Cheonliang Mountain
Jewoo, Taebong, Wooseok, and Hyungjae sat in a circle, their heads bent together in intense discussion.
Taebong's curiosity got the better of him. "Hey Jewoo, is she really as strong as you say? How could she be stronger than Teacher?"
Jewoo snorted. "You don't know anything! She's not human. She's an elephant! How could Teacher defeat an elephant?"
Wooseok leaned in. "Maybe if Baki-hyung and Teacher team up, they can take her."
Jewoo considered this, probably picturing Baki's physique in his mind. "Hmm... Yeah, if Baki-hyung and Teacher team up, they should be able to defeat the Empress of Two Seconds."
Hyungjae, watching his friends spiral into absurdity, finally intervened. "Aren't you guys overdramatizing this? She's just a kid our age. How could she defeat Baki-hyung or Teacher?"
Taebong nodded in agreement.
Jewoo wasn't convinced. "You don't understand! If she wanted, she could easily take down Baki-hyung alone. Only if Teacher helps him can they defeat her together."
This time, none of his friends replied. Jewoo let out a satisfied hum, assuming they had come around to his point of view. Just as he opened his mouth to elaborate, someone tapped his shoulder. He glanced at his friends and watched the color drain from their faces. Slowly, he looked back.
Baki stood there with a terrifying grin.
He said. "Seems like Seongji hasn't been training you hard enough if you've got time for comparison games."
Baki grabbed Jewoo by the back of his collar and lifted him off the ground. The door opened, and Seongji stepped outside.
He asked. "What's all this commotion?"
At the sound of Seongji's voice, Baki dropped Jewoo unceremoniously. "Your students are slacking off. Instead of training, they're comparing us with some Empress of Two Seconds."
Seongji laughed and walked over to the group. Well, calling them kids wasn't quite accurate anymore. They were teenagers now.
He asked. "Hey, what's this Empress of Two Seconds business?"
Jewoo scrambled to his feet. "Teacher, you won't believe it! An elephant joined our judo class. She can throw anyone in two seconds flat. That's why we call her the Empress of Two Seconds. Even our local judo teacher got demolished by her."
Baki snapped. "Tch! You grown-ass brats! Don't you feel ashamed calling your classmate an elephant just because she's better than you?"
Jewoo scratched his head sheepishly. "She really is an elephant, Baki-hyung! If you don't believe me, I'll bring her here tomorrow."
Seongji watched his best friend and students argue, feeling helpless.
Seongji said with a laugh. "Hey Baki, calm down. They're just kids."
Baki replied. "Tch! Whatever! Bring that Empress of Two Seconds tomorrow. I'll show you who's stronger."
---
The next day arrived.
A towering figure with blonde hair and a white judo uniform followed Jewoo, Taebong, Wooseok, and Hyungjae up the mountain path.
The giant asked. "How much farther is your teacher's place, Jewoo?"
Jewoo quickly corrected himself. "Just a little more, El—Mary Kim."
After a while, they reached the wooden house. A tanned man with dark red hair was performing a one-armed side crow balance, his legs floating impossibly in the air.
When Baki noticed the kids approaching, he stood up. His eyes swept over the group and landed on Mary Kim's massive frame.
He walked over.
He asked with a grin. "So she's the elephant you were talking about yesterday?"
Jewoo, Taebong, Wooseok, and Hyungjae felt a cold shiver run down their spines.
Taebong immediately jumped in to correct him. "No elephant, Hyung. It's the Empress of Two Seconds."
Baki replied. "Oh, really? I distinctly remember Jewoo insisting he would show me an elephant today. Guess I was mistaken."
Jewoo started sweating bullets.
The door opened, and Seongji walked outside looking tired.
He said. "Hey, Baki, I'm going to chop some wood, okay?" He started walking over, then stopped when Mary Kim and Jewoo entered his field of vision.
Seongji asked, scratching his hair. "Oh! Jewoo, is she the elephant classmate you mentioned yesterday?"
Before Jewoo could respond, his feet left the ground. A second later, he slammed into the earth. For a moment, he couldn't process what had happened. Only when the pain registered did he realize that Mary Kim was slowly approaching him. He immediately cried for help, only to discover his friends had vanished. He could only accept his fate as Mary Kim dragged him out of everyone's view.
Shouts of pain echoed through the air for a while, then everything went silent. Taebong peeked out from behind a tree. "Hyungjae, she couldn't have actually killed Jewoo, right?"
Hyungjae wasn't sure. Fortunately, Jewoo staggered back after a while, Mary Kim following behind him.
He walked toward Baki and introduced her properly. "Hyung, this is Mary Kim."
Seeing Jewoo's battered state, Baki felt a twinge of sympathy.
He said. "Okay, you skip training today. Just rest."
Jewoo limped away. When Taebong and the others came to help, he glared daggers at them.
Baki turned to Mary. "Hmm... You're very strong, I see. So, you want to join them for training?"
Mary looked at Baki directly. "No. I want to fight you."
Baki's eye twitched.
He said. "If that's what you want."
Mary took a judo stance.
Baki raised his hand. "Whoa, whoa! Hold on, kid. You won't be able to defeat me with that. Since I'm so happy you beat up Jewoo, I'll make you a deal. I heard you're best at throws? I'll let you try to throw me, but if you can't throw me to the ground, you lose. Deal?"
Mary thought it over, then agreed.
Mary approached Baki and grabbed him with both hands.
Baki stood still, a faint smirk on his face.
She tried to throw him, shifting her weight and pulling with all her strength. Nothing happened. He didn't move an inch.
