Side Story 7, Swamp (7-6)

The result came predictably soon. Naturally, it was victory for the one with far superior skill.

Was that person from Suun High? Though he felt they probably were, while their skill was clearly outstanding, he couldn't properly gauge it. Due to the vast difference in skill levels, he was left with the strong impression that they had won without even showing their full capabilities.

Yu-wan slowly walked back to the waiting room. Since there were two waiting rooms on either side, he thought he might have a fifty-fifty chance of seeing the Suun High student if luck was on his side, but he couldn't find them - either they had already come in and gone elsewhere, or they were in the opposite waiting room.

After several more matches passed, finally only the semifinals remained. Yu-wan was also one of the four remaining contestants. Though the noisy school kendo club members who came during the break between matches kept chattering about how amazing he was and whatnot, none of it reached Yu-wan's ears.

"Jin Je-hwan, did you see? Girls from other schools who like you came too!"

"..."

The guys who had initially feared Yu-wan now often spoke to him after realizing he had a quiet personality that neither bothered nor ignored others as long as they weren't disruptive. While the other guys standing around cast envious glances at the mention of female students coming, Yu-wan found it merely bothersome.

When he returned to the waiting room after the break ended, all the many participants had disappeared. One more person should come to this side, but they hadn't arrived yet. Yu-wan sat alone waiting for his turn.

If going in order, he would probably be first among the semifinal matches.

"Number 23. Please come out."

A staff member came in and called Yu-wan's number. Yu-wan stood up and walked toward the door leading to the match area. At that moment, he saw another semifinalist entering through the other door.

'Ah...'

Yu-wan glanced at that person's figure just before leaving and his eyes widened slightly. Though he still couldn't see their face, the lean build and upright gait unmistakably belonged to that participant he had seen earlier.

So that person had made it this far too. Having heard that two of the four semifinalists were Suun High students, perhaps this person was one of those two. Yu-wan stared at them intently one last time as if stamping their image in his mind before turning around and heading to the match area.

Thinking that if he won here, perhaps that person would be his next opponent.

The semifinal opponent facing him across the referee was one of the Suun High students. Well-toned muscles showed nicely through the arms holding the bamboo sword. They both gathered their fighting spirit while glaring at each other's barely visible eyes through their masks.

Looking at the opponent with a similar build to his own, Yu-wan thought this must be the taller one of the two he had seen in the video. His fingertips tingled from facing an opponent who emanated a different density of fighting spirit from anyone he had met so far.

In that moment that felt like eternity as tense hands gripped bamboo swords and took stance. The referee's flag moved swiftly.

"Waaaaaah!"

Yu-wan pulled back his arm holding the bamboo sword while opening his eyes wide to find his opponent's opening. The opponent also made a similar motion simultaneously before immediately launching into continuous attacks without hesitation. Every time he quickly moved his arms to block, the impact reached his palms along with the sound of bamboo swords clashing that rang through the air.

From then on, it was time spent forgetting everything except trying to win against the opponent.

...

"Haa... haa... ha..."

"Victory! Suun High's Jeong Seung-jo!"

Yu-wan moved his powerlessly drooping arm while feeling sweat flowing all over his body. His own breathing sounded too loud.

The match had been an absolute slugfest. Not only was it the most intensely committed match he had ever fought in his life, but it was also the first match where they had exchanged points so evenly, hitting and getting hit.

But what surprised Yu-wan was his opponent's stamina and strength that was enough to not lose to him. Until now, he had always been able to advance with his surplus stamina and strength whenever starting a new sport. But when someone with similar physical abilities appeared for the first time, his lack of experience became his downfall. He realized that in the world of sports, one shouldn't be so easily confident about everything.

Anyway, in the end, that guy won and he lost. Though frustrated, there was nothing he could do about it.

The two exchanged bows under the referee's guidance. The opponent's shoulders also seemed drained of strength while bowing. Yu-wan could properly see his opponent's eyes through the mask for the first time. The long, sharply upturned eyes were looking at him with a gleaming light.

While turning back toward the waiting room, Yu-wan thought that he had achieved half his goal since he had fought one of the Suun High students as he had wished. Having given his best but lost, he now had no choice but to watch others' matches while waiting for the third-place match.

"Whew..."

Yu-wan entered the waiting room while removing his mask. The lean-bodied final participant was sitting alone.

- Next in 10 minutes will be the match between Kang Mu-heon of Suun High and Yu Jeong-ho of Daejong High.

After the announcement rang out, the sound of people moving noisily outside came like tank vibrations. However, inside the waiting room was filled with a strange silence.

In the quiet atmosphere, the final participant sitting still without even turning their head looked like a Taoist practitioner doing meditation to forget themselves. The atmosphere was so unapproachable that Yu-wan unconsciously couldn't even breathe deeply.

After 10 minutes passed, that participant who walked out to the match area displayed swordsmanship that was instinctively calculated yet impeccably clean without a single flaw to criticize, definitively securing their place in the finals.

Though Yu-wan, watching from afar, faintly heard that he was Kang something from Suun High, none of the words properly registered in his mind. That sword that bloomed more and more beautifully the stronger the opponent it faced kept circling in his mind without disappearing.