Makes it even sweeter when I beat you later."
Aesh, was this whole class just dudes? Zoey looked around as she followed along with the stretches. Sure enough, it was a regular Sausage Stir-Fry up in here. Zoey was surrounded by dudes. And not in the fun way.
To her left, was the one who had spoken, he was wearing a much too small shirt on that clung tightly to his toned abdomen—oh wow he had abs for days…Hot…No! Bad Zoey!—to her right was a shorter man, he was still taller than her though with blue shaggy hair and a lollipop in his mouth for some reason? Was that allowed?
Next to the K-Drama looking one leading the stretches that she guessed was Jinu were two other men. One with his bangs hanging low over his eyes that totally wasn't mysterious or dreamy in any way whatsoever, and the other with long salmon-pink hair in a ridiculous style that almost looked like a heart.
Geez, were these guys some kind of boy band or something? She should just go, she had no desire to be part of…Whatever this was, even if they were kind of cute.
Zoey stole a glance over to her stuff. If she rushed, she could probably make the next bus and be home before the next episode of "Play Games with Us" started…
"So, new here?" The one to her left, Abs-For-Days was talking to her.
(She totally wasn't distracted by the valleys of his stomach, feeling like she could eat popcorn off of them and forgot to respond for longer than she was supposed to.)
"Y-Yup!" She answered after a beat too many. "First class."
"Figured," He shrugged, rolling his shoulders and making his shirt ride up. Zoey didn't look.
"What about you?" Zoey schooled her gaze at his face.
"Oh you know," He was making a show of it, Zoey was positive of that, no one needed to lift their arms above their head that much. "I'm kind of a professional, no big deal."
Even if he was extremely hot—What was in the water here?—he seemed like kind of an asshole.
He stretched again, looking at her in the corner of his eye with a sly quirk to his lips.
"Let me know if you need any help, I'm glad to give pointers." He emphasized the last word with a raised eyebrow and a wink.
Ugh…A cocky asshole. The stars left Zoey's eyes, any attraction dwindling to pure aesthetic. Zoey hated guys like that. If she wasn't leaving before, she definitely was now.
Zoey turned away from him in disgust, moving to grab her stuff before he could open his mouth again but stopped dead.
It was her. Zoey's angel. Descending the stairs that Zoey had seen the owner on before. Talking to the owner. So she wasn't a hallucination! She was real!
And wow…
In the bright florescent lights, Zoey got a better look at her. Her purple hair was long, pulled back into a braid that went down her back, her face was just as perfect as when Zoey had seen it outside, and if Zoey didn't have a betting problem, she would have bet her entire life savings on it being symmetrical. She was wearing a black fleece jacket zipped up all the way with the club's logo on the left side, and tighttight—GOD—purple yoga pants that accentuated—GOD—perfect legs.
"Alright class," A sweet, melodic voice flowed from her angel's perfect dewy lips and Zoey felt her knees getting weak as she watched her walk into the center of the stretching circle.
"Before we get started, we have a new student joining us today," Zoey wanted to sample her angel's voice and use it in every song she made from now until the sun burned out. Or she died. Whichever came first.
"Please join me in welcoming Choi Zoey!"
Whoever that Choi Zoey person was, she was lucky that this angel said her name.
Wait.
She was Choi Zoey!
"Uh…" Zoey said dumbly. Her mouth was so dry, and wow it was hot in here, huh? She swallowed thickly. Focus! Pretty girl! Expecting a response!….From Her! But pretty girl…"Me." Zoey nodded, swallowing again—How was her mouth so dry and so wet at the same time, make it make sense!—"Zoey…"
"Oh…kay?" The angel faltered. She was looking at Zoey like she'd grown a second head. She was even beautiful when she was looking at Zoey like that…NO! Focus! Zoey couldn't embarrass herself on the first day! More than she already had anyway.
Zoey shook her head and smacked her cheeks, willing herself to lock in.
"I mean," She cleared her throat. "I'm Choi Zoey!" She bowed to the assembled students. "It's very nice to meet you all!"
(Except Abs-For-Days, but that was neither here nor there.)
