Yuri

Grandpa is a man of few words, but when he does speak, it’s always something that sticks with me.

“Yuri, have your grades gotten better?”

Yup. It sticks with me alright.

Grandpa and I were sitting at the dinner table eating some ramyeon I’d made for the two of us. Ever since I nearly failed a class last year, he’s made sure to ask me about my grades every two weeks.

“I’ve still got that A in gym class!” I tried to make him crack a smile, but it didn’t work. “At least I’m not at risk of getting kicked out of school.”

Grandpa nodded. “Your grandma was the scholar in the family.” He tapped his forehead. “Sadly, you must’ve gotten your old grandpa’s genes.”

“That’s okay with me.” I smiled. “If I end up half as cool as you, then I think I’ll do alright in life.”

Grandpa’s tough, and he’s weak to the occasional compliment. He laughed heartily, and I could practically feel the dinner table shake from his joy. “You may not have your grandma’s brains, but you sure have your grandpa’s charm!”

Grandpa’s a rugged old man, but anyone that looks at him can tell that he was handsome in his youth. We’ve lived in this small neighborhood for as long as I can remember. Despite his age, he’s always helping our neighbors and family friends with things like broken pipes and advice.

He’s muscular for his age, and he’s been fit for as long as I can remember. He always reminds me that being old isn’t the same as being useless. He grew up impoverished in a household where everyone from the oldest woman to the youngest boy did something to help contribute to the family. Like some older people, Grandpa stays active by going on walks with occasional trips to the gym.

The difference here being that Grandpa goes to a boxing gym.

He goes one day a week now, but when I was younger, he’d sometimes go three or four days a week, taking me with him whenever he did. Arthritis knocked those visits down, but he’s too stubborn of a man to stop going entirely. My first time going with him was right after Grandma died.

It was a month after her funeral, and I was eating cereal alone that morning in my room. The house used to echo with Grandma’s voice, but things had been so quiet that our footsteps replaced her laughter as the soundtrack of our lives.

That’s how I heard Grandpa when he approached my door that day.

“Get dressed. We’re going somewhere.” With just a few words he came and left, forgetting to close my door when he walked away.

I’m glad he’s talking again, but now I’m confused. I grabbed a grey hoodie and ran outside. It was cold that day, and the wind was even chillier. Despite that, Grandpa kept walking ahead of me.

I was confused at the time. “Where’re we going, Grandpa? We’ve been walking for a while.”

“It’s about time we learned what it means to be men again.” He led me to a building with a sign that read Bronze Boxing Gym. The first thing I noticed after walking inside was the strong smell of sweat, the second being the condition of the gym.

The gym itself seemed to be one large room with an arena in the middle. Punching bags were evenly spaced along one of the walls, each one held up with a chain. In another corner were two bench presses being used by a muscular man and a smaller man. Pictures of boxing legends like Muhammad California and Wazowski Tyson decorated the walls, giving the place a sense of power.

“Choi Sangcheol, the heavyweight champion himself!” A bald man with a scruffy beard walked over to Grandpa, and to my surprise they started hugging and laughing.

With a smile, Grandpa said to him, “Kwangsoo, you know I never fought internationally! I’m just a washed-up runner up.”

Kwangsoo brushed off Grandpa’s comment. “Doesn’t matter to me. I first saw you fighting when I was barely your grandson’s age. It’s always great to see you here!” Noticing my presence, he gasped. “This must be the boy himself!” He bent his knees until we were at the same eye level. “You’ve got a great grandpa there. I thought he was a quiet guy when I first met him, but he loves talking about you and how much you’ve grown.”

Mimicking Grandpa’s gruff voice, Kwangsoo said, “My boy got his class to second place at his school’s sports festival! That’s my grandson for you!” Getting up, he gave me a pat on the back. “Those genes sure are powerful. He looks like Donghyun, but those eyes are definitely Insook’s.”

Donghyun and Insook.

My father and Grandma.

I remember feeling a tightness in my chest at the sound of their names. It was the sadness for Grandma’s passing, but the anger I felt at the sound of my father’s name overshadowed it.

I’ve never met the man. All I know about him is that my face reminds people of him. Grandpa rarely talks about him, and Grandma used to always look sad whenever someone mentioned his name in the house. I hear that he was ambitious, yet he kept most of his thoughts to himself. In the end, something happened causing him to go away right after I was born.

As for my mother, I don’t even know what she looks like.

