Jeontugi High School
The First Fight
The next day, we were set to fight, as the opening for the school. I looked at the fighting list for that day, paying attention to the names this time. I cringed when I saw the first name.
Park Jimin vs Choi Jonghyun
Kim Taekwon vs Hwang Minhyun
Kang Dongho vs Jung Jisoo
Choi Minki vs Lee Minwoo
Kang Hyunsu vs Choi Junhong
This list was long, so I skipped down to the new kids. They were the fifteen and sixteen year olds. I rolled my eyes, knowing these kids were in for hell, as newbies. Luckily, there was only one matchup for the day for the new kids.
Jeon Jungkook vs Lee Jaejun
Turning away from the list, I pulled on my fighting gloves. I may as well get this over with and fight Jimin again. This time, I wouldn’t go easy on him and let him win. This was what my parents wanted, and part of me felt like I should stick with it. The other part of me said to go to my room, pack my bags and leave. However, I couldn’t do that and leave the school how it was. They wanted a fight, they would get one.
We were the first ones up, and I could see that Jimin wasn’t happy to see that he was against me. I wondered if it was because he viewed me as an unworthy opponent. I didn’t really care if he did or not.
Once in the ring, he waited until I threw the first punch. After that, it was all out fighting to the end. I took him down quickly, just as I could have last year. However, unlike all the other times I had fought, I didn’t beat him up. I simply won fairly. He didn’t really have an expression on his face when I was done and I hadn't found the fight fun. There wasn’t any more joy in it.
I blocked out most of the fights, but when it came to Kang Dongho’s fight, I paid attention. I had fought him several times and he was a very good fighter. He was against another guy I had beat at one point, Jung Jisoo. The fight went as expected, with Dongho winning easily. He usually did that, unless he was against me.
The next two kids to step into the ring were two that I didn’t recognize. One of them didn’t look like a fighter at all. He probably wouldn’t last long, honestly. I would be introducing myself to him later, unless he left right away. He was against someone who looked a little bit tougher than him, but he could possibly surprise me.
Their fight started, and I paid close attention. Minwoo had the upper hand, as I had suspected. However, the fight was evenly matched and he didn’t beat Minki by very many points. Minki didn’t leave after the fight and I noticed that he taken a seat by Minhyun. I smiled, because I knew Minhyun. He would be easy to get to.
Now it was the juniors' turn. The first ones in were Junhong and a kid named Hyunsu. I have heard of them both, but did know them. Most of what I knew of Junhong was that he was one of the tallest guys in the school. I was curious to see whether it would be to his advantage, or if he would be hindered by it.
The fight began, and Hyunsu was quick, taking Junhong down with lightning speed. I guess it didn’t matter about his height, because this shorter kid was very skilled. He beat Junhong like he was fighting a dummy, even though Junhong was rumored to be good. Apparently, Hyunsu had learned well from somewhere.
I shook my head when it got to the next group. These kids were the rookies, and there weren’t enough of the fifteen year olds to be placed against one another, so they were in with the sixteen year olds.
I blanked out most of the fights between the rookies, because they were going to be here at the school for a while. I didn’t want to see them get beat up. However, one fight caught my interest, and it had nothing to do with their skills. It was their complexion.
One of the kids was very pale, while the other had a dark tan. He was short with curly hair. They looked very cool fight each other, but I turned away before the end, not wanting to see the end of it. I didn’t care who won, and didn’t want to see the disappointment one the loser’s face.
After the fights, I walked up over to Minhyun. “Hi. It’s nice to see you again,” I smiled at Minki, who glared at me. “Sorry about the fight…How was your Summer?”
Minhyun sighed. “Well, it went better than this next one will go. I lost…” He began taking off his gloves, obviously not in the mood to talk. “I need to go finish setting up my things. I’ll see you later, Changjo.” He looked tired as he got to his feet, motioning to the kid next to him, Minki. “Come on, Ren. I’ll show you my room,” he smiled at the younger boy, but ignored me. Minki…Ren glanced at me, but didn’t say anything.
I sighed as they walked off. This was not going to be an easy task. I looked around to see if Jimin was still here and noticed that he had already left. This was going to be another awkward evening…
I walked to my room, and saw that Jimin was on his bed, talking on the phone. When he saw me, he gave me an annoyed look and left. I figured he was probably talking to his parents about his loss. Sighing, I turned on my computer to look at what I had found in my research.
The school had been open since 1990, so it wasn't one of the oldest schools in the area. That was an interesting thing to find out, since it was so well known. It also meant that my dad hadn’t attended it, since he had been out of high school at the time.
The purpose of the school opening had been to “teach the best discipline, and show kids to be winners.” Well, the part of teaching kids discipline had been working out well, but not so much for teaching them to be winners. There always had to be a loser.
