Chapter 15: {Striking The Air and Planning Stuff}

I warm up for class by doing the back machine. Then practice some elbow technique. No one's there so no one cares.

Then I buy a protein bar and get a sugarfree and calorie free energy drink. I need it man, thankfully I'm Italian, which means caffeine is in my veins.

Then I text Jugyeong since I got to wait another 15 minutes before class starts.

"Hey Jugyeong." I send her.

"Hey babe, what are ya doing?"

"Waiting for class to start. How was Taekwondo class?"

"Not bad. Man it felt weird driving home before class to get my robe and to be able to eat at home, my dad and I were able to eat some nice steak, we talked, he actually kind of likes you."

"A dad liking his daughter's boyfriend within the first day and a half of them dating is either desperate for her to get married, or he sees him as a bro, which is it?"

"He wants me to get hitched to a good guy and he knows you're a good guy, a little crazy, but I mean... I'm crazy so he doesn't really care."

"What..."

"Just roll with it."

"Lol."

"Hey babe, so you want me to bring something to snack on when we devise our plan?"

"Nah it's fine."

"Alright."

"Oh yeah, one thing, which park?"

"I'll pick you up, it's on the way, you know, the only one large enough to walk around without looking like a lunatic in this area."

"I see."

"Okay well I gtg, my manga magazine just came in the mail."

"Alright see ya in a bit, class will start soon."

"Kay, love you bye."

"Bye Jugyeong see you in a bit love."

"That was cringy but cute."

"Like you?"

"Hey!"

"But that's what I love about you Jugyeong."

"You better!"

"Duh. Kay bye."

"Bye."

Then she sends me a picture of her and her wet hair in her Muricaball jersey in Cardinal Red and her manga with her makeup done leftover from earlier. Dang she's so hot.

"I bet your arteries are pulsating right now if you know what I mean." Jugyeong texts me.

"They are, now bye. You don't wanna see what I look in my gym clothes."

"Oh come on send a picture, I'm curious now, it's only fair."

"Enjoy the eyesore."

"At least your thighs can still save my life."

"How? As a pillow in winter."

"Well how else can they save lives?"

"Logical point."

"Have fun in class!"

"You don't know how to say bye."

"I love spending time with you though."

"I do to, but class starts in 2 minutes."

"Oh dang sorry."

"Bye a third time."

"Bye."

And then she sends one more picture, this time her in her Taekwondo uniform, kicking a brick and shattering it to pieces.

"There's two minutes left, you can spare another minute with me!"

"Who took the shot of you kicking a brick?"

"The instructor, who else? She's the only person that likes me in the whole team."

"That's a cool shot honestly."

"Yeah I dunno how she got that first try. This is why Androyd phones are superior."

"Indeed they are."

"I know you have class so I'll flood you with more pictures and memes and stuff later."

"Yeah, wouldn't want you to spend your entire 5000 meme vault yet."

"Kay bye. FOR REAL THIS TIME."

"Bye Jugyeong."

"Texting your girlfriend?" Sangah asks me as I walk into the martial arts classroom.

"What else?" I reply.

"Yay. Two new students to bring up to par. Thankfully this is the beginning of the year. This concept of Dae Zhae Kuaun is slightly difficult, we're doing knees today after I bring these two up to speed. Sangah and Hyun practice wing strikes for a sec." Coach Yoo-ji says.

We do elbows and stuff for like 10 minutes. Then she got these two people caught up so we were able to continue.

"There are two types of knees in Dae Zhae Kuaun. The knee strike, and the knee lever. The knee strike needs no explanation. Easiest form ever. The knee lever is when you leave your knee there from contact to perform a grab. Do it with a partner, grab the styrofoam armor for the torso and try it. Like usual, I'm gonna practice Taekwondo real quick. I don't normally tell y'all to practice on each other but for stuff like this I'm gonna start to do. I don't want bad reviews on Squeal." Coach said.

"Wanna do it?" Sangah asked.

"Aight."

"You knee lever me first."

"Okay, you should put the helmet on too just in case though."

"Kay go."

I knee the armor, then throw her backwards.

"Yes! That's it, I saw that! Good. When y'all learn advanced grabs it'll all make sense why you're doing this. Do this for the rest of class."

Sangah was able to almost throw me.

"Dang if you were lighter. Eh, I shouldn't use that as an excuse."

"When's you and Suho's date?"

"Sunday, let's see how it goes. Do you work today? I gotta work til 10:10 today after this."

"So my dad is having you close and no I get Thursdays off."

"Wait the owner's your dad?"

"My last name IS Ferrari."

"I didn't know you are half white."

"I get that a lot."

Class ends and man. I don't know if Sangah as my partner helped. Felt like I was striking at air since she's so light, she's probably no more than 140 pounds for her 5 foot 8 self. Skin and bones man I tell you.

"Aight see you G." Sangah says.

"You're not a gangster nor am I, that was cringy."