Was bowing too formal? Was she supposed to do something else? All etiquette rules flew right out of her head, and Zoey could only pray that this was right.
Surely it wasn't right to bow this long though. Unless…No, she should stop. She should stop now.
Zoey straightened and grinned awkwardly. The students in front of her—The group of guys save for her angel—were barely paying attention. Phew.
"Right," The yet unnamed angel nodded. "I'm Ryu Rumi, I'll be instructing today's class."
Zoey sighed. Ryu Rumi…So her angel had a name. A beautiful name. What's in a name? That which we call a rose by another other word would be just as sw—
A groan from the group of guys made Zoey bristle in annoyance. How dare—And of course the main perpetrator was Abs-For-Days!
"I know," Rumi smacked the one called Jinu on the arm. "I promise not to run you through drills again today, you can do your bouts. Since there's an uneven number of you, one of you will have to judge."
Wait…Was she the teacher? Of course, leave it up to Zoey to be down bad for the teacher! But in her defense, it wasn't every day that the teacher looked like that.
"Not joining us today then, Princess?" Jinu snarked.
Rumi rolled her eyes and fixed him with a deadpan look. "No." She turned away from him and faced Zoey.
Faced Zoey? Oh god, what did she want with Zoey? Was there anything in her teeth? Did her breath smell? She definitely had mints in her bag, she could probably grab them…
"And for our new student," Rumi smiled at her and Zoey momentarily forgot how to breathe. "I'll be working with you 1:1."
Zoey was going to die here.
"So!" Rumi clapped her hands together. "Let's start with the basics, are you left or right-handed?"
"Uh," Zoey gulped. Apparently that was her new favorite word.
She had to LOCK IN. She couldn't let this…This angel distract her! She was here to get active. And active she would get! Not…Not like that…Unlesseveryoneparticipatingwasaconsentingandwillingpartythenshewouldn'tobject—FOCUS!
"I'm right-handed mostly," Zoey shrugged. She hoped she looked nonchalant. She felt rigid as a flagpole. Her face felt hot. Hopefully she wasn't blushing too much. She wasn't wearing any make-up to hide it either.
"But I taught myself to write with both hands when I was younger because I broke my wrist skateboarding in the Venice Skatepark, but I only fell because some guy pushed me,"
She was rambling again.
"Not because I'm bad at skateboarding, I'm totally good at shredding; you should see me sometime, I'm free whenever—" Zoey snapped her mouth closed. Wow. That was a lot. Even for her. And she's free whenever? What was that? This Female-Adonis clearly had other, better things to do than watch Zoey bumble her way through an ollie.
Sweat beaded on Zoey's forehead, embarrassment once again rearing it's ugly head and collecting in the pit of her stomach like an oil spill. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth, lest she say something else.
Rumi laughed and god—Forget her voice, Zoey wanted that sound bottled and sold so she could buy it and put herself into even more debt.
"I'll take your word for it, I don't know anything about skateboarding." Rumi's voice lilted over every word like it was a song, and she was smiling at her again. Zoey felt her shoulders relax, her embarrassment blew away like flower petals on the wind. It was amazing how this girl could have that effect on her already.
"But uh," Zoey cleared her throat. "I can write with both, I'm uh…" Bisexual? Yes. But no, there was another word.
"Ambidextrous?" Rumi asked, her face lighting up. "That's good! I am too, but that also means you have a decision to make." Rumi gave her a serious look and took both of Zoey's hands in hers and held them up.
"I do?" Zoey looked at where their hands were touching. Rumi's hands were warm, hot even, and they were soft and smelled faintly of lavender and cocoa butter—Oh ew, creepy much? Smelling her? Who was she, some kind of Disney movie villain?
"Yep!" Rumi nodded. "Which one do you want to fence with?"
"Uh," There it was again. Zoey's new favorite word! She resisted the urge to clear her throat again. "What do you recommend?"
Rumi considered her question for a moment, looking between Zoey's hands and weighing them up and down.
She opened her pretty mouth to say something, but was cut off.
"Rumi recommends being an annoying lefty!" Jinu called. Zoey's head snapped to the source of his voice. He was standing by the nearest lane, decked out in full fencing outfit, his helmet-thing tucked under his arm.