I hadn’t really found much else about it, but the praise for the school was very high. It was also compared to the “special schools,” which were mentioned as the schools that the “unsuccessful kids” (the losers) went. It was also where the parents that couldn’t afford Jeontugi sent their kids.
Closing my computer, I began trying to figure out a strategy to pull kids to my side. This school needed to end what it was focused on, because, unlike all the others years, this time I didn’t think it was right to base your grades on whether you were winning or not. I would need to do some more work on my case, and also talk to some more kids.
*******************
That night, I was still on the computer when Jimin came in. He hadn’t been around all day, and I know it was because he lost. However, he smiled at me, which was a start.
“Hi.” I smiled back at him, but he turned away from me. “Where are you from?” I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
“Seoul,” he answered me quietly. He got into the bed and turned his back on me, signifying that he didn’t want to talk to me.
“So…do you have siblings?’ I asked, but didn’t get an answer right away. “I have an older brother. He’s in university now.”
Jimin turned around, obviously irritated. “Why are you talking to me? We’re even now. Just be happy that you aren’t the one that will go home a loser this Christmas. Merry Christmas to me. I got beat by the school champion I took out last year. That’s what I’ll get to go home to. Merry fucking Christmas, Jimin.” He was quiet for a moment, but not long enough for me to interject. “So, why the hell did you let me win and beat the shit out of you? Don’t tell me it was because you suck. I know how you fight.”
I wanted to smile, but knew this wasn’t the right time. He had just opened the door for me to pull him in. “I DID lose to you on purpose, but that’s because I’m sick of how this school works. The system is screwed up.”
Jimin looked at me with his head cocked. I had to admit that he looked cute like that. “You know, I’ve never thought about the school’s system or why it's a fighting school.” I could see his wheels turning, so I pulled out my computer to show him my research. He wasn’t angry now, but curious. That was where I needed him.
“Well, if you’re willing to help me, I want to try to change the system. If it means simply rebelling, so be it,” I smiled at him. “They are trying to control us. I’m trying to find out how far this control goes. Does it go past high school? If so, I’ll find out WHY. I don’t care if it takes me all semester to find this out. This is my last shot as a student. I won’t have a chance to investigate this too much, once I leave here.” I noticed that he was frowning now, looking over the site. “Are you in?”
He turned back to me. “Yeah…and I can help you with other people. They know me.”
I grinned. “Good. Thank you for your help, Jimin.” He had been easier to convince than I thought he would be.
Park Jimin vs Choi Jonghyun
Kim Taekwon vs Hwang Minhyun
Kang Dongho vs Jung Jisoo
Choi Minki vs Lee Minwoo
Kang Hyunsu vs Choi Junhong
This list was long, so I skipped down to the new kids. They were the fifteen and sixteen year olds. I rolled my eyes, knowing these kids were in for hell, as newbies. Luckily, there was only one matchup for the day for the new kids.
Jeon Jungkook vs Lee Jaejun
Turning away from the list, I pulled on my fighting gloves. I may as well get this over with and fight Jimin again. This time, I wouldn’t go easy on him and let him win. This was what my parents wanted, and part of me felt like I should stick with it. The other part of me said to go to my room, pack my bags and leave. However, I couldn’t do that and leave the school how it was. They wanted a fight, they would get one.
We were the first ones up, and I could see that Jimin wasn’t happy to see that he was against me. I wondered if it was because he viewed me as an unworthy opponent. I didn’t really care if he did or not.
Once in the ring, he waited until I threw the first punch. After that, it was all out fighting to the end. I took him down quickly, just as I could have last year. However, unlike all the other times I had fought, I didn’t beat him up. I simply won fairly. He didn’t really have an expression on his face when I was done and I hadn't found the fight fun. There wasn’t any more joy in it.
I blocked out most of the fights, but when it came to Kang Dongho’s fight, I paid attention. I had fought him several times and he was a very good fighter. He was against another guy I had beat at one point, Jung Jisoo. The fight went as expected, with Dongho winning easily. He usually did that, unless he was against me.
The next two kids to step into the ring were two that I didn’t recognize. One of them didn’t look like a fighter at all. He probably wouldn’t last long, honestly. I would be introducing myself to him later, unless he left right away. He was against someone who looked a little bit tougher than him, but he could possibly surprise me.
Their fight started, and I paid close attention. Minwoo had the upper hand, as I had suspected. However, the fight was evenly matched and he didn’t beat Minki by very many points. Minki didn’t leave after the fight and I noticed that he taken a seat by Minhyun. I smiled, because I knew Minhyun. He would be easy to get to.
Now it was the juniors' turn. The first ones in were Junhong and a kid named Hyunsu. I have heard of them both, but did know them. Most of what I knew of Junhong was that he was one of the tallest guys in the school. I was curious to see whether it would be to his advantage, or if he would be hindered by it.
