by the sidelines • haechan

epilogue

"Don't you give up yet," Coach Yoon emphasised while I was on the verge of tears due to frustration. "You're almost there, just hold on a bit longer."

"What do you mean almost there?" I spat out a little too loudly as she retracted her head, "She's dominating the match, there's no way I win this."

"You don't need to win this, you're doing the best you can." She placed her hands on my shoulders, squeezing them tightly. "I just want you to persevere all the way till the end. Defend so she can't score more. Intimidate her so she can't advance. You don't need to take this win, you just need to show her that you're not giving in to her yet."

I tried to absorb her words, but the tears had already washed them out the moment they touched my ears. It was hopeless; she was like a brick wall, no amount of kicking would do her any damage, only leaving scars on my feet. Yes, it wasn't about the win, but I should at least lose in a less pathetic way than this. However, seeing how it was going, the only option left was to give up.

Just then, I felt a force on both cheeks as Coach Yoon squished my headgear, forcing me to look at her as tears stop falling.

"You've come this far. You don't need to do it for me, nor for the club, nor for Mooyung." She turned my head towards the sidelines, but my vision was still blurry from the aftermath. "But you should at least show them your potential."

"What?" I muttered tearfully as I squinted through the tears, a few figures coming into focus until their familiar features were visible. Hold on, what?

She turned my head back to her before I could get a clearer look, continuing with a stern voice, "Keep them at the back of your mind for more determination, but I know you can do this on your own. Don't care about the points, but show them they didn't come here for nothing."

I forced a pitiful nod but as she dismissed me back onto the mats, my mind still fuzzy from what I saw. I looked towards the barriers separating the audience from the arena to confirm that I wasn't mistaken, and there they were waving back to me. I'll meet you by the sidelines. Was that what he meant?

"Chung! Hong!" The referee shouted, but I couldn't get my mind off them, together with Coach Yoon's words. Show them they didn't come here for nothing.

I sucked up my last bit of energy. Okay, I will.

The match started, and I couldn't do anything but shift back and block. Seyoung is like a sniper but for kicks; it just won't stop. But I can't give her the points that easily too.

Shift forward, shift back, left, right. I tried all those to avoid her attacks, but she still managed to score most of them. Okay, close in. My arms were over hers, but this was as far as the plan went as she scored on my padding. When I moved my arms down to guard it, her leg went up to my head. My tears were threatening to fall again.

"Don't give up!" Coach Yoon's voice was muffled due to my heavy breathing as I grunted to throw in a long turning kick, feeling my foot contact something hard. "Nice one!"

The crowd cheered as I looked just as shocked as my opponent, my points going up by two. However, my opponent immediately scored another kick before I could take in the results, diminishing my previous attack.

One could easily tell my attack was lucky, because I was constantly getting whacked by this national player that my abdomen was sore from the kicks. My stamina was starting to deteriorate together with my hope as I slowed down, throwing my arms around to block whatever kick that came to me. I didn't care how I looked anymore, I just wanted this to end.

I didn't want to think about anything else besides the match, but every time I faced the spectator stand, my eyes instinctively dart to the three beings standing at the edge, cheering me on. At least two of them are, but the last one looked just as anxious as them. A strong feeling started rising in me.