"Shut up, Jinu!" Rumi growled, her head snapping to face him too. "Don't make me put you through your 50s with your foil backwards again!"
"You wouldn't…"
"Wanna bet?" Rumi raised an eyebrow at him. He made an undignified gulping sound and shut up.
"Ignore him," Rumi grumbled. "He's just being annoying."
"Right," Zoey shrugged. "He seems annoying."
Anyone who would cut Rumi off was a demon in her book.
"He is, but you get used to it." Rumi sighed with a resigned shrug and a soft smile in her direction.
Wow. If Zoey had a nickle for every time this girl made her heart stop, she'd have...So many nickles…
She needed to get back on topic before she did something stupid like ask for her number.
"I guess I'll be left-handed then?" Zoey held up her left hand that Rumi still held. "If he finds it annoying, then it's worth a shot."
Rumi grinned at her. The same high-watt smile that was a little too wide. Zoey already loved it.
She was so fucked.
"So that's called en garde, that's your basic stance." Rumi went on. "This is what you'll fall back into after lunging, like I showed you."
In one—impossibly attractive—fluid motion, Rumi demonstrated a lunge, looking at Zoey for her to copy.
Zoey awkwardly copied. Was it normal to feel so short? Was she too short for this sport? Would her—what did Rumi call it, foil?—foil be long to make up for what she lacked in height?
"Almost! Stay lunging, let me show you." She said. "Can I touch you?"
(YES, PLEASE GOD!)
Zoey, stuck in the lunge she'd been in nodded back mutely. She didn't trust herself not to say something stupid or horny or stupid-horny right now.
And she was doing really well! Until Rumi strolled over and put her hands on Zoey's front leg. Her thigh.
Zoey short-circuited. Her eyes locked on where Rumi was touching her thigh. Her hands were really warm. It was really warm in here. Wasn't she hot in that jacket? She should take it off and touch Zoey some mor—FOCUS!
She forced herself to look up and that wasn't helpful because now she was looking up at Rumi who was so close to her. Why was she so close? Oh, right, she was teaching Zoey something. Rumi was saying something, at least her lips—pretty lips—were moving.
"S-Sorry, what?" Zoey babbled.
"When you lunge, you need to bend your knee a bit more," Rumi put some pressure on Zoey's thigh, and Zoey bent her knee more, melting under her warmwarmWARM hands.
"Ahuh…" Zoey said, like a smart person. She was nodding. She was nodding too much. She stopped.
"Good," Rumi's voice was right next to her ear, telling her she was good and Zoey really needed to get her mind out of the gutter because…That did things to her.
Rumi lifted her hands away.
Zoey missed her touch already, and the words saying as much almost spilled out of her mouth before she could snap it shut.
"R-Right," Zoey said instead.
"See? That gives you more reach," Rumi lunged next to her, copying the movement. "Everyone lunges differently, but the important part is extension."
"Extension…" Zoey chewed on that thought. "So you can make sure you hit the other person when you lunge?"
"Yes!" Rumi beamed at her and Zoey swooned again, but she managed to disguise it by going out of her lunge and stumbling into standing normally.
"When you lunge, you make yourself more vulnerable, because you're not moving." Rumi affirmed. She demonstrated by falling into en garde again and bouncing on the balls of her feet. She leapt forward into a lunge, graceful like a tiger pouncing on it's prey.
"And you don't want that," Zoey shook her head.
"No," Rumi chuckled again—FUCK—and nodded her head in agreement. "You don't."
"So it's like a shark, you always want to be moving forward?" Zoey asked. What a dumb analogy, way to go, Zoey!
Rumi tilted her head back and forth like she was thinking about that. "Kind of? Not necessarily forward though, you want to be moving forward and backward ideally."
"Right…" Zoey trailed off. "Of course, silly me!"
The silence stretched on. Zoey hated silence. Especially awkward ones.
"So uh, what got you into fencing?" She asked, mostly to fill the lull but also because she was desperate to know more about this beautiful stranger.
"Me?" Rumi pointed to herself and laughed nervously. "That's not an interesting story, trust me."
"You? Not interesting?" Zoey balked at her audacity. "I highly doubt that."
