The warm-up exercises had finally ended.
Meanwhile, Yoon Ha-min hadn't participated in the warm-up at all. He was sitting far away with his head bowed.
While some of us were stretching diligently enough to feel electric-like pain shooting through our bodies, seeing him sitting there so peacefully made me feel somewhat annoyed.
"...Why are you just sitting there?"
When I raised my eyebrow and asked him that, Ha-min hesitated before briefly glancing in my direction.
"Well, that's..."
I might have sounded a bit sharp, but seeing him sitting there, fidgeting nervously and unable to move, I genuinely started to worry.
He was someone who loved putting in effort and never wanted to stop, so there was no reason for him to be slacking off like this.
I slowly walked toward him, ignoring the tingling sensation in my groin.
"Is something wrong?"
When I asked him that, Ha-min looked at me with an even more uncomfortable expression.
He seemed troubled about something, so I tilted my head, wondering if it might be better not to pry.
"N-no, it's nothing, really. I'll just sit here for a moment."
"Alright."
Since Ha-min insisted, there was no need for me to stay by his side. Still, if he was that troubled, he could have at least explained why he was acting so fidgety. I couldn't understand it at all.
This didn't seem like his usual personality.
"What did he say?"
When I returned, feeling slightly disappointed, Orca, who had been standing still, tilted her head and asked.
It seemed Orca also didn't know why Ha-min was acting that way.
Of course, since I didn't know either, I slightly turned my head toward Ha-min and answered.
"I don't know either... He told me to go ahead without him."
"Is that so? Then let's continue."
Orca looked in Ha-min's direction for a moment, then sighed as if she couldn't figure it out either.
Then she stood in front of me in a proper stance and slightly raised her arms.
With her hands gently moving through the air, she continued her explanation.
"As I mentioned before, something new was added while you were away, Kanna. Until now, we only had the counter-throw, but this time it's a technique to subdue an opponent."
"Subdue?"
"Yes. Unlike before, when you countered someone reaching for you, this is a technique to actively subdue your opponent."
Hearing those words, I felt a throbbing in my head.
It had been challenging enough for me to use the opponent's strength to counter-throw, but now I had to move on to the next level without even getting to try it in the test. How frustrating.
Could I even do this when I couldn't even manage the counter-throw?
While I was seriously contemplating this, Orca took a step forward.
"I'll be gentle. Would you like to experience it firsthand?"
"Y-yes, please show me."
So this is what they mean by learning through pain.
Hearing her words, I tensed up and my body stiffened.
In that moment, Orca's foot moved one step closer, even faster.
The sound of her bare foot hitting the dojo floor tickled my ears.
Before I could react, her body brushed past my side.
"Huh?" I barely had time to react before something caught my foot.
Then my vision spun, and suddenly I was looking at the dojo ceiling.
"Huh, ack?!"
I almost screamed as I gasped for air, but Orca firmly grabbed my collar.
Thanks to that, I avoided the misfortune of hitting the back of my head on the floor.
Still, I couldn't prevent my heart from pounding heavily.
"Phew... th-thank you."
Finally relaxing at the realization that it wouldn't hurt, I stroked my chest and said those words.
But the moment I spoke, Orca's hand let go with a light tap.
Though the distance wasn't far, I closed my eyes tightly as I hit the floor and felt the impact.
"Ugh!"
"Do you understand a little now, Kanna?"
"Ow, ow... *sniff*. Well, um..."
I rubbed my throbbing head and got up.
After sniffling, I tried hard to recall the answer to Orca's question.
"...You came to my side, hooked my foot, and pushed my body backward with force, right?"
"That's right. Now you need to do the same thing."
Orca clapped her hands as if congratulating me for getting the right answer.
But I wasn't particularly happy. The fact that I now had to use this technique myself felt somewhat daunting.
"Come on, get up."
With those words, she extended her arm to me as I sat.
I grabbed her hand and stood up quickly.
"Let's try it. I'll stand like this. The important thing is to succeed at least once."
"Okay..."
It felt a bit overwhelming, but her assurance that she wouldn't resist gave me some confidence that I might be able to do it.
"Ready?"
"Yes, anytime."
The moment Orca nodded, I moved my feet with a swift motion and approached her side.
As our bodies crossed, I hooked my right foot behind her right foot. Simultaneously, I placed my right arm across her collarbone area and applied force as if pulling her toward me.
Then I saw her falling backward.