It was like trying to move a boulder. His stance didn't break.
Baki said. "Come on, Empress. Is that all?"
Mary stepped back, confused. She had never failed a throw before. Not once.
She muttered. "How...?"
Baki said, rolling his shoulders. "Your form's good. But it won't work on me. Try again."
She went at him again, using different grips and movements. She tried every setup she knew. Still nothing happened. Each attempt met the same result. Baki stood unshaken.
Minutes passed. Then half an hour passed. Then nearly an hour passed. Sweat dripped down Mary's face. Her gi was soaked. But Baki remained as he was in the beginning.
The Cheonliang students watched in silence.
Hyungjae whispered. "Baki-hyung isn't even trying."
Wooseok said. "That's the scary part."
Seongji walked over carrying logs, dropped them, and watched. "Baki, you're being cruel."
Baki said, though he was clearly enjoying it. "I'm just standing here."
Mary finally stopped. Her breathing was ragged, her pride bruised.
She said. "This is... impossible."
Baki stepped closer. "Want to know why you can't throw me?"
She looked up at him, exhausted.
He said. "You're strong and your techniques are good. But that doesn't alone make you more powerful. The most important thing is to know when to apply which techniques."
He shifted slightly, and his body seemed to sink lower. "Because every technique has its counter. No technique is perfect. Try one last time."
Mary took a few deep breaths. She attacked again, faster, harder, putting everything she had left into it.
For a split second, it looked like she might succeed, but Baki adjusted, absorbed the movement, and reversed the force. Mary hit the ground, air knocked from her lungs.
Baki stood over her and offered a hand. "Good try. You could have flipped me over here, but at the last moment, I shifted my weight, which caused you to fail spectacularly."
Mary slapped his hand away, sitting up with trembling arms. "I lost," she said quietly.
Baki said, without sugarcoating it. "Yeah." Then he smiled. "But you're still growing."
Mary stared at him, frustration in her eyes. "How did you get like this?"
He said. "Training. Fighting. Losing. Then getting stronger. Simple as that."
Seongji handed her a bottle of water. "He's right. Knowing one technique so well that you can use it however you want is better than having a bunch of techniques you can't use freely."
Mary caught the bottle but didn't drink. She stared at the ground, her mind racing.
She thought to herself. "Could mastering one technique be enough...?"
She looked at Seongji, remembering the stories Jewoo had told about him.
She thought. "If Baki-hyung is this strong, and teacher Seongji is supposed to be even stronger according to Jewoo..."
Mary said suddenly, her voice firm. "Teach me."
Everyone turned to look at her.
Baki asked. "What?"
Mary stood up, ignoring the aches throughout her body. "Teach me. I want to learn how to be truly strong."
Baki exchanged a glance with Seongji, who shrugged.
Baki said slowly. "I don't know... We're pretty busy, and—"
Mary interrupted. "I'll do whatever it takes. I'll train harder than anyone. I'll push past my limits. Just... teach me how to defeat you."
Silence fell over the mountain clearing.
Then Baki burst out laughing. "Did you hear that, Seongji? She wants to defeat me! This kid's got guts!"
Seongji smiled. "Well, we do have room for one more student..."
Baki said, his laughter subsiding. "Fine. But I'm not going to teach you. Seongji will."
Mary's eyes widened. "Why not you?"
Baki said bluntly. "Because I'm an asshole teacher. Seongji actually has patience. Plus, he knows judo better than me."
He turned to Seongji. "What do you say? Want to add the Empress of Two Seconds to your collection of brats?"
Seongji studied Mary, taking in her determined expression. Despite her exhaustion and her bruised pride, her eyes still burned with fierce determination.
Seongji said. "Alright. But once you start training, you won't be able to quit. And—" he pointed at Jewoo, "—you need to properly apologize to each other."
Jewoo immediately stepped forward. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have called you... you know..."
Mary finished flatly. "An elephant."
Jewoo confirmed. "...Yeah."
Mary bowed deeply. It was a formal judo bow.
She said. "I'm sorry for beating you up. It was wrong to lose my temper over a stupid nickname."
Despite the tension, everyone started laughing. Even Mary cracked a small smile.
Seongji said, extending his hand. "Welcome to the Cheonliang family."
Mary shook it firmly. "Thank you, Teacher."
Taebong leaned over to Hyungjae. "Do you think she can actually learn to beat Baki-hyung?"
Hyungjae shook his head. "I don't think anyone can beat Baki-hyung. But..." He watched as Mary joined the others. "...I think she'll become incredibly strong trying."
---
The following morning, Mary arrived at the mountain clearing before dawn. Seongji was already there, cooking.
He asked. "Why are you so early?"
Mary replied. "I don't want to waste time."
Seongji said. "Good attitude. But others are yet to come. Do you wanna do some exercise before?"
Mary was quiet for a moment. "Because... all my life, I've been the strongest. Judo came naturally to me. I never had to struggle." She clenched her fists. "But yesterday, for the first time, I felt completely powerless. And I hated it. But also..." Her eyes lit up. "...it was exciting. Knowing there's someone that far ahead of me means I have somewhere to go. So I can't waste my time anymore!"
Seongji nodded slowly. "That's a good answer. It seems you have found your drive to get stronger." He smiled.
Mary asked eagerly. "So what's first?"
Seongji answered. "First, we run up and down this mountain ten times."
Mary exclaimed. "What?!"
Seongji continued. "You have to also carry logs while running."
Mary was shocked. "...Huh?!"
Seongji added. "And after that, the real training will begin."
Mary's eyes widened, but then she grinned. "Fine. Let's do it."