"It's not cringy when Americans do it!"

"That's because it's an AMERICAN saying."

"True."

"See ya Monday Hyun, I'll tell you how it goes if Suho doesn't first."

"Just here's my Lxnh ID in case you need me to text you the lesson if you're sick. Kill two birds with one stone."

"Kay."

"See ya."

Then Jugyeong comes to pick me up...

"Hey babe let's look like idiots at the park and find a way to set up Dowoon with that girl." she says.

"This is gonna be funny. The stuff people do when they're bored." I say.

"Hey! This is serious busine- it's really not."

"So why are we chucking a pigskin?"

"Helps me practice my VR Gridiron game, remember I'm a quarterback."

"I see."

"So first line of business, you think you can shrug off Jun soon?"

"Dae Zhae Kuaun is super complicated, not sure."

"Isn't it just Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu combined?"

"Actually no. It's different. I watched some videos on tourneys. It feels like it has some wrestling in there. But like the flashy fake American wrestling, it uses some of those moves such as the reverse pile driver and reverse power bomb but uses reverse choking and leverage. Then you do some weird grip clinches while kneeing."

"That does sound super weird."

"At least you can just go full force with kicks."

"Yeah my feet are basically sledgehammers at this point."

"In what way."

"I can break brick with it easy. I think I've killed some nerves there so it doesn't feel painful."

"If it doesn't hurt than you definitely killed some nerves."

"Okay back to the main topic. You think you can beat Jun soon?"

"Maybe in 6-12 months."

"That doesn't seem so bad"

We make it to the park so we can throw the ball and come up with a plan on how to get Dowoon and that mute girl together.

"Man this is gonna be hard." Jugyeong said.

"She can hear right? You have a class with her, I don't."

"Yeah she does."

"Hmmm. You have any ideas?"

"I dunno she doesn't hang with anyone, so no idea on how to get them close to each other."

"Maybe you can try and befriend her and then we can go to the arcade or a basketball game, or study together or whatever."

"I've never had a friend with Asperger's. And I've never had a mute friend."

"Asperger's is just the autism version of ADHD minus the hyperactivity for the most part."

"Wait really?"

"Yeah so you can relate."

"Hmmm. But what about the mute part?"

"Does she answer the teacher with a whiteboard or a laptop."

"Phone actually."

"That should be fine. She's a model right? Maybe ask her something about her work to start a conversation."

"People have tried with that. Didn't work."

"Is the class you have with her gonna have a seat switch soon?"

"Next Monday. My math teacher wanted us to finish the chapter we didn't get to finish first before that."

"Do you get to choose?"

"Yeah. And she's sat alone for a while with no one next to her in the back."

"You're tall enough to sit in the back right?"

"I sit in the back in that class anyway, just haven't next to her."

"It wouldn't be weird then right?"

"Nah."

"What's her name again?"

"I don't remember but it's something in Spanish. I think Xochitl?"

"Nahuatl, but yeah."

"Mexican and Korean is almost as interesting as Italian and Korean as a mix."

"They're not uncanny!"

"Tell me why then."

"Mexico has the largest Koreatown besides China. And Koreans and Italians have some funny things in common."

"Okay the Mexico-Korea thing makes sense now, but how do Koreans and Italians have stuff in common?"

"Both of those cuisines rely on meat and carbs, they're both peninsular countries, and they both castrate preteen boys so they can sing high and have girls squealing."

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU GOT ME ROLLING! That last one got me off guard so much,

that hurts! Dang I'm crying! I never thought I'd hear something that funny delivered that seriously in a while! Hell babe, that was good."

"So we got our plan?"

"We got our plan. As promised, lay down and roll over and I'll massage you with my feet."

She puts her foot on my back.

Then Mrs. Lim and her husband passed by.

"What kind of sick stuff are y'all gonna do at a park of all things? Disgusting!" she said.

"You have a dirty mind Mrs. Lim, I'm just giving Hyun a massage! What kind of stuff do you do with your husband to immediately think dirty stuff when a girl steps on her boyfriend?" Jugyeong snapped back.

"Oh sorry!" Mrs. Lim said while grabbing her husband's hand and dragging him away in embarrassment.

{You humans are disgusting creatures}

"Dang that was brutal Jugyeong." I tell her.

"Payback for making us sit separate when we've sat next to each other the whole year without a problem." she said.

"Okay fair. Yeahhh that feels gooooooooood, harder."

"Harder?"

"Yes."

Jugyeong massages me for a bit longer.

"Okay babe will crack my back?"

"Want the hug or push?"

"The hug sounds better~"

"Okay."

"No the other way!"

"But."

"Oh come on! It looks dirty either way!"

"One. Two."

KQRRRRRT! I crack her back and when her back straightens, she kisses me.

"See? Kill two birds with one stone."

"That was smart now that I think about it."

"Wanna just chill for a bit on this grass?"

"Sure."