Joy at my success flashed through my mind, but before that came the worry: what if she hits the floor?
The reason I hadn't crashed to the floor earlier was because Orca had grabbed my collar.
So I should...!
I grabbed her, clutching tightly.
Her falling body stopped in mid-air, but my arm couldn't support the weight.
And then my body gave way under the weight and fell.
"Whoa?!"
Thud! My knees hit the floor.
Even in that moment, I was proud of myself for struggling not to collide with Orca.
"Ugh..."
Tears welled up in my eyes.
As I groaned and barely opened my eyes, I saw Orca's eyes right in front of me.
I thought my breath would stop.
"...Kanna, would you mind moving aside?"
At those words, I couldn't say anything and used my arms to move to the side.
My body rolled halfway across the floor.
I felt like dying from embarrassment.
If she hadn't caught me, I would have crashed to the floor, but when she did, my arms couldn't support her, creating this awkward situation.
Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, I buried my face in the floor and let out a small groan.
"You did well for your first try. Next, why don't you practice with Ha-min, imagining you're facing a student who's trying not to fall easily?"
Orca dusted herself off and stood up.
I glanced at her and then shifted my gaze to Ha-min.
The thought crossed my mind that it might be better to practice with Ha-min. After cooling my heated face, I got up.
"Ha-min?"
After getting up, Orca tilted her head, looking at Ha-min who was still sitting and not getting up.
Ha-min hesitated for a moment before finally standing up.
Orca sighed and pointed at me, who was standing behind her.
"Ha-min, would you be Kanna's partner?"
"...Y-yeah."
Hearing his somewhat reluctant response, I wondered if he didn't want to practice with me.
If he practiced with me, he'd have to act like a dummy or adapt to the situation, which might be annoying.
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine now."
Though I tried to be considerate of Ha-min, he shook his head as if that wasn't the issue and approached me.
After adjusting my uniform, I stood in front of him and slightly raised my head.
My opponent was taller than me. And quite heavy.
Thinking about this, I wondered how I should approach it.
I doubted whether hooking his foot would work, and I wasn't sure if pushing would make him budge either.
"Ready?"
"Anytime."
I envied that confident voice of his.
I was working hard to become like that too.
"Hyup!"
After moving to his side, I let out a shout and hooked my foot behind his back foot.
But as expected, his body stood firm like a tree, showing no intention of moving.
I raised my arm as high as possible to target the upper part of his body, but it still didn't work, which was a bit disheartening.
I wondered if it was even possible to take down someone like this, and my mouth felt dry at the thought.
Seeing me like this, Ha-min seemed to want to comfort me and said:
"Kanna, let me show you first, and then you can follow, okay?"
"...Isn't it supposed to be done the way Orca showed?"
"The technique for taking down someone bigger is different."
Ha-min said that and stood in front of me.
Wondering if there was a separate method for this, I stood still, and he moved even more slowly than Orca had.
His foot extended behind me, then drew an arc to strike the back of my knee.
While I was off guard, the back of my knee was tapped, and simultaneously, my knees lost strength, lowering my line of sight.
"!"
An arm caught my body as my balance crumbled.
As I fell backward, I couldn't resist due to the loss of balance.
With a gasp, my body almost fell flat on its back.
If Ha-min hadn't grabbed my collar and supported me midway.
"Do you get it now?"
"So basically, I need to strike that spot."
"...Hm."
I thought I might have misspoken, but his gaze suddenly shifted to my body.
Wondering where he was looking, I followed his gaze downward and realized that my uniform, which had loosened when Orca pulled me earlier, was now revealing part of my chest.
"Would you let go?"
"Ah, sorry...!"
Ha-min immediately released me.
My body crashed straight to the floor.
The fortunate thing was that the distance between me and the floor wasn't much.
I groaned, "Ugh," as I felt the impact on my body.
And there was Ha-min, not knowing what to do, apologizing.
"Nngh..."
"A-are you okay?"
Until just a moment ago, this level of pain wouldn't have bothered me, but suddenly it felt so intense that I couldn't adapt.
As I was groaning, my body resonated with a thud.
"Ugh."
As I let out a small groan, Ha-min, who had been worried about me, suddenly stood up.
Similarly, Orca also got up urgently and looked around.
"Ha-min, this impact is...!"
"It must be another monster."
At their voices, I let out a small groan.
The fear etched into my body was trembling deeply.