The forest was quiet now.
The sounds of fighting were gone. Only the soft rustle of leaves remained.
Jin Haru sat alone on a large rock near the trees. His shirt was torn, and dry blood stained his lip. He looked at his hands.
They were still shaking.
Not from pain. From something deeper.
He remembered the fight from earlier. How his body moved on its own. How he copied moves that should've been impossible. He didn't know if he should feel proud… or scared.
A few steps away, Baek Jinho was talking to some students. They were patching each other up, laughing nervously. The school had won the fight, but only barely.
Then Jinho turned and walked toward him.
"Hey," he said, sitting beside Jin. "You okay?"
Jin didn't look up. "Yeah. Just tired."
Jinho let out a quiet laugh. "You were amazing out there."
"I was lucky."
"No," Jinho said firmly. "You moved like a pro. The last combo you used… that wasn't beginner level. You copied my style, didn't you?"
Jin finally looked at him. "You noticed?"
"Of course I did. I've trained in Muay Thai since I was a kid."
There was silence for a moment.
Then Jinho sighed.
"I used to be a national candidate," he said, voice low. "My dad was a pro fighter. He wanted me to be better than him. I trained every day. No fun, no breaks. Just fight, fight, fight."
He looked up at the sky.
"When I lost at the national qualifier, my dad... changed. He said I was weak. That I embarrassed him. He stopped talking to me. So I quit. I gave up."
Jin stayed quiet. Listening.
"But then, I saw you," Jinho continued. "That day in PE, when you backflipped and kicked the ball into the net. I thought, 'This guy… he's different.'"
He smiled, just a little.
"You don't fight like a trained person. You fight like someone born to survive."
Jin looked away. His throat felt tight.
"I'm not someone special."
"You are," Jinho said. "Even if you don't see it. You reminded me why I started fighting. Why I loved it."
He stood up and held out his hand.
"I want to fight again. And I want to stand next to you when we do."
Jin looked at the hand.
Then he reached out and grabbed it.
Their grip was strong.
Not just a handshake—but something deeper. A promise.
As they walked back to the group, REI spoke softly in Jin's mind:
"Emotional bond detected. Psychological stability improving. Heart rate decreasing."
Jin gave a small smile.
Maybe this life was different after all.
Maybe… he could be someone better.
But deep inside, something still whispered:
"Don't forget who you really are."