For a moment, Rumi's face fell into confusion and when Zoey met her eyes, she thought she almost looked…Sad? "That's nice of you," Rumi conceded, holding up her hands. "But really, it's not."
Zoey opened her mouth to protest again but faltered. She didn't want to push too far.
Another awkward silence fell, this time Zoey didn't trust herself to break it.
"You've got the basics down," Rumi spoke finally as she chewed on her lip nervously. She looked around, her eyes scanning the room. It was eerily similar to how Zoey remembered the owner's steely gaze. "For the rest of class, why don't you observe some of the bouts? It'd be a good way to see what it's really like."
"Right. Observe." She could do that. All the observing Zoey had done so far was looking at Rumi's ass in those yoga pants. She had completely tuned out the sound of clanging metal and loud footfalls under Rumi's diligent tutelage. "Totally…"
⚔︎____⚔︎____⚔︎
The 'bouts'—Is that what Rumi called them?—seemed to be on a brief pause, but she turned her attention to the closest bout to her. It was between Abs-For-Days—she could tell it was him because on the gray vest thing he wore, he had emblazoned fake abs on the front—and Jinu. They were attaching themselves to wires to some machines by the wall, and for some reason the one who'd been sucking on the lollipop was standing off to the side in the center, looking bored.
Zoey watched as they approached each other in the center, saluted with their swords—ignoring the nod and assumed wink Abs-For-Days sent her direction—and looked to Lollipop-Guild for…Something?
"Begin." He drawled, not even bothering to remove the piece of candy from his mouth. Did he fight with that thing in his mouth too? "First to three wins."
Before Zoey could think more on the logistics of his candy, the two fencers she was supposed to be paying attention to were on each other in a flurry of motion.
Jinu advanced first, smacking Abs-For-Days' blade out of the way and throwing himself into a surging lunge, aiming for his gaudy painted vest but before he could make impact, Abs-For-Days leapt backward out of the way.
Caught in a lunge, Jinu tried to recover, but it was too late, Abs-For-Days launched into his own lunge, hitting Jinu square in the chest. A loud BEEP sung his praise and the large man whooped, pumping his fist.
"That's how you do it!" He jeered, his voice muffled through the mask.
"Shut up," Jinu gritted.
"See, little lady?" Abs-For-Days' mask turned to her. "Watch me wipe the floor with this loser, eh?"
Bile rose in Zoey's throat, and she had to repress her gag. Ugh, this guy was such a cocky pig. Even if he did have amazing abs that Zoey wanted to—Nope! Not worth it.
The two fencers faced off in the center again, both seemingly waiting for Lollipop-Guild's signal once more before breaking into another round, but Zoey turned her attention away, her gaze falling onto Rumi.
Rumi walked the floor, her hands folded neatly behind her back. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she watched two of the men duel. She said something to one of them after he'd gotten hit that Zoey couldn't hear from where she was, but she was sure it was probably something helpful. On top of being hot, Rumi was a good teacher, that much Zoey could tell already. She commanded the room with effortless confidence, gliding through the fighting all around her like it was second nature.
BEEP!
"Ha!" Jinu cackled. "That's one for me!" He swiped his sword through the air with a TWHIP sound in a mock salute.
"You got lucky that time!"
"Stop it, you two!" Rumi scolded from across the room, in the middle of correcting one of the other men's form. Zoey snickered at how they deflated instantly. They were like two peacocks showing off. Either for each other or for the only two women in the room, Zoey didn't know, but it was funny nonetheless.
Zoey turned her attention back to them. They seemed to be going slower now, each calculating the other's next move. Jinu oscillated his sword up and down as he bounced on his toes, knees bent and ready to lunge at any moment. He kept his distance from the bulkier man, opting to retreat when he advanced. In turn, Abs-For-Days' body language was getting more and more taut the more he couldn't get into range to lunge at Jinu, and that seemed to be what Jinu was banking on.
Quick as a flash, after retreating out of range and causing a petulant huff to erupt from his opponent, he fell into a deep lunge, the tip of his sword juust touching enough to—
BEEP
"One to two," He tsk'd. "How's it feel to be so close to losing?" He goaded.