“Don’t mention my son’s name. The boy doesn’t like it. If you wanna be useful, go get us some gloves.” Grandpa noticed my change in mood and helped change the subject.

“No problem!” Kwangsoo came back with two pairs of black gloves, handing one of each to Grandpa and I. “Have fun showing the little guy the ropes!”

After showing me how to put my gloves on, Grandpa took me to one of the punching bags.

“Show me how you’d punch someone.”

“Wh-what?” I was caught off guard by what Grandpa said.

He shook his head, disappointed. “Do as I do.”

Grandpa got into a boxing stance I’d only seen in pictures back at home. His left glove was slightly in front of his face while his right gently rested against his cheek. He hunched forward slightly, his right foot sliding back until it was a shoulder apart from his other foot.

In that moment, I remembered exactly who my grandpa used to be.

He jabbed at the punching bag with his left hand, his left foot moving forward with him. Blinking at the loud sound, I missed the movement of his right fist as it made contact shortly following his left.

Grandpa—the former semi-professional boxer Choi Sangcheol—was teaching me the basics of how to box.

In a sweat and out of breath he said, “You shouldn't ever get in a fight, but if you do, I want you to know how to defend yourself.” A left hook to the bag. “Insook did an amazing side helping you hone your emotional side, but now it’s time for you to learn how to really fight.”

For the rest of that afternoon, Grandpa showed me how to correctly throw jabs. I was still trash at it when we left, but that was only the beginning of our trips to the boxing gym.

On days we didn’t go, Grandpa used our time at home to teach me the correct way to do push-ups and sit-ups.

“Elbows at a 45! Now hold it!” My arms were shaking as I tried to hold my own weight up. “There you go! Now that’s my grandson!” I looked up, and I could see genuine excitement coming from Grandpa for the first time since Grandma passed.

Months after our first gym visit, Grandpa asked, “So, is there someone special in your life yet?”

I’d nearly choked on the honey butter chips I’d been eating at the time. “N-no Grandpa!” My memories of Chunhwa in that classroom were still fresh in my mind, but I wasn’t the most popular with girls. “I’m having more fun training with you.”

Out of nowhere, Grandpa laughed again. With a smile he said, “Then just you wait! If the protein from all the bulgogi doesn’t bulk you up, then I don’t know what will.”

In the end, Grandpa was right. At 15, my growth spurt came, and so did all the benefits of training with him.

My time has come!

I ran to the bathroom and locked the door, throwing my shirt on the floor. I stood in front of the mirror, slowly turning around to inspect my body. My triceps were more defined than they’d been years ago, and I couldn’t help but feel how solid my own biceps were.

“My sons! You’re here!” I pat my abs like they were a drum, trying my best to hold back my laughter. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Going back downstairs, Grandpa was waiting for me in a grey hoodie. “We’re going to the gym today, so get your stuff.”

At this point, we hadn’t gone to the boxing gym together in almost a year. High school entrance exams were taking over my life, and I’d heard that the exam for Hwangjoga—one of the best high schools in our region—was damn near impossible to pass.

I’d need a miracle to happen if I wanted to go there.

Grandpa and I didn’t speak on the walk to the gym, though my excitement from looking in the mirror hadn’t worn off yet. I’m still lean, but some muscle is better than none!

I was so lost in my own mind that I didn’t notice us arriving.

“Yuri!” Mr. Kwangsoo ran over, two pairs of gloves in his hands.

“Oh, hey Mr. Kwangsoo!” I pulled the old man into a hug.

He passed me my gloves. “Glad to see you’re doing well, and you’re as solid as ever!”

Feeling smug, I flexed for Mr. Kwangsoo. “It’s all thanks to you and Grandpa!”

“Flattery will get you places!” He looked at Grandpa. “Did Sangcheol tell you what he has in store for you today?”

I shook my head. “I’ve got no idea.”

Mr. Kwangsoo pat me on the back. “Good luck, kid.”

I could feel the mood in the gym change. I looked around and realized that no one was using any of the equipment, and that there were a few chairs set up around the boxing ring.

“Grandpa, what’s happening?”

“Put your gloves on. We’re getting in the ring.”

I later learned that this was Grandpa’s way of showing me that I still had a long way to go, and that I didn’t need to get so cocky so early. He knew what it was like to see someone lose their way, and the last thing  he wanted was to lose another son.

At the time, though?

Yeah, old age hadn’t rusted any of Grandpa’s skills.

