The late spring sun was warm over Seoul, but inside Hanseo High School’s gym, the air was sharp with focus and sweat.
The Taekwondo club was having another afterschool session, a room full of grunts, sharp kicks, and bodies flying across the mats.
At the far side, sitting on one of the chair in the School's gym like she had all the time in the world.
Seo Yuri.
Clear black glasses perched neatly on her nose, hair tousled into a soft, wavy wolf-cut that framed her sharp, heart-shaped face.
Her black training uniform sleeves were pushed up to her elbows, both hands stuffed lazily into her pockets, shoulders slightly slouched like she might fall asleep if the world moved any slower.
"Who's that?" a first-year whispered, nudging his friend.
The older students smirked. "You’ll see."
Across the mat, one of the new challengers, a tall boy from another school, took a confident stance.
He bowed stiffly, fists raised.
"Hope you don't go easy on me," he said, trying to sound cool.
Yuri stood up with a sigh, walking to the center with slow, deliberate steps.
Her eyes, sharp, almost cat-like behind her glasses, flicked over him once. Measuring. Calculating.
She didn’t even bother raising her hands.
The signal to start rang out.
In a blink, Yuri moved.
One second, she was standing still, the next, her foot whipped out in a high arc, stopping just millimeters from the boy’s cheek.
He hadn't even seen her move.
The gym fell silent.
She smiled lazily, tilting her head. "You sure you’re ready for this?" she said, voice low and playful.
The boy flushed red and lunged.
Bad idea.
Without pulling her hands from her pockets, Yuri danced around him, effortless, flowing like water.
Every kick she sent out was a blur of motion, faster than the eye could track.
The boy swung wildly, missing air again and again.
The onlookers barely breathed.
This wasn’t just speed.
It was domination.
After two minutes of chasing a ghost, the boy stumbled to his knees, gasping for breath.
Yuri didn’t even look winded.
"Hmph," she said with a slight smirk, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. "Next time, bring someone who can actually touch me."
She turned away, sliding her hands deeper into her pockets, her figure relaxed and untouchable as she walked off the mat,
a shadow faster than the wind, a queen of her own world.
And just like that, Seo Yuri had arrived.
The gym buzzed in hushed murmurs after Yuri’s effortless victory.
No one had expected it to be that one-sided.
As she dropped lazily onto the bench near the exit, arms stretched wide behind her, Yuri caught a few glances tossed her way, admiration, fear, even a few flustered stares.
Typical.
"You’re unbelievable, Yuri-sunbae," one of the first-years said, eyes shining. "Can you teach me how to move that fast?"
She gave a slow, mischievous smile. "Sure," she said, voice dripping with amusement. "First, beat me in a race."
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The boy deflated immediately, and Yuri chuckled softly, resting her chin on her hand.
Another easy day, she thought.
Until she heard footsteps.
Heavy, controlled. Confident.
Her sharp eyes lifted.
Across the mats, stepping into the gym, was a new figure.
Tall, built, with short-cropped black hair and a serious, almost cold expression.
He wore a dark training uniform, and slung casually over his shoulder was a duffel bag embroidered with a golden hawk, a symbol from one of the strongest Taekwondo academies in Seoul.
The room’s mood shifted instantly.
"Who’s that?" someone whispered.
"That's Kang Minjae," a senior muttered under his breath. "Top-ranked youth fighter. He just transferred here."
Yuri's eyebrow twitched upward, mildly intrigued for the first time in months.
Minjae dropped his bag with a thud, scanning the room until his gaze settled, right on her.
He didn’t bow.
He didn’t smile.
He just pointed.
"You," he said, his voice deep and steady. "I heard you're fast."
Yuri blinked behind her glasses, a slow, wolfish grin growing across her lips.
Was this guy... challenging her?
"Tch," she clicked her tongue, standing up casually, hands still in her pockets. "Fast enough you won’t even know when you lost."
The whole gym froze, tension crackling between them like a live wire.
Minjae stepped onto the mat, taking a solid stance.
The coach, sensing something big about to happen, just nodded tightly and signaled for the spar.
The air grew heavy.
Yuri bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, still relaxed, but inside, a tiny spark of excitement was flickering alive.
Maybe... maybe this would be fun.
The whistle blew.
Minjae launched forward immediately, no hesitation, no testing the waters.
His kick sliced through the air like a blade.
Yuri moved, shifting just enough to avoid it, but,
his foot brushed the side of her sleeve.
Not a hit.
But closer than anyone had come in months.
Her smile widened into something sharper, more dangerous.
Finally.
Without a word, she slowly, deliberately slipped her hands out of her pockets.
Her stance shifted, low, sleek, serious.
A shiver ran through the watching students.
Seo Yuri was done playing.
The gym seemed to hold its breath.
Seo Yuri shifted her weight slightly, her hands finally free from her pockets, fingers loose and ready.
The way she moved now, low, balanced, alert, it was like a different person had awakened inside her.
Across the mat, Kang Minjae didn't flinch.
He adjusted his footing, reading her with sharp, calculating eyes.
The whistle hadn't even finished echoing before they clashed.
Minjae struck first, a vicious spinning kick aimed high.
Fast.
But Yuri was faster.
She slipped under the attack like water flowing downhill, pivoted on one foot, and delivered a sharp, rising kick toward his side.
Minjae blocked it, barely, sliding a step back from the impact.
The force was stronger than he'd expected.
Yuri smirked slightly, bouncing on her toes. "Not bad," she teased. "You might actually survive a minute."
Minjae didn’t respond.
Instead, he attacked again, feinting low then snapping up a sudden front kick.
Yuri dodged backward with perfect control, her glasses glinting under the gym lights.
Then she vanished.
...No, she didn't vanish, she just moved so fast it looked like she disappeared.
In a blink, she was at his side.
Her heel swung up in a tight, brutal arc...
Wham!
Minjae blocked again, but his arms rattled from the force.
Yuri's kicks were like bullets, fast, sharp, relentless.
The room erupted in excited gasps.
"Did you see that?!"
"She moved like a ghost!"
Yuri advanced, a blur of movement.
Every kick came from a different angle, high, low, sweeping, stabbing, giving Minjae no time to breathe.
He defended fiercely, gritting his teeth, but the cracks were starting to show.
"Your legs are slower than your mouth," Yuri quipped mid-spin, her voice still playful, but her eyes gleaming with the thrill of the fight.
Minjae growled lowly and countered with a punch, but Yuri caught his wrist with one hand,
and flipped him over her shoulder with shocking ease.
Thud!
The whole gym winced as Minjae hit the mat hard.
For a split second, silence reigned.
Yuri stood above him, glasses slipping slightly down her nose, a light grin tugging at her lips.
"Told you," she said, her voice soft but dripping with confidence. "You won't even know when you lost."
The coach blew the whistle sharply, ending the match before it could get ugly.
Minjae sat up, coughing once, staring at her with a mixture of shock and respect.
He had never fought anyone like her before.
Not someone who made speed itself look like an art form.
Yuri pushed her glasses back up with one finger, hands slipping back into her pockets like nothing had happened.
Without looking back, she strode off the mat, the crowd parting instinctively to let her pass.
From today on, there was no question in Hanseo High.
Seo Yuri wasn’t just the fastest girl here, she was the queen.
And no one would ever forget it.