Woah, this guy lived to ragebait, huh?
"Jinu—!" Abs-For-Days snarled, dropping his sword, now hanging from the wire coming from his sleeve. It was the only thing that kept it from clattering to the ground.
He lunged—not a fencing lunge—at the smaller man, who let out a startled curse as he was put into a headlock.
"Boys!" Rumi materialized by Lollipop-Guild, instantly grabbing them by the shoulders and forcing them off each other.
Woah, she was strong too.
"Jinu!" She scolded.
"What?!" Both Abs-For-Days and Jinu looked at her.
"Ugh, right." She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Abby and Jinu." She looked up at the ceiling, muttering something under her breath.
Wait, was Abs-For-Days' name Abby? That was weird. Who named their kid that?
"He started it," Jinu pointed at Abby.
"No, you started it!" Abby growled back.
"What did I do?!" Jinu scoffed.
"Stole my name!" Abby retorted.
Huh?
"I won the coin toss, fair and square!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Boys!" Rumi clapped her hands and looked between them. She sighed deeply before speaking again, pressing her hands together and pointing at Abby. "Abby, Jinu did win the coin toss. I threw the coin, I should know." She pointed her hands at Jinu. "And I don't care who started it, Jinu, I'm ending it."
"But—!" Both men started.
"No buts!" Rumi shushed them. And surprisingly, they complied, muttering a couple half-assed apologies.
Seemingly satisfied with the result, she nodded and turned away, going back to watching the other bout that had continued unimpeded in the room.
"Woah," Zoey breathed. Color her impressed. With permanent marker. She'd just shut them down completely. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
"Yeah, she's always like that," Jinu spoke up. Zoey didn't really want to talk to him, but she looked his way anyway. He was busying himself disconnecting from the wires he was attached to, but was looking back at her with a knowing smirk.
"Really?" She asked.
"Ever since I've known her," He shrugged.
Gasp! Rumi lore. He had Zoey's attention. Hook, line and sinker.
"Aaand how long is that?" She asked. Hopefully that sounded nonchalant. Zoey was so nonchalant. Crazy stuff.
"About six years now," Jinu walked past her, Zoey followed him over to his bag. "We met at the Tokyo Olympics, I was only there to watch though."
"Wait," Zoey resisted the urge to grab him, instead bouncing on her toes as she thought, her hands vibrating. She was connecting dots.
Bobby had mentioned that there was a student that won the Olympics a few years back, but Zoey had assumed that person was now in some kind of elite Olympian club, not still here! Not that here was bad but…It was a little…Zoey looked around again, seeing anew the water stains on the ceiling and places where the fresh paint was already flaking. It was a little rundown. Well-loved, clearly, considering how neat it was despite that but rundown.
But was Rumi the Olympic winner? The one who'd won gold?
Zoey's eyes flitted over to the purple-haired angel. She was talking to that woman again, the MILF owner—Celine?—in a hushed tone. It looked like they were talking about something important, but she met Zoey's eyes when she looked over and gave a shy wave.
(Zoey's heart nearly exploded at how cute that was and she weakly waved back.)
It made sense though. She hadn't seen Rumi fence, but she clearly knew what she was talking about when she was teaching, and everyone seemed to respect her a lot.
If it was possible, Zoey was now even more in awe of the other woman—the Olympian.
"She won gold, right?" Zoey asked, just to confirm her suspicion.
"She did, and it's not fair how humble she is about it too." Jinu muttered. "She barely talks about it."
Huh. You'd think she'd never shut up about something like that. Zoey had won a Spelling Bee in 5th grade and didn't shut up about it for…Well, she was honestly still proud of it and would still brag about it now.
Zoey looked back over to Rumi, who had wrapped up her conversation and was jogging over. She was an enigma for sure. A puzzle Zoey desperately wanted to solve.
"He's not bothering you, is he?" She asked Zoey, knitting her eyebrows cutely.
"No!" Zoey shook her head. In fact, this was the first time she'd wanted any of the men around her to keep talking.
"I was just telling her about how you're Korea's Fencing Princess." Jinu teased.