The fight began, and Hyunsu was quick, taking Junhong down with lightning speed. I guess it didn’t matter about his height, because this shorter kid was very skilled. He beat Junhong like he was fighting a dummy, even though Junhong was rumored to be good. Apparently, Hyunsu had learned well from somewhere.
I shook my head when it got to the next group. These kids were the rookies, and there weren’t enough of the fifteen year olds to be placed against one another, so they were in with the sixteen year olds.
I blanked out most of the fights between the rookies, because they were going to be here at the school for a while. I didn’t want to see them get beat up. However, one fight caught my interest, and it had nothing to do with their skills. It was their complexion.
One of the kids was very pale, while the other had a dark tan. He was short with curly hair. They looked very cool fight each other, but I turned away before the end, not wanting to see the end of it. I didn’t care who won, and didn’t want to see the disappointment one the loser’s face.
After the fights, I walked up over to Minhyun. “Hi. It’s nice to see you again,” I smiled at Minki, who glared at me. “Sorry about the fight…How was your Summer?”
Minhyun sighed. “Well, it went better than this next one will go. I lost…” He began taking off his gloves, obviously not in the mood to talk. “I need to go finish setting up my things. I’ll see you later, Changjo.” He looked tired as he got to his feet, motioning to the kid next to him, Minki. “Come on, Ren. I’ll show you my room,” he smiled at the younger boy, but ignored me. Minki…Ren glanced at me, but didn’t say anything.
I sighed as they walked off. This was not going to be an easy task. I looked around to see if Jimin was still here and noticed that he had already left. This was going to be another awkward evening…
I walked to my room, and saw that Jimin was on his bed, talking on the phone. When he saw me, he gave me an annoyed look and left. I figured he was probably talking to his parents about his loss. Sighing, I turned on my computer to look at what I had found in my research.
The school had been open since 1990, so it wasn't one of the oldest schools in the area. That was an interesting thing to find out, since it was so well known. It also meant that my dad hadn’t attended it, since he had been out of high school at the time.
The purpose of the school opening had been to “teach the best discipline, and show kids to be winners.” Well, the part of teaching kids discipline had been working out well, but not so much for teaching them to be winners. There always had to be a loser.
I hadn’t really found much else about it, but the praise for the school was very high. It was also compared to the “special schools,” which were mentioned as the schools that the “unsuccessful kids” (the losers) went. It was also where the parents that couldn’t afford Jeontugi sent their kids.
Closing my computer, I began trying to figure out a strategy to pull kids to my side. This school needed to end what it was focused on, because, unlike all the others years, this time I didn’t think it was right to base your grades on whether you were winning or not. I would need to do some more work on my case, and also talk to some more kids.
*******************
That night, I was still on the computer when Jimin came in. He hadn’t been around all day, and I know it was because he lost. However, he smiled at me, which was a start.
“Hi.” I smiled back at him, but he turned away from me. “Where are you from?” I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
“Seoul,” he answered me quietly. He got into the bed and turned his back on me, signifying that he didn’t want to talk to me.
“So…do you have siblings?’ I asked, but didn’t get an answer right away. “I have an older brother. He’s in university now.”
Jimin turned around, obviously irritated. “Why are you talking to me? We’re even now. Just be happy that you aren’t the one that will go home a loser this Christmas. Merry Christmas to me. I got beat by the school champion I took out last year. That’s what I’ll get to go home to. Merry fucking Christmas, Jimin.” He was quiet for a moment, but not long enough for me to interject. “So, why the hell did you let me win and beat the shit out of you? Don’t tell me it was because you suck. I know how you fight.”
I wanted to smile, but knew this wasn’t the right time. He had just opened the door for me to pull him in. “I DID lose to you on purpose, but that’s because I’m sick of how this school works. The system is screwed up.”
Jimin looked at me with his head cocked. I had to admit that he looked cute like that. “You know, I’ve never thought about the school’s system or why it's a fighting school.” I could see his wheels turning, so I pulled out my computer to show him my research. He wasn’t angry now, but curious. That was where I needed him.
“Well, if you’re willing to help me, I want to try to change the system. If it means simply rebelling, so be it,” I smiled at him. “They are trying to control us. I’m trying to find out how far this control goes. Does it go past high school? If so, I’ll find out WHY. I don’t care if it takes me all semester to find this out. This is my last shot as a student. I won’t have a chance to investigate this too much, once I leave here.” I noticed that he was frowning now, looking over the site. “Are you in?”
He turned back to me. “Yeah…and I can help you with other people. They know me.”
I grinned. “Good. Thank you for your help, Jimin.” He had been easier to convince than I thought he would be.