In the ring, all I could do was block and guard myself from Grandpa’s punches. Even though he was using the same brand of gloves as me, it felt as if he was hitting me with metal bricks. Any attempt to make space between us was immediately foiled by Grandpa.

I may be younger, but he has years of experience in the ring. I’d silently hoped that my age would help me out here, but I was barely 15 years old going up against someone who was nearly a boxing champion back in his prime.

With that final punch, I was knocked out.

I woke up with an ice pack on my face and the sound of the news blaring loudly on a small TV. My arms felt sore from guarding Grandpa’s heavy punches. I winced at how swollen my cheek was, making sure to hold the ice pack there. C’mon, Grandpa! You could’ve held back a little bit!

I’d been left laying on the table-like bench between the lockers in the men’s locker room, and I chuckled knowing that the other guys in the gym were the ones who carried me here. I glanced at the corner of the room. On TV, a reporter was interviewing a well-dressed woman about signing some important business deal.

“…and with this,” She started, “Our goal is to reach our objective of $1.7 billion in revenue by 2027.” The woman speaking had short black hair and wore horn-rimmed glasses. She looked comfortable speaking to the interviewer in her navy-blue business suit. “This goal is my greatest aspiration, and we at Han Life Sciences are working hard to achieve it.” She flashed a smile at both the interviewer and the camera.

“Thank you so much for your insight! This was Han Eunji of Ha—” The TV was turned off in the middle of the interviewer’s sentence.

I turned to see Grandpa holding the remote. “Too much TV can rot your brain.” I could tell that he was lying, but I didn’t want to push the topic.

Before we left the gym, Grandpa stopped and said, “I sometimes wonder what life would’ve been like if you’d been my son as well. With a brother like you, maybe he would’ve stayed.” He grimaced. “Donghyun was never a bad kid, but he was too smart for his own good. That’s why I wasn’t surprised when he left Insook and I so early.”

Grandpa ruffled my hair. “He would come home with good grades and academic awards. His face never showed it, but he was happy running his school’s student council during his high school years. He did so many good things, but the best thing he ever brought home to us was you, Yuri. I know I don’t say it enough, but I love you, son.”

I had to hold back my tears from Grandpa’s sudden declaration. “Even if my father came back right now, I wouldn’t want anyone else to raise me but you and Grandma.”

He smiled. “Insook would be happy to hear you say that.”

Grandpa and I grew closer after that day. Our home felt lighter even if nothing else had really changed. I eventually forgot the name of the woman I saw on the TV, but I couldn’t help wondering why my heart hurt when I saw her.

To this day, I still don’t have an answer.

Haru

To this day, Sis still doesn’t have an answer.

Basically, she’s been obsessing over trying to find out more about Yuri without going to the man himself. You see the problem here, right?

Sis changed after admitting to her feelings about Yuri, and I’m not too sure if I like where things are going. She acts normal around him at school, but sadly, Miss Jin Nari is not the best at holding back.

“This is impossible! Why am I not able to access his birth records?” Sis wanted to know how Yuri got into Hwangjoga. Just like me when I first met him, I assumed that it had something to do with his parents. Somehow, records of his birth parents couldn’t be found anywhere.

According to Yuri, he isn’t adopted, and he’s only seen a picture or two of his dad. The topic pisses him off, so I didn’t push any further. He told the same thing to Sis when she asked, and after a few weeks of dead-end research, she was starting to unravel.

“This record says that he was born in S. Hospital, yet the names for his parents were left blank for some reason. The father makes sense if the pregnancy was accidental, but why the mother as well?” She let out an exasperated sigh. “I was doing this out of curiosity with a hint of infatuation, but now this boy has my full attention.” Sis looked at me from the computer desk in our living room. “If you know the truth already, why haven’t you told me?”

I shrugged and smiled. “I can’t just violate my best friend’s privacy like that!” I’ll admit, I had a bad time when I tried finding out more about Yuri myself.

When I found his father after months of snooping, I was surprised. I didn’t tell Yuri because it’s not my place to do so. I hope that Sis comes to the same conclusion after she finds his parents as well.

“If you’re not telling me, then this must be quite the scandal at hand.”

“It’s even more than you could imagine, Sis. There’s a reason his grandfather never told him, after all.”

Sis responded to my words with a smile. “Then I believe I have the right to know instead. I find nothing wrong with his parents meeting their future daughter-in-law earlier than what was expected.”

I worry about my sister sometimes.