"You—!" Rumi fumed, her hands reaching out like she was going to choke him out. "That was one headline!"
"One is enough," Jinu smirked at her, earning himself a punch in the arm that made him cry out and rub it in pain.
"Again," Rumi shot a meaningful glare at Jinu. "Ignore him, please."
Zoey did want to ignore him. All her attention focused on Rumi and she had to stop herself from vibrating through the floor in excitement.
"Did you really win gold?" Zoey gushed. "That's so cool! You should totally flaunt that more! You went in 2020, right? What about 2024? Did you win there too or—"
"No!" Rumi snapped angrily, cutting Zoey off.
Zoey's heart dropped to the bottom of the ocean. Oh god. She ruined it. Way to go, Zoey!
"I mean," Rumi softened. "I—I didn't go in 2024, no." She looked like a sad kitten, one who was left in the box in the rain and Zoey felt worse. Her heart descended further. Into the Mariana Trench.
"Oh," Zoey managed. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"It's fine, don't worry about it!" Rumi soothed, putting her hand on Zoey's shoulder. Zoey felt her heart lift back into the epipelagic zone, Rumi's light warming her like the sun. It was like aloe on a sunburn at the same time, cooling and warm. Relief.
"Really?" Zoey sniffled. God, was she about to cry?
"Really." She reassured. Zoey was not going to cry. She would not.
"Okay," Zoey sucked in a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I'm still really sorry though,"
"It's okay," Rumi squeezed her shoulder before letting go. "Um, listen," She thread her fingers together nervously. "I really hope to see you back next week, you have a lot of potential and I'd love to keep teaching you." Rumi smiled softly, looking up through her eyelashes.
GodGODGOD did this woman know how HOT she was?! Did she know how weak that made Zoey? She had to, right?! Right?!
"Yup!" Zoey squeaked. "I'll be here!" She gave a shaky thumbs up. "On time this time!"
"Great!" Rumi copied her thumbs-up and laughed again—Zoey screamed internally.—She gave Zoey another soft smile. "See you then!"
"Yup!" Zoey repeated. It took everything in her not to give another thumbs up.
Zoey grabbed her stuff in a daze. Her turtle backpack and now-empty water bottle felt like they weighed a million tons all of a sudden. Why had she brought all of her notebooks? Oh right, because the bus ride was forever, that's why. And now she had to take said bus home. And make dinner probably. Or she could get off a block early and go by that food stand she'd seen near her apartment, "Seoul of America Food". She could really go for a burger right about now, even if they never made it as greasy as a classic In-N-Out burger.
Yeah, she would get a burger, and then she'd work on that track tonight so Bobby wouldn't get in trouble again and—Oof!
Zoey ran right into a pole. Or what she assumed was a pole. She looked up, expecting to see the metal of a pole, only to see the extremely beautiful and extremely annoyed face of the second impossibly beautiful woman she'd seen that day. For the millionth time, Zoey wondered what it was about fencing that attracted beautiful people. Especially ones that made Zoey's mouth dry, even when they looked at her like they were going to murder her like this one was.
"Watch it," The woman spat. She was tall and lanky, her face angular and sharp, but the most striking thing about her was the long pink hair that fell down her back, it reminded Zoey of a sunset reflecting on a waterfall. She was dressed in a club jacket like Rumi was wearing, only it was unzipped to reveal a sports tank underneath, and Zoey couldn't help but gulp as she was basically eye-level and had run face-first into this woman's boobs.
"R-Right!" Zoey found her voice again and stepped back. "I'm so sorry!"
"Tch," The woman scoffed and pushed past her to get in.
Zoey turned and watched her walk in—Not because she was looking at her ass, though that admittedly was a perk, but because she couldn't take her eyes off of her. She moved like a dancer, walking into the room like she owned the place. A few more people shuffled in past Zoey, but she paid them no mind. The woman busied herself by collecting her long hair and pulling it up into a bun at the top of her head and Zoey was mesmerized by the movement. It was downright impressive the way she just swooped it all up like that. Revealed now by the lack of hair covering it, on the back of her jacket was a name.
K. Mira
Zoey felt herself sway as she tore her eyes away and walked out.
She would definitely be back.