Chapter 32.1

Chapter 32.1

Despite starting gymnastics much later than her peers, coming from a nursery school background, battling poverty, and being a typical social welfare recipient, Han Seoryeong found unwavering support from Coach Jiseul.

Her approach to gymnastics was so unique that it was hard to believe she hadn’t started until after elementary school. Her style stood in stark contrast to that of Joo Daeun, like water and fire.

While she may not have been as outgoing or affable as Joo, Seoryeong possessed a strange allure that captivated her teammates whenever she moved.

Yet, her unrefined execution often resulted in deductions, and she wasn’t afraid to push boundaries, even if it meant taking risks.

As a consequence, while Joo soared to victory after victory, Seoryeong consistently found herself penalized. Throughout her time in the gymnastics club, she never once clinched a prize in competition.

Despite this, Jooda began to subtly outmaneuver Seoryeong. There was no way Jooda wouldn’t notice the tension in the air whenever Seoryeong, the stern-faced athlete who never smiled, applied talcum powder to her hands.

But one night.

In the middle of the night at the gym, Joo’s legs were completely shredded, and Han walked out of the gym unharmed.

She swallowed hard and said, “I’m sorry. It was already ten years ago, but–”

“Seoryeong… you hurt Joo Daeun’s leg.”

“….”

“I saw that. When you were doing the Korbut flip.”

French for crow’s feather, it was a gymnastics skill that had been banned since 1972.

“You were warned by the coach that it should never be attempted. He said if you messed it up, you’d break your ankles and legs. He made it clear he wouldn’t take responsibility even if you shattered your bones from the fall.”

The korbut flip is a backward spin on the uneven parallel bars. It’s named for its resemblance to the way a crow balances while hovering high above.

It’s a technique that uses only the elasticity of the body to fly from the low bar to the high bar, and even backward.

But the International Gymnastics Federation banned it because it was too dangerous.

“But then you… did it, and then taunted Joon Daeun to do the same.”

It was a nightmare memory.

It was bad enough that a seventeen-year-old athlete was creepily successful at a long-abandoned technique, but to see someone’s leg twisted from knee to ankle was horrifying.

Eventually, Joo Daeun screamed and fainted from the pain.

Han Seoryeong’s eyes squinted, and wondered if she had encouraged Joo Daeun without realising it.

“Ah. You were the rat that was hiding back then.”

The coach froze and stammered as Seoryeong’s calm and cold eyes turned to her.

“No, I, I was……”

“That’s funny.”

“Wh–”

“So this is why you all go to reunions, to talk about amusing stories like this.”

Well… that sounds a lot different than “amusing.” The coach forced herself to look away.

Meanwhile, Seoryeong looked emptily at the children in training and spoke.

“I hated gymnastics.”

“What?”

“The floor was too narrow, the parallel bars too thin, the pole too low, and–”

“…!”

“It’s frustrating.”

Seoryeong glanced at her casted arm and then shrugged off her shoulder brace.

“So I tried the Korbut flip, even though the coach wouldn’t take responsibility.”

“…”

“Just because it’s dangerous, that’s a reason not to do it? I still think that’s ridiculous. Is that how you find out how much my body can take?”

“….”

“So I had to try it.”

It was this radical side of Seoryeong that prevented her from becoming a proper “athlete”.

Gymnastics is the foundation and source of all athletics. Gymnastics, in particular, is a “game” based on strength and flexibility, but Han Seoryeong was always a dangerous performer.

That was the fundamental difference between her and Joo Daeun. Something… like a knot tied wrong.

“It’s not my fault she copied me.”

“But… since you did it in front of Joo Daeun-”

The coach bit her lip, not knowing why she was speaking up for her.

After that incident, Joo Daeun quit gymnastics, and Han Seoryeong was expelled from school, accused of being the perpetrator simply because she was there.

But no one ever said anything about Seoryeong’s successful attempt at a Korbut flip.

That day’s truth was buried as if it had never happened.

“You should have just… told me. It was Joo Daeun who bullied you first, not the other way around. If you’d just told me what happened in the gym, you wouldn’t have gotten expelled. If you had, you would have won a medal by now.”

“Is that really what you wanted?”

“What?”

“Then why didn’t you tell the school? You were hiding and watching the whole thing.”